Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Putting aside our relentless self-interest because the moral imperative is crystal clear.

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

Come on, man.

When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.

All your base are belong to Tunch.

I know this must be bad for Joe Biden, I just don’t know how.

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

Give the craziest people you know everything they want and hope they don’t ask for more? Great plan.

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

You can’t love your country only when you win.

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

Do not shrug your shoulders and accept the normalization of untruths.

Let’s delete this post and never speak of this again.

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

I was promised a recession.

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

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

After roe, women are no longer free.

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

“More of this”, i said to the dog.

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. let’s win this.

We still have time to mess this up!

Take hopelessness and turn it into resilience.

We cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation.

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Reader Interactions

186Comments

  2. 2.

    Ric Drywall

    Another Rochestarian here. Went outside and saw it around its peak and, yeah, that was it, but the crescent was more yellow. Lots of people in the office building parking lot, some passing around of glasses and some contrived boxes to look at it indirectly. Lame compared to the full eclipse, but everyone who tried on the glasses immediately said “wow, that’s cool.” And it was. Without the glasses, you wouldn’t have noticed much of anything.

  3. 3.

    rk

    Trump apparently looked at the eclipse without the glasses for some time, because of course he would.

  4. 4.

    Brendan in NC

    Ex-Rochestarian here – it got down to sliver here. Light dimmed enough to notice. Only wish the temp did too…unfortunately, it stayed 95 and humid

  5. 5.

    Nicole

    Watched in Central Park- we made pinhole cameras out of cereal boxes, but others who had planned better than we generously shared their glasses. Sure, a total eclipse would have been neat, but it was still really cool and also fun just being in a group of people being nice to each other. Fun day. Let’s do it again in 7 years!

  7. 7.

    Hoodie

    Didn’t get too dim here, but my son in Columbia SC said it was like night and all the streetlights came on

  8. 8.

    Bill Arnold

    Seen from Portland Tennessee, total, clear skies. Worth the very long drive! (iPhone so terse)

  9. 9.

    Mnemosyne

    Los Angeles area — we got about a 65 percent eclipse. I bought eclipse glasses for our office as a team activity, so everyone was running in and out of the office like schoolkids to see if more of the sun was covered. We also had eclipse donuts from Krispy Kreme and put the NASA live feed on the big monitor in the conference room. A couple of co-workers made some fairly elaborate pinhole cameras from cardboard boxes and brought those in, so that was cool, too.

    A fun time was had by all.

  10. 10.

    Spanky

    Just getting back to North Platte from viewing from the centerline in Stapleton. Clouds dissipated just in time for totality, showing a great corona and a shit-ton of prominences on the eastern limb. Might send AL pics once I cull then on a decent size screen.

    The sand hills are gorgeous and Nebraskans are great. Happy we came.

  12. 12.

    TenguPhule

    Poll shows clear disapproval of how Trump responded to Charlottesville violence

    The Post-ABC survey finds overwhelming majorities across party lines saying it is unacceptable to hold white supremacist views, while 9 percent say such views are acceptable.

    But it means nothing because:

    A majority of self-identified Republicans — more than 6 in 10 — approve of Trump’s response to the protests, according to the Post-ABC poll, while about 2 in 10 disapprove and the same share offer no opinion.

    Overall, Trump maintains an 80 percent job approval rating among Republicans, a number little changed from recent surveys. But the percentage that approves “strongly” — just about half of the GOP — is down 10 percentage points from last month.

    But wait, there’s more!

    The Post-ABC survey found that roughly 1 in 6 Americans either support the alt-right or say it is acceptable to hold white supremacist or neo-Nazi views. This subgroup splits evenly in approving and disapproving of Trump’s response to protests — and approves of his overall job performance by 54 to 43 percent.

    Beyond these groups, reactions to Trump’s rhetoric is far more negative. Nearly twice as many political independents disapprove as approve of his response to the protests, 55 to 28 percent, while 84 percent of Democrats say they disapprove.

