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You are here: Home / Politics / Trumpery / Hail to the Hairpiece / Open Thread: Not All Heroes Wear Capes

Open Thread: Not All Heroes Wear Capes

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“Men are afraid women will laugh at them. Women are afraid men will kill them.”

Local columnist Petula Dvorak, in the Washington Post:

It was the middle-finger salute seen around the world.

Juli Briskman’s protest aimed at the presidential motorcade that roared past her while she was on her cycling path in Northern Virginia late last month became an instantly viral photo.

Turns out it has now cost the 50-year-old marketing executive her job.

On Halloween, after Briskman gave her bosses at Akima, a government contracting firm, a heads-up that she was the unidentified cyclist in the photo, they took her into a room and fired her, she said, escorting her out of the building with a box of her things.

“I wasn’t even at work when I did that,” Briskman said. “But they told me I violated the code-of-conduct policy.”…

Because Briskman was in charge of the firm’s social-media presence during her six-month tenure there, she recently flagged something that did link her company to some pretty ugly stuff.

As she was monitoring Facebook this summer, she found a public comment by a senior director at the company in an otherwise civil discussion by one of his employees about the Black Lives Matter movement.

“You’re a f—— Libtard a——,” the director injected, using his profile that clearly and repeatedly identifies himself as an employee of the firm…

Did the man, a middle-aged executive who had been with the company for seven years, get the old “Section 4.3” boot?

Nope. He cleaned up the comment, spit-shined his public profile and kept on trucking at work.

But the single mother of two teens who made an impulsive gesture while on her bike on her day off?

Adios, amiga…

There’s at least one GoFundMe account set up in her name, but I don’t know if it’s been verified.

In the Good News department, the retired children’s librarian who laughed at Jeff Sessions in public will not be charged a second time. Maybe Sessions’ lawyers convinced him he’ll be too busy elsewhere to give this case his full attention?

Reader Interactions

187Comments

  2. 2.

    jharp

    Why would anyone want to work for such fucking dicks?

    She will look back on the day she was fired as a good thing.

  3. 3.

    debbie

    I hope she’s working on objecting to that disparate treatment, and I hope she gets a huge settlement.

  5. 5.

    Mike J

    @jharp:

    Why would anyone want to work for such fucking dicks?

    Paycheck. Actually liking your job or the people at it is a luxury that the majority of people don’t have.

  6. 6.

    Suzanne

    @jharp:

    Why would anyone want to work for such fucking dicks?

    MONEY.

    What we want and what we need has been confused, been confused……

  8. 8.

    jl

    Since open thread, after today’s election is over, need some posts to contact Congress on the tax bill. From what I heard on the news this morning, seems like enough horrible provisions will come out that can get it killed. As, for example:
    Tax deduction for uninsured property losses in accident eliminated unless part of officially declared federal disaster area ( think that is right, the wording in the report was a little unclear)
    Elimination of deduction for medical expenses
    And, expansion of favorable pass-through income treatment does not apply to anyone who actually works for a living. So if you are a doctor or an engineer, you don’t get it. Amazing. I guess this is another screw-their-own-base provision.

    And in same news report, i heard donors are really pissed that their bennies are not big enough. Why wait for complete elimination of inheritance tax? Why not get rid of it all right now now now? And some GOP House fink said the donors are doubling down on their threats to walk if they don’t get everything.These jerks are despicable, and on the up side, insane, incompetent and childish.

    If Senate can even be persuaded to just moderate the tax slash scam substantially, could really jam things up. And if McConnell tries to ram through an extreme bill, could see a repeat the humiliating public fiasco on healthcare.

  11. 11.

    JMG

    A government contracting firm? That doesn’t sound too suspiciously vague or anything. Perhaps a Democratic Congressperson could drop them a friendly phone call saying “when we get the majority, your business is toast. Prepare for much testifying.”

  12. 12.

    Mary G

    @jl: I had stopped calling Darrell Issa as often, but when this bill came out I went back to every day, plus postcards/faxes. I have thousands of dollars in medical expenses and have itemized for years, even without a mortgage, and would have to pay a lot more in taxes. I actually think that’s OK for me, but most disabled people didn’t have my choice to keep working as long as I did and a mom who believed in owning your own home in an area where prices skyrocketed.

