Blanket bans are not an effective way to protect the US, Americans, or anyone else visiting the country. They are simply discriminatory, exclusionary, and rooted in deep seated religious and ethnic prejudice and racism. And within the administration’s senior staff they’re being pushed by a deeply disturbed young man who hasn’t quite figured out that he’s only considered white based on the sufferance of others.
BREAKING: Appeals court rules that Trump's third travel ban is illegal https://t.co/wAtTqlb6FB
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) December 23, 2017
From the decision:
“The Government’s interpretation of 8 U.S.C. § 1182(f) not only upends the carefully crafted immigration scheme Congress has embodied in the INA, but it deviates from the text of the statute, legislative history, and prior executive practice as well. Further, the President did not satisfy the critical prerequisite Congress attached to his suspension authority: Before blocking entry, he must first make a legally sufficient finding that the entry of the specified individuals would be “detrimental to the interests of the United States.” The Proclamation once again conflicts with the INA’s prohibition on nationality-based discrimination in the issuance of immigrant visas.”
The decision takes direct aim at Trump’s claim that, as President, he can do whatever he’d like with regard to banning people from any country for any reason.
“The Government argues that the President, at any time and under any circumstances, could bar entry of all aliens from any country, and intensifies the consequences of its position by saying that no federal court—not a federal district court, nor our court of appeals, nor even the Supreme Court itself—would have Article III jurisdiction to review that matter because of the consular nonreviewability doctrine. Particularly in the absence of an explicit jurisdiction-stripping provision, we doubt whether the Government’s position could be adopted without running roughshod over the principles of separation of powers enshrined in our Constitution.”
The court also takes on the xenophobia underlying Trump’s order:
“In assessing the public interest, we are reminded of Justice Murphy’s wise words: “All residents of this nation are kin in some way by blood or culture to a foreign land.” Korematsu v. United States, 323 U.S. 214, 242 (Murphy, J., dissenting). It cannot be in the public interest that a portion of this country be made to live in fear.”
The court issued a limited injunction blocking the ban as it applies to “foreign nationals who have a bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States.”
The full ruling can be found at the link.
Open thread.
Mike J
God bless us, every one!
or more appropriately,
بارك الله فيك
Gozer
Drinking cognac and having some swordfish to celebrate! (Was gonna do that anyway, but might as well in celebration)
Gozer +2 (Soon to be +3 after I get into the scotch Dr. Mrs. got me for Festivus)
efgoldman
Was the 9th the only circuit that ruled on the ban?
I have a vague memory of a district court elsewhere (the 5th?) ruling differently
In any case, I’m sure the maladministration will appeal all the way to SCOTUS.
Mike J
@Gozer: Hanukah is over, but not being Jewish I’m not letting it hold me back. Just grated some potatoes for latkes to slide under the salmon, and having a nice bourbon.
Also got my dough made for my make ahead scones for xmas morning that I’ll shape after dinner.
The Dangerman
OT, those of you in SoCal (where I am now, home for the Holidays), might have just seen one of the more cool Vandenburg launches I’ve seen recently. Video already up on YouTube:
VandyLand Doing Their Thing
P.S. I lucked into a Titan IV launch when just coming out of the tunnel at Gaviota about a decade or so ago. I highly recommend it, even if the show is short (and they typically don’t announce things).
Mnemosyne
I’m chilly, but the cat is napping on my unicorn blanket and refuses to give it up, or even share. My life is hard. ?
efgoldman
Well this blog s off to a flying stop. Every body asleep or drunk?
Ruckus
A blanket ban is as racist as it gets. In a sane world….. Yeah, yeah, I know, what fucking world am I living in.
Open thread stuff
Just returned from a nice all day romp in the very professional end of the medical community. IVs, major entry, pictures of a heart at work from the inside and all that. Good news is that at least something is working fine. The computer that controls everything is slowly melting down, the wiring is suspect at best, and the plumbing seems to have passed it’s sell by date….. But if you give the pump the correct info it knows what to do. Yeaaaa!
