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So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

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If you’re pissed about Biden’s speech, he was talking about you.

If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

Seems like a complicated subject, have you tried yelling at it?

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

A lot of Dems talk about what the media tells them to talk about. Not helpful.

Only Democrats have agency, apparently.

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

People are complicated. Love is not.

Happy indictment week to all who celebrate!

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

Schmidt just says fuck it, opens a tea shop.

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

Hot air and ill-informed banter

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We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

JFC, are there no editors left at that goddamn rag?

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

Roe isn’t about choice, it’s about freedom.

This has so much WTF written all over it that it is hard to comprehend.

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You are here: Home / Economics / C.R.E.A.M. / Tuesday Morning Open Thread: Our “New” Not-Normal

Tuesday Morning Open Thread: Our “New” Not-Normal

by Anne Laurie|  January 23, 20184:49 am| 186 Comments

This post is in: C.R.E.A.M., Dolt 45, Open Threads, Republican Venality, All we want is life beyond the thunderdome, Not Normal

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(Jeff Danziger’s website)
.

When it comes to apportioning blame for the #TrumpShutDown, let’s not forgot those two stalwart standardbearers. Catherine Rampell, at the Washington Post, paper of record for the company town whose monopoly industry is national politics:

… Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) are responsible for the completely avoidable three-day federal shutdown that Congress moved to end on Monday. They will likewise be responsible for the catastrophe coming in a few weeks if Congress can’t get its act together to raise the debt ceiling.

McConnell and Ryan, after all, not only lead the majority party. They also control the legislative agenda. They determine which bills come up for a vote and when. And they knew far in advance the drop-dead deadlines for keeping the government funded.

They also knew the Democrats’ conditions for cooperating.

But McConnell and Ryan chose to do nothing. Worse than nothing: They frittered away their precious time and political capital on policy pursuits that were totally irrelevant. Worse than totally irrelevant: actively destructive…

… The only thing McConnell and Ryan felt any urgency to work on was stuff their donors care about. They focused on that, and orchestrated more stopgap budgetary measures in their spare time. Monday’s, in fact, represents the fourth stopgap 2018 funding bill, with this one set to expire on Feb. 8. It does, at least, include a six-year reauthorization of CHIP.

Don’t get me wrong. Trump has not exactly been helpful in brokering a deal on budgets, health care, immigration or other major policy issues. When he has gotten involved, he’s often struggled to remember what’s existing law, what his own positions are and how the legislative process even works.

McConnell and Ryan have no such excuse. Collectively, they have served five decades in Congress. They know Congress’s arcane procedures and obligations and, again, they set the agenda. To date, that agenda has not included a single serious budget deal…

Never let it be forgotten: Trump is the GOP, and the GOP is Trump. For all their wide-eyed protestations of innocence, he’s the (figure)head of their party because he represents everything they want, in its grossest and most obvious form.

idk, Dems can do this again in a couple weeks, but the GOP won't have CHIP as their hostage anymore. Plus threat of a second shutdown will kibosh any little momentum Trump will have post SOTU.

— Zeddy (@Zeddary) January 22, 2018

And I think Trump is going to start freaking out about the bad press. I still think there’s a good chance Kelly doesn’t survive the DACA fight.

— Dana Houle (@DanaHoule) January 23, 2018

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Reader Interactions

186Comments

  1. 1.

    satby

    January 23, 2018 at 4:58 am

    Well, Good morning to everyone! I’m up at the crack of dark because I have a handyman coming to replace my ancient water guzzling toilets today along with what feels like a million things to finish before I leave tomorrow morning.

    I so look forward to pretending I’m Canadian while I’m overseas. Not.

  2. 2.

    ThresherK

    January 23, 2018 at 5:08 am

    @satby: I can prep you on the Montreal Expos, and Canadian football, as needed.

    –

    That Danziger toon is approaching a.Thomas Nast in appearance and great visualization. Always has been good, but this levels up.

  3. 3.

    SiubhanDuinne

    January 23, 2018 at 5:09 am

    @satby:

    I detest the last 24 hours before leaving on a trip. So stressful. But once you’re on your way it will be wonderful! Travel safely, have a great time, and don’t forget your jackal playmates!

    P.S. Lots of photos and descriptions for Alain, please.

  4. 4.

    Sab

    January 23, 2018 at 5:10 am

    If it’s not too late, I’d suggest getting taller toilets (higher seat height.) We are none of getting younger.

  5. 5.

    opiejeanne

    January 23, 2018 at 5:20 am

    @ThresherK: I had to explain to my kids who Thomas Nast was because that’s not something that was in the history books when they were in school. They loved the story about Boss Tweed being identified in Spain using one of Nast’s cartoons.
    Nast had a lot of flaws, but that is a story that should be told.

  6. 6.

    opiejeanne

    January 23, 2018 at 5:21 am

    This is what I was yammering about earlier today, an excerpt from WaPo:
    “In their effort to continue dismantling Obamacare, the Republican continuing resolution does not include funding for community clinics and private hospitals that care for large numbers of low-income patients,” Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.) told me. The impact of this budgetary slight was made plain by one of her constituents in an email she shared with me.

    Wanted to touch base about CR that doesn’t include health Center funding. St. John’s will lose 10% of our budget ($8.4 million a year). We’ll have to close 6 of our 15 clinics in your district.

    It’s also self defeating to fund CHIP but not health centers since most kids with CHIP receive their care at community health centers. So they may have CHIP but they won’t be able to access services because their Health Center is closed.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2018/01/22/republicans-claim-to-be-saving-childrens-health-insurance-theyre-actually-hypocrites/?utm_term=.305d7c1b63b9

  7. 7.

    mai naem mobile

    January 23, 2018 at 5:22 am

    I wonder if Kelly isn’t trying to get fired. Even subconsciously. Even for a racist asshole, it sounds like a super toxic environment. Also having been a general he’s probably used to having ordera followed. He could be out marching in his KKK rallies while making $5K for ‘consulting services’ phone calls like Reince Priebus. Who needs to put up with Dolt45’s shit?

  8. 8.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    January 23, 2018 at 5:25 am

    @mai naem mobile: For Kelly, it’s not just babysitting Trump; it’s also dealing with Jarvanka.

  9. 9.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    January 23, 2018 at 5:26 am

    @opiejeanne: Before Congresscritter Bass got into the political racket, she was a nurse.

  10. 10.

    NotMax

    January 23, 2018 at 5:26 am

    A tsunami alert has been issued after an 7.9-strength earthquake was recorded off the coast of Alaska in the US.
    [snip]
    The US National Weather Service said the alert was in effect for areas including California and the coasts of British Columbia and Alaska.

    Anchorage has issued an extreme warning, saying there is “extraordinary threat to life or property”. Source

  11. 11.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    January 23, 2018 at 5:32 am

    @NotMax: No warnings for the north coast of your rock?

