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You are here: Home / Pet Blogging / Cat Blogging / Non-Sports Open Thread

Non-Sports Open Thread

by Betty Cracker|  October 15, 20162:11 pm| 170 Comments

This post is in: Cat Blogging, Open Threads

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Here’s a very young rescue kitten’s introduction to baths:

img_0863

I think she looks more bewildered than angry. The bath was a necessary evil.

She’s not mine, BTW: relatives are fostering her and will almost certainly keep her permanently.

Poor thing was separated from her mom and litter mates way too soon. But she’s now thriving! Cute, huh?

Open thread!

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Previous Post: « College Football Open Thread
Next Post: Open Thread: Lost (of Their Own Volition) in A Mirror-Maze »

Reader Interactions

170Comments

  1. 1.

    different-church-lady

    October 15, 2016 at 2:14 pm

    Meme-worthy.

  2. 2.

    germy

    October 15, 2016 at 2:14 pm

    Even soaking wet, she’s a cute little girl. A nice towel dry, a good meal and she’ll be fluffy and contented.

  3. 3.

    WaterGirl

    October 15, 2016 at 2:15 pm

    Poor thing! Those eyes look terrified to me. I just want to give her a hug.

  4. 4.

    germy

    October 15, 2016 at 2:15 pm

    She looks like she’s watching the second debate. It’s how I looked.

  5. 5.

    joel hanes

    October 15, 2016 at 2:19 pm

    The poor little thing was so skinny and thin
    She should have been washed in a jug
    [In a juuug …. [piano flourish]

  6. 6.

    John Revolta

    October 15, 2016 at 2:20 pm

    Cat is thinking: “You people will pay for this. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon……………”

  7. 7.

    Durin Dal

    October 15, 2016 at 2:20 pm

    Cute.. Poor thing. Kittehs never look dignified when they’re bathed. My spouse would hurt me if I brought home another cat, though. :-J

  8. 8.

    Mary G

    October 15, 2016 at 2:20 pm

    Hillary would approve. Kittens are excellent diversions from Trump.

  9. 9.

    lamh36

    October 15, 2016 at 2:21 pm

    Afternoon BJ.

    I’ve got some personal bidness that I’ve been meaning to get done, but somehow I ALWAYS find something less productive to do..lol.

    This weekend though, I’ve really got to do what I’ve been pushing off doing. it involves a lot of googling though…

    Anyway, I’ll be lurking and doing that today and tomorrow.

    But first I wanted to share this clip from the Tonight Show the last time POTUS was on.

    President Obama’s Thank You Note to Republican Congress!?????

  10. 10.

    jamesjhare

    October 15, 2016 at 2:21 pm

    That reminds me of my little Guinevere. Similar situation — abandoned by mom and found by a good soul. She’s now a wonderful little cat with all the personality we could handle.

  11. 11.

    WaterGirl

    October 15, 2016 at 2:22 pm

    @germy: You made me laugh!

  12. 12.

    WaterGirl

    October 15, 2016 at 2:23 pm

    @lamh36: Oh, that was great!

  13. 13.

    hovercraft

    October 15, 2016 at 2:24 pm

    Snorty Mc Snort face wants then both to take a drug test before the debate. “She was all revved up at the beginning of the debate, and by the end she could barely make it to her car.” I know that everything he says is basically projection, but seriously does he want Howard Dean to come back out and talk about the sniffing. After Dean’s tweet no one outside the late night talk shows is talking about his sniffles, so why bring it up, he knows that’s only going to make it a thing. Is he trying to anticipate SNL, and head them off at the curve?

    Edited for clarity

  14. 14.

    trollhattan

    October 15, 2016 at 2:24 pm

    Nice marmot.

  15. 15.

    jl

    October 15, 2016 at 2:24 pm

    Very cute and funny, but if you squint, could be scary enough to usher in Halloween.

    Edit: Maybe that is the kind of demon pussy kitty that would fly out of the earth if HRC is elected. Sure, we laugh and chuckle, but it can fly and has poison fangs. Total disaster folks, total disaster, lemme tell you. What is going on with these kittys who are getting their first baths. Need to put some top people on it and find out what is going on here.

  16. 16.

    Shell

    October 15, 2016 at 2:24 pm

    She looks like she’s watching the second debate. It’s how I looked.

    Think that will be my face during the third debate. (If it actually goes thru).

    Poor, temporarily alien kitty.

  17. 17.

    germy

    October 15, 2016 at 2:25 pm

    @WaterGirl: Now he is suggesting there should be a drug test before the third debate? He’s suggesting HRC was all “hopped up” on something, like a racehorse on performance-enhancing substances?

  18. 18.

    jl

    October 15, 2016 at 2:27 pm

    Maybe that is the kind of demon pussy kitty that would fly out of the earth if HRC is elected. Sure, we laugh and chuckle, but it can fly and has poison fangs. Total disaster folks, total disaster, lemme tell you. What the hell is going on with these kittys who are getting their first baths? Look at that thing. Need to put some top people on it and find out what is going on here.

  19. 19.

    eclare

    October 15, 2016 at 2:27 pm

    @lamh36: hehehe…truth!

  20. 20.

    JMG

    October 15, 2016 at 2:27 pm

    @germy: What PED would impact debate performance? HGH? Lasix? LSD would’ve helped for watching, but not for debating.

  21. 21.

    germy

    October 15, 2016 at 2:27 pm

    @hovercraft: He attacks from his own vulnerabilities? Doesn’t seem wise.

  22. 22.

    germy

    October 15, 2016 at 2:28 pm

    @JMG: I’d give ecstasy to herr drumpf, just to put him in touch with his feelings.

  23. 23.

    jl

    October 15, 2016 at 2:28 pm

    Wonder if a certain term is a forbidden word in FYWP. It’s become an important issue in public debate.

    Maybe that is the kind of demon p * t t ee kitty that would fly out of the earth if HRC is elected. Sure, we laugh and chuckle, but it can fly and has poison fangs. Total disaster folks, total disaster, lemme tell you. What the hell is going on with these kitties who are getting their first baths? Look at that thing. Need to put some top people on it and find out what is going on here.

  24. 24.

    hovercraft

    October 15, 2016 at 2:29 pm

    That poor baby looks offended by this indignity. How dare you put water on me!

  25. 25.

    germy

    October 15, 2016 at 2:31 pm

    I demand an “after” photo, where the kitty is dry, fluffy, fed and enjoying her new forever home.

    Well, okay not “demanding” just asking politely. We have a cat in our house. We’ve learned not to make demands.

  26. 26.

    TaMara (HFG)

    October 15, 2016 at 2:31 pm

    Bixby and I are going to go meet a 6yr old Harlequin Dane rescue – she’s captured me, but I’m worried he maybe too much energy for her. Can’t believe no one has snagged her up yet.

  27. 27.

    ET

    October 15, 2016 at 2:33 pm

    @hovercraft: I heard a few seconds of this as I walked by a TV and he sounded a bit more crazy than normal. I don’t listen to because honestly that is just not something I have the stomach for, but he really sounded like either he was on something or his mental state was deteriorating because he seemed even more incoherent that he does with his usual 4-grade speaking level.

    Oh and cats – especially cute wet baby kitties with bug eye – are a welcome distraction from the Orange One.

  28. 28.

    germy

    October 15, 2016 at 2:33 pm

    RawStory is explaining how to write in Bernie Sanders on election day.

