.
Here's Obama tonight—at a Hillary fundraiser—on Democrats' election season psychology: pic.twitter.com/sY1JaegShs
— Gabriel Debenedetti (@gdebenedetti) August 16, 2016
And yet… What’s wrong with popcorn for breakfast, every so often?
.
No white rants after Labor Day. pic.twitter.com/6rBrjBnRAS
— Bob Schooley (@Rschooley) August 15, 2016
In USC/LATimes poll, Trump supporters' likelihood of voting has fallen a bunch over past week. His "rigged" message may depress his turnout.
— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) August 13, 2016
Donald Trump Does Not Have a Cold (his spokesperson tells me.)
— Dylan Byers (@DylanByers) August 15, 2016
@DylanByers Does he have a tranquilizer dart in his back?
— Mark Hammer (@markhammer1987) August 15, 2016
@DylanByers Did someone drug him? Like, maybe slip him some Xanax or something?
— Mike Souder (@MikeSouder) August 15, 2016
He sure sounds tired lately. Many people are saying there's something wrong with his health. https://t.co/rua9n8IoHW
— Josh Barro (@jbarro) August 15, 2016
Keith G
Here is a challenging way to start an early morning. I am just reviewing the literature on post-op recovery after a prostatectomy. Makes me want to go back to bed and pull the covers over my head. Unfortunately I don’t have many days left of easy and unencumbered movement. So, I’ve got to stay up and stay busy today.
I will say this though, watching the Trump campaign destroy itself just has a way of taking my mind off more serious matters.
amk
Looks like the kenyan reads this blog.
Schlemazel
“No white rants after Labor Day” Is the real winner in that bunch, love it!
@Keith G:
YIKES! That would be on the ‘not fun’ list of things to do. The only advice I can give you is that after having gone through several ‘not fun’ things in my life, the worry and fretting are the worst. Sounds like you have a plan, stay busy and try not to think about it. Good luck & keep us informed.
Phylllis
I’m surprised Trump has lasted this long on the campaign trail. I had him figured for a stroke around July 1st.
amk
Great advice by wsj. Both not gonna happen. No wonder ws so fucked up.
raven
@Schlemazel: Roger that. And, while there is so much helpful information online, don’t pay much attention to the complaints you can find.
rikyrah
Good Morning ?, Everyone ?
Schlemazel
@raven:
The google machine is both a blessing and a curse. One thing to remember is that the articles on stuff like this are often one persons thinking/experience so never take them as average.
You getting solid food for breakfast?
Ryan
Very low energy, very low. Trump doesn’t have the strength and stamina to take on Hillary.
Sloane Ranger
Just heard on BBC news that Russia has flown a bombing mission on Syria out of an Iranian airfield and is in talks about closer co-operation with Iran against ISIL and other groups including, but not limited to, Iran allowing Russian missiles to overfly its territory.
So, Donnie’s best buddy is starting to pal up with those evil, untrustworthy, terrorist loving Persian types! How does the Trumpenfuhrer and his surrogates square this circle? Or will he use this as an example of the “enemy of my enemy” foreign policy approach he was pushing in what was laughingly referred to as his major foreign policy speech?
If the second, it will go down like like boulders over a sheer cliff with some of his supporters like Cotton.
Thoughtful David
@Ryan:
I heard a part of Trump’s speech yesterday. It was so “Ben Carson sleepy” it didn’t sound like Trump at all.
David ?▶️Hillary/Harley Quinn 2016▶️? Koch
Sad!
GHayduke
@Keith G: I can tell you from my vasectomy experience, do NOT pull a16 hour shift at the triage desk the next day. Good luck.
Joyce H
@Ryan:
Remember that what Trump accuses others of is an infallible tell pointing to what is going on with him. As soon as he said that Hillary lacked stamina, I realized he was exhausted. All the talk about Hillary’s alleged health problems is also suggestive.
Keith G
@Schlemazel: Exactly. It will be a week of so of yuck (and and a few ‘Yikes!’) and then it will be “On with the show”
bystander
@Keith G: What Schlemaazel said about worry and fretting. I also endorse Raven’s advice about avoiding listening to Dr. Google’s many, many patients.
As a New Yorker, I had to laugh when I heard Clinton was up 30 points over Trump in NYS. Nobody on Moanin’ Joe is ever going to say, that’s because New Yorkers knew Clinton as our Senator and what a great job she did for the state. I’m really sick of parroting the “how dishonest, so untrustworthy” b/s narration these hacks have glommed on.
p.a.
@Keith G: Best wishes. 2 close friends have been through that (>10 years ago now) and they’re doing great. And the process has improved since then of course. Use all the resources available to you, including counseling.
Baud
@Keith G: Good luck.
Baud
@Joyce H: This.
Hillary like great. Trump looks like death.
JGabriel
Josh Barro (via Anne Laurie @ Top):
I’m sure the ocherous charlatan shit-geyser will perk up in a day or two – once the manic phase of his untreated bipolar disorder kicks in again.
Lurker Extraordinaire
@Keith G: My father had his prostate removed back in February, and he’s in his seventies, so if you are younger than that, your recovery should be much quicker. He is doing much better now, although I don’t know if he was doing his Kegels like the doc told him to. Knowing him, probably not. Lol.
Speedy recovery to you!
David ?▶️Hillary/Harley Quinn 2016▶️? Koch
Lurker Extraordinaire
@bystander: Almost everybody in NYS/the greater NYC area knows Trump has been an asshole, a liar, and a cheat for decades. That muthafucka isn’t fooling anybody.
Cat48
@JGabriel:
Trump gets manic in late afternoon thru the evening. That’s when he has his biggest gaffes. The larger the crowd, the crazier he gets. His crowds are his drug.
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
@Keith G: Robotic surgery, I hope?
Aimai
@Joyce H: so true!
MattF
@Keith G: Ugh. I’m likely headed in that direction, although not for a few more years. Not looking forward to it.
delk
Something is in the air, or water, or blog because I have a consult for a hernia scheduled on Thursday.
OzarkHillbilly
@Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism: Pretty sure Keith is human.
MattF
@delk: It’s called the OCQ (Old Coot Quotient).
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
@OzarkHillbilly: Pbbbbbbt.
The da Vinci machines are amazing.
PaulWartenberg2016
the panic Obama speaks of among left-leaning voters is the fear/dread that we still run the risk of the Republicans pulling off another 2000, somehow twisting the results to favor Trump in the Presidency – look at all the voter suppression efforts! – or at the least messing with the Senate results. We’ve already seen what the Republicans did by taking over the redistricting efforts in 2010 to make all those insane gerrymanders that garnered near-unbreakable control of the House.
This dread won’t pass until late November… because Obama/Hillary supporters are also dreading Trumpshirt retaliation following Election Night…
MattF
@Joyce H: Yeah, it’s a tell. Rove used to do that deliberately to piss off libruls, but Trump does it by just lashing out. Speaking of which, this made me larf.
satby
@Keith G: Wishing you the best on the surgery, and (though I never had that surgery) seconding what Schlemazel and raven says. Moving as soon as you are allowed after any surgery really makes a difference in recovery.
My cousin had it as a fairly young guy (51) and he’s doing great 9 years later.
satby
@rikyrah: Good morning!
Hal
Trump looks sick? This isn’t his attempt to drop out, is it? Maybe Giuliani gave him some pointers on how to not run when it appears you’re going to lose to Hillary Clinton.
Kay
Compare the OH GOP chairman and mentions of Trump to the Ohio Democratic chairman and mentions of Hillary.