  12. 12.

    rikyrah

    January 23, 2018 at 5:34 am

    Good Morning, Everyone ???

  13. 13.

    SiubhanDuinne

    January 23, 2018 at 5:35 am

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    For Kelly, it’s not just babysitting Trump; it’s also dealing with Jarvanka.

    Somewhere (here? Digby?) in the last couple of days, I read a rumor that Ivanka has been tasked with searching for Kelly’s replacement.

    ***
    Changing topics: any news from Ozark? It’s been a long week. I know he doesn’t have internet access on his phone, and I just keep hoping that all is as well as possible with his son.

  14. 14.

    rikyrah

    January 23, 2018 at 5:36 am

    @satby:
    Have a safe trip ?

  15. 15.

    NorthLeft12

    January 23, 2018 at 5:36 am

    That cartoon is exactly what millions of Americans wanted when they voted for Deadbeat Donald. This is their political wet dream come true.

  16. 16.

    NotMax

    January 23, 2018 at 5:36 am

    And on the other side of the big blue marble –

    Authorities here will cut the water and electricity supplies within the eight-kilometer danger zone to compel residents not to go back to the area as volcanologists said the threat of a big bang from Mayon Volcano may occur at anytime.

    Ed Laguerta of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said the volcano’s historical data would show that a very loud and destructive explosion is always possible, similar to what happened during its eruption in 1984.
    [snip]
    Since the hazardous eruption that occurred at 12:43 p.m. on Monday and prompted authorities here to hoist Alert Level 4, two more ejections of pyroclastic density current or PDC (composed of ash, gases and lava) were recorded at 4 p.m. and 4:15 p.m.

    The ashes swept towards the towns of Guinobatan, Polangui,Oas and Ligao City and went as far as Iriga City in the nearby province of Camarines Sur.

    This was followed by degassing that shots ashes some 500 meters up from the Mayo summit and five episodes of lava fountaining between 9:37 p.m. on Monday up to 5:25 a.m. the following day. Source

    At least 16 people skiing on the slopes of a volcano in central Japan were injured by flying rocks during a surprise eruption and a subsequent avalanche Tuesday, and one person later died.

    Six skiers, including the man who died, were among 30 Japanese soldiers who were participating in ski training when they were buried by the avalanche about a half hour after the volcanic eruption, fire department and defence officials said.
    [snip]
    The ski area’s gondola was suspended after the eruption and about 80 skiers took refuge at a gondola station at the top of the ski slope, according to Tobe, the fire department official.

    A military helicopter airlifted the first group of eight skiers to safer ground, according to footage shown by NHK public television. The rescued skiers, wearing helmets, were handed a bottle of tea each and escorted into a cabin.

    The slopes were filled with volcanic ash and rocks and rescuers were considering whether using snowmobiles to reach the stranded skiers was safe. Source

  17. 17.

    Betty Cracker

    January 23, 2018 at 5:40 am

    Meanwhile in America. pic.twitter.com/XSMM05ipxJ

    — You Had One Job (@YouHadOneJ0B) January 23, 2018

  18. 18.

    satby

    January 23, 2018 at 5:43 am

    @rikyrah: Good morning and thanks! I worry less about what happens in the trip and more about what happens at home while I’m gone ?

    @SiubhanDuinne: I know he said he’d be out of touch, but I hope everything is as good as can be and his son is recovering.

  19. 19.

    NotMax

    January 23, 2018 at 5:44 am

    @BillinGlendaleCA</a.

    We're under a watch, not a warning, thus far.

    A tsunami watch has been issued for Hawaii following a major earthquake off Alaska.

    The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued the alert at 11:43 p.m. Monday following an 8.0 magnitude earthquake off Alaska. The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake had a 7.9 magnitude.

    If tsunami waves impact the state, the estimated earliest arrival is 4:23 a.m. today. Source

  20. 20.

    satby

    January 23, 2018 at 5:46 am

    @Betty Cracker: no fatalities? Sad.

  21. 21.

    opiejeanne

    January 23, 2018 at 5:47 am

    @Betty Cracker: Geniuses. Maybe not so stable, though.

  22. 22.

    NotMax

    January 23, 2018 at 5:49 am

    Also, a trade temblor.

    US slaps ‘America First’ tariffs on washing machines and solar panels
    [snip]
    …China and South Korea, whose manufacturers will be most heavily affected, criticised the move.
    [snip]
    The first 1.2 million imported large residential washing machines in the first year will have a 20% tariff imposed on them, while there will be a 50% tariff on machines above that number.

    By the third year, these will drop to 16% and 40% respectively.

    Figures suggest that in 2010, 1.6 million washing machines were imported to the US.

    Meanwhile, the tariff increase on imported solar cells and modules in the first year will be 30%, falling to 15% by the fourth year, although 2.5 gigawatts (GW) of imported cells – enough for about 11.5 million panels – will be allowed in tariff-free annually. Source

  23. 23.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    January 23, 2018 at 5:51 am

    @Betty Cracker: What a Country!

  24. 24.

    opiejeanne

    January 23, 2018 at 5:53 am

    @NotMax: What the hell? Is there a single American manufacturer of washing machines left? How does this help us?

  25. 25.

    Betty Cracker

    January 23, 2018 at 5:55 am

    @satby: Right? Quick — someone sell them guns!

  26. 26.

    SiubhanDuinne

    January 23, 2018 at 5:56 am

    @opiejeanne:

    I assume David has seen this, but in case he hasn’t you might want to flag it for him. Maybe he can do a post on it later.

    Gods, I hate these people….

  27. 27.

    Sab

    January 23, 2018 at 5:57 am

    @opiejeanne: We have to make up the revenue from the taxbill somehow.

  28. 28.

    NotMax

    January 23, 2018 at 5:58 am

    @opiejeanne

    Per the same linked article.

    Shares in Whirlpool rose 2.5% on the news, and it immediately announced it would employ 200 more people. Shares in US solar panel manufacturers also went up.

  29. 29.

    Mustang Bobby

    January 23, 2018 at 6:00 am

    @satby: “Fare you well, wherever you fare.”

  30. 30.

    gene108

    January 23, 2018 at 6:05 am

    @NotMax:

    Thank goodness solar panels will be more expensive. They are putting coal miners out of work, and therefore unAmerican, even though they were invented here.

    Making Samsung and LG washing machines accomplishes what exactly? It’s not like the Whirlpool-Maytag washers are all built in America anymore. Plus, if the Korean washers get more expensive, this just gives the big box stores license to jack up prices on domestic washers.

    God, I hate Trump and his supporters.

  31. 31.

    Arm The Homeless

    January 23, 2018 at 6:07 am

    @NotMax: The Chinese own American solar conglomerates. They’ll make money either way because America abdicated the PV market about the time Reagan was ripping the panels off the White House roof.