    I used to enjoy reading them, but they’ve gone so downhill. Clickbaity headlines, stupid articles, sensationalism, often misleading information.

  29. 29.

    jl

    October 15, 2016 at 2:35 pm

    @hovercraft: Trump may be an outright raving loon by the third debate.

    “The Jew Arab Mexican real estate billionaire drug cartel loser PC male banker conspiracy… in league with HRC is taking our jobs. ON DRUGS! ON DRUGS! With the media, in on it too. Beaming DRUGS from dirty Mexican Jew Aarab billionaires, and banks, BIG BANKS! taking white jobs giving them to The Blacks, who desperately need some tough love, not hand outs. The media, beaming HRC drugs, bad drugs, very very bad drugs, into your eyes. YOUR EYES!

    I have top people looking into it. You won’t believe what they are finding out. The truth about Obama, he was born in the US but NOT born in the US. Yes, that is what my top people tell me. It is true. What does it mean? I will reveal it at an appropriate time. Bottom line: disaster folks. TOTAL disaster!!

    What they hell is going on here!? What’s with these hipster kids and their new iphones. No earplugs folks, no earplugs! How does the sound get to their ears? What does that tell you? Something is total disaster, lemme tell you.

  30. 30.

    PPCLI

    October 15, 2016 at 2:35 pm

    @hovercraft: Preferred response: “That’s OK, Donald. A tax return test will do just fine.”

  31. 31.

    Mike J

    October 15, 2016 at 2:37 pm

    @germy:

    How to write in Bernie:
    1) fold your ballot into a sharp point
    2) shove it up your ass

  32. 32.

    James E Powell

    October 15, 2016 at 2:38 pm

    I’ve stayed away from cable news for a while, but I’m cat-sitting and there aren’t any compelling college game on yet. So, into swamp I go to learn that:

    1) Trump supporters will not believe any of his sexual misconduct accusers unless they can produce “hard evidence” and even then they’d still vote for Trump because “it’s not about Trump, it’s about the future of our country.”

    2) There is nothing in the Goldman Sachs speeches that is all that negative and some of it sounds downright intelligent, but both CNN and MSNBC people are straining to make them into an issue in order to get some “balance” in their coverage.

    3) Bill Richardson is a mensch.

    4) I need to stop watching cable news, especially on weekends when it seems like the swamp is extra slimy.

  33. 33.

    jl

    October 15, 2016 at 2:39 pm

    @Mike J: How to write in Bernie: put the little x next to Hillary Clinton’s name.

  34. 34.

    germy

    October 15, 2016 at 2:40 pm

    @Mike J: I love their logic: “Vote for Bernie even though he no longer wants your vote! He said to support the democratic nominee but we’re not listening la la la!”

  35. 35.

    eclare

    October 15, 2016 at 2:42 pm

    @TaMara (HFG): Best of luck to you!

  36. 36.

    debbie

    October 15, 2016 at 2:43 pm

    Very soon, those claws will no longer be tiny or cute.

    @James E Powell:

    The Trumpies on my FB page, themselves Jewish, are arguing that “international bankers” is not an anti-Semetic reference. Why deny only sexual history?

  37. 37.

    jeffreyw

    October 15, 2016 at 2:43 pm

    Ran it through the Prisma app.

  38. 38.

    Ruckus

    October 15, 2016 at 2:44 pm

    @Mike J:
    LOL.
    And a good tip.

  39. 39.

    jl

    October 15, 2016 at 2:44 pm

    @James E Powell: I think HRC should have just released them as soon as the primary is over. But I can understand their reasoning. Nothing in them that you wouldn’t expect, and some surprising positive news on opportunities for progressive to work with her on some issues. Overall all, the kind of good and bad you’d expect to hear from a moderate politician (I heard that analysis from often deranged and unhinged anti-HRC freak Cenk fricken Uygur). A desperate.measure to listen to him, yes. But I was tired of BS media reports saying embarrassing stuff was in the latest email leak, but never even a mention of what that embarrassing stuff might be.

  40. 40.

    eclare

    October 15, 2016 at 2:45 pm

    @jeffreyw: That is scary! Commented on your photo in the thread downstairs, liked seeing how the actual photo morphed.

  41. 41.

    Barbara

    October 15, 2016 at 2:45 pm

    @JMG: Ritalin? Xanax?

  42. 42.

    jl

    October 15, 2016 at 2:48 pm

    Though, looks like something fishy in a new release so weird that even the corporate media reporters have to talk about it. I’m short of time, so will have to look at the story below later.

    Clinton and DNC face new email attacks in wake of Wikileaks dump

    The email was unlike any Podesta would actually write -and for good reason. It was fake. He wrote no such missive, says a Clinton campaign official. But the message, using a cloned version of Podesta’s real Gmail address, was a vivid example of the mischief Russian hackers – and WikiLeaks – have unleashed by dumping thousands of stolen emails into the public domain, say Democratic party officials and cybersecurity experts.

    https://www.yahoo.com/news/clinton-and-dnc-face-new-email-attacks-in-wake-of-wikileaks-dump-200106265.html

    Emphases added.

  43. 43.

    WereBear

    October 15, 2016 at 2:48 pm

    @TaMara (HFG): Good luck!

  44. 44.

    jeffreyw

    October 15, 2016 at 2:49 pm

    @eclare: Thanks! I thought it was interesting enough for a mention.

  45. 45.

    West of the Rockies (been a while)

    October 15, 2016 at 2:50 pm

    Super interesting article link over at Daily K from Crack’d on Trump voters. I’d love to see what sort of discussion it would generate here. Might be very edifying!

  46. 46.

    germy

    October 15, 2016 at 2:50 pm

    Newt Gingrich is now saying all this talk of herr drumpf’s locker room banter is “virtually a lynching.”

  47. 47.

    lamh36

    October 15, 2016 at 2:50 pm

    Anyone ever had to ship a television?

    I’d actually just like to transport it in my car along but it’s destination is like 32 hr drive and so could take 3 days…don’t want to haul the tv in and out the care whenever I want to stop a motel/hotel?

    It’s a 51′ SAMSUNG PLASMA tv

  48. 48.

    germy

    October 15, 2016 at 2:51 pm

    @lamh36: I drove a long distance with a tv once. I cushioned it in the trunk and made sure it was completely covered with blankets, to discourage anyone tempted enough to steal it.

  49. 49.

    eclare

    October 15, 2016 at 2:52 pm

    @jeffreyw: Very much so!

  50. 50.

    Joyce H

    October 15, 2016 at 2:52 pm

    @ET:

    I heard a few seconds of this as I walked by a TV and he sounded a bit more crazy than normal.

    A bit? A BIT? I honestly think that in years to come, history classes will show that speech he gave yesterday, and students of the future will watch it in astonishment to think that even at this late date, the man in the video wasn’t already in restraints and under observation by qualified medical and psychiatric professionals.

    Folks, we’ve become the proverbial frog in the boiling water pot! We all need to take a step back, close our eyes, and think back to previous election cycles, 2012, 2008, 2004, any one you choose. Then open your eyes and look at where we are today and it will hit you – THIS IS NOT NORMAL!

    A major party candidate for president repeatedly calls his opponent a liar. This is not normal! (Bob Dole’s ‘stop lying about my record’ was an enormous gaffe that tagged him as an intemperate crack for the rest of his life.) He’s called her crooked, a crook, a criminal, says he’ll have her investigated and put in jail, and leads his crowds in chants of ‘Lock her up’ – This is not normal!

