Here’s an interesting photo of “invasive spawn,” i.e., baby tree frogs, from faithful reader cope:
We’ve had a ton of rain lately, so our local frog population is happy. We got a good soaking from TS Emily on Monday, dried out a little yesterday between sprinkles, and it’s been overcast and muggy as hell all day, with another big storm on the way.
I don’t mind a bit since rain keeps the heat down. But there is a lot of standing water, and that means the already ferocious clouds of mosquitoes will be increasing their numbers. That part sucks. Plus the muddy paw prints the dogs leave everywhere. And the aggrieved hens.
Oh well. Open thread!
PS: Lindy West has a really great op-ed in the NYT about why Democrats damn sure should make support for abortion rights a litmus test. An excerpt:
Democratic candidates are perfectly welcome to refrain from terminating theirown pregnancies. But to be anti-choice on a policy level is absolutely indefensible from an economic justice, racial justice, gender justice and human rights standpoint. And if the Democratic Party does not stand for any of those things, then what on earth is it?
It’s true that the left will have to choose (and soon) between absolute ideological purity and the huge numbers required to seize the rudder of the nation and avert global catastrophe. But abortion is not valid fodder for such compromise, nor is racism, nor is L.G.B.T.Q. equality, nor is any issue that puts people’s fundamental humanity up for debate. Abortion is not a fringe issue. Abortion is liberty.
I hear from some people on the left that Donald Trump’s victory was at least partially the fault of “identity politics” — of feminists pushing too hard, of Black Lives Matter being too aggressive, of trans people needing to go to the bathroom — as though the violent suppression of a movement points more toward its irrelevance than its necessity. What the Democrats need to do, I often hear, is to move away from issues of “identity” and toward purer, broader issues of economic equality.
But there is no model of economic equality that does not reckon with “identity politics.”
A thousand amens, and worth a click for the shitty NYT, IMO.
Morzer
Was it wrong of me to see “invasive spawn” and think of Jared and Ivanka? Asking for an amazingly hot, smart and wise friend.
khead
400 posts in the last thread. You folks are animals. Heh.
Have some Mason kitteh.
rikyrah
10 Things White People Don’t Really Seem To Give A Fuck About
Panama Jackson, 8/1/17
1.. Black people
Some things really need no explanation but ya know, we explain shit
and shit around here. I’m not, however, going to explain this shit
because I mean, duh.
2. The rights of anybody but white people, but especially Black people
White man with a gun? Exercising his rights.
Black man with a gun? Infringing upon the rights of others.
White man speaking his mind and standing up for his rights? Patriot.
Black man speaking his mind and standing up for his rights? Pariah.
I think you see where I’m going with that one, white man.
3. Their own self interests
White folks = Fuck Obamacare.
Tomi Lahren = professional white person = I’m rocking the fuck out of Obamacare, my G.
Obamacare isn’t perfect, but I’m not
even sure if most of the people who hate it so much have any real idea why. If you know what a libertarian is, and you hate Obamacare, I’ll trust your opinion. If not, and you’re white, and you hate Obama and Obamacare, I’m just going to assume you’re a racist, and be extremely comfortable in my skin doing so.
http://verysmartbrothas.com/10-things-white-people-dont-really-seem-to-give-a-fuck-about/
rikyrah
NowThisVerified account @nowthisnews
Trump’s Treasury Secretary tried coming at Keith Ellison… but Keith had the receipts
https://twitter.com/nowthisnews/status/892732472751931392
Barbara
For those still interested in the DC meet up, I think Elephant & Castle is likely the best of all the candidates that were mentioned. If somehow you can respond to this post and let me know if you are still interested, I can reserve a table beginning at 5:15.
rikyrah
Nerdy Wonka @NerdyWonka
White people have always benefited the most from affirmative action and Trump is a classic example.
White victimhood is a hell of a drug.
https://twitter.com/NerdyWonka/status/892564555506831360
Morzer
Just in case people missed it, Trump is achieving an unprecedentedly rapid wingnut convergence towards 27%:
http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/344966-poll-trump-hits-new-low-at-33-percent-approval
Betty Cracker
@Morzer: And those dreadful numbers in a time of relative peace and prosperity (thanks, Obama!). Wait until he screws up in some crisis, which he most definitely will. He might even dent the 27%.
Neech
Attention People in the NC Triangle.
My friend has a puppy available for adoption. She found these two little furballs while staying at an Air BnB. She was unable to find the owner or mother, so she’s putting them up for adoption. Henry, the one with the white fur is spoken for, but Taco is still available. Let me know if you’re interested in taking home this little fella.
Pics available here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/3kuq7lt3as14w0n/AACbXOW1liwNAQa4y1-XrEgTa?dl=0
David Rickard
Out here in LA, we ask: what is “rain” whereof you speak?
efgoldman
@Betty Cracker:
EVERY Dem candidate, at EVERY level, in EVERY municipality, district and state, needs to superglue his/her RWNJ opponent to Tangerine Torquemada’s saggy ass.