    This is another stab at the us renewables markets. You may not be able to bring coal back, but you can hobble a sector that competes with it.

  32. 32.

    gene108

    January 23, 2018 at 6:09 am

    @Betty Cracker:

    The scale the guy is standing behind is driving me nuts. I know it is to measure height, but why is 69 above 70? I don’t get the purpose of having 70 on the left be below 69.

  33. 33.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    January 23, 2018 at 6:10 am

    Since Baud asked yesterday morning if I took the timelapse I linked to yesterday with my phone and had questions about hyperlapse(timelapse is from a fixed location, hyperlapse is taken from a variable location); here’s a hyperlapse I took at The Huntington yesterday.

    There are problems with moving the camera handheld and stability and the exposure gets a bit weird in places.

  34. 34.

    satby

    January 23, 2018 at 6:13 am

    @Mustang Bobby: thanks ?

  35. 35.

    NotMax

    January 23, 2018 at 6:14 am

    @gene108 – Arm The Homeless

    Smoot-Hawley 2.0.

  36. 36.

    Just one more canuck

    January 23, 2018 at 6:18 am

    @ThresherK: and, given the earlier donut thread, Tim’s?

  37. 37.

    satby

    January 23, 2018 at 6:21 am

    @NotMax: Whirlpool is headquartered in Benton Harbor, MI. They’ve stayed pretty committed to that city as it’s struggled. There’s also Bosch in ST.Joseph MI, though that’s just a facility, not an HQ.

  38. 38.

    Baud

    January 23, 2018 at 6:21 am

    @rikyrah: Good morning.

  39. 39.

    Frankensteinbeck

    January 23, 2018 at 6:22 am

    @Arm The Homeless:
    Obama brought solar panels in the US back in a big, big way. You’re right this is intended to hurt, not help, though.

  40. 40.

    Baud

    January 23, 2018 at 6:23 am

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: Still find it kind of neat. The videos you linked to yesterday were really well done, but probably not done with a phone camera.

  41. 41.

    Baud

    January 23, 2018 at 6:24 am

    @satby:

    I so look forward to pretending I’m Canadian while I’m overseas.

    Can you be that polite?

  42. 42.

    Thoughtful David

    January 23, 2018 at 6:26 am

    So, the question is, against what will the Chinese retaliate? They’re not stupid; they’ll pick something that hurts us a lot. They will likely pick some US manufacturing sector that’s very weak, so they can kill it off for once and all. (Carrier?)
    You don’t win trade wars. They’re like a toothpaste tube: squeeze one place and they bulge out in another.

  43. 43.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    January 23, 2018 at 6:30 am

    @Baud: Nope, it was done with the NX500. The problem with phone cameras is that you’d have the same problem I had when I shot the bridge in Pasadena sunset. Obviously as the sun sets, the ambient light goes from lots to very little and the camera has to compensate, so I tried to let the camera meter the light for me. That runs into problems when you have things like cars passing by or street lights coming on, the camera tries to compensate for the increased light and you either end up with flicker(for cars) or the rest of the picture gets really dark(street lights). So you really have to do it manually or have a camera that does “ramping”(automatically increasing the exposure over the time of the shot). A cell phone can’t do that since it relies on auto metering for hyperlapse.

  44. 44.

    NotMax

    January 23, 2018 at 6:30 am

    @satby

    Trivia: Chickenman was in civilian life a shoe salesman named Benton Harbor.

    :)

  45. 45.

    Quinerly

    January 23, 2018 at 6:34 am

    @satby: Have a great day! Happy travels! Looking forward to “hearing” about some of your days in Alain’s “On the Road.”

  46. 46.

    Mustang Bobby

    January 23, 2018 at 6:34 am

    @satby:

    I so look forward to pretending I’m Canadian while I’m overseas. Not.

    Worked for me in 1971 when I went to Europe. It helped that I was the solo U.S. citizen with a group of 20 Canadians. They adopted me, sewed a Canadian flag on my luggage, taught me to add “eh?” and put the “boat” in “about.” Never did get a taste for poutine, but just try to keep a box of Tim-bits safe when I’m around. Sorry.

  47. 47.

    SiubhanDuinne

    January 23, 2018 at 6:35 am

    @gene108:

    Pretty sure one is metric and the other is English. They’re not meant to relate to each other numerically, but to provide separate indications of height.

    ETA: Metric on viewer’s left, inches on right.

  48. 48.

    Adria McDowell

    January 23, 2018 at 6:35 am

    @mai naem mobile: Rumor mill has it that Mrs. Kelly wanted him to quit back in November. He’s a few months late, if true, so maybe there is pressure from the missus to leave anyway.

  49. 49.

    Baud

    January 23, 2018 at 6:35 am

    @Thoughtful David: I think there are legal channels they can pursue.

  50. 50.

    satby

    January 23, 2018 at 6:36 am

    @Baud: only for short stretches. Yeah, that’ll give me away no matter how many “ehs” I put at the end of my sentences.

  51. 51.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    January 23, 2018 at 6:37 am

    Oh dear, my reply to Baud is in the penalty box because I said a bad word talking about the amount of light. Ok, I’ll remove the bad word:

    Nope, it was done with the NX500. The problem with phone cameras is that you’d have the same problem I had when I shot the bridge in Pasadena sunset. Obviously as the sun sets, the available light goes from lots to very little and the camera has to compensate, so I tried to let the camera meter the light for me. That runs into problems when you have things like cars passing by or street lights coming on, the camera tries to compensate for the increased light and you either end up with flicker(for cars) or the rest of the picture gets really dark(street lights). So you really have to do it manually or have a camera that does “ramping”(automatically increasing the exposure over the time of the shot). A cell phone can’t do that since it relies on auto metering for hyperlapse.

  52. 52.

    Quinerly

    January 23, 2018 at 6:39 am

    @rikyrah: @?BillinGlendaleCA: @SiubhanDuinne: Good morning from Poco and his chauffeur! Restful night in Alamogordo, NM. We are hoping White Sands has reopened. Poco wants to play in the sand!

  53. 53.

    satby

    January 23, 2018 at 6:40 am

    @NotMax: I grew up listening to WCFL and Chickenman!

  54. 54.

    satby

    January 23, 2018 at 6:40 am

    @Quinerly: thanks! You and Poco the same!

  55. 55.

    JPL

    January 23, 2018 at 6:42 am

    @gene108: The tariff on parts is up to fifty percent. I own a LG washer and hope that it continues operating.
    They got their tax cuts, what more do they need..

  56. 56.

    Thoughtful David

    January 23, 2018 at 6:43 am

    @Baud:
    Yes, that too. My point was that this ain’t over, and the US will likely end up in the losing end.

  57. 57.

    satby

    January 23, 2018 at 6:43 am

    @Mustang Bobby: was in Denmark and Sweden in ’71 as well, and did the same thing. But we were 16 years old, and didn’t fool anyone with our broad south side Chicago accents.

