Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.

Something needs to be done about our bogus SCOTUS.

The snowflake in chief appeared visibly frustrated when questioned by a reporter about egg prices.

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

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

Republicans choose power over democracy, every day.

An almost top 10,000 blog!

You are either for trump or for democracy. Pick one.

The media handbook says “controversial” is the most negative description that can be used for a Republican.

Donald Trump found guilty as fuck – May 30, 2024!

Teach a man to fish, and he’ll sit in a boat all day drinking beer.

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

In after Baud. Damn.

Is trump is trying to break black America over his knee? signs point to ‘yes’.

Do we throw up our hands or do we roll up our sleeves? (hint, door #2)

Every one of the “Roberts Six” lied to get on the court.

Their boy Ron is an empty plastic cup that will never know pudding.

The only way through is to slog through the muck one step at at time.

We are aware of all internet traditions.

Republicans: slavery is when you own me. freedom is when I own you.

Fight for a just cause, love your fellow man, live a good life.

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

The poor and middle-class pay taxes, the rich pay accountants, the wealthy pay politicians.

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

You are here: Home / Nature & Respite / Birdwatching / Look at the Birdy (Open Thread)

Look at the Birdy (Open Thread)

by | 252 Comments

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This mockingbird rested briefly on my wrecked banana trees earlier:

She looks weary but determined, which is why I assume she’s a “she.”

Horrible news out of Mexico City. I hope, unlike last time, Twitler is able to scare up a satellite phone to communicate with Mexico’s president before several days elapse. Or not. Mexico’s president has enough on his plate without adding an unnatural disaster.

Anyhoo, open thread.

Reader Interactions

252Comments

  2. 2.

    ArchTeryx

    @Baud: Too many black and brown people still alive and undeported. We’ll be great again when they’re all gone, along with all the weaklings and poor people.

    Then, and only then, will our Thousand Year Reich will start.

  3. 3.

    Yutsano

    I have friends in México but not in the city, but I haven’t heard from them since the earthquake hit. They’re in Monterrey so they should be fine but a ping would be nice. It’s also possible communications are a total mishegas because of it. Will keep y’all updated.

  7. 7.

    Elizabelle

    I approve of that mockingbird. Beautiful little winged creature.

    Only the best to Mexico City and its surroundings.

  10. 10.

    ArchTeryx

    And amidst all the horror, I do love that mocker picture. Mockingbirds don’t take crap from anyone – I’ve seen video of them turning grizzly bears away from their nest. Their relatives, the Brown Thrasher and the Grey Catbird, are similarly pugnacious around their nests.

    A while ago, I made the mistake of sticking my head into a peeping bush while out with a friend, and 4 Grey Catbird fledges exploded out of it, along with the parents. I had to collect the fledges before they ran out onto a nearby busy road, all while the parents are going absolutely apeshit and actually scratching my scalp, so hard did they dive on me.

    My fiancee has since told me ‘the next time you stick your head in a bush, you better be dating it!’

  16. 16.

    Baud

    @Betty Cracker: I just upgraded my ipad to ios 11. Not overwhelmed. I have a work iphone that also didn’t overwhelm me. I’ll probably stick with Android because of price.

  17. 17.

    NotMax

    Open prissy pedant.

    Not trees, banana plants are giant evergreen perennial flowering herbs.

    Close prissy pedant.

    And the fruit itself is naturally very slightly radioactive.

  21. 21.

    ArchTeryx

    @Another Scott: Awww. I proposed all the way back in July 2016 and was accepted then. I’ve known the lady for 10+ years – we haven’t gotten married only because of an utter lack of money and jobs in different cities. Once we get into the same city marriage will follow almost immediately.

    My family for the most part is flat-out poor, save for certain Republicans which would rather eat their own tailfeathers then give anything to us. Her family is just as poor save for one rich aunt, who also wouldn’t lift a finger to help her move away from a sociopathic landlady.

    No money, different parts of the country, marriage is kinda difficult, but I digress.

  22. 22.

    West of the Cascades

    WTF is wrong with the New York Times? Not a single story on the front page of their website about the Cassidy-Graham Take Away Health Care from 25 Million Bill. I see they have a decent editorial, but it’s a more consequential news story than “Harvey and Irma Wiped Out Our Kitchens. Still We Cook” or “Making Mother! the Year’s Most Divisive Film.”

  23. 23.

    Another Scott

    @ArchTeryx: Thanks.

