Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Republicans firmly believe having an abortion is a very personal, very private decision between a woman and J.D. Vance.

Insiders who complain to politico: please report to the white house office of shut the fuck up.

The “burn-it-down” people are good with that until they become part of the kindling.

This chaos was totally avoidable.

You’re just a puppy masquerading as an old coot.

The fight for our country is always worth it. ~Kamala Harris

After dobbs, women are no longer free.

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

Speaker Mike Johnson is a vile traitor to the House and the Constitution.

Of course you can have champagne before noon. That’s why orange juice was invented.

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

Many life forms that would benefit from greater intelligence, sadly, do not have it.

American history and black history cannot be separated.

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

Donald Trump found guilty as fuck – May 30, 2024!

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

No one could have predicted…

Today’s gop: why go just far enough when too far is right there?

They want us to be overwhelmed and exhausted. Focus. Resist. Oppose.

When do we start airlifting the women and children out of Texas?

White supremacy is terrorism.

One lie, alone, tears the fabric of reality.

Disappointing to see gov. newsom with his finger to the wind.

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Open Thread: Happy Divali/Deepavali!

Open Thread: Happy Divali/Deepavali!

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India’s Festival of Lights:

Diwali is one of the biggest Hindu festivals celebrated among many people and communities in the United States… Many homes that celebrate Diwali have assorted sweets, savories and Diwali herbs. Some communities organize firework displays and states such as Utah have proclaimed Diwali as one of their state festivals…

Diwali is called the Festival of Lights and is celebrated to honor Rama-chandra, the seventh avatar (incarnation of the god Vishnu). It is believed that on this day Rama returned to his people after 14 years of exile during which he fought and won a battle against the demons and the demon king, Ravana. People lit their houses to celebrate his victory over evil (light over darkness).

The goddess of happiness and good fortune, Lakshmi, also figures into the celebration. It is believed that she roams the Earth on this day and enters the house that is pure, clean, and bright. Diwali celebrations may vary in different communities but its significance and spiritual meaning is generally “the awareness of the inner light”.

Lamps, fireworks and bonfires illuminate this holiday, as the word “Deepawali” means “a row or cluster of lights” or “rows of diyas (clay lamps)”. The festival symbolizes the victory of righteousness and the lifting of spiritual darkness. The goddess Lakshmi, who symbolizes wealth, happiness and prosperity, is also worshipped during Diwali.

Here’s to a new year of light, happiness, prosperity, and the victory of righteousness!

Reader Interactions

219Comments

  1. 1.

    Schlemazel

    Seems to come earlier every year, I missed the big Diwali sales this year.

    Seriously, I have some former co-workers i send cards to, guess I better get on that today.

  4. 4.

    greennotGreen

    I had a dear Indian friend who moved away and I’ve lost contact with her. But Diwali was her favorite holiday, and I always think of her when it rolls around. Wishing you light and happiness, Parul!

  7. 7.

    redshirt

    Serious question: Why aren’t India and the USA closer allies? They seem like they’d be natural partners at this point, with a shared set of adversaries, and mutual interests across the board. And yet I read recently India made a large arms purchase from Russia. What’s the deal?

  9. 9.

    Baud

    @redshirt: India has historical ties with Russia from the Cold War era as a result of its nonaligned status. The biggest modern problem is Pakistan and the dance the U.S. has to do with both countries.

  10. 10.

    Hillary Rettig

    One of the things I find most amazing and moving in the world is that people from so many cultures have developed a festival of lights to sustain them as the days grow shorter and colder.

  11. 11.

    redshirt

    @Baud: So you’re saying that because we have to play nice with Pakistan we can’t have better ties with India?

    That’s a shame if so. Pakistan might be America’s worst ally. Maybe number 2 behind Saudi Arabia.

  14. 14.

    Schlemazel

    @redshirt:
    India has been proud to try to steer a course between the US and the USSR back in the day. But yeah, the US has to balance Pakistan’s interests with India’s. That sure sucks but a marginally aligned Pakistan is far better than a rouge one. Sadly we have to play this stupid game.

  15. 15.

    Schlemazel

    @Baud:
    My guess is if China becomes more threatening India will draw closer to both Russia and the US as counterbalances to the threat. Currently China seems more interested in owning the Pacific so they are not seen as a problem. Interesting to not, google earth captured images of a Chinese military installation that contains a very large scale model of the China-India boarder. It would be natural for one to wonder what they are doing with that.

  16. 16.

    Immanentize

    @Schlemazel: This exactly. People woof on and on about North Korea and Iran, but Pakistan is the most unstable nuclear armed state in the world. AQ Kahn was from Pakistan….

  19. 19.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Hallie Jackson breathlessly breaking the breaking news that Melania Trump will be speaking in suburban Philly on Thursday, breaking breathlessly because she’s a beloved figure and compelling speaker

  20. 20.

    Schlemazel

    @Immanentize:
    It reminds me so much of stories from the Middle Age monarchs. Yeah, they had ultimate power but they were often hemmed in on all sides by trying to keep the whole mess from flying apart. The US, like the kings of old have the power up until they try to use it & piss off a constituency they need and things go to hell in a hurry.

    The morans among us in the US think these things are so simple, “We are the US, just take what you want and tell everyone who disagrees to F off”. That is a recipe for disaster, reality is hard, diplomacy requires constant cooperation and compromise. Small minds cannot understand this.

  21. 21.

    Corner Stone

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Melania Trump will be speaking in suburban Philly on Thursday, breaking breathlessly because she’s a beloved figure and compelling speaker

    And she is the perfect surrogate to deeply connect with women in suburbs around Philly.
    Game.Changed.

  24. 24.

    Corner Stone

    Another master stroke of political strategy by one of the two most brilliant campaigners we have seen in our lifetime. Add that with finally donating $10M to your campaign with less than 10 days to go before the election, and the Melania speech in suburban Philly six days before election day….it’s difficult to imagine just the intense focus at work here.

  28. 28.

    Corner Stone

    This “walk and talk” shot with the young lady for NBC in FL is just not working for me. I may get motion sick shortly.

  29. 29.

    hovercraft

    Happy Divali

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:
    I saw that, the media is really intent on telling us that Melania and Ivanka are really great assets out on the campaign trail. I’m sure this trip to the Philly suburbs will entirely turn around the massive deficit he has in the polls there. I’m shaking in my boots.

  31. 31.

    hovercraft

    @Corner Stone:
    And traveling to New Mexico, that will take that state out of the blue column. SAD!
    I wonder if Governor Martinez will be on hand to give him a boost? No, SAD!

