This was a really bad day for Trump but a really really really bad day for Mitch McConnell. https://t.co/747y9R0FrY
— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) September 27, 2017
Asked RSC Chair if still has faith in McConnell- he said "our faith does wane sometimes"& if he can't deliver "all options are on the table"
— Deirdre Walsh (@deirdrewalshcnn) September 26, 2017
I try to keep this first post of the day upbeat & happy, and by gods this makes me happy. From the Washington Post:
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell lost just about every way possible on Tuesday.
The Kentucky Republican had to abandon, again, an effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act amid an uprising from the more moderate wing of the GOP caucus. Then he learned that one of his most influential Republican chairman would not run for reelection next year, setting up a potentially divisive race to succeed the senator.
Finally, before 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, McConnell suffered the final indignity: His preferred candidate in Alabama, Sen. Luther Strange (R), lost the GOP nomination in embarrassing fashion to a conservative insurgent who vowed that his victory would send a message that McConnell and his allies should “run scared for a while.”
While no stranger to defeat in the past — he spent eight years as minority leader — McConnell’s string of losses in such a short timespan Tuesday punctured much of his well crafted image as the consummate insider who could deliver.
Each blow had its own unusual circumstances, with President Trump’s own erratic performance playing a role, but McConnell’s failures came in nearly every facet of congressional leadership…
***********
Apart from wishing (ever more) confusion to our enemies, what’s on the agenda for the day?
White House aides say they will try and direct blame to McConnell for dual Ocare/Luther Strange failures https://t.co/KurawSrfoP
— Sam Stein (@samstein) September 26, 2017
… One senior Trump administration official told The Daily Beast that the president is “well prepared to” shovel blame onto McConnell if and when the latest Obamacare repeal effort goes down in flames later this week. Another Trump confidant noted that the president regularly vents about “Mitch’s” seeming inability to get “anything over the finish line.”
A White House official joked that it has proven a winning “formula” for Trump to go after the unpopularity of top GOP brass, including McConnell, ever since the campaign. Trump even spent the last few days hammering home the point that Strange (who is locked in an election fight against former Alabama Supreme Court chief justice Roy Moore) isn’t even all that close to McConnell politically or personally, and that Strange would be “fighting Mitch” in the Senate as an authentic conservative…
… Possibly I’m not quite as happy as the Talibangelical-humping mouthbreathers of the far right, but then I can envision further than 48 hours into the future. If they wanna make Mitch even more uncomfortable, I fully endorse their choice of target. And I’m not the only one:
Dear curious outsiders,
Don't look at this as a referendum on Trump.
It's a referendum on McConnell, who's for Strange.
Love,
Alabama— Kyle Whitmire (@WarOnDumb) September 26, 2017
Mitch McConnell and his friends burned $9 million that could've been used against Dems just to watch Luther Strange lose by double digits.
— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) September 27, 2017
Tissue Thin Pseudonym
I’ve let my depression go on too long. It took me a while acknowledge how serious it is, since it doesn’t come with suicidal impulses, like it has before. I usually go to bed just hoping that I don’t wake up, but the therapist I used to see says that’s not the same thing. I’m not getting anything done, especially writing. I watch a lot of really good TV and movies (just about to finish up The Wire, of which I’d never seen Season 5), but that’s not really accomplishing anything.
I really liked that therapist, but she doesn’t take insurance any longer and I can’t afford $150 an hour out of pocket. The thought of going through the whole process of trying to find a new therapist I like and connect with sounds too exhausting to manage. It’s a horrible, horrible process. (And don’t even get me started on finding a psychiatrist; I’ve never worked with one who wasn’t some combination of creepy and useless.) And, since my insurance is almost certain to change again at the end of the year, to what I have no idea, there’s not really not really much point in doing it now.
I have an appointment later this morning with my regular doctor, and this is the main thing we’ll be discussing. Hopefully, we can at least find an anti-depressant that does some good. I just can’t keep (not) moving forward like this any longer. Dirk’s death is what has brought everything to a head, though the problem certainly isn’t new, so maybe he gave me that one last gift.
rikyrah
Good Morning, Everyone ???
David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch
The Lord works in Strange ways.
Turtle has been in the senate for 33 freaking years and he’s never passed anything. Yet the Village constantly tells me he’s a master at passing legislation.
David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch
Sports Illustrated joins the Resistance (photo)
Tissue Thin Pseudonym
@David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch: He’s a master of parliamentary tactics. That was great when all he needed to do was obstruct shit. But his tactical brilliance doesn’t do him any good passing legislation these days because he has a strategy and logistics problem.
eclare
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym: Good luck with your dr appt, that is one big thing you are doing for yourself. I hope he/she is empathetic and gives you some relief.
Butthurt Jordan Trombone (fka XTPD)
https://mobile.twitter.com/x_t_pd/status/890938372017070085/photo/1
OzarkHillbilly
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym: Depression is not for the weak.
eclare
@David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch: Love it!
Baud
@rikyrah: Good morning.
David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym: overrated. it’s the only aspect of our society where losing wins. You can lose by overwhelming numbers (41 to 59) and still win.
And because the media was taken over by multinational conglomerates and reactionaries (“Network”) the gop gets a free pass and pays no price.
Mary G
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym: Keep looking for a good therapist, although that’s the last thing you need to be worrying about when you are depressed. I agree about psychiatrists.
?BillinGlendaleCA
Wasn’t Lord Shortfingers down there campaigning for Sen. Strange, like last week? Now he never heard of the guy.
debbie
They eat their own.
It was reported this morning that Trump’s Strange-supporting tweets have all been deleted. Hope some reporter has the cohones to ask SHS about that.
Ian G.
Any chance the Dem can beat Roy Moore, or is Alabama just too bug-fuck crazy?
I mean, Jason Isbell and the Drive-By Truckers are from Alabama, so I know there’s at least some sane white people from that state.
debbie
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym:
Good luck. Hopefully your doctor will have a good treatment choice for you.
MomSense
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym:
Just tell your doctor what you shared with us and make sure you get a follow up appointment to check in on how you are feeling with the meds. I’m so glad you are asking for help. I had to do the same 9 months or so ago. It helps.
debbie
Does anyone think the Kochs will keep their promise and not deliver the $400M to the GOP?
danielx
He is always well prepared to shovel blame on somebody else when things go wrong, because Donald himself is never responsible when something goes wrong. Ever. By definition. It’s always due to the incompetence and malice of lesser beings.
ArchTeryx
@Ian G.: I’d vote for bug-fuck crazy. Drive-By Truckers aside, Alabama votes like much of the south now – the white people ALL vote Republican, and the A-As ALL vote Democratic. Since there are more white people, they win. Period. I don’t see how ANY Republican can be too right-wing to break that kind of tribalism.
Ian G.
@debbie:
One can hope. I know they weren’t thrilled with the election of Shitgibbon. They may decide the current GOP is a bunch of losers (not wrong there) and work on cultivating a new group of challengers.