    I know you’ve been through many trials and tribulations, and that things have finally been looking up a little.

    Here’s hoping that you both can get together soon.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  25. 25.

    Ohio Mom

    @Baud: The up/down buttons haven’t worked on my IPhone in ages. Not a big enough deal for me to complain. Instead
    I remain grateful that I’ve never heard those loud auto play ads other people complain about.

  27. 27.

    Felonius Monk

    I hope, unlike last time, Twitler is able to scare up a satellite phone to communicate with Mexico’s president

    Jeez, Betty, give the President and people of Mexico a break. The last thing they need is a phone call from Trump.

  34. 34.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Felonius Monk:

    I believe he did send a tweet of support.

    Well, actually, I’m pretty sure it wasn’t him. The way it read was much more like a staffer flunky assigned to handle the POTUS Twitter account rather than anything genuine from the Twitler his own self.

  36. 36.

    ArchTeryx

    I do wish that I wasn’t so pessimistic about Graham-Cassidy. I was just as pessimistic on skinny repeal, about Obamacare’s chances after Trump was elected, about whether or not I’d be cast out to die. So far I’ve been proven wrong on every count, and the fact that I am WILLING TO ADMIT that I’ve been proven wrong makes me better then pundits that get paid 1000x what I make. So there is that at least.

  48. 48.

    Felonius Monk

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    The way it read was much more like a staffer flunky assigned to handle the POTUS Twitter account rather than anything genuine from the Twitler his own self.

    You are probably correct. If it had been from the Twitler-in-Chief, it would also have demanded that Mexico pay for the Wall.

  51. 51.

    ArchTeryx

    @Baud: I certainly didn’t. However the “Republicans always fall in line” trope is evergreen, and it’s been hauled out on all quarters after Graham-Cassidy came out. Will it be right this time? I just don’t know.

  59. 59.

    Mel

    @ArchTeryx: The very fact that you have been supportive of each other and loved each other through the awful stuff says it all.
    Belated congratulations on your engagement, and I am hoping with all my heart that you can be in the same locale asap.

  60. 60.

    Betty Cracker

    @Butthurt Jordan Trombone (fka XTPD): One reason I’ve grown fond of Twitter is that I can block irritating shitheads. Here, I feel an obligation to eschew the pie filter since I function as a seldom-used, half-assed moderator. But y’all are generally more entertaining than Twitter, IMO.

  61. 61.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Frank Thorp VVerified account @ frankthorp
    Welp: Sen Alexander says the attempt to reach a bipartisan consensus w/ Sen Murray on health care didn’t work:

    Taniel‏Verified account @ Taniel 46m46 minutes ago
    Alexander sabotages his own talks to prevent GOP Sens like McCain to oppose Graham-Cassidy on ground that bipartisan talks are progressing.

    Topher Spiro‏Verified account @ TopherSpiro 50m50 minutes
    Will McCain see through this? If it were me, I’d be insulted and livid.

  63. 63.

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

    Why does the GOP keep trying to repeal the ACA when a majority support it? How can they justify that with a straight face? If Graham-Cassidy does somehow pass, and people die as a result, will GOP Congressmen who voted for it pay with their lives?

    I’m feeling a little helpless, so I’m metaphorically feeling stabby.

  64. 64.

    Butthurt Jordan Trombone (fka XTPD)

    @SiubhanDuinne: LGM switched to Disqus when its servers were close to collapsing. I would say that the in-built block function means it at least breaks even – moderation was fairly uneven in dealing with not overtly-hateful trolls, and the pie filter became a lot less effective with the presence of persistent trolls.

    (On a related note, I’ve noticed that BJ sometimes randomly deletes comments on old posts).

  71. 71.

    ArchTeryx

    @Mel: We’re working on it. It’s not easy – she’d have to leave a six-year plus job behind to come here. But this is the one place I’m putting my foot down, because I work for New York State – a lifetime gig with lifetime benefits – and there’s literally NOTHING for me in Wilmington, Delaware. She’ll have a far easier time getting a job here then I ever would getting a job there – two attempts in the past yielded absolutely nothing.

  78. 78.

    Ajabu

    Maria is bearing down on Puerto Rico and. wait for it… the USVI. St. Croix was the only US Virgin Island to make it through Irma relatively unscathed — and picked up all the slack for the rest of the sister islands — but if it gets hit this time it will go from a decade of recovery to the rest of my lifetime (if not my grandchildren.).
    My Beautiful Leeward Isles. GODDAMN!
    Here’s a reminder of what we were only a couple of weeks ago:
    youtube.com/watch?v=54aPmBnAj00

  82. 82.

