Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

The gop is a fucking disgrace.

If you are still in the gop, you are either an extremist yourself, or in bed with those who are.

Their freedom requires your slavery.

Teach a man to fish, and he’ll sit in a boat all day drinking beer.

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

Days Since JD Vance Insulted Women Across America: Zero

It’s not hopeless, and we’re not helpless.

Every one of the “Roberts Six” lied to get on the court.

I desperately hope that, yet again, I am wrong.

When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.

“But what about the lurkers?”

Boeing: repeatedly making the case for high speed rail.

This fight is for everything.

Following reporting rules is only for the little people, apparently.

Seems like a complicated subject, have you tried yelling at it?

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

“When somebody takes the time to draw up a playbook, they’re gonna use it.”

This has so much WTF written all over it that it is hard to comprehend.

Too often we hand the biggest microphones to the cynics and the critics who delight in declaring failure.

Bark louder, little dog.

It is possible to do the right thing without the promise of a cookie.

People are weird.

“And when the Committee says to “report your income,” that could mean anything!

When your entire life is steeped in white supremacy, equality feels like discrimination.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Excellent Links / Saturday Morning Open Thread

Saturday Morning Open Thread

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Since some of you may have missed Michelle Obama’s speech yesterday, here’s something inspirational to start the day. Per CNN:

First Lady Michelle Obama denounced the caustic campaign style of Donald Trump on Friday, demonstrating a new willingness to wade into this year’s messy political battle while arguing for a Hillary Clinton presidency.

While she didn’t mention Trump by name, the first lady aimed squarely at the Republican candidate’s most pronounced positions and tactics, including his persistent challenges to her husband’s eligibility for office.

“There were those who questioned and continue to question for the past eight years, up through this very day, whether my husband was even born in this country,” Obama said in Fairfax, Virginia, during her first solo campaign appearance for Clinton. “Well, during his time in office, I think Barack has answered those questions with the example he set by going high when they go low.”…

In her half-hour-long remarks, she argued Trump’s brand of politics should be kept far from the Oval Office, predicting his bombastic style of campaigning wouldn’t mellow if he wins…

… “If a candidate is erratic and threatening; if a candidate traffics in prejudice, fears and lies on the trail; if a candidate has no clear plans to implement their goals; if they disrespect their fellow citizens, including folks who made extraordinary sacrifices for our country; let me tell you, that is who they are. That is the kind of president they will be, trust me.”…

At her campaign rally, Obama worked to convince her and her husband’s supporters that Clinton is also worthy of their votes. The rally on the campus of George Mason University was timed ahead of the commonwealth’s October 17 voter registration deadline.

“When I hear folks saying they’re not inspired this this election, I disagree. I am inspired,” she said, urging the crowd to register to vote and actually cast ballots for Clinton…

And that reminded me, what with one thing and another, I never got around to sharing Variety‘s recent interview with the First Lady:

… Obama, 52, calls herself “a product of pop culture.” She is convinced of its influence on the public consciousness — in her case to build awareness of her signature policy initiatives, specifically ones tied to healthy eating and exercise, girls’ education, support for military families, and college advancement…

“What I have never been afraid of is to be a little silly, and you can engage people that way,” Obama says in an interview with Variety in her upstairs White House office, decorated in an eclectic mix of abstract art and framed mementos from her tenure. “My view is, first you get them to laugh, then you get them to listen. So I’m always game for a good joke, and I’m not so formal in this role. There’s very little that we can’t do that people wouldn’t appreciate.”

Has it worked?

The first lady is convinced that it has.

A case in point: The Carpool Karaoke segment highlighted one of Obama’s key initiatives, Let Girls Learn, a worldwide plan of action to promote girls’ access to education. She and Corden also sang “This Is for My Girls,” which songwriter Diane Warren wrote several years ago but was recorded as an anthem for the initiative, with Elliott, Kelly Clarkson, Janelle Monae, and others participating, and AOL Makers producing….

Obama explains that as she launched the initiatives, she knew it would take “reaching people where they lived on a day-to-day basis, and the next step was, ‘How do you do that? Where are the people?’ Well, they’re not reading the op-ed pieces in the major newspapers. They’re not watching Sunday morning news talk shows. They’re doing what most people are doing: They are watching TV.”

She adds: “A lot of our audiences are kids and teens, and they want to be in on the joke. And they’ll listen again. We’re just a little looser with this stuff than most traditional first ladies.”…


What’s on the agenda for this fine fall day?

Reader Interactions

200Comments

  1. 1.

    p.a.

    Good morning. Working on about 2 hours sleep the last 2 nights. Waiting on doc info on medical issue, now I’ll have to wait till Monday. Anxiety, depression. Not going to be a good weekend. Sorry to vent here, haven’t really told family yet, have to today; medical right-of-attorney, that stuff. They’ll be helpful, I just hate to burden them.

  11. 11.

    satby

    My flooding problems are over, it was the main sewer line choked with roots, though it was a worrying two and 1/2 hours before the plumber got it clear. Most of that was because the rodder got stuck.
    Then yesterday night I came home to three injured dogs, something got my gang riled up and they had had a fight. I think the two younger ones double teamed my old guy, he’s hurt the worst. He’s going to need a tooth pulled it looks like. They were all doing great and getting along, this is a huge set back for us. Now I go back to separate quarters for them. Not to mention vet bills.

  13. 13.

    Cat48

    Good morning, wish I could have seen Michelle yesterday. She seems to enjoy campaigning more now. She can really work the audience.

  15. 15.

    Ceci n'est pas mom nym

    Don’t normally see TV or the political ads on them, but I got an eyeful last night when having dinner at the diner. They had the TV going with closed captions.

    Saw a bunch of Katie McGinty (D) vs Pat Toomey (R-Slime Mold) ads for PA Senator. She’s hitting him for big bank ties and an A+ rating from the NRA, which I was glad to see but I wonder how well gun control does here in PA.

    He’s hitting her, it looks like (I’m just seeing the headlines he flashes, no sound), for saying it’s urgent to increase taxes in light of schools desperate for money and failing? Really? Education at all levels has been gutted in our state and he thinks it’s a winning strategy to say McGinty wants to address that?

  17. 17.

    J R in WV

    @p.a.:

    Good luck, p.a., with your medical issues. Mrs. J and I also deal with that from time to time. Next orthopedic surgery scheduled for late October for her. I’m trying to hold off one more year for my next set of work.

