Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Republicans: “Abortion is murder but you can take a bus to get one.” Easy peasy.

Within six months Twitter will be fully self-driving.

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

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

The republican speaker is a slippery little devil.

It may be funny to you motherfucker, but it’s not funny to me.

Hey Washington Post, “Democracy Dies in Darkness” is supposed to be a warning, not a mission statement.

Let the trolls come, and then ignore them. that’s the worst thing you can do to a troll.

American History and Black History can not be separated.

Compromise? There is no middle ground between a firefighter and an arsonist.

After dobbs, women are no longer free.

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

FFS people, this was a good thing. take the win.

“Loving your country does not mean lying about it’s history.”

It’s all just conspiracy shit beamed down from the mothership.

The fundamental promise of conservatism all over the world is a return to an idealized past that never existed.

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

I’m more christian than these people and i’m an atheist.

Motown is Joe-Town!

The next time the wall street journal editorial board speaks the truth will be the first.

The willow is too close to the house.

Let’s bury these fuckers at the polls 2 years from now.

Michigan is a great lesson for Dems everywhere: when you have power…use it!

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

You are here: Home / Pet Blogging / Dog Blogging / Thursday Morning Open Thread: Not Feeling the GOP

Thursday Morning Open Thread: Not Feeling the GOP

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There are dogs who genuinely enjoy wearing clothes — or at least prefer sweaters to being cold — but this guy does not seem to be feeling this fashion choice.

Reader Interactions

161Comments

  4. 4.

    Schlemazel

    25 days – while the momentum is positive 3 plus weeks in an eternity. Keep volunteering and doing any little thing you can.

  6. 6.

    MomSense

    Holy shit y’all. Kid played in Venice Beach last night and had the place grooving. One of the main actors from the Harry Potter movies introduced himself and liked his music. And now he’and his friend are going to meet with a record producer who was there.

  10. 10.

    OzarkHillbilly

    A limousine driver from New York was forcibly disappeared for four months, tortured and sexually assaulted by Egyptian security forces, according to Human Rights Watch. Khaled Hassan, 41, who holds joint US and Egyptian citizenship, was arrested and held incommunicado for months by Egyptian security forces after traveling to the port city of Alexandria in January to visit his wife and children.
    …………………….
    Hassan’s account provides a gruesome and detailed picture of torture at the hands of the NSA, during a four-month period in which he had no legal support or contact with his family. Agents “hung him from his arms for days, dislocating both his shoulders. They repeatedly gave him electric shocks to the head, tongue, the anus, the testicles, and his groin area,” according to the report. Human Rights Watch said that independent forensic experts verified that photographs of Hassan’s wounds show lesions consistent with torture from electric shock devices. The group alleged that agents later operated on Hassan’s injuries without anaesthesia, then waited for his visible wounds to heal before he was presented to Egypt’s military prosecution in May.
    ……………………………….
    Human Rights Watch added that NSA officers raided the Hassan family home in Alexandria shortly after his arrest. They demanded his wife, Liuba Skateeff, who is Peruvian, leave the country along with their three Egyptian-American children. Skateeff was later prevented from entering Egypt and deported back to the US along with their four-year-old child.

    I wonder when her deportation hearing is scheduled. So what does the trump admin have to say about this?

    There was no immediate comment from the US Department of State.

    Figures.

    In July, the US released $195m in military aid to Egypt, which had previously been withheld due to human rights concerns. In a leaked memo, the US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, demanded the release of the aid, despite stating that “the overall human rights climate in Egypt continues to deteriorate”. The memo also described “a continuing problem,” of arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances “and numerous allegations of torture and deaths in detention”.

    Because… reasons.

  17. 17.

    Big Mango

    Trump is wearing thin on all but the 27% Everyday another visible GOP supporter is abandoning their party…others who garner no headlines are following suit or will simply stay home in Nov. We must double our efforts go door to door and thus highlight that we are serving the people and care. If we get out and show up we can win.

  20. 20.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @rikyrah: Blech….

