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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Late Night Social Notes Open Thread: True Glamour

Late Night Social Notes Open Thread: True Glamour

by Anne Laurie|  January 7, 201710:57 pm| 111 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads, Popular Culture, Proud to Be A Democrat

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George Clooney, @PaulMcCartney, and Meryl Streep were among the stars at the Obamas' farewell bash https://t.co/HMvdBoDgzF pic.twitter.com/10xdtz6EbK

— Variety (@Variety) January 7, 2017

… They were among those spotted arriving at the White House for the late-evening event, along with Gloria Estefan, Magic Johnson, Anna Wintour, Bradley Cooper, Harvey Weinstein, Lorne Michaels, John Legend and Chrissy Teigen, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Kelly Rowland, Tracee Ellis Ross, David Letterman, Gloria Estefan, Tyler Perry, Robert De Niro, Jon Hamm, Ken Burns, Stevie Wonder, Al Roker, Chris Rock, and Lena Dunham. Photos of the arrivals were posted on social media by reporters, including CNN’s Betsy Klein, staked out near the White House entrance.

Many of the Obamas’ friends who attended were donors and supporters throughout their White House years and two presidential campaigns.

The event was private, and in the past the Obamas have picked up the tab for such parties…

The presence of so many celebrities may contrast to the turnout for Donald Trump’s inauguration. His team has been trying to line up talent to perform at his inauguration festivities later this month. Performers like Elton John and Garth Brooks have declined.

The party went on until 4 a.m., with chicken and waffles served to the early morning attendees.

Some pictures (from social media) at the link.

As an aspiring agoraphobe, I’d rather eat live fire ants, but it pleases me to know how much not being there — standing no chance of attracting a similarly high-profile lineup, without the use of force — has to chap the Trump Crime Cartel’s tender cavier-moisturised hides.

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Previous Post: « Open Thread: I’ll Miss Michelle Obama in the White House
Next Post: Dear Mrs. Crowley »

Reader Interactions

111Comments

  1. 1.

    burnspbesq

    January 7, 2017 at 11:02 pm

    Hell of a wake for our democracy.

  2. 2.

    Raoul

    January 7, 2017 at 11:03 pm

    Our current president deserves to be feted and to enjoy knowing he was, on balance, a very fine president. I hope his post-presidency goes well, too.

    ETA: burnspbesq yeah, that is probably why reading about this party made me sad.

  3. 3.

    bk

    January 7, 2017 at 11:05 pm

    The comments on the Variety article made me think that I was reading a Yahoo news story.

  4. 4.

    PaulWartenberg2016

    January 7, 2017 at 11:06 pm

    Trump is crying into his pile of unsnorted coke that he can’t get a single one of those celebrities for his inaugural, and all Obama has to do is pick up a phone and say “who’s up for a shindig” and 99 percent of NYC/LA would be “yeah we up”.

  5. 5.

    SiubhanDuinne

    January 7, 2017 at 11:07 pm

    I put this in a comment at the tail end of the dying thread below, but it’s even more appropriate here:

    Apologies if someone else has already linked to this, but the White House has released a video “Yes We Can” featuring both celebrities and ordinary unsung folks talking about their most memorable Obama moments.

    It is heartwarming, moving, and funny. Do take five minutes to watch it.

    ETA: Oops, link https://youtu.be/eDOo3v2ntHI

  6. 6.

    SiubhanDuinne

    January 7, 2017 at 11:08 pm

    @PaulWartenberg2016:

    I love this comment.

  7. 7.

    khead

    January 7, 2017 at 11:10 pm

    I am kinda hoping to get through the next few years by ducking my head and putting my paws over my eyes like Chloe kitteh.

  8. 8.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    January 7, 2017 at 11:12 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne: @SiubhanDuinne: I watched it, and now I’m watching another linked video, a tour of the White House narrated by Obama. Another linked video is the unveiling of Bush’s portrait, and it occurred to me that Obama is going to have to go and stand with the Yam for that ceremony.

  9. 9.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    January 7, 2017 at 11:17 pm

    There’s also this video from the WH correspondents’ dinner, which I’d forgotten start with Barack Obama saying what I hope he says a lot, “Fuck you, Chuck Todd”

  10. 10.

    Major Major Major Major

    January 7, 2017 at 11:23 pm

    @bk: now that Breitbart is running the world it’s all yahoo news, baby.

  11. 11.

    Ruckus

    January 7, 2017 at 11:25 pm

    but it pleases me to know how much not being there — standing no chance of attracting a similarly high-profile lineup, without the use of force — has to chap the Trump Crime Cartel’s tender cavier-moisturised hides.

