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You are here: Home / Open Threads / I Don’t Want Realism. I Want Magic!

I Don’t Want Realism. I Want Magic!

by TaMara|  May 15, 20161:10 pm| 170 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

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Stella!

This is my neighbor.  I like her. She is also the one in the neighborhood who rallies everyone for political activism. I’m glad she’s on our side.

Looked like we could use an open thread. And I, as your weekend DJ, am happy to oblige. It’s cold and dreary here (I have the heat on!), so I’ll be hunkered down. How are you spending the rest of your Sunday?

These guys were just in town:

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Previous Post: « Equality and Nothing Less (or More)
Next Post: Is Trump Lying About His Bankroll Size, Too? »

Reader Interactions

170Comments

  1. 1.

    Patricia Kayden

    May 15, 2016 at 1:13 pm

    Stella/Baud or Baud/Stella works for me. Much better than Trump/Nutcase, to say the least.

  2. 2.

    MikeBoyScout

    May 15, 2016 at 1:20 pm

    Stella appears to have that essential political quality of one you’d like to play fetch with.

  3. 3.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    May 15, 2016 at 1:21 pm

    Just reading a lovely story about a rescue German Shepard who saved the life of 7 year old Molly by putting himself between her and a rattlesnake. He was bitten three times and his vet bills are already up to $10K. Friends of the family started a go fund me page with a goal of 28K they have now shut it down as it has reached 53K! Stories like this really make my day.

    https://www.thedodo.com/dog-bitten-by-snake-protect-girl-1796553323.html

  4. 4.

    TaMara (HFG)

    May 15, 2016 at 1:22 pm

    @MikeBoyScout: As an Australian Shepherd, she has more brains than most of the men who ran for the nomination and the herding skills to keep congress in line.

  5. 5.

    WaterGirl

    May 15, 2016 at 1:28 pm

    I love your neighbor for not only thinking of that, but for actually getting the sign made. If you moved, she wouldn’t be your neighbor anymore! :-)

  6. 6.

    WaterGirl

    May 15, 2016 at 1:29 pm

    I just watched the video of the two french comedians dancing with their towels. So fun. And funny. I don’t even know who to thank because sometimes I will open a link in a new tab and then not look at it until later. That was a good one!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHdz7o_vkhY

  7. 7.

    opiejeanne

    May 15, 2016 at 1:35 pm

    My older daughter got to see them at a little club in SF in the 90s, when she was in HS. We had to pick her up before the concert was over, her idea, because she had finals the next day. Her buddies stayed because they all went to De la Salle and were on break.
    I walked into the club a little way to get her and this was what they were playing. We waited until the song was over.

  8. 8.

    Iowa Old Lady

    May 15, 2016 at 1:36 pm

    I’m reading Sansom’s LAMENTATION, good historical fiction about a mystery in the dying days of Henry VIII. Mr IOL has flown away to Knoxville for work, so I will have nachos for dinner, which he can’t eat.

  9. 9.

    dedc79

    May 15, 2016 at 1:36 pm

    Is Stella seeking the republican nomination? I ask because we already have a non-idiot candidate (or two) on the Dem side.

  10. 10.

    Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA

    May 15, 2016 at 1:37 pm

    Just got back from a trip home to New York. Other than coming back to Iggy and Muppet, I’m feeling ambivalent about being back in Georgia — I still feel more at home in Brooklyn despite almost 20 years in the Atlanta area.

    But my husband likes it here and it’s not like we could afford to move back anyway, so never mind.

  11. 11.

    donnah

    May 15, 2016 at 1:37 pm

    Love TMBG. Birdhouse is one of my favorites.

    I’m currently working on a portrait of my oldest son. I make rugs with dyed wool pulled through linen. This measures about 22″ by 26″

    He’s very active in our downtown with his work in the metropark system. And he lives in an historic district. So here he is, night sky behind him.

    http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d27/Rughooker/image_17.jpeg

  12. 12.

    WereBear

    May 15, 2016 at 1:38 pm

    Simmering some chuck steaks as we speak, which always gets Sir Tristan worked up, he is the cat who likes beef.

    Cold dreary day, a good one to spend on the couch with iPad.

  13. 13.

    Miss Bianca

    May 15, 2016 at 1:38 pm

    @WaterGirl: that link came, I believe, from the awesome entity known to us as “NotMax”. ; ) Yes, it was both fun and funny. It’s superbly controlled physical comedy, for one thing, and that’s a rarity these days – the amount of effort and practice and sheer grace – and rehearsal – it takes to make something like that look effortless, unpracticed, and unrehearsed is staggering. Just like it takes a really good dancer to make bad dancing look funny rather than painful.

    As for Stella…my Stella approves. Or would, if she understood the stakes. In Salida there is a “Woody for Mayor” semi-permanent campaign going on. Woody being the Border Collie companion to a local store-owner, and the mayoral races tending towards friction in that town lately.

  14. 14.

    PsiFighter37

    May 15, 2016 at 1:40 pm

    Working out right now, then off to finish my dinner prep for the evening – slow-cooked Kalua pork and Hawaiian fried rice.

  15. 15.

    opiejeanne

    May 15, 2016 at 1:42 pm

    @donnah: That is wonderful!

  16. 16.

    opiejeanne

    May 15, 2016 at 1:44 pm

    @WaterGirl: Thanks for posting that link. I missed it in the threads, and before this I have only seen a tiny snippet of this performance.

  17. 17.

    donnah

    May 15, 2016 at 1:50 pm

    @opiejeanne: Thanks, opiejeannne!

    The constellation in the right side of the sky is Gemini, his birth sign. He likes the rug so far, but is kind of embarrassed about me doing it.

  18. 18.

    MomSense

    May 15, 2016 at 1:51 pm

    Took pup for a long walk in the woods and now laundry. I’m resting between loads. It’s raining just enough that I don’t feel guilty about not being in the garden.

  19. 19.

    Scott S.

    May 15, 2016 at 1:52 pm

    If you love “Birdhouse,” you owe it to yourself to enjoy their amazing performance on The Tonight Show back in the early ’90s.

  20. 20.

    Jeff

    May 15, 2016 at 1:55 pm

    Would you settle for magic realism?

  21. 21.

    Miss Bianca

    May 15, 2016 at 1:58 pm

    @Jeff: I would. I’m working on a “magical realism” fiction piece right now! (for some reason I prefer this term to “fantasy” or “alt history”, altho’ what I’m doing could certainly fall under the heading of either or both).

  22. 22.

    MomSense

    May 15, 2016 at 2:02 pm

    @donnah:

    Beautiful work!

  23. 23.

    Miss Bianca

    May 15, 2016 at 2:05 pm

    @donnah: Wow, that is shockingly cool. I only say “shockingly” because I’m flashing back to my own embarrassingly bad efforts at hooked-rug art! Yours is a whole different animal!

  24. 24.

    Iowa Old Lady

    May 15, 2016 at 2:08 pm

    Tweets today from Jon Ralston:

    Sources tell me that the lovely Bernie folks posted state Dem Chair @rlange9’s cell #, and she has been getting a flood of nasty calls. 1/2

    Convention ended w/security shutting it down, Bernie folks rushed stage, yelling obscenities, throwing chairs. Unity Now! On to Philly 2/2

  25. 25.

    donnah

    May 15, 2016 at 2:15 pm

    @Miss Bianca:

    Thanks! Yes, this isn’t the latch hook rug stuff that was popular back in the day. It’s hand-dyed wool cut into thin strips and pulled up in loops through linen backing. I draw the design, dye the wool, put the linen on a frame and use a small hook to pull the wool up through the linen.

    It’s an amazing art form and one that lets me be as creative as I want to be.

  26. 26.

    Mike J

    May 15, 2016 at 2:15 pm

    @Iowa Old Lady:

    Broken Pen ‏@SPenIsBroken 4h4 hours ago Portland, OR
    @RalstonReports Berniebots get the NV Dems thrown out of a casino with their antics. A CASINO doesn’t have enough security for BernieBros.

  27. 27.

    Eric S.

