Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Putting aside our relentless self-interest because the moral imperative is crystal clear.

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

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

No one could have predicted…

Good lord, these people are nuts.

Everybody saw this coming.

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

Insiders who complain to politico: please report to the white house office of shut the fuck up.

I really should read my own blog.

Russian mouthpiece, go fuck yourself.

Let us savor the impending downfall of lawless scoundrels who richly deserve the trouble barreling their way.

Optimism opens the door to great things.

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.

You can’t love your country only when you win.

We still have time to mess this up!

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

Do not shrug your shoulders and accept the normalization of untruths.

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

A sufficient plurality of insane, greedy people can tank any democratic system ever devised, apparently.

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

Teach a man to fish, and he’ll sit in a boat all day drinking beer.

I’ve spoken to my cat about this, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.

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Reader Interactions

153Comments

  3. 3.

    debbie

    The ground cover reminds me of the background in the official portrait of President Obama.

    My first thought. What a pair!

  7. 7.

    Mnemosyne

    My pink protest parasol arrived today and it is even more adorable than I hoped.

    For LA Juicers, Team Gimpy, Slow, and Grumpy will be assembling outside of the Red Line Civic Center Station, corner of 1st and Hill, at 10:30 am on Saturday. Lunch afterwards in Little Tokyo (place TBD). Look for the pink protest parasol.

  8. 8.

    Miss Bianca

    Badger is looking up at you saying, “Mumma, why you drinking that stuff?”

    We are definitely in “shit is going to get worse before it gets better” territory. Sigh.

    It may be time to say “fuck it”, go home, play with Watson, and bottle some mead tonight.

  11. 11.

    The Dangerman

    Where I’m staying presently, there’s an orange tabby that comes in every night and just attacks a box sitting on the desk where I’m working on the computer. I’d swear it was a big box of catnip the way it acts (I should get a video and put it up). You know, aggressive rubbing, purring, et al.

    Not catnip. Turns out the box is an urn for the cremated sister tabby. Can’t explain it.

    I had a rescue come and find me up a couple flights of stairs when I lived in the Seattle area. I wasn’t allowed to have cats but I was a good tenant and the landlord cut me some slack.

    Animals (and children) know. Can’t explain it. But that cat (and some loud music) is some good therapy right about now.

  13. 13.

    EBT

    As I said last night, with OK voting for medical; now only 98 million Americans live in a state without medical marijuana.

  14. 14.

    JeanneT

    Aw, puppy!! That would make a nice painting….

    I got good dog news yesterday – my 11 year old pup who had cancer surgery last August is still cancer free. 10 months down!

  15. 15.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?

    @EBT:
    Speaking of OK, I saw that turnout of Dmeocrats at the time with 42% of precincts reporting in, that Democratic turnout was higher than in the Republican primary. Did this hold true when all the ballots were counted?

  17. 17.

    Nelle

    I have no clue on what Judge Kennedy is like but wouldn’t but I sure have a sense that it smells like a McConnell move. And Trump would relish telling Kennedy, nice grandchildren you have there. Shame if something happened to them. I wouldn’t be surprised if more moderate Repubs have gotten threats. The Dolt revels in threats.

  19. 19.

    NotMax

    Space news, always fascinating.

    So at some point in the distant past Mars may have been the solar system’s largest wading pool.

    According to a new study published May 22 in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, the entire surface of the Red Planet may have been covered in a single ocean about 3 billion years ago. The water would have been shallow — only about 4 inches (20 centimeters) deep, the study authors wrote.…

  21. 21.

    Elizabelle

    Betty, you have done great with keeping us soothed and fresh threaded, on a despairing day.

    Although: Kennedy was gonna go during Trump’s term. Rumors on that for weeks. Big deal is the timing, and Kennedy will not be well-remembered for what he chose.

    Unless it’s rare cancer (a la Mnemosyne’s wish) and he is not expecting much quality of life after July 31. Wouldn’t be the saddest news any of us heard.

    Stay healthy, RBG, and Kagan and Sotomayor and Breyer.

    I guess, all of them. Until the next replacement can be made by President Pelosi!

  23. 23.

    Darrin Ziliak (formerly glocksman)

    50cc scooter advice.

    I want to get a 50cc scooter for local urban transportation.

    Eventually I may get a larger one, but I don’t need a motorcycle endorsement to operate a 50cc

    My options (prices are quoted ride away) are:

    1. Honda Metropolitan or Yamaha Vino.
    Known quality brands with a warranty and wide service networks. Their disadvantage is price ($2700-$3000).