    Our country has issues. Serious fucking issues.

  15. 15.

    hilts

    @rk:

    Trump apparently looked at the eclipse without the glasses for some time

    This is not surprising given the fact that Trump is anti-science and anti-reason.

    Once a moron, always a moron.

  17. 17.

    efgoldman

    @TenguPhule:

    Our country has issues. Serious fucking issues.

    We’ve had those issues, one way or another, since the 1870s. They became unacceptable and went underground from the civil rights/LBJ era into Sanctus Ronaldus Magnus’ terms. Then we went and elected an African American president, and the freak flags started flying again.

  19. 19.

    david

    The goats didn’t. Seriously, your Washington Post (subscribe!) sent a reporter down to Tennessee to a farm to livestream a herd of fainting goats to see if they would keel over during the event.

  20. 20.

    Mnemosyne

    @TenguPhule:

    Every country has its nutty racist underbelly. Our problem is that one of our two major political parties decided to empower that small slice of our country.

  21. 21.

    ? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?

    @TenguPhule:

    The Post-ABC survey found that roughly 1 in 6 Americans either support the alt-right or say it is acceptable to hold white supremacist or neo-Nazi views.

    That’s… a little unsettling. Isn’t 1 in 6 like 16-17 percent?

  22. 22.

    Villago Delenda Est

    In Corvallis OR, thirty seconds after the moon blotted out the sun, we sacrificed a MRA, and due to our fast action, the moon moved on and sunlight returened!

  23. 23.

    gene108

    Though only a partial eclipse in NJ, it still got very cloudy during peak eclipse, so even that bit of viewing was obscured.

  24. 24.

    debbie

    Heavy clouds rolled in about a half-hour before the fullest part of the eclipse. There weren’t even any @#!$ shadows!

  25. 25.

    SFBayAreaGal

    Because of our summer gray sunshine (fog) I chased the sun and was able to watch the partial eclipse of the sun. It was stunning.

  30. 30.

    opiejeanne

    We were at roughly 92% here in Seattle. It didn’t get very dark but the light changed, became very yellow, and the temperature dropped suddenly. It was only a 5 degree drop but it was noticeable because of how quickly it happened. The sky became an intense blue, much darker than normal.
    We viewed indirectly with cereal box pinhole cameras. Never was able to get the glasses but it put on an interesting show. The birds got quiet for a few minutes, a squirrel lost his mind and screeched about it, and roosters started crowing a couple of minutes after the peak. I have an iPhone photo of the sun at peak that’s only redeeming quality is that Venus is visible as a blue dot. I also took photos of the crescent leaf shadows under the Japanese maples on our deck.

  34. 34.

    Roger Moore

    I saw it just outside Salem, OR, where we got about 90s of totality. It was worth the hassle of getting up early to beat traffic there a d getting stuck in traffic coming back. It was great, but some of the things they say are misleading. It gets dark, but it’s more like just before dawn twilight than full night. The corona was spectacular.

  35. 35.

    JPL

    @opiejeanne: A tad more dramatic here, since it was 98% but quite similar. My squirrels just remained quiet. Finch, the mutt, was out of sorts before the eclipse, but once it started, he decided it was nap time. Amazing shadows, btw.!

    My son is still working his way down from the No. GA mountains.

  37. 37.

    ? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?

    @Roger Moore:

    Only full totality will result in night-like conditions. I got 80% where I live and was disappointed that it didn’t get dimmer than a cloud passing over. Luckily in 2024, I’ll only be an hour’s drive away from 100% totality! And if I stayed put it would be 99%!

  39. 39.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Roger Moore: Salem was 100% totality. I was a bit disappointed as well, as the it was dusk conditions during totality in Corvallis. Venus was out and bright, but I didn’t see any other heavenly bodies, such as Sirius.

    The corona itself was spectacular, of course. As were the ripple shadows before and after totality.

  42. 42.

    opiejeanne

    @JPL: We watched our cat but she took no notice of the strange light and spent her time nosing among the tall grasses at the back of the property, looking for mice.

