Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

It’s time for the GOP to dust off that post-2012 autopsy, completely ignore it, and light the party on fire again.

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

Everybody saw this coming.

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

Eh, that’s media spin. biden’s health is fine and he’s doing a good job.

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

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

“More of this”, i said to the dog.

A last alliance of elves and men. also pet photos.

“Jesus paying for the sins of everyone is an insult to those who paid for their own sins.”

When do we start airlifting the women and children out of Texas?

Being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace.

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

A Senator Walker would be an insult to the state and the nation.

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

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

Infrastructure week. at last.

I like you, you’re my kind of trouble.

People are complicated. Love is not.

You don’t get to peddle hatred on saturday and offer condolences on sunday.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Senator Elizabeth Warren…

Reader Interactions

405Comments

  1. 1.

    rikyrah

    Loving, Lamenting, Losing, Obama.

    As a boy, I’d often be taken aback whenever my father would express his platonic love and appreciation for different men in many ways. He loved Jim Brown. The pro football player, actor, and activist who embodied the ultimate in black manhood and machismo. Sydney Potier held for my father, grace, elegance and uncompromised sophisticated black maleness. Singer Eddie Kendricks, represented fun, independent spirit, and inner-city smoothness. Although he would never use these words, he adored them. It was always strange for me to watch someone so brainy, manly and athletic as my father gush over men. My youthful perception of manhood I’d acquired, taught me to like or appreciate with aloofness other men.

    Enter Obama. Now I get it. As black men, we are often conditioned to display a limited range of emotions. Now, I see why my father broke all the rules of displaying openly black male affection and adoration. President Obama broke all the rules of black men for me and in large part the world. He held the grace of Portier. The spiritedness of Kendricks. The power, activism and the manliness of Brown. What he did in this way was nothing new. We grew up with men equally as regal. Obama had the opportunity to put it all on display and modernized it. He emotes. For many grown ass men, this is taboo. He steps around anger, as presidents do, but he will go there as well. And like Jesus, Obama wept. It’s oxymoronic to say, but he’s no punk about his emotions. Perform a random Google search for images of our President. You’re walloped with a vast display of emotion, character, and personality. His sincerity towards us makes him easy to love. And will make him easy to miss. we’ve lived through our own Camelot. A shining, rich, Black Camelot. And era replete with an iconic queen and not one, but two darling princesses. Now my son spies my gush.

  7. 7.

    Germy Shoemangler

    John Fugelsang: “Elizabeth Warren is a MILVF, or Mom I’d Like To Vote For.”

  10. 10.

    sinnedbackwards

    Love her.

    And since I’m in early, please REMEMBER:

    If you do NOT feed the trolls, they will go away.

    IF you SEE something (stupid)
    SAY nothing

  12. 12.

    Mnemosyne

    As Betty pointed out, it’s hilarious that Trump just can’t resist taking the bait. He has to respond to everything she says, no matter what.

  14. 14.

    shortribs

    We liberals have long wanted Democrats to hit back. The 1-2 punch of Clinton and Warren for the next 4 plus years is going to be nice to watch.

  19. 19.

    the Conster, la Citoyenne

    Warren is also showing up Sanders to the Berniebros – why doesn’t Bernie have any twitter game against Trump?

  21. 21.

    Princess

    I know all the reasons why Warren shouldn’t be the VP: more power in the senate, important role, don’t want to lose a Blue senator, bring a new young person in, etc. But damn, she is good at this stuff.

  22. 22.

    lamh36

    Posted late in last thread, so I’m posting again here…

    Harry Reid to Rep. Alan Grayson: ‘I want you to lose’

    Rep. Alan Grayson angrily confronted Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid on Wednesday, disrupting a meeting of the Congressional Progressive Caucus in front of dozens of staffers and members of Congress…
    Grayson (D-Fla.), whose bid for the open Florida Senate seat Reid vehemently opposes, arrived at the meeting with Reid’s February statement in hand, according to two sources in the room. In that statement, Reid said Grayson has “no moral compass” and “used his status as a congressman to unethically promote his Cayman Islands hedge funds.”
    Story Continued Below

    As each member took a turn to speak to Reid, it was Grayson’s turn. He asked Reid if the Nevada senator knows who he is. After Reid answered in the affirmative, Grayson went on the attack.
    “Say my name, senator. Say my name,” Grayson told Reid as Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) tried to shut down the confrontation. Ellison chided Grayson, asking him what he was doing and why he was distracting from the meeting’s goals.
    Grayson responded by angrily waving a printout of Reid’s searing quote that called on Grayson to drop out of the primary race against Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Fla.).
    “Why’d you say that?” Grayson said, insisting Reid’s statement was false.
    Reid calmly faced his inquisitor: “I want you to lose. It’s true.”…

    Grayson seriously underestimated the amounts of fucks, Harry Reid has right now as he nears the end..

  23. 23.

    Betty Cracker

    Where can I start a petition to put an item before the Democratic Party Rules Committee? I’d like to move that any candidate who regularly (as in more than once) refers to him or herself in the third person shall be summarily disqualified from seeking office as a Democrat.

  24. 24.

    lamh36

    So the other day, I was wondering how the hell does one even enforce that NC law…

    Then this morning on TJMS, I heard Rev Al and he has a proposition…

    There is no way to really enforce this type of law…imagine the time, money and expense to do so.

    Plus, imagine the lawsuits from folks falsy accused of not being the “right gender”.

    Rev Al…propsed to TJMS, that this was an electioneering tactic to gin up “moral” voter outrage. Get the “moral” voters riled up enough to get out and vote to keep the folks in who enacted this, including the governor who’s up for relection.

    So you pass and introduce this law, folks in up in arms about “predators” in the restrooms and boom, instant voter turn on…smh

    Kinda like the year when Bush used the gay rights issue to gin up support with evangelist and oral voters…

  26. 26.

    Feebog

    Can’t wait for the convention, presidents Carter, Clinton and Obama, Biden, Sanders, Warren, and Nominee Hillary Clinton are all onstage together.

  29. 29.

    rikyrah

    Lobbyists: NC Lawmakers turn up pressure to quiet HB2 opponents
    Posted 6:00 p.m. today

    RALEIGH, N.C. — While Republican state leaders have complained about being “bullied” by the federal government over House Bill 2, lobbyists in Raleigh tell WRAL News they and the businesses they represent are being bullied by state lawmakers seeking to silence business opposition to the new law.

    Lobbyists say they’ve been told – either directly by legislative leaders or by lawmakers’ staff – that, if they or the businesses they represent speak out publicly against House Bill 2, they can expect retribution from House and Senate leaders.

    Legislation they want won’t move, and other bills could actually target them.

    WRAL News spoke with 11 lobbyists who have experienced or are aware of such actions, but none would speak on the record for fear they would lose business or be targeted for retribution. One has already lost business.

    One long-time lobbyist called the pressure a “gross abuse of power.” Another veteran lobbyist labeled it “vicious,” adding, “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

  31. 31.

    Davis X. Machina

    @lamh36: I remember when there was a faction on DKos trying to decide whether the primary challenge in 2012 to Obama/Biden should be Weiner/Grayson, or Grayson/Weiner…

    I don’t suppose Trump reads The Atlantic. (Shorter: China’s poised to hit a mid-century demographic wall, and ours isn’t remotely as bad because of… immigration. Stick it to the Chinese? Close the borders? Pick only one…..)

  34. 34.

    Betty Cracker

    @lamh36: Read about that earlier — damn! It’s a bad idea to cross Harry Reid!

    I am heartily sorry that the FL US Senate candidate choices on the Dem side boil down to a Blue Dog and Grayson. I’ll be voting for the Blue Dog. Le sigh.

  41. 41.

    rikyrah

    Commentary: Handicapping Saudi Arabia’s audacious plan to save itself

    …………………..

    When Saudi Arabia’s King Salman replaced his oil minister and reshuffled his cabinet on Saturday, he did so with the goal of executing an audacious plan to transform the country’s economy. “Saudi Vision 2030,” the brainchild of Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, seeks to end the Kingdom’s oil addiction and improve government transparency and
    efficiency.