They’re ashamed of their candidate.
Kay
@Hal:
In addition to all his other wonderful qualities, he’s lazy. Running for President is hard. He looks like he wants to go home.
bystander
@Lurker Extraordinaire: That is the other side. As much as people in the state know that they like Clinton, they also know what a d-bag Trump is.
rikyrah
@Kay:
It was already said that the Ohio GOP apparatus has no love for Ferret Head. I wonder how many more state GOP’s feel the same, and are acting like it.
Patricia Kayden
How perfect that Trump’s vile talk about rigged elections is now depressing his voter turnout. Karma, Baby!
debbie
@David ?▶️Hillary/Harley Quinn 2016▶️? Koch:
Exactly! Step back and let him proceed with his own destruction.
rikyrah
@Kay:
Like so many in the GOP, the Black man won it, so how hard could it be?
IT.IS.HARD.WORK
running for President.
OzarkHillbilly
@Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism: Sorry, I just couldn’t pass that up. :-)
RK
Trump’s throwing this election.
Kay
I wonder if it’s the “rigged voting” that makes them say they’re less likely to vote or if it’s his bad poll numbers. He focused so much on poll numbers and he always conflated winning GOP primary states with winning states- he pushed them to believe there was a Trump Train and it was coming.
I felt like Trump supporters would have high highs and low lows- they need his popularity to build to get carried along because he created so much of the excitement with exaggerating his successes.
They’re doing Trump organizing events in Ohio. Someone I know got an invite but he’s not going because it’s 70 miles away.
Patricia Kayden
@Hal: Those pointers are working fabulously then because Trump is not running a proper campaign against Secretary Clinton. Not with all of the unforced errors.
debbie
@Joyce H:
Yesterday was the first time I heard Trump bring up Hillary’s lack of stamina. I wonder what this is based on. Doubt he’ll ever come out and say anything specific, and I know no reporter will dare to ask him.
debbie
@Kay:
Trump supporters will get plenty of excitement when they grab their AR-15s and go to the polls to make sure voting isn’t rigged.
Troublesome Carp fka Geeno
@rikyrah: Well you know what natural athletes those people are, with good coaching (from whites) a black kid can go far.
/sarcasm (obvious I hope)
Baud
@Baud: “looks” great.
Kay
@rikyrah:
I resent media continuing to call him a “builder”. I want that verified. What has he actually built in the last decade? Publish a list. They shouldn’t just repeat his bullshit.
Patricia Kayden
@David ?▶️Hillary/Harley Quinn 2016▶️? Koch: Trump is the perfect anti-Trump candidate. But as many people have already said, perhaps this was just a grift to make $$$. Someone is benefitting from his campaign. I’m sure he and his friends won’t walk away empty handed.
debbie
@Patricia Kayden:
I just saw the Hillary ad with Letterman grilling Trump about his clothing line. Genius! Letterman would make a great campaign manager.
aimai
@Kay: I think that its important, as you say, to recognize that Trump’s voters are a special subset of a subset, a special kind of voter. In the book “Albion’s Seed” one of the types of settlers were the “Borderers” or the Scots-Irish. The chapter on those people, and their descendants, noted that they are intensely competitive and that their elders and leaders are constantly discarded when they are perceived to be too weak or too disgraced to lead. Losing a battle, appearing weak, being unable to terrorize supporters and enemies, are all signs of weakness which instantly led, in the pre-revolutionary period, to the leader being deposed and despised.
in Altemeyer’s book on Authoritarians he notes a similar phenomenon. Authoritarian followers need to have their insecurities and their fears catered to and assuaged by their attachment to authoritarian leaders. But they are very susceptible to losing faith and moving on to a new security object if others in their group are perceived to have moved on. Being authoritarian followers means that they have a tendency to try to reconcile their beliefs with that of other important people in their lives or their political universe. Trump has been important for several months, but he can be dethroned or pushed aside by local people (or family members) that the voter also trusts or respects.
I expect to see Trump’s numbers keep striking as small groups drop off or drop away–it will be imperceptible for a while and only discovered by data mining afterwards but I think it will look more like a Go board or the rapid growth of bacteria with tiny nucleated centers of “important” voters who change their mind or decide to stay home exerting strong influence on other, weaker, Trump voters.
Uncle Cosmo
Uncle Cosmo said goodbye to his Skyler yesterday evening in an ICU in Wilkes-Barre. (Which I guess only makes sense if you know one of the sources of my nym.)
My handsome, gifted, exuberant, life-loving-international traveler nephew & godson, the nearest I will ever come to having a son of my own. Dead at 28 from bleeding in the brain.
His father (my brother), mother, sister, brother, and the family are utterly devastated. My brother speaks bravely of celebrating his life…but he’s holding it together with chicken wire & chewing gum.
Joe Biden was surely right (he should know) when he said
We’ll get through this, but no one has a clue how, or how long…and I can’t stop crying.
Iowa Old Lady
@Kay: Trump’s odd because at the same time, he seems hyperactive (sleeps very little, midnight tweeting, etc) and yet lazy. It’s like he runs all the time but on autopilot with input from quick glimpses of the internet. Actually, he’s an internet kind of guy.
Kay
@debbie:
I’ll believe it when I see it. You have to “enter” as a poll observer in Ohio. You file an entry and then present it to the poll judge at the polling place. It’s an oath- a sworn statement. It’s not a joke or internet boasting. Your name is on the document. Democrats prepare theirs ahead of time because there has to be a sponsoring org- those are named people too. It’s a powerful incentive to behave yourself.
Every handling of a ballot or ballots in this state is conducted by at least 2 people- a member of each Party. That’s oversight too. If I go out to a car to vote a handicapped person a GOP pollworker goes with me.
I laugh when Trump says people “vote 15 times”. Dumbass doesn’t know ballots are numbered and the number has to match the number of names in the poll book. This isn’t “new technology”- it’s ordinary counting. There’s a 4 step process for a “spoiled ballot” – 2 pages of rules. That’s because the number of names in the poll book has to match the number of ballots distributed. He knows nothing about anything yet he never shuts up.
Chat Noir
We’ve been seeing Hillary ads here in St. Louis during Olympic coverage the past few nights. I wonder if their internal polling numbers are decent here to be running spots. That would be a pleasant surprise for Missouri to be in play.
OzarkHillbilly
@Kay: He has never built so much as a doghouse. He always paid people like me and your son to do what he could not.
Patricia Kayden
@debbie: It is great. And knowing how much Letterman disliked Trump (and liked POTUS and FLOTUS) makes me smile each time I see it.
I have yet to see an anti-Clinton ad but that may be because I live in the DC/MD area. At this time in 2008 and 2012, I had to mute my t.v. during commercials because of all of the anti-Obama ads.
Iowa Old Lady
@Uncle Cosmo: OMG, I am so sorry. What a tragedy.
satby
@Uncle Cosmo: The very deepest condolences to you and all of Skyler’s family on such an unimaginable loss. So young, words fail. So, so sorry.
Baud
@Uncle Cosmo: I’m very sorry.
currants
Wait, so is the WSJ editorial board actually, like, overtly the RNC? I know it’s a TPM header, and I didn’t click the links, but … really?
OzarkHillbilly
@Uncle Cosmo: Shit.
TS
@Uncle Cosmo: So very sad, too young and much loved. Sending sympathy to all the family.
debbie
@Uncle Cosmo:
How horrible. I’m so sorry.
currants
@Uncle Cosmo: I am so sorry to hear that. My condolences, and–for survival, what Joe Biden said (and another commenter noted) is right, in my experience anyway.