    MomSense

    It’s been a busy day for me. Just wanted to share today’s fax to Collins. Today I focused on process and pre-existing conditions. I try to avoid lingo and just make one or two points each day.

    I just learned that the CBO will not be able to fully evaluate Graham Cassidy before September 30th. Specifically they won’t have the projections for how many people will be affected/lose insurance because of this bill. Please do not vote for a bill that hasn’t been fully evaluated. Given what I have read about the loss of protections for those of us with pre-existing conditions, I am terrified. If insurance companies can raise rates for pre/existing conditions, it is a de facto loss of coverage and loss of protections for pre-existing conditions.
    We don’t have to rush this process. Wouldn’t it be better if it was a bipartisan process? Wouldn’t it be nice if the Republican Congress could break the cycle of hyper partisanship and work with the Democrats? Wouldn’t it be easier to do the fixes that would make the ACA better instead of trying something new that is not fully fleshed out?
    Please, don’t vote for Graham Cassidy. I know Lindsey Graham is a friend of yours and I can imagine the pressure you must feel but Mainers stand to lose so much with this bill. We need a hero right now. Please be our hero. Vote no.

    ETA to send a free fax to your Rep, Senators, and Governor text “resist” to 504-09
    They have a new feature which is to text “invite” to the same number to ask friends to help.

  83. 83.

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

    @Major Major Major Major:
    I’ve used disqus before and it indeed does suck donkey balls. No quote tool and if you quote from an article or another commenter using “” with a link, your comment gets marked as spam. It’s infuriating. Which is why I avoid it now

  88. 88.

    ArchTeryx

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Man, they take the whole Lucy and the Football thing real seriously, don’t they?

    If I were Patty Murray, I’d tell the entire caucus to take a flying fuck off a tall bridge if Graham-Cassidy fails and they come back hat in hand for more “bipartisan” fixes.

    Then, I have had a hate-on for Patty Murray since her unemployment ‘compromise’ with Paul Ryan stripped me of my benefits and forced me to leave Michigan for good. I’d vote for her primary challenger if I could. She’s pathetically easy to roll, as has been proven by Republicans again and again.

  91. 91.

    Doug R

    So page bottom arrow, up arrow to lowest comment with a reply link, then follow the links back up to the top comment.
    Because I don’t care what a child actor looks like, triplets DNA is their own damn business and any website with “secrets” is trying to sell me something. Surprised there’s no ad for trump u

  92. 92.

    Tazj

    @ArchTeryx:

    Mockingbirds don’t take crap from anyone

    Yes, I found that out the hard way while just out for a nice walk around my neighborhood. One dive bombed me a few times when I was just minding my own business. A neighbor had placed a bird house on a hook right near the sidewalk. A man walking to his car laughing said “Did that bird just try to attack you?” I’m sure I looked hilarious trying to duck.

  93. 93.

    MomSense

    @debbie:

    I haven’t seen her and I’m very worried. KeithG checked in this morning but the thread was dead by the time I saw his comment. He’s in Houston, so Inwas happy to see him. Haven’t seen KeithP though and I think his house flooded last year just with heavy rain. I hope he is ok.

  97. 97.

    ArchTeryx

    @Tazj: You were too close to its nest and they give absolutely no quarter. I’ve personally watched them harass a juvenile Red Tailed Hawk practically to tears, among other large and threatening animals. They are the only non-predatory bird I’ve ever seen take on an entire feeder full of squirrels and win.

  101. 101.

    chopper

    I hope, unlike last time, Twitler is able to scare up a satellite phone to communicate with Mexico’s president before several days elapse.

    i love trump’s excuse for not calling mexico’s president. like the goddamn president of mexico doesn’t have a working phone. trump probably thinks nieto’s plane has a dirt floor.

  109. 109.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @chris:

    It was a struggle. Usually, my Wikipedia defacement is more crude. I played this one close.

  112. 112.

    Gin & Tonic

    My son’s GF has heard from her family in Mexico City and everyone is OK, along with their houses. It was difficult to get through.

    Reports are that some of the poorer areas have fared badly.

  114. 114.

    rikyrah

    Andy Slavitt‏Verified account @ASlavitt

    Lindsay Graham just said we must end any bipartisan talks & repeal the ACA in order to stop the march to socialism.
    11:46 AM – 19 Sep 2017

  117. 117.