Cermet
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym: One method to both help with motivation and improve ones outlook is vitamin D; best to get it by sitting in the Sun with as little clothing for a short time (say fifteen minutes – but avoid burning so pick a time so you don’t. Can’t use sun screen or it doesn’t generate the vitamin.) If too cold, use a Vit D supplement (1000 to 3000 IU/day.) The effect isn’t much but every bit can help. Another method is do a few small things like clean a room, or yard to get something accomplished even if very small. Some times walking helps if you live in an area that is doable. Try not to stay in bed too much; maybe read in a chair? Hope you get the insurance (not changed) and counselor you need.
eclare
@Ian G.: Don’t know enough about the Democrat. Living in TN, which also has some sane white people (love my Democratic rep) the issue is just not enough. Probably depends a lot on turnout. Not giving up hope, but if I had to put money on it…
?BillinGlendaleCA
@ArchTeryx: Alabama pretty much always voted that way, remember George Wallace?
NeenerNeener
Good morning, BJ folks. Anybody here ever built a toad house in their yard? The small toad that used to live under the wooden step into my garage is now a large toad sitting on said wooden step into my garage, and this morning when I opened the door to let my dogs out he almost hopped into the garage. I need to relocate him so he can survive the winter, just not inside my garage.
Karen S.
“The more moderate wing of the GOP”? Who is that? Collins? Murkowski? Rand Paul????? That’s a tiny wing, like something a hummingbird might have. There are no moderates in the GOP anymore.
And wasn’t Strange Trump’s guy in Alabama? McConnell is an asshole, for sure, and it annoys me that Trump will skate on this because he’ll capitalize on McConnell’s incompetence.
bemused
@debbie:
Funny, I was just thinking about that. I think a lot of those mega donors threatening GOP to pull their donations because they haven’t delivered for them were definitely leaning on GOP but I can’t imagine that they will actually follow through. If they had more effective alternatives to use their big bucks to get their way, they would have already been doing that.
Frankensteinbeck
I don’t think Trump attacking McConnell will hurt McConnell much. With congress especially. They’ve made it quite clear they hold Trump in esteem lower than pond scum. Trump might save the man-turtle hybrid’s job.
EDIT – I’m not sure failing to deliver ACA repeal is that big a blot on McConnell’s record of competence. Sitting on his ass and doing nothing else for nine months might be. Letting Graham try again when he knew he didn’t have the votes might be. But ACA repeal was a brutal challenge, trying to force-feed his own caucus a shit sandwich.
@debbie:
I seriously doubt it. What are they going to do, bow out of politics? Give it to Democrats? Please. The Kochs are lunatic zealots and always have been.
satby
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym: Sorry that you’ve been going through this, it’s good you’re going to talk to the doctor. I hope some meds can take the worst of it away and give you the balance to work on the rest. Rooting for you!
OzarkHillbilly
@NeenerNeener: Leave him be, he’ll figure something out.
Thoughtful David
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym:
He managed to steal a Supreme Court seat and get away with clean. That ain’t nuthin’.
eclare
@Frankensteinbeck: True, but I can also see how those pricks would be pissed since they are used to getting what they want, and I doubt they like giving money and getting zilch in return. Trying to be hopeful.
bemused
I didn’t pay a lot of attention to reporting that Paul Manafort was supposedly going out of the US to a country I can’t recall and his spokesperson would not reveal if he is or isn’t. So where in the world is Paul Manafort?
magurakurin
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym: hang in there. you aren’t alone. there are people who care and there’s still good and joy in the world. I hope you find something that helps you find that.
danielx
@bemused:
Someplace without an extradition treaty, no doubt.
magurakurin
@David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch:
Is turtle what we are calling Sanders this week? oh…right…that turtle
satby
@NeenerNeener: I used to just put broken flower pots upside down with enough of a gap so the toad could get inside. They burrow into the ground and hibernate anyway, I think.
satby
@satby:@NeenerNeener: ok, had to look it up, some tips here.
Kay
This looks worse and worse for Facebook. It’s almost amusing that a company that may become known as the leading purveyor of far Right fake news could have a huge PR problem on their hands, and they don’t seem to be able to handle it.
They should hire the Russians to promote pro-Facebook opinion and squelch dissent. They seem to be the best at using Facebook.
Thoughtful David
@bemused:
Look in Russia.
Frankensteinbeck
Christ almighty, I just put together what an utter legislative failure McConnell has been. What has the senate passed? Four budget extensions that were slightly Democrat friendly, and a ‘fuck you’ bill to the Republican president. That’s it. In NINE MONTHS.
Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady)
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym: As I said on FB, I’m sorry. I hope you and the doc can come up with something that helps.
Amir Khalid
@eclare:
The Kochs may be stuck with the Republicans, though. As disappointing as the party has been of late, who else is there for them to buy? It would be politically risky for any Democrat to take their money (ETA: and toe their line).
TaMara (BHF)
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym: I’ve been thinking about you and wondering how you were doing. I’m sorry to hear you are struggling. We’re all here to share with as you find your way. Be kind to yourself while you find your footing.
HeartlandLiberal
To reply to those asking if Alabama is so bugF crazy they will elect Moore in the general election, the short answer is: Yes. The long answer is: Hell, YES. Look, I grew up in Alabama, but had the good sense to flee in 1969 when I finished college (OK, I will plug a bright spot in Alabama, Birmingham-Southern College, a great small four year liberal arts college). I have stayed in touch with friends and family, but Hell would freeze over before I would consider moving back there in retirement. The racism and sexism and classicism in Alabama are so deeply embedded in the culture I do not think it can be expunged for many more generations. If ever.
As for McTurtle, I picture him grabbing a bottle of Kentucky bourbon in his jaws, and pulling his head inside his shell and hunkering down for the attacks that are about to come. All I can say is, the GOP deserves every bad thing they get. They are pure, unadulterated, corrupt evil. And all they serve are the billionaires and the plutocratic oligarchy. That is what ACA repeal was all about, ending the taxes on income gained by investments held by the one percent. Nothing more. Nothing less.
danielx
Oh look, Twitter character limit expanding from 140 to 280. The shitgibbon will be twice as incoherent.
Kay
I encountered fake news once, but it was before I heard the phrase – immediately before I heard the phrase, so I was able to connect it- realize after the fact what I had witnessed.
We were at dinner with two other couples- a dinner we went to with “acquaintances” not friends, because we didn’t know how to get out of it politely. One is a police officer and I happen to know he’s far Right, but the other 3 are not “political”.
They were all convinced Obama had “banned” the pledge of allegiance in schools. My husband and I were just shocked by this- not the assertion- you hear a lot of dumb stuff- but the certainty and the inability to even listen to us when we said it wasn’t true. They had gotten this from people they know and trust on Facebook and apparently it was everywhere- they believed it.
TaMara (BHF)
I’m missing all my critters and happy to head home today after an amazing trip. The pet sitter is totally in love with the ducks..so cute. And the pups behaved, so I think she’ll not fire us. Lol
eclare
@Amir Khalid: Oh no, I’m just saying maybe this has been so horribly managed in their eyes, they don’t give at all for a while. No, no Democrat would ever take the money. A headhunter called a friend of mine about a job for them a while back, and once my friend found out who it was for, she adamantly said no, and the headhunter just sighed. My friend said she got the impression that the headhunter got a lot of adamant no’s.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Amir Khalid: There’s always the Libertarian Party(stop laughing, Amir), David Koch ran as their VP candidate in 1980.
danielx
@Kay:
I’ve run into that syndrome. They know what they know (and are preprogrammed to know it), and ain’t nobody gonna tell them different.
Bruce K
Thing about the Kochs, the Mercers, et al: I suspect they’ve sort of internalized the maxim that “money talks”, reinforced by the Citizens United decision and the defeat of Hillary Clinton, and that they thought that the threat of withholding nearly half a billion dollars would be enough to get more Republicans to toe their line. They’ve just discovered the hard way that there’s a limit to what money can buy.