    This!
    I doubt that force would work either. Wouldn’t make for a very good show, having a stage full of bound and gagged celebs.

  12. 12.

    Yutsano

    January 7, 2017 at 11:27 pm

    I am going to miss them. Melania will never move to DC. Ivanka looks plastic as fuck when she tries to act human, and the Idiotic Spray Tan will stink up the joint for decades. This is gonna be rough until he gets ousted after the sweet sweet tax cuts get signed. Sadly Pence is worse because not only is he a True Believer he’s also by most accounts a total moron.

    Side Note: Melania never smiles. I have yet to see a picture or video of her genuinely smiling.

  13. 13.

    Feathers

    January 7, 2017 at 11:38 pm

    Gas leak story ongoing. Called 911 over 12 hours ago. There is now a crew with a backhoe digging a big and deep hole in my street to get to the connection to the main. They are then going to leave it until morning, at which point they will run a new line (or maybe liner) up to the house. They are doing this so that they don’t have to shut off the heat in the house tonight – it’s in the teens here. I just brought them out a batch of brownies.

    I can tell my anxiety is at full bloom, because it is a crisis and I am very, very, very calm. No emotion. All put to the cope. I didn’t realize that it was anxiety for quite a while because I just shut down rather than having a panic attack.

  14. 14.

    Another Scott

    January 7, 2017 at 11:42 pm

    @Feathers: Zooks!

    I’m sure your neighbors appreciate having the work done, in spite of the inconvenience. Big gas leaks are scary!

    Good luck!!

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  15. 15.

    opiejeanne

    January 7, 2017 at 11:44 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Will the yam even show up for that?

  16. 16.

    SiubhanDuinne

    January 7, 2017 at 11:47 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Another linked video is the unveiling of Bush’s portrait, and it occurred to me that Obama is going to have to go and stand with the Yam for that ceremony.

    Not to worry. Won’t happen. Trump will replace every presidential portrait in the joint with lifesize paintings and photos and busts of himself.

    In seriousness, what I am dreading is the death of one of his predecessors, with the traditional expectation that all other former POTI and FLOTI attend the funeral and that the current POTUS delivers the eulogy. The Yam managed to turn his eulogy for his own father into a promotional speech for himself, FFS. Can you imagine what he would say at a memorial for GHWB or Jimmy Carter?

  17. 17.

    opiejeanne

    January 7, 2017 at 11:48 pm

    @Feathers: That’s scary, and digging it up with a backhoe is scary too. Yikes!

    I hope you stay safe and they don’t cause a spark by hitting a pipe of any sort.

  18. 18.

    Feathers

    January 7, 2017 at 11:49 pm

    @efgoldman: I offered coffee, but they said they had just gotten some. If I had cider, I’d offer that. I was about to go to the grocery store just before I smelled the gas – my cupboard is very bare. No milk, but I had two eggs for the box of brownie mix I forgot I had.

    I decided to watch Captain America:Civil War, which I had been looking forward to, but it is entirely the wrong movie for the situation. Switching to Poirot.

  19. 19.

    Mike J

    January 7, 2017 at 11:53 pm

    @opiejeanne: Sorry I didn’t get up to Fremont for cheese.

  20. 20.

    Adam L Silverman

    January 7, 2017 at 11:53 pm

    @Feathers: Is it safe in your house in terms of clean, non gaseous, air to breathe?

    Stay warm.

  21. 21.

    SiubhanDuinne

    January 7, 2017 at 11:53 pm

    @Feathers:

    Is it even safe for you to stay in the house tonight? I guess they’d have told you to evacuate if it were dangerous. And you’re baking brownies….

    That’s a very nice thing for you to have done. Good luck on the whole thing being over soon.

  22. 22.

    Feathers

    January 7, 2017 at 11:56 pm

    @opiejeanne: The hole is probably at least six feet deep at this point, so it needs a backhoe. It’s amazing how good a good backhoe or crane operator is. The gas is seeping through my 1930’s basement wall, which is mortared rocks. Apparently its negligible but they have to keep going until there is no reading.

    It’s strange, I kind of freaked out before making the call, but now that it is ongoing, I’m fine.

  23. 23.

    Svensker

    January 8, 2017 at 12:01 am

    @Feathers: Good luck!

  24. 24.

    sloan

    January 8, 2017 at 12:04 am

    My Trumpy co-workers and family seem to be realizing they’ve been played for fools and branded themselves with The Scarlet T. They ran their mouths all year about how awesome he would be and voted for him so they own this shit now. But they’ve becoming awfully quiet lately and don’t want to talk about him any more. How odd!