    May 15, 2016 at 2:17 pm

    This is probably more appropriate a few threads down but this is an open thread. I just got back from the garden supplier with 6 cu. ft. of soil. I’m going to get the garden deck going this afternoon. I’ve got some herbs, and hot and sweet peppers. I’m going to get some tomatoes from the farmers market later this week. I also need to make dinner for GoT guests.

    ETA : I’m pretty sure tonight’s recipe is from TaMara. Linguini with sweet peppers and asparagus on the side. I’m also grilling Italian sausages for the carnivores

  28. 28.

    Robin G.

    May 15, 2016 at 2:19 pm

    It’s the comic sans that really makes that sign.

  29. 29.

    Tom

    May 15, 2016 at 2:22 pm

    @Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA: Karen – yes, but what a great opportunity this year to make Georgia competitive. At a minimum, you’ll make the RNC and the Koch brothers/Adelson spending tons of money that would have done more harm elsewhere, and there’s the outside chance that you’ll actually turn Georgia blue. At a minimum, you’ll be setting up the state for 2020 so that you won’t have 45% Democrats and 25% Democratic representatives for the next decade.

  30. 30.

    Bobby Thomson

    May 15, 2016 at 2:26 pm

    Al Giordano is gearing up to primary Sanders in 2018.

  31. 31.

    Baud

    May 15, 2016 at 2:28 pm

    @Iowa Old Lady:

    Wonkette is pretty funny.

  32. 32.

    Baud

    May 15, 2016 at 2:29 pm

    @Patricia Kayden: I’m not sure I want to be upstaged.

  33. 33.

    Miss Bianca

    May 15, 2016 at 2:29 pm

    @donnah: It sounds like a cross between latch-hook and embroidery!

  34. 34.

    Iowa Old Lady

    May 15, 2016 at 2:32 pm

    @Baud: That was informative and entertaining. I worry about Philadelphia, though. I’m old enough to remember 1968.

  35. 35.

    Baud

    May 15, 2016 at 2:34 pm

    @Iowa Old Lady:

    I agree. I think the troublemakers will be few but loud, and will garner all the media attention.

  36. 36.

    WaterGirl

    May 15, 2016 at 2:40 pm

    @Eric S.: That sounds awesome, but I am not finding it with a search on whats4dinner… Do you have a link or a recipe?

  37. 37.

    JPL

    May 15, 2016 at 2:43 pm

    @donnah: Your work is amazing, and that piece is such a labor of love.

  38. 38.

    Applejinx

    May 15, 2016 at 2:45 pm

    @Iowa Old Lady: I’m real curious what happened there, though neither Facebook or BiP are likely to be much help. It sounds like something was going down, but all I get is extremely hysterical claims and pictures of state troopers lined up in front of a stage. Y’know, if the hysterics aren’t too far off base, that’s a real concern. Not necessarily ‘let Trump win’ scale concern (how could that possibly help?) but ‘shit, our system is mega broken’ grade concern, and a pressing need to overhaul Dem state parties.

    It’s going to be different in different states, and sometimes with things like massive disenfranchisement it’s Republican fuckery doing it. It’d be mighty childish to think with this amount of fuckery about, that things would run smoothly. That’s why it’s useful to get a clear picture of what the hell’s going on out there.

  39. 39.

    rikyrah

    May 15, 2016 at 2:46 pm

    Had to buy a new phone this morning. Not happy in the least about that

  40. 40.

    Iowa Old Lady

    May 15, 2016 at 2:47 pm

    @Applejinx: The Wonkette article that Baud linked to at #30 is pretty balanced and informative, I think.

  41. 41.

    Gin & Tonic

    May 15, 2016 at 2:49 pm

    Speaking of not wanting realism. I’m sure by now everybody who cares to has heard that recording obtained by the Washington Post of Donald Trump calling someone and pretending to be “John Miller.” So now comes the bloodsoaked mercenary scumbag Paul Manafort, appearing on CNN today, to say that he doesn’t think it sounds like Trump at all. Everyone with two neurons knows that’s Trump on the tape, and those who can be sued will all say “it sure sounds like Trump” — because it does. Manafort goes on TV to say it doesn’t. Shows you a lot about his character.

    There are poisonous snakes who stand in awe of this scumbag.

  42. 42.

    Betty Cracker

    May 15, 2016 at 2:55 pm

    I took my sister out to brunch to celebrate her upcoming birthday (she’ll be out of the country on the actual day). The place she picked turned out to be a $40 per plate affair, which none of us had realized. One of our party, my 17-year-old, is a non-drinker, so there was little chance we’d get our money’s worth, but damned if Sis and I didn’t give it the old college try by sucking down numerous mimosas and bloody Marys! Reeling out of a restaurant, half in the bag, into a mid-afternoon Florida hellscape has a way of permanently altering plans. Thank dog we had a driver! Now I’m trying to recover with a giant up of coffee, but I fear the day is a loss…

  43. 43.

    Baud

    May 15, 2016 at 3:00 pm

    @Betty Cracker: That’s one way to teach the kid the value of a dollar.

  44. 44.

    Miss Bianca

    May 15, 2016 at 3:02 pm

    @Betty Cracker: Yeah, but a great, wasted loss. *My* kind of loss. Cheers! : )

    @Applejinx: y’know, from everything I’ve read, the problem appears to lie less with the state Democratic parties and their rules – which may be arcane, and even arbitrary, and certainly vary from state to state, however one may feel about that – than with…oh, I don’t know…a certain breed of new Democrat? Or, rather, a new breed of “I am so not a Democrat wait what do you MEAAAN that means I don’t get to represent at a Democratic convention that’s so MEAN you’re all neoliberals!”?

  45. 45.

    Davebo

    May 15, 2016 at 3:03 pm

    @Gin & Tonic:

    It’s such a non story especially for a candidate with much better low hanging fruit.

  46. 46.

    I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet

    May 15, 2016 at 3:06 pm

    @donnah: That’s really excellent. Thanks for sharing. :-)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  47. 47.

    Applejinx

    May 15, 2016 at 3:08 pm

    @Baud: Hm, yeah, sounds like that’s the story. Fair enough then.

    Touching that people think Bernie can CONTROL these people. The sad part is that he can’t: though, if they cross some sort of line (obviously not that one) he can always throw up his hands and resign, flaming ’em as no better than Trumpsters.

    It’s the same with every single candidate on either side of the aisle. We see the Id of the electorate in a percentage of the supporters. Cameras loooove baby-tantrums, and so does Facebook, Twitter, and viral media in general. I count some of the antics of wealthy Clinton supporters buying media platforms in this category: it’s the megarich liberal (or Zionist, sometimes) version of these public tantrums, perpetuating modes of discourse that aren’t helpful.

    I can easily believe it’s hysteria over fuckups on the part of Bernie delegates who didn’t know how to politics. The unfortunate part is that them flipping out and going viral is ALSO how to politics. It’s just… how shall I put it?

    Putting pressure on Hillary Clinton, in the way that Bernie was doing early in the campaign when everybody was ‘friends’ and managing the overall Democratic message (‘I’m sick and tired of hearing about your emails’) is useful. Even a degree of aggression to warn Hillary away from politically toxic positions (fracking and extractive industries are, I think, toxic things to support) can be legit. But it’s like a Laffer curve: there’s an optimum level of conflict for directing politicians and getting the maximum results.

    Crank the aggression up too far, go painting her as some ridiculous tyrant who has always sought to ruin the planet, suck money from the worst monsters of history and march on a road of bones, and there’s nothing for Hillary to FOLLOW in that. It’s just bullshit. I have been the first to say that she’s a weathervane, or if you prefer, ‘attentive and observant populist politician’: that’s the foundation of my own political calculus suggesting she might actually be a fantastic President. If she correctly identifies how badly current politics is working for people (even wealthy people) then she can do something else more readily than sincerer politicians who’re stuck believing in old ways (I count Bernie there: many things he believes are right on, but I’m not confident he can handle the transition to a post-capital-bubble society)

    So I’m not pleased to see fellow Bernfeelers getting so enraged that they’ll not listen to what the guy says. I’ve been following him from the start. He’s ALWAYS wanted people to get involved with the process as it is and has always meant to direct Hillary and align with her in the end, against the Republicans (little did we know!). But now if he says it, it’s like he’s either declaring war against his own people, or possibly controlled by Aldebaran brain-weasels in the employ of Evil Fortress Clinton.

