Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

It’s time for the GOP to dust off that post-2012 autopsy, completely ignore it, and light the party on fire again.

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

Come on, man.

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

I’d like to think you all would remain faithful to me if i ever tried to have some of you killed.

I really should read my own blog.

When your entire life is steeped in white supremacy, equality feels like discrimination.

We still have time to mess this up!

Republicans in disarray!

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

The next time the wall street journal editorial board speaks the truth will be the first.

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

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

You don’t get to peddle hatred on saturday and offer condolences on sunday.

I’d try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

Take your GOP plan out of the witness protection program.

If you are still in the GOP, you are an extremist.

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

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

“Can i answer the question? No you can not!”

Infrastructure week. at last.

They love authoritarianism, but only when they get to be the authoritarians.

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

You are here: Home / Politics / Domestic Politics / Friday Afternoon Open Thread

Friday Afternoon Open Thread

by | 230 Comments

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Hurricanes are no laughing matter, but this hurricane category scale that’s making the rounds on the Twitters is kinda cute:

Stay safe, Texans.

Anyone outside the danger zone got plans for the weekend? I’ve been a little sniffly and achy all week, like I’m coming down with something. I don’t feel BAD bad, but just crappy enough to have an excuse to pile up on the sofa with the dogs, commandeer the remotes and neglect household chores. My mother used to call such lollygagging “enjoying poor health.”

Open thread!

Reader Interactions

230Comments

  1. 1.

    Major Major Major Major

    I’m off to Vancouver for the weekend in a few hours. (Now taking tips!)

    Next Wednesday I’m flying through DFW on my way to New York and this better not fuck it up. I also hope everybody is safe and gets the help they need!

  2. 2.

    mai naem mobile

    I hate Dolt 45. So the new proposal is to tax 401k contribution before you stick it in your 401k to make up for the corporate tax cuts . Ofcourse, stuff like that won’t affect human ticks like Mnuchin,Jared Kushner, Gary Cohn and Dolt 45. The Revolution can’t come soon enough .

  4. 4.

    mai naem mobile

    I hope Ted Cruz and John Cornyn have to beg for the FEMA aid sufficiently enough to make up for being assholes about the Sandy aid package.

  8. 8.

    prufrock

    Betty I live in Pinellas county, where we haven’t had a direct hit in ninety six years. To give you an idea of its strength, the last one created two islands (Honeymoon and Caladesi) from one. It also put Bayshore Blvd. in Tampa under water. There wasn’t much on Bayshore back in 1921. There are literal mansions there now.

    We can’t keep dodging bullets…can we?

  9. 9.

    Betty Cracker

    @mai naem mobile: Seriously? That’ll piss a lot of middle class people off. But since the attempt to redirect Medicaid funds to tax cuts for human ticks (Trumpcare) failed, they’re desperate for other ways to shovel wealth upward.

    This proposal is too obvious; lots of middle class folks fooled themselves into thinking Medicaid cuts wouldn’t screw them (forgot about grandma’s ALF). Going after 401(k)s is stupid.

  10. 10.

    tobie

    @Schlemazel: Good luck. I have to go to a neighbor’s wedding in two weeks and I know already that everyone there with the exception of myself and my husband will be a hard core Trumpista. Booze is the only way we’ll survive the evening.

  12. 12.

    Betty Cracker

    @prufrock: I’m barely above sea level, within walking distance of the beach and surrounded by canals, so I sure hope so! I thought Charley would get us, but we keep lucking out. May our luck hold!

  13. 13.

    Ohio Mom

    I am stealing away with another autism mom — we are going on a girls’ overnight to a Michigan town with a beach.

    We will take a moment to remember our sons’ younger years, when leaving our families for 48 hours was not in the realm of possible. Many thanks to all the therapists, teachers, doctors, social workers and others who brought our families to this day!

  14. 14.

    Betty Cracker

    @Adam L Silverman: I feel sorry for the folks in TX who didn’t elect Goober McButtcrack. How frightening to face a major storm and have to depend on idiots like that to facilitate aid.

  15. 15.

    Adam L Silverman

    @prufrock: @Betty Cracker: I can’t speak to what they do these days, but through and into the Obama Administration DHS and FEMA kept three worst case scenarios that they updated every couple of years. One was a worst case scenario earthquake in California, specifically effects in San Francisco and LA. The other two were hurricanes. One was a large, slow moving, dense, and wind and rain intensive hurricane hitting metropolitan NY – basically hitting the five boroughs head on and slowly churning up the East River. The other was a large, slow moving, dense, and wind and rain intensive hurricane coming in to Tampa Bay and hitting Tampa, St. Pete, Clearwater, and the rest of the areas in Hillsborough, Pinellas, and southern Pasco Counties. In the case of the hurricane scenarios it was virtually impossible to evacuate either the metro NY City area or Tampa, St. Pete, Clearwater and the additional incorporated and unincorporated portions of Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco Counties. A hurricane like Harvey would devastate the greater Tampa Bay area.

    ETA: There used to be a fourth hypothetical hurricane scenario that they kept updating: a major hit on New Orleans. Since Katrina they no longer have to run that simulation every so often as we know what happens. BTW, in case anyone was curious, right now New Orleans has three of their five power generation centers offline for maintenance and repair. So they have no slack in that system if they were to take a hit.

  17. 17.

    Tissue Thin Pseudonym

    I’m at work, which will be true for most of the weekend. We’ll see how long it takes the central office to hire a replacement for the guy that quit. Last time, it took four months. I’m fine with it now, but I become a lot less flexible when the calendar hits October and hockey season starts.

    In better news, I found out that the Hennepin County Library system has two copies of Becoming Phoebe.

  18. 18.

    Schlemazel

    @prufrock:
    There are a substantial number of people in Brevard COunty who believe they are magically protected from hurricanes and will never be hit. Lard help them when they are

  19. 19.