    2 Kymco. Taiwanese scooter. A bit cheaper ($2300), 2 year warranty and the dealer is certified for warranty work. Reviews seem to be mixed from what I’ve seen.

    3. Chinese. Tao-tao, Roketa, etc. Cheap (under $1000). Warranty is either 3 months or non-existent. Service and parts could be a problem.

    I’ve pretty much talked myself out of #3, but is a Honda or Yamaha worth the extra $400-$700 over the Kymco.

    Thoughts please.

  24. 24.

    HAL

    Way back in 2016 the political arguments I had on Facebook usually ended with me saying if nothing else, think of the Supreme Court. It’s amazing what little momentum that gets out of some liberal progressives. Hillary Clinton would have in the very least had two fucking SC picks that would have shifted the court left, and these terrible decisions probably would not have come about. Oh well, different side, same coin.

  25. 25.

    EBT

    @? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?: The Rs had 453,179 votes cast and the Ds had 394996 votes cast. Though the Rs also had 5 candidates and the Ds only two. That may have some effect on turnout?
    848,175 votes were cast for *a* gubernatorial candidate.
    891,599 voted on the medical marijuana question.

  28. 28.

    Anya

    @Nelle: Justice Kennedy is terrible all by himself. He lost his shit when the black sheriff came to Washington. He was also the one just who fight the hardest to convince Justice Roberts to make the ACA unconditional. Yes, he made several brilliant ruling on gay rights but in the past few years, on everything else he was terrible.

  29. 29.

    CarolDuhart2

    I joined my local League of Women Voters today. Gets me out of the house and active politically. Focused on local elections for now, but who knows?

    There is power in numbers. If everyone joined something, there could be more of a pushback on a lot of this stuff. Also, there’s a lot we could do locally on some issues-and state houses are very important.
    BTW, I just asked myself this question: what would have been different if Kennedy had just dropped dead? Probably very little.

    Take a breath, nothing will happen for a year regarding rulings-and we could have Congress back, and several state legislatures as well. And by the way, it’s the states that regulate voting, so be sure not to leave those ballots undervoted in the State House races as well.

    Kennedy had to retire now-it’s the end of the term, and he needed to tell his law clerks and staff he wasn’t coming back. Promises to stay on until the election wasn’t going to happen simply because leaving during a term would be more fractous than leaving now. Also I suspect he’s in poorer health than he lets on anyway, and would rather not die on the bench like Scalia.

  30. 30.

    The Dangerman

    @HAL:

    Hillary Clinton would have in the very least had two fucking SC picks…

    She could have picked two justices but they likely wouldn’t have been confirmed. McConnell was gonna let Scalia’s seat stay vacant for 4 years. No opinion on what would have happened to Kennedy’s seat. Likely the same.

  31. 31.

    cmorenc

    …I never thought I would someday wish Scalia had lived a longer, healthier life. That’s how perverted these times are for at least the next decade. Well, ok let’s back off from the dead part for the girl and merely wish she’s a naked underage girl, but only for the sake of saving he country.

    Ages of current SCOTUS members:
    Ginsburg: 85
    Kennedy: 81 (retiring)
    Breyer 79
    Thomas 70
    Alito 68
    Sotomayor 64
    Roberts 63
    Kagan 58
    Gorsuch 50

    We can only hope Clarence Thomas gets caught in bed with an dead, underage not-his-daughter girl next time we have a D President and D Senate majority.

  34. 34.

    What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?

    I love Obama but not using every procedural and other dirty trick he could use to get Garland seated was a huge mistake. He took way too long to realize that the Republicans would never play nice or fair or respect any norm or precedent if it meant giving up a short term win.

  36. 36.

    Mnemosyne

    @Darrin Ziliak (formerly glocksman):

    IMO, unless the extra $700 is going to put you into a serious financial bind or it’s a short-term solution, you’re always better off spending money for better quality. It saves you time, money, and frustration in the long run.

  37. 37.

    lamh36

    @chrislhayes
    5h5 hours ago
    More
    Kennedy handing his seat over to Trump is the most perfect example *ever* about how it is all the party of Trump. All of it. Kennedy looks down from SCOTUS and sees the man in the White House and says “Yes. Him. I want him to be the one to choose my replacement.”

  39. 39.

    lamh36

    @SenSherrodBrown
    I’m already very troubled by SCOTUS’ actions in just the last few weeks—taking away workers’ rights, voters’ rights & women’s rights. I hope POTUS will take this opportunity to bring Americans together by appointing someone with a well-respected record all sides can support. -SB

    3:23 PM – Jun 27, 2018

    Sigh…

  40. 40.