    Tho I’m not really feeling it this morn. Almost perfect weather today, sunny with a high of 57 and northerly winds. I’m gonna enjoy it.

  21. 21.

    Schlemazel

    @rikyrah:
    I’ll give you one – BLEEECH

    Yesterday was another one of my days. Surgery started 3 hours late because of issues with earlier patients. They were up in my bladder for over 2 hours but were unable to do the work they went in to do because conditions had change in the 2 months I had to wait since they peeked in. They took a sample for pathology & after they look it over he is going to decide what should be done, So, still no drugs to kill the infection and the ultimate fix is off more months.
    The best part, the very best part? Dr. told me none of this. Mrs told me late last night having assume he had explained what happened.

  24. 24.

    Chyron HR

    @MomSense:

    One of the main actors from the Harry Potter movies introduced himself and liked his music.

    One of the good ones, or Ron?

  25. 25.

    Schlemazel

    @Schlemazel:
    But wait – it gets more schlemazel-like. I am mostly deaf now. Apparently when they put the tube down my throat it blocked my eustachian tubes & my ears filled with fluid. They guess is will be somewhere between 1 week and a month for them to clear. Till they do I can barely hear anything

  29. 29.

    Tony Jay

    I notice the usual suspects have started seeding the Media with stories about those Thuggish Democrats and their mob attacks on decent, law-abiding Trump supporters, that poor guy’s 4×4 truck and its ‘Trump 2020’ signs burnt to a crisp by Violent Liberal Extremists (and totally not someone out for a nice insurance payout) comes to mind.

    I wonder what the betting is on how many more of these there will have to be before the mainstream outlets get the message and start covering the “Democrat War on Voters?” 24/7? One tearful white, Christian girl with a backwards D carved on her face should do it. “They say they believe the survivors? Why won’t they believe meeeeeee???”

  30. 30.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Schlemazel: That is blech! worthy. The doc didn’t talk to me after my shoulder surgery either. Just my wife, who didn’t ask the questions I would have. I suspect it had to do with my surgery was his last that day (and also delayed) and he didn’t want to wait for me to become coherent as he needed to get to the office.

    Understandable but I was still a little peeved about it.

  33. 33.

    Tony Jay

    @MomSense:

    Draco!

    In leather pants? Because a photo of that would make a lot of Potterworld tropists squeeee like…. well, like fans of that trope.

    But seriously, very cool. Tom Felton is, by all accounts, a thoroughly nice bloke.

  43. 43.

    hocum

    @OzarkHillbilly: I am confused by the Guardian article. Is the “NSA” the US National Security Agency and is “Alexandria” the one near DC or the one in Egypt?

  45. 45.

    Tony Jay

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    Digs out much-stained copy of “So You’re Moving To The Sun Belt?: How to Speak Wingnut Like Your Life Depends On It“, pages through to the index.

    Remind me, is ‘Thug’ just code for the Urban ‘Zombie Infestation’ version or can it be stretched to accomodate the Urban ‘Cosmopolitan Elite’ types if enough of them have wombs and won’t shut up? I really need to get the updated version. Should be discounted to $0.25 on Amazon by now.

  46. 46.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Schlemazel:
    Always look on the bright side of death.
    Just before you draw your terminal breath.
    Life’s a piece of shit,
    When you look at it.

  50. 50.

    Schlemazel

    @OzarkHillbilly:
    Life’s a laugh and death’s a joke, it’s true
    You’ll see it’s all a show
    Keep ’em laughin as you go
    Just remember that the last laugh is on you

  51. 51.

    MomSense

    @SFAW:

    Ha! You can’t get there from here! Last time I drove through Wiscasset they were having a bean supper at the parish hall. I almost stopped out of sentimentality. Those were a regular part of my childhood.

  53. 53.

    Schlemazel

    @trnc:
    Just like that incompetent, ignorant, Obama was an evil mastermind who was enslaving America with his brillient schemes.

    Logical consistency is not a hallmark of Rapeublican ‘thinking’

  54. 54.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    @Baud: So who does believe it? How many of the rally attendees chanting “lock her up” really think HRC committed a crime? I agree that in some ways it doesn’t matter. It’s crappy performance art. I guess I’m just trying to find some sense where there’s only resentment and id.