    Sort of like when they voted for Bush, except it took them 6-7 years to admit he was awful. Trump isn’t even in office yet!

  25. 25.

    Feathers

    January 8, 2017 at 12:04 am

    @efgoldman: I don’t know. The ‘splodiy is fun and well done. My patience with the “yes you saved the world, but look at how many people got hurt” storyline is just about nil at this moment in time. It wants to show some seriousness, but I know that it is really only serving to make people who worry about these things in the real world, Syria, police shootings, etc., look like fools who are getting in the way of the Avengers doing what is right.

    I really liked Winter Soldier, but not feeling this one. It is not distracting me.

  26. 26.

    Miss Bianca

    January 8, 2017 at 12:05 am

    @PaulWartenberg2016: you know what’s weird to me? It’s that, in our celebrity-worshipping culture, the fact that ALL the celebrities that most people care about, look up to, worship, whatever, campaigned for Clinton and refuse to have anything to do with Donald Trump, doesn’t seem to have made more of an impression on people that voted – or would vote – for Trump.

  27. 27.

    Mothra

    January 8, 2017 at 12:09 am

    The reporter seemed really excited about Gloria Estafan – two mentions.

  28. 28.

    magurakurin

    January 8, 2017 at 12:10 am

    @sloan: His failure will be epic. He is in way over his head. The people who voted for him will become pariah of the first order. It is all on them now. They own all the bullshit that is about to come down the road. And I for one, will give no quarter, no mercy, no forgiveness…ever.

  29. 29.

    Mnemosyne

    January 8, 2017 at 12:11 am

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    I hope GHWB goes first. I want every goddamned Republican in the federal government — including the idiot sons — to be forced to sit there and watch what they created, all of them, on live international TV. Fuck them.

    Mnemo +2

  30. 30.

    BethanyAnne

    January 8, 2017 at 12:11 am

    I’m hoping it’s ok to post a cat help bleg in an open thread. I read this on Meh’s forums, and contributed. Hopefully some here don’t mind helping out as well. Thanks, Bethany

  31. 31.

    Mike in NC

    January 8, 2017 at 12:12 am

    We are roughly 12-18 months from the onset of the Great Trump Recession. Hope his supporters enjoy it.

  32. 32.

    BethanyAnne

    January 8, 2017 at 12:12 am

    The direct link to the cat surgery fundraiser is here: https://www.youcaring.com/brendaarnold-729875

  33. 33.

    Mnemosyne

    January 8, 2017 at 12:15 am

    @Miss Bianca:

    Even the Kardashians were for Hillary, FFS. But it was all about making their D-list more important than Jay-Z and Beyoncé.

    @magurakurin:

    I might be willing to forgive, but there is a specific phrase that would need to be spoken in its entirety with no substitutions: “I was wrong.”

  34. 34.

    JordanRules

    January 8, 2017 at 12:15 am

    @efgoldman:

    gonif

    Nice.

  35. 35.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    January 8, 2017 at 12:15 am

    @Mnemosyne: hmmm…. Barbara Pierce Bush will lie on her death bed knowing her eulogy will be delivered by a bloated clown with a fake tan and Queens accent. I’ll take these small moments of karma where I can find them.

    I could see the Carters requesting the Yam be kept away from their ceremonies. They don’t give a fuck anymore.

  36. 36.

    magurakurin

    January 8, 2017 at 12:17 am

    @Mnemosyne: no. not me. It was obvious what a bad person he is. This isn’t about ideology or political philosophy. He is morally and mentally unfit for the office and this was obvious from day one. Basically, I’m at the point where I wouldn’t piss on one of his voters if they were on fire.

  37. 37.

    Mnemosyne

    January 8, 2017 at 12:18 am

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    The Bushes thought that Ronald and Nancy Reagan were arrivistes. Enjoy your new political party, Bar!

  38. 38.

    magurakurin

    January 8, 2017 at 12:20 am

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: this. He will be a black stain on everything and everyone forever. And if he does the unthinkable and uses a nuke to kill 2 or 3 million people in some city somewhere for no reason at all…how do we ever come back from that? We can’t. Ever. The darkness that is approaching is so black that I believe most people can’t actually believe it is real. We have made a horrible, horrible mistake.

  39. 39.

    Yarrow

    January 8, 2017 at 12:21 am

    They are such a gorgeous couple. I will miss him as our President and her as our amazing First Lady. Such great representatives for us as a country. I can’t even think about what’s next for the country.

  40. 40.

    BethanyAnne

    January 8, 2017 at 12:25 am

    @Mnemosyne: Of course I thought of this.

  41. 41.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    January 8, 2017 at 12:27 am

    @magurakurin: I believe most people can’t actually believe it is real.

