Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

If you voted for Trump, you don’t get to speak about ethics, morals, or rule of law.

Oh FFS you might as well trust a 6-year-old with a flamethrower.

Is it irresponsible to speculate? It is irresponsible not to.

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

You are so fucked. Still, I wish you the best of luck.

If ‘weird’ was the finish line, they ran through the tape and kept running.

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

Bark louder, little dog.

Alternative history is always a weak argument. Always.

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires.

If you cannot answer whether trump lost the 2020 election, you are unfit for office.

The republican ‘Pastor’ of the House is an odious authoritarian little creep.

“Can i answer the question? No you can not!”

Come on, man.

The lights are all blinking red.

Oppose, oppose, oppose. Do not congratulate. This is not business as usual.

Hey Washington Post, “Democracy Dies in Darkness” is supposed to be a warning, not a mission statement.

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

… gradually, and then suddenly.

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

Let’s delete this post and never speak of this again.

SCOTUS: It’s not “bribery” unless it comes from the Bribery region of France. Otherwise, it’s merely “sparkling malfeasance”.

Don’t expect peaches from an apple tree.

At some point, the ability to learn is a factor of character, not IQ.

You are here: Home / Pet Blogging / Cat Blogging / Wednesday Morning Open Thread: Uptown Sophisticates

Wednesday Morning Open Thread: Uptown Sophisticates

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tweedles anne m

From commentor Anne M:

Meet the Tweedles, a.k.a. Tweedledum and Tweedledee. The picture was taken during a relatively calm moment – these 8-month old kittens go balls-to-the-wall most of the time. They were feral kittens who were rescued when very young. One of my friends says that they “went uptown” from a cage at Petsmart to a 2000 sq. ft. house with a 5-foot cat tree, drinking fountain, and automated litter box (thanks Werebear!).

For the curious, the edgy bodymods are how some trap-neuter-release groups identify the ferals who’ve already been doctored. Since the clipped eartip is obvious even in low light conditions, rescuers don’t have to keep putting those cats through the stress of being trapped & handled. Fortunately these guys were young enough to overcome their aversion to warm beds and modern litterbox technology!

Apart from watching (or not watching) the ongoing RNC meltdown, what’s on the agenda for the day?

***********

Also, John Williams is a very nice man:


(via)

Reader Interactions

181Comments

  5. 5.

    David ?▶️Hillary/Harley Quinn 2016▶️? Koch

    “I’m worried,” Bush told them, “that I will be the last Republican president.”

    Donald Trump, who will officially become the Republican nominee on Tuesday, has done little to inspire renewed confidence since.

    Instead, he has solidified himself as an erratic, underfunded and scattershot candidate, plagued by staff turmoil and missed opportunities. In the run-up to the convention, he sued a former aide for $10 million. He canceled his vice-presidential announcement citing a terror attack in France, went on cable news and declared America to be in a world war and then announced his pick at the original time slot anyway on Twitter. Within hours, Trump was rocked by leaks from within his inner circle about his own late-night waffling on the single most significant decision a presidential candidate can make.

    But it is the rise of Trump’s divisive style and embrace of white resentment politics—anchored by proposals for a wall to keep Mexicans out, an immigration ban preventing Muslims from coming in and talk of cheating by China and ripping up trade deals—that has many of the Republican Party’s elders, privately and publicly, predicting defeat this fall at the hands of a diversifying electorate and fretting about long-term fallout.

    In interviews with more than 40 of the Republican Party’s leading strategists, lawmakers, fundraisers and donors, a common thread has emerged heading into the general election: Win or lose in November (and more expect to lose than not), they fear that Trump’s overheated and racialized rhetoric could irreparably poison the GOP brand among the fastest-growing demographic groups in America.

    This is from politico. the rest of the article is boilerplate. But the above is so much win.

  6. 6.

    Schlemazel Khan

    I guess the ear gives them character.

    T think I watched about 10 minutes on Monday & none yesterday. This is the first time since 1964 that I won’t have watched substantial parts of both conventions. The RNC is insane, completely off the rails.

  9. 9.

    gene108

    The Republicans have flat out stated, yesterday and today, Hillary is criminally liable for the use of her e-mail server.

    I wish someone would ask, if it means they will start a criminal prosecution of a former Secretary of State and US Senator, if Trump is elected, for her actions while in office?

    That is tin-pot dictator territory.

  11. 11.

    Betty Cracker

    My baby turns 18 today. Freed from the tyrannical legal control of her parents, she has a 10 AM appointment to get a tattoo. :::facepalm:::

  12. 12.

