.
Nominated for poltical headline of the week: Gawker, “Clown Recognize Clown”
Nominated for best Trump photo pick of the week: TPM, “Trump Camp Accidentally Emails Politico Its Plan To Hit Clinton On Whitewater”
Nominated for Snark of the Week (even in a week full of eminent contenders): Eric Levitz at NYMag:
We all know Martin Shkreli has his flaws. The former hedge-fund manager turned pharmaceutical CEO — turned exemplar of capitalism’s worst pathologies — tried to make malaria treatment into a luxury good. And he bought that Wu-Tang album. And his last name is easy to misspell.
But this is America, a land of second chances. And on Thursday night, Shkreli took a first step on the path to redemption. Recognizing that his own unpopularity is the most powerful weapon he possesses, everyone’s least favorite hedge-fund hipster delivered a devastating blow to Donald Trump’s candidacy…
Nominated for most predictable news story of the week: NYTimes, “Donald Trump’s Campaign Stumbles as It Tries to Go Big” —
BISMARCK, N.D. — A constant stream of changes and scuffles are unsettling Donald J. Trump’s campaign team, including the abrupt dismissal this week of his national political director.
A sense of paranoia is growing among his campaign staff members, including some who have told associates they believe that their Trump Tower offices in New York may be bugged, according to three people briefed on the conversations.
And there is confusion among his donors, who want to give money to a “super PAC” supporting Mr. Trump, but have received conflicting signals from top aides about which one to support.
On Thursday, Mr. Trump secured the Republican Party’s nomination for president, a remarkable achievement for a political newcomer. But inside his campaign, the limits of his managerial style — reliant on his gut and built around his unpredictable personality — are vividly on display, according to interviews with nearly a dozen Republicans inside and outside of the operation…
… [O]fficials in battleground states have complained for weeks that the Republican committee has not delivered the promised resources for field organizations. Mr. Trump has also been dismissive of data analytics, suggesting in interviews that his showmanship and rallies will continue to be effective. He has suggested that he will compete in new states, despite the scant resources he has devoted to the traditional Republican map so far. And he has been adamant to aides that he intends to try to compete in New York, which no Republican has captured since Ronald Reagan, and has held discussions about hiring an additional pollster for the state.
Despite his and his aides’ talk of unification, Mr. Trump himself has so far proved unable and unwilling to rally the entire party around his candidacy. On Tuesday, he deliberately attacked Gov. Susana Martinez of New Mexico — a Hispanic rising star and head of the Republican Governors Association — in her home state, saying she was “not doing the job.” And he hit Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican nominee, calling him a “choker” and mocking his gait, saying he walked “like a penguin.”…
***********
Apart from cheap laffs & tasty schadenfreude, what’s on the agenda for the day/weekend?
magurakurin
I want to let it go in regard to the Sanders campaign, but they just keep doubling down on the stupid. I keep hoping that June 7 will mean something…but…
“there’s no place like home, there’s no place like home”
“Birch Street, Higgins Drive, Cobalt Lane….Birch Street, Higgins Drive…”
Baud
Maybe the way to go after Trump isn’t to go tit for tat with the insults. Maybe it’s to play a secret psyops game that we won’t know the full extent of for years.
Amir Khalid
This is the strong candidate who commenter NR insists will trounce Hillary in November.
Baud
This is interesting.
NotMax
Take that, right wing evangelicals and lava-Tories.
From the “And you thought your commute was harrowing” department:
Baud
@NotMax: Both ways.
BillinGlendaleCA
@NotMax: That’s nothing compared to a LA commute.
Princess
If Hillary wants to go that route, and I am not sure she does or should, the right epithet for Trump is obviously “Phony.” It covers everything — the steaks are phony, the billions are phony, the gilt in the bathrooms is phony, the university is phony, the policy positions are phony, the wife’s boobs are phony, and of course the hair is phony. Phony Donald. Poor guy.
BillinGlendaleCA
Wouldn’t a campaign telling you what super-PAC to donate to be coordination? Isn’t that like illegal?
Micheline
@Baud: Thank you for the link.
OzarkHillbilly
@NotMax: Down in the state of San Luis Potosi there is a 400′ waterfall that you can stand at the very edge of, anywhere along it’s entire width, without any kind of protection whatsoever. (if you fall, it’s your own dumbass fault) called La Cascada de Tamul Anyway, to the side of it, there is just such a ladder, constructed of pieces of wood in various states of damp rot from the ever present mist of the falls, held together by various and sundry pieces rope, twine, and rusty wire. With every step, one is waiting for the ‘rung’ to break under one’s weight. It is actually well maintained and pretty safe. At least as long as you don’t let go.
Used to be a really nice lonely place to go to out in the middle of the tropical mountain forest, but from what I here it is now a major tourist destination and a real zoo. That’s the way it is with all the really cool stuff. Somebody’s got to make money off it.
OzarkHillbilly
@Princess: I like that.
Schlemazel Khan
@Baud:
I wonder if this knowledge makes any difference in the minds of those who deny the systematic nature of plantation rape? There is a rather large population of rape deniers in the ACW community of interest, all Southern apologists obviously. Could proof like this finally force them to admit the problem was wide-spread?
But I think the bigger win is the ability to recognize the impact of the differences with regards to disease and medical treatments. That could be a huge boon to everyone, and African-Americans particularly.
Nicole
After my terror that Bernie’s temper tantrums will give the White House to Trump, I find the article about Trump’s staffing issues reassuring. It’s a reminder that elections are won on the ground as Clinton learned when Obama out-ground gamed her. One of the things I like about Clinton is she learns from her mistakes. Trump, on the other hand, doesn’t think he ever makes any.
JPL
Trump just can’t help himself. Yesterday he chose to attack the judge who will be hearing the Trump University case.
link
Amir Khalid
@BillinGlendaleCA:
I suppose that’s the law, but the story implies that there’s some surreptitious coordination between campaigns and superPACs. (Which wouldn’t surprise me, or you, one bit.) And one or the other takes donors aside for a quiet word about such rhings.
OzarkHillbilly
@Nicole:
When the reality is that he just never pays for them, he just finds a sucker to offload the costs on.
Amir Khalid
@Princess:
I think that’s Elizabeth Warren’s role.
Frankensteinbeck
@Amir Khalid:
From what I’ve seen, it’s normal, not secret, and not considered ‘coordination’ to have a preferred PAC. Obama did and Hillary does. This sounds like epic levels of planning Fail to me, not admission of corruption.
satby
Good morning and happy Saturday everyone! Looking at the threads from last night, I guess I’m glad I fell asleep early.
Last day of school for the girls, very emotional for them and their friends. Gifts given, tears shed. It’s especially gratifying because one of the two was slower to warm up to the new situation and I worried a bit about her in the beginning. In spite of the cliffhanger financial situation around here, they had a great exchange year. Now we have next week to do a few fun last things before they leave. Skybox in Willis tower being one of them. Edited: yesterday was the last day of school.
OzarkHillbilly
@JPL: I’d like to see a judge enforce a gag order on Trump.
Thoughtful David
I seriously think that one of the best ways to get under Trump’s skin–and being under his skin is a good thing, because it makes him say and do stupid shit–is to go after his alleged business acumen. I’d go after his claim that he’ll “hire the best people.” Point out that he’s already got problems with his hires like Hope Hicks, who emailed his strategy to Politico, and that he’s had to fire a couple of campaign managers already. Obviously didn’t hire the best people in those cases.
I think this is a good line of attack because it goes at one of his supposed selling points. And I’m bet ting her really thin-skinned about it. He’ll start frothing and raging and say things that probably won’t look good.
satby
@magurakurin: Jessica Jones, nice.
Origuy
@OzarkHillbilly: I’d like to see a
judge enforce agagorderon Trump.FIFY
The Thin Black Duke
@OzarkHillbilly: Thing is, every successful conman recognizes that if the sucker wants it bad enough, 90% of the hustle is the sucker doing it to themselves. For example, Trump hustling Bernie with his bogus offer to debate. You can’t lose if you don’t play.
rikyrah
Good Morning ?, Everyone ?
Off to swim?and run errands.
debbie
@satby:
It’s really great they’ve had such a positive experience, all due to you.
Punchy
@satby: Sears Tower. To any Chicagoan, it’s still Sears. Dont being that weak Willis sauce.
OzarkHillbilly
@Origuy: Heh.
@The Thin Black Duke: For certain. I forget which deal it was, but he loaded up one of his properties/companies with unsustainable debt, took it public, raked in a few hundred million $’s in investor/sucker’s funds, sold his personal shares, continued to rake in a few million a year in “advisor fees”, until finally the whole thing collapsed under it’s own weight.
I rather suspect that pretty well mirrors what he wants to do for the country.
burnspbesq
Hmmm … Chait goes all apostate n’shit … the nerve on this guy, suggesting that Michelle Rhee might not be the Devil Incarnate, after all.
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/05/teachers-still-havent-forgiven-michelle-rhee.html
Mr. Mack
@OzarkHillbilly: I remember reading a story about the time a bank went to foreclose on Donalds’ yacht. He said go ahead and take it, all you’ll have is a used yacht. Leave it alone, and it’s worth ten times as much as Donald Trumps’ yacht. They left it alone.
Wag
We are packing up the car and heading to Grear Sand Dunes National Park for fun and camping for the next couple of nights. Looking forward to seeing one of our national treasures before it gets sold off to Jeep and converted into a 4X4 test facility.
satby
@Punchy: To me it’s actually Serious Tower thanks to a family joke about how my youngest misunderstood the name when he was 5. But I figured the non-Chicagoans wouldn’t know what I was referring to.
bemused
I was reading about the Wisconsin court case on voter suppression going on this month. An ex-legislative staffer Allbaugh testified about a 2011 meeting in which Republican legislators were giddy, “politically frothing at the mouth”, that proposed voter id laws would reduce votes of minorities, students and other Democratic voting groups. Dim bulb Rep Glenn Grothman said they had to do it, that Democrats definitely would if they had the power.
Really? No doubt many Republicans actually believe Democrats would stoop to the same crooked, cheating, lying, anything goes levels to win, get their way. I tried to imagine Democrats somehow managing to suppress Republican votes in predominately white districts as successfully. I just can’t picture Dems being able to reduce the number of polling places in Republican leaning areas until the lines to vote are hours long or any of the other Republican voter suppression tactics working to Democrats advantage. Even if Democrats were able to suppress the white, conservative vote through similar underhanded means, I don’t believe they would do it. The other thought was that Dems would never get away with it because media would be right on it and not ignore or pretend a political party wasn’t deliberately preventing eligible voters from voting.
Debbie(aussie)
Am visiting my daughter in Townsville. Her fiancé is away at the moment (army-Melbourne). She told me that he and a mate are would-be Trump supporters. OMFG. She told me she has thought about separating over this. Poor princess. I knew he was/is a bit conservative but Trump???
satby
@debbie: Thanks.
@Debbie(aussie): yeah, I’d separate from him too.
Origuy
If you need to laugh, go to YouTube and search for Katheryn Ryan. She’s an adorable Canadian who lives in London and is a fixture on all the British panel shows. Very funny.