    Today, a picnic with neighbors and friends at a local rec lake. I don’t go in the water, it has pretty high selenium levels and the fish aren’t sure what sex they should be. But it’s pretty, and the company will be good. We’ve known many of these folks for going on 35 years, and still get along with them.

    ETA: Regarding the lake, it’s downstream of one of the bigger mountain top removal strip mines in WV, and that’s where the heavy metals come from. They drain all the way to New Orleans, so lots of people get to taste the selenium.

    Then tonight we have tickets to the symphony, which is auditioning new conductors, the last guy was good but retired. I hope the two events, which are probably like 90 minutes apart, don’t clash too badly. Violin concerto, should be fun.

    If we get to all the scheduled concerts we’ll hear 6 different conductors leading the same small town orchestra. They have great talent, and put on a good sounding show.

    Have a nice Saturday, all!

  18. 18.

    ThresherK (GPad)

    I am the last person to say this, but good for Diane Warren.

    Her songwriting I usually find a puzzlement, as in “Why is famed for songwriting?”

  19. 19.

    Ceci n'est pas mon nym

    @satby: Oh no, so sorry to hear that. Was there any indication of tensions before? Think I’m missing a back story here.

  22. 22.

    JMG

    Good morning everyone! If you don’t live in NY, Chicago, LA, or any other of the really big cities, your morning paper’s story on Trump today has the words “false” and “lies” in the first two paragraphs. That was the Associated Press lede. AP’s coverage reaches zillions more people than does the Times or Post. It also provides much copy for local news radio stations.
    That was a big deal, and if AP keeps it up, it’ll be a bigger deal.

  24. 24.

    TS

    As if Trump and the birther sh!t was’t enough – his statement yesterday that the President was born in the US was close to the most revolting thing he has ever said. He has no right to be the decider as to where anyone is born and to make it a media fest to publicize his latest business has me screaming to new heights.

    Michelle Obama has been an amazing Flotus while ignoring the non stop racism that has attacked her family for the past 8 years. To have this ahole pronounce, with white man privilege, anything about her family shows how well she can go high, because Trump cannot get any lower.

  25. 25.

    J R in WV

    @satby:

    Oww! Sorry for the dog ruckus. We’ve never had our dogs go for each other, although we have had neighbor’s dogs wear them out. Our dogs are pacifist dogs, they just want love and a good meal each day.

    Lab mixes, they really prefer the love to the food, as long as they aren’t hungry.

    Best of luck with their recovery. Glad the drain was an easy fix. Of course, you know those roots will come back after a while…

    ;-)

  26. 26.

    Botsplainer

    Getting ready to head out to Papa Johns Cardinal Stadium for my first ESPN Game Day experience. Last I noticed, FSU was +2 – but in PJCS, that can be ephemeral.

  27. 27.

    Ohio Mom

    @p.a.: Can you call your primary care doc’s office this morning and get a prescription for something to take the edge off? Even if they are closed, there is someone on call who will get back to you.

    When I wasn’t sleeping/eating/functioning because I was waiting for my biopsy results (spoiler, treatment sucessful), that is what my internist did for me.

    Really, it is quite common and nothing to be ashamed or embarrassed about. It actually makes me irritated that doctors don’t offer this without prompting.

  28. 28.

    Elizabelle

    @p.a.: Best to you. You’re in my thoughts. Hope it turns out to be nondangerous.

    @J R in WV: Great comment on thread below about the newspaper life, and on the Republican nominee missing great swathes of experience and knowledge (not to mention character).

    WRT Satby’s dogs: can’t they all just get along?

  29. 29.

    David ?▶️Hillary/Harley Quinn 2016▶️? Koch

    just read an article on how Roman Polanski’s “Chinatown” was really an adaptation Raymond Chandler’s “The Big Sleep” – and I’m like “OMG, how did I not see the similarity before!”

    TCM played a 1975 film of Gene Hackman called “Night Moves” last night. I saw it for the first time last year and it’s pretty good. And I don’t know why, but it didn’t hit me until last night that it was an adaptation of “The Big Sleep”.

    Ironically, “The Big Sleep” is a terrible movie, both the orginial and remake. But the adaptations – “The Long Goodbye”, “Chinatown”, “Night Moves”, “The Big Lebowski” are great. Haven’t seen another adaptation, “Inherit Vice” but it gets good reviews.

    As long as we’re talking about films, “snowden” tanked at the box office. I’m shocked! I’m shocked!

  30. 30.

    SenyorDave

    The next time Jill Stein says in a speech or interview that there is no difference between Trump and Clinton, she should be asked if she would say that to an African American.

  31. 31.

    satby

    @Ceci n’est pas mon nym: In my old house I used to keep them in teams, just for the sake of my own sanity. But since I moved everyone had been together, and the only tension was between my youngest female dog beating up my oldest female, so I isolated old girl from them. The oldest female and Boomerang Bubba weren’t involved, and of the other three, my oldest guy is the most injured. I’m going to take him to the vet, I think he’s going to need that tooth removed.
    It’s the rescuers nightmare, I just feel awful though it could have happened and been just as bad if I had been here.

  36. 36.

    p.a.

    Thanks all. Small brain aneurysm, no leakage, no bleeding, but it probably can’t just be monitored. I’ve always been a glass half empty type anyway. Lucky it was found small & before rupture.

  40. 40.

    Ohio Mom

    @p.a.: P.S. If you are goggling your medical condition, please be judicious. There is bound to be a lot of outdated info still posted (medicine makes significant advances all the time), and the patents who post tend to be the ones with complaints. You have doctors who can speak to your specifics.

    Other unsolicited advice:
    A second opinion is always a good idea.

    I know it is hard to tell your circle of family and friends. Who wants to have to deal with *their* anxiety, answer the same questions over and over… and it makes it all too real.
    But you will be helped if you can identify the most level-headed of them, swear them to secrecy and bring him/her to the doctor with you to serve as an extra set of ears and perhaps note-taker. There will be a lot of information to digest and you may not catch it all.

  41. 41.

    Gin & Tonic

    I’ll be on the train in an hour going to visit my delightful grand-daughter. At 16 months she’s really developing a personality.

  43. 43.

    SenyorDave

    @Quinerly: I said African American because for the first time I see a lot of commentary in the MSM that specifically seems to call out Trump for being a bigot over the birther issue. But your point is definitely on target. Also if you are a woman, since he has promised to appoint judges to SCOTUS who are anti choice.

  46. 46.

    p.a.