    Schlemazel Khan

    @David ?▶️Hillary/Harley Quinn 2016▶️? Koch:
    When I saw that quote of Boy Blunder my only thought was, “Gosh I hope you are the last!” He can pretend the was all the Drumpster fires fault but historians will well note the hand his incompetent, immoral and illegal administration had in the destruction of a once proud political party. I hope he lives long enough to regret every day of of & to be haunted by the ghosts of all the needlessly dead he created.

  15. 15.

    Patricia Kayden

    @rikyrah: They’re adorable even from the back. Want to reach through my computer and pet them.

    @gene108: With the way these Republicans are so vindictive and hostile, they probably would do whatever they could to put Secretary Clinton in jail. I don’t see their efforts going anywhere but they would give it a try. Their hatred has no bounds. As a commenter pointed out last night on a previous thread, Christie pretty much ginned up a lynch mob and I can’t see them backing down on going after her if they have power.

  19. 19.

    Poopyman

    @Betty Cracker: It’s also Mrs. P’s birthday, ‘tho somewhat beyond 18 (we’ve been married 25). No tattoo on today’s agenda (I hope). I sent her off to work and am now going to start putting the kitchen back together, which is her present.

  20. 20.

    Schlemazel Khan

    @Betty Cracker:
    Sometimes you have to compromise. Insist on nothing that would show when dressed in business attire.

    My oldest got tats while in the service. He knew my opinion of them so when he got home he made sure he never went without his shirt on. He didn’t want to disappoint me. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at that part!

  21. 21.

    Mustang Bobby

    Happy birthday to the Younger Cracker and also to my friend Ken, who turns old enough to have “76 Trombones” played at his party.

    It’s also a day to remember my little buddy Sam who died fourteen years ago today, but I’m remembering the good times with him.

  22. 22.

    Schlemazel Khan

    @Patricia Kayden:
    I don’t think they would do a thing about Clinton if – PASTA FOREFEND! – Drumpf won. They know that but they are laying the ground work for 4 years of ‘investigations’ of President Clinton. The email will just be fishing trip #1.

  23. 23.

    Patricia Kayden

    By the way, does anyone think it’s funny that in his Convention speech, Donald Trump, Jr., talks about his father’s “success” without mentioning that his father received $30 million plus from his father? Trump is not a self-made man. He was born into a very wealthy family. Jr.’s speech made it sound as if his father was some Joe Schmo, blue collar fellow who happened to make it to the upper class through hard work and resolve.

    Please!

  24. 24.

    Poopyman

    @Patricia Kayden: What they’re doing is again delegitimizing the Democratic candidate/President, and slowly normalizing that attitude. With help from the press. I fear that they’ve given enough gun nuts the impression that she’s a real threat to their country and we’ll have another uptick in attempts at getting to her.

  25. 25.

    Cat48

    When I woke up, the person on TV said the White Nationalists in the party had won. I’m trying to figure out what the difference will be because they’ve seemed that way for years. Nyt had an article about white supremacists in which they say they now want to be called White Realists. I’ll probably go with the standard bigot or racist when dealing with them. White Realist, my ass!

  27. 27.

    Mustang Bobby

    @Schlemazel Khan: One of my friends from the gym got the barbed wire tat around his right biceps at a time when his arms were big enough to carry it off. Well, as time went by and he had to quit working out, the inevitable happened — O Gravity, thou art a heartless bitch — and the tat now looks like a lace garter. He’s getting estimates on having it removed.

    On the other hand, to quote the immortal Charles Emerson Winchester III: “Tattoos are the common man’s way of investing in art.”

  28. 28.

    Poopyman

    @Patricia Kayden:

    Donald Trump, Jr., talks about his father’s “success” without mentioning that his father received $30 plus from his father?

    Hey, come on. My dad gave me $50, at least.

  29. 29.

    Patricia Kayden

    @David ?▶️Hillary/Harley Quinn 2016▶️? Koch: It’s such a fine line between disparaging Melania and slut shaming. I’m trying to resist talking about her in derogatory terms based on her colorful past but it’s hard when you come across Rightwing memes comparing her favorably to our current classy, dignified, well-educated First Lady.

    I’m pretty sure that if Mrs. Obama had a past which included nude modeling, she would be torn apart by Conservatives. They’ve already decried Mrs. Obama for showing her arms and wearing shorts in public so she couldn’t get away with what Melania is getting away with from them. Sigh.

  30. 30.