Ultraviolet Thunder
Longshot: maybe the GOP is setting this up as an asterisk election. They get creamed but their candidate had to drop out because of health reasons. It would be one way to save face from an overwhelming defeat and introduce doubt that the party collapsed from internal rot.
Nohing would surprise me this year.
debbie
@Kay:
They don’t need to actually enter the polling places. They only need to stand there and look intimidating (in their minds).
Betty Cracker
@Uncle Cosmo: What an unimaginable tragedy. So very sorry for you and all the family members who loved him and will feel his absence always. I am wishing you all much strength, courage and love to face the days ahead.
OzarkHillbilly
@Chat Noir: I’ve read it might be, but I’ll believe it when I see it.
debbie
@Patricia Kayden:
There are plenty airing here in Ohio, mostly the NRA and Karl Rove’s group (forget the name). The background music is always amusing.
tokyo expat
@Uncle Cosmo: I’m so very sorry.
Ultraviolet Thunder
@Uncle Cosmo:
Sincerest condolences on your loss. Nothing makes it better but time and memory. Hang in there for the living.
Patricia Kayden
@Keith G: Nice that watching Trump is good for something.
JPL
@Uncle Cosmo: Words fail me. I wish internet hugs were real, because the sadness your family has to experience, must be overwhelming. Listen to Uncle Joe, it will get easier.
Peale
@currants: it makes me laugh. “trump needs to drop out” and then what? Do we have another set of primaries? Do they just hand it to Pence? Give it to runner up Cruz? Tell voters to vote Trump anyway and they’ll take care of who it is later? I know “anybody but Hillary” sentiment exists, but I don’t think republicans can rely on it enough to win with promises that they’ll appoint his replacement sight unseen in January. If those voters trusted the RNC,there wouldn’t be a Trump in the first place.
eric
@Uncle Cosmo: so sorry for you and your family. words are so empty. horrible.
Schlemazel
@Uncle Cosmo:
How awful and how unfair. My deepest condolences on your devastating loss.
amk
@Uncle Cosmo: Sorry for your loss and condolences to you and your family. Losing the young always sucks.
Patricia Kayden
@debbie: I can just imagine since Ohio is a swing state (the polls I’ve seen show Clinton up a few points or tied with Trump).
@Ultraviolet Thunder: Would Trump’s ego allow him to drop out for any reason? I just don’t see that happening and him going willingly. Republicans are just going to have to take a huge loss in regard to the Presidency but try to save the House and Senate.
Chat Noir
@OzarkHillbilly: Chris Koster has this ad running. I was impressed with it until he says he sued “President Obama’s EPA” and then it pissed me off.
Patricia Kayden
@Uncle Cosmo: So sorry for your loss. ((Uncle Cosmo)).
WereBear
@Joyce H: Mmmm. Excellent point.
That is one tangled set of gears under the dead Tribble.
SiubhanDuinne
@Uncle Cosmo:
I am more sorry than I can say. Deep condolences to you and everyone who loved Skyler.
OzarkHillbilly
After calling several times yesterday and going straight to voice mail, we finally heard from my son and his SO via text over night. (it appears AT&T lost function in some cell towers) They are “dry”. I don’t know if that is in their apt or a shelter but from the way she phrased it I think it is in their apt. Eventually we will be able to talk and I’ll find out whether/what their losses are.
Kay
@OzarkHillbilly:
My son is building a chain craft store. We had driving rain all day yesterday so all the trades went home. He stayed because he has figured out the cumulative nature of overtime.
They stuck him working outside in a ditch for the whole day. Because he’s an apprentice they can put him anywhere they need someone if his journeyman goes home. .
It’s a learning process!
planetjanet
Prayers for you and your family, Uncle Cosmo. Take care of yourself.
WereBear
@Uncle Cosmo: I’m so sorry. That is a terrible loss.
Joel
So.. umm.. the NSA was hacked?
Ultraviolet Thunder
@Patricia Kayden:
I think there are reasons he would drop out. He’s canny. If quitting benefited his personal brand more than following through, he would have to consider it. What benefits his personal brand: money, prestige, the appearance of power, media exposure. I don’t think he would go voluntarily but it’s not impossible that he could be persuaded. We’re not dealing with a normal politician here, or even a normal human being. But that’s a longshot.
WereBear
@Keith G: REST. Let the body cope on its own, and don’t push things.
Schlemazel
This theory hit me yesterday and when I dropped it on a couple of Trump enthusiasts they were stunned into what passes for thought to them.
Trump is in very deep with the Russian mob, he can’t pay so they own him. Running for POTUS bought him time and he even convinced the mob he might win. They set him up with Manafort and some money because the payoff would be huge. But Trump is a true American and would never sell out the USA so he is intentionally tanking the race!
Now I only believe the first part of that. trump supporters might be convinced of the second part because “tell me what he would be doing differently if this is true”.
As patriotic Americans we simply must not vote for Trump. Help him save America!
Princess
@Uncle Cosmo: I am so sorry. What a tragedy for all of you.
I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet
@Joyce H: Remember when Trump belly-ached about the debates being too long? Yeah, standing in place for 2+ hours isn’t pleasant, but he clearly doesn’t have much stamina himself and he told us so months ago.
Cheers,
Scott.
WereBear
@aimai: There is also the fact that they love winners. If Trump’s poll numbers continue to slide, that makes a good case for them staying home.
Baud
@OzarkHillbilly: Excellent.
@Schlemazel: whatever works.
Nora
@Uncle Cosmo: I am so sorry.
OzarkHillbilly
@Chat Noir: This is Misery, and a DEM has to play the game that way to some extent at least. I’ve sent Koster money, might even volunteer, despite the fact that about half of everything he says is contrary to what I believe, because the alternative is too horrible. Just imagine the damage Greitens and a GOP state House and Senate can do in 4 years. People think Kansas and Louisiana are in bad shape? They ain’t seen nothing yet.
Patricia Kayden
@Ultraviolet Thunder: You’re right because he is not a politician or a normal person. I guess we’ll see because if he’s going to drop out, he should do so sooner better than later. I assume if he’s so disposed to drop out, he’ll do so before the debates with Secretary Clinton.
I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet
@Uncle Cosmo: What a horrible loss. :-( Condolences to you and everyone in your family.
Best wishes,
Scott.
WereBear
Trump cannot fail. Trump can only be failed.
satby
@OzarkHillbilly: glad you finally heard!
OzarkHillbilly
@Kay: What are cubs for? All they’re worth! ;-)
Amir Khalid
@Uncle Cosmo:
I remember the Shoe comic strip. So the rerference does make sense to me. Please accept my virtual {{{hugs}} and good thoughts.
@Peale:
There is no chance of replacing Donald Trump on the Republican ticket. That ship sailed long before the convention, and any talk of it now is just wishful thinking by Republicans. Mike Pence is of an ilk with the lacklustre state governors Trump defeated in the primary; he wouldn’t have stood out in that crowd, and he doesn’t stand much chance against Hillary.
Jeffro
@RK:
Now he is, sure. Now that he actually might have to work for it, change, grow, be disciplined…heck yeah he’s throwing it.
Y’all think maybe as a kid he ever just took his ball and went home, just once or twice?
Kay
@OzarkHillbilly:
I didn’t have the heart to tell him he’s probably on a different pay scale for general labor because he was standing there dripping in my mud room. I get two rates for contract work I do for court depending on what I’m doing even if it’s one case. I bet they have this “pay as little as possible” thing figured out in contracting.
