Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

“Jesus paying for the sins of everyone is an insult to those who paid for their own sins.”

A tremendous foreign policy asset… to all of our adversaries.

Nothing worth doing is easy.

I’m starting to think Jesus may have made a mistake saving people with no questions asked.

The Giant Orange Man Baby is having a bad day.

Human rights are not a matter of opinion!

Sometimes the world just tells you your cat is here.

Authoritarian republicans are opposed to freedom for the rest of us.

Welcome to day five of every-bit-as-bad-as-you-thought-it-would-be.

You cannot love your country only when you win.

The poor and middle-class pay taxes, the rich pay accountants, the wealthy pay politicians.

Anne Laurie is a fucking hero in so many ways. ~ Betty Cracker

Republicans are radicals, not conservatives.

You know it’s bad when the Project 2025 people have to create training videos on “How To Be Normal”.

Today in our ongoing national embarrassment…

They are lying in pursuit of an agenda.

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

Nancy smash is sick of your bullshit.

Speaking of republicans, is there a way for a political party to declare intellectual bankruptcy?

Also, are you sure you want people to rate your comments?

Prediction: the gop will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.

Not rolling over. fuck you, make me.

Optimism opens the door to great things.

A democracy can’t function when people can’t distinguish facts from lies.

You are here: Home / Politics / Domestic Politics / Dogs, Kids and Elections (Open Thread)

Dogs, Kids and Elections (Open Thread)

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First, from the Twitters — I love this picture so damn much it hurts:

dogmocracy

Just think — that dog has no memory of living in a nation where the president isn’t wise and cool. May he or she continue to prosper in 2017 and beyond, innocent of the chaos and horrors of a Republican administration. May all our pets be so lucky!

Next, my 18-year-old daughter is excited about her first vote:

girls-vote

Please Jeebus, no tattoo, but she could scrub under her nails and take better care of her cuticles! Can’t say the apple fell far from the tree on that score, TBH.

Anyhoo, how’s your Election Day going? Feel like trolling some Project Veritas deplorables? If so, please visit here! I used their “voter fraud” form to report a creepy-looking guy following a church bus around Philly.

Open thread!

Reader Interactions

332Comments

  2. 2.

    Mwangangi

    I almost miss voting on election day. But then California is so inviting to mail everything to your house and I can keep my hermit streak going.

  7. 7.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    A cheerful gentleman came in earlier and came over to a table with screens to vote, when one of the poll workers told him there was a booth open, but he said “I’m getting to the age where I’m happy to sit.” I’m sitting at a table behind there and off to the side, and he smiled at me and asked “are you the officer in charge?” I managed not to spit my coffee out, and thanked him for the chuckle.

  9. 9.

    nonynony

    @liberal: OMG. That. Is. Hilarious.

    That’s got to be a spoof, right? None of these guys are so pathetic that they’d openly admit that in front of their “friends” online, right?

    Scratch that – I believe that they’re that pathetic. Hilarious.

  10. 10.

    Mnemosyne

    @liberal:

    Goddamnit, you made me laugh at work.

    Poor pathetic 23-year-old virgin who had no idea that girls would peg him as a loser for supporting Trump.

  11. 11.

    Schlemazel

    Just voted 839th for the day. Site only has 1500 registered voters and there are 5 hours left including the folks coming in after work. Not bad

  13. 13.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    @ranchandsyrup: They give all the kids who come in with a parent/other adult stickers here. I haven’t seen any kids show up without an adult in this location or at early voting, so I can’t speak to whether they’d get stickers.

  15. 15.

    Hal

    Is there a polite way of telling a friend who is not voting, but feels the need to post multiple times a day on facebook, that she is not in fact voting at all because “they both suck!” to shut the fuck up?

  16. 16.

    Mnemosyne

    Speaking of dogs, I managed to step in a gigantic puddle of dog pee on my way to the polls. Luckily, I had an extra pair of shoes at work, so I was able to rinse off the dirty ones. Who knew that a dog’a bladder could hold that much liquid?

  17. 17.

    Eric U.

    @ranchandsyrup: they were giving stickers to kids at my precinct — voter fraud!!!

    @Hal: I know a purity pony guy that isn’t even registered. When I get tired of his shtick, I just ask him if he’s registered and then tell him that means nobody cares what he thinks

  19. 19.

    gogol's wife

    Love the dog. My students yesterday were lamenting the end of the Obama era, and I later realized — they were little kids when Obama was elected! They probably have very little memory of C+ Augustus! I hope the poor dears can continue to have a decent person leading their country for a few more years.

  20. 20.

    Chris

    Nothing terribly interesting to report on my end, but my roommate went to vote an hour or two after I did and posted on Facebook, “I was standing behind a little black girl who said she wanted to be president someday, and teared up knowing that she can now not only run but win.”

    Yep.

  23. 23.

    Ceci n'est pas mon nym

    @Mnemosyne: That pretty much characterizes the “alpha male” Trump supporters but my parody radar is going off on those particular posts.

  24. 24.

    Keith P.

    Voting was a piece of cake. Got to the polling place at noon and had a single person in front of me. Voted party line so the whole thing took 5 minutes

  25. 25.

    Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA

    @Hal: That’s rare. Usually people say “they both suck” because they don’t have the spine to admit they’re voting for Trump. Of course, they never ask themselves why they’d vote for someone they’re not comfortable admitting they like, but that’s a whole other issue.

  27. 27.

    dmsilev

    @Hal: I don’t think there’s a polite way of saying it, but then again, for some things, why bother with politeness?

  29. 29.

    Lizzy L

    @Hal: No. In fact, I think you should be creatively impolite. Let us know if you’d like suggestions.

    Betty, of course, is right on it.

  34. 34.

    WaterGirl

    @Gindy51: Someone here mentioned the their kids got “future voter” stickers when they were there with someone who voted. I think that’s a great idea!

  35. 35.

    debit

    @Mnemosyne:

    Who knew that a dog’a bladder could hold that much liquid?

    If you thought Walter pooped big, you’ve never seen him pee.

    @gogol’s wife: My daughter burst into tears last night and sobbed, “I’m going to miss him so much!” and then broke down even more when Hillary came out. She’s usually Little Miss Stoic but this election has really worked her over emotionally.

  36. 36.

    Schlemazel

    @Hal:
    I go the sarcastic route:
    OMG! I didn’t know that! Have you always felt that way? I had not heard this before, do other people feel that way also? Why haven’t you said something about it before?

    If that does not shut them up my second response would be:
    Sounds like a personal problem, have you thought about fucking yourself?

    YMMV

  37. 37.

    Shell

    I almost miss voting on election day.

    You’re right. Cause of mobility issues Ive voted by mail these last two elections. But I do miss going into the polling place itself, feeling part of the whole citizen process. And our spot still uses those old,, lever crank voting booths. Whee~!

  38. 38.

    different-church-lady

    @ranchandsyrup:

    chait is complaining that adults get stickers for voting but kids aren’t able to get them. he always has his finger on the pulse.

    When I early-voted on Friday, there were stickers specifically for the kids that said something like “My Parents Voted.” So… double derp.

  39. 39.

    pamelabrown53

    @ranchandsyrup:
    Every once in a while Chait has something worth contemplating. Betty’s woozle pics has me tearing, Chronicling history!

    BTW, I voted by mail for Hillary et. al in FL. My precinct is so close, I decided to drop in and and ask at sign in if my vote was recorded. First, she was confused, as if she might have a weirdo, voter fraud case on her hands. So, I just told her again that I was just checking and threw in an obligatory dig at the post office. Once she realized I was just checking and not trying to vote twice, her demeanor improved. I thanked her for her confirmation and grabbed a couple of “I Voted” stickers on my way out.

  40. 40.