Punchy
@efgoldman: Id love to see the judge instead move the case up to October…
OzarkHillbilly
@Punchy: Heh. I did not know ownership had changed. All these years I’ve been calling it the Sears tower just like a real Chicagoan.
planetjanet
Just finished my day with an authentic chinese massage, sizzling sirloin and french champagne. Tomorrow morning is off to the airport and back to real life.
Wag
@efgoldman:
Maybe we’ll get the chance to impeach President Trump before he gets sworn into office. Of course that may be a mixed blessing. I’m not sure having President Palin (or whichever other reality TV monkey Trump chooses) would be any better
Sloane Ranger
Thought people might be interested in this from Jersey (the original one, not the New one).
I have copied and pasted from CIPD website as I can’t work out the link thing!
Landmark transgender case a ‘warning’ to every organisation
Grace Lewis 27 May 2016
Experts say lack of employee awareness is an inadequate excuse when it comes to discrimination
A transgender woman has won a case of both direct and indirect discrimination against Condor Ferries after a staff member advised her to “use the disabled loos”.
As part of the ruling, Condor Ferries – which sails between the Channel Islands and Poole, Portsmouth and France – has been told to remove the words ‘ladies’ and ‘gents’ from its toilets, and update its equality and diversity policy and employee assistance programme, to bring them in line with the Islands’ gender discrimination laws, which were introduced in 2015.
Taxi driver Erin Bisson, from Jersey, first lodged a complaint in November last year, after calling the company to ask which toilets she should use. Bisson said the Condor employee’s advice to use the disabled toilets amounted to direct discrimination, while the use of words rather than symbols on toilets amounted to indirect discrimination.
The Jersey tribunal agreed that both counts of indirect and direct discrimination were “well founded” and Condor Ferries admitted to a “non-intentional and non-malicious act of discrimination”.
The company has since worked with the claimant to draw up a list of measures “to remove the possibility of inadvertent discrimination”, and said it had implemented an all-staff diversity training programme for the first time in March.
Caroline Dutot, employment and discrimination law specialist at Jersey firm Ardent Chambers, said this “first of its kind” case was a warning to all businesses, “especially those providing goods and services to members of the public, to review their policies and practices around transgender persons”.
“This case shows that something as simple as the way in which a person is addressed or the manner in which they are directed to use washroom facilities can result in findings against a business of indirect discrimination.
“The tribunal will not consider a lack of employee awareness an acceptable explanation for any discriminatory conduct.”
As a Crown dependency, Jersey maintains autonomy from the UK, and the case – heard in Jersey’s courts – was the first of its kind under the Discrimination (Jersey) Law.
However, Claire Williams, director of inclusion and diversity at Inclusive Employers, said there were lessons to be learned across the whole of the UK, and that the case from the Channel Islands represents “another step towards best employment practice and true inclusion for trans colleagues”.
“Employers should certainly be checking their signage and moving towards symbols rather than words,” she advised. “This is the easy bit though. The most important thing is to develop a culture where all staff feel confident to respond appropriately to simple questions, such as the one posed to Condor by Erin.”
Williams said the recently published Government Equalities Office guidance on recruiting and retaining transgender staff was a good place for HR and employers to find practical tips.
She added: “Please do not assume that because you don’t have any trans staff this doesn’t impact on you – you may have trans colleagues that haven’t come out and, if you want to secure the very best talent, you must be seen as a ‘trans friendly’ employer. Simple steps contribute to demonstrating an inclusive culture.”
OzarkHillbilly
@Debbie(aussie): Irreconcilable differences.
MomSense
@satby:
Well done you! The girls were very fortunate to have such a thoughtful person introduce them to life in the US.
@rikyrah:
Good morning!☀️ I’m off to play with ??? needing serious rescuing from weeds.
gogol's wife
@Princess:
I don’t think she should go that way. I’m shocked by that statement he made yesterday where he keeps calling her “Crooked Hillary Clinton.” In my lifetime we have not had this kind of discourse, even from Caribou Barbie. I don’t think it will play well with the general population.
And if it does, we’re sunk anyway.
Troublesome Carp fka Geeno
@Debbie(aussie): Did you get to see the Power Puff Girls?
MattF
@Princess: I gotta say… Dissing Trump’s wife’s boobs would be effective, but I just don’t see HRC (or any of her surrogates) doing that. Tsk.
NotMax
@satby
What’chu talkin’ about, Willis?
rikyrah
The New York TimesVerified account
@nytimes
Clues to slavery’s cruelties can be seen in a study of African-American genetic variation
smith
@gogol’s wife: I agree that Hillary shouldn’t go the insulting nicknames route, as one of her main selling points is that she is a grownup. However, there are lots of ways to say ‘phony’ without name calling, and both she and Warren have made some jabs along the lines of him being phony as a businessman. I think both ‘phony’ and ‘weak’ are good ways to tag him, but using adult language.
D58826
totally OT but then maybe not. How the GOP run s the government.
The short version:
1. DOD wants to upgrade an intelligence facility in Europe
2. DOD decided the best/cheapest alternative was in the UK
3. GOP Critter REP. Nunes wants it built in the Azores.
4. The reasons are unclear but he has family connections there
5. DOD says the Azores are more expensive to build and maintain
6. Nunes Accuses Pentagon of ‘Criminal’ Leaks
7. A plan that was supposed to have been put to bed long ago has spawned two reports by the Government Accountability Office and now an investigation by the Defense Department of Defense inspector general—all at Nunes’s request.
8. And heaven knows how much wasted money
9. In the meantime most of the Navy/Marine F18s are not mission ready.
Your GOP at work. I’m sure there are democrats who pull similar stunts but the GOP is the party of strong national defense, patriotism, running the government like a business. The democrats are the party of take from the makers and give to the moochers. Isn’t that the narrative.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/05/27/exclusive-top-congressman-accuses-pentagon-of-criminal-leaks.html
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/05/27/exclusive-top-congressman-accuses-pentagon-of-criminal-leaks.html
OzarkHillbilly
@smith: Good thing I am not a grown-up then.
smith
@OzarkHillbilly: Well, you’re not running for president, so let your freak flag fly.
Schlemazel Khan
President Barack Obama, May 7, 2016
MattF
@smith: And there are a whole troop of female comedians I can think of who would be happy to insult Trump in all sorts of creative and embarassing ways. Hmm.
OzarkHillbilly
@smith: I used to be a grown-up. It sucked.
smith
@Schlemazel Khan: Along the same lines, there is this from Dahlia Lithwick about the current primary.
smith
@MattF: I think having a whole bunch of women laughing at him could be very effective.
Jeffro
Btw a Barton Swaim has an op Ed in the Washington Post this morning about how some religious conservatives are finally coming around to the idea that they have lost the culture war, are looking at be more tolerant and pluralistic, .and asking if ascendant progressive and secular folks are going to be merciful. Seriously.
No Barton we are going to raze your homes and salt the earth …geez, the projection with these folks.
I think it is pretty novel though asking progressives to be tolerant and accepting … If the religious right hadn’t had the past 35 years of teeing off on other Americans that’s what we would’ve had for the past 35 years
Schlemazel Khan
@smith:
Great piece, THANKS!
Debbie(aussie)
@Troublesome Carp fka Geeno:
???
smith
@Jeffro: As long as the tolerance they’re pleading for isn’t the special type of ‘tolerance’ they’ve been demanding, to overlook their discrimination and cruelty, I think we’re good.
Schlemazel Khan
@OzarkHillbilly:
I can’t stop growing older but that does not mean I have to grow up!
rikyrah
@Punchy:
True that.
gindy51
@OzarkHillbilly: I’m buying duct tape stock now because that is the only way he will ever shut the fuck up.
I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet
@OzarkHillbilly: You’re talking about Rmoney and Bain, right? :-/
Hey, that’s the way the MotU make their money – they load up a corporation with debt, charge high fees, pump it up in the press with lots of TV ads, get it talked about in the financial press and cable TV, cash out before anyone else, and then dump it before the house of cards blows away.
Trump’s just incompetent at it, that’s all.
I think Hillary’s team (and freelancers) are doing a decent job with him so far. Keep letting out the line, let him tire himself out, document everything, and put it out there periodically.
We should remember that Perot’s wackiness eventually caught up with him in 1992. He won nearly 19% of the popular vote (a huge percentage for an independent) but no states in the EC. Donnie is going to fall, also too, but probably not that far…
Cheers,
Scott.
I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet
@smith: “Purported millionaire Donnie Trump” has a nice ring to it.
;-)
Cheers,
Scott.
Schlemazel Khan
@smith:
The only true path to forgiveness is a sincere admission of wrong-doing commensurate with the offense and a humble request for forgiveness.
I’m better they will offer neither and fight to the last white, xenophobic, misogynist. Their suggestion of a truce is only to buy time. Yeah, I am bitter
laura
@burnspbesq: she’s the devil incarnate all right-and Mrs Mayor of my town.
Kevin Johnson and his gifting Mrs have been off the radar of late and are planning what comes next.
We occasionally find them at our neighborhood restaurant and my husband shoots me the “please don’t start something with them” look.
Make no mistake, she gives shit not one about students or education. It is solely about the grift.
Soylent Green
@Princess: Go after Donald any way you want, but can we leave Melania out of it?
tybee
@Soylent Green:
is tiny hands trump leaving bill out of this?
OzarkHillbilly
The state considers people who died waiting for a free voter ID examples of “customer-initiated cancellation.”
Susan Schilz, a supervisor in the DMV’s compliance, audit and fraud unit, testified that at least two voters died while their petitions for free voter ID were still being considered. Both deceased voters were black women born in Jim Crow-era Mississippi.
Schilz says she initially moved to count the women among the list of those denied a voter ID, but her boss instead listed them as “customer-initiated cancellations,” placing the blame on the women themselves rather than the state and keeping the number people denied by the state artificially low. The women had been waiting more than six months for a response from the DMV.
Well, they did the dying.
St. A
@burnspbesq: Chait is married to a Rhee-esque education reformer, I’ve read. Surprised NY Mag doesn’t make him disclose that when he writes one of these pieces.
smith
@Schlemazel Khan: Given what we’re actually seeing in the red states I think you’re right. Look at Oklahoma — their Reagonomic revolution combined with declining oil and gas revenues has brought on a Kansas-level financial catastrophe, so much so that they can’t fund their schools. Instead of dealing with a genuine crisis, the Rs are in a frenzy of passing the most extreme culture war bills they can dream up, some of which will cost them mucho $$ in litigation if they aren’t vetoed. I’m sure that none of this will hurt the chances of the R politicians retaining their jobs. That doesn’t look like a lot of culture warriors resigned to their loss.
OzarkHillbilly
@laura: You could just say on your way out the door, “Michelle! So surprised to see you in a restaurant that doesn’t serve whole roasted children.”
Schlemazel Khan
@Soylent Green:
Just like the GOP left Hillary out of it in 92 and 96, left Tipper out of it in 2000, Theresa out of it, Michelle Obama out of it? SURE, we can do that
Soylent Green
@tybee: No, but two things: Melania Trump is not a politician or former president, and I don’t think we should be as evil as the enemy.