  33. 33.

    dmsilev

    So, this morning’s polling dump over at Pollster included one showing Clinton 2 points ahead ….in Alaska. Now admittedly all of the other polls from there show anything from a modest to a substantial Trump lead so almost definitely just an outlier, but still.

  34. 34.

    greennotGreen

    @Schlemazel:

    aw crap!

    Which reminds me of my favorite Swype approximation a friend once sent me: “Oh, veal!”
    (Look at your keyboard to translate.)

  35. 35.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @hovercraft: I loved the way Jackson was all goggle-eyed “Kellyanne Conway has confirmed!” this hot scoop, and Joy Reid was all, “well that’s a waste of time”

    a little bed-wetty at hearing Reid, who knows FL, sound so pessimistic about it, and Josh Barro who’s always rather phlegmatic talk about HRC’s Florida operation “crumbling”, then I remember in ’12 the news orgs stopped polling FL because Romeny had it in the bag

  37. 37.

    Trentrunner

    Pennsylvania Virginia Colorado Pennsylvania Virginia Colorado Pennsylvania Virginia Colorado Pennsylvania Virginia Colorado Pennsylvania Virginia Colorado Pennsylvania Virginia Colorado Pennsylvania Virginia Colorado Pennsylvania Virginia Colorado Pennsylvania Virginia Colorado Pennsylvania Virginia Colorado Pennsylvania Virginia Colorado Pennsylvania Virginia Colorado Pennsylvania Virginia Colorado Pennsylvania Virginia Colorado Pennsylvania Virginia Colorado Pennsylvania Virginia Colorado

    Firewall.

    I just donated again. (7th time) Didn’t expect to. Fuck these fucking fuckers.

  38. 38.

    laura

    We had the Dia DE Los Muertos party Friday night, and FSM willing, should be packed up/cleaned up by sundown. My big toe hurts from hours of dancing, and my heart hurts a little bit from remembering my Mother -along with our group’s lost spouses, friends, lovers, pets, community oddballs and a metric-fuckton of musicians and artists this year.
    Sangria, beer, wine and riot juice flowed, DJ Larry spun the big platters and guts were busted with tamales, rice-n-beans, ceviche, chicken, carnitas, cabrito, dulces and even some moon pies.
    We stopped our reveries long enough to mark this time and remember our lost loved ones and commit to our shared good fortune to have such good people to share the joys and burdens with.
    That Laksmi returns from the spirit world at the same time of year as all hallows eve and all Saints day and the Dia, must speak to the universality of a sense that this time of year is when the veil between the loving world and the next world is at its most thin -or so I hope.
    All the best to the BJ community too!

  39. 39.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Melania Trump will be speaking in suburban Philly on Thursday

    If she has something new to say, I might watch. If it’s the same old “They go high, we go low,” I’ll probably give it a miss.

  40. 40.

    debbie

    @redshirt:

    I was referring to India’s stance. You are either with India or, if you show the slightest inclination toward Pakistan, against India. There is no middle ground.

  44. 44.

    Elizabelle

    @Trentrunner: North Carolina too. They’re fired up, ready to go. Got a president, governor and US senator on the ballot this fall. Embarrassment of riches.

    North Carolina. North Carolina. North Carolina.

  48. 48.

    Corner Stone

    @laura:

    tamales, rice-n-beans, ceviche, chicken, carnitas, cabrito, dulces and even some moon pies

    Sounds like quite the feast, but no chupa cabra?

  51. 51.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @redshirt:

    I remember once when Dubya was either getting ready to visit India or getting ready to welcome an Indian dignitary. He gave a speech, or comments to the press, or something, reading a long string of facts and figures. It sounded like a fifth-grade research paper lifted from the “country profiles” section of the World Almanac. Would love to track down video of that — even for Shrub, it was astonishingly noninsightful.

  52. 52.

    schrodinger's cat

    @debbie: Pakistan is India’s biggest blind spot and Achilles heel but the United States is not entirely without blame, playing footsie with tyrannical despots like Zia and Pakistan’s military junta is not just showing slight inclination.

  54. 54.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Baud: Tightening polls, Trump up in a couple. I don’t pretend to know the science of polling, but looking at the Huff Po aggregator, HRC does better with bigger sample sizes, which seems a plus to me.

  56. 56.

    hovercraft

    @Baud: @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Vote By Mail: 128,058 (+1K from yesterday) votes, GOP won (43-36-21), or just under 10K votes

    In Person Early Vote: 265,310 votes (up about 1,500 from yesterday), Dems won (40-39-21) or just under 1K votes

    393,368 votes were counted, and GOP won the day by about 9,000.

    This brings us into total votes 3,258,034 with leading GOP up about 0.6%.

    One other big picture number: There are now almost 70,000 more Democrats in Florida with a vote by mail ballot that they have not returned. Data does show that Democrats have been returning theirs as quick, if not quicker than Republicans, but had a higher number of post-October 1 requests. Because Democrats actually have 5,000 more overall requests, the GOP VBM numbers should level out. Even at current lower Dem return rates, the GOP advantage should reduce by about 20,000 by election day, given the Dems larger number of outstanding ballots.

    That being said:

    SIDE NOTE FROM STEVE TO DEMOCRATS: I WASN’T KIDDING YESTERDAY –GET THOSE BALLOTS IN! EVERY DAY YOU DON’T. JUST DO IT NOW.

    Democrats are behind where they were in 2012.

    ETA: This was his update yesterday, so it does not include the numbers from Saturday.

  57. 57.

    ThresherK

    @SiubhanDuinne: I think the search term is “India: Land of contrasts”.

    One has to have a certain facility with words to do the political equivalent of writing a book report, due first period, in the last 10 minutes of the bus ride to school. I have that facility; Shrub never did.

  59. 59.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Eric Boehlert ‏@ EricBoehlert 2h2 hours ago
    ABC, CBS, NBC have devoted more mins to Clinton emails this year than **all policy issues combined.**

  60. 60.

    Corner Stone

    The polls were always going to tighten. This is R’s coming home and it was inevitable. Trump would have had to sacrifice a virgin white DAR on stage while promising to raise taxes to not get this bump to come in.

  65. 65.

