Voter to @SenTomCotton: My husband is dying. We can't afford health insurance. What kind of insurance do you have? https://t.co/iYFiZtwJ1F
— CNN (@CNN) February 22, 2017
Sen. Cotton states, "I'm not here to deny that Obamacare has helped Arkansans." #CottonTownHall
— Channing Barker (@ChanningBarker) February 22, 2017
… Or, at the very least, eager to let the “healthcare industry” kill them, in the name of profit.
GOP lawmaker: No guarantee everyone will keep insurance under GOP's ObamaCare replacement https://t.co/unkd8UpdKU pic.twitter.com/4rieIpX7MY
— The Hill (@thehill) February 21, 2017
8 years after Grassley claimed health care reform could "pull the plug on grandma," he hears from the other side. https://t.co/Y9qPW4RR5I
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) February 22, 2017
If the Democrats can’t hang this cruel mess around every single Repub candidate’s neck, we don’t deserve to regain the majority in 2018.
I understand lying. I understand misdirection. But this, my God — it's just using words for their own sake. pic.twitter.com/tpfb20QkOh
— Richard M. Nixon (@dick_nixon) February 22, 2017
Individual responsibility in this instance means "You're screwed, if you're poor" https://t.co/b0KOJjGZKS
— Dan Pfeiffer (@danpfeiffer) February 22, 2017
Freedom's just another word for … restricting access to health care coverage & hastening death https://t.co/6k2dlQ6EOT
— Michael Cohen (@speechboy71) February 22, 2017
As a side benefit, with any luck, the Repubs will be tearing at each other, hoping to pin the blame on all those other rotten, thieving GOP congresscritters…
So… who’s right? Trump says he’ll send Congress a health care plan; Tom Price is telling Republicans he won’t. https://t.co/g51nOBC44s
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) February 22, 2017
Trump seems to have much better instincts than congressional GOP does about what actions are likely to mobilize voters against you.
— Josh Barro (@jbarro) February 21, 2017
The people most upset about Trump's immigration actions can't vote; he cannot depend on this insulation on health care changes.
— Josh Barro (@jbarro) February 21, 2017
NobodySpecial
It looks like six years might have just been long enough to save it.
p.a.
Tangental, but here’s Murdoch’s National Geographic article on the removal of animal cruelty info. Bury the lede: mention of the Rethug politics behind the move waaayyyy down in the body of the article. I suppose we should be satisfied it gets mentioned at all.
Mustang Bobby
Looks like if some constituents had their way, those GOP’ers are going to need health care of their own, as in “keep pressure on the wound until the ambulance gets here.”
satby
Yeah, working at an eye doctors office lets me get an earful from people on the health care front. But the happiest/saddest thing I saw was a white family of nine who, thanks to the Obamacare provision that kids can be on the parents insurance until age 26, were finally able to bring the whole bunch in for badly needed eye exams and glasses as soon as the insurance from dad’s new job was active. One kid had been using old glasses that a friend had given her years ago, about 1/2 the strength she actually needed. Mom and dad both had to be referred out for complications from their long untreated type 2 diabetes. These are the WWC that is supposed to be Cheeto’s natural constituency, but they were crystal clear on how Obamacare benefited them.
Baud
I’ll say this once because we can’t change the past, but it would have been easier on everyone if people had simply refused to take the Democratic Party for granted.
OzarkHillbilly
Hurry up and die.
Baud
@satby: Pence is right. Those kids who need glasses need to take individual responsibility for their own health care.
Tokyokie
One of my best friends has stage IV prostate cancer that is only held in check through several thousand dollars’ worth of meds every month. Without insurance, he’s dead. So prithee, Mr. Vice President, how exactly does one whose disease has left him or her incapable of working take individual responsibility for one’s healthcare?
satby
@Baud: word.
Waldo
@Baud: Coming soon: tax credits for DIY laser eye surgery.
Luthe
@Tokyokie: Should have been responsible enough to save up for all that healthcare in advance. /Republican
satby
@Baud: how people don’t see the colossal waste of human potential and the extra expense of treating complications instead of preventing them I will never understand.
That kid was in nursing school and in spite of the handicap of poor distance vision was doing well. How much better for her, and all the people she’ll care for, that she can now see better.
Baud
@satby:
Byproduct of not seeing them as human.
OzarkHillbilly
@p.a.: Read that, saw nothing objectionable in the way that article was written. Very informative, explaining exactly what was done, than undone, the supposed reason why, it’s ramifications, what is known what is unknown, who did it and probably why.
Your complaint is little more than “They didn’t write it the way I think they should have.
satby
Though all the videos of people screaming at their representatives are satisfying in a way, if these people aren’t voting against the Republicans next year it’s all for naught. And despite outreach and GOTV, they have to decide to get off their asses and vote; they also have to decide that their lives are at least as important as a zygote’s.
opiejeanne
@Baud: Damn straight. I knew I would need an appendectomy in 2016 so I had insurance for it. mr opiejeanne knew he would have prostate cancer in 2007, I knew the docs would find that I had HepC in 2004, so those years we bought special insurance to cover those exact things.
Not.The.Way.It.Works.
Sane people with just a smattering of understand know that insurance takes care of the unplanned illnesses and injuries, and it only works if a large group of people, is insured.
Saw the bill for the appendectomy even though our part was 0: about $30k. That’s the low end for that surgery, the high end is about $200k. I was only in the hospital for 26 hours and it hadn’t ruptured, so that might be why it was at the lower end.
Heck, a broken arm can cost up to $60k, and these bozos want to talk about a heath savings plan.
Chet Murthy
@satby: I have read that going to demos like this is strongly correlated with voting. Let us hope that that is the case (and I have no reason to think otherwise ATM).
Chet Murthy
@Baud: Ehhh…. your theory proves too much. Ever heard of the theory that all of politics is a fight between the sane, and the insane billionaires? The idea being, the sane ones want to keep us alive and functioning, b/c we’ll work hard and produce value for them, whereas the insane ones wanna strip down for body parts … *now*.
There’s a more well-grounded version of the theory, by Mancur Olson, about “stationary vs mobile bandits”. Basically stationary bandits invest in infrrastructure, b/c they’ll be around the reap the benefit down the line. Mobile bandits .take anything that can move, destroy the rest fo lulz.
I’m not saying that it explains all their behaviour. But geez, it sure fits a lot.
OzarkHillbilly
@satby: @Baud: The only waste they see is all that money going down the black hole of keeping alive somebody who is going to die anyway. Might be 30 or 40 years but they are going to die. They should just get it over with.
rikyrah
Good Morning, Everyone ???
Baud
@rikyrah: Good morning.
debbie
At least Cotton showed up.
It’s very strange to be liking what Nixon is saying these days. My universe feels like it’s crumbling.
satby
@rikyrah: Good morning to all of us.
rikyrah
The woman who confronted Cotton was everything!
Baud
@Chet Murthy: Most of the early fights this year don’t seem like billionaire vs billionaire.
rikyrah
@Baud:
Well, of course you tell the truth.
Tokyokie
@Chet Murthy: An adept politician would invite an articulate town-hall participant like the one in Springdale up onto the stage and hug her and try to reassure her that her concerns are his. But that would require empathy, and empathy is to Republicans like holy water is to vampires. So Cotton just stands there looking ashamed. I’m sure that 10 minutes after the town hall, his conscience had been stuffed back in the the dark recess of his mind where it usually stays. Because the last thing a Republican politician wants to do is take individual responsibility for his or her own actions.
rikyrah
@Baud:
You’re just dropping all kinds of truth this morning.
cosima
As this is an open thread and there are a few of you here (in spite of the sometimes significant time difference that I work around with BJ) —
If any of you have children still in elementary/jr/high school, have you ever had experience with the Slender Man phenomenon at your child’s school, and how was it dealt with? Was it treated seriously (in light of the deaths/violence that it has spawned), or treated as the usual hi-jinks of kids?
Chet Murthy
@Baud: Sorry, I meant that partly as a joke (upon re-reading, and after the edit timelimit, I realized I might have made that more obvious *grin*). But (a little more) seriously, I think the Rs are just “insane billionaires” or “mobile bandits”. The reason they don’t invest in infrastructure (or in a well-functioning, stable society) is, they figure they can just move on to someplace nicer.
E.g. if one “does the math” on all these industrialists basically stripping the bark off every nice place on the planet, one realizes that eventually, there will be no nice places left. None at all. And the idea that just ‘cos (say) Bali is nice right now, no industrialist will come along and strip it bare …. that’s foolish. Eventually, someone will. So why do industrialists routinely fight all laws protecting the environment? B/c they figure, there WILL be someplace they’ll go live, after they’re done destroying the current place.
Mobile bandits. And also at some level, *morons*.
ETA: got a former friend, he’s a completely RWNJ. Amazing. grew up in CA, did some world-traveling, ended up in TX (b/c taxes are so low). Lamented how boring it is. I -really- wanted to tell him “no shit, you went to a low-tax, low-culture place, you idiot”. Now, after Dampnut’s ascension, I excommunicated him, and lordy, wish I’d told him off before.
