Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.

if you can’t see it, then you are useless in the fight to stop it.

We know you aren’t a Democrat but since you seem confused let me help you.

The desire to stay informed is directly at odds with the need to not be constantly enraged.

You are either for trump or for democracy. Pick one.

He wakes up lying, and he lies all day.

At some point, the ability to learn is a factor of character, not IQ.

Something needs to be done about our bogus SCOTUS.

Rupert, come get your orange boy, you petrified old dinosaur turd.

Someone should tell Republicans that violence is the last refuge of the incompetent, or possibly the first.

Donald Trump found guilty as fuck – May 30, 2024!

Peak wingnut was a lie.

Everything is totally normal and fine!!!

When I was faster i was always behind.

Come on, media. you have one job. start doing it.

Wake up. Grow up. Get in the fight.

I would try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

Prediction: the gop will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.

We will not go back.

Republicans are the party of chaos and catastrophe.

Lick the third rail, it tastes like chocolate!

The real work of an opposition party is to hold the people in power accountable.

He really is that stupid.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Allow Me To Reintroduce Myself

Allow Me To Reintroduce Myself

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This post is in: 

I used to advise my students not to name their band anything clever or funny. In the very unlikely event that your band is still together after a year, it will be supremely annoying. Like being told the same knock-knock joke over and over by a six-year-old. In the even more unlikely event that your band actually becomes popular, then you will forever be “the Chumbawamba guy.” Do you really want that on your tombstone?

Jewish Steel was a nym I chose on the fly and based on a joke so laborious that when I explained it to my stony-faced wife…

“You see, there was a band called Judas Priest.”

Yes.

“Well, ha-ha, they had a very popular album called British Steel.”

Okay.

“But instead I called myself Jewish Steel!”

Ah.

And so it is with a heavy heart that we blow “Taps” over a nym that has served me through two administrations. I will henceforth be using my almost real name. It’s what my friends call me. But you guys can use it too (zing!).

I certainly ain’t the religious type, but I prayed one up to whoever would listen on April 23rd of 2005. That prayer went something like, “Please let the number one pick in the NFL draft not become a world-famous pedophile.”

In other news I was a little surprised, perhaps naively, that not one commenter could muster a defense of Bernie in my hypothetical this past week. For what it is worth, I feel the same. I can certainly imagine a redemption arc for Sanders, but it would had to have begun on November 9th with a full embrace of the Democratic party. I’m not convinced my nightmare scenario of a Biden vs. Sanders Showdown of the Superannuated won’t happen. But if he keeps displaying the kind of tone-deafness he showed on MLK Day, he might be well out of the running before things even get started. That would suit me fine.

 

In Jewish Steel’s honor, and all that he stood for, let’s raise a little money for Swing Left and the 70 congressional districts they consider competitive.

 

Goal Thermometer

 

Reader Interactions

139Comments

  1. 1.

    Doug!

    I couldn’t bring myself to read the Biden-Sanders thread because I find the thought of a 78 year-old nominee too depressing to contemplate.

  3. 3.

    Corner Stone

    I haz a confused. I am torn between the urge to tell you to go fuck yourself and/or demand pet pics. But…it feels wrong, somehow. What are we supposed to do with an aging QB?

  6. 6.

    Another Scott

    Welcome “Alex”, if that is your real name. And even if it isn’t. ;-)

    You need to work on your Categories!!1 You should have about 15 categories on each post, and maybe add a few new ones to annoy Cole, also too.

    ;-)

    Donated.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  10. 10.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    I think Biden could be a really effective campaigner/party elder if he lets go of the dream. If he were ten years younger he’d still be a bad fit for the current Dem/progressive/left (edited)

    The other one… come on Phillip Reines, “forget” that oppo file on a table in a Starbucks near the WaPo or Buzzfeed or even Politico offices

  14. 14.

    Amir Khalid

    @Alex Smith:

    I will henceforth be using my almost real name. It’s what my friends call me. But you guys can use it too (zing!).

    Who is going to believe me, if I go around claiming that my name is Alex Smith?

    //

  15. 15.

    Juice Box

    We have self-selected; anti-Wilmer partisans remain here, pro-Wilmer partisans have retreated to LGM.

    I miss Jonathon Bechamel Hollandaise. He has left us behind and gone off to fight in election of other country.

  16. 16.