OzarkHillbilly
@tybee: Bill is actively campaigning for his wife and they have promised to make him a part of her administration. That makes him fair game.
smith
@Soylent Green: Also, Melania seems to have no more depth than what you see — she’s a good looking trophy wife. Those are your only targets with her, and it’s kind of icky to talk about her looks and selling herself to a billionaire, especially a billionaire you want to attack on the grounds of misogyny.
Keith P.
:That photo should really have the caption “Trump Clinches”.
Miss Bianca
@Baud: Wow, that’s some thoughtful reading for Saturday morning!
Schlemazel Khan
@smith:
I strongly suspect that their being on the losing side of these stupid “culture” issues is starting to impact their grift. With revenue down the need to dial back a bit, give their marks a breather.
tybee
politics ain’t bean bag.
Amir Khalid
@Punchy:
When did Bruce Willis buy the building?
Miss Bianca
@Wag: Wait, what? I hope you are joking, but with the current political climate I’m having a hard time laughing.
Have a wonderful trip! I love Great Sand Dunes!
Matt McIrvin
@smith: Not only that, there’s some evidence that people who marry Donald Trump could be actual victims of abuse.
scav
@Jeffro: There’s also a tacit recognition hidden in there that their previous history of mercy and tolerance and all manner of virtues promised on the xian tin didn’t reflect what came out of same tin and was served to other people. Why else would they expect people to be grumpy? “treat us as we treat ouselves and not as we treat others! Such is mercy! Judge us on our theoretical promises and not our deeds!” Just more of the same with slightly different wrapping paper.
Miss Bianca
@Schlemazel Khan: Maybe we just need to post this quote at the top of every thread from now on…I have mentioned how much I am going to miss PBO, have I not? No more than a couple dozen times?
Hal
I saw a Facebook post where someone criticized Obama for apologising to the Japanese for Hiroshima. When several people commented that he didn’t do anything such thing, the poster replied that the apology was in his body language.
Had another friend bitching about how even if Obama doesn’t realize it’s memorial day, he does. To this day it amazes me how every fucking thing Obama does is infuriating and treasonous to some of these people. I just wonder what these professional right wing outrage clowns are going to do when Obama is not in office?
schrodinger's cat
@Hal: They will latch on to Hillz for their daily quota of poutrage.
Schlemazel Khan
@Hal:
Attack President Clinton for the same sorts of imaginary crimes
edit: @schrodinger’s cat: , I wish I could type faster! :)
D58826
@Hal: With the FSM’s major blessing it will be Hillary. With FSM’s minor blessing it will be Bernie. Either way they will have lots of things to come unhinged about. Do they carry their coffee in the correct hand (Bernie is a leftist after all)? Do they eat their BBQ ribs the correct way AND with the correct BBQ sauce. Oh the list is endless..
Emma
@Hal: They’ll find someone else to be angry about. These aren’t logical people. They do not think for themselves; they CAN’T. They have internalized thirty years of right wing propaganda and if they let go, they have nothing.
smith
@Schlemazel Khan:
Something they have LOTS of practice in.
Schlemazel Khan
@Miss Bianca:
I have already slapped it into a dozen threads on lefty sites when Bernie buddys demand 100% purity. That a the quote about Nader saying there is no difference between Drumpf and Clinton as he did with Bush and Gore. They are both things to remember this fall.
I admit that I was not an early supporter of Obama in 08 or Clinton now. I wanted someone further left. There are several key issues I think where PBOs centrist leanings have ended with less than we could have gotten but overall I think he has done very well and better than could be expected given the opposition’s insistence on tire rims and anthrax (thanks JC, I love that line! ).
Elmo
Open thread, but even so this is OT because everybody else is talking about trips or the election, and I’m still reeling: the paralegal I hired last month who literally started less than two weeks ago abruptly quit on Thursday.
I am assured by all and sundry that I am really not an asshole and not at all hard to work for/with. So I swear it wasn’t me. She blamed the commute, which in the DC area is like blaming the weather. I’m perplexed and baffled.
I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet
@Elmo: It might have been a “when it rains it pours” kinda thing. E.g. she might have been looking for a while, got several widely spaced offers, and one with a better commute might have appeared just after she started with you. It happens, and it’s a sign that the economy finally is picking up a little.
Don’t take it personally. :-) Best of luck with the replacement search!!
Cheers,
Scott.
I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet
@Schlemazel Khan: That really was a masterful speech. It deserves to be remembered and talked about for years to come.
Cheers,
Scott.
satby
@Elmo: she got another offer.
Not uncommon that the hiring process takes a really long time, and she took your offer when the preferred one didn’t materialize. Then it did. Sorry about that; but we used to see it all the time in tech hiring.
ETA: or what Scott said.
Carolyn Kay
@Thoughtful David: I think the Democrats have made a big mistake over the last 25 years or so trying to appease the right wing, when a better strategy would have been, and will continue to be, what you recommend doing to Trump.
Keep them all in a constant lather, a constant state of hate and vitriol. Make them angry at every single opportunity.
Schlemazel Khan
@I’mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet:
I already envision that carved in marble on the memorial built to him.
Schlemazel Khan
@Carolyn Kay:
so . . . basically adopt the “if they’uns are fer it we’uns a’gin it” strategy?
Not saying it is wrong but it is risky
hueyplong
I’d try to plant the idea in Trump’s mind that he’s not really running the campaign and is instead docilely taking orders from the RNC or his own minions if he doesn’t fire a staffer every week. The result ought to create a sort of “the beatings will continue until morale improves” kind of atmosphere within his campaign.
I’d also get it “out there” that Trump should go all in on CA and NY because, after all, he’s the king of all televisions and surely some uppity bitch like Hitlery isn’t a bigger star than he is in those two megastates. Commit all kinds of money to those two and ignore loser states like PA, OH, VA, IA and whichever others appear to be swing states this year. Anyone who tells him different is ignoring his special genius that has gotten him this far, etc., etc. Think Hitler taking over strategy against the USSR.
Elmo
@I’mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet: @satby:
I think that’s probably it, but I’m irritated by it. Not to go all “get offa my lawn,” but am I off base to think that taking a job is a commitment? At least for a while? Jeezo Pete, I put aside important work and let stuff back up in order to focus on training her, because ours is a unique industry and the learning curve is steep. I figured it would be worth it to get her productive faster. Now I have all that backed up work and no help.
I’m spending the holiday weekend trying not to dread the week.
Kropadope
@Schlemazel Khan:
You guys have your own purity based demands. Never criticize Clinton without assuring us right there and then that you will vote for her. In fact just don’t do it, but still assure us you’ll vote for her. Also, take every opportunity to condemn Bernie and his supporters. If an opportunity doesn’t come along, make one. If you can’t get with the program, shut up.
satby
@Elmo: yeah, that stinks.
satby
@Kropadope: so this is a pony you’re going to ride for the next 5 months? Because it seems pointless to continually harp on what meanies we all are.
Nobody’s changing anyone else’s mind here.
Another Holocene Human
@Elmo: translation: that better job she applied for at the same time finally called back
it’s nothing personal, they just sweetened the pot better than you could
Schlemazel Khan
@Kropadope:
Please show me one comment where I even hit such bullshit. One comment that could even be misconstrued to suggest I might think that. Go ahead, I’ll wait.
Are you just that sensitive or are you one of those paid trolls here to sew discord in furtherance of the Drumpster fire? If it is the first, here, let me hold your unicorn while you take that hill. If the second kindly fuck off
BTW – Was a Sanders supporter and you can find comments where I point out places I disagree with Hillary. But I am aware the majority of voters do not yet agree with me. I am working on that by building bridges while you piss inside the tent
I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet
@Schlemazel Khan:
I really wish there were two different words that could replace “forgiveness” in interactions between people.
E.g. parishoners forgiving Dylann Roof without him repenting or saying he’s sorry, v.s. criminals who confess and ask forgiveness themselves. The first usage bothers me a little, though I understand and recognize the benefit to victims to not carrying anger and the desire for vengeance around in their heads any longer than necessary. It also has that religious aspect to it that can be problematic (can a priest or your deity of choice really “forgive” someone else?). But depending on the perpetrator to ask forgiveness before the victims can get on with their lives is problematic too.
Oh well.
Cheers,
Scott.
hueyplong
@Kropadope:
So it’s too much to ask you to commit to being opposed to Trump in the event you guy doesn’t get the nod?
Another Holocene Human
@satby: People quit early into jobs for lots of reasons. Unlikely, but maybe a coworker or client bullied her that you know nothing about. Family reasons she won’t disclose. Etc. Though another job coming through is quite likely in this economy. At any rate, surely Elmo had a #2 draft pick for just this reason? Capitalism at work, eventually the rational match between worker and pay will be achieved. (Says the union organizer only half jokingly.)
Schlemazel Khan
@Elmo:
Sorry to hear that. If, as I and others here suspect, she got a better offer did you ask if there was something you could do to change her mind? OTOH, you say the job is different and maybe a bit demanding, maybe hard work scared her off?
Southern Beale
Happy Memorial Day and enjoy your three-hour wait at airport security. It’s just more freedom, America!
Seriously, Republicans fuck EVERYTHING up.
JPL
Trump criticizes President Obama for using a teleprompter and the crowd goes wild. The same crowd doesn’t care that he at times uses one. During the energy speech he spoke about clean water and air, and the crowd went wild. He then talked about getting rid of the EPA, and the crowd went wild.
I’m not sure how you attack him, besides using descriptive words such as phony, or smear monger. Last night, someone mentioned calling him Littefinger. Although it made me laugh, it might not be the best choice. It would be nice, if the democrats mentioned that many undocumented workers, over stay their visas. A wall is not going to prevent that.
Southern Beale
@JPL:
“the crowd went wild.” Well, that’s pretty easy to do.
“Build a wall!”
(the crowd went wild.)
“Ban all Muslims!”
(the crowd went wild.)
“Ban gun-free zones!”
(the crowd went wild.)
“Free the water!”
(the crowd went wild.)
It’s almost like he’s just telling people what they want to hear. :-0
Ramping Up
You all keep calling Trump a clown and so on, but he is quietly inching up and up in the polls.
And with Hillary having increasing trouble with her email scandal, unable to put away Crazy Bernie in Cali, everything is coming up Milhouse for the Grand Old Party!
Schlemazel Khan
@I’mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet:
I understand what you are saying but I can move on without forgiving or forgetting so forgiveness if a release for the offender not me. Maybe that is weird, I know I am not like most people.
Louise
My favorite so far is PJ O’Rourke, on Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me, as he announced he will be voting for Hillary. “She’s wrong on absolutely everything, but she’s wrong within normal parameters.”
Schlemazel Khan
Ya know, If Drumpf only had access to UNLIMITED CORPORATE CASH or brinks trucks with faulty transmissions I’m sure he could win . . . too bad there is not someone here that could assure us of these things with the accuracy they have shown in the past . . . oh, wait.
SFAW
@Amir Khalid:
I thought it was Oliver. Wouldn’t Bruce buy the Sockittome Tower?
Southern Beale
@Louise:
“She’s wrong on absolutely everything, but she’s wrong within normal parameters.”
Isn’t O’Rourke a Republican, of the old-fashioned non-crazy flavor?
SFAW
@Debbie(aussie):
The Power Puff girls, a cartoon superheroine trio about six years old, lived in Townsville.
You should get out (of Australia) more — look at all the culturally-important things you’re missing.
