Here’s part of a big flock of white pelicans I saw heading south this weekend:
I also saw a bunch of Florida scrub jays in the same area (south of Sarasota), but I couldn’t get a decent picture — they’re fast little buggers who delight in darting in and out of the scrub oaks that form their habitat.
Anyone shopping online today? Not me. I’m in denial about the looming holidays.
I’m mostly giving the news a miss today too — got other things occupying my attention. I’m confident Trump is still an embarrassing buffoon and the Republican tax plan sucks. Might want to contact your senators about that if you haven’t already.
Open thread!
Butch
For a lot of reasons (boiling down to “life can be rough sometimes”), we’ve decided to take a pass on the whole holiday thing this year. No shopping, no decorating, no parties, just a few handmade gifts that we’re giving to a couple of family members. It’s a relief.
germy
Yesterday my wife put half a stick of frozen butter in our microwave and it went ZZZZT!
as if it were aluminum foil or something.
Oddly enough, about a week ago, she put in a pastry from our local supermarket, and the microwave did the same thing.
We only bought the microwave about three years ago. What gives?
Ceci n est pas mon nym
@germy: Thought sounds like the thing-a-ma-jig is interfering with the frazzle-dazzle.
No, seriously, that sounds like something wrong in the electronics that generates the actual microwaves, or maybe the shielding. You probably need a repair. I would definitely take it in.
Brachiator
According to a breaking WaPo story, the Senate tax bill is going to introduce some real economic anxiety.
Also, too, the bill would add $1.4 trillion to the deficit over the next 10 years. But who’s counting?
I guess this will serve as an incentive to lazy low earners to work harder, or marry rich.
Gin & Tonic
@Ceci n est pas mon nym: With good new microwave ovens costing under $100, repairing one is a fool’s game.
burnspbesq
Supremes deny cert in two big gun-rights cases, leaving Maryland assault-rifle ban and Florida restrictions on open carry in place.
And since you probably didn’t watch the game because it started at 11:00 p.m. Eastern, let me advise Betty and other Gators that Mike White is going to turn Flodah into a basketball school.
Brachiator
@germy:
Think you might want to step away from the micro wave and have it taken in for repair.
Be careful.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
So I just discovered the 21st century, meaning I just discovered the podcast. I knew the term of course but did not know what you did to subscribe to or listen to one.
Read an interview with Preet Bharara in which he was discussing his podcast. Got an app and subscribed.
Read an article about the founders of something called Crooked Media and their podcast, Pod Save America. Subscribed.
Also subscribed to Marc Maron’s WTF. I knew of his existence from the Air America days, when I was a regular listener, and knew he was now doing this thing in his garage but had never heard any of it.
germy
@Brachiator:
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/11/flotus-melania-trump-east-wing-first-lady
germy
@Ceci n est pas mon nym: Listen to Marc’s interview with Obama.
Obama came to his garage and everything. It was a great conversation.
Major Major Major Major
Working from home today since I woke up with a ~70% chance for a migraine if I didn’t sleep more, so I went back to sleep. I feel bad because I haven’t been in the office a lot lately, but it’s not like I’ve been abusing my sick days so much as sick. I think I’m just on edge since that long period of nothing-to-do has me feeling expendable.
I do have something to work on, though, and it’s kind of fun, too!
I might go to the bookstore later to pick up The Everything Box by Richard Kadrey, anybody read it?
Speaking of senators, Politico sez Wilmer is gearing up for a much-needed 2020 run.
germy
@Major Major Major Major:
I’m sure if he doesn’t win the primary he and his supporters will be gracious in defeat and do everything in their power to beat the republi….. ZZZZT!
Butthurt Jordan Trombone (fka XTPD)
Has Slavoj Zizek ever been anything but a total clown?
Brachiator
@Major Major Major Major:
This must make Susan Sarandon deliriously happy.
Take care with your “sleepy, with a chance of migraine.”
donnah
Contacted my arch nemesis, Rob Portman, to instruct him not to vote for the terrible tax bill, knowing full well that he’s going to vote for it. I just got a robo-email from his office explaining why he voted for the health care bill. So I’ll hear back from him next year, I suppose.