  45. 45.

    Miss Bianca

    @Wag: Cool! Down in the central mountains, the light got a little dimmer, but otherwise I wouldn’t have had a clue anything was happening without the aid of the telescope, which we set up behind the house with a little white reflector card. Set a matte black surface across it and voila! we could view eclipse action. The roosters across the valley did start crowing a bunch in the middle of the day, so I guess they must have noticed something, but no other animal action out of the ordinary except Luna the Wonder husky doing an “oh, come ON let me out!” backflip in front of the window.

  46. 46.

    opiejeanne

    @Villago Delenda Est: At 92% there were no moving shadows but the light was very strange. We are regretting slightly our decision not to travel to Salem. For the next one I’ll be 74, he’ll be 77, but we have decided that we’ll go somewhere to witness a total eclipse.

  47. 47.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    In other news…

    A month and a half ago, the New York Times obtained emails in which Donald Trump Jr. set up a meeting in Trump Tower with Russian officials who were promising him sensitive information, on his father’s opponent, that would help the Trump campaign. A few days later, it emerged that the meeting also included Rinat Akhmetshin, a figure whose name was not included in the first stories about the meeting, but who is a key figure in the meeting because he is almost certainly a Russian spy.
    Today’s Times has a follow-up story on Akhmetshin, with three reporters sharing a byline. The story does not call Akhmetshin a Russian spy, because that is not a charge that a newspaper can prove, short of extraordinary evidence like an email from Akhmetshin saying, “By the way, I’m a Russian spy.” (And that email does not exist because — unlike, say, Donald Trump Jr. — Akhmetshin is not a complete idiot.) Instead, the headline cautiously calls Akhmetshin a “Lobbyist” who has a “Web of Russian Connections.”

  49. 49.

    The Dangerman

    @rk:

    Trump apparently looked at the eclipse without the glasses…

    I saw that in real time and I thought, nah, he can’t be that stupid or arrogant or arrogantly stupid … but, there it was …

    …then I thought, I wonder if he thinks he could get someone to think 25th Amendment (the Boy Be Bonkers plan) without him having to drop his pants in public but, alas, he’s gonna have to drop ’em to get the 25th in play…

  51. 51.

    randy khan

    @gene108:

    The sun was in an out of the clouds in Cape May. I got a couple of photos on my unfiltered DSLR when the sun was behind clouds that were just the right thickness. You also could see the sun through medium-thick clouds with the eclipse glasses.

  55. 55.

    MisterForkbeard

    @TenguPhule:

    The Post-ABC survey found that roughly 1 in 6 Americans either support the alt-right or say it is acceptable to hold white supremacist or neo-Nazi views.

    This is one of those survey questions I don’t really like – a lot depends on phrasing. Is it “acceptable” to support white supremacists? No. Should being a white supremacist illegal? No. Etc.

    @? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?: I think the inclusion or “Supporting the alt-right” OR “Supporting white supremacy” is what drives this number up. A number of republicans and a lot of the Alt-Right specifically don’t believe they’re for white supremacy, even if that’s what they’re constantly arguing for. Those people are going to answer yes to the “do you support the alt-right” question.

  56. 56.

    ? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?

    @Quinerly:
    As the article notes, he’s at 74% disapproval because Dear Leader says it’s all his fault nothing has gotten done and the gullible rubes in Kentucky believe him. Also he failed to destroy “Obamacare”.

  57. 57.

    Brachiator

    @Quinerly:

    The eclipse is God’s punishment for Obama.

    Damn! That means that God’s punishment for Trump will be spectacular.

  58. 58.

    Quinerly

    @ET:
    Love this! I also love the comment buried in one the twitter feeds about Trump looking at the sun. “I’ve got the greatest corneas. I don’t need glasses.”

  60. 60.

    gene108

    @Quinerly:

    Nobody approves of Mitch and hasn’t for a long time, but he keeps on winning…

    I mean what are Kentuckians going to do? Vote for a Democrat? Like they have choices…

  63. 63.