    @Ohio Mom: Thanks. I’m right at the start of the process, so nothing is set. I’m a 1 hr drive from Boston and its med expertise, so that’s a comfort, although my referral is local here in Providence.

  48. 48.

    H.E. Wolf

    Did y’all catch that subtle anti-HRC slant in the CNN report? “Worked to convince supporters that Clinton is worthy”?
    *grinds teefus*
    *signs up for more election volunteering*

  49. 49.

    Raven

    @Gin & Tonic: you know, if I was in Athens I’d be going to a service for a young lady who was killed by a texting drunk woman who had another dui 3 weeks ago. Pick your poison.

  51. 51.

    Ceci n'est pas mon nym

    @Botsplainer: I have a general resentment of Hollywood’s need to remake foreign films, but I loved both “Seven Samurai” and “Magnificent Seven”, and I really want to see the Denzel Washington remake of “Magnificent Seven”.

  52. 52.

    Matt McIrvin

    @SenyorDave:

    The next time Jill Stein says in a speech or interview that there is no difference between Trump and Clinton, she should be asked if she would say that to an African American.

    Currently arguing with a bunch of people making this claim (incl. the Bernie supporter currently planning to write in Jim Webb who I mentioned earlier–I think he was for Webb before Bernie). They seem to just be really cynical people who figure Clinton and Trump are both full of shit so you can basically ignore anything they say.

    The thing is, with Trump that amounts to giving him the benefit of the doubt concerning his open public statements. A guy promises “I’m going to turn your country into a hellish authoritarian state, because I think that’s cool!” and your response is “oh, he’s just full of shit, so I don’t care whether he’s elected or the other one”?

  53. 53.

    What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?

    Go Michelle! She and Barry are going to make Trump rue the day he decided to run for POTUS from now ’till November. They’re just getting warmed up.

  55. 55.

    What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?

    @Matt McIrvin: Just goes to show that the right wing doesn’t have a monopoly on poorly informed dimwits. They have a supermajority but they exist on our side too.

  57. 57.

    Steeplejack (tablet)

    My computer has been churning and clanking on a Windows 10 update since yesterday afternoon, so it looks like some executive action is called for. But later. Right now coffee and easing into the day.

  58. 58.

    Matt McIrvin

    @What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?: I suspect these particular people aren’t particularly left; they’re more like centrists with a sexist streak who dislike Trump but supported Bernie because the idea of a woman President bothers them. Remember, one of Webb’s big crusades was against women in the military.

  59. 59.

    geg6

    Everyone should run over to The Fix at WaPo right now and read Ornstein taking Cilizza and the rest of the Village media to the woodshed. It is truly glorious.

  60. 60.

    Tazj

    @p.a.: I’m so sorry you’re dealing with this. I agree with Ohio mom, call your doctor’s office for some help. That’s what they get paid for and will help you with the anxiety. Best of luck to you and I will be thinking of you.

  63. 63.

    Jeffro

    Btw Jeffro Jr’s Soccer game is about to kick off and all I can say is thank God for the cooler temperatures and a little breeze…whew!

  64. 64.

    Quinerly

    @SenyorDave:
    I wasn’t criticizing. Thought you nailed it! I am a 55 year old woman. Have no idea why I didn’t include “women.” Definitely off my game this AM. Back at the house that I grew up in NC. My mom died almost a year ago and this is my third trip back from St. Louis…working on stuff, packing generations of “stuff.” Trying to figure out what the hell to do. I’m an only child and both my parents were only children.No tv, moved the relatively new stainless appliances to the beach place. So all I have for diversion is a microwave, garage refrig, Book of Faces, and Balloon Juice. Spent 2 hours last night catching up with BJ comments. It helped a lot.❤ Thanks!

  65. 65.

    Elmo

    @satby: It’s a horrible feeling, and I’m sending all good thoughts your way. We’ve had what I think is more than our share of fights in our ever-changing packs, partly because of the breeds we tend to gravitate toward and partly because my wife is sometimes the rescuer of last resort for a disturbed animal.

    My two worst bite scars are from intervening. Which is a stupid thing to do, especially when the two combatants are each over 100 pounds – that particular bite went down to the bone at my elbow. Another lacerated my inner forearm down to the adipose – ick – and that scar is ugly and puckered.

    Dogs will sometimes quarrel. When they do, they don’t punch. They use their teeth. It happens. Hang in there.

  66. 66.

    Kay

    Liz Mair ‏@LizMair 38m38 minutes ago
    Ds should also avoid playing the victim card as much as possible, and they’re doing the exact opposite re: Trump’s guards comments.

    “Victim card”. Even the nominally intelligent conservatives can’t help repeating these meaningless wingnut slogans.

    When this is over, however it ends, there will be an attempt to blame Donald Trump on everything BUT the Republican Party. We can’t let them get away with it. The initial failure here was the GOP base and after that it was the GOP establishment, so ALL of them- the electeds, the pundits, the campaign people.

    Trump is their creation. They did this. They were all getting paid and it was profitable to make shit up about Obama and they were winning midterms and state races so they all went along. No one quit. No one bravely outed that the GOP had turned into a grifter operation. They all kept going because whatever else it was, it was a paycheck. “Democrats” had nothing whatever to do with it.

  67. 67.

    Ben Mays

    @p.a.: Best wishes for a positive result. Informing family and friends of this stuff is actually quite draining itself. When I was diagnosed with Stage IV renal cancer out of the blue, we struggled with how to get word out without having to tell the same sad story ovr and over. We found the CaringBridge site that allows you to post your news and updates. It was a real relief for us . BTW, 41 months in and the drugs continue to hold the C at bey. Thankfully, good health insurance covers the $60+k annual drug cost.

  69. 69.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Raven: I read about that. It was all over cycling sites when your TV station Tweeted that she was in “a bicycle crash”. It was vehicular homicide, not a bicycle crash. That Tweet was deplorable, and they never took it down or corrected it.

  70. 70.

    MomSense

    NPR is talking to a feng shui master about Donald Trump. Kelly Anne and Ivanka by his side make him a good president because something something feminine ideal something something nurturing.

    What?

    @p.a.:
    I’m really sorry. Please reach out to your family if you think they will be supportive and not add to your anxiety. Any way you can call your doctor and maybe get something to help you through this acute phase?

    I’m sorry you are going through this. Please do check in with us. Sending a big hug.

    @satby:

    Damn, I’m sorry about the dogs. That sounds really scary.