    David ?▶️Hillary/Harley Quinn 2016▶️? Koch

    “There’s a school of thought that Trump, who’s gonna get crushed, will somehow teach the party a lesson and they’ll get it out of their system,” said Stuart Stevens, who was Mitt Romney’s chief strategist in 2012. “I don’t have confidence in that.”

    their sheeple base is easily manipulated by right wing media.

  31. 31.

    Kay

    Ross Douthat had a bit of a meltdown :

    Everyone major figure who participated in this grotesquerie has disgraced themselves on a level unique in the history of our republic.

    Paul Ryan’s palpable discomfort with his nominee? Not funny. He chose to be part of this, to bless and accept it. He should feel disgrace.

  33. 33.

    Patricia Kayden

    @Poopyman: LOL. Corrected my comment to $30 million. That’s what I heard on NPR this morning that Donald Trump inherited (or was gifted) from his father. It’s nauseating that his family is trying to portray him as a down to earth, self-made man. The man was born on third base.

  35. 35.

    Poopyman

    @Kay: On a level unique in our history? Ross once again demonstrates he don’t know shit about US history.

  38. 38.

    Patricia Kayden

    @Kay: Hmmmm. I’m kind of shocked that Douthat is not a Trump supporter. I’m genuinely intrigued by this revelation. Need to read that article to find out why although I suspect that Douthat sees through Trump’s pretence to be a Christianist.

  41. 41.

    amk

    bbc has fp’ed deadbeat donnie’s ‘coronation’ for more than 10 hours so far. It will be interesting to see if they extend the same courtesy to hillary.

  46. 46.

    Amir Khalid

    @Kay:
    Donald Trump has a phoniness about him that is so conspicuous, even Ross Douthat can see it.

  48. 48.

    germy

    from RawSTory:

    Veep protests, amendment fights, interrupting Hillary.

    Different camps inside Bernie Sanders’ 1,900-member delegation to the Democratic National Convention next week are anticipating varying degrees of protests—some telegraphing their intentions now, others planning in secret—if Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party do not make additional major concessions.

  49. 49.

    Kay

    @Poopyman:

    I agree. A little dramatic. Also wildly overstating the value of the GOP, IMO. We’ll struggle along somehow now that Paul Ryan sold his soul, Ross. It’s okay.

    How funny is it that the nominee they chose because he is a reality tv star can’t actually put together the reality tv that is a national convention. He’s a fraud at even that.

  50. 50.

    Amir Khalid

    @Kay:
    The help puts the TV show together, remember. Donald just shows up to pose for the cameras.

  53. 53.

    satby

    @Betty Cracker: Happy Birthday to her. A real lot of them do that on their 18th birthdays now, so completely normal. My youngest got a huge one down his arm for his 18th, and it said “Mother” in gothic script. Like that might make me say “oh, well done then”.

  54. 54.

    Schlemazel Khan

    @Mustang Bobby:
    I have never seen an old tat that looked good on anyone. I have also noticed removal places springing up around town. My favorite one is a tattoo shop that advertises they also do removal! I understand the cost of removal is about 10 times the cost of the tat & they ain’t cheap.

    There are going to be a lot of orderlies changing Depends on Tad and Tiffany in 40 years thaqt are going to see some very sad sights!

  58. 58.

    NotMax

    Six months from now the stories will come trickling out about the number of vendors and contractors working the convention threatening to file suit for non-payment.

    Count on it.

  59. 59.

    Schlemazel Khan

    @satby:
    There is a Simpsons episode where Bart get “MOM” tattooed on his arm, it is his Christmas gift to Marge!

    Life imitates art

  60. 60.

    Kay

    @Amir Khalid:

    Oh, no. Trump said this was his production. This is what he’s good at, he told us. Popularity. Excitement. Showmanship.

    I was at the ’08 convention. Not only were the seats filled in prime time, there was a huge crowd of people who had passes but were not delegates moving along the center aisle that surrounded the auditorium. The center aisle was always packed. The people from the fire marshal’s office in Denver were constantly trying to disburse them.

  62. 62.

    MattF

    @Kay: It’s a freakshow. And it’s been a freakshow for some time now, including the bit that’s supervised by Paul Ryan.

  63. 63.

    satby

    @Schlemazel Khan: I’m not at all a fan of tats, but to each his own I guess. I always wonder about the girls who get sleeve tats though, because unless they dress like a punk rocker everything else they wear for the rest of their lives classes with their body. Especially incongruous in wedding clothes, a sight I was treated to recently.

  64. 64.

    Botsplainer, Neoliberal Corporatist Shill

    @Schlemazel Khan:

    The best part isn’t gonna be the tats – the fun will be in tapioca-eating, gibbering, wheelchair-bound old ladies sporting perky, uplifted C cups and the designer vulvas of a girl in their late teens…

  69. 69.