    Brachiator

    @TenguPhule:

    Beyond these groups, reactions to Trump’s rhetoric is far more negative. Nearly twice as many political independents disapprove as approve of his response to the protests, 55 to 28 percent, while 84 percent of Democrats say they disapprove.

    Wait. I keep hearing that independents are exactly the same as Republicans.

  64. 64.

    ruemara

    Hmm, did the edit button disappear with the sun?

    @gene108: Heaven forbid they not vote Republican when something actually counts in their lives.

  66. 66.

    Quinerly

    Ok, what’s the deal with the BJ ads on this page today?….meet Asian girls, meet Russian girls, natural manhood mixture, and basement repair. It’s usually that $200 leopard print 4 ft kitty wheel. What kind of operation is Cole running here?

  67. 67.

    Это курам на смех

    Totally fabulous in bright and sunny western Oregon, ephemeral but thrilling. I watched from a hilltop west of Salem, with all the horizons in view, and enjoyed a rosy 360 degree sunset. From a deep valley, can you see stars instead?

  70. 70.

    Brachiator

    I missed the eclipse because of medical appointments. Got a few emails from family in various places who got to see it.

    Very cool science moment. Interesting that even conservatives will acknowledge that astronomers can predict when various celestial events will occur with great accuracy. And yet there was news that Trump had dissolved a climate change advisory committee.

    And in Turkey, anti science has achieved a new low. From NPR

    When children in Turkey head back to school this fall, something will be missing from their textbooks: any mention of evolution.

    The Turkish government is phasing in what it calls a values-based curriculum. Critics accuse Turkey’s president of pushing a more conservative, religious ideology — at the expense of young people’s education.

    I would not be surprised to see something similar happening here.

  72. 72.

    Schlemazel

    @? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?:
    I have a theory for this sort of thing. 10-20% of people are cross burning assholes, 10-20% are aware and wanting to make things better. The middle ~70 don’t really give a shit until something happens that forces them to think about it. You can’t convince the KKK & it is pointless to try, we need to get the majority of those in the middle on the right side. I think that is happening, particularly as the Nazis show their true face

  73. 73.

    Quinerly

    @schrodingers_cat:
    Now a retirement savings plan from Commerce Bank. I want the kitty wheel. I demand the kitty wheel. Could Corner Stone be sending us cryptic messages? It would be irresponsible not to speculate.?

  75. 75.

    Origuy

    @Quinerly: On August 21st, Obama Plans To Acquire The Power of Ra and Wage War on Jesus In a New Age of Liberal Darkness

    Over the past week, America has witnessed the increase in Obama’s psychic powers as he is causing his acolytes to take to the streets, ripping US monuments from the ground as they rally and protest. All over Facebook and other social media, Obama’s followers are filled with the anger of Ares as they type in all caps to express their loyalty to Obama and unwarranted anger toward inanimate objects.

    You’ve got to see Obama photoshopped as a priest of Ra.

  77. 77.

    Schlemazel

    It was raining here from about an hour before start until 2 minutes after finished. God hates Minnesota.

    The kids were in Lincoln NB & clouds broke at just the right time. Plus they got to have Bill Nye there with them. Punishment was a 3 hour drive to get to Omaha!

  78. 78.

    Mnemosyne

    @Brachiator:

    Chocolate glazed, so they’re dark, like an eclipse.

    But they were still Krispy Kremes, for every value of that statement. I’m not a fan, but my coworkers like them.

  80. 80.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Schlemazel: Similar to the numbers I once read in an article by a (black) former cop, about the fraction of incorrigibly bad cops, unshakeably good cops and the go-along-to-get-along types in between. Unfortunately the middle 70% are too easily swayed by Cops vs. Everyone Else rhetoric.

  82. 82.

    chris

    @Quinerly: Somehow Neil deGrasse Tyson knew this was coming.