Cermet
@rikyrah: Hey, as an entitled white guy, I want the remaining seven points! Also, as an entitled white guy, I know this to all be true.
Jeffro
@Morzer:
Stop a second folks and look at those numbers. These are of voters, not all Americans or even all American adults. The constant hammering, protesting, RESISTING is making a difference. Take Hillz’ 49% of voters and add 12% to that = 61% disapproval. That didn’t come out of nowhere. That didn’t even come from adding in Johnson and Stein voters. That’s some straight-up GOP defectors right there – not nearly enough, but it’s there.
And hell, 58% of voters thinking Trumpov derail/obstruct on Russia? That’s probably 50% more than knew about it on Election Day. Good work, IC – keep it coming!
Amir Khalid
In the last thread, commenter The Moar You Know cruelly dashed my ambition to become an ambidextrous guitar player. It would fuck up my playing, he said. Pout.
A Ghost To Most
@rikyrah:
somemost white people. That’s a mighty broad brush.Major Major Major Major
Woohoo, my office creative writing club has three new members!
Cute froggies!
My brother, who once while drunk doubled down on a 12 with the dealer showing an 8 but considers himself a gamblin’ man, thinks Trump’s floor is about 30-33%, since it took a perfect storm of disaster (including global financial armageddon) to get Bush below 30.
Yarrow
@Betty Cracker: The height of hurricane season is just around the corner..
efgoldman
@Amir Khalid:
mrs efg is naturally ambidextrous, she can write with either hand or mirror write; but she can only play guitar right-handed.
HelenWheels
What’s Next to contact our Member of Congress about?
I try to reach mine at least once a day, and here’s what I have: Have in-person Town Hall Meetings, Net Neutrality, Fund 2020 Census, don’t revoke/rescind any National Monuments.
What else should I be advocating for/against?
sukabi
@rikyrah: heh. He went from “you don’t know what it is” to “it’s not a legal term” and got clubbed by Maxine Waters with ” You are under oath.”
Ellison and Maxine aren’t playing.
PaulWartenberg
I wanna promote local public libraries!
Where I work, we’ve created a promotional YouTube clip!
NotMax
Hot and muggy, hot or muggy.
Florida in a nutshell.
different-church-lady
Last night I saw McConnell’s post-defeat Senate speech for the first time.
Holy god, that guy is pathetic.
different-church-lady
@Amir Khalid: It would make your first double-necked guitar purchase rather interesting, tho.
different-church-lady
@efgoldman: I reached two conclusions this morning.
a) Trump is insane. (Actually, I reached that conclusion over a year ago)
b) Anyone who voted for him is also insane.
It’s (b) that ought to scare us more.
Iowa Old Lady
Every Trump tweet so far today is an official kind of announcement, ie ones he didn’t write. We’ll see how long that lasts.
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
@HelenWheels:
That new immigration bill, for one:
Miller was gaslighting Acosta
Major Major Major Major
@PaulWartenberg: Libraries are great and so are librarians!
efgoldman
@different-church-lady:
I’ve been out of touch this week, but i got the clear impression that he (like Granny Starver) expected some form of repeal to pass without any major problem.
I think he was as gobsmacked as the rest of us at what actually happened.
The number one job of a majority/minority leader is to count.
delk
After two weeks of purging and decluttering and a day of professional deep cleaning my loft was photographed and 3-D scanned this morning. Goes on the market Friday and there is an open house this Saturday and Sunday. Cross your fingers for a quick sale!
sukabi
@Iowa Old Lady: Kelly may be used to staying up late…so I’ll give him until tomorrow night before he has to “take a break”. Look for insane twitterage early Friday morning.
Mike in DC
@Barbara:
Still interested. Will be about an hour late though.
NotMax
@Amir Khalid
There are other appendages.
(Not to in any way belittle the gentleman in the video. On the contrary, I doff my topper to him.)
Major Major Major Major
@? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?: Wouldn’t a cosmopolitan person be more likely to know non-anglosphere folks who speak English?
The Moar You Know
@Amir Khalid: Sorry about that. But your brain and muscles need to learn how to play. You don’t need or want to have to learn how to play twice.
MCA1
@Morzer: Gallup hit 60% disapproval again today (-24 or so, I think), and Rasmussen (yes, Rasmussen) had sub-40 approval today. In one of these new polls (the Q, IIRC), strong disapproves double the strong approves.
Is the bottom finally starting to fall out here, or is this just another bump on the bottom of his support level? I guess it depends on timing of the polling maybe – it’s only been a couple days since the Mooch firing, and less than a week for the repeal collapse to register as not just McConnell’s fault. Not to mention the constant stream of other shitty news. Fingers crossed, but the fact that T just hit a higher disapproval rate in a Rasmussen poll than Obama had in 8 years of Rasmussen polls seems an ominous sign for Orangemandias, right?
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
@? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?:
To add on to my thoughts: Miller knew full-well what Acosta was saying: requiring green-card applicants to speak English is an additional hurdle and is meant to spitefully hurt people.