  58. 58.

    satby

    January 23, 2018 at 6:45 am

    @JPL: blood.

  59. 59.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    January 23, 2018 at 6:46 am

    @Quinerly: Now you tell Poco to be careful in that sand, never know what the “Deep State’s” done with it.

  60. 60.

    Baud

    January 23, 2018 at 6:48 am

    Jeez, Joe is saying the Dems won yesterday. I give up.

    P.S. I gotta remember to change the channel from Rachel before going to bed.

  61. 61.

    Mustang Bobby

    January 23, 2018 at 6:50 am

    @satby: I was 18 at the time, but since I grew up in Toledo, within earshot of CKLW and the CBC out of Windsor, I sounded close enough.

  62. 62.

    JPL

    January 23, 2018 at 6:50 am

    Melania will no longer be accompanying the president to Davos. One wonders if she will be traveling to NYC instead. hmmm

  63. 63.

    Quinerly

    January 23, 2018 at 6:52 am

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: ?

  64. 64.

    Immanentize

    January 23, 2018 at 6:53 am

    @satby: That’s what they want, not what they need… Unless they actually are full on Vampires.

    Safe travels!!

  65. 65.

    danielx

    January 23, 2018 at 6:54 am

    @mai naem mobile:

    He did say at one point that nobody in his career had ever spoken to him as Trump has. Which is quite something, since I would wager that as a Marine officer with decades of experience that he’s been treated to some pretty salty criticism at some point. To do him some justice in his current role, he is the only person who has imposed some slight measure of discipline on the West Wing.

  66. 66.

    NotMax

    January 23, 2018 at 6:56 am

    @JPL

    Hell, would anyone in the vicinity of being in his or her right mind voluntarily choose to be stuck on a plane with him for 8+ hours?

  67. 67.

    Jeffro

    January 23, 2018 at 6:57 am

    Rampell’s awesome – probably #1 in terms of columnists that I share, retweet, etc. even more than K-thug

  68. 68.

    debbie

    January 23, 2018 at 6:59 am

    @satby:

    I know you’ll have a wonderful trip, but you will be missed!

  69. 69.

    Baud

    January 23, 2018 at 7:01 am

    Drum

    To summarize, then, I have no idea who won. But I do know this: the fact that we’re so obsessed with this is just a bit of fresh evidence that H. sapiens as a species is little more than a modestly souped up version of P. troglodytes. For chimps, knowing precisely who won and who surrendered in every encounter—and therefore who outranks you—is vitally important and has been bred into the species by millions of years of evolution. A few hundred thousands generations later, it still controls human society. The only difference between chimps and humans is that they do it with screeching and feces flinging, while we do it with Twitter and cable news. I think their way is probably more dignified.

  70. 70.

    danielx

    January 23, 2018 at 7:02 am

    @rikyrah:

    Good morning!

  71. 71.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    January 23, 2018 at 7:04 am

    @Baud: Bring back screeching and feces flinging, Baud 2020!

  72. 72.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    January 23, 2018 at 7:08 am

    @NotMax: Good thing Alaska isnt part of the United States.

    I mean, they’re surrounded by water. Big water. Ocean water.

  73. 73.

    danielx

    January 23, 2018 at 7:08 am

    @Baud:

    The only difference between chimps and humans is that they do it with screeching and feces flinging, while we do it with Twitter and cable news.

    Has Drum attended a meeting of the House Freedom Caucus lately?

  74. 74.

    Immanentize

    January 23, 2018 at 7:09 am

    @danielx: Why would Kelly leave? He has huge power, he gets to enact his own America First vision, and all he had to do is put up with shithead. And who really wants him out? Steve Miller because he is too soft on immigration, maybe. Jarvanka for restricting access? Trump for understanding WTF is going on? But we know not one of those will actually pull the trigger. (See, Sessions, A.G.)

    So the only reason I can imagine Kelly leaving is the one you suggest — he feels disrespected, poor little Johnny Kelly. Fighting to keep his honor clean, my ass.

  75. 75.

    Quinerly

    January 23, 2018 at 7:09 am

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: Poco can bring the goods. He’s a twice a day doggie.?

  76. 76.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    January 23, 2018 at 7:10 am

    @JPL: Word on the street is she’s having an affair with the head of security of Tiffany’s, which is literally located next door to her apartment.

  77. 77.

    JPL

    January 23, 2018 at 7:11 am

    Now the administration is changing food regulations
    https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/trump-s-latest-regulatory-overhaul-raises-food-safety-fears-n839926

  78. 78.

    Quinerly

    January 23, 2018 at 7:11 am

    Good piece on Christopher Wray
    ://www.lawfareblog.com/power-and-integrity-fbi-chris-wray-stands-president-and-attorney-general

  79. 79.

    JPL

    January 23, 2018 at 7:12 am

    @David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch: I read that also. The only thing that I know though is she does travel to NYC. She tweeted from there before.

  80. 80.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    January 23, 2018 at 7:12 am

    Kelly is a high class muscle man for Big Business, for Wall Street and the bankers. In short, he’s a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism.

  81. 81.

    JPL

    January 23, 2018 at 7:14 am

    @Immanentize: He hurt the leader’s feelings.

  82. 82.

    Kay

    January 23, 2018 at 7:14 am

    In a series of experiments, mostly with Americans, psychologists in Germany found that not only were conservatives more nostalgic — even in a nonpolitical domain — but that nostalgia was the key to their hearts. They endorsed criminal-justice reform, gun control, diversity, and fairness at levels similar to liberals when these issues were presented as a return to the past rather than the present or future. In one example, “participants viewed a genuinely vintage comic strip featuring Superman defending social diversity to a group of schoolchildren” and “were either told that the comic was in its original form and communicated ‘old-fashioned values’ (past condition) or was being modified to reflect ‘modern-day values’ (control condition).” In the control condition, conservatives “strongly rejected the message.” In the past condition, “they equally supported the prodiversity message as liberals,” even though the message itself was the same.

    I just love that there’s a genuinely vintage comic strip where Superman defends social diversity to a group of schoolchildren.

  83. 83.

    frosty

    January 23, 2018 at 7:15 am

    @Mustang Bobby: I got so annoyed with all the Canadian flags on backpacks in 1977 that I bought a US flag to sew on mine. Probably wouldn’t do the same now.

  84. 84.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    January 23, 2018 at 7:18 am

    @Baud: Joe clearly doesn’t read the emoprogs at Balloon Juice.

  85. 85.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    January 23, 2018 at 7:20 am

    @frosty: ?

  86. 86.

    Baud

    January 23, 2018 at 7:21 am

    @David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch: Surprisingly, from what I saw at LGM, the commenters there were more positive. It’s usually the opposite.

  87. 87.

    gene108

    January 23, 2018 at 7:23 am

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    But it is 2.54 centimeters to an inch. 69 inches equals 175.26 centimeters or 1.75 meters.

