Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Let me eat cake. The rest of you could stand to lose some weight, frankly.

Is it negotiation when the other party actually wants to shoot the hostage?

Republicans in disarray!

Is it irresponsible to speculate? It is irresponsible not to.

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

T R E 4 5 O N

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

You can’t attract Republican voters. You can only out organize them.

They’re not red states to be hated; they are voter suppression states to be fixed.

Hot air and ill-informed banter

Anyone who bans teaching American history has no right to shape America’s future.

A last alliance of elves and men. also pet photos.

The arc of history bends toward the same old fuckery.

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

Too often we hand the biggest microphones to the cynics and the critics who delight in declaring failure.

Optimism opens the door to great things.

When I decide to be condescending, you won’t have to dream up a fantasy about it.

Roe isn’t about choice, it’s about freedom.

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

fuckem (in honor of the late great efgoldman)

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Tuesday Evening Open Thread

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My new camera rocks:

Notice the pollen bicycle shorts the bee is assembling on its legs. Truly amazing creatures!

There’s a lot of grousing about the notion of insects inheriting the earth, but maybe they’ve earned it. They wouldn’t fuck things up any worse than we have.

Am I the only one who wakes up in a panic every morning and thinks, “Holy fucking shit! Well, that happened?” I thought not.

Open thread.

Reader Interactions

164Comments

  2. 2.

    Villago Delenda Est

    In the age of Donald and the abject failure of his minders to keep his phone away from him, every day is a new adventure in derp.

  7. 7.

    lamh36

    Alex Seitz-Wald‏Verified account @aseitzwald

    Dems already have unity event planned for tomorrow with @tomperriello, @RalphNortham and @TerryMcAuliffe to fight “Trump-Gillespie agenda.”

  9. 9.

    the Conster, la Citoyenne

    @lamh36:

    Good for them! That’s how you do it, Dems. Keep Sanders away – he’s the kiss of death.

  11. 11.

    lollipopguild

    I keep waiting for the trump rally where the crowd shouts”All hail Emperor Trump”.

  12. 12.

    Major Major Major Major

    Meet America’s Deadliest Tree, Found in Florida, of Course

    You might be tempted to eat the fruit. Do not eat the fruit. You might want to rest your hand on the trunk, or touch a branch. Do not touch the tree trunk or any branches. Do not stand under or even near the tree for any length of time whatsoever. Do not touch your eyes while near the tree. Do not pick up any of the ominously shiny, tropic-green leaves. If you want to slowly but firmly back away from this tree, you would not find any argument from any botanist who has studied it.

  13. 13.

    germy

    @schrodingers_cat:

    I sometimes wake up at 3 am and then have a hard time falling asleep.

    I had the exact same problem last night. Our cat’s fault.

    The cat spent the whole day sleeping like a wino, with one harm over her face. (The weather is hot and humid.) So at 3AM she had a burst of energy and started yelling. My wife slept through it, but I woke up from a deep sleep. Didn’t fall back asleep until about five.

  17. 17.

    Jeffro

    @lamh36: See, this is how we do it right, folks! LOVE THIS! Let Ed try to figure out how to walk that tightrope all year, faking sincerity all the while.

  18. 18.

    lamh36

    @gdebenedetti 7m7 minutes ago
    More
    Gabriel Debenedetti Retweeted Mike Cernovich
    Gillespie is an ex-RNC chair. Stewart doesn’t have much backing from the formal Trump-world.
    Alarm bells for GOP.

  20. 20.

    Jeffro

    @Baud: I think he’s going to win by about 1%…there’s only 5% of precincts left to report. We’ll see though.

  21. 21.

    magurakurin

    @lamh36: how long after the primary did it take Sanders to endorse again? Fuck Sanders and his cult followers.

  22. 22.

    Barbara

    @Baud: No, but I think he will pull it out because true to form Fairfax is the slowest county to report and the largest population center. Gillespie has less than half the vote there but he is winning over Stewart by enough that Stewart will never make it up from anywhere else, unless the remaining Fairfax results are more favorable to him.

  23. 23.

    lamh36

    @Redistrict
    Follow
    More
    Projection: Ed Gillespie (R) has won the GOP primary for #VAGOV, defeating Corey Stewart (R). But wow, was it close.

    @jbouie 48s48 seconds ago
    More
    Jamelle Bouie Retweeted Dave Wasserman
    Stewart’s near-win says a whole lot about where the GOP is right now.

  26. 26.

    Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (Formerly Mumphrey, et al.)

    Ralph Northam won the Democratic primary for governor in my home commonwealth of Virginia. Chinless Republican lobbyist and shill Ed Gillespie leads confederate fetishist Corey Stewart by about 1500 votes. Democratic turnout was 150,000 higher than Republican turnout. Good day. Looks like my beloved Eastern Shore, the two forgotten, overlooked counties on the far side of the bay, will get its second governor in the state’s history!