  13. 13.

    Roger Moore

    @jl:

    And some GOP House fink said the donors are doubling down on their threats to walk if they don’t get everything.

    That seems like a red flag telling the Democrats to double down on defeating it by all means fair or foul. Getting a good policy outcome and creating a schism between Republican elected officials and their ultra-rich donors? Where do I sign up?

  14. 14.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    OT – Was in Bowling Green today, talking to a lawyer who knows Rand Paul and his attacker. Seems that they actually have been squabbling over yard waste for years. Paul is goofy and the last person in that neighborhood doing his own yard work. The neighbor hasn’t practiced medicine for a decade, had some brain injury.

    Things boiled over. My informant despises both of them.

  15. 15.

    boatboy_srq

    The standard, it is double.

    Hope she finds someplace worthwhile. There are plenty of libprog businesses in NoVA, but nowhere near as many as should be: it’s Defense Contractor Central.

  17. 17.

    Roger Moore

    @Mary G:
    Amazingly enough, Issa has actually come out against the bill in its current form. I guess he can read the electoral tea leaves well enough to know he doesn’t want any part of it.

  18. 18.

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

    @Amaranthine RBG:
    I sincerely hope you’re joking. All those guys did was risk their own lives and the lives of others chasing that guy at 95 miles an hour down the interstate. What if they had lost control? Or exchanged gunfire on the freeway, killing bystanders? This isn’t an action movie, this is real life.

  19. 19.

    boatboy_srq

    @JMG: See my comment #15. NoVA is big on defense: Bechtel, BAE, Rolls Royce, Mitre, Lockheed, Northrup, all are here. There are a number of less-MilInd contractors out there, but these guys are the big players. Don’t expect any Dems to do much about this (right away).

  20. 20.

    jharp

    “Why would anyone want to work for such fucking dicks?”

    “Paycheck. Actually liking your job or the people at it is a luxury that the majority of people don’t have.”

    Paycheck. Actually liking your job or the people at it is a luxury that the majority of people don’t have.’

    “MONEY”.

    I teach my kids differently. Do not go to work for assholes. It will cost you in the end.

    And yes. We were all born on first base so my family can enjoy that option.

  21. 21.

    jl

    @Roger Moore: For the sake of my bilious splenetic true-blue BJ soul, the bleating of that House GOPer over donor threats cheered me up. These ghouls are already pissing their pants over getting something passed that is horrible enough to please their donors, so will be that much easier to get them shitting their pants with some salutary and healthy citizen input on their outrageous BS.

  23. 23.

    gbbalto

    @jharp: Very nice for you! Perhaps they didn’t appear to be such dicks when she hired on. Single mom – may not be so easy to quit on purity principles.

  24. 24.

    Major Major Major Major

    @jharp:

    I teach my kids differently. Do not go to work for assholes. It will cost you in the end.

    And yes. We were all born on first base so my family can enjoy that option.

    So you know it’s not a very universally-applicable piece of advice and you still use it to judge people?

  25. 25.

    germy


    Desiree Fairooz tells me she’s relieved she’s no longer facing “a criminal conviction for a chortle”

    That’s how it starts with you liberals. First a chortle, then a guffaw. Pretty soon you’re tittering, cackling, and finally snickering. An example should have been made of her.

  27. 27.

    TenguPhule

    @jl:

    If Senate can even be persuaded to just moderate the tax slash scam substantially, could really jam things up. And if McConnell tries to ram through an extreme bill, could see a repeat the humiliating public fiasco on healthcare.

    Not willing to risk it. Kill it in the womb, we must.

    This time the fuckers have an actual threat looming over their heads which will force out a compromise bill, the donors cut off the money if they don’t.

  28. 28.

    TS

    @Roger Moore:

    Amazingly enough, Issa has actually come out against the bill in its current form. I guess he can read the electoral tea leaves well enough to know he doesn’t want any part of it.

    Only thing Issa wants is re-election – which is doubtful & impossible if he supports this bill

  35. 35.