    He repeatedly tells his supporters that the entire election system is rigged against him – this is not normal! He’s started ranting about a shadowy global conspiracy that includes the Democratic presidential candidate, the Republican Speaker of the House, major newspapers, ‘international bankers’ (Jews), and a Mexican billionaire. This is not normal!

    He repeatedly says and puts in his campaign literature that “Only I can save you” – This is not normal!

    He rants extemporaneously for an hour at a time, leap-frogging from one topic to another, speaking in sentence fragments, making a statement and repeating it over and over again. This is not normal!

    He blatantly lies when he knows his lie can be disproven in under a minute and then lies about his lies. He brags about the countries he’s going to bomb and the treaties he’s going to tear up. This is not normal!

    He is accused of multiple instances of sexual assault and addresses the accusations publicly by telling his audience that his victims are too homely to attack. This is not normal!

    And for pete’s sake, he demolished a piece of equipment on stage in mid speech in a fit of rage! THIS IS NOT NORMAL!

    People, say it with me! THIS IS NOT NORMAL! He’s not ‘going’ crazy, he’s already there! Can’t we SEE it yet?!

  51. 51.

    Calouste

    October 15, 2016 at 2:52 pm

    @germy:

    RawStory is explaining how to write in Bernie Sanders cast half a vote for a deranged fascist pedophile on election day.

    Adjusted to reality.

  52. 52.

    Barbara

    October 15, 2016 at 2:54 pm

    @lamh36: If you go to one of the shipping places they have all kinds of specialized containers. I shipped a violin to my daughter and they wouldn’t insure it unless I had the exact box made for shipping instruments. I would keep it with you and cushion it — you can still buy the proper packaging, but I am guessing bubble wrap is all you really need, assuming you no longer have the original box.

  53. 53.

    Hal

    October 15, 2016 at 2:54 pm

    The summary of what I’m seeing from Trumpsters on Facebook:

    I don’t understand why these lying whores are trying to take down Donald Trump. If only these harpies had come forward sooner, they might be believed, but less than 30 days from the election is too unbelievable. Ugly women will do anything against a successful man, and have I told you how all the women in my life agree with me on this? Locker room talk! Bill Clinton!! Benghazi!!!

  54. 54.

    lamh36

    October 15, 2016 at 2:56 pm

    I’m sure some may have already seen this, but if not…please check it out.

    this is true…and what I think may surprise some men…that women of ALL ages, races, class, etc…have experienced the types of small things and large things that folks like Donald Trump and his supporters are normalizing.

    @RealTimers
    We implore you to watch @rtraister perfectly encapsulate why @MichelleObama’s speech was so important for America to hear.

    And if ya haven’t already, I’d encourage guys to ask their female friends, family, acquaintance…of all ages about whether they have had this experience in some form or another…I think it may shock some guys just how common the little and small behaviors are.

  55. 55.

    Baud

    October 15, 2016 at 2:57 pm

    @lamh36:

    I’ve done it. Although not that big. It’s not that expensive to FedEx.

  56. 56.

    germy

    October 15, 2016 at 2:57 pm

    Clinton Voters

    But what about Hillary Clinton’s voters? They gave her many more votes than any candidate in the primaries, including both Sanders and Trump. They are also poised to put her in the White House. We may be witnessing the creation of a new New Deal coalition, and instead we’re spending our time hanging on every word from racist retired steelworkers from Youngstown. Reporters should be talking to politically moderate Asian and Latino voters, since they are the ones who will be putting Hillary over the top.

  57. 57.

    Baud

    October 15, 2016 at 2:57 pm

    @Calouste: This.

  58. 58.

    Baud

    October 15, 2016 at 2:58 pm

    @germy: This.

  59. 59.

    MattF

    October 15, 2016 at 2:58 pm

    @Joyce H: We’re at the ‘Dayenu’ stage of the campaign:

    If Trump said his opponent was a liar– Dayenu!
    If Trump said he’d tear up all the trade treaties– Dayenu!
    If Trump said all the women who accuse him of sexual assault are liars–Dayenu!
    … and so forth.

    Note for the Gentiles: It’s an in-joke.

  60. 60.

    germy

    October 15, 2016 at 3:00 pm

    @Barbara:

    I shipped a violin to my daughter and they wouldn’t insure it unless I had the exact box made for shipping instruments.

    I’d like to ship the world’s smallest violin to Ted Cruz. I think an old tic-tacs box should do the trick.

  61. 61.

    debbie

    October 15, 2016 at 3:01 pm

    @Barbara:

    Even better to have them pack it for you.

  62. 62.

    debbie

    October 15, 2016 at 3:01 pm

    @MattF:

    Okay to share?

  63. 63.

    Calouste

    October 15, 2016 at 3:03 pm

    @lamh36: Get something like this TV shipping box from Lowe’s.

    Fits up to 70″ TVs and cost $25. You can ship it via the post office if it doesn’t weigh more than 70 pounds.

  64. 64.

    lamh36

    October 15, 2016 at 3:03 pm

    @germy: I was thinking that was what I was going to do.

    But I also know that they say you CANNOT have plasma tv lying down too long… 32hrs would be long?

    I have a 2015 Sonata, don’t know if my trunk is deep enough for the tv to sit up but I don’t think so.

  65. 65.

    debbie

    October 15, 2016 at 3:04 pm

    @germy:

    No one pointed out to him that it was he who did all the sniffing?

  66. 66.

    MattF

    October 15, 2016 at 3:04 pm

    @debbie: Dayenu!

  67. 67.

    aimai

    October 15, 2016 at 3:05 pm

    @lamh36: OMG. I am in mourning over losing Obama and the first lady. I wanted so badly to go to the White House while they were there and take the tour. Just felt like I finally would be touring a White House that was friendly territory after umpteen years of the Bushes. But I never made it happen and now it never will. I could cry.

  68. 68.

    germy

    October 15, 2016 at 3:07 pm

    @lamh36:

    But I also know that they say you CANNOT have plasma tv lying down too long

    I honestly didn’t know that. I always assumed fed ex would leave them lying down, as would the warehouses and stores.

  69. 69.

    OGLiberal

    October 15, 2016 at 3:08 pm

    I don’t have a lot of people I rely on for support. But I have a lot of people I’m connected to who for various reasons who are Trump supporters. These are mostly childhood friends but also home school group member parents (yes, my atheist arse home schools…and I also don’t like unschooling). What do you do after this election, I mean, with GWB. McCain and Romney you had plausible deniability based on the candidates beliefs. But now?

  70. 70.

    germy

    October 15, 2016 at 3:10 pm

    @debbie:

    No one pointed out to him that it was he who did all the sniffing?

    He’s got to be aware of that meme. I wonder if he saw Baldwin’s SNL imitation.

  71. 71.

    lamh36

    October 15, 2016 at 3:10 pm

    @aimai: a friend of mine actually wrangled a couple of passes for a White House Tour in 2009…the same weekend Micheal Jackson died…in fact the exact day he died was when we arrived in DC.

    The Obamas weren’t in residence when we had the tour, but yeah, we all found ourselves looking around corners to see em…lol. And this was BEFORE those occasions when either or both of the Obamas and Bo Obama actually greeted tour visitors

  72. 72.

    Pest Bog Mummy, Frakensteinbeck

    October 15, 2016 at 3:10 pm

    That may be the most pure and perfect ‘Dafuq?’ expression I have ever seen.

    @ET:
    He’s losing to a woman. He lost two debates to a woman. For him, this is a nightmare we can barely imagine.