    Miss Bianca

    H’mmm…Alex Smith. And here for some reason i was convinced “Jewish Steel” would turn out to be the nym for my friend Bob Jacobsen of “Yid Vicious” fame. OK, maybe you’re right about band names – God knows i got really sick of trying to explain “Beat Smash Square” to the puzzled multitudes – but “Yid Vicious” for a punk/klezmer ensemble still cracks me up. So sue me!

  17. 17.

    Corner Stone

    @PaulWartenberg: Don’t force me to sue you for infringement on my media property Nun With A Chainsaw ™ . It’s not only a movie franchise but also a graphic art series, theme destination and coming to Broadway one day as a musical.

  20. 20.

    RobertDSC-Mac Mini

    I don’t want a redemption arc for Bernie. I want him to burn like the rest of the Republicans.

    Him [Senator Geary voice]and his whole fucking family.[/Senator Geary voice]

  21. 21.

    Bob Collins

    How to get back at six year olds and their knock-knock jokes.

    Me: Knock, knock.
    Six-year-old: Who’s there?
    Me: The doorbell repairman.
    Six-year-old: long pause The doorbell repairman who?

    Me: I know a great knock-knock joke. But you have to start it.
    Six-year-old: OK. Knock, knock.
    Me: Who’s there?
    Six-year-old: longer pause

  25. 25.

    Frankensteinbeck

    But if he keeps displaying the kind of tone-deafness he showed on MLK Day, he might be well out of the running before things even get started.

    Everyone who gets offended by that kind of thing abandoned him early in the 2016 election.

  26. 26.

    Another Scott

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: I agree that Biden should let it go, and I think he could do some good in certain areas, but I think he’s still got some serious blind spots as far as reaching out to people from marginalized groups.

    For instance, look at the people on the board of his foundation.

    :-/

    I think he knows that he has never been a strong candidate for national office on his own. If he couldn’t run to succeed Obama, then he’s got even less of a chance now. He really shouldn’t bother running again – nothing good would come from it. I think, and hope, he recognizes that. He may make noises about it to try to stay in the news (the political press only seems to care if someone says they’re thinking about running), but his time is past.

    I gave Bernie some money very early on in 2015. Never again. Grrr…

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  27. 27.

    Miss Bianca

    @Bob Collins: i like the cut of your jib, Young Collins! Anyone who takes it on himself to mess with a six-year-old’s mind is all right by me.

    For some reason, i am reminded of my friend Susan trying to school her then five-year-old on how to tell the “interrupting cow” variation on the knock-knock joke (which for some reason had become the “interrupting mouse”, but the principle is the same.) Poor Shiloh wasn’t getting the timing just right on the punchline, and i watched Susan go into full “theater mother” mode as she coached her – “it’s ‘Interrupting Mouse’ beat beat beat ‘SQUEAK!!'”. I recall the experience as being both highly diverting and a bit horrifying.

  28. 28.

    Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady)

    @Another Scott: I think a lot of people were Bernie curious in the previous election, which is one reason he did well in early primaries. A friend of mine was a precinct captain for him at the caucus. Doing well early one spurred his later success too. But many of those who liked some of his positions early were later disillusioned. That includes my friend. I don’t believe he can make 2016 happen again.

  29. 29.

    Ryan

    “In other news I was a little surprised, perhaps naively, that not one commenter could muster a defense of Bernie in my hypothetical this past week. ”

    Don’t mistake lack of interest with inability to solve a difficult problem.

  31. 31.

    Yutsano

    @Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady): I was one of those. I liked the idea of being bold after so much timidity under Obama. And yes I know that was the work of a hostile Congress, but there were times I wished he would have taken the chance (i.e. public option) than let it go.

    But then I took a look at what he was selling. No plans. No buy-in to skeptical outsiders. Just platitudes with no substance. That ended my curiosity fast. The blindness on racial issues was confirmation I was making the right choice.

  32. 32.

    gbbalto

    Forsetti at Forsetti’s Justice (don’t know how to link on phone) has provided the most eloquent essay on party unity. No progress without getting into power!

  34. 34.

    Doug R

    I was a little surprised, perhaps naively, that not one commenter could muster a defense of Bernie in my hypothetical this past week.

    Perhaps you would get more bites if you translated it into Russian?

  36. 36.

    Mnemosyne

    @Frankensteinbeck:

    Imma disagree with you there — I think there were a lot of otherwise sensible Democrats who liked Sanders’ message and then became slowly disenchanted with him as he started attacking the Democratic Party as a whole for his own failure to connect with primary voters.