    Patricia Kayden

    @lamh36: Because in a week where children are still separated from their parents and the country is going to hell in a handbasket, that is the most important thing Sanders could speak out about. **rolls eyes**

  42. 42.

    Patricia Kayden

    @lamh36: Senator Brown isn’t paying attention. Trump could give two figs about bringing this country together. The only people he cares about (apart from himself) is his rabidly racist base. That’s about it. If he could get away with it, he’d nominate Jeanne Pirro or Sean Hannity.

  43. 43.

    Mnemosyne

    @What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?:

    I love Obama but not using every procedural and other dirty trick he could use to get Garland seated was a huge mistake.

    I remember the epic whining from the “left” when Garland was nominated. What support base did you think Obama was operating from? He had less support from self-proclaimed Democrats than Trump does from self-proclaimed Republicans.

    You can wish over and over again that Obama had gone out on a limb with zero support from Democrats, but he learned that lesson in 2010 when they abandoned him after PPACA and still lost the midterms.

  46. 46.

    lamh36

    Sigh…we need another platform…smh…all the complaints about FB…and Twitter ain’t no fuq’n better!

    @TonyRomm
    Follow Follow @TonyRomm
    More
    NEW: Inside Facebook and Twitter’s secret meetings with Trump aides and conservative leaders who say tech is biased. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey met with WH, others and pledged changes to come. Tip @Techmeme
    https://twitter.com/TonyRomm/status/1011982258729902080

  49. 49.

    Elizabelle

    Newlywed Alexandra Petri is back with some rules of civility. For situations beyond restaurants. WaPost link. Among them:

    When marching with a torch in support of white supremacy, be certain not to take up too much of the sidewalk, and give the space on the side nearest the wall to him who you wish to honor.

    Children whose peers have recently been murdered due to gun violence ought always to show deference to conservative media personalities, who are, after all, their elders.

    It is polite to give up your seat to a judge selected by Donald Trump, especially if you are Merrick Garland.

    It is gauche to tell a woman at your California crisis pregnancy center that yours is not a licensed medical facility that provides a full range of services. Instead, say nothing.

    Women ought to be addressed with respect. “Crooked Hillary” is rude. It is “Madam Crooked Hillary,” or “Miss Mika Brzezinski, Bleeding Badly From A Facelift.”

    “You are not welcome in this country because of your faith” is a terrible thing to say. Instead, say, “You are not welcome in this country because your country of origin is on a list, sir.”

    It is rude to address people as “animals,” unless you are the president.

    It is rude to say “infest” when speaking of people, unless you are the president.

    Never kneel in the presence of the flag when black.

    The correct chant is not “Lock her up!” It is “Lock her up, please!”

    Children should not disrupt social gatherings. No matter what is happening to those children or who is responsible. Crying children should be seen and not heard. Or better yet, neither seen nor heard.

  51. 51.

    lamh36

    @LauraAJarrett
    Follow Follow @LauraAJarrett
    More
    A senior White House official tells @jeffzeleny President Trump will push for the swift confirmation of a Supreme Court justice “before the midterm elections.” A list of well-established conservatives is in place, so a nomination is expected to come “within weeks.”

    1:27 PM – 27 Jun 2018

  52. 52.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @CarolDuhart2:

    Kennedy had to retire now-it’s the end of the term, and he needed to tell his law clerks and staff he wasn’t coming back. Promises to stay on until the election wasn’t going to happen simply because leaving during a term would be more fractous than leaving now. Also I suspect he’s in poorer health than he lets on anyway, and would rather not die on the bench like Scalia.

    That was pretty much my take in a earlier thread.

  56. 56.

    lamh36

    FUQ you Bernie.

    @AnnieLinskey
    Follow Follow @AnnieLinskey
    More
    Bernie Sanders at a book party in DC says “in many ways we did win the election.”

    @AnnieLinskey
    3m3 minutes ago
    More
    Sanders points to Democratic embrace of Medicare for all as evidence for above statement.

    @AnnieLinskey
    2m2 minutes ago
    More
    Sanders also points to progressive victories last night in places like NY and MD.

  59. 59.

    Felanius Kootea

    I’m repeating what I said in the dead thread below. In the long run, I firmly believe the GOP, aided by a media that plays to them as though they represent the will of the majority, will overplay its hand. They will splinter into different factions and end up as a regional party. Right now though, they seem to have the upper hand because they cheat but we will fight
    them. They do not represent the majority of Americans.