    Gin & Tonic

    I just saw on the Twitter machine that Facebook, to aid in “transparency”, has hired former NYT Public Editor Liz Spayd.

    I guess Zuckerberg wanted the most incompetent person he could find.

  21. 21.

    efgoldman

    With all the other crap going on, I completely forgot that Monday is our anniversary – 40, no less. Luckily our favorite restaurant still had tables available – but just barely.

  23. 23.

    rikyrah

    @Betty Cracker:

    @mai naem mobile: Seriously? That’ll piss a lot of middle class people off. But since the attempt to redirect Medicaid funds to tax cuts for human ticks (Trumpcare) failed, they’re desperate for other ways to shovel wealth upward.

    Sticking it to the poors (Medicaid)..is one thing..

    Going after ‘ hardworking middle class’ folks’ 401k’s?

    Uh huh

  24. 24.

    Schlemazel

    @tobie:
    At least we have an even divide on the grooms side (I know nothing of the bride) it could easily end with pro-Dolt45 on one side & sane on the other instead of the traditional brides side/grooms side

  26. 26.

    jeffreyw

    I gave Amazon extra for a Friday delivery (I ordered the thing yesterday, reg shipping would have given me Tuesday delivery) and they still haven’t marked my order as shipped. Maybe it will get here before 8pm! Maybe a drone delivery!

  27. 27.

    jl

    @Adam L Silverman: East SF Bay is in most danger from earthquake right now. Hayward fault is due to blow, big time, though the time frame for ‘due’ is several decades. Since Napa quake of several years ago, there is now good evidence that Hayward fault system is much bigger and longer than previously known, which better explains some really big East Bay quakes seen in geological record.

  31. 31.

    catclub

    @jl: Is this because the big one in the Pacific Northwest is just too horrible to contemplate? Nobody knows the recurrence frequency, but within a few thousand years back, wow, just wow.

  32. 32.

    Adam L Silverman

    @jl: Yep. I haven’t tracked this stuff in the last few years, and certainly not since the change of administration, so I have no idea what they’re doing/up to/worrying about.

  33. 33.

    jl

    Cracker: thanks for cute cat pic. That gives me an excuse to link to an instructional video on teaching a cat to take walks on a leash.
    According to the video, it is a simple ten step process that only takes several months!

    How to Teach a Cat to Walk on a Leash
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8ygBgYosJs

    Judging by the related cat walk videos that youtube brings up, either the method does not work, or most people don’t use it.

  35. 35.

    JPL

    Trump is seriously thinking about getting rid of DACA. Should be easy to round-up those who registered. Oh, and I saw this on Kyle Griffin’s twitter feed.

    W.H. anti-drug office wants states to turn over medical marijuana patient info, triggering privacy rights concerns,

  36. 36.

    jl

    @catclub: That will be a doozy. There was a big one in the 18th century, I think. I remember reading an article a while back that explained how seismologists were using local Native American oral histories and stories to figure out where to look for surface effects of that last big one, with quite a bit of success.

  38. 38.

    Davebo

    Texas Governor Abbott suggested Houstonians evacuate. Luckily the Mayor (Dem) and County Judge (Rep) who’s sort of our emergency Czar quickly told everyone to ignore the idiot in the wheelchair.

  40. 40.

    WaterGirl

    @efgoldman: My dad wrote their anniversary date on the underside of the highest drawer in his chest of drawers. That way he never had to worry about remembering the date. I found that when we were going through his things after he died. Sweet.

    Congrats on your anniversary, and yay on a table still being available!

  41. 41.

    jl

    @JPL: There is local flap here in SF because ICE has not been picking up criminal aliens that they have requested and even a sanctuary city agrees need to be turned over. They end up being released. One of these people was in jail for serious domestic violence and committed murder against his partner right after release just a week or so ago.

    But I read about ICE picking off law abiding people (the ones Trump said he would not go after) and now the Trumpsters want to go after DACA.
    Something is seriously wrong. Bad faith and malfeasance, IMHO. Just create havoc and hope to politically profit from it?

  43. 43.

    Adam L Silverman

    @jl: ICE agents, specifically the ones all gung ho, are like a lot of cops: they want to get through their shift with a minimum of drama and conflict. Dealing with the hardcore criminal element among undocumented immigrants increases the danger to them. There is far less danger picking up someone as he’s dropping his kid off at day care. Low hanging fruit, which shouldn’t be the priority under current funding and statutory guidance for using that funding, is safer than actually dealing with the minority of undocumented immigrants who present real dangers to both immigrant and non-immigrant communities alike.

  44. 44.

    Joe Falco

    Taking one of the nephews out for a birthday dinner and bowling afterwards. He lives the Flash so I ordered a small cake from the local bakery with the Flash symbol on top.

    Other than that, I hope to get house chores done.

  46. 46.

    tobie

    Trump has apparently managed to find a way to lift sanctions indirectly on Russia. The complicated mechanism is outlined in this piece in the Daily Beast. As far as I understand the story, sanctions have been imposed on the Venezuelan owned half of Citgo but not on the other half owned by US interests and Rosneft. Long story short, he’s finding ways to reward the Russians. Here’s the important paragraph from the article:

    The exemption Citgo received from the Trump administration in this latest round of sanctions won’t just benefit PDVSA, it will also benefit a Russian company that has been fighting U.S. sanctions on a wholly separate front. Months before the Trump inauguration PDVSA mortgaged 49.9% of Citgo to state-owned Russian energy giant Rosneft as collateral for a $1.5 billion loan to the Venezuelan parent company. Rosneft paid another $1 billion this month for crude oil from the cash-strapped PDVSA, which is the Russian firm’s largest non-Russian supplier.

  47. 47.