    Schlemazel

    @Elizabelle:
    The Dumpster had a pretty good joke at the Smith dinner the other night. But the fact that he has no clue of a hint of a sense of humor and self-deprecation is well beyond him and his huge, fragile ego he blew the line badly. Imagine this line delivered by someone capable:
    “Look how badly the press treats us. When Michelle Obama gives a speech the press swoons, when Melania gives the same speech they are all over her”

  67. 67.

    hovercraft

    @Corner Stone:
    I think too many people got carried away when they saw the ABC tracking poll showing a 12 point lead, and so now they are panicking because it’s down to 1 point. We are democrats, we wet our beds, this is what we do, and now that we’ve done that, let’s put on our Depends and get out and vote, and GOTV.

  69. 69.

    Cacti

    @hovercraft:

    I thought I had read that the GOP usually does better with early voting by mail, but were behind where they were in 2012. Dems do better with early in person voting.

  73. 73.

    Schlemazel

    @hovercraft:
    Hear hear.

    Don’t fret – vote
    Don’t kvetch – GOtV

    The media wants a horse race lets spoil their Thursday night by winning this early and convincingly.

  75. 75.

    Corner Stone

    @Schlemazel: It was actually a good line and he did not do too bad in the delivery. But I agree with the rest of your comment in that the fact he didn’t soften that line by running some self-deprecating jokes first just made him seem like that much more of a fucking asshole. Drag your wife down the dirt path but lack the ability or humility to take one on the chin first or at any point.
    What a punk. And all the other things Bobby De Niro said about him.

  77. 77.

    Corner Stone

    If I am Huma or Weiner I tell the FBI to F off and get their warrant. No way I agree to let them voluntarily read items on that device.

  79. 79.

    WaterGirl

    OT, but I was at a Christmas Open House today so I could enter the drawing for one of the 12 (fake) christmas trees.

    I was surprised and amused to see that there were 3 new varieties of trees this year, in addition to the usual douglas firs, etc. One was called the Hamilton something-something, another was called the Jefferson something-something, and the third was the Washington something-something.

    I predict that next year Hamilton and Jefferson will both be on paint chips, if they aren’t already!

  80. 80.

    Mai.naem.mobile

    @redshirt: 1/ Cold War. The US had a you’re with us or against us mentality and didn’t go for India’s non aligned status idea. 2/ post WWII colonialism India does not make a natural US ally. 3/Pakistan and American ‘favoritism’ of Pakistan 4/India had no real important natural resources important to the US i.e. Oil 5/ India’s support of the Palestinians in the Mid East situation. Nixon should have gone to India first,not China. I think the Pakistan and N.Korean situations may have been better. Maybe even the Afghan situation.

  81. 81.

    WaterGirl

    @Corner Stone:

    If I am Huma or Weiner I tell the FBI to F off and get their warrant.

    My name isn’t Huma and I have never sent a dick pic, but I would like to tell the FBI to fuck off.

  82. 82.

    Brachiator

    Boo! A Medea Halloween was number one at the box office this weekend, beating out Inferno. The Halloween game Google doodle is lots of fun. Divali, Halloween, Day of the Dead coming up. Let’s have a little fun.

    ETA. Day of the Dead is usually smaller, communal, but Mexico City had a big parade, evidently inspired by the parade which opened the last James Bond movie, Spectre.

  83. 83.

    scav

    Happy Divali to all, especially my former office-mates and fellow geographers who took me to all the parties in years past. I’ve broken out the glitter and lights ever since. May Laxmi be good to us all.

  85. 85.

    Mai.naem.mobile

    Happy Diwali! I am seriously surprised Indian junk food has not become popular in the US. There is some seriously good Indian junk food that would give Doritos,Lays and Chex Mix a run for their money. Chevdo, Sev Mambra,Tikha Ganthia and the rice Papadums are all better than any Lays potato chips.

  86. 86.

    CarolDuhart2

    I wonder if this just wrecks any case the FBI has against Weiner. I mean, a good defense would just hammer on this case being politically motivated at the very least, and the errors of not getting a warrant and then some is probably enough to get “reasonable doubt”. All so they could somehow find something about Hillary, no matter how remote to hammer her character.

  87. 87.

    Corner Stone

    @Brachiator:

    A Medea Halloween was number one at the box office this weekend

    Anytime I can laugh and pray in 90 minutes? That’s money well spent.

  89. 89.

    Bill E Pilgrim

    So to recap, “Clinton emails” now means “emails not to or from any Clinton”, “nothing remotely warranting prosecution” means “clearly massive criminal actions but I’m being nice and letting her off”, and “your job is only to investigate, not to decide who is prosecuted” means “your job is to investigate, decide who is prosecuted, deliver long stern lectures about why you decided not to prosecute despite finding misbehavior, and then make ominous announcements just before an election that you still might prosecute even though you don’t make those decisions”.

    Just catching up on the new language rules.

  90. 90.

    CarolDuhart2

    My mother’s memorial dinner last night went well. Lots of good food, some memories and tears, her picture on the cake. If you didn’t know better, you would think it was her birthday-except for the fact the birthday girl wasn’t there.
    I can’t remember specific stories about her-but I know better now her legacy of being an independent woman. I like men, but I never felt that I needed one to survive.

  93. 93.

    hovercraft

    @Cacti:
    Yes the GOP has always been far more reliant on vote by mail, that’s why all of their efforts regarding “voter fraud”, have focused on in person voting, even though fraud is more common in VBM than in person.

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques:
    There have been several articles questioning the travel schedule of both him and Pence. Yes they are losing and know it.
    The media is still playing for the horserace. Alex Witt a few minutes ago said that Hillary Clinton is in trouble because a poll shows her only 1 point ahead. Last time I checked, the candidate who is behind is the one in trouble. But I guess that leading is not the same as being in position to win. Trump must have Hilary just where he wants her.

  94. 94.

    Larkspur

    @schrodinger’s cat: Well, redshirt might be naive or pretending to be, but I guess I’m for sure naive or maybe just stone cold ignorant, because I appreciated the question AND the answers. I’m not going to pretend to be as smart or informed as you and a lot of other folks here. That’s a big reason I come here: to get edumacated.

  95. 95.

    Bill E Pilgrim

    @CarolDuhart2: I’m actually hoping, note the word hoping, foolishly most likely, that this might somewhat destroy or at least dent the upcoming investigation/prosecution festival also known as first term of HRC’s Presidency. With Republicans joining in not only condemning Comey but actually filing complaints (see my comment above), the sense that all this has gone too far, okay enough with the criminal investigations as a political tool already, might start to take hold somewhat.

  97. 97.

    Bill E Pilgrim

    @ThresherK: Exactly. But so, if the guy who looked at all the right-wing insanity of that administration including torture and said “Okie dokie, yeah that’s all fine”, if that person is saying that Comey has gone too far, that might mean more to people.