  58. 58.

    NickM

    What? Seeing a raping crying manbaby prep school prick achieve his life’s dream of power isn’t energizing the commoners? What’s the matter with them?

  59. 59.

    SFAW

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    Did you know some Democrats aren’t white?

    Therefore not real ‘Muricans. Just like all them others ain’t — Injuns (meaning the “homegrown” ones),LGBT, bocialists, Joooos (except for Adelson), people with unusual-sounding names, some wimmins — they’re all un-‘Murican.

  61. 61.

    MomSense

    Poor Melania. Did you know she is one of the most bullied people in the world?

    I really don’t care, do u?

  62. 62.

    SFAW

    @Schlemazel:

    Just like that incompetent, ignorant, Obama was an evil mastermind who was enslaving America with his brillient schemes.

    I’m so old, I can remember when people called him a “feckless tyrant” who couldn’t do anything right, but was masterminding all the various plots to hurt the real Americans.

  63. 63.

    Schlemazel

    @MomSense:
    I should have applied to Mayo with the last change of Drs. I thought I had a real winner. I did apply this AM & will see how that goes. Mass is a bit of a drive for appointments but thanks

  67. 67.

    Jeffro

    @Baud: She would do very well (and have tons of fun) as the next Oprah, I’m sure. Everyone likes her. And I hear her husband and kids are pretty awesome too.

  69. 69.

    Kay

    @FLOTUS tells @TomLlamasABC in exclusive interview that she believes she is “one of the most bullied people in the world” – and it motivated her to take on cyberbullying

  71. 71.

    Raoul

    re: Ragnarock’s tweet, I’ve been thinking about the Holder pear-clutch flapette. I’m sure it won’t happen, but I’d love to see Holder issue a correction:
    “When I said, ‘when they go low, we kick them’ I misspoke. I meant to say ‘when they go low, we kick them in the nuts.'”

  72. 72.

    MomSense

    @Baud:

    Exactly. Her husband’s administration is kidknapping children and putting them in cages but we are all supposed to feel sorry for her.

  74. 74.

    MomSense

    @Raoul:

    It was a stupid thing for Holder to say. Stick with forever FLOTUS. She had an effective message. The election was stolen by Russia, the FBI, Republican voter disenfranchisement and a fucking idiotic news media. We didn’t lose because of Michelle Obama’s line.

  76. 76.

    Ken

    @JPL:

    The poor thing needs to move back to NYC

    It took, what, six months for her to move from NYC to Washington, so I can just imagine how long the trip back will take.

  77. 77.

    JPL

    @Baud: Thank you so much for the info about Michelle on the Today show. I miss her just as much as I miss her husband.

  78. 78.

    Raoul

    @Schlemazel: Oh my heavenly days (as a rather prim and eccentric ex of mine used to say). These are the sorts of nightmares I have about surgery.
    Thankfully the knee work I had several years ago went OK – though 4X longer than planned! I was pretty anxious about going under, but I hadn’t heard about crazy things like a month of deafness as a side effect. Gaaah. Hope they clear on the fast end of their not-very-convincing timeline.

  79. 79.

    Schlemazel

    @MomSense:
    I would like to see Alcatraz refurbished for them & their crew. There is something singularly awful about that rock that they should experience

  80. 80.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Shyam Sunder Paliwal knows his way through the trees. Pushing through low branches, he reaches a shady copse where a profusion of different varieties grow. Every evening, he comes here on his motorbike to see one tree in particular, a burflower – kadam in Hindi – that symbolises sublime love. In the silence of the copse, he wraps both arms tightly around the slender trunk and rests his head against it, eyes closed. “This is my daughter’s,” he says.

    Kiran, Paliwal’s 16-year-old daughter, died in 2006 – a tragedy he marked by planting the burflower tree. He went on to channel his grief into a mission. “She meant so much to me. How could parents kill a baby girl in the womb?”

