Eight days to go until Election Day. Even if you’re confident about Clinton’s prospects (as I am), this is a time of jangled nerves because of the enormous stakes, and it’s human nature to be testy in trying times. Here’s a photo of a lovely blue heron submitted by valued Balloon Juice reader “cope” to remind us not to get our feathers too ruffled:
At various times during the current campaign — and indeed throughout her career in public life — Hillary Clinton has returned to the theme of love and kindness. We could all use a little more of that in our lives, especially now.
To me, love and kindness are among the core animating principles that drive me to identify as a liberal. I believe we should do more to help each other out.
This has been the ugliest election season any of us have ever seen. I wouldn’t be surprised if it gets worse over the next week and on into the post-election period. Some unbelievably malevolent forces have been unleashed, and we all have our part to play in pushing them back.
But maybe this heron from cope can help us all cope in the coming days by reminding us that there’s still so much beauty in the world. Or not. Your choice. Open thread!
jeffreyw
I read that as “because of enormous snakes” and was expecting a photo of one of Florida’s famous pythons.
I’ma disappoint!
schrodinger's cat
To top all the moving fun, I am sick with a bad cold. I am achy all over and the oid house still needs some cleaning.
Belafon
Racist whites know they are losing power. What power they do have, control of a whole lot of states, will be used to create as much destruction as possible. If they can’t have the country, then no one can.
Betty Cracker
@jeffreyw: Funny you should mention that. I drove across Alligator Alley this weekend (through the Everglades), and I saw two pretty damn large pythons squashed on the road. I was tempted to stop and throw them in the trunk since there is a bounty on the critters. Haha, no I wasn’t! I wouldn’t touch a DEAD python with a 100-foot pole! I was too chicken to even stop and get a photo for fear their compatriots were lurking in the saw grass, ready to slither out and swallow any passerby whole. Still, it was a weird thing to see. I’ve been hearing about Everglades pythons for years but had never actually seen one, and to see two! They must be multiplying!
Patricia Kayden
@Belafon: I wonder why racist Whites haven’t picked up and gone to live in Whiter, European countries. My parents left Jamaica for England and then Canada so I assume White Americans can get up and leave America if it becomes too “dark” for them, so to speak. Certainly, they’re not so dumb that they can’t figure out that we are not going backwards.
Carolina Dave
We have a blue heron that resides on the pond across the street from the house. Some days like this one, it will sit tranquilly on the dam in the quiet stillness of the early morning. It is such a great reminder of peace, beauty and the grandeur of nature. I tried to take a photo of the graceful creature but it took off from its perch on the damn and after seeing my three dogs running around the yard, also a typical morning experience. Circle of life and all that.
germy
This can’t be right
germy
@Patricia Kayden: Because they’ve been told for decades that Europe is a socialalism hell hole.
schrodinger's cat
@Betty Cracker: Florida sounds scary! Some one needs to import Gila monsters and Komodo dragons to Floridar.
Bill E Pilgrim
Never occurred to me before how much this election is like the plot of Ghostbusters.
Seems obvious now.
Giant, bloated, puffy white monster breathing fire, and everything,
Hillary Rettig
At least we have no egrets!
I’ll just show myself out…
(I blame Baud!)
SenyorDave
@germy: Do you mean that the poll was done incorrectly or that you don’t agree with the results of the poll? The polls were going to tighten anyway, and last Friday obviously hurt Clinton.
IMO we are back to where the race was before the sexual predator tape. Clinton has the edge overall by a couple of points, and has an electoral college edge. But a big victory is probably not happening barring a release of something bad for Trump.
Sunny Raines
“Good people are called to stand against the evil at the door” https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9XhK_8eRrcM
Hungry Joe
For months now our fainting couch has been reserved for the Senate races, and we’ve hardly touched our stash of smelling salts.
As for Trump’s not accepting defeat, well, I can empathize: On Saturday I played tennis for the first time in three weeks after a run-in with a shower door that resulted in five stitches in my right index finger. My partner and I “lost” by a “score” of 3-6, 4-6, but we refused to accept the results, and after we unskewed the “points” that we “played” it turned out that the match was rigged. Not only were we ahead all along — we were ahead before we even started. Victory was ours.
waysel
@Hungry Joe: @Hungry Joe: Nice. This should be labeled as “Trump rules”, vs our old chestnut, “Clinton rules”.
germy
@SenyorDave: I didn’t know it had tightened so dramatically.
lamh36
Good morning BJ.
First night sleeping at my mom’s house! It’s amazing how much sleep u can get when you don’t have cable and can’t watch Golden Girls all night??
First day of actually having a “REAL” morning drive as well. But I made it to work with minutes to spare ????????
Happy Halloween from Princess Maddie!!!
Betty Cracker
@Patricia Kayden: I heard a TED talk on NPR by sociologist Rich Benjamin on the phenomenon of “whitopia” — in which some white folks are flocking to certain areas to escape increasing diversity. Benjamin (who is black) actually lived in these places for a while, studying the inhabitants like an anthropologist. It’s pretty fascinating. You can listen to his talk here if you’re interested.
Hillary Rettig
More seriously, I’m glad to see racism and sexism finally on the defensive. Sure they’re fighting back, and sure they’re ugly. But better this than having them feel so much in charge and unchallenged that they’re complacent.
Also I’d rather see an engaged populace (even crazy engaged) than an apathetic one. In Team of Rivals, Doris Kearns Goodwin quotes de Tocqueville about how all Americans were crazy nuts for politics. But from all that craziness emerged Lincoln and other fantastic leaders, and a lot of positive social change, including, of course, the end of legalized slavery.
Bill E Pilgrim
@Hillary Rettig: Ol Green Eyes
Corner Stone
The funny thing, IMO, is that Trump has not done a single positive move for his campaign in the last month. I mean, I think he’s been screwing up pretty badly the whole time but the R base seemed to like all that. But for the last month he literally has not put one foot forward in a way that you could point to and say, “Ah. That was a good one. He handled that pretty well.” And yet, here we are.
Hillary Rettig
btw, I’m trying to reach BOOKDRAGON, who won the cookbook giveaway on Saturday. They haven’t responded to an email. I’ll post something later, but if anyone knows them can they tell them to email me? If I don’t hear back today I will have to draw another number and they will lose their prize.
Hillary Rettig
@Bill E Pilgrim: LOVE IT!
Major Major Major Major
I love herons. We have some pretty great blue ones out here.
Reposted from below: all my lefty friends on Facebook are checking in to Standing Rock on Facebook right now. I guess it’s the new changing your location to Tehran. Maybe they’ll make their profile pictures green next.
ETA: and while I’m complaining, that people-rating episode of Black Mirror is dreadful. Was it written in an afternoon by a freshman algorithm? ‘Community’ did it better two years ago, in 22 minutes, hit all the same notes and was actually amusing.
Corner Stone
@Hungry Joe: Some people are saying you won bigly.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@lamh36: Good morning you! And thanks for the Princess Maddie greeting.
albertZ
Running out of pages and the final chapter has yet to be written. This is the point where I just want to skip ahead and read whodunit. This has been an especially pulpy story but not a good read at all. Can’t recommend it.
TaMara (HFG)
@Betty Cracker: Funny that you guys would be talking about that. I was at an event where they had a big assed python that someone had given to the rescue group because they thought it was a ball python but soon realized it was a Burmese – big difference. I couldn’t get enough of that snake and really wanted to hold her – she did try to wrap around my arm. Big, 6 ft at least and strong. Still a baby.
Bill E Pilgrim
@germy: It can’t be right by definition since it’s just a single poll. You need an aggregation to get any real sense at all.
Like this
or this
Elizabelle
My hosts in Raleigh, NC early voted this morning.
They report there was an aggressive man in a Trump hat harassing voters. He was telling them “vote with your children’s interests in mind” and “Bill of Rights!” My hosts did not engage with him.
The woman ahead of them did. When he harangued her, she replied: “I am voting with my children in mind. That is why I am supporting Hillary.”
This happened at the Optimist Community Center early voting site.
Meanwhile, CNN is telling us about EMAILS TWIST. Sound off.
Gonna make some chicken cacciatore and then go out and canvass. As Glinda the Good Witch. Vote
PedroGlinda! In suffragette white.Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA
Not sure if this’ll work — here’s a shot I took a few months ago. Heron at Little Mulberry Park.
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
The photo reminds me of this wall quilt. I took a class with the designer recently; there’s a lot of beautiful work on her site.
In less happy news, the NCNAACP has filed a Federal suit:
Corner Stone
@Betty Cracker: Over the last 10+ years my little suburban community has gone from mainly older whites to a state of raging diversity. Every housing purchase in the last several years has gone to a family from Asia or Southeast Asia. And usually the family is three or sometimes (I think) four generations in the house.
Elizabelle
@Bill E Pilgrim:
Needs to be the Balloon Juice catchphrase for the next week. Good on you, Mr. Plouffe.
Vheidi
When you’ve lost Alberto f’ing Gonzalez currently displaying his just for men hair and scuzzy goatee on cnn
He is as thick as a plank, with apologies to planks
WereBear
For everyone:
The Chambers Brothers – Love Peace & Happiness
JCJ
@Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA:
Wow! That is a great shot! I love the reflection of the clouds in the water.
JanieM
@Patricia Kayden:
The people in question have no doubt that it’s *their* country, so why should they leave? Obviously they just need to take it back.