Roger Moore
I took the day off from work, which was nice. This evening, I’m inviting over a group of friends for dinner and a tour of the neighborhood Christmas decorations. Rather than going crazy with individual house decorations, my neighborhood has themed neighborhood decorations. Each block has a different style of decoration in front of their houses, with a uniform style for the whole block. Of course, individual homeowners are allowed to go beyond the minimum, and many do, but the cooperative nature of the decorations helps to keep things from getting completely out of hand.
Adam L Silverman
Another good example of why the travel ban wouldn’t work:
Adam L Silverman
@efgoldman:
Mike J
@efgoldman: In the middle of making dinner, but in a hold for timing.
Gator90
I was recently assured by a self-described white nationalist that Jews are not in fact white. I didn’t know how to feel.
Adam L Silverman
@Ruckus:
dmsilev
@The Dangerman: Is that was that was? I saw Strange Thing In Sky on my way home this evening; nice to see that there’s a reasonable explanation.
(unless, of course, it’s just a coverup for the Real Reason)
Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady)
Spent the day at a funeral three and half hours away. I’m beat. Every once in a while, I’m reminded I don’t have the stamina I used to have.
Adam L Silverman
@Gator90: That is because said white nationalist, like most white nationalists, white supremacists, neo-NAZIs, any surviving original NAZIs, Klan members, etc believe Jewish refers to a discreet ethno-nationality/ethnicity not a religion.
Schlemazel
Naturally the Dumpsters will see this as a win for hair furor that was taken away from him by the EEee-vile libtard judges.
Logic is not one of their strong points.
But this is a good thing & I hope he tries and gets shot down again. Any time he wastes on pointless bullshit is a win for the nation.
Adam L Silverman
@dmsilev: You don’t need to know!
Yarrow
@Ruckus: That doesn’t sound like fun. Glad at least with this the news was good.
I’ve been shoving a bunch of medical stuff into the end of the year. Every day I think I’ve got a new doctor or procedure. Trying to get it all done because deductible was met so it’s cheaper than it will be after Jan 1. Not a fun way to spend the last few weeks of the year.
Mike J
@The Dangerman: They’ve upped the graphics on KSP.
Redshift
@efgoldman: I believe the other ruling was to lift the injunction against enforcing the ban while it was litigated, not a ruling on the merits. Unless there’s another that I’ve forgotten.
Schlemazel
@Gator90:
I am old enough to remember when Italians and Greeks were not white and the Irish only white if they were not Catholic. I assume those days will return once the war against brown has been won
debit
@efgoldman: Just finished dinner and now I’m about to attempt to wrap presents while fending off help from cats. And then probably have a drink or two.
Ruckus
@Adam L Silverman:
Thanks. I didn’t need that.
You showing me something about a 6 million dollar man just reminds me that I’m worth about $1.95 and that may be an over estimation. Possibly a gross over estimation.
Adam L Silverman
@Redshift: Nope. That was the Supremes. About ten days ago or so.
Ruckus
@Yarrow:
I was trying to be nice and not remind everyone that while medicine has come a very, very long way in my almost 7 decades, a lot of procedures still kick your ass. This is one of them. If anyone tells you an angiogram is a piece of cake, remind them they are full of shit. Which they should be aware of. Because anyone saying that will have been told that before. Possibly on more than one occasion.
Yarrow
Wouldn’t this be nice.
Schlemazel
@Ruckus:
“See this right arm? Worth a million bucks a year. All my limbs together aren’t worth seven cents a pound.”
debit
And I’ll share my own good news. My mom is in remission. She has one more chemo treatment in early January, then she’s done until the cancer comes back. And we do expect it to come back, but we’ll deal with that when it happens. Right now we’re going to have a great holiday, eat some awesome food and watch children of various ages open presents.
MomSense
@efgoldman:
Just got home after the drive from hell. Snow, freezing rain, no visibility, and massholes in SUVs driving way too fast. Can’t they just stay home for the holidays?!?!
debbie
Good. I hope it puts him in even more of a foul mood.
David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch
@Gator90:
Marx responding to a country club which didn’t accept him because of he is Jew before he became famous, but recruited him for membership after he hit it big.
Adam L Silverman
@Schlemazel: This is where Jews fit in. It is important to remember that the NAZIs actually took a lot of inspiration from the Jim Crow laws in the US and how Americans categorized religious and ethnic-religious minorities.