    Not a good look, and these are touchy times. I hope we can all ride this shit out without too many people going insane. Media (viral or otherwise) only wants to show you the insanest ones: bear that in mind. :)

  48. 48.

    Suzanne

    May 15, 2016 at 3:09 pm

    @Scott S.: That was EPIC! I have always loved that song, but the brass made it even better. What a blast. Thx for sharing.

    @donnah: That is awesome, truly. Wow.

    I was awoken by my husband’s snoring before seven, and I should clean my house and study, but I want to nap and read instead.

    Spawn the Elder also has been tending to have anxiety problems on Sundays, kind of in advance of going to school on Mondays. But she’s been showing some real improvement over the past two weeks, and we’ve seen more frequent stretches of her happy, funny self. So good news. We’re also having her tested for ADHD this week, which may explain her troubles with focus. She is still anxious and she is still twelve, but we may be on the upswing here. That would be great.

  49. 49.

    Applejinx

    May 15, 2016 at 3:12 pm

    @Miss Bianca: I quite agree. Bernie’s organizers in NH always kept telling us to trust the process, and there’s a reason they had to keep saying that. State politics can be messy and arcane for good reason: it’s ways of keeping out the rabble and grassroots organizers.

    Now that the grassroots organizers on both sides rival the establishment systems for influence, it’s very messy. Imagine what it would look like on the Republican side for a second if somebody else was winning against Trump: they’re trying the ‘screw the establishment, the lunatics now run the asylum’ approach. We are most certainly not, and that’s why we’re seeing all the big sparks and stray blow-ups.

  50. 50.

    ThresherK

    May 15, 2016 at 3:14 pm

    @Suzanne: and I should clean my house and study, but I want to nap and read instead.

    I slept amazingly late today, given my sleep yesterday and how I didn’t have any alcohol (unusual on a Saturday, but I cooked some cranberries down with sugar for something great today; maybe with tequila).

    Here is a cartoon for everyone on a weekend.

  51. 51.

    Gin & Tonic

    May 15, 2016 at 3:23 pm

    @Davebo: The story is minor. It’s the Goebbels-like lying about it that’s concerning. As are Manafort’s loyalties.

  52. 52.

    Russ

    May 15, 2016 at 3:26 pm

    The press need to start asking Trump when he mentions something he’s going to do, like export all illegals, if it is a suggestion or something he’s actually going to do.

  53. 53.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    May 15, 2016 at 3:27 pm

    I’ve got a Lancashire Hot Pot in the oven for dinner. Needs to cook for about three hours, can’t wait until its ready.

  54. 54.

    J R in WV

    May 15, 2016 at 3:38 pm

    @donnah:

    My late Uncle loved yarn art. His peak was having a custom yarn house dye a set of yarns to match Picasso’s “Woman and a Mirror” with the appropriate backing cloth – life size. It took him quite a while, but came out great. My cousin has it in a prominent spot now.

  55. 55.

    FlipYrWhig

    May 15, 2016 at 3:38 pm

    @Applejinx: You know, the more Team Bernie acts like a bunch of crazy people, the less anyone is going to feel like kissing their crazy butts. People don’t say, hey, those Black Bloc characters sure raise some valid points, let’s make sure they’re in the fold. They say, “why the fuck does smashing store windows help anything?” and “I’m staying the hell away from any event where they might show up.”

  56. 56.

    Miss Bianca

    May 15, 2016 at 3:42 pm

    @Applejinx: y’know, even when we appear to be agreeing I feel like we’re disagreeing somewhat. I would tend to disagree, for example, that the purpose of party rules is “keeping out the rabble and grassroots organizers”. I think that’s kind of a grotesque distortion of the process of party politics. As others here have pointed out before, political parties are a kind of club – the cool (or uncool, depending on your perspective) thing about them is that you can join the club and start influencing its policies any time you like – *if* you are prepared to show up, do the work, and persuade others of your point of view. That includes rabblerousers and grassroots organizers. Look at the Republican party – they have been taken over, to a certain extent, by both – to the detriment of that party, because their “rabble and grassroots organizers” pander to the lowest common denominator of the base.

    Now, if the folks you are characterizing in that way start showing up at Democratic Party functions and demanding to be given a seat at the table, fine. Are they prepared to do the work of bending the party to their will? Also fine. Oh, but they’re not? They are ignorant and scornful of the process, and openly contemptuous of liberal Democratic candidates who happen to disagree with them? They are, in fact, egged on, I am sorry to have to say, by their chosen candidate, who has, contrary to his apologists’ protestations, both aided and abetted this “burn shit down” mentality by characterizing the DEMOCRATIC PARTY ITSELF as a corrupt institution – all while he is seeking its nomination for President? (Which strikes me as disingenuous at best and disgustingly, even dangerously, hypocritical at worst).

    Sorry. Senator Sanders may not be able to “control” his most ardent fans’ behavior. But he has set the tone for it in a way I can’t approve. I’m all for a new wave of activists getting involved with the Democratic Party. I’m not up for a bunch of “rabble and grassroots organizers” who apparently can’t be bothered with little piddling concerns like “civility” and “process” trying to turn the Democratic Party into the “Green Tea Party”.

  57. 57.

    Omnes Omnibus

    May 15, 2016 at 3:48 pm

    @Miss Bianca: This.

  58. 58.

    ? Martin

    May 15, 2016 at 3:49 pm

    @Gin & Tonic: Trump admitted it was him years ago, so now he’s just lying about it.

    I’m beginning to wonder if we’ll have any debates at all. Debates open up huge risks when these kinds of things are out there because even a semi-competent interviewer will do most of the work for the opponent as Romney discovered being fact-checked on live TV. And why would Hillary sign onto a debate moderated by a bunch of Trump boot-lickers.

  59. 59.

    D58826

    May 15, 2016 at 3:49 pm

    @Patricia Kayden: Saw a blurb where Ben Carson said that ‘Nutcase’ my be Christie, Cruz, Kaisch, or drum roll please that golden oldie from our part – the Wonder of Wasilla Sarah Palin. I would actually like to see a Trump/Palin ticket after all if the GOP is going to dig themselves into a hole this November, then lets hope they make it a very very BIG one.

  60. 60.

    Suzanne

    May 15, 2016 at 3:50 pm

    @Miss Bianca: Word. To every word you just said.

  61. 61.

    chopper

    May 15, 2016 at 3:51 pm

    @ThresherK:

    I got up at six, but that’s cause the family had a charity run in the morning for type 1 diabetes. the wife did the full 8K but I was stuck with the kiddos so I did the shorter fun run. during which my 3-year old decided he needed to be carried the whole fucking time, so it was about the same as an 8K. he’s heavy as shit.

  62. 62.

    Mike J

    May 15, 2016 at 3:56 pm

    @chopper: The bridge run thingee?

  63. 63.

    burnspbesq

    May 15, 2016 at 3:59 pm

    @Applejinx:

    it’s useful to get a clear picture of what the hell’s going on out there.

    Sanders loses contests he might arguably have won, because his organization is pathetic, and then his whiny-ass supporters go bonkers. Not to mention suddenly going all brownshirt at Clinton campaign events, like the one in East LA last week. Making many enemies, your side is.

  64. 64.

    ThresherK

    May 15, 2016 at 4:00 pm

    @chopper: You earned a rest. Me, not so much.

  65. 65.

    Applejinx

    May 15, 2016 at 4:02 pm

    @Miss Bianca: The trouble is when you’ve had a contentious party convention for what, sixteen hours, and then the other side counterattacks with the same lack of ‘civility and process’. It makes things really difficult. Here’s the most coherent description I could find of what happened at the end.

    Several motions were put on the floor near the end of the Nevada convention, including a motion for a recount of the delegates. This motion was seconded and would have gone up for a vote, but everything was stopped short by Roberta Lange, the Nevada State Democratic Chair. It happens in the video above, right around the 4:00 mark.