Hal
http://www.ibtimes.com/political-capital/anthem-cigna-merger-ties-donald-trump-mike-pence-jeff-sessions-insurance-giant
Everything Trump does harms the very people who supported him.
rikyrah
@cosima:
I have no children, but I have Peanut, so please explain it to me so that I can alert her parents.
Baud
@Chet Murthy: Rapacious billionaires, I can understand. It’s their willing foot soldiers that I can’t get my head around.
Baud
@rikyrah: I thought Peanut was your kid.
debbie
@rikyrah:
It’s a fictional character gone wrong.
Chet Murthy
@Baud: Aha. Well, there’s a saying, that a con-artist cannot con an honorable man. The mark always thinks they’re getting something for nothing. They’re always (at some level) in on the con. Like Madoff’s clients, who should have known that NO investment could be that smoothly regular.
“being the mark” is a heckuva drug.
The entire R platform is a confection of grifts, and their voters are the marks. The mark takes a long, long time to accept (if ever) that he got took. Until that point, he’s part of the grift. I’d point at multilevel-marketing schemes as another example of teh same phenomenon.
Kay
I agree with that. If there is one credible person on that panel that person will be used to give Trump’s claims legitimacy. All they’d be doing is covering Trump’s ass on all the lies Trump and his team told about voter fraud.
They should treat it like a panel on birtherism. No one would damage their own reputation sitting on a birther panel. Same thing.
Republicans like to pretend the Trump Administration are outliers on voter fraud conspiracy theories, but they’re not. This is mainstream in the conservative movement. Kris Koback was Kansas Sec of State, advised Mitt Romney and is advising Trump. Koback went to Yale law school and is considered a serious conservative activist and lawyer.
He’s also voter fraud conspiracy theorist, as wild-eyed and nuts as any of the “white vans full of black people pulled up to the polling place” crazies.
No newspaper did more to promote voter fraud conspiracy theories than the Wall Street Journal. I stopped subscribing to the WSJ because I’ve been following voting rights a long time and they were the first outlet the conspiracy theories appeared- early- like 1999. The WSJ is ground zero for voter fraud conspiracy theories. They didn’t start on some blog. They started in that newspaper. You can trace voter suppression efforts in Milwaukee WI in 2016 directly back to the the WSJ’s promotion of voter fraud bullshit revolving around Milwaukee WI. It’s that specific.
OzarkHillbilly
@Baud: Stupid is as stupid does.
Paul in KY
@Chet Murthy: GOP = Getting Ours Party
cosima
@rikyrah: Slender Man is a fictional character (online cartoon/animated/???) that seems to have gained enough headspace in some disturbed children to have inspired them to stab their classmates. Two young girls killed a classmate. Another stabbed one 16 times. Various crazy things. Lots of publicity, most of which I didn’t read because I thought ‘my kids will never do that!’ Which is true — my daughters would not. However, there is a girl at our local school who was moved here due to problems at her last school, and she has fixated on my daughter. On Tuesday she was drawing slender man figures around the playground and several of the kids said to my daughter ‘she’s drawing them for you, she wants to kill you.’ My husband is freaking out, wants to take Little Cosima out of school asap. I am waiting to hear what the school will do about this (there have been other issues with this girl & her intentions/attentions to Little C). Trying not to freak out, and I’m a pretty calm parent.
Just wondering if this is common — is it kids trying to be edgy, wide-spread without the sinister intentions, more of a cool kid thing? Are schools ignoring it, or shutting it down? Just trying to get some thoughts from other parents who may have seen it in their kids’ schools.
Chet Murthy
@Baud: Dude, anytime you can tell me I’m building a tower of babel here. There may be a simpler explanation: I recall reading that there’s a definite personality type for authoritarians. And that conservaitves tend to fit that type.
Ehhh …. I’m just makin’ stuff up b/c can’t sleep.
Regnad Kcin
Nothing like a little Gnadentod to strengthen Das Neue Volk
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:EuthanasiePropaganda.jpg
AxelFoley
@satby:
This. All this.
Until these folks stop voting for the GOP, shit won’t change.
Baud
@Chet Murthy:
You’ve just described my entire BJ existence.
Regnad Kcin
@Chet Murthy: You could start here. Adorno’s full work in PDF form.
Also, take the fun personality test and see for yourself!
OzarkHillbilly
Bolivia’s salt flats – in pictures
Worth the 3 minutes, more if your like me and study the more extraordinary shots.
rikyrah
@Baud:
Peanut is my niece. She was born on my birthday. I’m also her Godmother.
Baud
@Kay: Rachel had a segment last night about the Montana GOP chairman putting the kabash on a GOP sponsored vote by mail initiative designed to save money because it would help turnout among D voters.
Kay
@AxelFoley:
I strongly disagree. There would be no specific media coverage of the GOP health care plan without these town hall meetings. They’re asking good questions and they’re the only people who can ask them. No cable interviewer can say “what does this plan do for my 54 year old husband with cancer?” but that’s the question.
They’re making this real, specific, human.
They’re not paid by Soros but in a just and well-organized world they would be :)
comrade scotts agenda of rage
The reason the Goopers want people to die in great numbers for lack of affordable health care has to do with transportation policy. Since Congress won’t raise the federal gas tax and plenty of states either won’t or are afraid to, we need those bodies so we can pave the roads with the corpses of the poor.
Win-win all around in their world.
To put this in perspective, the wingnut legislature down the street glories in the fact that we have one of the lowest state gas taxes in the country despite the fact that everyone in this state bitches about the quality, oops, lack of quality, of our roads and the atrocious level of repair to our bridges. By contract, last year Iowa, fucking Iowa, raised their gas tax by 10 cents a gallon *and* it was a bipartisan effort. Hell, even wingnut paradise Kansas has a higher gas tax and actually promotes the fact it spends more on roads as an economic development incentive to attract bidnesses. Yeah, that’s worked out great for em.
Chet Murthy
@AxelFoley: Interesting
http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/politics/houston/article/Volunteers-register-record-number-of-voters-in-9965381.php
They started registering people 2yr ago. I also read elsewhere (not sure where, can’t find it again) that they worked hard to find out what issues concerned voters the most, and armed volunteers with ready answers as to Dem candidates’ positions.
Baud
@rikyrah: That’s so sweet. I guess I just assumed from the way you’ve talked about her.
satby
@cosima: The kid sounds disturbed, and I would make it clear to the school that they’re going to be held responsible for your kid’s safety. If they aren’t addressing the disturbed kid’s needs while making sure your kid is protected, I’d consider removing my kid. And I’m not given to alarmist reactions, but the school can’t ignore or minimize that behavior.
rikyrah
@Kay:
The voter fraud conspiracy theorist who is registered to vote at 3 different addresses?
Chet Murthy
@Baud: Dr. Maddow was on FIRE tonight. Brian Williams’ 11pm ET show was a “month of Trump” thing with Rachel and Tweety (Matthews) and hooboy, did Rachel just -run- that thing. She had on a guest, and was basically running the interview for most of the time — Williams&Matthews got one question each, I think.
I realize she’s not perfect, but she’s the first news personality I’ve ever found who, I feel, doesn’t dumb it down. Actually tells the whole story. Hell, she actually -knows- the whoe story, which is -again- wildly uncommon.
Zinsky
@Baud: Well said!
WereBear
That doesn’t enter into their calculations.
They aren’t Steve Jobs or even Bill Gates, looking for people who want to buy their products. They are basically pirates who are scanning the horizon for ships full of booty.
OzarkHillbilly
@comrade scotts agenda of rage: We don’t call it Misery because it’s a paradise.
ETA also I love their attempts to raise money for roads by any means other than gas taxes. The trucking industry must be served.
Baud
@Chet Murthy: Yeah despite her flaws, she’s still the best of that bunch. (Joy might be better, but I don’t get a chance to see her often.)
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Chet Murthy: John Dean wrote a whole book on that topic.
Kay
@Baud:
People love laws that make voting more convenient. The OH sec of state is an ambitious political hack which is why he doesn’t mess with “convenience”. OH effectively has 100% vote by mail. Anyone can vote by mail. These things are popular. I early vote. It’s easier for me and I feel good about doing it because it thins out the crowd on election day and allows poll workers to do a better, more careful job. The crush is what kills them.
I’ve been saying for years that Democrats could reach squishy pampered people on voting by talking about efficiency and better customer service. Make Republicans out to be bad at running elections. They are bad at running elections. They create chaos.
Elizabelle
Good morning all.
That Mike Pence comment is not even a dogwhistle. Even the stupid can see through it.
Not incidentally, Mr. Pence was on his way to being dumped by Hoosiers in Red State Indiana before he threw his carcass aboard the Trump Train.
(1) Note that he has to call it “ObamaCare.” He calls it the “Affordable Care Act” and the gig is up.
(2) Very little about American healthcare is actually free, although Michelle Obama’s initiative to get people to eat more healthily and move and exercise more was pretty damn close. Which is why it had to be ridiculed at every point.
Elizabelle
@rikyrah: That’s cool.
Peanut’s a lucky little camper. You will have to remind us when Peanut’s birthday is, so we can wish you both HB.