  73. 73.

    debbie

    @p.a.:

    This will likely be the longest weekend of your life, but lean on your family and friends, and think good and positive thoughts. Too touchy-feely for some here, I’m sure.

  74. 74.

    The Other Chuck

    @SenyorDave:

    The next time Jill Stein says in a speech or interview that there is no difference between Trump and Clinton, she should be asked if she would say that to an African American.to shut the fuck up forever.

    FTFY. Seriously, that is pure black-is-white and up-is-down shit.

  76. 76.

    Kay

    @debbie:

    All the fancy GOP lawyers with Ivy League degrees who bring those “voter fraud” lawsuits? They’re not actually morons. They know voter impersonation fraud is bullshit. It’s nonsensical on its face.

    It’s not complicated- they’re hacks. They do it anyway.

    The WSJ promotes voter impersonation fraud and has for 15 years. The WSJ is their elite media outlet. It’s the Best and The Brightest in the conservative movement and they all happily went along with measures to suppress the AA vote. They want to make this out as the dumber portion of the base but that’s not true. It goes all the way to the top.

  78. 78.

    gene108

    @Ceci n’est pas mom nym:

    Saw a bunch of Katie McGinty (D) vs Pat Toomey (R-Slime Mold) ads for PA Senator. She’s hitting him for big bank ties and an A+ rating from the NRA, which I was glad to see but I wonder how well gun control does here in PA.

    There is a SuperPAC running ads for Toomey touting how he crossed party lines to vote with Dems on a couple of gun control bills, such as increased background checks.

    But I live in the Phily TV market, which is more gun control than central PA, so I am not sure if those ads are tailored for this market or are running statewide.

  79. 79.

    scav

    @p.a.: Good luck with being able to see the cliff we’re all basically dancing on anyway. And “burden” away (with opt out exceptions for individuals you know best), because most people (after the initual tizzy) would be really burdened, and for far longer, by feeling you didn’t trust them. Grab a stable one, with a different view of glass fullness if possible, and get info as a team — counterbalancing and a catamaran for this trip, rather than everybody into the same canoe for winding each other up into a party.

  80. 80.

    Kay

    @debbie:

    Liz Mair is a Rand Paulite. Where is the brave libertarian warrior on Trump’s authoritarian statements? Not a fucking peep out of Rand Paul.

    He wouldn’t shut up about Obama- the public were treated to his patronizing, scolding lectures on The Wingnut Constitution nearly daily. Now he’s conveniently dropped out of sight.

  81. 81.

    geg6

    @Elizabelle:

    Yeah, can’t link on my phone, so thanks for linking. It’s brilliant.

    @gene108:

    Must be statewide or just urban markets because it’s running here in the Pittsburgh market, too. Bernie was here last evening, I think at CMU, stumping for Katie McGinty and Hilz. He made good arguments for both to the youngs. Hope they are listening.

  84. 84.

    Kay

    One thing we can do when this is over is pass a federal law requiring certain disclosures by Presidential candidates. It doesn’t have to be complicated. I spoke to a US Attorney once at a party- he hadn’t been confirmed yet. He had to submit truckloads of disclosure. There’s process in place- a template.

    The public needs protection if the institutional and process checks and balances fail again. The people who don’t support Trump shouldn’t be subject to a wholly unqualified and opaque candidate who might win.

    We don’t know jack shit about Donald Trump. He has disclosed nothing other than information he personally controls. The downside risk is enormous .

  85. 85.

    bemused

    @Kay:

    No people play and use the victim card more than the rightwing. It must be in their DNA.

    Yup, the rightwing created that monster all on their own with no hesitation.

  86. 86.

    Kay

    @debbie:

    The silence of the elected libertarian/Republican caucus is interesting, isn’t it?

    Faced with an actual authoritarian rather than the black guy who pushed health care thru Congress using existing democratic process they are useless. They’ll be useless if Trump is elected too. They won’t stand up to him after he has power if they won’t stand up to him now. It will get worse.

  88. 88.

    Peale

    @Kay: yep. Look, it isn’t likely that a major party candidate will be left oFf the ballot for breaking the disclosure law, but at the very least we’d know that the candidate if self-interested would break the law.

  89. 89.

    Kay

    I’m obsessing over the safety of canvassers lately. I tend to obsess so it might be overblown but them going door to door into Trumpland worries me. I never thought about it before this cycle but then I never thought about getting gunned down in a mediation before and now it crosses my mind every time I enter one now- just fleetingly I think “I wonder if one of them is a lunatic and is armed?”

    My daughter lives in Pittsburgh and she’ll canvass in western PA and I would honestly be more comfortable if she didn’t. It isn’t “western PA”- I’m not picking on them. I’m also worried about canvassers where I live.

    Stay safe out there. Skip the doors with the confederate flags and the starving pit bulls and the NRA stickers.

  90. 90.

    Corner Stone

    @Kay:

    We don’t know jack shit about Donald Trump.

    Your larger point stands but it’s not all the way true. We do know, for example, that at least three of his children are truly horrible, despicable people.

    And I was thinking about it. Wasn’t that one of the bigger selling points for Trump around the R convention time? That all you had to do to know how good a person Trump was privately was to see what amazing children he had raised?

  91. 91.

    Iowa Old Lady

    Suggestion for all the indignant reporters forced to be part of Trump’s ad for his “under budget” hotel: Call all the contractors who worked on it and ask if they were paid. Don’t let David Farenthold earn that Pulitzer with no competition.

  92. 92.

    I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet

    @satby: I’m sorry to hear about the pooch troubles.

    Our Sophie hears/feels thunderstorms miles and sometimes hours away and hates them (she will go in the bathrooms and try to jump out the windows and on the counters). Your kids may have been on edge from the move and then the noise from the sewer work may have made them even jumpier.

    I’m sure it’s just a temporary setback. Here’s hoping they’re back to their old selves, physically and emotionally, soon!

    Good luck!

    I hope the job is going (or will go?) well too!!

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  94. 94.

    CarolDuhart2

    @Kay: Kay, hopefully the people at the office know their territory, and could give good advice there. And they should be canvassing in pairs or teams in problematical territory, and during daylight hours.

    I feel pretty useless this cycle. In 2008 I felt up to canvassing for Obama. Now, all I feel I can do is vote.

  95. 95.

    MomSense

    @Quinerly:

    Hey sorry to hear about your dealing with generations of stuff job. I did that job for my grandparents and my mom. It’s really draining. In the one hand you try to be respectful of the stuff they accumulated because it clearly was important to them and yet it’s not always possible to keep it or use it.