Major Major Major Major
@Butthurt Jordan Trombone (fka XTPD): No, but for some reason a lot of people couldn’t tell for years.
germy
What does this mean?
rikyrah
Republican tax plan imposes ‘large, harmful effects on the poor’
11/27/17 12:41 PM
By Steve Benen
The Republican tax plan is already a caricature of Montgomery Burns-style policymaking. We are, after all, talking about a proposal that would slash taxes on the richest Americans, give permanent tax breaks to big corporations, increase taxes on many in the middle class, and leave millions of vulnerable families without health security.
…………………………..
Betty Cracker
@Major Major Major Major: I hope that’s just Politico hot air. From the linked article:
I don’t despise Sanders like many Democrats do, but I sure hope he doesn’t run again. He wouldn’t get the nomination, and it would divide the party for no good reason, IMO.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Ah, a new round of purity litmus tests and sanctimonious hostage-taking over legislative fantasies. Meanwhile, Republicans have a strategy to pack the courts by essentially creating new courts to appoint lifetime judges to.
narya
@Major Major Major Major: I’ve read the Kadrey and liked it well enough, and would go back for more. I liked his other series, too.
Major Major Major Major
@Betty Cracker: I figured it might just be hot air but the part that gave me pause was him giving a shit about foreign policy.
@narya: Is it the first in the series? I like Sandman Slim well enough but I have to be in the mood, this one seems much lighter.
rikyrah
WHY?
Because Vlad told him to, that’s why.
Why is Tillerson hollowing out the U.S. State Department?
11/27/17 11:00 AM—UPDATED 11/27/17 12:00 PM
By Steve Benen
For much of 2017, much of the world has watched Secretary of State Rex Tillerson slowly hollow out the U.S. State Department, but even for those who’ve followed the developments closely, the New York Times’ latest report on this was striking.
It began by noting that Bill Miller, the cabinet agency’s chief of security, seemed to be the kind of official Tillerson would want to keep around – at least in theory.\
The picture painted by the Times is alarmingly bleak. Senior Foreign Service officers are leaving in droves; career diplomats and civil servants are being bought out; and Tillerson and his team have forced many to resign “by refusing them the assignments they wanted or taking away their duties altogether.”
germy
@Betty Cracker: Wait… he’s in charge of “outreach” for democrats?
That reminds me of Sir Les Patterson, Cultural Attache.
Cacti
@Major Major Major Major:
To Kamala Harris or whoever else thumps him in the primary, I have but one small request:
Don’t be gentle about it. That was Hillary’s mistake. Go for the jugular.
rikyrah
BREAKING: Leandra English has filed suit, seeking a temporary restraining order to prevent Mick Mulvaney from taking control of the CFPB. pic.twitter.com/zSBWyYDZI1
— Pete Schroeder (@peteschroeder) November 27, 2017
Brachiator
The public radio program This American Life has a fascinating repeat program on Harold Washington.
The reaction and pushback against Washington, including by Democrats, anticipated the racial anxiety that Obama generated in dumbass white folks when he was elected president. Some white people refused to believe that a black mayor was actually on their side.
You can listen to or download the show here.
Absolutely fascinating.
JCJ
@burnspbesq:
Man, what is up with your Dukies? Are they just playing with their prey, letting them build double digit leads before ripping out their hearts? The comeback last night was fun to watch. I agree about Florida regaining their hoops mojo.
FlipYrWhig
@Major Major Major Major:
Perversely, I hope he runs, and that someone like Manchin or Schweitzer runs, and one of the latter two kicks his ass viciously in the “economic anxiety” states, hence negating 5 years’ worth of truly masturbatory punditry about Democrats, the left, and the white working class.
Major Major Major Major
@germy: The DNC put him in the new position of “outreach chair” as part of trying to get his rabid followers to STFU following Perez’s election as chair. As with most jobs he’s ever held, he is bad at it.
TenguPhule
Don’t forget that the government shuts down if no spending bills pass before December 8!
Happy Holidays.
TenguPhule
@Brachiator:
Is that what we’re calling heartbreak these days?
TenguPhule
@Cacti:
Corrected for accuracy.
Brachiator
@TenguPhule:
Remind me again, is this a good or bad thing.