    Poopyman

    Good news for the PA Senate race:

    Although Mr. Toomey has not endorsed Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, he said he’s getting closer to unifying behind his party’s nominee. And he said his absence from the convention was not an attempt to distance himself from Mr. Trump but to gain more face time with Pennsylvanians in the midst of the state’s hotly contested Senate race.

    Tying yourself to a dumpster fire in full conflagration is a real winning strategy.

  71. 71.

    satby

    Gary Marshall died, 81, pneumonia. He brought a lot of amusement to a lot of people, a pretty nice life’s work.

  74. 74.

    Betty Cracker

    @Baud: Shoulder. She’ll probably get others when she can afford them. Le sigh.

    @David ?▶️Hillary/Harley Quinn 2016▶️? Koch: Supposedly, Hillz is going to name her VP at a rally in Tampa this Friday. I will be there, possibly live-blogging it if I can!

    @germy: I hope everyone thinks better of it and behaves. It would be nice to have a sane, harmonious convention to stand in sharp contrast to the parade of insanity and chaos currently on display from the GOP.

    @Baud: Better Kaine than Vilsack!

  76. 76.

    Hal

    I don’t think I’ve ever heard so many speeches in a row using phrases like my father taught me, or when people meet my dad. This is the end result of having to fill so many speaking slots with your children. The convention sounds like a Trump family reunion.

  79. 79.

    Cat48

    @germy:

    That’s an interesting article, Bernie can still win at the convention, it sounds like they think they can make Hillary change VPs, still want to fight over TPP, lots of delusion out there.

  80. 80.

    satby

    Going into a horrible hot humid spell lasting the next several days today. I’m going to go wrestle the air conditioner into a window. I usually just go without, but I’m worthless in hot weather. And I have to go look at places to potentially move to, and repair the sink drain that I tried to unclog with a plunger and ended up breaking apart (it was plastic).
    Everyone have a good day, keep cool.

  88. 88.

    Amir Khalid

    @Kay:

    The help puts the TV show together, remember. Donald just shows up to pose for the cameras and hog the credit.

    Fixed that for me.

  90. 90.

    Kay

    @rikyrah:

    They’re assembling the lawyer-troops rikyrah!

    Hi,
    I’m working with the voter protection efforts for Hillary Clinton and the Ohio Democratic Party this year. I know that you’ve been helping to lead the effort to protect the vote here in Ohio and I want to engage with you about how we can work together again this cycle.
    As we ramp up our work to partner with attorneys and folks across Ohio, we want to identify a County Counsel to be our local liaison to the Board of Elections and be our eyes and ears on the ground. I have a note that you have helped in that role in the past and I’d like to connect about whether you can help us again this year as well as any other folks that you think we should be reaching out to.

    They put this together after 2004, the long lines debacle. People volunteer and then return the next cycle so they’re developing a group of volunteer lawyers who really understand Ohio voting process. If there’s a problem in Ohio one petitions a common pleas judge to do (or not do) something. Obviously time is important, so this group provides any pleading one would need to file ahead of time to the lead volunteer in all 88 counties. The basic idea is local contact files to buy time and then bring in actual election lawyers who know what they’re doing to the area where there’s a problem.

  92. 92.

    Dan

    @debbie:

    Becerra or Perez are superior choices, I think. Castro still feels wet behind the ears, plus he has no Spanish fluency.

  95. 95.

    Kay

    @Amir Khalid:

    They’ll excuse him because he’s “new at this” but he’s not new at tv. This was supposed to be his strength. Obama was literally (also) better at reality tv than Donald Trump is.

  98. 98.

    Baud

    @Patricia Kayden:

    I’m too exciting. I think she’ll go boring. It’s kind of what Obama did when he picked Biden. Although we don’t think of Biden as boring now, at the time, he was seen as a long time pol who brought experience to the ticket.

    I like Kaine, so I won’t be disappointed if it’s him.

  102. 102.

    rikyrah

    @satby:
    Mr. Marshall seemed to be a good guy that just wanted to make tv shows and movies that entertained people. I know that I spent many hours watching his shows.
    RIP

  103. 103.