    I gave a lot of things to family members and a lot to charities. I was thrilled to give tons of wool and rug hooking supplies to an arts school that had a rug hooking program but that was a lucky match. Be kind to yourself. You are doing the best you can.

  96. 96.

    Kay

    @CarolDuhart2:

    She grew up in gunland but in a way that might make her less wary. I got a crazy letter from a Trump supporter- I know him so it’s not strange that he would know where I live but he was ginned up enough to scrawl shit on the envelope too.

    I’m not afraid of that individual. I see him fairly frequently so I think it’s a sign of cowardice that he wouldn’t just say these things to me to my face instead of writing a letter. I’m worried about the kind of environment that would inspire him to write me a crazy letter and then think that’s not enough- he has to add a PS on the outside of the envelope.

  98. 98.

    Elizabelle

    @Kay: Wow. Not out of the question to be sent to the home of a Trump supporter either, because you might be looking for the wife or a child who’s a Democrat/leaning Dem. Have knocked a lot of doors where hubby announces stridently his wife is not voting for the Dem (she’s not at home) and that’s a nonresponse, since it did not come from the voter. Lot of mixed (political) marriages out there.

    Paranoia strikes deep this year.

    We should keep an ear out for stories around the country. Danger to canvassers: that is not a both sides do it issue, dear media.

  100. 100.

    CarolDuhart2

    @Kay: Actually I would be more afraid of the quiet ones who don’t vent and of places where folks don’t know you.

    One of the two minds I am of is that this sort of thing is the “dying of the light”. This stuff has no real future. But it can be pretty awful when a dinosaur takes its last breaths, and people can get crushed under the weight of the tail. I have a theory about this which I will blog about when I take time out from crocheting table runners.

  101. 101.

    Elizabelle

    @CarolDuhart2: Thinking on danger to canvassers:

    another thing Juicers and others could do: volunteer to drive the canvassers around. You will double the number of houses that can be covered, and it’s a real help to just be able to hop out of the car, especially since the homes are targeted and you might have 7 houses before you get to the next one.

    Plus, the driver is visible and a backup.

    In addition to keeping volunteer offices staffed and well fed, of course.

    But this would be a good year to have more drivers.

  103. 103.

    Keith P.

    Oh, good lord, I just turned away from MSNBC because some Trump supporter came on to say Trump shouldn’t have to apologize for the birtherism stuff because it was 5 years ago, when Trump “was a private citizen expressing his opinion”. I really hate this constant claim that Trump was “just a private citizen”. No he was not; he was, is, and almost always has been a public figure. He didn’t just express his opinion – he was interviewed on TV constantly making these claims

  104. 104.

    Elizabelle

    @Kay: Are you sharing that letter with the police? Maybe you’re not the only pen pal. That’s pretty het up, to write a personal letter. Still falls under the category “stranger danger.”

  106. 106.

    Quinerly

    @MomSense:
    Thanks for your kind words. Really no family since we were all onlys and I don’t have children. I’ll get through it. Have the luxury of some time that most don’t have since I’m a semi retired lawyer and have reached a point that I mostly only answer to myself. Taking the first load back to St. Louis 10/18…what I can integrate in my already fully furnished home ?. No real surprises found here. We were our own little tribe of 3…my father died in 2008. And yes, I have all that rug hooking “gear” from my grandmother…plus a beautiful rug she did close to 70 years ago. Thanks for the suggestions and sweet words. I have mostly lurked here for at least 10 plus years. Have always loved the commentators and their wise words.

  107. 107.

    ThresherK

    @Elizabelle:

    Have knocked a lot of doors where hubby announces stridently his wife is not voting for the Dem (she’s not at home)…

    Reminds me of the “groundbreaking” s-e-x study in the ’90s which showed how heteronormal, non-cheating and LeaveItToBeaver-y (no pun) America was. Then a few intrepid folks (before the internet) questioned the results because they studied the methodology and found that many respondents were interviewed in front of their spouses, partners or children, and even perhaps their priests and ministers.

    (Okay, that bit about priests and ministers I made up, just barely.)

  109. 109.

    I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet

    @Matt McIrvin: Bingo. A man saying the same things Hillary says, with the same platform, with the same experience and record, would be treated as the 2nd coming of RFK by so many people who claim that they’ll never vote for her.

    It’s maddening.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  111. 111.

    Mike E

    @Kay: if they’re buddying up, then they’ll do fine…I mostly canvassed solo when I wasn’t carrying an observing prospect or doing a training session. The ‘turf’ makes a difference, too, and a good field mgr will map out safe plan/direction by which she will hit those houses. Cell phone technology is a huge game changer…my career predates this, mostly (get off my lawn!) and today’s phones would’ve made me feel like I had the upper hand from the get go

  112. 112.

    I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet

    @geg6: I had to search for it – it didn’t jump out at me at the WaPo just now.

    Linky:

    […]

    I fundamentally disagree with the idea that Trump has received a different sort — and a better sort — of coverage. I actually think some elements of the media have been overly critical of Trump because they cannot believe that someone with Trump’s views — and approach — has become one of the two party nominees. There is a disdain and a dismissiveness bordering on elitism in some parts of the media directed toward Trump.

    And, again, when it comes to your references to Bannon and others: We wrote all about Bannon’s background and his controversial statements. That it didn’t change people’s minds about Trump isn’t really the media’s responsibility. We just don’t have that power.

    Ornstein: Chris, I hate to say it, but I find your response incredibly weak. Yes, her performance as secretary of state is a good, perhaps the best, indicator of how she would govern. And somehow, you and your colleagues in the media have decided that the emails and the Clinton Foundation are the be-all and end-all of her judgment and the indication of how she would govern. Not how she ran the State Department, how she structured and dealt with the team of people around her, how she interacted with the president, the secretar(ies) of defense, the national security advisers, the DNI, etc. Not what she accomplished and did not accomplish. Not her judgments on policy or other leaders.

    […]

    It’s a good read. Thanks for the pointer!

    [Try #2]

    Cheers,
    Scott.
    (Who can’t understand how Norm has remained so level-headed after being at AEI for so long.)

  113. 113.

    Elizabelle

    @Mike E: But buddying up means you need a team, where an individual could have worked before.

    Why I like the idea of drivers, because you might have more volunteers comfortable with navigating and driving than actually talking to voters at the doors. And an inperson visit is way more effective than a phone call.

    I write this as a canvasser who loves to travel solo. It saddens me that the danger may be increasing.