    Eric U.

    we had 2 pages of things to vote on here in Pennsyltucky. A colleague didn’t vote the back side of his ballot. Funny thing is, you can vote straight ticket on the front. It’s also funny that his most hated politician was on the back, so he didn’t vote against him. I laughed and laughed. However, if the world comes to an end, I’m blaming him

  42. 42.

    liberal

    I’ll say one thing….casting a ballot against a fascist is really cathartic. Can’t wait to watch the results come in tonight and see HRC stomp on his face.

  43. 43.

    Mnemosyne

    @Hal:

    I would probably go with something tongue in cheek, like we all liked Hillary better before she got that record deal. But it may fly over her head.

  48. 48.

    Ian G.

    Long time lurker, very rare poster. Decided to act upon Betty Cracker’s idea of trolling Project Veritas. I gave my name as “Berevtov Szanitiy” and said that black foreigners were crossing the border into Massena, NY to vote, then uploaded a photo of Tim Raines and Andre Dawson in Montreal Expos uniforms.

  51. 51.

    SenyorDave

    @Frankensteinbeck: Wow. Is that more or less sad than the Sex Boat escapade?

    If not for the fact that O’Keefe seems mentally unbalanced, I think it might have been interesting if he had managed to pull off his bizarre plan. I have a feeling the reporter in question would have kicked his sorry ass. He looks like the guy who got a “swirly” everyday in high school (and was the rare person who actually deserved it).

  53. 53.

    TaMara (HFG)

    So at lunch today, the local news station said that Trump had filed suit against Clark county in Nevada because they let people vote after the polls closed (I’m thinking they let the people in line at the time polls closed finish voting, but WTF do I know). Anyhow, the only source I could find was the Guardian, so thought it was just an ugly rumor.

    But Huffpo has the whole story so far:

    NEW YORK ― A judge on Tuesday shot down a legal action that Donald Trump and his campaign filed against Nevada’s Clark County alleging that certain early voting sites that were kept open to accommodate voters in line for hours were illegally kept open.

    Early voting in Nevada saw huge turnouts over the weekend, particularly among Latinos, leading to complaints by one state GOP official that the polls were kept open so “certain groups” had more time to vote.

    The quick-moving legal action was considered at a hearing shortly after it was filed, but the judge assigned to the case was deeply skeptical of what the Trump campaign was seeking to accomplish.

    “Is this action, is this petition … premature?” asked Gloria Sturman, a state judge on the 8th District Court in Nevada.

    She went on to express concern for poll workers safety if their identities and personal information was divulged because of this.

    So it begins….

  54. 54.

    Mnemosyne

    @pamelabrown53:

    Here in Los Angeles, you can go on the county clerk’s website and verify that your ballot was received. And they have live webcams so you can watch them count the ballots.

  55. 55.

    different-church-lady

    @Hal: “Good idea. You should leave this to people who have a clue.”

    Oh, wait, you said polite…

  56. 56.

    Boussinesque

    One of the people at the organization I volunteer with was going on about how they weren’t even checking IDs when he went to vote this morning (in CA). So far I’m resisting the urge to point out that it’s probably because no one expects fraud when you’re in a primarily affluent white area, but it’s getting harder as the day wears on.

  57. 57.

    JCJ

    I just submitted this to the O’Keefe morons:

    All these kids are walking around with their phones! I keep hearing them say they “Gotta Catch ’em All!”

    Now one of them just called me a “pikachu!” What does that mean? I am scared!

  58. 58.

    danielx

    @Hal:

    Is there a polite way of telling a friend who is not voting, but feels the need to post multiple times a day on facebook, that she is not in fact voting at all because “they both suck!” to shut the fuck up?

    No, but even Emily Post would give you a pass for telling such a person exactly that.

  59. 59.

    MomSense

    @Mnemosyne:

    Did you vote early morning? If so, yes they have A LOT of pee. Try standing outside in negative temps in your pjs while you wait for the dog to finish.

  62. 62.

    bystander

    @Betty Cracker: If there’s an opening at Emily Post Inc., you’d be perfect for the Moder Manners Advice Department.

    Huge lines at the two Upper West Side polling places I passed by today. But you would expect enthusiasm for Hillary’s brand of socialism here in The People’s Republic of the UWS.

  63. 63.

    Mnemosyne

    @Boussinesque:

    There is no ID requirement in California. You show up, you tell the first pollworker your name, you tell the second pollworker your address so they can cross-check that it’s the same name, and they give you your ballot.

  64. 64.

    Lizzy L

    @SenyorDave: It would not surprise me if a certain percentage of Trump’s supporters genuinely believe that giving someone a lift to the polling place so that they can vote is actually fraud. And if you were to point out to them that they gave Aunt Maud a lift to the polling place this morning because she’s 87 and doesn’t drive any more, they would say, “Oh, that’s different!”

  65. 65.

    Lurker Extraordinaire

    I requested (and am getting) homemade chicken tacos, marinated in mojo, with pico de gallo and lots of corn and flour tortillas. You know, in honor of Taco Truck Tuesday. :-)

  66. 66.

    Boussinesque

    @Boussinesque: I settled for talking semi-loudly with another volunteer about how rare and inconsequential voter fraud actually is, because I’m passive-aggressive like that.

  68. 68.

    danielx

    On the occasions when somebody said he or she was a first time voter this morning at my polling spot, the poll workers called it out and that person got a huge round of applause.

  69. 69.

    gvg

    Betty, tell your daughter to just have her sticker laminated.

    Our county gives kids future voter stickers when they come with parents. My sister took her son, then a friend of hers asked me to get one for her child. they gave me one on request when I went in, as well as my own sticker.

  70. 70.

    WarMunchkin

    On line to get to the javitz center. I forgot it’s actually made of glass, so I assume I’ll be in the hospital by the end of the night.

  71. 71.

    Chris

    @liberal:

    I’ll say one thing….casting a ballot against a fascist is really cathartic.

    It already felt incredibly cathartic four years ago to watch Romney get slapped in the face with the fact that no, there are some things you can’t buy no matter how rich you are or who your daddy is. Doubly so because it was such a complete shock to almost every Republican I knew, who really believed that the entire country was on the same page as them in their bubble about “Obama’s Failed Presidency.”

    I still remember meeting up with a Democratic friend a couple weeks later and still basking in the glory of it. Me: “You know what I love about this? He was the best they had.” Him: “I KNOW!!!”

    Voting today has been cathartic, but in a different way. Someone this morning called this “the D Day of elections,” and, well… yeah. Stopping fascism at the ballot box is a lot healthier for all concerned than requiring a global war to do so. Knock on wood, that’s what’ll happen tonight.

  76. 76.

    nonynony

    @Hal: I like to go with “We get it, you’re too pure for this world. Why not go up into the mountains and join a commune or something?”

    Thinking about it, this is probably why I stay off Facebook.

  77. 77.

    SenyorDave

    @Hal: I once saw a special on PBS about the Civil Right movement, maybe 20 years ago. At one point they interviewed an elderly African American man from a small town in Alabama. He related a story about one of the first times he was able to vote, after years of threats, illegal voter qualification “tests”, etc. He voted for an avid segregationist for mayor. When the interviewer asked him why, he kind of laughed and said because his opponent was supposedly the head of the local chapter of the klan. He said if you live in Alabama most of your votes are for the lesser of two evils. Maybe your friend can be persuaded to do a last second lesser of two evils vote. Because against anyone short of Hitler, Trump is the greater of two evils.

  78. 78.

    Iowa Old Lady

    @Hal: How about, “If you feel the need to talk about this so much, maybe you have doubts about your lack of civic participation. The rest of us are getting on with electing a president. Please keep out of our way and out of our feeds. We’re busy.”

  79. 79.

    Cermet

    These ass wipes in the vid really think they can affect the election with their moronic actions? Worse yet, too many people believe they can. So sad that so many desperate people have so little hope that they turn to these utter, depraved sicko’s as their only chance. Really, that needs to change and we liberals really must address this problem – rural does not and should not mean caught in a hopeless, no way out cycle of drugs, dependency, and no future for anyone.