  98. 98.

    CarolDuhart2

    @ThresherK: Yes, this is the first birthday since she passed away in May, and we all needed to get through this weekend (her birthday was 10/26). Now the holidays are coming. No Thanksgiving Dinner except what each of us can come up with ourselves this year. True, she didn’t cook anymore, but we would at least visit her or give her a call. I already know she would call me every year just to wish me a Merry Christmas.

    I already know that Xmas is going to be solitary-just carols and a long weekend for me.

  99. 99.

    buck2202

    FBI agents knew of Clinton-related emails weeks before director was briefed

    The FBI agents investigating Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server knew early this month that messages recovered in a separate probe might be germane to their case, but they waited weeks before briefing the FBI director, according to people familiar with the case.

    A public revelation in early October might have been less politically damaging for Clinton than one coming less than two weeks before the Nov. 8 election. It is also unclear what agents have been doing in the intervening time — for instance, whether they were trying to learn more about the emails before notifying Comey. An FBI spokesman declined to immediately provide a statement.

  100. 100.

    CarolDuhart2

    @Bill E Pilgrim: That’s why I hope Obama just grants a pardon to all of these people on the way out, like Daddy Bush did with the Iran-Contra people. Sure, Congress could fuss, but at least they would have to come up with new stuff. And as for Obama? NFLTG and he wouldn’t need to give any-he’s leaving.

  102. 102.

    Bill E Pilgrim

    @CarolDuhart2: Paul Krugman is thinking somewhat along the same lines as what I brought up, it seems:

    A question about Comeygate’s political implications: will it actually blow back on the people who bullied Comey into betraying office? 1/

    That’s one of a series in a whole thread or Tweetstorm or whatever it’s called. Tweetstorm to me always sounds too much like it’s raining parrots.

  105. 105.

    Hal

    @hovercraft: There a tracking poll from abc showing Hillary 1 point ahead. Results from the 25th to the 28th. I only know because a Republican friend on Facebook is thrilled! Next week if that same poll shows her several points ahead, he’ll be as quiet a mouse.

  106. 106.

    hovercraft

    Here are some highlights/lowlights of this weekends village coffee klatches:

    Kellyanne Conway Snaps At Jake Tapper: Asking About Racism Is ‘Evidence We’re Going To Win’

    NBC’s Pete Williams: Trump’s bogus ‘rigged’ talk pushed Comey to break DOJ rules on elections

    Giuliani Ghoulishly Cackles Anticipating Jail Time For Hillary Clinton Over Latest Emails

    Van Jones, Chelsea Handler Destroy Rick Lazio’s GOP Lies

    Mike Pence lied his way through his entire MTP appearance, and refused to let the hapless Chucky in to stop the deluge of lies.

  107. 107.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    No sources on this first tweet, but this could make for an interesting week, especially if there is some last oppo dump to be made on Trump

    Alan Abramowitz ‏@ AlanIAbramowitz 31m31 minutes ago
    FBI agents knew of Clinton-related emails weeks before director was briefed

    Dana Houle ‏@ DanaHoule 41m41 minutes ago
    Now starting to wonder if Chaffetz might have known before Comey

  108. 108.

    Jeff

    I’m glad I cleaned the house today. If Lakshmi wants to stop by with some good luck I’m all for it and ready.

  109. 109.

    Corner Stone

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: IMO, I think Chaffetz got out over his skis on this. R leaning FBI crats leaked to him they had something else from the Weiner investigation. Didn’t matter what was in there, it was useful.
    He let Comey know he was going to blow him up if he didn’t do something about this info. Comey put this weird statement out with no specifics. Chaffetz did his thing, media swallowed hook and line and here we are.

  111. 111.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @FlipYrWhig: You might very well, think that. I couldn’t possibly comment. /the real House of Cards

    also, too

    Matthew Yglesias ‏@ mattyglesias now Washington, DC
    Just stepped outside and it’s eighty degrees on October 30. Has anyone covered emailed server management as an election issue?

  112. 112.

    Elie

    @CarolDuhart2:

    My deepest condolences to you. I have been there and know both the pain and the sense of feeling her still around you. I miss my Mom every day. My irreplaceable friend, confidant, coach and just Mom. You will always miss her but you go on…

  114. 114.

    Baud

    FWIW

    David Plouffe ‏@davidplouffe
    Clinton path to 300+ rock solid. Structure of race not affected by Comey’s reckless irresponsibility. Vote and volunteer, don’t fret or wet

  116. 116.

    Eric U.

    @FlipYrWhig: yeah, and it might work just as well as it did with Bill Clinton and Robert Hanssen, Ken Starr’s favorite leaky FBI agent. Oh, wait, Hanssen is serving 15 consecutive life sentences for treason? Huh.

  118. 118.

    hovercraft

    @Baud:
    He is the good David this year, the other David has been one of the biggest concern trolls all cycle. I’m with with Plouffe, GOTV. Robbie Mook said yesterday was their biggest fundraising Saturday all cycle, and they have 50K volunteers out this weekend, so even with the pants wetting, people are still out there working. In the end this may turn out to be a good thing even though it doesn’t feel that way now. Complacency is/was our biggest enemy, fear and anger our biggest motivators.

  121. 121.

    germy

    @Baud:

    sean. ‏@SeanMcElwee Oct 29
    james comey is the boyfriend that texts “we need to talk” and then goes radio silent only to say “we’re out of milk” like seven hours later

  124. 124.

    Corner Stone

    FBI still hasn’t read any of the emails Comey referred to. At all.
    If that reporting is accurate, isn’t this all just fucking nuts?

  125. 125.

    Corner Stone

    @Baud: That still doesn’t answer why there are so few green M&M’s in my mini-bags. Explain that, will ya!

  126. 126.

    hovercraft

    @Baud:
    Their internals must show continued strength. The two new state nbc polls show her up 1 in FL and up 6 in NC, but that was through Thursday.

  129. 129.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Baud: Yup, gave at least one good speech that I saw and had a big rally/concert with… Jennifer Lopez? I am an old… in Miami

  131. 131.

    Schlemazel

    @CarolDuhart2:
    My condolences, losing a parent is always tough
    My mom, whose name was Carol incidentally, died 8 years ago. We had a lovely memorial for her that helped me a lot. But I miss her dearly because she made the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas joyful. We baked dozens of different cookies ad distributed them to family & friends. I try but with the kids spread across the country is is just not the same.

    You are smart about partners. Mom was unable to leave her husband because she lacked the self confidence. It stunted her her entire life.

