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You are here: Home / Economics / C.R.E.A.M. / Open Thread: That’s Not A Whip, It’s A Doormat

Open Thread: That’s Not A Whip, It’s A Doormat

by Anne Laurie|  March 21, 20175:43 pm| 270 Comments

This post is in: C.R.E.A.M., Open Threads, Republicans in Disarray!, World's Best Healthcare (If You Can Afford It), Decline and Fall, Ever Get The Feeling You've Been Cheated?

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>@RepMarkMeadows: 'They’re already whipping with a whip that’s about 10 feet long and five feet wide.' https://t.co/lVlPTRrJr4

— Mike DeBonis (@mikedebonis) March 21, 2017

At the Washington Post, “The GOP’s new Obamacare repeal bill is a big defeat for conservatives”:

Republicans announced a set of changes to their proposed health-care overhaul Monday night, and while the revisions make symbolic nods to hard-line GOP conservatives, the most significant changes are social spending boosts aimed at wooing the party’s most moderate members.

House Speaker Paul D. Ryan conceded last week that the original bill needed changes to rally enough Republicans to move it through the House. But as members of Ryan’s party were pulling him in opposite directions, he had a choice: He could work to draw in more centrist GOP lawmakers concerned about the projections that the initial proposal would force millions of Americans to go uninsured, or he could try to win over more of the party’s conservative members who said the bill still spent too much — especially on social programs aimed at helping Americans buy health insurance…

…[T]he real concessions went to moderate lawmakers. Between Medicaid and a system of tax breaks for working- and middle-class households purchasing private insurance, the bill includes some $150 billion in new federal spending to help make sure that Americans can buy insurance. It is a tangible expansion of federal power in the health-care sector, compared with the first draft, that indicates an appetite among moderate Republicans for a more robust social safety net.…

The House Freedom Caucus, a crucial conservative bloc, will allow its members to vote as they please on the legislation.

Still, the group’s leader — Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) ripped the proposed changes Monday night. “After investing hours and hours and hours of trying to find common ground between our moderate members and conservative members, and believing, because of the White House’s engagement in the process, that we could find common ground; I’ve now reached a conclusion that our leadership is going to put forth a bill that does not address any of the concerns in a meaningful way and will dare us to vote against it,” he told Axios…

(Details of the proposed changes at the link.)

Think this from @ezraklein sums up the AHCA pretty well https://t.co/nbqcDxh8ZJ pic.twitter.com/QdkmXgCHaA

— Jonathan Cohn (@CitizenCohn) March 21, 2017

… and mostly self-created chaos swirling, it is could do irreparable damage to Trump agenda moving forward.

— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) March 21, 2017

Also notable: After GOP spent years decrying Dems rushing a partisan bill, the AHCA is moving 7x faster and has only Republican support.

— Dan Diamond (@ddiamond) March 21, 2017

Trump margin in PA in 2016: 44,000. Pennsylvanians who’d lose Medicaid if ACA repealed: 670,000.

— David Frum (@davidfrum) March 21, 2017

NBC News count: 26 GOP House members opposed/strong lean “no” on health bill.

GOP can only afford to lose 21. If this holds, it won't pass. pic.twitter.com/bqFtm9V6sV

— Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) March 21, 2017

The reason President Trump is at the Capitol: Republicans are hearing from you about this disastrous health care bill. Keep speaking up.

— Kamala Harris (@SenKamalaHarris) March 21, 2017

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Reader Interactions

270Comments

  1. 1.

    debbie

    March 21, 2017 at 5:45 pm

    I have zero sympathy for them, but they’re bound to lose either way. They refuse, and Trump will Tweet them to death. They support, and the Trump supporters who get screwed by TrumpCare will vote them and Trump out of office. I’m smelling vindication!

  2. 2.

    Keith P.

    March 21, 2017 at 5:45 pm

    Goddamn, I’m losing my mind. For the umpteenth time, my Windows Phone (the horrible Lumia 950) is having issues – today, it’s an Outlook update that results in constant notifications that my account settings are out-of-date (been getting them for the last 4 hours). Talked to ATT, tried to reach Microsoft…just a bunch of wasted time. ATT is even balking at sending me a flip phone because I’m still paying off the Lumia.
    I’m thinking of just canceling, leaving the phone at an ATT store, and disregarding all future collection attempts from them. So ticked off at their customer service, and it’s been an almost monthly ordeal.

  3. 3.

    Baud

    March 21, 2017 at 5:46 pm

    I would guess that it will pass the House. If not, that would be something to watch.

  4. 4.

    danielx

    March 21, 2017 at 5:48 pm

    Should I feel sympathy towards Freedom Caucus members, or “moderate” Republicans (like any exist), or ZEGS?

    No, no and no.

    ETA: Nor yet towards Yertle-boy and his ilk in the Senate. Fuck them too.

  5. 5.

    geg6

    March 21, 2017 at 5:52 pm

    Republicans in disarray! Oh noes!

  6. 6.

    Yarrow

    March 21, 2017 at 5:54 pm

    I called all my Reps today. Will do so again tomorrow. I had to call the local offices of one of my Senators because the D.C. voicemail was full. I guess they’re getting a lot of calls. I mix it up and call different offices every day.

  7. 7.

    Thru the Looking Glass...

    March 21, 2017 at 5:56 pm

    Every single one of these mean-spirited, hypocritical farkers should be stripped of their gubmint-mandated Cadillac healthcare plans and be forced to go buy their coverage in the same marketplace they’re trying to push all of us into… farkin’ assholes…

  8. 8.

    TenguPhule

    March 21, 2017 at 5:57 pm

    @debbie: But refusing doesn’t risk them getting killed by their own constituents who have terminal care and lose their insurance.

  9. 9.

    dmsilev

    March 21, 2017 at 5:58 pm

    @Baud: If it doesn’t, watching Ryan squirm and suffer will be the most fun I’ve had this year.

  10. 10.

    David ?¡Mere Campaign Volunteer!? Koch

    March 21, 2017 at 5:59 pm

    that indicates an appetite among moderate Republicans for a more robust social safety net.… white socialism…..

    /fixed

  11. 11.

    Baud

    March 21, 2017 at 6:00 pm

    @dmsilev: Agreed.

  12. 12.

    TenguPhule

    March 21, 2017 at 6:01 pm

    @Baud:

    I would guess that it will pass the House.

    Not in its current form. Not evil enough for the “Freedom from Life” caucus. More Poors must be flayed alive in the bill for their approval. And more magic “*” need to be added for the math to qualify as “revenue neutral”.

  13. 13.

    Baud

    March 21, 2017 at 6:02 pm

    @TenguPhule: We’ll find out Thursday.

  14. 14.

    Major Major Major Major

    March 21, 2017 at 6:02 pm

    @Baud: I wouldn’t be surprised if it passes the Senate, either. We know Collins won’t be the decisive ‘no’ vote–are we really expecting somebody like Cruz to do it?

  15. 15.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    March 21, 2017 at 6:03 pm

    @Thru the Looking Glass…: Part of ACA was Congresscitters had to buy on the exchange.

  16. 16.

    rikyrah

    March 21, 2017 at 6:03 pm

    Phuck all these​ sociopaths.
    The entire lot of them ???

  17. 17.

    rikyrah

    March 21, 2017 at 6:04 pm

    @David ?¡Mere Campaign Volunteer!? Koch:
    Lord, I love that WHITE SOCIALISM is catching on.

  18. 18.

    dmsilev

    March 21, 2017 at 6:05 pm

    This HuffPo article lists 37 GOP Reps supposedly opposed (26 ‘strongly’) plus another 10 undecided. The hard-core conservatives are upset because the bill isn’t harsh enough.

  19. 19.

    Oatler.

    March 21, 2017 at 6:06 pm

    The rollout has been pretty chaotic but you don’t mutate toward a global corporate virus with the human race you want, you mutate with the race you have.

  20. 20.

    Mnemosyne

    March 21, 2017 at 6:07 pm

    If I didn’t have a sore throat, I would be eating popcorn right now.

    Even if you have solid Dem reps, call them and tell them to stand firm. They need to be on the record opposing this disaster.

  21. 21.

    Major Major Major Major

    March 21, 2017 at 6:07 pm

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: Originally a Republican ‘gotcha!’ amendment, but the Democrats called their bluff.

  22. 22.

    Thru the Looking Glass...

    March 21, 2017 at 6:08 pm

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: Well I’m sure they did THAT provision in, huh?

  23. 23.

    me

    March 21, 2017 at 6:08 pm

    @Keith P.: Microsoft’s login servers are having issues today. https://www.onmsft.com/news/xbox-live-microsoft-account-login-services-apparently-down They appear to be up now though.

  24. 24.

    Yarrow

    March 21, 2017 at 6:08 pm

    @Baud: Also fun would be if he doesn’t have the numbers and Ryan can’t hold the the vote.

  25. 25.

    debbie

    March 21, 2017 at 6:09 pm

    Anyone who lives in PA should put this Tweet on an endless loop and leave it for their representative:

    David Frum ✔ @davidfrum
    Trump margin in PA in 2016: 44,000. Pennsylvanians who’d lose Medicaid if ACA repealed: 670,000.

    I wish this could be provided for every state.

  26. 26.

    hovercraft

    March 21, 2017 at 6:10 pm

    @Baud:
    I’m not sure it passes the house, Heritage and the big “think tanks” are against it, the “sweeteners” are all in the wrong direction, so I doubt they will be any less opposed to the “new” version. Nancy Smash knew what she was doing, and she had Hoyer and Clayborne to whip the votes, ZEGS has um, McCarthy and who, Scalise? I can totally see these clowns having to pull the vote, because of their incompetence. The Freedom caucus can’t be reasoned with, so no one knows what they’ll do. As for the senate, McTurtle isn’t trying to argue the merits, he arguing that they have to pass it because they promised. I doubt that will be enough for those getting beaten up back home.

  27. 27.

    debbie

    March 21, 2017 at 6:11 pm

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    Yeah, I still think Congress should be made to pilot this plan for the rest of the country. It’s their patriotic duty, dammit!

  28. 28.

    TenguPhule

    March 21, 2017 at 6:11 pm

    The irony is that every bad thing the Republicans and our stupid media accused the ACA passage of, the Republicans are actually doing with the AHCA bill.

    We need a new law that says any time a Republican makes an accusation, they will immediately be arrested for whatever crime they are accusing others of and presumed guilty until proven otherwise.

    That’s the level of corruption this has come to.

  29. 29.

    dmsilev

    March 21, 2017 at 6:11 pm

    @TenguPhule: At this point, I’m expecting the GOP to start pushing the Save Our Youthful Life Except Not Those act of 2017.

  30. 30.

    Yarrow

    March 21, 2017 at 6:11 pm

    @rikyrah: Is #WhiteSocialism a thing on Twitter? Should be, if it’s not.

    Also important to get trending and discussed are Filial Responsibility laws. Mom or grandma will get kicked out of the nursing home when Medicaid goes away. Where’s she going to live? Home with you, white suburbanites? #FilialResponsibilityLaws.