  80. 80.

    jacy

    @schrodinger’s cat:

    Too much nervous energy. I made from scratch chicken corn chowder with green chili for lunch and later dinner. That wasn’t time-consuming enough, so I made some sour cream fudge brownies. I’m currently scouring the pantry to see what else I can cook without going out to the store.

  81. 81.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    @danielx: Hell, I think Miss Manners would tell you to say that in this situation. Or I could be making that up. But she might.

  82. 82.

    FlipYrWhig

    @hovercraft: AWESOME remark on the glass ceiling on the Pantsuit Nation FB page by a quick-witted New Yorker. I’m itching to repost it everywhere but I don’t know her and don’t want to out her.

  85. 85.

    JosieJ (not Josie)

    @ranchandsyrup:

    I wonder where Chait is getting his stickers? I’ve voted in Queens, Brooklyn, and Long Island since 1987 and never received a sticker for myself as an adult once, let alone any stickers for kids.

  88. 88.

    Lizzy L

    @Iowa Old Lady: That was rather what I was rolling around in the back of my head. Something like: You don’t want to vote, honey? That’s okay. You just hang out on FB. The grown-ups are going to be over here, making decisions about who’s going to run the country.

  90. 90.

    Roger Moore

    There are worse things to get a tat of than an “I voted” sticker. Kids these days get tats to commemorate important events in their lives, so it says something good about your daughter that she thinks of voting the first time as worth a tat.

  92. 92.

    DocSardonic

    @Hal: why yes, there is a kind way of doing that. My dearest Facebook friend, it really is a shame that although you felt the need to carry out the civic requirement of voter registration, you feel no need to exercise the Constitutional and God given right that we have been guaranteed by the 1st Amendment after the act of voting has occurred. That is the right to complain about the performance of our elected officials and direction of our nation and government and be politely listened to. However, since you have actively declined to use those rights, the please kindly go sit in the corner and pleasure yourself with the oxidized farm implement(s) of your choice. Also, you might wish to try this nifty new cocktail recipe I found, “the Pipe Bomb”. 1 part premium Vodka, 4 parts Draino.

  93. 93.

    JMG

    I voted early,and now I kind of wish I had saved the emotional high of doing so for today. It’s been a long day and my nerves are in knots. I’m not the most naturally optimistic person, even though available evidence points to a Clinton win.

  94. 94.

    The Moar You Know

    So sad that so many desperate people have so little hope that they turn to these utter, depraved sicko’s as their only chance. Really, that needs to change and we liberals really must address this problem – rural does not and should not mean caught in a hopeless, no way out cycle of drugs, dependency, and no future for anyone.

    @Cermet: Totally agree. Most of the “deplorables” are people in desperate need of help. And there will be no gratitude, not from them, not from their children, but we should help them anyway. Because their grandchildren will be quite different.

  96. 96.

    Ocotillo

    I will share my voting experience. Mrs. Ocotillo and I early voted separately, I travel for my job so she beat me to the punch. I live in the unholy Red state of Texas and had a 2 hour wait to vote, Mrs. Ocotillo only had to wait 45 minutes. In Texas, early voting can be done anywhere, they just verify which precinct you vote in and give you the proper ballot.

    Nice election worker came out and informed us that within 100 feet of the voting area, there were to be no electronic devices turned on(cell phones), no clothing promoting a specific candidate (Trump lady left, hooray!), no guns (hoocoodanode, it’s Texas) and no discussing candidates with each other. People were generally in a good mood.

    Mrs. Ocotillo is an election day judge and is working today. Her precinct has 7,000 registered voters, all but 2,500 had already voted by today. We live in a red area of a red state so when I took her lunch today, I was pleased to see only 4 people waiting to vote. I say that because my area is likely voting Trump and definitely voting down ballot Rs.

    I hope the Latino turnout is up here in Texas like the other states that I have been reading about. Texas could be a lot closer to purple if Hispanics turned out better.

    I was pleased early in the process (post-convention) as so many of my Red friends were not admitting to supporting Trump. Unfortunately, their intense hatred of Hildebeast outweighed common sense and they have came home to the their usual voting patterns. Thank God for other states!

  98. 98.

    Iowa Old Lady

    @Hal: Alternatively, you could post one of John Lewis’s speeches about how people he knew died for the right to vote. How it’s sacred. How it’s the most powerful non-violent tool we have at our disposal. No comment necessary.

  100. 100.

    Comrade Scrutinizer

    @Frankensteinbeck: Sex Boat? I saw that movie. Kandi Barbour, amongst others. She died homeless on the streets of San Francisco a couple of years ago. Very sad.

  101. 101.

    SFAW

    @Hal:

    I think Betty’s response is almost there. She just needed to add the word “please” or “kindly” to make it polite enough.

    An alternative might be something like “How is someone as fucking stupid as you able to manage the complex task of typing semi-intelligible sentences?” [OK, so that doesn’t have a “please” or similar in it, but still.]

  102. 102.

    Ivan X

    In a fit of angst, I posted this on Facebook today. And I never post on Facebook.

    I am about to go on a political rant. If you’re voting for Trump, it’s probably not for you. If you’re voting for Hillary, yay. Thanks! But if you haven’t voted yet and don’t have a concrete plan to vote today, or you’re pro-Hillz (or anti-Trump) all the way and you don’t know what to do with your anxious energy, please read on!

    I’m on a bus to Philadelphia right now, because, motherfucker, this shit matters! This is not ewww Hillary she’s old and likes war and money and there must be something corrupt with her. You don’t get your pony — you get a binary choice. I happen to like Hillary, but you might not.

    That doesn’t matter. What matters is that your other choice is an awful human being who uses overt racism to get votes, has no command of any issue, has no self control (he has to respond to any challenge, no matter how trivial), who views women as chattel, and who has no apparent commitment to the well being of anyone other than himself, much less all Americans. However successful he may have been in building his brand, he’s still an unserious attention-craving grifter, and if elected, we’ll be his mark. (We arguably already have been.)

    To me, this is so self-apparent that if you don’t see it, I’m not going to try to get you to. To see him as anything other than a bad guy is to project your wishes, because objectively, he’s a *bad fucking guy* who has done unconscionable things this campaign by legitimizing unacceptable, violent, divisive rhetoric. Even if you think Hillary Clinton is terrible, Trump is, by any objective measure, vastly worse.

    Also, Supreme Court. I mean, Supreme Court!

    Ok, but you know this already. Here’s where I’m going with this: if you care, as I do, that this matters, and you’re fretting watching MSNBC or CNN, get off your ass right now and go to HillaryClinton.com and sign up for a phone banking shift and make phone calls for an hour. One hour! How many hours are there in your life? A fucking lot, that’s how many.

    It sounds ridiculous to say that an hour of phone calls might tilt the balance, but, fuck it man, that’s just how this magic works. Any one vote is both meaningless and yet influences the future of the world in profound, unfathomable ways. So put your energy to use. If you get one Hillz vote out in a swing state, you are changing the destiny of your neighbors and family and fellow citizens and the world. Srsly.

    And even if you think the polls say it’s a slam dunk, they’re only that if you make it so. BUT ALSO TOO: The Senate. Some classy R’s are already threatening to not allow any judge to be nominate to the SC under a Clinton administration. Even if a state looks solid for Hillary, there may be a close Senate race. Your call matters! Without a Democratic Senate, Hillary is cockblocked, fairly literally.

    And if you live in a swing state, consider knocking on some doors. I know it’s weird, but it’s all super well organized, and you’ve got a partner, and you can actually help get someone to vote who might not be able to.