    Kay

    @Baud:

    Ohio Democrats can’t blame Republicans for the 2004 fuck ups. That was before all the ID provisions and some of those counties were run by Democrats. They tell the S o S how much capacity they need and if they don’t get it they have to demand it. Remember- they have a ton of real data. They have the numbers from the last election, they have new registrations- pieces of paper they can count- and they also use census data. They’re supposed to be ready. County Bds of Elections start planning Prez elections in January. They meet every month. There’s just no excuse not to have enough capacity. This is as much about oversight of Dem county elections operations as it is about Republicans. It shouldn’t be shocking that there’s a rush of new voters where there’s a university. They live in these counties. They should be the experts on how many machines and ballots they need.

  106. 106.

    Immanentize

    @Betty Cracker: @Baud: Im with Baud:
    1). Happy Birthday to Kid Cracker (love that nym) and
    2). What tattoo is she getting?

    And

    3). Happy Birthdays to all others celebrating!

  107. 107.

    debbie

    @Baud:

    If nothing else, this week should show everyone just how hated Hillary is. I have no idea what she can do about this, but something has to be done.

  109. 109.

    Baud

    @debbie: Everyone at that convention hates Obama just as much. I’m not sure what this week tells us that we don’t already know.

  110. 110.

    Baud

    @Kay: I just can’t believe there’s no better way to do elections. Everything seems so antiquated.

  111. 111.

    Randy P

    @rikyrah: He was a hoot on his occasional turns in front of the camera too. We loved and sometimes quote his producer character in Soap Dish. Actually all the characters in that film are pretty great.

  112. 112.

    Kay

    @rikyrah:

    I went to a Dem event yesterday and rural Dems like Kaine.

    They’re also up in arms about fracking. They’re running pipeline all thru the surrounding counties here and there was a “big” (for us) court case here that they just lost. The anti-fracking activist at the table was annoying but I have a lot of sympathy for the regular people who are ordered to provide easements on their property for these gas lines. They’re worried about groundwater, which is what they drink. This is a 36″ gas line sometimes right outside their front door. Boom. They’re mostly retirees with paid-off houses – not big landowners.

  113. 113.

    Elizabelle

    Hello all.

    Twas lovely to wake up this morning and find out the GOP has formally nominated Trump (yea! they’re stuck with him) and that Roger Ailes has to depart Fox News.

    I hope the Republican party explodes; they deserve it. I also hope the Murdoch heirs go more gently with Fox News — although our corporate press (you too NPR) won’t say it, this Republican base and convention activists brought to you by FoxWorld and LimbaughLand.

    Would be nice to get the seniors snapping and growling less and sending fewer vile chain emails. Yes, some of that is latent behavior, but it’s Ailes and Fox and now Trump that opens Pandora’s Box, every single damn day. They enable behavior that should not be on display, and that is shameful.

    To make money for themselves. The hell with the rest of us.

  114. 114.

    Botsplainer, Neoliberal Corporatist Shill

    @Kay:

    Hey, if you save money, pare down and have a single polling station for each county, that’s fair, right?

  115. 115.

    debbie

    @Baud:

    It should tell Dems to pay attention and not campaign as if it doesn’t exist (a la Kerry and Swiftboaters).

  117. 117.

    Baud

    @Kay: Kaine might be the better choice if we’re looking to run up the score, especially in GOP leaning districts.

  120. 120.

    Kay

    @Botsplainer, Neoliberal Corporatist Shill:

    They combined precincts, cramming more into fewer polling stations, but that’s negotiable too. The bds of elections have to be aggressive. They have to demand what they need. They’ll get it. Our SoS wants to be governor- he’s a wholly political animal. The trick is not to claim suppression but instead to claim incompetence. He can’t have that.

  121. 121.

    Joel

    I didn’t watch the RNC, and wont.

    But the Republican party has gone absolutely nuts. Trump gives them carte blanche to do so. They need to be destroyed.

    I’m serious about this.

  122. 122.

    Chyron HR

    @debbie:

    If nothing else, this week should show everyone just how hated Hillary is.

    If only we had nominated Bernie, they would have cancelled the Republican convention, or at least scaled it back to one day of speeches about how great BOTH candidates are.

  123. 123.

    debbie

    @Baud:

    Yes, so far. I’m concerned about from now on. My point is, I think she needs to speak to the specific charges against her.

  125. 125.

    Kay

    @Baud:

    I like Kaine too. I know he’s not a Lefty but I think he has an approachableness that is under-valued by the sophisticates in media. He seems nice. Affable. That’s a good contrast with the screeching hatefulness coming out of Cleveland. They love Rudy with his tough-guy flash but the country didn’t actually love him. He got crushed when he ran outside NYC. Christie isn’t even liked in his own state. These people don’t wear well. They’re TOO MUCH.

  127. 127.

