.@NewYorker cartoon of the day. pic.twitter.com/Av2TsVcvfm
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) July 18, 2017
Since there has been some grousing that I’m scheduling these EMOTs too late now — and since FYWP is giving poor Alain fits anyway — I’m gonna try posting this before the daily ‘On the Road’ feature. Let’s see if you experts can actually keep up with two posts in real time…
Apart from cheap snark (yes, I deserve it, though not as much as the Repubs), what’s on the agenda for the day?
***********
“Let it fail.” That is exactly how he ran his businesses.https://t.co/2825Ra6nEa
— Richard W. Painter (@RWPUSA) July 19, 2017
Trump drops repeal, keeps "go fuck yourself" https://t.co/C6Gl3aV6nv
— Jon Favreau (@jonfavs) July 18, 2017
Trump should know better than anyone that you don't have to own something for your name to be on it, right?
— Molly Ball (@mollyesque) July 18, 2017
Is there any part of Trump's oath of office he has not violated? https://t.co/SLNa3O8T2y
— Norman Ornstein (@NormOrnstein) July 19, 2017
.
"It's important to remember the golden rule of the Trump era: nothing is too stupid to be true." https://t.co/OeXBqF1HZe
— Daniel W. Drezner (@dandrezner) July 18, 2017
TenguPhule
Sad but too fucking true.
TenguPhule
And note to Alain, the font is going fucking nuts on Chrome. Bolds and Ariel fonting like crazy on the posts and comments
Anne Laurie
@TenguPhule: Fixt now? (I missed a backslash. One lousy backslash! — FYWP’s no place for a dyslexic.)
OzarkHillbilly
We all deserve it, Anne.
He’s an expert at it.
raven
Aw grubs again, grumble grumble. . .
Jerzy Russian
“Christ, what an asshole” almost works as a caption to the cartoon, in keeping with a well-known theorem that I am too lazy to find a link to right now.
David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch
Real Americans are pissed over the cops killing that pretty white lady in Minnesota.
They might riot — you know how those people are.
This may be the first time the cops go to jail for killing an unarmed civilian.
OzarkHillbilly
@David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch:
You know white people don’t riot. They just get carried away sometimes, enjoy a little over-exuberance.
David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch
He didn’t make it.
He didn’t make it.
rikyrah
Good Morning,Everyone ???
David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch
@OzarkHillbilly: my favorite is how they burn down their own communities after a sports victory
(photo #1)
(photo #2)
(photo #3)
David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch
The time white folk rioted over pumkins
David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch
@rikyrah: morning!
OzarkHillbilly
@David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch: And turn over cars
and clothing donation boxes,
tear up street signs.,
and leave a mess for others to clean up.
Really rude behavior, but rather harmless when you get right down to it.
OzarkHillbilly
@David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch: And just look at this poor confused college student. You just know he would not be tearing up municipal property if he wasn’t being egged on by those….. other people.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@OzarkHillbilly:
He looks economically anxious.
bystander
Let he who has not overturned a clothing donation box cast the first stone.
Meeka just did a rundown on the stupid typos and bad grammar emanating from the WH as an indication of the sloppiness and stupidity infecting the WH. Hoocudanode?
bemused
Last night Chris Matthews asked Rep Michael Burgess if health care is a right. Burgess said it’s a responsibility, people are responsible for getting health care coverage. “You have a right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.”
Matthews: “Healthcare not a right?”
Burgess: “I’m a physician. If someone has a right that means you take my skills and the fruits of my labor.”
I swear Republicans lack of personal responsibility and clutching anything of value solely for themselves is in their DNA.
btw, Burgess was a practicing OBGYN. Just ugh. I would never knowingly put my life or property in the hands of a doc, lawyer, tax preparer or financial advisor, plumber, hell anyone who is a rightwinger.
Burgess’ interaction with Matthews was different than when Chris Hayes has questioned Burgess. The first time I saw Burgess talking to Hayes, I thought wow, Burgess is really schmoozing Hayes, all smiley, complimentary and friendly. The second time, Burgess was the same, almost giggly and I wondered if Burgess has a crush on Chris.
One of our dogs has thrown up in the early morning hours two days in a row. I don’t know what is going on but my spouse fed her again this morning after I said we should let her tummy have a rest. Sigh.
David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch
@OzarkHillbilly: I remember that. They even burned it down, afterwards. (photo)
David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch
@bemused:
says the moron who receives taxpayer funded healthcare.
OzarkHillbilly
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Doesn’t he?
@bystander: “Look, I had a really lovely supper and all I said was “That piece of halibut was good enough for Jehovah.”.
David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch
@bystander: it reminds me of the time Obama told Zbig that Meeka proves sometimes the apple does fall far from the tree (photo)
OzarkHillbilly
@David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch: As is his right.
debbie
“Let it fail.” What kind of president even thinks that? Only the kind of president who doesn’t really care about America, let alone making it great again.
Baud
@rikyrah: Good morning.
satby
@rikyrah: Good morning!
As to the psychos in Congress and the WH: snakes are the most deadly when they’re cornered.
debbie
@bystander:
We’re not even #1 anymore in Grammar and Punctuation!
debbie
@David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch:
The Spirit of Michelle Bachman lives on.
bemused
@David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch:
IGMFU cretin.
Elizabelle
Good morning, all.
Relieved that TrumpCare went down in flames. They will try to revive it. But I like our chances better.
I would think that practicing resistance is like a muscle, and we are tuning up and strengthening ours.
Baud
This Kevin Drum post makes me think it’s hopeless to try to convert people who hate us.
Elizabelle
@debbie: re “Let it fail.” I know.
Obama’s gonna end up on Rushmore in living memory, this keeps up.
So far, Trump has not been severely tested by external events. My guess is Bush the Lesser is still the worst president of our lifetime, and of the post (first) Civil War era, but Trump is so new to the office he did not win fairly and does not deserve ….