    I think it still hasn’t fully sunk in for me, TBH

  42. 42.

    Mnemosyne

    January 8, 2017 at 12:28 am

    @magurakurin:

    Well, I’m a little drunk right now, so I may be feeling overly generous.

    I still want them to admit they were wrong, though. I know who they are, and they can’t pretend they voted for Hillary.

    Oh, and fuck third party voters, too. If they couldn’t recognize how dangerous Trump was, that’s not my fucking problem. Go eat a bag of salted dicks, moron.

  43. 43.

    Major Major Major Major

    January 8, 2017 at 12:29 am

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: My husband keeps reading about nuclear blast radius’s and trying to figure out if the bay area is a likely target.

  44. 44.

    magurakurin

    January 8, 2017 at 12:31 am

    @efgoldman: I know the vast majority here are solid, stand up good, even great, people. But we had one job to do…and we didn’t get it done. It may well be that it was beyond our control or that we did all and everything we could…but we still lost…so it wasn’t enough. So, we in the broader sense of “Americans” whoever and wherever we are. But, make no mistake…my anger, my hatred, my vengeful wrath is directed squarely and intensely at eveyone who voted for him. No quarter, no mercy, no forgiveness.

  45. 45.

    magurakurin

    January 8, 2017 at 12:32 am

    @Mnemosyne:

    Go eat a bag of salted dicks, moron.

    seconded.

  46. 46.

    Steeplejack (tablet)

    January 8, 2017 at 12:33 am

    @sloan:

    I hope you miss no opportunity to remind them—​gently—​in the years to come that they own his bullshit in every detail.

  47. 47.

    Mnemosyne

    January 8, 2017 at 12:34 am

    @Major Major Major Major:

    We probably need a geographer to tell us what’s an easier flight path from North Korea, San Francisco or Los Angeles.

    If it’s the Russians, we’re both fucked because we’re both on the list. At least we’ll go fast and the survivors will envy us.

  48. 48.

    magurakurin

    January 8, 2017 at 12:35 am

    @Major Major Major Major: I remember reading back in the 80’s, when the actually number of warheads was at its peak, that the US military had basically run out of targets in the Soviet Union and PX’s on Soviet military bases were actual named targets. Pretty sure the Bay Area has been and always will be on a Russian or Chinese target list…

  49. 49.

    Steeplejack (tablet)

    January 8, 2017 at 12:36 am

    @Mnemosyne:

    Amen.

  50. 50.

    Mnemosyne

    January 8, 2017 at 12:36 am

    @Steeplejack (tablet):

    I was driving my cousin crazy by gently saying, “You chose this,” and that was only in the couple of days after the election.

    Now she wants to make nice, but you know what? That’s not her decision. The person who did the horrible deed doesn’t get to decide they should get to be forgiven now. That’s not how it works.

  51. 51.

    Major Major Major Major

    January 8, 2017 at 12:36 am

    @magurakurin: @Mnemosyne: I don’t imagine Russia or China will be the issue, only NK is crazy enough to do it. They’ve got a long ways to go before they can hit anywhere outside of Alaska though.

    If somebody were to go for a target in CA I imagine they’d go for Long Beach area (we still have stuff there right?)–military target with lots of civilian casualties but you still have plausible deniability and can say it was their fault for living intermingled with a military target.

  52. 52.

    magurakurin

    January 8, 2017 at 12:39 am

    @Major Major Major Major: NK is probably more likely to target a US base in Japan…lucky me. But, you are probably right, the Russians and the Chinese won’t make a first strike…but Shitgibbon, on the other hand, who knows?

  53. 53.

    Mnemosyne

    January 8, 2017 at 12:39 am

    @Major Major Major Major:

    Nah, it would be Los Angeles — our port is even bigger and they’re still pissed about the movies we made mocking various members of the Kim family.

    Actually, it would probably be Honolulu, but don’t tell NotMax. He’s downwind.

  54. 54.

    fuckwit

    January 8, 2017 at 12:43 am

    @Major Major Major Major: It depends. For terrorists or for military action by Russia or China, etc?

    The only even remotely thoughtful military strategy would be to take out retailatory strike military capability and industrial capacity. That means going for missile sites, bases, etc. I don’t know that there’s that much of significance here.

    As for sheer terror, population sites would be a target, and the Bay Area is definitely one. I’d cast a wary eye at North Korea, if their shit worked, and I expect L.A. might have some source of worry there too.

  55. 55.

    Major Major Major Major

    January 8, 2017 at 12:43 am

    @Mnemosyne: I feel like Hawaii is a little obvious, ha. It’s certainly closer. They’d probably go for Japan though.