Ramping Up
@Schlemazel Khan:
Trump is indeed ramping up a Super Pac to go up and ON THE AIR after July 4th. We’re going to playing all the “Greatest Hits” from the 90s–whitewater, travelgate, filgegate, chinagate, cattlegate, and each and ever one of Bill’s “indiscretions”, we’re going to paint him as a rapist. I’d love to see the Left talk about “rape culture” while supporting an actual rapist.
Ramping Up
@Schlemazel Khan:
You draw the wrong conclusion with Jeb–it’s not that money doesn’t matter, it’s just that Trump is politically invincible. No amount of money can defeat him.
That’s not true with Billary.
Emma
@Southern Beale: He’s an uber-Republican jerk, but he’s not insane.
(edit) Oh look. Mr. Ramping Up to Whoever Pays Me is back. You must have amazing contacts in the ratf_king network. Whenever your flavor du jour crashes you pop up again with a new one.
SFAW
@Racist Urp:
Another day, more bullshit from our resident racist.
Schlemazel Khan
Ah, there it is – same level of accuracy we have come to know a love. Thanks for assuring me a of a Clinto win in November
SFAW
@Racist Urp:
And even more lies from our resident racist.
Wie geht’s mit Ihrem Freunde bei Stormfront?
JPL
@Southern Beale: Sounds like nationalism and identity politics to me. How do you fight it?
Yesterday, he said there was no drought in California. He’s going to take the water back from the state, and return it to the farmers.
trollhattan
@Ramping Up:
Who is this “We” you speak of? “You” were here very pointedly pushing #NeverTrump and extolling drafting some unknown Republican prettboy empty suit mere days ago. Something happen?
SFAW
@Schlemazel Khan:
Careful — you keep talking like that, and I’ll start thinking Racist Urp is actually Bloody Billy Kristol.
SFAW
@trollhattan:
He’s a whore. I thought someone of your perspicacity would have discerned that before now.
SiubhanDuinne
@Soylent Green:
Unpossible. You can’t spell MEGALOMANIA without MELANIA.
hueyplong
Great to see the return of “UNLIMITED CORPORATE CASH,” even if it was only in parody form.
dmsilev
@trollhattan: I assume Trump’s check to Trolls-R-Us cleared. At least, I hope they got paid in advance; Trump is notorious for welching out on his bills.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Southern Beale: in the later Bush years, Dennis Kucinich said something critical of Bush that came up on WWDTM, and O’Rourke said something like, “This is how crazy things are in George Bush’s America: I agree one hundred percent with Dennis Kucinich”
@Soylent Green: and his kids. Uday and Qusay are awful, and I sometimes wonder if Ivanka won’t turn out to be our Marine LePen, but let’s just focus on the Yam Itself for now.
JPL
How do you run against a crazy person?
Kropadope
@Schlemazel Khan:
I was talking about the attitude here more generally than you personally.
These assholes aren’t interested in building bridges with Sanders supporters, they just want to mock them incessantly. Day after day, month after month; I wonder how long they can keep it going. They don’t want anyone who would consider Sanders voting in their primaries and they sometimes don’t even appear to want them voting for Clinton in the GE. I wasn’t always pissed off. I’m just sick of these smug, arrogant pricks.
Ruemara
@Kropadope: asking if you’ll support the actual Democratic nominee isn’t a demand. Asking in the face of a true threat to every progressive gain of the past 50 years, isn’t a demand. And if the Sanders campaign plus a sizable portion of it’s slavish adherents weren’t doing obnoxious shit like suing to disenfranchise early CA voters, the entire group would not be asked if they’re OK with it. Much less mocked as disingenuous for claiming stating the facts is “knocking Bernie Sanders”.
Ramping Up
@SFAW:
Says the supporter of the Party of Andrew Jackson, Woodrow Wilson, Robert Byrd, and Bull Connor.
And you continue to support somebody who broke several federal laws while she was Secretary of State. She’s a liar and a crook and a bitch. Yeah, that’s right–I said it, HILLARY IS A BITCH.
Ramping Up
@trollhattan:
What happened is that Trump released his short list of SCOTUS picks and began parroting Heritage Foundation talking points. He’s coming around–look at his energy speech: “all fossil fuels, all the time!” It was practically written by Koch himself. If we can get him to come around on Social Security and Medicare his journey to the GOP will be complete.
Thor Heyerdahl
@Ramping Up: “The stupid, strong with that one is”
Oldgold
@Ramping Up: The “Greatest Hits” from the 90s are peace and prosperity. Something you assholes quickly squandered away.
Ramping Up
@Oldgold:
It was a time of corruption, cronyism, and dishonor in the White House. The 90s boom was just a tech bubble that had jack all to do with Billary.
Kropadope
@Ruemara: Fuck you, you’re one of the worst demanders of the bunch. You’ve declared entire topics as out of bounds for discussion because someone might be a little different from you. Get over your phobia toward the “other.”
Amir Khalid
@Ramping Up:
Trump may have all the money he needs, but does he have the organisational and strategic planning skills? He’s not going to defeat Hillary without a functioning campaign organisation in enough states. Or if he concentrates too much on Democratic-stronghold states where no Republican candidate stands a chance. And he’s not gong to win if he thinks he’s too smart to have to listen to advisers.
Corner Stone
I am so sick of this fucking primary. Where did I leave that Calgon, anyway?
trollhattan
@SFAW:
Am waiting for him to admit it and get checked for STDs. In the meantime he’s the Remora of Dispair, always one shark behind.
JMG
I leave Monday on a three-week trip to France and Spain, mostly to visit my daughter who lives in Bordeaux. I wonder if on my return one single damn thing will be different on this site or American politics. Trump will say 12 billion contradictory things, the Sanders dead-enders will be fulminating about their path to victory. Clinton will be dutifully campaigning while “senior Democrats” will fret in a million Beltway thumb-suckers. I love most of the folks here, but I can’t say I’ll miss the brouhaha.
SFAW
@Racist Urp:
Who all would have been Republicans today, lying racist moron. But you knew that.
See, you’re not even trying. Time for you to toddle back to Stormfront, racist.
trollhattan
@Ramping Up:
Welp, that’s the banhammer trigger. See ya.
SFAW
@Racist Urp:
Yeah, what ever lie you want to put forth as your “reason,” you knock yourself out, lying racist moron.
Ramping Up
@SFAW:
[citations needed]
Show your work on why Woodrow Wilson would be a Republican. This ought to be good…
JPL
@Corner Stone: Wait until football season, and everyone commercial is about cheatin hillary. McConnell came out and said that he would stop Trump from doing crazy shit. Yeah that will work.
SFAW
@Racist Urp:
Which laws were those, you lying racist misogynistic moron? Right, no laws were broken.
Shell
Oh man, can I come with?
SFAW
@Racist Urp:
Already with the backing off on your “thesis,” lying racist misogynistic moron? What happened to the others?
ETA: And by the way: Robert Byrd stopped his racist shit long before you were born. In fact, given the level of “intelligence” in your posts, he probably died before you were born
Kropadope
@satby:
No, I’ve been commenting a lot less frequently for the most part. I’m not even reading this site on a daily basis anymore. I just unload for a bit when a few assholes get me particularly worked up and take another break.
Ramping Up
@SFAW:
Except she did.
The fact the Obama DoJ hasn’t convened a federal grand jury is a damning indictment of his corruption. I guess he’d rather sic the feds on school districts that make boys use the boys bathroom.
Ramping Up
@SFAW:
Go with Wilson. Show me how the progressive hero is actually a conservative.
BTW, Harding and Coolidge had a better record on civil rights than the sainted FDR, too.
I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet
@Ramping Up: We get it. You like pie. The point doesn’t become stronger with constant repetition.
Cheers,
Scott.
Aimai
Can some one explain to me why spittle flecked, rage spasming, kropeadope keeps posting here when his anger management issues and white male entitlement ate so strong that he even attacks respected commenter ruemara? Who, exactly, except other bernie zombie fetishists like dollarred and random other assholes are pure and gentle enough for our krope?
All joking aside if krope is serious about progressive politics in MA he should fucking get out of his pathetic bernie loving enclave and try to flip a few Trump voters–they are the same people they sleays have been:scott brown, mccain, charlie baker, trump. Why dont you put in your skates and engage with those rage filled white working class guys instead of demanding all democratic and AA women voters hold your hand, mop your brow, and peel bernie a few more grapes?
Shell
@Ramping Up: How appropriate that comes from a website called Hot Air
Ramping Up
@Shell:
Just try to refute Levin’s arguments–no ad hominem, just the facts. Let’s see you do it.
Corner Stone
@JPL:
FSM give me the strength…
D58826
hello are my posts going into never neverland?
SFAW
@Racist Hump:
Why would I ever consider legitimizing — by actually debating — the lies of a lying racist misogynistic moron? Because you’ll continue to lie until I do? Big deal, I can get all the lies I “want” by watching a Two-Minute Hate spewed by Trump.
Scout211
Just filled out my California primary ballot. I can’t believe that our primary can be the deciding factor for the Democratic ticket this year. Of course, my vote for the first female president will cancel out the mister’s vote for the other guy. Sigh.
We had 34 candidates for Senator Boxer’s open seat listed on the ballot!
Shell
Oy, lets have a little break. Just heard t his story on Wait, wait, Don’t Tell Me.
http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/british-cemetery-haunted-by-peanutbutterloving-baby-fox
Kropadope
@Shell:
Isn’t the name of this website a euphemism for hot air? Per its own reading materials?
Corner Stone
@Shell:
I’ll rochambeau you for the spot.
JPL
@Ramping Up: OH NO… She broke the rules. What law did she break?
Ramping Up
@JPL:
Read Levin’s arguments.
D58826
Ok, even shorter version – Read Jane Mayer’s Dark Money if you want to see what the revolution is up against
Josie
@Corner Stone: I am adding to my collection of old western movies on dvd and accessing (and binge watching) good stuff on Netflix and Hulu. Not watching the news on any channel has done wonders for my outlook.
Redshift
@bemused: It’s amazing how often Republicans make statements, out loud and on the record, that amount to “I know this seems unfair/unethical/possibly illegal, but we’re sure the Democrats are doing the same even though there no evidence, so it would actually give them an unfair advantage if we didn’t do it.”
Or alternatively, conservatives are constitutionally incapable of seeing another’s point of view, so if they prioritize winning above all else, including having a functioning government and not destroying society, everyone else must be doing that, too.
japa21
Today marks a month since I retired. The first three weeks were a road trip out west to see parts of the US we hadn’t seen before, but now wish we had. And the trip also reinforced our desire to see a lot more of the country.
For most of those three weeks I was pretty much off the grid. I had hoped that by the time I had returned some sanity would have returned the Dem primary process, at least on one side. Obviously I was wrong.
Here is what I don’t get. Folks like NR keep talking about how Clinton has to show she deserves the votes of the Bernie supporters. This despite the fact that she has been very respectful of Senator Sanders and the fact that her policies are really only different in details, not the general sense of what they both want.