  31. 31.

    Major Major Major Major

    March 21, 2017 at 6:12 pm

    @TenguPhule:

    We need a new law that says any time a Republican makes an accusation, they will immediately be arrested for whatever crime they are accusing others of and presumed guilty until proven otherwise.

    Stealing this!

  32. 32.

    TenguPhule

    March 21, 2017 at 6:14 pm

    @dmsilev: At this point I’m half-expecting a “Handmaidens for More White Babies” clause. They’ve already used Atlas Shrugged and 1984 as instruction manuals, what’s one more when all’s said and done.

  33. 33.

    Yarrow

    March 21, 2017 at 6:14 pm

    @Mnemosyne:

    Even if you have solid Dem reps, call them and tell them to stand firm. They need to be on the record opposing this disaster.

    I have a Dem rep and do this every day. First I confirm my Rep’s vote and then ask them to thank my Rep for standing firm. The person who answers the phone always sounds so happy to hear from me. Call them and thank them if you’ve got a Dem rep. It also stiffens their spine!

  34. 34.

    Major Major Major Major

    March 21, 2017 at 6:17 pm

    @TenguPhule: Their immigration policy is brought to you by The Camp of the Saints.

  35. 35.

    debbie

    March 21, 2017 at 6:17 pm

    @TenguPhule:

    Speaking of Handmaidens, did you see this?

  36. 36.

    Keith P.

    March 21, 2017 at 6:18 pm

    @me: You are a f’n WINNER! THANK YOU !!!! I’m pretty sure that’s exactly what the problem is, as I’ve got 2 other accounts (Exchange and Hotmail) that are working OK. Of course, I already wiped my phone out, but whatever.
    But still, FUCK AT&T…FUCK THEM IN THE ASS.

  37. 37.

    David ?¡Mere Campaign Volunteer!? Koch

    March 21, 2017 at 6:19 pm

    @rikyrah: bunch of moochers and takers, using White Socialism to grill T-Bones; using their the purple cadillacs red monster trucks for tailgating.

    Sad!

  38. 38.

    different-church-lady

    March 21, 2017 at 6:20 pm

    I no longer believe anyone’s predictions about anything.

  39. 39.

    VFX Lurker

    March 21, 2017 at 6:20 pm

    Question for my fellow Californians: what news source(s) do you rely on to follow our state government?

    I have a subscription to the Los Angeles Times, which is helpful for local news. However, I was wondering if another paper does a better job of following our state legislature.

  40. 40.

    Chet Murthy

    March 21, 2017 at 6:21 pm

    @debbie: Gotta believe there are some o’those asswipe TX shitheel legislators that looked up and (if they recognized it at all) just licked their chops. Prolly gave ’em erections.

  41. 41.

    dmsilev

    March 21, 2017 at 6:22 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: We haven’t yet seen Trump’s Modest Proposal for dealing with the Irish poor problem, but I have faith that it’s coming.

  42. 42.

    TenguPhule

    March 21, 2017 at 6:22 pm

    @debbie: Not sure if I should be amused at their genius or horrified that its come that far in Texas.

  43. 43.

    TenguPhule

    March 21, 2017 at 6:23 pm

    @dmsilev: Soylent Green is…non-white people.

  44. 44.

    Chet Murthy

    March 21, 2017 at 6:23 pm

    @Keith P.: Not sure if this helpful; if not, please forgive, but …. I switched to Project Fi a few months back, and am enjoying massively lower bill, better service (b/c Fi uses Tmo + Sprint b/w), flawless wifi calling out-of-the-box, and when I’m at my lappie, I can make/receive calls from the gmail UI.

    But the key one? My average bill went from $70/mo to $30/mo.

    And I got a “new” (from the factory) Nexus 5x. Schweet phone.

  45. 45.

    debbie

    March 21, 2017 at 6:23 pm

    Whoa, I just received an email from the Secretary of the Treasury!

    *****

    Looking forward to hearing from you and God Bless America.
    Mr. Jacob Joseph Lew to you (Bcc) + 1 moreshow details
    Dear Respected,

    I am Mr. Steven Mnuchin new secretary of the treasury Department United States Of America my identity card attached for confirmation of office. I write of a very important update as regards your unsettled $1.5million and not some inflated amount this impersonator has been informing you about.

    At the recently concluded meeting with the World Bank and the United Nations, an agreement was reached between both parties for us to settle all outstanding payments accrued to individuals/corporations with respect to local and overseas contract payment, debt re-scheduling and outstanding compensation payment. Fortunately, you have been selected alongside a few other beneficiaries to receive your own payment of $1.5million (One Million five hundred thousand United States Dollars only).

    We have been notified that you are yet to receive your fund valued at $1.5million This money will now be transferred to your nominated bank account that is of the confirmation is true that you are yet to receive your funds.

    Feel Free to contact me with below details:
    (some b.s. email address)
    Looking forward to hearing from you and God Bless America.
    Secretary Steven Mnuchin
    Treasury Department USA.

  46. 46.

    Mnemosyne

    March 21, 2017 at 6:23 pm

    @VFX Lurker:

    My instinct is the Sacramento Bee since they’re the hometown paper for that area, but I don’t actually know.

  47. 47.

    different-church-lady

    March 21, 2017 at 6:24 pm

    @debbie: The guys in the Texas senate were probably thinking, “Hey, that’s a great idea, why didn’t we think of that?”

  48. 48.

    different-church-lady

    March 21, 2017 at 6:25 pm

    @debbie: Sounds legit.

  49. 49.

    TenguPhule

    March 21, 2017 at 6:25 pm

    @debbie: SIgn it up for free pron subscriptions and medical V.

  50. 50.

    Chet Murthy

    March 21, 2017 at 6:25 pm

    @TenguPhule: read it and weep/cringe/rage

    Texas’ maternal mortality rates nearly doubled between 2010 and 2014 — but lawmakers have had few conversations around the issue since the legislative session began.

  51. 51.

    Baud

    March 21, 2017 at 6:25 pm

    @debbie: Given who the president is, I give it a 40% chance that that email is authentic.

  52. 52.

    dr. bloor

    March 21, 2017 at 6:26 pm

    Trump margin in PA in 2016: 44,000. Pennsylvanians who’d lose Medicaid if ACA repealed: 670,000.

    So basically, Pennsyltucky is going to die of preventable, treatable diseases. At least they can go to their graves thinking the browns and blahs in Philly have it worse.

  53. 53.

    mai naem mobile

    March 21, 2017 at 6:26 pm

    @debbie: Clinton lost Arizona by 91K votes. 400K would lose their coverge under AHCA.

  54. 54.

    TenguPhule

    March 21, 2017 at 6:27 pm

    @dr. bloor: On the plus side, some of the people who die will actually deserve their horrible death by medical neglect.

  55. 55.

    TenguPhule

    March 21, 2017 at 6:27 pm

    @Baud: The lack of spelling errors is a dead giveaway.

  56. 56.

    Spanky

    March 21, 2017 at 6:28 pm

    @Mnemosyne: Thanks, asshole. I caught your cold.

    In what third world hell did you pick up this thing?

  57. 57.

    debbie

    March 21, 2017 at 6:31 pm

    @mai naem mobile:

    Where did you find that? I can’t find a list in Google.

  58. 58.

    Thru the Looking Glass...

    March 21, 2017 at 6:32 pm

    @debbie: Oh… this is definitely real…

    Lucky you!

  59. 59.

    Mary G

    March 21, 2017 at 6:32 pm

    The pressure is on in my district:

    VISTA (CBS 8/AP) – More than 360 protesters rallied together in what’s called a “die-in,” creating a symbolic graveyard in front of Republican Congressman Darrel Issa’s Vista office Tuesday.

    They believe getting rid of Obamacare would mean 14 million more Americans would be uninsured by next year.

    Indivisible and MoveOn.org, made of Democrats, Republicans and Independents, hosted the movement. They say they’re resisting President Donald Trump’s agenda.

    They voiced their concerns over the Republican plan to replace the Affordable Care Act. A huge vote is set on the House floor at the GOP meeting on Capitol Hill.

    One person showed up for what was supposed to be a Trump supporters counter-rally!

  60. 60.

    Keith P.

    March 21, 2017 at 6:32 pm

    @Chet Murthy: Oh, I’m done with smartphones. I cannot stand them…and I’m a programmer. The main problem I have is that it’s like having a desktop in your face 24 hours a day (I have heart problems, so I have to sleep with my phone next to me). That goddamn thing chimes if I get emails, texts, updates, if it wants feedback (gotten those at 4am!), if there’s an error…you name it. And nowadays, everyone *expects* you to have one (and freak out if you don’t have iPhone or Android, like they have a say in what I purchase), so there’s an expectation of being on call for *someone* at any time. I’ve got some friends who call/text in the mornings, others in the afternoon, others at night, others at late-late night. Then there’s solicitors, who can call between 8am and 9pm. And UPS/Walgreens/FedEx/etc *all* send text AND email alerts for any package/prescription refill(or due to be refilled…or you forgot to come pick it up).
    It’s just too goddamn much. It’s almost uncanny – if I go to the bathroom, my phone is going to ring. If I got to the fridge, I’m getting a text.
    A flip phone still has its problems, but at least it doesn’t try to be something it isn’t.

  61. 61.

    Mnemosyne

    March 21, 2017 at 6:32 pm

    @Spanky:

    Orlando!

    (Technically, it was probably Naples FL since that’s where my nieces live, but there’s no song about Naples.)

  62. 62.

    Spanky

    March 21, 2017 at 6:33 pm

    @different-church-lady:

    I no longer believe anyone’s predictions about anything.

    Sun sets here in about 45 minutes.

  63. 63.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    March 21, 2017 at 6:34 pm

    @Spanky:

    In what third world hell did you pick up this thing?

    Floriduh.

  64. 64.

    Baud

    March 21, 2017 at 6:34 pm

    @Keith P.: Why don’t you set it to only ring for family and friends?

  65. 65.

    Thru the Looking Glass...

    March 21, 2017 at 6:34 pm

    @Mnemosyne: I recall the Sac Bee as being good for this too… seeing as the paper is right in town…

  66. 66.

    debbie

    March 21, 2017 at 6:36 pm

    Actually, I’ve found the numbers for Ohio: Trump won by 446,841, 964,000 will lose coverage if ACA is repealed, and it’s estimated that 750,000 will lose coverage under TrumpCare. Off to stir up the rabble on Facebook!

  67. 67.

    hovercraft

    March 21, 2017 at 6:36 pm

    @Chet Murthy:
    This was predicted, as was the increase in forced births. They didn’t care then and I’m sure they don’t care now. It’s all about punishing the sluts, force them to carry it, if they die then tough, if they survive then deny them as much support as possible. It’s a three-fer, punish women , force births, and grow your population. Don’t worry about the expense because there really isn’t one, win, win, win.