    Rachel Avery, who was at the Convention, told Heavy that before there was a chance for the motions to be voted on, Lange came on stage and voted herself into power to overrule the motions. “She made a motion, someone on her staff seconded it, called a vote final without hearing any nays,” Avery said.

    Jason Llanes, who was also livestreaming the Convention all day, confirmed this on his video.

    “She (Lange) put in a new motion of her own, had someone second it, called for yays and nays and passed it before the nays even spoke,” he reported.

    The Convention is not reconvening tomorrow, it was announced. Instead, protestors will have to pursue legal avenues.

    I get that it’s frustrating but this has to be addressed. This is potentially explosive, and things were quite bad enough before.

  66. 66.

    Mnemosyne

    May 15, 2016 at 4:02 pm

    I’m having a quick lunch before my last knitting class of the weekend. Cabling without a cable needle, yo!

  67. 67.

    germy

    May 15, 2016 at 4:05 pm

    GOP presumptive nominee Donald Trump referred to Sen. Elizabeth Warren (d-ma) as “Pocahontas” in an interview with New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd, she wrote in a piece published Saturday.

    Trump told Dowd that he had not been asked by House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) in his meeting with him last week to tone down his rhetoric directed at women.

    Dowd also asked him if he had been criticized by Republicans for his Twitter feud with Warren.

    “You mean Pocahontas?” Trump shot back.

    (from crooksandliars.com)

  68. 68.

    Gimlet

    May 15, 2016 at 4:06 pm

    Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said Sunday Donald Trump “is going to have to answer for” his behavior around women — but said Trump’s presidential campaign isn’t being judged based on his personal life.

    Unless… it’s a Bimbo eruption.

  69. 69.

    Ruckus

    May 15, 2016 at 4:07 pm

    @Miss Bianca:
    Spot on. Every word.

  70. 70.

    gratuitous

    May 15, 2016 at 4:07 pm

    I would just like to mention that the embedded song from They Might Be Giants was released more than 25 years ago.

    You’re welcome, and don’t use that kind of language.

  71. 71.

    D58826

    May 15, 2016 at 4:07 pm

    @Applejinx: Apparently there was a good bit of pissing ands moaning, esp on the Bernie side at the Nevada convention yesterday. Seems that some of Bernie’s supporters were purged from the process because they hadn’t read/adhered to the long standing rules before hand.

    And isn’t KOS Bernie friendly?
    http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/5/15/1526693/-Why-the-chair-had-to-end-the-convention-and-can-people-pls-calm-down-already

    http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/5/15/1526729/-Calling-a-popular-California-Senator-a-b-tch-right-before-their-primary-won-t-help-your-candidate

    http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/05/15/1526597/-On-the-accusation-that-64-Sanders-delegates-were-purged-from-the-Nevada-Convention

  72. 72.

    Ruckus

    May 15, 2016 at 4:09 pm

    @gratuitous:
    What fucking kind of language is that?

  73. 73.

    D58826

    May 15, 2016 at 4:12 pm

    @Applejinx: Seems there was another video that presented a different prospective .
    http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/05/15/1526657/-About-That-Misleading-Nevada-Video-Pushed-By-The-Sanders-Campaign

    Can we just declare Obama president for life and go back to talking about Steve and peoples gardens :-)

  74. 74.

    Miss Bianca

    May 15, 2016 at 4:15 pm

    @Applejinx: H’mmm….I wonder why the NV convention was contentious “for 16 hours”. I wonder…I wonder why…couldn’t possibly have anything to do with the behavior of a certain candidate’s delegates and would-be delegates, could it? Nah, it’s got to be the *process itself* that’s at fault. Well that and that, when faced with obstruction and ratfuckery, the party chair just isn’t willing to be *more* civil and gracious to a bunch of obstructivist assholes. Whew! I’m glad we got *that* straightened out!

  75. 75.

    Applejinx

    May 15, 2016 at 4:15 pm

    @Miss Bianca: Given that the commentariat is super into your post… and kudos to you, it’s well said… I’m going to ask something directly.

    They are ignorant and scornful of the process

    Rachel Avery, who was at the Convention, told Heavy that before there was a chance for the motions to be voted on, Lange came on stage and voted herself into power to overrule the motions. “She made a motion, someone on her staff seconded it, called a vote final without hearing any nays,” Avery said.

    Jason Llanes, who was also livestreaming the Convention all day, confirmed this on his video.

    “She (Lange) put in a new motion of her own, had someone second it, called for yays and nays and passed it before the nays even spoke,” he reported.

    What do you propose to do about that? I get that after 16 hours of fighting, people are all touchy and fed up. (by pizza, apparently: something about the Sanders people using livestreaming etc. to get food delivered, no arrangements for that being made)

    I get that people get frustrated.

    But you cannot go full ‘whiny sanders supporters don’t know process’ and then get exasperated and throw away the process… even after 16 hours of frustration. (I think it was 16 hours? A long time, at least).

    So is this lies, or does it need to be addressed? What I saw on video suggests that people accurately reported what happened, and it was neither Clinton nor Sanders people but the Democratic organization itself that got fed up with process and threw it away in a fit of pique.

    Do not tell me about ‘whiny sanders people not knowing process’ when they were keeping close track of the status of motions on the floor, as well they might. I’ve had to deal with Robert’s Rules of Order in actual contentious meetings myself and I see a serious problem there in Nevada, invalidating the results and needing further investigation.

    added- from the Kos stuff (yes, Bernie-friendly) it looks like the actual VOTES were legit, and the problem is that they ended the convention with a motion for a recount still on the floor.

  76. 76.

    germy

    May 15, 2016 at 4:18 pm

    @gratuitous:

    I would just like to mention that the embedded song from They Might Be Giants was released more than 25 years ago.

    Seems like only yesterday.

    Here’s their brief version of a 19th century classic:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFaRklAYanY

  77. 77.

    Gimlet

    May 15, 2016 at 4:23 pm

    @Applejinx:

    It was the Party establishment’s “Sister Souljah” moment to show Bernie’s supporters just how much they care.

  78. 78.

    germy

    May 15, 2016 at 4:25 pm

    I need some advice.

    We don’t have cable TV. We watch broadcast with “rabbit ear” antennas. I’d like to buy an omnidirectional antenna for the following reason:

    I had the rabbit ears adjusted just so and was able to get every station perfectly EXCEPT for NBC. So last week my wife, who is addicted to NBC’s Grimm, moved the antenna all over the place for her show. (previously I’d avoided this by having her watch it at the station’s website, but whoever NBC hired to design their site is suffering from a severe case of incompetence. The show freezes and repeats the same scene over and over after one commercial, or freezes up during commercial).

    Now I’ve spent ten minutes moving the rabbit ears in a million positions, and goddammit I’m sick of it. Of course I’ll never again find that old sweet spot that picked up all those channels except for NBC. Are omnidirectionals really better? And can I let one sit on the table with the TV? I’d rather not mount anything on my wall.

    Well, at least NBC is coming in nicely…

  79. 79.

    WaterGirl

    May 15, 2016 at 4:25 pm

    @Applejinx: I’d like to ask just how the clusterfuck at the convention is actually going to impact the outcome, because I believe it will not. The math says that Bernie cannot win the nomination, so even if it happened just as you said, it’s all over but the shouting. I thought that was just an old saying, but apparently not!

    I tell you what, once Barack Obama got enough delegates that Clinton couldn’t win in 2008, there would have been rioting in the streets if Hillary Clinton had tried to overturn things with superdelegates. Bernie is gaining nothing at this point – he is losing influence by the second. Can you tell me what the point is?

    edit: Definitely not trying to pick a fight. This is a sincere question.

  80. 80.

    gogol's wife

    May 15, 2016 at 4:26 pm

    @Gin & Tonic:

    I saw Putin just closed down another media entity.

    Trump and Manafort scare the s–t out of me.

  81. 81.

    Applejinx

    May 15, 2016 at 4:26 pm

    @Miss Bianca: It also looks like hotel security was behind the Dem chair forcing the thing to end.