    @germy:
    No way. The vast majority of TV and national newspaper journalists are older white men. They know that only the opinions of other white men count, and minorities are special interest groups. When Hillary wins, they’ll be explaining to us how she couldn’t have won without those minorities, as if those aren’t regular citizens and voters but some kind of bonus point category.

  73. 73.

    Percysowner

    October 15, 2016 at 3:11 pm

    @germy: Sadly RS has gone downhill. They do post clips from the various talk shows that other outlets don’t, which is about all I watch from them anymore.

  74. 74.

    scav

    October 15, 2016 at 3:11 pm

    @lamh36: At the same time, I do think it important for well-meaning menfolk, be careful about asking for information or bringing up the subject. Not all women are at the same place or willing to bandy about the subject. It’s an impossible needle to thread but knowing and listening / paying attention to the person you/re (potentially) discussing it with should help. (Noted because I had to help talk someone down on exactly this last night. Her cohort of social men were really not helping and seemed to be dominating the conversation.)

    I think we need to keep the kitty as a sort of visual green balloons emergency sanity thread icon.

  75. 75.

    lamh36

    October 15, 2016 at 3:13 pm

    @Calouste: Ooh…that’s perfect…even if I decide to stuff it in the backseat…I’m gonna def have to get one of those

    Thanks

  76. 76.

    Iowa Old Lady

    October 15, 2016 at 3:13 pm

    @Pest Bog Mummy, Frakensteinbeck: I love the idea that women are a “special interest.” Let’s do the count, shall we?

  77. 77.

    germy

    October 15, 2016 at 3:14 pm

    @Percysowner:

    They do post clips from the various talk shows that other outlets don’t, which is about all I watch from them anymore.

    That’s sort of what I was doing, but I grew weary of their exaggerations: “Watch [whoever] completely destroy [whoever] in this CNN discussion! See [whoever] completely melt down in this interview!!” And then I click the video and it’s a loud discussion, or the interviewee raises his voice for a moment.

  78. 78.

    lamh36

    October 15, 2016 at 3:15 pm

    @scav: Right…I meant to add that as well…for alot of women, it can be triggering just even coming from a person they know and or trust

  79. 79.

    Doug R

    October 15, 2016 at 3:15 pm

    @lamh36: Plasmas are Huuuge energy hogs. And dangerous to ship. Why not sell it and get a new machine?

  80. 80.

    lamh36

    October 15, 2016 at 3:21 pm

    @Doug R: well…I paid $250 for that one back in the day…a nice size for that price.

    I’d like to NOT have to make a purchase like that. $250’s not really “that” much, but it’s STILL $250 less than what I have now…

    Besides like I said, I’ve had the TV for 4 years and haven’t had much issue with energy hogging and it’s STILL a great tv…great picture and great sound, oh and HDTV

  81. 81.

    lamh36

    October 15, 2016 at 3:22 pm

    So I’m sitting here, surfing, googling and researching, but also listening to the music I have on my ITunes…I forgot just how extensive my music library is!

    Musical Interlude:

    Emeli Sandé – Clown via @YouTube

  82. 82.

    Doug R

    October 15, 2016 at 3:23 pm

    @lamh36: Well, winter is coming. It’ll help keep you warm.

  83. 83.

    Iowa Old Lady

    October 15, 2016 at 3:24 pm

    Good lord, what have I done? I’m getting Trump and Pence sponsored ads on my FB page.

  84. 84.

    trollhattan

    October 15, 2016 at 3:24 pm

    @Pest Bog Mummy, Frakensteinbeck:
    Losing to a woman–bad! Losing to Hitllary–trigger the end times.

    The Republican nightmare circa 1992 is coming true. I wonder how that feels?

  85. 85.

    hovercraft

    October 15, 2016 at 3:28 pm

    @West of the Rockies (been a while):
    I posted it in the previous thread, but here it is again.
    This Cracked article about the rural, city divide is fascinating.

    See, political types talk about “red states” and “blue states” (where red = Republican/conservative and blue = Democrat/progressive), but forget about states. If you want to understand the Trump phenomenon, dig up the much more detailed county map. Here’s how the nation voted county by county in the 2012 election — again, red is Republican: MAP

    Holy cockslaps, that makes it look like Obama’s blue party is some kind of fringe political faction that struggles to get 20 percent of the vote. The blue parts, however, are more densely populated — they’re the cities. In the upper left, you see the blue Seattle/Tacoma area, lower down is San Francisco and then L.A. The blue around the dick-shaped Lake Michigan is made of cities like Minneapolis, Milwaukee, and Chicago. In the northeast is, of course, New York and Boston, leading down into Philadelphia, which leads into a blue band which connects a bunch of southern cities like Charlotte and Atlanta.

    Blue islands in an ocean of red. The cities are less than 4 percent of the land mass, but 62 percent of the population and easily 99 percent of the popular culture. Our movies, shows, songs, and news all radiate out from those blue islands.

    And if you live in the red, that fucking sucks.

    See, I’m from a “blue” state — Illinois — but the state isn’t blue. Freaking Chicago is blue. I’m from a tiny town in one of the blood-red areas…..

    It’s a long read, that tries to explain Trumpsters. Though there is no excusing them.

  86. 86.

    sdhays

    October 15, 2016 at 3:29 pm

    I just saw this on TPM: Trump Says Clinton Needs a Drug Test Before the Next Debate.

    Based on Lord Dainty Digits’ penchant for projection, I take this as basically an admission that he’s on cocaine. HRC should call his bluff (not really, because it’s stupid, but it would be awesome).

  87. 87.

    WaterGirl

    October 15, 2016 at 3:29 pm

    @germy: Donald Trump is a lot of things, but there is no denying that the man is an idiot. If he was a fictional character he would be totally unbelievable.

  88. 88.

    Lizzy L

    October 15, 2016 at 3:29 pm

    I’m phone banking from home: calling specifically women in Colorado. As usual, I’m getting mostly voice mail recordings, but when I do get an actual human being, she’s voting for Hillary or at least against Trump. So there’s that.

  89. 89.

    germy

    October 15, 2016 at 3:31 pm

    @trollhattan:

    When asked in this SurveyMonkey Election Tracking poll if they would accept the result should their candidate lose in November, just 31 percent say they definitely would see the outcome as legitimate. Nearly as many (28 percent) say it is either “unlikely” that they would accept the result or that they definitely would not. Again, Trump’s supporters were more apt to say they would question the legitimacy of a Clinton victory than vice versa, but sizable shares on both sides, representing tens of millions of Americans, indicate they would not accept the legitimacy of the next president of the United States.

  90. 90.

    WaterGirl

    October 15, 2016 at 3:31 pm

    @germy: Well, in turn, I am demanding asking politely that you share the “after” photo with us.

  91. 91.

    Pest Bog Mummy, Frakensteinbeck

    October 15, 2016 at 3:31 pm

    @Iowa Old Lady:
    I’ve always been fascinated that the majority is considered a minority.

    @trollhattan:
    To judge from Trump, it’s pure Hell, so infuriating and painful in its humiliation that he can’t sleep at night or even hold a conversation without raging incoherently.

  92. 92.

    WaterGirl

    October 15, 2016 at 3:33 pm

    @TaMara (HFG): So exciting! I’m guessing that whether it will work or not will be obvious right away. So the good thing is that I doubt that it will be hard to know what to do. Here’s hoping that if one of you (you or Bixby) falls in love, the other does too.