    Total Solar Eclipses occur somewhere on Earth every two years, or so. So just calm yourself when people tell you they're rare— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) 16 August 2017

  86. 86.

    raven

    It was a nice day up at Elberton, GA. It’s in the 100% zone so we got the full impact. I bagged photography and used the filters I bought on binoculars and the magnification was great.

  87. 87.

    Schlemazel

    @Brachiator:
    Most people who claim to be independent believe less taxation and regulation would be good for them personally but are not willing to admit to being Republicans for a variety of reasons. They also gladly vote of crap like Jesse The Boobie Ventura, Arnie and hair furor because they honestly believe that political parties are to blame

  88. 88.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Brachiator: Astrologers have relied on the predictability of astronomical events for millennia, while still insisting on (by modern standards) completely irrational ideas about what celestial bodies portend for human behavior. Compartmentalized thinking abounds.

    (Yes, I know that there are astrologers who see this kind of divination more as an intuition pump, like picking Oblique Strategies cards, than a predictive mechanism. I am not convinced that is the balance of modern astrology.)

  93. 93.

    Mnemosyne

    @ruemara:

    Even our techies are artists (photographers), so everyone was excited. I’ll send you a cool photo of one guy’s elaborate pinhole camera. It was crazy.

  96. 96.

    japa21

    @chris: Well, we all know Tyson can’t be trusted. After all, he also says the earth is more than 6,000 years old, so he is obviously a crackpot.

  99. 99.

    Brachiator

    @Schlemazel:

    .Most people who claim to be independent believe less taxation and regulation would be good for them personally but are not willing to admit to being Republicans for a variety of reasons.

    Just not true, especially in California, where independents tend to vote more with Democrats. And in California and elsewhere, there is consistent dissatisfaction with both mainstream political parties, whatever the details of political ideologies.

  100. 100.

    Major Major Major Major

    @Schlemazel:

    Most people who claim to be independent believe less taxation and regulation would be good for them personally but are not willing to admit to being Republicans for a variety of reasons. They also gladly vote of crap like Jesse The Boobie Ventura, Arnie and hair furor because they honestly believe that political parties are to blame

    Most people who claim to be independent are reliable partisan voters, at about a 50/50 split. The ones who aren’t reliable partisans make up about 10-20% of self-identified independents. So this is really not an accurate description at all. (Edited for clarity)

  101. 101.

    JPL

    @MomSense: After the election the Obamas went to the Virgin Isles. I mentioned to my son that I was upset because he needed to get his butt home and save us. At that time, my son said Mom he can’t be president again. Trump is the new disgusting normal. ugh

  102. 102.

    Brachiator

    @Origuy: Very funny!

    The Christian Defense League of Texas reports that gays have found a way to harness light energy to cause homosexuality to infect a person at the rate of 3 * 10^8 m/s. This means that before a man can even tell homosexuality is taking hold as he views the eclipse and tries to glance away, it will already be too late.

  105. 105.

    Shana

    We’re waiting for our slightly delayed flight from Nashville back to DC. It was partly cloudy leading up to totality then clouded over for about 4 minutes at totality. Still very cool and it was definitely twilight even if we couldn’t see the totality.

  106. 106.

    Quinerly

    @JPL:
    I’m laughing. The guys on the radio during all the “eclipse foreplay” here in St. Louis having been warning people about parking on the interstates and driving with the glasses on. I guess I shouldn’t wear them when I walk Poco either.?

  107. 107.

    chris

    OT, here’s one for Schrodinger’s Cat. I should pay more attention to Justin’s Twitter.

    Home in my riding of Papineau for Indian Independence Day celebrations! Long live the friendship between our two countries. pic.twitter.com/FYdodH2Kwg— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) 20 August 2017

  108. 108.

    Matt McIrvin

    My daughter had some eclipse glasses, but I didn’t, so over the weekend we made a pinhole projector from a large cardboard box. I figured if I brought it to work and set it up, I would probably get to look through some eclipse glasses anyway on the Stone Soup principle: a viewing party would gather at that spot. I was not wrong about this. Several other people had also made pinhole projectors, with varying degrees of success.