Look at this:
Boom. 9 (!) That’s Georgia country :)
bemused
The abuse of Gabby Douglas thread pissed me off. I can’t imagine (and don’t want to search for) what in the hell idiots were saying about her hair. The hand on the heart, flagpin PC police are the worst hypocrites screaming about liberal, socialist political correctness. They are just fine with PC as long everyone else follows their PC rulebook.
We heard another owl screech and hoots last night which was dead still quiet and wonder what critter it bagged. Our dogs woke up from their sleep and ran to the door to peek out.
p.a.
@Uncle Cosmo: Deepest sympathy to you, family and friends. Words fail…
WereBear
@Jeffro: Trump throwing the election is, thank heavens, a predictable outcome: he would have to change his style and become a real candidate to have a hope of winning, and he won’t and can’t do that.
But nothing is ever a narcissist’s fault. That is why he goes into disastrous things certain of what he will get out of it. He’s the perfect person to destroy the GOP, and that is why I am kinda cheering him on that particular path.
The veneer of respectability and statesmanship has been ripped away. He is the Emperor’s New Clothes.
Jeffro
@Baud:
She wears the confident look of someone who’s been getting her homework done, done early, and done well, for a long time. It suits her!
This whole ‘rigged’ nonsense, the whole ‘Clinton would be losing to any other Republican’ nonsense, any squawking from the Right about her legitimacy as President – they’re going to be doubly galling in her case, as she’s worked harder, better, and longer for this job than anyone in the past 40 years.
Baud
@Jeffro: I agree.
I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet
@Jeffro:
Except Bernie, you mean, of course.
I kid! :-)
Cheers,
Scott.
Skerry
@Uncle Cosmo: My deepest condolences on your loss.
Ultraviolet Thunder
@WereBear:
The tell here that he’s already talking about the election being rigged, and it’s more than 80 days away. That claim is absurd. He’s getting an asterisk ready to go in the history books.
Kay
It might be time to admit they are just morons.
Betty
@Uncle Cosmo: I can’t imagine the pain you and his family are feeling.Such a tragic loss. May the time come when you can think of him with more joy at his wonderful but short life than sorrow at losing him.
NotMax
@Jeffro
Said it a year ago, said it 6 months ago, and many times both between and since.
Captain Queeg.
I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet
Clinton/Kaine up by 14 points in latest WaPo poll in Virginia.
Run up the score!!
Cheers,
Scott.
Just One More Canuck
@Uncle Cosmo: What a terrible loss – my deepest condolences
Enhanced Voting Techniques
Amazing a negative message has negative effects.
Baud
@I’mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet: Rigged!
Jeffro
@NotMax:
Ok, happy to give credit where credit is due.
Let’s all do what we can to not only bring in a landslide w/ GOTV, but start calling out this ‘rigged’/’illegitimate’/etc nonsense wherever we see/hear/read it.
MomSense
@Uncle Cosmo:
Oh Uncle Cosmo I am so sorry. My condolences to you and your family.
Jeffro
@I’mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet:
Oh heck yes ;)
Looking forward to crushing Ed Gillespie next year in this mighty fine BLUE Commonwealth, too!
Baud
@Jeffro: This election has got more rigging than a schooner.
Ultraviolet Thunder
@Jeffro:
Their argument fails under the slightest scrutiny. What other Republican? Marco ‘stuck record’ Rubio? Ted ‘Satan without the charm’ Cruz? The whole GOP field was tankers and feebs. That they had anyone competent to run is a fantasy. Trump’s not the root cause of this, he’s a symptom of rot that goes to the core.
Mandarama
@Uncle Cosmo: I’m so sorry for your profound loss…may you and your family hold tight together and may each day bring some healing.
Iowa Old Lady
@Jeffro: Yeah, but she’s a girl, so you know, nobody likes Miss Smarty Pants Suit.
Poopyman
@Uncle Cosmo: Holl lee shit. I am so sorry ….
OzarkHillbilly
@Kay: The electricians work different from carpenter but I suspect it is similar to carpenters. We have 7 different payscales from a grade 1 apprentice to journeymen with an additional difference between residential and commercial (more $$). Some contractors always try to rig the game in their favor by having the maximum # of apprentices per journeymen on a job site. That’s why we call them CON tractors.
geg6
@Uncle Cosmo:
Oh my, I’m so, so sorry! I can’t even imagine. My deepest sympathies and most healing thoughts are headed you and your family’s way.
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
@Uncle Cosmo: OMG. Many, many hugs for all of you.
I’ve recommended this song before. (Yes, it’s Hamilton, go away, haters.) I don’t think I’ve ever said why.
It’s about the grief and despair of losing a child. Not about the loss — that’s covered in other songs — but “The moments when you’re in so deep/It feels easier to just swim down”.
The artistic director of the Public Theater lost his son suddenly during the run up to the show’s opening. This song helped them get through.
You are not alone.
Jeffro
@Ultraviolet Thunder:
You know this, and I know this…others may need some convincing.
Again…we know this…but there will still be those who’ll insist that Rubio or Kasich could have beaten her. The obvious answer (besides the ‘rot’ argument, of course) is that in order to run against Secretary Clinton, the members of the “deep bench” first had to win the GOP nomination. And we all know who was most appealing to the largest number of GOP voters…
Let ’em chew on that for a while.
matryoshka
@Chat Noir: As a fellow Missourian, I had the same reaction to the Koster ad.
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
@Patricia Kayden: I’ve seen, let’s see … three. One with the Trump/Pence logo, two PAC.
I’m in NC. We’re supposedly in play.
gogol's wife
@Uncle Cosmo:
I’m so sorry. I second Sister Rail Gun’s recommendation — for the moment when art can actually have some consoling power, which may not be for a while.
Betty Cracker
@Ultraviolet Thunder:
True. Clinton would have thrashed Jeb! like a rented mule too. IMO, the only Repub who would have given Clinton a run for the money would have been Kasich because he can imitate a moderate credibly enough to attract Beltway media worship, but that’s also why he couldn’t win the nom.
gogol's wife
@Betty Cracker:
Sometimes I find myself wishing Hillary had a more worthy opponent.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@Betty Cracker:
Kasich would have been a safety generic Republican enough to lose with a modest margin not to harm any House Republican. All the generic Republicans is part of their rot too, a lot of time servers afraid to so say and do anything between Citizen United billionaires and Right Wing Media rage.
father pussbucket
@Uncle Cosmo: So deeply sorry for you and your family.
JPL
@gogol’s wife: Be careful what you wish for. It’s too late to highlight policy differences, and it would be come a race for the most honest candidate. IMO
Lizzy L
@Uncle Cosmo: So sorry. May you and your family find comfort in each other. I wish you light and strength.
Kay
@OzarkHillbilly:
The apprentices get a rating every month. It’s one to ten. He gets eights. I asked him what he scored highest on and he said “honesty”. Really? What a weird thing to rate.
“Has stopped lying constantly, thank goodness” I knew it wasn’t going to be “memorized the code handbook” :)
Punchy
@Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism: NC is def in play! Check out the latest off shore odds:
HRC to win -400 (was only -230 a month ago); Dems to take Senate -260, Dems to have WH, Senate, and House +275 (was over 350 previously).
Odds for HRC to take the following states:
Bama +1033
AZ +140
Cali -2300
CO -1050
Conn -3000
FL -300 (!)
GA +125 (?)
Indy +300
IA -285 (does this huge “lead” jive with current polls?)
MI -735
MN -780
MO +175 (seems too high)
NV -335 (why is this still considered a tossup?)