Schlemazel
@Ruckus:
I have had 2 in the last 3 months. Totally awake for the first & saw for myself that all my arteries were shiny clean. Given the amnesia crap for the second when they installed a stent in D1. Both were a piece of cake.
The Dangerman
@dmsilev:
The Truth is out there (cue spooky music)
LA Times has it now and VAFB announced this one ahead of time; damn, serves me right to turn off the news (can’t watch Trump) and not pay attention to such things. There’s a million dollar shot at the link of the LAT; hope he or she got it high res:
LAT
Even cooler, SpaceX has already released the video of launch to Youtube. I may have seen the fairing separation live. Way cool.
Omnes Omnibus
@Schlemazel: Lots of Greeks are white. Most of them – except for the ones in the Black fraternities and sororities.
Mary G
@The Dangerman: Well, you just ruined my housemate’s day. He came in all excited about seeing a UFO and I spoiled it.
@Roger Moore: You live in Hastings Ranch? That used to be one of my all-time go-to-look-at-Christmas lights when I lived in Alhambra & So Pas. Is it still bumper-to-bumper traffic? I miss LA County. I also loved Saint Alban’s Road in San Marino, where the rich people splurged for lifters.
debbie
@debit:
What a great Christmas present!
Yarrow
@Ruckus: Sorry it was rough. Rest up and take care of yourself.
@debit: That’s good news! Enjoy the holiday with everyone.
@MomSense: Apologies if I’ve missed some news, but how’s your dad doing?
Adam L Silverman
@debit: Excellent news!
debit
@debbie: Seriously. I keep randomly breaking into happy tears.
Omnes Omnibus
On topic: This a great news. Peace on earth and good will to men (meaning all of mankind of any and all sexes) news.
Mnemosyne
@Adam L Silverman:
“Discrete.”
You’re welcome. ?
dmsilev
@The Dangerman: I didn’t take any pictures, but it was definitely an interesting sight. My thoughts at the time ran more towards “high altitude airplane” rather than “rocket”.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@efgoldman: Nope, just finished bibimbap here.
Schlemazel
@Adam L Silverman:
I grew up around a lot of Jewish people as well as immigrants from many Europeans countries. I was stunned when I first found out that the people I listed were not white. I was about 10-12 at the time & it had never occured to me that white was important, hell I had an african girl as a friend in elementary school. I could at least grasp how they could draw a line at pale peachy but it really was weird to see that stuff you could not even see could somehow disqualify a person.
I got older and could understand where they drew the line but to this day I really do not get WHY they draw the line.
satby
@Ruckus: congratulations on the ticker. Good news is good.
@debit: and congratulations to your mom! Great news for the holiday!
debit
@Yarrow:
@Adam L Silverman:
Thanks, guys. <3
debit
@satby: Thank you! Hey, I saw your intent to give notice the other day, but didn’t see the follow up. Everything go okay?
Adam L Silverman
@Schlemazel: It isn’t ever really clearly articulated. A lot of it has to do with how far north in Europe one comes from. In other cases it has to do with that, plus if one is a Protestant. Remember that a lot of the eastern Europeans, like the Poles, weren’t considered to be Aryan by the NAZIs.
Mnemosyne
@Ruckus:
It’s always good news to find out things aren’t as bad as you thought. I’m excited that I may only have a partial tear of my ACL.
@debit:
Hooray! That’s the best Christmas present your family could have asked for.
Ben Cisco (onboard the Defiant)
@Omnes Omnibus: Heyooo! I’m a black Greek.
Mary G
@debit: Happy news makes me happy. Fuck cancer!
@Ruckus: I didn’t enjoy that either, but mine was also excellent except everything was on the wrong side of my body, which made me flunk all the other tests.
Schlemazel
@Ruckus:
BTW – in rereading my comment it seemed to me I was dismissive. That was not my intent. these things hit different people differently. I am glad you got good news, sorry it was not easy for you.
Mnemosyne
My mom and brother opened the Christmas presents I sent them the moment they arrived, because that’s how they roll. ?
I always know my mom likes her present when she says, “You don’t have to buy me presents.”