  40. 40.

    Mnemosyne

    @Doug R:

    There were a few Bernistas that showed up towards the end of the thread, but they mostly spent their time berating us for being Hillary cultists who failed to appreciate the greatness of Bernie.

    ETA: Also known as the I’m not the cultist, YOU’RE the cultist! method of debate.

  43. 43.

    Miss Bianca

    @Mnemosyne: Feh. I couldn’t muster up the energy for that thread. I figured the ex-Jewish Steel really didn’t need me screaming, “Sweet Jesus Christ on a yew tree, WHY are you torturing us with this grotesque scenario, WHY??!!”

  44. 44.

    John Revolta

    Some years ago I got pulled over in NYC for some kinda traffic offense on my bicycle. The cops were nice and didn’t seem to really want to give me a ticket but they must’ve had a quota so they told me “Okay, just tell us your naaaame……………..and we’ll write you a ticket……..
    …..and then you can go!” Well the first name I thought of was my deceased buddy who had lived around the corner from where we were so I told them “I’m Tom Smith”. At that point they kinda got pissed off. “C’mon man. SMITH? Is that the best you can do??”
    I felt bad somehow. I guess I shoulda put more work into it.

  45. 45.

    azlib

    I took a political quiz in 2015 and found I agreed with most of Bernie’s positions. However, I was always a Hillary supporter because of her experience and pragmatism. I was skeptical that Bernie’s agenda could ever be implemented given the current state of our politics. After he lost in the primaries, he came across as a bit of a sore loser which is never a good look.

  46. 46.

    Dan B

    I have a friend who’s charismatic and very intelligent who is a devoted berniebro. He seems to be stuck on rich-people-have-stolen-the-democrats meme (a mantra, not a solid theory if you ask me). I’m a gay man whose big concern is climate change, and the downstream threats to civilization, especially to poor and minorities like us and our neighbors. Between ICE, white supremacists, and christianist court packing we’re already in an active war. For LGBT folks it’s only distant gunfire, but tge rumble is relentless. Bernie and his followers seem to believe that “we” must focus on lower middle class and poor whites, that everything else is identity politics. I get daily Facebook posts from Bernie. I salute his posts but don’t repost or “like” them because the majority of my friends would be angered by the connection to Bernie. It’s sad because there are lots if spot-on posts. But since it feels like Bernie sees “minority issues” as a side show, and a distraction, there’s a profound feeling if abandonment. This seems to play directly into the right wing’s divide and conquer playbook at precisely the moment when finding common ground and coalition building are essential. Chicago Gay Liberation faced down the mafia, the Chicago Vice Squad, and the police with assistance of black liberation groups, anti-war activists, and feminists. This is more important today than ever.

  48. 48.

    artem1s

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    I think Biden could be a really effective campaigner/party elder if he lets go of the dream. If he were ten years younger he’d still be a bad fit for the current Dem/progressive/left (edited)

    Not sure he is trying to run again as much as defend ‘his’ administration. He should be allowed to be one of the elder statesmen of the party he has served his whole life. But instead he has to deal with firebaggers attacking Obama, HRC, WJC, and everyfuckingthing the Democratic Party has accomplished since The New Deal. It’s not a given he is even running for the WH. I’m sure he would be just as happy serving in the House or Senate for the rest of his life. PA could certainly use better representation. Only in the insane GOP does having no experience mean you are not qualified to run for public office.

  53. 53.

    burnspbesq

    This may have been beaten to death already, and if so I apologize, but is anyone surprised that Trump Tower wasn’t up to code?

  55. 55.

    efgoldman

    Jewish Steel was a nym I chose on the fly

    Didn’t you also go thru a series of modal names, or am I misremembering?

  56. 56.

    burnspbesq

    @artem1s:

    I love Joe, but (1) I haven’t forgotten the Senator from MBNA and (2) he has never been held accountable for Clarence Thomas.

  57. 57.

    Haroldo

    @divF:
    Or this guy, Lucky Oceans (you might know him as Reuben Gosfield) : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEW7nRWA2mU

    I believe he retired from his day job, “The Daily Planet,” on The Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Radio National (the show is no longer broadcast on Radio National, alas). Hell of a steel player.

  58. 58.

    Doug R

    is anyone surprised that Trump Tower wasn’t up to code?