    We were only around 70% occlusion. As the eclipse progressed, high thin clouds started gathering, which made it hard to use the tree-shadow method, but the box projectors still worked great. Right after maximum, the clouds got too thick for the projectors to work any more. At that point I was trying to see if I’d just lost my aim, and glanced directly up for a moment–to my surprise the clouds were just thin enough that I could see a sharp image of the eclipse, not too bright, so I can say that like Donald Trump I looked at the damn thing directly. I didn’t keep looking, because I had no idea how much UV might be getting through, but of course I’ve seen that kind of thing in non-eclipse conditions before. Don’t try this at home, kids.

  111. 111.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?:
    They also didn’t like the actual bill McConnell tried to pass, although it was probably more popular in Kentucky than anywhere else on Earth. It would take a genius to come up with a bill, in our polarized political environment, less popular than RyanCare. McConnell was that genius. Like the article says, McConnell actually loses on every front. He didn’t repeal Obamacare. He publicly tried to pass a bill even hardcore conservatives hate. And when Republicans failed to replace Obamacare, Trump pointed at McConnell and said ‘It’s his fault you don’t have Socialism For White People.’

    Alas, getting reelected despite being hideously unpopular is McConnell’s tradition. He tells Kentuckians that if they don’t reelect him brown people will take over, and they stampede to the voting booth.

  112. 112.

    Quinerly

    @MomSense:
    Well, there’s that Idaho Repug Rep who says it’s highly possible that Obama and Soros have that war room set up at Obama’s home. They planned and paid for Charlottesville, aided by Gov McAuliffe and the Mayor. Obama seems just too busy in retirement for an eclipse. He and Soros are trying to take down Trump.

  117. 117.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Major Major Major Major: Also, a lot of the motion in party ID is between people saying they’re “Independent” and people saying they’re whatever party they actually vote for–ID for the two parties moves in lockstep, with the Democrats usually having more people than the Republicans. Right now, we’re in yet another period of people going back to “Independent” from both parties.

    There are exceptions–after Obama won the first time in 2008, Democratic party ID surged at the expense of Republican. But then it went back to the typical pattern.

  121. 121.

    JPL

    My son sent me amazing pics from his camcorder of the event. He simply set it up and waited til he got home to see what he had. The colors are great. Well next time it’s in the north georgia mts. I’m going

  122. 122.

    Elaine Benis

    Watched it (via a colander) from just north of Puerto Vallarta Mx. The moon only covered about a third of the sun here, so no dark skies or animal freakouts.

  123. 123.

    Quinerly

    The world has gone mad. The Daily Caller is attacking 11 year old Baron Trump for how he dresses in public. I first thought the headline was a joke, so I clicked and read the piece. They want him to be more fashionable and well dressed like his dad. Don’t like to give these rags the clicks, but I was wearing my eclipse glasses, so the click doesn’t count.?

  124. 124.

    Kathleen

    @Quinerly: They’ll re-elect The Fucker. They always do.Remember, many of these people are not very bright (and I’m not talking about the folks who have lived in the mountains for generations. I’m talking about the entitled uber Catholic anti abortion, arrogant, racist, supposedly well educated and “successful” ghouls in Northern Kentucky suburbs.) Them, plus the people with Obamacare who never had insurance in their lives and voted for Bevin.

  127. 127.

    efgoldman

    @Quinerly:

    that Idaho Repug Rep who says it’s highly possible that Obama and Soros have that war room set up at Obama’s home. They planned and paid for Charlottesville, aided by Gov McAuliffe and the Mayor.

    Remember that these credulous fools are the same ones, up to AG and governor of Texas, who should know better, that the annual Jade Helm military exercises were locking people in the basements of closed WalMarts; also gave credibility to pizzagate.

  128. 128.

    Peale

    Back in Omaha from Grand island, where the clouds drifted away at just the right time. And everyone seemed overjoyed and in awe for 2:30 seconds. Amazing. Lets do it again soon.

