Best wishes to our Indian-American jackals, and all who observe the holiday:
… One of the most popular festivals of Hinduism, Diwali symbolises the spiritual “victory of light over darkness, good over evil and knowledge over ignorance.” During the celebration, temples, homes, shops and office buildings are brightly illuminated. The preparations, and rituals, for the festival typically last five days, with the climax occurring on the third day coinciding with the darkest night of the Hindu lunisolar month Kartika…
In the lead-up to Diwali, celebrants will prepare by cleaning, renovating, and decorating their homes and workplaces. During the climax, revellers adorn themselves in their finest clothes, illuminate the interior and exterior of their homes with diyas (oil lamps or candles), offer puja (worship) to Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity and wealth, light fireworks, and partake in family feasts, where mithai (sweets) and gifts are shared. Diwali is also a major cultural event for the Hindu and Jain diaspora from the Indian subcontinent…
Fireworks, feasting, sweets, and prayers to the Goddess of Prosperity — I think we can all use a little of that right about now!
Per Pinkvilla:
… While there is no fixed time to offer your prayers to the goddess, those who have staunch belief in the mahurat, here’s something for you. The auspicious timing for conducting Laxmi Puja this year is between 5.57 pm and 7.53 pm. Post that, gifts and sweets will be exchanged by everyone…
According to legends, Laxmi, the goddess of wealth, also the wife of lord Vishnu, visits her devotees and bestows gifts and blessings upon each of them on this day. To welcome the goddess, devotees clean their houses, decorate them with finery and lights and prepare sweet treats and delicacies as offerings. It is believed that if the goddess is left impressed, she bestows you with wealth and prosperity.
On the Road and In Your Backyard
rikyrah
Good Morning, Everyone ???
rikyrah
Happy Diwali?????
Immanentize
Hello Rikyrah. Hello All!
New day dawning…
debbie
@Immanentize:
Yeah, I guess…
HAL
Wait. Karen Handel lost her Georgia seat after all the hoopla with Jin Ossof? And Scott Walker and Chris Kobach?! Not bad.
Immanentize
@debbie: This was always at least a two part (more really) effort. The fun part over the next two years will be to watch all the Republican retirements. House members will quit to get their paycheck for previous acts. Senators on the line on 2020 will decide their families need them. Remember, the 2020 Senate map is as brutal for Republicans as the 2018 map was for Democrats.
But the real change will be in the House. The Freedom caucus never existed out of power. The Republicans generally don’t know how to not have power in the house. The last time Democrats held the house was in 2010. That was four House election cycles ago.
Immanentize
@HAL: Say it again — Kris Kobach lost!
As did Scott Walker!
germy
Antonio Delgado wins over Faso.
debbie
@Immanentize:
Women, baaabeeey! Count ’em, 90!
JPL
@HAL: The 6th is to close to call, but McBath is ahead at this time.
Baud
@Immanentize: Kansas did good.
Patricia Kayden
Let the investigations of the swamp begin in earnest (come January). I hope Rep Waters gets to interrogate the hell out of the current White House Occupants.
p.a.
Hoped for better, but this was a big first step. Don’t know how widespread nationally, but very happy about the seeming change in election funding by Dems. It takes a lot of effort, but small donor (h/t Doug! & whole BJuice community) giving WORKS. Better that than an incessant stream of Corporateer Dems.
satby
I couldn’t watch it read any coverage last night. But waking up to the news that the House went blue takes the sting out of the losses in the Senate.
And more Dem governors helps.
Voting rights act with teeth should be the first order of business after they take their seats.
Immanentize
@debbie:
Wow. I bet that will change a bunch of Dynamics there.
Immanentize
@Baud: Indeedy
Baud
Dems won Maine so the Medicare expansion will soon be a reality there too.
Dorothy A. Winsor
We did better last night than I feared after the first wave of results came in. I see Steve King kept his seat, but the other 3 IA reps are now all Ds. Also my IL district is now D and so is my governor. And Walker and Kobach are gone. I most regret that we’ll still have to look at Ted Cruz’s punchable face.
Hunter
Love the song — quite a change from Arvo Part, which is what I was listening to.
And, all things considered, there is reason to celebrate.
And here’s to all my Hindu friends in the neighborhood.
gene108
@p.a.:
A lot of Dems said they were eschewing corporate donations this cycle.