MomSense
@Yarrow:
Same. He’s a good sport about the whole thing. He has several dissections in his aorta but so far they haven’t fully ruptured. He’s in FL for the winter so I can only talk on the phone with him. I might try to visit in February if I can swing it. We are all waiting for the results of genetic testing for Marfan Syndrome.
@debit:
Wonderful news!!!
Corner Stone
@Mnemosyne: Adam, I’d start banning people who continue to pedant all over your posts.
Schlemazel
@Adam L Silverman:
Oh I get that. Not just the Poles either, just about everyone except the Ukrainians it seems. Thats the where part, does not explain the why part. But it just seemed like such arbitrary bullshit to me, even as a teen.
As for the jews not being white. Part of that was the old church breeding hate for sure. But the church had a rule against lending money for interest (they did it but made it a sin for others, great business model). Since the Jewish community did not live in feel of Catholic hell and the fact that they were often not allowed to buy land they had cash & were willing to lend it. That left a lot of the clown heads of Europe in deep debt. It became very smart to burn out the Jewish community because they were “evil money lenders” because it relieved them from paying their debts. The hate spread and stayed even 400 years later.
efgoldman
@MomSense:
My kids are making the round trip from DC to Raleigh on a 48 hour turnaround (son in law’s family), but the temps the whole way are in the 60s, so no ice.
Adam L Silverman
@Schlemazel: It is what it is.
Adam L Silverman
Well this is subdued and understated…
debit
Thanks, everyone. For a bunch of jackals you sure can be sweet. <3
efgoldman
@Schlemazel:
They knocked me out for mine (two stents) but I was already in the hospital after my stroke.
Jager
As a Liberal Elite living on the diversity plagued West Coast, Here’s what happened on my way home I stopped at a tobacco shop and bought a couple of Partagas cigars for Christmas from an American citizen Lebanese Muslim. Back in the car,got a text from Mrs. J who asked me to pick up a bottle Pinot Noir at the liquor store so we’d have a tasty red to go with our dinner tonight. (we’re saving the good stuff for Christmas Eve dinner) I bought the wine from another America citizen Muslim, this guy came from Syria when he was 13, he and his brother run the store for their Dad. Know what else? All three Muslims wished me a Merry Christmas, as the tobacco Muslim said, “we’re all the children of Abraham”.
My RWNJ brother in law would have shit his pants.
Adam L Silverman
@Ruckus: Give yourself a bit of credit, make that valuation at least $3.75!
More seriously, glad you made it through the testing okay.
mdblanche
@Adam L Silverman: But his clothing means he’s a terrorist, but his name means he’s mentally ill, but his religion means he’s a terrorist, but his complexion means he’s mentally ill… Norman, coordinate!
J R in WV
Well, had to go to town today. Had a plumber out Monday for part of a long scheduled big job. Found a piece of brass after he pulled out that afternoon, well, he got into a ditch, and I pulled him out with my tractor. Anyway, the part looked like multi-dollars, so I dropped by their shop to give it back to them.
Hit the fish shop next, swordfish and grouper, the grouper was for wife, I had oysters, all well crispy fried. With sparkling wine, 1999 from Ca.
Then hit the drugstore for some OTC pills the doc tells me will help my ears which are congested. Also they sell 28yo rum and cask strength bourbon, so I got some.
Reading here, all good news. Glad to see we can still count on the Judicial branch for comfort and rulings along the American way. Sipping Buffalo Trace bourbon for now. Happy to see the orange monster curtailed, and the Vandenberg launch video, how cool!
Adam L Silverman
@mdblanche: Eez a puzzlement!
japa21
@Adam L Silverman: There is no such thing as peak narcissism when it comes to Trump.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@The Dangerman: I saw one(I think Minuteman) launch when I was a teen, just at sunset and the vapor trail fanned out into a rainbow spoon shape. I’ve see a few others over the years, missed tonight’s.
Steeplejack
Open thread? Okay, my Amazon holiday shipping story:
In recent years I have gradually opted out of the Christmas hoopla. I like giving gifts, but I hate wrapping gifts. And I sort of hate “gifting on deadline.” So I have developed the habit of getting people things during the year as I come across them or as I perceive a need. Sort of evens out, and it’s much less stressful for me.