    So… on the one hand Robert’s Rules is less important than what the hotel security wants, but then when you go along with the requirement to shut the thing down, the way to do it is to pretend to do it via Robert’s Rules and claim there was a motion to close? And then hastily pass that without taking a (doomed and obviously destined to fail) real vote?

    Procedure exists BECAUSE of situations like this. That’s really poorly handled. Better they should have just said ‘fuck Robert’s Rules’ and just left, without attempting to make it look like it was procedural. It wasn’t.

  82. 82.

    Elizabelle

    May 15, 2016 at 4:32 pm

    Hello all.

    Stella Baud for President.

    In Copenhagen. Saw The Economist’s cover a few days ago. “Trump’s Triumph, America’s Tragedy.” Yup.

    ETA: Didn’t read the story, but “tragedy” is not what one would apply to the GOP going down in flames. I hope and pray Americans will not elect Donald Trump, or any other Republican, this year.

  83. 83.

    D58826

    May 15, 2016 at 4:32 pm

    @Applejinx: In one of several articles on the NV convention it was stated that the final motion was left hanging because security was concerned that the meeting was getting out of hand and recommended that it be shutdown immediately. That may account for the abrupt ending. And I have no idea which side or maybe both that security was concerned about.

    I’m still in the camp that say’s Bernie will do the right thing in the end. He isn’t stupid. He knows that full support of Clinton in the general will give him IOU’s to cash in when she is forming her cabinet, as well as at theconvention . He also knows that if the democrats take the Senate he can pick his committee chairmanship. Even if they lose in the senate; he can pick the committee that he wants to be the rankling member on. He and the other old curmudgeon (assuming he is re-elected) McCain will be permanent fixtures on the Sunday morning talk show. He has way more to gain by being a team player than being an arsonist at the convention.
    At the moment I also think that a good bit of this is being caused by people with only a marginal commitment to the process and are just those ‘rotten apples’ that every one points to.

  84. 84.

    Miss Bianca

    May 15, 2016 at 4:34 pm

    @Applejinx: Since FYWP would not allow me to edit my comment, all I can say, per D58826’s citation at comment 73 among other sources, is that it would appear that there are, to put it mildly, different perspectives on whether or not the party chair *was* in fact acting improperly. And while it might be correct that in addition to a bunch of rabble and grassroots organizers the Sanders campaign also seems to have acquired a bunch of what the Navy used to call “sea lawyers”, it doesn’t change my point. I don’t think it’s the process that needs to be addressed right now – I think it’s the fact that a lot of people are throwing a lot of tantrums and showing themselves, their candidate, and the Democratic Party itself in a very bad light, and I think that not only for the good of the Democratic Party, but for the *good of the country*, Senator Sanders ought to be getting on the horn with his organization and saying that this kind of shit on the part of his supporters must end now.

  85. 85.

    schrodinger's cat

    May 15, 2016 at 4:35 pm

    @germy: Have you checked out Leaf. the flat antenna for HD-TV? We get Fox, ABC and 4 PBS channels with that.

  86. 86.

    the Conster, la Citoyenne

    May 15, 2016 at 4:35 pm

    @Gimlet:

    Yes, a bunch of angry over-entitled white guys throwing chairs, threatening the female chair and tweeting her personal info, and yelling obscenities at Barbara Boxer is just like Bill Clinton’s non-threatening verbal chide from a distance of a black woman’s words.

    You bros really need to get a grip on your privileged bullshit, since Sanders seems incapable or unwilling to do it, because he either condones it, is clueless, or is incapable of exerting any leadership.

  87. 87.

    Applejinx

    May 15, 2016 at 4:36 pm

    @WaterGirl: No, I quite agree, and most of the time I consider that a good thing.

    The point is not that Bernie’s people could OR SHOULD suddenly flip the convention through procedural bullshit (I don’t like the sound of that ‘let all the Clinton people go home, and then we’ll demand a revote!’ nonsense. What the fuck is that? That’s not what I was helping Bernie for.)

    The point is having some shred of process, be it ever so sketchy and localized, to give legitimacy. On the one hand, renegade Berniacs (like whatever idiot dreamed up that revote scheme) neither trust nor respect the process and fuck it all up: I’ll absolutely grant that and it angers me. Then when you follow it up with idiot party hacks breaking the suspension of disbelief by stampeding through foolish fake-procedural stuff just to clear the damn building, that only confirms the suspicion that the process is a joke.

    And the LAST THING we need is for the winning side to be the one that’s fucking with the process. I’m VERY disappointed and this is someone who, hearing about the ‘revote after the Clinton people leave’ scheme, is inclined to go ‘fuck them, fuck him, we’re keeping him here in Vermont but when you start thinking up shit like that you are DONE and over’.

    I get that it was a huge struggle, but why did Roberta Lange have to fuck it up at the last minute? It won’t change the outcome but procedure is important. Again: better she should just have had the whole thing interrupted by cops, with nothing resolved. Procedure exists for just such situations as these.

    I saw a guy brandish a chair (against armed state troopers?). Other Bernie people talked him down. I also saw a lady in a wheelchair tracking the state of motions etc. Can we concede that we had some real Bro ‘bros’ in there, and that it’s a problem? We also had Clinton people wanting Bernie delegates arrested. Things get touchy. They were very evenly matched, and it got ugly, not only on one side.

  88. 88.

    schrodinger's cat

    May 15, 2016 at 4:37 pm

    @germy: Have you checked out Leaf, the flat antenna for HD-TV? We get Fox, ABC and 4 PBS channels with that.

  89. 89.

    Renie

    May 15, 2016 at 4:39 pm

    A neighbor by me has a sign up that has red white and blue stripes with a flag and says “Everybody Stinks 2016”.

    Gotta laugh everytime I see it.

  90. 90.

    debbie

    May 15, 2016 at 4:39 pm

    @Elizabelle:

    So jealous of where you are and not being in the midst of all this.

  91. 91.

    D58826

    May 15, 2016 at 4:41 pm

    @Miss Bianca: If this process has shown anything it is that the worlds oldest and allegedly greatest democracy can’t handle the simple mechanics of picking a nominee for the highest office in the land. Whither it was the ‘purged’ voters and/or the inability to switch registration in New York, the lines in Arizona or what happened yesterday in Nevada, if Bernie wants to burn something down he can start with the entire primary system. This time around it ‘may’ be helping the status que Hillary and the next time it may help the ‘outsider’ like an Obama or Sanders. Either way it doesn’t inspire confidence and instead of arguing over policy issues it degenerates into who stole my pizza.

  92. 92.

    Mike J

    May 15, 2016 at 4:41 pm

    The right wing corporate $hills are upset:

    Tom Hayden ‏@TomEHayden Apr 16
    Bernie fire your “hit list” operatives before further damage is done.

  93. 93.

    Gimlet

    May 15, 2016 at 4:42 pm

    @the Conster, la Citoyenne:

    Your political analysis and summary continue to need a little work. Bernie’s supporters came to participate and felt shut out.

  94. 94.

    D58826

    May 15, 2016 at 4:43 pm

    @Renie: I’m still holding out for the candidate who promises more Fridays and fewer Mondays. Baud how about it – you would win all 50 states and Guam.

  95. 95.

    the Conster, la Citoyenne

    May 15, 2016 at 4:43 pm

    @Gimlet:

    Brooks Brothers riots was over-entitled white men tantruming until they interrupted the process and got their way, and Bush selected. It is the same, and we’ll never recover from that level of privileged bullshit.

  96. 96.

    debbie

    May 15, 2016 at 4:43 pm

    @Gimlet:

    Let me guess: the questioner didn’t question that response.

  97. 97.

    Gimlet

    May 15, 2016 at 4:47 pm

    @the Conster, la Citoyenne: It didn’t fit. Refresh and reread it.

  98. 98.

    Gimlet

    May 15, 2016 at 4:48 pm

    @debbie:

    It’s the old double standard.

  99. 99.

    the Conster, la Citoyenne

    May 15, 2016 at 4:52 pm

    @Mike J:

    Maybe old socialist Tom could volunteer to take old Bernie out for a long walk on a short pier.

  100. 100.