    Roger Moore

    @jeffreyw:
    Depending on where you live and what you ordered, your item may be in a local warehouse and Amazon may do the delivery themselves.

  48. 48.

    Schlemazel

    @jl:
    Yellowstone is also ‘past due’ when that goes you can stop worrying about SF, Denver, Phoenix, SLC pretty much everything West of Chicago and North of Central Texas

  50. 50.

    Schlemazel

    @jl:
    Nothing wrong at all, this is what his base wants, make brown people scared again = great America

  51. 51.

    jl

    @Schlemazel: I think there is a Geological Survey website that monitors the deep magma tanks that drive the eruptions of those super volcanoes. I guess when people are feeling a little too calm and relaxed they can go look at it, and get jangled up.

  52. 52.

    randy khan

    @Betty Cracker:

    Not just middle class – 401(k)s are big for upper middle class/lower upper class people, too, and that’s a big chunk of the Republican electorate.

  53. 53.

    Roger Moore

    @catclub:

    Is this because the big one in the Pacific Northwest is just too horrible to contemplate?

    It’s because the faults in California run right through very large cities. Proximity is as important as absolute size in determining how much damage a quake will do.

  54. 54.

    hueyplong

    LA juicers,

    I am going to be in LA for work on Mon Sept 18 and notice that USC is playing Texas on Sat Sept 16.

    The Coliseum looks too big to sell out, so I’m considering the concept of going to the game. Is there such a thing as a good seat there?

  55. 55.

    Adam L Silverman

    https://www.facebook.com/usawtfm/videos/10155815797353606/
    For those that don’t want to watch, here’s the transcript:

  56. 56.

    Mnemosyne

    Meeting my BFF and her husband for dinner tomorrow — we haven’t seen them since his mother passed away a month or so ago. ? Before that, cleaning people and meal prep for the week since I’m continuing the FODMAPs elimination thing. At least the recipes have been good so far.

  57. 57.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Schlemazel: Many R Congress critters are opposed to the idea as well. The rule comes up for renewal in September. The current recipients are fine until EADs expire. For most that is 2018-2019.

    EAD == Employment Authorization Document.

  58. 58.

    BethanyAnne

    I’m in NW Houston, the Willowbrook area for anyone that knows the city. Tried to get Mom to agree to run yesterday; she won’t go. At least my talking to her got her to go get some supplies this morning. My apartment is about 4 feet up from the ground, and I’m in an ok flooding zone – not great, but not bad. Sitting here fretting, but that isn’t helping any. I got some food last night at 10:30 pm, and the Kroger’s was packed like a Saturday afternoon. Empty shelves, and long lines at the checkout. I could be cooking a pot of beans I got ingredients for, but I’m just not in the mood to cook.

  60. 60.

    Schlemazel

    @jl:
    The problem with any of these “past due” dates is that 20,000 years is nothing to an earthquake or volcano. TO say they happen every 100,000 years is hubris unless you factor in + or minus 33,000 years. They are not like Old Faithful

  61. 61.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Adam L Silverman: How does Mattis feel about the veterans who were promised a fast track to GC and citizenship but are vulnerable to being deported instead under the current regime?
    Has anyone of the brave truthtellers in the media asked him that question?

  62. 62.

    Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA

    Still getting over giving up Diesel the Eclipse Dachshund. Yesterday he went to his forever home in Chattanooga, where he’s become fast friends with a fellow doxie while his new humans dote on him; meanwhile, Mr. Mingobat and I spent a good amount of last night in tears.

    The little bugger was only with us for three days, but we’re reeling without him. How do they do that?

  63. 63.

    Citizen Alan

    @mai naem mobile:

    What?!? The whole point of a 401k is that it’s not taxed unless you take it out early! If it gets taxed before then, you might as well not have a 401k and use that money to pay off your credit cards.

  66. 66.

    Mnemosyne

    @tobie:

    I will reiterate for you my patented method for getting through a social situation with Trumpists and other Fox News idiots:

    Play dumb and ask them to explain themselves. Seriously. No matter what they say about Hillary, Obama, liberals, say, “Really, I hadn’t heard that. What happened? I don’t understand — can you explain that? But that doesn’t make any sense. How does that work?”

    Just keep making them explain all the IBS and outs of the various conspiracy theories to you. Either they’ll start to realize how dumb they sound and change the subject, or you’ll figure out who might need a dementia screening and be able to pull a family member aside for a quiet word later that evening.

    Betty’s tried it — it works!

  68. 68.

    Betty Cracker

    @Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA: I’m glad to see an update — I was thinking of the little guy last night and even made a wine foil sculpture in his honor, hoping it would serve as forever home juju! It wasn’t my best work, to be honest, but by gum, it worked! Seriously, though, sorry you’re sad about losing the little fellow, but it’s to your credit that you can form such sincere attachments and that you did what was best for him by hooking him up with a new home. You’re a good person. :)

  69. 69.

    Adam L Silverman

    @schrodingers_cat: I don’t know that anyone’s asked him. Since the last time I personally spoke with him was in 2012 and the conversation went something like: me “Hello Sir”, him “Hello” and that was it, I haven’t spoken to him either. From what I know of him I can’t imagine he’s happy with it. And none of us have any idea what he may be doing to mitigate things behind the scenes.

  72. 72.

    jeffreyw

    @WaterGirl: My hopes rose as Gabe alerted me to the arrival of a UPS delivery van, only for them to be dashed when all the parcels turned out to be addressed to Mrs J. Gabe was ecstatic, though, he took delivery of a MilkBone and a few scritches.

  73. 73.

    StringOnAStick

    We’re going to go camp at the base of one of CO’s 14,000′ peaks and then climb it tomorrow.