But this year Bro’ Man’s mewling about needing a new blender coincided with Christmas. So I ordered one from Amazon on Tuesday and chose the shipping option for “I don’t care when the hell it gets there.” (Scored a $5 Prime credit for that.) Word came that it would be delivered on Friday the 29th. Cool. Told Bro’ Man and left it at that. Then yesterday I got a message that it’s going to be delivered today. WTF?! Like, what—they had some slack time at the warehouse and thought they’d just get started on the backlog?
So then I started sweating it, picturing the package getting lost in the last-minute Christmas rush and/or being stolen after delivery by a roving band of porch pirates. I got sucked into the whole “track the package” mania, and after the USPS said it was delivered this afternoon I peppered Bro’ Man and his partner with queries about it. Didn’t hear back from them until a little while ago, when they announced that they were crushing ice, whipping cream, making cashew butter and seeing how well it worked as a wood-chipper (1,800 watts, baby!). Okay, mission accomplished. But, damn, I hated getting sucked into that little corner of Christmas anxiety.
So I told them that my Christmas wish is to get ’faced on frozen daiquiris and play Cards Against Humanity when I’m over there for dinner on Monday. (Couple of twenty-something nephews brought a set to dinner the other night for a preliminary round.)
Ruckus
@debit:
Great! Hope for the best, maybe it won’t come back. People have been surprised before.
Also my oncologist is fairly jazzed as of yesterday about my latest test result. Not 100% yet on the cancer front but there is decent and solid progression. So, bad news on Monday, decent news on Thursday, and not at all bad news on Friday.
I’m just wondering what next week will bring. Because any time in the last 25 yrs I’ve gotten this much positive news, something always comes along and more than makes up for it.
tobie
@Adam L Silverman: Gulp. That is one tacky coin. And I don’t see how it’s can bring comfort to the families of fallen soldiers. There’s nothing about the nation there. Only Trump.
Mnemosyne
@Mary G:
Do you mean that your organs are mirror-image of where they’re supposed to be? Now that MRIs are common, more people are finding that out. It used to be you wouldn’t know unless, say, they went in to remove your appendix and it was in the wrong place.
efgoldman
@Jager:
Or like my late and unlamented RWNJ brother in law would say “well, they’re just a few of the good ones.”
Mingobat (f/k/a Karen in GA)
@debit: That’s great news! Here’s hoping it’s a long time before she has to deal with that again.
Mike in NC
Here’s hoping the entire rotten extended Drumpf family has the worst Christmas ever.
ETA: We just sat through one of the most bizarre movies ever made, called “Mother!” with Jennifer Lawrence. Disappointed that it wasn’t the highly anticipated biopic of Mike Pence, Indiana’s greatest contribution to the republic.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Adam L Silverman: Looks more like a badge than a coin. We don’t need no stinkin’ badges.
Adam L Silverman
@japa21: I’ve seen some interesting challenge coins. I’ve seen people who have no connection to the military make their own and hand them out (I have a couple of these that I’ve been given). I’ve seen some that are very nice. I’ve seen some that are very ornate. I’ve got one of Curahee’s (4th Brigade Combat Team/101st Airborne Division – Air Assault/506th Airborne Infantry Regiment) spades, which is very distinctive.
http://galleryplus.ebayimg.com/ws/web/122491245424_1_0_1.jpg
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/e4wAAOSwnFZXWTHT/s-l300.jpg
(The coin pictured here is not mine. Also, they are very big as challenge coins go.)
This presidential one is tacky.
Yarrow
@MomSense: Sounds pretty good all things considered. Glad he’s hanging in there. Florida sounds nicer for him than the cold this time of year.
Wow. Is that somehow related to his heart problem or is there some other reason?
Amir Khalid
@Jager:
Muslims owning a liquor store? I guess maybe their imam said it was okay as long as they didn’t sample the merchandise.
Mnemosyne
@Steeplejack:
I keep thinking about buying Unstable Unicorns even though I don’t play card games, because the tagline makes me laugh:
Schlemazel
@Mnemosyne:
Heterotaxy syndrome
My grandaughter wa very sick when born. It was discovered she had polysplenic heterotaxy syndrome. That is better than aspelnic but it does put her at a greater risk of infection. She has cousins in an anti-vax family & my son has been VERY clear about his opinion of that decision and refuses to bring her to any event the unvaccinated kids might be at.