    Miss Bianca

    May 15, 2016 at 4:53 pm

    @Gimlet: are you saying that “coming to participate and feeling shut out” *entitles* Sanders supporters to throw chairs, threaten Party officials, and hurl sexist epithets at female elected officials? Or are you denying that these things happened?

  101. 101.

    Elizabelle

    May 15, 2016 at 4:53 pm

    @debbie: Wish I could take you guys with me. Truly.

    Not sorry to be missing the 2016 reality show race. On the cruise ship, we either got CNN out of London, with the occasional actual news, but not that much of it. Or, from CNN US, breathless reporting on the Republican primary/apparent nominee, and not much else. Plus a sickening amount of Nancy Grace Mysteries rehash.

    In Copenhagen at a very cool hostel — Generator, which seems to be the “W” of hostels. (For stylish places, not incompetent world leaders.) Is hopping in the background. I am sipping wine and checking in on you all. Miss you, but not the permanent campaign.

  102. 102.

    Applejinx

    May 15, 2016 at 4:54 pm

    @Miss Bianca: I read about the genius who literally went ‘I changed my registration to independent because I was all pissed off, but I should get to vote’.

    *head in hands, sobbing* WHY do we have to have these fucking people? Dammit.

    No. You LOSE. Good DAY, sir!

    And sadly (well, for me, and to a point but only a point) that is also why we Bernie campaigners lose. It ain’t because of the platform, and you know perfectly well it’s not because Bernie is telling people to do these terrible, stupid, stupid things.

    It’s because we’ve attracted enough IDIOTS to screw it all up, and American Idiots are exceptional at screwing things up. We managed to lose by a small margin and nothing much changed, and Bernie will still lose the nomination, but at this point it’d be a horrible thing if he won and THESE assholes thought it was thanks to their ‘help’.

    To the guy who changed his registration to Independent but insists he should still count—
    To the guy who was brandishing the chair in the video that I saw—way to go, Conan, that’ll never be shown on every TV network ever—
    To anybody who DID throw a chair, if anybody did (people will tend to call the previous guy ‘throwing’ even when he wasn’t)—
    And especially to the guy who thought up the ‘let the Clinton people go home, then procedurally force a revote with just us!’—

    Fuck you all, so hard. I’m not like you and if you represent what the campaign has become, I’m well out of it.

    fuckers. get off ‘my side’.

  103. 103.

    Gimlet

    May 15, 2016 at 4:54 pm

    @Miss Bianca:

    What should they have done?

  104. 104.

    germy shoemangler

    May 15, 2016 at 4:58 pm

    @schrodinger’s cat: Thanks, I’ve bookmarked it. It looks better than the annoying rabbit ears.

  105. 105.

    Tilda Swinton's Bald Cap

    May 15, 2016 at 4:59 pm

    @Gimlet: That’s a clown question bro.

  106. 106.

    WaterGirl

    May 15, 2016 at 4:59 pm

    @Applejinx: Twas ever thus.

    Seriously. I was in Iowa helping the Obama campaign for 10 days before the caucus in the first few days of 2008. Each precinct was assigned the same two people for the entire 10 days. Trudging through the cold and snow on the same streets, all day every day for 10 days, we kind of got to know the people who lived in that district.

    I was lucky enough to get to work the caucus in “my” district. I think there was a coin toss to determine which candidate’s person got to run the caucus, and Clinton’s won. There seemed to be shenanigans, even related to the coin toss, so many felt that wasn’t even legitimate!

    There was so much elbow-throwing by the Clinton person, trying to tip the scales through procedure – I was appalled. Had we not been there as part of the Obama campaign to stand our ground, who knows what the outcome would have been?

    It was even worse in Colorado – I was there for 17 days before the caucus in Colorado in Feb 2008. Amazingly, because of my experience in Iowa, I was the most experienced person in the entire huge school where many precincts were caucusing! People didn’t know the process, had a million questions, and little ole me made a huge impact just because I knew the rules. I wasn’t even supposed to be in Denver – I had worked the whole time in Boulder, but there was a big storm coming and it was decided that I could work the caucus that night in Denver since that’s where I was staying.

    More experienced people the campaign talked about how smoothly everything had gone, and I wondered: this was smooth???!!?

    Shorter WaterGirl: primaries and particularly caucuses are a very messy process, and there’s nothing to be gained by fussing about the process. Especially when you have (essentially) already lost the nomination. It just makes the candidate and their representatives look petty and small.

  107. 107.

    WaterGirl

    May 15, 2016 at 5:02 pm

    @germy: I respect the restraint you showed in not throttling your beloved wife.

  108. 108.

    Gimlet

    May 15, 2016 at 5:02 pm

    @Tilda Swinton’s Bald Cap:

    Go for it.

    Two crucial procedural motions – votes rammed through that if handled properly might have failed. Tell me the right response.

  109. 109.

    debbie

    May 15, 2016 at 5:03 pm

    @germy shoemangler:

    If you get it, I’d be curious how it works for you. Whatever piece of crap I have, it loses reception whenever there’s a windy day or my #%*$ neighbor rearranges his electronics.

  110. 110.

    A Ghost To Most

    May 15, 2016 at 5:03 pm

    @Applejinx:
    “You fucked up. You trusted us them”

    Welcome.

  111. 111.

    Applejinx

    May 15, 2016 at 5:04 pm

    @Gimlet: Documented, and not tried to fuck up the procedure.

    Honestly, I don’t care about epithets and though I recognize the dangers of some Bro brandishing a chair at armed police officers, I don’t see that as a real danger. The story about the Bernie delegate(s) wanting to see the Clinton people leave and then procedurally push for a revote after they’re gone INFURIATES me. I don’t know who it was, and maybe I’m hearing it wrong but it’s characteristic of a certain batch of berniacs and totally plausible, and if I’d believed things would get to that state I wouldn’t have been working for Bernie in the first place.

    Not that he did it (I bet Jane might, but she’s his wife and can be expected to be pretty fierce)

    They should have walked through the process, documenting with their cellphones as everybody does, lost by a narrow margin because they did lose by a narrow margin, and gone the fuck home in such a way that prevented the Hillary people from running the same scam on them, that they were prepared to run on the Hillary people. That’s what they should have done.

    If there are no rules or laws or procedures (HELLO House republicans not nominating a new SCJ) then we might as well put Hillary up against Donald Trump in a cage match. I’d watch that. And I’d bet on Hillary, too.

  112. 112.

    Tilda Swinton's Bald Cap

    May 15, 2016 at 5:04 pm

    @Gimlet: How about not rioting you stupid motherfucker.

  113. 113.

    burnspbesq

    May 15, 2016 at 5:08 pm

    @Gimlet:

    What should they have done?

    Stayed home. Nothing could possibly have happened in Las Vegas yesterday that would change the outcome. All they managed to do was make it harder for the party to unify behind the nominee, for the good of the country.

  114. 114.

    Gimlet

    May 15, 2016 at 5:08 pm

    @Tilda Swinton’s Bald Cap:

    I don’t think there were flames, serious bodily injury or anyone left with a TV, but it sounds as though despite video there are conflicting views on what happened.

  115. 115.

    The Thin Black Duke

    May 15, 2016 at 5:10 pm

    I love the smell of white male privilege in the morning.

  116. 116.

    the Conster, la Citoyenne

    May 15, 2016 at 5:12 pm

    @The Thin Black Duke:

    Sanders and his Berniebros have all lost the plot.

  117. 117.

    burnspbesq

    May 15, 2016 at 5:12 pm

    @The Thin Black Duke:

    I love the smell of white male privilege in the morning

    It’s been afternoon for a while. And correlation is not causation.

  118. 118.

    Applejinx

    May 15, 2016 at 5:13 pm

    @WaterGirl:

    There was so much elbow-throwing by the Clinton person, trying to tip the scales through procedure – I was appalled. Had we not been there as part of the Obama campaign to stand our ground, who knows what the outcome would have been?

    But I want ’em in DC, ramming through health care, banning fracking, pushing for green energy, maybe even getting some beginning to a Basic Income so we can have something that looks like capitalism post-jobs and people won’t freak out.

    I WANT elbow-throwing procedurally but you have to get the details right and there has to be a basic respect for the legitimacy of the process. Damn right it’s always messy and ugly, that’s why Robert’s Rules exist.