Baud
@bemused:
That’s actually… completely false.
Baud
@Elizabelle:
We haven’t even hit 9/11 on Trump’s presidency.
OzarkHillbilly
The latest models from the Mosul Auto Show. The KIA 1000LZ is a real killer.
bemused
@Baud:
We know that but it’s rightwingers’ core belief they use to justify every evil they do.
debbie
@Baud:
Right. What it means is that you’re fulfilling the fucking oath you took.
Elizabelle
@Baud: I have to give that one a better read. (It’s KDrum responding to Josh Barro’s article; may be that Barro set up a straw man — haven’t read Barro’s underlying article yet.)
But weren’t you all discussing, on an earlier thread, that the actual problem is not “liberals” but the caricature of liberals that Hannity and other psycopaths have yorked up? I will agree, some liberals can be irritating, but too broad a brush and too dismissive.
Problem is, it’s effective.
Baud
Who knew the constitutional right to an attorney enslaved all lawyers?
OzarkHillbilly
@Elizabelle:
No effin way. Not even close. Even I miss W now.
Patricia Kayden
@David Canadian Anchor Baby Koch: No, two Black cops were convicted for killing an autistic White boy in Louisiana.
Barbara
@Baud: Chris should have responded by explaining that there is thing called the thirteenth amendment that pretty clearly guarantees the opposite of what he just claimed. Fucking idiot.
Baud
@Elizabelle: Drum’s point on that is that liberals are mostly annoying to other liberals. I think you are right that everything else is a caricature.
I continue to be offended by the notion that our side is the only one with agency, and that nothing can be asked of Trump voters who supposedly desperately need our help.
rikyrah
@David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch:
I have read several accounts, and it still makes no sense. They can’t even explain it in cop-ese.
ArchTeryx
You know, I never thought in a million years that they’d fail to repeal the ACA. With the trifecta, I figured the House vandals would immediately tear up the ACA, ol’ Mitch would nuke the filibuster and leave the bill for Trump to sign as his first act after inauguration. They wanted their purge of the poor, dammit, they wanted it so bad.
*looks at the steaming plate of crow left for him and gets out the BBQ sauce*.
Cheryl Rofer
@Baud: Josh Barro is an idiot and a conservative. Everyone should ignore him.
Patricia Kayden
@Elizabelle: How are you acclimating to all the craziness in politics since you’ve returned to the U.S.? I can imagine that you want to get away again and I don’t blame you.
efgoldman
@bemused:
D’you think it’s a coincidence that almost all of the women-hating RWNJ doctors in congress are male OB-GYNS? I don’t.
Baud
@Cheryl Rofer: I only read the Drum piece. Didn’t read the underlying Barro article.
rikyrah
@debbie:
That is who he is…. scumbag ? ?, through and through.
Elizabelle
@OzarkHillbilly: Hey there, Ozark. W still started two wars that destabilized a whole region. (Personally, I am down with the strike on Afghanistan, but not Iraq, and then Bremer and deBaathification and — hello there, Isis.)
However, you are right that Trump and his morons are laying siege to every humane and “liberal” initiative out there — the EPA, voting …. um, I think you have just convinced me.
Baud
@ArchTeryx: That’s why I always caution people not to make predictions.
rikyrah
@Elizabelle:
We are on the clock now. Everyday that passes is one in our favor. They needed Trumpcare to hide the tax cuts. Now, they have to do that sociopathy out in the open.
ArchTeryx
@Baud: I remain convinced that the primary solution to the Trump voter problem is Kill it With Fire, as you would any Thing.
Oh, dear, did I just let my eliminationist slip show? Maybe after 10 years of them doing their level best to kill me and everyone like me, I’ve finally decided that maybe the best way to fight fire is with fire, not compassion.
debbie
@rikyrah:
That they chose (or chose to go along with) Trump shows how low the Republican Party has sunk.
Baud
@Elizabelle:
I was at the time it happened. They obviously screwed that up too.
satby
@Baud: and the follow-up question should have been “How?” just to enjoy the convoluted stupidity that would have ensued.
rikyrah
@Baud:
Baud, trying to convert them?
PHUCK OUTTA HERE ?
Tell them to go phuck themselves and keep it moving.
Baud
@ArchTeryx: It’ll be hard to do unless we are united, and we’re not currently.
rikyrah
@Cheryl Rofer:
And, he’s a whiny bytch azz.
ArchTeryx
@Baud: That one seemed a pretty sure thing, though. However, remember one thing: There are times where I really enjoy eating crow and this is one of them.
Elizabelle
@Patricia Kayden: Good morning. Norwegian Air is running a sale $99 fare from Newburgh/NY to Ireland, and I am so damned tempted! (I maxed out my 90-day stay in the “Schengen countries” — but Ireland and the UK are not part of that, and fleeing is such an impulse ….)
I was bummed to come back, very honestly. Could barely make myself pack for the return. Stayed in my pajamas most of one whole day the last week in Barcelona. Now that I am here, want to participate in the some protests. And help to register voters.
Wondering how long it will take for all this polarization on purpose and dividedness to reach a head.
aimai
@David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch: says the moron who accepts payments from medicare and medicaid. People have rights to things that don’t exert mastery over others in the format of slavery. This is such a libertarian fake, dorm room style argument. And its easily destroyed if you are willing to have the argument with these assholes and puncture their egos.
Patricia Kayden
@bemused:
I may be wrong but don’t people who are being tried for criminal offenses have the right to legal representation which includes a court-appointed attorney? So are criminal defendants taking the skills and fruits of an attorney’s labor if they get the government to appoint an attorney to represent them in court?
Plus, how would healthcare being a right equate to any doctor being forced to care for patients. I would assume that doctors could opt out of any system which requires them to treat patients they don’t want to care for. Even in Canada, you still have private doctors who don’t serve the general public.