Always thought Peanut might be a little bud from Big Sisters, or something, and you stuck by her forever. Either way, it’s a great story and Peanut thrives.
Chet Murthy
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Nice! _Conservatives without Conscience_. I remember him when I was a kid, and he was testifying for the Watergate hearings, but I was so young I didn’t understand it. And then I remember him during W’s time, and he was …. a hero, the way he was excoriating those shitheels.
Kay
@rikyrah:
I was glad Trump raised that because the coverage of voting process is so bad. Now everyone knows that the ” 3 different addresses” stuff is trumped up bullshit, just like the “dead people on voter rolls” was trumped up bullshit.
These things are boring. Voting process is boring. It’s record-keeping. Lists. It’s no more exciting and devious and malicious than the state process where we record births- birth certificates.
Conspiracy theorists benefit when media makes this more complicated and cloak and dagger than it is. A dead person on a voter roll doesn’t mean anything at all. It’s indicative of nothing.
Baud
@Kay:
I don’t know. Then they get accused from the left of not offering a grand progressive vision and accused from the right that it’s all a plot to help black people and illegals vote.
To be honest, I’m wary of any and all suggestions about what sells because I don’t think anyone really knows. All things being equal, however, I would go with whatever you suggest.
Jeffro
1) How much do I love the title of this post? THIIIIIS much!
2) How much do I love Twitter Dick Nixon? THIIIIIS much!
3) How much do I love democracy in action, i.e., GOP MoCs forced to – FINALLY – confront the reality of their Randian bullshit? THIII-I x infinity-IIIIS much!!!
I know that the Randians are brain-dead and soulless creatures, but hope springs eternal that at least a few will have their moment of clarity and realize…”ok, maybe this actually IS saving the country money and saving people’s lives”…let’s move on…
?BillinGlendaleCA
I got the Surface Pro 3 yesterday afternoon and I’ve got it pretty much all set up. This tablet really rocks. It’s got a really nice display, seems to run Lightroom well, and the handwriting recognition is really good. I thought it might be a bit underpowered, but it seems to be holding up under stress pretty well.
SiubhanDuinne
@OzarkHillbilly:
Beautiful and fascinating. Thank you.
Baud
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Congrats! Now all you need is a car.
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
My prediction – acting pursuant to recommendation by the panel on election reform that “public perceptions regarding voting integrity must be addressed”, laws will be passé in each state under GOP control, everyone must periodically reregister to vote within some atbitrary time period, showing birth certificate or unexpired passport, recent utility bill or deed proving address and a social security card. Married women with changed names to present certified marriage licenses, and people with routine name changes must present name change orders, certified.
I haven’t seen my birth certificate for nearly 30 years since I got my first passport, and I washed my wallet with social security card when I was 16 and never bothered with a replacement. I’m sure I’m not alone on that. If it weren’t for the passport, I’d be in the merry go round of gathering up shit even though I live in the same area I was born in, and could easily reach a conclusion of “fuck it, why should I bother with it”. Now imagine people who were born at home or have moved a great distance, or gotten married in another state, or can’t come up with the hours to commit ata social security office.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Baud: Madame said she might be able to have time March 6th. She also mentioned that the kid wants to go on a tour of Korea with her. The kid went to Korea once before when she was 2, so she doesn’t remember it.
Iowa Old Lady
@Chet Murthy: R believers as marks for con men seems apt to me. The people I know who hate taxes often add another element, which is the belief that someone else is wasting their hard-earned money. They believe that if only waste, fraud, and abuse could be caught and punished, they’d be able to keep all their money and still have services, infrastructure, etc.
Elizabelle
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: Why don’t we head them off at the pass, with advocating for a constitutional amendment to make voting a right of citizenship? Prove your citizenship, and you’re registered to vote. Automatic registration at age 18. Vote by mail, in every single state.
I was amazed to learn that voting is not a protected constitutional right.
I’d be good with issuing all U.S. citizens a form of national ID with picture. At taxpayer expense, since we would all benefit.
Could be used to obtain employment and to confirm health care eligibility as well.
ETA: My slogan: we are citizens, not mere consumers.
Baud
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Would you go?
Chris
@Baud:
Yep. I’ll say it again: Democrats are the national maid/janitor/teenager’s mom that everyone feels comfortable piling more and more responsibilities onto while making her job more and more impossible.
Jeffro
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: It’ll be an extra ‘lift’ for state D parties, but until things change (in each state and/or nationally) we’ll just need to buckle down and commit to getting folks whatever ID is required (ideally, WELL in advance of an election). It’s something I wouldn’t mind spending a few hours a week doing now for 2018 and 2020…driving people to DMV or the local Social Security office….
@Elizabelle: Automatic registration at age 18 + automatically receive your national picture ID card = sounds like an easy sell to me. You have the ‘right’ to die for your country, you ought to have the unhindered right to vote.
Vote by mail = perhaps a harder sell, could be done state by state.
Slogan: I like “It all begins with your vote” or similar.
Chris
@Chet Murthy:
Always found it fascinating that the bulk of the nation’s rich people still live in places like New York and San Francisco, despite the century of rising “socialism.” You’d think they’d want to move to states like Alabama or Kansas that really appreciate people like them. But of course… even the richest man in Alabama is still in Alabama.
Taylor
@Chet Murthy:
Note Peter Thiel taking out New Zealand citizenship.
Like the Maoris won’t string him up as happily as New Yorkers would (in the end of times that Thiel is preparing for).
Elizabelle
@Chris: Further to baud’s comment:
taking the Democratic party for granted did not happen by accident.
Democrats were depicted as Nanny State losers at every turn, by our corporately-owned media. Meme picked up online, by rightwingers and others (trolls, paid and otherwise).
It’s sad that media is so “nonpartisan”, swallowing every falsehood yorked up by Republicans, at least for a while. And calling the Democrats losers, and conflating small problems on one side with ginormous ones on the other because — both sides!
Maybe now that Big Money pushing Big Monopoly is out of control, voters will wake the fuck up.
MomSense
@opiejeanne:
Now for me you take even a minor surgery and you add the pre-procedure medication I take ($1,100 just before dental work), then all the medication I take during recovery, and the extra hospitalization time so that they don’t send me home only to have me rushed back to the hospital with an abdomen full of blood clots. A minor surgery that normally costs 15k costs me at least 200k.
Kay
Audrey Watters writes smart, skeptical pieces on claims that come out of the tech industry, and I think Democrats or Trump opponents should pay attention – make Trump out to be cruel. I know some people on BJ believe all GOP voters are like Breitbart- belligerent, unafraid to be seen as nasty and mean-spirited, even reveling in that reputation but IMO that misses how much importance rank and file GOP voters place on appearing to be good people.
I don’t know if you’ve ever seen a small town newspaper but a staple of small town papers is “influential” locals lining up and having their picture taken for doing something good. Charity. This is important to GOP voters! It’s about how they want to see themselves. They will be uncomfortable if conservatism is seen as arbitrary and cruel. That’s what “compassionate conservatism” was all about. A recognition by the GOP that their voters care if they’re seen as “good people”.
Chet Murthy
@Elizabelle: Dayyum, tonight I was watching a bit of MSNBC, and ended up watching some of Morning Joe. Such tools. Even while they’re clearly unhappy with Trump and the Rs (e.g. on ACA repeal) they’re completely slagging the Dems for all sorts of things. I couldn’t stand it — had to skip past several of his segments. Such -lies-.
cosima
@satby: She’s definitely disturbed, and has been placed in some sort of mandated therapy — we didn’t get the details following the last issue (and we didn’t expect to), but they were obliged to tell us that the girl is receiving counselling, difficult home life, etc., I suppose as an excuse for her behaviour.
Tomorrow a.m. Little C is performing at the school due to some award she won (pipe band drumming), and Mr & I will take her home with us after, informing the school that she won’t be back until a plan is in place, if I’ve not heard back from the school before then to set up a meeting.
I don’t know how seriously schools, or this school, is taking it, but I’m going to take it seriously in light of this girl’s history, with Little C, and in general.
OzarkHillbilly
@Jeffro: Ronald Reagan once said “Facts are stupid things.” It was a verbal slip that he corrected immediately with “stubborn things”. However it is very apt for today’s GOP in that the only thing more stubborn than facts is their collective adherence to ideology that is impervious to facts: “Tax cuts raise revenues.”
I do not hold out much hope that the facts of healthcare will prove anymore persuasive than the economic facts have.
Elizabelle
@MomSense: Proving that people who spout off about “personal responsibility” and HSAs are the bomb, for everybody! don’t know what they’re talking about, or are just plain liars.
It’s particularly vicious when spouted by people with good insurance (and pensions!) at taxpayer expense.
PS: did you put up a link where we can order hats from you on etsy? I missed it. Thanks.
Immanentize
Hey All, what I can’t understand is that a ton of people (majority) understood the need for universal (or near universal) coverage eight years ago and swept Obama into office. “Health care is a right.”
Then, people decided they needed to attack any Obama gain and the most obvious one was “Obamacare” which Uncle Joe reminded us was a big Effin deal. So attack demonize attack as long as nothing could come of it. Now that it’s really on the table, people are like, “Health care is a right!”