This is also the same corner of American discourse that came up with the theory that a viable Plan B is to make sure Plan A succeeds … except that if Plan A does fail, it takes Plan B down with it, so they’ve got to come up with a Plan C. (I favor Plan M, myself, with various high-ranking Republicans substituting for Hardison.)
So … yeah, the Kochs and their ilk have kind of painted themselves into a corner here, and I’m having trouble summoning even a soupçon of sympathy for them, given the catastrophe they’ve set loose on America.
Kay
@danielx:
It’s like a challenge, right, so I know they all have kids in public schools so I ask “has this happened, though? At your children’s school?” Three different districts at that table- you’d think one of us would have first hand experience with this hugely controversial ban. No- but it doesn’t matter- they said “well, not HERE, but other places”. Other, less patriotic places, presumably. We bravely defied the President’s ban. Bravely and really quietly, I guess, since not one of us heard anything about it from an actual school.
In 20 years they’ll still be saying Obama banned the pledge of allegiance. “he was an okay Prez but I really disagreed with the pledge ban”.
Ruviana
Hey, what happened to On the Road?
OzarkHillbilly
@Kay: @danielx: You can’t fix stupid.
Amir Khalid
@eclare:
The thing is, the Kochs can’t afford not to make good on their threats, or they’ll be seen as weak like the Dotard. (Must credit DPRK Foreign Ministry; new epithet is absolutely genius.) They’ve put themselves in a bad spot: they need to maintain their influence; but the Republicans have failed them, and if they take their money away they can’t offer it to the Democrats. Where does that leave them?
gene108
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym:
Good luck with the doctor’s appointment. I have also struggled with it. If you cannot afford the therapist, is there some sort of support group you can go to?
I have found support groups to be very helpful, and some are free of cost.
eclare
@Amir Khalid: $400M richer. They will still have influence, I would think, because people will hope to get that money some day. But yes, they have painted themselves into a corner. Now where did I put my tiny violin?
ETA> Scary thought, they could put that money into even more state and local races. Like what’shisname, Pope? in NC
OzarkHillbilly
@Ruviana: Alain is sleeping in.
bemused
@Kay:
What a fun dinner!
Such a nutty story so easy to refute for themselves but fear obliterates healthy skepticism and rationality.
It reminds me of Roy Moore who said there are communities under Sharia law right now in Ill and Ind. When reporter asked him to name those communities he said was “informed” there were those Sharia law communities but if even there weren’t, it doesn’t matter.
Roy Moore is completely nuts but those good folks believing Obama banned Pledge of Allegiance aren’t far behind.
Amir Khalid
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
I can’t help it. you made a funny. Them Koch boys* would have an even greater issue with the Libertarians over … let’s call it value for money … than they do right now with the Republicans.
*Yes, I know they’re both pushing 90.
MattF
I was just wondering the other day about how McConnell manages to exude an air of rationality and smarts while his actual policies and strategies are hyper-partisan and radical. One thing that comes to mind is that he acknowledges his actual goals and strategies only in private meetings, so reporting on this is always second or third hand– but avoids public statements with any substance. But there must be more to it than that.
sdhays
I wonder if Luther Strange would have lost regardless because that’s just where Republicans are now, especially in Alabama, or if his association with Robert Bentley is what doomed him. Moore lost primaries for governor twice, so he shouldn’t have been a sure thing. I wonder if Strange had chosen not to run and just hold the seat in a caretaker role until 2018, would Moore have been able to beat the cleaner establishment candidate?
A Ghost To Most
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym: Hang in there; I am (although I may be retiring sooner than I planned). I keep coming back to “Hope the High Road”:
oldgold
Sorry, but I find no comfort in the likes of Roy Moore winning an election. I find it to be frightening.
JGabriel
WaPo via Anne Laurie @ Top:
McConnell’s whole reputation was based on blocking Democratic bills (and raising money for the party and himself). Why would anyone think he was a consummate insider who could deliver when he never delivered anything but obstruction?
A Ghost To Most
@Ian G.: Indeed.
“There’s a lot of good folks down there,
Neil Young just wasn’t around”
Amir Khalid
@bemused:
I wouldn’t worry about Muslim communities in Illinois and Indiana choosing the guidance of Sharia law in their daily lives any more than I would worry about Christian communities choosing the guidance of Christ in theirs. But I keep hearing about Muslim imposition of Sharia on non-Muslim Americans without ever seeing any examples cited.
I should also keep reminding that Sharia is not monolithic. There is no single document that is its ultimate source. Every jurisdiction’s version of it is a local interpretation of precepts from the Quran and Hadith.
JGabriel
@MattF:
I think talking like a particularly slow cartoon turtle makes McConnell look and sound retarded, but, for whatever reason, some journalists seem to think it makes him sound “thoughtful.”
Baud
@Amir Khalid:
Um….
Jeffro
I know it’s morning and this is a new open thread, but I’m just laughing my ass off here at Adam’s late night open thread, with Roy More – “PEW PEW PEW!” LOL
Dems in 2018: “Just stop a second and take a look at these guys…really, America? PEW PEW PEW???”
I also think it would be bold for the party to get a little R-rated in their ads (why not, everything else is these days): “America, vote for Democrats – we’re not complete fuck-ups”. Kind of a low bar but still.
Be happy warriors today people and call about CHIP like David said.
clay
I think the primary victories of Trump and now Moore show that the hard-core Republican base is now mainly (solely?) motivated by culture war stuff.
Your bog-standard, tax-cuts-for-billionaires-and-slash-the-social-safety-net Republican isn’t going to be able to compete with the Islamic-terrorists-are-under-your-bed-and-the-feds-want-your-guns-and-liberals-want-to-outlaw-your-church-and-why-can’t-those-blacks-stand-up-for-the-anthem Republican. Even though, practically speaking, there’s barely a difference in the way these two types vote, the former can’t rouse the masses in the same way as the latter.
A Ghost To Most
@Amir Khalid: They want christian sharia, pure and simple.
Amir Khalid
@Baud:
Some of them may insist it’s the guidance of Christ they’ve chosen, but their hateful thought and deeds give them away.
Baud
@Jeffro:
Why vote for fuck-up lite when you can vote for the real thing?
Antonius
OT:
Hi folks. On advice from a previous thread, reposting here:
Decade-long lurker, perhaps 5-time commenter. Half my family is in Puerto Rico, and our family friends Darwin and Guadalupe Torres haven’t checked in from Barrio Collores, Jayuya.
If you can pass the word to anyone who might know anything, please help.
Tenar Arha
@Kay: Wow. To have to sit there. If it’s that embedded there’s no way to show them Snopes and debunk it. & if you ‘d told them to ask any public school teacher they knew, and finally get confirmation that it wasn’t true they’d ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ and move on to the next fact-less thing they believed.
So this is one more way that history will see Fox & right wing media over the past ~25 years training a whole generation of news consumers into ignoring everything outside of them as sources, just in time for Facebook etc to leverage that closed information loop into their social circles too. (TFW you realize that people will be studying our society with the same soupçon of incomprehension that we study Nazi Germany today).