  28. 28.

    jharp

    I know the bees aren’t doing too well lately and did anyone know that honey bees are not a native species?

  29. 29.

    Shana

    I personally wake up every morning with Dorothy Parker’s line in my head “What fresh hell is this?”

  30. 30.

    Jeffro

    @Baud: Stewart’s just a full-on racist, though. And VA really is pretty solidly blue at this point, statewide.

  32. 32.

    raven

    @Quinerly: Pretty good. I saw them twice in the summer of 71, once in NYC and once on Boston Commons. My only small quibble is that if his dad was firing a howitzer all day long he was in the artillery not the infantry.

  36. 36.

    trollhattan

    @jharp:
    Yeah, our honeybees are European bees, native bees don’t mimic what they do. IIUC we’ll always have feral honeybee colonies but the commercial bees are hammered by a combination of environmental stressors and insecticides. At some point farmers are going to have to make a goddamn decision on bees vs. douching your crops (plus the bio-engineered built-in pesticides).

  37. 37.

    Morzer

    Speaking of insects inheriting the earth, I’ll recommend Adrian Tchaikovsky’s series Shadows of the Apt. Lots of fun, really well written, makes you think about how societies work,or don’t work.

  38. 38.

    Gvg

    @jharp: yes. Common earthworms aren’t either. Eggs came over on colonist shoes. Cherokee rose is Chinese but it invaded so fast it beat European exploration to Georgia. Honeybees were brought on purpose for honey, same spas other food animals.

  42. 42.

    Jeffro

    @Baud: VA also went for PBO twice, and has been on quite a tear w/ its statewide races these days – I don’t think an R has won since 2008, maybe 2010?

    ETA except for the 2009 races …but after that, it’s been D all the way.

  43. 43.

    ArchTeryx

    I maintain that Trump is the loud clown at center ring, keeping the audience distracted while the roustabouts quietly saw at the tent poles in the background.

    Fortunately, it seems like the Senate Democrats iz learning.

    They can’t stop the train, but they can throw a ton of garbage onto the track and maybe save some lives before it hits.

    And I remain incredibly grateful for my job, which is now a seat on a lifeboat. I can abandon the sinking ship of Medicaid before it drags me under.

    It still boils my blood that the Republicans are going to actually succeed in an out-and-out purge of the poor, though. Just really frosts my cookies. I owe those that are still aboard ship no less then the fight ahead.

  44. 44.

    Quinerly

    @raven:
    Only show I have ever walked away from at NOLA Jazz and Heritage Fest. Early 1990’s. And I’m somewhat of a fan. Gregg’s son, Devon Allman, is from St. Louis. Lived in and played in my neighborhood (Soulard) for years. Great guy, fantastic musician.

  45. 45.

    Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho

    Your new camera rocks; that’s an amazing shot.

    As for the “what the hell just happened?” I’m out of evens to can’t.

  49. 49.

    No Drought No More

    “Am I the only one who wakes up in a panic every morning and thinks, “Holy fucking shit! Well, [w]hat happened?”.

    I really think you have cause to relax.

    For weeks after Trump was elected, I was only good for watching cartoons and no other shows. I couldn’t stomach reading anything on-line having to do with politics such was my pain, as though my heart had been torn from me.

    But nowadays? Nowadays I wake up bright-eyed and bushy tailed, licking my chops to eagerly peruse the latest news about Trump tweeting from his bunker. The need for any talk about “The Resistance” is over. The Resistance (et.al.) has got the greasy rat with the orange hair and his enablers cornered, and I for one am really digging it.

  52. 52.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @lamh36: that result’s a surprise, at least to me. I thought Periello had had a consistent lead in the polls.

  53. 53.

    Olivia

    @schrodingers_cat: Same problem here. Wake at 3:30, stew over local and national issues, family issues, finally resolve it all then fall back to sleep at 6. Fortunately, being retired lets me sleep till 8. When I was working, I would just get up and go to work early.

  54. 54.

    WaterGirl

    @Jim Parene: I used to say “what the fuck is wrong with these people?” at least once a day. Now it’s more like “what the fuck, how is it possible that this is happening in the United States?”

  56. 56.

    Elizabelle

    @Quinerly: Ah. Keith Richards has outlived another contemporary.

    Very odd: today I passed someone on the street who looked so much like Charlie Watts. Wondering if it might have been, although this fellow had quite a tan going …

  57. 57.

    WaterGirl

    @Olivia: Wow! You are amazing. What’s your trick for resolving local issues, national issues and family issues all within 2.5 hours? You need to either teach a class or write a book.

  58. 58.