    Since TT was built in in 1984, it was grandfathered in when the law passed in 1999. Tall buildings are supposed to get sprinklers with “major renovations”. I have lived in buildings that vintage, usually they get repiped by now. I guess he’s even cheaper than the worst landlord in Vancouver.

  59. 59.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @burnspbesq: and lest we should forget: Bragged during the ’08 primary about how he and John McCain wrote the Iraq AUMF. In fairness, he was saying that Bush/Cheney had wanted something much broader, effectively license to go to war anywhere, with Iran IIRC as the unspoken next target after our troops had made their way through the piles of candy and flowers. But I don’t get the sense he’s learned much from the experience of Iraq.

    he was on the Obama Bros’ podcast and I had to give up after about twenty minutes of 1) scolding the bros for begin too mean to Republicans 2) starting pretty much every sentence with “I wrote the bill that…” and 3) cromulent to your comment, giving a really shit justification of his conduct toward Anita Hill. And I am not a Biden-hater, far from it, but I think he’s a bad fit for this moment, and he flamed out hard at a time that probably should have been easier for him. Twice, in fact.

  60. 60.

    White & Gold Purgatorian

    Dear Mr. Smith (or Jones, Steel, whatever) you are so incredibly lenient toward the wild haired one:

    I can certainly imagine a redemption arc for Sanders, but it would had to have begun on November 9th with a full embrace of the Democratic party.

    He needed to embrace the Democratic Party while he was using their infrastructure to run, raise money and popularize his “brand.” At a minimum, he should have embraced and endorsed his rival when it became mathematically impossible for him to prevail in the primaries and quit badmouthing Democrats at that point. Having passed up those milestones, he ought to have fully embraced both the party which allowed him a national stage and that party’s nominee, a woman who beat him fair and square, as soon as she was officially the nominee. Election Day +1 was too damned late, imho. The damage had been done through the spring and summer of 2016.

    It doesn’t matter anyway, because that wild haired old white man has no interest in redemption. Like the old white man squatting in our White House, he just wants an audience for his rants and more glory for himself. The best recourse is to stop looking at their sideshows, focus on our own game and beat the hell out of the traitors next time and every time the polls open. Which is working out fairly well for Dems so far.

    Also, please accept my sincere thanks for your steady efforts to raise money for Democratic candidates. This matters.

  61. 61.

    WaterGirl

    @burnspbesq: It wouldn’t surprise me a bit to find out that Trump’s properties are not up to code, but do we actually know it wasn’t up to code?

  63. 63.

    Mnemosyne

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Bragged during the ’08 primary about how he and John McCain wrote the Iraq AUMF.

    Yep. Joe was a great VP/hype man for President Obama, but he has every single one of the deficits that Hillary’s detractors bashed her for, but even worse.

    That’s how you know the I would have voted for Biden instead Hillary-bashing crowd is misogynist to the core. You can’t blame Hillary for her Iraq vote but give Biden a free pass for co-writing the AUMF without revealing your real motive.

  64. 64.

    Achrachno

    “In the very unlikely event that your band is still together after a year, it will be supremely annoying.”

    But if your funny or clever name gets you attention and leads to massive international success, perhaps it won’t be too annoying to tolerate.

  65. 65.

    Corner Stone

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    And I am not a Biden-hater, far from it, but I think he’s a bad fit for this moment

    Demonstrably an issue with the concept of the #MeToo movement, his lust for the WWC, and his lingering remnant that Republicans can be worked with all place him well out of the mainstream of the current D party. No telling where we may be in 2020 if we have some success in 2018.

  66. 66.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Achrachno: “In the very unlikely event that your band is still together after a year, it will be supremely annoying.”

    they’re not quite my musical cuppa in any case, but every time I hear “Death Cab for Cutie”, my jaw clenches. And they probably don’t give a shit what some fat old man their dads’ age thinks

  68. 68.

    JPL

    @burnspbesq: What do you mean? He did apologize to Anita HIll, but maybe a few decades to late. Joe would certainly be preferable than the orange asshole, but I’d rather someone else.

  71. 71.

    Denali

    Agreed that the Biden/Sanders ticket is a nonstarted, but exactly who are the potential candidates for 2020? Shouldn’t we be thinking about this?

  72. 72.

    Yutsano

    @JPL: He did help pass a rather terrible bankruptcy bill that seemed to protect his banking patrons over actual fiscal relief. I just ran through a quick reminder on Wiki to remember just how bad it was.