    Baud

    @debbie:

    There are no charges against her. She’s been completely exonerated. I think the worst thing she can do is make this election a referendum on whether people want to have a beer with Hillary. This election is about competence and fascism.

  128. 128.

    Iowa Old Lady

    @Cat48: Are they unaware that by the time the convention starts, the VP will have been named over a week earlier and spent that week campaigning the HRC?

    Always assuming Clinton isn’t planning on doing a Trump.

    Btw, the NYT reports that Melania Trump took a speech from the campaign’s professional writers and edited it to oblivion with the help of a friend whose qualification is that she was an English major.

  129. 129.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @debbie:

    something has to be done.

    Outside of FEMA camps with appropriate shower facilities, I’m not sure what can be done to counteract 24 years of non-stop slime slinging.

  130. 130.

    Baud

    @Kay: The story in the NYT today says that Clinton likes the fact that he’s considered boring. I’m sure the contrast is not lost on her.

  131. 131.

    Emma

    @Betty Cracker: All right! Freedom!

    Don’t worry, Betty. I have no children but I’ve been observing all my friends while they deal with theirs. Well brought up kids like yours settle down after a short period of crazy. And also, tattoos are mild stuff, all things considered.

  132. 132.

    Elizabelle

    @debbie: it’s fabulous. Still in Barcelona because — why not? Tonight, picnicking at an open air showing of the Amy Winehouse documentary. Sala Montjuic movie series. Another reason to mark your calendars for spending summer weeks here.

    Don’t know how to link from the iPad, but Google will bring it up

    Only reason I want to come back to the States is to work hard for Team Dem. And Balloon Juice meet ups.

  134. 134.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Baud: Of all the people I see expressing shock and dismay about Trump’s open fascism, at least online, about half of them feel compelled to insist that Hillary is just the same. There’s a lot of work to do there. Just not being incredibly scary will be part of it, I guess.

  135. 135.

    Elizabelle

    @Baud: I like Tim Kaine a lot. And Tom Perez too. Tim can be a Republican whisperer to the persuadables. He can work with lots of people, which is not the same as being a sellout.

  136. 136.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @debbie: They will do that at the DNC. Right now all the media air is being sucked up by the RNC clown show.

  137. 137.

    Elizabelle

    @Matt McIrvin: I think the “both are the same!” Is one of the first steps on the bridge back to sanity. Patience. It’s a sign the person is coming around

    If they’re still whingeing in mid or late October, ignore them. They’re time wasters, and there are more persuadable people to contact out there.

  138. 138.

    Iowa Old Lady

    @Matt McIrvin: Around here, I hear a lot of Rs express their shock at Trump and then hastily say Clinton is just the same. To me, it looks like a way to deny that their candidate is uniquely awful. I don’t hear Ds saying the comparable thing.

  139. 139.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Kay: Kaine’s a good guy, but Virginia looks to not be the most critical state this year, so she could do better on favorite-son terms.

  141. 141.

    Dadadadadadada

    @Cat48: Per my declaration of a couple nights ago (in the thread that started with Cole saying something like “I wish I wasn’t white”), white supremacists are no longer to be classified as white people. They are orange, not white. Come on, people, let’s make this happen!

  144. 144.

    Dadadadadadada

    @Kay: Even in the meltdown, Douthat leaves himself an out. He specified that only the “major figures” had disgraced themselves. That’s…only about 4 people. Ryan, the Turtle, and maybe two others, possibly Cotton or one of the other congresscritters. Trump’s immediate family doesn’t count. Soap-opera actresses dont’ count. Christie, the two-term gov with the 18% approval rating who hasn’t set foot in his own state since 2012 and will never be heard from again after this horror show is over, doesn’t count.

  145. 145.

    Baud

    @Matt McIrvin:

    This isn’t an argument to make to skeptics, but even if every charge currently been levied against Clinton were true, she would still be a better choice than Trump. Not only is she competent, but she’s not attacking or demonizing ordinary people in either her rhetoric or her policies.

  146. 146.

    Jeffro

    @Kay: So me and Ross Douthat actually agree on something…hmm, who would have guessed? It really is a historic election season.

    Also, Chris Christie, the Turtle, and Paul Ryan need to find some private-sector work, like yesterday. No taxpayer should be paying the salaries of these un-American demagogues.

  147. 147.

    FlipYrWhig

    @debbie:

    If nothing else, this week should show everyone just how hated Hillary is

    debbie: Thought experiment. Would anyone ever say that the Democratic convention or media coverage thereof “shows everyone just how hated Trump is”? If not, why not?