Sometimes it seems as though the actions of the Trump appointed heads of various cabinet agencies are doing a good job on their own of shutting down effective government operations.
TenguPhule
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
And that worthless doubledealing fuck Manchin can be counted on to vote with them on this.
Meanwhile everyone wants to primary Franken instead.
ETA: And let’s give Sanders a little credit here, even he’s voting against their nominees.
TenguPhule
@Brachiator:
At this point, I’m not really sure.
Major Major Major Major
@TenguPhule: Given that neither of them are relevant to the judicial confirmation process I don’t see your point.
cmorenc
@FlipYrWhig:
Schweitzer yes, Manchin no. All Manchin’s success would do is give reinforcement to the contingent of Ds who still think the winning path for the Ds is to win over the middle by going GOP-lite. Schweitzer is much more of a true eclectic pragmatist, who feels far less needy to intermittently tack-right to attempt to stay in touch with his state’s electorate.
Scotian
General question for the peanut gallery please:
I have been really busy in RL over the last few days and missed almost all news in that period. So I was wondering. What is the accuser count on Franken? Last I knew it was two open accusers and two anonymous. Has that changed? I have to run out the door in a few so I will not be able to check for an answer until the evening, but if anyone knows the latest or has a good link to use to catch up with (by good I mean real facts good, not ideological or partisan good)… Thanks a bunch.
TenguPhule
@Brachiator:
FTFY.
Villago Delenda Est
Reference the GOP tax plan: I know precisely where my Senators stand on this, because they’ve reminded me several times over the past few weeks, and they’re definitely against it. It’s great to be from a deep blue state.
schrodingers_cat
Sage of Vt must have got his marching orders from Vlad. His greatest achievement to date, has been to sow dissension in the D rank and file.
TenguPhule
@Major Major Major Major: Nominees get voted on by the Senate.
Manchin has been fucking with Democratic unity by voting for Trump’s wackos.
Villago Delenda Est
@TenguPhule: My sentiments exactly. Looking for tumbrel contractors. Do you suppose Uber and Lyft might have some?
hitless
@Brachiator: The bill incentivizes people to become high-earners. The problem with Democratic economic policies is that they punish success, which is why we still have poverty.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Scotian: three, I believe. He’s giving a press conference right now
TenguPhule
@Villago Delenda Est:
Amen.
The only problem is that itchy feeling behind your shoulders that the Republicans are focusing cross hairs on your state.
Major Major Major Major
@TenguPhule: His vote hasn’t mattered. Why does this mean we should primary him?
Villago Delenda Est
@Scotian: So far best I can tell it’s the two out accusers (one of whom has accepted his apology) and the two anonymous ones who are willing to slime him without coming forward.
TenguPhule
@Villago Delenda Est: We can hire them from the State Department. They’ve been in other countries that do this professionally so I’m sure they’ve picked up a little along the way.
David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch
I think at age 79 Bernie would be tooo young to run for president. Surely we can find someone who’s in their 90s.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
interesting, maybe, a write-in challenge to Moore
if he gets traction that might could help Jones
Major Major Major Major
@David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch: No, we need his fresh blood to revitalize the party.
TenguPhule
@Major Major Major Major: I guarantee you that any attempt to impeach, remove or otherwise curtail their destruction of the laws of the land is going to invoke the Republican’s favorite excuse “bipartisan support”. Its not a hard thing to distinguish between the two parties on something as simple as not voting for unqualified nominees. Yet Manchin has considerable difficulties even doing that and its a pattern at this point.
Repatriated
@Villago Delenda Est: Uber will provide self-driving tumbrels eventually.
The hard part is the whinny-recognition software for the GPS.
Major Major Major Major
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: I don’t think he knows how the “hold my beer” meme works.
Maybe he was actually asking somebody to hold his beer.
@TenguPhule: So you think we should primary Manchin (eta: because of some ridiculous judicial impeachment scenario you’ve made up)? The non-incumbent would somehow both be more liberal and have a better chance at getting elected?
Matt McIrvin
@Brachiator: “Probably never heard of”? Pass the Metamucil, sonny, I’m feeling old.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Yeah, that was kind of weird
TenguPhule
@Major Major Major Major:
No, I think Manchin needs to be primaried because he consistently gives bipartisan cover to Republicans in their work to destroy the country and everyone in it.