    In the 2016 presidential elections, 71,791,044 voters selected a candidate not named Trump (Hillary Clinton, Jill Stein, Gary Johnson), while 62,980,160 voted for Trump. A difference of over 8,810,000 people. Let’s not forget that even now.

    In 2016, there were 45.2 million votes for Democrats in the Senate and 39.3 million votes for Republicans but Republicans hold the majority of seats because every state gets 2 senators regardless of its population size. Lisa Murkowski got a total of 111,000 votes in Alaska, while Chuck Schumer got 4.8 million votes and Kamala Harris got 4.9 million votes. If 200,000 – 400,000 Democratic leaning voters from NY or CA moved to certain red states (Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, South Dakota, North Dakota, Idaho, Nebraska), that could end the nightmare (electoral college wise as well). So which Democrats would be willing to sacrifice their wellbeing temporarily to paint some red states blue? I think this is something Dems seriously need to consider, especially in expensive areas of the country like LA and NY. I am not joking.

  62. 62.

    lamh36

    SMH…on that weak azz statement from Sherrod Brown

    That doesn’t portend well that the current Dems in the Senate will stand together and opposed this shit. Maybe Brown is holding his cards close to his chest…but with Chump already signalling that he’s gonna put forth a nominee in weeks…

    November is all we’ve got.

    I’ve said before that I don’t think the Mueller investigatin will amount to anything even before the vacancy…I was told not to be a Debbie Downer by some folks…but now that there WILL be a vacancy…there is NO WAY the GOP majority will let this chance pass them by, def not by doing anything about what Mueller finds and certainly NOT enough to stop supporting Chump’s agenda

    November is where we can win, it’s really about all we’ve got at this point and I’MA DO WHAT EVER IN MY POWER I CAN TO STACK THE DECK FOR A DEM WIN…

    I’ll hold off on my move to Canada until after November.

    @NewsHour
    51m51 minutes ago
    More
    “The most important thing to President Trump is that this next [Supreme Court] nominee be someone who’s young, pro-life and very conservative,” @Yamiche tells @Nawazistan.

  63. 63.

    Cacti

    @lamh36:

    There will always be some type of myopic lefty who believe that if things get just bad enough, everything will start to change for the better.

    Ignoring the numerous historical examples where things can actually get much, much worse, to the point of millions of people dying.

  64. 64.

    Mnemosyne

    @Felanius Kootea:

    The problem is that most of the jobs are located in those expensive blue states. If I was retired or independently wealthy, I might consider it, but I gotta earn a living and have health insurance, and I probably get paid about twice what I would in a red state.

  66. 66.

    What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?

    @David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch: Well Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo said there was at least arguably legit legal theory that Garland could have been seated after the Senate refused to hold hearings or a vote within a reasonable time. Failure to act = tacit consent. Josh isn’t a crackpot.

    He could also have told McConnell to stuff it and acted on the Russia stuff before the election. I’m not going to get in a fight with anyone here…last thing we need is to fight amongst ourselves so this is my last word on the topic. Feel free to disagree, but we keep losing despite having more people and better issues and I’m fucking sick of watching McConnell gloat.

  67. 67.

    lamh36

    Someone explain this to me in layman’s terms…my brain is too tired and revved up from the Kennedy news right now to be bothered to comprehend

    @kylegriffin1
    2m2 minutes ago
    More
    Rep. Frank Pallone says that the Government Accountability Office has accepted his request to audit the Trump admin’s ability to reunite migrant children who were separated from their families at the border. (via Rep. Frank Pallone)

    https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1012115884092076032

  70. 70.

    TenguPhule

    @lamh36:

    Rep. Frank Pallone says that the Government Accountability Office has accepted his request to audit the Trump admin’s ability to reunite migrant children who were separated from their families at the border. (via Rep. Frank Pallone)

    We’re about to find out just how bad the clusterfuck is when they kept no practical records.

  72. 72.

    Viva BrisVegas

    @David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch:

    McConnell didn’t allow a vote or any consideration of the appointment.

    “[The President] shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the Supreme Court”

    The Senate was requested by the President to do its duty and offer “Advice and Consent”. The Senate refused to do its duty.

    From there I don’t know what action is legally possible, but maybe Obama could have set a time limit and stated that after that time, silence would be taken as assent. Maybe he could have made a recess appointment.

    But the point was that Obama was entitled to a vote, even if he wasn’t going to get his appointment.

    Doing nothing got the worst possible outcome.

  73. 73.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    @lamh36: Have you noticed how he hasn’t visited any of the child concentration camps like Merkley, Warren, Booker, and Harris.