  148. 148.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Randy P: He played a similar part on “Murphy Brown,” basically playing himself. He was always really funny when he showed up.

  149. 149.

    Emma

    At this point I don’t care who she chooses. She needs to be comfortable with him and he needs to be supportive of her goals. He needs to be able to give a good speech and work a bit like an attack dog while she floats above the madness. That’s pretty much it.

  151. 151.

    FlipYrWhig

    @Dadadadadadada: I like how in the media coverage they (Chuck Todd et al) were saying that the Republicans had turned things around on Day 2 because it ended pretty much on time and the candidate’s children were effective speakers. In other words, they held to a schedule and kids were nice to their dad. This, if you are the Republican Party, is not just baseline minimal competency, no siree — this is a very encouraging sign. As cynical as I am, it’s still hard to believe how sycophantic the media is to the repellent beings who call themselves Republicans and to the ideas they promulgate.

  152. 152.

    Kay

    @Dadadadadadada:

    I think I disagree. My take is “major figures” means it’s systemic in a way that can’t be denied. It CAN’T be limited to Trump or Gingrich or Christie- the carnival barkers. It’s infected the people who he thought we were resistant. They went into this thinking they had such a strong bench (with some justification- they had such success at the state level) and STILL it ended up like this. The problem is much bigger than Trump. It’s their electorate.

  153. 153.

    Jeffro

    @Kay:

    I like Kaine too. I know he’s not a Lefty but I think he has an approachableness that is under-valued by the sophisticates in media. He seems nice. Affable.

    Kaine’s plenty ‘Lefty’ or progressive, and he really does have all those qualities you mention. So nice, such integrity, that even VA Republicans have nothing bad to say about him. I say again, even VA Republicans have nothing bad to say about him.

    He’ll make a great VP and teammate for Clinton.

  154. 154.

    Central Planning

    @Betty Cracker: I tell my kids that as long as I am providing their guaranteed income (I.e. college, living in my house, food, etc) that they can not get tattoos or piercings I don’t approve of. When they support themselves they can do whatever they want. It’s worked out ok so far

  155. 155.

    Kay

    @Jeffro:

    Dan Senor made a big show out of walking out after the NY delegation went for Trump. I guess he lives in NY. His wife, Campbell Brown was trumpeting it on her Twitter as proof of how honorable her warmonger, lying husband is.

  156. 156.

    gogol's wife

    We went to our favorite restaurant last night. It’s an Italian restaurant run by Muslim immigrants from the former Yugoslavia. Our favorite server is from Srebrenica, and some of you will know what that means. Last night he told us that he had been serving someone he played golf with, and the guy (for some unknown reason) told the couple at the next table that the server is Muslim. So when he went to take their order, the woman said, “Don’t blow us up.” I am still steaming about this today. These people have been working their asses off at this restaurant for 15 years, and she has the nerve to say, “Don’t blow us up.” This is Trump’s America. I hate it.

  158. 158.

    Jeffro

    Btw – signed up to do my first voter reg work this coming weekend – felt GREAT – going to bring the kids along with me, too.

    I’ll be interested to hear if my dad, brother, other right-leaning acquaintances are similarly pumped up about their guy that they’re out there volunteering in July…actually, I think I already know the answer…;)

  159. 159.

    Kay

    Dan Senor getting a job in government was a “sad day for America”:

    walking out as NY puts Trump “over the top”. Sad day for America

    Have to love the complete and utter lack of accountability among “serious” conservatives. They built this thing. Who can forget the fear-mongering the Bushies did to drag Dumbo over the finish line in 2004? Trump is the natural and inevitable consequence of YEARS of sleazy behavior.

  160. 160.

    rikyrah

    @Matt McIrvin:

    Of all the people I see expressing shock and dismay about Trump’s open fascism, at least online, about half of them feel compelled to insist that Hillary is just the same.

    I call bullshyt on this, and you should too.

    ask them to TELL YOU who Hillary has said that she would kick out of the country and wouldn’t let in.

    make them TELL YOU.

  161. 161.

    rikyrah

    @Kay:

    The problem is much bigger than Trump. It’s their electorate.

    Ding ding ding.

    We have a winner.

    Ferret Head was CHOSEN by THEIR voters.

    They can’t get around that.

  162. 162.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Jeffro:

    I say again, even VA Republicans have nothing bad to say about him.

    They will if HRC picks him for VP.

  163. 163.

    Dadadadadadada

    @Jeffro: By restoring the voting rights of all those ex-felons, Kaine has already done a whole lot of work for Clinton. Possibly all he can do. There’s something to the idea that he should be rewarded with the VP slot, but I think there are people (Hispanic people, mostly) that can do more than Kaine from here on.