    And if you’re sitting on the fence, somehow, GET OFF THE FUCKING FENCE. I mean, please. You know what’s right here. Do you really want to wake up tomorrow knowing you gave half a vote to a man who first and foremost wants to defend his pride, and rip you off, even if it means sowing civil war? No. You do not. You want to vote for someone who wants to seriously lead the country. You want to vote for a President. Suck it up and go vote for Hillary. Do it now! If you’re reading this sentence, that’s not now. Stop, right now, and go vote.

    If you don’t know where you’re supposed to vote, go to http://iwillvote.com . Go vote! Do it for me.

    Ok, sermon over. Let’s all wake up tomorrow with a happy hangover, not a sad one. Go vote and get other people to vote. This is how we win! I’m with her!

  104. 104.

    cain

    I don’t know if you guys have noticed this but India has done something fucking brilliant. They just in total secret invalidated all the 500 and 1000 rupee notes in a master stroke. Basically every hoarder, drug dealer, and people who have money they have not paid taxes on just got fucked on an epic scale. The black money market in India is worth over $500 billion dollars. He just made all of that completely worthless. Nobody had a clue. This is a completely unprecedented move by an Indian politician. He has fucked over the rich and ultra rich is a huge way.

    Of course, he did it on 9/11 :-) (indians report date date/month) Haha.. while everyone one distracted with the U.S. election, this guy put the moves.. wow!

    More information here

  105. 105.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Chuck Todd apparently has a new column, his media critique for the season is that they focused too much on Trump, and not enough on the Trump voter, the forgotten white man suffering from economic anxiety and worried about his kids’ future we’ve heard so little about. Like this guy

    Andrew Kragie ‏@ AndrewKragie 2h2 hours ago
    Man with “FAGGOTS VOTE DEM” sign + handgun detained after moving closer to polls in Spring Tx @HoustonChron #Houvote

    Kragie writes for the Houston Chronicle and his feed includes several pictures of a guy in a MAGA hat and what Kragie calls a KISS costume, but looks to me like some kind of misbegotten superhero cockroach costume, like Gregor Samsa gotten bitten by a radioactive cockroach. Guy also bears a rather disturbing resemblance, to my eyes, to Buffalo Bill from Silence of the Lambs.

  107. 107.

    jacy

    @schrodinger’s cat: Sure! We’ve got a bottle of Riesling chilling, and the makings for Moscow Mules, but I have a feeling we may need more libations. (And at this rate, I’ll have enough food to feed a small army….)

  108. 108.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @The Moar You Know:
    Their anger has little or nothing to do with their being in need… but we should help them anyway, because it’s the right thing to do. ‘Only the deserving’ is a conservative thing, indeed, is a big part of what’s driving these very people.

  110. 110.

    Calouste

    @Mike J: Coronation Chicken was invented by two women chefs to celebrate the coronation of a Queen, so it would be a very appropriate dish today.

  121. 121.

    NotMax

    Betty, how’s the ankle?

    @War Munchkin

    Not the HRC had anything one way or the other to do with its naming, but it is a nice touch that her gathering is being held at a public facility named for a moderate, practical Republican.

  122. 122.

    Gelfling 545

    @Hal: You could try “Thank you for sharing……again. ” Probably, though, only the old fashioned way will work.

  123. 123.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Roger Moore:
    Jesus Christ, man, she hasn’t won yet, calm down! The taco trucks don’t even get gassed up and ready to roll out with the Jade Helm units until 8pm EST tonight, and then they have to wait for the signal.

    EDIT – ‘I don’t have my taco truck yet’ is going to be the new firebagger line, I swear.

  126. 126.

    catclub

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    and not enough on the Trump voter, the forgotten white man suffering from economic anxiety and worried about his kids’ future we’ve heard so little about.

    I never heard. If I had known about people like that, everything would be different.

  127. 127.

    Kay

    Thomas Kaplan ‏@thomaskaplan
    On the flight to NYC, Tim Kaine gave each member of his staff a signed harmonica, a bottle of Virginia wine and a personal note

    3 things! Because he’s so nice.

  129. 129.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    ‏@ jmartNYT
    NEWS: George W. & Laura Bush did not vote for Trump. They left the presidential line empty & cast votes for downballot GOP candidates

    I’d bet twenty bucks Pickles voted for HRC. The daughters, too.

  130. 130.

    Cermet

    @The Moar You Know: I agree with your conclusion on many points but I think we will benefit directly right away because, while you are 100% right that on the national stage they will never vote for our people, locally, they might; a local dem who address and changes their hopeless schools into something that does allow their children to compete on a more level playing field with the coastal schools will win many votes – really. Many of these people are racist, even backward but they can and will see that as help they will support with votes. Just saying. This will, no matter what improve all of us on many levels – a better educated population not only tends more liberal but also increases all our of wealth thru a better work force.

  138. 138.

    Mnemosyne

    @Iowa Old Lady:

    The ads currently think I’m a pregnant woman thinking about traveling to an area that has Zika.

    At least they got the “woman” part right.

  139. 139.

    MazeDancer

    Trump Election Night event is a cash bar. Not a joke. Here’s the menu.

    Why would the short-fingered vulgarian be anything but tacky.

    Maybe the Hilton required it. Maybe Trump is getting a percentage. But nothing says “thank you, hard workers”, more than making them fork over $13.00 for a glass of unnamed wine.

  143. 143.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Kay:
    The Brothers Grimm tell me this means Trump is probably a tailor. They’re notorious for not honoring deals. Kaine clearly gave the classic fae gift of music, alcohol, and prophetic advice.

  144. 144.

    Cckids

    @Gelfling 545: We got pretty awesome new stickers with the Vegas Strip skyline as a backdrop to the “I Voted “. I’d link a pic, but it’s a giant pain from my phone.

  145. 145.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Oh my god, it looks like the Trump cake was made by the same artiste who did the Zombie Lucy statue a couple of years ago. And the expression they put on it… secret Democrat dessert chefs. But all Trump will see is that magnificent buttercream head of hair. George Will wishes he could take that coiffe out of the box every morning.

    @Kay: Yeah, that was an Eschaton tradition I never got but it always cracked me up, in part because I’m a huge Dick Van Dyke show fan, me and Michelle O

  147. 147.

    WarMunchkin

    @NotMax: it’s pretty great. Though I underestimated how long they’d hold us in an airplane hangar. Maybe I should have stayed home with good alcohol.

  148. 148.

    Mnemosyne

    @LAC:

    There is a Kindle book by comedian Sara Bencasa (?) called “Tim Kaine is Your Nice Dad.” Half of the proceeds go to a children’s charity in VA that was founded by Mrs. Kaine (who is herself a top-flight civil rights lawyer).

  150. 150.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Roger Moore: I just wish they were willing to accept a hand up

    Oh they are, they just want it approved by an Act of Congress named “This Is Only For White Guys and You Totally Earned It And It’s Not a Handout Because”

    Frank Lutz could come up with a snappy acronym.

  152. 152.

    bystander

    @MazeDancer:

    Maybe Trump is getting a percentage. But nothing says “thank you, hard workers”, more than making them fork over $13.00 for a glass of unnamed wine.

    It would be great if it turned out they were serving Virginia wine and the entertainment was Johnny Puleo and the Harmonicats.

  153. 153.

    Kay

    While the result of the Guam election has no bearing on the national election, it may be an indicator of how the rest of the country will vote. Residents here have correctly chosen the winner of each presidential race since 1980, when the first straw poll for president was conducted.

    Clinton by a mile in Guam. If I combine this with the Scholastic straw poll we have 2 of 3 “keys to the Presidency”!

    I just made that up- I have to go look for the “third key’ now.

  154. 154.

    Mike J

    Been reading the schadenfreude list on twitter:

    Piers Morgan ‏@piersmorgan 50 minutes ago
    I’ve got nearly 5 million more followers than @EricIdle.
    I’m relaxed about our relative place in history.