NC -280 (!)
Ohio -300
PA -650
Utah +220 (freakin Utah is only ~2 to 1!)
VA -810
Wisky -1050
JCJ
@Keith G:
Haven’t read the thread so I don’t know if this has been mentioned, but if this is for prostate cancer some cases can be treated with stereotactic radiation treatments. This is typically done in five treatments over 1½ weeks. Men seem to tolerate it well and there are excellent results.
rikyrah
@Uncle Cosmo:
I am so sorry for your loss. That is way too young. There are no words.
Vheidi
@Uncle Cosmo: we lost my beloved 23 year old nephew almost a year ago. He taught us the meaning of courage and grace. We can just about smile with the tears now. My sincere condolences to you and your family. Take special care of your brother and his wife.
OzarkHillbilly
@Kay: Heh. Although, if you knew some of the electricians I knew…. And plumbers?? Oh dawg! ;-)
Emma
@Uncle Cosmo: I am so sorry. Words cannot express how much. When my Mother passed, we were in sorrow and pain, but it was her time and she went happily. When someone young dies, it’s like someone upended the Universe.
Mary G
@Uncle Cosmo: There are no words. Peace to your family.
rikyrah
What Obama Did/Didn’t Accomplish for Working Class Americans
You can’t consider Obama’s accomplishments without acknowledging all the proposals Republicans blocked.
by Nancy LeTourneau
August 15, 2016 12:54 PM
As President Obama’s second term comes to a close, we’re seeing a lot of articles about his legacy – and there will likely to be a lot more over the next few months. Most of them take a positive spin and attempt to summarize his accomplishments over these last eight years. But there is also the approach of taking a look at what he didn’t get done. That is actually something the President himself addressed last month in an interview with Steve Inskeep.
I’ve been frustrated by some things that I did not complete, that I couldn’t wrap and mail and ship before I got out of here. Immigration reform being a good example. Getting infrastructure done, you know, we got $2 trillion worth of infrastructure. If we got working on that now, we’d be growing a lot faster, the unemployment rate would be even lower, wages would be higher.
So there are things that we haven’t gotten done. Obviously, there are — there areas internationally where I’ve been enormously frustrated. You look at Syria being the most prominent example, where you’ve got a heartbreaking situation and not a lot of good choices.
……………………..
There is a big “tell” right in the beginning of that analysis. Did you catch it? Alderman focuses exclusively on the white working class. As Jamelle Bouie documented so clearly, that excludes a growing portion of that economic group.
hovercraft
@Uncle Cosmo:
I’m so sorry for your terrible loss.
hovercraft
@Iowa Old Lady:
He would be if he was a computer kind of guy, his staff print up the articles for him, which he then reviews, lots of Sharpie notes when Herr Ferrethead is done.
hovercraft
@Chat Noir:
The last poll I saw there had them in a dead heat, so it’s possible. Morning Joe said that both the campaign and the superpac are taking down their ads in PA, VA, and CO at least through the third week of September.
gbbalto
@Uncle Cosmo: So sorry about this – may you find peace
Jim Parene
@Uncle Cosmo: Uncle Cosmo, I am so sorry for loss. One day, you will be able to smile at Skyler’s memory. Take all the time you and your family need. Grief has no schedule.
JosieJ (not Josie)
@Uncle Cosmo:
My deepest, deepest sympathies to you and yours. What a heart-wrenching loss!
Ruckus
@Keith G:
I know a number of people who have had them. They are all doing fine. Which of course depends on your definition of fine. The recovery does not seem to be the major issue, it’s the long term disruption of normal life that got me. Of course I know 2 other friends who only have BPH and one of them is having the same issues as the surgery guys.
It’s a difficult choice of which treatment if you have to make it but the alternative of not making it at all isn’t a good one either, when you have to make it. Fight like hell and good luck.
Fuck fucking cancer.
Ultraviolet Thunder
I don’t think you can understand Trump without considering the Tea Party phenomenon: Nationalist, anti-immigrant, anti-tax, small government, largely Christian, anti-regulation. The anti-tax, small government anti-regulation aspects were co-opted and absorbed into the GOP because they serve the interests of the Chamber and the oligarchs. But anti-immigrant action hurts businesses because it helps Labor. So the ant-immigrant extremists looked for a champion.
Tea Party US Reps are still a serious challenge to order and direction for the GOP in the house. But the Tea Party nationalists have also found their guy in Trump.
Bobby Thomson
Doesn’t he look tired?
catclub
@Ultraviolet Thunder:
Hillary (or any girl) could beat a real GOP candidate. You betcha.
CaseyL
@Uncle Cosmo: What a devastating loss. He sounds like a wonderful young man. So, so sorry.
Ruckus
@Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism:
The machines are amazing. But an honest surgeon will tell you that the surgical outcomes, while better, still do not do all that much for the short or long term side effects. Is it better than doing nothing? For sure. Is it a lot better than the alternative surgeries? In some ways most likely, in others not really.
The reality is there are no great alternatives, just better ones than letting the disease run it’s course.
jeannedalbret
@gogol’s wife @gogol’s wife: Fortunately for us, she did!
hovercraft
@I’mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet:
Morning Joe and friends were saying that any hopes he had of throwing a tizzy and blowing off the debates are out the window. The debates are now his last best opportunity to turn things around. Joe asked Halpern which state that is currently lean democrat can he see Trump flipping, Halpern said OH and FL, to which Joe pointed out it doesn’t matter, she can lose all of the current swing states and still win. SAD!
the Conster, la Citoyenne
@Joyce H:
Trump’s biographer.
catclub
Sour grapes from the people who were not hired by Trump:
from Politico. Democrats in disarray!
Ruckus
@Kay:
Why should they be ashamed of Trump? He personifies all the traits of their ideals, his only difference is he has no filter, no grace, no humanity. They have some of these traits, OK very little, but have at least learned to fake the rest of it enough to not make it obvious, to everyone.
the Conster, la Citoyenne
@Uncle Cosmo:
This is impossibly heartbreaking. So sorry. No words, just thoughts for all of you to somehow manage all of that pain.
Dork
@catclub:
Both sides do it!
manyakitty
@Kay: I’m noticing a reduction in the “billionaire” talk, at least.
manyakitty
@Uncle Cosmo: What sad news. I’m so sorry to hear this – may his memory be a blessing. Peace and love to you and your family,
Ruckus
@Ultraviolet Thunder:
He also has been a quitter before. Those bankruptcies may have been planed from the get go, in case things went wrong, but they are still exit plans. And in his case they were when he was losing and losing badly.
catclub
@Punchy: Could you provide a tutorial to how to translate those numbers? I can tell which states are good for Clinton, and which are more good, but I do not have a feel for how those translate to percentage chances.
hovercraft
@Jeffro:
The press hate her, and she’s not giving them the opportunity to shred her in a press conference. That’s one of the reasons they also resent Obama, he has reduced the power of the villagers by going beyond them to communicate with the American people. He has done more local interviews and used more unconventional; outlets than any president before him, and they hate not being the gatekeepers. Podesta and Palmieri come from Obama’s Whitehouse and have accelerated this trend big time. If only they had gotten one of their darlings things would have been different. Rubio, Kasich where are you to save us from this which? They still don’t realize that the republicans and their policies are not popular, they may have been browbeaten into believing that this is a center right nation. but someone forgot to tell the voters. We were told that McCain and RMoney were ideal candidates, but they were both soundly defeated by a man with many ‘flaws’, he was black, his middle name was HUSSEIN, and he was a first term senator. Suddenly being a person of color and a first term senator are no longer a big deal, even though the likes of Richard Haas keep telling me that many of Obama’s ‘failures’ were caused by his lack of experience. Hillary is stale because she’s been around Washington for 25 years, but apparently Kasich having been there for almost the same amount of time is an asset, because he knows how the system works. Funny how that works.