Enhanced Voting Techniques
Why is their any surprise Moore won, The GOP base votes for circus clowns and Moore is a bigger clown than even Trump. The Base doesn’t see this as politics, it’s all entertainment to them like Big Time Wrestling and Moore is Second Childhood Cowboy Bible Boy. I am sure Moore will win the senate race against Jones easily because it’s a Red State and conservative moderates don’t have the balls to vote anything but Republican no matter how they loath the Republican canidate.
And in turn Moore will be outflanked to Right but an even bigger clown. If you want to see were is this going, go watch Alex Jones on InfoWars; some ranting and slobbering middle age blow hard crapping his pants all to sell junk to idiots.
hueyplong
When you fail to hurt enough people in today’s Republican Party, you end up being considered a RINO, because no REAL Republican could possibly fail to inflict serious damage if given a leadership role. So McConnell is the fall guy, like this guy (and Boehner before him):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4RGh5iAykY
On this board, it’s entirely appropriate to pick a clip that includes a character named Wilmer.
Jazzman
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym: My adult daughter has been struggling with the same issues for years and I’ve read everything I could get my hands on looking for ways to help her. I highly recommend Undoing Depression by Richard O’Connor, by far the best general-interest book on the subject I’ve found. The author is an experienced and compassionate therapist with his own history of depression, so he knows the subject well both professionally and personally.
I know depression is a long, hard slog, but hang in there–it can get better.
Another Scott
@clay: I worry about the “let’s rile up our voters’ lizard brains, the way we always do” stuff continuing to work, but honestly it hasn’t seemed that effective in actual elections since January. 20+% swings in areas where Donnie won aren’t uncommon. Sometimes it’s not enough, but it’s not hopeless. We can still beat them if we turn out.
The human brain responds to changes, not levels. If people are continuously outraged, the next outrage doesn’t cause much of an additional response. We can take advantage of Outrage Fatigue if we’re smart, also too.
How? Above my pay grade. But I do know that it will take resources. We have to work for, and donate to, groups that are working to make things better and working so that sensible people (who may not agree with us about everything) can win elections.
Keep fighting. The future isn’t inevitable. We have to work to build the future we want.
Cheers,
Scott.
Jeffro
Also: can we help the media make some hay out of Trumpov deleting his tweets? I think we can – email your favorite pundit or talking head about it today!
And while we’re at it, maybe encourage him to take Hillz’ advice and just delete his account? =)
bemused
@Amir Khalid:
Dopey people will believe anything. Yet, they aren’t worried about people wanting sharia like Christianity in this country.
Another Scott
@Antonius: Here’s hoping that your family and friends are Ok and will be getting the help they need soon. Spread the word far and wide (your representatives, too) – every little bit helps.
Good luck. Hang in there.
Cheers,
Scott.
rikyrah
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym:
Please get the help that you need.
[[[[HUGS]]]]
SFAW
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym:
Sorry to hear things are so rough for you. I think there’s a good chance your doctor can help with meds, and maybe he/she can help you find a decent therapist who takes insurance (although they’re getting much harder to find these days, I think).
Please take care of yourself.
FlipYrWhig
@Tenar Arha: Republicans are terrible hate-filled small-minded unreasoning bigoted people and like being that way. That’s what they want. I moved past sympathy and pity towards contempt long ago. I have a Trump-voting friend who believes stupid shit he reads on the Internet. He’s a graduate from an elite college and has been a teacher. He could know better. He doesn’t. He wants this. So when he emails me I ignore him. Fuck him, that’s what you get for choosing to be hideous.
Kay
The Trump Administration are lying again this morning.
When they try to sell the huge tax cut for millionaires remember how many times they lied about their health care bill.
Don’t believe ONE WORD without seeing actual text of the proposed bill. Trump lies and all of his low quality hires lie, and they’re desperate to pass a huge tax cut. They don’t give a shit about health care. They care about getting a huge tax cut.
They are going to bury us in lies on this tax bill and taxes aren’t like healthcare- there won’t be a tv host riding to the rescue to call them out on something like preexisting conditions. This is Job One for Trump’s wealthy backers- they don’t care about anything else. Remember what they traded for this tax cut- they backed this corrupt moron. They’ll need to be compensated for that. If they don’t get a tax cut then they discredited themselves and sold the country out for nothing.
Hal
http://www.marieclaire.com/politics/amp29434/ivanka-influence-over-trump/
Jeffro
@Baud:
The HippoDemoCratic Oath: “First, don’t do a lot of harm…aim for less harm than the GOP, anyway”. It…it just doesn’t soar, does it?
On a slightly related note, there must already be a beer called “Fuck-Up Lite” or “Fucked-Up Lite” or something. BRB.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
Has anyone ever seen a Trump supporter, you know the ones who say “he’s accomplished more in his first eight months than Obama did in eight years” ever list a Trump accomplishment?
I know they’re just echoing a line from the Noise Machine, but has anyone on the Machine ever actually tried to identify an accomplishment? Or is substance behind those kind of claims really that irrelevant?
Another Scott
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym: That’s rough. You’ve been through a lot.
I know insurance is a huge pain, but don’t give up on it. J’s physical therapist doesn’t take insurance, so J had to figure out the codes and file the paperwork with our insurance herself. It can take months to get reimbursed, but it does happen regularly after the initial delay. I know that’s a huge issue when money is tight, but make sure you investigate every avenue before giving up on it.
See what social services exist in your area, too. You pay taxes to help support them. They exist for a reason – to make the community stronger – don’t feel bad for using them.
Finally, make sure your parents and friends know you’re having a tough time. They can help even if it’s in small ways. Every bit of support is important in fighting depression.
Hang in there, and let us know how things go.
Best wishes,
Scott.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@Kay:
As always don’t lecture them, force them to explain it them like ask “So why didn’t Trump resend the order? I mean the way the man tweets about even the TV shows he watches you would think he would have mentioned this.” They won’t get they are staying nonsense until you make them say it out loud.
FlipYrWhig
@Ceci n est pas mon nym: I think they mostly mean something something Muslim ban, which was super effective, because you don’t see too many Muslims around. :/
eclare
@Kay: What the hell is that tweet trying to say? I don’t speak gibberish. I have worked in tax for over 25 years, both public firms and Fortune 100. Regarding whatever the Republicans propose, as Samuel Jackson put it, my eyes are wide fuckin’ open.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
And Trump, since his boy lost, it never happened
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/trump-deletes-tweets-backing-luther-strange
ROFL
Tenar Arha
@Antonius: Hi, I hope your family friends are safe and all right.
Just in case, I went looking for a recent story on google; they’re updating resources to their lists occasionally, so maybe there’s something new and more helpful here in this story published 16 hours ago in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper. (There’s a few Spanish language Facebook groups I haven’t seen mentioned).
FlipYrWhig
@eclare: It means “we’re not quite there but we’re close, watch me use my kickass Art of the Deal skillz.”
different-church-lady
@Kay:
They know and trust Russian trolls?
rikyrah
Tom Price’s travel combined personal and professional interests
09/27/17 08:40 AM
By Steve Benen
In 1991, George H. W. Bush’s chief of staff, John Sununu, was forced to resign in the wake of a specific kind of scandal: on multiple occasions, Sununu used government resources for his personal travel. The then-president first rebuked his top aide before eventually accepting his resignation.
When the story about HHS Secretary Tom Price’s private-jet travel first broke, it appeared that this was a different kind of controversy because the Republican cabinet secretary’s trips were strictly professional in nature. Politico moved the ball forward yesterday with a report that suggests Price actually mixed personal and professional interests while taking advantage of taxpayer-funded travel.