Anyhow, it isn’t just whiteness that matters, it’s being on top. Leaving *their* country for some foreign place would put them very much one-down (or two- or three- or however many; why, if you can believe it, in some of those places the people don’t even speak English!)……
Walker
@germy:
Can we stop cherry picking the polls on this site, please? I understand that not everyone has taken a freshman level statistics course. However, it does no good for people to freak out over polls if they have no idea how to read them.
That poll was one of the most favorable to Trump in the most recent batch. It was also an 11 point swing in a week, completely out of line of the other polls. It is clearly an outlier.
There is a lot of noise in polling in this country. That is why Sam Wang uses Bayesian models to interpret them. It is also why his models are the most stable.
catclub
@Corner Stone:
I think that if Trump had, the day after he convention, announced that he would make no more public appearances until after the election,
he could have won. Might have worked better if he had started even earlier with that strategy.
The electorate is baked in with about 44% to each side. Letting the press concentrate on Hillary for the rest of the time would have been winning strategy.
Elizabelle
@Betty Cracker: I’m pro (animal) life, but I would run over a python in Florida, given the opportunity.
Save the herons. And the egrets. And the bunnies. And everything else in their path.
donnah
My husband, son, and I all voted yesterday. I thought with the polls opening on a Sunday from 1-5 that there wouldn’t be a line…wrong! I’m happy to say that there was a big crowd. We went about one-thirty and it was busy.
Props to our Board of Elections, because it was so well-organized and easily done. We were handed a card with a number on it and a half sheet paper form to fill out our names, addresses and drivers license number and then we were seated in a small auditorium to wait to be called.
They called us in groups of twenty and everything moved along smoothly. Our numbers were 195, 196, and 197, so that showed a good turnout right from the opening that day. When we voted and left, there were easily another two hundred moving through the process. And that was early in the day!
I felt a moment of elation as I voted for the first woman President in our country. In spite of this garbage election, she has stood above it and I’m proud to stand with her.
Betty Cracker
@Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA: Wow, that is a beautiful shot!
debbie
@Elizabelle:
Did no one from the BOE or police department explain to that gentleman that he was violating federal law?
hovercraft
@germy:
A deep dive shows republicans going from supporting Trump at 70 and change now up to 89 %, they have come home.
Here are the tracking polls out this morning, including the three he said were the best most accurate ones he said were the most accurate because they had him ahead.
Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA
@Major Major Major Major:
I’ve been seeing that too. I was wondering what it was about. Not sure how it helps?
MomSense
@Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism:
Voter caging. GRRRRR.
The Moar You Know
Never seen the FBI pop an October Surprise before. I suggest Predicate Clinton act like the dictator of the banana republic the GOP and law enforcement has turned this nation into, and purge the entire intelligence apparatus, while having Comey executed on the mall at sunrise the day after she’s inaugurated.
Elizabelle
@debbie: I mentioned to the hosts that they could complain to the folks at the polls, but they are too polite.
They think the guy might have been at an adequate distance. I think I will call this in to HQ, now that you remind me.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
In response to some questions/comments on the early morning thread w/r/t Trumpthugs at early voting, I’ll note that Regional Vote Protection Ohio has a robust presence in SW OH, where there were reports of an issue at an early vote polling place – the Hamilton County Board of Elections.
That’s all I know officially, and it’s from an email advising me of my shift there Saturday 12-4. That’s the only early vote location in this county, and it’s had lawyers observing each day. For counties with multiple locations, observer coverage may be thinner – Kay will have much more information than I as she’s more active and connected to process generally.
Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA
@Betty Cracker: Thanks! I didn’t know how to submit it or to whom, hence the link in the comment.
cope
@Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA:
What a great picture. I love the dynamic of the spread wings, thanks.
Cermet
@SenyorDave: Or, this poll, taken as a single number is rather meaningless; one needs to check many others and consider state polls – so yes, I can disagree with one I don’t like and have good reasons because frankly, it diverges from the average; not that it is wrong but not likely correct.
catclub
@JanieM:
I now see this everywhere. A group that is 35-40% of the population, big enough to think it is a majority, because it is not very diverse.
They refuse to compromise – why should they they are a majority. They refuse to build coalitions – again, they are already a majority.
They are VERY disappointed in their leaders not coming through with all their promises.
hovercraft
@SenyorDave:
Actually she was hurt more by the Obamacare premium news than the FBI crap. The poll went from a 12 point gap at the beginning of the week to 4 points Friday morning before Comey threw the grenade into the room. As I mentioned above, the big thing was republican support for Trump went from the low 70’s up to around 89. When he blows up they run from him into the undecided, but when the storm passes they go back to him. They were never going to support her.
cope
Betty, thanks for sharing my picture. Your words resonate better with the image than anything I might have written to describe/interpret it.
Iowa Old Lady
Question re something Trump said yesterday. He told people their mailed in absentee votes might not be counted, so they should go to an office he pointed out and get a new ballot. He said the election officials would void the old ballot. Is that possible? Those ballots have been mailed in. Can someone now pluck out the right one and void it?
Major Major Major Major
@Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA: according to the unattributed viral text, the police are identifying protestors using check-ins, so this floods that system. I have absolutely no idea why the identity of the protestors would matter.
Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA
@cope: It’s gorgeous. Very calming on a stressful Monday morning.
ETA: Thanks for the kind words further upthread!
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
@debbie: The lines in NC have been long. There are signs up marking the “No Electioneering” line. If he was outside of that, there’s a good chance no one reported him.
I kind of expected something like that when we went to vote last week, but they were probably too cowardly to venture into the Green Road area. Maybe I should drive by Optimist Park this afternoon and see if he’s there.
debbie
@Elizabelle:
I think he’s allowed to make a last stand for his candidate at a certain distance from the polling place, but what he’s said goes beyond that. He’s like the clowns protesting outside PP clinics.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@Elizabelle: By all means report it, please. Did they describe how close he got to either them or the electioneering line? Even outside of that line if he was intimidatingly close it’s an issue – and the protection folks want to know about it either way, to flag the area as a place to watch. Can you give me the location? (flsgreen at the mail of google) I can get the information to our guy here, who can get it to the NC(is that where you are?) folks for vote protection. They will want to know, as will national. Have Adam or AL or Ms. Cracker send me the info if you’re leery of direct connection.
debbie
@Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism:
I went to early vote today, but took a wrong turn. I took that as a sign and will wait until Election Day. I double-dog dare anyone to harass me.
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
@MomSense: Look at my other link. Think happy thoughts of beautiful fabric assembled beautifully.
Barbara
@debbie: The reason to vote early is to keep the busy beavers who are canvassing and making calls from harassing you and let them concentrate on people who may need more persuasion or help.
WereBear
@JanieM: Despite all their fuss, Trump’s Deplorables and Enablers are NOT “Real Americans.”
It’s at the point where they need to assimilate. All our other immigrant groups did it! They let go of the cultural elements that kept them from being American! So these folks can, too :)
ProudGradofCatLadyAcademy
Hi there,
I recently passed the final exam of Cat Lady Academy and actually went out rescued a 2-year-old shelter Black Cat. I have never owned a cat before, considering myself a staunch dog supporter, however, living circumstances preclude me actually owning a dog. Surprisingly, Missy is such a great cat, she doesn’t scratch, although I did invest in those rubber caps, , and being slightly aloof, which I wanted a lap cat, I really am enjoying the heck out of her. However, I could use more seasoned cat owners advice. She does not play with anything but this now thrice-tied together pink mouse cat dancer toy. I worry she is becoming bored, and depressed. I have a lovely cat tower activity center, a ball tracker circle thing, crinkle toys (they scare her) and various other cat toys. I open the window for bird watching and will on my tablet put on youtube “videos your cat can watch” for her and she loves those. I play with her the recommended time with the cat dancer toy for at 40 minutes a day, once in the morning and once in the evening, 20 minutes a time. But still, I worry that she doesn’t want to play unless I am there playing with her. Did I set the behavior when I did the play time? She comes in and whines at me and will drag her cat dancer toy around, stick and all. Are there any toys that would interest her? She doesn’t like catnip because I tried rubbing cat nap on her tower, ball tracker and giving her catnip stuffies. She won;’t play with any of them. She hates any toy that’s noisy, like a paper bag although on occasion I see her swat the hide the ball toy that is on the bottom of her cat tower. Any suggestions would be helpful. I worry that she is bored, and will become depressed or anxious.
Thank you!
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA: That is stunning! Thanks for showing us.
eric
so overall numbers may have changes without regard as to where the changes came from (i.e., red state republicans that may have been overly friendly with the Johnson). Realclearpolitics considers Colorado a toss up with Clinton +4.3. That is not a toss up. They include Arizona, Texas and Georgia, as toss ups. nothing has changed the state-based-electoral college dynamic.
Pogonip
@lamh36: Cute!
Kay
I’m willing to be all lovery-dovey but just as a citizen I would like someone to explain to me why I heard about the grave risk to national security posed by Hillary Clinton’s email management and all the while it’s apparently standard practice for FBI agents and lawyers to selectively leak information on investigations.
Especially because we were all subjected to a lecture on security by their boss.
It’s coming from inside the house! :)
Mel
@lamh36: Maddie is adorable! What a smile! My niece is princessing this year, too, and nephew is going to be a lion.