Instead Miller pretended that Acosta, the son of 1st generation green-card holding immigrants, thought that immigrants were too stupid to learn English. He’s a slimy little worm and I have no idea why he was at this presser.
Major Major Major Major
@MCA1: Pollster’s aggregate makes it look like he’s continuing his slow slide down, albeit a little more rapidly recently.
efgoldman
@? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?:
I guess , they’re leaving out the part where somehow all the pale folks with blond hair will miraculously turn out to be the ones who speak the best English.
Not that most of the low level border/custom enforcement cops know a gerund from a participle.
The asshole Miller is a parody straight out of Cabaret; fuck him and ‘is ‘orse.
raven
Our neighborhood school r the tree frogs!
Mike in DC
Which Elephant and Castle? There are 2 locations.
The Moar You Know
@MCA1: No. We’re paying attention to the wrong polls. It doesn’t matter what all Americans think of Trump, or how he polls among all voters. What matters is how he’s polling among Republicans, because they’re the ones running all branches of government.
I have not seen those numbers and would very much like to. I bet that orange motherfucker is still over 80% with the Burn Down America crowd.
schrodingers_cat
@? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?: I am pretty sure that most GC applicants would be able to clear the speaking English hurdle, no problem, no matter where in the world they are from.
Iowa Old Lady
Oh yay. I just sold a short story. Not the bewitched Etsy account one, but a reprint of something I had on my now extinct first publisher’s website. So it’s tiny money, but then it was no extra work either. And yay!
Mnemosyne
@rikyrah:
Man, that guy just keeps getting publicly pantsed, doesn’t he? ????
The Moar You Know
@? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?: Acosta’s a fucking moron. You could see that coming from a mile away, and he handed that asshole Miller an entire presidential term’s worth of talking points. That’s the worst pwnage of a reporter I’ve ever seen.
With media that incompetent, who needs Republicans?
ETA
Of course. SO WHY THE FUCK DIDN’T ACOSTA JUST SAY THAT? Goddamn, the media’s submissiveness to these people who would not be in office if not for the media is beyond infuriating.
Major Major Major Major
@Iowa Old Lady: Congrats!
Jeffro
Speaking of victimhood being a helluva drug: Trump Can’t Save American Christianity (no duh)
Starts off perceptive, then prescribes all the wrong things…hey Rod, maybe if you guys could speak up a bit more loudly against the immorality of those who would divide and debauch this country, you might have a bit more cred. If you could be more inclusive and more caring, like…you know, the Big Guy?…then maybe more folks would follow your faith (all italics mine):
Empires fall when self-interested deceivers allow evil men to rule so they can benefit. And btw Rod, it’s not “barbarism” to want to love who you want to love; to want to keep families together, healthy, and educated; and to expect that leaders take care of the least of our brothers and sisters.
Mnemosyne
@David Rickard:
Not today, we don’t. I ran into some (light sprinkles of) rain when I was running an errand today, and it rained yesterday as well. Very weird for this time of the year.
efgoldman
@schrodingers_cat:
IRL I’m sure you’re right; but I see that and see the bad old days of “literacy tests” for voting in the pre-VRA South. Somehow all the white people were asked to read Dick and Jane, the blacks, some kind of complicated chemistry text.
Other folks close to my age will remember.
Iowa Old Lady
@Major Major Major Major: It takes so little to make happy. Which is good because publishing a hell hole.
Jeffro
@MCA1: See #13 above…
mai naem mobile
I would love to see Acosta get up in Miller’s face because Miller would run away crying like a little boy.
Mike in DC
@schrodingers_cat:
For citizenship, yes. For a green card, not necessarily.
Tom Q
@Jeffro: So, apparently “Nobody outside the beltway cares about the Russia investigation” is complete bullshit (bullshit being purveyed on the far left as well as the far right). Everyone’s right to be pursuing it, and the Trumpers are (rightfully) terrified of it.
Peale
@? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?: Can my possible response be that both people involved in this conversation are being stupid?
The people most affected by a requirement for English proficiency for getting a green card are refugees, spouses, fiances, other family members, assylee seakers, Those are the categories of people eligible for permanent residency now who are most likely to not be able to pass English proficiency tests. Although I’m assuming that they probably will increase the standards on the test to so that its about fluency over proficiency.
Major Major Major Major
@Iowa Old Lady: Well I expect selling a story would make anybody happy!
jacy
@The Moar You Know:
The had a tab for that in this one: Republicans are still standing by their party’s pick, though, with 76 percent of those who identify with the GOP saying they’re happy with Trump.
Uncle Cosmo
Open thread, so question:
I’ll be leaving LA on the 20th & could break the journey home pretty much pretty much anywhere within striking distance of the PoT. Right now my notion is to fly into Kansas City (MCI) which is in the zone, snag a room for the night, & then on to BWI as soon as feasible after the Big Brief Dark concludes (~ 1:15 pm CDT IIRC).
I’d be open to a better/more interesting scenario – but beyond that I’m just curious as to who’s planning what.