    He knew what used to happen in Piplantri when a baby girl was born. A family member would push a hard, jagged grain into her mouth. That would generally be enough to start an infection that led to the baby’s death. But after Kiran’s death, Paliwal, the village chief, vowed there would be no more piteous wailing when a girl child was born. Henceforth, the birth of a baby girl would be celebrated with the planting of trees.

    As the “sarpanch” or elected village head, his word and passion carried weight. On the appointed day, every monsoon, new mothers spread red fabric inside a large wicker basket. They lay their baby girls inside and carry them to the spot where the new saplings are to be planted. Since 2006, 101 trees have been planted for each of the 65-70 baby girls born in the village every year.

    Piplantri, which is built on a hill, lies on the semi-arid land of Rajsamand district in India’s Rajasthan state. Yet lookdown at the undulating landscape below the village and you will see a carpet of green. It wasn’t always so. “In 2005, the drought was so bad the government had to send us water trains,” Paliwal recalls.

    The change began with Kiran’s tree. For Paliwal went far beyond the planting of that one special day. He kept planting trees throughout the year and urged the other villagers to do likewise. They laid pipes to take water to the saplings, dotted all around. A total of 350,000 trees have been planted.

    “With this, I’m doing two things: showing joy at the arrival of a daughter and honouring the land where my ancestors lived and died,” says Paliwal.

  82. 82.

    Baud

    @MomSense: Yeah the problem wasn’t our going high. The problem was a lot of our people going low and joining the GOP, the NYT, and Russia in indulging in Hillary hate. That’s why we have Trump.

  84. 84.

    Lee

    I never bought the village idiot narrative that somehow Kav was going to energize the GOP. The only way that was going to happen was if he wasn’t confirmed.

  85. 85.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    So Senators used the Magnitsky Act to legally require the WH to investigate the murder of the Saudi journalist. Who here thinks the WH will actually do that in anything other than a sham way? The same way they shaped the investigation of Kavanaugh.

  86. 86.

    Raoul

    @MomSense: Of course Michelle Obama’s line was a good one.
    My comment is re: Holder and how his ‘kick them’ bit is being run through the right wing puke funnel. Apologizing or backpeadaling basically never works. Own it and move one is my very armchair advice.

  87. 87.

    TS (the original)

    @Raoul: Agreed. The GOP never apologize for the things they say – but are instantly outraged by anything the opposition says. Holder could have phrased it better but most dem supporters understand exactly what he meant – it is time to move forward and crush the flies under foot..

  88. 88.

    Schlemazel

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:
    I am sure Dump will demand a full investigation, just so long as they do not interview anyone not on the list approved by the Sauds or ask any questions that might seem unkind

  93. 93.

    geg6

    @MomSense:

    My niece has met him twice at the local ComicCon. He’s an incredibly nice guy and he even remembered her the second time they met and asked her what musicals she’d been in lately. So he remembered that she danced and sang. So not Draco!

  94. 94.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    Wait? Didn’t our pundit betters tell us this was the election game changer?

    Snark aside this explains that sense of panic coming from the conservatives,

  95. 95.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Arrested for delivering a letter while Democrat

    By this time, Aronowitz is walking out of the courthouse with his mission accomplished when he’s stopped by a county sheriff’s deputy who asks who he is and what he’s doing. Soon enough Aronowitz is surrounded by a court bailiff, a sheriff’s deputy and a city police officer. Aronowitz asks whether he is free to go or whether he’s under arrest. He also calls the candidate, Mike Siegel, who’s also a civil rights attorney. So Siegel is listening to the conversation and advising Aronowitz what to do as he’s being questioned and not allowed to leave.

    Siegel didn’t say this to me in so many words. But from his description of the back and forth, it seems like that the law enforcement officers weren’t happy with Aronowitz but weren’t clear what exactly they could charge him with or if they could arrest him. After Aronowitz explained what he was at the courthouse to do and then identified himself, one of the officers asked Aronowitz which party his candidate was with.

    Aronowitz told them Siegel was a Democrat. A couple minutes later the phone went dead and Aronowitz was placed under arrest for what he was told was “48 hour investigative detention.”