    Highlights of the plan include listing 5 percent of Saudi ARAMCO on the Saudi stock exchange and internationally in New York, London and Hong Kong; reducing unemployment from 11 percent to 7 percent; increasing the role of women in the work force; privatizing huge swaths of Saudi Arabia’s economy so as to increase the private sector’s share of GDP; and creating a military industrial holding company that will supply half of Saudi Arabia’s weapons, thereby reducing the government’s yearly defense spending.

    If even half of these milestones are achieved, it will be the Saudi equivalent of the moon landing.

  43. 43.

    Mnemosyne

    @lamh36:

    As Ben Cisco pointed out in the other thread, there’s actually a lot of bad labor laws stuck in there (like blocking an increase to the state minimum wage) that they hoped to disguise with the potty bill. That’s why they’re fighting so hard to keep it.

  46. 46.

    NotMax

    @Yutsano

    Mahalo a nui loa.

    Been meaning to ask you (without spilling any info which is protected) about Trump’s assertion of being audited “every year.” Absent something above the level of mere suspicion of shenanigans, is that even an institutional possibility?

  47. 47.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    @rikyrah: I want to listen to KMBA in 3D. That’s an amazing piece. Thank you for sharing it.

  49. 49.

    p.a.

    wtf 2nd comment today disappeared into ether. for some reason ‘http’ defaulting to my url, if I don’t notice it kills my upload

  53. 53.

    Steeplejack

    @David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch:

    Holy shnikeys! That first pic is Letterman. I had to get on the Google to find that.

    And it is not a good sign that Jon Stewart is getting into the “attend public events dressed for a yard sale” zone.

  54. 54.

    the Conster, la Citoyenne

    @lamh36:

    No Fucks Left To Give Obama is giving everyone courage to be their own version on their way out. There’s even a NFLTG Lindsey Graham.

  55. 55.

    Roger Moore

    @A Ghost To Most:

    People keep saying this, but I see precious little evidence of it.

    I think it works OK for the trolls who are in it for the enjoyment, but it doesn’t work so well for the paid political trolls.

  58. 58.

    rikyrah

    People forget..

    Harry used to feed himself through boxing…

    he ain’t scurrred…

    BWAHA HA HA HA HA HA H AH HA

    ……………………………………..

    Rep. Alan Grayson angrily confronted Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid on Wednesday, disrupting a meeting of the Congressional Progressive Caucus in front of dozens of staffers and members of Congress.

    Grayson (D-Fla.), who Reid vehemently opposes in his bid for the open Florida Senate seat, arrived at the meeting with Reid’s February statement in hand, according to two sources in the room. In that statement, Reid said Grayson has “no moral compass” and “used his status as a congressman to unethically promote his Cayman Islands hedge funds.”

    As each member took a turn to speak to Reid, it was Grayson’s turn. He asked Reid if the Nevada senator knows who he is. After Reid answered in the affirmative, Grayson went on the attack.

    “Say my name, senator. Say my name,” Grayson told Reid as Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) tried to shut the confrontation down. Ellison chided Grayson, asking him what he was doing and why he was distracting from the meeting’s goals.

    Grayson responded by angrily waving a printout of Reid’s searing February quote that called on Grayson to drop out of the primary race against Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Fla.).

    “Why’d you say that?” Grayson said, insisting Reid’s statement was false.

    Reid calmly faced his inquisitor: “I want you to lose. It’s true.”

    Ellison and other Progressive Caucus members then shut the questioning down, turning it over to Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.). One source in the room said that members rarely get meetings with Reid and were frustrated that they were unable to strategize over the Supreme Court, Donald Trump’s nomination and other issues due to the outburst.

  60. 60.

    Gimlet

    http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/florida/2016/05/8598873/wasserman-schultzs-liberal-challenger-set-announce-1m-haul

    Fueled by small-dollar donors who give to Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, Tim Canova said that, by the weekend, he’ll be on pace to have raised $1 million since he officially entered the race Jan. 7.

    The source of the money is a point of pride for Canova, who was criticized last month by Wasserman Schultz for getting out-of-state donations.

    The mammoth haul for the political newcomer isn’t a big shock for those who watched Canova, a Nova Southeastern University law professor, pull in an eye-popping $537,000 in the first quarter of fundraising that ended March 31. Wasserman Schultz reported raising $575,000 during that period. Canova’s campaign on Friday said via email that he received another $300,000 in April alone, and that’s after President Barack Obama endorsed Wasserman Schultz.

    South Florida Democrats say Wasserman Schultz has spent more time at home because of the threat from Canova, who has been aided by an outside liberal group that has savaged her for supporting a bill tied to the payday lending industry.

  61. 61.

    Dog Dawg Damn

    @Princess: Clinton doubled down on the young Southern Democrat image with Al Gore, defying conventional wisdom.

    I sincerely hope Warren is at least being considered for V.P.

    Double down on the woman front–that would be AMAZING. Plus Warren articulates liberal values better than anyone else in the running.

  62. 62.

    Baud

    @rikyrah:

    Say my name, senator. Say my name,” Grayson told Reid


    When no one is around you,
    Say baby I love you
    If you ain’t runnin’ game
    Say my name, say my name
    You actin’ kinda shady,
    Ain’t callin’ me baby
    Why the sudden change?

  64. 64.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @rikyrah:

    Reid served as chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission from 1977 to 1981. When Jack Gordon, La Toya Jackson’s future agent and husband, offered Reid a $12,000 bribe to get approval of new games for casinos, Reid brought in the FBI to tape Gordon’s bribery attempt and arrest him. After FBI agents interrupted the transaction, as prearranged, Reid lost his temper and began choking Gordon, saying “You son of a bitch, you tried to bribe me!” Gordon was convicted in 1979 and sentenced to six months in prison. In 1981, Reid’s wife found a bomb attached to the family station wagon; Reid suspected it was placed by Gordon, although this has never been proven in a court of law.[4]

    Source.

  66. 66.

    Mike J

    @A Ghost To Most:

    People keep saying this, but I see precious little evidence of it.

    It actually happens on some off hour threads. It really does work, but too many people like to argue with trolls. So we wind up with 400 comment threads with 300 comments being to, from, or about the troll and nobody else can carry on a conversation.

  68. 68.

    Kay (not the front-pager)

    @rikyrah: There are times when I really regret there being no way to like, uprate or ‘+1’ a comment at Balloon Juice. Your comment is one such time.

  70. 70.

    Mike J

    @Mike J: I’ll add that one of the plugins I’d love to see added is one that mutes trolls for everybody except the troll. They continue speaking, nobody answers, they get bored and go away.

  72. 72.

    Dog Dawg Damn

    @sinnedbackwards: But really, I think it’s safe to say at this point that “Trolling Along” et. al is most likely the sock-puppet of a regular hardcore BJ’er. Who else would care enough ?

  76. 76.

    A Ghost To Most

    @Roger Moore:
    So, srv as opposed to Rolling Coward? Well, srv has been here a long time, and is often ignored. The hired ratfucker seems to have a daily quota, fed or not.

  78. 78.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @tsquared2001:

    rikyrah Brings all the COOL shit.

    Yup, plus the world’s most cheerful greetings each morning! (By the time I see them, they’re usually many hours old, but I enjoy and appreciate them regardless.)

  80. 80.

    I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet

    @rikyrah: J enjoys it and I usually glance up at it occasionally.

    I can’t say I’m a huge fan, but it beats stupid sit-coms. :-)

    I gather you like it?

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  83. 83.

    sinnedbackwards

    @A Ghost To Most: That’s because a few people will think their comments are so clever they break ranks.

    The troll knows it only needs one small bite to likely break into the buffet.

    If we ALL closed ranks, they would quit. I do believe that. How many humans would continue with no response. (Don’t think we’re dealing with bots yet.)

    I know, likely hopeless, but I’ve always been the optimist.