Bostondreams
@Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA:
The Morton County Sherriff’s Department has been using Facebook check-ins to find out who is at [SR] in order to target them in attempts to disrupt the prayer camps. SO Water Protectors are calling on EVERYONE to check-in at [SR], ND to overwhelm and confuse them. This is concrete action that can protect people putting their bodies and well-beings on the line that we can do without leaving our homes.
How effective this is, I don’t know, but it doesn’t hurt either. It blows my mind that this utter disgrace is happening and the media is focusing on (*&*^&(* emails.
hovercraft
Florida, Florida, Florida
From Steve Schale
Booger
@Walker: Are those at all related to the models Trump imported illegally?
Matt McIrvin
@SenyorDave: If you look at the evolution of state-poll aggregates, the sexual predator tape actually had almost no effect. Trump’s last great fail was the first debate, and his Twitter freakout in the subsequent days (though his numbers had actually been sliding a little bit in the few days before that). The second and third debates just locked in the loss for a while.
And I don’t think we’re anywhere near the situation before the first debate. If you look at the few polls that have come out since Friday you don’t actually see a huge change. News stories about individual polls should be ignored; they’re going to concentrate on the ones that have the most shocking results.
Major Major Major Major
@ProudGradofCatLadyAcademy: congrats!
I doubt she’s bored. How recently did you get her? She could be temporarily needy while adjusting to the new place and new human.
Any toy you do get her though I’m sure she’ll love the box for!
Matt McIrvin
…I’ve seen a lot of worrying about one that asked people if they were more or less likely to vote for Clinton as a result of the Comey story; 30% said “less likely”, almost nobody said “more likely”. The result of course means nothing–most of the people who said “less likely” probably had zero chance of voting for Clinton in the first place. But an innumerate person could easily take that result, subtract 30% from Hillary’s vote margin and think “well, she’s toast now”.
WereBear
Congratulations! You are now owned by a cat :)
Seriously, this is a relationship made of equality and communication, and you are still working it out. At two, she might be laid back already, and doesn’t need as much play as you think. I would suggest more interesting discussions about each other’s day, and these fun games:
Cat Games: the Shell Game
Cat Games: Playing Hide and Seek
WereBear
Totally. Brown paper grocery bags, too. I like to hide treats in them.
Mel
@ProudGradofCatLadyAcademy: “Da Bird” by Go Cat is an almost guaranteed winner. There are lots of imitation “feathers on a long string attached to a pole” toys, but only Da Bird has the mojo to get every kitty I have ever owned or fostered flying through the air in hot pursuit. The movement of Da Bird somewhat replicates the wing motion of an actual bird in flight, and it makes a slight whistling noise as the air passes through the feathers. Petco (not Petsmart) often carries them, or you can get them online. Just be sure that you get the real Da Bird. Go Cat also makes another great toy that is a small (1″ or so ) mousey type critter attached to a wire and a pole. This one also drives my kitties bananas. They will grab the mousey, yank the pole out of the human’s hand, and run like a maniac up the stairs with their “prey”.
I have one very picky girl who will play with nothing but these two toys; she ignores catnip, stuffed mice, jingle balls, etc. that the others love, but she will always go after those two Go Cat toys.
Hope this helps!
Botsplainer
What is the ACLU actually doing about all these voting rights blockages? Looks like all the heavy lifting isn’t being done by everybody else.
It is as if the only thing they actually care about is protecting the ability of neo-nazis and klukkers to spew violent and seditious hate rhetoric.
Kay
So no harm no foul, right?
That’s actually not good enough for me. I think the 50% of people who don’t share the FBI’s ideological views are entitled to public assurances that they’re not selectively investigating and leaking to influence election(s).
We ALL pay these people. They’re supposed to do their jobs, whether they think liberals are icky and yucky or not.
K488
I don’t often comment here, but I lurk a lot and have come to cherish this community. I voted today, and am feeling a sense of relief. Just wanted to share.
Major Major Major Major
@WereBear: she said the cat seems not to like noisy toys. But that could just be until they get settled in. My cat startles easily but loves noisy toys.
JJ
@ProudGradofCatLadyAcademy: Congratulation on Missy. Two thoughts- she’s young and playful still, try and go with it as much as time allows. Second, get her a mate. Two is the same as one, really. I’d suggest one younger than Missy- maybe a boy. Boy cats are often sweeter by nature.
Major Major Major Major
@Bostondreams: says who? And what does knowing the identity of protestors do? This isn’t turkey.
Worst case scenario it’s fake, best case scenario it’s slacktivism at its finest.
Lizzy L
@ProudGradofCatLadyAcademy: Please note, it is normal for cats to sleep between 16 – 20 hours a day. During the time they are awake they eat, observe, play, wash, etc. I think it is too soon for you to worry about whether the cat is depressed or bored. Not all cats are temperamentally playful. Not all cats like catnip. Everything you are doing sounds good. Adding another cat as companion, if your budget and preferences allow it, would probably make a difference in the level of play — a neutered boy cat would be best. Good luck!
Botsplainer
@Kay:
The most stinging indictments of the skill and motivation of the FBI that I’ve heard over the years come from career state prosecutors, each of whom can state a long litany of times the Feds have fouled up their cases.
germy
@Mel: Is it a safe toy to leave the cat alone with? I’ve seen cat toys with small parts that could be bitten off and swallowed by cats. There’s one brand that calls itself “solo play” or something like that, and the fine print warns not to leave the cat with the toy unattended (!)
Our cat has grown bored with her toys. My wife sewed some small mouse toys for her, and for about two months she went apeshit over them. Attacking them, carrying them around the house, rolling over with them. But suddenly lost interest. She still chases the occasional crumpled ball of paper.
Da Bird sounds like it might interest her.
Kay
@Matt McIrvin:
I object to how media are using these polls to exonerate Mr. Comey. The poll doesn’t mean jack shit to me. If the narrative they’re creating is “no harm no foul because 71.989% of voters don’t care” then they’re essentially giving these people- public employees- license to continue to interfere in this election.
germy
@Kay: They’ll interpret it to mean they should try harder.
Feathers
@ProudGradofCatLadyAcademy: Sounds like a perfectly normal cat to me! Cats are notorious for not playing with the toys they are supposed to like.
Kay
@Botsplainer:
I’ve had my doubts ever since Eric Rudolph. How do you wander around under their noses for 2 years yet they cannot seem to catch you? He was apparently a criminal mastermind:
Camping, hiking and hunting. He was basically on vacation during this “manhunt”.
Hal
Nate Silver @NateSilver538
There actually aren’t any *fully* post-Comey polls. But the ones with interviews Fri. or Sat. don’t really show any shift toward Trump, yet.
Steeplejack (phone)
@Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA:
Wow! That looks like an Audubon print on steroids.
Mel
@germy: The Go Cat toys definitely have to be used in supervised interactive play, and put away in a secure location b/c of the risk of the kitty getting tangled in the string or wire.
But seriously, I have never seen anything like what our kitties do when they see Da Bird. One of our girls, normally very serene and dignified, will leap nearly 5 foot in the air to try and capture Da Bird, and all of them run to the cabinet where we store it and chatter and kick up a fuss for it every time we go into that room. It’s an obsession for them, apparently!
Betsy
@debbie: How was he violating the law? Honest question. I’m not seeing it from the facts stated.
Matt McIrvin
@hovercraft: These messages are good for GOTV, but I’ve been skeptical of early-voting numbers meaning much (even where the numbers looked really good for Clinton), because these aren’t typical voters and they certainly aren’t swing or marginal voters. Historically, absentee ballots skew heavily Republican (a lot of them are from overseas military families) and in-person early votes skew heavily Democratic.
Still, convincing Democrats to vote early is good because every little bit brings down the potential effect of Election Day chaos.
O. Felix Culpa
@debbie:
Eeek! Why would that be a sign to wait? What if you take a wrong turn on Election Day? Would that be a sign not to vote at all? An early vote is a vote in the bank. We’re encouraging EVERYONE who can to vote early. Why take the risk of something going wrong on Election Day? So ends my harangue…ahem…encouragement.
Major Major Major Major
@Matt McIrvin: what you need to do is compare the early votes to previous cycles. Looking at for example NC where Dem county early vote turnout is the same and red county turnout is way down compared to 2012.
@O. Felix Culpa: You should always vote early if you can. One less person to gum up the works on Election Day.
Barbara
@Hal: I realize that Nate needs to make a living but I have found his site to be increasingly hard to look at. Sam Wang, who does it as an avocation, is better. When I listen to or review the transcripts of the podcasts of Nate and his cast of characters, I find their analysis to be underwhelming, often flippant and usually shallow. And the whole idea of doing a black box “polls plus” analytics defeats much of the reason why people considered Nate to be so special.
JJ
@Major Major Major Major: “And what does knowing the identity of protestors do?”
NYPD used to take photos of people at ActUp meetings. It’s a classic strategy. It’s a form of intimidation; maybe they don’t yet even know how they’ll use the info but they’re ready. And as I finish writing this I am realizing that I may have bit your hook. :)
Bill E Pilgrim
So I guess it needs to be said:
James Comey was extremely careless in his handling of the investigation of emails.
Understatement of the decade, of course, but true.
Wapiti
@K488: Yup, I had the same feeling when I dropped my ballot.
Matt McIrvin
@Major Major Major Major: Even that might not be very meaningful: are more Democrats voting early because they’re more motivated to vote, or just because they’re more afraid to leave it until Election Day? The latter could actually be a bad sign, because that same fear could depress turnout among those who haven’t voted yet.