  134. 134.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Schlemazel:
    California is a different political environment than the rest of the country. As I recall, national studies of ‘independents’ show that while there is a mushy middle segment, the majority are the most consistently partisan voters of all. It leans towards Republicans, but both sides are well represented.

  137. 137.

    Quinerly

    @JPL:
    I saw that Katrina piece yesterday. Ugh. I think she’s the chick with the bullet necklace. Let’s give her your eclipse glasses and tell her to cross the street.? I have an extra pair for you if somehow yours don’t make it back.??

  141. 141.

    schrodingers_cat

    Did anyone read Micheal Eric Dyson’s book review of Peter Baker’s book on Obama, in Washington Post? MED blames President O for T’s becoming President. WTF Michael?

  142. 142.

    JPL

    @Quinerly: lol I have two different types and felt so guilty, because here folks couldn’t buy them. Did I tell them.. nope One is 2x closer and the other a normal set. I would give Katrina a set though, and let her know 285 is not that busy of a highway.

  146. 146.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Baud: I read it twice, it made zero sense to me. Apparently, Obama lead from behind when it came to race relations. I have no idea what that is supposed to mean.

    ETA: Plus he didn’t deserve the Nobel Prize because dronez.

  148. 148.

    Soprano2

    We had 96% totality in Springfield, MO. The light got weird – like it does when a storm is moving in, and it cooled off about 5 degrees. The lights on our building came on for about 10 minutes at the height of the eclipse. It was cool! The totality in 2024 will be in Poplar Bluff, about 2 hours from here. After seeing what several of my FB friends who went up to see it said, I’ll be going to see the total eclipse then. I’m kicking myself for not doing it this time.

  150. 150.

    opiejeanne

    @Iowa Old Lady: I’ve been there, in the Ozarks around Macks Creek. No street signs on 99% of the roads, and no paved roads once you leave State Route 54. The last time we were there was 2004 and half the houses still didn’t have indoor toilets.

  151. 151.

    JPL

    @schrodingers_cat: I was being facetious but Obama became President at a time in history that we needed his intellect and manner to carry us through. We didn’t really appreciate it though.

  155. 155.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Do we know about how long the Rough Beast will be Trying verree hard to. Read from a. Teleprompter while attempting. To sound as if he has red. These words be four and. Use inflection and emPHASIssss. To sound like a human. Being. Person. Using English.

    Words.

  159. 159.

    Dmbeaster

    @Villago Delenda Est: The sun was in Leo, right next to Regulus. I dont think Sirius was up.

    The shadow from this eclipse was modest since the moon was further out. Light leaks in from the side, and there is always some dim lighting on the horizon even when totality is darker.

  160. 160.

    Quinerly

    Well, I’ll be damn…it’s 7:30pm here in St. Louis. It’s getting dark again. I think that eclipse is coming around for round two. This is like an unannounced double header.?

  161. 161.

    Ohio Mom

    @Kathleen: If I didn’t already know you are from Cincinnati, that completely accurate description of the citizenry of Northern Kentucky would give your location away.

  163. 163.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @schrodingers_cat: @Baud: kinda surprising cause as I recall MED unloaded on West a few years back in such a way I’m surprised West got up again, including something like (what I’ve always wanted to say to West), ‘we all know the story about the inauguration tickets’.

    A lot of people try out this idea that Obama’s to blame for trump, including at least one of our regulars. Chris Hayes brought it up once, IIRC to Sam Seder, who at least in BO’s first term was very much a green lantern-y fire bagger, and even Seder was like, Dude, no.

  166. 166.

    TenguPhule

    @Iowa Old Lady:

    We just ate in a local diner, and I have never seen such an unhealthy looking bunch of people.

    Perhaps because they eat there all the time?

  167. 167.

    TenguPhule

    @Baud:

    I think it’s nice when the give Hillary some time off from scapegoat duty.

    If only. They’ll stuff her into every goat from now till doomsday.