  93. 93.

    Mandalay

    October 15, 2016 at 3:33 pm

    Another woman has come forward today, alleging that Trump “grabbed me and went for the lips“.

    Bringing attention to the mostly unspoken problem of white collar sexual predators is the only useful thing Trump has done in his campaign.

  94. 94.

    WaterGirl

    October 15, 2016 at 3:34 pm

    @jl: You have channelled Trump so well here. Sad! :-)

  95. 95.

    hovercraft

    October 15, 2016 at 3:35 pm

    @Joyce H:
    The good news is that even the liks of Dan Balz of the WaPost. Chuck Todd, and most of the practitioners of bothsiderism are finally saying that he is unhinged and that his rhetoric is dangerous. A POLITICO reporter was just on msnbc saying that he’s just saying stuff to salvage his reputation with his minions, the same polls he spent a year touting when he was leading are now suddenly rigged because he is losing. The media is finally waking up to the threat he poses to the country, late yes, but but late than never.

  96. 96.

    Major Major Major Major

    October 15, 2016 at 3:35 pm

    You have to bathe cats?

    I know, I know, Samwise is an indoor kitty :)

  97. 97.

    WaterGirl

    October 15, 2016 at 3:36 pm

    @Mike J: I thought you were going to suggest that they stick their #2 pencil in their eye instead of making the ballot. (or black pen or stylus, depending on the voting apparatus)

  98. 98.

    lamh36

    October 15, 2016 at 3:36 pm

    My one Jessie McCartney obsession!

    Please don’t judge me…lol

    Musical Interlude:

    Jesse McCartney – Leavin’ via @YouTube

  99. 99.

    hovercraft

    October 15, 2016 at 3:37 pm

    @lamh36:
    I saw her on Real Time last night, she was excellent. Like Michelle’s speech it is must see.

  100. 100.

    Villago Delenda Est

    October 15, 2016 at 3:37 pm

    So, Donald wants Hillary to have a drug test before the next debate.

    Donald, buddy, you never served in the military, so you don’t know how this shit works. John and Omnes and raven and all the other vets here will attest to this. You are taken into a rest room, and someone watches you piss into a cup. Now, I don’t know exactly how this is done with women, but with men, a NCO who I vastly outranked would watch me piss into a cup. This means that the NCO would be able to verify that my fingers are or are not an accurate measure of my dick size.

    That’s what you’ve just asked to be done to you, because you’re not going to get away, in a gazillion years, with insisting that only Hillary gets tested for her sniffling and shimmying issue and you don’t get the same treatment. It does not work any other way.

    But you never, ever fucking think these things through, do you, Donald?

  101. 101.

    Pest Bog Mummy, Frakensteinbeck

    October 15, 2016 at 3:39 pm

    @hovercraft:
    Again I say, having known these people much of my life, this is a perfect description of what they’re thinking. It’s a terrible description of why they think it. Their way of life is certainly ending, but it’s a brutally conformist way of life, and includes rules like ‘Only white men can be president.’ They were never the independent heroes they think they are, either, and funny enough, minorities who are hit even harder economically didn’t resort en mass to trying to punish the entire country for it.

  102. 102.

    hovercraft

    October 15, 2016 at 3:40 pm

    @debbie:
    To his rally attendees there is no question as to who on that stage was on drugs, and it wasn’t the orange one.

  103. 103.

    Major Major Major Major

    October 15, 2016 at 3:40 pm

    @Villago Delenda Est: …………

  104. 104.

    Betsy

    October 15, 2016 at 3:40 pm

    Aww, aw aw aw aww aw aw aw aw awwwwww! Pore leetle kitty ….

    ETA: at least I didn’t write “awe”

  105. 105.

    lamh36

    October 15, 2016 at 3:41 pm

    @efgoldman: naw tv is 4 years old…so no box…

  106. 106.

    germy

    October 15, 2016 at 3:42 pm

    Pence is accused of voter suppression in Indiana

    A progressive advocacy group said state police raided an office working to sign up black voters. Donald Trump’s running mate said a “vigorous” voter-fraud investigation is underway.

    WaPo

  107. 107.

    Pest Bog Mummy, Frakensteinbeck

    October 15, 2016 at 3:43 pm

    @Villago Delenda Est:

    But you never, ever fucking think these things through, do you, Donald?

    So much so that I wouldn’t be surprised that he’s doing coke, and has convinced himself that means she must be doing it, and when the drug tests go through Chump’s cocaine use somehow won’t count. Yes, that’s a mess, but he is a mess right now.

  108. 108.

    Brachiator

    October 15, 2016 at 3:43 pm

    @germy:

    He attacks from his own vulnerabilities? Doesn’t seem wise.

    He can’t help himself. During the first debate, he let himself be baited by Hillary. But now, he is free associating his own traps.

    It’s not funny anymore. I’ve stopped paying attention to the campaign. Trump says something insane, his supporters cling more tightly, Hillary gloats.

    Increasingly there is nothing new to watch, and nothing really to comment upon.

    There is some risk that a few Trump supporters will become so frustrated and angered at their candidate’s ongoing humiliation and self-destruction that they will attempt some horrible act.

    I am mildly curious to see whether the hosts and guests on the Sunday pundits shows will acknowledge that this angry gibberish spouting Trump is no longer worth covering, except as a kind of side show freak, if he cannot recover some degree of discipline.

    And I guess we still have to pay attention to public reaction. People are rightly disgusted by revelations of Trump’s behavior, but inevitably these late stories taint everyone. Too much looks orchestrated and deliberately designed to weaken Trump because the Democrats are unable to make a case for themselves on the merits of their platform. They become the tools of cynical political strategists, who insist that dirty tricks must be deployed, and unleashed on a precise schedule.

    Of course, Trump made it easy. He deluded himself into thinking that his fame and power gave him immunity from his own bad actions and still can’t believe that anyone would ever use his own open admissions against him. What a huge dope.

  109. 109.

    MattF

    October 15, 2016 at 3:44 pm

    @efgoldman: I agree, actually.

  110. 110.

    lamh36

    October 15, 2016 at 3:44 pm

    Yes…having a mini Prince interlude on my Itunes.

    First “If I Was Your Girlfriend”…now

    How Come You Don’t Call Me Anymore

    I’ve got to see about getting me some tickets to the Paisley Park studio/turned museum

  111. 111.

    germy

    October 15, 2016 at 3:45 pm

    @Brachiator:

    He deluded himself into thinking that his fame and power gave him immunity from his own bad actions and still can’t believe that anyone would ever use his own open admissions against him. What a huge dope.

    Like most trust fund brats.

  112. 112.

    Major Major Major Major

    October 15, 2016 at 3:45 pm

    @Pest Bog Mummy, Frakensteinbeck: There’s a good Vox piece about “Taking Trump voters’ concerns seriously means listening to what they’re actually saying” and how they’re basically a bunch of racists, and we should strive for economic egalitarianism anyway, but they’ll still be a bunch of racists.

  113. 113.

    Barbara

    October 15, 2016 at 3:46 pm

    @Brachiator:

    Too much looks orchestrated and deliberately designed to weaken Trump because the Democrats are unable to make a case for themselves on the merits of their platform.

    That’s right, Democrats paid the media to focus relentlessly on Trump for the last 18 months to cover up their lack of any plan. It’s all a big conspiracy. Really?

  114. 114.

