Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Too often we confuse noise with substance. too often we confuse setbacks with defeat.

Take hopelessness and turn it into resilience.

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

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

In my day, never was longer.

Let there be snark.

Presidents are not kings, and Plaintiff is not President.

Speaking of republicans, is there a way for a political party to declare intellectual bankruptcy?

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

Incompetence, fear, or corruption? why not all three?

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

… pundit janitors mopping up after the GOP

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

You can’t love your country only when you win.

Accused of treason; bitches about the ratings. I am in awe.

Everybody saw this coming.

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

We still have time to mess this up!

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

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

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

Republicans are the party of chaos and catastrophe.

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

Whatever happens next week, the fight doesn’t end.

You are here: Home / Politics / Domestic Politics / Sunday Afternoon Open Thread

Sunday Afternoon Open Thread

by | 133 Comments

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Here’s a statue of former Tampa Mayor Nick Nuccio with his trademark cigar and fedora:

image

One unique thing about Tampa — or Ybor City, anyway — is that you can still smoke cigars if you’re so inclined without becoming a pariah. Not everywhere, of course, but in plenty of places, and it’s socially acceptable to walk down the sidewalk puffing on a big stogie.

It’s another scorcher of a day, but with any luck, it’ll rain sideways this afternoon and cool things off (for half an hour). Open thread!

Reader Interactions

133Comments

  1. 1.

    Yutsano

    Huh. Might need to let a friend of mine know that. He’s a fan of stogies.

    I should get up and shower and do laundry and blah blah blah but the laziness bug has hit me hard.

  2. 2.

    dmsilev

    I accomplished one thing this morning (replaced a light fixture in the bathroom), and therefore feel entitled to laze for the rest of today.

    Ok, a few errands to run, but mostly laze.

  3. 3.

    lamh36

    I don’t know what’s funnier.

    The Bernie-bros allowing themselves to be rolled over by Wikileaks and Putin. Or the GOP being perfectly happy as pawn by Putin via Drumpf

    Or maybe the media, that really thinks the DNC convention is gonna be anything as chaotic as the RNC. & they’re gonna stick to that narravtve no matter what

  4. 4.

    redshirt

    Do people actually smoke cigars?

    I thought you just kept an unlit stump in your mouth as an object of power, so you can dramatically say things like “I love it when a plan comes together.”

  5. 5.

    The Dangerman

    Russia meddling is concerning; hacked emails won’t flip an election, but a well-timed terrorist thing might.

  7. 7.

    Yutsano

    @The Dangerman: That’s the big worry I have right now. A bombing or Daesh connected shooting in October could inspire just enough pants-wetting for that to happen. Although something tells me Trump is too much of a moron to take advantage of it.

  9. 9.

    WaterGirl

    My dad always wore a fedora. We used to tell him he looked as dapper as Cary Grant.
    :: smiling at the thought of my dad and his hats ::

  10. 10.

    MattF

    @Yutsano: If something like that happens, the contrast between Trump’s reaction and Hilz’s reaction will be instructive. People don’t want to see their prospective leader panic.

  11. 11.

    laura

    Oh, for a greasy bag of La Carreta empanadas! Meat ones with mustard and sweet fruit ones with a nap!

  12. 12.

    CaseyL

    I have done a few housekeeping thingies this morning, so yay me (I hate housework).

    Yesterday we put my latest fused glass piece in the kiln. Depending on my mentor-instructor’s schedule, it may come out of the kiln today. I’m hoping for the best and fearing the worst, and have already made plans to meet a friend afterward for, as I told her, “celebration or commiseration.”

  13. 13.

    EZSmirkzz

    Here you go Betty, another interesting link I think you’ll find worthwhile,

    David Brooks, of The New York Times, wrote the single best piece I read last week on the Republican convention: “Death of the Party.” Like him, I was riveted by Donald Trump’s acceptance speech. The scene seemed straight out of one of those dystopian Batman movies of the 1980s, ’90s, and ’00s, an outlandish character, sailing under false colors, bullying and threatening, preying on fears, selling Gotham a bill of goods, preparing chaos.