  97. 97.

    Tracy Ratcliff

    Soyuz rocket carrying crew to ISS fails. The capsule aborted correctly and the Russian pilot and NASA passenger are safe, though they did experience 7Gs and extra vibration during the abort.

    https://www.cbsnews.com/news/soyuz-rocket-launch-abort-mission-iss-nasa-astronaut-russians-ballistic-descent/

    Expect Russian fulminating about sabotage to divert attention away from the way the Russian space industry is hollowed out. Cynical me is also expecting a bump up in “Elon Musk is crazy!” trolling. Yes he’s a jerk, but there’s just too much of the social media hit squad out lately.

  99. 99.

    JPL

    For those who want their Michelle fix, the video is available here.. https://www.today.com/

    If you need to do a compare and contrast with Melania’s statements about not trusting the White House aides and being bullied, that article is available on the Washington Post.

  103. 103.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Kay: Let me guess, Melania flaw is she is just to perfect and that’s why people hate her? Melina Trump, the Mary Stu of American polotics.

  104. 104.

    tobie

    From my extremely limited perspective, it seems that Republicans who were already mainlining FOX and right-wing talk radio have been whipped up into a rage about how their boy Brett was treated by the Dems. I keep on telling myself that all these angry folks telling me that after the hearings they will never vote for a Dem again haven’t actually voted for a Dem in 20 or 30 years. Glad to see from polls the limits of the GOP’s appeal-only-to-your-base strategy.

  105. 105.

    Juice Box

    @tobie: That’s certainly true. There are a lotmore people who are embarrassed to say they’re Republicans.

    I know two brand-new Americans who are ready to vote and one who’s going to take the oath just in time to register. They’re all voting the right way. Another friend, sadly, decided after the 2016 election that he didn’t want to become a citizen of this country.

  106. 106.

    MomSense

    @ixnay:

    No but they should probably come up with one. He plays with a lot of bands and people. He’s visiting a friend who moved to LA from Maine over the summer. They all met at an open mic at a place called Dogfish in Portland. It’s a really nice group of musicians who play together and support each other.

  107. 107.

    Just One More Canuck

    @TS (the original): Arnie said it best: “what is best in life?” “To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentations of their pundits”

  108. 108.

    geg6

    @SFAW:

    I still am, but I’m channeling it into fury and doing what I can for local candidates. Worked a local wine festival for Conor Lamb (who is going to kick some ass) and doing some postcard writing and door knocking for the candidate for our state house candidate, Teri Mitko. It’s an open seat (former rep, a despicable Young Republican asshole ran for the GOP nomination to try to unseat Bob Casey and lost ignominiously) and I’m very hopeful we can get her in.

  110. 110.

    Schlemazel

    @Tracy Ratcliff:
    The ‘hit squad’ would have no target if Musk would just A) shut up and deliver on promises. B) not start twitter fights with decent humans simple because his fee-fees got hurt. C) stop grandstanding.

    It does not help that he has a legion of fanbois online who will mass and attack anyone who is insufficiently differential and worshipful of Mr. Musk. Not his fault but that sort of reaction tends to bring out the trolls who love to excite his fans

  111. 111.

    Barbara

    These are the same people who thought impeaching Clinton and intruding into Terry Schiavo’s care would energize Republicans. They don’t have a good sense of balance on these things.

  114. 114.

    tobie

    @Juice Box: Glad to hear that your friends are champing at the bit to vote! I would also love if DC and Puerto Rico could become states with two senators apiece. Both are vastly more populated than Idaho or South Dakota and deserve full representation. I’ve been canvassing locally in MD-01 and phone banking in ND and texting in MO. I’m getting a really bad vibe from North Dakota. The resentment is thick. I hope the campaign is just having me clean up the phone list…

  116. 116.

    jonas

    Being happy about your side’s political victories is not nearly as motivating as being pissed off about the other side’s political victories. Remember 2010? I hope after this November, the entire GOP has a collective case of PTSD for the rest of their lives.

  118. 118.

    SFAW

    @MomSense:

    No but they should probably come up with one.