    70 centimeters is 27.56 inches.

    The numbers on the left cannot be metric.

  88. 88.

    JCJ

    January 23, 2018 at 7:24 am

    @NotMax:
    Oh my goodness! Chickenman! I loved that back in my youth. You caused a long dormant part of my brain to start firing.

    Buck buck buck buuuck!

  89. 89.

    Proudgradofcatladyacademy

    January 23, 2018 at 7:25 am

    @Sab:
    This.x 1000. Either more squats are in order or I need to advocate for higher toilets here at the rented dollhouse I live in.

  90. 90.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    January 23, 2018 at 7:25 am

     

  91. 91.

    ThresherK

    January 23, 2018 at 7:26 am

    @Kay: Great tie-in. We libs have been giving that neat Superman piece a second life for a few years now. Nice to have the Man of Steel on the good side.

  92. 92.

    Matt McIrvin

    January 23, 2018 at 7:26 am

    @Mustang Bobby: I’ve always made absolutely clear where I’m from… and what I think of US politics. The first time I went abroad was to London in 1986, and I remember it was the first time some of the kids I talked to knew there were Americans who didn’t love Ronald Reagan.

  93. 93.

    Matt McIrvin

    January 23, 2018 at 7:28 am

    …I also remember somebody (Noel Maurer?) saying the attitude towards Americans in the countries where he’s been seems to be different from what it was during the Bush years: back then, people basically assumed that anyone from the US they met was pro-Bush and they tended to blame them, but these days, nobody assumes that about Trump. The attitude is more pity than resentment.

  94. 94.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    January 23, 2018 at 7:30 am

    @Jeffro: ella es muy linda también

  95. 95.

    Lapassionara

    January 23, 2018 at 7:30 am

    @Kay: nostalgia is a heck of a drug.

    Good morning, all. If Ozark checks in, can someone with the power put the info on the front page? I keep thinking I have missed it, since I have to work long stretches of time.

  96. 96.

    Just one more canuck

    January 23, 2018 at 7:32 am

    @JCJ: He’s everywhere! He’s everywhere!

  97. 97.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    January 23, 2018 at 7:32 am

    kkk leaders started stabbing each other over who’s more racist

    That economic anxiety is bad.

  98. 98.

    Kay

    January 23, 2018 at 7:34 am

    @JPL:

    It’s one of the “race to the bottom” efforts that I think people will notice. They take it for granted that food is safe to eat, but of course it hasn’t always been and doesn’t have to be. I imagine you would eventually end up with two tiers, because higher income people will demand safe food. You’ll have the crap, iffy food at low prices and safe food for those who can afford it.

  99. 99.

    Frankensteinbeck

    January 23, 2018 at 7:34 am

    @JPL:
    When I heard Trump talking about regulations, I was stunned by the seething hatred in his tone. The man usually just rambles. I can only assume it’s because he resents the restrictions he’s faced as a con man and crooked real estate developer. Whatever the reason, removing all regulations on business is personal and important to him.

  100. 100.

    danielx

    January 23, 2018 at 7:36 am

    @Frankensteinbeck:

    Well, yes. Just think of all the bribes he’s had to pay over the years.

  101. 101.

    SiubhanDuinne

    January 23, 2018 at 7:36 am

    @gene108:

    Metric side probably just shows the centimeters but not the actual meter at each increment.

  102. 102.

    Kay

    January 23, 2018 at 7:40 am

    @Frankensteinbeck:

    He’s specifically spoken out against public health inspections, which is not hard to figure out, since he’s regularly cited for poor food handling practices in those awful resorts. “Warm” walk in coolers. Yuck. Very elegant.

  103. 103.

    Steve in the ATL

    January 23, 2018 at 7:45 am

    @Quinerly: trying to connect with you IRL. Did Adam send you my email address?

  104. 104.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    January 23, 2018 at 7:45 am

    @Kay:

    “Warm” walk in coolers. Yuck. Very elegant.

    He hires the best people, Kay.

  105. 105.

    MJS

    January 23, 2018 at 7:46 am

    @Kay: Can you imagine eating at one of his establishments? The guy lives on fast food, so there’s no way he’s springing for quality food and ingredients to serve his marks. Hell, he was so jazzed up about a piece of pedestrian chocolate cake he had to mention it when he talked about his feckless, phony bombing of a Syrian airport.

  106. 106.

    Kay

    January 23, 2018 at 7:48 am

    Women and independents drive advantage for Democrats ahead of the midterm elections

    Oh, yay! “Independents” The people who don’t know how a numerical majority works. They say things like “I just believe he’s ….a strong leader”. They may as well flip a coin. Most overrated group of voters on the face of the planet.

  107. 107.

    gene108

    January 23, 2018 at 7:50 am

    @Frankensteinbeck:

    Regulations forced him and dear old dad to rent apartments to black people. Talk about excessive government interference.

  108. 108.

    gene108

    January 23, 2018 at 7:51 am

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    That makes sense.

    Edit: Thank you for putting my mind at ease.

  109. 109.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    January 23, 2018 at 7:52 am

    @MJS:

    Hell, he was so jazzed up about a piece of pedestrian chocolate cake

    What to you mean pedestrian? It had TWO scoops of ice cream with it, TWO scoops!

  110. 110.

    gene108

    January 23, 2018 at 7:57 am

    @MJS:

    Trump is someone, whose taste buds developed and got stuck in the 1950’s. Saw one report he served guests at Mar-a-Lago iceberg lettuce wedge salads, with blue cheese dressing. Literally, just a wedge of iceberg lettuce with dressing.

    Like so much of Trumo’s outlook on life, his taste in what passes for elegant food is stuck in the past.

  111. 111.

    Jeffro

    January 23, 2018 at 7:57 am

    @David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch: Well yeah, there’s that…

  112. 112.

    Kay

    January 23, 2018 at 7:58 am

    @NOW1SOLAR
    14h14 hours ago
    More
    As a solar company, we are devastated to learn Trump has imposed a 30% tariff on solar panels virtually killing the solar industry. Solar employs more people than coal and oil combined. today’s decision will cause the loss of roughly 23,000 American jobs this year.

    I knew it was more than coal because almost anything is “more jobs than coal” but I wouldn’t have guessed oil and coal combined.

  113. 113.

    Jeffro

    January 23, 2018 at 8:01 am

    @JPL: Oh good. All that E coli prevention and stuff was cuttin’ into their god-given right to make big, fat, juicy, vermin-ridden, disease-spreading profits.

    I keep thinking that on most any issue, if there was a way to make these slime bags live with the consequences of their own policy decisions – take away their health insurance, deport them, have their house flooded due to climate change, have one of their loved ones get shot up at a Vegas concert – it would change their minds toot suite. But no. I mean, Scalise DID get shot by a lunatic, and he’s just as pro-gun as ever.