  133. 133.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @hovercraft: I think Grunwald had a lot of access to Obama people when writing his book on the Stimulus, and he’s not a gossipy type, so I do wonder if something’s up with Axelrod. It’s been clear for a while he’s not over whatever went down with him and the Clintons in ’08

    Michael Grunwald ‏@ MikeGrunwald Oct 28
    New census report showed record wage growth & poverty reduction. Something’s up with Obama & his messaging guru.
    David Axelrod @ davidaxelrod
    Real challenge for country, not just candidates, is that economy is growing, but many simply aren’t sharing in growth.

    Not that I disagree with Axelrod here, but that’s an odd way for someone whose job was running political campaigns to talk about the economy two weeks before election day.

  139. 139.

    WaterGirl

    @germy: Okay, that made me laugh! So true. I always say “No good conversation ever started with the words we need to talk“.

  144. 144.

    Patricia Kayden

    @Corner Stone: That says a lot about Republicans then because Trump is objectively the most unqualified candidate ever to be selected by a major party to run for President in my lifetime. He has zero qualifications and his demeanor and colorful past should have eliminated him from the contest during the primaries.

  146. 146.

    Patricia Kayden

    @hovercraft: It is kind of shocking that a 12 point lead could go all the way down to 1 point. I was shocked when I heard Joy Reid mention that on her show this morning. Oh well.

  147. 147.

    Feathers

    href=”#comment-6082640″>Corner Stone: Diwali M&Ms would be awesome. Have absolutely no idea if that would be culturally/religiously appropriate, but my lapsed Catholic self would buy many of them.

    Intrigued by the second video, the differences between the first group, who appear to be from the sub-continent and learned dancing within their community, and last two, who are Anglo and obviously have a great deal of Western dance training is striking. Diaspora is a strange beast.

  148. 148.

    Schlemazel

    @Baud:
    I am not a fan of either one from what I have seen. Penn though should settle for a K Street gig & go away

  149. 149.

    Baud

    @Patricia Kayden: Credit where it’s due. Trump does two things well. 1) Speak to white people’s primal racial fears and 2) puts on a good show for TV. IOW, he’s very good at the fascist thing.

  150. 150.

    hovercraft

    @Corner Stone:
    Per Michael Isikoff, yesterday night.

    At the time Comey wrote the letter, “he had no idea what was in the content of the emails,” one of the officials said, referring to recently discovered emails that were found on the laptop of disgraced ex-Rep. Anthony Weiner, the estranged husband of top Clinton aide Huma Abedin. Weiner is under investigation for allegedly sending illicit text messages to a 15-year-old girl.

    As of Saturday night, the FBI was still in talks with the Justice Department about obtaining a warrant that would allow agency officials to read any of the newly discovered Abedin emails, and therefore was still in the dark about whether they include any classified material that the bureau has not already seen.

    “We do not have a warrant,” a senior law enforcement official said. “Discussions are under way [between the FBI and the Justice Department] as to the best way to move forward.”

    That Comey and other senior FBI officials were not aware of what was in the emails — and whether they contained any material the FBI had not already obtained — is important because Donald Trump’s campaign and Republicans in Congress have suggested that the FBI director would not have written his letter unless he had been made aware of significant new emails that might justify reopening the investigation into the Clinton server.

    But a message that Comey wrote to all FBI agents Friday seeking to explain his decision to write the controversial letter strongly hinted that investigators did not not yet have legal authority establishing “probable cause” to review the content of Abedin’s emails on Weiner’s electronic devices………

    A Yahoo News review of Abedin’s interview with FBI agents last April — when the Clinton email probe was in full swing — shows that the longtime Clinton aide hinted that there might be relevant material on her husband’s personal devices. But agents do not appear to have followed up on the clues…….

    ETA: Autoplay at the link.

  152. 152.

    Patricia Kayden

    From your link: @Bill E Pilgrim:

    The letter was sent in violation of a longstanding Justice Department policy of not discussing specifics about pending investigations with others, including members of Congress. According to some news reports on Saturday, the letter was sent before the F.B.I. had even obtained the search warrant that it needed to look at the newly discovered emails. And it was sent days before the election, at a time when many Americans are already voting.

    Comey really needs to either resign or be fired for this blatant partisan politicking. Glad to see that Republicans are also speaking out against him.

  153. 153.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    This made me laugh

    Frank Luntz @ FrankLuntz
    Millennial voters (age 18-34) are about 31% of the electorate, but just 19% of voter turnout. (Boomers were 38%.)
    Sahil Kapur ‏@ sahilkapur 3h3 hours ago
    Sahil Kapur Retweeted Frank Luntz
    Why Medicare spent years funding penis pumps while young ppl got scant help for $1.2 trillion student loan debt. ?

  154. 154.

    Patricia Kayden

    @Baud: And he may combine those two things he does well by starting his own t.v. station where he can rage on endlessly about how Whites have had it so bad since the 60’s while being surrounded by his sycophants (except Christie who will be in jail for Bridgegate by then).

  155. 155.

    Peale

    @hovercraft: yep. I’m getting the feeling that Weiner may have been set up to get access to those devices. Not that he isn’t easy to set up.

    ETA: I’m going to assume that the DOJ will be at lunch these next nine days. There isn’t any urgency this week.

  156. 156.

    hovercraft

    @Patricia Kayden:
    Most of the attrition was before the “bombshell”, I would say it was the Obamacare premium rate hikes, and the hype about “Clinton Inc.”, but this didn’t help. I think that Friday before this it was already down to 4 points. The change was due to republicans going back to Trump. At the height of her lead, Trump was only polling in the 70’s I think, and by the end of the week it was back up to almost 90, which is where it always is. Bottom line is that we are tribal, and no matter the candidate and how terrible they are we revert back to our tribe in the end. So despite all the talk about republicans shunning him and Trump not being a “real” republican, they are voting for him at the same rate they did for RMoney. He is them, and they are just as terrible as him. This is not a sports team we are rooting for here, this is the leader of our country and they are voting for this scum. Country First, America First, my ass.

  157. 157.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Patricia Kayden: Speaking of Christie, I really hope this is true…
    Trump offered Christie his VP slot — then rescinded it
    Sorry, Hole.