  114. 114.

    Elizabelle

    @MomSense: I shall read it with breakfast in a few. Cannot tell if Cillizza is not bright, or willfully obtuse in much of his output. Maybe this will enlighten …

    Norm Ornstein has gravitas and patience.

  116. 116.

    Tilda Swinton's Bald Cap

    @MomSense: Chriz Chincilla:

    From 2007 to 2008, Cillizza was a co-host of the MySpace/MTV Presidential Dialogues, which hosted John McCain, Barack Obama, and others in the groundbreaking live-streamed, interactive Presidential event series. Cillizza and fellow Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank appeared in a series of humor videos called Mouthpiece Theater, hosted by the Washington Post. An outcry followed a video in which, during a discussion of the White House “Beer Summit”, they chose new brands for a number of people, including “Mad Bitch Beer” for Hillary Clinton. Both men apologized for the video and the series was canceled.

  118. 118.

    Kay

    @Elizabelle:

    I’m not going to police because I know him. I actually know his son, who had a lot of problems coming up and is still not okay but thru the son I met the father. The letter wasn’t threatening to me personally. It was vitriol about Clinton and Democrats. It was a nutty but political letter. I’m what passes for a “high profile” Democrat here- I’ve been in the newspaper and things. A normal person would say “well, sending this to her is a waste of time” but this guy isn’t fully grounded in reality but is harmless. He doesn’t even make my top ten of unhinged people I know thru my work.

    The father is essentially a “sovereign citizen” type. He may not know the phrase or the dogma but he talks about “mans laws and Gods laws”, that sort of thing.

  120. 120.

    Davis X. Machina

    @Kay:

    He doesn’t even make my top ten of unhinged people I know thru my work.

    If so, I shudder to think what that work is.

  121. 121.

    bemused

    The defensive media reminds of an interesting book on my shelf, “Mistakes were made (but not by me)”, Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson, Why We Justify Foolish Beliefs, Bad Decisions, and Hurtful Acts.

  122. 122.

    Davis X. Machina

    @Elizabelle: My daughter worked on the Equality Maine marriage-equality referendum, and they always canvassed by the car-full, primarily for safety reasons.

  123. 123.

    Kay

    @Elizabelle:

    This goes to my Grand Theory of Donald Trump. Trump makes everyone in his orbit worse. That’s what “standards” and “societal norms” are about, right? It isn’t the individual actor- it’s the effect on others.

    You know how people say that you can tell you’re in a good relationship because both parties get better? It’s mutually beneficial? Trump is the opposite of that. His shit sticks to everyone who brushes up against him. They’re all going down with him. Whatever the opposite is of “inspiring” :)

  124. 124.

    No One You Know

    @p.a.: Patience and courage sometimes get paid for with anxiety and sleeplessness.

    The waiting is the hardest part.

    Guilt over “burdening” people who love you can be from fear that they don’t love you. Don’t doubt them, or what you mean to them.

    You are loved, and love is an act: people are with you in this. There, and here.

  126. 126.

    Kay

    @Davis X. Machina:

    I often see people at their worst so it’s not a good “sample” but you might be amazed at how crazy people are. It’s bad because you end up comparing yourself to this extremely low standard :)

    Say what you will about me, but I have never thrown shotgun shells into a campfire to create an explosion! That’s OFF the table with me! That’s like the measure. LOOOoow bar.

  128. 128.

    Cacti

    @Kay:

    This goes to my Grand Theory of Donald Trump. Trump makes everyone in his orbit worse. That’s what “standards” and “societal norms” are about, right? It isn’t the individual actor- it’s the effect on others.

    I call it the reverse Midas touch.

    Everything he touches turns to shit.

  129. 129.

    Felonius Monk

    @Kay:

    They won’t stand up to him after he has power if they won’t stand up to him now. It will get worse.

    They don’t stand up to him, not because they are afraid of him, but because they see him as a useful idiot. It is somewhat similar to the kind of thinking that allowed Hitler to gain power in Germany. The rethugs see everything that we see about Trump, but they also see him as their ticket to get everything done the way they want. They are presuming that he will be so inept and incapable as President that he will be their puppet-on-a-string. But they are only fooling themselves. Trump will be their worst nightmare as well as ours, if he should somehow get elected.

  131. 131.

    Corner Stone

    The Eichenwald segment on AM Joy was really good. The bit they played of Ivanka on GMA re: conflicts with Trump business was really damning. Kurt unpacked Ivanka’s comments a bit so it’s plain how disgusting this family is. They just think they say it, that’s the way it is.

  132. 132.

    James E Powell

    @MomSense:

    Somehow I doubt Cilizza will learn anything from the exchange.

    Didn’t appear he was open to the idea that he had anything to learn. He apparently lacks capacity for reflection or self-examination. He does not believe he or the press have erred at all.

  133. 133.

    Elizabelle

    @Kay: lucky for him this sovereign citizen doesn’t live near the Bundys, no? He’d have more to worry about now. Although also, perhaps, more free time.

    Agree with you on standards and Trump’s reverse Midas touch.

    Bought a copy of William Shirer’s The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich this summer. Published in 1960. Interested to learn about the “rise” part.

    And anyone is foolish to think they can control Trump. At least, anyone in this country.

  136. 136.

    James E Powell

    @bemused:

    I think it says a lot about Cillizza and Milbank that they didn’t immediately think, no, really bad idea that would come back to bite us hard. Fools.

    Who are the fools? They both still have prestigious jobs in the Village. Making sexist insults of Hillary Clinton isn’t a negative there.

  137. 137.

    Corner Stone

    @James E Powell: It was obvious that Cillizza went into the exchange with the implicit intent to not learn anything from the back and forth.
    When Norm says, “I fear we may be talking past each other a bit.” that was a masterful use of understatement.

  139. 139.

    Ohio Mom

    @CarolDuhart2: Re: dying dinosaurs. The practitioners of the branch of psychology founded by Skinner, that is, Behaviorists, long ago noted that whatever behavior they were trying to extinguish in a patient often increased dramatically before finally being dropped. The term is “extinction burst.”

    (There is a lot about Behaviorism I don’t like, and it has a lot of limitations and drawbacks, but a variation of it can often be pretty successful in the beginning stages of teaching children on the autism spectrum how to compensate for their challenges. It was for my kid.)

  144. 144.