  68. 68.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    March 21, 2017 at 6:36 pm

    @Keith P.: At night, my phone goes into my charging dock and is set to Do Not Disturb. I have exceptions set for madame and the kid.

  69. 69.

    japa21

    March 21, 2017 at 6:36 pm

    @debbie: My wife got one of those too, although she didn’t open it.

  70. 70.

    Yarrow

    March 21, 2017 at 6:36 pm

    @Keith P.:

    That goddamn thing chimes if I get emails, texts, updates

    You should be able to set the kind of notifications you want for each thing. I hate the alerts for emails so I turned them all off. I check it when I want to check it. You might also have the ability to set your phone so it doesn’t bother you between certain hours except for the few people you whitelist. The text or call will still come in but it won’t ring or blink and bother you. You can check it when you wake up.

  71. 71.

    Thru the Looking Glass...

    March 21, 2017 at 6:37 pm

    @Keith P.: I agree w/ everything you said… but I did break down last year and move to an iPhone… it was just too embarrassing pulling out a flip top in front of the people I was working w/, even though I didn’t mind using it…

  72. 72.

    Major Major Major Major

    March 21, 2017 at 6:37 pm

    @Keith P.: Mine is constantly on do not disturb mode, but it goes through if somebody on a list I keep places an actual incoming call.

    ETA: And I am not alone.

  73. 73.

    hovercraft

    March 21, 2017 at 6:39 pm

    @debbie:
    Is Munchin deatheater a Nigerian Prince?

  74. 74.

    randy khan

    March 21, 2017 at 6:40 pm

    For kicks, I tried calling Barbara Comstock (northern VA, a district that should be swingy) at both her D.C. and local offices. No answer, no voice mail, at both. It’s after 6:00, when you usually get rollover to voice mail at local offices (but the D.C. offices often are still open), but just ring . . . ring . . . ring . . . ring . . . ring . . .

  75. 75.

    Brachiator

    March 21, 2017 at 6:40 pm

    So, should the Democrats demand that Congress and all Congressional staffers use the newly proposed plan? I mean, good enough for America should be good enough for Congress, right?

  76. 76.

    Chet Murthy

    March 21, 2017 at 6:40 pm

    @Keith P.: Hum …. well, I sympathize with your position. One of the reasons I switched to Fi, was: “what’s the point of paying for an expensive phone plan, when I never answer the phone anyway?” B/c the vast majority of my calls were from telemarketers. Enough is enough. So now, I have a voicemail message, informing callers that they should leave a message with a # and I’ll call ’em back, b/c I’m getting too much telemarketing spam to be willing to pick up the phone.

    Anybody that I actually -need- to get comms from, know to IM or email instead.

    OK: all that said, yeah, I get you: and as a plus, you can’t get hacked like all the rest of us!

    P.S. seriously, I leave the phone to charge at the opposite end of the house, and I -never- answer calls. If I’m using my laptop, I’ll check what the # is in the gmail UI (when a call comes in on the phone, it also comes in the gmail ui) and if it looks like a number I recognize, I’ll answer. If not, and they leave a vmail message, it gets automatically transcoded to text, and shows up as an IM window in the gmail ui (again). So I can just highlight the ph# and call back (assuming that’s what I want).

  77. 77.

    Ian G.

    March 21, 2017 at 6:42 pm

    Frum (I think) shared a list of estimated people who would lose their exchange plans or their Medicaid under Trumpcare by Congressional district. I checked the two districts on Long Island represented by Democrats (Rice and Suozzi) and the two represented by Republicans (King and Zeldin). About 35k would lose Medicaid coverage in the Dem districts. About 120k would lose it in the GOP districts.

    If this shitburger gets signed into law, remind me to laugh at the assholes in Pete King’s district with their “blue lives matter” bumper stickers as they take their mothers home from the nursing home that just kicked them out because Medicaid won’t pay anymore.

    I’m a happy resident of Rice’s district, FWIW.

  78. 78.

    pseudonymous in nc

    March 21, 2017 at 6:42 pm

    It’s going to pass the House by one or two votes, with the vote held open for two hours, while the holdouts get bought off with campaign checks in ever-increasing amounts as clock ticks on. That’s how Republicans roll.

  79. 79.

    debbie

    March 21, 2017 at 6:43 pm

    @hovercraft:

    Only on a good day.

  80. 80.

    Thru the Looking Glass...

    March 21, 2017 at 6:43 pm

    @hovercraft: Strangely enough, he is/was a film producer…

    I watched Back Mass last night (J Depp as Whitey Bulger) and I’ll be damned is Mnuchin wasn’t one of the executive producers on it… somehow that seems appropriate…

  81. 81.

    japa21

    March 21, 2017 at 6:43 pm

    The amount of projection the Republicans do is at an all time high. All over the place on the Trumpelstiltskin’s connections with Russia.

    But on this ACHA it is almost comical.

    Consider 3 things they said about the ACA:

    1) There wasn’t enough debate and discussion prior to voting.
    2) There are death panels.
    3) It’s a job killing bill.

    1) is so obviously wrong but definitely applies to the ACHA.
    2) Again completely false, but the ACHA will definitely cause Americans to die.
    3) The ACA actually created thousands, nay, hundreds of thousands of jobs. Many if not most of them will be lost if the ACHA goes through.

    I could go on but I would like to see some Dems making noise on all three of those.

  82. 82.

    Spanky

    March 21, 2017 at 6:43 pm

    @Mnemosyne: Actually, if you Google “songs about Naples Florida” there are a good number of hits.

    What oh what is there that Google does not know?

  83. 83.

    debbie

    March 21, 2017 at 6:43 pm

    @japa21:

    It was in my spam folder. I didn’t click on any links.

  84. 84.

    SiubhanDuinne

    March 21, 2017 at 6:43 pm

    @dmsilev:

    I SAW WHAT YOU DID THERE AND I AM WAY IMPRESSED AS YOU CAN TELL FROM THE SHOUTING!

  85. 85.

    Uncle Cosmo

    March 21, 2017 at 6:44 pm

    Who is Devine? And who the fuck is Wilmer????

  86. 86.

    schrodingers_cat

    March 21, 2017 at 6:45 pm

    Moderate Republican is an oxymoron. Mostly the Republicans are just malicious morons.

  87. 87.

    japa21

    March 21, 2017 at 6:46 pm

    @Ian G.: One of the things that the revised version is supposed to protect is nursing home coverage. I don’t know how it can if they change eligibility rules, but supposedly it does.
    However, nursing homes will kick out Medicaid patients if staying there is not required for major medical care and if it is judged the patient can survive in a home setting with appropriate home care. Medicaid currently covers home care (Medicare does not) but that benefit will be lost.

  88. 88.

    japa21

    March 21, 2017 at 6:47 pm

    @debbie: Same for her.

  89. 89.

    Keith P.

    March 21, 2017 at 6:47 pm

    @Baud: Because it’s a pain in the ass to set it up every time I have to hard reset the phone (which tech support ALWAYS says to do, even when I’m explaining to them what the problem is – it’s always a bad update or server on Microsoft’s end). Every time I wipe the phone, I have to set all the accounts up, go run through whatever *other* restore processes there are, go restore all my music, and then go through all my little settings like privacy and tweak it.
    Again, it’s just too fucking much, because it’s not just one time or just one small little thing….it’s every month or two, and it stretches into hours of my time. Fuck that shit.

  90. 90.

    Pogonip

    March 21, 2017 at 6:48 pm

    @Keith P.: You can set the I-phone 6S to turn off all those chimes and beeps.

  91. 91.

    Pogonip

    March 21, 2017 at 6:49 pm

    @Keith P.: Are you related to Cole?

  92. 92.

    SiubhanDuinne

    March 21, 2017 at 6:49 pm

    @Uncle Cosmo:

    Wilmer is the Senator from a New England state who primaried the eventual Democratic nominee in 2016. Tad Devine was his campaign manager, and is yet another person with strong and suspicious ties to Russia.

    Edit: Might not have had title of “campaign manager,” but was certainly a senior advisor/consultant.

  93. 93.

    Baud

    March 21, 2017 at 6:50 pm

    @Keith P.: iPhone and Android have backups that make restoring the settings easier. iPhone is better than Android in that regard, I believe.

  94. 94.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    March 21, 2017 at 6:52 pm

    @Pogonip: You can do that on Android phones as well.

  95. 95.

    schrodingers_cat

    March 21, 2017 at 6:52 pm

    @Keith P.: Set it to sleep mode. Only take calls from family.

  96. 96.

    hovercraft

    March 21, 2017 at 6:54 pm

    @Thru the Looking Glass…:
    Someone needs to explain that bloodsuckers like Bannon and Munchin aren’t real Hollywood. They are just rich wannabe’s like himself, always with their faces up against the window looking in while the cool kids party inside.

    My God he’s Carrie, this is revenge against the world for mocking him. Earlier I expressed optimism, but now, we are all going to die.

  97. 97.

    Uncle Cosmo

    March 21, 2017 at 6:55 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne: Thanks. I should’ve remembered Devine. OldTimer’s syndrome I guess…it really does seem like about 10 years have passed since the last of the Democratic primaries last year.

    But how the fuck did BS become “Wilmer”???

    ETA: I recall how Devine was widely accused of shamelessly sucking the lifeblood out of BS’s contributors only to funnel the ca$h into his media buys (& pocketing a hefty commission for his “efforts”). Grifters gotta grift. (Why am I not surprised he’s connected to the Rooskies?)

  98. 98.

    Mnemosyne

    March 21, 2017 at 6:55 pm

    @Keith P.:

    Okay, I’ll be that jerk: get an iPhone. The SE is under $400 for the 64GB model. I got mine from Virgin Mobile, paid $299 plus tax for the phone itself and pay $35/month for service. Unlimited texting, a couple GBs of data, and unlimited calling.

  99. 99.

    Brachiator

    March 21, 2017 at 6:57 pm

    @Ian G.:

    Frum (I think) shared a list of estimated people who would lose their exchange plans or their Medicaid under Trumpcare by Congressional district. I checked the two districts on Long Island represented by Democrats (Rice and Suozzi) and the two represented by Republicans (King and Zeldin). About 35k would lose Medicaid coverage in the Dem districts. About 120k would lose it in the GOP districts.

    The Democrats should spit this stuff out regularly, and give voters the number of the appropriate GOP rep.

  100. 100.

    EBT

    March 21, 2017 at 6:57 pm

    @dmsilev: Plus half the GOP hasn’t even said. The blood is in the water and they are surrounded by sharks.

  101. 101.

    Mnemosyne

    March 21, 2017 at 6:57 pm

    @Spanky:

    But has any of them won a Tony?

    I rest my case.

  102. 102.

    jl

    March 21, 2017 at 6:58 pm

    My understanding from last news I read that the fix for soaking 60+ year old chronically ill median income working stiffs is a nonrefundable tax credit. I don’t see how that does much. And they are kicking the details of how that works over to the callous millionaire old white farts in the Senate? Disgusting. (Edit: I guess talking about exactly how that inadequate relief would work would be an intolerable outrage to the GOPer hard reactionaries and lose their votes for good.)