  84. 84.

    Jeffro

    LOVED Warren’s Twitter rant, it’s awesome.

    Can she please go after Ted Cruz when he comes back in 2020 as a more open-minded, hate-the-sin/love-the-sinner, compassionate, pocketbook-issues-first Republican? We’re going to need her.

    http://wapo.st/1T9FPLp

  85. 85.

    eclare

    @NotMax: Tax geek and CPA here, yes. Large companies have rooms on site for the IRS as they are always there. But saying his being audited is the reason for not releasing his returns is BS.

  86. 86.

    WarMunchkin

    Good stuff by Warren. I can simultaneously think Warren is awesome and lament that political interactions in 2016 are schoolyard-tier quips over Twitter. Nobody’s fault, just the way it is, Trump or no Trump.

    On the other hand, that’s pretty much all that’s left when the other guy doesn’t actually have a consistent position on anything. I can’t really answer the question “what is Trump’s preferred economic policy” because it changes every minute.

  90. 90.

    A Ghost To Most

    Of course, I’m crazy enough to get riled up by that shit. After getting a swarm of calls from the ‘Microsoft Service Center’, the last time I started screaming repeatedly ‘GO FUCK YOURSELF’ until they hung up. They haven’t called back since. So I got that going for me.

  91. 91.

    Hungry Joe

    Like so many others, I’m a jumbled combo of amused, horrified, outraged, freaked out, befuddled, optimistic, and pearl-clutching petrified by Trump’s scorched-earth march to the nomination. But as a thought experiment I substituted for Trump, one by one, all of the major (former) GOP candidates, and found I was every bit as amused, horrified, outraged, freaked out, etc.

    I’m fed up to here [indicates eyebrows] with Hilz & Bern crapola. It’s tempest/teapot stuff compared to what’s coming our way in the general. Let it play itself out, then all hands on deck. This ain’t no party / this ain’t no disco / this ain’t no foolin’ around.

  94. 94.

    Jeffro

    @Dog Dawg Damn: I think it’s awesome. Trump has clearly paid no/little taxes for quite some time, and he also clearly isn’t worth $10B. How the “deep bench” didn’t figure this out oh, six months ago, is beyond me.

    Also starting to see more “Trump is Palin” (in a suit) articles…love that too!

  98. 98.

    Aleta

    @rikyrah: Like many have said, all his meetings with kids are just so beautiful. Their lit faces and his. What I also want to remember is how he is able to move from all the other rough stuff he is doing in a day, and set it down when he’s being the President for the kids. How he always has honest joy at being with them no matter what kind of stuff he was handling a few minutes before. And how he indicates that being with them is a very important part of the job.

  99. 99.

    Peale

    @Dog Dawg Damn: I’m guessing tax structures out the butt to make it look like he has no income except a social security cheque and food stamps.

  100. 100.

    WarMunchkin

    Also, if anyone feels like squeeing out over Obama being awesome, the WH posted this video of Obama’s Flint visit, where he lifted up and hugged a little girl who was super excited that he came.

  101. 101.

    dr. bloor

    @WarMunchkin:

    On the other hand, that’s pretty much all that’s left when the other guy doesn’t actually have a consistent position on anything. I can’t really answer the question “what is Trump’s preferred economic policy” because it changes every minute.

    Depends on whether Larry Kudlow is snorting blow off a blonde hooker’s ass or a brunette’s.

  103. 103.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @amk: Who do you want to ban? The term troll gets tossed around pretty freely; some use it to describe anyone who disagrees with them. Some use it for anyone who criticizes Obama. Some use it for people who criticize Bernie. Where does one start and where does one stop. I think JC and the other front pagers do a pretty good job of letting dialog follow freely.

  105. 105.

    Steeplejack

    @rikyrah:

    I am! And I’ll say that I think it has risen to a new level last season and this one. The writing is tighter, the plots are not cookie-cutter, and I have enjoyed the background arc about Sherlock’s father and the not-just-ordinary-crime forces moving in the background.

    And they have done a good job of expanding the dramatic space so that it’s not just Sherlock “genius-splaining” everything. Watson* has developed into an equal partner with Holmes, Detective Bell has been given a lot more to do, and they’ve filled in a good, deep background for Captain Gregson.

    I have also been excited by the return of Person of Interest. It has been pretty good so far, but that’s only three episodes.

    * Note: “Watson” will put you in moderation, so don’t use that word if you don’t know how to detox it.

  109. 109.

    NonyNony

    @A Ghost To Most:

    srv is far more likely to be a paid shill than R2R. But I think both of them mostly post to get a reaction. Srv slow fishes this pond – throwing out his line and seeing who he can troll in with it. R2R is more of a dynamite fisherman – going for the big reaction by posting ridiculous chum for us to chew on. Either way, neither of them is getting paid for his except from the chuckles they get when they piss someone off.

  111. 111.

    Ruckus

    @A Ghost To Most:
    I find that if I’m going to be real fucking rude it helps to remember the english way of doing it. Refined and subtle right up to the punchline. Something like “If you don’t mind would you kindly go fuck yourself and your dog.? You have to say it in a smooth way with a normal voice. If they call back after that, then it’s whistle as loud as you can (I’m capable of almost breaking eardrums so that helps) or your method. Rarely have to bother the neighbors with this after the, if you don’t mind routine. Of course it helps if they haven’t gotten you so pissed off you can’t remember anything except the yelling.

  112. 112.

    p.a.

    Looks like I get one comment then have to reboot the iPad for next attempt. Smartphone works fine. wtf

  113. 113.

    A Ghost To Most

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    I think JC and the other front pagers do a pretty good job of letting dialog follow freely.

    Agree. Let the idiots (including me) speak. There are boundaries; the truly odious will find them.

  114. 114.

    rikyrah

    @I’mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet:

    I can’t say I’m a huge fan, but it beats stupid sit-coms. :-)

    I gather you like it?

    I almost gave it up last season, and I’ve been watching the arc of this season play itself out, and I’m glad that I kept up with the show. Unlike Sleepy Hollow, I like that Elementary knew how to use John Noble.

  115. 115.

    p.a.

    I insulted baud in a previous post. He’s apparently viscious. That’ll be good in a president.

  118. 118.

    Amaranthine RBG

    @NotMax: Sure it is.

    I took some, um, aggressive tax mitigation strategies a few years ago that resulted in a full on audit, since then my returns have been very vanilla yet I received inquiry letters and adjustment letters almost every year from the IRS.

    No doubt, Trump pulls some shady shit every year and then negotiates his taxes.

  119. 119.

    NotMax

    @A Ghost to Most

    Received a new scam call today. From the “federal government” announcing “your name and number have been selected for a federal grant.”

  120. 120.

    JanieM

    @A Ghost To Most: I kept riding one of them a couple of weeks ago with snark and disbelief, as I sometimes do, and he kept saying “I’m trying to help you ma’am” and “ma’am this” and “ma’am that” and finally he said “Fuck you, ma’am,” and hung up.

  121. 121.

    p.a.

    @rikyrah: I like the prog attitude voiced by S&H re: American ammosexual culture and corporatism. Don’t get that on US commercial tv.

  123. 123.

    Steeplejack

    @rikyrah:

    Yeah, John Noble is almost convincing me to start up with Fringe. I saw a few episodes here and there when it was on and thought it was interesting, but it clearly was a series that you had to watch in chronological order.

  125. 125.

    danielx

    Der Trumpenfuhrer does appear to have trouble dealing with women who don’t cower before his awesomeness.

    Good.

  128. 128.

    Feathers

    @rikyrah: I got back into it this year. Dumped cable, got an antenna, and Elementary is the only show that has stuck. Missed the jump to Sunday but caught up.

    I used to work at Harvard and found it a real hoot that a Niall Ferguson-ish character was now running a global crime ring. As a pundit, Ferguson is loathsome, but I audited his general history class and was impressed. The assistants (staff not researchers) who worked for him had nothing but nice things to say about him. But the idea of him being an uber crime lord is truly awesome.