    Corner Stone

    This is the same problem I had with the MHP show format. They bring on a couple interesting guests and always include one person who is dedicated to pooping in the punch bowl every time they open their mouth. There can be no rational back and forth when you include a Trump surrogate on the panel. Watching Joy shut them down or refute them in real time is ok but it gets old when I already know what’s going to be said and what will happen every single time they are asked a question.

  147. 147.

    Kay

    @Corner Stone:

    Oh, none of them knew jack shit about Ivanka either. Their ridiculous praise of her at the convention was based on nothing at all.

    She’s dishonest and poorly-informed. Big surprise. Maybe they shouldn’t make pronouncements about how great people are with no information.

    She promoted her business at the convention. That should have been a tip-off.

  148. 148.

    Kay

    The reason for TV’s love of Trump, Stelter explained, is all about his combination of unpredictability and media savvy.

    Ya know, this is all very fascinating, their various defenses, but no one gives a shit about what inspires them. They had a job. They refused to do it.

    CNN is admitting they go taken in.

    CNN is providing a debate moderator. Is he captured too? Is this a blanket admission that they they love Trump because of his “unpredictability and media savvy”? Who give’s a rat’s ass why they love him? Can they do this job or not?

    If Trump is elected and all the vetting they DIDN’T do becomes an issue (which it will) this excuse won’t fly. It’s all about them- their needs, their thoughts, their inner feelings. What a bunch of self-indulgent ninnies.

  150. 150.

    Kay

    The NYTimes published a piece in August raising huge issues with Trump’s business interests and his lack of disclosure.

    Can they explain to readers why there has been NO follow-up? I’d like to know if it has anything to do with Trump’s 30 year relationship with NY media outlets. Something is going on here. How does a guy who rose to fame in the most intense media environment in the country get this far with NO vetting? Hmmm? How does that happen?

  153. 153.

    Cacti

    @Kay:

    She’s dishonest and poorly-informed.

    And has the same paper thin skin as her old man, as seen in the Cosmo interview.

  154. 154.

    CarolDuhart2

    @Kay: Maybe it’s intimidation. I wouldn’t be surprised if Trump knows certain people who can get rough. Notice how hometown “heroes” don’t get as much pushback from home oress than from outsiders? Not that they are proud of him, mind you, but they may have a few Trump properties they live in or rent…

  155. 155.

    Kay

    You know, Iraq was one thing. Iraq was far away and they were all head over heels in love with Bush. Trump’s ENTIRE paper trail is centered in NYC. Nothing. It’s bizarre and they should explain it. Is there no one in that city they can interview, nothing they can find out due to his 30 year local history? Really?

    He didn’t come out of a county commissioner seat in Alabama. He came out of NYC. That’s where they all are.

  156. 156.

    Kay

    @CarolDuhart2:

    Is it the east coast locus of the people he surrounds himself with? Rudy and Christie are big shots. Both of THEM were actively and embarrassingly fawned over by media. Is that the wall they won’t breach? Is this some kind of bizarre home team favoritism?

    It’s inexplicable. It makes no sense. Lynn Sweet was the local expert on Obama because people outside Chicago DIDN’T know him. She added value based on what she knew. She was tough on Obama. Obama supporters hated her but no one thought she in the bag because she knew him– the Obama expert reporter. She was all over the place in 08.

    Who is the NYC media equal to Sweet? It’s like this mysterious void.

  158. 158.

    La Caterina (Mrs. Johannes)

    @Kay: How do I volunteer to poll watch for the DNC? I was an outside poll watcher in Lorraine Co. in Ohio in 2008 but can’t figure out where to sign up for this year. I am a lawyer registered to vote in New York. I have a ton of family in NC. Seems like they could use all the help they can get this year. As a bonus I can recruit/shame the relatives into doing their GOTV duty.

  159. 159.

    Peale

    @CarolDuhart2: he’s wealthy. The times isn’t about to doubt anyone who is wealthy. They are one of the foremost supporters of the idea that wealth, especially the kind that comes in New York, is a marker of all sorts of superiority. They’ve probably never met a wealthy New Yorker who they notice is crazy. Instead, weakthy people can do anything. Which is why I’m sure they’ll have a difficult time figuring out why Uday isn’t qualified for a cabinet post when the time comes.

  161. 161.

    Tilda Swinton's Bald Cap

    @Kay: I suspect that Hillary’s debate practice is not focusing on Trump, but rather how to handle the “moderators”.

  163. 163.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Kay:

    The NYTimes published a piece in August raising huge issues with Trump’s business interests and his lack of disclosure.

    Can they explain to readers why there has been NO follow-up? I’d like to know if it has anything to do with Trump’s 30 year relationship with NY media outlets. Something is going on here. How does a guy who rose to fame in the most intense media environment in the country get this far with NO vetting? Hmmm? How does that happen?

    Susanne Craig, the lead reporter on that article, seems to have only about one byline a month. She specialises in long-form investigative reporting. My guess, FWIW (or maybe it’s a hope rather than a guess) is that she is probably working hard on a follow-up. I could be very wrong, but I’ll give them another couple of weeks.

    This obviously doesn’t explain the lack of vetting by the rest of the NY-based media — which, like you, I find just inexplicable.

  164. 164.

    Ruckus

    @p.a.:
    Hope things go well.
    Burden the family. Spreading the pain helps, especially with that anxiety and depression. And as billinglendale says, that’s what they are for.

  168. 168.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Elizabelle: Replying quite late, but if you catch this, I highly recommend Timothy Snyder’s Black Earth if you want to read a cogent analysis of the rise of 1930’s European fascism.

  169. 169.

    Ruckus

    @SenyorDave:
    Really any human of either gender or any race with a brain with more intellect than a garden slug can see the difference.
    Maybe that’s why she can’t?

  172. 172.

    Ruckus

    @Kay:
    This.
    You should front page this comment. It is what they do, blame everyone else for any and every thing they think is wrong and any and every thing that goes wrong when they try to “fix” it. They are the party of no responsibility.

  173. 173.

    Doug R

    @Botsplainer: Something people may watch-Peter Berg has Deepwater Horizon coming out at the end of September. With Mark Wahlberg who was also in Berg’s Lone Survivor, Kurt Russell and John Malkovich as a slimy BP executive. Critical consensus is it’s plenty angry.

  174. 174.

    J R in WV

    @O. Felix Culpa:

    WOW !!! :-) That’s great. I’ve been married for 45 years, so I’m allowed to say how great being married to a good partner is. Neither of us is perfect, and we do argue sometimes. But we also enjoy doing things together, a lot.

    Have fun! That’s important.!!! (Hint, don’t drink too much today… ;-)

  177. 177.