    @A Ghost To Most: I didn’t fuck up trusting Bernie, and the platform was always the point and stands. Hell, Hillary’s internalizing it real well, largely because it’s obviously the next political wave. What I should have seen was the damage that would be caused by the ‘petulant child’ fringe. I regret nothing, but if this continues I am deeply UNSORRY that Bernie will not win. Too many of ‘my side’ refuse to care about the process when it doesn’t give them toys and treats, and I’d just like to separate that from the essentially worthy platform Bernie came into the race with. Their shenanigans have nothing to do with Bernie’s intentions.

  119. 119.

    Miss Bianca

    May 15, 2016 at 5:14 pm

    @Gimlet: Are you fucking serious? Or just fucking with me? “What should they have done”? You mean, other than act like a bunch of racist, sexist, entitled pigs? Gee, I dunno…it’s not like there might be any *other* way for them to act, after all.

  120. 120.

    Gimlet

    May 15, 2016 at 5:15 pm

    @burnspbesq:

    Hillary could have given them what they wanted and not have been damaged one whit. How did this other approach work for Hillary and the Party unity?

  121. 121.

    The Thin Black Duke

    May 15, 2016 at 5:16 pm

    @burnspbesq: Sorry, but I’ve seen this movie before and it seems pretty black and white to me.

  122. 122.

    Omnes Omnibus

    May 15, 2016 at 5:16 pm

    @Applejinx:

    Hell, Hillary’s internalizing it real well, largely because it’s obviously the next political wave.

    How has her platform changed due to Sanders presence in the race?

  123. 123.

    lgerard

    May 15, 2016 at 5:16 pm

    @germy:

    The reason your stream freezes at commercials is likely due to an adblocker enabled. Disable it when you want to watch streams with commercials.

    I have a Terk indoor antenna, which works fine

  124. 124.

    Gimlet

    May 15, 2016 at 5:17 pm

    @Miss Bianca:

    I don’t think they huddled and said “OK we are all agreed on what to do”. I think they just reacted thoughtlessly. I wasn’t defending their actions, just wondered what you would have done.

  125. 125.

    D58826

    May 15, 2016 at 5:18 pm

    @Applejinx: I think the fractured version is ‘keep your enemies close and your friends closer”

  126. 126.

    WaterGirl

    May 15, 2016 at 5:19 pm

    @Tilda Swinton’s Bald Cap: You sure do some name calling for someone who has just come to this blog in the past month.

  127. 127.

    The Thin Black Duke

    May 15, 2016 at 5:22 pm

    @Miss Bianca: During this contentious campaign, Bernie and his supporters have gotten away with bullshit that Obama and Clinton couldn’t have. I wonder why that is, huh?

  128. 128.

    Applejinx

    May 15, 2016 at 5:23 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: Ya know, I’ve talked about this before, and it makes my heart glad to see it (if I have enough sense to spot it for what it is).

    The way to tell if Hillary Clinton is going to take something and keep it, is if she (and her people) make believe it is hers, always was, she never ever ever thought or did any different and anybody suggesting otherwise is lies and wingnut madness.

    I give, you win. Bernie copied Hillary’s platform from the start, and has been playing catch-up, racist NRA posterchild that he is. Clearly he doesn’t know a thing about progressive Left politics, and how fortunate we are that Hillary’s been there for him to model himself after.

    (god, balloon juice snarking can be fun :D )

    God forbid anyone should suggest Hillary Clinton can read the mood of the electorate better than anyone else currently running, right now… which was a bit of a problem in the 90s when everyone went full wingnut, but now it’s a bit more promising and hopeful to contemplate…

  129. 129.

    Tilda Swinton's Bald Cap

    May 15, 2016 at 5:24 pm

    @WaterGirl: What, are you the blog police? If the owner doesn’t like it he’s free to hit me with the ban hammer, and you can just ignore me.

  130. 130.

    D58826

    May 15, 2016 at 5:26 pm

    @Miss Bianca:

    Senator Sanders ought to be getting on the horn with his organization and saying that this kind of shit on the part of his supporters must end now.

    I agree he should. However more importantly is starting to pivot his campaign toward the GOP and trying to pull the good Bernie Bros behind some of the tight senate races. Anything Bernie says to the bad Bros is a lost cause. They just want their 15 minutes on TV.

  131. 131.

    Omnes Omnibus

    May 15, 2016 at 5:27 pm

    @Applejinx: That’s not an answer. Did her platform change? No. Did the conversation change? Yes.

  132. 132.

    Miss Bianca

    May 15, 2016 at 5:28 pm

    @Gimlet: Not thrown chairs or epithets or tantrums. But then, I’ve never been in such a state of complete denial about my chosen candidate’s chances of success – or such a sense of privilege that I felt my candidate needed to prevail “by any means necessary” – that I’ve felt tempted to cause that sort of scene.

  133. 133.

    Gimlet

    May 15, 2016 at 5:29 pm

    @D58826:

    pivot his campaign toward the GOP and trying to pull the good Bernie Bros behind some of the tight senate races

    I’m not sure they want to be associated with him if it’s a tight race.

  134. 134.

    D58826

    May 15, 2016 at 5:30 pm

    @Applejinx:

    The way to tell if Hillary Clinton is going to take something and keep it, is if she (and her people) make believe it is hers, always was, she never ever ever thought or did any different and anybody suggesting otherwise is lies and wingnut madness.

    Heck if it moves the cause forward and gives the D’s the WH and maybe the senate, she can claim that she helped Charlton Heston part the Red Sea.

  135. 135.

    A Ghost To Most

    May 15, 2016 at 5:30 pm

    @Applejinx:
    Well, obviously you missed the reference. But however you make the journey, walk on.

    One thing I was taught a long time ago: if you can’t write your idea on the back of a business card, you don’t have a clear idea. It causes too much explaining, and not enough listening

  136. 136.

    Miss Bianca

    May 15, 2016 at 5:30 pm

    @The Thin Black Duke: I wonder…I wonder…

  137. 137.

    Germy Shoemangler

    May 15, 2016 at 5:30 pm

    @WaterGirl: I didn’t throttle, but i snarled over my shoulder (while struggling with the rabbit ears) “What is this, fucking 1965??”

    The cat looked up suddenly at me, then jumped off the chair and exited the room.

    @debbie: I just don’t want to have to mount anything on my wall. If it comes with a stand and it can sit peacefully next to the TV without having to be fondled every five minutes like the stupid rabbit ears, I’m good.

  138. 138.

    Gimlet

    May 15, 2016 at 5:31 pm

    @Miss Bianca:

    I don’t think it was my candidate needed to prevail, it was frustration at what they perceived as procedural chicanery.

  139. 139.

    D58826

    May 15, 2016 at 5:32 pm

    @Gimlet: Maybe and maybe not. Would depend on the state but only a fool would turn away young enthusiastic phone bank workers and street canvassers. They don’t have to wear a I’m for Bernie sign.

  140. 140.

    Applejinx

    May 15, 2016 at 5:35 pm

    @A Ghost To Most: Nah, I got the reference but it doesn’t apply.

    In no way was Bernie attempting to con anybody: he’s just not the right one to implement what he wants.

    And the bro-iest Bros are also not trying to con or fool anybody: they’re just CRAZY and my hope is that, like the wingnut knights of the Hoverround, they’re primarily noisemakers and chair-shakers with no fucking idea how to do anything. And then I hope they stop trying to ‘help’ causes I care about.

  141. 141.

    Miss Bianca

    May 15, 2016 at 5:37 pm

    @D58826:

    However more importantly is starting to pivot his campaign toward the GOP and trying to pull the good Bernie Bros behind some of the tight senate races. Anything Bernie says to the bad Bros is a lost cause. They just want their 15 minutes on TV.

    if he’s not going to do the one – censure his bad actors – and tell them that all the rage he’s been carefully stoking against the Democratic “machine” is, in fact, misguided – then he sure as shit stinks isn’t going to do the other – that is, focus in a helpful way on the real enemies of the state. Because in my opinion, he doesn’t seem to be able to tell the difference any more. My opinion, I stress, YMMV.