Mike in NC
@Adam L Silverman: They might become highly collectable after Fat Bastard is sent to the federal pen for the rest of his worthless life.
schrodingers_cat
@Amir Khalid: I have known/know quite a few Muslims who do drink, and Hindus who eat beef. My friends and I are probably going to hell (eternal life/death cycle).
May Ceiling Cat have mercy on our souls.
Amir Khalid
@Adam L Silverman:
And therefore apt for this president.
schrodingers_cat
@Adam L Silverman: Its so gross and ugly. Money doesn’t buy you taste. It would seem.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
I’ve heard it’s not as bad as most people said, including from the friend who said I would like Death To Smoochy. Still haven’t tested that theory.
Albert Brooks’ Mother is one of my favorites. Some of the shit Debbie Reynolds says and does makes me wonder if Brooks isn’t somehow related to me
debit
@Ruckus:
Congrats right back at you! I’m keeping my fingers crossed that your good news/bad news ratio stays higher on the good side.
Schlemazel
@Amir Khalid:
I am not sure how things are there. Here in the US many ‘deeply religious’ folks make exceptions for various religious requirements either for business sense or convenience. Some of my Catholic relatives ate meat on Friday when it was convenient; they always had an excuse as to why it was OK. One of our favorite Indian restaurants serves beer & wine but the owner is Muslim. Our other favorite Indian place is run by a Hindu but serves beef dishes. it could be just nice to us heathens or maybe they are not as strict.
MomSense
@Yarrow:
It can cause the aorta to enlarge and rupture.
Ruckus
@Schlemazel:
Depends on what you mean by cake. I’ve had a lot of procedures, especially in the last 5 yrs and this one wasn’t all that and a bag of chips.
I walked out of the hospital, sure not everyone can say that.
But too much good news, in my life, usually means more shit is going to fall on my head and usually soon. My arm is swollen from the IV, I’ve never had that before and I’ve had a lot of needle sticks in my life. I’m waiting for someone to call me back and let me know what to do.
MomSense
@Ruckus:
Great news!!
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
I think one of my favorite scenes is when she scrapes the “protective coating” off the ice cream.
laura
@debit: let those tears come and sooth your heart. Good news is in short supply whenever a loved one is ill -and when it’s your mom, the world stops turning.
Your holiday plans sound lovely.
I miss my mom so much and grief has dropped by for an extended stay of late.
japa21
@Adam L Silverman: I actually have a few that my son has given to me and my wife. After 17 plus years, he has gotten several.
David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch
Yarrow
@MomSense: Oh, okay. That makes sense to get it tested.
efgoldman
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
Tasteless, classless, clueless. Makes Andy Jackson look like the most tight assed of aristocrats.
One wonders how many of the truly excellent previous recipients would have anything to do with this Cracker Jack prize.
tobie
@Ruckus: So glad to hear this. May the good news keep coming.
Mnemosyne
@Schlemazel:
Okay, you made me look it up. It’s actually called situs inversus, and heterotaxy is one possible form of it. A simple mirror-image arrangement is the most common form, and most people have no clue that they have it.
I know about it because of a morgue tour I took in college where they had the torso of a guy who had it and only found out when they did an appendectomy and his appendix was on the wrong side. He lived to a ripe old age and donated his body at his doctor’s request.
Jager
@Amir Khalid:
I think the two brothers drink, they’ve alluded to it. My cafeteria Muslim pal in Boston drank a cocktail or two from time to time. Well, more than from time to time…and he changed his name from Hamid to David when he went to grad school at BU.
David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch
Muh Wall
Jim, Foolish Literalist
That and “I’m not falling for that!” could be my mom, even though she doesn’t use those words, that’s her attitude about a lot of “fancy” stuff. The salad in a baggy is my grandmother (my dad’s mom). No leftover was ever left, never too small, rarely too old. Amazing she never gave her self food-poisoning in 95 years (she lied about her age forever, we didn’t know for sure how old she was till they put the old Irish census online and we looked up her family).
efgoldman
@Amir Khalid:
They own non-kosher butcher shops in Israel, so that non-Jews or non-religious Jews can shop on the sabbath.