Immanentize
@Uncle Cosmo: Dear Uncle Cosmo, I am so sorry for your loss. With the death of such a young person there is the triple tragedy of the specific loss of the young man as he is, the loss of his promise, and our own sense of having maybe messed up our own lives more than we needed to. Joe Biden is a wise and caring man.
Ruckus
@Uncle Cosmo:
So sorry that this happened. So very sorry.
Joe Biden’s message is that you will adjust in time. You won’t like it but you will learn to adjust and accept it. And that’s a big deal. Give yourself time. Ask yourself what would Skyler want you to do. That’s worked for me in the past.
Sloane Ranger
@Uncle Cosmo: I’m sorry for your loss. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your brother’s family.
The Very Reverend Crimson Fire of Compassion
@Uncle Cosmo: You are in my prayers. I am so sorry for your loss.
Punchy
@catclub: Not sure how to precisely translate into percentages, but the more negative the number, the bigger favorite for HRC. “-300” means a bettor would have to bet $300 just to win $100 (i.e., receive $400 from the bookie). The bigger the fav (the more negative the number), the more money you’d risk just to win $100. A “+125” represents how much you’d win ($125) on a $100 bet, due to your choice being an underdog.
Basically, a -300 is about a 6-7 pt fav in professional football, or a strong fav to win. Those in the ~ -700 range are near-locks, and anything >-1500 is a prohibitive fav, almost impossible to lose.
Bobby Thomson
@Uncle Cosmo: damn it.
Mnemosyne
@Uncle Cosmo:
I’m so sorry. Of all the losses a person can endure, the loss of a child is probably the hardest, and losing a beloved nephew/godson is in that realm. I hope your family is able to find peace and light during this difficult time.
singfoom
@Uncle Cosmo: Fuck death. My condolences to you and your family.
1,000 Flouncing Lurkers (was fidelioscabinet)
@Kay: I think a lot of these rules were developed a hundred years ago to deal with party machine politics (anyone familiar with Boss Tweed and his habit of getting voters to vote multiple times, when things were less well organized?). As a result, the system is simple to carry out, with clear precautions and multiple checks on the process, so you have people watching each other–and they aren’t all on the same side, so the potential for tampering through collusion is negated that way. From my mother’s experience as an election worker, and from your accounts, plus my own voting experience, I think I could map out a flow chart to follow–and it’s a hard one to crack if you have nefarious intent.
I think this is why most attempts to tamper with voting since these check systems were put in place involve attacks on the ballot box itself, physical or electronic. And of the two, I think for a determined hacker, the second might be easier, because our reforming ancestors also thought of ways to defend physical ballot boxes.
I suspect most of those screaming about fraud also have no idea what a recount looks like–and why those so often involve outsiders to the district. All in all, it’s a system that relies on human integrity, but makes it hard for people to cooperate to commit fraud.
Steeplejack (tablet)
@Uncle Cosmo:
So sorry for your loss. My condolences to you and your family.
Cassandra Wilson, “Skylark.”
Barbara
@Uncle Cosmo: I am so sorry. There are just no words. I hope thoughts of our sympathy lighten the darkness even just a little. I can’t imagine losing one of my kids.
1,000 Flouncing Lurkers (was fidelioscabinet)
@Uncle Cosmo: I’m so sorry. What a dreadful loss for you all.
'Niques (frequent visitor; occasional commenter)
@Uncle Cosmo: My heart breaks for you. I am so very sorry for your loss.
Jeffro
@hovercraft:
“Clinton Rules”, as we all know. Important to bring it up to those that don’t – not just between now and November but between now and 2024.
Jeffro
Btw kinda OT (but I guess this is an open thread): 3 EXcellent columns today in the WaPo by Robinson, Rampell, and Gerson (yes Gerson)…y’all check ’em out when you have a chance.
Ok, have to go brainstorm now about how to do something that makes a big impact in increasing respect for/appreciation of democratic values and institutions…
Enhanced Voting Techinques
Things that will come out of this election:
* Even though Trump is sum of the Job Creator class – success due to good birth choice, insecure, narcissists who surrounds themselves with syncopates and most of their success is largely illusionary, the theme of the heroic businessman savior will remain untarnished lest it be suggested that the concept of acting like a whinny eight year old isn’t what being an Alpha is about.
* The Republicans will continue to tell themselves that Trump happened because of their failure not to be combative the Democrats enough lost control of the wingnuts, not it was the Republicans failure to govern in the states and Congress that disillusioned the conservative moderates.
* The Republican who loses against President Clinton in 2020 will be denounced as flawed and an outlier from the Conservative mainstream.
Dnfree
@Keith G: Kegels. Hope you have already been doing them. A prostatectomy removes one of your two sphincters in the urinary system. Best wishes.
Dnfree
@Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism: A recent study showed little to no difference. Of course that’s just one study. Either robotic or manual depends on the skill and experience of the surgeon. Easier healing externally with robotic.
Miss Bianca
@Uncle Cosmo: Oh, I am so, so sorry. I have no words other than that. Hugs to you from afar.
hovercraft
@Enhanced Voting Techinques:
The party of responsibility will never acknowledge that they are at fault, it is always the candidate. McCain lost because the economy crashed, which was Clinton’s fault. RMoney lost because of the 47% comment and because of hurricane Sandy. The media wants the republicans to win because they agree with many of their policies. Villagers are the first to lament the lack of seriousness of anyone who is not willing to support gutting social security and medicare. They agree with Wall Street that Obama and the democrats are too tough on them. Occupy was a bunch of dirty hippies who needed to get off their asses and get to work, while the Tea Party was a group of citizens angry about their tax rates and the deficit. Unfortunately for the media and the republicans, reality is finally catching up to the rhetoric. 30 plus years of gutting the middle class has now affected so many people that it’s no longer enough to just point over there while you rob everyone blind. Living wages, pensions, unions, and a comfortable retirement are all things that are out of reach for an ever growing number of Americans. It used to be plausible when a politician accused people who were struggling of being lazy moochers, but now too many people are either finding themselves or their families suffering, while working as hard as they ever have. The scales are falling away, why is it for us we must buckle down and endure harsh cuts, while we must make sure that the wealthy are incentivized to work ?
Shalimar
@Kay: What has Trump built in the last 20 years? Before his early 90s financial collapse, Trump was a builder. Afterwards, all he does is sell his name to other people’s projects and own golf courses. Most likely because that is when banks stopped lending him money.
Kay
@1,000 Flouncing Lurkers (was fidelioscabinet):
I agree. We had a situation in ’12 where a voting rights advocate wanted to go to a local jail to offer ballots. She can’t do that. There’s a chain of custody. I was surprised because it was (state) ACLU and they’re usually smart people. You wonder what they’re thinking. There’s sheriff’s deputies all over the place. That’s why they’re there.
catclub
@Shalimar:
Arnold Schwartzenegger got elected purely on name recognition. Trump has 100% name recognition. he thought he could win the same way.
It worked for the GOP nomination.
JanieM
@Uncle Cosmo: More hugs on their way. I don’t know how anyone gets up in the morning after such a loss. I’ve known a few people who’ve had to, though, and as Joe Biden says, they do manage, somehow. As for crying? You gotta feel what you feel, or it will never transform into something more manageable. Or at least, that’s my experience.