    My fan wish is John Nobel and Natalie Dormer becoming rivals. They would have the most fantastic MacBeth vibe, don’t you think?

  131. 131.

    p.a.

    I got a call from the IRS in Illinois (I’m in RI) today saying they were taking me to court. Well the first name was right but the last name wasn’t even close. Then the agent/rep just hung up on me.

  133. 133.

    NotMax

    @JanieM

    Have one fiend who repairs computers for a living. Keeps a junker machine around for when those idjits call, strictly and only used to grant them access.

    On that machine is a folder prominently labeled “Passwords.” Inside the folder is a carefully selected variety of viruses and trojans.

  134. 134.

    Steeplejack

    @Dog Dawg Damn:

    I sincerely hope Warren is at least being considered for V.P.

    Sorry, but I wish this meme would die already. Warren can accomplish much more in the Senate than she can in the placeholder V.P. slot. I know everybody loves them some Joe Biden, but c’mon . . .

  135. 135.

    eclare

    @Ruckus: Don’t forget the southern way. You can say almost anything if you preface it with “bless his heart”, e.g., bless his heart he’s just too stupid to know whether he should wind his butt or scratch his watch.

  137. 137.

    Ken

    Out of morbid curiosity which I will no doubt soon regret, what are the “recycled Scott Brown talking points”? That Warren isn’t as HAWT as Trump’s wives and daughters?

  139. 139.

    sinnedbackwards

    @Omnes Omnibus: Agree.

    My probably hopeless plea is that we all react like the Supremes with porn.

    We know it.

    Not even to name the miscreants. As Galadriel said, “You know who I mean.”

  142. 142.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Aleta:

    Like many have said, all his meetings with kids are just so beautiful. Their lit faces and his.

    I loved it the other day when he went to Flint and the little girl ran up to him and said “I wrote you a letter!!” and he immediately said “I know! That’s why I came!” Unscripted. He listens to kids (well, to everyone, anyone, of any age) and manages to simultaneously take them seriously and have a ton of fun with them. There are few enough people in real everyday life who can do that, let alone the freakin President of the Flipping United States. We are blessed beyond compare to have had this man.

  143. 143.

    Rolling Along

    The “Twitterization” of political discourse continues. You do realize this favors Trump, right?

    He won’t even agree to debate. He’ll say the commission “isn’t being fair”, bail, and then get all the attention he needs via Twitter/free media coverage of his rallies.

    #Twitterization
    #NoDebates16

  144. 144.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Steeplejack: Agreed. No sitting Senator should be on the VP list. We want to retake the Senate. Besides. as you note, she, in particular, can do more good in the Senate than as VP.

  150. 150.

    JanieM

    @NotMax: That’s a great story; I’m not that skilled.

    I’m now getting robocalls pretty often on my cell phone, and they seem to have started to use area codes that I’m more likely to have connections in. What I’d really like at this point is a phone plan with a white list: all numbers blocked except those on the whitelist. Then I suppose the criminals would figure out how to hack phones to get the whitelists……….

  152. 152.

    Chyron HR

    @Rolling Along:

    BUSH IS MY GOD! EVERY BUSH! I ADORE THEIR FAMILY SO MUCH! I CAN’T WAIT FOR THEIR GRANDCHILDREN TO GROW UP SO I CAN LOVE AND ADORE THEM TOO! P.S. Cult of personality lol

    Gosh, I never would have guessed that you have crippling brain problems until you proudly admitted it.

  155. 155.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    @Aleta: See, that’s the whole problem with Baud! and the Baud!2016! campaign, constantly aiming low. Should have gone with Baud! University!

  157. 157.

    Morzer

    I am amused to see that Krugman has stooped to using Trump as an excuse to reference popular culture:

    “One does not casually suggest throwing away America’s carefully cultivated reputation as the world’s most scrupulous debtor — a reputation that dates all the way back to Alexander Hamilton.”

  158. 158.

    Rolling Along

    @Chyron HR:

    I think the Bushes are skilled political operators who drive Democrats nuts. I never would gush about them in such a sickening way as shown here.

    (Black camelot? princesses? queens? PUKE)

  160. 160.

    Aleta

    @Jeffro: He emptied my bank account before I even got the 1st syllabus, so no. I did get a packet of Chinese Sea Monkeys though.

  162. 162.

    Chyron HR

    @Rolling Along:

    WHEN I FANATICALLY WORSHIP THE BUSH DYNASTY IT’S DIFFERENT BECAUSE SHUT UP THAT’S WHY

    Tell us more about the magical Powerpoint presentation that you were convinced was going to win JEB the Presidency.

  165. 165.

    gogol's wife

    @sinnedbackwards:

    Haha.

    Missed this thread while watching the very-not-bad B thriller Pickup Alley with Victor Mature and Trevor Howard.

    Yay Warren.

  170. 170.

    sinnedbackwards

    @Ken: Probably that she actually is 1/32 Cherokee (I think) and thus qualifies as Native American under various octoroon style laws; that her family knew and understood this during her upbringing, and that was meaningful in Oklahoma, and she was brought up with that heritage; that she did not push it to her advantage but Harvard bragged on it to theirs; and Scott Brown and right-wingers in general lie about that to diss her and discredit her with people who will not be willing or able to do the minimal amount of research I just did.

  173. 173.

    Rolling Along

    @Chyron HR:

    Donald Trump is a highly skilled politician which should give your side a lot of pause and introspection before gloating about how the election will be a blowout.

    #BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor
    #TooClose2Call
    #FloridaFloridaFlorida

  174. 174.

    Major Major Major Major

    @sinnedbackwards: Pretty much.

    There aren’t any particular genealogical records, but then again there never are. The Rethugs haven’t gotten much past “she’s an injun, hur hur hur” and calling her “professor warren” like it’s an insult.

  176. 176.

    Morzer

    @Rolling Along:

    Donald Trump is a highly skilled politician

    Well, he’s occasionally managed an erection, but that’s as close as he can get to your claim

  178. 178.

    Rolling Along

    It’s not just conservatives, liberal (and gay) Glenn Greenwald even said that certain progressives have an unhealthy personality cult surrounding Obama.

  180. 180.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Aleta:

    What I also want to remember is how he is able to move from all the other rough stuff he is doing in a day, and set it down when he’s being the President for the kids.

    What he does is the essence of Zen, the ability to be fully “in the moment.” I have no idea where he learned that, but it is an incredible and enviable attribute.

    For another (very different) example, remember his doing a wicked-funny WHCD monologue a few years ago, when at the same moment he was one of the handful of people in the world who knew that we were killing Bin Laden. Never signaled it in any way; was never distracted from his hilarious and effective takedown of Trump; but you know once he was back in the Situation Room, he was all business.

  187. 187.

    Rolling Along

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    Song 1:
    Mm, mmm, mm!
    Barack Hussein Obama

    He said that all must lend a hand
    To make this country strong again
    Mmm, mmm, mm!
    Barack Hussein Obama

    He said we must be fair today
    Equal work means equal pay
    Mmm, mmm, mm!
    Barack Hussein Obama

    He said that we must take a stand
    To make sure everyone gets a chance
    Mmm, mmm, mm!
    Barack Hussein Obama

    He said red, yellow, black or white
    All are equal in his sight
    Mmm, mmm, mm!
    Barack Hussein Obama

    Yes!
    Mmm, mmm, mm
    Barack Hussein Obama

    Song 2:
    Hello, Mr. President we honor you today!
    For all your great accomplishments, we all doth say “hooray!”

    Hooray, Mr. President! You’re number one!
    The first black American to lead this great nation!

    Hooray, Mr. President we honor your great plans
    To make this country’s economy number one again!

    Hooray Mr. President, we’re really proud of you!
    And we stand for all Americans under the great Red, White, and Blue!

    So continue —- Mr. President we know you’ll do the trick
    So here’s a hearty hip-hooray —-

    Hip, hip hooray!
    Hip, hip hooray!
    Hip, hip hooray!