Barbara
@Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA: How does one do this? For a Facebook amateur? If one million people did this, would it make it a lot harder for ND to use FB to track protesters? Because I am all for that. There are only 600,000 people who live in North Dakota. I doubt if they are interested in spending their entire law enforcement budget and work force spending hours and hours wading through FB to decide which person is “really” connected with the protest.
JPL
@Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA: That is a beautiful picture, and remember to share some of your photos with us. We are especially fond of dogs! lol
D58826
CNN has fired Donna Brazile becasue they are uncomfortable with her ties to the Clinton campaign as revealed by Wikileaks. In the meantime Corey Lewandowski with his severance pay and non-disclosure agree from the Trump campaign is still on the payroll.
Just that old liberal bias
Enhanced Voting Techniques
Usually Blue Herons are quite skittish but once I was able to walk up to one. Think was almost as tall as me and had these wild, red eyes.
Botsplainer
@Kay:
Rudolph was under the wing of protection from honest, God-fearing conservative white Christians in Western North Carolina for those years – accessories and abettors after the fact. The Bush DOJ gave him a really damned quick cheap plea deal without sweating names and funding sources out of him by leveraging life vs the death penalty.
I found that curious. It was as if they didn’t want to know what they’d learn from him squealing about who would help him after committing terrorist acts that caused deaths.
Immanentize
@Kay: I have had “Memo From Turner” running around in my head since the Comey thing happened:
You’re the great, gray man whose daughter licks
Policemen’s buttons clean
You’re the man who squats behind the man
Who works the soft machine
Sums up Comey perfectly. I am so disheartened about his actions. The FBI was always a “player” in elections to some degree, but never so ham-fisted or blatant. One of my childhood neighbors was th head of DOJ Voting Section 5 before the Supremes destroyed pre-clearance. They were not allowed to do ANYTHING (outside their voting work) in public regarding criminal referrals within 60 days of an election unless someone’s life was immediately in danger. Even then, there would have been a bunch of discussion….
Matt McIrvin
@Major Major Major Major: …Also, Florida’s Republican government cut days of in-person early voting way back from 2012, so I would expect the results for early voting to look worse for Democrats this year just on those grounds.
Kay
@Bill E Pilgrim:
There actually is a way he could fix it. He could come out and do a press conference on any Trump investigations or one of his subordinates who selectively leak to the WSJ could leak that.
They blew “security” and “professionalism” anyway. Can’t take that back. Now the fair thing to do that to both sides.
The public has as much right to know about Trump than they do on Clinton.
Woodrowfan
@Bostondreams: how do you do that??? I will if I can figure out how
Major Major Major Major
@Matt McIrvin: At the very least, a banked vote is a banked vote and field staff can move onto somebody else :)
@Barbara: Wellll, there’s no evidence they’re actually doing it in the first place. But when you update your status there’s an option to check in somewhere.
Immanentize
@Immanentize: Memo From Turner
Matt McIrvin
@Betsy: There’s a federal law against intimidating or coercing voters, though it’s hard to say whether this man’s activity would count as intimidating in court. There are also generally state laws against any electioneering activity inside some designated perimeter of a voting station, though I don’t know whether he was inside the perimeter.
Mel
@ProudGradofCatLadyAcademy: One other thought: an inexpensive but sturdy cat condo or cat tree, especially if it has a built in scratcher attached, might be an option. If you have a window that gives her a good view, you could position the kitty condo in front of the window, and she would likely get lots of visual stimulation during the day, plus having an elevated, cozy place to nap. Many kitties love to have a higher spot from which to survey their little kingdoms, and in which to sleep during the day.
Two of ours (the ones that like to play with small stuffed toys, balls, etc) will often carry their small toys up into the condo and play with the toys there. When the toys fall (or get tossed by the kitty!) out, the cats will “chase” the toys, capture them, and bring them back up into the condo. Good exercise, plus good psychological stimulation!
GrandJury
@Major Major Major Major: Absolute bunk.
You people were wanking about high early voting numbers in NC in 2012 and Obama ended up losing that state. Early voting means nothing. Just means more people from both sides are early voting.
If you want to read the tea leaves just go to Sam Wangs site. One of the few places left on the internet to get level headed facts without any clickbait drama.
JJ
@Major Major Major Major: Clarification: my “check-ins” at Standing Rock are real.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@Kay:
Yup. And the fact that Rudolph had a fundegelical network of protectors in the SE coastal region does nothing to mitigate the incompetence/indifference of the FBI. Or were the hunters of the man uninterested in the hunt…
ETA: Or what Botsplainer already splained.
Major Major Major Major
@GrandJury: You seem pleasant.
Barbara
@Botsplainer: And all of that after virtually destroying Richard Jewell’s life. From my experience, federal agencies that are distributed across the nation often reflect local bias. New York FBI agents probably would have dug deeper for Rudolph’s associates. There was a couple in NYC who were arrested and charged in connection with trying to help him flee.
Kay
@Botsplainer:
Me too. Mr. Rudolph was a serious terrorist. High body count. Weird how none of those good Christians who were aiding a murderer were hauled in. It bothered me at the time and it bothers me more now that I come to find out there is some conservative political faction in the FBI who are running the show. WTF? How is this okay? How much of their stuff is tainted?
Monala
@SenyorDave: Who exactly is voting for Trump, though? Hillary Clinton is polling ahead overwhelmingly among people of color, and significantly among women of all races and millennials, and slightly among college educated white men. There aren’t enough non-college educated white men (who are what, 25% of the population?) to make the race this close, are there?
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
@ProudGradofCatLadyAcademy: Not every cat likes cat trees. Our Beloved Tunch ignored the one John got for him, after all.
Examine the toy that she loves. What part of it is she attracted to? I have one cat who will play with anything catnip for a short time but only loves two things: Nekoflies and toys made from a certain fabric. He will drive me nuts bringing me the fabric toys. He’d bring me the Nekoflies, too, if I didn’t have them behind a closed door.
I also have one who will come to me and cry to alert me that the litter box is not to his exacting standards.
And of course there’s the inevitable “the kibble dish is empty!” whines.
This is a big hit with one guy who won’t play with toys much otherwise. I toss treats into the box along with the trapped balls. He’ll spend hours trying to get the last treat out.
Larkspur
@schrodinger’s cat:
Yuck, hope you’re feeling better soon. Meanwhile, do you have enough cash to pay someone to finish the house clean-up? You could call a service, or better, ask friends who have house cleaners if they want to pick up some extra cash for a one-time only job.
bemused
@JJ:
Not all neutered male cats are sweet. We had one who was neutered when a kitten, about 6 months, which didn’t lose his male dominance traits. He would beat up on our older female cat at times and terrorized the neighborhood. Not sure what he was doing out there but he would come home looking like he had been fighting. Cuddly with his humans but wanted to be badass with other critters.
Matt McIrvin
@Monala: It’s a gigantic majority of non-college white men plus a large minority of other white people, many of whom are just habitual Republicans who will vote for any Republican or hate Hillary Clinton. And there are Hispanics voting for Trump–around 15-20% according to many polls. Also, the effect of Clinton’s large margin among younger voters is blunted by the number who are not voting or voting third party.
Mel
@Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism: That is a work of genius! I wonder if mine would work that to try and fish out smaller things like Temptations treats, as well…
chopper
i’m a bit testy because although clinton is going to win, this is just the beginning of at least four more years of even bigger derpity-doo and total spiteful cock-blocking out of the GOP. these assholes aren’t going away, they’re just getting started. and they’re why we can’t have nice things.
jeffreyw
@Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA: Damn. I now want to sell my cameras.
[jeffreyw, shuffling off, stage right, sobbing]
Josie
@Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA: Gorgeous photo. I miss your Iggy and Muppet posts.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@Kay:
All of this. It bothers me much more now, and I was plenty troubled then. Apparently body counts aren’t important when good Xian white folks help the terrorist. And that’s before considering that Jewell’s life was ruined by the “investigation.”
I’m beginning to think we have to consider all of their stuff tainted, because there’s no obviously an ideological faction with some power. We knew, as in strongly suspected, it before, but they’ve stopped trying to hide it now.
The Trump effect. No more dogwhistles; show your hate cards loud and proud. Seeing clearly what’s at the FBI may be the positive effect of the trend.
Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA
For all who are asking how to check in on Facebook, click in the box where you would type a status update. At the bottom of that box you’ll see icons — one of them is a location tag (like what you see on a Google Maps destination, if that makes sense). Click that, and it should bring up a dialog box with list of locations. In the box, type “Standing Rock,” and you should see options for Standing Rock Indian Reservation. Choose the one with the largest number of check-ins.
debbie
@a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q):
No different than the Bundy Clown Tribe.
ArchTeryx
It’s times like this I turn back to my patron saint, Madeline L’Engle. She really had the right of it, and as a moderate Christian and humanist (who was careful to keep her Christianity private in per stories, rather then filibustering about it like C.S. Lewis) she understood something about the forces of darkness.
We’ve always been a Shadowed planet. But some of us are fighting the Darkness. Sometimes it’s with love and kindness. And sometimes you have to take a page from Gandalf and say, with one voice, “YOU SHALL NOT PASS!”
gogol's wife
@ProudGradofCatLadyAcademy:
You’re overthinking it! She’s fine!
gogol's wife
@Lizzy L:
what she said
Eric U.
my experience here in Pennsyltucky is that the Republican areas are walk right in to the voting place, check in with the workers, and vote. Takes longer to gossip with the workers. In State College, the lines can be many hours long. It’s bullshit, but it means that there would be little motivation for republicans to vote early. So of course, we don’t have early voting in Pennsylvania.
dr. luba
@Patricia Kayden:
Assumes facts not in evidence.