    TenguPhule

    @West of the Cascades:

    WTF is wrong with the New York Times? Not a single story on the front page of their website about the Cassidy-Graham Take Away Health Care from 25 Million Bill.

    Penetration at all levels.

  121. 121.

    MomSense

    @LurkerNoLonger:

    Thanks. Tomorrow’s fax will be about Essential Health Care Benefits. They are pretty fucking necessary and Graham Cassidy doesn’t guarantee them.

    On the local news tonight she told a reporter she was leaning no. It’s still too close so we keep fighting. ?

  124. 124.

    chopper

    @jeffreyw:

    apparently a dropsonde dropped by a hurricane hunters aircraft measured winds of 168 knots in the storm. that’s 195mph. hopefully that’s a glitch of some sort.

  127. 127.

    Major Major Major Major

    @TenguPhule: I don’t know if this is true. First of all…

    Under Senate interpretations of the Congressional Budget Act, the Senate can consider the three basic subjects of reconciliation — spending, revenues, and debt limit — in a single bill or multiple bills, but it can consider each of these three in only one bill per year (unless Congress passes a second budget resolution).

    Graham-Cassidy touches spending and revenues so a second tax bill couldn’t happen under this set of reconciliation instructions. If they want to have another go, they’d have to pass a budget. Which they could theoretically do, but it’s not a snap of the fingers. Next, you cannot pass a reconciliation bill that, considered in a vacuum, “produce[s] a net increase in mandatory spending.” So budget-busting tax cuts that weren’t linked within the same set of reconciliation instructions to healthcare spending cuts don’t actually get to use the savings from the healthcare cuts.

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: @Baud: See? It was Baud’s problem, not mine.

  130. 130.

    trollhattan

    This might have received notice on a slower news day but Westlands Water District–the state’s largest with a management group stocked with Bushies–has torpedoed the Delta tunnels water project. “Water’s just too ding-dang expensive”* they plead. They also say they’re not responsible for killing it immediately after killing it.

    For California this is a Big Biden Deal.

    A large agricultural district Tuesday dealt a potentially fatal blow to Gov. Jerry Brown’s Delta tunnels project, voting overwhelmingly not to help pay for the $17 billion plan to remake the fragile estuary that serves as the hub of California’s water delivery network.

    Westlands Water District’s board of directors, following more than an hour of debate over the tunnels’ costs, voted 7-1 against participating in the project, known officially as California WaterFix.

    Westlands is the first water agency to take a vote on the project, and other big districts are expected to make their decisions in the coming weeks. But Westlands’ rejection is a huge blow to Brown’s plan; the sprawling agricultural district would have been responsible for well more than $3 billion of the project’s costs.

    “I am not certain the project can go forward,” said Westlands General Manager Tom Birmingham shortly after the vote. Earlier, he cast the decision in more dire terms, saying if Westlands voted against the project, the tunnels “will die, the project will be over.”

    The no vote from a key backer of the largest water infrastructure project planned in California in decades reverberated through the state’s water policy world Tuesday.

    “Absent Westlands, you don’t have a (tunnels) project,” said Jeff Kightlinger, general manager of The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, the tunnels project’s primary cheerleader outside of Brown’s office.

    “This was designed to be a comprehensive solution for California – both ag and urban, and really cover all the major parties,” Kightlinger said. “We would have designed a different project if it was just for the urban sector or something like that. But we didn’t. My board has been pretty clear … they’re not in the business of subsidizing agriculture.”

    Westlands directors said they were uncomfortable with the costs, particularly in light of the federal Bureau of Reclamation’s decision to exempt certain water districts from having to pay for the tunnels. That decision effectively raised Westlands’ expected costs. Birmingham has said that the cost of water for Westlands farmers would have climbed from $160 per acre-foot to more than $600.

    Westlands directors took exception to the idea that their vote would be responsible for unraveling the tunnels project, which has been about a decade in the making. Westlands was simply the first agency to vote, said board member Todd Neves.

    “It’s not Westlands Water District killing the project,” Neves said.

    *Their “plan” was to have federal water contractors north of the Delta pay a portion without actually benefiting from it, to (further) subsidize their already subsidized water.

  133. 133.

    jl

    I wonder whether Lamar Alexander will eat shit in front of the whole country by voting yes on the Graham-Cassidy BS, after his bipartisan effort was flushed down the toilet because it was making too much progress too quickly on a sane health care bill?