    “Trump cares about who’s the most loyal and who kisses his a– the most, not who’s the most qualified and what’s the best political decision,” said a source close to the campaign. “If it was up to him, it would have been Christie.” …
    Christie contacted Trump and made his final, impassioned ­appeal on July 12.
    “Christie said he thinks he deserves it and he earned it,” a second Trump source said. Convinced, Trump made the ­offer.
    Christie “said all the BS that Trump likes to hear, and Trump said, ‘Yeah, sure I’m giving it to you.’ ”…
    After Trump tentatively decided on Christie, Manafort told Trump his plane had a mechanical problem, campaign sources said, forcing Trump to spend another night in the Hoosier State. Pence then made his case to be Trump’s No. 2 over dinner as Trump’s advisers argued that Christie’s Bridgegate troubles would sink the campaign….
    Trump agreed to name Pence the next day and broke the news to Christie, saying it would “tear my family apart if I gave you VP,” a source said.

  159. 159.

    FlipYrWhig

    @hovercraft: do you think it was news events at all? I’d guess it was that as Hillary opened up a significant lead, Republicans who had been inclined to vote for Johnson started to grudgingly move to Trump as a last ditch effort to stop her.

  160. 160.

    SWMBO

    @Baud: I voted Oct. 24. My husband was sick and just got out to vote today. He missed Hillary at the local civic center today. She was touring all the early voting stations around here and personally thanking her supporters for early voting. She’s still working her ass off and wants everyone else to do so as well.

    One of our neighbors has the sisters to our boys. She brought her dogs over for a play date today. When OldDave came back from voting, she told him she was a Trump supporter. She was talking a bit later (after he went to work) and asked how you vote/early vote? I told her how early voting worked and she’s not the brightest crayon in the box. She decided that she just wouldn’t vote after all. Am I a bad person for not encouraging her to vote? When I texted it to my husband he replied “For the Greater Good”.

    Let’s GOTV but not the Trump voters, ok?

  163. 163.

    gene108

    @redshirt:

    Serious question: Why aren’t India and the USA closer allies? They seem like they’d be natural partners at this point, with a shared set of adversaries, and mutual interests across the board. And yet I read recently India made a large arms purchase from Russia. What’s the deal?

    Legacy of Cold War politics.

    The details are more than I know, but the general outline is:

    1. India declared as Neutral in the Cold War
    2. The USA was like, WTF? Neutral is not an option, either you are a freedom loving capitalist society or you are a communist country.
    3. India was like, yo there’s a Third Way, a Third World of options if you will
    4. At the same time the USA was talking to Pakistan and was like, “hey, Pakistan, be our buds, we’ll make it worth your while.”
    5. Pakistan was like sure bro, your totes cool with us, unlike those stupid Indians
    6. And then in 1971, India signed a mutual defense agreement with the USSR (I believe Pakistan settled on a similar deal with the USA, but not 100% positive) and that sort of froze relations until the end of the Cold War and the Clinton Administration started making efforts to better relations.

  164. 164.

    hovercraft

    @FlipYrWhig:
    Chuck Todd has been pointing out that since the start of the debates, the independent candidates have been losing support, and this is in keeping with every other election. So yes that is part of the closing that was to be expected, but the news also has a impact on people who were soft for Hillary and have been reminded about the evils of democratic “rule.” It also can push people who were not that enthusistic for him into “likely voter” from just “registered.”

    @SWMBO:
    You performed a public good. Just as canvassers only go to people they think will vote for their side, you are only encouraging people on humanity’s side to vote.
    It’s not our job to GOTV for him, just for her. You could also remind them that Trump told them all to make sure that they get out to vote on November 28th.
    100% totally true.

  165. 165.

    tobie

    I’m thinking there must be a helluva lot of volunteers for HRC this weekend, because when I used the campaign website for phone banking, the only places that came up to call were 2nd tier battleground states (i.e., Iowa, Ohio Virginia, Wisconsin). Notable absences from the list: Florida, North Carolina, Nevada. Maybe they’re reserving those for folks on the ground?

  166. 166.

    gene108

    @Schlemazel:

    My guess is if China becomes more threatening India will draw closer to both Russia and the US as counterbalances to the threat. Currently China seems more interested in owning the Pacific so they are not seen as a problem. Interesting to not, google earth captured images of a Chinese military installation that contains a very large scale model of the China-India boarder. It would be natural for one to wonder what they are doing with that.

    India and China went to war in the early 1960’s.

    There’s a serious territorial dispute on India’s Northeastern border with China. China wants to takeover the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. Though I am not sure what is behind China’s claims, but India does not want to cede any territory.

  169. 169.

    Lizzy L

    I dropped by Sam Wang’s place to read his latest Calm-the-fuck-down-people post, and to look at the numbers. Neither he nor Nate Silver have changed anything significant. Clinton is still winning. At PEC, Florida is still blue, though Iowa is now grey — too close to call. The way things look now, Clinton could lose FL and she would still win.

    GOTV, no matter what. I’ll be phone banking later today.

  170. 170.

    Peale

    @gene108: like all of China’s expansion claims, it seems to be based on the idea that treaties signed when china was weak and by previous governments are open to renegotiation. China as it existed at its greatest territorial extent. It most certainly will not recognize the treaty between Tibet and the UK that brought that province into India since it does not recognize Tibetan independence from 1911ish – 1950.

  171. 171.

    Patricia Kayden

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: That’s fascinating. I hope someone writes a tell all book about this election when it’s all over and President Hillary Clinton has been inaugurated. It has been the strangest, most exasperating election of my lifetime. While I cannot stand Halperin, the Game Change movie is fantastic.

  174. 174.

    Trentrunner

    Depressing but true thought: Unless Clinton wins in a landslide and Dems win the Senate AND the House, we will always wonder precisely how much damage Comey’s Surprise did. Not “might do.” “Did.” The damage is done.

    And since the Senate was a nailbiter before Comey…

  176. 176.

    germy

    The Final Days

    In recent weeks, the mood at Trump Tower has veered between despair and denial—with a hit of resurgent glee when the news broke that the FBI was looking into more of Clinton’s emails. When I asked one senior Trump adviser to describe the scene inside, he responded: “Think of the bunker right before Hitler killed himself. Donald’s in denial. They’re all in denial.” (As Times columnist Ross Douthat put it, in a tweet, “In Trumpworld as Hitler’s Bunker terms,” the FBI investigation is “like when Goebbels thought FDR’s death would save the Nazi regime.”)

    During our conversation, Trump sounded more like a guy who is happy to have finished his first marathon with zero training than the divisive presidential candidate who ignited the biggest cultural upheaval since 1968. And to hear him tell it, there’s only upside to come, win or lose. While Trump recently told a donor that he estimates the campaign diminished his net worth by $800 million, he says the effect is only temporary. “He believes he’ll have a full restoration of that inside of a year,” the donor said. “His view is the American public has a two-to-three-week attention span.” He may be right about that.