    Villago Delenda Est

    October 15, 2016 at 3:46 pm

    @Brachiator:

    Too much looks orchestrated and deliberately designed to weaken Trump because the Democrats are unable to make a case for themselves on the merits of their platform.

    How would we ever know if the Democrats are able or unable to make a case for themselves on the merits of their platform? The vermin of the Village do not care. Hillary’s giant collection of pixels on her plans and ideas are all tl;dr as far as the vermin of the Village are concerned. Ratings are high now. Why mess with a good thing by covering some boring policy speech, when there’s a good chance you can see some rock’em sock’em action at a Trump rally?

  115. 115.

    Pest Bog Mummy, Frakensteinbeck

    October 15, 2016 at 3:47 pm

    @Major Major Major Major:
    Yes. I completely agree with that conclusion. We still have to save them as well as everyone else. They’re the ones who think only the deserving should receive help. Liberals try to help everyone.

  116. 116.

    realbtl

    October 15, 2016 at 3:50 pm

    @lamh36: Pop for an extra $50/night for an upscale motel with lighted parking. Worth the $.

  117. 117.

    Villago Delenda Est

    October 15, 2016 at 3:52 pm

    @Pest Bog Mummy, Frakensteinbeck: As far as I’m concerned, EVERYONE is deserving.

    Even trust fund parasites like Uday, Qusay, and Lolita.

  118. 118.

    The Lodger

    October 15, 2016 at 3:53 pm

    @hovercraft: I’d like to see a plot of population density (i.e. area of Congressional district) vs. percentage Democratic vote in Congressional district. I bet it would be pretty close to a straight line, even in the gerrymandered states.

  119. 119.

    lamh36

    October 15, 2016 at 3:54 pm

    Has anyone ever sold furniture on Craiglist?

    If so, what was your experience?

  120. 120.

    The Lodger

    October 15, 2016 at 3:56 pm

    That photo looks like someone asked Ralph Steadman to draw a kitten.

  121. 121.

    Darrin Ziliak (formerly glocksman)

    October 15, 2016 at 3:56 pm

    I forget my own advice sometimes, but this bit I wrote on Facebook still applies.

    This election season has taught me one thing.
    Trying to have a rational debate with irrational people only serves to piss me off.
    Luckily my blood pressure is in the 127/83 range, so I’m not worried about having a stroke while trying to debate the poster children for incest & inbreeding.
    The one good thing is that my bullshit filter is more sensitive than ever, even if it does explode whenever Sean Hannity opens his mouth.

  122. 122.

    lamh36

    October 15, 2016 at 3:58 pm

    this CANNOT be real life…

    End of Days?

    @mcmoynihan
    Glenn Beck apologies to liberals, says Obama made him a better man. Longer cut of HBO interview that aired Monday

  123. 123.

    germy

    October 15, 2016 at 4:00 pm

    @lamh36:

    Has anyone ever sold furniture on Craiglist?

    We sold some large pieces of furniture before our last move. I was uncomfortable doing it, but we couldn’t fit them in our new home and needed money.

    A young couple showed up, tried to talk us down on the price, carried out two pieces, taking a small chip out of our door jamb. A different couple showed up to buy the other furniture. Everything was cash.

    The idea made me uncomfortable but the experience wasn’t too bad. See if you can talk on the phone before you let anyone in your house. Trust your gut if you get an uncomfortable vibe.

  124. 124.

    John Revolta

    October 15, 2016 at 4:00 pm

    @germy:

    (28 percent) say it is either “unlikely” that they would accept the result or that they definitely would not.

    Yeah, that’s just about the number I would have guessed…………………….

  125. 125.

    Brachiator

    October 15, 2016 at 4:02 pm

    @lamh36:

    And if ya haven’t already, I’d encourage guys to ask their female friends, family, acquaintance…of all ages about whether they have had this experience in some form or another…

    I don’t know. I try to let people bring up sensitive subjects when they feel comfortable about discussing it. And over the years, my close friends know that there is little that shocks me, and that I try to be supportive and discreet.

  126. 126.

    Major Major Major Major

    October 15, 2016 at 4:03 pm

    @lamh36: @germy: What germy said. I’ve never been haggled with, though.

    Just the other week I got rid of a countertop dishwasher that way.

  127. 127.

    germy

    October 15, 2016 at 4:05 pm

    @John Revolta:

    Yeah, that’s just about the number I would have guessed

    Close enough to that magic number 27.

  128. 128.

    germy

    October 15, 2016 at 4:08 pm

    @lamh36: I thought that happened in 2014? I googled “Glenn Beck apologizes to liberals Obama made me a better man” and got a bunch of 2014 news hits.

  129. 129.

    Darrin Ziliak (formerly glocksman)

    October 15, 2016 at 4:09 pm

    @germy:

    Close enough to that magic number 27.

    Margin of error.

  130. 130.

    Major Major Major Major

    October 15, 2016 at 4:10 pm

    Ken Bone: An American Tragedy in Four Acts (click the link in the middle to bring up picture slideshow)

  131. 131.

    lamh36

    October 15, 2016 at 4:10 pm

    @germy: nope…apparently from a news segment from VICE news that airs on HBO nowadays

  132. 132.

    lamh36

    October 15, 2016 at 4:10 pm

    Musical Interlude:

    Diana Ross – Ain’t No Mountain High Enough 1981 via @YouTube

  133. 133.

    bemused

    October 15, 2016 at 4:10 pm

    @Pest Bog Mummy, Frakensteinbeck:

    Nope, he doesn’t think one damn thing through. His massive ego didn’t foresee that his life history would eventually be picked over even though it has taken a lot longer than it should have. He just assumed he could get away with anything and everything from not releasing his tax records, his sleazy business practices, bankruptcies, women issues, screwing people over, being totally ignorant about domestic or foreign policy and can’t be bothered to learn and lie, lie, lie about it all. All he can do now is throw gigantic tantrums seeking vengeance on practically everybody. What a deeply stupid man. He could have avoided all this and kept the lovely life he had.

  134. 134.

    germy

    October 15, 2016 at 4:10 pm

    Question for computer-savvy balloon-juicers: I use a macbook pro, and I’m constantly getting notified that I need to download new versions of Flash. Every month it seems I’m supposed to update Flash.

    If I don’t, then youtube videos and other things turn into big question marks.

    Do I have an alternative to flash on my macbook?

    First-world problem, I know, but I’m curious.

  135. 135.

    Brachiator

    October 15, 2016 at 4:11 pm

    @efgoldman:

    ….at some point adults have to be responsible for their own action/inaction.

    Unfortunately, negative consequences will not be limited just to those people who don’t vote or who don’t vote wisely.

  136. 136.

    germy

    October 15, 2016 at 4:12 pm

    @lamh36: I’ve read that Beck is facing all sorts of problems with his collapsing media empire. Laying off employees, etc.

    I’m cynical enough to believe he’s trying to hop onto a fresh grift.

  137. 137.

    Major Major Major Major

    October 15, 2016 at 4:14 pm

    @germy: Many but not all sites have moved to HTML5 video. Click here to read more about it and YouTube specifically.

    Chrome is a very HTML5-friendly browser.

  138. 138.

    PaulWartenberg2016

    October 15, 2016 at 4:16 pm

    I saw seven feral or outdoor kittehs when I went canvassing today. Only one of them was friendly enough to let me get close enough to rub his head.

  139. 139.