    Suzanne

    @jharp: Lots of us have worked terrible jobs in order to maintain a roof over our heads. While I recommend doing something else if you have the option, not many people are overwhelmed with options.

  36. 36.

    Mary G

    @Roger Moore: I haven’t been down there myself, but there is a protest outside Issa’s local office every Tuesday since election day, exactly one year. That’s dedication. Today’s is still going on, but last week they had more than 600 people attend.

    My new hero is Ted Lieu, representative of probably the bluest district in So. California, Santa Monica & Malibu. His twitters responding to Trump are great, and WaPo has a great article today on “‘I can’t do this again’: Why a congressman walked out of moment of silence for Texas victims.” He broadcasted on Facebook instead that he’s a Catholic, he prayed on Sunday, but he’s a legislator, so he wants to pass gun safety laws rather than make empty gestures.

  37. 37.

    TenguPhule

    @Major Major Major Major:

    Does this mean I have to refrain from flipping Trump off to artificially constrain supply?

    No, it means we have to petition Congress to get wrist supports as tax write offs.

    Those fingers aren’t going to flip themselves.

  43. 43.

    smintheus

    I flipped off Bush’s motorcade in 2004. Lots of people must’ve done it to one lousy Republican president or another over the years. Never heard of anyone getting fired for it before.

  54. 54.

    Suzanne

    @smintheus: The ex-Mr. Suzanne and I flipped off Bush’s giant head on an outdoor screen at a debate-watch event in 2004. A photographer took a photo of us with our fingers silhouetted against the screen. Spawn the Elder was on my shoulders. I joked that the photo should be called “American Gothic”.

  55. 55.

    Suzanne

    @mai naem mobile: Rand Paul has said that mowing the lawn is calming and therapeutic for him. Of all the reasons to hate the entitled twit, mowing his own lawn is not one of them. I also have a hard time being pissed at him for composting or gardening.

    Of course, I have an HOA, and my HOA is very reasonable, and I still hate it.

  56. 56.

    trollhattan

    @Mary G:
    That’s a hell of a contrast to Pence with his “I’m a Christian first, conservative second and Republican third.”

    Ted Lieu for emperor!

  57. 57.

    Duane

    @jl: That GOP House fink was Collins of New York. Flat out admitted it. In a sane world, that should end the sellout’s political career.

  58. 58.

    Gravenstone

    In sports news, former MLB pitcher Roy Halladay has been killed in a private plane crash. Hell of a pitcher. And judging by the depths of the remarks from his former organizations and teammates, a hell of a man as well.

  59. 59.

    A Ghost to Most

    @jharp:
    In a past life, I worked for Akima for five years. Owned (was then) by some rich fuck of Hawaiian descent, using it to snag contracts because it was native owned. He seemed pretty skeevy.

  60. 60.

    NotMax

    @NotMax

    Quickie search did find this.

    Some pretty important mayoralty races today – New York, Atlanta, Boston, Minneapolis, New Orleans, Pittsburgh, Seattle and Charlotte.

  63. 63.

    la caterina (Mrs. Johannes)

    @NotMax: We have one in NY- a proposal for a Constitutional Convention. All good lefties voted “no” on that one because there’s too much we could lose and whatever we’d gain could easily be done by standalone amendment to the state constitution.

  65. 65.

    Fair Economist

    @Mike J:

    Add Ted Poe, TX-02 to the list of Republicans who aren’t running in ’18.

    Doesn’t that make two retirements just today?

  66. 66.

    Jeffro

    If Chris Matthews kisses this (Richmond Times-Dispatch) prick’s ass one more time I’m going to put a shoe through my fucking tv

  68. 68.

    Calouste

    @Duane: Even in a sane country it would.

    In Britain, although hardly an example of sanity these days, the Defense Secretary resigned last week over allegations of sexual misbehavior for example.

  75. 75.

    Jeffro

    @hueyplong: wanted to see what the blessed “hot take” was on cable news, no matter how many times I’ve railed against its utter stupidity

    I’m like Pookie in NEW JACK CITY: “…that shit be calling me, man, it be calling me…”

  79. 79.