  177. 177.

    Hal

    @Trentrunner: What you’re proposing is a fantasy. Dems were not going to win the Senate and the house, and Clinton’s chances of a landslide were always slim. Also, it’s only Sunday, and we have no solid idea that Comey has done anything to change the outcome of this election. Hell, he might have helped turnout on the Democratic side for all we know. People just need to keep their eyes on the prize and go from there.

  179. 179.

    redshirt

    So, given BJ tradition, now that there’s been 6 hours since the last new thread, I expect at least 3 new ones within the next hour.

  180. 180.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @Hillary Rettig: Then you are remarkably easily “amazed & moved,” since the concept is as close to a no-brainer as human brains prior to the invention of artificial lighting can get.

    It’s far more interesting that the concept is ensconced in a country close enough to the equator that the variation in length of day is hardly noticeable. (E.g., in Mumbai the longest day of the year is 13 hrs 16 min, while the shortest is 10 hrs 59 min, a variation of 2 hr 17 minutes or less than 10%. And there’s lots of India farther south than Mumbai.)

  181. 181.

    CarolDuhart2

    Trump is in the bargaining stage. His, and his family’s brand is toast with rising demographics. I expect Ivanka Trump clothing to be found, tags ripped off, in Salvation Army and thrift stores within 6 months. Rooms in his hotels have dropped from $600 a night to about $300, and the remaining ones are being renamed “Scion”. He’s going to take a bath in convention-business meeting rentals, the bread and butter of a hotel chain. If this was simply a conventional political convention, in 6 months when passions cooled off, things would go back to a sort of normal.

    But Trump has been exposed as a deplorable on all levels. Racist, sexist, borderline child molester, deadbeat. He’s not going to recover from this. No amount of PR is ever going to get his celebrity cachet back-which is what sold people on his hotels.

  182. 182.

    WaterGirl

    Has anybody else been having trouble with BJ loading really slowly at times? Even this afternoon on a REALLY slow BJ day, I have had this happen a few times.

  184. 184.

    LeftMass

    Trump’s brand is clearly damaged with people who are voting against him. FSM willing, many of his fervent supporters will be dismayed on Nov 9 and begin to reposition him in their mind as a loser who let them down.

    There goes another chunk of potential customers…

  185. 185.

    WaterGirl

    @CarolDuhart2: I hope you’re right. I think there’s a good chance that when all the uproar dies down, a lot of people will stop caring and Trump’s brand will rebound. Perhaps I’m more cynical than you.

    P.S. Glad your mom’s celebration went well. My mom died on Halloween over 30 years ago, but when I read your earlier comment I was transported back to the first Christmas in my mom’s living room, without my mom. It’s funny how emptiness can have such a big presence. Those first holidays are hard. When my dad died, it was just the three of us sisters left. “Oh, we’ll still get together at Christmas just like always”, said my two sisters with husbands and children. Yeah, right. Not once in the 20 years since we lost my dad have we all been together at christmas. I wish you peaceful holidays.

  186. 186.

    NR

    Looks like you guys were wrong about it only being 3 emails.

    “In their initial review of the laptop, the metadata showed many messages, apparently in the thousands, that were either sent to or from the private email server at Mrs. Clinton’s home that had been the focus of so much investigative effort for the FBI”

    Trump is also catching up in the polls. Supposedly, there are still more stories waiting to drop on Trump. All I can say is, they’d better be good.

  188. 188.

    Peale

    @CarolDuhart2: yep. If there were Romney hotels, I don’t think it would have been a problem in 2009 for him to recover. But no one who organizes events is going to risk pissing off a good number of attendees.

  189. 189.

    the Conster, la Citoyenne

    David Plouffe Verified account
    ‏@davidplouffe

    Clinton path to 300+ rock solid. Structure of race not affected by Comey’s reckless irresponsibility. Vote and volunteer, don’t fret or wet

  190. 190.

    hovercraft

    How Hillary Clinton Met Satan
    By SUSAN FALUDI NY Times

    It was my third day at the Republican National Convention in 1996, and my notebook overflowed with a one-note theme: “You do know that Hillary Clinton is funding the whole radical feminist agenda?” “She had Vince Foster killed.” “She’s behind many more murders than that.” “It’s well-established that Hillary Clinton belonged to a satanic cult, still does.” The consensus among Pat Buchanan’s supporters seemed ardent and universal, though the object of this obloquy wasn’t even on the opposing ticket.

    One of the mysteries of 2016 is the degree to which Hillary Clinton is reviled. Not just rationally opposed but viscerally and instinctively hated. None of the stated reasons for the animus seem to satisfy. Yes, she’s careful and cagey, and her use of a private email server, which the F.B.I. flung back into the news on Friday, was a big mistake. But no, she’s not more dishonest than other politicians, and compared with her opponent, she’s George Washington. Her policies, even where bold, are hardly on the subversive fringe…

    Republican ideological absolutism, nourished by masculine insecurity, created an amalgam corrosive to pragmatic politics. For Hillary Clinton, it’s meant being demonized for traits that have little to do with her character. Not only by right-wing politicians, who found the Hillary-with-horns specter a convenient recruitment tool, but by the culture at large. Even the supposedly liberal mainstream media still seek out any bit of evidence that can be chiseled to fit that prefab 1990s narrative — and if she denies the caricature, she’s called a liar. Her famous “hiddenness” is, at heart, her refusal to cop to the crime of purloined male authority. A Spy magazine story in 1995 made that theft succinct: a cover image of a grinning Hillary, her skirt billowing up as in the old Marilyn Monroe photo, to reveal male briefs bulging with a penis. Across her legs ran the headline: “Hillary’s Big Secret.”

    The G.O.P.’s gender grudge feeds on its own defeat. As the culture moves further away from the conservative ideal — as women gain freedoms, minorities assert rights, same-sex marriage proves commonplace — the monster’s howls grow louder. But the howls say nothing new. This election is the decisive battle in a Thirty Years’ War.……….

    Longish read, but it shows the demonization of Hillary by both sides.

  191. 191.

    Chyron HR

    @NR:

    Th-th-this time he’s gonna trump the b*tch, right? PLEASE GOD I NEED THIS SO BADLY!

    Remember to liveblog your breakdown when Clinton wins. You owe us that much.

  192. 192.

    Schlemazel

    @gene108:
    I was aware they were shooting at each other, I don’t remember why.

    China has decided to appear peaceful and not use their military to get what the can without it. It seems to be working. If this keeps up there could easily be a time that things break down into a shooting war. There is no way that ends well for anybody.