    Elementary school children sang that. creepy.

  193. 193.

    Yutsano

    @NotMax: Shorter me: yes.

    Slightly less shorter me: there are certain businesses that because of their history do get audited yearly. There are even revenue officers and tax examiners assigned to specific industries. It’s why I’m amazed zero research has been done into the tax lien database. Those are public records and if he really had any sort of dæmons a simple Lexis search would make that clear.

  199. 199.

    Ian

    @Morzer:
    Like many of the popular misconceptions of Hamilton, he was a very unscrupulous debtor. The Broadway play is far, far, from the authoritarian monarchisht shot for his arrogancy by Aaron Burr.

  201. 201.

    Major Major Major Major

    @Amaranthine RBG: A, along with probably half the people here, I’ve been treated for it in the past. B, he was being mocked downstairs for saying he would have joined the military but he was on Ritalin so they wouldn’t let him, despite that not really being a thing.

  206. 206.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @amk: How many threads stay on topic past 150 comments? Where they go after that can vary. Do tell us where the troll banning should begin.

  207. 207.

    Rolling Along

    Back to my original point: politics is being Twitterized, and Donald Trump may be a kind of idiot savant of this new type of politics which is why Democrats should be extremely nervous.

    How does Crooked Hillary respond to her nickname? Does she even know how?

    #CrookedHillary–very powerful. He used this kind of stuff very successfully against Jeb, and Crooked Hillary is already repeating his mistakes!

  209. 209.

    Rolling Along

    @Chyron HR:

    Twenty-Twelve was very, very close until Sandy and the hug from Christie.

    Without Sandy, we would have been up all night with a probable Romney victory.

  212. 212.

    Chyron HR

    @Ian:

    Like many of the popular misconceptions of Hamilton, he was a very unscrupulous debtor.

    Also some people say Hamilton was not a rap musician, but historical records from that era are sketchy at best.

  215. 215.

    Kay (not the front-pager)

    @JanieM: I get calls on my land line that are from a very familiar number: my own! The way I handle them is to break into their pitch and start saying things like, “you shouldn’t do this! I’m worried for your immortal soul! I know jobs are hard to come by, but you must stop risking your immortal soul! I care about you! You deserve better than to burn in Hell!…” and on and on in that vein until they hang up. For some reason the religious crap keeps them from calling back for a few months.

  216. 216.

    A Ghost To Most

    @JanieM:
    Reminds of my favorite HR story from my time at GE. I worked on a team that was building our first network switch written in C, as opposed to assembler.
    Very demanding work, great team, great boss, but he and his boss (a woman) did not get along. We usually ended the day at the bar across the street, and he would buy. One day he was late. He finally came in, redfaced, and drank two beers immediately.
    He said he had had a fight with his boss, and had lost his cool, and called her a fucking idiot and fucking incompetent and fucking this and that.

    He then got worried about what he had said, so he went to our HR guy and laid it all out. The HR guy was silent for a bit, then said, “You never said you wanted to fuck her, right? She is fucking incompetent”. She got shuffled upstairs shortly after, and her replacement (also a woman) was a vast improvement. So that worked out.

  217. 217.

    Rolling Along

    Nobody has gotten such a large amount of free media with such little effort as Donald Trump.

    Can Hillary match it? What will she do when he refuses to debate her, but constantly insults her on Twitter?

    This could be a new kind of politics!

  218. 218.

    rk

    @rikyrah:

    It’s interesting that you wrote this, because a short while back I was thinking about the contrast between Obama and Trump. Obama embodies all the qualities which men should aspire to. He’s highly educated and well spoken. When he talks you can tell that an educated person is speaking (unlike Ted Cruz or Bush where Princeton and Harvard did absolutely nothing for them). He’s even tempered, has a sense of humor (without meanness or nastiness) and remains calm under pressure. He loves his wife and family and is a thoroughly decent man. I haven’t agreed with some of the things he has done, but overall I think he’s a very likable person. I’m actually amazed at how republicans talk about him and how much they’ve vilified him. At this point if anyone says that they hate Obama I think it’s a reflection of their own awfulness. Policy disagreements I understand, hatred no.
    Trump on the other hand is the opposite of Obama. He doesn’t have any redeeming qualities: mean, uncouth, vulgar, excitable, incoherent and undisciplined thought and action. Wharton School did nothing for him either. It’s as if some force in the universe decided to put as many negative traits of humanity in one man. Trump is a good example of what men should never be.
    It’ll be sadly ironic if Obama’s presidency is followed by Trump’s.

  220. 220.

    Peale

    In the end, I don’t think Captain America made his case for lone wolf superheros. I reluctantly support Iron Man. Captain should have mentioned that those world leaders who want some kind of collective control over superheros had been duped in the previous movie into allowing Hydra to infiltrate S.H.I.E.L.D and inadvertently green-lit the mass murder of millions. But he didn’t seem to want to go in that direction for some reason. I couldn’t care less about Bucky and keeping their friendship going. So I’ll be voting “yes” on the superhero registration ballot initiative next month in California.

  221. 221.

    Ken

    @Yutsano: He’s borrowing money at 19% from dodgy Asian banks because no-one in North America or Europe will lend to him, he’s selling his name for everything from mail-order meat to scam universities, he managed to lose money running a casino, and he’s absolutely ruled out releasing his tax records. I don’t think we need a Lexis search to find out that he’s got some financial “dæmons”.

    As for his personal dæmons, you’ve heard the man speak, right?

  222. 222.

    rk

    @Rolling Along: @Rolling Along:

    #CrookedHillary–very powerful. He used this kind of stuff very successfully against Jeb, and Crooked Hillary is already repeating his mistakes!

    You think crooked Hillary is powerful? It only sounds powerful to Trump’s ridiculous followers. You are a moron

  223. 223.

    Rolling Along

    @rk:

    I didn’t think “low energy Jeb” would work but it did. Idiot low info swing voters eat this shit up.

    #Twitterization

  224. 224.

    Major Major Major Major

    @Peale: Figures that an out-of-touch older person like you who doesn’t understand what it’s like to try and compete in this age of globalization, crippled with debt from Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters, would support that corporate whore Stark.

  225. 225.

    Keith P.

    And here is a lesson in how you use surrogates to roll in the mud for you. Donald either hasn’t had this lesson or can’t resist rolling around in said mud.

  228. 228.

    Major Major Major Major

    @Peale: Sure, side with that asshole billionaire playboy with all the fancy buildings in New York. You want to register augmented humans just like you want to register Muslims. You disgust me. Can’t you middle-America voters see that globalized, deregulated companies like Stark Industries caused the decline of the rust belt?

    (This is fun!)

  229. 229.

    Morzer

    @Rolling Along:

    I didn’t think “low energy Jeb” would work

    So you are telling us that the predictive value of your derply considered political analysis of Trump is….zero?

  230. 230.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    @sinnedbackwards: I can do it. I think I can. In fact I think I have thus far.

    Won’t keep me from being in the first against the wall crew. But it’s something.

  231. 231.

    Renie

    @JanieM: There’s a service called Nomorobo.com that you sign up for (if your phone service participates) and they block those calls. I signed up and don’t get the calls anymore.

  232. 232.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Rolling Along:

    What will she do when he refuses to debate her, but constantly insults her on Twitter?

    Apologies for feeding the troll, but I’ve given this some thought. All the debates now are sponsored or promoted by one of the networks — FOX, MSNBC, CNN, or one of the traditional broadcast networks. I don’t know which networks are in the mix for airing the POTUS/VPOTUS debates this fall, but if Trump refuses to participate in, say, the CNN debate, I would like to believe that CNN would be principled enough to refuse Trump one minute of subsequent interview time or rally coverage. Treat him like a non-person. Same for any of them.

    Yeah, I know, BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA Gasp Choke Wheeze, like that’s even going to happen. I have very little faith in our Fourth Estate these days. But media coverage is oxygen to Trump, and the networks could leverage their very considerable power by simply cutting off all free coverage of him.