    TenguPhule

    @Yarrow: Hell, the government may collapse their any day now since the PM is such a weak putz that she can’t control her own foreign policy Department.

  80. 80.

    TenguPhule

    @Baud:

    I’ve decided to be pre-angry and hopefully will be presently surprised by the amount of our wins.

    And here you thought us cynics didn’t have any good points!

  83. 83.

    Calouste

    @Yarrow: I noticed that Papandopoulos lived in London, and Carter studied in London. I doubt that the Russians set up a spy operation in London exclusively to recruit Americans who happened to come by, and distribute some polonium.

  87. 87.

    Yarrow

    @Calouste: London is a hotbed of spy activity. Russians are not the only ones. Also, Cambridge Analytica does not have “Cambridge” in its name by accident.

  88. 88.

    Gelfling 545

    @jl:
    “And some GOP House fink said the donors are doubling down on their threats to walk if they don’t get everything.”
    That would be Chris Collins. Contender for dumbest man in Congress.

  89. 89.

    ByRookorbyCrook

    @la caterina (Mrs. Johannes):

    We have one in NY- a proposal for a Constitutional Convention. All good lefties voted “no” on that one because there’s too much we could lose and whatever we’d gain could easily be done by a standalone amendment to the state constitution.

    Conservatives are against it as well. NYPIRG is ‘neutral’. Every union is against because it is a raid on the pension piggy bank. I have heard a lot of Public Defenders are for the Convention because the deck is so stacked with county courts, but I haven’t seen any other groups being aggressively ‘for’, except for front groups.

  91. 91.

    TenguPhule

    @Yarrow: The incompetence of the Tories is really quite shocking. They’ve just been given a deadline by the EU that promises to be painful when the Brexit crew fails to meet it. They are perhaps the only country on Earth in deeper shit then we are.

  96. 96.

    TenguPhule

    @trollhattan: They are, but they can’t negotiate worth a damn. 6 months in and they’ve accomplished nothing as far as defining the terms. So hard Brexit crash looks increasingly likely.

  97. 97.

    FlipYrWhig

    @MomSense: Didn’t they work together at the RNC? Is it kind of a “oh, it’s all an act, I know that guy, for real, he’s cool” sort of thing?

  98. 98.

    Yarrow

    @trollhattan: Maybe I didn’t phrase that well. It’s happening but the negotiations are going very badly. The Tories can’t figure out how to negotiate anything, the EU is playing hardball and that means the UK will end up with a very hard Brexit. By “not happening” I meant “going very poorly, hardly going at all.”

  100. 100.

    debbie

    @smintheus:

    I flipped off Nixon when he spoke here in the 1970 Congressional elections. Unfortunately, as I was wearing my school uniform, I was found out and served a detention for my action.

  102. 102.

    Mary G

    With 4% in, it’s a virtual tie. Am I right in remembering that No. VA votes come in later than the rest of the state, or is that just wishful thinking? I know, I need to calm down, but I just can’t.

  103. 103.

    Patricia Kayden

    On Halloween, after Briskman gave her bosses at Akima, a government contracting firm, a heads-up that she was the unidentified cyclist in the photo

    Why though? Unless they could identify her as the cyclist, I would have kept my mouth shut.

  105. 105.

    TenguPhule

    @Yarrow:

    It’s happening but the negotiations are going very badly.

    A clusterfuck in an omnishambles bearing down on catastrophe, I believe some observers have put it.

  107. 107.

    smintheus

    Have a working-class neighbor who allowed himself for no particular reason some years ago to be flipped from Democrat to Republican. His ancestry is Irish; you know the saying, the Irish are a people who remember everything and forgive nothing.

    Just struck me that that’s no longer the case, though. Republicans have really managed to convince a lot of people who ought to know better to remember nothing and forgive them everything.

  108. 108.

    WaterGirl

    Any idea what time we can expect to know about VA and all the other important elections? After the election a year ago, I don’t think I can look until we have the final result. Bastards! Stole the election and stole my faith in our elections.

  109. 109.

    trollhattan

    @TenguPhule: @Yarrow:
    Ah, got it.