    BBA

    Fellow New Yorkers, we will have a ballot proposal on holding a state constitutional convention this fall. In the abstract I’m in favor of cleaning up the byzantine mess that is our state constitution, but the unions have come out against changing anything because it has some of the strongest labor protections in the country. On the other hand, the traitorous scum of the IDC are also against a convention, which pushes me further into the yes column. (My dream constitution would make us unicameral like Nebraska, putting our lousy state senators out of jobs permanently, bwahahaha.)

    What say you, BJ?

  59. 59.

    Barbara

    @Baud: Gillespie is just your garden variety tax and slash Republican who only winks and nods to the neo-Confederates and fundigelicals. Stewart is not just racist, he is nuts. He sued a tv station to let him air an ad pledging allegiance to Trump by incorporating Kathy Griffin’s highly misconceived image of a severed head. Who would do that?

  60. 60.

    ArchTeryx

    Apropo of nothing (and not political) I recently re-watched Saving Private Ryan – few movies are more effective at showing the blind horror of war then that one. (Two words: Omaha Beach).

    But at the end, with our intrepid heroes in a ruined French village, they’re overrun by a retreating German armor column. Two Tiger IIs and two Marders – which, thanks to World of Tanks, I actually recognized for the first time! The Marder’s a “Tank Destroyer” – a ragtop antitank gun on a tank chassis. Using one against infantry in an urban setting is suicide – it provides zero protection for the crew from snipers, and the gun can’t elevate worth crap, which our heroes take full advantage of. Unfortunately, the Tiger IIs are a very different story…

  63. 63.

    Betty Cracker

    @schrodingers_cat: The dogs are getting old, and they’re such lazy shits now that it seems pointless to take more pictures of the same dogs in the same positions on the same sofa.

    @Quinerly: Good God, what a narcissistic shithead. Poor Katy.

  64. 64.

    Jeffro

    @Barbara:

    Stewart is not just racist, he is nuts. He sued a tv station to let him air an ad pledging allegiance to Trump by incorporating Kathy Griffin’s highly misconceived image of a severed head. Who would do that?

    Someone who has drunk deeply…not just of the Kool-Aid, but the sugary dregs of the Kool-Aid that weren’t completely stirred in…along with all the artificial colors that settled to the bottom.

    VA GOPers are a special breed and I’m excited to see them split like this. Good luck, Ed Gillespie, I look forward to mocking the holy hell out of you all year as you try to have it both ways.

  65. 65.

    Quinerly

    @Elizabelle:
    So sweet that Jimmy and Roselyn attended his funeral. Saw a couple of pieces with Pres Carter’s quotes that he probably wouldn’t have made it to the WH but for the band and their concerts that raised campaign $.

  66. 66.

    Olivia

    @WaterGirl: Hah! Not quite. I resolve it in my head, as in, resign myself to what will be, will be. Wouldn’t you think I would get to that point right away? I need to thrash through it all first, I guess.

  67. 67.

    Mike in NC

    They say that cockroaches will survive all other species, which could explain Trump and his cabinet.

  69. 69.

    Elizabelle

    @Timurid: Concerning. It’s breaking news on The Guardian. 24 story Grenfell Tower. Amazing something like that could go up in flames. Over 200 firefighters on the scene.

    Meanwhile, this was another Guardian Headline:

    Millionaire professor trampled to death by cattle.

    There, it was the “millionaire” part that struck me as odd. He was actually a multimillionaire. Developed a needle-free injection device.

  70. 70.

    Barbara

    @Elizabelle: Duane Allman apparently hated having the band classified as Southern Rock because he liked so many different styles of music. Some of the original members of the band (not sure which) were studio musicians in Memphis. Unfortunately, most of them liked heroin. I don’t think any other band that patterned themselves after the Allman Bros. came even close to matching them. In Memory of Elizabeth Reed is one of my favorite songs — and so is Melissa. Eat a peach in their memory.

  71. 71.

    Lyrebird

    @Quinerly: Yeah, I don’t know if I’m a Katy Tur fan, but I am a fan of the right to a free press, and the current Republican administration made her a standard bearer for that by their inciting and so forth. Regardless, I got the same basic reaction when I read Hannah Tur’s comments earlier. ‘Specially since she (parent) is criticizing the daughter for wanting the media spotlight, in a message designed mostly to grab the media spotlight. Hmmmm

  73. 73.

    Barbara

    @Jeffro: But even among the special breed of VA GOP pols, Stewart is an outlier. He makes Cuccinelli and Farris seem low key.

  76. 76.

    efgoldman

    @Elizabelle:

    Amazing something like that could go up in flames. Over 200 firefighters on the scene.

    What are London hi-rise fire codes like? Sprinkiers? Fireproof walls/floor/ceilings?

  77. 77.

    Quinerly

    @Lyrebird:
    Katy Tur has a book coming out in the Fall. I’m looking forward to reading it. Check out the NY Times piece from a few days ago, if you haven’t already read it…it’s worth it for the PICTURE. She’s tough, I have no doubt.