    But, hey, speed up the tax repeal for the 1%, that is done asap, ain’t it? (Edit, a bit unfair to the sad hobos in the lower part of the 1%, most of it goes to the top 0.2%)

    Disgusting.

  103. 103.

    Corner Stone

    March 21, 2017 at 6:58 pm

    Erin McPike. Go DIAFF.

  104. 104.

    OGLiberal

    March 21, 2017 at 6:59 pm

    I predict this passes the House. Trump is already threatening to go after folks who vote no and is saying that “a loss is not acceptable.” Because that’s because that’s all this about for Trump – winning. He doesn’t care what’s in the bill, what’s not in the bill,he doesn’t care about healthcare policy, he doesn’t care about policy, period. He cares about winning…and passing something that is not called Obamacare is winning. Not passing is losing…he already said so. The loudest voices against, currently, are the crazies. And the crazies are from districts with many Trump fanatics. If they cause it to fail he will go after them and supporters of is those districts will back him 100 percent. If it passes he’ll convince his supporters that it’s the greatest healthcare plan ever. May doom those districts to go blue in 2018 but Trump doesn’t really care about that and, besides, if that starts to look like the case, he’ll tell his supporters he never liked the bill and it was those stupid repa who forced it on him…and they’ll believe him.

    Senate? Tougher but same thing could play out there – I can’t see folks like Collins or Portman or Toomey being profiles in courage…because they never are, especially in the face of bully boy’s threat that mighth lead them to get primaried from the right if the don’t pass the bill. Like the House, may cause the Senate to flip blue but, again Trump doesn’t care. Don’t even think he cares about 2020…he’ll so bored by the time election season 2020 rolls around that he’ll say he’s done all he could and will not seek re-election because he knows of other ways to Make America Great Again. He’ll be leaving on his terms…and winning!

    Best we can hope for, I think, is that whatever shit sandwich gets passed doesn’t do enough damage in four-years but the threat it poses gives the Dems Congress back in 2018, where the can just obstruct and maybe impeach him or make his life so miserable that he resigns so he can run around the country giving angry speeches to the true believers he has left…and there will be enough left to make him feel like he’s still adored.

  105. 105.

    Mnemosyne

    March 21, 2017 at 7:00 pm

    @Uncle Cosmo:

    Specific trolls used to show up every time we used his first name, so we suspected they had set up a Google alert. Ever since we switched to the Wilmer protocol, troll infestations have been greatly reduced.

  106. 106.

    different-church-lady

    March 21, 2017 at 7:00 pm

    @Keith P.: Is that what the AT&T techs are telling you to do? Stop listening to them, seek support from Microsoft. “Reset everything” is code for “I have no idea and I don’t give a shit.”

  107. 107.

    hovercraft

    March 21, 2017 at 7:01 pm

    @Uncle Cosmo:
    To circumvent the trolls who had alerts for every time his name was mentioned, one of the regulars dubbed him Wilmer. It helps keep the food fights on things that are pertinent to the fight we’re engaged in now, instead of rehashing the primary over and over again.

  108. 108.

    jl

    March 21, 2017 at 7:02 pm

    @OGLiberal: We’ll get a first test of how much sway a vicious dingbat president with approval ratings south of 40% has with the GOP House Congresscruds.

  109. 109.

    different-church-lady

    March 21, 2017 at 7:02 pm

    @Keith P.: The first thing I’m going to do after I hit the lottery is fling my smart phone into the ocean.

  110. 110.

    Keith P.

    March 21, 2017 at 7:03 pm

    @different-church-lady: The “seek support from Microsoft” is the problem. Nobody seems to know what that is….AT&T has no clue at all, but MS’ own site takes me to an outsourced chat site where the person…recommended a total reset of the phone.
    I tried to find an Outlook developer’s blog to harass him/her, but I couldn’t even find on of *those*. That’s really why I’m done with smartphones…it’s a crippled PC where everyone who offers support is basically my grandfather.

  111. 111.

    Spanky

    March 21, 2017 at 7:03 pm

    Wall Street sinks on fears of delays to Trump tax cuts

    Great. Now I have to root against my own 401k.

  112. 112.

    Brachiator

    March 21, 2017 at 7:04 pm

    @Mnemosyne:

    Okay, I’ll be that jerk: get an iPhone. The SE is under $400 for the 64GB model. I got mine from Virgin Mobile, paid $299 plus tax for the phone itself and pay $35/month for service. Unlimited texting, a couple GBs of data, and unlimited calling.

    It’s not the phone. It’s the plan. Plenty of good plans available for any phone you want.

  113. 113.

    different-church-lady

    March 21, 2017 at 7:04 pm

    @Baud: I finally discovered the best function on my phone: “Do Not Disturb”

  114. 114.

    EBT

    March 21, 2017 at 7:05 pm

    @Chet Murthy: I have been using Fi for almost a year, you forgot some of the best parts. It’s month to month instead of a contract, and they buy your unused data back at the rate you paid at the end of the month (it’s in the form of a credit to next month). Also you can pause or unpause the service for up to three months if needed. Also be aware the 5x has heat dissipation issues, so pick your case carefully.

  115. 115.

    Baud

    March 21, 2017 at 7:06 pm

    @different-church-lady: I’ve set my texts to autoreply DIAF.

  116. 116.

    Chet Murthy

    March 21, 2017 at 7:08 pm

    @OGLiberal: The least we can do, the least we can do, is make ’em blow up the legislative filibuster for this.

  117. 117.

    Brachiator

    March 21, 2017 at 7:09 pm

    @hovercraft:

    To circumvent the trolls who had alerts for every time his name was mentioned, one of the regulars dubbed him Wilmer. It helps keep the food fights on things that are pertinent to the fight we’re engaged in now, instead of rehashing the primary over and over again.

    Does it really work? Shit, I still run across threads where people are fighting over how Obama should have pushed for a public option. :)

  118. 118.

    Baud

    March 21, 2017 at 7:09 pm

    @Chet Murthy: It’s reconciliation. No filibuster.

  119. 119.

    cranky

    March 21, 2017 at 7:10 pm

    David Frum ✔ @davidfrum
    Trump margin in PA in 2016: 44,000. Pennsylvanians who’d lose Medicaid if ACA repealed: 670,000.

    So ghoulishly speaking, the number of PA Trump voters that Trumpcare will send packing to the netherworld, will take care of turning PA blue?

    I’m all in for Trumpcare!

  120. 120.

    EBT

    March 21, 2017 at 7:11 pm

    @Keith P.: you know you can mute individual numbers or alarms or set up filters so only certain people can make a noise right? Like every problem you listed has been solved about a decade ago.

  121. 121.

    hovercraft

    March 21, 2017 at 7:11 pm

    @jl:
    He may be under 40 with the country, unfortunately for the GOP, he’s over 80 with their base, so bucking him may be a problem. Their only hope is that even with them the bill is unpopular, the rubes actually think that he doesn’t understand it and that it’s the congress critters who are conning him into screwing them. or some such convoluted bullshit. It’s true, apparently he’s struggling because he’s being ill served by congress and his staff. For man, they are all failing him.

  122. 122.

    Brachiator

    March 21, 2017 at 7:12 pm

    @EBT:

    I have been using Fi for almost a year, you forgot some of the best parts. It’s month to month instead of a contract, and they buy your unused data back at the rate you paid at the end of the month (it’s in the form of a credit to next month). Also you can pause or unpause the service for up to three months if needed.

    Good point. Love my Nexus 6P. Love Project Fi.

    But there are other good plans, depending on what you need.

  123. 123.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    March 21, 2017 at 7:12 pm

    @Baud: I’m not sure that’s the best strategy for 2020.

  124. 124.

    Chet Murthy

    March 21, 2017 at 7:12 pm

    @different-church-lady: Keith, one thing I -am- curious about: I’ve had smartphones for years, and never had your problems. I wonder if

    (a) it’s b/c I use android (and others use iphone)

    or (b) it’s b/c I barely customize anything, RARELY install apps

    That is, if you use a smartphone as if it’s a flipphone (except with mail/IM/maps/GPS), perhaps you’ll have a different experience?

    And …. well, I gotta suggest that the MSFT-ness might be part of the problem.

    Last thing: about all your media: put it on a microSD card. They’re cheep and massive these days. Then just move it from phone to phone.

    I don’t even bother putting numbers in the phone’s directory anymore. Just enter phone numbers with names into gmail when I’m at a real keyboard, and then search in gmail when i wanna call. Or first IM, and ask the other party what # they’re at.

  125. 125.

    Baud

    March 21, 2017 at 7:13 pm

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: People who text me know me so probably wouldn’t vote for me.

  126. 126.

    Millard Filmore

    March 21, 2017 at 7:14 pm

    @hovercraft:

    Don’t worry about the [forced birth] expense because there really isn’t one,

    Well, there IS an expense, but its someone else’s burden.

  127. 127.

    Chet Murthy

    March 21, 2017 at 7:14 pm

    @Baud: Arrrrrgh, right. Arrrrrrgh.

  128. 128.

    Mnemosyne

    March 21, 2017 at 7:14 pm

    @Brachiator:

    In Keith P’s case, it seems to be the phone. It’s not the plan that’s making him do a global reboot multiple times a month.

  129. 129.

    Keith P.

    March 21, 2017 at 7:14 pm

    @different-church-lady: I’d put mine in a Ziploc bag, take a shit in the same bag, and mail it to Microsoft.

  130. 130.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    March 21, 2017 at 7:16 pm

    @Millard Filmore: Yup, just go to the ER.

  131. 131.

    Chet Murthy

    March 21, 2017 at 7:16 pm

    @EBT: Right, I forgot about that! So if you use paltry data (like me), instead of $30+tax (massive taxes in SF), it’s $20ish+tax. So $28/mo. And the Nexus 5x, a spiffy new phone, for $250.

    I’d be surprised to find an unlimited calls-only plan for less than mid-$20s/mo.

  132. 132.

    EBT

    March 21, 2017 at 7:18 pm

    @Keith P.: Windows Phone is your problem. It’s a garbage OS and everyone I know who has a Windows Phone both insists it’s the best most stable phone ever (I never had to do a reset on my old 5x in 18 months) and apple and google are awful. But then their phones are always broken and no one ever makes a new feature rich model for Windows Phone OS because like 200 people still use them and Microsoft doesn’t actually bother doing updates because most people buy branded phones with hobbled OS installs that are often years out of date and no available updates because like fuck AT&T or Verizon are going to risk a new OS blowing up their bloatware and spyware on the phone you bought from them.

  133. 133.

    Bess

    March 21, 2017 at 7:18 pm

    @debbie:

    Actually, I’ve found the numbers for Ohio: Trump won by 446,841, 964,000 will lose coverage if ACA is repealed, and it’s estimated that 750,000 will lose coverage under TrumpCare. Off to stir up the rabble on Facebook!