Those of you who haven’t experienced a total solar eclipse need to know that it is arguably the most spectacular short-duration (~ 2m40s max this time) natural phenomenon that, with the appropriate eye protection & procedures & precautions, involves very little risk of injury. I saw the one that came up the East Coast in March 1970 (another shortie) & thought enough of the experience to adjust my1999 Eurotravel schedule in order to be in Stuttgart for the August 11 Totalensonnenfinsternis. (We were rained out, as were most of the observers on the path of totality in Germany, which more or less followed the main Deutsche Bahn rail in southern Germany from Stuttgart to Salzburg.)
Anyone?
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
@schrodingers_cat:
I know. I just think this is meant to more send a bigoted, mean-spiritied message to Trump’s base, but codifying this into law is (in Miller’s, etc minds) an attempt to fuck over non-white refugees and other asylum seekers like Peale notes above
NotMax
@Iowa Old Lady
Good news to start the day with here.
Major Major Major Major
@Peale: Miller wasn’t being stupid, he was trying to distract from the fact that it’s a racist bill designed to do exactly what you describe to refugees, by using the time-honored College Republican debating technique of “nyah nyah an off-the-cuff thing you said inelegantly makes you the real racist!”
mai naem mobile
@Iowa Old Lady: congratulations for kinda sorta free money !
Walker
@jacy:
This is the key qualifier:
those who identify with the GOP
This number is shrinking.
The Moar You Know
@David Rickard: Right south of LA, for the second day in a row, and it’s not just rain. We’ve got hail and thunderstorms about 20 miles from me, up in the mountains.
This is sure not normal “monsoonal moisture” this year.
different-church-lady
@efgoldman:
His entire speech should have consisted of the sentence, “I’m stunned and clueless and I yield the floor.” Because in essence that’s what he took about seven minutes to say.
gene108
@Betty Cracker:
At some point the economy will slow down. All the pent up demand from the Great Recession will have petered out.
The car industry is already feeling this.
jl
Trump’s Boy Scout oath countdown
In honor of the phantom official phone call from Boy Scouts when (according to Trump) they said Trump’s speech at the Jamboree was the best speech ever.
strike is ‘three strikes you’re out’.
emphases are less than three strikes at this point, but behind the count.
Bold is a automatic credit in honor of his germophobia
TrustworthyLoyal
Helpful
Friendly
CourteousKindObedient
Cheerful
Thrifty
Brave
Clean
Reverent
Major Major Major Major
schrodingers_cat
@? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?: @efgoldman: It is an unserious bill with little chance of becoming law. But now we know what they intend to do.
ETA: It is a signal to their base, that they are doubling down on hate and bigotry.
different-church-lady
@jacy: That does represent a slight erosion of support. Add to it the self-identification cart-and-horse problem: if one is having doubts about Trump, one is probably less likely to self-identify as GOP.
Barbara
@Mike in DC: Pennsylvania Ave., NW between 12th and 13th Streets — across from the Old Post Office Building, AKA Trump Hotel.
Mike in DC
@Barbara:
Cool, thanks.
Miss Bianca
@Neech: Oh, squeee! Taco looks so much like my friend Heath’s puppeh Taco!
Jeffro
@Tom Q: Yup, exactly. And with each shifting explanation, each lie upon lie, Trumpov (rightfully) looks less and less innocent. An innocent person wouldn’t lie that a meeting had taken place, then admit it but lie about what was talked about, then admit part of what was talked about but lie about who was there, then admit who was there, then come out and say “anyone would have taken that meeting”.
It helps when talking with Trumpers to remind them that back in November (earlier, for some) they were denying there was anything to this at all – just liberal excuses for Trumpov winning the election. And now Flynn’s gone…and Comey’s fired…and Trump’s pi$$ed with Sessions…and the Don Jr. meeting became public…and…and…and… Ask them where we’ll be in 6 months, and what they might be defending at that point…
sukabi
@Walker: yeah. It’s probably around 27% or less of the total population still identifies as republican. And of that 27% 76% thinks he’s doing a bang up job.
different-church-lady
@Major Major Major Major: For my money, this is the winner:
Robert Sneddon
@Uncle Cosmo: If you haven’t already booked a place at an observation site you’re SOL. Most hotel rooms and RV parks on the path of totality sold out years ago.
Don’t try to observe near a coast or large body of water if you can help it. There’s a well-known meteorological effect where cooling as the sun is eclipsed causes clouds to form if there’s even a trace of moisture in the air. I ran into this during an annular eclipse in Tokyo a few years back which started in the early morning in clear conditions but by the time of the full annular event it had clouded over. I got one glimpse of the annular eclipse through a gap in the clouds and that was all.
http://i.imgur.com/ZdxKvLk.jpg
brendancalling
If abortion is a litmus test (and I’m not saying it shouldn’t be) what do we do with pro-life/pro-Planned Parenthood senators like Bob Casey, who is also one of the loudest voices in the Senate resisting Trump?
Major Major Major Major
@different-church-lady: Too much of a piece with the gushing praise Kelly’s been getting in the MSM for my taste.