Matt McIrvin
@Baud: I was just reading a long argument in which one Bernie supporter was trying vainly to convince several other Bernie supporters that the Democratic National Committee had no control over the Republicans running the Arizona primary.
satby
@Cheryl Rofer: he does do good tweet occasionally.
TS
Anyone who watches MJ – what have they done to the format? Everyone looks to be in their own little box away from anyone else? I find it impossible to watch – regardless of what anyone is saying. Looks like they have an infectious disease and everyone is in isolation.
ArchTeryx
@Baud: Which is all too true, but neither are they. I like Major Kong’s take: Wars are won by the least incompetent side.
I know Ds would never have the stones to do it, but if I were running the government I’d close every last Southern and rural military base, followed by defunding every major defense contractor that had plants in rural America. They hate us and want to eliminate us. Fine. Give them a reason to. Burn their economies to the ground and redirect the money to the cities. See how they like being taken off Uncle Sam’s teat the way they’re always yabbering about.
Thus endeth my snarling jackal fantasy this morning.
Patricia Kayden
@Elizabelle:
Dang, if that ain’t tempting!! Welcome home and hope you find some protests to participate in. Given how this regime is running things, I expect that we will have many more opportunities to protest Trump.
Matt McIrvin
@Patricia Kayden: It’s a very Libertarian Party sort of argument, that any positive right to anything whatsoever amounts to slavery.
Elizabelle
@rikyrah: I think that’s true.
And I am so proud of Democrats, for standing firm, standing united in opposition, and running down the clock.
We have to protect voting rights for 2018. I would guess it’s going to be easier to get voters to turn out, having watched this shitshow and seeing that the Republicans will try to gut their healthcare and what social safety net we have. For the benefit of GOP donors.
satby
@Elizabelle:
omigod!someone tell Helen to make up the guest couch!
aimai
@Baud: I’ve been reading up on family dynamics and there’s a picture that comes to mind when I read media accounts of the voters and politicians. Its the “drama triangle”–for the media right wing voters (by which they mean white people) are always the victim, poor polly purebred tied to the tracks. The villain is always the democrats for either being outright villainous at cocktail parties, or by laughing at the voters, or by putting up hillary clinton, or by failing to talk about policy/talking too much about policy. And the hero/dudly do right, is always an outsider/republican/no labels guy who rushes in to defend the honor and save the day. They might switch it up a bit but the white/right voter is never given agency, as you say, and never exercises any kind of thoughtful choice.
Honus
@Baud: and pure ayn rand bullshit.
Baud
@Matt McIrvin: That one Bernie supporter sounds like a mensch. Too bad he was outnumbered.
Bernie was on Chris Hayes last night. He’s refined his talking points. Now says Russia scandal is serious and says we should eventually move toward single payer, but with intermediate reforms now.
He’s taking lessons from somebody.
Elizabelle
@satby: I know! Helen better have a damn big couch!
satby
@Baud: donations must have dropped off
Patricia Kayden
@ArchTeryx: I’m sure many Republican politicians are keen on repealing the ACA. However, because some Republicans actually have a brain, they’ve realized that it’s not easy to tear entitlements out of the hands of the American people without suffering serious consequences (such as getting your behind voted out of office).
What I find so fascinating is that Republicans have been exposed as liars. They said for years that their goal was to repeal the ACA and replace it with “something better”. Now that they’re in full control of Congress, they’ve done no such thing and it’s obvious that they never had any intention to do so.
Baud
@aimai: That story does have a familiar ring to it. I suspect Kasich or Sasse will be the White Knight in 2020 when Trumpism flames out.
ArchTeryx
@Patricia Kayden: It turns out that outside Trump’s frothing, fascist base, creating an artificial humanitarian crisis is massively unpopular. Whocouldanode?
Thus my fantasy to simply withdraw all government funding from these cretins and give them a taste of the medicine they want to force feed the rest of us.
satby
So I mentioned I had signed up for my SS retirement benefits last Friday, and I got the first month’s direct deposit last night.?
Moar big government plz!
Baud
@satby: Congrats, moocher.
Patricia Kayden
@Matt McIrvin: Because a Doctor who is compensated for his work, lives in relative comfort and is probably part of the top earners in this country is analogous to people who were forced to work for free under demeaning and horrific conditions and could be punished/killed at will. Yeah.. Makes so much sense.
Baud
@Patricia Kayden: It’s remarkable. Imagine if the Dems passed a single payer bill for 7 years knowing it would be vetoed by a Republican president, and then didn’t do anything after winning the White House. That’s what this is like.
satby
@Baud: ☺??
Matt McIrvin
@Elizabelle:
Not if the voters are terrified that the authorities are going to come after them. I heard about the thousands of Democrats in Colorado trying to remove their information from the voting system in response to Kobach’s commission. I assume that was the intent.
(One commenter on LGM expressed a both optimistic and scary hypothesis that they might have been people who moved, and are trying to make sure they’re not registered at their old location in anticipation of a coming attempt to purge everyone in the country who’s double-registered–who are mostly law-abiding voters who moved recently.)
Immanentize
@rikyrah: The police officer who shot the woman was black. From Somalia. I think I know where this is headed.
Lapassionara
@Baud: Logic, how does it work. I thought the whole point of the ACA was to try to make sure people who needed healthcare would have the ability, through purchasing health insurance (or being enrolled in Medicaid), to pay their healthcare providers. as opposed to going to the ER, and sticking the hospital with a bad debt, which gets passed along to us.
I am tired of bad faith arguments and lies.
Baud
@Immanentize: A sober consideration of needed police reforms?
satby
@satby: @Baud: but seriously, if it’s that efficient when government offices are continually starved for resources and staff, imagine how well it could work if there weren’t constant attacks on funding basic services.
Same with the post office, the VA, all of them!
Elizabelle
@Matt McIrvin: That’s interesting.