At no time however, do they talk about how Senator Sanders has shown he deserves the votes of Clinton supporters. He has not reached out to Clinton supporters like Clinton has done to Sanders supporters. He, and some of his supporters here, have belittled Clinton supporters. Yet, despite this, the vast majority of Clinton supporters have said they will vote for Sanders despite their misgivings about his competency to be President while many Sanders supporters have only grudgingly said they will vote for Clinton. Most Clinton supporters have said they would work to get Sanders elected, while most Sanders supporters have said that the most they will do is vote for Clinton.
This is just an observation, no analysis as to the whys.
D58826
@Ramping Up: please slide back under your rock, if the slime mold will have you
Kropadope
@Ramping Up: Levin’s argument that using a non-government private email address broke federal law? Time to lock up Rice and Powell too, I guess.
satby
@Corner Stone: Hey Corner Stone, long time no see! How’s the light of your life (your son)? I always enjoy what you say about him; the love you have shines through and it’s a beautiful thing.
ruemara
@Kropadope: Fuck yourself. You can’t stand any conversation that isn’t centered around you and you rewrite things to be a victim. So keep fucking off until Sanders either fully loses and crawls back to the party so he can retain the power he loves or continues to prove he’s nothing but a demagogue with the right hatreds for the right people. Now go cry over identity politics without comprehending the irony.
D58826
Who put the loco weed in our favorite trolls today. Just waiting fro Bob in Portland to wake up.
Still don’t know why my longer posts disappear. Maybe a Bernie bro!!!! (that was a joke)
Kropadope
@ruemara: I can’t stand the constant deflection and dishonesty. I can’t stand having Berniebros thrown in my face every time I try to argue a point about literally anything else. This board is harping constantly about how Bernie supporters, a group which constitutes nearly half the people who voted in D primaries this year, are awful people. It’s like the lot of you are planning in advance to do everything within your very limited power to lose the election for the Democrats so you can feel self-righteous about blaming Bernie.
ruemara
@japa21: Congrats on the retirement. It sounds like you’re having a great time.
You know, don’t even ask why. It is what it is. Our moral betters of the revolution believe they already know what ails us and they have the solution. Actually listening to us, dealing with us a people with agency and our own views-that’s a bridge too far. Go back and read some of the internal issues of integrated activist movements in the 70’s. The misogyny within the Black Panthers. Intersectionality and respect for others has always been a problem and acknowledging that you are not listening to a valid criticism by your ally is way too painful for some. Just a human condition that, thankfully, still hasn’t stopped us from having progressed so far in civil rights & human right. We’ll get it right.
In the meanwhile, I’m gonna sit here in my brand new kitty ears and get ready for Fanime.
I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet
State Department background briefing on IG report:
Boggle.
Cheers,
Scott.
Corner Stone
@satby: He’s great, thanks! A couple more days to finish off 5th grade with all A’s for the year and then he starts a summer program the next week for advanced math*. He’s yooge, and stinky and confided to his mom recently that he thinks he likes “nerdy girls”. So we’ve been trying to determine the right level of panic to slip into.
I see your charges a deux have wrapped up their terms.
*This post brought to you by #notsohumblebrag
Frankensteinbeck
@smith:
To me, that DOES look like they know they’re going to lose. It’s the scorched earth phase, doing as much damage as they possibly can to liberalism before they lose power forever. They are desperate. We see how much power they’ve scraped together with that desperation right now. They see that every day fundamentalism is less respected, every day minorities gain a little more equality. Thirty years ago, they felt white power was utterly solid. Now a black man is president. They watched this slow creep their whole lives, and they are terrified.
@Schlemazel Khan:
Kropadope is in the unique position of having been the actually polite stridently Sanders supporter when the Clinton supporters finally lost their patience with the jerks. That puts him/her in the same position of having received giant piles of completely undeserved hostility and abuse, and having eventually lost his/her shit about it and gotten nasty back. I find Kropadope’s position on Clinton bizarre, but do urge tolerance of someone who made the good faith effort.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
and people don’t take your very smart and fact-based arguments seriously? what has this world come to?
why don’t you take the time and energy you put into whining and sniveling and emoting here down to your local Dem office and ask if you can do some phone banking for one of five members of Congress whom His Sainted Holiness has deemed worthy of his “revolution”?
D58826
@Kropadope: This isn’t hard. If Bernie comes inside the tent like Hillary did in 2008 and she loses in Nov. then she was a bad candidate, the stars aligned for Trump, whatever but it won’t be Bernie’s fault. If Bernie decides to stand on the outside of the tent and piss in, then a lot of folks will place at leaset some of the blame for a loss on him. I’m sure if Bernie was the nominee and Hillary took a pass then the Bernie folks would scream bloody murder
Emma
@Kropadope: Look. I’m really bad at doing this, so at least listen to what I mean to say, rather than any unhappy phrasing. You have gone from someone that, IMO, presented ideas for discussion in a fairly neutral manner to a fireball of rage that doesn’t distinguish between argument and provocation. Saying things like “it’s like the lot of you are planning in advance to do everything within your very limited power to lose the election for the Democrats so you can feel self-righteous about blaming Bernie” only makes you sound unhinged. Politics isn’t worth it. In fact, very few things are worth stewing until you explode. Take a step back. Do whatever you think is best. If you can clear your actions with your conscience, you don’t need to argue with anyone.
Ruckus
@satby:
Not a Chicagoan but I understand that perfectly. I believe we used to call it Serious and Rotbutt when I was a child.
ruemara
@Kropadope: I am sorry you’re taking the criticism personally. It is not. It might be easier for you if you recognize that the campaign you favor has issues, as does the candidate and it is making larger and larger segments of the population angry and forgive them for their anger. Otherwise, best to you as things progress.
benw
You know, there’s a lot of decent people – rodeo clowns, circus clowns, street performance clowns – who are probably pretty sick of these clowns being called clowns.
Frankensteinbeck
@benw:
I don’t know. Maybe they’re going ‘Wow. I had to train just to PRETEND to be that stupid.’
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Oh, you Brahmins!
Weld’s a Brahmin, isn’t he?
ETA: not sure of the rules, but I’d say yes
William Weld’s ancestor Edmund Weld was among the earliest students (Class of 1650) at Harvard College. He would be followed by eighteen more Welds at Harvard, where two buildings are named for the family. General Stephen Minot Weld Jr. fought with distinction in many major battles of the Civil War.
D58826
I think there is a larger point that is getting missed in this flame war. Bernie and his supporters are not the enemy. Hillary is not the enemy. In a way Trump isn’t even the enemy. He is a one off oddity from the GOP ID. The enemy is the well funded 1% that is slowly but surely buying the country to turn it into their own private estate, with the rest of us as serfs. They are using the GOP and its ID as a vehicle to get what they want.
satby
@Corner Stone: don’t worry about the liking “nerdy girls” part. He’s simultaneously saying he likes girls but he likes sort of low-key non hyper-girly ones. You have a couple of years to adjust before you need to really worry would be my guesstimate.
He sounds like a great kid and you’re obviously doing a great job with him.
Corner Stone
@benw: There’s no such thing as a decent person who would choose to be a clown. They are damaged people out to inflict mental anguish on the most vulnerable of our population.
Kropadope
@ruemara: The campaign I currently favor is Clinton’s and I have recognized from the beginning that both campaigns have issues.
Suzanne
@Corner Stone: Word. This primary is the worst. I voted for Sanders because HRC won AZ handily anyway, and because I wanted to show support for the far left. But Bernie is pissing me off the longer this goes and I would have voted for HRC if our primary was held now.
And the washer is FUBAR and the microwave started acting up (still under warranty, I think) and we’ve gotten fucked by medical bills this year and my ex-husband is an asshole who doesn’t pay, and Mr. Suzanne’s grandfather has cancer and they scheduled him for surgery last Tuesday and they couldn’t do it because they couldn’t manage his heart rate and so now they’re on to palliative care only and my mom gashed her hand this week and needed to go to urgent care and I have a big exam on June 17 and I had a personal crisis and I need a goddamn break. This year is the worst.
satby
Well, it’s been fun, but the girls and I will kill this rainy day at the outlet mall. Have a great day everyone!
Joyce H
@Thoughtful David:
Along those lines, there’s something else I think needs to be discussed about Trump until it finally gets elevated to coverage by the ‘serious’ media, and that subject is – Trump’s hair. No, wait, hear me out!
Remember back in the 2008 campaign, John Edwards was eventually revealed to have a secret mistress complete with baby – but that information came out after he had already left the race, done in primarily by a video of him primping over his hair. Men being overly concerned about their hair is a strong mockery inducer.
And think of what we’ve heard about Trump and his hair. First, that he was so concerned about a bald spot that he got a really sketchy procedure called ‘scalp reduction surgery’, a process by which the bald spot is CUT OUT and the remaining skin stretched over the hole. Yes, he had a HOLE cut in his HEAD! And then, he went with some high tech ‘weave’ process, which cost $60,000 and requires monthly maintenance of $3000. This argues some serious, serious hair loss sensitivity. And some money expenditure that even his most ardent fans might cringe at.
Shouldn’t we bring the subject into the mainstream media? Wouldn’t you like to see him answer the questions?
Of course, this shouldn’t be the only line of attack (I think Hillary’s ‘who can lose money running a casino?’ line is pretty awesome as well), but it’s a good way to get under his skin and start a running thread of mockery that would cause all but his most ardent supporters to start entertaining second thoughts.
smith
@Frankensteinbeck:
I sincerely hope you’re right. That’s been my operating hypothesis for some years now, as the crazification of the right has continuously ratcheted up, and I’m starting to wonder if there is any end in sight. How long have we been waiting for Peak Wingnut? Is it on the horizon yet?
Ruckus
@OzarkHillbilly:
In line at the grocery store yesterday the fellow behind me remarked that he hadn’t seen a product in my haul since he was 8. I remarked back that I was buying it because I’m still 8. Tried 12 but didn’t like it so I gave it up.
D58826
@satby: Hey we need ‘nerdy girls’. They are our next generation of Sally Ride’s
benw
@Frankensteinbeck: “all that practice to fit us all in the car, for what?”
Frankensteinbeck
@D58826:
I disagree on one point. I think the true enemy is the hate-filled conservative voter base. They gave the farm to the rich to spite liberals. They elevated Trump against the rich’s wishes because he offered them purer hate. The reason we can’t have nice things is not the (real) machinations of greedy people, it’s the actual voters who demanded that it all be destroyed if they’re forced to share.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
how many people thought Barney Frank was The Enemy forty-eight hours ago?
how many people who now think he’s the enemy knew who Barney Frank was forty-eight hours ago?
benw
@Corner Stone, are you actually Steven King? I loved It!
Baud
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: 48 hours ago, I knew Freddie was a Doofus.
D58826
@Frankensteinbeck: true but it’s the 1%’s money that stokes that fear.
Yellowdog
@JPL: Now he can require that the judge be removed from the case because the judge is biased against him because Trump attacked him. Donny is totally dumb; it’s a delaying tactic.
Corner Stone
@benw: “We alllll float down here!!”
Totes creep.
laura
@OzarkHillbilly: it’s the stopping after starting, the heaping of scorn would be a stem winder.
They really give the impression of a LLC instead of a married couple.
Frankensteinbeck
@Baud:
Virtual President Baud has a point. Fredbear is truly nutpicking. I’m confident he was saying something jackass then, too.