    Good news for my husband and I today. We found out that he has all the good genetic markers and none of the bad ones for his recent diagnosis of mild CLL. Today the doctor said it should be “many, many years” before he shows any symptoms. We’re both in the last year of our 50’s and the thought of losing him had me at defcon 1 for months now. There are no guarantees with cancer and in some very rare cases CLL can suddenly flare, but his chances for a normal lifespan (and thus a normal lifespan for me as well) are really good, plus the treatments are very good as well when needed. Between this news and the magic of seeing the total eclipse last week, I feel like our lives have started looking up again.

  75. 75.

    trollhattan

    @Adam L Silverman:
    Well now that seems pretty on the nose. Since I don’t speak “mad dog” what should I unpack from that…provocative set of comments? Is this aimed at our CiC or the DfHs?

    until our country gets back to understanding and respecting each other and showing it

  76. 76.

    catclub

    @Citizen Alan: ever heard of a Roth IRA account? Post tax money goes in – but if you keep it long enough,
    much more untaxed money comes out. [The actual calculation between the normal IRA and the Roth IRA as to which is better is complicated, and not completely clear.]

  78. 78.

    Mnemosyne

    @jl:

    ICE doesn’t want to have to pick up actual criminals — it’s too dangerous. They’d rather pick up soccer moms and college kids because they can rough them up and terrorize them with no fear of retaliation. But a violent criminal might have, like, a gun! No thanks!

  79. 79.

    low-tech cyclist

    @Roger Moore:

    It’s because the faults in California run right through very large cities. Proximity is as important as absolute size in determining how much damage a quake will do.

    The Cascadia Subduction Zone is a bit of an exception. It caused a tsunami in freakin’ Japan. What would a 50-foot wall of water do to Seattle?

  81. 81.

    Mai.naem.mobile

    @Adam L Silverman: how does Blake FArentold get elected just based on looks? The guy looks like a doofus. He literally looks like a doofus in a SNL alum’s college type humor movie.

  83. 83.

    trollhattan

    @Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA:
    Awww, sorry. We felt similarly giving back our French girl after her 3-week stay, but her parents insisted. I didn’t make the airport trip (eclipse day) but understand copious tears were shed at SFO.

  84. 84.

    tobie

    @Mnemosyne: Good advice. I’ll post an update after the wedding to let you know how the strategy worked. Thanks. Now I feel like I don’t have to dread going to this wedding. Got a game plan.

  87. 87.

    low-tech cyclist

    Alas, my weekend plans involve coming home after a 2-week vacation. Right now, I’m sitting in a beach cottage on Anna Maria Island on the Gulf coast of central Florida. (Hi, Betty Cracker!) Tomorrow, back to Maryland. Monday, back to work.

  89. 89.

    TriassicSands

    @Major Major Major Major:

    If you’re going to Vancouver (Canada) and have time, and you’ve never been, you shouldn’t miss the U. of BC Museum of Anthropology — it’s one of the great museums I’ve ever been to (and I’ve seen most of the best in the US and many in Europe). I’ve been there several times and I never get tired of going back. If nothing else, you have to see Bill Reid’s “The Raven and the First Humans.” Sculpted/carved out of yellow cedar, it is one of the most amazing works of art I’ve ever seen. When I stood in front of Michelangelo’s David in Florence I had tears in my eyes because of its extraordinary power and beauty. When I stood in front of “The Raven and the First Men” I had tears in my eyes but I was laughing too. Reid was an exceptional artist. His work — poles, jewelry, etc. have to be seen.

  95. 95.

    Jay S

    @mai naem mobile: I hadn’t seen this before,but apparently the plan is to make 401k more like a Roth IRA. Not necessarily worse for the investor, you get the tax benefit as you withdraw rather than as you save. It time shifts and possibly reduces tax revenue in the long run, and reduces the amount of earned income you can shelter and invest based on the tax rate. It would probably have the effect of reducing overall investment and impact high income people more than those in lower brackets.

  96. 96.

    The Moar You Know

    The little bugger was only with us for three days, but we’re reeling without him. How do they do that?

    @Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA: I babysat one of our Guide Dog club’s puppies almost two years ago, for one week. I miss her to this day. She got under my skin. Not all of them do, but this one…still think about her. Such a good, loving dog. It happens.

    Of course, we’ve got our Golden now, and he’s forever with us (GDB failed him!) and my wife and I would take a bullet or worse for him. I’ve only had one other animal in my life I loved as much as this little guy. Gotta send in some pics to post one day – in addition to being a little lovebug, he’s beautiful even by Golden standards. I am very, very lucky.

  97. 97.

    Caphilldcne

    @Adam L Silverman: i do remember that feeling of the military is a place apart from (and better than) civilian life from growing up an AF brat. By the time I actually joined I tuned it out. This is pretty sad commentary from Mattie though and frankly sounds like he’s literally learned nothing from the years of war and failure. Also why are we supposed to intimidate anyone over anything. Not helpful.

  99. 99.

    Major Major Major Major

    @Jay S: it would probably discourage saving by the people who would rather have the cash, yeah, which is going to be the lower income brackets. This would probably reduce the amount of money flowing to the markets though? Which is the opposite of what republicans want?

  101. 101.

    Kathleen

    @efgoldman: Congratulations to you and Mrs. EFG! I’m glad you can both enjoy a nice meal at one of your favorite spots.! You deserve it.

  103. 103.

    jl

    @Caphilldcne: If you listen to the whole clip, I think he was saying that intimidation alone was a stop gap until we could get the inspiration back and use both. Not sure how that jibes with his apparent preference for intimidation alone with Iran, though.

  104. 104.

    Mnemosyne

    @schrodingers_cat:

    Exactly. ICE is lazy. Why spend all that time and energy arresting actual criminals when you can just arrest a couple of college kids instead? It’s easy and safe.

    And I still owe you an email. Sorry, this week kind of got away from me. ?

  106. 106.