  168. 168.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    anybody watching Hayes? Come on, somebody is… Who did he just refer to as “Jabronis” watching the eclipse?

  171. 171.

    TenguPhule

    Despite measles outbreak, anti-vaccine activists in Minnesota refuse to back down

    Fuck these people with a rusty chainsaw.

    Minnesota’s worst measles outbreak in decades has un­expectedly energized anti-vaccine forces, who have stepped up their work in recent months to challenge efforts by public health officials and clinicians to prevent the spread of the highly infectious disease.

    In Facebook group discussions, local activists have asked about holding “measles parties” to expose unvaccinated children to others infected with the virus so they can contract the disease and acquire immunity. Health officials say they are aware of the message posts but haven’t seen evidence that such parties are taking place.

    The activists also are using social media to urge families who do not want to immunize their children or who believe their children have been harmed by vaccines to meet in Minneapolis this week with associates of Andrew Wakefield, the founder of the modern anti-vaccine movement.

    Aside from actual Nazis, these entitled idiots are among those I most want to see dropped off the face of the Earth.

  172. 172.

    A Ghost to Most

    Because there are actually people dumber than Talibangelicals:

    You’d think Monday’s total solar eclipse would disprove Flat Earth theory, but you’d be wrong.

    According to BuzzFeed’s Katie Notopoulos, who delved into the world of Flat Earther groups to figure out their take on the eclipse, many who ascribe to the theory actually say it provides further proof to their beliefs.

    This belief, according to BuzzFeed, is based on many Flat Earth theorists’ core tenant: that the Earth is covered by a huge dome.

    “Flat Earth theory suggests that we’re living under a giant dome/bubble that covers the entire (flat) Earth,” Notopoulos writes. “The sun and moon travel back and forth across the dome ceiling, which is why we have sunset/sunrise. So an eclipse just means that something — maybe the moon, maybe another planet — passes in front of the sun during its regular travels across the dome sky. Same with lunar eclipses.”

    shadows don’t do that

    Eta: and fucking anti-vaxxers

  173. 173.

    efgoldman

    @TenguPhule:

    these entitled idiots are among those I most want to see dropped off the face of the Earth.

    Forbid un-immunized kids from going to school. Easy-peasey.

    Fuckem

  174. 174.

    TenguPhule

    @efgoldman:

    Forbid un-immunized kids from going to school. Easy-peasey.

    That just leaves the rest of the public areas they can infect.

    Parks, Supermarkets, Arcades, Bus stops.

  175. 175.

    efgoldman

    @A Ghost to Most:

    According to BuzzFeed’s Katie Notopoulos,

    She and our daughter (also a journo) were in the same high school class and the same band/orchestra.

  178. 178.

    artem1s

    Big crowd outside the campus library today. the best part was various people experimenting with ways to get the crescent shadows. It was nice to see people playing with light. general frivolity all around. easily the most lighthearted I have seen a large crowd of people since 11/9. reminded me of the Apollo shots and the way people got fascinated with science and a shared purpose. Getting rid of Nazi’s has given this country a focus it hasn’t had for several decades. Too bad W wasted his opportunity to solve the world’s energy problems and instead sent us all the to the mall to shop instead. This time around, we aren’t waiting around for the loser austerians to decide to lead.

  179. 179.

    WaterGirl

    @Baud: Thanks for sharing those, Baud! The first one was amazing, the second one was really cool, and the third one looked like a big, well, never mind.

  182. 182.

    WaterGirl

    @Wag: I could only see one photo, maybe because I don’t have an Instagram account? If there are more photos and you could like to them, that would be awesome.

  184. 184.

    Ithink

    @? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?:
    Absolutely horrifying (as a minority) but if you think about it, that’s about half of his current base of an approval rating nationally. Furthermore, more than 55% of (white) Americans believe that Caucasians are more discriminated against than anyone else so, in the abstract, thats nothing more than a (soft) version of white nationalism, or potential to join that Dark Force.

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