Am I all caught up?
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@Tokyokie: What Pence’s really means is illness is a punishment from god for sin. Remember Pence is an asshole type Christian.
MomSense
@cosima:
OH MY GOD. I’m freaking out from afar. I had never heard of slenderman. I think I would be in the resource officer’s grill wanting to know WTF they plan to do. So far we have only had to deal with the bizarre courtship ritual of sexting. Tip for parents and adult age siblings – DO NOT look at their phones because then you could get caught up in a mess.
Jeffro
@OzarkHillbilly:
I hear ya…in my defense, I did say “a few” =)
OzarkHillbilly
@Elizabelle: The 15th Amendment: The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
The 19th Amendment: The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.
Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
MomSense
@Elizabelle:
I will as soon as I put up a few more. My rate has slowed a bit this week.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@Kay: Yes, and they have a very elaborate code to talk in to turn cruelty in virtue. Pence was using it with “personal respectability”,code for “they can fuck off and die while I gloat”
Baud
@Immanentize: Pretty much. Remember all those years when Obamacare was unpopular. That was because people who didn’t think it went far enough said they disapproved of it. Now I think it didn’t go far enough, but I would say I approved of it if asked. If you polled people who approved of it and people who disapproved of it because it didn’t go far enough, you always had a majority.
People are petulant.
cosima
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: Do you think they’ve thought through how tightening voter ID laws would/could affect their own voters?
B/C we’re DFLs, but have all of our paperwork in order. When I was growing up my mother kept our papers in order (also a DFL, single mother, low-income, etc). I can see the RWNJs thinking that would be a perfect way to get a lot of the D’s out of the voting booth, but finding that it actually works against them even more.
WereBear
I see it the other way around: they have come up with the belief of waste and corruption, so they shouldn’t be parting with their money.
Chris
@Elizabelle:
Totally. But people still expect them to do shit. Every time the public puts some idiot in control who promises to destroy Social Security, and we’re told “oh, it wouldn’t actually happen, someone would stop him” – when they say “someone,” they’re talking about Democrats. They’ve allowed basically everyone else to abdicate responsibility for anything and still expect the Dems to keep the lights on and the trains running on time, despite being pretty much under permanent assault.
OzarkHillbilly
@cosima: You have my sympathies. The most terrifying moments of my life were when I was on the edge of losing one of my sons.
Chris
@OzarkHillbilly:
Is it bad that I kind of want these articles deep-sixed and replaced with “the rights of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged,” full stop?
Immanentize
@OzarkHillbilly: on the right to vote, it’s not as clear as the text seems to suggest. The Supreme Court has spent years explaining that the right to vote is not a personal right but one granted. For example, there never has been a case that says you have the right to vote, say, for a governor. That position could be constitutionally decided by a hold-em poker contest.
But once a state decides people can vote, then the protections flow in (no discrimination based on race, gender, age, poverty, education, property ownership, etc.). But first there has to be a right to vote by someone. The founders were not necessarily pro-vote.
cosima
@MomSense: Yes, I’m on the edge of freaking. Some kids you could think to yourself ‘they’re just being stupid. it’s not funny, and they shouldn’t be doing it, but they’re just stupid/mean/etc.’ This girl is on an entirely different plane, and this is not okay.
I don’t know what the slender man thing plays out like in schools these days. Little C is 12, so she’s in that in-between stage — younger than her age & you can blow it off as the hi-jinks of little kids, older than her age and you take it seriously. I think this girl should probably have been moved into the serious category years ago. I’m still waiting for a response from the head teacher, and as I said, if I’ve not heard by tomorrow a.m. then I’ll be taking her home to stay at home until they have a plan in place &/or going up the ladder to speak to someone else.
Kay
@Enhanced Voting Techniques:
But that’s Pence. He’s a pro. This is a little different. I cannot tell you how many times the R’s I know told me Bush was “a good man”. Exactly that phrase. People just don’t say things over and over unless it’s somehow important to them.
A cynical person would say they want to be perceived as good because then they can lord it over liberals :)
DeVos is an example. She’s not content with conservative policy. She has to add moral language. She has to be better than liberals. More upstanding.
I was looking at Trump’s polling and he scores really low on “shares my values”. Don’t just put that in a box and dismiss it. What “values”? Why are they ashamed of him? What makes them want to distance themselves from him personally?
rikyrah
@Kay:
I dunno Kay…they voted for Dolt45, who is obviously not a decent human being.
Immanentize
@Baud: from one who knows….
Kay
@Enhanced Voting Techniques:
It can be really funny. Republicans here sometimes say to me they are “surprised” I am a liberal. It’s not subtle. They say it because I’ve been married a long time and I’m considered a strict parent. They think they own these things. That these are somehow “their values”, as in “not mine, ever” :)
rikyrah
@Kay:
We do need the townhalls, because these people need to be put on the spot, and because the MSM couldn’t be bothered, so regular people have to tell their own story.
rikyrah
@cosima:
thank you for the info.
Mr. Cosima is reacting the way that I would. Keep Mini-Cosima safe at all costs.
Chris
@Kay:
Yeah, it’s kind of funny. Every time they meet a liberal that doesn’t fit the caricature they constructed – it kind of feels like a toned down version of “you’re a Jew? That’s not possible. Where your horns?”
ETA: of course, it’s likelier to cause a “well clearly you’re one of the good ones” than a “gee, maybe I was wrong.”
rikyrah
@Kay:
John Fund hasn’t met a Black person yet with a legitimate right to vote.
Elizabelle
@OzarkHillbilly: Thank you! I truly need to read the Constitution one of these days.
@Immanentize: You’ve hit on what I’ve gleaned on my internet travels; someone I took to be credible had opined that there is not an actual right to vote in the Constitution. It’s confusing, probably purposely so.
All the more reason for a clearcut “a U.S. citizen has the right to vote” and automatic registration at age 18, and once formally naturalized. Can see where felons might lose their right to vote during incarceration, but their rights should be restored once they have paid their debt to society. (Including any restitution due for financial crimes.)
cosima
@OzarkHillbilly: It’s a wonder we can find the faith to let them out the door sometimes. A long time ago I saw a card or print or something that said something along the lines of children being our hearts walking around outside our bodies.
Life doesn’t offer many guarantees, that’s for certain. But I didn’t think I’d ever be needing to have a bodyguard for my daughter to take to school. A friend suggested the school get an aide in specifically for this girl, to shadow her thru the day, keep her from hurting others. What kind of crazy situation is that? Well, we can only do what we can do, and I’ve started the process.
On the positive side, I’m somewhat encouraged that it’s not widespread — nobody here knows about it & or has experienced it in their child(ren)’s school.
rikyrah
When investigating, Chaffetz has an odd definition of ‘serious’
02/23/17 08:40 AM
By Steve Benen
Two weeks ago, Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) faced a raucous crowd in his Republican-friendly congressional district, and the House Oversight Committee chairman is still complaining about it.
“I thought it was a bit over the top,” the GOP congressman said yesterday. “I thought it was intended to bully and intimidate.”
Chaffetz, however, seems eager to prove that he won’t be bullied or intimidated – and he can continue to ignore important issues like the political professional that he is, focusing instead on trivia.
………………
But when pressed to examine Donald Trump’s many conflicts of interest, Chaffetz has refused, and asked last week about the White House’s Russia scandal, the Oversight Committee chairman declared, “That situation has taken care of itself.”
The timing of a tweet from a national park, however, is “serious.”
rikyrah
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 2/22/17
Montana GOP chair warns too much voter turnout favors Democrats
Rachel Maddow reports on a special election in Montana to happen in the likely event that Rep. Ryan Zinke becomes Donald Trump’s Interior Secretary, and the expressed concerns by the state Republican Party chairman that easier voting favors Democratic voters
Chet Murthy
@Kay: Not a one of ’em would leave their womenfolk alone with him, is why. At some level they know he’s just about as un-Christian as you can be. But I recall some preacher-man sayin’ that just because Dampnut wasn’t Christian in his life, didn’t mean he couldn’t bring about the world that Christians want. Or some such nonsense.
Aleta
@cosima: I didn’t answer before because not a parent w experience w Sl Man, as you asked. But I have a niece who was targeted in school, and I’m deeply relieved to hear. Using that symbol is a terrorizing threat for kids, even if it wouldn’t go beyond that (unknown). Kids should not be forced to wrestle with that terror, because some are affected for a long time after, as my niece has been. Even though she has a keen mind, involved in many activities, is compassionate and resilient and outgoing by nature, and had counseling, being targeted daily affected her very much mentally.
OzarkHillbilly
@Immanentize:
The founders were pro land owners. As to the Supremes, the clear language of those 2 amendments state unequivocally that citizens have the right to vote, stare decisis be damned. Now, if I sat on the Supreme Court…..
Adria McDowell (formerly Lurker Extraordinaire
@Elizabelle: We could do an all in one: at age 18, everyone gets national ID, which automatically registers you to vote, proves citizenship/legal residence AND registers you for Selective Service (both male and female; in order to get a military service exemption, you have to go to MEPS and show that you can’t do the duck walk, or something).
rikyrah
@Kay:
Dolt45 has been married 3 times, cheated on each wife with the sidepiece. ..but, he’s Making America Great….