I wonder how that will impact paid lobbyists in DC and if those corporate interests would have less influence now.
satby
And Indiana went redder with Donnelly’s loss.
These people are bone deep racists. You can be talking to a seemingly normal person, as I was yesterday, and all of a sudden the most repulsive shit comes out of their pie hole. And it shows in their elections.
Racism and the precious zygotes is how they vote.
rikyrah
I am not saying that my heart isn’t broken..but, my rage from 2016 is lessened a bit because of last night.
OzarkHillbilly
@Baud: That is big news. The more Medicaid is expanded the harder it becomes for Repubs to ratfuck the ACA. People really like the idea of healthcare for all. Imagine that.
Mr Stagger Lee
Happy here in WA, the gun safety and police reform measures passed. Pissed that the library measure tanked. Hoping that Lucy McBath wins in Georgia.
Baud
@OzarkHillbilly: As we discussed in the prior thread, red states tend to like our policies. It’s our people they hate.
R-Jud
@rikyrah: My heart’s still pumping battery acid, and probably will be more so once I see how my fellow white women voted in the Florida races.
I mean, I know they’ll have fucked it up, but by how much?
rikyrah
I am still in shock by Lauren Underwood winning that seat in IL-14.
A 32 year old nurse in a majority White district.
All her ads we’re healthcare. All of them.
Nobody thought that she could win. I surely didn’t.
Tickled pink about it ???
germy
Sherrod Brown beat Trump buddy Jim Renacci. A sign of midwestern buyer’s remorse over PEETUS?
OzarkHillbilly
@Baud: Yep, and I don’t know how to change that.
This is also big news:
Baud
@germy: No, Brown is pretty well liked in Ohio.
ByRookorbyCrook
I find my rage is not lessened, but I will use it to stoke action going forward. It should be lessened, locally we did well. Brindisi defeated Claudia Tenney. Rachel May succeeded in taking Dave Valesky’s seat in the State Senate, so a progressive Dem from Upstate! But, the Kemp chicanery in Georgia, the Border Patrol Show of Force in El Paso and countless other abuses of power fill me with bitter gall and I can’t get over it. Cleaning up this nation will take decades of hard work, but yesterday was a start.
rikyrah
@OzarkHillbilly:
That is huge news
Adria McDowell
Jim Jordan projected to win. Gov went R. Ohio voters are gross (and I say that as one). The destruction of public education in this state will continue. It will come back to bite racist and/or rural Ohioans in the ass, just like it did to Kansans. At least *they* finally realized it. And yay for Sharice Davids!
The one and only candidate who has ever knocked on my door won (Brett Pransky for Ohio state legislature), so that’s awesome.
Happy Delgado won in the NY district I grew up in. A lot more people of color live there than one would think.
I feel more optimistic than I did in November 2016. I guess I’ve finally accepted that this is a racist country (not that I didn’t know that before), and that it’s time for my depressed ass to fucking fight now. Just voting is not enough.
Happy Diwali for those celebrating, too.
Baud
Ugh. Today show already talking about 2020.
Alain the site fixer
@satby: not to be a data nerd, but flipping those governors will have outsize impact until 2030 as the 2020 Census is reflected in redistricting. We done good. Not great, Texas and Florida and Arizona sting, but we’re in a much better spot than we were 24 hours ago!
Cermet
@satby: The huge number of Governorship wins by Dems don’t just help, they tend to be essential to control gerrymandering! The Senate was a lost cause and Dems had little chance to hold what they had, much less gain. That later part was a long shot (less than a 18% chance!) So, a extremely successful night. Best of all? The Orange fart cloud is in big trouble not just because that pile of human excrement will be investigated up his ass, but if the turn out does just close to last nights (9% differential in favor of Dems) in percent terms, the Presidency will turn democratic in 2020 no matter who runs against the Orange fart cloud.
MJS
I’m heartened by the fact that we’ll be spared images of Trump and his toadies yucking it up on the White House lawn after voting to kill people, or rip them off.
Cermet
@satby: Home of the KKK, so, not surprising, at all.
Adria McDowell
I think my comment got ated. *shrugs*
Mr Stagger Lee
@ByRookorbyCrook: If I was a consultant to the Democratic Party,one of the top issue should be voter rights and protection because with out that no other issues matter, the states cannot be trusted to protect voters rights.