  73. 73.

    JPL

    @Yutsano: The democratic party can do better. Although I don’t believe that Joe is racist per se, he does have an odd way of putting some things. He needs to become an elder leader that helps elect democrats.

  74. 74.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Denali: off the top of my head: Murphy, Harris, Booker, Patrick, Warren, Gellibrand, Kander, Garcetti, O’Malley, Hickenlooper, Baccarria (sp?), Cuomo (not an endorsement, just a guess), Turner, and probably a dozen others, at least. Long shot guess, and assuming she wins her senate race: Claire McCaskill. About time for David SIrota to start trolling on behalf of some mountains west purple governor or other, isn’t it? THey’re thinking about it. We can think about the mid-terms

  75. 75.

    Juice Box

    I can’t believe that Bernie will be any more relevant the second time around than Ralph Nader was in 2004.

  76. 76.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    but every time I hear “Death Cab for Cutie”

    The band got it name from a song by “The Bonzo Dog Band” that was featured in the Beatles “Magical Mystery Tour” TV movie. It’s the song the band is playing when John, Paul, George, and Ringo go to a Burlesque show.

  77. 77.

    J R in WV

    @Juice Box:

    “pro-Wilmer partisans have retreated to LGM…. ”

    That’s why I don’t enjoy LGM as much as I used to.

    I couldn’t figure it out, but now it’s all clear. Thanks!!

    PS: From now on, call me Rodgers Smith! ;-)

  78. 78.

    DHD

    But “Jewish Steel” is such a great album! Featuring hits like:

    Living After Sundown
    Grinder (looking for Kosher meat)
    Breakin’ the Law (of Moses)
    Metal God (note: singular)

  80. 80.

    debbie

    @WaterGirl:

    He fought legislation that would have mandated sprinklers in apartments. Sprinklers might have helped the man who died last night.

  81. 81.

    J R in WV

    @Another Scott:

    No one appears to be on the boards of his foundation – they’re all chair or vice chair.

    All managers, no employees. What’s wrong with this picture??? Leaving alone the white factor.

  82. 82.

    schrodingers_cat

    Can we discuss Atlantic’s racism and bigotry masquerading as “provocative intellectual thought”? Article in question was linked this morning by both Baud and rikyrah?

  84. 84.

    Another Scott

    Heard an interesting story on my local NPR station while out doing some errands. Amir might like it (though it’s probably a lot of old news for him), also too.

    Reveal – Checking into President Trump’s Washington DC Hotel:

    In 2016, the Justice Department alleged that Malaysian officials stole billions of dollars from their people and funneled some of it through the United States.

    Reveal teamed up with Washington D.C.’s public radio station, WAMU, to dig into one of the largest investigations ever by the Justice Department’s Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative.

    It’s a tale that features cameos from Leonardo DiCaprio, Donald Trump, the world’s largest yacht, a Malaysian playboy known for his lavish spending in New York nightclubs, and – as you might imagine – lots of Champagne.

    It has a link to the 52:55 audio of the show.

    Lots and lots about 1MDB and Jho Low, also too.

    Of course, The Trump Organization is up to its arm pits in it. And Andrew McCabe (recently fired by Trump from the DOJ) has a staring role, also too. Surprise, surprise.

    A very good show. Catch it if you can.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  85. 85.

    efgoldman

    @JPL:

    I’d rather someone else.

    Distilled: Joe’s to old’ HRC is too o;d’ Wilmer was too old 20 years ago.
    Nothing else matters.
    Joe has empirical proof he can’t be nominated.
    Everything else is wasted breath/pixels

  88. 88.

    efgoldman

    @Denali:

    exactly who are the potential candidates for 2020? Shouldn’t we be thinking about this?

    THEY should. WE should be doing everything possible to make a blue wave in November.

  90. 90.

    James E. Powell

    @JPL:

    Before he redeemed himself by his loyalty and assistance to Obama, I considered Biden to be one half of the Odious Joes. He and Lieberman were both notable for appearances on the Sunday Shows to say nice things about Republicans and scold Democrats.

  93. 93.

    efgoldman

    @Another Scott:

    212 days to go. Eyes on the prize.

    The only ones worried about it now are the :::ptui::: consultants trying to latch on to a winner and/or major fund raiser.