This isn’t new. He was a useless fuck during the Bush regime when it counted most. He’s been a useless fuck on everything other then the Medicare gutting and so far, the tax abomination, and those only because even he realizes the party would have gone for his scalp had he defected on either one.
Bernie Sanders has a better voting record then him.
Let that sink in for a moment.
Spanky
@Brachiator:
Bad thing, as both the missus and I work for Beltway Bandits and will be out of work come December 9.
As I know others around here will be.
schrodingers_cat
@TenguPhule: Indeed, fucking with universities is going to hit home in the Commonwealth.
Another Scott
I decided to jump on an Amazon deal today for the Essential PH-1 for $399 with the 360 camera. It’s not a perfect phone, by any means, but it’s very very good and a (seemingly) quick path to Oreo and Project Treble. I’d had my eye on the V30 for months (I have a V10), but I decided not to wait until it dropped to similar prices.
Otherwise, I’ve been Very Meh about shopping this season. :-/
Cheers,
Scott.
(“It’s still early!!”)
Major Major Major Major
@TenguPhule:
As… West Virginia Secretary of State? Really?
Shana
@Ceci n est pas mon nym: I started listening to Maron’s WTF when he had Obama on. I don’t listen a lot, largely because the podcasts are well over an hour long, but I’ve almost always enjoyed them even when I had no idea who the person he was interviewing was.
TenguPhule
@schrodingers_cat: And the Travel bans haven’t exactly been conductive towards tourism.
And its expensive to have to keep fighting them.
Amir Khalid
@Major Major Major Major:
Just who is it who much needs another run by Wilmer? The Democratic party certainly doesn’t need another candidacy as divisive as his was in 2016. More importantly, Wilmer’s shortcomings as a potential Chief Executive are many and serious. I am not optimistic that he can fix them in two or three years.
TenguPhule
@Major Major Major Major: My bad, I was confusing him with another useless fuck at the time.
TenguPhule
@Major Major Major Major: Manchin was the only Democrat to vote in confirmation of Jeff Sessions & Steven Mnuchin, one of two Democrats who voted to confirm Scott Pruitt as EPA Administrator, and one of three who voted to confirm Rex Tillerson.
Peale
@Betty Cracker: HE’S TOO OLD. SHE WAS TOO OLD. TRUMP WAS TOO OLD. BUT BERNIE IS TOO OLD NOW AND WILL BE IN 2020.
LET’S SAY THAT AGAIN. HE WILL BE TOO OLD.
(put into allcaps so that his old eyes can read it).
Major Major Major Major
@TenguPhule: And none of their votes mattered to the confirmation process.
ETA: Again: how would primarying Manchin result in a higher likelihood of a Democrat holding his seat?
@Amir Khalid: I was being sarcastic, no love lost between me and Bernie.
rikyrah
@Cacti:
Amen.
No Drought No More
I toss bird seed in my patch of the redwood forest I live in. Where I see friends feeding, a few winters ago a hawk saw only a bird diner, open for business all day long. After my initial outraged shock, the fatal attacks and hovering menace became thrilling. Then I built a “second deck” to my wire fence, which raised it three feet. The end result was a cessation of attacks. The hawk no longer had a stealthy line of attack- the higher fence fucked everything up for it, and it disappeared. That is, until one day last year, when I opened my front door and there it was, sitting on top of that very fence. I stopped in the doorway to talk, as I sometimes did when it had landed in the yard. I know for a fact it recognized me, and it sat patiently staring as I spoke. A few weeks ago, I opened my front door and spotted it on the branch of a redwood in my neighbors yard across the street, just looking down at my yard, and probably wondering when the renovation will be over and the restaurant re-opened.
schrodingers_cat
@TenguPhule: The travel ban resulted in at least two people I know postpone and cancel their trips scheduled this year.
Tilda Swintons Bald Cap
The two political figures I hope aren’t around in 2020 are Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders.
TenguPhule
@Major Major Major Major:
He’s being primaried already by Paula Jean Swearengin.
On paper she looks promising, the only ding against her being that some of her support comes from former Bernie supporters.