    I picked this up over at Economist’s View which has been reliable for years.

    Cheers, Grumpy old man, troll, etc.

  14. 14.

    The Dangerman

    @Yutsano:

    Although something tells me Trump is too much of a moron to take advantage of it.

    I’ve become convinced that Trump has a disorder of some kind; no one is THAT big a combo narcissist/asshole.

    Anyway, Trump would probably be figuratively (or, perhaps, literally) locked in a room if something big happened; still, if strings are being pulled from Moscow (and it’s pretty clear they want Trump to win), well, that’s a concern.

    This TPM story was tough to wake up to this morning, too.

    I most definitely picked the wrong year to stop drinking.

  15. 15.

    Keith G

    Here’s an Obamacare success story.

    Late last week I was diagnosed with prostate cancer. It’s not the least aggressive type nor the most aggressive, it has been caught early and so the prognosis is very good. Throughout the nineties I was able to successfully battle AIDS with a very decent health care package provided from work. A change in occupations left me uncovered an uncoverable for a bit of time, but for the last 3 years I’ve been covered via Obamacare. The surgeon and I have yet to set a date for the beginning of a new life adventure, but thanks to being covered with health insurance things are going to work out.

    Thanks Obama!

  16. 16.

    danielx

    91 degrees on the back porch, and feels too hot for human life….but the flowers, herbs and tomato plants are loving it. Although the wisteria is threatening to creep in and strangle us while we sleep. Clearly the only possible activities are staying inside and and napping in the air conditioning or lying in the hammock with a cold one close at hand.

  17. 17.

    Dog Dawg Damn

    I will never forget the Berners-Steiners-Naderites who would risk the end of the Republic and countless lives under Herr Trump rather than acknowledge defeat and work together for common goals.

    Nothing has moderated my political views like this election. Clowns to the left. Jokers to the right. Stuck in the middle with her.

  19. 19.

    JGabriel

    OT: I’m beginning to see people getting worried about polls again elsewhere in the blogosphere – not here, yet, though I suppose it’s only a matter of time – so I just wanted to remind everyone:

    The Republican Convention has just ended, and the Democratic Convention hasn’t started yet. Clinton’s polling numbers are probably as low right now as they are going to get, and she’s still in the lead. And Hillary’s numbers should pick up during and after the convention, with the resulting increases from fully post-convention polling samples showing up about 3-7 days after the convention ends.

    So don’t anyone panic. Just wait until, say August 4th or 5th, to start taking the polls seriously again.

  21. 21.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @redshirt: When I was in the Army, at a “dining in” it was practically required to smoke a cigar upon the lighting of the smoking lamp.

    Very few pursued that outside of the ceremonial event, though.

  22. 22.

    Mnemosyne

    Went out to dinner last night and most of it came back up early this morning. Still trying to figure out if I just way overdid it on FODMAP foods or if it’s something more. Right now, I’m drinking water to see if it will stay down.

  25. 25.

    MattF

    @JGabriel: FWIW, I’ve seen two polls– a battleground states poll that shows a +2 bump up for Trump and a Latinos poll that shows a -8 (!) drop against Trump.

  26. 26.

    Trentrunner

    @Dog Dawg Damn: I’m being generous:

    I’m allowing all the Sanders-Naders-Pony people until Thursday night when Hillary officially accepts the nomination. Until then, they can continue to gripe, complain about/change rules, woulda-coulda-shoulda, and generally wind up their 3 months of mourning.

    After that, no fucking quarter: Whatever mischief or complaining they get up to, one answer: YOU ARE HELPING TRUMP WIN. Full fucking stop.