  134. 134.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Major Major Major Major:

    Why do people like Disqus? It’s such garbage.

    Yes, exactly. That’s why I commented “Disqus is garbage.” :-)

    (Think I first came across it on Media Matters, and its very presence has gone far toward keeping me from being a regular at MM.)

  135. 135.

    rikyrah

    Jeremy Diamond‏Verified account @JDiamond1

    NEW: RNC spent $230,000+ to cover @realDonaldTrump’s legal fees tied to Russia probe. $131,250 to Sekulow. $100K to Dowd, per RNC official
    2:27 PM – 19 Sep 2017 from Atlanta, GA

  136. 136.

    TenguPhule

    @Major Major Major Major:

    So budget-busting tax cuts that weren’t linked within the same set of reconciliation instructions to healthcare spending cuts don’t actually get to use the savings from the healthcare cuts.

    So then why are the Republican tax cut plans using that money in their own calculations?

    /Not arguing with you here, this is what’s bugging me.

  137. 137.

    Major Major Major Major

    @SiubhanDuinne: I know, I was replying to your comment that said disqus is garbage after I had independently and later commented the exact same thing.

    @TenguPhule: That was when they were supposed to have healthcare done by April so they could move on to tax cuts. Unless they have a tax cut bill lined up and ready to pass by October 1, they’re going to need a new set of reconciliation instructions. ETA usual caveats such as “nobody except the parliamentarian knows how the fuck this works and even she’s not so sure”

  140. 140.

    Laura

    @ArchTeryx: this is the Most Wonderful news!
    The joys of marriage are deep and simple.
    A wedding is another thing altogether.
    Me and the spouse still can’t believe how happy we were to be married even when we didn’t have two dimes to rub between us.

    I wish everyone who desires to be in a relationship or marriage meets a compatible partner who comes with interesting life experiences, emotionally available, and willing to help pull a wagon through this too short, often difficult life.

  141. 141.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @rikyrah: don’t forget Fredo!

    Rebecca Ballhaus‏Verified account @rebeccaballhaus 28m28 minutes ago
    NEW: On top of payments to Trump’s private legal team, RNC in August paid two Don Jr. lawyers.
    $166K to Futerfas
    $30K to Williams & Jensen

    Futerfas, Don Jr.’s lawyer, had already been paid $50K by Trump campaign in June—weeks before reports of Trump Tower mtg w/Russian lawyer

  142. 142.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @chris:

    I was impressed by the triple boot and said so, too late as usual, this morning. Very cool.

    I saw your comment in the long dead thread after I woke up. The problem wasn’t getting Windows and Linux to work, it was the Mac. After trying to get my 4 year old AMD video card to work(ended up booting to a yellow screen), I purchased a new Nvidia card and it booted right up. I had to reinstall Windows and Linux Mint since they were set up for BIOS and not UEFI.

    More importantly, congratulations on your seven years. Will there be cake?

    Cheesecake with strawberries on top.

  145. 145.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Major Major Major Major:

    I know, I was replying to your comment that said disqus is garbage after I had independently and later commented the exact same thing.

    LOL, missed that, sorry. GMTA, and Baud also too.

  147. 147.

    Alain the site fixer

    @SiubhanDuinne: disqus stores comments on their, not John’s server. That’s a non-starter.

    As for buttons working I’m using iPhone 6splus and has no problems in IOS 10 and not now
    In 11. They work on iPad and laptop and desktop both of which run Win 10 of different flavours.

  150. 150.

    Corner Stone

    @khead:

    Sorry, but needs a lot more “NO” than I am seeing that statement.

    Sounds like a fuckton of Patty Murray giving it up again.

  152. 152.

    Corner Stone

    @ArchTeryx:

    Then, I have had a hate-on for Patty Murray since her unemployment ‘compromise’ with Paul Ryan stripped me of my benefits and forced me to leave Michigan for good. I’d vote for her primary challenger if I could. She’s pathetically easy to roll, as has been proven by Republicans again and again.

    She fucked over a lot of people with that roll over and beg “compromise”.

  154. 154.

    David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch

    So I decided to call McCain’s office regarding ACA

    What the hell: though I’m not an AZ resident, I have a relative who is.

    Phoenix – (602) 952-2410

    Tucson – (520) 670-6334

    WashingtonDC (202) 224-2235 – press #1

    The DC has voice mail, at first the automated message suggests using email, but if you hang on it will connect you to voicemail.