MomSense
If you didn’t happen to tune into This American Life, Odom singing Bareille’s Seriously is a masterpiece. I’ve watched it a few times now and it always brings tears to my eyes.
Seriously
WereBear
@ProudGradofCatLadyAcademy: Also, nicknames. The more the merrier, said in loving, gooey, tones.
And, her own song.
bluefish
Thanks very much for these words, Ms. Cracker. Much appreciated.
Botsplainer
@Kay:
Interesting (and salient) note: back in 2007, I was doing a collection on behalf of an HVAC sub and plumbing sub against a residential developer who’d stiffed them to the tune of $250,000.00. He’d been kiting loans among about 5 banks for years while living REALLY high on the hog and finally had to declare a BK. Interestingly, his schedules varied significantly with the quickbooks set his bookkeeper kept a stick on (he stiffed her in the filing, too).
He was also a loud and proud and major contributing member of an evangelical megachurch – would show up to hearings with his bible in hand, refused to face people when being questioned (I jumped his ass over that).
US Trustee was livid and begging for a set of criminal charges, as were other creditors (including the banks). The FBI and Bush DOJ suspiciously couldn’t be bothered.
gogol's wife
@MomSense:
I got his CD, and his version of “Love Look Away” is the best I’ve ever heard. Great “Joey Joey Joey” and “Brazil” too. And it has the wittiest arrangement of “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out”!
Betty Cracker
@ArchTeryx: Amen to that!
catclub
@D58826: I heard/saw one little flash of Sen. Harry Reid’s point that while Comey is spreading random allegations about Clinton, he is saying nothing about the investigation into Trump’s Russia connections. Balance!
Elizabelle
@a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q): You’re right — they said he was “getting in people’s faces.” Called it in to HQ; someone called my hostess directly for the scoop, and they’re sending someone out to the polling place. Want to nip that behavior in the bud, before it escalates.
Thank you for the offer of assistance and contact info. Makes me think I will swing by some early voting places to see what’s going on, in between canvassing today.
Gorgeous weather today. The kids here got a great Halloween night. Like it’s way further south … but maybe that’s normal for North Carolina.
Also: FWIW: I’m not sure that aggressive Trumper wasn’t hardening people’s resolve to vote against Trump and all that he’s unleashed in public. You know other voters are going to be telling their friends and families about his antics.
Emma
@MomSense: That was amazing. Just amazing.
Kay
@Botsplainer:
Comey’s defense (offered by other people) is he knew his subordinates would leak and therefore had to get ahead of that.
But why do his subordinates only leak information that is damaging to one candidate? If they’re just people who can’t shut up they’d be leaking on Wiki and Trump too. They’re partisan leakers, is what he’s really saying. If they’re partisan lawbreakers with these leaks are they also partisan law enforcers? That’s the public interest question and it’s much bigger than poll numbers.
hovercraft
@Matt McIrvin:
I agree that it helps to bank all that you can early. It depends on who you get out to vote, I’ve yet to see who is voting in Florida this year, but Steve Schale said that in 2012, despite RMoney being slightly ahead, he knew they were going to win Florida because of the fact that the early vote they had banked was heavily low propensity voters, not the people who were going to go vote anyway. They targeted the low propensity voters early. I assume because many of these people are running this campaign that their approach is the same. Fingers crossed. GOTV.
Peale
@Monala: Yep. As much as the Obama Coalition is basically holding together, it is a very weak coalition when it comes to voting behavior. I am hoping that we do fine and she pushes over 50% of the vote with it. But it is weak in terms of being counted as “likely voter” because it includes a lot of “unlikely voters.” Republicans have largely left those voters on the table, especially in this election. They don’t have the problem of trying to reach their own voters or change their minds to vote for them.
It’s frustrating because even if you are convinced that “she’s a crook” and “I would have been fired for doing the same thing” and “she always gets away with everything” she is clearly will be a better president than he will ever be. Not simply for immigrants, legal and illegal, who will have their lives turned upside down, or African American communities, who will bear the brunt of having a Department of Justice that will be completely blind to their issues with police, to gays and lesbians who will probably lose everything that they gained under Obama and then some. He’s a thief. There is nothing about his business history, foundation history, or reckless statements that don’t have me thinking that we could survive one let alone two terms of Trumpism. He doesn’t distinguish between what is his and not his and that is a huge problem for an executive branch. I mean, even if she were elected and didn’t have a senate to back her, and the house lost its mind and decided to default on the debt completely as revenge for us not voting for their candidate, sending interest rates through the roof, collapsing the economy, ruing the dollar, blah blah blah. Even if we had an absolute catastrophe like that, I still think we’d dodged a bullet if we elected her.
Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA
@Josie: I haven’t had a whole lot of time to devote to it lately. I actually have one written — I just have to get around to loading it on my iPad (it has BlogPad Pro, which I much prefer to WP). It’s been sitting there for ages. Maybe later today I’ll actually do something about it.
Eric U.
I bet Democrats would like to have someone in the FBI doing oppo research on Republicans. Probably find a lot of criminality as a benefit to society. Look at Bernie Kerik as just one really good example. What would be far better would be no such people wasting our tax dollars
MomSense
@Emma:
It really was. I’m embarrassed by how many times I’ve watched it now. My mom full on broke down in real crying when she watched it.
The Lodger
@Hillary Rettig: Stop that. I feel like I’m being storked.
MomSense
@gogol’s wife:
He’s incredible. I’m a bit obsessed but I think we all need as much beauty as we can get right now.
Josie
@MomSense: Thanks for posting that, Really beautiful.
Chris
@Peale:
Yarp. I don’t normally use this argument much (certainly not when out canvassing), but one of the things that infuriates me about this election is the notion that even if she were a crook, that would somehow cancel out Trump.
One of the first presidential elections I ever followed was France/2002 – Chirac/Le Pen. “Vote for the crook, not the fascist” was an actual popular slogan in that election, in which conservatives, liberals, socialists, and a whole slew of other people turned out to vote for a grey, uninspiring, “establishment” candidate who was in fact later established to be a crook (something many suspected at the time)… because it was very well understood that when one of the candidates is a literal Holocaust denier, you don’t pause to fret about whether the other candidate might have cheated on his taxes or given kickbacks to a friendly corporation.
I’m not at all certain that the French electorate of fifteen years later could still wrap its head around that. I’m positive, sadly, that the American one can’t – we’ve been seeing that this whole campaign.
Gelfling 545
@Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA: I was informed on Facebook that police & security are using fb locations to target protesters and that a cloud of people showing that location will make this effort more difficult. Could be right; I’m not that wise in the more esoteric ways of facebook.
ETA The person giving me this info makes his living in the tech sphere so I tend to trust him in general on such matters.
TerryC
@Barbara: scroll to the top of your news feed and the option to check in is on the top right, I also just learned ?
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
Before I duck out. Wasn’t there talk about a Juicer group for NaNoWriMo?
Eric U.
@Chris: Tom Nichols, one of the best known nevertrump republicans has addressed this many times. People keep asking him. I think he has been badly affected by the propaganda against Hillary, but he is pretty steady in his support. He says a corrupt candidate is better than a crazy one every time. Unfortunately, he doesn’t see that the down-ticket republicans are just as bad. As a Massachusetts voter, it may not mean that much though.
It never seems to sink in with a lot of people that it has been demonstrated with great expense of tax dollars that the Clintons are not corrupt, but I’m resigned to that.
Immanentize
I just got back from an interesting but so disheartening lunchtime presentation about Tennessee Walking Horses and “soring.” I am going to spend the rest of the day totally bummed out.
Botsplainer
@Kay:
What is it that the NCAA infractions committee calls it? “Lack of Institutional Control”?
That is the bigger story – the man has no managerial control over his department leaks, and given that there are many specific laws and regulations about keeping investigative details quiet, it is a fundamental part of the job.
That’s the meeting Obama has at 7:00 am on November. Give the guy an opportunity to explain himself about his lack of discipline and the organizational problems, then drop the hammer while giving him the opportunity to salvage his reputation a bit while explaining the institutional problem in a public statement.
Major Major Major Major
@Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism: Email me at: theworldbeyondeels at gmail, and I’ll hook you up.
germy
Gravenstone
@Betty Cracker:
I actually did that once with a racoon while in HS. At the time their pelts were going for about $25, so decent money for a teen in the day. Alas, the thing wasn’t quite dead yet, and the trip did nothing to improve its disposition. My buddy eventually killed it with a shot to the head (while his GF and my sister both plead for its life). Life in the rural Midwest …
Major Major Major Major
@germy: Libertarians raised property taxes? That seems… anathema.
Anoniminous
While doing my Monday morning info-scan I ran across an interview with Prof. Sam Wang at Neuron that may be of interest to some people.
(Or not.)
Barbara
@Botsplainer: Well, there might have already been some kind of meeting. The whole presidential fleet was en route on Pennsylvania Avenue from the direction of the FBI building to the White House only a little after I got to my office this morning at around 8:20 a.m. The kind of letter Comey should have sent was to his department telling people that if they were associated with leaks he would see to it that they would be fired and reminding them of the importance of not violating the DOJ’s directive. Unfortunately for him, through his own stupidity in July, he no longer has credibility on this issue with anyone.