  27. 27.

    geg6

    @srv:

    That’s not exactly what I heard when I watched that interview. Are those quotes from the transcript? Because HW, and also Eisehower but I notice you didn’t mention him, as only brought up by the interviewer and in response to Obama saying her experience made her one of the most qualified candidates to ever run. So, yes, he said her professional background was similarly extensive to both HW’s and Eisenhowers’s.

    You are a complete piece of shit liar by omission.

  28. 28.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @geg6:

    You are a complete piece of shit liar by omission.

    He can’t help it; it’s his nature.

  29. 29.

    danielx

    David Brooks, of The New York Times, wrote the single best piece I read last week on the Republican convention: “Death of the Party.”

    Naturally, not one single column ever written by David Brooks has anything to do with the current state of affairs. Heaven forbid!

  36. 36.

    Keith P.

    I just got out of the hospital (been in since Friday morning) with a dead phone. Last internet visit I said Steve vanished. I don’t see any updates, so is he OK? I was SUPER worried about my last cast while I was in (since my phone was dead). I was pretty sure I left a bag of food in the kitchen and the back window open (so she could get water). First thing I did was call for her with some food (she’s fine but feeling a little betrayed). Now that I have some food in me and my cat’s OK, what’s going on with Steve?

  37. 37.

    Brachiator

    I’m having fun with the Google Arts and Culture app. Free and thousands of works of art. Nice focus on Edward Hopper’s painting, Nighthawks, recognizing his July 22 birthday.

    Ghostbusters and Star Trek Beyond were fun, and I still cannot believe the idiocy of the Ghostbusters haters. Not great films, but good summer heat relief.

    The trailer for the upcoming documentary Gleason is wonderful in itself and had people in the audience crying. Yeah, it is just that touching.

    From the trailer, the upcoming remake of The Magnificent Seven looks like a hot mess.

    The remake of Ben-Hur looks stupid.

  38. 38.

    JGabriel

    @MattF:

    FWIW, I’ve seen two polls– a battleground states poll that shows a +2 bump up for Trump and a Latinos poll that shows a -8 (!) drop against Trump.

    Donald Trump – best Latino GOTV motivator. Ever.

  39. 39.

    geg6

    @LanceThruster:

    And I’ll ask you the same question I’ve been asking all day and have yet to get an answer to. How, exactly, was Bernie disadvantaged by people bitching about him in emails but who never acted on any of the actions pondered and who were explicitly told by DWS to forget about trying? Be specific and provide proof. That they were mean is not a valid answer.

  40. 40.

    Emma

    @Keith G: Welcome to the club of the runaway cells (gallows humor helps). Seriously, I’m sorry to hear this but I’m glad you have the insurance!

  43. 43.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Keith P.:

    Steve came back a few hours later, covered in burrs but otherwise unscathed from whatever adventures he had. John posted an update thread titled (I think) “Steve is Back.”

    ETA: Sorry you were in hospital and hope that whatever took you there is under control now.

  44. 44.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @geg6: and, just to pile on, emails from May, when he had been mathematically eliminated was hanging on out of delusional spite, celebrating having “won” West Virginia with the support of Democrats who were planning to vote for Trump in the general.

  48. 48.

    redshirt

    So I’ve just discovered there’s a movie about Hillary in major theaters right now – “Hillary’s America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party”.

    Anyone heard about his BS?

  49. 49.

    raven

    I had a friend here this weekend with his teenage son who has a severe developmental disability. The young man is about 16 and loves dogs and trains so we mostly hung out here after going to the train museum yesterday. The patience that my buddy has is incredible even if he has no choice in the matter. I’m exhausted after two days and can’t imagine what it is like for parents who live with this situation.

  50. 50.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Keith G:

    So sorry about the diagnosis, but very happy you have good coverage now. And your optimistic, adventurous attitude will serve you well in the weeks to come. Best wishes to you.

  51. 51.

    Betty Cracker

    @geg6: I’m having a difficult time finding a fuck to give about what non-Democrats think of how the DNC operates, and Porny McPornhandle isn’t a Democrat.

  52. 52.