    I asked him not to vote for bill that has no bipartisan support, nor a bill that only has 50 votes, nor a bill that tampers with pre-existing conditions, nor a bill that tampers with medicaid.

  157. 157.

    rikyrah

    CSPAN‏Verified account @cspan

    Sen. @LindseyGrahamSC on #GrahamCassidy: “Paul Ryan told me to my face: if you pass it, we pass it.”

  159. 159.

    joel hanes

    @Major Major Major Major:

    everybody should give the XKCD radiation dose chart a once-over every year or so so

    xkcd is incomparably brilliant, but I wish he’d included data for
    – spending a year at altititude 5000 feet. (Denver)
    – spending a year close to granite bedrock (Maine, Vermont, upstate NY, the Sierra Nevada, anywhere on the Canadian Shield)

  160. 160.

    TenguPhule

    For the first time, Trump’s approval rating has increased for three weeks in a row

    Trump’s average weekly approval rating in Gallup polling has ticked one percentage point upward over the past four weeks. Thirty-five, then 36, then 37 and now 38 percent of the country thinks that Trump is doing a good job.

    And who are these fucking idiots?

    The change over the past four weeks has been heavily centered on the sorts of Americans that Trump would very much like to keep in line for 2020. Among college graduates, his approval has jumped 7 points; among those with advanced degrees, it’s up 10. Among moderate Republicans, his approval rating has climbed 7 points. In the case of moderate Republicans, he still is well behind where he was in January, but among better-educated Americans, he’s regained most of the ground he lost.

    I need a freaking drink.

  161. 161.

    Tenar Arha

    @Ajabu: Hope you’re safe. I was thinking of you this morning, along with Betty from Dominica.

    Re: Betty from Dominica, anyone heard from her yet?

  164. 164.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    McCain Kasich adviser:

    John Weaver @ J WGOP
    What Graham-Cassidy will do to people with pre-existing conditions, an issue long thought untouchable, is simply reprehensible.

    I heard Jennifer Rubin trashing the bill last night. Trump has scrambled every egg except the elected Humpy Dumptys,
    as Cheryl posted in the last thread

    Eugenia Stonecroft @ E ugeniaStonecr1
    Wonder no more. The Koch donor network will give GOP $400M for 2018 *only if ACA is repealed* & tax reform passes

  167. 167.

    TenguPhule

    @Baud:

    He was not fully embarrassing during Irma.

    He wasn’t?

    “Biggest hurricane ever” and his other shitstorm of tweets, the Nazi support and other chickenshit he dumped when the storms hit?

  170. 170.

    rikyrah

    Alec MacGillis‏Verified account @AlecMacGillis 7h7 hours ago

    Cassidy says it’s “not fair” so much $$ goes to states that expanded Medicaid. If only there was something other states could do about that.

  175. 175.

    MomSense

    @rikyrah:

    Not fair???! WTeverlovingF! The non expansion states had the same opportunity to provide their residents health care by taking the federal Medicaid funds. Is he stupid or lying?

  181. 181.

    rikyrah

    Matt Fuller‏Verified account @MEPFuller

    Telling moment from Graham:

    Notes CA & NY are “big blue states”

    “I’m not out to hurt them—but Im trying to, you know, create parity here”
    1:42 PM – 19 Sep 2017

  183. 183.

    TenguPhule

    @Baud:

    And Charlottesville was before Irma.

    I blame the Timey-Wimey Ball that has engulfed our nation since January. All Trump disasters are starting to run together.

  188. 188.

    TenguPhule

    @Baud:

    It’s not fair that good is treated better than evil.

    Which can only be solved by destroying good and letting evil rule.

  191. 191.

    jl

    @MomSense: Fantastic letter. I’m going to rewrite parts of it for repeat contacts. I already faxed a batch of concerned letters to GOPers who might do the right thing, if we are very lucky. Hope you don’t mind, Thanks in advance.

  192. 192.

    TenguPhule

    @rikyrah:

    Telling moment from Graham:

    Notes CA & NY are “big blue states”

    “I’m not out to hurt them—but Im trying to, you know, create parity here”

    Achieving parity with South Carolina would involve three quarters of the other states regressing into third world status.

  193. 193.

    jl

    @rikyrah: What a jackass Graham is. They claim Medicaid expansion is a bad deal, But it is a good deal, so then they complain that the (mostly) blue state who got the Medicaid money are getting an unfairly good deal, compared to the toxic dopey red states who didn’t expand.