  234. 234.

    sinnedbackwards

    Oh, well.

    Where have many posters gone,
    Long time passing,
    Where have many posters gone,
    Long, long time ago?
    Gone to shilling trolls they’ve gone,
    Ruining threads for everyone,
    When will they ever learn,
    When will they evvveeerrr learn?

  236. 236.

    Morzer

    @NotMax:

    That would be the climax of my life’s endeavor. Baudy University, where there’s always a happy ending!

  239. 239.

    Dog Dawg Damn

    MIchael Moore on Lawrence O’Donnell looks like big bad lady from Goonies.

    Needs a damn haircut.

  241. 241.

    Ruckus

    @eclare:
    That’s too subtle. And any scam call that I’ve answered that would sail well over their head. The words Fuck You have to be in there somewhere, it’s just how you deliver that works the best. Timing is pretty important as well, as in all comedy.
    But my overwhelming way to deal with them is to not answer calls I don’t know. If it is of any importance they will leave a voicemail and I call them back.

  242. 242.

    Morzer

    @Shana:

    It does teach one of life’s essential lessons however: make sure you’ve cleared any and all wives out of the attic before you try to bang the governess.

  243. 243.

    Feathers

    @A Ghost To Most: I had a boss who had immigrated to America in his early 20s. His English was quite good, but he could never quite correctly conjugate profanities. One time the other owner had to grab the phone and hang up because he was screaming “I WILL FUCK YOU, I WILL FUCK YOU” into the phone. We had to explain that it’s just “Fuck you.” And that “I will fuck you” means something entirely different. Laughed so hard the tears burned the corners of my eyes.

    The malapropism of his that I still use is “We are screw.” Actually a very useful phrase.

  247. 247.

    Dog Dawg Damn

    @amk: Trolling is the best way to get a response on this and any blog. Human nature, y’all.

  249. 249.

    NotMax

    @Ruckus

    re: the Microsoft scam calls

    “Does your mother know you’re a liar and a criminal?” works quite well in eliciting the satisfying click of a hang up.

  252. 252.

    Feathers

    @Morzer: I only learned today that there is a 1967 B&W BBC-TV version of Wuthering Heights starring Ian MacShane as Heathcliffe. Holy shit was he hot.

    And Elizabeth Warren should not be VP. Not only because she should remain my senator, but because as VP, she would have to remain in agreement with HRC in all things. She will do much more good as someone who cannot be crossed.

  255. 255.

    Mike J

    @Morzer:

    I wonder how Trump would like to be called Failed University President Trump.

    Who is Trump? Failed University, Common Knowledge.

  257. 257.

    Rolling Along

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    It’s sponsered by the Commission on Presidential Debates. The networks don’t have any involvement. All he has to do is say “the commission is being unfair!” and begin bashing #CrookedHillary on twitter all through October.

    All too easy….

  258. 258.

    Omnes Omnibus

    Have the hamsters started working to rule? The site has gone really slow for me

  259. 259.

    Shana

    @Renie: My late father, in his later hardly working as an architect years, would get calls from people trying to sell him gold and other equally ridiculous schemes, would string them along, walking away from the phone for 10-15 minutes at a time, checking in periodically to make sure they were still there while he had to “take care of something first”. I think he said his personal record was something more than 45 minutes.

  260. 260.

    sinnedbackwards

    @Omnes Omnibus: Well, I kind of like talking about how cool Elizabeth Warren is. Or defending her against attacks.

    And how neat it is that fate has redirected her intelligence and abilities against the hateful morons who wouldn’t let her oversee consumer finance.

    But I always was sort of an earnest dweeb

  263. 263.

    Prescott Cactus

    @NotMax:
    They say it’s your birthday
    We’re gonna have a good time
    I’m glad it’s your birthday
    Happy birthday to you
    (Lennon / McCartney)

  265. 265.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Rolling Along: He is going to ride Twitter to a win? Holy fuck, you are willing to spout anything for money. Dear god, you are being paid, aren’t you?

  266. 266.

    Ruckus

    @NotMax:
    That’s good but my upbringing and all sort of demands that a Fuck You goes in there somewhere.
    I do appreciate that it’s taken me decades to learn the subtle way to slide it into the conversation. I am still capable of learning though. And as I noted there are times when it just isn’t satisfying enough to be subtle.

  267. 267.

    Peale

    @Major Major Major Major: Xavier’s so-called school is supposed to teach folks how to control their powers and if they can’t, well, it’s not my fault that the students can’t repay their debts. They should have focused more on STEM degrees and not those useless courses that only preach mutant victim-hood.

    Look, I’m not a fan of Stark and the way he just sort of imprisoned an adult woman. But who am I to judge that relationship. But the fact remains that there is an airport in Bohemia that is closed for extensive repairs because Captain can’t get along without his special friend. I just refuse to protect that kind of lawlessness.

  272. 272.

    A Ghost To Most

    @sinnedbackwards:
    So, anything substantive to add beyond expressing your concerns for the waistlines of our bridge dwelling denizens?

    Ratfucker has a quota. He is going to meet that quota, regardless. At least we can debase him a bit for his paycheck.

  274. 274.

    Ruckus

    @Omnes Omnibus:
    One would hope there is a better reason than just plain stupidity. But maybe it’s best to not over estimate trolls since it seem obvious that many of them are just that stupid.

  276. 276.

    JCJ

    @NotMax:

    Oh! I got that call last week. They gave me options for how I wanted to receive my grant. I said I wanted it delivered by a unicorn that shits rainbows.

  278. 278.

    Mike J

    Goddamn is Trump a fucking coward:

    Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump appears to have softened his stance on temporarily barring Muslims from travelling to the US.
    Responding to remarks by London Mayor Sadiq Khan, Mr Trump told Fox News Radio the ban was “just a suggestion”.

    http://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2016-36272236

    Mister tough guy can’t even stand up to himself.

  280. 280.

    sinnedbackwards

    @Omnes Omnibus: Well, I do sell a tshirt for San Trumpo Financial University * we’re not really a University * but I think commercial messages here are in poor taste.

  283. 283.

    Mnemosyne

    @Morzer:

    You know Krugman’s gotta be a Hamimaniac.

    ETA: Rap battles over the national debt? He was probably in line at the Public months before it opened, like a “Star Wars” fan.

  284. 284.

    Matt McIrvin

    @A Ghost To Most: I think there are different kinds of trolls. There are the ones who go away if you ignore them, and the ones who will amp it up until they get a reaction, and the ones whose kink is just “I can poop on this discussion and nobody can do anything about it”.

  290. 290.

    rk

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Not mentioning the Q-pac poll today?

    No. I’m trying to keep away from polls. Although the reuters poll scared me as well today. BTW there’s another RK who posts here as well. Just to let you know that I’m different (lowercase rk) in case you’re referring to something he/she wrote.

  291. 291.

    Miss Bianca

    @Feathers: True story. From Chicago. Friend and I are lounging around in bathrobe and slippers before heading out to class. Workmen next door are rattling and banging around. Suddenly comes the cry: “STOP – FUCKING!”

    Freeze. Da fug? What up? Clatter of boards, more screeching: “WHAT IS THIS SHIT YOU ARE FUCKING? STOP FUCKING!!”

    Two or three very angry men. Evidently recent immigrants to our fair shores. Trying their best to be real American construction workers in their use of “colorful metaphors”, as Kirk said to Spock, but not…quite…getting it yet. I have to confess that I laughed immoderately once I figured out what was going on.

  298. 298.

    sinnedbackwards

    @A Ghost To Most: BJ is an informative and stimulating website.

    Maybe those of you who are here most of the time can make a game of baiting the trolls.

    Some of those of us not here 24/7 would like to read through the threads without 40% being trolling and baiting, cause the rest is pretty interesting. Even the personal tidbits. Especially the asides.

    But I am always the optimist. Carry on.

  300. 300.