Mnemosyne
@David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch:
I’m always fascinated by how many “Christians” don’t know basic Bible stories. Hello, flight to Egypt?
Ben Cisco (onboard the Defiant)
@efgoldman: Frankly, I’m glad he corrupted it. He has no honor, and doesn’t deserve the dignity of a dignified coin. We can restore it once he’s gone.
Ruckus
@Schlemazel:
1. Because they are self centered assholes who know that they themselves aren’t worth a shit so there always has to be some bullshit group below them.
2. Delusional assholes who want to be better but have no chance because they are delusional assholes.
3. I could go on but you get the picture, they are, in two words, fucking assholes.
As I was waiting in line to pick up some meds at the VA pharmacy after the fun and games, my buddy the ex marine and I chatted with a couple of guys in line. The black man behind me said that he was going to start the new year off right, have his 72 birthday, Jan 1, and spend the rest of his life trying to make this country what it was supposed to be since it was founded. I shook his hand, I wanted to give him a hug but thought that might be a bit much.
Bill Arnold
Re Stephen Miller, this is good. (Been resisting building a mental model of the guy; this piece is at least amusing.)
Debra Messing Narrates This Jaw-Droppingly Crazy Profile of Trump Aide Stephen Miller
That’s a facebook video; people might prefer youtube because it can be speeded up. (1.5x, is good, 1.25x is clear).
Who is Stephen Miller? – Senior Advisor for Policy
(Also one for Jared K: Who Is Jared Kushner? – Senior Advisor and Donald Trump’s Son-In-Law )
Adam L Silverman
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Jennifer Lawrence doesn’t look anything like the Vice President’s wife. Terrible casting for a biopic.
Steeplejack
@Mnemosyne:
That’s funny! I’ll have to check that out.
Cards Against Humanity is pretty funny. I was a little skeptical at first, but we had eight fairly witty people who really got into it. And there’s a surprising amount of strategy involved as you start to understand the rhythm of the game.
Adam L Silverman
@japa21: I would expect so. I’ve got a nice collection. I’m not big on displaying mine, but with the exception of the two ones I got from civilians running advocacy organizations, they all are very special to me. Some more than others.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Adam L Silverman: though if Brooks had put Debbie Reynolds in a black wig, she could’ve played Mother Pence. I think an Albert Brooks biopic of Mike Pence would be worth watching.
MomSense
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
I think we may be related.
debit
@laura: I’m so sorry. Holidays are so hard after a loss. {{{}}}
Steeplejack
@Amir Khalid:
At the risk of being accused of profiling, I will say that a very large majority of the employees at the state liquor stores in my corner of NoVA appear to be Muslims or Hindus. Dunno why.
Ruckus
@Schlemazel:
No worries at all. I didn’t take it that way. In the pre op/recovery room there was a man who would scream out randomly, like someone was doing something unspeakable to him. They of course weren’t. The VA is amazing, it really is. A lot of the people who come in are in bad shape or at least sound like it, but the VA doesn’t give up, or treat them with anything but grace and charm. A lot of them have wounds that they have been living with for decades and the number of people with missing limbs or in wheel chairs, or just having a bad time in life can almost make you cry but they carry on.
@Mnemosyne:
Congrats? It’s always good news to find out that that crash that you thought was going to kill you, didn’t. Old motorcycling saying. I have friends who are in wheelchairs and one who wore a neck halo for over a year. I’ve been hit by a truck after being knocked off and walked away. I also know a few guys who carry X Rays with them because they fly a lot and no one believes they can set off alarms from 10 ft away with all the hardware they carry around. Worse for wear but still here to talk about it.
You are right, good news can be how you look at it.
mike in dc
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: An Arrested Development style treatment would work pretty well, I think. Pretty much the entire Trump family could be the Bluths, really.
SiubhanDuinne
@debit:
Oh, I’m so happy for you. What a great Christmas gift for the whole family!