Corner Stone
@laura: That Chait piece on Rhee that BBQ linked is an abomination. Chait’s got real issues with education related matters.
trollhattan
@smith:
Is there a hole so deep it can’t be made deeper? Peak Wingnut misses the mark–they’re busy digging like strip miners and have orders in for newer, bigger excavators.
Baud
@Frankensteinbeck:
Oops. That tweet was responding to Freddie. It wasn’t Freddie himself. I guess I owe him a free pass on a future derp.
trollhattan
@Corner Stone:
I imagine Loomis will be handling him his tanned and stretched hide soon enough. Rhee is an abomination and she and hubby can’t decamp this berg too soon.
Frankensteinbeck
@D58826:
Again, I disagree. It’s seeing blacks on the street, a black president, getting laughed at when they say Jesus told them to do it – they created their own fear and anger. The rich just hitched a ride on the tiger. Reagan taught them to give it a few nudges, but it was going their way. Now we see their shock and confusion as they realize they were never actually in charge. NOBODY in the rich asshole class wanted Trump, not even the batshit insane Kochs.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Corner Stone: Mrs Chait works for The Cause of Charter Schools, and I suspect people have been mean to Mrs Chait on the Internets. I often like Chait’s stuff, but his editors should set up a personal blog for him to talk about education, ‘political correctness’ and the ‘illiberal left’.
Ruckus
@Elmo:
What Scott said. I used to own a mfg business that employed whats known as craft workers. Takes about 10 yrs to gain good proficiency at the task and the people who do spend the time are relatively few. So their job prospects were good. Most could leave a job and in 1 or 2 hours find another. I hired and fired one 5 times. He was that
goodgreat but had substance abuse problems. I had people tell me they quit because the coffee pot was empty and they sure as hell weren’t going to make more. Hired one who left his last job due to the commute, cut it in half. Stayed a year, left because he was able cut it half again. Great person, great skills, didn’t like to commute.Unless you are abusive, or bigoted or are a slave driver you probably aren’t responsible for them leaving. People leave jobs for all kinds of reasons.
El Caganer
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Huh? I didn’t follow Barnie Frank’s career, but I’ve never heard him referred to as ‘conservative.’
Villago Delenda Est
VERY “Presidential” on the part of The Donald.
Frankensteinbeck
@Baud:
Fair enough. That tab won’t be open long.
Aimai
I am sick and tired of hearing current and former Sanders supporters (Kropeadope apparently) whine about how clinton supporters are losing the battle against trump. Our candidate, backed by our money and energy, is the only candidate on the democratic side who is building the party and infrastructure to win the actual battle at hand. And she is having to do it with one hand tied behind her back because bernie and his rage spewing ankle biters are attacking her every move from the (supposed) left, spreading right wing slander, and eeyoreing the fuck out of younger voters. If kropDope wants to win the election against trump he can get off his ass and argue with bernie and his dead enders. Not with the women and POC who are ghe actual fighting base of the party.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Villago Delenda Est: I hate Donald Trump and I think both represents and encourages the worst aspects of American politics and human nature, but damn me if I didn’t laugh when I first heard about Willard The Penguin, even if it is an uncalled for insult to penguins.
JPL
@Yellowdog: Shit… You are probably right.
gwangung
@D58826:
And rightfully so.
I think it’s fair that a lot of the issues Sanders supports are in the party platform–a lot of Dems support them, so it should be reflected thusly. I just don’t think it’s fair for Sanders to object to people like Frank; it comes off as petulant and self aggrandizing.
Frankensteinbeck
@Aimai:
In two months, nobody will remember Sanders. We can afford to be gracious.
smith
@Frankensteinbeck:
Well, yes and no. I think it was a marriage of convenience — the 1% would have supported tolerance if they thought it would give them the power they seek, and the haters would support anyone who would ratify the hate and promise to implement it in govt policy. The problem is that the synergy between them is a genuine threat to an open democratic society. Of the two forces, I think it will be harder to counter the influence of money than the influence of hate. This is one reason the family spat we’re having in the primary is so frustrating. There’s a real opening to get the message across about this country slipping into oligarchy and we’re wasting it on squabbles about party procedure (I am discounting, of course, the extreme Sanders supporters who believe Clinton is simply a handmaiden of the 1%).
different-church-lady
@Kropadope:
It’s kinda amazing how, in the space of two sentences, you complain that people conflate “Berniebros” with all Sanders supporters, and then proceed to do that very thing yourself.
JPL
@Suzanne: Hugs!
germy shoemangler
@trollhattan: @Corner Stone:
They addressed Chait and his love of Rheeism here:
http://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2016/05/chait-hates-teachers-unions-to-the-fainting-couch
Ruckus
@Southern Beale:
There is no such thing. Well maybe if you go back far enough but all of them are dead.
Ruckus
@Aimai:
I don’t think you missed the part where he is a flaming asshole, whatever his closely held views are. Maybe you are too nice to actually say that he is one but that doesn’t make it any less true.
? Martin
Our Trumpian future has arrived. Republicans in Congress have offered up the worlds greatest healthcare plan so they can go on the campaign trail and proclaim the the US has the worlds greatest healthcare, because the bill is literally called the ‘World’s Greatest Healthcare Plan Act of 2016’.
Next I expect the ‘World’s Lowest Corporate Tax Rate Act’, the ‘World’s Greatest Military Act’, the ‘World’s Greatest Women’s Health Act’ (which will make most women’s health acts illegal), and so on.
How did nobody think of this sooner?
Jim, Foolish Literalist
A Ghost To Most
I see R-(paid troll) is on another Rit-alin jag. Should we start a pool on his next nym, since he is inviting the banhammer?
germy shoemangler
@? Martin: So apparently it’s a compromise. They don’t want to destroy the affordable care act, just make it optional.
Aimai
@Frankensteinbeck: this is me, being gracious. Seriously–i object strongly to Bernie fucking over the first woman nominee for the president in US history. I object to his insisting on turning the DNC into an endless, extortionate, excercise in hostage taking. I object to his running a third party, splitter, campaign from inside the Democratic party. I object to his smearing and attacking active progressive politicians like Frank and Boxer and Malloy and promoting people like West. These are actively damaging the party. We have to push back. Politeness and charity are fine strategies for hillary but as voters and actors we need to shut this down where we can. We are entitled to point it out, at any rate, and laugh at these goobers.
D58826
@Aimai: And as long as Bernie stays in the race, Hillary’s three biggest guns are on the sideline – Obama, Uncle Joe, and Elizabeth Warren (even though she is conducting a twitter war with Trump).
hovercraft
@Kropadope:
I call bullshit. There are many critical post and comments about Hillary on this site. Before it became obvious that she had won the nomination there was also a lot of spirited debate about the merits of both candidates. Since we are a rational reality based community with a few exceptions, there is little patience for people who won’t accept that reality. She is the nominee and as democrats we will support her because that is what democrats do. Everyone is free to criticize her, but the election is a binary choice. You can pick a sociopath or a standard democrat, who like all politicians is not perfect.
We recognize there are no magic ponies.
So go ahead criticize but do not demonize, that’s when you’ll have a problem.
Mike in NC
@A Ghost To Most: When the troll isn’t Ramping Up, it’s Jerking Off.
A Ghost To Most
@japa21:
Congrats on the retirement; I am so jealous. We still have a couple years to go.
The west was calling me so hard, we moved here a decade early. Very happy with that decision.
gogol's wife
@hovercraft:
Good comment. There was a lot of complimentary stuff about Bernie, both in OPs and in comments, when the campaign began.
D58826
@El Caganer: yep good old in the pocket of the big banks Barney Frank. You know the other half of Dodd-Frank financial reform.
Mike J
@D58826:
The reform that is so friendly to banks they’ve spent tens of million trying to get it repealed, so friendly to big finance it caused GE to get out of finance altogether, so friendly MetLife decided to shrink themselves so they wouldn’t be classified too big to fail.
Barney Frank has actually done more to keep Bernie’s campaign promises than Bernie has.
I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet
@D58826: He’s a well known dining room table hater, also too.
Cheers,
Scott.
Corner Stone
@germy shoemangler: I read that post and the comments earlier. LGM seems to have a couple entranched teachers unions haters who don’t want to acknowledge a few simple truths about public education.
And Erik Loomis has a really hair fucking trigger on structural racism.
Amir Khalid
@? Martin:
Good God. They really did put that name on the legislation. How juvenile.
Amir Khalid
This is a test: Ramping Up.
I see that the banhammer has yet to smite him.
Ruemara
@Suzanne: I’m sorry. Keep us in the loop & lots of hugs.
A Ghost To Most
@Ruckus:
I once left one job because I had to wear ties (the commute was better as well).
Companies show little or no loyalty to employees any more. Why should employees?
This is the culture the “bosses” built.
Shell
@Amir Khalid: Maybe they got the idea from Budweiser, changing its beers name to ‘America’
RaflW
@I’mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet: Purported millionaire Donald Trump really is my favorite insult to direct at him. You can tell how mad he gets when anyone questions his fake billions!
Mary G
@Suzanne: Oh, Suzanne, you’re getting hammered with bad luck this year. Hang in there and concentrate on your daughter and FIL and ignore the money stuff as much as possible. I know, easy for me to say. Sending you {{{internet hugs}}}.
jeffreyw
Thread needs more cow kitteh.
D58826
@RaflW: I still like ‘little hands’ best
hovercraft
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Bernie Frank was Elizabeth Warren before we had her. He was the openly gay liberal in the house, who all the lefties loved. The problem with the BS supporters is that anyone who does not show 100 % fealty to BS becomes a heretic even when they are a BS fan, eg Robert Reich.
Villago Delenda Est
@Southern Beale: O’Rourke is a Pants Down Republican; they’re in it for the tax cuts and meaningless militarism, but smoke pot and see no problems with lots of sexual activity inside or outside of matrimony.
burnspbesq
@laura:
You can’t just go fact-free ad hominem in the face of data, or you’ll lose by default.
Mike J
@hovercraft: Let’s not forget that Bernie voted for Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000. Without that bill, no credit default swaps. Under Bernie rules, Bernie is the corrupt tool of Wall Street who crashed the housing market.
Fair Economist
@Suzanne: Sorry you’re having so much to deal with. We’re rooting for you, if it helps any.
Amir Khalid
@Shell:
I was disappointed about that one. I was hoping they were yielding the trademark to its rightful Czech owners.
hovercraft
@Aimai:
It’s also this bullshit complaint about the joint fundraising fund with the DNC. Sanders was offered the exact same opportunity as Hillary to help build the state parties and down ballot candidates. Did he take up the offer ? Of course not, now these funds are the source of all these charges of collusion and corruption. When he was too busy looking out for number one she was looking down the road at what it would take to win. Obama showed what it takes to build from the ground up a winning campaign. Handpicking a dozen candidates to support is stupid, there are thousands of races all over the country you need to build the actual party infrastructure to affect real change.
D58826
@Mike J: As well as the much despised crime bill of 1994. All of which proves he is a politician just like every other one. And as voters we pick the ones that have more pluses (i.e. I agree with) and fewer minus. If that one isn’t available then you have to go to your second choice. I know the Bernie folks keep complaining about having to vote for the lesser of two evils but the FSM isn’t on the ballot.