    Here’s a wild and crazy idea, we could get parity by more of the big red states expanding Medicaid, instead of killing off so many of their poor residents. Well… excuuuuse me!

    It’s cynicism and bad faith all the way down.
    It’s Yertles all the way down.

  194. 194.

    Corner Stone

    @rikyrah: The relatively few R reps in a handful of blue states are going to scream holy hell if this actually makes it to the House. Death on a stick.

  197. 197.

    Alain the site fixer

    @Major Major Major Major: they look back as far as they have tidbits of evidence. Some time I’ll share some of my experiences growing up in DC. You hear and see lots of questionable things in some circles, so I expect he’s been on the radar of FBI counter-espionage folks since college. Off and on, I’m sure, like many other people who’ve been stupid enough to voice their questionable ethics and values amongst folks who truly take heed of their charge to protect and defend. Or for selfish powerful-would-be’s, guard the path to achieving their “legacy”.

  201. 201.

    TenguPhule

    @jl:

    Here’s a wild and crazy idea, we could get parity by more of the big red states expanding Medicaid, instead of killing off so many of their poor residents.

    But that would mean more poor people get to live free from medical bankruptcy.

    And we can’t have that.

  202. 202.

    debbie

    @Baud:

    Cowering in his private chapel, no doubt.

    His lieutenant governor, Mary Taylor, is running for governor, and she has already announced she’ll stop Medicare expansion.

  203. 203.

    Cheryl Rofer

    I feel a little guilty during these phone-a-thons to keep the Republican Congress from killing us all, because my two senators are Democrats and have firmly opposed the Republican cruelty. So today I called both Senators’ offices to thank them. I also retweet (selectively) their tweets on the subject.

  204. 204.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Corner Stone: Two NY state Rs, King and I think Reed, have said they can’t vote for it. I think as a general rule (?) House members feel more vulnerable to constituent pressure. I wonder what dithering Charlie Dent will do on the way out.
    ETA: Could make life difficult for people in a purple state trending blue like VA or CO

  207. 207.

    TenguPhule

    @Cheryl Rofer:

    I feel a little guilty during these phone-a-thons to keep the Republican Congress from killing us all,

    I fondly remember the days when this wasn’t actually necessary and vital to the well being of millions of Americans.

  210. 210.

    Baud

    @debbie: At least they are honest about it. It’s why I can’t get too upset when the GOP cuts taxes on the rich. They don’t hide that agenda.

  212. 212.

    TenguPhule

    @Baud:

    It’s why I can’t get too upset when the GOP cuts taxes on the rich. They don’t hide that agenda.

    I don’t care if they told us they were scorpions, they still need to drown.

  215. 215.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @jl: true, but at least in Heller’s case, don’t they say he’s scared shitless of Sandoval? Portman was just reelected and feels like a lifer to me.

    As with McCain, to the extent we can hope for anything from kasich is that a combination of ego, hatred (of trump– and maybe Ryan, just a hunch) and 2020 ambition may get him on TeeVee again next week. Not placing any bets, but I still think Katich wants to primary trump

    ETA: also, people are saying, you know “they” that the Indie AK gov’s endorsement matters a lot to Murkowski, who ran as an indie last time, and who needed support from loose Dem leaners, especially the Native community, to do that. Then again, other Dems are hearing her say her vote’s up for grabs if McC gives her enough money for AK.

  220. 220.

    MomSense

    @jl:

    I’m posting one every day to give people ideas so feel free to use whatever you like. Tomorrow will be about the loss of essential health benefits. Yesterday was about Medicaid cuts.

  223. 223.

    Another Scott

    @Major Major Major Major: (Putting on Kevlar suit and helmet…)

    If you don’t have time to camp out on a thread with hundreds of comments during the day, Disqus works pretty well. (As you know) you get a little indicator for responses to your comments and even a submenu where you can see just those comments. It’s really handy if you comment on multiple sites, also too, of course.

    This place is great, but it really works best for real-time comments and continuous reading. If you want to comment on something 2-3 hours after the thread starts, there’s no way to know if someone already said what you’re thinking about saying (probably multiple times) without reading the whole thing. Threading can give you a very quick way to scan the threads and subthreads.

    With all that said, Disqus does have issues. Their choice for white space to text ratios and spacing seems broken to me. Their widgets for “sharing” are annoying (they get activated simply by accidentally getting the mouse pointer near them, they take too long to load, etc.). The “comment counter” seems to update inconsistently. And it does take too long to load more comments.