And maybe it’s a way for Democrats to use fear in motivating their voters.
Dog knows, we hear about ebola and ISiS every time GOP seats are up. Insist that Democratic voters turn out to vote, to protect their own right to vote.
I don’t understand why so many Democrats don’t vote. It’s immature, really.
Quinerly
Good morning all! We are mostly loaded and “on the road” shortly. Kitty Ivan is traveling to Bogue Banks, NC with Poco and me. Kitties need down time too. Have a great day! Keep me updated on the world. When I travel, I mostly only follow BJ. And, Baud, your running mate, Poco, will report back from heavily Repug populated Carteret County. He’s got beach chicks to goose and babies to lick. Baud/Poco 2020!
Elizabelle
@satby: The IRS. I have heard a few stories about tax revenue being down. Ya think?
Time to reschool and remind people: taxes are the debt we pay for living in a civilized society. We can see, in real time, the lack of civility that accompanies trying to go tax-free.
David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch
@OzarkHillbilly: that’s actually pretty clever designing. The Soviets came up with that in WWII
Cheryl Rofer
@Baud: A good decision. Drum is too good-natured. I’m tired of conservatives telling us how to placate them.
Immanentize
@Baud: I think Flake is another likely. He has openly opposed Trump — just not Trump’s policies.
Baud
@Elizabelle:
Agree. I assume the main drivers are (1) privilege and (2) a culture of comparing the real world Democratic Party with a fantasy perfect third party, which always leads to disappointment.
ETA. Leaving out voter suppression because I’m talking about voluntary refusals to vote.
Cheryl Rofer
@satby: Yes, although I don’t follow him. Usually see the better ones retweeted by people I do follow.
Immanentize
@Baud: Well, one should never make predictions!
David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch
@Elizabelle:
Funny how media has rarely mentioned ISIS since the election.
Baud
@Immanentize: Good advice.
David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch
@Immanentize: That’s what Jimmy the Greek used to say.
Kay
So, you can safely skip “persuasion” with this person. They don’t say it in the piece but she’s probably on Medicaid too- Ohio has the expansion and she has a collection of low wage jobs. When they go to Job and Family Services (which is where this is done) and sign one family member up the agency offers it to all eligible family members. I would bet money they receive home heating help, too. That’s very common and very popular. It’s been a part of low income colder places for so long I think people would be shocked if they DIDN’T get it.
I don’t believe these voters when they say they have accepted that they could lose benefits. I think they’re relying on someone opposing the cuts, and they can do that! Someone WILL oppose the cuts. That’s a safe bet.
Baud
@David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch: And if they do, they are giving Trump credit for Obama’s strategy, which they mocked Clinton for when she defended it.
rikyrah
@aimai:
Fake like Rand Paul, whose entire practice was almost all Medicaid patients. Phucking phony ?? ?
Baud
@Kay:
By blaming Hillary, of course!
Will stories about Trump voters never end?
chris
Gotta go, I have an appointment with my doctorslave. Here in Canada we keep them chained up in nice bright clinics and pay them 200k/yr. So I’ll just leave this here, seems a propos.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jul/19/despot-disguise-democracy-james-mcgill-buchanan-totalitarian-capitalism
Immanentize
@David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch:
Betting is hoping….
rikyrah
@satby:
Yeah satby?
David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch
@Baud: I’m old enough to remember when Obama was attacked by the media warmongers for telling the e truth
Oldgold
A Russian lawyer, counter-intelligence officer, a spy, a money launderer and an interpreter walk into a bar.
Bartender: “You must be here to talk about adoptions.”
Kay
@Matt McIrvin:
I’m mad at them, though. They have to toughen up. People died for voting rights. Black people got their heads bashed in. Women were imprisoned and then force-fed when they went on hunger strikes. It’s not a walk in the park. If they’re plugged in enough to remove their name they’re probably plugged in enough to re-register in time to vote but did they think this thru? Is this the best way to protest? What if it gets really bad? They’ll have to fight harder than that.
David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch
@Kay: Meathead was never able to persuade Archie Bunker.
OzarkHillbilly
@Elizabelle:
When it comes to wars, we are only 6 months in and Trump really really really wants to bomb Iran. Sigh. Won’t be long now. The difference between W’s Admin and tRump’s is that W’s had respect for the institutions. tRump’s just wants to tear everything down.
On a more personal note, I was always against invading Afghanistan. Had many vehement arguments about it. Everything I said back then has been proven to be true. All the arguments eventually devolved into “But we have to do something.” I always replied, “Yes, but not this act self mutilation.” We were never going to do that war right. Nor any other for that fact. We just aren’t willing to put forth the resources necessary and Free Market Capitalism Fairy Dust ™ just doesn’t work like it used to.
satby
@Oldgold: so good I’m sharing it!
Kay
@Baud:
I have to say, Ohio newspapers did a great job on Trumpcare. They covered the heck out of it. I pay for The Blade (although I don’t always read it) because they’re important. They have to cover it and this is just one way they have done so.
We have a local daily- they did a bang up job too. They focused mostly on providers- the hospital, the clinic. The clinic is actually new. It opened in response to demand after Obamacare. It’s good because our local health care system is a privately-run monopoly. The hospital owns the medical group.
Oldgold
A Russian lawyer, a counter-intelligence officer, a spy, a money launderer and an interpreter walk into a restaurant.
Maitre d’: “Trump Party, table for one.”
SFAW
@Baud:
Maybe I blew it on my reading comprehension, but I thought Drum’s article looked more like a “well, those conservatives kinda-sorta have a point about snooty liberals.”
For example:
I generally like Drum, but I am getting powerful tired of the “Why can’t smug-ass libs (who all think they’re better than conservatives) treat Trumpistas more better?” genre of stuff coming from what is supposed to be our side of the argument.