  56. 56.

    Steeplejack (tablet)

    January 8, 2017 at 12:46 am

    @Major Major Major Major:

    I don’t think San Francisco would be on Trump’s list of prime targets. But if Pelosi pops off once too often . . .

  57. 57.

    magurakurin

    January 8, 2017 at 12:47 am

    @Major Major Major Major: They hate the Japanese.

  58. 58.

    Major Major Major Major

    January 8, 2017 at 12:47 am

    @magurakurin: They do indeed.

  59. 59.

    Mnemosyne

    January 8, 2017 at 12:48 am

    @efgoldman:

    Reminding them gently can be more fun, because then they can’t even whine that you were mean to them when you said it. Ask me how I know. ?

    @Major Major Major Major:

    If they wanted to strike the US, Honolulu is probably the only place within their capacity. But, yes, Japan is the most likely target, and the Japanese know it.

  60. 60.

    Haydnseek

    January 8, 2017 at 12:52 am

    @Major Major Major Major: Not to upset your domestic tranquility, but two words: “silicon valley.”

  61. 61.

    Major Major Major Major

    January 8, 2017 at 12:54 am

    @Haydnseek: …is not a military target.

    Besides, I imagine anybody doing the nuking likes having functioning software and Internet.

  62. 62.

    Mnemosyne

    January 8, 2017 at 12:55 am

    @Haydnseek:

    Hmm. Silicon Valley is not all that close to San Francisco proper, though. Depending on the prevailing winds, people in SF would probably die a horrible death of radiation poisoning rather than being incinerated outright.

    I mean, as long as we’re being morbid about it. If I go too far into being morbid, somebody tell me.

  63. 63.

    Major Major Major Major

    January 8, 2017 at 12:58 am

    @Mnemosyne: Depends on if you’re talking about San Jose silicon valley or Mountain View silicon valley.

  64. 64.

    Haydnseek

    January 8, 2017 at 12:59 am

    @Major Major Major Major: Long Beach? Really? Hell, I went to college there, and have lived my entire life no more than eight miles from there. What makes you think they’re worth wasting a nuke on?

  65. 65.

    West of the Rockies (been a while)

    January 8, 2017 at 1:00 am

    @magurakurin:

    I do hope you’re right. I ESPECIALLY want to see Conway and Hannity go down the toilet with him.

  66. 66.

    Mnemosyne

    January 8, 2017 at 1:02 am

    @Haydnseek:

    CSULB or LBCC?

    ETA: I have relatives who have worked at LBCC for decades.

  67. 67.

    Haydnseek

    January 8, 2017 at 1:06 am

    @Major Major Major Major: Yeah, like they rely on server farms in Mountain View. You’re enormously more tech savvy than me. Do you really think they would cut their own throats like that?

  68. 68.

    Major Major Major Major

    January 8, 2017 at 1:09 am

    @Haydnseek:

    Do you really think they would cut their own throats like that?

    …who?

  69. 69.

    Haydnseek

    January 8, 2017 at 1:11 am

    @Mnemosyne: Do you really think that SF would be a more important target than the nerve center of our tech infrastructure? Why? It’s not about body count. It’s about retaliatory strike capability, which kind of relies on those computer thingies.

  70. 70.

    Mnemosyne

    January 8, 2017 at 1:13 am

    @Major Major Major Major:

    Good question. San Jose is probably better known, but Mountain View would be more likely to also take out SF. Depends on the intended message, I suppose.

    If they’re going purely military, then San Diego is totally screwed. There’s way more bases in that direction.

  71. 71.

    Major Major Major Major

    January 8, 2017 at 1:14 am

    @Mnemosyne: San Diego, that’s what I meant, not Long Beach.

  72. 72.

    Mnemosyne

    January 8, 2017 at 1:16 am

    @Haydnseek:

    Sorry, I wasn’t clear — I was saying that San Jose was more likely, so SF would only be horrible irradiated, not incinerated. But Major^4 brings up a good point about Mountain View perhaps having a lot more of the vital infrastructure these days, in which case SF would probably be incinerated along with them.

  73. 73.

    Haydnseek

    January 8, 2017 at 1:17 am

    @Mnemosyne: Psych degree from Long Beach State. Attended for two more semesters to get my degree because I was taking so many English classes that I didn’t have sufficient units in my declared major……and I’m really glad it worked out that way.

  74. 74.

    Haydnseek

    January 8, 2017 at 1:21 am

    @Major Major Major Major: Uhhhhh…….the country that might launch a nuclear first strike? It’s kind of been a topic of discussion in this thread……..