  79. 79.

    Tenar Arha

    I’m melting. Yeah, I’m one of those North Easterners who’s resisted getting a window a/c (but if I’m going to have to worry about heat waves in June, I think it might be time to reconsider my position).

  81. 81.

    ??‍? Martin

    I like seeing Frankens humor come out more. Such a good representative of the people.

  82. 82.

    Yoda Dog

    The UNC PAWS program, which is an innovative program established under UNC’s School of Medicine to train shelter puppies to become support dogs for people with mental illnesses, is at risk of being suspended if the program cannot raise $50,000 by the end of June. Over recent years, budgets have gotten so tight that UNC’s School of Medicine has turned to crowdfunding in order to save this well-liked program.

    reposting for my NC neighbor, Sister Rail Gun..

  83. 83.

    ArchTeryx

    @Barbara: Wow, he sounds like a very special species of shitbird, even for VA GOPers. (And I know of which I speak. I lived in that state in the mid-90s for 3 years in C’ville and didn’t dare walk down the street holding hands with a friend. And this in one of the most liberal parts of the state!)

  84. 84.

    efgoldman

    @Tenar Arha:

    who’s resisted getting a window a/c

    Nice to see you Saturday.
    We have three window a/c’s (each bedroom) but they don’t do much good sitting on the floor or in the closet, where they are now.

  85. 85.

    frosty

    @ArchTeryx: Re: Saving Private Ryan. Good movie, but in the end when Hanks is saved by the USAAF, it’s a P-51. Bullshit! It should have been a P-47 Thunderbolt, the best ground attack figher-bomber we had, not the pretty-boy Mustang.

    WW pedant again

    PS yeah, I know 51s were doing ground attack too, but that scene called for an uglier tougher-looking airplane.

  86. 86.

    Morzer

    https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/live/2017/jun/14/grenfell-tower-major-fire-london-apartment-block-white-city-latimer-road

    While this is a developing story, from photos and videos of the blaze posted to social media, it is clear that the fire at Grenfell Tower is serious, with flames engulfing the 24-storey building.

    Celeste Thomas, who lives across the road from the building, has been tweeting from the scene as firefighters struggle to bring the enormous blaze under control. She says she saw falling debris and could hear damage from inside.

  87. 87.

    efgoldman

    @Morzer:

    She says she saw falling debris and could hear damage from inside.

    Sounds like a lot more than a kitchen grease fire or a cigarette dropped in a couch.

  88. 88.

    Elizabelle

    @Barbara: I look forward to listening to more ABB (all I’ve heard are the radio hits) and reading Gregg’s 2012 memoir, which sounds genuine and thoughtful.

    An interview with Richmond VA’s Style Weekly alternative newspaper; Gregg played in April 2016.

    some political musings from Gregg (and the interview is worth a click; it was great, lots about music and the industry):

    Back in the heyday of the civil rights struggle, you had a black drummer in your band in the Deep South. What do you make of the racial divisiveness we’re seeing today?

    Well, that’s the good thing about musicians. There never has been any color. I’ve never ever had any kind of run-in with somebody of another race. Just never been in my world at all, you know? When I see stuff like that, man, I just … this asshole Trump. If he gets in, man, it’s gonna be the biggest mistake America ever made.

    He doesn’t come off as very presidential.

    Nooooo, sir. He’s just a big asshole.

    ,,,, I’ve seen you play a handful of times over the past 25 years — you’re a hell of a blues singer. Just seems to get deeper into your voice as you age.

    Thank you, man. I hope I’m learning and writing a new one on my deathbed [laughs] …

    Just do not vote for Trump. Get rid of that guy. I mean, what an imbecile. They’re like a bunch of children up there, man. Him and Cruz.

    I take it you’re not feeling the Bern?

    Bernie don’t look like he’s going to last a term. I just don’t see how you can start that important of a job at the age of 82 [Sanders is 74]. You gotta have all your marbles. Nah, looks like I’m gonna have to go for the lady. Ain’t much choice.

  90. 90.

    Barbara

    So this is silly of me, but in the last thread someone said that Fairfax would be the first African-American lt. gov of Virginia (or attached a tweet to that effect). Douglas Wilder was elected lt. governor (and then governor) of Virginia more than 30 years ago — in 1985. This was a really proud moment — Lewis Powell swore him into office and ended by saying that it was a great day for Virginia and for the United States. Give the state — and Gov. Wilder! — some credit.

  91. 91.

    frosty

    @Quinerly: My favorite bit from “Life” was Keith talking about the early years:

    THE POWER OF the teenage females of 13, 14, 15, when they’re in a gang, has never left me. They nearly killed me. I was never more in fear for my life than I was from teenage girls. The ones that choked me, tore me to shreds, if you got caught in a frenzied crowd of them—it’s hard to express how frightening they could be.