    Don’t forget the multipliers. Family, friends, co-workers who will watch people they care about suffer because they lose their coverage.

  134. 134.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    March 21, 2017 at 7:19 pm

    @Keith P.: Are you using “Quiet Hours”, that seems to be Microsoft’s DND.

    ETA: Checked my Windoz Phone and that’s the place to look.

  135. 135.

    JMG

    March 21, 2017 at 7:20 pm

    Still bet it passes on Thursday. And then in the Senate, too. They think they’re bulletproof, because if Trump got elected, then just being white is enough to win. They could be very wrong, but that’s what they’re thinking.

  136. 136.

    EBT

    March 21, 2017 at 7:23 pm

    @Mnemosyne: Or course just banning NR would be too goddamn motherfucking hard.

  137. 137.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    March 21, 2017 at 7:23 pm

    @EBT: Bullshit, MS does regular updates; if the carriers don’t push them, that’s not on Microsoft.

  138. 138.

    Mnemosyne

    March 21, 2017 at 7:25 pm

    @EBT:

    He’s the most persistent troll, but he’s not the only one.

  139. 139.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    March 21, 2017 at 7:25 pm

    @Mnemosyne: True, there’s several that show up when Wilmer’s mentioned.

  140. 140.

    Keith P.

    March 21, 2017 at 7:26 pm

    @EBT: I am aware of that, but it’s an issue of scalability. Setting that up once for a few people is fine. It’s when you have to set it up for dozens of people or do it multiple times every time the phone has to be reset is the problem. (scalability is a pet peeve of mine…for just about anything, I always have a followup question of “Yeah, but what about when 100x the number of people are included?”)

  141. 141.

    EBT

    March 21, 2017 at 7:27 pm

    @Brachiator: Oh and Fi pushes monthly updates to your phone. The kind of thing that simply doesn’t happen if you buy a phone from any other carrier because they don’t allow updates.

  142. 142.

    EBT

    March 21, 2017 at 7:28 pm

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: The carriers don’t push them because of reasons I just said about not wanting to retool their spy and bloat tools. Buy your own phone from the manufacturer and you won’t have to worry about that.

  143. 143.

    EBT

    March 21, 2017 at 7:29 pm

    @Keith P.: Stop using a Windows phone and you don’t have to reset every month. Simple As That.

  144. 144.

    Captain C

    March 21, 2017 at 7:29 pm

    @Uncle Cosmo: In reverse order, Wilmer is a certain losing challenger from the Democratic Primaries in 2016, mention of whose real name seems to trigger a Google Alert which brings several annoying trolls* here, and (Ted) Devine is his Russia-connected campaign manager (or adviser) who also has a record of losing which rivals the 1899 Cleveland Spiders.

    *Who may be operating in what passes for good faith, or who may draw their paychecks in rubles.

  145. 145.

    Keith P.

    March 21, 2017 at 7:31 pm

    @EBT: The OS itself *was* very good (I’ve had every rev). The most recent version sucks, though. Part of it is Edge (half-baked POS), but part of it is MS is doing the Google thing now and pushing out rolling betas and letting the users test it rather than do a traditional QA cycle. So we all get frequent, flakey apps (I had a boss who embraced that philosophy like it was great, not thinking that users are constantly having the app change subtly) But the Lumia 950 is particularly shitty just from hardware performance. It has weird lags EVERYWHERE. Even launching the keyboard sometimes pauses for a second or two…ditto for voice recognition (this is new to this phone). I believe that MS put a cheap storage controller on it, as the HP WinPhone is supposedly excellent.
    Disclaimer: I’m a 20-year MS-centric developer and used to LOVE MS, but the last few years I think their release quality has been total shit.

  146. 146.

    PaulW

    March 21, 2017 at 7:35 pm

    I still think we’re screwed.

    Republicans can’t cancel this vote. They’ve spent so much public political effort demonizing Obamacare that to falter now ruins their standing with their angered up base. There would be no one else they can blame this on: Democrats have little power in the House to stop this, and Obama and the Clintons are in relative exile. Fox Not-News and Newsmax and Brietbart / Info Wars can spin all the conspiracy theories all they want, there’s no one else holding the Revolver in the Library here but Republicans.

    Republicans can’t vote against this even though enough of them are terrified of the implications. If they vote No they dread getting primaried. If they vote Yes they know damn well every family on Medicaid and Medicare – even the white folks – will riot against them. If push comes to shove, they’ll vote Yes and then pray that the Senate’s less crazy Republican factions will bail them out. But that still won’t save them from voters who’ll remember that they still voted YES to kill their health care.

  147. 147.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    March 21, 2017 at 7:36 pm

    @EBT: I’m use an Android phone as a daily driver. I have to use a phone compatible with my carrier. I root my phone and freeze apps that I don’t need.

  148. 148.

    danielx

    March 21, 2017 at 7:36 pm

    @Keith P.:

    A flip phone still has its problems, but at least it doesn’t try to be something it isn’t.

    And it’s a damn sight less likely to be hacked.

  149. 149.

    EBT

    March 21, 2017 at 7:37 pm

    @Keith P.: I had to agree like three times to opt in to the Android Beta program, so it isn’t like you just fumble in to it.

  150. 150.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    March 21, 2017 at 7:38 pm

    @Keith P.: Tend to agree about Edge, it was pushed before it was ready for prime time. I still don’t think it’s ready even in it’s 2nd or 3rd revision. It might be good in the future, it ain’t there yet. I use Chrome on my desktop.

  151. 151.

    EBT

    March 21, 2017 at 7:39 pm

    @danielx: Considering how many botnets are composed of things like smart toasters and intelligent toothbrushes, flip phones are probably a hot place to hijack.

  152. 152.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    March 21, 2017 at 7:39 pm

    @danielx: Mainly cause there’s nothing there. It’s like why to you rob banks, that’s where the money is.

  153. 153.

    germy

    March 21, 2017 at 7:43 pm

    The wikipedia page on Tad Devine is an interesting document.

  154. 154.

    danielx

    March 21, 2017 at 7:50 pm

    @OGLiberal:

    Trump is already threatening to go after folks who vote no and is saying that “a loss is not acceptable.” Because that’s because that’s all this about for Trump – winning. He doesn’t care what’s in the bill, what’s not in the bill,he doesn’t care about healthcare policy, he doesn’t care about policy, period. He cares about winning…and passing something that is not called Obamacare is winning.

    This, x 1000.

    Nothing is really real to him unless it affects him personally, and this affects him very personally because he’s put his prestige (as he perceives it) behind the bill. He personally does not give a fiddler’s fuck about the contents or consequences of this legislation; it’s not like he is going lose his coverage. From that standpoint there’s virtually no legislation that could affect him personally with the exception of tax matters, so he doesn’t care unless he is behind it. Barring legislation making it a federal crime to be an asshole in high office, which isn’t likely – he’d have too much company in the slammer.

  155. 155.

    Iowa Old Lady

    March 21, 2017 at 7:51 pm

    As I recall, Nancy Pelosi used to say first you get the votes and then you take the vote. The Rs set the date for the vote based on their hatred of the ACA and then discovered they might not have the votes.

  156. 156.

    Captain C

    March 21, 2017 at 7:52 pm

    @danielx:

    he’d have too much company in the slammer.

    Not necessarily. If he was put in isolation in a SuperMax, which would be commensurate with his commission of this particular crime, he’d have very little human contact.

  157. 157.

    danielx

    March 21, 2017 at 7:52 pm

    @EBT:

    Since I don’t have either, I’m pretty sure I’m safe. I’m not especially down with the whole ‘internet of things’ concept, most especially as it pertains to appliances and modes of transportation.

  158. 158.

    Keith P.

    March 21, 2017 at 7:53 pm

    @EBT: I’m not talking about Android Beta. I’m talking about just regular apps being released as beta/previews (remember Google Groups? That site was “beta” for YEARS. Google Toolbar was first released as a beta…MS started to do that with MSN stuff, but it’s spread. Skype UWP has been a perpetual preview (and it plays like one); they won’t call Edge a preview since people wouldn’t have used it, but it was barebones when it was released and is just flakey as hell even after a few revs (on the WinPhone, it’s even worse…get white screen rendering deadlocks constantly)

  159. 159.

    EBT

    March 21, 2017 at 7:53 pm

    @Mnemosyne: I can only drive one person away at a time without picture posting permission, but if you wanna compose a list for me in order they should be gone I can work it in.

  160. 160.

    EBT

    March 21, 2017 at 7:54 pm

    @Keith P.: I don’t really use Google services much. They all do things that I don’t need or care about. For that matter if my phone DIDN’T make voice calls I’d be even happier with it.

  161. 161.

    laura

    March 21, 2017 at 7:56 pm

    @Keith P.: please reconsider any action that may involve collections. It will HAUNT you in unimaginable ways. Please. Do. Not. Open. Yourself. To. The. Tender. Mercies.of the collections agencies.
    PLEASE. DO. NOT. DO.THAT.

  162. 162.

    EBT

    March 21, 2017 at 7:57 pm

    @danielx: An ex roommate had WiFi lights, but she kept the firmware up to date on the bulbs. I miss them now that she has moved.

  163. 163.

    SiubhanDuinne

    March 21, 2017 at 7:58 pm

    @Uncle Cosmo:

    But how the fuck did BS become “Wilmer”???

    Have been away from this thread for a while, so others may have answered already. TL;DR version is that there are trolls who apparently have alerts set up to go off every time the VT Senator’s name is mentioned. Not sure why “Wilmer” as opposed to, say, “Hansel” or “François,” but it seems to do the trick, or at least did until the trolls caught on.

  164. 164.

    lamh36

    March 21, 2017 at 7:58 pm

    @DColtonNow
    Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, tells Fox House should postpone the health care vote ‘because they don’t have the votes.’

  165. 165.

    EBT

    March 21, 2017 at 8:02 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne: They get very mad when they get reminded that their protest votes for deadbeat donnie were really fucking dumb.

  166. 166.

    germy

    March 21, 2017 at 8:03 pm

    “The Case Of The Frozen Trucker”

    Going into today’s questioning, Gorsuch had to know this was going to be a hot button case for Democrats. You know, the party that actually cares about people once they are born, not just when they are in the womb.

    Sen. Franken went right for the jugular on the case. After a lengthy back and forth where Gorsuch refused to answer any question directly, Franken said what we all feel: the ruling he gave was “absurd.”

    Franken’s retort: “It is absurd to say [the company] in its rights to fire him because he made the choice of possibly dying from freezing to death or cause other people to die possible by driving an unsafe vehicle. That’s absurd. Now, I had a career in identifying absurdity. And I know it when I see it. And it makes me question your judgement.”