    Ann Coulter is talking about 2004 exit polls and complaining that California enumerates many rights for voters but won’t let them smoke at the polls.

  156. 156.

    MCA1

    @Betty “I love this picture so damn much it hurts”: I know, right? That pachysandra’s grown in beautifully over the last 8 years. Wait…

  157. 157.

    Original Lee

    Hearing on FB that it looks as if someone set up fake voter registration tables during the Michigan primary in the Ann Arbor (University of Michigan) area. Several students have complained that they thought they were registered to vote because they filled out forms at those tables but now they’re not in the system.

  159. 159.

    dmsilev

    Feel-good story of the afternoon: Trump’s Troll Army Is Having a Hard Time Voting:

    Trump’s internet army has spent this election gleefully propping up a woefully unprepared demagogue—some earnestly, most as a long-running joke. While their collective grasp of trolling and online fuckery is unparalleled, Trump’s goons are having trouble actually voting their golden boy into office, at least according to many many postings on 4Chan.

    My favorite is the guy who forgot to register to vote, tried to bribe a pollworker into letting him vote, and got reported to the police. Also good is “want to go vote Trump but apparently you have to register to vote. What the fuck is that shit?”.

  160. 160.

    Cermet

    @Roger Moore: Honestly, lets not stereotype them all; I read a news article that sounded exactly like a typical tRump voter from WV; turns out it was a voter from 1921! Most of us on this blog cannot fathom how terrible the living conditions in much of Appalachia and many areas of the related deep south are and how it has been like this for generations. We are all the lesser for this loss – the shear human talent and resource lost over GENERATIONS is tragic! This, even from just a self interest need should be addressed. Where I live, our the inner city ghetto schools have AP courses (access to free testing) and over 1 in six students take and pass one such course – and this is a moderated size East coast city (a recent murder capital …ugh.) A friend who grew up in Appalachia pointed out that today, his HS still has no AP courses nor even a single computer (even for admin people!) Even my inner city schools are orders of magnitude better than his schools.

  161. 161.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Mike J:
    And Romney only had half the reputation as a chiseler Trump does. I’m expecting some pretty funny stories to come out in the aftermath. I bet he’s canceling checks en masse right now. I admit, I really don’t have the imagination or experience he does with this. There will be a lot of ‘He did what? Seriously?’ moments.

  162. 162.

    The Moar You Know

    I agree with your conclusion on many points but I think we will benefit directly right away because, while you are 100% right that on the national stage they will never vote for our people, locally, they might; a local dem who address and changes their hopeless schools into something that does allow their children to compete on a more level playing field with the coastal schools will win many votes – really. Many of these people are racist, even backward but they can and will see that as help they will support with votes. Just saying. This will, no matter what improve all of us on many levels – a better educated population not only tends more liberal but also increases all our of wealth thru a better work force.

    @Cermet: I’d like you to be right but I’m taking the long view. I know from personal experience it takes about three generations for that poison that poverty and racism carry to get washed out of a family.

    I just wish they were willing to accept a hand up rather than trying to drag everyone else down to their level.

    @Roger Moore: Me too. The hand up should not be optional. Eventually their kids/grandkids will stop trying to fuck everyone else over to feel better about themselves.

  164. 164.

    Mnemosyne

    One of my coworkers just asked me if I voted my conscience and I said, “Yep, I voted for the woman in the pantsuit!” He cracked up.

    He was a little reluctant to vote for her at first, but she won him over and I think he ended up being more enthusiastic than he expected to be.

  168. 168.

    Roger Moore

    @MazeDancer:

    Trump Election Night event is a cash bar. Not a joke. Here’s the menu.

    Why would the short-fingered vulgarian be anything but tacky.

    Somebody responding to that tweet suggested it might be because the hotel was afraid Trump would stiff them, which seems like a perfectly reasonable concern.

  169. 169.

    O. Felix Culpa

    Hello from HRC headquarters in Santa Fe, where we’re canvassing and phone banking the heck out of northern New Mexico! This picture makes us very happy. Now, back to work! ‘Til later.

  170. 170.

    Suzanne

    I’m in client meetings all day, not getting back to Phoenix until close to 6pm local time. I am kind of freaking out and need a martini.

  172. 172.

    LAC

    @Cermet: So, that is why they cheer a bigot? If you use your vote as a way to cement your fears, then why are you surprised that nothing changes? I am sorry for their state in life, but you cannot vote against your economic interest election year after election year because some white guy in a suit is pointing at blacks and hispanics as the problem while he is emptying your pockets and be confounded by the lack of change. At some point, there needs to be movement on the needle by those folks too. The crossing over the aisle cannot be one sided.

  175. 175.

    Peale

    @dmsilev: Yep. Remember those millions of new Trump voters that were sitting on the sidelines waiting for a white racist candidate to finally call them home? Well color me surprised to find out that those irregular voters actually needed a bit more direction than “Get Angry and Piss on Liebraltards” to make it to the polls.

  177. 177.

    catclub

    @dmsilev:

    Also good is “want to go vote Trump but apparently you have to register to vote. What the fuck is that shit?”.

    I predicted that kind of thing! Also Trump voters saying “I am white and I was born in the US, that should give me the right to vote”

  179. 179.

    Cermet

    @LAC:You are not wrong nor am I trying to defend their stupidity. But at some point we need to help them because really, in the long run, it helps all of us. Just saying.

  180. 180.

    MisterForkbeard

    @Mnemosyne: I think most ‘reluctant’ Hillary voters feel this way. Once they’re not determined to hate for Some Crime they see what a good person and candidate she actually is.

  181. 181.

    Mnemosyne

    @Cermet:

    How many federal grants have those schools applied for and been denied? Why aren’t the states that those schools are in helping them apply for the technology grants available for rural schools?

    To paraphrase the old joke, there are boats floating around out there, but you have to actually be willing to get into one to be rescued.

    Mostly, I blame the states and local school boards, because they should be letting rural schools know that there is money earmarked for them and helping them apply for it.

  182. 182.

    FlipYrWhig

    Semi-friend on FB, liberal and perhaps worrywart-ish, says “CNN says Democratic turnout is low.” First I’ve heard anything like this; don’t know if he means generally or locally. Anyone else?

  183. 183.

    Redshift

    Okay, somebody check me on this. I decided to have a look at 538, which I’ve mostly been ignoring this cycle. Their “final forecast” is Hillary 302.2, Trump 235, McMullin 0.8 (WTF?). Sam Wang has Hillary 323, Trump 215.

    And their maps look exactly the same.

    I’ve looked it over as carefully as I can, and I can’t find any differences, and Wang’s totals are correct. So either they screwed up their map, or they screwed up their totals. I can’t see any 10EV state that’s even close that could account for the difference.

    They really seem determined to flush their reputation this year…

  184. 184.

    Chris

    @Cermet:

    I was at the convention in Philly for a couple days (the parts that were open to the public), and the one event I was most looking forward to was a panel on rural poverty and rural issues. I was pissed when it was canceled at the last second. It’s one thing you rarely hear discussed in any context other than meaningless Republican claptrap platitudes (90% of them from suburban middle class types who’ve never gone anywhere near the Noble Savages), and I’d have liked to get the input of people who actually gave a shit.

  185. 185.

    Cermet

    @catclub: That is a three point shot that is into the basket and the win; too funny but deep down, exactly true (why, I have caught myself feeling the same way in at times in the past – entitled and thinking that those rules shouldn’t apply to me because … well, exactly.)

  186. 186.

    redshirt

    Can someone give me a quick prediction of what to expect tonight? 8PM? 11PM? 2AM?

    The earliest the entire election can be called is 11, right? But states can be called before then if the polls are closed. So in theory FL might come in at 10?

  187. 187.