Iowa Old Lady
@Robert Sneddon: We have reservations somewhere in Missouri. We also have special glasses. Mr IOL is very excited about this.
eclare
@The Moar You Know: Strongly agree, I have friends who constantly mention these polls, I tell them every time, they don’t matter.
TenguPhule
@brendancalling: Reward him when he behaves, smack him down if he acts like an asshole. Just like everyone else.
Miss Bianca
@Iowa Old Lady: yay!!
schrodingers_cat
@Major Major Major Major: According to Adam Silverman it is a diabolique plot to undermine the general in T’s eyes.
Major Major Major Major
@brendancalling: Is he actually pro-life (i.e. pro-forcing women to carry the children of their rapists to term), or is he trying to reclaim the brand for policies that reduce unwanted pregnancies?
HeleninEire
It rains almost every day here. I love it. Only a little bit and rarely screaming rain. Take an umbrella everywhere, pop it up when the rain comes and 10 minutes later you’re good.
ruemara
@A Ghost To Most: A great thing to do is not worry so much about the honor of white people when reading a critique of a majority of them.
Miss Bianca
@Major Major Major Major: OK, that picture cracked me up. And here I thought The Onion was past its prime – almost irrelevant – in the Trump era!
mai naem mobile
@jacy: Nate Silver was hypothesize ng that the Republican support numbers haven’t gone down because some of them who don’t support him aren’t identifying themselves as Republican. Also,I might be wrong about this, but generally isn’t support for your party’s POTUS usually in the upper 80s/low 90s?
Major Major Major Major
@schrodingers_cat: Feels more like Villager military-daddy-worship to me. I guess I wasn’t around for that thread.
efgoldman
@brendancalling:
Same as we did with Ted Kennedy and other catholic Northeast Democrats for more than 40 years: vote for them and let them do their jobs.
Shalimar
@Amir Khalid: Are you one of those rare people who is naturally ambidextrous? If you aren’t, then yes, trying to learn how to play two different ways is going to be incredibly difficult.
brendancalling
@Major Major Major Major: you can read his stances here.
He’s the kind of pro-lifer who DOES support exceptions for rape, incest, birth defects. But he is adamant that he’d overturn Roe. But he also voted against barring HHS funds from organizations that perform abortions.
So he’s complicated on the issue. I don’t agree with him at all on Roe, but I DO agree with him on supporting Planned Parenthood and access to contraception.
But again, if it’s a litmus test what do we do about someone lie Bob Casey who holds beliefs that are in some ways contradictory and difficult to put in a specific box?
raven
@Major Major Major Major: “That thread”? It’s ongoing.
schrodingers_cat
@Major Major Major Major: That was my take too. AS thinks that Kelly’s detractors are planting stories that fluff him wrt to T and expect T to retaliate against the General K.
SiubhanDuinne
@Uncle Cosmo:
I am, but I’m not staying over anyplace — just driving up to either Rabun County, GA or Anderson County, SC — neither trip is more than a couple of hours one way, assuming traffic isn’t horrendous — find a parking lot or rest stop, watch the eclipse, and drive back home.
The charts are saying that even in Atlanta we’ll get 97% coverage, but I have a hankering to be smack in the middle of totality for this.
Ummm, you may wish to make a few phone calls before you get on that plane. You might luck into a last-minute cancellation, but AFAICT pretty much every hotel, motel, AirBnB, and Granny’s Home-Style Rooming House in the Path of Totality has been booked solid for a year or more.
However, if you’re the optimistic sort, by all means go ahead and buy your eclipse glasses. Good luck!!
The Moar You Know
@jacy: Hey, thank you! I was close. Glad it’s under 80, but the GOP won’t even twitch until he goes under 50. I don’t see that happening to be honest.
Barbara
@mai naem mobile: Party identification is very fluid, or I guess the way to think about it is that a significant number of people have an association with their favored party that is not much more than a proxy for their support of the current occupant of the White House. If their support for him craters, they are no longer willing to call themselves a member of that party.
Major Major Major Major
@raven: I haven’t been around much during Adam’s usual hours.
Mnemosyne
@Iowa Old Lady:
Hooray! ? ?
Barbara
@The Moar You Know: It would be useful to see party affiliation numbers along with support. Those two things really need to be seen in tandem to understand a president’s true level of support.
raven
@Shalimar: Is there another way to be ambidextrous?
Morzer
@Amir Khalid:
You know, the GOP in North Carolina is probably preparing to ban ambidextrous people from using the bathroom. I’d say you’ve got off lightly being able to play the guitar at al!
mai naem mobile
@Major Major MajorMajor: I thought it was a real story until I clicked on the link and saw it was going to the Onion.
david spikes
Sheeesh-Huck Sanders now says that the imaginary calls from the Mexican President and the Boy Scouts did not in fact take place but they said the same things in person. Sanders is really getting Trumpspeak-“many, many scout leaders told Trump that his speech was powerful, the most powerful, the best, just the best.”