    Note, I’m not advocating any changes here. (At least, not in this comment. ;-)

    FWIW.

    Cheers,
    Scott.
    (“Hey, you asked!”)

  225. 225.

    David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch

    @rikyrah: what an asshole. Cassidy represents Louisiana which saw 433,412¹ residents covered by the medicare expansion in the past 12 months

  228. 228.

    NotMax

    @Alain the site fixer

    Had a stray idea which wanted to toss out to you and M⁴ for the site.

    A calendar type listing or page to which those who care to could submit their birth date (sans year, of course), for reference by the rest of us. Might even be a way to tie it in to the front page to flash a b’day greeting on the appropriate date on the sidebar?

  234. 234.

    rikyrah

    Alt-SeanSpicer’sMic‏ @Alt_Spicerlies

    Re-read the timeline Manafort’s phone WAS wiretapped during this meeting and now puts @JeffSession in BIGLY trouble. And now we groot dance

  235. 235.

    rikyrah

    Alex Ruoff‏Verified account @Alexruoff

    Dems were willing to give on copper plans and waiver authority for bipartisan ACA fixes, Schumer spox says.

  236. 236.

    chris

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: Ah, different strokes or perhaps we got to the same place by different routes. Whatever works! Here we call them birthdays and the cake happens on the last Wednesday of the month.

    Think I’ll keep my dual boot system the way it is. I could add Mac apparently but I can’t think of a reason, thanks anyway. As it is I only boot Windows now and then to update it, poke around a bit and say, Gah!

  238. 238.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @chris: There’s a star stacking program that’s only for the mac so hence the mac. I’m use Windows as my primary machine, the Insider test lets me look at the latest and buggiest, and Linux is just for fun. Of the three, the latest Windows built loads the fastest.

  240. 240.

    But her emails!!

    @rikyrah:

    “I’m not out to hurt them—but Im trying to, you know, create parity here”

    Sound goods. When is South Carolina going to cut New York and California checks? Graham knows that they’re net federal contributors, while his state is a net federal recipient, right?

  243. 243.

    jl

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: As for Heller, my recollection is that Sandoval ‘begged’ (word I remember in the news) Heller to oppose the BCRA and related repeal/replace BS, but Heller voted for it anyway. I’ve also read that Heller periodically has ass-kissing appearances before various reactionary Vegas multi mill- and billionaires to reassure himself that they are well pleased, and that their money will keep flowing his way.

    So, very little to hope for with Heller in terms of conscientious hard work and principle. I’ve faxed the guy, and will do so again, in case a miracle happens.

  246. 246.

    SgrAstar

    @trollhattan: Westlands=a bunch of crooks. I understand that almonds bring in $10m an acre. Yep…and guess who is subsidizing that water infrastructure? GRRR.

  247. 247.

    Ajabu

    @Tenar Arha:
    I’m OK. I’m currently in Atlanta. But, most of the people I care about are in the Caribbean – the USVI – particularly St. Croix.
    Keep your fingers crossed.

  248. 248.

    jl

    @trollhattan: In the past, these mega rich welfare loafers running the Westlands haven’t paid their assessments for the very cheap water they get now. I wonder if they have ever been current on them. Not the last I read about it. I’m not surprised that they would veto any project, as long as they think they can lift some water off some poor dupe for cheaper and any sketchy means necessary.

  249. 249.

    jl

    @SgrAstar: ” almonds bring in $10m an acre ”

    Woah… you sure? I think about $3K capital costs, including land, and $2K annual growing costs per acre, gross crop revenue $3K to $5K an acre in an average year. So you clear $1K to $3K per acre per year. Capital costs would not include farm machinery.and general farm overhead.
    Almonds, tomatoes and grain can be biggest acreage depending on particular year. I don’t think almonds more than 15 percent a acreage overall. Westlands grows about anything you want to grow in California.

  250. 250.

    Another Scott

    @jl: Lots of people use “M” for thousands. I guess it’s the Roman numeral legacy. Maybe SA is using that here?

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  251. 251.

    jl

    @Another Scott: I didn’t know that. I thought K was the way to go. But even $10,000 per acre gross would be amazing. Twice what would be considered a very good yield sold at a high price. My family put in crops like peaches and almonds for years, back when family farms did it. So I know the typical range of numbers. Numbers I gave were from around five, six years ago.

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