Kay
@Shalimar:
This to me is “boring person I have to get away from at the barbeque”.
“I’m sorry, I have to go- that rhetorical question is far too boring for me to remain near you for another second”
It’s not even clever or “outlandish!” It’s how stupid people talk.
NickM
@Uncle Cosmo: So sorry for your loss.
Mike in NC
@Uncle Cosmo: So sorry for your loss.
shomi
I love how the main stream Republicans keep changing the goal posts to give Trump another chance. Pretty soon it will be, “ok you can burn crosses in your white bedsheets but if you try hang a black person that will be last straw”.
Fair Economist
@Uncle Cosmo: Uncle Cosmo, I’m so sorry. Nobody should have to go through that. Best wishes to you and all the rest of his family.
hovercraft
@Kay:
It’s how racists talk.
Why no white history month ?
Why no congressional white caucus ?
Why no department of white studies ?
It goes on and on, and lets not even start on all the special perks that women and LGBT people get.
Mike J
@Joel: No, the NSA wasn’t hacked. Some of the people they hacked were hacked by other people too and they found NSA tools.
The Russian AV firm Kaspersky has had some of this stuff for over a year.
The Lodger
@Uncle Cosmo: It’s awful when someone close to you dies so young. I’m tremendously sorry for your loss.
I remember the strip well… I was a reporter when McNelly was still drawing it, and my managing editor’s nickname was Shoe.
Fair Economist
@Chat Noir:
I think those are national buys. I’m seeing them in California. There are some important House seats here but not enough IMO to justify statewide buys.
satby
@hovercraft: Yep.
The Golux
@Keith G:
I had the pleasure(!?!) of undergoing a prostatectomy a few years ago (Christmas Eve 2013, to be exact). One thing that developed during my nine days of catheterization was a urinary tract infection, which I don’t recall reading about in the post-op literature. Quite unpleasant in those circumstances. I figured out what it was when I started taking the antibiotics two days prior to the catheter removal, and almost immediately began to feel better. So be on the lookout for it (burning sensations, etc.).
Oh, and there are few things more pathetic looking than a catheterized unit.
Iowa Old Lady
I was just at the dentist’s and they had a TV for me to watch that was tuned to the Olympics. I swear half the ads were for Clinton.
CONGRATULATIONS!
@Kay: I know drunk college students at my local bars that are this racist and stupid. And they’re a small minority and nobody likes them.
How old is Trump? Doesn’t really matter I guess, as that’s just sad.
Gin & Tonic
Probably what I hate most about the Trump candidacy is that it’s causing thoughtful people to normalize those who should be in the dustbin of history, like Goldwater or Nixon – people look at Trump and say, “well, maybe Goldwater wasn’t so bad in comparison.” And while 1980’s Goldwater may have matured into something approaching reasonable, 1960’s Goldwater was a complete fucking lunatic, whose election may well have ended human civilization. A few short years after the Cuban missile crisis, not 20 years after the use of nuclear weapons in warfare, he was advocating for the use of “tactical” nuclear weapons in Vietnam, of all places. Less than 20 years after Hiroshima. Think about that – 20 years is en eyeblink. We are now 25 years past the end of Gulf War I.
“In your guts you know he’s nuts” was relevant and true. And now Donald Motherfucking Trump is causing people to normalize 1964 Goldwater. Fuck that noise. Trump has done lots of disgusting shit, but that is awful.
Miss Bianca
@OzarkHillbilly: whew! That is good news!
The Other Chuck
@Gin & Tonic: Goldwater helped usher in LBJ’s Great Society by dragging the whole stinking party down with him as he went down. Hopefully Trump will also be of service there. Goldwater was already a pussy liberal in the eyes of the current crazies, but maybe now the rest of us can point at a pattern at in the Republican party of nominating insane racist fascist morons. Might stick even better to the GOP as a reputation than than tax-and-spend did to the Dems.
Cat48
@UncleCosmo: So sorry for your loss. I believe Joe’s advice is true.
C. Isaac
So… Trump officially has less of a lead in TEXAS than Clinton does in the battleground states of Ohio, Virginia, and Pennsylvania.
publicpolicypolling.com/main/2016/08/trump-leads-by-only-6-in-texas.html
Only up by six, and only due to winning seniors 63-33. EVERY SINGLE demographic under age 65 breaks for Clinton. Every day shaves votes off that lead, too, as the generation gap closes.
Brachiator
@Uncle Cosmo: My deepest sympathies. I think I can relate to a degree, having recently lost a co-worker for whom I was a mentor. He was only 27.
Words are weak, but the sentiments expressed by Biden are deep and true.
I can only hope that the affection that you felt for your nephew, and your memories, and your family can help sustain you.
Mike J
Paige rolled the dice and it didn’t pay off. Last place in the medal race in Laser Radial approaching the 1st windward.
J R in WV
@Uncle Cosmo:
So sorry to hear of your family loss. So young! It always seems wrong for offspring to die before their parents and the previous generation.
Hang in there, keep in touch with your good friends here on the blog!
Tenar Darell
@Uncle Cosmo: So sorry to hear of you & your family’s loss of your young nephew. My deepest condolences.
C. Isaac
My comment about the PPP Texas poll ended up in moderation for some reason. :(
Feebog
@Uncle Cosmo:
There simply are no words. So sorry for your loss.
rikyrah
shoot!
Couldn’t count on that clown to actually DO THE RIGHT THING.
Automatic voter registration hits an Illinois pothole
08/16/16 11:20 AM
By Steve Benen
In March 2015, Oregon became the first state in the nation to embrace automatic voter registration, California adopted the same idea soon after. This year, West Virginia, Vermont, and Connecticut joined the small-but-growing club.
The AVR road, however, is not without pitfalls. A bill passed in New Jersey, for example, only to be vetoed by Gov. Chris Christie (R). Late last week, as the Chicago Tribune reported, Illinois’ Republican governor also balked, at least for now.
Gov. Bruce Rauner vetoed a bill aimed at making voter registration automatic in Illinois, citing concerns about potential voting fraud and conflicts with federal law.
The first-term Republican governor said he wanted to continue negotiations with supporters to work out those issues, but groups backing the measure accused him of playing politics with his veto and said they would seek an override.
Note, automatic voter registration faced little resistance in Illinois’ Democratic-led state legislature. AVR passed the state House 86 to 30, in the state Senate, it was even more lopsided, 50 to 7.
Given those totals, state lawmakers will likely have the support necessary to make the legislation law anyway, overriding the GOP governor’s veto.
That said, Rauner insists he remains open to the idea, his veto notwithstanding, and in a statement, he said he intends to “continue working” on the idea.
Kay
It’s a VA poll and I don’t know what “military voters” means, but for what it’s worth it’s interesting.
hovercraft
Kelly Ayotte is trying to escape the taint,I don’t think it’s working.
Mnemosyne
If Kay is around, today’s Facebook post from Hillary is EXACTLY what she’s been wanting to hear:
rikyrah
August 16, 2016, 11:37 am
Poll: Trump only ahead by by 6 in Texas
By Ben Kamisar
Hillary Clinton is within 6 points of Donald Trump in Texas, according to a new poll released Tuesday, as the Democratic presidential nominee continues to make inroads in traditionally red states.
Trump, the Republican nominee, has 44 percent support in the state to Clinton’s 38 percent, according to a survey by the liberal-leaning Public Policy Polling (PPP).
The Lone Star State has gone Republican in the last nine presidential elections.