Huck Sanders: “Calling the President a liar is pretty strong language.”
Fuck these people.
Mel
@Major Major Major Major: Yes!! The local library when I was a kid was in a creaky, poorly lit 125 year old house with a fabulous twisty staircase. It always smelled like dust and cinnamon. The childrens’ book section was a tiny area in the small attic. slim pickings for little readers, because of a tiny library budget, and the childrens’ library cards were clearly labelled: Childrens’ Books ONLY! You had to be 18 to get an adult library card, and there were very stern, neatly markered cardboarf signs behind the circulation desk: “Identification required for access to adult library materials!!” “Cards and ID will be checked” and “ABSOLUTELY no eating in the library!”
Apparently there had been some brouhaha over a few (very mild) books and magazines, and so the town council deemed it very important to protect young minds from the horrors of National Geographic and Judy Blume.
Still, I hung out in that library all the time. I was a book nerd then and still am. Anyway, one day when I was checking out a book for the third time (nothing new in the kids’ section) the librarian took my card, turned her back for a minute and then quietly handed me back my book, with an adult library card sitting on top of it.
I must have looked stupefied, because she pulled a Tupperware container of Snickerdoodles out of her drawer, pointed at it, smiled and said, “I won’t tell if you won’t tell!”
Yes- librarians are a treasure!
SiubhanDuinne
@Robert Sneddon:
Fascinating. I wasn’t aware of this (although it makes sense) and will now plan my own trip to avoid being close to Lake Hartwell.
Major Major Major Major
SiubhanDuinne
@Mel:
I ?❤️?❤️? this SO MUCH.
sukabi
@schrodingers_cat: think he’s right. There was a story this morning about McMasters and Kelly making a pact to make sure Drumpf wasn’t left alone to leave the country without one of them around him to “keep him on message”…I’ll try and find the link.
Cckids
@jl: He gets no pass on “clean”, it applies to the mind as well as the body;
“A Scout keeps his body and mind fit and clean. He goes around with those who believe in living by these same ideals. He helps keep his home and community clean.”
Yeah, that’s not Trump.
Morzer
@The Moar You Know:
Rasmussen often runs a few points more favorable to the Greedy Orange Parasites, so seeing it drop to such low levels might be more significant than you think. I believe Trump dropped under 40 with them recently, which seems like a significant shift.
West of the Rockies (been a while)
@ruemara:
Is there a distinction between White people and white people? Are Whites the Trumplings, the “I’m not racist but…” people?
Mnemosyne
@ruemara:
I agree. The proper response from my fellow white people should be more like this.
Shalimar
Regarding the Lindy West piece, I agree with her completely as far as it being a litmus test on human rights. There should be no votes for anti-abortion legislation from the Democratic party, ever. I don’t even understand it politically. Abortion rights are generally popular in polls. The only reason to be for restricting them is to appeal to fervent rightwing assholes who aren’t going to vote for Democrats anyway.
Miss Bianca
So, it went from sunny and warm (tho’ not oppressively hot) to rainy, windy, and cold in a matter of moments during the course of this thread. I was all set to say, “nope, niot a rainy Wednesday here!” but lo…now it is!
Morzer
@West of the Rockies (been a while):
What about Walter White people?
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Lawrence O’Donnell pointed out that a few days ago trump denied that anyone in his campaign had ever met with Russians, about a week after saying that the meeting between Fredo I and Putin’s envoys was something anyone would have done in politics. Is calling the president* addlepated (twisted, flip city, ya hear? boopshoobie), weaker or strong language than calling him a liar?
Iowa Old Lady
@david spikes: Reclaiming my time, Sarah. Reclaiming my time.
gene108
@schrodingers_cat:
It’s been pretty clear, ever since Bush, Jr. proposed immigration reform – which is one of the few good things he tried to do – and the right-wingers flipped the fuck out and started talking about how they were “opposed to illegal immigration, but not legal immigration”, therefore any talk “amnesty” was a non-starter on the topic.
It’s just a matter of time before they move from illegal immigrants to legal immigrants and down the line to become as nativist as possible.
It’s the Martin Niemoller poem adopted to this topic…
First they came for the illegal immigrants and I said nothing, because I was not an illegal immigrant;
Then they came for the legal immigrants and I said nothing, because I was not a legal immigrant;
Then they came for the naturalized U.S. citizens, and I said nothing because I was native born;
Then they came for native born children of immigrants; and I said “oh, fuck I might be next”.
A lot of right-wingers want to go as far as getting rid of birth right citizen ship for children of immigrants. They keep attacking immigration till they get there. And then they’ll look for ways to get rid of the citizenship for non-right-wingers, because they are fascists at heart.
Like everything else, from protecting social security to abortion rights, etc. it’s a never ending battle against these fuckers.
SiubhanDuinne
@Mel:
All those breasts…. Brown, black, milk-sodden or shrivelled, tattooed breasts….