  95. 95.

    Quinerly

    @frosty:
    Big smile from here in St. Louis. I think I read that Keith actually wrote his book. He slagged Mick for not being able to write his…and now I’m blanking…Mick’s autobiography never finished?

  96. 96.

    ArchTeryx

    @frosty: Haha, that’s absolutely true. The P-51s really didn’t have the guns to penetrate a Tiger II’s almost 200mm of armor, nor the capacity to carry bombs big enough to crack that shell. Yeah, the heroes had Comp B sticky bombs, but the most THOSE could do against a Tiger-B is track it (and that’s what happened in the movie). Tracking a tank like that is NOT a knockout – as they quickly learned.

    They couldn’t have had worse luck then to be defending a bridge against friggin’ Tiger-Bs with infantry support, but that’s the way that movie rolled. War is hell, even if you’re on the “winning” side.

  97. 97.

    Elizabelle

    @Morzer: It’s horrible. Someone a few blocks away said he was covered with ash: The Guardian:

    George Clarke, the presenter of Amazing Spaces, lives nearby. He told Radio 5 Live: “I was in bed and heard ‘beep, beep, beep’ and thought, ‘I’ll get up and run downstairs as quickly as I could’.

    “I thought it might be a car alarm outside and saw the glow through the windows.

    “I’m getting covered in ash, that’s how bad it is. I’m 100 metres away and I’m absolutely covered in ash.

    “It’s so heartbreaking, I’ve seen someone flashing their torches at the top level and they obviously can’t get out.

    “The guys are doing an incredible job to try and get people out that building, but it’s truly awful.”

  98. 98.

    Elizabelle

    @Quinerly: Own a copy of Keef’s book; read the first few pages — great, starts with a drug bust in the American South — and saved the book for a reward and still need to pick it up again. Looks marvelous.

  99. 99.

    Hill Dweller

    The Twitter machine is telling me Trump has given the Pentagon unilateral authority to send thousands of new troops to Afghanistan.

  100. 100.

    frosty

    @Quinerly: Not only did he write the book, he kept diaries all through his years with the Stones and beyond (including set lists!), so he didn’t have to rely on his memory. I thought it was a great read.

  101. 101.

    Juju

    Not that this has anything to do with anything, but every time I hear Jefferson Beauregard Sessions speak, it makes me think of Huckleberry Hound. Is that just me?

  103. 103.

    Barbara

    @Hill Dweller: That modern day Doubting Thomas, Susan Sarandon, finally gets the information she needs to judge Trump. I hope she finds it useful.

  104. 104.

    Timurid

    @Barbara: Weird the story is getting no play outside the UK, even though it’s almost certainly going to be much, much worse than any of the recent terror attacks…

  105. 105.

    frosty

    @ArchTeryx:

    The P-51s really didn’t have the guns to penetrate a Tiger II’s almost 200mm of armor, nor the capacity to carry bombs big enough to crack that shell.

    One Thunderbolt memoir I read recently said a favorite tactic was to dive bomb and drop a 500-pounder next to a tank and flip it. Those ground-attack guys were crazy.

  106. 106.

    Another Scott

    @Hill Dweller: Didn’t we hear about things like that weeks ago?

    TheHill from March:

    “I don’t want to telegraph future operations, but this is part of a plan to go after a very real threat, to ensure they are defeated and denied the opportunity to plot and carry out terrorist attacks from ungoverned spaces,” Davis said, according to the report.

    The decision to grant the expanded authority to commanders came on Jan. 29, the same day that Navy SEALS conducted a raid on AQAP that killed a U.S. Navy SEAL and several civilians, including an 8-year-old child.

    The U.S. carried out more than 30 airstrikes on AQAP militants in Yemen between Thursday and Friday, though an exact number was not given.

    In countries with larger U.S. military presences, like Syria and Iraq, commanders were already able to call in airstrikes and other actions. But in countries like Yemen, commanders previously had to seek permission from the White House before such actions were carried out.

    That approval process, the Examiner reports, was frustrating and unnecessarily complex for U.S. military leaders there, requiring commanders to submit memos justifying the action to the White House.

    It is not clear how wide-ranging the new authorities are. According to the Examiner, Pentagon officials did not discuss the extent of the powers to avoid tipping off potential targets.

    Etc.

    Donnie doesn’t care about details. He doesn’t care about policy.

    He’d delegate just about everything about being President, except for the pomp, the grift and taking credit, if he could.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  107. 107.

    ArchTeryx

    @Barbara: Good lord. That’s the sort of fire that can kill a hundred people. I hope that people got out before it got bad enough to trap them.

    ETA: There are definitely people trapped if they’re signalling with flashlights. I hope they bring in helicopters to try to get those people out before the whole building goes.