    Whatever. Let’s just register the hell out of our voters this year and then ride the blue wave right the heck over their smug little faces…

  114. 114.

    raven

    January 23, 2018 at 8:08 am

    RIP Hugh Masekela

    Coal Train (Stimela)

  115. 115.

    Kay

    January 23, 2018 at 8:12 am

    @Jeffro:

    What it is though is a slow degradation of quality of life. Daily life. You don’t have time to do all this work as a volunteer food safety hawk. You can’t inspect these places or figure out which producers won’t make you sick.

    When Christie wouldn’t accept federal infrastructure funds because Obama was offering them people said it would make longer commute times. That’s a DAILY degradation of peoples’ lives. It’s TIME, their free time. That’s a good argument against conservatism.

    My oldest son is a sort of centrist Democrat but he can get all worked up about how complicated health insurance is. He doesn’t want to understand the health insurance industry. I suppose he COULD, but he has other work to do and he works a lot! He wants it handled. He’s like “just give me the fucking national card and take it out with payroll taxes. Enough with this bullshit”. There’s this whole background mechanism operating that allows people to focus on what they want to focus on, because they aren’t busy home testing their pork chop.

  116. 116.

    Patricia Kayden

    January 23, 2018 at 8:14 am

    @Betty Cracker: Just stabbing? Where were their guns?

  117. 117.

    Cheryl Rofer

    January 23, 2018 at 8:16 am

    @Kay: Besides the volume, which is decreasing in the case of coal, both the coal and oil industries have been mechanizing to replace workers. I read something the other day about an oil rig that can “walk” from one site to another, so it doesn’t have to be disassembled and reassembled. Solar panels have to be installed on each house individually, no way to mechanize that.

  118. 118.

    JPL

    January 23, 2018 at 8:20 am

    @Kay: Yeah but oil and coal donated more money to him. Teach them…

  119. 119.

    rikyrah

    January 23, 2018 at 8:21 am

    @Quinerly:
    Morning Poco ??

  120. 120.

    raven

    January 23, 2018 at 8:21 am

    Miriam Makeba and Hugh Masekela – Soweto Blues (Live 1988)

  121. 121.

    Baud

    January 23, 2018 at 8:22 am

    @JPL: You can’t roll solar.

  122. 122.

    rikyrah

    January 23, 2018 at 8:22 am

    @Kay:
    I know, Kay

  123. 123.

    gene108

    January 23, 2018 at 8:24 am

    @Kay:

    It is deliberate. Get people thinking government cannot regulate food safety, or ease commuter congestion, and people quit pestering government to provide services and therefore force taxes to go up on the rich (who have all the money).

    I mean half the country thinks government cannot provide healthcare to people, despite examples from all over the world that it is possible.

    Modern conservatives want to turn America into a third world oligarchy.

  124. 124.

    Adria McDowell

    January 23, 2018 at 8:25 am

    @David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch: Smedley Butler would have called his ass out for it.

  125. 125.

    gvg

    January 23, 2018 at 8:26 am

    @Kay: Independents aren’t always the same thing. What I mean is, it changes with the time. When Bush was tanking the Iraq war and the republicans in Congress were having a bunch of corruption scandals, independents increased because it gained some disgusted former republican voters. Democratic registrations increased also and we got most of “those” independents at the polls then. I have never seen any facts about how many of them became regular democratic voters but I would like to. Its a way we gain in the long run.
    Never seen an analysis on where independents came form politically and what happens next plus at different times. IMO the republican party should be bleeding voters more than they are, but I don’t have enough facts.

  126. 126.

    Quinerly

    January 23, 2018 at 8:26 am

    @rikyrah: ?

  127. 127.

    JPL

    January 23, 2018 at 8:35 am

    @Baud: Trump is so petty, donations probably played a large part in his decision. Of course, MSM will be all over that aspect of it.

  128. 128.

    Patricia Kayden

    January 23, 2018 at 8:35 am

    @opiejeanne: So that will need to be addressed either before or during the next possible government shutdown over DACA. Republicans have made it clear that they could care less about poor Americans. It’s amazing that they then have the nerve to call themselves the Party of Family Values when they do so little to help poor children. It’s really all about the fetus for them.

  129. 129.

    Steve in the ATL

    January 23, 2018 at 8:35 am

    @Quinerly: did you see my post?

  130. 130.

    Matt McIrvin

    January 23, 2018 at 8:37 am

    @Jeffro: We can register as many voters as we want–they’ll just get rid of our candidates.

  131. 131.

    Patricia Kayden

    January 23, 2018 at 8:40 am

    @raven: Sorry to hear of Masekela’s passing. When I was a teenager and paid a lot of attention to the anti-Apartheid movement, I was introduced to the wonderful music of South African artists. Still have some of those songs on my playlist.

  132. 132.

    Cheryl Rofer

    January 23, 2018 at 8:40 am

    This guy says the solar tariffs are only a speed bump.

    3. A 10% cost increase puts the total cost of utility-scale silicon solar in the US… back to where it was in late 2015 or early 2016.

    At current pace of cost reduction, in another 1.5 years, costs will be back down to where they were last month.

    — Ramez Naam (@ramez) January 23, 2018

  133. 133.

    gene108

    January 23, 2018 at 8:40 am

    @Patricia Kayden:

    It’s really all about the fetus for them.

    Given the effort Republicans put into shutting down family planning clinics, which provide prenatal care, I wouldn’t say it is about the fetus.

  134. 134.

    Baud

    January 23, 2018 at 8:43 am

    @Matt McIrvin: Ugh. Hope they can fix it, but sounds like an own goal.

    ETA:. I blame Tom Perez.

  135. 135.

    JPL

    January 23, 2018 at 8:43 am

    @gene108: Forced pregnancy is the term to use.

  136. 136.

    Matt McIrvin

    January 23, 2018 at 8:45 am

    @gene108: Their best argument against government services is really “you can’t rely on them because I hate you, and the next time I’m in power I will fuck them up deliberately to hurt you.” And it’s a pretty strong argument.

  137. 137.

    danielx

    January 23, 2018 at 8:45 am

    Sexual harassment training required for staff, but not lawmakers. Proposal would change that.

    Because adult males need training on how to behave like decent human beings.

  138. 138.

    Baud

    January 23, 2018 at 8:47 am

    @Matt McIrvin: Agree.

  139. 139.

    rikyrah

    January 23, 2018 at 8:49 am

    @gene108:
    Everything they serve looks like garbage. Tacky garbage ?

  140. 140.

    Weaselone

    January 23, 2018 at 8:49 am

    @Baud:
    I would blame Donovan. Tom Perez can’t sign forms for the local party.

  141. 141.