    Mai.naem.mobile

    @Betty Cracker:
    @catclub:
    I think it’s stupid but I believe they’re planning doing it through reconciliation so they have to make the numbers work within a ten year window. Maybe they’re floating a worst case scenario making some kind of a smaller cut in the tax benefits more palatable.

  108. 108.

    Kathleen

    @Davebo: Will Texas require all residents to get “Donald Trump Rain Insurance” to ensure they will be eligible for the mythical FEMA aid? Yet another lucrative branding initiative for Trump straight out of Trump University.

  110. 110.

    trollhattan

    We are a nation of morans.

    Senator Bernie Sanders is the most popular politician in America, according to a new Harvard-Harris poll. In fact, the Vermont senator and former presidential candidate is the only politician in the U.S. a majority of voters like. The poll, which drew responses from 2,263 voters across the political spectrum August 17-22, found 54 percent have a favorable view of Sanders, while 36 percent view him unfavorably.

    Vice President Mike Pence was the runner-up, with a favorability rating of 44 percent. He was followed by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who had a 42 percent favortability rating, and President Donald Trump, who received a 41 percent favorability rating.

    Sanders has been named the most popular politician in the U.S. in previous polls, but it is notable he continues to be the frontrunner even as some in the Democratic Party continue to blame him and his supporters for Clinton’s stunning election loss to Trump.

  111. 111.

    Caphilldcne

    @jl: I’m pretty sure with the goons now in charge we’re not getting inspiration back for a very very long time.

  112. 112.

    The Moar You Know

    ICE doesn’t want to have to pick up actual criminals — it’s too dangerous. They’d rather pick up soccer moms and college kids because they can rough them up and terrorize them with no fear of retaliation. But a violent criminal might have, like, a gun! No thanks!

    @Mnemosyne: I’ve lived around BP all my life. Bumblefuck incompetents with the latest and greatest military hardware.

    Didn’t used to be that way. The equipment part, I mean. They’ve always been seriously incompetent. They always used to have the Dodge Ram 4x4s. Good vehicles and they didn’t need more. Then Bush II started arming them with the same shit that was going over to Iraq. First time I saw a BP Humvee I swore for about five minutes straight. They are literally the last people in the world who should have access to the level of firepower that they’ve got.

  113. 113.

    The Dangerman

    @Major Major Major Major:

    I’m off to Vancouver for the weekend in a few hours. (Now taking tips!)

    I assume you mean BC and not WA.

    I suggest going as far up the Sunshine Coast as your time allows (multiple ferries involved).

  114. 114.

    Mnemosyne

    @StringOnAStick:

    Hooray! I’m glad to see someone getting good health news. ?

    ETA: Geez, that sounded weirdly ominous. I have not gotten any bad health news, just to be clear. Though I’m probably going to be getting a CPAP like all the cool kids have these days.

  118. 118.

    efgoldman

    @Major Major Major Major: I’ve not researched it, but logically, as more and more boomers retire, money has to be flowing OUT of the markets, if nothing else, to cover required minimum distributions for people over 70.5.

  121. 121.

    The Moar You Know

    Senator Bernie Sanders is the most popular politician in America, according to a new Harvard-Harris poll. In fact, the Vermont senator and former presidential candidate is the only politician in the U.S. a majority of voters like. The poll, which drew responses from 2,263 voters across the political spectrum August 17-22, found 54 percent have a favorable view of Sanders, while 36 percent view him unfavorably.

    @trollhattan: He gave us Trump and I hope he loses his next election, but if I woke up tomorrow and he was president I’d throw a week-long party.

  125. 125.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Caphilldcne: The intimidation is for groups like ISIS and the Taliban. The hold the line until we can get back to serving as in inspiration is a commentary on what is going on in the US. I took the whole thing as a sign that Mattis is well aware of what is going on domestically, including with/as the result of the President. And this was him providing subtextual pushback.

  126. 126.

    Adam L Silverman

    @jl: Mattis, like the rest of us, is not made from whole cloth. The bombing attack on the Marines in Lebanon in the early 80s still has a significant hold on Mattis.

  128. 128.

    The Dangerman

    @hueyplong:

    The Coliseum looks too big to sell out, so I’m considering the concept of going to the game. Is there such a thing as a good seat there?

    It’s been years since I’ve been to a game in the Coliseum and I think it’s been through some renovations but it’s an OK place to watch a game, even with a not so good seat. It’s not the Rose Bowl, but it’s OK.

    Pro-tip, if it’s an afternoon game, take the sunscreen and as much water as you can get through the turnstyles; it can still be quite hot in SoCal in September, especially when your squeezed in with several 10s of thousands of not your closest friends.

    ETA: Added pro-tip, if it’s a night game, realize you are in South Central LA and plan accordingly. Lightrail if you can.

  129. 129.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Feeling a bit down today. It is the 100th anniversary of my mother’s birth. On Mother’s Day and her b’day I always put up on FB a collage of photos of her, from when she was about 5 years old, high school, college, and in her 40s. She was so young when she died — just 58. I am missing her more than usual today.

  130. 130.

    Ruckus

    @TriassicSands:
    If you get a chance go to the big national museum in Wellington, NZ.
    It’s a history and art museum all in one place and both very well done. I spent most of a day there, wouldn’t mind going back and spending a week.
    Bill Reid’s work is amazing, so is a lot in NZ.

  132. 132.

    Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA

    Thanks for the kind words. We’re adjusting pretty well to having just Iggy and Muppet again. But if a younger homeless doxie ever fell into our laps… well, you know.

    @Betty Cracker: On behalf of Diesel, thank you for the wine foil sculpture. A nine year old dog needs all the good juju he can get — you may have put him over the top.

    @StringOnAStick: Fear for a loved one’s life — I have no words for that kind of torment. I’m so glad your fear wasn’t realized.