My grandmother was the most rigid-spined, marcelled-haired, pouter-pigeon-bosomed epitome of a Presbyterian matriarch you could ever hope to meet, and yet she subscribed to National Geographic as far back as I can remember. I used to love curling up on the window seat in the library with a stack of NGs at hand, gazing at all the pictures and at some point in my life reading the accompanying captions and articles with interest.
schrodingers_cat
@gene108: I know, I have expressed similar sentiments here.
Villago Delenda Est
@Jeffro: The comments take Mammonist Dreher to the woodshed.
West of the Rockies (been a while)
@Morzer:
I know the reference, but I’m one of the five freaks who have never seen Breaking Bad.
sukabi
@sukabi: here’s the link we won’t leave pres alone
Mel
@SiubhanDuinne: Every time I use cinnamon for any baking, it takes me right back to being 10 years old, curled up with a book in hand, in the window seat on the third floor of that old building on a fall afternoon, listening to the rain ticking against the window. I loved that library so much!
gene108
@MCA1:
It depends on what the geographic distribution of the approve/disapprove looks like.
If Trump’s killing support in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ohio and making those easier targets for Democratic take over, you can start to see people get on edge.
If he starts killing support in Kentucky, Missouri, or Arizona, you’ll start seeing people potentially rebelling.
I am wary of national polls, because we’ve seen geographic support matters more than raw national numbers, because the population is not close to being evenly distributed across the country.
Mel
Just saw that your library had the magical window seat, as well!! Who needs a magic carpet or a djinn in a bottle when there’s a book and a window seat available?!@SiubhanDuinne:
Villago Delenda Est
@brendancalling: Bob Casey, like Tim Kaine, is not a true “pro-lifer”. Because they’re actually about controlling women at all times, and don’t give a flying fuck about babies.
gene108
@brendancalling:
Tim Kaine is also personally opposed to abortion, as is retired Senate Leader Harry Reid.
But none of them are trying to make taking away abortion rights as part of the Democratic Party’s platform.
There’s a sort of understanding, which seems to have been reached to accommodate anti-abortion Democrats within the Party.
ruemara
It’s a little intense to see what America is becoming. I kinda wish I could fully enunciate what it feels like, but I know some of you really rely on medicaid and medicare or private insurance for serious problems. I guess it’s like all the dread, anxiety, fear you felt through all the repeal attempts but spread out for nearly every day you have a level of sentience. And then tripled because your enemies are in complete control. So pardon the gallows level humour that will be a part of nearly every POC’s coping strategy. We didn’t sign up for this and yes, many white people are good. But even some on the left have no problem blaming us for white folks abandoning the Dem party and tossing us over for them, if possible. I can’t really watch the Stephen Miller press conference, it’s more than I can deal with now.
@West of the Rockies (been a while): 6. Me neither.
mai naem mobile
@Barbara: but aren’t they preselecting their numbers as far as number of GOP/Dem/Indy? I wonder if you would catch the change in party identification unless you have a huge sample size of people. Obviously the other way would be if they’re calling the same people each time.
schrodingers_cat
@ruemara I have stopped watching TV completely. It is too much take, I have also written off my good friend of many years for her T friendly noises.
Mel
@Iowa Old Lady: Congratulations!!!
schrodingers_cat
@mai naem mobile: They do try to a get representative population for the poll, but I don’t know about regional distribution.
Mnemosyne
@gene108:
Yep. The only Democratic politicians who still whine about it are people who want to kill Planned Parenthood.
ruemara
@schrodingers_cat: I had to drop 2 female friends for that ridiculous 53% vote.
Major Major Major Major
@ruemara: 53%…?
schrodingers_cat
@ruemara: My crackpot friend voted for JS because HRC was too flawed. *headdesk*
Dave
@Miss Bianca: The Onion’s single greatest moment of prophecy came following the 2012 election when they called that “The White-Hot Sphere of Rage” was the early front runner for the GOP in 2016. I’m not sure it’s they’ve ever equaled that.
Miss Bianca
@Mel: what a great story!
Uncle Cosmo
@Robert Sneddon: You might be right. I suppose I’ll find out just how “SOL” I am when I try to book a room. One thing I did notice is that most of the flights leaving MCI after 3 pm or so are sold out, so I’d probably have to spend an extra night at least. I have an old friend in Portland OR who I might call up…
As for the cooling-cloud effect, all I can say is the one time I was a stone’s throw from Chesapeake Bay (March 1970, Newport News VA) the sky was clear, while the one time I was well inland (August 1970, Stuttgart) it poured rain. IOW, go figger.
Shalimar
@raven: No, there is not. But I exist to highlight the obvious, so there it is. :)
Miss Bianca
@ruemara: I hear you.
Mel
@Peale: My former sister-in-law emigrated in the 1980s on a school visa. She was finally able to bring her child to the States after a roughly three year, uphill struggle through the red tape to get citizenship. Her baby had been living in poverty in a rural, conflict-ridden area with some of her relatives. The relatives had little access to reliable telephone service, so sometimes she would go days or weeks without knowing if her toddler was safe and healthy or not. It was heartbreaking and incredibly traumatic. It took nearly 6 months after they were reunited for her little one to fully realize that she was Mom, and longer still to fully re-bond to her.