  193. 193.

    NR

    @Chyron HR:

    I like putting my head in the sand and denying bad things that are happening! Also, I eat at least one jar of paste every day,

    That’s really unfortunate. And, uh, maybe see a therapist about that paste thing.

  197. 197.

    Schlemazel

    @Chyron HR:
    That would be fun but you know he will disappear on the 8th. These whiny losers always run away. There job is to cause friction on the Dem side & to dishearten Dem voters. We won’t hear from him until the first Congressional investigation into some trumped up bullshit . . . so February.

  198. 198.

    hovercraft

    How Hillary Clinton Met Satan
    By SUSAN FALUDI NY Times

    It was my third day at the Republican National Convention in 1996, and my notebook overflowed with a one-note theme: “You do know that Hillary Clinton is funding the whole radical feminist agenda?” “She had Vince Foster killed.” “She’s behind many more murders than that.” “It’s well-established that Hillary Clinton belonged to a satanic cult, still does.” The consensus among Pat Buchanan’s supporters seemed ardent and universal, though the object of this obloquy wasn’t even on the opposing ticket.

    One of the mysteries of 2016 is the degree to which Hillary Clinton is reviled. Not just rationally opposed but viscerally and instinctively hated. None of the stated reasons for the animus seem to satisfy. Yes, she’s careful and cagey, and her use of a private email server, which the F.B.I. flung back into the news on Friday, was a big mistake. But no, she’s not more dishonest than other politicians, and compared with her opponent, she’s George Washington. Her policies, even where bold, are hardly on the subversive fringe.

    Yet she’s cast not just as a political combatant but as a demon who, in the imaginings of Republicans like Paul D. Ryan, the speaker of the House, and Representative Trent Franks, would create an America “where passion — the very stuff of life — is extinguished” (the former) and where fetuses would be destroyed “limb from limb” (the latter)…….

    The 1990s produced a generation of men who felt (and still feel) left behind by a society redefining power and success in terms of ornament and celebrity and demoting the value of industry and brawn, while simultaneously challenging men’s value as family providers. Though women weren’t the source of men’s pain, the antagonist conjured up by aggrieved men I talked with in those years had a feminine face, and very often that face was Hillary’s.

    A startling aspect of the rage that greeted Bill Clinton was how much of it was aimed at the women he entrusted — or tried to entrust — with power. When I was investigating one of the early skirmishes of the Clinton years, the burning of the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Tex., which right-wingers attributed to Clinton’s F.B.I., I was treated to the fervent rants of “Patriot” men, aimed not at Mr. Clinton but at what I came to think of as the Three Witches of Waco: Attorney General Janet Reno (“Reno’s master is Satan,” a Third Continental Congress militiaman told me), the gun-control advocate Sarah Brady and, most of all, Hillary Clinton.……..

    Republican ideological absolutism, nourished by masculine insecurity, created an amalgam corrosive to pragmatic politics. For Hillary Clinton, it’s meant being demonized for traits that have little to do with her character. Not only by right-wing politicians, who found the Hillary-with-horns specter a convenient recruitment tool, but by the culture at large. Even the supposedly liberal mainstream media still seek out any bit of evidence that can be chiseled to fit that prefab 1990s narrative — and if she denies the caricature, she’s called a liar. Her famous “hiddenness” is, at heart, her refusal to cop to the crime of purloined male authority. A Spy magazine story in 1995 made that theft succinct: a cover image of a grinning Hillary, her skirt billowing up as in the old Marilyn Monroe photo, to reveal male briefs bulging with a pen!s. Across her legs ran the headline: “Hillary’s Big Secret.”

    The G.O.P.’s gender grudge feeds on its own defeat. As the culture moves further away from the conservative ideal — as women gain freedoms, minorities assert rights, same-sex marriage proves commonplace — the monster’s howls grow louder. But the howls say nothing new. This election is the decisive battle in a Thirty Years’ War.……….

    Longish read, but it shows the demonization of Hillary by both sides.

  200. 200.

    JMG

    It’s closer than it was last Sunday, but Clinton is still ahead, and ahead in what counts, real votes cast by real voters. There are over 20 million of them now, and every poll I’ve seen with one exception (Upshot poll of Florida) shows them as having voted for Clinton by a significant margin.
    It’d be wonderful if it was a Clinton landslide, but that’s not the country we live in. Since the alternative is a lunatic with nuclear weapons who at a minimum will wreck my retirement portfolio, I will take a Clinton win however it comes with gratitude.

  202. 202.

    cain

    Happy Diwali – just an aside, I have a fairly “old” name – Sriram which is named after the protagonist in the Ramayana. I suppose someone should lay out some lights at a bar, cuz I sure can use a drink. :)

  206. 206.

    NotMax

    @JMG

    Do not disagree that the early voting trends generally are favorable for HRC, but there is not a single poll showing actual votes. There are polls reflecting which groups, in aggregate, have voted (but not for whom they voted).

    Just felt it is a distinction which should be noted.

  211. 211.

    NotMax

    @Trentrunner

    Not what I said or implied. Was only responding to the original comment which was, IMHO, imprecise and open to misinterpretation as to what such polls represent.

  215. 215.

    CarolDuhart2

    @WaterGirl: I don’t think so. A lot of his real customer base cares about appearances-and the only thing Trump has going for him is his reputation. There are now plenty of hotels that do luxury without the appearance of supporting bigotry and antisemitism to choose from these days. Also plenty of brands that are at least non-toxic to choose from.

    The only way I would ever buy an Ivanka Trump would be if I found it say, at the Salvation Army or a yard sale-and even then, I probably would look askance at the seller unless she said it was very old.

  216. 216.

    the Conster, la Citoyenne

    NBC Nightly News Verified account
    ‏@NBCNightlyNews

    BREAKING: @SenatorReid issues letter to @FBI Director Comey citing ‘disturbing double standard’ on treatment of Clinton email issue.

    Harry Reid’s letter is starting to get some traction…. Reid says he knows Comey has “explosive information” about the connection between Trump and Putin….

  218. 218.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @workworkwork:

    You are considerably savvier than Bush’s audience. I remember watching it and laughing my ass off. It was just a fact sheet recitation. Astonishingly inept for an eve-of-visit talk, and in any case it was all stuff that you would expect to hear maybe from a minor bureaucratic functionary, not from the FPOTFUS.

  219. 219.

    Kathleen

    Per latest email from Ohio Democratic Party, Ohio is tied. Also, early voting in Ohio is up 20% from 2012.

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