    Here’s to many happy, healthy years ahead for both of you.

  133. 133.

    TriassicSands

    @Major Major Major Major:

    No, and I didn’t see that comment/suggestion. In a way, I’m glad I’m seconding the previous suggestion. The museum is wonderful.

    After I posted the comment above, I thought about the raven you included in a recent comment. It made me think you might swoon over Reid’s monumental raven.

    If you appreciate art, and I assume you do, and you’re willing to be inside on what may be a beautiful day (there are lots of beautiful days — even in Vancouver), then you really have to go to the Museum of Anthropology.

    The suggestion about seeing the Sunshine Coast is a reasonable one, but depending on the likelihood of your going back to Vancouver in the future (and how you feel about museums), I’d choose the Museum over the Sunshine Coast. If you have time for both — say Saturday take a trip up the coast, and Sunday go to the museum — that would be great. However, you should set aside at least a few hours for the museum.

    Another side trip would be to go out to Squamish, BC. For me, that was a mandatory trip, since I was a serious rock climber and simply had to see the Stawamus Chief, a huge granite dome that looms above the town. The Stawamus Chief is one of the great rock climbing destinations of the world. It’s offers climbing similar to that in Yosemite. The town itself is not really a destination — or wasn’t when I was last there.

    Both the Sunshine Coast and Squamish would require a vehicle for efficiency.

    There are several other museums in Vancouver worth seeing (after you’ve been to the Museum of Anthropology):

    The Bill Reid Gallery
    The Vancouver Art Gallery
    The Vancouver Maritime Museum

  134. 134.

    Jay S

    @Major Major Major Major:

    it would probably discourage saving by the people who would rather have the cash, yeah, which is going to be the lower income brackets. This would probably reduce the amount of money flowing to the markets though? Which is the opposite of what republicans want?

    I don’t think the Republicans really care about the markets except to the extent they can sell their tax cuts. Low income people rarely get 401k-s, and do not pay high income taxes. The front end deductions work for middle to high income people to some extent, but back loading is probably a better deal for most. The thing is the taxes reduce the amount that high income people would put in the 401k and provide less incentive to do so. But the government would get a short term revenue bump that they can dump on serious tax cuts for the really big earners.
    I don’t think they are going to be able to sell this, but it might be easier than looting the ACA and Medicade has been.

  137. 137.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Mnemosyne:

    Just keep making them explain all the IBS and outs of the various conspiracy theories to you. Either they’ll start to realize how dumb they sound and change the subject, or you’ll figure out who might need a dementia screening and be able to pull a family member aside for a quiet word later that evening.

    I’ve had a lot of good results doing that to Conservatives. The less stupid ones will even start rethinking things.

  144. 144.

    TriassicSands

    @Ruckus:

    Sigh, I’m afraid I’m never going to make it to NZ. When I got married, my now ex-wife and I discussed where to go for a honeymoon. I wanted to go to NZ. She wanted to go to Hawaii. I deferred to her. I wish I hadn’t.

    If I lived on the moon and were going to visit the Earth, and had to choose which countries to visit (assuming I’d never been to any) NZ would be in the top five. Its size would be both a plus and a minus.

  145. 145.

    Jay S

    @efgoldman:

    logically, as more and more boomers retire, money has to be flowing OUT of the markets, if nothing else, to cover required minimum distributions for people over 70.5.

    That was conventional wisdom in the 80s and 90s. I’m not sure it holds up with the current 1% hoovering up all the wealth.

  147. 147.

    frosty

    @low-tech cyclist: That’s the same as my weekend plans. Tomorrow we head for home after a 3 week road trip seeing caves and the Bourbon Trail in Kentucky, relatives and the eclipse in Tennessee, and bike trails in Virginia, staying in state park campgrounds (and NPS at Mammoth Cave) the whole trip.

    Overdue yard work on Sunday, back to work Monday.

  148. 148.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    Birthday season has arrived here at the cave, madame’s is on Tuesday and the kid’s is a week from Sunday. We celebrate tomorrow with dinner at the local teppanyaki place. I’ve got the gifts and just have to wrap them.

  149. 149.

    Ruckus

    @Jay S:
    Always good to remember that whatever they do, for republican politicians, it’s tax cuts to the rich. Even if they’d be better off with a different approach. They do like getting paid to be assholes.

  151. 151.

    Jay S

    @low-tech cyclist: The understanding of the subduction zone tidal wave is relatively recent, and thus less likely to be part of any plans that were put together before last year.

  154. 154.

    Ruckus

    @raven:
    Was wondering if you remember a blog, “One Pissed Off Veteran” or have seen the owners book “A Bad Attitude”?
    Called himself Farnsworth68 on his blog. Last post was just over 2 yrs ago.

  159. 159.

    TriassicSands

    @StringOnAStick:

    That is good news. From what I’ve read, if he’s negative for ZAP-70 he has an average life expectancy of more than 25 years. That puts him in his eighties. Plus, the longer he lives the more likely it will be that he has access to new treatments.

    When we reach our sixties we start noticing more and more problematic health diagnoses in those close to us. It sounds like your husband got the best of an undesirable and unwanted diagnosis. A long, healthy life to you both.

  160. 160.

    Mnemosyne

    @Adam L Silverman:

    Family anecdote: one of my (step)brothers was a Marine in the early 1980s and had breakfast in that barracks the day of the bombing. He was back on board ship by the time the bombing happened, but his ship headed out to sea immediately after the bombing.

    Also true — my mom was so completely frantic that he might have been one of the Marines killed that my dad somehow managed to finagle a ship-to-shore call for them by calling in a favor with our state senator. Apparently the swabbies and jarheads made fun of him because his mommy called to make sure he was alright, but I suspect they were a little envious, too.

    (For full circle, this is the same brother who passed away in FL in 2015.)