  167. 167.

    japa21

    March 21, 2017 at 8:03 pm

    A lot of the GOP folks in the House are afraid of not being elected if they do vote for this bill, not because it does too much and their base will be pissed, but because it doesn’t go far enough. They want total repeal and really don’t care if it gets replaced or not. Anything that even smacks of government subsidies or penalties for not getting insurance (and the ACHA does both) and they won’t touch it.

  168. 168.

    Kilgore Trout

    March 21, 2017 at 8:04 pm

    @Keith P.: There are easy ways to deal with this. I have very few apps that I allow to use audible alerts. Plus I use an app called Silence Premium that mutes all sounds for what I set as my night hours (with an exception for calls from family members marked as such in my address book) and it also uses my Google calendar to mute when I’m a meeting. Using a Nexus 6P.

    There are good reasons to not have a smartphone, avoiding audible alerts isn’t one of them ;-)

  169. 169.

    BCHS Class of 1980

    March 21, 2017 at 8:04 pm

    @schrodingers_cat: I prefer the word “endangered” rather than “moderate”

  170. 170.

    Lizzy L

    March 21, 2017 at 8:05 pm

    @TenguPhule: No. Fuck you. Nobody deserves a horrible death by medical neglect.

  171. 171.

    Keith P.

    March 21, 2017 at 8:05 pm

    @laura: They already call me daily…I’ve been in the hospital every year for the last 7, so I’ve got medical bills out the wazoo plus others from when I’m out of work due to health. My credit is trashed enough to where I’m just staying afloat until I get caught up enough to try credit repair (or not….I really don’t need credit much any more)

  172. 172.

    TriassicSands

    March 21, 2017 at 8:06 pm

    I don’t know if anyone has mentioned this (here or in an earlier thread) but there is something I haven’t seen mentioned despite the fact that it seems inseparable from the “conservatives’ ” (quotes to denote the phoniness of the MSM’s reference to radicals as conservatives) demand for a work requirement for Medicaid.

    If the government requires that a person work in order to receive health care benefits, then the government must uphold its end of the agreement and guarantee the person a job that provides a living wage. Why is that never mentioned in newspaper and magazine articles or TV programming? In the midst of the Great Recession, millions of people who were eligible for ACA Medicaid would have been disqualified by Republican Medicaid’s work requirement. Or is there an exception in the language that excuses people when there are no jobs to be had? That doesn’t sound like a likely Republican exception. When it comes to work or the poor life is black and white for the GOP.

    Apart from the availability of jobs, no rational, humane society would make health care dependent on the employability of a person. A large segment of our population is marginally employable at best — they’re filling the low-skill, low-wage jobs. But there are people who through no fault of their own is effectively unemployable. They should still be eligible for health care.

    (Or maybe they are unemployable because they’ve screwed up their whole lives — honestly, I don’t care. I’m not going to waste my time trying to sort out the worthy from the unworthy when it comes to health care. And I don’t think the government should either since it will almost always come down to subjective judgments that depend more on the judge than the person being judged.)

  173. 173.

    Kropadope

    March 21, 2017 at 8:08 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    TL;DR version is that there are trolls who apparently have alerts set up to go off every time the VT Senator’s name is mentioned. are still butthurt that there was more than one candidate in the Democratic primary.

  174. 174.

    efgoldman

    March 21, 2017 at 8:09 pm

    @debbie:

    I am Mr. Steven Mnuchin new secretary of the treasury Department United States Of America my identity card attached for confirmation of office.

    And you are the Tsar of all the Rumanias.
    We got one last week, postmarked Portugal and postage denominated in Euros.
    The gonefs must be getting a decent return, to justify spending .8 Euros (86 cents) on every letter, just for postage.

  175. 175.

    hovercraft

    March 21, 2017 at 8:09 pm

    @Captain C:
    I thought we liberals were against the death penalty? Condemning him to his own company with no one to worship him and no way to communicate to the world would be a death sentence.

    Hmm…….

  176. 176.

    debbie

    March 21, 2017 at 8:10 pm

    @germy:

    That’s a heartless decision.

  177. 177.

    Major Major Major Major

    March 21, 2017 at 8:11 pm

    @Keith P.: I remember when gmail went out of beta and google labs offered a plugin you could use to make the graphic still say ‘beta’, because it had been in beta so long and the change looked jarring.

  178. 178.

    mai naem mobile

    March 21, 2017 at 8:12 pm

    Anybody watch Gorsuch? Jeezus,he comes across as such an smarmy asshole. It’s like hes not even trying. He looks like every ass hole fratboy I knew in college – confident that their whiteness and privilege was going to make sure they got whatever they want in life with zero obstacles .

  179. 179.

    Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism

    March 21, 2017 at 8:13 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne: Wilmer because of the movie someone was watching at the time it started.

  180. 180.

    germy

    March 21, 2017 at 8:14 pm

    @debbie: He’s trying so desperately to look “moderate” and “sensible” but his emails and decisions are out there. There’s something about his performance that irritates me. He’s like a mediocre actor playing a judge on TV. Insincere.

  181. 181.

    debbie

    March 21, 2017 at 8:14 pm

    @efgoldman:

    I briefly toyed with filing a complaint with the CFPB over inappropriate correspondence from the Secretay of the Treasury, but they’re pretty busy at the moment.

  182. 182.

    bystander

    March 21, 2017 at 8:15 pm

    Just read a chyron that Schumer is calling for suspension of Gorsuch hearing pending FBI investigation of Trump.

    Thanks, Chuck. Keep going and I just might vote for you.

  183. 183.

    amk

    March 21, 2017 at 8:16 pm

    @germy:

    Two other important decisions cited by experts contacted by the Post involve a fight over funding for Planned Parenthood in Utah and Chevron deference, which holds that federal courts should defer to federal agency views when Congress passes ambiguous laws.

    Gorsuch supported the Utah governor’s decision to suspend federal funding for Planned Parenthood and criticized deferring to federal agency interpretations.

    The Utah case, Planned Parenthood Association of Utah v. Herbert, overturned the Utah governor’s decision to suspend federal funds for Planned Parenthood after a heavily edited video appeared to show Planned Parenthood officials discussing the sale of fetal tissue. The officials were cleared of wrongdoing, and the federal funds did not support abortions, but the governor tried to stop funding anyway.

    Gorsuch had argued, unsuccessfully, that the case should be reheard. That opinion (PDF) has buoyed abortion opponents, as did another decision supporting businesses and nonprofits that did not want to offer contraceptive coverage for religious reasons.

    And here we thought scalia was still dead.

  184. 184.

    debbie

    March 21, 2017 at 8:16 pm

    @germy:

    Bastard! And here I thought his regret over Garland’s treatment was sincere.

  185. 185.

    BruceFromOhio

    March 21, 2017 at 8:18 pm

    @debbie: aye, but at significant cost. Ouch!

  186. 186.

    efgoldman

    March 21, 2017 at 8:18 pm

    @Uncle Cosmo:

    how the fuck did BS become “Wilmer”???

    Mentioning him by name sends out the bat signal that invokes trollbots

  187. 187.

    Major Major Major Major

    March 21, 2017 at 8:19 pm

    @germy: the GOP does seem to be fond of mediocre actors.

  188. 188.

    germy

    March 21, 2017 at 8:22 pm

    @Major Major Major Major:

    the GOP does seem to be fond of mediocre actors.

    Bedtime For Bonzo

  189. 189.

    amk

    March 21, 2017 at 8:23 pm

    Further allegations have been made in Ukraine about secret funds said to have been paid to Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort.

    Lawmaker Serhiy Leshchenko said he had evidence that Mr Manafort had tried to hide a payment of $750,000 (£600,800) by a pro-Russian party in 2009.

    Mr Manafort’s spokesman denied the claim as “baseless”.

    …

    On Tuesday, Mr Leshchenko, a former investigative journalist, published an invoice purportedly signed by Mr Manafort that showed a $750,000 payment for a shipment of computers to a firm called Davis Manafort.

    The funds came from an offshore company in Belize via a bank in Kyrgyzstan.

    Mr Leshchenko said the contract was a cover for payments to Mr Manafort for his consulting services to Mr Yanukovych’s Party of Regions.

    Mr Leshchenko said the amount and date of the payment matched one of the entries on the so-called Black Ledgers (handwritten accounting books alleged to belong to the Party of Regions), where Mr Manafort’s name was mentioned.

  190. 190.

    efgoldman

    March 21, 2017 at 8:23 pm

    @OGLiberal:

    Trump is already threatening to go after folks who vote no and is saying that “a loss is not acceptable.”

    The kkkrazy kkkaukue (rightfully) has no fear of him, The rest of Granny Starver’s gremlins, particularly the ones in blue or purple states/districts, are correctly more afraid of their voters. Their reasonable calculus: 1) The president’s party usually loses seats in midterms 2) a president with a 37% – and cratering – rating can’t hurt them.

  191. 191.

    germy

    March 21, 2017 at 8:25 pm

    @efgoldman:

    The kkkrazy kkkaukue (rightfully) has no fear of him

    But Mimosa said everyone would have to “bow down before Drumpf.” What happened?

  192. 192.

    mai naem mobile

    March 21, 2017 at 8:27 pm

    @germy: yep,Gorsuch looks like a judge on Matlock or some old western movie.

  193. 193.

    randy khan

    March 21, 2017 at 8:29 pm

    @PaulW:

    The Freedom Caucus doesn’t analyze the situation the way you do. They’ve promised repeal and just repeal, and this is not what they promised. They’re a big problem for Ryan because they don’t care what he thinks – in fact, ticking him off might look like a great move to most of them.

  194. 194.

    rikyrah

    March 21, 2017 at 8:29 pm

    Steve Harvey Is The St. Peter Of The Sunken Place
    Damon Young, 3/21/17

    Imagine, if you can, the sheer terror of watching yourself descend into The Sunken Place. Your body suspended in a perpetual state of hypnagogia. Your mind lucid enough to be conscious of the fright and the dread of what’s happening to your soul but too subdued — too horrifyingly and devastatingly paralytic — do to anything about it. The creep of knowing your being will soon be a portal, a wormhole, an exoskeleton, a theme park virtual reality exhibition, where you’ll be controlled by an infestation of peak White appropriation, free to do whatever it wants to do with the spirit and shape that was once yours. The sadness of enough brain function existing to know — to remember — how you were lured and lied to and fooled. The agony of the recollection of shaking the hand of the man who’ll now, for the rest of your days, be your masturbatory Geppetto.

  195. 195.

    rikyrah

    March 21, 2017 at 8:31 pm

    uh huh
    uh huh

    Richard Rubin‏Verified account @RichardRubinDC

    House GOP is accelerating all the health bill’s tax cuts. The biggest one shaves 3.8% off capital gains.

  196. 196.

    Major Major Major Major

    March 21, 2017 at 8:32 pm

    @randy khan: and yet they’re letting themselves vote their conscience or whatever you call it when you’re evil, not acting as a bloc.

  197. 197.

    efgoldman

    March 21, 2017 at 8:32 pm

    @PaulW:

    Republicans can’t vote against this even though enough of them are terrified of the implications. If they vote No they dread getting primaried.