Betty Cracker
@Botsplainer: Sounds about right to me. Elijah Cummings says he’s not surprised Comey caved because wingnut legislators have been up his ass for failing to recommend prosecution back in July. Well, if Comey doesn’t have the stones to stand up to the likes of Jason Chaffetz and the rogue agents in his own organization, he’s not fit to lead the FBI.
Seanly
@Patricia Kayden:
Because they spend all their money on court appearances, guns & ammo, prepper supplies, cigarettes/vaping, and heroin/oxy. Plus Walmart/McD’s don’t pay well. Am I stereotyping my own people? Hell yes.
Doug R
@Hillary Rettig: Looks like I picked the wrong week to give up heron.
Barbara
@Betty Cracker: The bigger issue is the extent to which the Republican Party seems determined to use non-democratic tactics to preserve power — they have already tried voter suppression and gerrymandering, but using the FBI’s criminal justice apparatus to go after potentially successful Democratic opponents seriously raises the stakes.
stinger
@lamh36: What a beautiful gown she is wearing! A princess indeed! May she be always generous and kind to her subjects (of which I am one).
Botsplainer
On a very funny note, Trump stiffed his pollster to the tune of $750,000.00. I’d feel bad for him, but it isn’t like he wouldn’t expect it.
I’m guessing the the guy failed his job by not telling him he is winning in all the states.
Kushner again – this guy is a real shanda fur die goyim.
Anyway, I wonder just how bound Fabrizio is going to feel by the NDA?
Botsplainer
@Barbara:
Don Siegelman is Exhibit A.
Major Major Major Major
@Botsplainer: Of course. Lol. What did the frog think a scorpion would do?
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@Botsplainer:
We can only hope he knows counsel who can explain the concept of failure of consideration to him. He’ll make much more than Trump stiffed him for, I’d guess.
gogol's wife
@Chris:
Narp? (Hot Fuzz references never get past me.)
hovercraft
Seam Spicer RNC Spox Blows Up At Mrs Greenspan MSNBC Host: You Always Rush To Clinton’s Defense! (VIDEO)
I think team Trump is concerned that they are not getting as big a bump out of this bombshell as they had hoped. Katy Tur reported on Friday that when the news broke they reached for it like a life line, because despite of all of their public pronouncements, they knew the were losing.
SAD!
Botsplainer
@Major Major Major Major:
The “fuck you” calls between Fabrizio and Manafort have got to be a hoot.
“You promised I’d get paid! PROMISED!!!!!”
That $750K is going to leave a real shortfall, and could possibly ruin Fabrizio, given the mechanics of the business.
Kay
@Barbara:
We’re in the part of the story arc where this is everyone’s fault and therefore no one’s fault.
Mistakes were made.
Botsplainer
@a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q):
Fabrizio’s book will be epic.
Frankly, while I think Roger Stone is a loathesome prick, his tale will be entertaining as hell.
Keith G
@WereBear:
Actually they are.
The Founders might have wanted a shining city on a hill, but is was a city only open to the select. In the past, we seemed to have had forces that balanced and contained our tendency to balkanize. Our basic ugly temperament has stayed constant, even as it was contained. As Scotty might say, “The containment fields have been broken” and who we are is allowed to be seen in a more undiluted form.
gogol's wife
So I had a dream in which a car dinged my bumper in a parking lot, and the guy got out of his car (my car was stationery and I was standing outside it) and said he’d give me his address so that he could “contribute” to my expenses getting it fixed. I looked at him and realized it was the “Sez who” Trump spokesman. This election has to end soon for my sanity.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
MSNBC reports that Trump is “hammering” Huma Abedin in Michigan. I wonder if that name resonates at all with a prominent constituency in Michigan…
debbie
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Glenn Beck’s tied her to the Muslim Brotherhood. Must be that funny-sounding name.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA: It worked, great pic.
Hal
@hovercraft: I think dems unnecessarily panicked over this and now it seems obvious this isn’t having the yuge! impact Trump wanted. Trump’s going to go nuclear in a day or two and be his own October surprise.
Major Major Major Major
@debbie: Through their bugaboo CAIR, as I recall.
nooooo wayyyyy
hovercraft
@Botsplainer:
The media is constantly telling us that the biggest flaw Hillary has is her compulsive need for secrecy, her desire ti keep things hidden from the public. Why is the fact that everyone who comes into contact with Trump required to sign a NDA not a big deal? The they try to guard her privacy, he has to force loyalty with the threat of legal action. We know more about this woman than virtually anyone on earth who is not a Kardashian, and she’s the mystery? What do they want from her, her diaries?
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Hal: bitter neverTrump Cruz (I think?) operative Rick Wilson has been saying for weeks on twitter, since the Billy Bush tape, that we’re not even close to seeing the worst of the oppo on Trump. I think at some points he’s claimed to have seen it, which always makes me wonder why he didn’t leak it. Seems to me if the Clinton camp has anything on him, we’ll see it in the next 48 hours
ETA: Turned on MSNBC to see if there was actually any news, and they’ve given the better part of the last ten minutes to a Trump surrogate.
Peale
@Kay: The next phase is the one where it is Clinton’s fault. And also the hippies.
Peale
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: I wonder if Cruz had something Clinton doesn’t. Find it hard to believe. But its possible.
Gin & Tonic
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: I think he might be trying to get to zero in Dearborn to match his Detroit goose egg.
Major Major Major Major
@Peale: If only she didn’t have the reflexive need for secrecy and that damn email server, if only there weren’t so many clouds and shadows then we wouldn’t see monsters in the dark.
hovercraft
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Remember Oathkeepers and other militias is big in Northern Michigan, I’m sure the large Muslim community is a point of pride for them. Making “Uumma” the big villain is deliberate, and he spent a great deal of time beating up on Weiner too. He’s trying to tie the pervert, mooslim all together, and into a bow which they tie around Hillary’s neck.
Peale
@Major Major Major Major: If only hippies hadn’t spit on the troops coming back from Iraq, the FBI would totes not have a right wing anti-Clinton cabal.
Kay
@Peale:
No, “mistakes were made” means it’s Republicans fault. We don’t get ” mistakes were made” unless Republicans are obviously at fault. :)
I myself am looking forward to today’s selective leak from Mr. Comey’s subordinates. I think it would be nice if they would give the public the release date and time they have scheduled. Say, “Thursday at noon we plan on leaking to our favorite WSJ reporter”.
Gin & Tonic
@hovercraft: Not just a pervert, a Jew pervert. Hits even more buttons.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Good god
SiubhanDuinne
On a quick break from poll-watching. I’m at a different location today, and for the first time there is a preponderance of older white males. They’re all very cheerful and pleasant, and for all I know they might all be John Cole types who had a “come to Jesus” experience and are proudly voting for Hillary — but I kinda doubt it. Plenty of women, plenty of POC. The lines are long but weather is glorious and nobody seems to be disgruntled at the wait time.
Major Major Major Major
@Peale: Nice, a Vietnam callback, that’s some good high-quality Boomer journalism there.
hovercraft
@Gin & Tonic:
Kornacki was on msnbc a little while ago, pointing out that even if he were to sweep all of the “toss up” states she would still win, he needs to flip one of the blue states to win, PA and NH are not budging, so going to NM and MI are his hail Mary to try to shake out the EV’s needed to win. Remember that is presuming he has won NC, NV, FL, and the rest, which is not likely.
geg6
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Now there is someone I really feel for in all of this. Hillary is tough and she’s got this. But poor Huma! To go through all she’s gone through with that idiot husband, to be stuck in the middle of the original email “scandal” through no fault of her own and now to have this happen and to be, again, in the middle through no fault of her own. It says much about the much discussed loyalty of Hillary toward her staff and they for her that Huma is still a top personal aide. I really feel for her. I can’t begin to imagine how she feels at this point.
Major Major Major Major
@hovercraft: Yeah, I was playing with Sam Wang’s map earlier and Trump is completely screwed.
Full Metal Wingnut
@germy: Look at aggregates, not individual polls. And that one’s a pretty big outlier.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
This goober is chair of the House Freedom (Tea Bagger) Caucus, who spitting hate and ignorance all through the Gowdy hearing
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Man, whoever this JC Penney mannequin on MNSBC is, he’s as dumb as a post and stubborn as a mule, he’s drowning out James Caravelle, who’s about to have a stroke.
anchorbot keeps insisting COmey was universally praised for his prima donna press conference in July, that is simply not true
slag
@Peale: And if Bill Clinton hadn’t spent a week in Russia in 1969, Putin wouldn’t be trying to get Donald Trump elected right now. Damn you, Bill Clinton, and your wanderlusty ways!!
We jest, but Republicans, such as my parents, actually believed (and continue to believe) this stuff. Sad!
Brachiator
@D58826:
I thought it was more because she apparently leaked debate questions to Clinton. That’s more than just being uncomfortable with her ties to Clinton.
Hal
I’ll say this about Comey-gate. The Trump tears photos should be glorious when Hillary wins. Trump is setting up his supporters to believe he is ahead and winning. Plus there is the complete lack of a reality based view of the world from his supporters. I had a conservative friend on Facebook say yesterday that polls could not be trusted because they are based on likely voters, but look at the huge number of people at Trump rallies! That’s how you really figure out who’s going to win.