    MattF

    October 15, 2016 at 4:20 pm

    @germy:
    1) Be careful, sometimes you can get fake notices. However, you can go to official Adobe ‘Update Flash’ site and get the official upgrade.
    2) As noted, Chrome does a better job of replacing Flash than Safari does.
    3) However, I’m pretty sure the answer is generally ‘no’. Unfortunately.

  140. 140.

    germy

    October 15, 2016 at 4:23 pm

    Are Adobe and Apple not on speaking terms or something? Was there an argument during Thanksgiving dinner?

    I bought our macbook a few years ago and when I got home I couldn’t watch videos until I went and downloaded Flash. I don’t know, I thought it’d be sort of an automatic mac thing.

    I think I got a fake notice, by the way, because it didn’t look like the usual notification.

    I never reply to automatic notifications, I’m old, cranky and don’t trust them. I visit the Adobe site (looking suspiciously left and right as I walk in) and do it manually.

  141. 141.

    NW Phil

    October 15, 2016 at 4:24 pm

    @lamh36: My brother lives in a college town and has had no problems selling on craigslist. I found in Seattle it wasn’t worth the effort.

    The TV needs a box to stop it from flexing, otherwise you will find yourself buying a new TV sometime soon.

  142. 142.

    hovercraft

    October 15, 2016 at 4:24 pm

    @The Lodger:
    If you scroll down at the MAP link in my post, there is a map showing dem vs rep vote across the country. But basically the democratic republican vote is city vs rural what tends to tip a state one way or the other are two things, how many big cities a state has eg Nebraska just has Omaha, so it is overwhelmed by the rest of the state, the other is which way the suburbs vote, eg the Phiiy suburbs when the go republican like they used to back in the 80’s, but now that they split or lean democratic that tips the state to the dems.

  143. 143.

    germy

    October 15, 2016 at 4:26 pm

    State of Emergency Over Flesh-Eating Screwworm Infestation Declared in Florida

    The discovery occurred earlier this month in the Florida Keys, where the U.S. Department of Agriculture detected the New World screwworm, a parasite that lives inside open wounds, in a deer. About 30 deer have been found dead or been euthanized in the last two weeks due to screwworm infections. As a result, the county declared an agricultural state of emergency.

    “The screwworm is a potentially devastating animal disease that sends shivers down every ranchers spine,” Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam said. “It’s been more than five decades since the screwworm infested Florida, and I’ve grown up hearing the horror stories from the last occurrence.”

    (from PBS)

  144. 144.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    October 15, 2016 at 4:29 pm

    Heh, just noticed that TCM is putting their thumb on the scale for the presidential debate next Wednesday. Their triple feature, starting 8:00 p.m. EDT, is Fail-Safe (1964), Advise and Consent (1962) and Seven Days in May (1964). Errant nuclear bombs, Senate wrangling and a military takeover. Cold War political angst all the way! Or a preview of the Trump administration?

  145. 145.

    Trentrunner

    October 15, 2016 at 4:29 pm

    @Brachiator: If you can document ANY evidence of Hillary “gloating,” I’ll send her campaign $500 today. That’s bullshit. In fact, she said JUST THE OPPOSITE last night, i.e., “It gives me no satisfaction to see what’s happening on the other side. It’s bad for our democracy, bad for our country.” (Paraphrase.)

    Hillary don’t gloat. Fool. Knock that shit off.

  146. 146.

    Major Major Major Major

    October 15, 2016 at 4:30 pm

    @germy: manual updates are the correct way to go.

    Apple tried and mostly succeeded in killing Flash starting with the iPhone 3G, if not sooner.

  147. 147.

    Brachiator

    October 15, 2016 at 4:31 pm

    @Pest Bog Mummy, Frakensteinbeck:

    Their way of life is certainly ending, but it’s a brutally conformist way of life, and includes rules like ‘Only white men can be president.’ They were never the independent heroes they think they are,

    There are a couple of local talk radio hosts, a male/female duo who are not rigid right wing nuts, but who often (maybe unconsciously) reveal the degree to which they adhere to a vision of white conformity. One one show, the male host noted how the Reagans embodied his idea of what the ideal presidential couple should look like, and he later mentioned Reagan again when talking about his grandfather. And here it wasn’t just a matter of Reagan’s politics, but his carriage and physical presence. His co-host vigorously agreed.

    On another show, the male host said something odd that stuck with me, because I think it was supposed to be “positive,”

    “I love my mother and my grandmother, but I would never vote for either of them to be president,”

    He never explained what magically negative attributes these women possessed that would disqualify them.

  148. 148.

    Alain the site fixer

    October 15, 2016 at 4:31 pm

    @lamh36: don’t ship plasma tvs. They don’t travel well. Look it up!

  149. 149.

    lamh36

    October 15, 2016 at 4:33 pm

    @Alain the site fixer: yeah…I’ve been googling…I figured it wouldn’t.

    Well damn…I guess I’ll have to give it up…maybe I’ll pawn it..hmmm

  150. 150.

    Darrin Ziliak (formerly glocksman)

    October 15, 2016 at 4:33 pm

    @germy:

    I think I got a fake notice, by the way, because it didn’t look like the usual notification.

    That’s the dead giveaway on my tablet and phone.
    I run both a Nexus 5 & Nexus 7 with custom-themed Cyanogenmod 13 installs.
    Genuine notifications look totally different than stock, soThe fake ones are easy to spot.

    Your equivalent would be getting Windows-themed ‘notification’ messages on a Mac.

  151. 151.

    sdhays

    October 15, 2016 at 4:34 pm

    @hovercraft: It’s an interesting article, but as someone who is also from not-Chicago Illinois, I don’t really think I agree with it’s over-aching theme.

    It’s true that rural and semi-rural/barely urban America has been hammered by the post-Reagan economic consensus. My hometown has been in decline since the late 70’s/early 80’s. The “Clinton Boom” didn’t really hit there, although you could say that the decline slowed for a few years. It’s also true that the national media culture portrays a very different America from the one people in these communities live. Many of the popular “classic” movies from my youth, especially the teenage comedies set in Beverly Hills or thereabouts, were no less alien to me than something out of Star Trek. But this has been true for a long time. Why are people supporting Trump now?

    I think this is a more interesting exploration of the same/similar subject:

    Republicans don’t need to look much further to get a clue as to why their base of supporters is in full revolt against their party’s Establishment elites. The GOP has been oblivious as their base’s communities have been decimated by an opioid epidemic, rising levels of alcoholism and suicide, and a loss of life comparable to the deadliest war in our nation’s history. Fighting Obamacare (which has done wonders for the treatment of mental illness and addiction) is doing nothing for these communities. Tax cuts for the rich and deregulatory schemes for Wall Street won’t help them one iota. Unisex bathrooms and gay marriage aren’t what’s ailing them.

    Modern conservatism is ideologically and morally bankrupt. When problems arise, it either denies that the problem exists or offers to cut taxes on the wealthy and gut regulations, regardless of whether or not there’s any possibility that those remedies will address the problem at all. Or it says “look over there – aren’t those people terrible!!!??”. As the Republican Party has become more and more dominated by the modern conservative movement, it has become less and less responsive to its own constituents’ needs – regardless of ideology or partisan identification. This is why the Republican Party can still play games with funding to address the opioid epidemic hitting their own constituents especially hard – they don’t really give a damn about their own constituents.