  163. 163.

    Mnemosyne

    @The Dangerman:

    Have you been down to USC/the Coliseum lately? It’s super gentrified now. Definitely not the ‘hood it was when I was a student there during the riots.

    I still wouldn’t go down there alone at night, but a group should be okay.

  166. 166.

    TriassicSands

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    I’m sorry for your loss. I hope you understand me when I say it’s good that you still miss her so much. That reflects how much she meant to you when she was alive. We can’t all feel that way about our mothers or fathers. In that, you are fortunate.

    Fifty-eight is much too young.

  173. 173.

    clay

    MSNBC is reporting that Muller issues grand jury subpoenas this week. Also, something about Flynn that I haven’t caught the details about yet.

  174. 174.

    Mnemosyne

    @Adam L Silverman:

    My mom refused to answer the door for two or three weeks — however long it was until she was able to talk to him. She was afraid that every ring of the doorbell would be two Marines in dress uniform.

    Not fun. At all.

  175. 175.

    The Dangerman

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    …easy walk to the Mauseleum.

    Hmm, you’re a Bruin, too, IIRC; yeah, it ain’t the Rose Bowl. We be spoiled.

    Speaking of spoiled, if I recall correctly and your’e a Bruin, damn, the new Football Facility on campus is nice. I’d go back for practice if I had the time. Of course, there’s always Janss Steps, which I used to run effortlessly, now I just mosey up. Slowly.

  176. 176.

    NoraLenderbee

    We’re supposed to do a bike ride on one day and on the other a long training hike, preparation for a trip to the Sierra next month. I’ve slept badly all week and I’ve been crazy busy at work.The idea of doing anything but recovering (in bed, preferably) tomorrow is making me miserable. And since we’ve been training every weekend, the house has gotten really dirty. I’m so tired I can barely think anymore and I’ve gotten jack done at the office. And the 400-calorie chocolate-chip cookie I ate did not comfort me.

    /whine

  177. 177.

    clay

    @Mnemosyne:

    Just keep making them explain all the IBS and outs of the various conspiracy theories to you.

    I know that’s an autocorrect error, but I think it’s funny that you should get Trumpers to explain Irritable Bowel Syndrome to you.

  179. 179.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @The Dangerman: I am a Bruin(class of ’82). You’ll find the OTR that I submitted last night interesting.

    ETA: The new football and basketball facilities were still under construction the last time I was on campus. I did stop on campus in March, but just to pick up a license plate frame for the Prius.

  180. 180.

    The Dangerman

    @Mnemosyne:

    Have you been down to USC/the Coliseum lately?

    No for inside the Stadium, been in the neighborhood not all that long ago.

    As I recall, as long as you stay near the Stadium or campus, you’re OK, even at night (well, not sure that applies to a single woman, but that applies just about everyplace in the City); as I further recall, you don’t have to stray TOO far before things get a little more …. interesting.

  181. 181.

    TriassicSands

    @Major Major Major Major:

    You’re quite welcome. Enjoy Vancouver, it’s a great city.

    My next suggestion would be stay for a week (at least), but that’s probably not in the cards. Some is better than none.

  182. 182.

    Ruckus

    @TriassicSands:
    Yeah I can’t see myself being economically able to go again, much as I’d like to. It’s a beautiful country with a lot of mixes that you won’t see anywhere else. I walked across a rain forest for 45-60 minutes and came out to a beautiful grassy/marshy meadow with a glacier on the other side. I have a watercolor that my sister painted that looks almost exactly like that view and she never made it to NZ either.
    When I got back my sister picked me up at the airport and asked me what I liked best. She could tell I liked it because I’d just gotten off a 13 hr plane ride and still had an ear to ear grin. I started off listing in my head all the amazing things and then said, “The people.” They won me hands down, even over all the amazing stuff, jet boat rides, walking on top of a glacier after getting there by helicopter………… The list is far too long of amazing things, in both good sized cities and out of the way places. Three weeks I’m sure I’ll forget when the Alzheimer’s digs it’s teeth in. And you know it will, what are the fucking odds of me not getting that?

  183. 183.

    trollhattan

    @NoraLenderbee:
    Where are you headed in the Sierra? You’ll have better conditions than I did first week of August, when it was still spring snow and runoff in the high country and our “easy” creek crossing proved to be a river too deep to attempt, changing our week-long itinerary completely. No crowds, though.

  185. 185.

    WaterGirl

    @Raven: That would be strange. I’m not quite there yet.

    P.S. Well you turned out great, maybe because of him, maybe in spite of him, maybe some of both.

  186. 186.

    Mnemosyne

    @clay:

    Damn, I was hoping nobody would see that. ? Stupid autocorrect.

    I actually do have IBS, so I could probably bore some Trumpers into submission by explaining the FODMAPS diet to them in detail … ?

  187. 187.

    The Dangerman

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    You’ll find the OTR that I submitted last night interesting.

    OTR?

    I’m 1984; ah, those were the days. I’d do it again in a heartbeat (alas, with what it takes now, I would never, ever get in).

  189. 189.

    WaterGirl

    @Baud: I think we should sell Baud 2010! magnets at the BJ store. I would put one on my vehicle. Seriously.

  190. 190.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Mnemosyne:

    Hugs to you. I know the feeling all too well (42 years since my mom, 22 since my dad). I imagine one never stops missing them.

  191. 191.

    Ruckus

    @Raven:
    Used to read him occasionally. Farnsworth would be 72 now if he’s still with us. Nam May 68 to March 69. The book is no longer available normally but I’d like to find a copy if possible.

  193. 193.

    NoraLenderbee

    @trollhattan: We drive across the crest and stay in mammoth Lakes. From there, we do day hikes and scrambles in the eastern Sierra or yosemite. No backpacking. Whatever hikes we decide to do, I expect to run into some snow or mud bogs that will change our plans.
    Where did you go?