    Lizzy L

    I’ve spent the last hour phone banking Nevada — talked to some people who had already voted for Hilz, and proud of it. I am now going to go to the nearest taco truck –yes,we haz them! — and grab lunch. Back to do more phone banking. Dinner will be fresh calabacitas and Victory Pie!

  188. 188.

    LAC

    @Cermet: I know – I am just tired of them and their intransigence. Maybe after the election dusts settles, I can feel more charitable.

    Have a good evening and let’s keep our fingers crossed. Cheers, Cermet!

  189. 189.

    catclub

    @Roger Moore:

    I just wish they were willing to accept a hand up rather than trying to drag everyone else down to their level.

    Russian peasant culture! Only wish is that someone would kill their neighbor’s cow.

  193. 193.

    Calouste

    Regarding Coulter’s “4 grandparents” comment, that would have made quite a large part of the “deep bench” of the GOP unable to vote: Trump, Cruz, Rubio, Kasich, Jindal, Pataki, Santorum. Might have missed one or two.

  194. 194.

    greennotGreen

    I tried to comment while my cat was walking all over me and the keyboard, and I have no idea where my comment went. It was the only comment on a thread called “Girl’s vote” which isn’t even the title of this post. Cats!

  197. 197.

    Origuy

    Poll Closing Times

    Indiana and Kentucky close at 6 EST, just a few minutes from now. The networks won’t call the election until California closes at 11 EST, but it should be obvious how things are going well before that.

  198. 198.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @FlipYrWhig: I don’t see it on their home page, but they are saying the first exit polls have been released. Seems to me that used to be something simply not done, talking about exit polls. I guess Drudge killed that norm.

  200. 200.

    Chris

    @dmsilev:

    Trump’s internet army has spent this election gleefully propping up a woefully unprepared demagogue—some earnestly, most as a long-running joke. While their collective grasp of trolling and online fuckery is unparalleled, Trump’s goons are having trouble actually voting their golden boy into office, at least according to many many postings on 4Chan.
    …
    My favorite is the guy who forgot to register to vote, tried to bribe a pollworker into letting him vote, and got reported to the police. Also good is “want to go vote Trump but apparently you have to register to vote. What the fuck is that shit?”.

    Dumb fucks though they may be, I don’t blame them for this. I blame the Trump campaign for failing to educate them. I’ve spent the last couple of weeks either knocking on doors or leaving voice messages (or, very rarely, actually talking to people over the phone) not only reminding people to vote but telling them about their early voting options, their absentee voting options, their polling sites, the dates and hours for all of the above, the phone number if they needed a ride to the polls, and the phone number and website for the Maryland Board of Elections in case they had any further questions. Any halfway competent campaign would be on that like white on rice, and the Trumpists are fucking tools if they weren’t.

    Naturally, this being Trump – and, more to the point, this being a Republican campaign – if there’s any blame attached to this, I’m sure it’ll be attached to the voters and not their own inadequacies. Responsibility is for little people.

  202. 202.

    scav

    @FlipYrWhig: How would they know this at anything but a local / anecdotal scale this early? Even if true, might be utterly meaningless if they’re talking about an area with heavy early voting. This is just filling up airtime with babble that gets tweeted and the usual “DEADLY STORM APPROACHING!” mode.

  203. 203.

    Cermet

    @Mnemosyne: Not exactly all that much fed money out there so they can compete with most East/West coast schools. They have issues that we can’t normally understand – like to get to school most students need two bus x-fers and a min of 1.5 hours each way. The costs of that eats deeply into their budgets; – too few students per class which means even very low teacher salaries eat up the budget. And most school districts are majority funded by real estate taxes – which amount to very little in those areas. Believe me, those people want better schools but they are dirt poor and money for F-35’s is offered by the feds in abundance but not so for rural schools. Just saying.

  204. 204.

    D58826

    Profiles in GOP courage – L. Graham voted 3rd party and report that Dubya and Mrs Dubya skipped the presidential line amd just voted down ballot. Only thing these cowards are good for is sending other peoples sons and daughters off to a useless war.

  205. 205.

    dmsilev

    @redshirt:

    Can someone give me a quick prediction of what to expect tonight? 8PM? 11PM? 2AM?

    The earliest the entire election can be called is 11, right? But states can be called before then if the polls are closed. So in theory FL might come in at 10?

    Most of the East Coast and some of the Central region close their polls at 7 Eastern, and then every hour (and occasionally on the half hour), additional states close. California, Oregon, and Washington close at 11 Eastern. Even if it’s a complete blowout, it’s very unlikely for HRC to reach 270 without the West Coast states, so 11 would be the earliest that the race itself will be called, but if (for instance) Florida gets called Blue at 8 Eastern, we can pretty much start popping the champagne corks and getting good and sozzled while we wait for the rest to come in.

  206. 206.

    catclub

    @redshirt: Check out the WaMonthly on just this. What to watch for early, etc.

    These are the things that I’d highlight:
    Polls close in S. Carolina at 7:00 pm. If there is a delay in calling the state for Trump, that could indicate bad news for him is coming quick.
    The big three races that will come up first are in Florida, North Carolina and Ohio. Their polls close between 7 and 8 pm. No one expects these states to be called early. But if one of them is called for Clinton before 11 pm, you can go to bed with good assurances that she has won.
    Polls close in Arizona at 9 pm. but they don’t release results for an hour or until all the votes are counted – whichever comes first. So keep your eye on that state at 10 pm. If it goes for Clinton…game over.

  207. 207.

    Redshift

    @Cermet: Unfortunately, schools are state/local. If they respond to their circumstances by electing state/local people who tell them to blame immigrants and environmentalists while selling them out to big business, there’s not a lot we can do on the federal level.

  208. 208.

    pamelabrown53

    @catclub:
    Too funny. Do you think I’ll be a focus of an inquiry? I’ve always loved voting on election day but with republicans shortening voting days and places I find it imperative that I bank my vote and GOTV.

  209. 209.

    Origuy

    If you’re in the San Jose area tonight, come down to O’Flaherty’s in San Pedro Square. The Irish music session goes from 6:30 to 10:00 and there are about 30 beers and ciders on tap. The TVs will be on with the sound down, I suspect.

  210. 210.

    Cermet

    @redshirt: I think Florida goes Hillary and that means game over – I’d expect a rough call on that no later than 9 PM? If NH or NC goes Hillary, again, I’d say, game over also (but not as sure.)

  212. 212.

    Chris

    @The Moar You Know:

    Eventually their kids/grandkids will stop trying to fuck everyone else over to feel better about themselves.

    I’d really like to believe this, but I’m not at all convinced.

    The historical precedent for this is the post-Civil War South and its white people. Mostly a goddamn disaster area even by the standards of the day, and its people mostly kept right on voting for the Southern Democratic establishment that made it that way for decades, because they kept the blacks down. They accepted the leg up from the New Deal, but only on the condition that it conform to their racial standards, and quickly turned against it again when it seemed that anything racially progressive might be going on. (The Conservative Coalition, the alliance between Southern Democrats and conservative Republicans against the New Deal, was in 1938, only a few years after FDR’s election).

    Point being, there are a ton of places where we’ve been waiting 150 years for the white people to wise up, and neither time nor the assistance of their urban and/or Northern brethren have done any good. This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t still try to help, but we should do that because all citizens deserve the help. If people are expecting that to change things over the long run, I’m… not necessarily optimistic.

  213. 213.

    Mnemosyne

    @Cermet:

    Did you look at the link? There is money specifically earmarked for technology in rural schools. Frankly, technology and distance learning to connect far-flung students is probably going to end up being a better solution for rural areas than long, expensive bus rides to a single location.

    I’m perfectly willing to give more money to rural schools and for other rural infrastructure projects, but they need to be willing to take the money that’s on offer.

    And, frankly, the representatives they elect have to be willing to demand their fair share and not just tell people that lower taxes and more Jeebus will solve all their problems.

  214. 214.