Baud
@MJS: Yeah, just having the House puts a stop to a lot of evil.
MJS
@Baud: Here’s hoping they’ll have a lot of investigations to talk about instead, soon.
germy
https://boingboing.net/2018/11/06/poll-worker-charged-after-assa.html
OzarkHillbilly
@rikyrah: Good news indeed.
MomSense
I’m so happy that Mills won in Maine and it looks like Golden has a chance depending on how the ranked choice voting plays out. We will be able to undo a lot of damage – but not all of it. We lost a major offshore wind installation that we will never get back. I’m going to focus on Medicaid expansion and the lives that will be helped because of it.
rikyrah
Don’t let the Debbie Downers get to you.
Last night meant a lot.
It literally saved the American Social Safety Net.
Baud
@rikyrah: Word.
cain
@germy:
Damn… Glad she got charged with assault. Every once in awhile they need to be reminded that we are still a nation of laws.
rikyrah
We retook the House without help from a certain Senator from Vermont.
Now, it’s time to lay waste to him.
Adria McDowell
Good things:
The only candidate to ever knock on my door won (Brett Pransky for Ohio state legislature).
Yay for Sharice Davids out in Kansas. Hell, good for all of Kansas. Seems like they might be learning a lesson from the Brownback years.
Delgado winning in the N.Y. district I grew up in is awesome.
Sherrod remaining my Senator. Portman is trash, so I ignore him.
I am not as defeated as I was Nov. 2016. Fascism is on the march, and I’ll be damned if I don’t try and fight it.
The not so good:
Sorry for Beto and Gillum. I remain hopeful for Abrams.
Ohio voters are dumb as hell (and I say that as one). The destruction of public ed here continues. It will come back to bite the racists and/or rural folks in the ass, just like it did Kansans. At least *they* learned.
I’m still repped by Steve Stivers. Ew.
Double quadruple ew: Jim Jordan is on his way to being re-elected. OSU alums can do no wrong here. *insert eye roll*
Happy Diwali to those celebrating.
BlueDWarrior
While not as clear-cut in 2006, this election is showing that the way back to power for Democrats is to basically galvanize and harden the Urban Cores and Surburbs for them, and get some pickaxes and chisels and chip away at the fringe Rural areas near said Urban cores and Surburbs.
I don’t think we can do anything about the Deep Rural areas until Trump is out of office or they die of an preventable chronic condition (sad to say).
Which means we need to figure out how to further expand this House majority until we can figure out what combination of rhetoric will break the spell that AM Radio has over the exurbs and rural areas so that we can win back the Senate.
The struggle continues, but now there is a path forward.
David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch
Idiot pundits on tee vee are telling me Drumpf will …… wait for it….. pivot and become a “deal maker”.
The stooopid – it burns.
MomSense
I’m trying to understand how someone goes into the voting booth and votes to restore voting rights for felons and then chooses DeSantis and Scott. How confident are Florida Jackals that the vote wasn’t fucked with?
cain
Florida and Texas were disappointments, but I’m overall happy with how things went down. We are not going to be able to fix things for quite some time because of gerrymandering, but more than that their minds have been gerrymandered as well. Decades of fox news and rush limbaugh have really caused mental damage. But each subsequent generations are getting more integrated more open. It won’t last. The south will be the last bastion to fall, but we all knew that.
Platonailedit
@satby:
Yup. Obama broke their racist streak with some clever campaigning first time around but they ‘bounced back’ soon enough. Fuck that state.
SenyorDave
A reminder that may brighten everyone’s day a little:
I think the sphincters may have tightened quite a bit for the Trumps. I’d love to see the House investigate Trump finances and find some reason to subpoena Quday, Usay and Javanka.
I’m guessing that the Donald, who reputedly doesn’t like being president because he actually has to occasionally work, may like it even less.
IMO, one of the first things the House should do is get an accurate accounting of how much Trump’s golf trips are costing and inform the American public.
cain
Also Happy Diwali to everyone. Us folks from the south started celebrating yesterday. In the spirit of the holiday, let’s all be bask in revelation that good did indeed triumph over evil yesterday.