44 was loving, loyal husband and father…yet, they couldn’t be bothered to grant him that bit of humanity.
Elizabelle
@Adria McDowell (formerly Lurker Extraordinaire: Agreed.
No more localities approving gun licenses and not college ID for right to vote. Go big, and stop the Republicans from fudging around the edges.
rikyrah
Simple Minds: Why Cenk Uygur’s Justice Democrats Lack a Basic Understanding of Politics
Trevor LaFauci
February 22, 2017
There is no single gatekeeper for American progressivism.
Such was the idea set forth by Hillary Clinton during a February 2016 Democratic debate against Bernie Sanders. Clinton made the remark in reference to Sanders, who had recently gone on the offensive by proclaiming that Clinton wasn’t “progressive enough” to be the standard bearer for the Democratic Party. Clinton’s response addressed this charge by saying that progressive heroes such as Paul Wellstone, Joe Biden, and Barack Obama would not be considered progressive enough according to the definition set forth by Sanders. It was a telling moment, one where Clinton put Sanders on the defensive for his black-or-white stance on was an extremely complex matter. As the debates moved forward, Sanders continued to try and paint Clinton as not being progressive enough but for the vast majority of members of the Democratic Party, Sanders had irrevocably shot himself in the foot by giving the impression that Barack Obama had not done enough for the progressive movement.
Flash forward a year and this idea of not being progressive enough to represent the Democratic Party is again rearing its ugly head. It should be no surprise that this idea is being spearheaded by former Bernie Sanders supporters, in particular by the host of The Young Turks, Cenk Uygur. Uygur, in collaboration with fellow TYT host Kyle Kulinski as well as former Sanders campaign staffers Zack Exley and Saikat Chakrabarti, launched a new political movement called the Justice Democrats whose intent is “to seek social justice, economic justice, racial justice and plain old justice, justice.” Already, Uygur and his cohort have gone to work by identifying members of the Democratic Party they feel have sold out to corporate interests and have taken nominees to replace these members starting with the 2018 election cycle. According to the Justice Democrats website, Uygur and his team believe it is now “time to rebuild the Democratic Party from scratch to be a party that fights for a clear progressive vision.”
And they have anointed themselves as gatekeepers for this vision.
…………………………..
But history doesn’t matter to the Justice Democrats. Because the Cenk Uygurs of the world aren’t the ones who will be affected. Uygur himself is a political turncoat, a former Republican who suddenly “saw the light” during the George W. Bush years. He spent the last eight years criticizing the Obama Administration in an effort to boost ratings for The Young Turks after having failed as an MSNBC anchor. Despite openly supporting Bernie Sanders and establishing the Justice Democrats to combat big money in politics, Uygur himself was more than happy to accept $4 million from 2012 Republican presidential candidate Buddy Roemer to be used toward his own network. Uygur now has a net worth of over $5 million, comfortably granting him a place in the very same 1% of the population that his organization believes is incapable of truly representing the people.
The truth is that people like Cenk Uygur are intentionally trying to destroy the Democratic Party from within. The entire idea that there is one universal and accepted form of progressivism is downright absurd. Those of us who study political science know that all politics is local. That means that a Democrat in West Virginia will be voting much differently for his or her constituents than a Democrat in California. That does not make the California Democrat “more progressive” than his or her West Virgina colleague; all it means is that he or she has different expectations. Each vote must be taken carefully into consideration based upon that representative’s constituents. It’s easy for the California representative to vote in favor of legislation that provides more green jobs while it’s a lot more difficult for the West Virginia representative to vote for legislation that might potentially take away jobs related to the coal industry.
rikyrah
Dem reminds Trump: LGBT doesn’t stand for ‘Let’s Go Back in Time’
02/23/17 08:00 AM—UPDATED 02/23/17 08:07 AM
By Steve Benen
One of the 2016 campaign’s strangest strategies unfolded in the wake of the Orlando nightclub massacre, when Donald Trump and his allies insisted that LGBT voters, en masse, should move to the right and vote Republican.
The pitch was always a little convoluted, but as Trump saw it, a religious fanatic attacked an LGBT club; he’d target such extremists as president; so LGBT voters should like Trump. At one point, the Republican went so far as to say he, not Hillary Clinton, would be the “better friend” of the “LBGT” [sic] community because of his anti-immigration and anti-Muslim agenda. Just two days after the Orlando mass-shooting, Trump added, “Thank you to the LGBT community! I will fight for you while Hillary brings in more people that will threaten your freedoms and beliefs.”
Some of his loyalists even believed it. Anthony Scaramucci, a Trump advisor and surrogate, declared earlier this month that Trump “is most pro-LGBTQ rights [president] in history. Why’s that story not written in mainstream media?”
Probably because it’s not true.
It fell to Sen. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) to explain, “President Trump seems to think #LGBT stands for Let’s Go Back in Time. He’s wrong.”
geg6
@cosima:
I don’t have any kids, but I watched the HBO doc about the attempted murder case in Ohio (?? or was it MI or WI?). Crazy stuff. If I had a kid into that stuff, I’d be cutting off all internet. And getting some counseling.
But that’s me with no kids.
hedgehog mobile
@Baud: This.
-ly Ballou
It’s being reported that Alan Colmes has died.
rikyrah
Trump’s effort to be the sole authority for truth hits a snag
02/23/17 09:20 AM
By Steve Benen
One of the hallmarks of Donald Trump’s young presidency is his effort to position himself as the sole authority for truth. Since taking office, the Republican has urged Americans to not only follow his lead, but also to reject information from those who might get in his way.
Americans have been told, don’t trust the courts. Don’t trust pollsters. Don’t trust U.S. intelligence agencies. Don’t trust unemployment numbers. Don’t even trust election results.
And perhaps most importantly, don’t trust news organizations. The president has described himself as being in a “war” with American media, which he’s characterized as “the enemy” of the American public.
As the Washington Post noted, the people Trump is trying to convince don’t seem especially persuaded by the attacks.
What’s more, according the poll results, 61% of the public also disapproves of the way the president talks about the media.
SenyorDave
Shorter Trump: This governing stuff is hard and its no fun. Ad people are saying mean things about me and my darling Ivanka is sad because her clothing is being dropped and, and Where is my throne! The White House doesn’t have a gold plated throne for me to sit on! Someone call Pence, let him deal with this stuff. I have some tweets to get out.
rikyrah
NEW POLL: Two-thirds of Americans fear Trump will involve US in another major war
— The Hill (@thehill) February 22, 2017
@Brandossius @metaquest @thehill Which will be his rationale for immigration enforcement, after adding 15K ICE and border patrol #LEOs.
— Arapaho415 (@arapaho415) February 22, 2017
@Brandossius @metaquest @thehill DJT wants #dictator’s police-state.
SecretService only good for lining own pockets.
— Arapaho415 (@arapaho415) February 22, 2017
@arapaho415 @washingtonpost Mosteller’s replacement is head of Trump’s private security detail Keith Schiller ?
— Rick Neal (@Rick_Neal) January 23, 2017
Immanentize
@Elizabelle: @OzarkHillbilly: I agree that we need to clarify the right to vote and what it refers to. A constitutional amendment will probably be needed as the Supreme Court has been stolen. All the damaging cases have come in the area of “the voter needs to prove they are eligible to exercise the franchise.” A personal right to vote would switch that analysis to: the state must prove the voter is NOT eligible to vote.
Chris
@rikyrah:
Also, it’s more than that; the voter fraud conspiracy theories themselves are just the bullshit “respectable” argument that they make in public. Lying beneath the surface, and something you’ll know if you’ve spent any significant amount of time perusing right wing blogs, is the belief that our ancestors erred terribly in going with universal suffrage and that the franchise should really be restricted to those who’ve proven that they’re “deserving” or “responsible.” (And while that idea isn’t exactly front and center even on right wing blogs, I’ve also never seen anyone push back against it when it does come up).
rikyrah
ICE agents resemble more and more the Gestapo of Nazi Germany…is this what America has become. We as Citizens cannot look the other way
— Pretty Foot (@PrettyFootWoman) February 23, 2017
This story will make you hang your head in shame if you have an ounce of compassion. The comments under it will shake your faith in mankind.
— Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) February 23, 2017
Chet Murthy
Teh Stupid! It Burns!!
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/evancho-trump-transgender-rights?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+tpm-news+%28TPMNews%29
Words fail. That poor sister, to be cursed with such a dolt in the family.
cosima
@Aleta: Thanks, Aleta. I hope that your niece will find a way to cope — it took our oldest a long time to understand and internalise the ‘it’s not you, it’s them’ message in regard to bullies. She has an extreme OCD issue that has manifested since she was very small, and was targeted by bullies pretty much all of her primary & secondary school years. There was a time when she saw a therapist 2-3 times a week.