    Of course not. That would be at odds with his fetishization of the Archie Bunker vote.

  76. 76.

    lamh36

    @Mnemosyne: I would def get paid more if I lived in California with my experience, but the cost of living would be much greater. To live the same standard of living I currently do now in say Oakland, I’m have to make 40K more than I do now!!!!

  78. 78.

    realbtl

    @Darrin Ziliak (formerly glocksman): I don’t know where you are but with 55 years of 2 wheel experience;
    1. Go with a major brand. Parts, service will always be better. If Kymco in near they are on par with the majors.
    2. Ride a 50cc. They are slow. I would be much more comfortable on a 125 even in city environments.
    3. If you go larger take a MC training course. Bikes are easy to ride but tricky to survive.

  79. 79.

    PaulWartenberg

    last week there was apparently an abandoned kitteh – maybe 4 weeks old – outside the library so one of my coworkers who’s a rescue person got a trap in and got her. Pretty little thing, but scared and nervous. One of my other coworkers took her home to see about fostering but the kitten did not do well with the husband, so another coworker is trying to foster her now and having some success. She’s apparently very relaxed in a warm home and doing well around humans.

    I may ask about the adoption plans for her and if there are people in Florida willing to adopt let me know.

  80. 80.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    @Viva BrisVegas: If the senate doesn’t go into recess, he can’t make a recess appointment. And they use a fake device called a pro-forma session, where only a handful of senators periodically meet for 5 minutes to keep the senate in session, even though 97 of them are out of town.

  83. 83.

    Jay

    @lamh36:

    Victoria, Sunshine Coast, Inside Passage on Vancouver Island up to Naniamo, Niagara Pennisula Area, Oakanogan Valley from Salmon Arm south to Ossoyoos. Mild winters, affordable housing in places.

  85. 85.

    M4

    @rikyrah: scary Chinese people buying apartments is… not the primary cause of the housing crisis in San Francisco or Vancouver.

  87. 87.

    Jay

    @Mnemosyne:

    Vancouver’s not affordable. Median condo price is $1million, detached house, $3million. A two to three hour commute out in the vally get’s you down to a half million, but horrid air quality.

  88. 88.

    Mnemosyne

    @M4:

    Surprisingly, it is a factor here in So Cal (but by no means the largest one). San Marino (near Pasadena) had to pass a city ordinance that there had to be at least one adult guardian in any home where minors were living, because Chinese oligarchs were buying houses, enrolling their teenage kids in local high schools, and then going back to China leaving the kids unsupervised. And, since teenagers are alike all over, the unsupervised kids started throwing raging parties and the cops were showing up and discovering there was no one over 18 living there.

  90. 90.

    Felanius Kootea

    @Mnemosyne: Surely there have got to be enough left-leaning, about-to-retire white people to do this across the country. The cost of living is way cheaper in most red states so their retirement money would stretch further and they wouldn’t alarm the natives by being minorities ;-). As a person of Nigerian descent, I am not volunteering to do this either – would probably get myself shot in Montana or Idaho (named first and second most hateful states in the country in 2017). I wish there was a way to incentivize this on the left. We have the numbers distributed in the wrong places and it wouldn’t take that many people to right things.

    Maybe Bloomberg should get on this in addition to backing moderate Dems in the next elections. We need some think tanks of our own to game this stuff out.

  91. 91.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    @Cacti: so hard to lose a loved one. we lost one a year a half ago that left a hole in our hearts. Then six months later a lost one showed up on our porch asking for food. shortly after he joined the family and rescued us..

  92. 92.

    Steve in the STl

    @lamh36: French is an issue only in Quebec. The rest of Canada is your oyster! Can’t help on the metric system though.

  93. 93.

    Mnemosyne

    @Jay:

    I live in Los Angeles, so my idea of “affordable” may be a bit skewed. ?

    My comment was meant to be about Vancouver having the most tolerable weather in Canada, but that may be why housing prices are crazy.

  95. 95.

    lamh36

    @johnrobertsFox
    Follow Follow @johnrobertsFox
    More
    SCOOP: Former @FoxNews co-president Bill Shine is in final talks with @realDonaldTrump about becoming @WhiteHouse Communications Director. Announcement could be soon.

    10:45 AM – 27 Jun 2018

  96. 96.

    rikyrah

    @M4: I didn’t say that they were scary, but there has been an influx of Chinese buying real estate. I compared it to San Francisco, because I know that lamh once considered moving there, but did not because of the high cost of living.