But she at least realizes that coal is dying and that the state needs to figure out a new economic approach.
TenguPhule
@Tilda Swintons Bald Cap: Jill Stein didn’t make the cutoff?
Brachiator
@Another Scott:
Looks interesting. I may be tempted, since I have been thinking about getting a new phone.
rikyrah
@Peale:
TELL IT!!
Amir Khalid
@Major Major Major Major:
I’m aware you don’t think much of Bernie. I’m just wondering why Politico thinks he stands a chance.
Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho
@No Drought No More: That’s a terrific story. Coincidentally, I just watched the video of the release of Harvey the Hurricane Hawk, and she (yup) flew off in fine fashion. The rescue guy was pleased.
Steeplejack (phone)
I have not bought anything yet, but I have done a lot of window shopping on line. It’s how I manage my consumer lust, the hereditary curse of the Steepleton men. If I look at a sufficiently huge number of different interesting things, the urge to buy one particular (usually expensive) thing fades, at least temporarily. Like most programs, it’s one day at a time.
Major Major Major Major
@TenguPhule: And do you think she’d be more likely to win the general election than him? I understand that “coal is dead” isn’t a very popular position out there.
narya
@Major Major Major Major: I think it is the first. It’s less grim than the Sandman Slim series, but still has plenty of dark humor. What else are you reading/do you like to read?
chopper
@Brachiator:
as a federal employee, I’d argue it’s a bad thing.
ruemara
@Ceci n est pas mon nym: You should listen to his interview with Obama. Plus, my podcast, Ostium, for some creepy serial story when you’re tired of politics.
@Major Major Major Major: I’ve read a lot of Kadrey. It’s worth your time.
Steeplejack (phone)
@Major Major Major Major:
At this point I think Sanders is just grifting/fundraising/ego-tripping. He is going to be 79 by the 2020 election, and the Democratic establishment is going to treat him like a pariah. Even if he claims to be a Democrat, he will in effect be running as a third-party candidate.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
@Spanky:
That’s not how they told us it worked when I was an Army employee. We were told that since contractors had already gotten their money, they could continue working. Those who normally worked on base could not come into work since there would be no government personnel to report to, but if they had a way to do their work off-site they were supposed to do it.
TenguPhule
Huh, am I paranoid to wonder if Trump has a vested interest in making sure this law not only expires, but stays dead and buried?
Gin & Tonic
@Amir Khalid:
Wilmer. SATSQ.
Calouste
@Steeplejack (phone): If Wilmer runs again in 2020 (which means that the connection between Manafort and Devine wasn’t important enough for the attention of Mueller), Democrats should relentlessly hammer him on running as an independent for Senate between pretending to run as a Democrat for President.
Major Major Major Major
@narya: I’m currently reading The Wrong Stars by Tim Pratt. Haven’t been in the mood for #3 in the Sandman Slim series since the news has been grim enough, but read the back of The Everything Box after I saw a poster for it and thought it looked fun.
In that vein, this year I’ve read two Laundry Files books, a Chris Moore, and a couple Pratchetts.
TenguPhule
@Major Major Major Major: No idea at this point. But I think the party and the base need to seriously evaluate whether or not Manchin is a net contributor or a net drain to the Democratic party at this point in time. I fully admit I’m biased against him and would love to see his ass railroaded out of the Senate in favor of someone not-stupid or insane.
ruemara
@Major Major Major Major: Have you ever read Chew? It’s a graphic novel I picked up Sunday and it’s bizarre, hilarious and creepy.
SenyorDave
@Scotian: Lead on Yahoo right now, Franken says “I’ve let a lot of people down”. Also not sure if there will be other claims. IOW he did it, and there are probably others out there. Based on his own comments, he should resign.
Chyron HR
@Steeplejack (phone):
That’s why we need to get rid of unfair rigged Democratic primaries, and replace them with open caucuses where white working class Republican voters can just threaten to shoot the neoliberals until they give in and award all the delegates to the champion of the working man.