I don’t know why this girl has chosen Little C as her target (she is not unable or unwilling to stand up for herself or others). When Little C told me about this I made a quick decision not to tell her the specifics in re: Slender Man, specifically so that she would not be afraid every moment that she is around this girl (they are in the same class). I agree with you that its use is a mental/emotional tool for bullying, even if your intention is not to follow through in a physical way. I’ve mitigated that by not explaining the specifics to Little C., but that also keeps her from being fully aware of what could be real danger. That is a fine line to walk, which is why one has to rely on schools to manage these things when they’ve been made aware. I’m getting more & more angry as the day goes on and I’ve not heard from the school about this.
rikyrah
You had an AIDS outbreak, muthaphucka, and OBAMACARE is what helped stem the tide.
Oh, how I can’t stand these sociopaths.
MomSense
@cosima:
I have a kid who is a year older than little c. It’s a strange age. Sometimes they still seem like little kids but the changes are happening so fast. I also feel for the girl who is acting out. It sounds like she needs more support and help than she is getting. Meanwhile you and your husband have to keep your daughter safe. I’m sure that is the goal of the school as well but they are juggling multiple considerations and that doesn’t always mean they are putting your daughter’s safety first. This is one of those times when I would go with your gut. If a situation doesn’t feel safe to you, it isn’t.
I will be keeping you very close in my thoughts. Please let us know what happens.
rikyrah
For Pence:
Remember when you defunded PP, fueled the worst HIV outbreak in Indiana’s history, & then used Obamacare to clean up the mess you created?
— Caroline O. (@RVAwonk) February 23, 2017
geg6
@cosima:
The girls in the documentary were 13. Just sayin’. They stabbed their friend 16 times. It’s a miracle she didn’t die.
Elizabelle
@rikyrah: Hoosiers sure do.
Man couldn’t get re-elected as governor, and he knew it, so he fled that “responsibility.”
Elizabelle
@Chet Murthy: Didn’t read the article, but that could be a brilliant strategy.
Evancho got a pass on performing, because of her youth. She might be able to reach Der Trump in a way that another advocate cannot.
Elizabelle
@Immanentize: It’s a great principle to organize around, and pretty straightforward.
Chet Murthy
@Elizabelle: [half j/k] I fear you’re assuming Dampnut has a conscience, or compassion, or any other trait associated with human decency. At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised to find out he tortured the neighborhood cats, as a kid.
I hope you’re right. But I fully expect that she’ll find out he’s just as much of a boor to her and her sister, as he’s been to every American. I just hope she brings her parents along, so the rapist doesn’t get it into his head to assault her.
rikyrah
Uh huh
Uh huh
Punk Azz Bytch Muthaphucka
Rob Portman won’t meet Women’s Marchers who paid for tickets: ‘He only wants to talk to Republicans’
Travis Gettys
23 FEB 2017 AT 07:26 ET
Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) canceled the tickets of several activists who had paid to attend a Lincoln Day dinner sponsored by the Seneca County Republican Party.
Eight members of the recently formed and Women’s March-inspired Seneca County Rising had made reservations for Wednesday’s dinner, where Portman was the keynote speaker, but received a notice from PayPal the evening before that their tickets had been canceled and their purchase refunded, reported The Advertiser-Tribune.
One of those activists, Katie Finneran, had taken off work to drive two hours from Ohio State University to hear her senator speak before her ticket was suddenly canceled.
“It’s just not fair, because I’m not even a Democrat,” the 25-year-old Finneran told the Columbus Dispatch. “Just because Republicans are in power does not mean Republican citizens have more of a voice than Democratic citizens or even independent citizens or Green Party citizens or Libertarian citizens. He represents everybody, not just the Republican Party.”
………………………
Karin Brown, a German immigrant, said she’s been unable to reach Portman’s office to express her concerns about President Donald Trump’s immigration policies.
“I’m really afraid,” Brown told The Advertiser-Tribune. “I came from a country where this happened. I came from Germany. I know exactly how these steps went. It’s exactly how they’re doing it here now. It scares me to no end.”
Brown said she hadn’t planned on causing any trouble inside the event, and simply wanted to talk to her senator.
“We were not going to make a ruckus, but I guess we’re doing that now,” Brown said. “Portman only wants to talk to Republicans. He wants nothing to do with Democrats.”
rikyrah
“Just three weeks after Rex Tillerson took office…it’s clear that his tenure is already in trouble”
— POLITICO (@politico) February 23, 2017
1,000 Flouncing Lurkers (was fidelioscabinet)
@cosima: From what I have picked up from people in the child therapy business, the worst problems are appearing among children who are already disturbed–the Slenderman mythos gives them something to hang their disturbed thoughts on. The girls in Wisconsin who stabbed (but blessedly didn’t manage to kill) their classmate have ben diagnosed as mentally ill, and this has been found to be true in other instances as well.
I think there’s a really clear line between the kids who are trying to be edgy and cool with this, and those who are, to use a term employed from time to time by a psychologist I work with, pretty fucked up.
gene108
@Elizabelle:
It was not in the original constitution. Then we passed the 15th, 19th, 24th and 26th Amendments that should have settled the matter of voting as a right.
Jeffro
@Kay:
Same issue here, only being a Gen X-aged white male, folks are even more surprised. Most of my college buddies are either very-low-info voters or Rs of some variety…very few strong progressives.
Chet Murthy
@rikyrah: How did Portman’s people rumble them? They can’t have kept out all Dems, could they? And one of the women wasn’t even registered as a Dem …. are they searching social media to figure this stuff out?
I read about the cops using social media to track protesters at these anti-Trump events. Is that connected to this? feh.
rikyrah
Lips pursed
How Banks Want To Make It Easier To Launder Money
What are the limits to financial sector greed?
By David Dayen
YESTERDAY 12:30 PM
T he persistent whistling you’re hearing around financial centers in Manhattan is coming from contented bank executives. Since the election of Donald Trump, their companies’ stock prices have soared, amid expectations of regulatory abandonment. Their former colleague ex–Goldman Sachs president Gary Cohn is setting policy inside the White House, and their former lawyer Jay Clayton plans to blind the SEC to their money-making schemes. If Republicans can get their act together on major legislation, bank executives will be rewarded with a triple bounty of tax cuts: on their corporate taxes, their individual rates, and the Obamacare taxes that fall entirely on the wealthy.
But what’s the old saying about giving someone an inch and their taking a mile? Instead of smiling at their good fortune and getting down to the business of ripping off clients for profit, the world’s largest banks want to do less to stop drug lords, tax cheats, and terrorists from moving money through their institutions—at precisely the moment when the regulators are poised to walk off the field themselves.
The ask comes in the form of a report the Clearing House Association, a financial-industry trade group, released last week. The report proposed numerous reforms to the anti–money laundering (AML) compliance process, complaining that “the nation’s financial firms are effectively deputized to prevent, identify, investigate, and report criminal activity.”
Financial firms are forced into this duty because of a federal law, the Bank Secrecy Act, in place since 1970. Since banks, you know, perform banking transactions, they are uniquely positioned to detect when a drug lord or a sketchy hedge fund is trying to wash illicit money through legitimate channels. When transactions are larger than $5,000, or have hallmarks of terrorist financing, tax evasion, or money laundering, they must file a suspicious activity report (SAR) and deliver them to federal regulators. This provides raw data for law enforcement to connect the dots on criminal activity.
cosima
@geg6: Ugh. Yes. I read the headlines, but haven’t seen the documentary. This troubled girl is 12 going on 200, I think, in terms of emotional/mental turmoil. But although I’ve always encouraged Little C to practise compassion, I think we are past that now. Our neighbour, who we are good friends with, is a fairly high-up police officer, and I’ll be asking him about this as well. I’ve about had it with this school and their attempts to rehabilitate this girl at the expense of the safety of other students.
Aleta
Republicans support and voted for a person credibly accused of assaulting and harassing young women. At least twice in court, settled out. A past full of signs that often point to date rape. So powerful that the women who spoke out took big risks and were only a few among many.
Republican politicians honestly don’t care how many people they harm. They expect vulnerable people to die. That’s their world view of nature and society. I know some of their voters, and it’s a bedrock belief.
hovercraft
@Baud:
The media was aware of this, as you say it was polled, but reporting it that way would ruin the narrative that the people and republicans did not like having Obamacare rammed down their throats. Reporting that the majority was okay with a huge expansion of the safety net, of a new “entitlement” does not mesh with their goal to inform us all that we need to do more with less. SS and Medicare are already too much of a safety net, how will we pay for healthcare for all? Remember all those nice “middle income” nice people you see on the TV screen are very concerned about deficits and our exorbitant tax rate, they are just looking out for us, they understand that none of the entitlement programs can be sustained, we don’t have the money, we need it to stimulate the economy with more tax cuts.
cosima
@1,000 Flouncing Lurkers (was fidelioscabinet): This girl has already been classified in some way, shape or form, though I don’t know the particulars. She spends part of her school week apart receiving additional support, I know that from both Little C and the administration. She probably fits — exactly — the criteria. Which does not make me feel at all better, but then I’ve already decided not to send Little C back until they’ve got a plan in place (Mr. will have been fretting about this all day at work, and support the decision 100% when we discuss later).
rikyrah
Mike Allen Jonathan Swan 2 hrs ago
The backup plan on Trump’s infrastructure package
The Capitol Hill calendar is way overstuffed — a Supreme Court nomination, plus Obamacare repeal legislation; tax reform; and budget, spending and debt-ceiling fights, including a possible showdown over a government shutdown.