    TS

    Unbelievable that a candidate for President spends his time with child like tweets to anyone who opposes him. Sen Warren is allowing Sec Clinton to stay above the fray – smart move by both ladies.

  303. 303.

    Steeplejack

    @Peale:

    There’s not a dime’s worth of difference between Captain America and Iron Man! That’s why I’ll be proudly voting for Green Arrow.

  308. 308.

    Mike J

    @sinnedbackwards:

    Some of those of us not here 24/7 would like to read through the threads without 40% being trolling and baiting, cause the rest is pretty interesting.

    Chuck’s troll b gone script mutes the trolls and all the responses. I have a tiny list of people I mute, but it gets a workout.

  312. 312.

    burnspbesq

    @Peale:

    I’m guessing tax structures out the butt

    Which would be ironic, since highly leveraged commercial real estate is a great tax shelter even without additional bells and whistles.

  318. 318.

    Miss Bianca

    @Prescott Cactus: They were outside on a bunch of scaffolding, so I dunno. Maybe that was the problem – someone was trying to put the drywall up outside…

    “Metempsychosis” btw, *not* a cry for help per se…altho’ I may not be the best judge of that

  319. 319.

    Mnemosyne

    I have the most annoying autodialers ever — they’ve been calling for two (2) years asking for THE WRONG NAME. I am at the point where I don’t answer the phone unless I recognize the number.

    They don’t even seem to be trying to sell me anything. I have no idea why they keep calling since I say “wrong number” every time I pick up and they hang up immediately.

  320. 320.

    different-church-lady

    @Dog Dawg Damn:

    I think it’s safe to say at this point that “Trolling Along” et. al is most likely the sock-puppet of a regular hardcore BJ’er.

    Today’s “Mormons will go for Trump” line was a dead giveaway.

  321. 321.

    burnspbesq

    @p.a.:

    I got a call from the IRS in Illinois (I’m in RI) today saying they were taking me to court. Well the first name was right but the last name wasn’t even close. Then the agent/rep just hung up on me.

    Scam. Phone calls that come out of the blue and purport to be from the IRS are almost always scams. Emails that purport to be from the IRS are approximately 102 percent likely to be scams.

  322. 322.

    Prescott Cactus

    @Mike J: Per yesterdays conversation. Hit local Dem group tonight. Likely PC before election via appointment. If not I’ll have to knock on some doors, which I would be doing anyway.

    They had only 12 PC’s and there were 37 Precinct Capt positions. . . Dems, the unorganized party.

  326. 326.

    burnspbesq

    @Rolling Along:

    Glenn Greenwald even said that certain progressives have an unhealthy personality cult surrounding Obama.

    Greenie has an unhealthy personality cult surrounding Greenie.

  327. 327.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Ben Cisco (onboard the Defiant):

    No worries, seems to be happening a lot recently with different celebrities, not sure why. I have pretty much trained myself to double-check the dates before I put up my own RIP messages on FB or BJ.

  328. 328.

    different-church-lady

    @Mnemosyne: Debt collectors. Did you move to your current place two years ago? They’ll call any number that matches the address, even if the name doesn’t match. Took ’em four years to stop asking for the previous tenants of my house.

  329. 329.

    A Ghost To Most

    @sinnedbackwards:
    Different strokes for different folks. RtR/RatfuckerCoward has been a fucking obnoxious nuisance here for months; it’s his job to come here and be an asshole (for the rest of us it is just a hobby). I don’t see a reason to let him earn his ratfuck money unmolested. YMMV.

  330. 330.

    Steeplejack

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    What site version and platform? I have noticed on my Android phone (mobile version of the site) that since the ads came back in last week about one in four or five pages takes an extremely long time to finish loading (up to and beyond 20 minutes!) and I am getting periodic error messages about WebGL.

  331. 331.

    Prescott Cactus

    @Aleta: The Louisiana Baud Towers ?

    @Miss Bianca: I’d have lost. .

    Carpenters used to do all the stick and frame stuff inside. Then all of a sudden drywalling became it’s own “trade” (in Chicago). Anybody can build a scaffold, but on bigger jobs it’s usually the carpenters building and laborers carry the eq to them.

    P.S. I found my battery hand drill.

  334. 334.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Rolling Along: The problem here is you’re focusing on “low energy Jeb” and missing the entire “build a wall and deport millions” which is the actual attraction. “Low energy Jeb” refused to get in the mud, and the mob wants mud.

  335. 335.

    Ruckus

    @efgoldman:
    That’s why I don’t answer calls from numbers I don’t recognize. I don’t have to be rude, I don’t even have to talk to them. I know that some people like to keep them online and screw with them but that’s not my thing. Which is probably why I can end up getting pissed if I do answer and it is an asshole, one I don’t know, I mean.

  337. 337.

    Mike J

    @Prescott Cactus: Are you in King? if you’re a geek you can get the shapefiles for precinct boundries and all king county addressees to load into your favorite GIS program. If you are in King and not a geek, I can help you out.

  338. 338.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Rolling Along: So says a guy who advocates for the political movement that is the Cult of Reagan, who vies with Stalin for the most obnoxious cult of personality of the 20th Century.

  339. 339.

    different-church-lady

    @Mnemosyne: It’s not the number, it’s the residence. They don’t care if the name and the number doesn’t match — they’ll call anyone who has any data connection to the deadbeat at all.

  340. 340.

    Ruckus

    @burnspbesq:
    I’d change that to IRS calls out of the blue are always scams. They send you letters first. They specifically say they will not cold call you. I’d say if you get an unexpected call from someone purporting to be the IRS, take down the number and call the IRS and file a complaint. They take it seriously.

  343. 343.

    NonyNony

    You guys – Trump apparently thinks that Obama won in 2008 and 2012 because of his speeches and rallies, and not because he oversaw the most effective GOTV apparatus the country had ever seen.

    I continue to hold firm in my belief that Trump’s floor is 45% of the popular vote but, damn, he’s making it hard for me to keep my expectations in check…

  345. 345.

    opiejeanne

    Could someone please point me to that link to the fantasy story line with Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu as spies, all the heroes and villains are women, and the only man is Daveed Diggs. There were some steamy scenes between Mirren and Daveed while Liu waited impatiently.
    I have looked for it and can’t even identify the thread it was posted in.

    Or have I remembered something that was posted somewhere else on the intertubes?

  347. 347.

    Morzer

    @NonyNony:

    I suspect that the hatred and greed that have held the GOP together will continue to do so – especially against the widely disliked Clinton. Sure, Trump’s a bloviating, hypocritical, fraudulent, bigoted jackwagon – but that never hurt a conservative yet. So why should that change now?

  348. 348.

    Ruckus

    @Mnemosyne:
    EF said it right, autodialers. You sit at a computer and it dials one number after another. When the number connects the screen shows the name info they have.

  349. 349.

    different-church-lady

    @Mnemosyne: Well, I don’t know the logic, but I still say debt collectors. They must think (erroneously, obviously) you’ve got some kind of connection. Scammers don’t ask for specific people, because they’re just auto-dialing a bunch of numbers and talking to whichever rube picks up the phone first. They probably don’t even know what number they’re talking to.

  350. 350.

    seaboogie

    @Roger Moore:

    I think it works OK for the trolls who are in it for the enjoyment, but it doesn’t work so well for the paid political trolls.

    At this point, who would be paying for a political troll? Donald “Free Media – I’ll phone it in” Drumpf? Doubtful. It’s freelancers living in their mothers’ basements, for my money. I think they get a small, quasi-sexual power thrill from emulating Drumpf’s dumbass late night tweets from his tacky marbled tower.

  352. 352.

    Prescott Cactus

    @NotMax: Eble la paco de via naskiĝtago brilas mallaŭte sur vin la tutan jaron . multe bonvenon

    @Mike J: Not in King. I am a common man. In Arizona. No King County here. Help always appreciated.

  353. 353.

    burnspbesq

    @Ruckus:

    I’ve gotten a couple of calls over the years that seemed to come out of the blue, relating to clients that I hadn’t done any work for for years. Until that happened, I didn’t realize that when you update your contact details in CAF, it updates every power of attorney you’ve ever filed.