    You of all people shouldn’t underestimate the True Believerness of the True Believers in the kkkrazy kkkaukus.

  198. 198.

    Baud

    March 21, 2017 at 8:33 pm

    @rikyrah: I don’t see how they still fit within reconciliation with all the new costs they are adding.

  199. 199.

    JMG

    March 21, 2017 at 8:34 pm

    I’ll bet less than 10 Republicans in the House oppose the bill when the vote goes down. Their stupidity and evil is matched only by their cowardice.

  200. 200.

    rikyrah

    March 21, 2017 at 8:34 pm

    Richard Rubin‏Verified account @RichardRubinDC

    Because this is my lot in life, I will note, again, that the US is a low-tax country.

  201. 201.

    germy

    March 21, 2017 at 8:35 pm

    Matthew Chapman‏ @fawfulfan 13h13 hours ago

    There’s a reason not a single one of Speaker Ryan’s budget or public benefit reforms has ever become law. Not one. Because they’re stupid.

  202. 202.

    rikyrah

    March 21, 2017 at 8:35 pm

    Bradd Jaffy‏Verified account @BraddJaffy

    In private meeting with SCOTUS nominee, Trump talked about his loss in Colorado, said he would’ve won with more time

  203. 203.

    Major Major Major Major

    March 21, 2017 at 8:36 pm

    @Baud: they have just under 300 billion in wiggle room, from the original scoring.

  204. 204.

    rikyrah

    March 21, 2017 at 8:38 pm

    NowThis‏Verified account @nowthisnews

    Shorter Chuck Schumer: If Republicans blocked Merrick Garland for a year, why should we confirm Gorsuch while FBI investigation continues?

  205. 205.

    Baud

    March 21, 2017 at 8:38 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: Take $75 off the top for the slush fund.

  206. 206.

    Baud

    March 21, 2017 at 8:38 pm

    @rikyrah: Man, I hope that holds.

  207. 207.

    ArchTeryx

    March 21, 2017 at 8:39 pm

    I know this is tooting my horn altogether a lot, but feel sympathy for me and the millions like me, that stand to lose lifesaving care under this abomination of a bill – and at least some of us didn’t and never intended to vote for the Orange Shitgibbon. That I will be taking a lot of Trump supporters down with me won’t be that much comfort once the inflammation in my bowels goes completely out of control.

    It goes down in flames, my life is spared. That the Republicans suffer a giant black eye AND a penetrating blow to their agenda is a big bonus.

  208. 208.

    Major Major Major Major

    March 21, 2017 at 8:39 pm

    @Baud: still $225 to play with, more if they add a work requirement.

  209. 209.

    Baud

    March 21, 2017 at 8:40 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: I think the CBO won’t even score it until it reaches he Senate anyway.

  210. 210.

    rikyrah

    March 21, 2017 at 8:41 pm

    Trump Is Defining the Presidency Down

    The president may not realize it, but his conduct is making his office less powerful, less relevant and less influential.

    By Mark A. Patterson

    March 21, 2017

    It is probably too much to expect President Donald Trump to have read “Defining Deviancy Down,” the 1993 essay by the late New York Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan. Much noted at the time, and remarkably prescient, Moynihan’s essay warned that Americans were seeing a decay in social behavior (for example, the rise in gun violence), and were becoming inured to it. To accept such deviant behavior as normal—to “normalize” it, to use a word lately in fashion—was bound to render America a less civilized society, Moynihan wrote.

    He was, of course, correct: In the quarter century since, we have accustomed ourselves to the ongoing coarsening of our society, from small things like the vitriol of Americans writing on social media and in the comments sections of news articles, to big things like our increasingly ugly political debates.

    Early on in the presidential primary season, Washington Post columnist Jonathan Capehart cited Moynihan in declaring that candidate Trump’s embrace of “nativist, racist, misogynistic slop” was defining deviancy down in the presidential campaign—mainstreaming coarse rhetoric and prejudicial views. Today, with President Trump continuing to exhibit deeply unpresidential behavior in the White House, he isn’t just defining deviancy down for political campaigns; whether intentionally or not, he is defining the presidency itself down.

  211. 211.

    Roger Moore

    March 21, 2017 at 8:41 pm

    @Keith P.:

    Because it’s a pain in the ass to set it up every time I have to hard reset the phone (which tech support ALWAYS says to do, even when I’m explaining to them what the problem is – it’s always a bad update or server on Microsoft’s end). Every time I wipe the phone, I have to set all the accounts up, go run through whatever *other* restore processes there are, go restore all my music, and then go through all my little settings like privacy and tweak it.

    Maybe, just maybe, the people who suggest that you should consider a different phone OS are on to something. I have never had problems with Google screwing up their server and telling me I need to hard reset my phone to deal with the problem. Nobody I know who uses an iPhone has ever complained about that, either. It sounds to me as if your main problem is that you’re using a second-rate OS supported by a third-rate company.

  212. 212.

    efgoldman

    March 21, 2017 at 8:41 pm

    @amk:

    And here we thought scalia was still dead.

    Every single conservafuck SCOTUS nominee since Bork has lied in his hearings. I’m not surprised that Gorsuch joined the parade.

  213. 213.

    germy

    March 21, 2017 at 8:42 pm

    Last week, Bannon gave an extended interview to the Wall Street Journal, in which he offered an origin story about his (as the Journal’s headline put it) “journey to economic nationalism.” He said that Marty Bannon, his ninety-five-year-old father, a devout Catholic whose education ended at the third grade, had, like his father before him, worked at A.T. & T. for half a century, rising slowly from a blue-collar job to a white-collar one; his loyalty to the company was so great that he put all his savings into A.T. & T. stock. Then, in October of 2008, he was watching Jim Cramer on the “Today” show, and heard Cramer say that it was time to sell—so he did. Poof, a hundred thousand dollars of painstakingly accumulated savings were gone, even as the financial institutions that perpetrated the crisis were being bailed out. Bannon told the Journal, “Everything since then has come from there. All of it.”

    This is political mythology, and it doesn’t stand up to strict rational analysis. Steve Bannon was well into his career as a conservative documentary filmmaker who sounded nationalist notes before the 2008 financial crisis. And, after watching Cramer on television, Marty Bannon had lots of better options than selling his stock. He neglected to consult his sons—two of whom, including Steve, had worked in finance—before selling. They would have told him not to. Had he not sold, he would not have lost any money, because A.T. & T. stock regained its value over time. There were many other, more prudent ways he could have invested his savings over the years than putting it all into a single company’s stock, like buying shares in a mutual fund. He had bought some of his A.T. & T. stock with borrowed money, which he should not have done.

    http://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/the-problem-with-steve-bannons-story-about-his-father

  214. 214.

    danielx

    March 21, 2017 at 8:44 pm

    @rikyrah:

    House GOP is accelerating all the health bill’s tax cuts. The biggest one shaves 3.8% off capital gains.

    Well, priorities! Screwing the poor is great, but you gotta take care of business too.

  215. 215.

    rikyrah

    March 21, 2017 at 8:45 pm

    Trump Business Partners Look to Cash In
    March 21, 2017

    excerpt:
    Never has an American president taken office with such immense and complicated assets. Nor has one brought along a busload of rich partners who, by dint of previous deals and brand association, stand to reap profits in real time, as the president serves.

    To better understand this global network, Forbes looked into each of these 36 partners, traveling to five countries to interview more than a dozen of them… But perhaps the most interesting tidbit comes in the aggregate. Trump’s network extends to at least 19 countries. And these guys (yes, they’re all men) share a set of consistent traits, even as property developers go. This group is uniformly rich–seven are members of the Forbes Billionaires list; many more claim centimillionaire status. They reflect their partner–a mélange of bombastic marketing, over-the-top style and political connections.

    And all of them are trying to figure out, to various degrees, how to cash in on the 45th president.

  216. 216.

    schrodingers_cat

    March 21, 2017 at 8:45 pm

    @germy: Attention vampire will not get my click. That’s what they all are. Let them whither away without publicity.

  217. 217.

    Cain

    March 21, 2017 at 8:45 pm

    @dr. bloor:

    So basically, Pennsyltucky is going to die of preventable, treatable diseases. At least they can go to their graves thinking the browns and blahs in Philly have it worse.

    Until they hear that the blah’s died less than than whitey. Then they are going to be pissed because they got punished more.

  218. 218.

    Sab

    March 21, 2017 at 8:45 pm

    @Keith P.: Yay. Something to tell the next ATT solicitor who knocks on my door.

  219. 219.

    germy

    March 21, 2017 at 8:46 pm

    @rikyrah: Jesus! This is Forbes? Sounds like Mother Jones.

  220. 220.

    Major Major Major Major

    March 21, 2017 at 8:47 pm

    @efgoldman: you can’t lie if you don’t say anything.

  221. 221.

    Chet Murthy

    March 21, 2017 at 8:47 pm

    @rikyrah: First thought that went thru my head, reading your comment, was:

    Gosh, it turned out (per Kevin Drum and others) that the violence was mostly due to lead poisoning. Once that washed thru the body American, the young became pretty well-behaved again. Whereas, the decay of our elites, their destruction of all the norms that used to underpin our civilized society …. now, that never seems to end.

    And Dampnut is just another example, I guess, of the latter phenomenon.

  222. 222.

    Mike J

    March 21, 2017 at 8:48 pm

    Daniel Sandford ‏Verified account @BBCDanielS
    Lawyer for Sergei Magnitsky’s family Nikolai Gorokhov has been “thrown from the 4th floor of his apartment building” in Moscow.

  223. 223.

    Baud

    March 21, 2017 at 8:49 pm

    @Mike J: So, natural causes?

  224. 224.

    What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?

    March 21, 2017 at 8:49 pm

    @efgoldman: It seemed like the freedumb caucus called his bluff today and politely told him where he could stick that bill with his tiny little hands. If he can’t even instill fear in his own party’s House back benchers the dude is toast. He’s going to look like such a little pussy when this goes down in flames on Thursday.

  225. 225.

    efgoldman

    March 21, 2017 at 8:50 pm

    @Major Major Major Major:

    you can’t lie if you don’t say anything.

    “I have no preconceived opinion. I decide every case on the merits and the law” or words to that effect: 10000% lie.

  226. 226.

    germy

    March 21, 2017 at 8:51 pm

    @Baud: He’s still alive.

  227. 227.

    rikyrah

    March 21, 2017 at 8:52 pm

    I Binged Watched ‘This Is Us’ And My Feelings Are In Shambles. I May Never Recover. ZOMG!
    Panama Jackson, 3/20/17

    On February 23, 2017, I wrote the following status update on Facebook:
    ……………………………………………..

    This was after it seems like my entire FB timeline was an emotional wreck after watching the latest episode of “This Is Us,” an episode that upon watching last night put me so far into my feelings at midnight that I retreated up to my room to tell my girlfriend about how much of a wreck I was and after trying to explain to her what I’d just seen, she looked at me and said, “are you about to start crying now?”