  94. 94.

    germy

    From the Guardian:

    Donald Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort authorized a secret media operation on behalf of Ukraine’s former president featuring “black ops,” “placed” articles in the Wall Street Journal and U.S. websites and anonymous briefings against Hillary Clinton.

    I have a question: Has anyone at the WSJ commented on this?

  96. 96.

    Yarrow

    @Denali:

    Agreed that the Biden/Sanders ticket is a nonstarted, but exactly who are the potential candidates for 2020? Shouldn’t we be thinking about this?

    No! We have an essential midterm election coming up in a matter of months. Our focus should be on that. These Bernie/Biden/Whoever threads are not all that helpful to getting us where we need to be in the 2018 elections.

    Maybe we need a series of threads where we focus on Congressional elections. Highlight a different state every thread, or a couple of states per thread if they’re small or more than one thread for large states. Let’s find out who the good candidates are out there and get out and support them. 2018 should be our focus until the day after election day. Then we can start thinking about 2020.

  97. 97.

    efgoldman

    @Yarrow:

    Our focus should be on that.

    I wonder how old Denali is. S/he appears to have a similar generational naivete as, for instance, young Goku

  98. 98.

    J R in WV

    @RedDirtGirl:

    Yes, Mayhew was a nym he made up because of his employment with U Pittsburgh Health. Then he got a new job where his writing under his real name wasn’t an issue, so now he’s his real name when he comments.
    Like Cole.
    Maybe?
    I guess?!!
    Who knows, really!?

  100. 100.

    Dr. Ronnie James, D.O.

    “Jewish Steel was a nym I chose on the fly and based on a joke so laborious…”

    I am in no position to criticize :)

  101. 101.

    Dr. Ronnie James, D.O.

    @Jacel: Someday I will form my Jewish hard-core band, The Schmohawks. Our first album will be a spray painted six-pointed Iron Cross, and be titled “Iron Magen.”

  102. 102.

    J R in WV

    @burnspbesq:

    is anyone surprised that Trump Tower wasn’t up to code?

    Seriously? Really? You’re kidding, right?

    I also heard a resident of the tower tell the world he didn’t ever hear a fire alarm or any formal notification that they should evacuate the building. No, he heard from a friend, named Cohen, who also spends a lot of time in the building.

    Maybe a lawyer?

    No alarm for a 3 alarm fire? Really? You’re kidding, right?

  104. 104.

    Juice Box

    @J R in WV: Unfortunately, neither side is willing to give much and neither side is strong enough to beat the Grand Old Petroleum party. OTOH, there are a couple of nutters over at LGM who are just about full Comet Ping Pong truthers and I have a lot of trouble finding common ground with them.

  106. 106.

    efgoldman

    @J R in WV:

    he didn’t ever hear a fire alarm or any formal notification that they should evacuate the building

    Evacuation in a building that size means going by stairwell – with mostly elderly people climbing down dozens of floors.
    I’ve done it for fewer than 20 stories, when I was much, much younger. I barely made it. Anecdata, to be sure, but…..

  109. 109.

    Jacel

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: When I hear of the band “Death Cab For Cutie”, I still get disappointed that they aren’t The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band who originally recorded the song by that name (and performed it in “Magical Mystery Tour”).

  112. 112.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @John Revolta:

    True story. Many years ago (in the 1960s) I had casual friends, a couple with the last name of Smith, who in turn were best friends with another. couple with the last name of Jones. The four of them used to vacation together occasionally and delighted in showing up at motel check-in counters and loudly ask “What name are we using tonight, Jones or Smith?”

  115. 115.

    divF

    @Alex Smith: See also Haroldo’s comment at #57. Both kickass pedal steel players.

    Even though he left the US music scene a while ago, I’m still partial to Lucky Oceans, since I used to see him live back in the 70’s when Asleep at the Wheel would play the local clubs. They would usually start at least one set with a pedal steel solo that would leave me needing to be scraped off the floor.

  116. 116.

    WaterGirl

    @debbie: Thanks. I just read about that. But earlier today BJ people said that sprinklers aren’t required in that building, so I was not/am not understanding how we can say the building was not up to code.

  117. 117.

    efgoldman

    @WaterGirl:

    earlier today BJ people said that sprinklers aren’t required in that building

    Not by the code as it was when the building was built.
    I doubt that retrofitting is required, either

  118. 118.

    Miss Bianca

    @Jacel: then you might be *just* the person to appreciate the name of an English country dance band from back in the 80s: King Eddie and the Red-Hot Polkas (ooh! Ouch!)