Another Scott
TheHill:
We can beat them if we show up.
Keep fighting. Eyes on the prize.
Cheers,
Scott.
rikyrah
Alabama Republicans ignore Trump’s advice in key Senate primary
09/27/17 08:00 AM
By Steve Benen
Donald Trump went all out for appointed Sen. Luther Strange (R) in his Alabama primary. The president endorsed him, tweeted about him, promoted his Fox News appearances, dispatched Vice President Mike Pence to campaign for him, and even headlined a local rally for him.
But Alabama Republicans ignored Trump’s advice. Roy Moore easily defeated Strange in their primary runoff yesterday, and soon after, some presidential tweets suddenly disappeared.
rikyrah
What Trump Does and Doesn’t Know About Puerto Rico
by Nancy LeTourneau September 27, 2017
When the devastation in Puerto Rico started to unfold, Donald Trump was silent about it all—too caught up in his racist rants about professional athletes. When he finally tweeted about it, here’s what he said:
…………………………….
That produced a lot of head-scratching. Why was the president talking about the island’s debt at a time like this?
Call me naive, but I think it was because he thought it made him look smart. If you want to appear that way, it helps to talk about something you know about. As we learned during the presidential campaign, if there is one thing Trump knows a lot about, it is debt and bankruptcy. He even went so far as to call himself the “king of debt.”
There is also the fact that what Trump knows about Puerto Rico is that they are the largest municipality to ever file for bankruptcy—because he was involved. To get the picture, take a look at what Daniel Wagner wrote about that a year ago.
……………………………….
When Trump heard that something was happening in Puerto Rico, I can imagine that this is the story that came to mind. He thought he knew something about this U.S. territory and decided to show off by tweeting about it. The trouble is, all he knew was how he had managed to rip off a golf course—contributing to the trail of debt that resulted in bankruptcy.
This president is incapable of empathizing with the suffering currently being experienced by the people of Puerto Rico. What he demonstrated with those tweets is that his first impulse is to go with what he knows…investors, debt and bankruptcy.
Alain the site fixer
@eclare: I made an oopsie last night and didn’t schedule the post. It’s there, I just neglected to put the date and time on it. Sorry folks, I was a bit distracted and I will try to not have it happen again!
germy
@Another Scott: Interesting that I’m not seeing this more widely reported.
Because if it had been a republican win I’d be seeing it everywhere in big headlines.
satby
@eclare: one of the things that tweet is saying is that their next best hope to kill Obamacare is after McCain is hospitalized and dying. Pretty crass, but then Grassley went there first.
Proving that passively killing people to gut heathcare access is a-ok!
El Caganer
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym: I’m sorry to hear that you’re going through this. A couple years ago I was struggling with a combination of depression, alcoholism and ADD, which made for a pretty lousy lifestyle. I was fortunate enough to get a very good cognitive behavioral therapist at Penn, who was a tremendous help. IIRC the CBT clinic at Penn charged about $80/hr. I don’t know if you’ve tried CBT or not, but I do know several people in addition to myself who have found it pretty effective for depression. Best of luck.
eclare
@Alain the site fixer: Can’t wait to go look! But I think someone else asked about it, not me. I know you’re dealing with a lot right now.
rikyrah
@Kay:
And yet, they kept on lying about the 2016 election.
Uh huh
Uh huh
Snarki, child of Loki
So, McConnell gets vaporized in a nuclear fireball?
Please proceed.
Shell
My thought when I heard the election results. So the Repubs have to deal with another lunatic in Congress? Oh, sob! Everything they’ve done and supported has made this possible. And now they have to own it.
TaMara, when you get back home-more duck pictures, please!
Kay
@eclare:
Right but tens of millions of people don’t understand taxes, at all. I’m not thrilled about this and I don’t mean to be patronizing but I deal with this once a week or so.
I regularly have people telling me probate fees or unpaid property tax is “the estate tax”. They leave here still believing it. I can (and do!) show them the county recorder and auditor records- they don’t care. They insist they pay a “death tax”.
Maybe you hang with a more sophisticated crowd, but if there is ANYWHERE these slick, lying douchebags can bamboozle people it’s taxes.
different-church-lady
@Kay: Zuckerberg don’t give a shit. Zuckerberg just takes what it wants.
TriassicSands
There are 100 senators. There are 52 Republican senators. How can you call 2 senators (McCain and Collins) a “wing” of the party? I don’t count Rand Paul here because his objections had nothing to do with moderation — the bill wasn’t extreme enough for him. And Murkowski never publicly rejected Graham-Cassidy, did she? That leaves 2 senators being referred to as the more moderate wing. Even if Murkowski was a likely “No” vote, the “wing” is still only three senators. That leaves 49 senators making up one wing and three the other. That must be the smallest “wing” in the world.
eclare
@satby: Oh I realized that that was the strategy, wait until McCain dies. And yes, it’s vile and tells you all you need to know (as if any of us needed more). I swear these people would let their grandmothers die in the street to punish poor people and cut taxes. I don’t know how they sleep at night.
rikyrah
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 9/26/17
Trump staff, lawyers in tow, to face Mueller in Russia scandal
Rachel Maddow reports on expectations that special counsel Robert Mueller will interview White House staff this week in the Trump Russia scandal, and notes how crowded the timeline since 2016 has become with known events.
different-church-lady
@Shell: I’m not sharing the joy — the evil-but-not-batshit-insane wing of the GOP senate is slowly being replaced by the evil-and-thoroughly-batshit-insane wing. And I see no evidence they’re going to pay for it.
rikyrah
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 9/26/17
Schiff: A lot more work to do on Russian use of social media
Congressman Adam Schiff, ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, talks with Rachel Maddow about how the investigation into Russia’s use of social media to interfere in the American democratic process is advancing.
rikyrah
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 9/26/17
San Juan mayor: ‘This is a big S.O.S. for anybody out there’
Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz of Puerto Rico’s capital city, San Juan, talks with Rachel Maddow about the desperate situation in her city and in Puerto Rico broadly, and expresses her frustration with an administration that is slow to deploy eager helpers.
rikyrah
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 9/26/17
Trump inauguration donor gets personal attention
Sam Stein, politics editor for The Daily Beast, talks with Rachel Maddow about a newly discovered example of apparent special access to White House officials given to a donor to Donald Trump’s inauguration fund.
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
@TriassicSands:
Hummingbird wing…
Barbara
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym: I’m sorry you feel this way. I hope you can find a drug that helps.
Chris
@danielx:
It says a lot about how completely brainwashed and unquestioning their voter base is that Trump’s people can simply announce “we’re going to put the blame for this on McConnell” – like, not just going out and blaming him, but actually announcing that their strategy is to blame him. And nobody will even think to question it. I mean, you might as well just have the White House spokesman pop up every morning and say “okay children, these are the things you’re expected to say and believe for this week…”
eclare
@Kay: Oh I know, I have ranted about the estate tax for years (slick marketing, renaming it the death tax, so people think it applies to everyone).
TriassicSands
@Shell:
Of course, the downside is that we also have to deal with another lunatic in Congress. And this isn’t an average, run-of-the-mill lunatic. This is a guy who may create his own new “wing” of the GOP in the Senate. As I wrote last night, Moore will be lying when he takes the oath of office to protect and defend the Constitution. That is just another man-made piece of nothing that is superseded by the Bible and Ten Commandments. About the only good thing one can say about Moore — he’s likely to be predictable. Find the craziest, most radical position with religious roots and that’s where Moore will be.