  108. 108.

    Juju

    @Quinerly: I think they should make planes and cars out of whatever Keith Richards is made of. It sure does seem to be durable material.

  109. 109.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Timurid: Is it a terror attack or just an ordinary tragedy? How many ordinary fires in New York or Chicago get international coverage?

  110. 110.

    Quinerly

    @frosty:
    I read it when it first came out. Didn’t remember all the background on his source materials ?…just something close to a challenge on his part that Mick couldn’t do what he did. Read Clapton’s years ago…can’t compare, that’s for sure.

  112. 112.

    Timurid

    @Omnes Omnibus: No evidence of foul play so far. It is rather unusual for a finished building in a place with First World building codes to suddenly go up like a volcano out of nowhere though…
    Assuming it is an accident, this is still going to be very, very bad by “ordinary fire” standards.

  113. 113.

    ArchTeryx

    @frosty: That’s one way to knock out a Tiger-B, let me tell you!

    The main body may have 200 mm of armor but the turret sure as hell doesn’t. Not to mention there isn’t that much protection for the crew from the concussion of a 500 pounder going off right next to them. The ground attack guys were crazy, but crazy like a fox.

  116. 116.

    Quinerly

    @Juju:
    Hey there! See you at the end of September/October! Poco is now addicted to Trader Joe’s dog biscuits. Just replenished our supply for St. Louis since his gift got left at the beach place. He loved them, went through half the box. Turns his nose up to Milk Bones (when “Kung Fu Fighting” is playing in the background?)

  120. 120.

    Barbara

    @Timurid: Looking at the Guardian pictures it’s hard for me to understand how a modern building would become so totally engulfed if it started as an ordinary kitchen or bedroom fire, especially if it has a sprinkler system (don’t know if it does but it is certainly tall enough). I wonder about how it was built. Just awful to think of people being trapped.

  121. 121.

    Corner Stone

    This whole administration does not give one shit what Russia did to the US before and during our elections. Isn’t that a fucking problem?

  122. 122.

    Timurid

    @Barbara: Twitter rumor says there was remodeling work underway, so it could be construction related (although it’s unlikely anyone was working in the middle of the night when this started).

  124. 124.

    Aleta

    @Barbara: The twitter is mentioning an idea that the fire may be spreading quickly because of outer panels (maybe somewhat recently installed).

    eta

    Fabio Bebber‏ @biobber 2h2 hours ago
    More
    It’s a very strong smell. People are already suggesting the external panels fitted in recent years have played a part

  125. 125.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @ArchTeryx: The opening 15 minutes or so of Enemy at the Gates is just about as harrowing as the opening of Saving Private Ryan.

  127. 127.

    Barbara

    @Timurid: Yes, but depending on the kind of construction there could have been chemicals or perhaps changes underway to the wiring or even a gas line might have been somehow affected. Any of those could be connected to a fire.

  128. 128.

    Amir Khalid

    @Quinerly:
    There is a credited co-writer, a journo named James Fox. Hard to say how much of the actual writing is Keef’s own. If I remember rightly, Mick once took an advance from a big-name publisher for his own memoirs, but later decided to pay the money back rather than go through with the book.

  130. 130.

    Morzer

    @Aleta:

    My bet is that the inner doors were left open to cool the building down and convection pulled the fire up through the building. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that the new panels contributed.

  132. 132.

    ArchTeryx

    @Timurid: Heh, guess I don’t know as much as I thought! No surprise there.

    Not that it made much of a difference to the poor sods that had to fight them with small arms, Molotov cocktails and sticky bombs. It was all of a piece; most WWII movies glorified the war. This one stood out for how it showed just how eyelash deep in the suck they ALL were.

    (The tanks they fought had more streamlined turrets then Tiger-As and it was VERY late in the war, in occupied France, so I figured they had to be Tiger-Bs. May have just been the way they “dressed up” the props. I think (IIRC) the tanks in the movie lacked the Schachtellaufwerk interleaved road wheels that the Germans loved so much, and turned into such a deadly disadvantage when they ran into ANYTHING that got between them).

  133. 133.

    Elizabelle

    @Amir Khalid: Black trousers and black kind of tailored looking top. But an almost orangish tan cast to the face. We had a Rolling Stones tribute band in town over the weekend; wondered if I might be looking at their “Charlie.”

    @Timurid: Yeah, Guardian said building had been recently renovated, and architects say 24 floors while others say 27.

    But how does a blaze get that big, that quick? No reports yet of any explosion; just a huge fire that is threatening to bring down the building and has closed a major motorway in both directions. Smoke visible from Hammersmith, although I have no idea what distance that is …

    Odd, and tragic. Thinking of those who got out and are wondering where their neighbors and relatives are.

  134. 134.