  358. 358.

    seaboogie

    @efgoldman:

    Warren is just getting him warmed up Lots more to come.

    I would not get between Elizabeth Warren and a righteous cause – and she seems to be all over the taunting thing, so this should be pretty fun to watch/read.

  366. 366.

    Morzer

    @NotMax:

    But if a hashtag becomes a corporation and so a person…. hmmm…. we might have to fight hashtag disenfranchisement….

  368. 368.

    seaboogie

    @Prescott Cactus: Thanks for checking in. I think it was the freezer reacting to a temperature change. Kitty is nestled (and probably thawing) in a lovingly dug grave and positioned just so – with rock walls at his back and head. I’m sure he approves. Sent his momma pics of him in the garden and one of his face peering over the roof – he is SkyCat now! She loved it.

  369. 369.

    smith

    @rikyrah: You can look up questionable numbers on 800notes.com. They have comments from people who’ve gotten calls from the number, so you usually can tell who was calling and block it if appropriate.

  370. 370.

    jl

    @NonyNony:

    ” Trump apparently thinks that Obama won in 2008 and 2012 because of his speeches and rallies, ”

    With Trump, it’s vicious dingbat all the way down. Hope he keeps it up.

    I heard on the news this morning that Giuliani is one of the ‘best people’ Trump is going to head a study of his ban on Muslim entry to US. Giuliani was reported to have said he thought the ban was unconstitutional. So, I’m a little concerned Trump has enough self awareness to understand some of his hateful and dangerous proposals are losers in the general election, and even enough self-awareness to understand he just can’t bale out on some things without some cover. If that is the case, then we need Trump’s stupid to step up and help doom his campaign. So this is good news.

    Also heard that Trump has reversed course and decided acting all ‘presidential’ and grown-up for the general election campaign is for losers; Trump will continue to be Trump. Sad!
    More good news.

  371. 371.

    amk

    This might warm cole’s cockles. In the mobile version, where the ‘annoying ads’ pop up, I did find an useful android app that lets me have second whatsapp a/c in the same phone. If cole got paid for my click, my dues to bj are done. For evah.

  373. 373.

    sigaba

    Doing my California primary ballot. Any opinions on how I pick party County Committee members? :)

  378. 378.

    seaboogie

    @efgoldman:

    The “MIcrosoft” calls. too.

    I always reply (to them telling me that I have computer issues) “nuh-uhhhhh”, and then I hear a click. Poor them, though – what a shitty job to have.

  379. 379.

    Mike J

    @Prescott Cactus: I don’t have a lot of AZ data, certainly nothing current. I could get stuff from the 2010 census, but probably not much help. I’m lucky here in that our county has shitloads of data online free.

    Congrats on being a precinct captain! Now kick some ass!

  381. 381.

    Prescott Cactus

    @seaboogie: Your welcome. You performed with honor and dignity . Glad you don’t have to look for new place to live.

  383. 383.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @jl: As I commented over at Wonkette when the new “Presidential” Drumpf was breathlessly announced to Villager vermin by a long time GOP conslutant, the tiger cannot change his spots.

  384. 384.

    Mnemosyne

    @seaboogie:

    Oh, he doesn’t know that Daveed is my imaginary future ex-husband. He thinks it’s LMM. Misdirection!

    But since he’s the one who made me listen to the cast album on a long road trip, he knows he only has himself to blame.

    ETA: He got to read my copy of the #Hamiltome once I was done with it, so it’s not all bad.

  389. 389.

    opiejeanne

    @seaboogie: I felt so sorry for you the night your furry charge died. Flashback to losing a favorite cat 11 years ago. Arrangements for yours sound good. We tend to plant a fruit tree over ours to prevent animals from disturbing them. I like that you made him Sky Cat.

  392. 392.

    seaboogie

    @opiejeanne: Thank you, Sweetie! Piero (kitty in question) is buried near to a beloved pooch that was the one true love of my land-lady’s sister. Next to the late pooch is planted a new little dogwood tree. I suggested to my land-lady that she plant a Pieris bush by the kitty – because it is lovely, and we loves us some good botannical puns, here.

  394. 394.

    Ruckus

    @rikyrah:
    I always google them to find out if they are in fact spam/scammers, etc. I find that most of the calls I don’t answer are spam/scammers. The volume is not horrendous but it is bothersome.
    It’s sort of like dealing with trolls, here I put them in the pie filter, on my phone I just don’t answer. I usually only get one or two more calls when that happens and then they stop.

  395. 395.

    sigaba

    @Prescott Cactus: All of the judicial races in LA always have 2-4 people. Two of them are always “criminal gang prosecutor” or “criminal gang murder prosecutor.” I never vote for those guys.

  396. 396.

    Yutsano

    @burnspbesq:

    Emails that purport to be from the IRS are approximately 102 percent likely to be scams

    Your percentage is off. Like way way WAY off. The IRS does not consider e-mail to be a secure form of communication, so unless you have some kind of secret internal contact, the IRS will NEVER e-mail you. If that ever happens they can be forwarded to [email protected].

    It’s almost like dealing with this shit is half of my job or something.

  397. 397.

    Steeplejack

    @Yutsano:

    Uh, Burns was saying exactly what you’re saying—“102 percent likely to be scams” = all scams. Slight exaggeration to make his point.

  401. 401.

    Andy

    When we tell you that we are only voting for Bernie and will not vote for your candidate in the general election, we are not asking for your agreement nor are we looking for an argument. The reason we tell you is because we know how important it is to you that your party wins the general election. We know you fear a Trump presidency the way we fear a Clinton presidency. We are giving you notice before the convention, so you won’t be surprised at our lack of support for Hillary if you were to nominate her. We’re telling you this while you still have the opportunity to support Bernie Sander’s nomination, so your party can win by including us.

    Insult us however you want. It’s not open for discussion. We are not bluffing. We don’t trust her. Her words are meaningless. There is nothing she can say to change our minds. No “buts”. We will vote for Bernie if his name is on the ballot. If it isn’t we will write him in. Those of us who can’t write him in might vote for the Green Party candidate Jill Stein or not at all.

    We can all be united with your party if you nominate Bernie. You’re on your own if you nominate her.

    Sincerely,

    The Independents, Conservatives, Republicans, Greens, Bernie-only Democrats, who have started the political revolution

    FDR and RFK were great voices of the party so is Bernie Sanders.
    Re-posted from FB. The Matrix Choice

  402. 402.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @rikyrah: And when you watch it in order, you can marvel at the way Abrams starts up the alternate universes/parallel time tracks shtick with such promise & proceeds to blow off consistency & plausibility & in the end fucks it up beyond all recognition. I was a yoooge Fringeophile until the last year or so, when it became obvious that Abrams either didn’t know what the fuck he was doing or was deliberately fucking up the concept to flip the bird at his viewers. (I gather that most former aficionados of Lost would vote for the latter.)

    He could’ve called me–I had several possible scenarios nicely worked out. But noooooo…

  404. 404.

    Original Lee

    @JanieM: My best effort was when I pretended to type in everything he said in order to hand control of my computer over to him and then got really pissed off that he had directed me to a b0ndage pr0n site. It’s been six months of uninterrupted bliss since then.

  405. 405.

    JanieM

    @Original Lee: Sad to say, nothing I’ve done has stopped the calls, although they do seem to go in spurts. I keep a landline because I get my internet via DSL (don’t have cable), and I don’t have caller ID on that phone — the calls aren’t so frequent (yet?) that I’m ready to pay extra not to answer them.

    What is really starting to amaze me, though, is that enough people fall for this crap to make it worth anyone’s while to run the call centers. Then I think of when my 90-year-old mother got the call from the fake IRS. She didn’t fall for it in terms of actually doing anything, but she was frightened by the threats, and she got precious little support from her local (small-town, midwestern) police department. If I had known about TIGTA at the time, I would have helped her report it.

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