    Ian

    @Hal:
    There is a appropriate way of telling them. There is a polite way of telling them. The two are mutually exclusive.

  215. 215.

    Calouste

    @redshirt: The final polls close at 7 PM in the following states, with the current PEC rating next to it:

    Indiana – solid Trump
    Kentucky – solid Trump
    Vermont – solid Clinton
    Virginia – solid Clinton
    South Carolina – lean Trump
    Georgia – lean Trump

    Solids will probably be called very soon after the polls close, a delay would indicate a good night for the opponent. Similarly, quick calls on “leaning” would mean a good night for the candidate leading there.

    7:30
    Ohio – barely Trump
    West Virginia – solid Trump
    North Carolina – tossup

  216. 216.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Oh please Oh please let this be Rubio panic!

    Igor Bobic ‏@ igorbobic 9m9 minutes ago
    Igor Bobic Retweeted Sean Hannity
    Does Sean know something?
    Sean Hannity @ seanhannity
    Florida Panhandle – GO VOTE!

    Voting glitches in Durham, NC and Denver, CO. This is exactly what I promised myself I wouldn’t be doing today.

  218. 218.

    Roger Moore

    @Mike J:

    Ann Coulter is talking about 2004 exit polls and complaining that California enumerates many rights for voters but won’t let them smoke at the polls.

    She was also tweeting yesterday about how Trump would totally win if the vote were limited to people whose four grandparents were all born in the US- totally missing that nobody in the Trump clan would be allowed to vote under that standard.

  219. 219.

    Bitter Scribe

    My autistic-spectrum brother cast his first vote today at the age of 69. For Hillary Clinton. He was so proud.

  220. 220.

    Major Major Major Major

    I have way too many friends performatively voting for Hillary on Facebook right now. “Even though my candidate lost the primary…”, “does this mean we owe JP Morgan for saving democracy?”, “I almost voted for Stein but…”. Ugh. I mean I’ll take it, but Jesus Christ this better not be representative of the rest of my generation.

  222. 222.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Redshift: oh yeah, more struck by the change in the last few cycles, when discussing exit polls while people were still voting was considered unethical

  223. 223.

    Mnemosyne

    @Cermet:

    Or, to put it another way, the federal representatives those people have been electing are spending their time in DC trying to shut down the Department of Education when their states desperately need more resources from it. That’s called “cutting off your nose to spite your face.”

  226. 226.

    catclub

    @Roger Moore: I thought the funny thing was she said ‘ people with at least 4 Grandparents Born here’
    1)Are there people with MORE than 4 grandparents?
    2)What about inbred crackers? huh?

  229. 229.

    FlyingToaster

    As of 4:30 my precinct had already passed the number of voters from 2012. Early voting works!

    Our precinct has given out stickers for the past 4 years. WarriorGirl — or WarriorGirl’s designated stuffie, often a Hello Kitty — gets the “Future Voter” sticker. Today, she amused the pollworkers by showing off her T-Shirt.

  230. 230.

    pamelabrown53

    @Mnemosyne:
    LAX, or any other airport? They all suck. Even though I wrestle my fear of flying, I’d rather wrestle with a shoe bomber than “Snakes on a Plane”. Which I’ve never seen. Just though I’d share a movie reference with you!

    P.S. Glad Halloween/Horror is over and maybe I can benefit from your expertise in other genres.

  231. 231.

    Calouste

    @dmsilev: Clinton can get fairly easily to 270 without the West Coast, with Obama’s states from 2008, or more likely this time around, swap Georgia for Indiana. Doing so before 11PM ET is a different matter though.

  232. 232.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    this is from a while ago, but…

    Ian Sams ‏@ IanSams 3h3 hours ago
    Giuliani is withering under routine questioning by @ KatyTurNBC. Worse than usual. Said going on CNN or MSNBC is like being in a grand jury.

    … I really want hearings on Mr Comey’s leaky boat. C’mon Dem Senate!

  235. 235.

    Cermet

    @Mnemosyne: Did you realize that most of these rural schools have no internet and only a few could maybe get dial up? Even mobile phones don’t work in their areas (most of these people do not live near major interstates) – most do travel on weekends just to a Mac Donald’s or a library to get service (and it is a long drive for many.) Money for technology doesn’t do much if one has no internet and one needs staff that can handle/repair/update computers. That can be a major issue for small budgets (as you know, most capitol funds cover only capital equipment – not maintenance or service.)

  238. 238.

    Timurid

    CNN front page: “Voters don’t like either one!” You’ll have to take the reins of the race horses from their cold, dead hands…

  239. 239.

    Roger Moore

    @Cermet:

    But at some point we need to help them

    We’re trying, but they keep electing people who are doing everything in their power to stop us. It’s not like we’re saying “Fuck it! Cut off every program that might help poor white people!”. We’re just saying that we have little sympathy for people who complain about how bad their lives are and then vote for people who are going to cut off the help they need to improve them.

  240. 240.

    waysel

    @Hal: You could go on and on about your deep admiration for her o so high standards a nd ethics, and her brilliant powers of perception. Then add a comment right below: that photo of John Lewis being dragged off the Selma bridge. Otherwise, I got nuthin’

  241. 241.

    Mnemosyne

    @pamelabrown53:

    LAX really is worse than most. When my mother in law and brother in law came out here to visit a few years ago, I ran into them at the bathroom in the baggage claim because they couldn’t figure out where the bathrooms were in the terminal proper.

    When the Phoenix airport looks like a model of efficiency and modernization compared to LA’s airport, you know you have a problem!

    Thank you for the kind words about my movie writing — it’s schrodinger’s cat’s turn next and I’m really looking forward to seeing if she picks sci-fi, spy movies, or a combination of the two.

  243. 243.

    WarMunchkin

    They either handed out non preferred tickets or something else, looks like they’ve piped us outside the Javitz center as an overflow. Not much information though. People are confused as to why we’re outside again with a tiny stage.

  244. 244.

    Steeplejack (tablet)

    @Hal:

    I think Miss Manners approves of, if not specifies, “Shut the fuck up!” Simple and direct.

  249. 249.

    NotMax

    @Major Major Major Major

    “The Ebola consomme sure looked interesting on the menu but in the end went with good old tomato soup.”

    When push came to shove they did the Right Thing.

    If they feel a passionate urge to publicly rationalize it, that’s their hang-up.

  253. 253.

    Cermet

    @Major Major Major Major: I will say this right now; in a swing district somewhere, I will send them money to that congress critter (my state is the bluest of the blue.) Also, act blue (and god help my email address but I will endure.) We need to turn around the midterms and money is the key.

  254. 254.

    Calouste

    The UK’s local fascist and serial leadership-resigner Nigel Falange says that “Trump represents change in this election just as Leave did in the EU referendum.” I guess that means that Trump will try to escape all the consequences from this election just like Falange did with the EU referendum, and that the Trump campaign is as much a bunch of lies as the Leave campaign was.

  256. 256.

    Cermet

    @Peale: Before or after her first impeachment just after taking the oath of office? Or by the third impeachment before the midterms, maybe?

  257. 257.

    Mnemosyne

    @Cermet:

    We are probably going to need to follow the lead of places like Finland and rural Africa and create robust cellular networks, because laying down more cables would be expensive and not work nearly as well.

    All of these are solvable problems IF the people there want them to be solved. Now you need to convince those people and their representatives that they want this and be willing to ask for it.

    Your turn. How do you get them to do that rather than electing representatives who only want to cut taxes and make their infrastructure worse?

  258. 258.

    Roger Moore

    @Redshift:
    I think they’re doing their final predictions differently. PEC is predicting a specific final vote count based on the “most probable single outcome”, basically their best guess at what the map will look like. 538 is making a probabalistic prediction, something like a weighted average of all the outcomes their model generates. That’s how 538 is able to predict fractional EVs, which obviously can’t happen in real life.