  122. 122.

    ThresherK

    @Miss Bianca: I didn’t know understand Judas Priest album titles, so “British Steel” was lost on me. But the band are from Sheffield, IIRC, so that’s a pretty good name.

  123. 123.

    debbie

    @WaterGirl:

    If I were the betting type, I’d bet the wiring is not up to code. Maybe also firewalls, emergency exits, etc.

    Trump wouldn’t be the only building owner not to meet code, but at the prices he charges, no corners should be cut.

  126. 126.

    Suzanne

    @burnspbesq:

    This may have been beaten to death already, and if so I apologize, but is anyone surprised that Trump Tower wasn’t up to code?

    I rewrote about this in a thread last night: buildings are subject to the codes in place when they’re built or undergo major reno. Putting a sprinkler system into a high-rise in a renovation situation, when it wasn’t originally planned for, is a really major construction undertaking.

    Building codes change every three years in most jurisdictions, so basically no buildings are up to current code.

  127. 127.

    Mary G

    I have no idea if this is true or not.

    Trump's had since 1979 to install Code Compliant Residential Fire Sprinklers in upper Floors of Trump Tower. He's CHOSEN to violate Fire & Building Codes, pay or not pay fines each year. Tenant DIED from Fire, 1 alarm Response elevated to 4 alarm, with 4 injuries. Murder 1.— Randy Lee Dube (@dubephnx) April 8, 2018

    Sounds like Twitler’s MO, though.

  128. 128.

    Suzanne

    @debbie:

    If I were the betting type, I’d bet the wiring is not up to code. Maybe also firewalls, emergency exits, etc.

    Unlikely that that is true. Buildings of that type are regularly inspected, and those types of fire resistance and egress elements have been in the code for a long time.

    Where the building is most likely not up to current code is in accessibility. But that is true of most buildings.

  129. 129.

    Suzanne

    @Mary G: Fire sprinklers weren’t required at the time. They’re not required to be added, either, unless they gut and renovate.

    Most high-rises of that vintage are unsprinklered. Something to think about next time you book a hotel.

  130. 130.

    Suzanne

    I hereby volunteer to do a design-and-construction-and-code thread with Q and A for anyone who is interested if y’all want.

  132. 132.

    What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?

    Should have gone with Jewdist Priest, a lot more people would have gotten that. Prolly still would have gotten old though.

    All’s I can say is if Bernie fails to register as a Democrat in time to get on the NH primary ballot again and asks to be allowed on anyway the party should tell him to go pound sand. Also he damn well better promise not to let the Russians us him to ratfuck the eventual Dem nominee, assuming it isn’t him, like in this past election.

    Frankly after letting that happen I’m not sure that the Dems should even let him in the party. Why give him.the chance to screw us again?

  133. 133.

    H.E.Wolf

    @Yarrow:
    Yes to everything Yarrow said, and especially this:
    “Maybe we need a series of threads where we focus on Congressional elections.”

  134. 134.

    Shalimar

    I voted for Bernie in the Florida primary. His campaign lost me when they continued to mudsling through the convention, but I wasn’t angry at Bernie personally. It enraged me when he switched back to being an independent yet continued to seek leadership of the Democratic party. Fuck Bernie now and forever, disloyal asshole.

  135. 135.

    SectionH

    @Suzanne: Please do!

    Aaand I know the thread’s pretty dead, but posting just in case. If I happen to catch a more recent post of yours later this evening, I’ll repost the request. The topic’s a bit personal right now. ;- )

  138. 138.

    laura

    @Jacel: i. Love. Polkacide. Sorry to hear that they’ve hung up the skin horns and accordians. Back in the day, their holiday scuffle in San Francisco’s Bottom of the Hill with Big Lou’s Polka Cassarole opening and Those Darn Accordian’s headlining, why, thim’s was the days.
    And Cotati. We’ll always have Cotati.

  139. 139.

    Stan

    My favorite band names:

    Noise R Us

    The Charlie Watts Riots

    The Taipei Personalities

    Alcoholocaust

    Big Wheelie and the Hubcaps

    Human Sexual Response

    The Regrettes

    Joy Orbison

    The Lawn Sausages

    The Brian Jonestown Massacre

    Simon Says Enjoy our Music

    Ska Humbug

    HIV and the Positives

    Hermaphrodisiac

    Planned Robin Hood

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