    Well, if you were a good mom, you would pass along all the “That’s a good name for a band” suggestions from this place.

  120. 120.

    Steve in the ATL

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    You Democrats need to find a slur of your own. Us union thugs are gonna sue for copyright infringement if you don’t. SteveinATL will love this case.

    I’ll have the suit filed later today. Iowa Old Lady, if that’s even her real name or location, is going down!

  123. 123.

    Immanentize

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: My guess is that the intelligence agencies leaking is actually pointing us in a particular direction — Kushner green-lighted the kidnapping.

    ETA And they have the receipts

  124. 124.

    SFAW

    @geg6:

    Sorry (but not surprised) about “where you’re at.” A few days certainly doesn’t change whether Justice DrunkAss Fratboy will be called to account.

    But outstanding! on the campaign work you’re doing. Thanks!!!!

  125. 125.

    rikyrah

    Voting Rights Become A Flashpoint In Georgia Governor’s Race
    ASSOCIATED PRESS • OCT 9, 2018

    Marsha Appling-Nunez was showing the college students she teaches how to check online if they’re registered to vote when she made a troubling discovery. Despite being an active Georgia voter who had cast ballots in recent elections, she was no longer registered.

    “I was kind of shocked,” said Appling-Nunez, who moved from one Atlanta suburb to another in May and believed she had successfully changed her address on the voter rolls.

    “I’ve always voted. I try to not miss any elections, including local ones,” Appling-Nunez said.

    She tried re-registering, but with about one month left before a November election that will decide a governor’s race and some competitive U.S. House races, Appling-Nunez’s application is one of over 53,000 sitting on hold with Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp’s office. And unlike Appling-Nunez, many people on that list — which is predominantly black, according to an analysis by The Associated Press — may not even know their voter registration has been held up.

    Tuesday is Georgia’s deadline to register and be eligible to vote in the November General Election.

    Kemp, who’s also the Republican candidate for governor, is in charge of elections and voter registration in Georgia.

    His Democratic opponent, former state Rep. Stacey Abrams, and voting rights advocacy groups charge that Kemp is systematically using his office to suppress votes and tilt the election, and that his policies disproportionately affect black and minority voters.

  126. 126.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @rikyrah: You beat me to it. From TPM:

    Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp’s (R) office is blocking 53,000 people from registering to vote, according to records obtained by the Associated Press, a huge number that could sway his gubernatorial race against Democrat Stacey Abrams.

    As TPM laid out this morning, Kemp has used a controversial “exact match” program to approve or block voter registrations that disproportionately impacts minority voters.

    Now we know exactly how many people that might affect this election. According to the AP, fully 70 percent of the voter applications that are being held up by Kemp’s office are from black people.

    It’s unclear how many of these voters will be able to get on the rolls by Election Day.

  130. 130.

    Steve in the ATL

    @Immanentize: right. Any court successes will be thrown out by Chief Justice Vote Suppressor and his Four acolytes of right wing extremism.

  131. 131.

    Bumper

    @MomSense:a couple of years ago that actor, Tom Felton, took a road trip down the west coast which brought him to our beautiful but poor rural community. He stopped at a convenience stop where the clerk recognized him (I probably wouldn’t have despite loving the movies). He very graciously posed for a selfie with her and he seemed like a genuinely nice person!

  132. 132.

    Procopius

    @NickM: “What’s the matter with them?” I dunno, but I saw an article at another site (didn’t bookmark it, figure it’ll turn up at a lot of places in the next couple of weeks) that the Republicans are quite concerned that their tax cuts are not resonating with the base any more. My theory is that their real base is not made up of stupid people (hose are just the ones the media like to track down to attract clicks), and they have noticed that the Republican tax cuts don’t actually do them much good. They don’t seem to be getting the bounce they expected from Kavanaugh, either. If there’s an economic downturn in 2020, which is being predicted, if the Democrats can find a candidate with real policies Trump could be toast.

  133. 133.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Immanentize: Exactly. Even if they were able to settle 75% of the cases in the voters favor, it wouldn’t be done in time for the election. Then what?