I await the day when we see someone write a post/article saying, in effect: “You know all those right-wingers who talk about how elitist libs are? They’re practicing their own form of elitism, by acting as though THEY are the only real Americans.” Or something — anything — similar. They wingnut whines about liberal elitists is yet another case of RWNJ projection. Unfortunately for us, one of the results of that shit is voter suppression.
bemused
@efgoldman:
Nope, that stuck out like sore thumb to me long ago. And I’d say the majority if not all R legislators who were practicing docs have medical and moral views that are completely antithetical to their medical education, training and code of medical ethics.
I might make an exception to the wearing of a scarlet letter for wingnut physicians, etc. so we’d know who we’re dealing with before using their services.
OzarkHillbilly
@Baud:
Good.
bemused
@Patricia Kayden:
Well, if reality, facts or logic would penetrate rightwing minds, they wouldn’t be rightwingers.
OzarkHillbilly
@Patricia Kayden: I think they intended to replace it with something, they just never thought about what it would be because, you know, healthcare just isn’t that complicated.
SFAW
@bemused:
Few things have been written that are truer than that.
MomSense
@Baud:
Obama had like 10 katrinas at this point in his presidency.
SFAW
@MomSense:
He actually had a lot more, but the fake news media refused to report them.
Laura
@satby: Congratulations Satby!
Good morning Rikyrah.
Wish I was flying to Ireland….
OzarkHillbilly
@David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch: To be honest, quoting people out of context really is a “both sides do it.” thing.
OzarkHillbilly
@Oldgold: Heh.
Patricia Kayden
@Baud:
No. You and I will be old people in nursing homes and will still be reading about the poor, downtrodden White Trump voters. It’s taken on a life of its own.
OzarkHillbilly
@Oldgold: Ouch.
Steve in the ATL
@SFAW:
Shit like this is why I quit reading Drum years ago
Patricia Kayden
@Kay: I agree with you, Kay. I don’t understand how withdrawing from the voting process constitutes a valid protest against someone who is trying to suppress votes. Aren’t you just voluntarily doing what Kobach wants you to do in the first place? Huge sigh of growing frustration.
Original Lee
@bemused:
Here below is a version of the Hippocratic Oath used in many medical schools. Burgess almost certainly recited these words when he graduated. Why am I not surprised that he chooses to ignore almost all of it now?
I swear to fulfill, to the best of my ability and judgment, this covenant:…
I will respect the hard-won scientific gains of those physicians in whose steps I walk, and gladly share such knowledge as is mine with those who are to follow.
I will apply, for the benefit of the sick, all measures which are required, avoiding those twin traps of overtreatment and therapeutic nihilism.
I will remember that there is art to medicine as well as science, and that warmth, sympathy, and understanding may outweigh the surgeon’s knife or the chemist’s drug.
I will not be ashamed to say “I know not,” nor will I fail to call in my colleagues when the skills of another are needed for a patient’s recovery.
I will respect the privacy of my patients, for their problems are not disclosed to me that the world may know. Most especially must I tread with care in matters of life and death. Above all, I must not play at God.
I will remember that I do not treat a fever chart, a cancerous growth, but a sick human being, whose illness may affect the person’s family and economic stability. My responsibility includes these related problems, if I am to care adequately for the sick.
I will prevent disease whenever I can but I will always look for a path to a cure for all diseases.
I will remember that I remain a member of society, with special obligations to all my fellow human beings, those sound of mind and body as well as the infirm.
If I do not violate this oath, may I enjoy life and art, respected while I live and remembered with affection thereafter. May I always act so as to preserve the finest traditions of my calling and may I long experience the joy of healing those who seek my help.
rikyrah
@Patricia Kayden:
WE always knew that they were lying.
But, it is satisfying to see that their voters see that they were lying all along.
rikyrah
@Immanentize:
Yeah…me too….
rikyrah
@Baud:
Nope.
rikyrah
@Quinerly:
Have a great trip :)
Hope you take pictures and share with us.
satby
@SFAW: Drum has a point about how easy it is for the rightwingers to detect our frustration, which reads as snooty contempt, because it’s frustrating as fuck to try to pry open a closed mind and let a glimmer of light in. But any liberal contempt is repaid 10x by the contempt they hold anyone not of their tribe in. During my sojourn in rural, real America people who liked me still expressed that contempt to my face, though about other city dwellers. White urbanites are perceived to be uniformly rich and minority urbanites perceived to be uniformly on welfare; and all of them were assumed to be radically liberal. It’s a cartoon stereotype reinforced by their RW media.
We’re in a simmering, low-level civil war and we don’t fuly realize it yet.
Patricia Kayden
@Original Lee: Didn’t you see that his fingers were crossed behind his back when he recited that oath?
Those sound practically like the Communist Manifesto!!
rikyrah
@Kay:
See, it’s folks like this that burn me up.
They’re swept in with the rest of the folks that we are actually fighting for. They don’t deserve it. Not.one.damn.bit.
That luxury of being that phucking stupid and still getting taken care of.
Ugh
rikyrah
@Kay:
Thank you, Kay.
TriassicSands
@Patricia Kayden:
In fairness to the worst of the Republicans, they do want to repeal the ACA and replace it with something they consider better. Now, no decent human being who cares about the well-being of people would call their replacenpment plan better, but if you’re Cruz or Paul, a “plan” in which the government has no role and the market decides all is the ideal. 50 or 75 million uninsured is what God wants.You see, God hates the poor.
Original Lee
@Kay: It probably hasn’t occurred to them yet that local government officials have to process their paperwork before they can vote, and that might not happen in a timely fashion, a la Georgia voter registrations.
bemused
@Original Lee:
They’ll get to rewriting the Hippocratic Oath right after restoring the Constitution as the Founders orginially intended it/
gvg
@Kay: Actually when I read that, I interpret it as she wants her husband to die but hasn’t acknowledged it. Even with Medicaid her life is hard with all those jobs and maybe his quality of life isn’t so great too. People also don’t always have great marriages and some of them were never nice people to begin with.