  75. 75.

    hovercraft

    January 8, 2017 at 1:22 am

    You know that when Cheeto Mussalini saw this story he blew a gasket. All these A-listers flocking to DC to say goodbye to a Kenyan Muslim for free, when he can’t get a single one to accept money from him. SAD !!!

  76. 76.

    Mnemosyne

    January 8, 2017 at 1:22 am

    @Major Major Major Major:
    @Haydnseek:

    We may need Adam to come down from the other thread and make a ruling. If he doesn’t know for sure, he probably knows where to find the information.

  77. 77.

    Major Major Major Major

    January 8, 2017 at 1:24 am

    @Haydnseek: I am very very confused right now, maybe you could start over and explain what we’re talking about.

  78. 78.

    Mnemosyne

    January 8, 2017 at 1:25 am

    @Haydnseek:

    Just curious since I have the LBCC connection. I think my sole connection to CSULB was that I once saw the touring company for the San Francisco Opera do a production of The Marriage of Figaro there. They were beyond excellent, and the theater was small but very well-run. Sometimes even the LA Opera screws up the supertitles.

  79. 79.

    Haydnseek

    January 8, 2017 at 1:25 am

    @Mnemosyne: Indeed. Mountain View has a great deal of vital tech infrastructure. I was about to say that none of it is hardened against a multiple-warhead nuclear attack, but I don’t have conclusive data on that. But the magic 8 ball says that all signs point to no.

  80. 80.

    Mnemosyne

    January 8, 2017 at 1:26 am

    @Major Major Major Major:

    We’re talking about North Korea. If Russia or China was going to nuke us, they would nuke the whole coast and we’d all be dead. Only NK has so few nukes that they would have to pick and choose.

  81. 81.

    Major Major Major Major

    January 8, 2017 at 1:29 am

    @Mnemosyne: I caught that, I just am having a hard time figuring out what Haydnseek meant. There aren’t really critical server farms in Mountain View.

  82. 82.

    Haydnseek

    January 8, 2017 at 1:30 am

    @Major Major Major Major: Okay. As I recall, you mentioned your husbands quite understandable apprehension about the effects of a nuclear strike in the Bay Area. The balance of the comments in the thread have related to the vital tech infrastructure concentrated in said Bay Area, and the possible effects in SF as opposed to various vital sites in silicon valley. I hope I’ve made myself clear. Really, no snark.

  83. 83.

    janelle

    January 8, 2017 at 1:34 am

    @efgoldman: I took it as “we” meaning America as a whole. He’s sure as shit not ever going to be my president, but unfortunately, he will be my country’s president in 12 frighteningly short days.

  84. 84.

    Major Major Major Major

    January 8, 2017 at 1:35 am

    @Haydnseek: OK, I guess I convinced myself that I was missing something but I can’t really find evidence of it right now.

    I don’t think that a rational actor would attack the Bay Area. If they were to attack the Bay Area, I don’t see them hitting San Francisco. As for whether San Jose or Mountain View “is” “silicon valley”, open question. But it’s definitely not SF.

    I also don’t think North Korea is a rational actor (duh).

  85. 85.

    Mnemosyne

    January 8, 2017 at 1:35 am

    @Major Major Major Major:

    I honestly don’t know what proportion of the traditional “Silicon Valley” has moved from San Jose to Mountain View. If the servers and other infrastructure are still in SJ, then you’ll just be horribly irradiated from the fallout and not incinerated by the initial blast.

  86. 86.

    Adam L Silverman

    January 8, 2017 at 1:38 am

    @Mnemosyne: Just a quick reply before I rack out – I saw the comment as I was digging something out of moderation…

    Anyhow, it depends who’s doing the targeting. If you’re talking the North Korean government, and looking at it in terms of military targets, then the US targets are: the US Army Korea garrisons in South Korea. All US military targets in Japan. The US Navy facility at Diego Garcia. All US military targets in Hawaii – this would take out both PACOM and the service component commands. Then you’d want to hit Coronado and Pendleton in California. This takes out both the West Coast USMC and SeALs. You’d want to take out the bases in Alaska and Joint Base Lewis-McChord. North Korea’s problem is that it doesn’t have the capability to hit all of those. And even if it did, not all at once. Even before the first target is hit, everything else will scramble. All US Navy and USMC floats will sortie and make smoke, and all US Air Force and Army Aviation will go right into the air for repositioning. If at all possible, as many US Army personnel will by relocated.

    I highly doubt the North Koreans would be targeting commercial sites in California, Oregon, and Washington state. The problem, of course, is trying to anticipate what Kim and his immediate circle would or would not target.

  87. 87.