  166. 166.

    Jeffro

    @Kay:

    Who can forget the fear-mongering the Bushies did to drag Dumbo over the finish line in 2004?

    Wait, so you remember those color-coded fear…er, I mean, terrorism alerts too? The ones that always spiked up to orange whenever something hit the news that reflected poorly on W?

  167. 167.

    Jeffro

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    They will if HRC picks him for VP.

    They can try, but it ain’t gonna work too well. Worst thing they will likely say is something along the lines of ‘selling his integrity to benefit History’s Greatest Monster’ (i.e., like everything we say about Christie, only without any basis in fact)

    Kaine’s a great pick for a number of reasons, primarily because he can do the top job if called to do so, and seems to be a good partner for Clinton to work with. Then there is also his reputation of being a solid Democrat on all issues – reproductive rights, voting rights, education, and so on – plus he speaks fluent Spanish and is considered to be pretty unassailable on defense issues. All-round winner.

  168. 168.

    Jeffro

    @Dadadadadadada:

    By restoring the voting rights of all those ex-felons, Kaine has already done a whole lot of work for Clinton.

    That was Gov Terry McAuliffe, who really ought to appoint himself to Kaine’s about-to-be-vacant Senate seat, and then run for it again in 2017.

  170. 170.

    AMinNC

    @Betty Cracker: My unasked for advice (other than cocktails for you and the Mr.) is reminding her that at age 4 she would have probably permanently altered her body with an image of Dora the Explorer. No guarantees at all that what she likes at 18 will seem any better to her 32 (not to mention 62) year-old self than Dora does to her now. Good luck. And congratulations on the birthday!

  171. 171.

    Dadadadadadada

    @Jeffro: Oh, yes, my bad. It’s true what they say about getting less sharp as you get older. And I’m only 33!
    I know governors get to appoint successors to senators who leave office mid-term, but can a governor appoint himself? That seems a little shady.

  173. 173.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Betty Cracker:

    At least a tattoo won’t put her in the hospital in 32 years. I celebrated my 18th birthday by buying a pack of cigarettes and teaching myself to smoke, and didn’t quit until I had a heart attack at age 50.

    Happy birthday to your young’un!

  174. 174.

    catclub

    @amk: NPR has GOP operatives as their main commenators on the GOP convention. I doubt they will
    have Democrats doing commentary on the Democratic convention.

  175. 175.

    Raven Onthill

    Jury duty! I’m on the bus to the courthouse, having just moved away from the person next to me who had a loud cell conversation wherein she explained she had a cold. No mask.

    Bah!

  177. 177.

    J R in WV

    @Betty Cracker:

    Oh, that’s so funny! Happy Birthday to her!!

    Hope it goes well, picked an artistic guy, nice design, all that. There are good ones, better ones, really gifted ones.

    A young friend, Samoan, showed up one summer with lots of traditional South Pacific ink, I kinda asked wha’happen and he said he went home last winter, and it seemed like the thing he ought to do. Burly guy with a ton of hair, it did look natural on him. No one would ever mess with him, 6′ 200+ pounds and zero fat. Liked hard work. Looked good on him.

    I’m white bread, I would never get one unless really suddenly moved artistically.

    Hope you aren’t disappointed !

  178. 178.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @Schlemazel Khan: In the spirit of the Scottish pay toilet (free to get in, a pound to get out)* or the old saw “Marry in haste, repent at leisure.”

    ETA: * There is no truth to the rumor that the Limbo was invented by a Scotsman trying to get into a non-Scottish pay toilet. At least I think not. But there is a reason that the owner of the Money Bin in the Disney cartoon canon is named Scrooge McDuck…

  179. 179.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @Poopyman: “In Sweden, where there are 70,000 miles of unpaved rut, a Vulva lasts an average of 11 years.”

    (Props to anyone old enough with enough of a functioning memory to remember the TV commercial; the Google brought me up nothing closer than this print ad.)

  181. 181.

    Juju

    @Central Planning: I know this is late to the rodeo, but my parents said the same thing about tattoos, as well as smoking, driving carelessly or being mean to wait staff and people who work in retail. They were dead serious about what they said, and I knew they were dead serious about what they said. To this day I have no tattoos, a clean driving record, and I am always nice to wait staff et al. It worked. I have a few friends who got tattoos at some point in their lives. All but one has had them removed or are in the process of having them removed. The ones who have had them removed said it was more painful and expensive to have them removed than it was to get the tattoo.

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