    Jeffro

    January 23, 2018 at 8:49 am

    @Matt McIrvin: Eh…I’m no expert, but I believe things like this usually get overturned. Technicalities usually don’t keep folks from running/voting. Still, whether these folks get kicked off or not, Dems really ought to make hay out of it. “Why do Republicans always, ALWAYS want to take away people’s rights to vote and run for office?”

  142. 142.

    rikyrah

    January 23, 2018 at 8:51 am

    @gene108:
    But, government does do food safety. And make sure that our water is clean enough to drink and not poison us.

  143. 143.

    Baud

    January 23, 2018 at 8:53 am

    @Weaselone: I was … um … not being completely serious about that.

  144. 144.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    January 23, 2018 at 8:54 am

    @satby: All you have to do is speak a few words of not-English. They can tell you’re an English-speaker by your accent. “So are you English? Canadian? Australian? Ok, I give up, where are you from?”

    I’ve had a lot of exchanges like that.

  145. 145.

    Jeffro

    January 23, 2018 at 8:56 am

    @Matt McIrvin: Nah, they have to hide the hate…it’s always that government
    – costs more than the ‘free market’ (HALLOWED BE ITS NAME!)
    – works worse than the ‘free market’ (BLESSED ARE WE FOR THE FREE MARKET!)
    – benefits those people, not you

    I think we’d do well to point out (kind of per Kay’s example in #115) that people don’t have time to serve as their own food inspector, that the consequences of NOT inspecting food are too great, and that the cost to the consumer is actually very low – it’s the cost to producer, aggregated, that the producer is bitching about.

    We also do well when we point out how well these very basic government services work in other countries. We might do well to point out that, you know what: in other countries, this isn’t even something that sane people argue about. Even ‘moderate’ Repubs understand this – it’s only the hard Randians who think this is a good idea (which coincidentally always seems to line their pockets).

  146. 146.

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

    January 23, 2018 at 9:02 am

    From the FTFNYT, Penn Supreme Court orders a new congressional map drawn by Feb 15.

    WASHINGTON — Pennsylvania’s congressional district map is a partisan gerrymander that “clearly, plainly and palpably” violates the state’s Constitution, the State Supreme Court said on Monday, adding to a string of court decisions striking down political maps that unduly favor one political party.

    The court banned the current map of the state’s 18 House districts from being used in this year’s primary and general elections, and ordered that a new map be submitted to the court by Feb. 15. But the state’s Republican-dominated Legislature, which approved the current map in 2011, has already said it would try to overturn such a decision in federal court. That would set up another legal battle over gerrymanders in a year already filled with them.

    But an appeal to the federal courts would very likely fail, election experts said, because decisions based solely on interpretations of state law — as this one appears to be — are generally beyond the reach of federal judges.

    For the same reason, the state court’s decision has no direct bearing on a string of challenges to partisan gerrymanders that are already moving through the federal court system. Earlier this month, in fact, a divided panel of three federal judges left intact the same Pennsylvania House map that the state court threw out on Monday.

    If the state court ruling stands and the map is redrawn, the consequences could be serious for Republicans, who are already battling national political headwinds in their effort to maintain control of the House in the midterm elections this fall.

    Pennsylvania is a swing state that has backed governors, senators and presidential candidates from both political parties in the last two election cycles. But as the state’s map is now drawn, Republicans control 13 of the state’s 18 House seats. Outside experts say that a nonpartisan district map could move as many as three of those seats over to the Democratic column.

    The Pennsylvania ruling could also add some momentum to a clear movement in lower federal courts toward reining in the most severe partisan gerrymanders. Three-judge federal panels have already invalidated the district maps for the Wisconsin State Assembly and North Carolina’s congressional map, saying they are unconstitutionally tilted toward one party — in both cases, the Republicans. Each panel’s ruling broke new ground.

    The United States Supreme Court has stayed those decisions while it considers the Wisconsin case, and one from Maryland challenging a congressional map drawn by Democrats that eliminated a longtime Republican district.

  147. 147.

    Weaselone

    January 23, 2018 at 9:04 am

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym:
    This is true. If you make a solid attempt at speaking the local language, the US drops right to the end if not completely off their list of guesses. Sometimes they’ll even toss in another country in Europe for good measure.

  148. 148.

    Matt McIrvin

    January 23, 2018 at 9:08 am

    @Jeffro: I have literally seen Republicans respond to stories of Republican administrative incompetence with “see, why do you libs always trust the government?” Only we can save you from us! The exit door leads in.

  149. 149.

    Matt McIrvin

    January 23, 2018 at 9:10 am

    @Weaselone: They know. They’re playing dumb to be polite, because there’s a 5% chance you’re Canadian and Canadians get really pissed off when people assume they’re from the US.

  150. 150.

    Amir Khalid

    January 23, 2018 at 9:12 am

    @gene108:

    Saw one report he served guests at Mar-a-Lago iceberg lettuce wedge salads, with blue cheese dressing. Literally, just a wedge of iceberg lettuce with dressing.

    That was never elegant food, even in the past.

  151. 151.

    Quinerly

    January 23, 2018 at 9:16 am

    @Steve in the ATL: No. Got an email from Adam saying you wanted my email. Had forgotten about it until now. Will send.

  152. 152.

    tarragon

    January 23, 2018 at 9:19 am

    @Mustang Bobby:

    Never did get a taste for poutine

    Now I’m questioning if you’re human. Are you a bot?

  153. 153.

    Immanentize

    January 23, 2018 at 9:21 am

    @Baud: I doubt that, even in Texas, they will deny the ballot to so many people on this basis.

  154. 154.

    ixnay

    January 23, 2018 at 9:22 am

    @gene108: Probably noted above, but it seems likely that 70 actually means 170 cm, which would be reasonable.

  155. 155.

    Quinerly

    January 23, 2018 at 9:23 am

    @Steve in the ATL:ok, just seeing this and sent…sorry I forgot…I’ve been lounging around eating pistachios and drinking NM red wine. I let Poco take over the wheel. Don’t you dare tell anyone.?

  156. 156.

    Adria McDowell

    January 23, 2018 at 9:33 am

    @Weaselone: I was mistaken for being German constantly– by actual Germans- without even saying a word. Was also mistaken for being French and Dutch. I am none of those things.

    Sometimes, it’s all in how you look, I guess.

  157. 157.

    Gin & Tonic

    January 23, 2018 at 9:33 am

    @Amir Khalid: In recent years, the iceberg wedge has somehow become popular again, probably ironically, but you will see it in the types of places where 10 years ago they’d have given you the bum’s rush for suggesting it.

  158. 158.

    Patricia Kayden

    January 23, 2018 at 9:34 am

    @Mustang Bobby: I grew up in Canada (Ontario) and have never had poutine. Not sure if it was even a thing where I grew up. Seems like it’s more of a regional food for folks in Quebec.

  159. 159.

    ixnay

    January 23, 2018 at 9:40 am

    @Kay: And for some reason I thought getting on Medicare would entail fewer life-and-death, or at least bank-breaking, decisions.