    Too bad they’re stuck with May for the time being, it would be nice to see a Labour coalition in power to maybe put the brakes on the whole thing. It’s like the country is getting into boats headed back to Dunkirk.

  111. 111.

    FlipYrWhig

    @Mary G: From Blue Virginia blog:
    +++
    Gentle reminder to all my Virginia politicos with short memories and non-Virginia political neophytes watching tonight’s results that the results will come out in this order:

    1. Rural Virginia (dark red)
    2. Hampton Roads (purple)
    3. Richmond and the burbs (purple)
    4. Arlington/Alexandria (dark blue)
    5. Loudoun and Prince William (light blue)
    6. Fairfax (blue)
    +++
    Near the bottom of the top part of this page: http://bluevirginia.us/2017/11/live-blog-virginia-election-results-2017

  112. 112.

    Francis Fauquier

    Results looking really really good for Northam so far even in my disgustingly Red County. Still early, but Northam is seriously outstripping Hillary and McAuliffe in white, rural counties/precincts.

  113. 113.

    Yarrow

    @Patricia Kayden: She was their social media manager (or one of them) and felt it was better to give her bosses a heads up rather than have them be surprised. She’d already acknowledged it was her on her personal social media account, so she couldn’t really pretend it wasn’t her.

    Her better move might have been to deny it from the beginning, but once it was out she probably figured it was just a matter of time before her employer got wind of it since the photo had gone so viral.

  118. 118.

    JPL

    @Mary G: I’ve been working my tail off for a local candidate where I live in GA. It’s non-partisan, so national politics don’t enter into the race. I told another volunteer, that I’m more concerned about VA race.

  119. 119.

    Patricia Kayden

    @Mary G: Yes, Northern Virginia is the last counted and usually pulls the state blue. It will probably be a late night before the winner is announced.

  122. 122.

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

    @trollhattan:

    That’s a hell of a contrast to Pence with his “I’m a Christian first, conservative second and Republican third.”

    Remember, it’s only liberal SJWs that play “identity politics”.

  123. 123.

    Mike J

    Dave Weigel‏ Verified account @daveweigel 23 minutes ago

    First exit has white vote at 68% — down from 72% in 2013. That’s good for Northam, if true.

  124. 124.

    TenguPhule

    @Suzanne: Just switch the tv off or change the channel. The result is baked in, no sense freaking out about the counting now.

  126. 126.

    japa21

    If you go by exit polling only, it looks good for Northam. He is even with or doing better than Clinton did in exit polls in all categories. Not by much, but she beat Trump by 5%.

  130. 130.

    Mike in Pasadena

    Was ther some big news about the 25 Texas worshippers coming back to life after Sunday’s shooting? I just belatedly read that Paul Ryan defended his thoughts and prayers bullshit by saying on Fox that the secular left doesn’t understand that prayer works. No follow up question asking HOW prayer works. Rethuglicans have been uttering “thoughts and prayers” after mass shootings for years now. Yet, we ccontinue to have more mass shootings and more dead people that stay dead dead dead. How exactly have those prayers worked?

  131. 131.

    eclare

    CNN reporting that POS pressured Pompeo for six to eight weeks to meet with some conspiracy theorist that believes the DNC hack was an inside job. Pompeo met with him today.

  134. 134.

    TenguPhule

    Good News if this bears out on the Tax Cut Front

    There are other major differences between the House bill and what Senate lawmakers are preparing to introduce.

    House Republicans have ensured that Americans will be able to deduct up to $10,000 in local property taxes from their federal taxable income, but that provision is not expected to be in the Senate bill unless a last-minute change is made.

    Senate Republicans also do not plan to collapse the seven income tax brackets that families and individuals pay down to four brackets, another major difference from the House GOP approach.

    The Senate plan is expected to keep roughly seven brackets, though they are expected to either lower the tax rates paid by some of these brackets or change what income levels pay certain brackets.

    There will be a number of other changes to the taxes that certain businesses pay and the way companies are taxed on overseas earnings. Senate negotiators aren’t planning to include a temporary $300 “family flexibility credit” contained in the House bill. It’s this credit, which would expire after five years, that has fueled criticism that the House bill would eventually lead to higher taxes for some middle class families.