The result is the latest in a string of poor poll numbers for Trump. Recent surveys have shown him down big in battleground states such as Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Virginia, and trailing by smaller margins in Ohio and Florida.
He also has been getting slimmer-than-expected leads in traditional GOP states such as Georgia, Arizona and Utah.
Brachiator
@Joyce H:
You may be very right here. Trump is a whole lot less mighty and mysterious than he pretends to be.
Some of his sad, listless speeches about rigged elections and needing certain states were downright creepy. And it’s clear that having never done hard campaigning before, he doesn’t quite know how to pace himself.
glory b
@hovercraft: Yup. Lots of wailing and gnashing of teeth on cbs morning news this a.m., Bob Woodward saying she needs to agree to a deep dive into all of her faults about the LIES she told about the THOUSANDS of emails she didn’t turn over to the FBI, and how this can only be resolved by a full news conference, those one on one interviews just aren’t enough in his worldview, she’s leaving herself open for an October surprise, etc., etc.d.
Mnemosyne
@rikyrah:
I want a new meme. I want Trump and Hillary as fighters in that gory 1990s video game where the voice starts roaring, “FINISH HIM!” right before your fighter rips the other one’s heart out.
(I’m blanking on the name of the game, though.)
Brachiator
@Mnemosyne:
This is very well said, and for honesty beats anything said by Trump since he announced his candidacy.
I look forward to seeing how Hillary makes good on this. It would be tough challenge for anyone.
Betty Cracker
@Mnemosyne: That’s a great start. But I think we’ll really start to make progress when we agree to value service jobs like the manufacturing jobs so fond in Tweety’s memory. There’s nothing more elevated or magical about operating a jackhammer or spot welding a widget onto an appliance than there is about managing baristas or looking after preschoolers in a daycare. Except that most of the people who do the former are white men.
J R in WV
@debbie:
Here in WV it is illegal for anyone to loiter around a polling place, within 300 feet, the length of a football field. It’s pretty hard to look intimidating from 100 yards away without a tank or mobile howitzer.
I know it’s illegal for anyone (news, TV, voters, anyone) to take photos or video in or around a polling place where people are voting. I have never seen non-poll-workers “observing” the voting process. Here as in Ohio poll workers come in pairs, although I’ve never been able to tell which were Rs and which were Ds at the polls.
Of course, we’re voting in a rural county, and are allowed to hang until spouse is done. At the 2012 general election, we had to wait in line for a voting booth/machine for the first time evah, people sat on the bottom bench of the gym, and scooted left as people needed to sit on the right hand end or got up to vote from the left end. It was actually fun to be with neighbors (even though no one we knew was there) in the community of voting.
I have to confess, I suspect most of them were there to vote against the Mooslim terrorist Obama, but that’s OK too, if you’re stupid that way.
hovercraft
@glory b:
The only surprise left is for the media when they discover on election day that no body gives a crap about those damn e-mails but the media and republicans. All this bs about ‘new e-mails’, they are not her e-mails, they are her staffs. So blathering on about how she didn’t turn them all over is bs. She told you up front that she deleted the personal ones, as is her right.
Mnemosyne
@Betty Cracker:
I totally agree — there’s no rational reason why service jobs should be paid less than equivalently skilled manual labor jobs. Honestly, I think it’s lingering sexism: service jobs used to be dominated by women (and in some fields still are) so they could be underpaid.
hovercraft
@J R in WV:
I guess you aren’t familiar with the New Black Panthers, who are menacing regardless of proximity. I’m sure they are the reason for Mitt getting zero votes in those Philly precincts. If only they had not intimidated the voters, he would of won PA, but Donald’s army of watchers will put a stop to that.
japa21
@hovercraft: That is a very fine line she is trying to walk. Her only argument would be that she is voting for Trump as an anti-Clinton vote but then she would have to justify that. If she is voting for Trump because she believes he is the best person for the job then she is endorsing him whether she uses those words or not.
p.a.
@Betty Cracker: It’s nice to do what you love, but for many people the key fact about a job must be the fact that said job can’t be done from a Pacific island equipped with a satellite dish.
Elizabelle
@Uncle Cosmo: so sorry. No words. I am glad your nephew got out there and traveled and relished life. But not enough time.
You and your family are in my thoughts. Hugs.
gex
@Uncle Cosmo: It is so hard to wait for time to do that which only time can do. My condolences to you and yours dealing with this tragic loss. You are very wise to note that there will be a day in the future when memories will bring more happiness than sorrow. Wishing you lots of love and comfort until those days arrive.
sukabi
@JGabriel: annnnd then another shot of yhe longer lasting thorazine for the next week.
sukabi
@Kay: its part of their subset of approved words to describe the gop candidate. Builder, businessman, conservative, devote, successful, patriot, real, american….
Of course they’ve got a list of approved words for the democratic candidates too, these include: inexperienced, careless, weak, unpatriotic, untrustworthy, elitist,
You know the drill, r’s and d’s are ALWAYS, regardless of the facts, described the same way by the media for the last couple of decades.
Kalimama
@Uncle Cosmo: How very sad. Condolences to you and your family.
Amir Khalid
@Mnemosyne:
Mortal Kombat. What got ripped out was the loser’s spine.
cckids
@Uncle Cosmo: I know I’m very, very late here, but I am so sorry for your loss. It’s so hard to lose someone young. Hold onto each other; I have no advice to make things better or easier, because nothing does, but for me, being with others who shared our loss helped. Wishing you peace.
Denali
@Uncle Cosmo.
I am so sorry to hear of your loss. You are in our thoughts. You will get through this very hard time.
J R in WV
@hovercraft:
Not only was she entitled to have her lawyers remove personal emails from the server, I’m pretty positive the FBI was able to recover those deleted emails, as they weren’t completely deleted but just had their index entries removed.
So in the end the FBI went through her personal email as well as the government-related email. I’m sure we would all like that!
aimai
@Uncle Cosmo: My god I’m so, so, so, sorry. I lost a niece, very young, to a surprise brain bleed. Its horrifying and devastating.
SWMBO
@Uncle Cosmo: We cry for the ones we love and miss. Peace, comfort and hugs to all of you.
Original Lee
@Uncle Cosmo: Late to the thread, but I hope not too late to express my condolences. Sending you and your family sympathetic thoughts.
Matt McIrvin
@Joyce H: Good point. Remember how practically the first thing he did was to go hard after Bill Clinton’s sexual misbehavior?
Monala
@Uncle Cosmo: I’m so sorry for your loss.
NotoriousJRT
@Uncle Cosmo:
That is a terrible loss. My heart goes out to you & your family.
Uncle Cosmo
Thanks to all of you for your thoughts and wishes. As they say in microbiology, TNTC, “too numerous to count”…except they all count. Thanks again.
Probably the most significant endeavor my nephew & godson worked on in his all-too-brief career as an architect & designer was Proyecto Paladar. This 2012 Cuban-American cultural exchange of restauranteurs arguably helped prepare the recent rapprochement between the two countries. In the second video on that page (“Proyecto Paladar Phase 1, Construction”, or here) you can see and hear him briefly at 1:21 & again about a minute later.
thalarctosMaritimus
@Uncle Cosmo: I am so very sorry to hear of your devastating loss. (((Hugs))) to you and the others in Skyler’s family. May you all find solace in your memories of him.
stinger
@Uncle Cosmo: I am so sorry to hear this terrible news. Peace and healing to you and all of Skyler’s family and friends.
No One You Know
@Uncle Cosmo: I sorrow for your loss. I wish I could offer more.