So Republican sources tell us that a backup plan is emerging for one of Trump’s top priorities:
The plan: Push off until next year any consideration of the massive infrastructure plan Trump wants to push for roads, airports and other big projects, giving Republican lawmakers more breathing room amid a crowd of issues that’ll require massive effort, time and political capital.
The politics: Republican strategists say that Democrats, who’ll be reluctant to give Trump a win, will be in a jam as midterm elections close in: They’ll be under huge pressure to support big projects that’ll bring money and improvements to their districts. And blue-collar unions, including construction and building trades, can be expected to favor of the package, driving a wedge into the Democratic base.
What this shows: Trump officials, who originally wanted to flood the Capitol zone with their massive asks, are learning the rhythms of Washington — playing what White House counselor Kellyanne Conway last night called on Fox News “long ball, long haul.”
rikyrah
Kay…for you….
Ivanka pushes the White House to focus on human trafficking
President Trump this afternoon will hold a listening session on domestic and international human trafficking, including women and girls who are sexually exploited for profit. We’re told that the sudden West Wing attention to the issue was driven by Ivanka Trump, a huge West Wing force despite her decision not to take an official title at first.
How the meeting came about: Ivanka Trump and Dina Powell, White House senior counselor for economic initiatives, had a few meetings with some of the groups attending today’s 2:30 p.m. session in the Roosevelt Room. “Ivanka recommended the meeting to the president and he immediately agreed, given what a horrible issue it is in the U.S. and internationally,” a source said.
Elizabelle
@cosima: Best to you and valiant little cosimakid.
Taking your daughter out of school, to emphasize how seriously you take this, sounds like a plan to me. Does the school want to lose students over one disturbed child?
Your friend’s suggestion the school give the disturbed one an aide sounds good too. Expensive, yes, but if the district insists on mainlining a deeply disturbed kid who is actively threatening others, maybe it’s resources well spent.
You’re in my thoughts. Please keep us posted.
rikyrah
The everloving PHUCK!!!!
ICE removes detainee diagnosed with brain tumor from the hospital
— The Hill (@thehill) February 23, 2017
Elizabelle
@rikyrah: I say they put off the Supreme Court nominee hearings.
I think Democrats should give Gorsuch the exact treatment Merrick Garland was accorded. That is a stolen seat.
Keep it vacant. No telling how long Trump will be in office.
Chris
@rikyrah:
I’d love to believe they’ll actually focus on human trafficking.
Knowing the source, though, I have a funny feeling that the trafficking victims will be the ones to bear the brunt of any enforcement action.
The Moar You Know
@satby: I just hope cosima’s not in the US. Because here in the states, the school’s not responsible, and if the kid gets stabbed it’s legally not their problem. Disabled/disturbed kids and their legal advocates run the show.
/bitter husband of schoolteacher
Aleta
@cosima: She’s doing well I believe, and in grad school doing medical research. During her younger years her mother helped her keep perspective, but I don’t think the school stepped in much. L. never told me about it until she was 16 or and had already been having some psychological effects. I’m glad you are protecting your daughter, I think that makes a big difference in their development.
laura
@Tokyokie: That look wasnt shame, that was inconvenience. That crowd doesn’t fund his campaigns. That crowd wants basic services at reasonable rates.
It’s not their interests he was elected to serve.
I, for one, will never forget that that bag “o” shite skeev’d his way into the memory care facility to photograph his opponent’s wife with end stage alzheimers to use in his campaign. He can choke on a bag of salted dicks.
Harrumph.
Barbara
@cosima: Slenderman has not made it my kid’s school thus far, but the urban clown has, and although I can’t quite remember what the reaction was, I believe it did something. Also high risk is the so-called choking game. For that one, I talked directly to my children about it. Of course, they expressed disbelief that anyone could be so stupid. The craziness over Slenderman is that even if you talk to your kid, others might be overtaken by the phenomenon. The incident in Wisconsin is shocking.
hovercraft
@rikyrah:
They are taking their cues from Twitler, he said the people protesting are not the people the GOP represents. Did you miss the new amendment to the constitution where people in elected office only represent those who voted for them?
Aleta
@rikyrah: It’s important, and at the same time will be fit into his ‘foreigners are the ones who rape’ calculations for anti-immigrant propaganda. Just as Bush 2 used fake concern for iraqui women’s rights to go to war but pretend he was human.
The Lodger
@Chet Murthy: Plenty of preachers believe the Antichrist will also do his part to bring about the world that Christians want. Maybe someone should press them for details about Trump.
normal liberal
@cosima:
You’re already doing the critical thing, protecting your daughter first. Talk to your police friend soonest-I wonder if law enforcement there is aware of this specific threat and how it manifests with kids like the classmate. I’m sorry the school is so unresponsive, and I wonder what pressure they are getting to mainstream the other girl. Getting them to focus on your daughter may mean jumping all over them with great big boots on.
It may be a while before little c fully reacts. Toward the end of my first year in high school I was targeted by the closest thing we had to a gang. The school was very cooperative, things cooled down and my parents and I thought it was over. Until, that is, three months later when school was about to start, and I started having panic attacks. As someone noted above, a situation like this can have persistent effects. I was ok once school started, but it’s telling that I remember it vividly decades later.
I hope all goes well today and tomorrow, and that the head teacher responds properly.
Debbie1
@satby: Sure they were clear about how Obamacare benefits them – but how did they vote? Who do they support? That’s the crux. If you’re benefiting from the ACA but still vote for Republicans, as far as I’m concerned it’s like eating a fine dinner and skipping out on the bill.
LAO
This thread is long — have we talked about Arizona yet?
Mel
@satby: I absolutely agree. Administrators sometimes tend to want to think that nothing is serious or wrong in the hope that it will all just resolve itself eventually. Quite often, if things do go wrong, there is a trail of paperwork and other documentation showing that parents, teachers, and students have repeatedly expressed real concern about a brewing problem.
It might be a good idea to schedule a formal group meeting asap with your daughter’s principal, a trusted teacher, and the school psychologist if one is on staff. Beforehand, gather your info and create a clear timeline of events. Get written statements, if possible, from trustworthy kiddos who have heard, firsthand, the student in question making threatening statements about your daughter. Print copies of newspaper articles detailing the incidents wherein kids have been hurt or killed due to this crap taking hold in a school and in the mind of kids who are struggling with emotional / psycho-social issues. Print out copies of the school’s safety policy, their anti- bullying policy, and their discipline policy. That way, If they try to blow smoke and say, “Well, we”re just following policy, ” you can call them on a lie or a convenient misinterpretation of their policy.
It’s just my opinion, but it’s based upon yearsof working with kids. Your daughter’s health and safety must come first. Even if the young woman who is creating the drawings is doing it for “show” and for the sake of bullying/ emotionally traumatizing your daughter without intent to ever physically hurt your daughter, the stress that results frim constant bullying impacts every area of a child/teen’s life. Your daughter should not have to face that kind of fear and constant stress at school. And if the harasser does intend harm, or is deeply troubled enough that she could shift from threats to action, then she might need more psychological assistance, monitoring, and support than the school able to provide. Again, I don’t know any of the particulars about the child, the school, or the school’s resources /staff, so this is just my general thought.
Udually, it takes a great deal to get a child formally expelled from a previous school (often, repeated incidents with no evidence of improvement, or one or more big events). Although students’ info is (rightfully and importantly) protected by law from arbitrary enquiries, the school psychologist and administrators will (or certainly SHOULD) have already reviewed her file and records. They should know if this is part of a pattern of behavior, and if this child tends to escalate. This is info that likely cannot be disclosed to you at this point. However, making the administrators aware that you know that this young woman has a history of behavioral issues that have caused her to leave or to be removed from a previous school is important. It might help to make the conversation a more serious one right from the start, and cut through some of the “that would never happen here” mindset that can occur at some schools. Not saying that such is the case there; just saying that sometimes it happens, and it can sometimes slow or impede very important discussions.
My personal opinion is that, whether the threats are a bullying technique or something more, they seem to be causing your daughter real distress, and the school should be willing to take swift, clear, effective action to resolve the situation.
Mel
Oops! Meant to indicate that I was responding both to Cosima’s question as well as to Satby’s response to Cosima when posting previous comment.