SFAW
@Ramping Up:
I’d have to send my computer through a car wash, if I ever visited a Malkin site.
No, asshole, YOU provide the SPECIFIC SECTIONS of Federal Law that you (or Levin) claim Hillary violated. We are not the ones who made the bullshit claim, so back up your bullshit claim, or piss off.
Ruckus
@A Ghost To Most:
It’s been 25 yrs since I paid employees, although I have had people work for me since then. In many ways things have changed. Both for the worse and for the better. Problem is for many the better is window dressing, no ties, but the worse is a lot less money. If both sides of the employment were doing worse most people could understand that. But when one side continues to get more and more screwed, and in so many ways, and the other side gets richer and richer, the imbalance creates structural problems in the workforce. The conservatives have sold to many that the problem is government while they continue to rob the workers. Many of the workers don’t know they are being lied to and therefore ask for more of the same. At some time it will blow up. It always has and it always will. How it does is anyone’s guess but I’d bet it won’t be pretty. I also hope that it will be long after I’m gone or that we finally elect enough decent people to make it blindingly obvious that conservatism is a major problem. A boy can hope.
hovercraft
@Mike J:
I think we should alter the IOKIYAR to read it’s ok if you are Bernie.
SFAW
@Suzanne:
Sorry you’re going through all this. Sending hugs and good thoughts.
SFAW
@Ruckus:
You cheap bastard. How do they survive?
hovercraft
@D58826:
Exactly, we are supposed to never forget Hitlery voted for the war yet gloss over his votes with the NRA. She caused all those deaths in Iraq. I guess it’s a good thing that no deaths have been attributed to pro-NRA stances.
Villago Delenda Est
@Schlemazel Khan:
This is the reason I say that Nader has the blood of thousands of American soldiers on his hands, not to mention hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, both military and civilian.
Bernie is pulling a Nader on us…determined to destroy his own legacy.
Mnemosyne
@Suzanne:
Ugggh. It seems like bad luck goes in groups around here, and you’re unlucky enough to be in the 2016 group. Don’t forget to take care of yourself while you’re trying to take care of everyone else — if you deplete your own resources too far, you won’t have anything left to help others with. Put your oxygen mask on first, and then help the people around you with theirs. Even 20 minutes of alone time at Starbucks with a book can help.
Villago Delenda Est
@SFAW: They can’t do it, because their Jedi mind tricks are of the most pathetic nature imaginable…only work on the offal that is the GOP base.
SFAW
@Amir Khalid:
If you mean InBev, aren’t they Belgian? Or am I missing something (yet again)?
japa21
@SFAW: Actually, I did read the article that RU linked to. Levin does quote specific Federal law. Unfortunately for RU and Levin, the specific laws quoted are not in any way shape or form relevant to this issue.
And yes, my computer is going to the car wash this afternoon.
Villago Delenda Est
@SFAW: It’s complicated. Brazilian, yet Belgian. Typical multinational corporate opaqueness.
trollhattan
@SFAW:
Probably meant these guys.
Ultraviolet Thunder
@Villago Delenda Est:
I read several of P. J. O’Rourke’s books. He makes some good points, but thinks he has all of the answers. And the only answer that counts is white guys run the world and nobody else matters. He’s a smug, facile prick.
I used to subscribe to National Lampoon, and when he took over the racism and sexism were amped up to 11. Humor for entitled frat boys. I canceled.
Mnemosyne
Getting ready for a busy rest of the day: taking my niece and nephew to a small play directed by a friend, then dinner with the rest of the family, and then we have to make an appearance at a graduation party for a friend of G’s.
My day started with one of the cats peeing all over me to protest being put in her carrier, so hopefully it will get better from there.
Ultraviolet Thunder
@SFAW:
InBEV is partially Belgian. The original Budweiser brewery was (is?) Czech.
SFAW
@japa21:
I appreciate your (and your computer’s) sacrifice.
At the car wash, don’t get the undercarriage treatment – it’s a scam, especially if you don’t take your computer out on roads that have been salted.
SFAW
@Ultraviolet Thunder:
Thanks for edumacating me. I had no idea. (I know, I know, “Google is my friend,” etc.)
Jim, Foolish Literalist
SFAW
@trollhattan:
Thanks.
PatrickG
@Aimai:
See, what you’re missing is that Kropadope is all Sanders supporters. An insult to him is an insult to every Sanders supporter, living, dead, or ethereal. Thus, the fact that many commenters here hold him in contempt means that we’re alienating all Sanders supporters.
But he’ll have the last laugh when Trump wins because of our rudeness and intolerance! Just you wait!
D58826
On twitter the war heats up. Barney Frank is a traitor to the progressive cause and should just ride off into the sunset. . The sanders camp wants Frank and Malloy removed from their committee chairs because they are Clinton allies and have said mean things about Bernie. Cornell West on the other hand is part of the broad spectrum of opinion that Bernie values and if Hillary/Obama don’t like what he says then they should grow a pair. The idea that top positions at the convention should go to supporters of the person with the most delegates and popular votes is just undemocratic
Bernie is not going to play nice now, at the convention or after it.
Shell
Oh, for a second I thought you were talking about James OKeefe.
Ruckus
@SFAW:
Isn’t that the problem? They don’t.
OK it’s been 25 yrs since I employed people. I stopped paying them when there were no longer jobs for them nor a place to work at. I had a job after that where I managed a bunch of people.
Oh and Fuck Fucking Cancer
MomSense
@Suzanne:
I am so sorry, Suzanne. I’ll be sending good thoughts your way that things start to improve.
smith
@D58826: What bugs me about this is that there has never been an expectation that people who will play leading roles at the convention remain neutral during the primaries, nor has there ever been an expectation that elected officials (other than Pres and VP) withhold endorsements during the primaries. To sue to establish such a rule shortly before the convention takes a huge amount of chutzpah, doubly so when the person suing does not have a long history with the party.
Fair Economist
If Bernie were winning and Hillary was talking about a third party run, demanding – I don’t know –
Joe Lieberman, maybe, for the platform committee, and her supporters were calling Keith Ellison a “conservative Democratic TARP Board member” because he voted for the bank bailout I’d be spitting nails at her and her nutty supporters. I *certainly* wouldn’t be taking it as offensive that other people were complaining about such nonsense. I don’t understand how any Bernie supporter who cares about the future of the country isn’t doing that right now. A lot of the (sometime erstwhile) Bernie supporters here have indeed spoken out against such things, and I appreciate that.
Captain C
@Baud: Why not both?
Steeplejack
@Ultraviolet Thunder:
Responding to your comment about bad office coffee (Folger’s) in the working-at-home thread:
I don’t drink much coffee—maybe four or five cups a week—and to reduce the hassle factor I did a lot of research to see if I could find an acceptable instant coffee. The answer: Trader Joe’s (jar, not packets) is surprisingly good, not just “okay for instant coffee.”
The individual Starbucks packets were (a somewhat distant) second.
Amir Khalid
@D58826:
Per TPM, the Democratic National Convention has dismissed the claim for lack of merit. That was really the only reasonable response.
Corner Stone
This. Is. Sparta!
cckids
@Thoughtful David: I agree. I like Elizabeth Warren’s use of “Deadbeat Donnie”. The alliteration & the reminder about the serial BK’s & the harm they did to small suppliers/contractors is perfect. Along with the slightly dismissive tone, it has to get under that thin, thin orange skin.
D58826
Political Calvin ball. What’s mine is mine/whats yours is mine and everything else is mine. It’s obvious that unless the democrats completely cave to Bernie he will continue to conduct his scorched earth plan. By the time he is done the nomination won’t be worth having. In the meantime he lets the ‘conventions can be messy’ hang out there as his supporter plan demonstrations in the streets. Nice party you have there/wouldn’t want to see it ruined.
My conservative sister can’t stand trump or Hillary and doesn’t know who to vote for.
I’m getting to the point that if Bernie is the nominee, I would have a problem. In the end Trump is bad enough that with sufficient white lightening I’d vote for Bernie. Up till now I was firmly in the camp of Bernie or Hillary which ever one the primary votes picked. Now not so much
http://www.politico.com/blogs/2016-dem-primary-live-updates-and-results/2016/05/bernie-sanders-hillary-clinton-convention-allies-223685
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Ultraviolet Thunder
@Steeplejack:
I’ve recently given up coffee for tea to reduce the jitters, and it worked.
But I do crave coffee in cold weather. Decent instant coffee must be better than in-room hotel coffee, which is what I have to choke down.
I’ll look for that the next time I’m in T-J’s. Thanks for the recommendation.
? Martin
@germy shoemangler:
No, I think they just want to make it the World’s Greatest by calling it the World’s Greatest™. It’s the I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter™ legislative strategy.
And the opt-out is sort of hilarious because it’s effectively just welfare for racists. They can already buy off the private market without penalty, but here’s $2500 to soothe your butthurt.
I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet
@hovercraft: Roughly 7260 days since the July 11, 1996 when Bernie voted to kill CDC efforts to study gun violence.
Average of 91 deaths a day due to guns.
~ 660,400 American deaths.
Yeah, it’s a good thing that Bernie isn’t getting a pass on that.
(roll-eyes)
Cheers,
Scott.
(Who is looking forward to Bernie’s endorsement of HRC so that we can quickly see who’s reachable and who isn’t.)
D58826
@Amir Khalid:
For Bernie to have even made the claim, after getting the bone of 5 delegates of his choosing, indicates that he is past the reasonable stage. It is into hostage taking
? Martin
@Ultraviolet Thunder: I gave up caffeine altogether and I’m constantly happy I did. Lots of decent decaf coffee, and I drink decaf tea pretty much nonstop. It’s a minor hassle, but I feel considerably better for it.
D58826
@I’mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet: I keep seeing these tidbits about Bernie’s gun record and yet one of the fact checkers (WAPO I think) said he has a d- rating from the NRA. That doesn’t compute. What did he vote against to make the NRA unhappy – to not allow the arming of babies as soon as the arms clear the birth canal and before the smack on the butt?
D58826
Something else to blame on Obama
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/once-dismissed-shark-attacks-may-hit-new-record-in-2016/ar-BBtAg0C?ocid=spartandhp
I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet
@? Martin: Note that Decaf beverages aren’t Caffeine-Free. They just have to have less than 2.5% of the caffeine of the untreated version.
/pedant ;-)
Cheers,
Scott.
Ultraviolet Thunder
@? Martin:
I’ve given up caffeine before and found I probably need some to stabilize my mood. I used to drink a lot of coffee but felt wired and had difficult sleep. Now I mostly drink green tea for a little caffeine, and the flavor. Chinese Dragon Well pan toasted green is awesome. But in the winter I crave coffee sometimes so I’ll have some. As long as it’s not on an empty stomach the jitters from an occasional cup aren’t bad.
Physically, giving up all stimulants would probably be good. But psychologically it wouldn’t.
different-church-lady
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Please remember the joke ends with “…and the pig enjoys it.”
El Caganer
@D58826: I’m glad most of the convention activities will be down at the Wells Fargo Center, far away from Center City. The Pennsylvania Convention Center is right in the heart of the city, and big demonstrations would create one hell of a mess. I don’t mind demonstrations that close the city if they’re for important causes, but rioting because your candidate lost an election isn’t one of them.