    Brachiator

    @justawriter:

    Republican says “There is no redemption in being one of the Good Nazis.”

    Very powerful stuff. And a rebuke to those who think that Trump is a typical Republican.

  54. 54.

    Keith P.

    @SiubhanDuinne: I didn’t see that update, but I’m glad he’s back. Mandalay can disappear for 12-24 hours sometimes, but that was more when Flash was alive. Since Flash died, she’s become more of an indoor cat. She’s got a feral “boyfriend” who she hangs with outside, but her favorite thing in the world are my massages (I massage her until she drools, so 5 minutes or so). Now I get worried if she isn’t around for her scheduled devotionals.

  55. 55.

    JGabriel

    Brachiator:

    …I still cannot believe the idiocy of the Ghostbusters haters.

    Aren’t they mostly just misogynists who can’t get laid? I suspect there’s a lot of overlap between the most vocal Ghostbuster haters and Gamergaters.

  58. 58.

    a thousand flouncing lurkers (was fidelio)

    @Keith G: I’m glad you have a good plan and good coverage, and I’m sorry they’re necessary! Here’s hoping for the best outcome possible.

  62. 62.

    Bill E Pilgrim

    @geg6: Beautiful pivot.

    The DNC has been scheming to hurt Sanders chances and make sure Hillary wins.

    “That’s a ridiculous conspiracy theory”

    Okay here are emails containing DNC people scheming to hurt Sanders chances.

    “Okay tell me how that hurt him, and anything else you say isn’t a valid answer. ”

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Beautiful. Even better. Replace line four above with “Well, he deserved it”.

    No they probably didn’t cause him to lose. That’s not the same as “no, it never happened”, which is what those calling it a conspiracy theory were saying earlier.

    Also by the way being honest about the fact that the scheming was going on will not make Trump President. Anyone who thinks so please get a grip.

  70. 70.

    gogol's wife

    @Trentrunner:

    You’re more patient than I am. Luckily we have no social events this week. I’ve started flaming people in person when they start that s–t.

  71. 71.

    Mike in NC

    Some day there will dozens of statues of Donald Drumpf erected across what’s left of the USA. Yooouge and classy statues, some even covered in gold plate, and he’ll make the American taxpayers happy to pay for them.

  74. 74.

    MikeS

    @jeffreyw: Could be, beacuse the marks are mainly at the big end of the eggs, it could also be a Chipping Sparrow or Clay-Colored Sparrow. From the Peterson Field Guide to Birds’ Nests:

    Shell smooth, has a slight gloss. Pale bluish green; dotted, spotted, blotched, scrawled, with dark brown, black, purple, mainly at the large end. Indistinguishable from the eggs of Clay-colored Sparrow.

    It depends on your location which one is most likely.

  76. 76.

    LanceThruster

    DWS supposedly did nothing wrong, but has been uninvited to speak.

    There’s that that legendary Clinton loyalty I hear so much about.

    xD

  77. 77.

    rikyrah

    Victoria Brownworth ‏@VABVOX 2h2 hours ago

    Sanders says Kaine’s views are not his,but they have voted the same 96% of the time in the Senate. Kaine IS anti-gun.

  78. 78.

    PhoenixRising

    @Keith G: hooray for early detection!

    And also too a hearty Thanks Obama!

    When I was DXed with a rare cancer almost 5 years ago, I was in year 10 of paying for a high deductible family plan.

    The weasels tried to avoid covering my care, and were partially successful in that the only hospital competent to treat my cancer got stiffed for saving my life and my eye. But they couldn’t raise my premiums for 2012, because the first part of Obamacare to take effect was community rating!

    Obamacare saved my house. All y’all tell everybody wavering that.

  81. 81.

    Emma

    @Bill E Pilgrim: There was DISCUSSION of ratfvcking, which DWS torpedoed. So, no, nothing happened.

    ETA: I’m done. Enjoy the scalp you got, Bernie boys.

  86. 86.