    Morzer

    @ArchTeryx:

    Only 1 company of King Tigers were in France at the time and their tanks were mostly destroyed by Allied air attacks that hit hard enough to flip a Tiger over.

  136. 136.

    J R in WV

    @MomSense:

    I’ve had trouble sleeping too, my doctor has prescribed various things that work, more or less. But it I wake up at 3 or 4 am, and start thinking about current events, even purpose made sleeping pills don’t really help.

    The only real help is to NOT THINK about tomorrow, next week, next month. Which is really hard for someone who made his living thinking about hard problems and how to solve them.

  137. 137.

    Aleta

    @Morzer: I wonder what the panels would be made of.

    Fabio Bebber‏ @biobber 2h2 hours ago
    We can see how quick the fire spreads via the external panels.

  140. 140.

    ArchTeryx

    @Morzer: Now it makes sense. In the movie, at least, it was pretty obvious the Germans were using anything they could round up and cobble together at that point. Rolling Marder IIIs into a village didn’t even make that much sense if they expected to find Allied armor there, and was absolute lunacy if they expected to fight infantry.

    Just their bad luck they found a couple of working Tiger-As to use. The props may not have been perfect, but from what I read, the *sound* the effects guys used to mark the Tiger Is rolling into town was so realistic it gave veterans watching the movie flashbacks.

  146. 146.

    randy khan

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    There wasn’t a huge amount of public polling, but I don’t think Periello really led in many polls. There was some publicity about a poll where he was tied with Northam a couple of months back, but the polling after that that I generally had Northam ahead.

  147. 147.

    ArchTeryx

    @Omnes Omnibus: I think that was just plain old fashioned pacing. The filmmakers told the story they wanted to tell; the deux ex machina set up the final scenes at Arlington without a lot of filler.

    At that point, having the AAC show up was pretty much the only way any of them was getting out alive. They fought a hell of a fight, but they were a few paratroopers and a small expeditionary force against a full-on armor column. They were going to all have their day ruined.

  148. 148.

    efgoldman

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    How many ordinary fires in New York or Chicago get international coverage?

    I imagine any would that engulfs a 24-story building full of people.

  149. 149.

    Aleta

    Here’s from a 2016 press release after 2 years of work on the apartment tower in London. (Built in 1974).

    North Kensington Tower Block transformed by £10m refurbishment. 13 May 2016
    … the transformation of North Kensington’s Grenfell Tower following a major £10m refurbishment.
    Funded by the Council as part of a wider £67m investment of the area, the wide ranging improvements include the installation of insulated exterior cladding, new double glazed windows and a new communal heating system. All of this will greatly enhance the energy efficiency of the tower and help reduce residents’ living costs. There will also be an impressive new foyer.
    Nine much needed new homes were also developed from unused spaces in the building, which is managed by Kensington & Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (KCTMO). There are also new facilities at the Dale Youth Amateur Boxing Club and Grenfell Under 3s Nursery. …
    The two year project, which was designed and delivered by KCTMO in partnership with Rydon Construction, was a complex one as it took place with all 120 flats occupied throughout. The logistics had to be carefully managed to minimise disruption. …
    “It is remarkable to see first hand how the cladding has lifted the external appearance of the tower and how the improvements inside people’s homes will make a big difference to their day-to-day lives”, said Cllr Paget-Brown.
    “As well as this investment, in a relatively short space of time Grenfell Tower residents have benefitted from a brand new academy and leisure centre, which represents our ongoing commitment to North Kensington.”
    … This has improved the homes overall and residents can now have the benefits of living in energy-efficient homes, all in a vastly improved environment. I am especially pleased with the nine new homes, which cost £878,000 to deliver, and add much needed family homes for the Royal Borough. The whole project was done within budget too.”

    From a two year series of newsletters to residents: http://www.kctmo.org.uk/search.php

  150. 150.

    Another Scott

    @randy khan: BlueVirginia.US highlighted some polls that showed Tom ahead. I seem to recall mention of some polls that showed Susan beating Justin, also too.

    But when turnout is around 10% (as it was today, last I saw), it’s hard to imagine any normal poll coming close to the correct result except via luck. The error bars are just too big.

    Since Tom and Justin won, I fear the lesson for Virginia candidates is going to be, yet again: 1) Raise as much money as fast as you can; 2) Lock up endorsements as early as possible. Make your candidacy appear “inevitable”. 3) Sound as inoffensive as possible and say as little as possible about policy positions to avoid offending anyone (or giving the opposition ammunition). Play it safe. 4) Assume you will be the default winner, so don’t worry about generating enthusiasm among voters or fighting to convince the undecided.

    :-/

    Tom was a long-shot, but he showed the value of hard work, enthusiasm, and showing that you’re trying to get every possible vote among people who are normally disillusioned. There are good lessons to be learned from his campaign, and I think he has shown that he still has a future in politics.