I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet
@D58826: I don’t know all the details. I think a lot of those “report card” votes are based on a handful of “important” bills that the lobbyists want passed or defeated. That doesn’t mean the people haven’t voted with them on other things.
The NRA spent a bundle against Sanders’ opponent in 1990 and thus helped Bernie get elected to the House. AFAIK, they haven’t pulled out all the stops to try to defeat him while he’s been a Senator even with his “bad report card”. Bernie got 71% of the vote in 2012…
But as I say, I haven’t researched his history in detail.
Cheers,
Scott.
Ultraviolet Thunder
@El Caganer:
They don’t strike me as mostly the rioting type. Mostly the burning up comment threads for the revolution types.
It wouldn’t surprise me if the outrage is predominantly online and risk free.
D58826
@El Caganer: Yep lot of big parking lots with the Linc and the Bank stadiums. FDR park has a lot of green space and a few lakes to throw over heated demonstrators into. Unfortunately TV goes every where today
smith
@El Caganer: I’m much more concerned about disturbances inside the convention center than outside. Outside protesters in recent years have been thoroughly clamped down by the “Free Speech” zones that ensure that no untoward behavior appears on TV. This time, however, a number of the delegates may be going with the express purpose of making trouble, and there’s no way to keep them out. And of course the media will love it — Democrats in Disarray just as it ever was.
D58826
@Ultraviolet Thunder: and the supply of electrons is limitless
smith
@D58826:
Bernie is starting to show a positively Republican penchant for interpreting compromise as weakness, and moving the goalposts every time the other side makes a concession.
Mnemosyne
@Ultraviolet Thunder:
Unless you have blood pressure problems, stimulants are actually pretty safe in moderation. I take slow-release Ritalin (Concerta) every day and my blood pressure stayed as low as ever.
El Caganer
@smith: Unfortunately, for a change the media will actually be correct.
Mnemosyne
@Ultraviolet Thunder:
Yeah, but the Black Bloc assholes love to show up anywhere there’s a chance they can break stuff and then skip town leaving everyone else holding the bag. That’s really what I’m worried about, not the people talking tough on the Internet.
James E Powell
I cannot see a dime’s worth of difference between the “Bernie or Bust” people I see on facebook and the “Bore or Gush” people I met at street fair and coffee shops in 2000.
There are always many questions and concerns, but for me the Number One question is, “Do you want Donald Trump to appoint the next two, maybe three, supreme court justices?”
I do not understand why this question does not resolve all questions that putative left or progressive people have with respect to the primary.
smith
@El Caganer: And here we were, just a month or so ago, hoping for riots on the floor of the R convention…
Mnemosyne
@Bob In Portland:
For someone who claims to be anti-Nazi, you sure do spend a lot of time complaining about Jewish bankers.
Steeplejack (phone)
@Ultraviolet Thunder:
I should have added that I didn’t try the Trader Joe’s packets, so I wasn’t saying those are bad. My experience is with the jarred instant. The packets might be good for travel.
? Martin
@I’mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet: Yeah, good point. But in my experience they do tend to be quite low. Someone accidentally gave me a proper 8oz cup of coffee and it felt like I was on meth all day.
@Ultraviolet Thunder:
That’s totally reasonable.
I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet
@smith: I wonder how much of this is actually Bernie and how much of it is his campaign people. Yeah, he’s responsible for their actions, but his inability to come up with is federal tax returns, his inability to answer the NYDN questions, his latest fiasco with the Latin America questions, it doesn’t give confidence (to me anyway) that he has control over his campaign. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he’s got a lot of rogue operators doing whatever they want. That doesn’t mean that he himself is going to try to burn everything down.
I think he’s going to have a huge campaign debt and will need help paying it off, so he’s going to climb on-board to get help with that, among other things.
FWIW.
Cheers,
Scott.
smith
@I’mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet: Even if it’s his campaign and not him, it still leaves open the possibility that some of his delegates may be goaded, or take it upon themselves, to cause a ruckus on the floor. A controlled ruckus would be OK — let them express themselves — but if we have anything like the Nev convention, which in the national convention could easily lead to people being thrown out, it could be damaging.
Bernie should be motivated not to burn too many bridges, not only because he will need party money, but also because of the potential blowback in the Senate. If the latter seems to be likely, I would not be surprised if he decided to retire.
D58826
@James E Powell:
The only thing I want Trump choosing is what time he will get on his airplane and fly off to some empty island in the S. Pacific.
While I suspect that most of Bernie’s supporters will come around like the PUMA’s did in 2008, there seem to be enough deadenders that encourage Bernie to keep it up. Gotta extend that 15 minutes of fame. It may not mean anything in the end but when you play with fire sometimes somebody gets burnt (bad pun)
James E Powell
@I’mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet:
It is all Bernie because he is continuing his campaign even though he has no chance of winning the nomination and he has increased the caustic rhetoric. It may not be moral fault, but it is political fault. It wouldn’t be happening without what his supporters believe is his tacit approval.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@smith: I doubt he’ll retire, like John McCain– and I see a lot of similarities between those two vastly overrated, narcissistic old coots– retirement might mean losing the spotlight, and I suspect Bernie’s hooked at this point.
smith
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Hope he enjoys losing his ranking slots, then.
Ruckus
@smith:
You don’t think he’ll whine about that do you?
Ultraviolet Thunder
Bernie will patch it up.
bemused
@Redshift:
It’s pure projection with Republicans who really believe Dems would do the same low-down skunky stuff they do all the time. The Republicans who don’t just pretend they do to be as vile as they want.
Suzanne
Thanks for the kind words of support, y’all. Just going to keep on keeping on. This year has already been a total shitter. But I also have many blessings.
I remember 2013 was also a fucking shit year. Seems to be cyclical.
SFAW
@Ruckus:
???
Not you, I hope.
I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet
@SFAW: IIRC, that’s why he lost his business. :-(
Cheers,
Scott.
SFAW
@I’mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet:
Oh. I don’t think I ever knew that. Thanks.
Ruckus
@Suzanne:
Was told this a long time ago, something like 2 or 3 lifetimes ago.
Hope for the best, it feels much better. At least some of the time.
Count your blessings, not everyone has them.
Learn from the shit, the lessons are the hardest but teach you the most.
Life goes on, catch a ride on the upside and enjoy.
I’ve used this over the years because my cycles runs in 20 yr downs with little, tiny, insignificant up blips once in a while just to keep my hopes from dying out completely.
Ruckus
@I’mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet:
No the last business loss was from GWB and the MoU and their wonderful recession.
Always fun to try and figure out what you are going to do for food if you don’t like dumpster diving and there are no jobs of any kind, but especially fun for someone looking at their upcoming sixth decade.
rikyrah
@Frankensteinbeck:
This, I agree with. Trump offers them the hate -unfiltered. They wanna party like it’s 1948:when the White Man’s word was Law, and everyone deferred to him.
rikyrah
@germy shoemangler:
Thanks for the link. I despise Rhee. Nothing but a con-woman.
I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet
@Ruckus: W was a disaster on so many levels.
:-(
I’m sorry for my mistaken recollection about your business history.
On cancer, about 39.6% of the population will develop some form of cancer over their lifetime. The trend is in the right direction, but the improvement is happening slowly. We need to do more.
Cheers,
Scott.
rikyrah
@? Martin:
Can’t wait for Mayhew to take it apart.
PurpleGirl
@Suzanne: Please accept a big, big, huge virtual hug — maybe even a bunch of them. I will keep your mother and father-in-law in my thoughts for healing vibes. If I see you in another thread, I’ll repeat this comment.
Original Lee
@Elmo: Or it could be that she will be impacted by the Metro closures to the point where she can’t even. One coworker calculates his commute will increase by an hour each way for the entire month of July.
Or, possibly, you expect her to show up to work more or less on time. I’ve been hearing from a lot of people that punctuality is just not a thing any more. We had a new hire recently who only lasted a week because showing up around 10 AM was too much to ask.
Original Lee
@D58826: Many of my conservative FB friends are in the same boat as your sister. Some of them are leaning Libertarian at the moment. They bash on Drumpf all the time, but they also hate and distrust Hillary at a level that would be expected from 30 years of Limbaugh and Faux News. I’m waiting until August before I start trying to talk them down.
PurpleGirl
@jeffreyw: Ooooooooh! What is that kitteh’s name? That kitteh is the definition of a cow kitteh. Wanna hug and snorgle him.
D58826
@Original Lee: I told her that if she could not vote for either one, then write in the name of a GOPer that she respects. She lives in Delaware so there is Mike Castle. but atleast VOTE
PurpleGirl
@James E Powell: For some reason people never seem to consider the appointment of Supreme Court justices. I have for decades reminded or tried to remind friends and colleagues that we needed a Democratic president and congress if we wanted to get the Supreme Court we wanted. And yet, people never seem to understand me. It drives me crazy.
Matt McIrvin
@Elmo:
It’s a big headache for you, and I’d probably feel at least a little guilty about quitting at that point because of what I was doing to the other workers at the company. But since employers explicitly bank on having absolutely no commitment to at-will employees, I don’t think said employees should be expected to have any moral commitment to the employer either. Your employer reserved the right to lay off that person immediately after hiring, and would have done so without hesitation if they felt that was the advantageous thing to do (say, because of a change in business plans or a shortfall in budget). So too with the employee.
Matt McIrvin
@PurpleGirl: We’re in such an extreme situation now, with an actual vacancy on a 4-4 ideologically balanced Supreme Court being explicitly held up by Congress until the next President comes in. It’s like an explicit statement that control of the Court is part of the stakes.
When Michael Moore was supporting Nader in 2000, one of the things he tried to do was minimize the danger from Bush getting in by spoiler effect instead of Gore, and he argued, among other things, that Republicans would never actually ban abortion because they needed it as a live issue to win elections. But that’s not how it works; it’s not as if the RNC tells SCOTUS justices how to vote for the sake of their long-term political strategy. It’s more that the President and Senate you get put justices in, and the justices are generally ideological true believers of one sort or another.
Matt McIrvin
@I’mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet: Everyone dies of something, and cancer is increasingly one of the things that finally kills you when nothing else does. I suspect the main effect of cancer prevention and treatment is going to be to increase the age at which it finally gets people.
Matt McIrvin
…That, however, is itself a victory. My grandmother died of esophageal cancer not long ago, and it seems to run in the family… but she was 96, and had as good an end as you can probably ask for under the conditions, good hospice care and she was lucid and capable of making decisions to the end.
satby
@Matt McIrvin: Condolences, even for an old person whose death is somewhat expected, it’s still a loss we feel.
satby
@Suzanne: came back late and missed the original comment until now, but another virtual hug and hopes that things get better for you and your family too.
Matt McIrvin
@SFAW: I recall seeing the Czech stuff marketed around Europe as “Budweiser Budvar”. In the US it’s apparently sold as “Czechvar”, a name I’d never heard of until now.
Matt McIrvin
@satby: Thanks. Yes, it was a sad occasion, but at the same time I recall thinking that when it came to dying you could actually do a lot worse.
Carolyn Kay
@Schlemazel Khan: It will keep them making mistakes. And that’s what we need them to do.