Barbara
@cosima: Wow. We had an incident in elementary school with a disturbed child. This kid had a reflex of choking/strangling any kid who challenged him. He was really high strung and anxious and I honestly don’t think he was evil or a bad kid, but going after someone’s neck is seriously dangerous. He tried to do this with my son, who saw him coming and wriggled away, but on another occasion, he went after a kid and adults had to separate them. The kid who had been strangled was hysterical and refused to come back to school for days. The parents of the aggressor maintained that their child was the one being bullied, which might have been true to some degree, but choking isn’t something you can ignore even when a kid might not be acting with evil intent. At one point, the dad of the other kid told us that he considered calling the police because he found the school to be stunningly unresponsive, and he was a teacher so he had some idea of the spectrum of issues that schools have to deal with. It turns out that the aggressor’s parents had a practice of threatening lawsuits any time anyone suggested doing something that would single out their child. Eventually, the school assigned an adult employee to shadow this kid on the playground and in the cafeteria so that any time he became agitated there was someone there to intervene before he did real damage. I do think he improved over time but this was a very, very bad situation. And this is a wealthy school district. We knew that there were things going on in this family that were stretching the parents to the limits but nothing justifies potentially lethal conduct. The take away for me was that you sometimes have to force the school to take it seriously, and if you really believe there is danger, you can threaten to call the police or bring legal action once you have escalated the issue as high as you can at the school level. The other kid’s parents might be applying pressure of a very different kind from the other direction, and you will never be told that is going on.
Debbie1
@cosima: One thing jumped out from your statement: I’m waiting to see what the school does about this. I’ve heard that said by regretful parents before. This is not to insult the school, but it’s your kid, and as the parent the sense of urgency is or should be yours. The school may be waiting for your lead. At the very least, you should direct them on what you want to see happen.
cosima
@Barbara: @Aleta: @Elizabelle: Thanks for your support, BJ peeps. I just received the most ridiculous email from the head about it, along the lines of ‘I asked Little C if there was anything going on and she said no so it’s all good.’ I replied along the lines of ‘I have gone out of my way to make her feel like everything is okay, so I’m glad that she feels that way, but you should know that it’s not okay and I’ll be seeing you tomorrow for a meeting.’
It is hard work, as a parent, insulating your children from the awful stuff in the world, whilst still equipping them with the tools to manage that awful stuff. Not explaining Slender Man is one of those judgement calls — I don’t want her to live in fear, but this girl is making me feel all of the fears, even while I try not to pass that on to Little C.
So, tomorrow’s meeting is step 2.
Elizabelle
@cosima: good for you! I love that you didn’t use wiggle words with the school. Rooting for your 2 pm meeting. You go, girl.
craigie
It makes me smile that even its enemies now refer to it as Obamacare. Hoist, petard, etc.
cosima
@Debbie1: I should have been more clear, I guess — I was waiting for a response from the head teacher. I’ve now had her crazy wishy-washy response and will meet with her tomorrow to find out what the next steps will be. Mr & I will talk about what steps we’ll be taking to protect Little C if we’re faced with apathy from the school admin.
I don’t have a problem with removing her from the school until they’ve taken all steps to ensure Little C’s safety.
cosima
@Barbara: She’s already been physical with several kids. Some kids get angry, but take it. Some kids have parents (me!) who go down to the school saying ‘hell no.’
@Mel: Thanks for your comprehensive response! I’ve now printed out the bullying policy & some pieces about SM. I’ll pounce on my policeman neighbour later to get his thoughts.
I’ve been trying to practise compassion in regard to this girl, but the SM thing has pushed this to the next level. I get that this girl has challenges — is she best served by being removed from the school & getting the in-depth psych support that she needs, or by shoe-horning her into (another) mainstream school where she cannot interact with others without being abusive & violent? Seems like a no-brainer to me.
It could be a very interesting meeting!
SFBayAreaGal
@cosima: Have you had the opportunity to talk to other parents?
TenguPhule
Its all fun and games until the Trump Nazis actually start saying out loud “Can’t we kill them all?” about Muslims.
Lot of Mea Culpas are due from those who said the Trumpsters are not facists.
TenguPhule
@Debbie1: And then poisoning the cook to ensure that nobody else can eat the same quality of food.
Mel
@cosima: Please let us know how the meeting goes. My thoughts are with you and your daughter! No kiddo should have to go through this kind of scary nightmare. And please be sure to take good care of yourself as you navigate this stressful situation. It is every bit as hard on a parent as it is on the child. Rest when you can, eat regular meals even if you feel like you don’t have an appetite, and let friends, family, and neighbors help out.
TriassicSands
It is town halls like this that further convince me that Americans aren’t smart enough or paying close enough attention to learn from other people’s experiences. If it doesn’t hit us over the head, it doesn’t exist. Sad!
The Very Reverend Crimson Fire of Compassion
@cosima: Don’t know off-hand how many other commenters have responded, but I wanted to chime in. As a Special Education Professional who specializes in dealing with kids with psychiatric, emotional, and behavioral disorders (for over twenty years), let me echo Satby’s advice. Insist that your school deal with this issue, or move your child. Most of the time, it’s just talk. It only has to NOT be just talk once for you to regret it for the rest of your life. Take care of your child. And no, this is not a generalized behavior among cool kids. It’s a generalized behavior among kids with personality and behavioral disorders.
TenguPhule
Not a Republican? Then you can’t teach at any college in Iowa. At least, that’s the plan…..
Nazi see. Nazi do.
Ohio Mom
@cosima: I didn’t catch what level of school staff you are dealing with.
I hope at least the principal, though if it were me, I’d be speaking to the administrator for special needs (he or she almost definitely already knows about this kid), and/or the superintendent’s office.
And if that isn’t sufficient, the school board.
You would be surprised what properly-inspired upper level administrators are able to make happen.
Sign me,
For various reasons, on a first name basis with my district’s Director of Student Services
JoJo
@cosima:
Do not trust the schools to do anything whatsoever about the bully. I’d take your daughter out immediately.
Missouri Buckeye
@Taylor:
But the Maori’s would do their war dance first, so we get the extra entertainment factor.
No One You Know
@cosima: Not a Slender man story, but when my son was 5, another boy began telling him that he hated him and began following him around. The school intervened after attack with scissors.
I found out about this when I was sitting with him after a bedtime story and he asked what he should do if someone hated him.
The other boy was removed from the school.
Good luck, and raise a ruckus with administration.
cosima
@JoJo: That’s our plan — we’re keeping her home, and at the meeting tomorrow will be explaining to them that Little C stays home until they have something in place to keep her safe.
@The Very Reverend Crimson Fire of Compassion: I appreciate your support & perspective on this. I’m definitely feeling like this is not a normal situation or child that we’re dealing with.
@Mel: Thank you, Mel. I’m definitely finding this a bit stressful. It will help to take some action.
We have different layers of school admin on this side of the pond, so the steps that we have to take officially will be different, but the first step of keeping Little C home until we feel things are safe are the same as they would be here or in the US. Last year, in a posh secondary school not far from here (not the one that Little C would be going to, but close) a boy was stabbed & killed at school in the lunchroom. There had been bullying going on. Nobody really knows the whole story because they were children, and details are protected. My feeling is that Little C, as class prefect/house captain/top academic/etc etc etc has become the focus of every bit of this girl’s anger & frustration, and she cannot seem to prevent herself from obsessing about Little C.
We’re taking steps. Thank you, wonderful BJ crew, for your kind words, thoughtful responses, advice & support.
Miss Bianca
@cosima: Knew about Slender Man because I’m something of an obsessive about folklore, particularly schoolyard/kid folklore. But never heard of SM stuff being taken to this level. Keep little Cosima safe and if it means pulling her out of school, so be it – and let people know why, if the administration won’t do anything about the situation.
leeleeFL
@Baud: This to the penultimate power. People constantly think nothing will happen, until it begins to happen and then, it’s Chicken Little time. So tired of it I could scream out loud!
cosima
@No One You Know: When Little C was in 1st grade there was a huge girl who bullied her day in & day out. Little C was the smallest in the class, this girl was the biggest. We used to practise standing up for ourselves on the walk to school. I’d say ‘your hair looks awful today. now what do you say?’ and she’d say ‘it does not! my hair looks fine!’ and I’d say ‘we’re practising!’ so then she’d go into the (suggested anti-bully talk) ‘I like my hair, sorry you feel that way, goodbye’ or similar. Anyway, that went on for a while. I had to go in to class & ask that the bully be kept away from Little C. One day Little C said to me ‘I think I’m teaching A to be nice.’ and they eventually became friends. At the end of the year she had a bday party & Little C & 2 other girls were invited. The little girl’s grandparents were there & told me the very sad story of that girls life and why they were raising her. Our family became a bit of a support network for that girl & her grandparents & another family they were close to (also very disadvantaged).
Sometimes it works out that way. Sometimes it goes the way it went with your son. The girl bullying Little C now has also gone after kids, brandishing scissors. Compassion can work, but it sometimes does not. Our duty is to keep our children safe as much as possible. There are no good outcomes to this. Little C has been in tears tonight because we’ll keep her out of school if the girl does not get removed.
Thank you, everyone, for being so lovely. xx
J R in WV
@craigie:
I wondered if that might not turn out to have been a stupendously stupid move on their part all the way back when they started it as a slur. Because it’s only a slur to a racist!!
I think it would be wonderful if it becomes a crucial and integrated part of our national health care system, forever. Neither FDR nor LBJ became part of daily life [except for Raven: Fuck LBJ for you, bro!] even though they both brought lasting pieces of needed social systems into our daily lives.
The R’s are likely to make trivial changes to names, dates, bullcrap details, and attempt to rename it TrumpCare, or RyanCare, but I’ll be sticking to Obamacare forever.