Tearing families apart is incredibly destructiveand cruel, and so pointless.
japa21
My wife had MSBC on and I happened to wander by the room in between all my chores and saw a chyron that read WH: Immigration policies would not apply to Trump holdings. Anybody catch anything on that?
schrodingers_cat
T in the WH and Steve Miller and Bannon’s presence is a slap in the face to all immigrants, no matter their immigration status.
Uncle Cosmo
@Iowa Old Lady: Be excited! But implore whatever spirits you have an “in” with for clear skies for the 2:40 of totality.
Possbly legendary story from the 1999 Euroclipse: The German political bigwigs assembled at the Olympic Stadium in Munich for the event. Where it poured rain during the ~140 seconds of totality. Meanwhile ordinary Muncheners gathered at the Deutsches Museum on an island in the river Isar that runs through Munich. Where the cloud cover broke just before second contact, affording them a glorious view. Anyone seeking evidence for a just Deity, eccolo.
Uncle Cosmo
@SiubhanDuinne:
You have to be in the path of totality. Even at 97%, the only thing you’ll notice is that things gradually get dimmer till it seems like twilight…& then get brighter again. You won’t see the corona or the stars at midday, which are the real attractions. Go total or go fish!
(But I’d strongly suggest you allow at least twice as long as usual to reach your destination. You don’t want to be stalled in a traffic jam just outside the path. And pack a cooler with plenty of drink & snacks – you may want to wait for the roads to clear before heading home.)
As for flights, I have to get from LA back to Baltimore anyway – this would just be a detour with a not horrific delta (pun intended). Be interesting to see if the philosophy that always seems to get me a parking place right near my destination works in this case: People are always leaving (or in this case cancelling last-minute) & you miss out on 100% of the empty spaces (rooms) you don’t take a chance on driving by (trying to book). Who knows, it might just work…
Origuy
@Uncle Cosmo: I just checked hotels.com. There are two rooms left at a roadside motel going for $1000 each on the night of the 20th.
Origuy
@Origuy: No permission to edit my last comment. That was in Bend, Oregon, slightly south of totality.
woodrowfan
@gene108: Tim Kaine is also anti-death penalty, wants expanded available medical care, supports Planned Parenthood, etc.
Jeffro
@Villago Delenda Est: The comments are truly awesome, thank you. Glad to see so many people on point with the many flaws and fallacies in Dreher’s piece.
KS in MA
@Jeffro: Totally agree. What a bullshit column.
low-tech cyclist
Yeah, fuck that worthless Harry Reid. The Dems should have kicked him out of the party years ago.
Seriously, the Dems can, as a party, be unequivocally pro-choice while being perfectly OK with the likes of Harry Reid and Tim Kaine being Dem officeholders and candidates in good standing, so long as they don’t rock the boat on this issue. Is that really too nuanced a distinction here?
J R in WV
@efgoldman:
And for the arithmetic test white folks were asked to add 11 and 13, and the black folks were asked “How many beans in the five gallon glass jar?” I remember reading about that, and going “WHAT!?”
No one knows how many beans in the big glass jar?!?!
J R in WV
@Uncle Cosmo:
We’re going to drive to western Kentucky, which is very near the point of maximum duration, if the weather works with us. Reserved a room at a Merriot in Owensboro, KY the 20th and 21st.
I know of a small town museum just south into totality, I hope they’ll be having an eclipse event, but even if not, we’ll be able to park and view, with a cooler full of picnic foods. I have filters for my camera and binoculars, and 4 pairs of sunglasses for observing. Very excited! Never seen one before, saw a couple of partials, but this could be great.
Uncle Cosmo
@Origuy: I guess the only thing that outranks location for real estate values is location plus occasion. Be interesting to track the bid & asking prices on those rooms (presuming they stay unbooked) as a function of time to E-Day & weather prediction.
@J R in WV: Keep in mind that the duration of totality is critically dependent on how close to the center line you are. Even on the center line, you’ll be surprised how quickly 200 seconds (max duration) goes past.
If you’re “just south into totality” it may not even last a minute – way too short for you to deploy your gear, take photos, & let the unworldly ambiance soak in, with a margin of safety for your eyes. You’d want (at least I’d recommend) 100 seconds or more. Fortunately, when you cross into the path of totality, the duration goes up pretty quickly as you head toward the center line. I think you will need to get
Try using this interactive Google map of the eclipse track. (Read the instructions first!) Zoom in so you can ID the roads & click on your intended vantage point, then subtract C3 from C2 to get duration. E.g., Central City (“just south of totality”) gets only 48 seconds whereas Greenville (~6 mi farther on) gets 1:46, Morton’s Gap (another 10 mi) gets 2:10, Crofton gets 2:33, and Hopkinsville (right on the center line) gets 2:40. In your shoes I would aim toward Morton’s Gap on I-69 or Dunmor (2:00), further east on US 431.
(& I’m keeping my fingers crossed for good viewing weather for you!)