  134. 134.

    Brachiator

    @Procopius: The tax law changes were so complex and confusing that many people won’t know if they are getting a bigger refund until they file their returns next year. But some clearly understand that the wealthy are getting a much bigger share of the tax cuts than anyone else.

    However I would not bet on an economic downturn as likely or having a big impact.

  135. 135.

    Tenar Arha

    @MomSense:

    And now he’and his friend are going to meet with a record producer who was there.

    Congratulations, & thank you for this window onto vicarious excitement! My best wishes & ?? for your son & his bandmate.

  136. 136.

    Joe Falco

    @rikyrah:
    I checked my registration status yesterday. Thankfully, I was still registered and didn’t need to re-register.

    I hope Stacey Abrams beats Kemp so resoundingly , the crooks won’t know how to steal it. That, and I hope former congressman John Barrow wins his race for Secretary of State so Georgia might have a chance to right the ship when it comes to voting rights.

  137. 137.

    Villago Delenda Est

    The vermin of the Village are all GOP agents, with their horseshit “narrative” that is easily derailed.

    Wipe them out. All of them.

  138. 138.

    Julia Grey

    It took, what, six months for her to move from NYC to Washington, so I can just imagine how long the trip back will take.

    Nah, she’ll high-tail it just as fast as possible. I can even see her starting the move early and leaving six months before the term is actually up.

  140. 140.

    Mnemosyne

    @Schlemazel:

    Geez — if you didn’t have bad luck, you wouldn’t have any luck at all, I guess!

    Maybe it’s a California thing, but both of my orthopedic surgeons called me me the evening of my surgery to check up on me. Even the endodontist who does my root canals does it.

  141. 141.

    FlipYrWhig

    @Procopius: Republicans have only ever cared about taxes because they think their tax money is squandered on black and brown people on welfare. That’s what they think Obamacare was; that’s what they think immigration reform does; that’s basically what they think government is. And that’s why they think they need guns, so they can protect themselves from black and brown people on welfare. Abortion is about the only thing I can think of that’s important to them and *doesn’t* resolve back down to sticking it to black and brown people on welfare.

  143. 143.

    Mnemosyne

    @FlipYrWhig:

    Abortion is about the only thing I can think of that’s important to them and *doesn’t* resolve back down to sticking it to black and brown people on welfare.

    They think that abortion is “white genocide” that’s allowing the black and brown people to outnumber us and take over. I actually saw a relative post that meme on Facebook. I no longer speak to that person.

  144. 144.

    J R in WV

    @Schlemazel:

    Terrible medical news, followed by “The best part, the very best part? Dr. told me none of this.”

    I’m thinking you need to find another, better organized and more professional doctor pronto! Mayo clinic, Cleveland Clinic, recognized medical school, something.

    Best of luck, will be thinking of you going forward!!!

  146. 146.

    Kay

    @Mnemosyne:

    Republican political types here are convinced she’s very popular. I think she’s probably “popular” because no one ever hears from her, and if they hear more from her she will be less popular because she’s as mean spirited and self centered as her husband. They’re a good match.

    Come on. Melania was a public and enthusiastic birther. That’s a deal breaker. It’s definitive. You don’t need to know anything else.

  147. 147.

    Elizabelle

    Some graceful news: Matthew Shepard’s ashes will be interred in the Washington National Cathedral on October 26. About 200 are interred there; including Helen Keller, her teacher Annie Sullivan, President Woodrow Wilson, and Admiral George Dewey.

    The Shepards did not immediately bury their son after his 1998 murder, fearing that others might desecrate the grave. Matthew was only 21 when he died.

    Retired bishop V. Gene Robinson, the Episcopal Church’s first openly gay bishop, will help lead the service.

    NY Times: Matthew Shepard Will Be Interred at the Washington National Cathedral, 20 Years After His Death

  148. 148.

    Immanentize

    @MomSense: I actually keep a long list of potential band names and album names as a long running game with the Immp and my BiL. The Immp has imposed a new rule — a name cannot be an adjective followed by a noun. “Too much low hanging fruit there.” he says (and I agree). We now think that noun/noun is probably best because it suggests adjective/noun — but it’s not!