  99. 99.

    Elizabelle

    @lamh36: We have to see if he can outlast Scaramucci’s tenure. Is it the same job? It’s the Hope Hicks position, I think …. and talk about someone who has dropped out of public view and is probably thanking her lucky stars to miss the last few months.

  100. 100.

    Skepticat

    @Cacti: You have my sympathy and way too much of my empathy, as I’ve been too close to that this year and thus understand too well.

  101. 101.

    Kayla Rudbek

    @lamh36: Vancouver is supposed to be pretty nice and no snow. If I were single, I’d be filling out the emigration forms for New Zealand as they have preferred immigrant status for IP attorneys and patent examiners

  102. 102.

    Timurid

    @M4:

    Think the housing crunch in blue states is bad now? Wait until abortion, gay marriage and racial discrimination are all “matters for the states” again and entire neighborhoods and towns need to GTFO. In related news, I really do need to get the hell out of the South, but I have no idea how I’ll pull it off…

  103. 103.

    M4

    @TenguPhule: they also do actually have a problem with foreigners just parking money in vacant units. Some are floating vacancy taxes.

    @rikyrah: I’m sorry for adding the word ‘scary’, it was flippant. But I do think it’s weird to list that as *the* cause as opposed to factors like “Vancouver is an island” or “much of it is single family housing still”.

  105. 105.

    Jay

    @Mnemosyne:

    When my family moved to Vancouver in the ’70’s, the population in Vancouver proper, was a hair more than 250,000 with another 100k in the ‘burbs. The LML’s now over 2 million.

    It’s a narrow valley, a bit more than 150km long, mountains north, south, east, and the Salish Sea west, divided down the middle by a massive river with the remains of an estuary.

    Too many damn people.

  107. 107.

    zhena gogolia

    I went to WaPo trying to find that Alexandra Petri thing and it’s all full of right-wingers gloating about how great it is that Trump was elected because now they’re getting their right-wing SCOTUS. “Turns out the ‘But Gorsuch’ was a good reason after all!” Disgusting traitors.

    AND WHERE ARE THE NYMS?

  108. 108.

    Elizabelle

    The FTF NY Times did a big story on Vancouver housing prices earlier this month. It’s quite good, and there are 303 reader comments appended that might be enlightening too. I really like the NY Times, except for their whack political coverage. Which is a big “except.”

    In Vancouver, a Housing Frenzy That Even Owners Want to End
    Facing a crisis of affordability, officials are trying to reduce real estate demand through a package of tax measures, some aimed at foreign buyers.

    ….Vancouver is so expensive that politicians want to tax its real estate market into submission, and many homeowners — who will lose money if home prices fall — think it’s the best idea they’ve heard in years.

    “I would like to see a correction to sober up this whole place,” said Rob Welsh, a retired airplane mechanic who lives in a Vancouver suburb. Mr. Welsh bought his house in 2000 and has become a paper millionaire based on its appreciation. It makes him more anxious than happy.

    “If I got to lose 200 or 300 grand to keep the kids and the future of this place, so be it,” he said.

    Like many cities around the world, Vancouver is grappling with punishing housing costs that have pushed out large swaths of residents — and are causing distress among young adults who can’t afford rent today and take it for granted that they will never own a home.

    Part of the reason is the attraction of Vancouver itself, and not just among Canadians. Between its natural beauty, its temperate climate and Canada’s liberal immigration policies, the city has become a magnet for foreign buyers, especially from China.

    …. Last year, in a provincial election almost entirely about housing costs, citizens voted out the center-right B.C. Liberal Party, which had run British Columbia for 16 years, and brought in a government led by the left-of-center B.C. New Democratic Party. Since then, the New Democrats have not only tried to increase the housing supply, but have also proposed a slew of measures that aim to curb housing demand and chase away overseas buyers.

    The New Democrats raised British Columbia’s foreign-buyer tax to 20 percent of a home’s purchase price, from 15 percent. (Ontario has a 15 percent tax.) In addition, the party plans to impose higher property taxes on second homes, on families whose primary breadwinner’s earnings come from money abroad and on homes valued at more than 3 million Canadian dollars ($2.3 million). Vancouver has passed a number of local measures, including a tax on empty homes.

    …. “We have plenty of jobs, but you might need two or three of them to be able to afford a place to live,” said Andy Yan, director of the City Program at Simon Fraser.