Assuming Moore wins, he will immediately streak to the top of the list of worst Senators in history.
TriassicSands
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes:
Nope, way, way smaller. I thought about mentioning a hummingbird and decided this wing would disappear on even the smallest hummers. The midget hummingbird wing…maybe.
Laura
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym: Take heart, you are taking active steps to wellness by reaching out, by recognizing behaviors, and a triggering event. And grief, heartfelt loss of a loved one. While you and your MD discuss med and therapy, small steps -you’ve gotten good advice here from your friends: sun exposure, tiny victories, here’s mine for your writing courtesy of Lynda Barry, a single page grid of 4 areas square 1 Things I saw, square 2 things I heard, square 3 things I did, square 4 a doodle. Its simple list making but good for the muscle memory. ((((Hug)))))
FlipYrWhig
@TriassicSands: At this rate Moore may immediately streak to the top of the list of worst _presidents_ in history.
rikyrah
@Bruce K:
They are sociopaths.
And now, they have to bring their agenda, out in the open, and can’t hide behind shyt.
The thing is, outside of the crazyfication factor, what they want to do repulses normal people.
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
And for any who followed my story the other day, more shit got ladled on the shit sandwich. Manbaby said he was going to come over next week (we were scheduled for Mexico), and daughter said “no”. He said he’s coming anyway, he wants her back. This was passed to me by youngest daughter on the promise of confidentiality – she sent me the text exchange between manbaby and middle daughter that middle daughter sent her. I called middle daughter with a vague warning about manipulation, abuse and the high likelihood that he was planning to come over to our home. She denied that he would ever do something and acted like I was crazy for suggesting it.
I talked to the Countess and to youngest daughter, and sent an anodyne text advising him and his mommy that neither were to come to my property and that I would block inbound texts from him, and followed that up with regular and certified mail.
Apparently, you can’t block iMessages, because he forwarded my text to her as he whined about me being “threatening”. She, of course, blew up at me for being presumptuous and not allowing her the power, blah, blah, blah. Oldest daughter is on my ass for making her decisions for her, and the Countess is angry over my statement this morning that we probably shouldn’t go to Mexico.
So now everybody but youngest hates me. And she’ll wind up hating me when she finds out from oldest that I told her about the text where he was saying he was coming over despite her objections.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@Chris: I am thinking Orwell was’t cynical enough that you could have a totalitarian society complete with a brainwashed masses while existing inside a democracy.
Barbara
This morning I read that Trump will now start pushing tax reform but will leave the details to Congress. Trump is still under the illusion that Ryan and McConnell somehow work for him. The problem is, McConnell is basically a tactician who pushes whatever you ask him to but is never going to be a creative policy maker, and that leaves Paul Ryan as the animating policy force — to fill the vacuum created because Trump is a lazy know nothing. As I told my husband ACA repeal actually would have stood a better chance if it Paul Ryan hadn’t used it as an opportunity to essentially repeal the existing Medicaid program as we know it. A rational president would have told him not to. In this case, we are fortunate to have such a disparate cast of cranks, crazies and losers.
TriassicSands
@different-church-lady:
My sentiments, exactly. (Except I’d call the first group “the evil-but-pretty-much-insane.” Their rejection of science and adherence to the fiction that tax cuts will pay for themselves is pretty much insane. Evilness covers their endless war on the poor and the perpetual call for lower taxes on the rich. Those two are the essence of the Modern GOP, but to vote “Yes” on something as monstrous as Graham-Cassidy you’d have to more than just evil. The fact that it would screw the poor was great (from the evil Right’s perspective), but the fact that it would also screw a bunch of Red States was more than just evil. It was crazy.
That said, Moore, to employ a cliche, is a game-changer.
Leto
@sdhays: Jeff Sessions 2.0
rikyrah
@Amir Khalid:
But, they are no longer the only game in town. Now, if they back away from the battlefield, the Mercers are ready to sweep in.
TriassicSands
@FlipYrWhig:
Sigh, You may even more pessimistic than I am. How do you find the strength to go on?
rikyrah
@Antonius:
I hope you hear from your family soon.
Jeffro
@rikyrah: On a couple of big issues, the Kochs and the Mercers do not agree and this can be exploited.
Barbara
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: Obviously the situation is of longstanding and your daughter has been conditioned to see her BF as having redeeming qualities. I don’t know how you gracefully ask someone why it doesn’t bother them to be used as a ping pong ball — leave, no, I love you, I’m coming to see you, and then what? She can’t grow up until she leaves him and she can’t bring herself to leave him because she isn’t grown up enough. Very, very tough. I would not cancel vacation. As hard as it is, and so long as she is not in danger, this is her life.
Ruviana
@Alain the site fixer: It was me. I’m just glad to know you’re more less okay.
Chris
@TriassicSands:
Also, calling McCain a moderate because for the first time since I can’t even remember when, he actually went against his party and stuck to his guns is being incredibly generous with the definition of that word. Voting for the party line 99% of the time instead of 100% doesn’t make you a “moderate” – it used to be standard behavior for politicians of all stripes, and on the Democratic side of the aisle, it still is. You might as well say Barry Goldwater was a moderate because of abortion and gay marriage.
But yeah, I agree with your larger points. I remember in 2008-2010, during the rise of the teabaggers, when various observers were wondering if there was going to be a “civil war” between moderates and conservatives, and I was like, no there isn’t – you need two sides to make a civil war. There might be a purge of people who are designated as “moderates” to be the sacrificial lambs blamed for the party’s disasters, but there’s no “moderate” faction left anywhere in the GOP that a politician might capture.
rikyrah
?When meeting with Russian spies to discuss attacking Hillary Clinton and getting rid of Magnitsky act, Trump was assured of Russian money.? https://t.co/USCuf4ZBsv
— Eric Garland (@ericgarland) September 27, 2017
sherparick
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym: I@Ian G.: Alabama has a population right now that is about 65% white/white Hispanic. That is probably an even larger share of the voting population given voter suppression rules and bars on convicted felons voting (and the way drug laws are enforced has left a significant proportion of the Black Alabama population as convicted felons. Between 85% to 90% of the white population vote Republican and Moore has won state wide office with his nutty views well known as recently as 2012 against the Democratic candidate. If Moore had stuck just to the religious nuttiness and gay bashing, he might have been able to draw some Social Conservative Black votes, but he went full birther on Obama and has made many odious statements. Still given white identity politics of Alabama, Moore will come to the Senate, although he will be taking the oath of office as he interprets it as statement of white Christian supremacy. Moore is seventy years old, and like Trump, the early Baby Boom continues to take its revenge on the country. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Moore
rikyrah
Mad!! 7:30 am and 20,000 people are already in their seats waiting to hear Michelle Obama who comes on at 9 #INBOUND2017 pic.twitter.com/tVeZY80FjM
— Joe Fitzgerald (@joewaterford) September 27, 2017
FlipYrWhig
@TriassicSands: I try to stay inside my decadent not-so-coastal enclave. Outsiders are loony. :/
rikyrah
A white man fired for refusing to obey the Constitution is “a really great guy” but a black NFL player who kneels is a “son of a bitch.” https://t.co/Ng1UKxvV1w
— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) September 27, 2017
eclare
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: Oh, wow…..social media sure does make it easy to stalk someone with no recourse. But if she insists on seeing him, then I guess it’s not stalking. Ugh. All of this drama must be so draining.
rikyrah
And nobody from Facebook or the Sanders campaign asked why ads were still being bought for Bernie by Russians after Hillary clinched it? pic.twitter.com/RVfdl0XCsy
— Eric Garland (@ericgarland) September 27, 2017
bystander
@oldgold:
Alabama will elect a rightwing kook no matter what. Moore will have none of the effectiveness nor any seniority of Sessions. Plus he would be nearly risible if he weren’t so completely nuts.