    Major Major Major Major

    January 8, 2017 at 1:38 am

    @Mnemosyne: If they wanted to attack a server farm they’d bomb Appalachia or Oregon. The critical infrastructure out here is mostly pressurized meat.

  88. 88.

    Haydnseek

    January 8, 2017 at 1:43 am

    @Major Major Major Major: I take your point. I’m probably using the term “silicon valley” a bit too broadly here. I’m just speculating about the value of tech infrastructure as opposed to a population center with regard to Russia, which can target both with re-entry vehicles carried in one warhead. Here in Los Angeles, we just figure that ground zero will be city hall. I live a scant eight miles from there, so that’s all, folks!

  89. 89.

    Mnemosyne

    January 8, 2017 at 1:44 am

    @Adam L Silverman:

    Yeah, if they went for military targets, there are a whole heck of a lot more attractive ones in Japan, South Korea, and Hawaii, and those would be a lot easier for them to hit than anything on the mainland.

    If they wanted to hit a civilian target, Los Angeles would be much, much more attractive than San Francisco. Last I heard, the big Sony data breach was traced back to North Korea, so they have a grudge against my industry. Plus the Port of Los Angeles is the largest one on the West Coast and disabling it would be crippling to our commerce. To me, that makes LA the most likely civilian/commercial target on the West Coast.

    ETA: LA would be the most likely, “Fuck you, you’re going to wipe us out by retaliating anyway, so let’s screw you up first” target, too.

  90. 90.

    Adam L Silverman

    January 8, 2017 at 1:48 am

    @Mnemosyne: The issue is I’m not sure that’s how the NK leadership thinks. Its one of the problems with dealing with an almost completely opaque state and society combined with an erratic leader surrounded by what are essentially enabling personal retainers that all imagine they could, and perhaps should, take over for him.

  91. 91.

    magurakurin

    January 8, 2017 at 2:05 am

    @Adam L Silverman:

    Its one of the problems with dealing with an almost completely opaque state and society combined with an erratic leader surrounded by what are essentially enabling personal retainers that all imagine they could, and perhaps should, take over for him.

    oh..wait…you were talking about North Korea…I thought you were talking about the Trump Administration at first…my bad.

  92. 92.

    Adam L Silverman

    January 8, 2017 at 2:08 am

    @magurakurin: I was waiting for someone to make this comment.

  93. 93.

    Mnemosyne

    January 8, 2017 at 2:14 am

    @Adam L Silverman:

    Honestly, that’s the other reason I’m assuming it would be LA if they decided on a “fuck you” target instead of a military target: Kim is pissed because we made mean movies about him and his daddy. Ground zero would be Sony Motion Picture Studios in Culver City.

  94. 94.

    opiejeanne

    January 8, 2017 at 2:23 am

    @Mike J: It’s tomorrow, at the Fremont Sunday market.
    And they may still be in New York. I don’t think their flight to Seattle ever took off.

  95. 95.

    Ruckus

    January 8, 2017 at 2:25 am

    @Mnemosyne:
    I’d amend your statement requirement.
    “I was 100% fucking wrong. And will never vote republican again.”
    At that point I’ll think about accepting that they learned something.

  96. 96.

    mai naem mobile

    January 8, 2017 at 2:25 am

    @SiubhanDuinne: I think the family decides whether the current POTUS speaks at a former POTUS funeral and i don’t see Bar Bush or Rosalyn Carter letting Lumpy speak at the funerals.

  97. 97.

    opiejeanne

    January 8, 2017 at 2:28 am

    @Feathers: I know how good an experienced backhoe driver is. I am married to a Civil Engineer and he worked on projects in an area with large areas of unmapped gas lines, working with backhoe drivers so good they could scrape the crayon off the top of a stake without moving the stake.
    The backhoe drivers would sometimes hit a pipe and were quick to bail out, getting as far away as possible as quickly as possible. Sometimes they’d strike a spark and the whole thing would blow up, which is always a possibility when you don’t know exactly where the pipe is.

  98. 98.

    mai naem mobile

    January 8, 2017 at 2:38 am

    @Mothra: Gloria Estefan used to (may still be?) a Republican. I remember really stupid stuff but she performed at one of the RNC conventions. Either GHWB or Dubbya. I think she was a Floriduh Cuban Republican. I think the Obama folks reached out to her early on because of the opening with Cuba.

  99. 99.