    Far enough apart that there’s plenty of room to drive deeper wedges between the House and Senate.

  136. 136.

    FlipYrWhig

    @japa21: That’s what I said on No More Mr. Nice Blog. Let’s not forget that Hillary Clinton won by 5 and Terry McAuliffe, WHO NOBODY EVEN LIKED, won 4 years ago.

  138. 138.

    eclare

    @p.a.: We need Menendez to survive til the D takes office in January. Not worried about the D winning, worried about the timing of the verdict. Personal opinion is that even if he’s found guilty, stay in office til January. Bring a gun to a gun fight for once.

  143. 143.

    Baud

    @eclare:

    CNN reporting that POS pressured Pompeo for six to eight weeks to meet with some conspiracy theorist that believes the DNC hack was an inside job.

    Brazille or Warren?

  144. 144.

    Sloane Ranger

    @Yarrow: Not to mention Priti Patel. Just heard on the news she had several other meetings with Israeli officials she didn’t bother mentioning to anyone. She’s going to get really roughed up in the Commons as the Speaker has granted an urgent question. Couldn’t happen to a nicer person. She’s an arrogant entitled prick who thinks the US Republican party is too left wing!

  145. 145.

    amygdala

    @japa21: And only 1% of the Fairfax vote in, according to the NYT.

    I’m so glad you all are here as I give myself carpal tunnel syndrome refreshing the returns and wondering if a Mylanta smoothie might settle my stomach.

  146. 146.

    NotMax

    @

    And in very early and extremely sparse numbers from those northern counties (stir in several Lot’s wives worth of salt), Gillespie almost 30% behind.

  147. 147.

    Kirk

    @jharp:
    So there I sat. House seized in foreclosure, my only income from odd jobs on an irregular cycle, daughter with a chronic condition that required a couple hundred dollars of medication a month and wife’s medication doing the same. In Georgia, all because I had the effrontery to be a bit old, educated and experienced in a declining profession at the start of the great recession — lots and lots of qualified applicants for a handful of positions nationwide.

    If Koch or Trump had offered me a regular wage job doing something I hate, I’d have taken it. Because there’s this threshold below which keeping family healthy plus roof overhead and food on the table trumps everything.

    I got lucky. I got a job with a company I like and respect, doing things at which I’m good and enjoy doing. But when I see remarks like yours I keep wondering if you’ve been down that low, where first base is the dream because you’re still hoping to get your turn at bat.

    And honestly, I hope you never get there. I just hope that you’ll take a moment to recall we exist too.

  149. 149.

    FlipYrWhig

    Blue Virginia posters say that the “Not Larry Sabato” guy is already ready to call the race for Northam.

  150. 150.

    Calouste

    @TenguPhule: Problem for the Brits is that they didn’t have a negotiation position to start with. The rest of the EU was quite happy to see them go. It took a while for the Tories to get that, although I think they still haven’t completely.

  158. 158.

    NotMax

    Refuse to watch FOX as a rule. But if Karl Rove has another meltdown might be willing to make an exception.

  160. 160.

    FlipYrWhig

    @Baud: Exactly! I kept wanting to scream at the Hillary haters, many of whom were T-Mac haters before, that sometimes the “unlikeable” “corporatist” can surprise you. Sigh.

  161. 161.

    TenguPhule

    @Kirk:

    But when I see remarks like yours I keep wondering if you’ve been down that low, where first base is the dream because you’re still hoping to get your turn at bat.

    Amen. It took 12 years to crawl out from the bottom.

  162. 162.

    Mike J

    Dave Wasserman‏ Verified account @Redistrict

    Projection: Ralph Northam (D) has been elected next governor of VA, defeating Ed Gillespie (R). #VAGOV

  166. 166.

    Patricia Kayden

    @NotMax: Trump may be the one to have a Twitter meltdown and it should be epic now that he can rant in 280 characters.

  168. 168.

    p.a.

    @Baud: @eclare: Haven’t followed the polls in NJ; maybe I’m just channeling Suzanne after watching POS get elected pres.

    Speaking of channeling, I think the restless spirit of LBJ* has taken over Page and is just fucking with Rethugs for a laugh.