  160. 160.

    Weaselone

    January 23, 2018 at 9:41 am

    @Adria McDowell:
    I’m only reporting based on my own experience. If I was primarily speaking German, I would generally be tagged as a non native speaker, but assumed to be Canadian, Aussie or English. If speaking primarily English, I would be generally tagged directly as an American and occasionally as a Canadian. The difference was stark.

  161. 161.

    Amir Khalid

    January 23, 2018 at 9:43 am

    @Gin & Tonic:
    Still, fashionable =/= elegant.

  162. 162.

    Adria McDowell

    January 23, 2018 at 9:48 am

    @Weaselone: Oh no doubt, I certainly believe you.

  163. 163.

    Gin & Tonic

    January 23, 2018 at 9:56 am

    @Amir Khalid: You can apparently get an iceberg wedge for $20 at Morimoto in Napa. Here’s a rundown of places in San Francisco where you can get presumably elegant iceberg. I understand that from halfway around the globe you can’t keep up with the cutting edge in food here, so I’m trying to be helpful. Wouldn’t want you to embarrass yourself the next time you’re at Mar-a-Lago.

  164. 164.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    January 23, 2018 at 10:02 am

    @Adria McDowell: I try to get by in the native language and am sometimes assumed to be European from sone other country (Germans thinking I’m Italian, French thinking I’m Spanish). Part of that is looks I think. I have Mexican heritage which registers to them as Mediterranean.

  165. 165.

    gene108

    January 23, 2018 at 10:06 am

    @Matt McIrvin:

    Are Democrats contesting Republican chairperson’s signatures? Would seem a logical move.

  166. 166.

    Mnemosyne

    January 23, 2018 at 10:07 am

    I told everyone who was freaked out that Get Out was in the “musical or comedy” category at the Golden Globes to chill, and I was right.

    If nothing else, Jordan Peele gets to put “Academy Award-nominee” in front of his name for the rest of his career.

  167. 167.

    Adria McDowell

    January 23, 2018 at 10:17 am

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: I’m Puerto Rican and Irish, so I understand. I find it weird that Germans (and fellow Americans) mistook me for German- in Germany.

    Not that everyone in Germany is a blonde haired, blue eyed Aryan type.

  168. 168.

    Ruckus

    January 23, 2018 at 10:20 am

    @JPL:

    They got their tax cuts, what more do they need.

    They didn’t need that of course, they don’t need any of the policies that they want. It’s that last word, want that drives them. As in what a 5 yr old wants for xmas or birthday. Of course it’s like what a spoiled rich brat wants for xmas or birthday, useless crap that they will attend to for maybe 2 minutes and then discard, but always wanting/demanding more.

  169. 169.

    trollhattan

    January 23, 2018 at 10:20 am

    @JPL:
    The next industry to effectively self-regulate will simultaneously be the first.

  170. 170.

    Boatboy_srq

    January 23, 2018 at 10:20 am

    @NotMax: Talk about a 1970s solution to a 2010s problem. There are nearly no domestic producers for household appliances. All the big US names moved their assembly offshore ages ago, and South Korean businesses have used Chinese fabrication for some time, so this will hurt Korea and Japan as much as anyone else. European manufacturers – Bosch, Smeg, Miehle and so on – would welcome their new-found economy, assuming Lord Dampnut doesn’t decide the US is not interested in European imports any more than Asian ones.

  171. 171.

    Amir Khalid

    January 23, 2018 at 10:23 am

    @Gin & Tonic:
    I think I’d rather be inelegant, or even uncouth, than eat a salad that looks as unappealing as the one in the photo.

  172. 172.

    Another Scott

    January 23, 2018 at 10:33 am

    @Immanentize: Speaking of Sessions, Reuters has a banner saying FTFNYT has a story that Mueller’s team interviewed the AG last week.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  173. 173.

    patroclus

    January 23, 2018 at 10:33 am

    @Matt McIrvin: Uh no. Canadians don’t do really pissed off. Unless you’re talking hockey, ice dancing, Terry Fox or the Avro Arrow and Diefenbacher, all you’re really going to get is a polite denial of them being American with a slightly irritated tone of voice.

  174. 174.

    Jeffro

    January 23, 2018 at 10:41 am

    .

  175. 175.

    Boatboy_srq

    January 23, 2018 at 10:45 am

    @JPL: Nobody reads ingredients anyway. They’re like EULAs for food.

  176. 176.

    Boatboy_srq

    January 23, 2018 at 10:47 am

    @Ruckus: Anyone remember when Veruca Salt was one of the naughty children?

  177. 177.

    Amir Khalid

    January 23, 2018 at 10:48 am

    @Another Scott:
    It does indeed, and I have just read the story. Even if it doesn’t say what JBS III was questioned about, not that I expected to learn that, it does suggest that JBS might find himself … preocupied, shall we say, come the time when der Scheißgibbon needs him to hide behind.

  178. 178.

    Amir Khalid

    January 23, 2018 at 10:59 am

    @Boatboy_srq:
    Food manufacturers like to play word games in the ingredients list to obfuscate what they put in their product. I’ve mentioned before seeing a box of US-made granola that didn’t list sugar as an ingredient, but did list “dehydrated crystallized cane juice”.

  179. 179.

    Jeffro

    January 23, 2018 at 11:55 am

    @Boatboy_srq: I remember when they rawked ??

  180. 180.

    Gin & Tonic

    January 23, 2018 at 11:56 am

    @Amir Khalid: Speaking of cane juice, don’t know if this is popular in KL, but in Hanoi, a popular street-vendor drink was cane juice mixed with lime juice. Sort of a virgin caipirinha or close to it.

  181. 181.

    J R in WV

    January 23, 2018 at 12:48 pm

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    I see other reasons to call it hyper…. Great job, your work is fascinating.

  182. 182.

    Neldob

    January 23, 2018 at 1:18 pm

    @Kay: I have been watching a few 1940s movies and was surprised at how progressive they were, the few I saw.

  183. 183.

    SueEllen Pearson

    January 23, 2018 at 2:53 pm

    @JPL: Everything. (See: the needy Koch brothers).

  184. 184.

    Dan B

    January 23, 2018 at 4:18 pm

    Baud & others: see Juanita Jean’s for low down on the Dallas Dem’s. A staff member signed the candidate forms. The Repubs think the chair must sign the forms but the reg’s clearly state that any staff member may sign / certify. Dumb Repubs or ignorantly frivolous?

  185. 185.

    Ruckus

    January 23, 2018 at 4:19 pm

    @gene108:
    His taste, as well as everything else, is up his ass.
    That’s why he has such a shitty outlook on life.

  186. 186.

    J R in WV

    January 23, 2018 at 6:39 pm

    @patroclus:

    Hoy… dude, what about curling??????? I’m thinking Canadians can really get hot about any ice-based sport, including curling.

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