I had a similar reaction to the wife restaurant owner Trump supporter shocked that her immigrant husband was being deported. She wanted him gone IMO.
Sometimes its good to look at the actual results as intended not accidental. The real impact in these examples is falling on someone else not them, it’s just assumed that because it’s their own family, that they wouldn’t want that.
bemused
@rikyrah:
They still don’t believe the people they vote for really do intend to cut not just healthcare but also their SS and Medicare.
rikyrah
#Ryabkov: we need an unconditional return of ??property in the #US??; otherwise, retaliation measures will follow ➡️https://t.co/XzbqQISrtk pic.twitter.com/HPBooDih6Y
— Russia in USA ?? (@RusEmbUSA) July 18, 2017
This is an example as to why Russia isn’t our ‘friend’, allies don’t negotiate by threat. https://t.co/fNOsvTPue2
— Nada Bakos (@nadabakos) July 18, 2017
rikyrah
Al Gore: I was wrong to think Trump would come to his senses https://t.co/tR2V7XAZ0G pic.twitter.com/iN0zldxNWt
— The Hill (@thehill) July 19, 2017
No, @algore, you were wrong to think @realDonaldTrump had any senses to come to. https://t.co/WxqiZv7G5C
— Col. Morris Davis (@ColMorrisDavis) July 19, 2017
rikyrah
“It’s regretful that our Dem colleagues decided…that they did not want to engage with us seriously…to deliver that relief.” – McConnell pic.twitter.com/IAZavSZ2y5
— Fox News (@FoxNews) July 18, 2017
Shocking this happened after McConnell authored the bill in secret after killing the filibuster on SCOTUS noms. Why so unfair, Dems?! Why?!! https://t.co/mwhnsIoLFw
— Bob Cesca (@bobcesca_go) July 19, 2017
rikyrah
Sweden is teaching its first graders how to code pic.twitter.com/FySmyJh94B
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) July 19, 2017
d58826
@OzarkHillbilly:
The phrase ‘graveyard of empires’ should have been a warning.
Patricia Kayden
@gvg:
LOL!! Now you have me chuckling. I hope that isn’t true even if this woman is a clown for her diehard support of Trump.
GregB
Richard Painter is one hell of funny old curmudgeon and he’s on point with just about everything he talks about in regard to Trump.
Ohio Mom
@Baud: Kasich is certainly trying hard to position himself as such. I don’t know if I will bother reading it but he has an Op-ed in the FNYT today on his ideas for health care.
As a Buckeye, I’ve had a ringside seat to his governorship. Don’t like or trust him at all.
rikyrah
“It’s regretful that our Dem colleagues decided…that they did not want to engage with us seriously…to deliver that relief.” – McConnell pic.twitter.com/IAZavSZ2y5
— Fox News (@FoxNews) July 18, 2017
Says the man who locked every Democrat and all but 13 Republicans out of the room while plotting to delete 22 million people’s healthcare. https://t.co/mxQP8tlA2d
— Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) July 19, 2017
LOL
JMG
Feeling “sorry” for the disaffected Trump rural voters and their lives or trying to be more “compassionate” towards them as Drum, a very nice man, advises is to patronize them as children, not real adults who make their own choices for their own reasons. They are full of hate, anger and mostly disappointment in their own lives. Well, too damn bad. Maybe if they had more fiber and less bile in their diets, they wouldn’t be so unhappy.
rikyrah
Schumer fires back at Trump: The president is ‘actively trying to undermine the health care system.’ https://t.co/UMpVJ3IAOH
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) July 18, 2017
rikyrah
STRIPPING MILLIONS FROM THE VOTER ROLLS.
They tell you who they are without shame. BELIEVE THEM.https://t.co/bWvrl8s2vk
— Eric Garland (@ericgarland) July 19, 2017
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@Elizabelle: Bush has the decency to screw over other countries, not his own.
OzarkHillbilly
@satby:
We refer to them as “cidiots”, a sobriquet they earn all too often. Really, the stupid, it burns, Don’t take it personal tho, the redneck caricature of “Hold my beer, watch this.” is earned all too often as well. One could just lump them all together and call them “Stupid Human Tricks” but where is the fun in that?
rikyrah
The Spooks knew about Dolt45’s meeting with Putin….that’s why they freaked out.
At every turn…Dolt45 is a traitor.
Our allies have the right to just ignore us.
TriassicSands
@Ohio Mom:
I quit reading almost immediately — Kasich starts lying right away.
Patricia Kayden
@rikyrah: How seriously did McConnell’s colleagues dialogue and collaborate with Democrats when Democrats controlled the Senate? On healthcare, the answer is not at all. I’m sure Democratic Senators would jump at the chance to strengthen the ACA.
Ohio Mom
@TriassicSands: Yeah but sometimes you have to keep up with what the lies are. So you know what needs rebutting.
For a while last year, I was very worried about Kasich winning the nomination because I was convinced he was the only one who could beat Hillary. People buy his “I’m a reasonable Republican” act. The moral of this story has already been addressed in this thread, Predictions about the future are hard.
rikyrah
Trump Still Doesn’t Understand the Filibuster
by Martin Longman
July 18, 2017 4:36 PM
The president is not a very bright man.
This is stupid on a number of levels. First, Trump’s health care plan just failed at the 51 (or 50+1) vote threshold. By using budget reconciliation rules, the Republican leadership in the Senate had already bypassed the legislative filibuster that necessitates a 60-vote majority.
Second, it appears that Trump did not realize that a full repeal of Obamacare would require a 60-vote majority until after he demanded a vote. This is because the regulatory structure of the Affordable Care Act cannot be touched under budget reconciliation rules. This is vitally key information that the president should have understood when he was still a candidate crafting his campaign proposals.