    How much of the city’s housing demand is coming from China is hotly debated. Government statistics show that foreign buyers own about 5 percent of the housing stock in the metropolitan area, but the numbers are several times as high for new condominiums, which helps to explain why a surge of building hasn’t done much to reduce prices, according to an analysis by Mr. Yan. And this almost certainly underestimates the influence of foreign capital, since the data exclude Canadian immigrants with money from overseas.

    …. Tom Davidoff, an economist at the University of British Columbia, said it was all of the above. Vancouver is popular with foreign buyers, yes. But it also has strict zoning laws that reserve most of the city’s land for single-family homes, as well as high income taxes but low property taxes of about a quarter of a percent of the property value.

  111. 111.

    Mnemosyne

    @M4:

    they also do actually have a problem with foreigners just parking money in vacant units

    IIRC, that’s a factor in most large cities these days, including LA, NYC, and London. Lots of foreign money laundering going on without a lot of pushback from the local governments.

  113. 113.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    @Calouste: I realize supply is tight, but you still have to be in a position to qualify for high loans.

    I guess my question is why are there so many high income people in Vancouver – is it a financial or tech hub like NYC or SF.

  114. 114.

    lamh36

    @Kayla Rudbek: I’ll be quite honest, any time, other than after Katrina, I have had to think about moving from NOLA to anywhere else, be it international or continental US, as a single African American woman, I really pay alot of attention to racial makeup of the state and the city, and the county that I am looking at.

    There is nothing MORE uncomfortable than to be the ONLY OTHER in a city or crowd of people or even a workplace. I have the resources and I have no obligations (childless, no significan other) but I also have other things to consider as well.

    Add to that, I hate the cold, and other nitpicking I do…and my choices becomes a much smaller pool of choices.

    Anyhoo…it all comes down to what happens in November really

  115. 115.

    Mnemosyne

    @Elizabelle:

    High income taxes + low property taxes are also a huge factor in California’s housing crunch. People don’t want to move or sell houses because they’ll have to pay a lot more in property tax.

  117. 117.

    TenguPhule

    I submit that we are now teetering on the outer edge of the event horizon of peak wingnut.

  118. 118.

    Elizabelle

    @Mnemosyne: Yes. And it is so disheartening to find adult kids who cannot afford to live in the neighborhoods and towns in which they were raised. Found that a lot in Seal Beach and Long Beach.

    Plus, “worker housing” has million dollar price tags now. I love, love, love California but wonder how folks do it.

  119. 119.

    zhena gogolia

    I will say, I needed a cigarette after reading the comments to Thiessen’s op-ed (“Trump Voters Vindicated”), and I don’t even smoke.

  120. 120.

    JPL

    Strange story.. When I was in high school, I saw a movie called In Harm’s Way. Since I don’t have cable I was searching to see what I could watch and it’s on. Anyway after I saw it the first time, I spoke to my dad about it. That was when I found out he was on the Nevada when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. My uncles spoke often about their experiences, but he never did. He did share with me a story after that about a black cook who carried up the injured after the ship was attacked and said those are the true heroes. My brother still has the telegrams and a flag from the ship.

  122. 122.

    TenguPhule

    Three of the Democrats up for reelection in states Trump won in 2016 — Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.), Joe Manchin III (W.Va.) and Joe Donnelly (Ind.) — voted last year for his first Supreme Court nominee, Neil M. Gorsuch. On Wednesday, none of them gave any indication of being interested in a fight over Kennedy’s replacement, even as other Democratic senators and party activists ratcheted up pressure to oppose the pick.

    “Part of my job as a United States Senator is to carefully consider the president’s judicial nominees, including for the Supreme Court, and I will thoroughly review the record and qualifications of any nominee presented to the Senate,” Donnelly said in a statement.

    Via Wapo.

    FUCK DONNELLY. And fuck civility.

  123. 123.

    Elizabelle

    @M4: Glad to help. The comments look worth a scan.

    Most recommended: someone says Denmark only sells real estate to those with a Danish passport.

  124. 124.

    Jay

    @M4:

    It’s also one of the few cities where you can make a damned fine living from being a speculator. Spend $750k on a Crack House, throw $150k in “pretty” and sweat equity, list it as “your residence” to cut the tax bill, make $250k and avoid Capital Gains taxes, ( Residence) in 6 months.

    Still, Vancouver goes through booms and busts. In the early ’80’s when interest rates blew past 20%, people walked away from $240k houses, that the bank later sold for $8k.

    The last major market correction was in the late ’90’s when houses lost 2/3rds of their appraised values.

  125. 125.

    lamh36

    @TenguPhule: So the Dems are –3 already…so what can actually be done? Even if Mueller came forth with anything substanstial against Chump…why would the Republican majority give up a SCOTUS nominee out of any “fairness”?