Brachiator
@Doug R:
Very good.
Betsy
@Matt McIrvin: I don’t know. It’s still OK to be loud, demonstrative, and persuasive in public, as long as it’s not threatening. Some people won’t like it, but that’s the First Amendment for ya. Trumpers are nuts but they do get to try win people over.
Violating the electioneering perimeter is another thing. I would expect the precinct judge on-site would shut that sh*t down fast. The ones in Raleigh would know pretty well what they’re doing.
ETA: If this is an example of the Trumpsters’ ground game, and I have a feeling it is, we’re in great shape.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Nina Turner still hungover and bitter after her Bernie-binge
Chyron HR
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
To be fair, just because you pander to deplorables for votes doesn’t mean you can’t be aware of how fucked we are if Trump wins.
hovercraft
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
The entire msnbc lineup has been given the same set of talking points, “the democrats praised James Comey in July,” therefore you are being hypocrites now for being critical of him”. And they all tack on, well none of this would be an issue if she hadn’t had the server, so she is the one to blame for this circus. As Carville said when the facts change I change my mind. Thomas Roberts is not very bright so he just kept going back to his talking points, he had no response to Carville legitimate point.
Fair Economist
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
This may expose their moles and agents in the FBI. For decades the FBI has shown a suspicious tendency to investigate the heck out of anything the Democrats do and mostly ignore what the Republicans do, with emails being a great example. If Comey says “agents were going to leak” that justifies investigating who might leak, why, and how Comey knows it. This could be very embarrassing for the Republicans. Worse for them, if we get a Democratic Senate without a Democratic House, they won’t have anything to do EXCEPT investigate.
germy
@Full Metal Wingnut:
And of course RawStory features the outlier, in the interest of clickbait.
Chris
@Keith G:
Very true.
This is kind of the entire liberal/conservative tension in a nutshell. The founding fathers created an America founded on the general ideas of inalienable human rights, while in practice, only extending these to a select elite. Liberals understand the hypocrisy inherent in that and want to extend the franchise so that ideas like “we hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal” actually mean what they say, without the unspoken “unless they’re not white, male, or propertied.” Conservatives understand that the system was set up with those restrictions in mind and want to keep it that way, because they’re among the elect.
Peale
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: I think the reason the public has a short attention span is that the media has 0 ability to retain basic information and are constantly rewriting things in their mind.
It was Booman who pointed out that the right is on the “liberals gave us Trump” kick, like there was all of these Trump curious liberals – ever – when instead his candidacy announcement was marked by almost immediate calls for boycotts and terminations from NBC.
Major Major Major Major
@Hal:
Heard a clip on the radio this morning of him doing the opposite and doubling down on ‘rigged’.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Brachiator: Wait, the DNC Chairperson is supporting the Democratic nominee? Knock me over with a feather.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
hovercraft
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Nina Turner at this point is deranged, I’m not sure that in the privacy of the voting booth she will not vote for Jill Stein. She is not backing anyone in this General Election, she is backing the American People. She has never backed anyone in the general, the next 8 days have been all about these two personalities, not the TPP and blah, blah, blah.
She is insane. I know they hired her as a commentator, but who is she talking to at this point?
Kay
LOL. You really have to be a 5 year old to find these ethics rules credible. Or even “rules”! :)
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@hovercraft: nice, though, that MSNBC took a break from Trumpkins, neverTrump Republicans, and Jr Villagers to bring in a Sanders supporter who hates Clinton. For balance.
ETA: in fairness, they did bring the rather fantastically overrated James Carville
?BillinGlendaleCA
@hovercraft:
The voices in her head.
Betty Cracker
@geg6: I have a lot of sympathy for her too. Saw a couple of articles urging Clinton to cut her loose. If this latest “probe” doesn’t find any evidence of wrongdoing (and I’m sure it won’t), it would be a great injustice if Abedin’s career is destroyed because of “optics.”
debbie
@Betsy:
At least where I live, you can stand there with signs and pamphlets, offering to pass them out. Voicing your opinions of candidates goes beyond that.
Aggressive
Harassing
“Vote with your children’s interests in mind”
I think this man’s behavior rises above the proper limits. Fine at a football tailgater, but not at a polling place.
the Conster, la Citoyenne
@Betty Cracker:
But Steve Bannon, racist white nationalist hero, can run Trump’s campaign and the collective media reaction is meh.
catclub
@hovercraft
You make me feel lucky to not know: Who she is. Who she favors. Where she works. What she has said.
Wins for me!
Brachiator
I mentioned in another thread how I love the cover of the October 31 issue of The New Yorker magazine. Titled “Significant Others,” the cover shows two possible presidential swearing in ceremonies. In the top drawing, Hillary takes the oath of office, while her loving husband Bill holds the Bible and smiles approvingly.
In the bottom drawing, Trump takes the oath as his soul mate, Putin, holds the Bible and looks on adoringly.
Peale
@Betty Cracker: She will need to be cut loose for awhile. Sorry to say, but I think the right may have her scalp. And I really think the FBI is hoping to threaten her with something – taking her child away. Or some kind of “obstruction” charge. So Anthony sent a dick pic with her child in the room and she’s the one who will end up threatened with jail. I think she’s going to end up like Susan MacDougal here.
Peale
@hovercraft: Yeah. I know that after the election is over there will be a lot of “Winners and Losers” top 10 listicle wrap ups. Anything that mentions “the American People” in the loss column I’m just going to toss away. But gosh – go stand with the “American People”. It’s rather lonely over there.
El Caganer
@hovercraft: He’s beating Weiner? What an unusual campaign tactic.
Major Major Major Major
@Peale: yeah, me too, but we’re going to end up with an awful full trash can.
ETA: actually, that’s not true. We’ve normalized Trumpism–that IS a big loss for the American people.
the Conster, la Citoyenne
Oh what the everloving fuck, Comey?
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@the Conster, la Citoyenne: “Source says”… somebody over there doesn’t like Comey
ETA: I guess that’s what Reid was talking about in his letter
hovercraft
@Betty Cracker:
I think the only way Hillary cuts her loose is if she is found to have committed a crime. She stood by her creep of a husband because she was committed to her family, a decision Hillary can understand, even thigh she apparently can’t stand Weiner. By all account she is like a second daughter to her, I can’t see her cutting her loose unless she has to. Even then I can see a scenario where she is relieved of her position, but the private relationship is maintained.
Gin & Tonic
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: I just can’t see how that guy stays in his job for another seven years.
Elizabelle
@ Peale: I don’t think Hillary should cut Huma loose. One bit.
(1) It’s the wrong way to treat a loyal aide. (2) What’s the upside for Hillary? It won’t satisfy the howler monkeys, and it’s a huge deal to have a top aide who is a woman of Arabic descent.
Fuck the howler monkeys. They’re good at crying for scalps, but they don’t build anything.
Do we now have a separate category for women who stayed too long in their marriages, in Republicans’ opinion? I am surprised Huma stuck with Weiner as long as she did, but why let this email scandalmongering claim another [woman’s!] scalp.
Hold steady, Hillary.
NR
Per 538, black turnout is down and Hispanic turnout is up. I don’t know if higher Hispanic turnout can offset the drop in black turnout though since Hispanic voters are mostly concentrated in non-competitive states. If Trump loses California by 40 and wins Texas by 2, it makes zero difference in the electoral college. Unless we can flip Arizona, this will end up being a net negative for us.
We’d better hope that something devastating comes out on Trump in this last week.
Matt McIrvin
@hovercraft: I don’t remember any Democrats praising Comey in July, anyway–unless they were major Broderite “both sides” types.
the Conster, la Citoyenne
Major Major Major Major
@NR: fuck off, fuck you
Iowa Old Lady
@hovercraft: I’m horrified that people want Abedin to lose her job because her husband is a creep. I swear to god women need to rise up in revolt.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@NR: Oh, shut the fuck up.
Matt McIrvin
@Betty Cracker: Reminds me of all the James O’Keeffe stings that destroyed somebody’s career during the 72-hour interval before they were debunked as completely cooked.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Major Major Major Major: Couldn’t have said it better, thanks.
Major Major Major Major
@?BillinGlendaleCA: thanks, I’m practicing for NaNoWriMo.
Elizabelle
@NR: Fuck off (in stereo).
Don’t fret or wet.
WereBear
Good luck to all the NaNoWriMo folks!
It’s not too late to get Scrivener. You’ll thank me later.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@WereBear: NaNoWriMo..Scrivener, sounds painful.
Major Major Major Major
@WereBear: email me at my book address, theworldbeyondeels at gmail, if you want a collection of Juicers’ NaNoWriMo user names!
NR
@Major Major Major Major: Such intelligent commentary around here.
hovercraft
@Matt McIrvin:
Many praised the decision not to prosecute, and they cited his service in the Shrub Justice Department as proof of his impartiality. There were also some who complained about his editorializing about her behavior, and apparently the Clinton campaign was also very upset but choose not to speak up because they got the result they wanted. Now the media is acting like once you approve one action you are bound to approve all future actions.
Major Major Major Major
@NR: fuck you. Go away and don’t come back if you don’t like us. Lord knows we don’t fucking like you, you assclown.
WereBear
@Major Major Major Major: Thank you, but this year I have a non-fiction book I’m trying to finish :)
Everybody have fun!