Third, it appears that someone has finally explained all of this to Trump as a reason why the Republicans will not just go ahead and pass the same Obamacare repeal act that they passed in 2015. If they repeal the revenues from Obamacare but not the regulations, the entire insurance market will collapse. Trump just demanded that the Republican Party do this, and now he’s discovered why they will not.
Aleta
Imagine a world where a senator has to be anonymous to say this: “He’s the president of the United States. These people are folks who are looking to him to help them,” said a second Republican senator who requested anonymity to discuss Trump’s stance frankly.
Then scuttle right back to safety, his party
linelying: The lawmaker said that Trump can’t simply let the law fail and leave millions of people without insurance options just because “of something that past president did,” referring to Obama.eta -from the Hill (corrected)
rikyrah
SOCIOPATHS.
THE.ENTIRE.LOT.OF.THEM.
Paul Ryan’s Budget Isn’t Extreme Enough for the Freedom Caucus
by Nancy LeTourneau
July 19, 2017 8:00 AM
Prepare yourself for deja vu all over again, as Yogi Bera might say.
Just as the Republican attempt to repeal Obamacare is about to die in the Senate, House Republicans released their latest budget proposal.
As Kevin Drum notes, when you factor in inflation, discretionary domestic spending is cut nearly in half.
In addition, the House budget proposal includes cuts to Medicare. But apparently that’s not extreme enough for the House Freedom Caucus.
rikyrah
The Republicans Are Trolling Themselves Now
by Martin Longman
July 18, 2017 1:39 PM
………………………………………
McConnell’s caucus is not happy, as Molly Ball explains in the Atlantic, yet they seem to be giving the president a pass on this so far. Instead, senators are pointing fingers at their leadership and at the House, while House members are yelling right back.
……………………………….
Of course, it was on Twitter that Trump announced that he wanted a vote in the Senate on the repeal-and-don’t-replace bill that the Republicans passed in 2015 only to see it vetoed by President Obama. And McConnell quickly acceded to his demand.
It’s not a strategy for success. It’s an angry response to failure that punishes even the senators who were willing to walk off a cliff for the president. They want some plausible deniability so they can flexibly respond to critics on the campaign trail. They want to be able to say that they were willing to support Obamacare repeal but at the same time deny that they would have supported the specific harmful things contained in the bill. Trump wants to take this away from them and force them to vote for an enormously unpopular bill that will never become law. The Democrats can’t believe their luck.
different-church-lady
@David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch: Well, that first one would appear to be after a sport defeat. (At the hands of my Boston Bruins.)
rikyrah
REVEALED: Departing ethics boss claims Trump’s lawyer asked if the president had to certify his disclosure was true https://t.co/Jd9TcEqveY pic.twitter.com/lpFQlUxdn6
— Raw Story (@RawStory) July 19, 2017
Lapassionara
@rikyrah: I wish he had also added, “in violation of his oath of office.” That we have a president who openly announces that he will work to undermine the law of the land is shocking.
rikyrah
20 members of Congress demand FBI investigation into Ivanka Trump’s security clearance https://t.co/e9oxyNFair
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) July 19, 2017
TriassicSands
@rikyrah:
A government half the size of our current one still won’t fit in Norquist’s bathtub. Smaller. Smaller. Smaller.
It turns out Freedom™ is tiny.
different-church-lady
@satby:
“Cold Civil War” is the accurate analogy, and people are starting to realize we’ve been in one for a while now.
O. Felix Culpa
@satby:
Yay for you! I’m still trying to decide whether to sign up at 62 or wait until full retirement age. If the GOP f*ckers (tautology) are still in charge, I might go for the earlier draw to get myself grandpersoned in.
rikyrah
@Patricia Kayden:
They got over 100 Amendments to Obamacare. They had hours of hearings where the GOP got to participate.
rikyrah
The Trump-Putin encounter the White House neglected to mention
07/19/17 08:00 AM—UPDATED 07/19/17 08:07 AM
By Steve Benen
Donald Trump’s recent meeting in Germany with Russian President Vladimir Putin was one of the more important diplomatic moments of the year. It was, after all, Putin’s intervention in the American election that helped put Trump in power, and so their private meeting was a subject of considerable scrutiny.
The presidential chat was originally scheduled for 30 minutes, but it ended up lasting over two hours. Evidently, however, this was not the only encounter between the two leaders.
This second interaction was first uncovered by Ian Bremmer, president of the Eurasia Group, who appeared on the show last night.
In a breach of diplomatic protocol, there were no U.S. officials present at this second encounter: the chat was limited to the American president, the Russian president, and Putin’s interpreter. There’s no official U.S. account or readout, obviously, because Trump was the only American there.
What’s more, for reasons that are unclear, the White House didn’t disclose this second conversation between Trump and Putin. As Rachel noted on the show, if there’s one thing administration officials should be mindful of right now, it’s that undisclosed interactions between Team Trump and Putin’s government is a subject of considerable interest.
The New York Times’ report added, “The dinner discussion caught the attention of other leaders around the table, some of whom later remarked privately on the odd spectacle of an American president seeming to single out the Russian leader for special attention at a summit meeting that included some of the United States’ staunchest, oldest allies.”
Aleta
@Quinerly: Safe travels to the Q. I. P. gang. And J Lennon’s meanders. (eta meownders?)
Ksmiami
@OzarkHillbilly: white riot a riot of my own
rikyrah
Trumpcare’s demise proves the rules of political gravity still exist
07/19/17 08:44 AM—UPDATED 07/19/17 08:47 AM
By Steve Benen
…………………………………………………
Quite right. GOP leaders put together a pernicious piece of legislation, which was poorly structured and substantively incoherent. Republican officials struggled to explain why they were pushing the plan and what they hoped to accomplish with it. Making matters worse, their entire blueprint was based largely on falsehoods and broken promises.