    They don’t care.

    ETA: It’s all about November now.

  127. 127.

    TenguPhule

    @lamh36:

    Even if Mueller came forth with anything substanstial against Chump…why would the Republican majority give up a SCOTUS nominee out of any “fairness”?

    if Mueller would be kind enough to drop an arrest warrant on McConnell, now would be the best time.

  129. 129.

    Elizabelle

    @M4: Yes. London does that, don’t they? It’s a pretty good idea, for city real estate.

    Time and tide.

  131. 131.

    TenguPhule

    @JPL: Its hard to rally the base when we have nothing to stand behind.

    Take a fucking stand united together. Is this truly too much to ask from from our Senate minority?

  133. 133.

    Mnemosyne

    @B.B.A.:

    Gosh, an 18-year-old allegation resurfaces right after Trudeau stands up to Trump and threatens retaliatory tariffs?

    That’s certainly … convenient. Very interesting timing.

  134. 134.

    Steeplejack

    And Chris Hayes has Bernie on deck to discuss the issues of the day. Click. Over to something more useful, like the Humidity Channel or Flower Boy Next Door on the Korean channel.

  135. 135.

    Matt McIrvin

    @HAL: It gets active pushback from the more partisan-voting-allergic lefties: they go on about “blackmail”.

  138. 138.

    Darrin Ziliak (formerly glocksman)

    @realbtl:

    My driver’s license is currently suspended because I have no liability insurance despite not owning a car (SR22 required until next May because of a DUI).

    Now that I have an income again (won my SSDI appeal), I’m going to need transportation and either a 50cc scooter with no license, or a $4k Yamaha XMax or Honda PCX150, insurance, and a motorcycle endorsement fits the bill.

    Though the new 2019 Honda Super Cub looks interesting as well.

    I’m getting enough back pay to buy a scooter for cash, and I don’t want a money pit as a $4k used car would probably turn out to be.

    I’m thinking of getting SR22 non-owner insurance in January just to get my driver’s license back, a motorcycle learner’s endorsement, and taking an ABATE BRC next summer.

    I took the class 10 years ago, but didn’t finish it because something came up on the last day.

    I probably should be patient and wait until January and get a 125 or 150cc instead of buying a 50cc right now.

  139. 139.

    Fair Economist

    @M4: Foreigners parking money in condos can only be a problem if the housing construction rate is far too low. Before zoning cities frequently added hundreds of thousand of units per decade. The fundamental problems is requiring almost all land be single family large lot houses – including metro Vancouver with a population density of only 2,000 per square mile, about 1/20 of that famous hellhole, Paris.

  143. 143.

    chris

    @M4: I lived on the island for 10 years so I’m a little touchy about it. surprising how many Canadians don’t know the difference.

  144. 144.

    Trabb's Boy

    @Fair Economist: Toronto has been throwing up hundreds of thousands of units in the last couple of decades. The real problem is that there isn’t enough infrastructure to handle the rapid increase in population here and in Vancouver. Transportation, schools, public services are all massively overburdened and the governments are all stuck in AUSTERITY! mode. What we really need is some way to boost smaller cities to spread some of the growth out.

  145. 145.

    Darrin Ziliak (formerly glocksman)

    @NotMax:

    Chicken and egg dilemma.

    Evansville is large enough to have Honda, Yamaha, and Kymco dealers with service departments.

    It’s not large enough to have the same for any of those electric scoots.

    Heck, the 50cc I’d love to have (Aprila SR50 motard) involves driving to Indianapolis or Louisville to buy and no factory authorized local service.

  149. 149.

    Amir Khalid

    @lamh36:
    The metric system is way easier to use than the US system of measures. It might help to remember some basic approximations: an inch is 2.5cm, a foot is 30cm, a yard is 95cm, a metre is 39 1/2 inches, a kilometre is 5/8 of a mile. An ounce is 28 grams, a pound is 450 grams, a kilogram is 2.2lbs or 2lb 3oz. (In Europe half a kilo is sometimes called a pound, which may or may not be true in Canada.) A litre is four metric cups, and slightly more than a quart. A gallon is slightly less than four litres. A can of soda is 11fl. oz or 330 millilitres.Hope this helps.

  152. 152.

    Fair Economist

    @Trabb’s Boy: Toronto is doing better than Vancouver but even there not enough. For all its rep as dense the metro area is still overwhelmingly zoned R1. It is true there would be a lot less pressure on the big cities if smaller cities allowed more development – but they don’t.

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