  194. 194.

    jl

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    ” Don’t know, the kid will be old enough to run next year. We may be a Jinsun!2020! household.

    Baud is an inclusive politician and welcomes everyone’s vote, whatever age, national allegiance, or status of existence..

  196. 196.

    Ruckus

    @Ruckus:
    Last time I searched, all my responses showed it was no longer available. My search foo must have left the building. First click, there it was.

  197. 197.

    Mnemosyne

    @The Dangerman:

    You have to stray a LOT further than you used to. It used to be that anything south of Exposition was a danger zone. Now it’s all fast food and apartments.

    I’m sure that students still have to not be stupid after dark, but that stuff was dicey even in daylight hours. Much, much improved now.

    Plus there are two REAL supermarkets within walking distance. No more Third World Market — it’s been torn down.

  199. 199.

    Ruckus

    @Mnemosyne:
    A thousand yrs ago we used to go to a market around there when two of us worked the late shift. It wasn’t all that bad but then we were used to it. Short on food, not short on pricing or a security guard, who looked far more dangerous than the locals.

  200. 200.

    WaterGirl

    @Ruckus: Put Steeplejack on it. If anyone could find it, he could.

    edit: I see that just invoking his name led to finding the book, Impressive.

  203. 203.

    trollhattan

    @NoraLenderbee:
    We went into Emigrant Wilderness south from Kennedy Meadow (Highway 108). Intended to do a grand loop but a particular creek the name of which I now forever curse altered that. At 9000 feet snow still covered probably two-thirds of the open terrain. Have hiked in from 395, somewhat south of Mammoth and it’s some of the most stupendous country I’ve visited. You should have a great time!

  204. 204.

    TriassicSands

    @Ruckus:

    You’ll be happy to know that your odds aren’t that good. Of course, I don’t know your family history or lifestyle, but only a small percentage of Americans get Alzheimers. Here’s hoping you aren’t one of them. Perhaps, one of your last thoughts as you lay dying will be of New Zealand.

    On the other hand, if you use “probability” the way someone I once knew did, your odds would be 1 in 2. How is that possible? Well, according to my mathematically challenged acquaintance, the chances are 50-50, that is, either you get it or you don’t. He warned someone they had a 50-50 chance of dying if they had surgery. Either they died or they didn’t. I tried to explain the problem, but he was adamant. I imagine he voted for Trump last November.

  206. 206.

    Mnemosyne

    @Ruckus:

    It was a good-sized supermarket, just always busy and didn’t have very good quality stuff. The liquor store was separate and inside the market to prevent theft, and I think there was a small pharmacy as well? I can’t quite remember.

  207. 207.

    Ruckus

    @TriassicSands:
    I imagine that the odds for him voting for drumpf are a lot better than 50-50. And that’s given even that I have no idea who this person is.
    I’m not going on stats, dad had a full blown case that he lived with for 20 yrs and mom was getting there her last 5. We donated dad’s brain the the UCLA study, hoping that anything that helps is worth it. So it’s just a family thing. Besides I’ve got so much other shit going on, why the fuck not.

  210. 210.

    Ruckus

    @Mnemosyne:
    That’s not the same place. This was the size of a rather large Ralph’s of the time but not in any other way like one. Doesn’t seem like they stocked more than maybe a pallet’s worth of everything in the entire store in any one week, the prices were 25-50% higher than where I lived in the valley…. It had a third world look and feel or maybe like the pictures we were shown of communist markets in the USSR in grade school.

  212. 212.

    Ruckus

    @TriassicSands:
    That it is.
    I’m hoping but have already done the cancer thing, once, the clinic I see most often is neuro, I’ve had a heart attack………. That’s not the entire list, just the high points. I did something wrong in a prior life, that’s for damn sure. Oh well, I’ll keep smiling and using everyone’s tax dollars at the VA.

  215. 215.

    Ruckus

    @trollhattan:

    it’s some of the most stupendous country I’ve visited

    That it is. Used to go regular back in the 60s, a friend’s dad lived in Mammoth and worked in the summer in that area at a tungsten mine. Winters he worked at the lodge as a reserve deputy in charge of parking.

  217. 217.

    frosty fred

    @TriassicSands: One thing that’s stuck in my memory is that when you saw a dead bird washed up on the beach, it would be a penguin. Definitely a different part of the world.

  219. 219.

    trollhattan

    @Ruckus:
    Wow, small world. I’ve hiked the hill past that tungsten mine (now closed, undergoing environmental cleanup), up Pine Creek. Steepest f*#king trail I can name and gateway to big country. The old company town, Rovana, is still there.

  221. 221.

    Ruckus

    @trollhattan:
    His son and I tried to drive his 36 hp VW up the road to the actual mine. At the altitude and steepness, with one of us pushing it still just couldn’t make it. The road to the mine was all switchbacks and he drove a mining truck up and down the hill. The corners of the switchbacks were too tight to even think about turning the truck so it was driven down forward for a leg, backed up – down the next leg, from the top to the bottom. Going up was the same only climbing. Big trucks with a shit ton of gears, I think it had more reverse gears than most heavy haul trucks have forward, which is usually 18. Absolutely amazed me that anything other than a tracked vehicle could make it. I also imagine that a full truck couldn’t make it up the hill.

  227. 227.

    Ruckus

    @SiubhanDuinne:
    That looks like something that could be in the NZ national museum. Rather Maori in design and execution. I wonder if there is a commonality in the history of their cultures.

  230. 230.

    Ruckus

    @Steeplejack:
    Yep!
    I did a search the other day and amazon came back a no. Then I did another search and there it was. My copy is on it’s way. I meant to buy it a few years ago but that money thing got in the way and it fell in importance to food……..

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