Gravenstone
@germy: Sounds like a defective magnetron. Stop using it immediately as it is a real fire risk. Sorry.
narya
@Major Major Major Major: The laundry files looks interesting! I’ll have to check those out. I’ve been re-reading the Expanse series (or, in the case of the books after the first three, I think, reading for the first time). I’ve really enjoyed everything I’ve read by Daniel Abraham (or James SA Corey, his nym for the Expanse books), if you’re looking for other stuff.
Major Major Major Major
@ruemara: Oh, that looks fun.
@SenyorDave: Hrmm.
Gravenstone
@germy: Holy shit. A Republican who actually appears to have learned something via observation and experience. Imagine he’ll be excommunicated right quick.
trollhattan
And in Texas.
As a public service, this reminder: There are NO “gun accidents.”
Ruckus
@Major Major Major Major:
For you and all the other migraine suffers out there, look up B-2 and magnesium oxide as a migraine preventer. It doesn’t stop 100% of migraines but it does work pretty damn good. It seems to have little to no negative side effects but it has cut my migraines down by around 80-90%. Of course, ask your doctor, blah, blah, blah.
Gravenstone
@Betty Cracker: Guess what Bernie, you’re still not a fucking Democrat! No 2020 primary for you!
Adria McDowell
@TenguPhule: She had an AMA on Reddit that you can probably find if you look.
She’s not ready for prime time.
tobie
@Steeplejack (phone): But the media will give him the same tongue bath they gave him last time not because they like him but because they want to whatever they can to destroy the Democrats.
Ajabu
This is probably a dead thread by now but I just want to drop some empirical observations from our Thanksgiving trip to visit Mrs. Ajabu’s family in Mobile, AL last week.
1) Lots of Doug Jones ads on TV – none for Roy Moore.
2) Only Moore signs we saw were off the highway between Montgomery and Opelika*,
3) The neighborhood we were in was awash in Doug Jones signs.
Granted, this is a Black neighborhood so Roy Moore signs were as likely as Confederate flags but still, if these folks turn out it could make ALL the difference in this upcoming election.
ETA: * Stedman isn’t crazy about her, but Opelika.
(I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist…)
Gin & Tonic
According to the Twitter, the POTUS, at an event honoring the Navajo code talkers today, referred to Sen. Elizabeth Warren as “Pocahontas.”
rikyrah
A #TrumpRussia Confession in Plain Sight
by Martin Longman
November 24, 2017
At about 11:14pm on November 6th, 2012, enough states were called for President Obama that he was declared the winner of the election by NBC News. That was quickly followed up by a similar call on Fox News and finally by CNN. At 11:29pm, Donald Trump blasted out the following defiant tweet:
We can’t let this happen. We should march on Washington and stop this travesty. Our nation is totally divided!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 7, 2012
Somewhere in Russia, Konstantin Rykov saw Trump’s tweet pop up in his Twitter feed.
Almost exactly four years later, on November 12th, 2016, Mr. Rykov explained what happened next in a pair of Facebook posts. In the first post, Rykov explained how he first made contact with Trump:
[Trump] lifted his plane to the sky and flew between New York and DC, calling the whole world through his twitter — to start a march on Washington!
Without a moment’s thought, I wrote him a reply, which sounded like this in Russian: “I’m ready. What should I do?”
Suddenly! There was a thin squeak of warning in the DM.
It was a message from Donald Trump. More precisely a picture. In the picture he was sitting in the armchair of his jet, smiling cheerfully and showing me the thumb of his right hand.
https://washingtonmonthly.com/2017/11/24/a-trumprussia-confession-in-plain-sight/
это курам на смех
Government shutdown: we don’t get paid till sometime after it is over. This is a tremendous hardship on rank and file workers who live paycheck to paycheck. Those of us with a cushion just enjoy the free vacation. But for many workers, a shutdown is a very bad thing.
There’s always a question as to whether we will get paid at all for our time on furlough. The regs require that do but these are interesting times.
Amir Khalid
@SenyorDave:
I don’t understand this eagerness to hang Al Franken for his sins against women.
ruemara
@SenyorDave: How about “no”?
lamh36
Ughh…this idiot…smh…forget this let me go back to the Prince Harry & his new fiancé news…Shit…hate the monarchy all you want at least y’all ain’t got this mofo???