    With all of that said, Ralph had a convincing win. I’ll be donating to Ralph’s and Justin’s campaigns and doing what I can to make sure they win. We simply must win in November…

    My $0.02.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  151. 151.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    @Barbara:

    Back in the day I made a pilgrimage to Duane Allman’s grave in Rose Hill Cemetery in Macon. Not far away is another tombstone with the inscription:

    Elizabeth Jones Reed
    loving wife of
    Briggs H. Napier

    Apparently the guys occasionally went up to Rose Hill at night and played acoustic guitars. That was the origin of my favorite Allman Brothers song: “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed.”

  152. 152.

    FlipYrWhig

    @Another Scott: Maybe the lesson is that in some places, probably most of them, more Democrats are pretty OK with the DEMOCRATIC ESTABLISHMENT than the number who hate it with a white-hot rage they’ve made the basis of all their political views. Because if the guy who was first a progressive darling 10+ years ago and cut ads featuring Sanders and Warren can’t win a _low turnout primary_, that doesn’t really bode well for a whole bunch of strategies I’ve been being told are guaranteed winners everywhere always.

    ETA: I didn’t follow the LG race closely but judging by campaign literature it looked like Platt was the establishment/insider track candidate. She had a big paragraph of all her endorsements. Fairfax’s campaign stuff was all about his life story.

  153. 153.

    randy khan

    @Another Scott:

    Northam had a pretty good (or at least persistent!) GOTV operation, too, and that matters in a low-turnout election. I got several reminders to vote over the last week.

    Periello seemed to have a fair amount of money, but reports indicated that a lot of it came from out of state. That may have obscured where he stood with Virginia voters.

  154. 154.

    opiejeanne

    @Timurid: A spark from a source like a welding torch, if it gets into the insulation and goes unnoticed it can smolder for many hours before exploding into flame. That happened to a building three doors down from my house when I was a kid. They were working on the plumbing.

  156. 156.

    frosty

    @ArchTeryx: You guys know a hell of a lot more about tanks than I do, but that was the USAAF not the AAC. They changed the name from Air Corps to Air Force in June 1941.

  158. 158.

    Aleta

    @Morzer: Huh. For some reason, with no actual information whatsoever, I want to blame them.

    Sectors: Housing, healthcare, education, defence, commercial.
    Ryhurst is registered as a specialist provider of land and asset solutions to the health and social care markets.
    Rydon expands into the South West, securing the largest mental health PFI contract in the country
    Rydon Maintenance becomes a founding member of the Considerate Constructors Scheme Company Registration programme.

  160. 160.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @FlipYrWhig: our best hope for winning a special is a Blue Doggy kid who won’t endorse single-payer or even tax increases on the rich. OTOH, I’ve seen multiple reports that trump/Ryan Care is enormously unpopular in that affluent white southern district.

  161. 161.

    No One You Know

    Late to the thread, as always, but Wow, that photo is exquisite. Love the shadow on the petal. Can this be linked to? Are you selling your pics anywhere?

    I have a reason for asking. I might be doing an online column for a profile piece on “worker bees.” I have some insect pieces, but nothing at this quality.

    If you are amenable, please let me know privately…and thanks for reading.

  162. 162.

    David Evans

    Very nice camera, with an amazing lens. However, having spent far too long chasing bees around the garden I think the photographer deserves some credit too.

  163. 163.

    J R in WV

    @Barbara:

    IF the building was wrapped with styrofoam outsulation, that’s quite a fire hazard. It’s one thing if a building is single story, or two story with exit windows everywhere (like our house).

    But for an apartment tower to be sheathed with highly flammable insulating material is crazy and SHOULD be illegal. Was the stairwell fireproof? Were there sprinklers? Doesn’t look it from the pix, does it!

    Other topic, Great photo, and a good camera enables a good photographer to take good pictures. I have Nikon equipment in house, but keeping up with new improvements proved too costly in the Nikon DSLR world, so I moved to a super zoom Panasonic, very similar to the CoolPix Betty’s spouse got her.

  164. 164.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @Villago Delenda Est: Just FTR (late to the thread I know) those of you enamored of gritty WW2 flicks ought to check out the less-well-known HBO 1998 production When Trumpets Fade, which deals with the fighting in the Hürtgen Forest near Aachen. Had the Bulge never happened, the Hürtgen would have taken its place as the nastiest bit of action on the Western Front. IIRC it was filmed in Hungary and employed as extras US troops who were staged there preparing to redeploy to the former Yugoslavia.

    (I stumbled into the middle of this flick in my hotel room on a business trip & it was so gritty & violent I thought for a minute it was the much-anticipated Saving Private Ryan. Then I realized that SPR hasn’t even hit the theaters yet.)

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