  149. 149.

    Kay

    @Immanentize:

    They are suing in the Georgia voter suppression effort, but think about that for a minute. Why do half the country have to pay private lawyers to enforce federal law? Screw that. We’re already paying hundreds of lawyers in the DOJ. They need to do their jobs. It isn’t optional. This is their job description.

    Why do I have to find and fund private sector lawyers to do the work of the voting rights section in the federal government? It’s a month before the midterms. If they’re not doing this what are they doing? I don’t care if the 5 vote suppressors on the SCOTUS eventually overrule voting rights when it gets up there. They need to stop GA right now and restore those peoples voting rights.

  150. 150.

    Immanentize

    @Elizabelle: As unlikely as it is, I am related to Helen Keller. My grandfather (some sort of second cousin somehow removed…) met her when he was a kid in Maine. He was traumatized by the experience — seriously — because she put her hand into his mouth to “hear” what he was saying. It seems young Harold was not warned (or he was and didn’t understand) and it freaked him right out.

    Funny how humanity meets myth, neh?

  151. 151.

    Immanentize

    @Kay: One of my neighbors from childhood — now a life long friend — works at DOJ in voting. She used to head up Section 5, so you get the picture. She started when Reagan was President — and Brad Reynolds was named Civil Rights head…. Etc. So, she has been there through it all.

    I think the move in DOJ is to try to remake the Voting Rights Division over into the Voting Integrity Division. It can’t be fully accomplished because of their statutory responsibilities, but they seem to be trying.

  152. 152.

    Immanentize

    @Kay: The gutting of Section 5 was huge — and has had immediate consequences. Everyone now has to bring suppression claims under Section 2 which requires proof of discriminatory intent. Even when they have smoking guns in the hands of the legislators, it has been hard to prevail. In a couple cases, Courts have found deliberate Equal Protection violations which would potentially put the jurisdiction back under Section 5. That is where all the action is — allowing lower courts to maybe strike down a voting law or regulation, but not allow a finding of constitutionally invalid discrimination. That is where most of the reversals from appellate courts have come from.

  153. 153.

    trollhattan

    @Immanentize:
    Article-Noun. The Beatles, The Kinks, The Who.
    Article-Name-Noun: The Jimi Hendrix Experience.
    Name-Article-Noun: Eric Burdon and The Animals.

  154. 154.

    Immanentize

    @trollhattan: The use of articles is good. My wife and I always joked that we would but an article in front of group names just to aggravate our son — so, “The Beck” or “The Public Enemy.” Nothing screams out of touch more…

    Our current favorite band name is: Cobra Pope. And their first album is “Ball Moss and Bagworms”

  156. 156.

    trollhattan

    @Immanentize:
    Now that’s ambitious–thinking of the world’s first martial arts pope. (Would that be Cobra-kai Pope?)

    Alternative article is another avenue: But, Her Emails?

  157. 157.

    Steve in the ATL

    @Elizabelle: any chance of moving the remains of Woodrow Wilson, the Archangel of Staunton, out of there and into a place more suited to incorrigible racists?

  158. 158.

    Amir Khalid

    @Immanentize:
    A few submissions for your list:
    “Him and The Others”
    “A Mostly Adequate Band” — You don’t often see an indefinite article in a band name, do you?
    “In The Event of Something Happening to Me” (from a Bee Gees song)

  160. 160.

    catclub

    @Immanentize: One thing on the list needed when there is a Democratic trifecta – fix the VRA to apply to all states. I would campaign on it and make the GOP vote against it.

    RBG pointed out that the equal dignitude of the states was already satisfied if they could behave for ten years and get waivered out of monitoring.
    Naturally, they could not do that.

  161. 161.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Steve in the ATL: You said the “WW” word…

    Actually I propose that Wilson’s remains be mixed with Trump’s at the proper time. I many ways Trump is trying to do what Wilson did as far as destroying civil liberties in the name of FREEDOM!!!!

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