    Ruckus

    January 8, 2017 at 2:39 am

    @magurakurin:
    I refuse to accept this as my fault in any way. I worked for Clinton as much as I was able, I voted for her and that is what I was supposed to do. I can’t stand in the voting booth and make sure fucking morons have a fucking clue. Sure maybe we need to get the message out better but Clinton was a good candidate, she had good policy, etc. I remember people on this blog saying they didn’t know her policy positions, but they were spelled out on her website. Sure she didn’t go to every county in the country and talk to every voter, and some said she isn’t a great speaker but I thought she did a good job. She did win the popular vote after all.
    It was a perfectly shitty storm, of bullshit and lies that did her in. She was the best candidate running, in either party. Best candidate being the person that has the closest experience to the job at hand, that has the best understanding of the job at hand, that has the best temperament so as not to risk or desire war for a stupid fucking reason, that has the intelligence to handle the concepts and duties of the job. No one else on either side of the aisle ticked off all those boxes, most didn’t tick off any of them.

  100. 100.

    Ruckus

    January 8, 2017 at 2:50 am

    @Adam L Silverman:
    I read this comment and it struck me that you could as easily be talking about our near future rather than that of NK. The description is apt taken either way.

    Damn you magurakurin!

  101. 101.

    opiejeanne

    January 8, 2017 at 2:58 am

    @mai naem mobile: I certainly hope the family does control who speaks at a former president’s funeral. I don’t hate the Bushes enough to wish that on them.

  102. 102.

    Mnemosyne

    January 8, 2017 at 3:08 am

    @opiejeanne:

    I don’t hate the Bushes enough to wish that on them.

    I do. W empowered Karl Rove. Rove got Trump elected with his oh-so-clever voter suppression scheme. I want the Bushes to be forced to wallow in Trump the same way they made us wallow in him. No quarter.

  103. 103.

    Major Major Major Major

    January 8, 2017 at 3:10 am

    @Mnemosyne: The Bushes did severe-but-non-apocalyptic damage to the country and its institutions. Rove would’ve shown up anyway, he was an old Atwater flack so he’s part of the Nixon disease.

  104. 104.

    Mnemosyne

    January 8, 2017 at 3:12 am

    @Major Major Major Major:

    They enabled this result. The least they can do is sit and watch the results of their decisions and actions.

  105. 105.

    Ruckus

    January 8, 2017 at 3:26 am

    @Mnemosyne:

    They enabled this result. The least they can do is sit and watch the results of their decisions and actions.

    Agreed.

  106. 106.

    mai naem mobile

    January 8, 2017 at 3:34 am

    @opiejeanne: I wonder if Lumpy would be stupid enough to ask to speak at WJCS if god forbid it happened during Lumpys time. I would hope HRC would be petty (not the right term) enough to ask Obama,Dubbya, even GHW and Gore to speak and specifically tell Lumpy to fuck off.

  107. 107.

    mai naem mobile

    January 8, 2017 at 3:36 am

    @Mnemosyne: I think most will deny they voted for him. Even screen shots of their FB pages celebrating Lumpys win will be dismissed as photoshopped.

  108. 108.

    opiejeanne

    January 8, 2017 at 3:48 am

    @mai naem mobile: I don’t think that would be petty at all, if Hillary didn’t want it speaking at Bill’s funeral, God forbid that happen any time soon.

  109. 109.

    Botsplainer

    January 8, 2017 at 7:41 am

    @Major Major Major Major:

    Harbor facilities at Oaktown with yields under 100K.

  110. 110.

    PaulWartenberg2016

    January 8, 2017 at 10:12 am

    @Miss Bianca:

    and yet Trump wants them. he wants their fealty and public adulation.

    his own celebrity is starved and cruel, a bent parody of genuine charisma. He’s like Sauron compared to Galadriel.

  111. 111.

    SWMBO

    January 9, 2017 at 2:52 am

    How big is a nuclear warhead? I am under the impression it is probably 5x5x5 feet or so. Weighs about 5-6000 pounds. When they were gaming doomsday scenarios after 9/11, they were talking about NK using a nuke. Why would they really need a missile? Ship it over in a shielded container. Load it in the back of a Tahoe or Expedition. Drive it to the target. If they want a higher altitude explosion, take it out with pallet jacks, put it in a freight elevator, take it to the top and let ‘er rip. All this gaming using missiles is safer but the ability to nuke us is probably easier than you think.
    Trump would be more likely to nuke LA because they snubbed his bigly cheetoness.
    Bar Bush would probably stab Tangerine Taint to death with a hat pin if he tried to speak at GWHB’s funeral. He defeated her son in the primary and seems to have a personal grudge against the Bushes since 9/11. They get invited to rich people’s parties and he doesn’t. It galls him that his money can’t buy that kind of influence. There is sufficient past animosity that I don’t expect him to be allowed at any previous president’s funeral..

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