    Doug R

    @Steeplejack (tablet): Good luck on that windoze 10 update. I tried many times, in the last few weeks about once a day. I even burned an ISO and uninstalled my anti virus. Still that stupid error after about 97% with the reversion. Lucky I still remember my wifi password.
    Micro$oft should be able to make a product that can install clean without having to disable and delete any program that can run on it. It’s the twenty first century, for frack’s sake.

  178. 178.

    Mnemosyne

    @p.a.:

    Coming in late, but venting here pseudonymously can be very freeing. I had a major freakout earlier this year over a breast biopsy (fortunately benign) because my mother died young of breast cancer.

    And your family will want to be burdened, or else they suck. ?

  179. 179.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    @Doug R:

    Thanks. Haven’t tackled it yet. It’s a gray, cool Saturday here in NoVA, hence lazy-making.

    I’ve had Win10 on the box for a while, no problems. Didn’t know whether this was a big or little update, but I guess it’s de facto big now.

    I looked at some stuff on line and think I should be able to fix things fairly easily, but we’ll see.

  180. 180.

    Ruckus

    @p.a.:
    I haven’t related much here now but this may help. I have cancer. It’s slow growing and that makes it much more treatable but sometimes the treatment and it’s side effects aren’t a lot of fun to live with. I’ve known for over a year before treatment started. There were several steps to go through first and the part that is relevant here, that entire year was full of anxiety and yes some depression. When a plan was finalized and started the relief I didn’t even know I needed for that was immediate. And months of 4 hrs a day of travel across town for treatment every day is not all that much fun but that is still better. So from someone who is also having a medical issue, it does get better. You learn to live with the condition, you learn to live with the treatments.

  181. 181.

    Emma

    @srv: I would like to thank the FOPs for making it clear to all people of color where they stand. More voters for Hillary!

  183. 183.

    Mnemosyne

    @Kay:

    I am increasingly convinced that spouting “sovereign citizen” stuff should be grounds for an immediate trip to the nearest psychiatric ER and a 72-hour hold for evaluation. These people need help, not validation by other crazy people.

  184. 184.

    Emma

    @Ruckus: That has been my experience also. I am in the last third of a post-surgical treatment for estrogen-positive breast cancer (no genetic markers, yay!) using a combination of an aromatase inhibitor (Femara) and a selective estrogen receptor modulator (Tamoxifen). Both have all sorts of not-so-wonderful side-effects, the worst being severe joint and muscle pain. After a while you learn to work around the pain, the depression, and the nausea and have a semblance of a normal life.

  185. 185.

    Mnemosyne

    @O. Felix Culpa:

    Congratulations and best wishes!

    I will wish you what I wish for every bride and groom of my acquaintance: that today is *not* the happiest day of your life, but the start of a series of even happier days together.

  186. 186.

    Ruckus

    @Emma:
    I have friends who have been in wheelchairs for decades and they still enjoy life. Their lives are different and difficult but they can be enjoyed. I also get my healthcare from the VA and going to the hospital, which is huge and covers a lot of territory is both uplifting and somewhat depressing. I see every day, people with missing limbs, which is just something you obviously see, but there are lots of people with issues like ours, ones that are hidden and still scary. But people adapt, like the guy I saw 4 or 5 weeks ago who would normally be about 5’10-11 but lost both his legs way above the knee. He had two steel legs with large pads on the ends, he walks by swinging his hips. So his torso is normal, he has two peg legs about the length of your upper legs and his head is about 3 ft off the ground. He walks by, goes about his business, like nothing is different about him. It’s like this every day at the VA hospital, my small issue, no matter actually how serious, just seems to be not so bad after all.

  187. 187.

    debbie

    @The Lodger:

    As she basically said without saying, the only reason he requested her service was because this was in China where they care about feng shui. It was one of his typically hollow ploys, trolling for good PR.

  192. 192.

    p.a.

    @Emma: @Ruckus:
    I know from my CBT training to try to ‘stay in the moment’, concentrate completely on what you are doing to prevent the outside thoughts from seeping in. Can’t always do it, but when it works it works. Some people I’ve known, some of what I learn about people here, I think if it was me I’d be in bed in fetal position.

  194. 194.

    satby

    @Elmo: Thanks Elmo! I always feel like such an inept rescuer when it happens.
    And now that the swelling is down, I can see that what I thought was just a dislocated tooth is actually a broken bone in Hershey’s jaw. So now we’re waiting for the emergency vet to open at 6:30 this evening. My poor sweet boy.

  196. 196.

    Ruckus

    @p.a.:
    The thing to remember is we can get through a lot. We can come out the other side OK. Not necessarily the same but different can be OK, if you let it be. I’ve just been having a discussion about aging with a HS friend. She thinks that attitude is everything in aging. I think it makes a huge difference in how people see themselves but we don’t all age the same because we don’t all start out the aging process from the same point/age, nor do we go through the same process to get to the end. I see this every day at the VA. We age and suffer from diseases due to circumstances, injuries, life styles/food choices, environment, genetics…….. And all of those are not controllable nor are they the same for each of us, even if we are related. But we can survive some very shitty things and move on. Look at Walter, left to starve, he is shinning in his new home. We can do the same thing, shine in our new lives, we are being given a second (or maybe third or fifth, whatever) chance. Take it, grab it, run with it, it’s better than any alternative.

  197. 197.

    Ben Cisco (onboard the Defiant)

    @p.a.: Sorry for what you’re going through. Seems like today’s the day for tough news. I got hit with a triple whammy: discovered a late onset case of claustrophobia that prevented an MRI I badly needed, my paternal grandmother (already dealing with Alzheimers) has fist sized mass of indeterminate origin, and I just got a call from home – my mom letting me know that Dad had a suspected stroke and they’re on the way to the hospital. To hell with 2016 already.

  198. 198.

    Ruckus

    @Ben Cisco (onboard the Defiant):
    Crap. Hope the family situations resolve OK.
    I had the same MRI experience, had done 3 on the same machine even, and then Baamm! Scared the hell out of me, I’ve never been claustrophobic in any other situation, before that. And I’ve had a number of scans in the last 4 yrs and especially the last yr with no problem. Don’t understand it at all.

  200. 200.

    Theodore Wirth

    In spite of the tumults of the last eight years, I predict that we will miss the classy and dignified behavior of the Obamas. They have represented us better than we are. Not once have they ever made us look stupid or pretentious on the world stage. More to come…

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