Amir Khalid
@schrodingers_cat:
So do I. Among Muslims, or at least Malay Sunnis (my people), eating pork seems a bigger taboo than drinking alcohol’; I’ve heard of Muslims here getting busted for a beer, but never for a pork curry dinner.
Yarrow
@Amir Khalid: Hey, Amir. I wondered if you had seen this. It’s a few days old now. Our excellent State Department at work.
They did correct it but it took them 15 minutes. Dumbasses. If anyone is supposed to know this sort of thing it’s the State Department.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@mike in dc: Eric and Donnie definitely fit with Buster and Gob. Ivanka and Jared as Lindsey and Tobias… I can see it. The Beast almost certainly committed a little light treason, and I can either Ivana or Melania as a dumber Lucille
ETA: On second thought, trump is Lucille, George Sr and Tobias. With a little Barry Zuckerkorn thrown in.
Ruckus
@Adam L Silverman:
How could you expect anything less than maximum tacky from the asshole in chief?
It’s all he knows how to do well, tacky. He’s the bestest at tacky.
Suffragette City
I saw where Princess Kent apologized for wearing a piece of Blackmoor jewelry to the Christmas luncheon with Meghan Markle. It takes all kinds.
The Lodger
@debit: Yay debit! Awesome news.
Ruckus
@David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch:
I’m not sure a lot of the christian right actually believes anything more than I Want Mine, Fuck You. They sure don’t act like anything they believe goes any farther than that.
So I’m starting a new mime. IWMFY.
Amir Khalid
@Yarrow:
Can’t say as I did hear of it, but then I don’t think I’d be on the State Departmet’s contact list. So they think KL is the capital of Indonesia, do they? Oh dear.
Yarrow
@Amir Khalid: I didn’t really mean the demonstration itself. Just the stupidity on display in the tweet. A whole bunch of people replied that KL was not in Indonesia and finally, about 15 minutes later, they fixed it. I know Americans generally are poor with geography, but at least the State Department should know basic facts like that.
Bill Arnold
deleting broken links
J R in WV
@Ruckus:
My wife is inclined to be, uh, fractious when coming to after a procedure. We always warn the nurses that she may be a difficult patient in the recovery room. She had a dislocated shoulder some years back, which came back out after they first reduced it, and needed work. She remembered they calling out, “More morphine, she’s carrying on here!” in recovery.
So now they restrain her for the first 5 or 10 minutes of her coming out of her anesthesia. Better to know than to surprise everyone!
Glad all you guys are coming along well!
Mike J
@Mnemosyne: Unless he was referring to the charm of the bourgeoisie.
Ruckus
@J R in WV:
I was a happy drunk and am the same coming out of anesthesia. The only anesthesia this time was a local. Then I was supposed to lie completely still for 4 hrs. They have this neat air mattress thingy that they transfer you off the table with back onto the gurney. Basically they just float you over. The head nurse said that I was one of the most obliging people she’d seen because I didn’t move for 4 hrs. I had a hard time with stupid orders in the service but orders from docs/nurses that know a hell of a lot more and have a hell of a lot more experience than me? No, I do as I’m told.
OK this is funny. Here I’ve been good mouthing the nurses at the VA and the head nurse left on an EKG patch on my back, that I just found because it started to itch. The fun never ends.
Sab
@Yarrow: That’s weird. “Local law prohibits non-Malaysians from participating in demonstrations”… in Indonesia? I guess that would cut down on crowds if only Malaysians are allowed to demonstrate in Indonesia.
Tillerson certainly has improved stuff at State.
Mnemosyne
@Ruckus:
I did a complaint card at the place where I got my MRI because they didn’t have headphones, just earplugs, so I got to spend 40 minutes wondering if the machine was supposed to sound like the Emergency Broadcast System and what would happen if there was an earthquake and I ended up trapped in the machine. Headphones would at least have distracted me.
Ruckus
@Mnemosyne:
When I lived in OH I’d take my own CDs and they’d sometimes play them. Depended on the tech. At the VA I just ask them to turn it off as it usually is some type of music that I don’t appreciate. The radiation music was completely off the wall 50s smoky bar singers. It was fun trying to guess who it was. Unfortunately I was right far more often than wrong. That shows a grossly bad upbringing.