And I refuse I refuse to let Melanoma…and her poor lil rich woman Christmas decoration…ruin my excitement and joy over soon to be Princess Meghan!!!
https://twitter.com/levalkyrie/status/935119926246952960
Kay
@Gin & Tonic:
I think they’re touchy about their plutocrat tax bill and gutting financial regulation- Warren is perfect on those issues.
Trump knows it’s bad (politically) to favor rich people. He doesn’t know a lot but he does know that.
Adria McDowell
For those curious (basically no one), here is Manchin’s primary challenger and her AMA on Reddit:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Political_Revolution/comments/6qwhzl/joe_manchin_refused_to_listen_to_our_pleas_for/?utm_source=amp&utm_medium=comment_list
Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady)
@Gin & Tonic: That simply is not possible. I refuse to believe it.
TenguPhule
@Gin & Tonic: /Facepalm
TenguPhule
@Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady): Darth Vader is Anakin Skywalker.
ellenr
@Amir Khalid: White people (Brits, Germans, French cultural ancestry) don’t like to be touched. As a white person not of this cultural gene pool, it’s strange to me, too.
Mike in DC
Today’s birthdays: Jimi Hendrix, Bruce Lee, and my late grandma. All of whom are awesome.
Bostondreams
@burnspbesq:
Ha. Well, Billy Donovan did his fair share in laying the groundwork for that to happen too!
NorthLeft12
I am really confused over how the Repubs have been able to brand their transfer of wealth from the poor and middle class to the rich bill as some kind of tax reform.
The normal usage of “reform” includes some kind of improvement. I don’t see that in this case.
BTW, I remembered who exactly is calling this transfer/confiscation of wealth bill, Tax Reform. Your liberal media.
rikyrah
@Gin & Tonic:
You can’t make this shyt up.
He is a vile, disgusting human being.
rikyrah
@Kay:
They’re lying their azzes off about the tax scam.
bemused
@lamh36:
Oh gawd, it crossed my mind the ass would do his Pocahontas routine.
ruemara
@lamh36: I kinda agree with April Ryan. I need a trip to England, land of good looking princes. We need a grant program.
Mnemosyne
@ellenr:
I’m a mix of German, English, and Italian, so I’m okay with being hugged depending on how I’m feeling that day. ?
opiejeanne
@No Drought No More: I don’t doubt that hawk knows you. There is a group of Stellar’s jays that expect to be fed that live near our cabin. They knew our old car and would show up yelling for peanuts within minutes of driving up. They’ve taken a while to recognize the car we replaced that one with in 2012.
When we lived in Riverisde, CA there were several friendly ones who would be nuisances when we ate in the back yard, except when we had company.
J R in WV
@TenguPhule:
Names and a link, please?
Not that I’m defending Unca Joe, just curious. I despise the bastard, who exceeded his expertise when he graduated from selling carpet.
I remember someone once said “Oh, yes, I’ve met the Governor, he measured our house for new carpet once!”
TenguPhule
@J R in WV: Jeff Sessions, Steven Mnuchin, Scott Pruitt, Rex Tillerson.
Voting record available at either the Congressional page or wiki.
J R in WV
@TenguPhule:
It isn’t just that “coal is dying” for lack of demand. Here in W.Va. they’ve been mining coal since the late 1800s. Close to 150 years now.
THE COAL IS ALL GONE NOW!!
Especially since they started the mountain top removal mining, which takes 100% of all the coal, all the way down. Yes, there is coal in some areas, and yes, some of that coal is great Met coal, useful in steel mills.
But really, coal will never be what it was, because mostly it’s all been mined already. I worked with the Division of Mining for 15 years, and there were a ton of mining engineers with years of experience. When I was nearing retirement, they were saying that there wasn’t more than 10 or 15 years of coal left. That was in 2007.
Not that it was a surprise to me. As a kid we would go for long drives on weekends, and many of the small towns were in decline. You could still buy a coke in some of them, but the businesses and the mine were closed. Nothing left. Now that is the vast majority of coal towns. County seats have nothing but a hardware store and a gas station, and a couple of lawyers over by the court house.
Coal is over here in WV. Get over it.
TenguPhule
@J R in WV:
They will never get over it until the last black person under the bridge doesn’t even have a sparrow on a curtain rod.