    The Thin Black Duke

    @Emma: That’s not the point, unfortunately. DWS was disloyal to St. Bernie, so the [expletive deleted] had to be punished. How this going to bring on the Revolution, I can’t figure out. Oh well, it’s really about ethics in gaming journalism–oops, sorry. Same church, different pew.

  87. 87.

    inventor

    @LanceThruster: What’s on them? What did they actually do except gripe to one another about Bernie? Were people who have worked for the Democratic party for years supposed to express no opinion to each other about the guy who just joined up?

    People, even DNC members, are allowed to have opinions.

  88. 88.

    gogol's wife

    @Mike in NC:

    Betty’s pic looked like a typical Lenin statue when I first saw it. I thought she was trying to get us used to it.

  89. 89.

    LanceThruster

    @redshirt:

    If the DNC and superdelegates do not come through, he should withdraw his endorsement and run 3rd party.

    Have fun rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.

  90. 90.

    Baud

    @Baud:

    AP Tweet

    BREAKING: Democratic National Committee chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz says she will step down at end of party’s convention.

  91. 91.

    hovercraft

    @Baud:
    Maybe if one of those Johnny on the spot reporters marching with the protesters right now demanding her ouster could ask them if they are happy now, they would be useful for something.

  93. 93.

    PhoenixRising

    @redshirt: yup.

    Melanoma in your eye is so rare in otherwise healthy people under 40 that when they told me what was in my eye and that I had a 62% chance of turning 50 my response was both profane and disbelieving. Because melanoma is a thing you get cut off your ear or whatever.

    But the timing was great! 4 new immunotherapy interventions approved since I was DXed. So all the expectations have shifted. It’s a good cancer to have now.

  96. 96.

    hovercraft

    NY Times reporter says that ouster proves to Bernistas that they are powerful, and Bernie can get real things done, shows that they actually won and are taking over the party.
    I really need to get some of the shit these people are smoking.

  97. 97.

    redshirt

    @PhoenixRising: Wow. So it first appeared in your eye? Not elsewhere and traveled to your eye? And obviously, you survived! I’ve been given grim prospects if it’s found in someplace other than the skin. That’s why I go to the dermatologist every 3 months.

  98. 98.

    Mike J

    @rikyrah:

    Sanders says Kaine’s views are not his,but they have voted the same 96% of the time in the Senate. Kaine IS anti-gun.

    Also not a fan of border militias.

  100. 100.

    Mike J

    @Emma:

    There was DISCUSSION of ratfvcking, which DWS torpedoed. So, no, nothing happened.

    I’m hoping the next chair understands hardball better.

  102. 102.

    hovercraft

    @redshirt:
    But there may be thousands, they signed up on line, and the organizers told the reporters that there are more people on the way. I guess they are caught in traffic.

  103. 103.

    bemused

    @redshirt:

    Just the other day I read Minneapolis Star Tribune Variety section about the movie and laughed and laughed when it was rated 1 out of 4 stars.

  105. 105.

    Brachiator

    @JGabriel:

    Aren’t they mostly just misogynists who can’t get laid?

    Misogynists and racists. Unfortunately, not all of them are friendless social dimwits hunkered in their parents’ basements.

    The Internet (among other things) has taught me that there are large numbers of miserable people who love to spoil the enjoyment of others.

  108. 108.

    Technocrat

    Debbie took one for the team. I hope she negotiated a decent parachute. She wasn’t great as DNC chair, but any scapegoat needs to get paid well.

  109. 109.

    PaulWartenberg2016

    @LanceThruster:

    What you aren’t hearing is the likelihood the Clinton folks are super-funding DWS’ congressional campaign so she can win her own election in November. We’ll see.

    The Clintons take care of their people off-camera, not in public.

  112. 112.

    The Thin Black Duke

    @geg6: What infuriates me is how these clowns lose their shit over nonsense like e-mail servers while blissfully ignoring that Trump is most likely a sock puppet for Putin. They don’t fucking care.