BlueDWarrior
@MomSense: It might have been, but the simpler solution is that you have a lot of people who vote right on issues but when they see that (D) next to someone’s name, that Pavlovian Trigger triggers and they reach for the (R).
If anything, the strange psychology of liberal policies passing by plebiscite while Democrats lose in the South is something sociologists should take a look at, especially going toward 2020 and 2022 when it comes to trying to crack this nut in the Senate.
guachi
I used to think the primary motivator for Republican voters was abortion and taxes.
Now I think it’s fear, bigotry, and racism.
OzarkHillbilly
@cain:
They know that, they just keep forgetting the laws apply to them too.
cain
@satby:
I grew up in Indiana, I’ve never received anything but kindness from my folks here. When I compare to what others have experienced in terms of racism and all that it could have been worse. I’ve only had one racial incident growing up. But I was never felt that I was different. Then again, I had very progressive parents and I grew up more like a white american than a child of immigrants eg I was not particularly subject to stupid Indian social rules that did not make sense in a western country)
BlueDWarrior
@guachi: If Michael Moore is listening (hah), I know what the name of his next documentary movie should be: “Fear of a Brown Nation”.
It’d be gold, trust me!
cain
@SenyorDave:
Forcing that guy to work might be exactly what is needed. Show how lazy he is. That might break the bullshit bubble that he has that surrounds him. The other thing is that if we can put in an “advisor” in the white house, we could wormtongue him into being more Democratic. We already know that he’ll go with the last person he talked to him. We simply need to insist that we need one of our people there in the white house. We can play the manipulation game too. In fact, once it’s shown that he’ll do Democratic stuff his base are going to be pissed. Use his mental health against him. Fuck with his image.
Platonailedit
@guachi:
Now? It has been always that way since the con nixon days.
Emma
@MomSense: Being fucked is baked into the Florida pie a hundred different ways. This is the state that made the brilliant satirist Carl Hiaasen give up on writing novels because nothing he made up could compare to the actual events (I hope he rescinds his decision). It is the place that racist snowbirds retire to. It is the place where a hundred hyphenated Latino groups still cannot figure out that in the eyes of racists they are all the same. It is the place where second class citizenship for people of color is the first ratfuckery the state government resorts to. Any small victory is a big one here. It sucks. But people keep trying to fight for the good causes. Go figure.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@SenyorDave: If he does any work at all, he hides it well.
Did Devon Nunes lose?
cain
@David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch:
I heard that last night, and that was from Michael Steele. I was like, damn.. you’re giving this guy way too much credit. He’s not going to do anything like that. There is no self realization there. He’s literally going to blame the Republican party for losing the House. The only thing he might do is take credit for Florida and Georgia that he personally made that happen.
rikyrah
As a citizen of Illinois, last night was pretty damn good to me.
Rauner is gone.
I have a Black man for Attorney General who will be an advocate for the average citizen.
We have a Black woman for Lt. Governor.
Now, next stop, the Chicago elections.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@cain: On twitter this morning, Trump was celebrating. He apparently thought he won.
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
@guachi: Abortion as an issue is, at its core, fear of being outbred by the brown horde.
cain
@BlueDWarrior:
Our commitment to healthcare is what is saving their asses. But they’ll never recognize that because they feel they are entitled. In many ways, losing those privileges will wake them up, but that would harm everyone and so we need to find another way to deal with it.
Platonailedit
So did the caravan of marauders and murderers and isis terrists reach the border yet?
Fucking media assholes.
Baud
@BlueDWarrior:
Let’s retire Michael Moore. I’m talking to you, MSNBC.
MJS
As happy as I am with the results overall, it really sucks that the Dems lost seats in the Senate while getting 57 fucking percent of all Senate votes. Sorry Californians and New Yorkers, but we’re going to need a sizable number of you to move to Florida and Texas in time for 2020.
BlueDWarrior
@Dorothy A. Winsor: I mean if you are only talking about the Senate (and potential confirmations) then yes Trump did win. So for him that will be the only thing he’ll talk about the next 2 years.
Emma
@Dorothy A. Winsor: He is a narcissist. Literally can only see the wins.
cain
@Dorothy A. Winsor:
It’s always good news for Trump. He can’t see it any other way. To do so would mean self reflection.
rikyrah
@guachi:
It was always fear, bigotry and racism.