Best of all, twitler was left with loser egg on his loser face again. Scariest part to me is that this will signal to Trump that his friend Bannon is always right and mean old military school instructor Kelly is always wrong and never fun.
rikyrah
Columbia Journalism Review says journalists should be labeling President Trump’s rhetoric “racist” (https://t.co/xKq7IhfIC0) pic.twitter.com/20MGEZ1gPZ
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) September 26, 2017
rikyrah
Trump administration denies Puerto Rico’s request to waive the Jones Act, which it did for Harvey and Irma. https://t.co/dm2tcMfm2x pic.twitter.com/2O69ESjABV
— Matt Pearce (@mattdpearce) September 26, 2017
rikyrah
As the president said, you can’t drive to Puerto Rico in a truck. What the Jones Act does: https://t.co/l8qqsPvXCd pic.twitter.com/Oz8MrFaoHT
— Matt Pearce (@mattdpearce) September 26, 2017
“If the Jones Act did not exist, then neither would the public debt of Puerto Rico.” https://t.co/l8qqsPvXCd
— Matt Pearce (@mattdpearce) September 26, 2017
the Conster, la Citoyenne
@FlipYrWhig:
They hear about ICE rounding up kids at school and deporting DREAMERS and that’s what they wanted.
rikyrah
JUST IN: Trump admin refuses to lift shipping restrictions to help get supplies to Puerto Rico https://t.co/4HrdhGu7U1 pic.twitter.com/Mc27j5JOQZ
— The Hill (@thehill) September 26, 2017
rikyrah
I stood up to the KKK, I will stand up for Alabama. I will not embarrass you.
It begins right now.
Donate:https://t.co/6afPBKHSoN
— Doug Jones (@GDouglasJones) September 27, 2017
Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady)
@eclare: Mr daw listens to audio books in the car, and he had one the other day in which someone inherited money and was plotting how to avoid having the government take 50%. That’s one of the ways distortions get spread.
sherparick
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: Hi, I probably should not give advice to persons I do not know, but you should tell your middle daughter that, to be frank, you, your wife, and your youngest daughter should not be put in potential harms way by this relationship she has with the person called “Manbaby,” and that she should consider moving out if she wants to continue it. Probably the hardest person to convince of this course of action is the “Countess,” but there is a story every week about some young man massacring his estranged wife/girlfriends family. I don’t know if is that bad, but he does sound like a manipulative control freak.
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
@eclare:
Mentally, I’d estimate that my effectiveness is down 50%. I have no hearings today, but I do have a meeting or two.
Fixing this kind of shit is what I do for a living. I tried to get her into counseling a month ago when she’d come home to depressurize, but she hated my choice (it was someone I’ve worked with often, who I trust and use to get clients back on track). Apparently, she didn’t want a counselor to get her on track to functionality, she wanted someone to wallow about with in terms of exploring feelings. I got jumped by everybody in the family over that.
My fear – because I’ve seen it – is that empathy without some intervention leads to stagnation and reconciliation between the two of them. Ten years from now, when there are kids and opiate habits and child services and adult protective services involved, it all gets far more impossible to address. I’m skipping the middle part – this will NOT happen in my family, not on my watch. I’ve been badgered into empathy and simply allowing the choices to be made, all so I can worry.
GregB
Hang in there, Tissue Thin.
Chris
@Enhanced Voting Techniques:
Eh, I don’t know. Orwell was plenty cynical about the things he was writing about existing within democracies, too.
I don’t know if this happens in every edition, but my version of 1984 had a whole section in the back explaining the context in which the book was written and also pointing out how applicable many of the things Orwell was talking about applied plenty in our own society – i.e. the habit of using the phrase “free world” to include the friendly dictators in Africa and South America, and not just the countries that’re politically free. Part of what makes reading the guy so uncomfortable is that while his ostensible target is totalitarian regimes, it works very well outside of that context.
afanasia
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym: @Tissue Thin Pseudonym: re: antidepressants, I’ve found that even what seem like small changes in the dose or the time of day you take them, can make a big difference. Hang in there :)@Tissue Thin Pseudonym: it took me years to learn this, but re: meds,even small changes in dosage o in the time of day you take them can make a big difference – odds are you know that already, but…good luck to you :)
Barbara
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: I have children approximately your daughter’s age, and they don’t (so far) have any problems that are nearly so profound. Even so, I see how subtly parents, including me and my husband at times, obstruct their children from growing up by trying to protect them from the consequences of bad choices. That’s what your wife is doing. Maybe you too, in a different way. All I can say is that it never seems to work, and the older the kid is the harder it is for them to break free because by the time they are 22 it has become an ingrained habit. This stay/go stuff has to go though. It was good of you to pick her up. Next time, tell Manbaby’s mother to eat shit. You can give your daughter a prepaid credit card for emergencies if they really follow through and kick her out. Maybe she needs to experience that at least once to realize what complete shits they really are.
eclare
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: I’m not sure I understand what you mean by the middle part, but I’m only on the second cup of tea. Yeah, I can see the worry, because for whatever reason, she has chosen what sounds like a really rough life with manbaby over some sort of future. Not sure what you can do. Do you think he is violent, I guess would be my main question regarding your vacation? Do you have any relatives or friends who owe you big time that could stay at your house while you’re gone?
ETA> I would not want manbaby in my house or yard if I weren’t there.
schrodingers_cat
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: I would say stick to your guns, metaphorically speaking. You seem to know what you are talking about, just do it with some diplomacy. Good luck.
pat
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym:
Just a thought, have you considered a “replacement” for Dirk? I put it in quotes because no pet can actually be replaced, but a new one can take ones attention away from the loss. I know from experience.
Good luck with your dr. appt.
the Conster, la Citoyenne
@rikyrah:
How does either Rachel, Joy Reid or Berniebro Hayes get away with never mentioning Tad Devine in all of this?
Feathers
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym: Best of luck. I’ve been mucking through coping with my depression over the summer, finally went to a therapist appointment yesterday. The phone message she left had me worried, but the session itself went fairly well. I’m left with the problems of untangling ADHD left untreated for years, and the way family issues, depression and anxiety have tied my life in knots. This therapist seems like she will be good at untangling the family issues, but still worried about will she understand that the functional issues are real and not an issue of low self esteem?
I was about to delete and get all apologizey for dumping my problems on your thread, but then I realized that one of the ways this works is that you usually end up working on one of the issues in each go round at therapy. Last time I realized that I can cope with the ADHD symptoms, its the anxiety and depression that are the real debilitating issues. This time, maybe it is the family problems that are what I must face.
different-church-lady
@FlipYrWhig: You know, I’m beginning to think Bannon’s the one who’s actually running the world at this point. Sure, you made some dark humor there, but right now Bannon’s got more swagger than Trump. When he comes up with someone even crazier to run in Tennessee and if that guy wins it’s going to stop seeming funny and start seeming like a movement.
different-church-lady
@Barbara:
We can thank the lord above that man is a lazy fuck.