D58826
@a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q): Old FBI habbits. Just ask MLK and for those who remember the Berrigan brothers and the Camden 7 of the Vietnam era.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@NR: It was fine until you showed up.
Brachiator
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
Oh, I don’t care that the DNC chairperson “supports” the Democratic nominee. I don’t even care that much that she supplied Clinton with advance questions.
But don’t get caught.
Otherwise, you confirm the accusations that Clinton is dishonest. Your only fallback is the reliable cynicism of “all politicians are dishonest.” or “Well, Trump is the Devil” (even though this, at least, is true).
And you also make all those people who swoon over how prepared Clinton was look foolish.
Elizabelle
@NR: It’s “love and kindness” day here.
Now, scoot.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@Kay: Counsel for 5 year olds would like a word.
germy
@D58826: Jean Seberg
debbie
@the Conster, la Citoyenne:
She needs to follow that up with a call for Comey to release what he knows about Trump’s links to the Kremlin. Fair play, after all.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Worrying about Donna Brazile is a mirror image of Trump bragging about getting Doug Schoen’s endorsement.
Probably less than 5% of the electorate knows who they are, and probably 5% of them actually care.
catclub
@hovercraft:
There were LOTS who did this. It has been conveniently forgotten.
D58826
@the Conster, la Citoyenne: Just read the link. The risk to national security and the integrity of the elction is orders of magnitude greater under Trump’s links to Russia than whatever this batch of e-mails has to say.
the Conster, la Citoyenne
@D58826:
Gee, ya think?
catclub
@debbie: This. And Andrea Mitchell needs to ask about that, since the issue has been raised.
hueyplong
@catclub: Actually, the less said by Andrea Mitchell, the better.
Major Major Major Major
@?BillinGlendaleCA: That can be said in general any time NR is around.
Kay
@the Conster, la Citoyenne:
Harry Reid was right.
Mike E
@Elizabelle: Heh, I’ve voted there before… it’s a bit umm, crispy around those parts. Good sized minority segment votes there, so, there’s hope!
Fair Economist
There is NOTHING yet found that in any way gives a reason to boot Huma Abedin, and every indication she’s done nothing wrong. So far all that’s been reported is that she used a computer to print emails. Not a problem, duh! It’s not going to have any classified info because you can’t forward classified emails to the non-classified server she was using. For there to be classified info on it she’d have had to type it from memory onto the computer. Um, no.
Edit: and in that far-out scenario, the classified info wouldn’t be in the emails, it would be in a word processor.
There’s going to be nothing there. Absolutely nothing.
Tilda Swinton's Bald Cap
Major Major Major Major
@Fair Economist: They’ve been given scalps before for less.
ETA: Which is of course bullshit.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
and this, too
@Fair Economist: There is NOTHING yet found
Brachiator
@the Conster, la Citoyenne:
Hell, I’d be happy if he released his tax returns.
Kay
@Tilda Swinton’s Bald Cap:
It doesn’t even make any sense No one was naming Trump as implicated. They said “Russia”. What election was he worried about? An election in Russia?
the Conster, la Citoyenne
@Kay:
Harry isn’t playing.
the Conster, la Citoyenne
@Brachiator:
That would lead us all to the Putin connection, so he’d never do that. I can’t believe he just gets pass after pass. It’s unfuckingbelievable.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Brachiator: gotta wonder if whoever leaked those two pages from the nineties has any more?
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Tilda Swinton’s Bald Cap:
Really? These “government insiders” should promptly be shown the door because they’re obviously to fucking stupid to find it on their own.
Major Major Major Major
@?BillinGlendaleCA: I… I think it’s diplomatic phrasing, Bill.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
Voter fraud!
Gosh, this seems to have something in common with the voting twice case in Iowa. What could it be?
SFAW
@the Conster, la Citoyenne:
Maybe I’m naive, but I can see some enterprising soul turning this back on Trump, and torching Comey as a happy by-product:
“James Comey refused to disclose something FAR more threatening to the US, because he didn’t want to hurt Donald Trump’s chances, and yet he was somehow OK with hurting Hillary Clinton’s campaign, for something FAR LESS threatening to Americans. Is James Comey on Donald Trump’s payroll? What’s the quid pro quo — did Trump offer to make him Attorney General in exchange for doing what he could to help defeat Hillary? And where IS the information about Trump’s ties to Russia, and how they will hurt America?”
I’m sure that could be turned into something relatively devastating, worded better than my meager attempt.
ETA: Of course, the above assumes that the MSM were not in the bag for Trump, or more accurately, didn’t actively hate Hillary. Not a good assumption, I guess.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Major Major Major Major: Those that know me IRL will tell you, I’m not known for my diplomatic phrasing.
Comrade Scrutinizer
I dunno-64 was pretty goddamn bad, and would have been worse had Kennedy not been killed. The ultra-right wing was just as viscous and just as racist then as now. 1968 was a fucking disaster, at least for the Dems, so I wouldn’t say that this is the ugliest election season I’ve ever seen. The choice between the candidates is more stark, though, especially with the GOP giving up any semblance of wanting to govern, and fully embracing the fascist meme.
Kay
Imagine getting this robocall:
I love doesn’t EVEN have a girlfriend.
SFAW
@a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q):
There’s a black man in the White House?
Chris
@Tilda Swinton’s Bald Cap:
That. FUCKING. Weasel.
SFAW
@Comrade Scrutinizer:
Maybe. But there was never any doubt who was going to win, and the EV total was pretty astounding.
Disclaimer: I was pre-teen, and not politically savvy at that point. Of course, some might say “nothing’s changed, except your age.”
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Kay:
Well that totally proves it, dude will probably be in WestHo tonight.
Major Major Major Major
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Nobody says WestHo.
Matt McIrvin
@SFAW: Harry Reid is going there.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Major Major Major Major: Heh, NoCal guy sez.
Major Major Major Major
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Fine, be wrong, nobody’s stopping you.
Brachiator
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
The reporters claimed they did not have more info. My wild ass uninformed speculation is that the Trump people figured out who sent the copies and have pressured that source not to give up more info. And I suspect the spouse at the time the return was filed. Marla?
@the Conster, la Citoyenne:
I pretty much say “unfuckingbelievable” about everything regarding Trump.
I can honestly say that I thought that Sarah Palin was about as low as we could go with watching people actively support an uninformed, unprepared moron for higher office. And then Trump came along.
As an aside, I think that Trump will make it easier for a future presidential candidate to avoid disclosing his or her tax returns. Trump has damaged the nation. It is a pity that his supporters don’t see this or worse, don’t care.
Full Metal Wingnut
@hovercraft: of course, that’s meaningless if those Trump voters don’t show up to vote. Ground game matters.
Timurid
@the Conster, la Citoyenne:
He’s in the tank like Shamu. No way to deny it at this point…
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Brachiator:
I think that Hillary will be the last candidate to make the disclosure.
SFAW
@Matt McIrvin:
Which is good, but I want to see CNN, USAToday, et al. scream it from the rooftops. Harry’s voice only carries so far, and I’m guessing that the people who know about his letter are the ones who would crawl over broken glass to vote for Hillary anyway. That’s not whom I’m hoping to reach.
FlipYrWhig
@Kay:
Ah, perceptive…
Jim, Foolish Literalist
MSNBC anchorbot says “panicking Democrats are attacking the FBI Director’s integrity….>”
@FlipYrWhig: Yup
Barbara
@Major Major Major Major: All panic is necessary. It makes the subsequent relief feel that much sweeter.
The Lodger
@El Caganer: If he were in Revolutionary France, he’d be flogging the dauphin.
chopper
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
I figured Reid has some inside info. jason “hesh hepplewhite” chaffetz can’t be the only dude on the hill with the ear of some guys in the bureau.
Barbara
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: I am perhaps too cynical. I see these statements from Grassley et al. as an effort to (1) make sure Comey doesn’t do something similar to Trump to even the playing field or (2) goad him into giving the context that he omitted (which, of course, he can’t possibly have) or (3) they are hearing from their constituents who are GD fed up with faux email scandals. I am highly skeptical that they are truly aggrieved.
Steeplejack
@Barbara:
Yes, I think they are somewhat in “I am shocked—shocked!—that there is gambling going on here!” mode.
Betsy
@debbie: electioneering includes handing pamphlets and holding signs, as well as hollering and speaking to voters. All such action it is barred within the electioneering perimeter. There’s no distinction between speaking and holding signs, or talking about what’s best for the children. (Why do you think that it’s suddenly improper speech because of that phrase?)
“Voicing your opinions of candidates goes beyond that.” I promise you, as a lawyer — it doesn’t.
As for “proper” and opinions about what is “fine for a football game” — the First Amendment doesn’t hinge on good manners. In fact, there’s a whole Supreme Court opinion stating why unpopular speech — obnoxious behavior — rude opinions — are exactly what the free speech rules are intended to protect the most. For there’s no need to protect speech that is generally deemed proper and widely regarded as conventionally acceptable.
Come on. We’re liberals. Let’s do our best to resist the suppressive fascist impulse.
oldswede
Having been mostly sentient through the sixties and seventies, I recall that the FBI was always into intimidating the left. They infiltrated or investigated the Civil Rights Movement, including Dr. M L King personally, the Anti-War movement, and the Black Power organizers, among others.
I can’t recall them ever bothering the John BIrch Society or any of the other right leaning groups, Nothing seems to have changed.
Enzymer
@Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA: wow, that is spectacular