    I literally had to excuse myself because, yes, I was about to start bawling. Again. Everybody who watches this show knows this episode. It’s titled, “Memphis” and I don’t think I’ve boohooed that much – literal tears streaming down my face – since the episode of “Dawson’s Creek” where his father dies and Dawson breaks down in the car while James Taylor’s “Fire and Rain” played. We’re talking “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” “how come he don’t want me, man?” tears.

    I was not prepared.

    Basically, the way I felt by the end of that episode – which was SO masterfully done and executed (Sterling Brown deserves awards for this show) even though I knew what was coming – was like taking Ricky’s death, with Will’s daddy leaving again, while watching Mufasa fall, while watching the end of Beaches. I was done. Plain and simple

  228. 228.

    Iowa Old Lady

    March 21, 2017 at 8:52 pm

    @rikyrah: Oh seriously? He’s still relitigating the campaign? What a small minded fool.

  229. 229.

    Roger Moore

    March 21, 2017 at 8:53 pm

    @japa21:

    A lot of the GOP folks in the House are afraid of not being elected if they do vote for this bill, not because it does too much and their base will be pissed, but because it doesn’t go far enough.

    And it’s going to be really hard to come up with a bill that satisfies both them and the GOP reps who are afraid of losing in the general election if they strip tens of thousands of their constituents of healthcare.

  230. 230.

    rikyrah

    March 21, 2017 at 8:53 pm

    Ari Berman
    ✔
    @AriBerman

    Gorsuch is a lot like John Roberts, smooth guy who pretends to be umpire calling balls & strikes but has deeply reactionary ideology

  231. 231.

    Baud

    March 21, 2017 at 8:53 pm

    @germy: Damn.

  232. 232.

    Spanky

    March 21, 2017 at 8:54 pm

    @Mike J: News articles state that he “fell”.

    And he survived!

  233. 233.

    Major Major Major Major

    March 21, 2017 at 8:55 pm

    @germy: Trump is bad for business.

  234. 234.

    Mike J

    March 21, 2017 at 8:55 pm

    @Baud: Nothing more natural than 9.8m/s^2

  235. 235.

    rikyrah

    March 21, 2017 at 8:56 pm

    I’ll say it again:

    NOT.ENOUGH.COINCIDENCES.IN.THE.WESTERN.WORLD.

    Daniel Sandford‏Verified account @BBCDanielS

    Lawyer for Sergei Magnitsky’s family Nikolai Gorokhov has been “thrown from the 4th floor of his apartment building” in Moscow.

  236. 236.

    Omnes Omnibus

    March 21, 2017 at 8:57 pm

    @Spanky: If you are thrown out of a window, you tend to fall.

  237. 237.

    rikyrah

    March 21, 2017 at 8:57 pm

    Tom Perez‏Verified account @TomPerez

    A few thoughts after watching Gorsuch’s hearing so far:
    …
    First, it’s entirely unacceptable for Donald Trump to place a justice on SCOTUS with his presidency under the cloud of an FBI investigation.
    …
    The Senate should hold off on any action on this lifetime appointment until the FBI investigation into Trump’s Russia connections concludes.
    …
    We’ve watched as Donald Trump assaults the Constitution on a daily basis & his nominee has convinced no one he would check Trump’s behavior.

  238. 238.

    Roger Moore

    March 21, 2017 at 8:58 pm

    @Baud:

    I don’t see how they still fit within reconciliation with all the new costs they are adding.

    By ramming it through before the CBO has a chance to score the new version and pretending the old numbers are still valid.

  239. 239.

    rikyrah

    March 21, 2017 at 8:59 pm

    Meg Kinnard‏Verified account @MegKinnardAP

    BREAKING: (AP) — Friend of Dylann Roof gets 27 months in prison for failing to report church shooting plot, then lying about it to FBI.
    ===
    Father Guido SarDShK‏ @ZeddRebel

    Why so quickly dismissing white supremacist attackers as ‘lone wolves’ is a lethal impulse.

  240. 240.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    March 21, 2017 at 9:00 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: Isn’t the $300 billion for tax cuts, they gotta have the tax cuts for the well off.

  241. 241.

    Baud

    March 21, 2017 at 9:01 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: Except in the southern hemisphere.

  242. 242.

    Baud

    March 21, 2017 at 9:02 pm

    @Mike J: You’re ready for the science march.

  243. 243.

    Omnes Omnibus

    March 21, 2017 at 9:04 pm

    @Baud: Well, obviously.

  244. 244.

    Roger Moore

    March 21, 2017 at 9:04 pm

    @germy:

    He’s still alive.

    I’m sure there are people in the hospital trying to do something about that.

  245. 245.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    March 21, 2017 at 9:05 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    If you are thrown out of a window, you tend to fall.

    Gravity, it’s not just a good idea, it’s the Law.

  246. 246.

    Mike J

    March 21, 2017 at 9:06 pm

    @Baud: That’s why I used metric.

  247. 247.

    Roger Moore

    March 21, 2017 at 9:07 pm

    @rikyrah:

    Gorsuch is a lot like John Roberts, smooth guy who pretends to be umpire calling balls & strikes

    Just like Eric Gregg in Game 5 of the 1997 NLCS.

  248. 248.

    efgoldman

    March 21, 2017 at 9:09 pm

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    Gravity, it’s not just a good idea, it’s the Law.

    No, sorry. It’s only a theory until the magick sky buddy tells ’em otherwise.

  249. 249.

    Major Major Major Major

    March 21, 2017 at 9:09 pm

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: nope, that’s from the CBO score, it includes the tax cuts.

  250. 250.

    schrodingers_cat

    March 21, 2017 at 9:09 pm

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: It may be the weakest force but its strong enough to kill you.

  251. 251.

    efgoldman

    March 21, 2017 at 9:10 pm

    @Roger Moore:

    Just like Eric Gregg in Game 5 of the 1997 NLCS

    i sure am glad you don’t hold a grudge.

  252. 252.

    rikyrah

    March 21, 2017 at 9:16 pm

    @jl:

    My understanding from last news I read that the fix for soaking 60+ year old chronically ill median income working stiffs is a nonrefundable tax credit. I don’t see how that does much. And they are kicking the details of how that works over to the callous millionaire old white farts in the Senate?

    BAIT AND SWITCH

  253. 253.

    chopper

    March 21, 2017 at 9:18 pm

    @rikyrah:

    dang, defenestrated.

  254. 254.

    BlueDWarrior

    March 21, 2017 at 9:26 pm

    The main story tonight on Rachel’s show downright frightens me, because I believe it dovetails perfectly into what Adam has been ringing the bell over all this time. Basically, Russia has learned and weaponized the greatest flaw of Democracy itself, which is the voters. If you can poison the voters, then it is impossible for them to take collective action through democratic means to do much of anything.

    It would also explain the rise in crazy right-wing parties and all of these sudden explosions of right-leaning things online. The entire goal is to poison everything so that no one will believe anything, and the Western hegemony collapses under it’s own weight.

  255. 255.

    Baud

    March 21, 2017 at 9:29 pm

    @BlueDWarrior: Left too.

  256. 256.

    randy khan

    March 21, 2017 at 9:29 pm

    @Roger Moore:

    @rikyrah:

    Gorsuch is a lot like John Roberts, smooth guy who pretends to be umpire calling balls & strikes

    Just like Eric Gregg in Game 5 of the 1997 NLCS.

    In fairness, he *was* calling strikes.

  257. 257.

    amk

    March 21, 2017 at 9:34 pm

    @BlueDWarrior: There are two R’s at work here – russia and racism.

  258. 258.

    Ian

    March 21, 2017 at 9:44 pm

    Why are you quoting Maggie Haberman? I refuse to read NYT or it’s ilk after 11/8. Does anyone trust her sense of smelling smoke when there is no fire?

  259. 259.

    Another Scott

    March 21, 2017 at 9:50 pm

    @Keith P.: You’re the only other person on the planet that I know (on-line) who has a Winders phone. Is there a lesson in there somewhere? :-/

    I hope you get things resolved, and have better luck with your next one!

    :-)

    Cheers,
    Scott.
    (Who used a Palm Treo for years before going to Android.)

  260. 260.

    amk

    March 21, 2017 at 9:50 pm

    @Ian: sisterhood?

  261. 261.

    EBT

    March 21, 2017 at 9:53 pm

    @Another Scott: I have a real life friend who uses it all while bemoaning the death of WebOS.

  262. 262.

    Captain C

    March 21, 2017 at 10:07 pm

    @Roger Moore: I’m not saying Eric Gregg had a wide strike zone, but I’m pretty sure I saw him call a couple strikes on pickoff throws to first.

  263. 263.

    Ian

    March 21, 2017 at 10:09 pm

    @amk: Sorry to be unclear, I was not going (or trying) for a gender thing. The NYT cannot be trusted anymore.. If feeding orphans= feeding trustfunds for billionaire babies than she is lost as far as I am concerned for a Progressive.

  264. 264.

    JoJo

    March 21, 2017 at 10:13 pm

    @debbie: What source did you use for your numbers? I want to find out for Wisconsin, but I’m having trouble.

  265. 265.

    liberal

    March 21, 2017 at 10:22 pm

    @ArchTeryx: not so clear. If AHCA fails, they’ll find plenty of ways to fuck with Obamacare so that the exchanges collapse, AFAICT.

  266. 266.

    catclub

    March 21, 2017 at 10:24 pm

    @TriassicSands:

    Apart from the availability of jobs, no rational, humane society would make health care dependent on the employability of a person.

    I think I see your problem here. We are talking about the US of A.

  267. 267.

    debbie

    March 21, 2017 at 10:42 pm

    @JoJo:

    Three separate sources on Google.

  268. 268.

    TriassicSands

    March 21, 2017 at 10:59 pm

    @ArchTeryx:

    Toot away. You have every right to protest as loud and as long as you can. It sounds like you have IBD, but regardless of what you have, dealing with chronic disease is life-altering and, today, often financially disastrous. The Republicans don’t care. Their main constituency — the one they care about for more than just votes every two years — can afford to the thousands, sometimes tens of thousands of dollars a year that it costs to treat chronic diseases. Even people with employer-provided insurance may not be able to afford the copays on drugs like Humira and Stelara ($10,000/dose).

    As I wrote the other day, over time the Republicans stopped being conservative and became horrible human beings. There is no hope for them and as long as they are in power millions of people are at risk.

    I wish you luck.

  269. 269.

    patrick II

    March 22, 2017 at 12:22 am

    @Roger Moore:

    “just like Eric Gregg”

    Someone else remembers. I was a pitcher in various fastpitch softball leagues for about forty years, and I never had a $10 a game umpire call game as badly as Gregg called that game. I am not using hyperbole, literally. I pitched over 1,000 games and it just never happened.

  270. 270.

    TenguPhule

    March 22, 2017 at 3:59 am

    @Lizzy L: Wrong. Republicans do. They voted for it.

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