Tissue Thin Pseudonym
@pat: Dirk was one of three cats in the house. I still have Harry and Finnick around.
different-church-lady
@bystander:
That idea should scare the everlovin’ fuck out of us.
eclare
@different-church-lady: Supposedly Bannon figured into Corker’s retirement. Yeah, AL, watch your back, TN is about to outcrazy you!
Formerly disgruntled in Oregon
@Ian G.: We won’t know if we don’t try. We should try!
Tarragon
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym:
Best of luck with your doc.
We’re all pulling for you and lots of people here have or are going though this too (raises hand)
Also, too:
this image always makes me happier
Formerly disgruntled in Oregon
@?BillinGlendaleCA: The Mercedes get the Republican Party, the Kochs get the Libertarian Party. And everyone else gets the Democratic Party!
NeenerNeener
@satby: Thanks!
grandpa John
@Amir Khalid: Evil is as evil does. I imagine that using some of that money to build housing and health clinics for homeless or needy folk never manages to intrude into their soulless amoral thoughts
Alain the site fixer
@Ruviana: Thanks! It’s crazy how stressful it is caring for an ailing parent when you’re an only child! I am so lucky I don’t have as many other pressures as so many other folks (office job, kids) to juggle with this, but it still erodes my focus.
West of the Rockies (been a while)
@NeenerNeener:
Do be sure to name the structure Toad Hall.
grandpa John
@Amir Khalid: It looks as if republican bibles contain only the books of the old testaments, their memories appear to be lacking any of the red letter words in the new testament where Jesus outlined the the expected behavior of those who call themselves christian
Blue Galangal
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes:
I kind of just want to hug you. There’s no “of course” here. Manbaby threw her out *in the dead of night* with only the clothes on her back – wait, no, he had his *mommy* throw her out, and you and the rest of your family being dragged backwards through a blackberry bush of all this drama, and she’s upset with *you*? Yeah. NO.
It sounds like you’re thinking very long term here, and my immediate response, besides empathy for you, wouldn’t be very helpful for that long term because I would be more on the lines of “out you go, don’t call me next time.” However, that would lead directly to a return to him, trailing clouds of glory and martyrdom. BUT I am not sure I could go away to Mexico knowing he was going to show up to my house, for sure. It would not be peaceful or relaxing. It will be worrying about what’s going on and dreading the phone ringing.
I have a friend who’s been in AlAnon for a long time and she has a great story she’s fond of telling when people ask how they’ve know they’ve hit bottom. The story is from a woman whose husband abused her and the woman kept returning for the cycle of abuse as often happens, begging God for a sign. One day he ran over her in the driveway. She was laying there as police and ambulances were called, beseeching God for a sign. She finally realised in the ambulance that she had in fact received a sign. The happy ending is she did leave him and divorce him and did not get run over again.
Kathleen
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym: Way late to the thread but hope you somehow feel the hugs.[[[[]]]]]]
Another Scott
@sherparick: Yeah, all those non-boomers like Reagan and Rumsfeld and Cheney and Nixon and Rehnquist and Scalia and McConnell and Phil Gramm and all the rest had nothing to do with the state the USA is in today.
It continues to be the Boomers fault.
Thanks for the reminder.
(groucho-roll-eyes.gif)
:-/
Cheers,
Scott.
Another Scott
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: I’m sorry.
You know this stuff better than me and I’m sure you’ve considered all the options. But just to throw some things out there (no need to reply):
1) Take her with you on the vacation?
2) (Somehow) get a restraining order against Manbaby?
3) Put an app on her phone to track her then kick her out? (I wouldn’t include a pre-paid credit card, myself. She can contact you.)
4) Involuntary commitment of her to “dry out” emotionally?
There are often no good options, but some are worse than others.
Be safe. Don’t beat yourself up if you can’t “fix” the situation. Sometimes, situations just can’t be fixed.
:-(
Cheers,
Scott.
J R in WV
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym:
So sorry to hear about your depression. I’ve written you a note on your web site. I have lost iou to him. You gave him a safe home and love and affection, not to mention the supremely important thing to all cats, dinner. We have two nearly-feral rescues who now sit on laps and on the bed with us, and even though dinner is important, the other 20 hours of the day the love and affection is far more important.
Please take care, reach out to me if you like. Best wishes!
JR
J R in WV
@Ruviana:
@OzarkHillbilly:
Sleeping in? Maybe, if he had to work desperately til the wee am hours to get a commercial product he supports back up and running for a paying client.
J R in WV
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes:
@TriassicSands:
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes:
Guys, think housefly wing…
TenguPhule
@rikyrah:
Sorry, but this is WRONG and a zombie lie that needs to stop being spread.
The Jones Act has NOTHING to do with Puerto Rico’s debt.
J R in WV
@TriassicSands:
Guys, think house-fly wing of the Republican Party, isn’t that the size you’re talking about?
Texasboyshaun
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym: really late to the thread so sorry about that. Depression is hard enough-I’ve has it for almost 30 years- and losing a pet just feeds it. One thing that has helped me, besides my antidepressant, has been getting on testosterone replacement therapy. Mine was really low and after two months on it I’m starting to notice a difference, mentally a physically. I think low estrogen can have similar effects in women. Maybe ask your doctor to have your hormone levels checked…? It might be worth a shot. I hope you feel like yourself again and you’re not alone in this battle.
chopper
@Frankensteinbeck:
this is what happens when you elect people who only know how to throw sand in the gears.
J R in WV
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym:
” I still have Harry and Finnick around.”
I thought this was the case, and am so glad I recalled correctly. Use those wonderful kitties for as much scritching and affection as they will put up with, because nothing soothes us cat lovers as much as a purring kitty lying on us, purring.
Again, Best of luck with everything!!
Elizabelle
@satby: I love knowing how to make a toad abode.
Thank you. Ribbbittt.
Elizabelle
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym: Best to you, TTP. You’ve gotten good advice here. I’d say: get outside a bit; notice the weather and sensations and colors while you are out, hug on those kitties, and do some little thing — just do it, don’t wait to choose the “best” thing — make a recipe, clean a drawer. Try to spend less time online and do something.
I hope you can figure out a way to see more of the therapist you like. Does she know you’re having trouble funding it?
Last: you have genuine writing talent. Be proud of that.
Feathers
@satby: Very late to thread, am apartment dweller, but I love the idea of having “dig out the toads” on a spring to do list.
Bobby Thomson
@TenguPhule: They showed their work.
Daddio7
@Texasboyshaun: Yes, yes, yes. After 20 years of seeing female doctors I hit rock bottom and became at 56 became physically disabled and severely depressed. After six years of this I was seen by a male doctor. One of the first words out of his mouth was I had low testosterone. After one shot I felt terrific and my depression totally lifted. I do not have the strength to work but I want to now. Doctors think men just want testosterone to increase their virility. After that doctor left the area I had to search for one who would continue my therapy. Damn the war on drugs.
No One You Know
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym: Yeah. Been there. Getting there again. I’m giving myself permission to not focus on just one project while I continue a seemingly endless, fruitless job hunt. The project itself isn’t the goal anymore. Stopping the slide is. So, self-applied art therapy: cheap student acrylics and heavy paper it is. I’m getting one note card done a day now, and it’s OK if I tear it up later.
Wishing you well, and that you can keep getting up in the morning.