    IMO, it’s another example of 538 hedging. Rather than putting down a chit on a specific outcome, they’re predicting a range so they can claim the final result was somewhere in that range.

  259. 259.

    NoraLenderbee

    @NotMax: Eh, he’s the guy who ran as a spoiler to keep Liz Holtzman from becoming Senator, and put in that sleaze, Al Fucking D’Amato *spit*

  262. 262.

    Mnemosyne

    @Roger Moore:

    We’re just saying that we have little sympathy for people who complain about how bad their lives are and then vote for people who are going to cut off the help they need to improve them.

    Or, what Roger said.

  263. 263.

    Jeffro

    @jacy:

    Too much nervous energy. I made from scratch chicken corn chowder with green chili for lunch and later dinner. That wasn’t time-consuming enough, so I made some sour cream fudge brownies. I’m currently scouring the pantry to see what else I can cook without going out to the store.

    This sounds quite familiar to me…made a nice pork loin in the crock pot, then (coincidence!) some corn chowder and an apple fritter thingy for dessert. I would keep cooking all night if I had a TV in the kitchen.

  267. 267.

    Jeffro

    @Peale:

    the pundits will keep asking her why she’s running again in 2020 and why doesn’t she step down for the good of the country.

    With the follow-up question to the pundits being, “Was that your advice to George W. Bush back in 2004, sir/madam?”

  268. 268.

    debit

    I have 15 minutes left at work and then I’m scurrying home to watch the results come in.

    ETA: I realize that has nothing to do with anything, but I just can’t contain my excitement. It also helps me look busy if I’m typing.

  269. 269.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    I have returned from my polling place and have completed my civic duty. There was no line and I was in and out in 5 minutes. I was thinking of getting my tat worked on, but I’ll stay here until the race is called. Then, TACOS*!

    *Actually burritos.

  276. 276.

    sigaba

    I’m presently loading Trump’s NH rally yesterday into the computer, it’ll be useful to have a few of these in the sound library in the future. I’m planning on using it in a horror project I just booked.

  280. 280.

    debbie

    I voted after work and just got home. No wait, no intimidators, but a lovely bake sale. Cookies for dinner!

  281. 281.

    PsiFighter37

    Back at home. Wearing my Obama 2012 shirt (I really need to figure out where my 2008 one is), beer open, about to order Indian curry.

    Let’s go team!!

  283. 283.

    hovercraft

    Tweety just said that JFK went tp a porn movie back in the day, while waiting for the results because he didn’t want to watch the news.

  285. 285.

    raven

    Shots fired at an LA Polling place and Tweety just said JFK (?) or some candidate went to a porn movie the night of the election.

    “Multiple people shot near polling station; active shooter heavily armed”

  289. 289.

    gene108

    @catclub:

    Being born in the USA does give you a right to vote. But like exercising other rights, there are rules about how you go about doing it.

    Edit: A lot of these right-wingers think they are exempt from the rules and should be able to do as they please.

  291. 291.

    hovercraft

    Why is Kellyanne not in the bucker with her toddler, why is she on msnbc twice in less than an hour?
    Yes I’ll be like this all night. And yes I’m going to keep watching these clowns.

  292. 292.

    debbie

    @raven:

    I heard about a fight at a Florida poll between a Clinton supporter and a Trump supporter. One of them had to be pepper sprayed. The smell of freedom!

  293. 293.

    Steeplejack (tablet)

    In and out in no time voting at 4:00 p.m. in my little section of NoVA. Stopped by Total Wine and the grocery store, decompressed a bit back home, and now I’m off with bubbly and dessert to a victory dinner at Sighthound Hall.

  294. 294.

    Major Major Major Major

    I just learned that posting something positive about Susan B. Anthony is “the height of white privilege” (seems like everything is this year) and that people like me are the reason “most Bernie voters are voting for Stein.” Millennials!

  295. 295.

    dmsilev

    Can we get a fresh thread? There’s going to be a big wave of poll closings in less than 30 minutes, and this one’s getting fairly long.

  298. 298.

    debbie

    @catclub:

    There’s a photo on my FB page of a guy in a Columbus OH voting precinct with a “Put the White Back in the White House” tee shirt. I thought if was illegal to bring any political statements into the polling place?

  299. 299.

    Ked

    So are we getting a chatroom thing this year like the last two? I didn’t like the archive feature on it, but it’s probably a good idea…

  302. 302.

    Ked

    MSNBC is crap, but it’s better crap than the others. The republicans on the panel are relatively sane.

  304. 304.

    Chris

    @redshirt:

    I’d like to nominate Newark for the “Worst Airport” contest.

    The thing I remember loving about Newark was the people with those little luggage carts who, for lack of horns to blow, would actually say “beep. Beep! BEEEEEEEEEEEEP!” to get your attention.

  305. 305.

    Chris

    @debbie:

    There’s a photo on my FB page of a guy in a Columbus OH voting precinct with a “Put the White Back in the White House” tee shirt.

    It really breaks your heart to see how concerned these people are about the economy.

  310. 310.

    redshirt

    @Chris: I’ve had the worst time at Newark. I actually experienced ego death after a 23 hour coach flight from China to Newark, and my flight back to Boston was delayed for 6 hours. I could have driven home faster. And I was trapped in one crappy terminal.

    I think a part of me is still there… forever.

  313. 313.

    Joel

    @Hal: “Hi, you might be under the impression that no one cares. And that’s because it’s true! No one cares.”

  314. 314.

    Peale

    @redshirt: oh please. Laguardia. ‘Maybe the women’s bathrooms are clean at that airport. But the gents? Way to make us have to set ours bags down in damp pee water.

  322. 322.

    OGLiberal

    @redshirt: Yesterday. It was their final poll and had Clinton ahead by 2. The did their final prediction (not a poll, their best guess) this AM and they had it Clinton 322, Trump 216 with a 50/50 split in the Senate. That’s probably what we’re going to see so yup, as usual, they came home. They have Obama at 54 percent approval. They still ask stupid push poll question about emails, Clinton Foundation, etc where the answer is always yes, those things thag are bad for Dems are very concerning to voters while they don’t care out stuff that’s supposed to be bad for Republicans. But their head to head polls have been better. May have something to do with Scott Rasmussen no longer being with the firm.

  323. 323.

    debbie

    @Chris:

    Interestingly, an anonymous flyer was left in my brother’s driveway back in July 2008 which called for people not to allow the White House turn Black. Sick bookends.

  324. 324.

    Brachiator

    Ah, well. Off a little early today.

    I will either watch the results or have a glass of wine and go to bed early.

    What an election. People at work who don’t normally follow this stuff are watching the results roll in.

  326. 326.

    Patricia Kayden

    @David ?▶️?Blue Wall?▶️? Koch: Majority Report which is live on Youtube or Freespeech tv which is live on the internet may be better options for you. I tried to watch BBC America but a Trump supporter was blabbing about Clinton “scandals” like Benghazi and email servers. I couldn’t believe that Katty Kay or one of the other British reporters didn’t ask him what the hell was scandalous about Benghazi. Sigh.

  327. 327.

    Roger Moore

    @Vheidi:

    Trump election night at dumpy 3rd rate NY Hilton – Sad!

    I’m amazed; I would have expected him to throw a very expensive shindig at a Trump hotel, and charge the campaign at least 3x the going rate.

  328. 328.

    Mnemosyne

    @Roger Moore:

    Even Trump’s own hotels don’t want to be associated with him. I’m assuming they all told him they were booked up.

    Of course, a smart campaign would have booked the hotel months ago. It’s not like the date of Election Day was a closely guarded secret.

  330. 330.

    1,000 Flouncing Lurkers (was fidelioscabinet)

    @NotMax: Thee /pedant.

    Although “Thou shouldst go hence from this place and screwest thyself forthwith” is probably too wordy, despite its archaic flair.

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