  142. 142.

    ThresherK

    May 15, 2016 at 5:38 pm

    @germy: There are a few reccos over at Lifehacker; can’t say I’ve tried any of them but between the posts and the comments there is usually a good deep dive into various models.

  143. 143.

    SiubhanDuinne

    May 15, 2016 at 5:39 pm

    @D58826:

    rankling member

    !

  144. 144.

    Miss Bianca

    May 15, 2016 at 5:39 pm

    @Gimlet: Right. Which a), wasn’t true, and b), totally justified violence. Oookkay, then.

  145. 145.

    Germy Shoemangler

    May 15, 2016 at 5:40 pm

    @ThresherK: thanks I’ll check it out.

  146. 146.

    D58826

    May 15, 2016 at 5:41 pm

    @Miss Bianca: I trying to give him the benefit of the doubt, because as I said up thread he can be a real player on the national stage. If he is as smart as they say he his and not give in to being as bullheaded as they say he is. It really is his choice. Hillary will be the nominee and probably the next POTUS either way.

  147. 147.

    scav

    May 15, 2016 at 5:42 pm

    OT follow-up. Apparently the thing at Old Trafford was something that had been left behind was a “training device which had accidentally been left by a private company following a training exercise involving explosive search dogs.” Oh dear. Whoops.

    On the other hand, why are the search dogs explosive?

  148. 148.

    D58826

    May 15, 2016 at 5:43 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne: hmmm Freudian slip any one? It was meant to be ranking member but…………..

  149. 149.

    Eric S.

    May 15, 2016 at 5:47 pm

    @WaterGirl: Sorry I disappeared there. I was cleaning out the flower pots from last year and planting the new stuff. The Chicago deck garden is started.

    Asparagus, Peppers and Berries, Oh, My. I see a new thread has just gone up so I might copy this upstairs.

  150. 150.

    Gin & Tonic

    May 15, 2016 at 5:47 pm

    @scav:

    why are the search dogs explosive?

    Have you eaten the food at those stadiums?

  151. 151.

    D58826

    May 15, 2016 at 5:49 pm

    Wendell Pierce, the actor from The Wire, was arrested on Saturday morning at a hotel in Atlanta. While police have not released details, they did say in a statement “The incident did not rise to anything significant, so no special notification was made…it was treated like any other arrest a patrol officer conducts. Mr. Pierce made no indication he was famous nor did the officer inquire.” Pierce was booked on a battery charge. According to TMZ, Pierce was arrested for attacking a Bernie Sanders supporter.

    Do we really want to be the party of Trump mini-me’s

    http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2016/05/15/actor-wendell-pierce-arrested.html

  152. 152.

    burnspbesq

    May 15, 2016 at 5:55 pm

    @Gin & Tonic:

    Have you eaten the food at those stadiums?

    I’ve been to Old Trafford, and there is nothing on sale there that deserves to be called “food.”

  153. 153.

    scav

    May 15, 2016 at 5:59 pm

    @Gin & Tonic: Ahh. Local knowledge. Still, careless of their handlers, not bringing a safe packed lunch for their charges or possibly not letting the dogs have their allowance until they’re out of the danger zone.

  154. 154.

    I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet

    May 15, 2016 at 6:02 pm

    @germy: In addition to the recommendations you’ve received, have a gander at this for a good explanation of how antennas work. As you might imagine, just having a quoted high gain isn’t necessarily going to help you.

    Omnidirectional antennas are a compromise (as you’d expect). That doesn’t mean that it won’t work for you.

    Good luck.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  155. 155.

    Glidwrith

    May 15, 2016 at 6:05 pm

    @Gimlet:

    Hillary could have given them what they wanted

    What exactly was Hillary supposed to give them, since she wasn’t there? Since there was a procedure in place, it would be a violation of that process to simply to give out delegates, yes? Last, given how those folks behaved when they didn’t get what they thought they deserved, why the hell should the brats be given anything at all?

  156. 156.

    WaterGirl

    May 15, 2016 at 6:17 pm

    @Eric S.: I must have missed that recipe when TaMara posted it, it sounds awesome! Thank you.

  157. 157.

    J R in WV

    May 15, 2016 at 6:23 pm

    @germy shoemangler:

    Google the article at Crutchfield’s about on-air antennas. Very informative and helpful. We bought one a while ago for up on the hill, I forget the name/model.

    Here’s the link I looked up:

    http://www.bestbuy.com/site/antennas-direct-multidirectional-outdoor-hdtv-antenna-black-silver/7511001.p?id=1219276502654&skuId=7511001

    It works well for us. Not cheap, but no cable needed, so cheap at twice the price, right?

  158. 158.

    PurpleGirl

    May 15, 2016 at 6:27 pm

    @ThresherK:

    a cartoon for everyone on a weekend.

    Oh yes, how true. How many times have I done that myself. I’m still in my nightgown and do need to go food shopping soon but I don’t feel like moving.

  159. 159.

    Mom Says I'm Handsome

    May 15, 2016 at 6:38 pm

    TaMara, if by “here” you mean Denver, TMBG’s April show was canceled due to that awesome blizzard we had. They’re rescheduled for July 20, and tix are still available!

  160. 160.

    J R in WV

    May 15, 2016 at 6:41 pm

    @Applejinx:

    …House republicans not nominating a new SCJ…

    You reveal stunning lack of knowledge usually picked up in High School civics level class. The House has nothing to do with Supreme Court / judicial nominations at all. Nothing.

    The President (that Obama guy) nominates judicial folks, judges and justices. Then the Senate “advises and consents” to the presidential nominations. This last bit is what the McConnell troops are failing to move forward with.

    I’m betting many Senator Sanders supporters have just that amount of knowledge about much of the political process, which is part of the problem. Others obviously don’t care about the rules at all, any way.

  161. 161.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    May 15, 2016 at 6:44 pm

    @Miss Bianca: Exactly. This needs to be repeated and repeated. And then repeated the next day.

  162. 162.

    D58826

    May 15, 2016 at 6:48 pm

    @J R in WV: All it revels to me is that he was a star pupil at the thunderthumbs school of keypunching and just keyed it in wrong.

  163. 163.

    A Ghost To Most

    May 15, 2016 at 8:01 pm

    : @Applejinx:
    Yeah, because there’s no way that the stuff St Bernie put out there, and drew so many in with, were anything but an absolutely pure effort to overthrow the system. No grift there, ‘cough’Tad Devine’cough’, no sir.

    Naked populism, with no real doable plan behind it, is ugly, no matter which party it is.

  164. 164.

    Applejinx

    May 15, 2016 at 8:27 pm

    @D58826: No, he’s right, I got it wrong. You knew what I meant, but it’s a fair cop.

    I defer to some posters or change my mind for a reason. And I do it as often as I can bear it, once I’ve become aware of my error. I completely understand why some people would rather watch the world burn, though. There’s a class of people who only care about ‘I win! you suck!’ and a lot of them post here, on various ‘sides’.

    Not pleasant, but JR caught me being wrong about a thing on the internet.

  165. 165.

    chopper

    May 15, 2016 at 9:20 pm

    @Mike J:

    Yeh. was fun. good weather for a run.

  166. 166.

    chopper

    May 15, 2016 at 9:39 pm

    @ThresherK:

    yeah, then I did garden work at the J. dude I am so wiped right now.

  167. 167.

    Johnny Coelacanth

    May 15, 2016 at 11:27 pm

    @Applejinx: AJ, you’re a mensch.

  168. 168.

    Orchid Moon

    May 15, 2016 at 11:51 pm

    @Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA: I know exactly how you feel. Lived in Atlanta for 36 years, and it never felt like home. Don’t you just love the beastly, hot, steamy GA summer? We have been in Longmont for 4 weeks, and it feels like home already. (Don’t leave TaMara!)

  169. 169.

    Ben Cisco

    May 16, 2016 at 8:06 am

    @Baud: Wow, they’re up to a TBOGG unit – times 6.5!

  170. 170.

    Just One More Canuck

    May 16, 2016 at 10:33 am

    @Mnemosyne: that’s pretty badass

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