  114. 114.

    geg6

    @LanceThruster:

    I don’t know any adults who dismissed the youth vote. I know a lot of people, including me, who dismiss the stupid “lefty” poseurs vote. Not the same thing.

  115. 115.

    LanceThruster

    @geg6:

    Peace and love to you. We are not enemies, we just disagree as to the best move forward.

  117. 117.

    LanceThruster

    @geg6:

    You support the folks that let ‘liberal’ become a dirty word.

    They are going to crash and burn.

  118. 118.

    Technocrat

    @The Thin Black Duke:

    Absolutely this. I’m no “USA USA” patriot, but I take it seriously if some Russian tyrant tries to subvert our election process. Emogressives, meanwhile, are engorged with righteous indignation over…what? Overzealous emails that were shot down by the very woman they got fired.

  119. 119.

    geg6

    @LanceThruster:

    No, we’re enemies. If you aren’t 100% on board in getting the Clinton/Kaine ticket elected in November, you are my enemy and I wish you nothing but horrors in your life. No peace, no good, no love.

  120. 120.

    The Thin Black Duke

    @geg6: However, although these loud angry dumb white men won’t be the first to hear, as Phil Ochs so eloquently put it, “the knock on the door”, they will, sooner or later, be next.

  121. 121.

    geg6

    @The Thin Black Duke:

    I watched these idiots get W installed because of their hurt feefees and pure, pure souls. I won’t let it happen again with even more dire consequences. They are every bit my enemy as Trump and his minions. They must be crushed just as ruthlessly as the GOP. Hell, their hero, who I don’t give any credit to as having a fine mind, has even figured out that purity is a loser’s game this time around.

  123. 123.

    I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet

    @jeffreyw: I did a quick image search with Google and this came up. Dunno if it’s an exact match, but maybe?

    Most birds like a soft nest lined with grass. Not the song thrush. As the Spartans of the bird world, they prefer cup nests of grass, moss, mud, and rotten wood without any excess lining.

    Good luck!

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  124. 124.

    I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet

    @PhoenixRising: Congratulations!

    Tell me more, please. My father lost his eye to ocular melanoma (in the back of his eye, not the iris) and it has been found in his liver (~3 years after the initial diagnosis). Everything I’ve read thus far is that the prognosis isn’t good at all.

    Thanks!

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  125. 125.

    Steeplejack

    @Brachiator, @JGabriel:

    I saw Ghostbusters this weekend, and it was fine. There were a few slow spots, but the special effects were great and it was an amiable summer movie.

    My theory on the haters is that if you were 12 when you saw the original you recognized it as a towering achievement of Western civilization and the thought of it being remade—by grrlz!—was too horrible to contemplate.

  126. 126.

    Steeplejack

    @redshirt:

    I am a basal-cell carcinoma guy, myself. Have been clean for a few years. Too much time in the sun as a kid when Coppertone was the state of the art (and we didn’t use it anyway).

  128. 128.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    @redshirt:

    Basal-cell carcinoma is usually considered the “best” skin cancer to have. It’s typically slow-growing and not malignant. I have had a couple of rounds of Mohs surgery, though, so it’s not a joke.

  129. 129.

    J R in WV

    @jeffreyw:

    I have biologists next door on both sides, and they both want to know where the nest is (what state, not whose house it’s behind;-)) before taking a stab at the ID. Small brown bird is pretty typical…

  132. 132.

    J R in WV

    @Keith G:

    Keith,

    So sorry to hear about your diagnosis. My best friend had perhaps the most aggressive prostate cancer years ago, had DaVinci robotic surgery with a top guy, I think at Duke, which was very near where he lives. Very successful.

    So be positive… there’s no reason not to be optimistic. Also glad you have health care to help with the financial burden.

    Take care, best of luck!

  133. 133.

    David VanHooser

    Cigars make me sick, even in the open air. I get a certain head-achy queasy feeling, I look around & without fail I spot a cigar smoker.

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