    *fuck LBJ

  171. 171.

    Kirk

    @TenguPhule: At ‘only’ 7: Ouch, you have my sympathy.

    Honestly, one of the things that helped me get through was support both on and off-list from commenter on this here site. Enough that I make ‘belong to a healthy blog famly’ part my recommendation to others in the boat as part of their social support networks.

  173. 173.

    debbie

    Also this from Mr. Wasserman:

    Pattern: Gillespie matching Trump's %s in a lot of red strongholds, but not his turnout. Meanwhile, seeing big enthusiasm edge in Dem strongholds.— Dave Wasserman (@Redistrict) November 8, 2017

  174. 174.

    debbie

    One more:

    Projection: Mark Herring (D) has won reelection as VA's AG, defeating John Adams (R). This time, looking like a *slightly* bigger margin than '13…— Dave Wasserman (@Redistrict) November 8, 2017

  176. 176.

    Suzanne

    @Yarrow: Yeah, definitely better than yesterday. Just talked to Spawn, and she sounded much improved from how she was in the ER. She was allowed off her unit and has been to activities and therapy. Her roommate is transgender, which thrills her. She said she is liking group therapy more than one-on-one so far because she can get stuff out of it without having to talk the whole time. So….progress?

  177. 177.

    Suzanne

    Political Wire has called it for Northam. I haven’t seen any of the other networks call it. Weird.

  179. 179.

    guachi

    NYT has their projection as Northam winning by 7.9% when it’s all said and done. I think Clinton won by 5.3% in 2016. A 2.6% swing is probably more of a blue switch than you’d expect from Virginia (it’s the state trending blue the fastest, but 2.6% in one year is still large)

  180. 180.

    smintheus

    @TenguPhule: Sorry to hear that. I had the misfortune to graduate just when Reagan was creating the worst the economy since the Great Depression.

  181. 181.

    Ruckus

    @TenguPhule:

    It helps that they’ve never read the Constitution.

    Some of them seem unable to read anything written in any year with more than 3 digits. dense comes to mind.

  182. 182.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    @jharp:

    I teach my kids differently. Do not go to work for assholes.

    It may surprise you to learn that many assholes do not come conveniently labeled for public identification. In fact, many times their assholishness emerges only in clutch situations like this.

  183. 183.

    Ruckus

    @smintheus:
    Jesus would have flipped off Nixon for sure. He probably would have come back just for that. He would have apologized for drumpf. Everybody gets it wrong once in a while.

  184. 184.

    Ruckus

    @Mike in Pasadena:

    How exactly have those prayers worked?

    Not to be too much of a smartass, but not fucking at all.
    Of course the standard comeback is they were answered and the answer was no.

  185. 185.

    Ruckus

    @Kirk:
    I didn’t have the wife and kid thing hanging over my head but yeah, the last recession wasn’t nearly as much fun as the others I’ve been through. Back in the early 80s I had 6 people working for me and all the work dried up. We went 4 months with no work. I cut down the hours, first to 40 (we normally worked 48 at the time) then 32. We painted, cleaned, built tools for ourselves, and I paid the guys. Two guys got pissed that I cut back the hours and left. I thanked them for their work and efforts but was I glad to see them go so I didn’t have to close up shop. Those 4 guys that hung in there were really glad to see work come back and I’m glad they had no idea how close we came to shutting down. That was 4 months. This last one was a lot longer and a lot worse.
    Glad you recovered at least somewhat.

  186. 186.

    Ruckus

    @Suzanne:
    Yeah! Good news!
    One on one works better for some, group works better for others. And usually for exactly the reason your daughter likes it better, less pressure to open up as often and seeing others do that encourages her. She may or may not have exactly the same issues as others in the group but she’s among equals. That can be vital. Maybe you can tell, but I’ve been a counselor and have participated in both one on one and group.

  187. 187.

    JAFD

    @Ruckus: I once had a dream job, where young ladies would see me and immediately come and sit on my lap and tell me their deepest desires…

    … But being the K-Mart’s Santa Claus neither pays very well nor lasts very long. And if you’re just this side of homeless, many principles may be luxuries…

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