The result was a bizarre political fight in which major health care legislation, written in secret without consultation from experts, drew opposition from doctors, nurses, hospitals, patient advocates, and insurers. What’s more, governors from both parties condemned the Republican bill in no uncertain terms.
And perhaps no one hated the bill more than the American people. It is no exaggeration to say the GOP health care proposal was the most unpopular bill considered by Congress in the last three decades.
You don’t need to be a political scientist to know this is a recipe for failure. The “rules” of American politics tell us when a poorly written health care bill, lacking in purpose, is vehemently opposed by industry stakeholders, governors, and voters, that bill dies.
And as of yesterday, the “rules” worked. What was supposed to happen, in fact, happened. The laws of “political gravity,” to borrow Sarlin’s phrase, have not yet been repealed.
There’s room for a conversation about how such an outrageous piece of legislation somehow earned the support of a major-party majority – a development that, at a minimum, suggests the “rules” are fraying – but for now, it’s refreshing and encouraging to see American politics work the way it’s supposed to.
The “era of Nothing Matters politics,” as recently described by Matt Yglesias, hasn’t taken over just yet.
rikyrah
White House blames Democrats for Trumpcare’s collapse
07/19/17 09:23 AM
By Steve Benen
The Republicans’ health care gambit failed, at least for now, because the party couldn’t overcome its partisan divisions. The GOP majority in the House and Senate is large enough to pass the legislation, but as is now obvious, there aren’t enough Republican members prepared to back their party’s regressive and unpopular bill.
And yet, consider this exchange from yesterday’s White House press briefing, where Sarah Huckabee Sanders insisted intra-party divisions aren’t the real problem.
Yes, of course. Democrats have effectively no role in the federal policymaking process – in the case of this health care bill, they couldn’t even filibuster – which is controlled by a Republican House, Republican Senate, and Republican White House. And yet, Trump World see Democrats as the reason for Trumpcare’s apparent demise.
In a way, it’s almost a compliment: the White House apparently sees Democrats as enormously powerful, despite being in the minority.
Asked for an explanation, Sarah Huckabee Sanders argued, among other things, that congressional Dems are “responsible for being unwilling to work with Republicans in any capacity.”
This is an increasingly common GOP talking point. It’s not altogether coherent – several Republicans balked at their own party’s legislation because Democrats wouldn’t negotiate? – but it appears to make the White House and GOP leaders feel better.
That does not, however, make it true. As we discussed several weeks ago, Democrats practically begged to work with Republicans on health care. They put their appeals in writing for months. GOP leaders ignored every appeal.
Ruckus
@Elizabelle:
Think about it from a different angle.
Shrub started 2 wars against other counties. Took him what 2 yrs?
Drumpf is engaged in a war against his own citizens. And he enlisted most of his chosen political party to fight it. Took him what 2 weeks?
It shouldn’t be different, but it is.
Aleta
@rikyrah: To the purged voters, add the manipulation of confusion and anger at certain polls, delays in lines, and fear that my name might be on or off a list. For example, automatic anxious thinking: does this mean I might be arrested if there is a mistake?
From your link:
Frankensteinbeck
@Matt McIrvin:
Jesus. This is the one about Maricopa County, right? I had a Sanders supporter friend (who voted Hillary in the general) posting all the latest conspiracy theories during the primary. Get this – their argument is that the Maricopa vote was suppressed made a difference because the county is heavy in college students and minorities, ‘which are Bernie’s constituency.’ They still do not grasp that Bernie spit in the face of minority (especially black) voters repeatedly during the campaign, still does, and is disliked accordingly.
@SFAW:
I’ll stop condescending to rural Republicans when they stop screaming insults at liberals. Until then, fuck this ‘It’s your fault you’re being abused’ logic.
Frankensteinbeck
@rikyrah:
As always, if the Speaker allows a budget that continues all previous levels adjusted for inflation, it will pass with all Democrats and probably the majority of Republicans. The Freedom Caucus has no power Boehner and Ryan haven’t given them.
HRA
I have a few random thoughts after reading most of the comments above.
One thought seems to have found an ongoing place in my mind. When the WH gets vacated by the present occupants, it will have to be fumigated, stripped of the gaudy golden accents and scrubbed. I am having a most difficult time seeing photos and hearing DJT now.
Healthcare is important to everyone and most important to those who do not have it. I went through about 12 years of having it and not having it. I even bought it and had to drop it after 3 months knowing I could not afford it any more in my budget. Please keep calling and writing to your Congressmen and Congresswomen.
Yes, by now it seems very likely we have a problem with our crime fighting part of our life who can be described as trigger happy or not trained well. The recent episode in MN may or may not be exactly in that description. We all have to be educated in how we deal with certain circumstances in reporting for help from the police and what we do after they arrive. It’s best to wait until the investigation of the incident is completed.
The Moar You Know
@OzarkHillbilly: I was not. And this is embarrassing to admit, for a guy who considers himself a student of history. I’d never read about what happened to the British there. If I had, I would have known what an utterly bad idea us being there was.
Nobody’s going to ever bring that country to heel, or make it safe. That we are still over there in any form or capacity at all is a huge failure of national policy on our part.
NR
@Frankensteinbeck:
Except according to polls, Bernie is more popular with non-white voters than he is with white voters…. So maybe he didn’t “spit in the face of minority (especially black) voters” anywhere except your rather fanciful imagination.
Uncle Ebeneezer
A look cal immigration activist was featured in the Times. I’ve been lucky enough to work with Liz for the past 6 months and she is truly inspiring at n her bravery and dedication to justice.
https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/07/17/us/undocumented-immigrants-illegal-citizenship.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur&referer=https://m.facebook.com
TenguPhule
@ArchTeryx:
Come sit by me.
TenguPhule
@Baud:
You will all come around to my side.
Eventually.
Because I have cookies.
TenguPhule
@Kay:
There’s a FEMA camp for that.
TenguPhule
@different-church-lady:
And people thought I was crazy every time I brought it up.