    But, as useful as this discussion is (I think the actual plight of non-urban America is seriously ignored issue in our society, although actual issues in urban America aren’t handled very well either), cultural alienation and economic distress don’t explain the rampant misogyny, the bigotry, the racism, the anti-Semitism, etc. that seems to be animating so much of Trumpism. It also doesn’t explain why so much of Trumpers aren’t actually feeling economic distress. There’s more going on here, and it’s a lot uglier than “David Wong” (not his real name) wants to admit.

  152. 152.

    Major Major Major Major

    October 15, 2016 at 4:36 pm

    @germy: headlines like this make me think of a game show I play in my head called Guess! Which! State!

  153. 153.

    Ruckus

    October 15, 2016 at 4:38 pm

    @Villago Delenda Est:
    I had to do that very same procedure when I worked in professional sports. We drug tested the participants, on a normally random basis or specifically if it was thought necessary or if they had a positive test result and had been suspended for some period of time. Had to watch to make sure the sample in fact came from inside their person. Not as much fun as it sounds like. IOW no fun at all.
    Secondly think things through? trump doesn’t even think of the first step, let alone all of them.
    trump doesn’t see the forest for the mirrors.

  154. 154.

    amk

    October 15, 2016 at 4:47 pm

    @Brachiator: what a load of both sides do it bs.

  155. 155.

    Ruckus

    October 15, 2016 at 4:49 pm

    @germy:
    Those videos using flash give you no other choice. Up to a point you can ask it to play the newer versions with the older program by clicking on the video and then telling it to play. However at some point you will need to upgrade or not watch any flash videos. I use to look to see if there was any other program which would play flash videos but never found one. I think that’s because Adobe “updates” it any time some one may be successful, so that you have to use their program. Not sure if that’s true, it is free after all. But it is also a major pain in the ass.

  156. 156.

    Brachiator

    October 15, 2016 at 4:49 pm

    @Trentrunner:

    Hillary don’t gloat. Fool. Knock that shit off. .

    Stop it. Just stop it.

    Obviously I am talking about perception here, especially on the part of voters who don’t support the Democrats, and also how comedians, especially SNL are viewing this. I was clearly talking about how people react to events.

    But just because you want to be so literal minded, here is a bit of a Guardian news story.

    This week, Clinton clocked thousands of miles on campaign trips to battleground states. But she stayed conspicuously quiet on the subject of the floundering Trump campaign. She has no public appearances scheduled for the coming days and aides said she would spend time preparing for the third and final debate next week.

    Yes, Hillary is NOT gloating. Simple, right?

    Here is the Trump insane reaction.

    Trump complained of a vast conspiracy between the Clinton campaign and the media – and again attacked his opponent’s stamina.

    “Crooked Hillary is doing no more public events until after the debate,” Trump said. “They say she is doing debate prep, but she is just resting.”

  157. 157.

    Brachiator

    October 15, 2016 at 4:54 pm

    @amk:

    what a load of both sides do it bs.

    With all due respect, you totally misread what I said. But hey, knock yourself out.

  158. 158.

    Ruckus

    October 15, 2016 at 4:59 pm

    @sdhays:

    Modern conservatism is ideologically and morally bankrupt.

    This is true, as far as it goes.
    However this is not only a modern conservative issue. Conservatives have been like this in this country for literally hundreds of years. The open selling of this may have started in the 1950s but the reality is that the same stuff that is trying to be sold today by conservatives is the same thing being sold at the founding of the country. What has changed is that the liberal side has woken up to the fact that things can and should be better for everyone and that conservative ideals don’t do that at all. Conservatives are very selective in who should and shouldn’t have wealth, power and freedom, and always have been.

  159. 159.

    Major Major Major Major

    October 15, 2016 at 5:03 pm

    @Ruckus: the difference is that conservatives didn’t used to claim their policies would make things better for people, just that they supported the natural order of things.

  160. 160.

    Ruckus

    October 15, 2016 at 5:09 pm

    @Major Major Major Major:
    The natural order of things would make things better for the conservatives and the people that they approved of, no one else. The language may have been less obvious but the intent was exactly the same. WF Buckley was doing the same thing, using language to try to hide the true intent of conservatives. The southern strategy just used less stilted language to bring in more of the citizens so they could win elections. The intent never changed, only the strategy.

  161. 161.

    Major Major Major Major

    October 15, 2016 at 5:15 pm

    @Ruckus: I agree. But I was talking about old school social Darwinist pro-slavery conservatism.

  162. 162.

    rikyrah

    October 15, 2016 at 5:25 pm

    That is a scary looking Kitty. ??

  163. 163.

    Ruckus

    October 15, 2016 at 5:31 pm

    @Major Major Major Major:
    We really are on the same page. Conservatism has always been about greedy self preservation at the expense of anything, everything and everyone that didn’t maximize that side of the political process. Be it racism, misogyny, or monetary. But usually a combination. The language used has changed over the decades and the name of the lead groups have changed but the underlying ideals have always been there. What we are seeing now is just more open and obvious.

  164. 164.

    dww44

    October 15, 2016 at 5:49 pm

    @lamh36: I’m interested in your responses. I’ve a bedroom suit to sell and obviously I’m not planning on shipping it anywhere. Nor do i have a paypal account.

  165. 165.

    momus

    October 15, 2016 at 5:50 pm

    Our rescue kitten became fascinated water when she was about 4 to 5 months old. She didn’t want to get wet but she liked to watch it, especially went its going down the sink drain and making noise. One evening I left the door open when I went to urinate. She came bounding in and jumped up on the bowl. Let’s just say that she didn’t stick the landing. I got yelled at, but then several weeks later she did the same thing in front of my wife. She learned her lesson, runs to the kitchen sink when the water is on but doesn’t go near the toilet.

  166. 166.

    James E Powell

    October 15, 2016 at 5:55 pm

    @Ruckus:

    In my lifetime, conservatism has always been a euphemism for racists and religious bigots.

  167. 167.

    Ruckus

    October 15, 2016 at 6:05 pm

    @James E Powell:
    Exactly my point. It was in your great grandfathers time and his great grandfathers time as well.

  168. 168.

    RepubAnon

    October 15, 2016 at 6:17 pm

    @John Revolta: Somehow, some day, when you least expect it – EXPECT IT.

    Sincerely,

    Your Feline Overlord

  169. 169.

    Amir Khalid

    October 15, 2016 at 7:47 pm

    @Brachiator:
    I’ve read some of Hilary’s policy papers. There’s plenty of substance there, as opposed to none whatsoever from the Donald. Rebecca Traister at Washington Monthly has gone through some of it, but you’d really need a team of journos talking to subject-matter experts to do them all justice. Your media doesn’t examine it much because it would be too much work, and the end result provides neither exciting copy nor clickbaity headlines. The media’s failure, not hers.

    Hillary hasn’t been gloating over Trump’s scandals at all. She has said only that damage has been done to the country that will need to be repaired.

    That said, I do agree that there’s little left to say about this campaign. More and more people are realising that Trump is manifestly unfit to be President whereas Hillary is superbly qualified. People are just wondering how wretched a human being he can show himself to be in these last few weeks.

  170. 170.

    JR in WV

    October 16, 2016 at 12:48 am

    @lamh36: I’ve bought and sold cars and trucks, no furniture so far. For less valuable vehicles we exchanged the title and vehicle for cash, copies of everyone’s ID, receipts, etc.

    For a more expensive truck Mrs J watched his wife purchase a cashier check at their bank while he drove the truck with me. Then we did the same for the title, check, IDs and receipts all copied – photographed with smart phones actually.

    Of course we met at banks, not at home, as cars are mobile. Multiple people too.

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