They used the other three to hide behind.
guachi
I’ve been following Cook Political for ratings. The average of House races I tracked going back to 2008:
Solid – 100%
Like – 99.5%
Lean – 91.2%
Toss-Up – 50%
In a “wave” elections the percentages to the “wave” side:
Solid – 100%
Like (your side) – 100%
Lean (your side) – 98%
Toss-Up – 63%
Lean (other side) – 15%
Like (other side) – 1.5%
This election, counting races not yet called for whoever is ahead, the Ds won:
Likely D: 100%
Lean D: 100%
Toss-Up: 50%
Lean R: 7%
Likely R: 3%
It’s a good, but not great, result simply because the largest number of competitive districts were in the Likely R/Lean R category and not enough in the Lean D/Likely D. Probably on account of gerrymandering.
delk
@rikyrah: Lauren Underwood! Out of all the TV ads I saw, hers made me search google. So happy for her!
ps Good Morning and Happy Diwali!
cain
@MJS:
We need to have Amazon move to one of these states. That should help. These high tech companies will bring progressives to their state and change everything. Georgia or Texas will turn blue right quick. (see, high tech in Colorado to see why it’s now a blue state)
cain
@guachi:
Also the economy isn’t in a free fall or anything like that. It’s still going so with all things equal they’ll pick conservatism even if they might be troubled by the messaging. Money still talks.
Platonailedit
@cain: Corporatist dem !!
cain
Just so y’all know. Over a hundred women are going to the House next year! That’s fucking fantastic! We are seeing a lot more diversity in the House now. Women did that. We can take a victory lap there.
Baud
@Platonailedit: Getting warmed up for the 2020 presidential election?
MomSense
@Emma:
But the results also show 18% of black women voting for DeSantis? GTFO. I don’t think we should discount th Florida cheating factor so easily.
cain
@Platonailedit:
Indeed. You can bet recreational marijuana will show up there too haha. :-) They’ll also drive up house prices. It might suck. It’s a form of prosperity that rednecks can’t participate in.
Platonailedit
@MomSense:
I fully believe both FL & GA results are due to rethugs’ ratfucking.
cain
@MomSense:
That cannot be right. No, I’m pretty sure that shenanigans have happened in both these states. Where did you get that statistics? Link?
Baud
@MomSense: That sounds more like a polling error. The actual voting tabulation don’t take account of demographics.
OzarkHillbilly
@Dorothy A. Winsor: No.
SenyorDave
@Dorothy A. Winsor: Nunes won easily, by almost 12 points. POS get rewarded for carrying water for Trump.
Platonailedit
Is the loss of that russian stooge rohrafucker official yet ? AP still hasn’t called it along with 6 other CA races.
cain
That would rock if we finally made that official. I’m looking forward to Nunes be relegated to powerless state. We need to find a way to get that asshole out of that fox hole he’s dug himself in. Traitors like him should not be in power.
Platonailedit
I would like to know Kay’s views on OH’s mixed results. Cordray lost because of Obama cooties?
OzarkHillbilly
@cain:
Nearly all the rednecks I know participate in their marijuana every chance they get.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@OzarkHillbilly: Crap. He is such a tool.
My FBI friend lives in the OK district that went blue. The winner was on CNN a few minutes ago.
oldgold
If House performs its oversight function, Trump is now threatening to use DOJ to investigate Democrats.
The madness continues.
Baud
@oldgold: Threats won’t stop Ds.
schrodingers_cat
Yesterday was a good night. Defeating entrenched interests is never easy and we did it. They are not completely vanquished but the fight continues.
Platonailedit
wtf happened to all those PR voters in FL who were supposed to kick the rethugs’ racist asses? Did they not vote, or worse, vote for the racist scums?
https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/415023-florida-races-could-be-decided-by-puerto-rican-voters
schrodingers_cat
@Baud: Oldgold is a concern troll. That’s his/her shtick.
Platonailedit
@oldgold: Nancy is shaking in her heels. The cowardly bully is all words.
schrodingers_cat
John Edwards was reviled for his two America hypothesis but there are two Americas, one is forward looking and confident and ready to tackle the challenges of the 21st century. The other is inward looking and afraid of its own shadow and wants to return to the 19th century.
Immanentize
@SenyorDave:
But he will not be Chair and his cheating (illegalities?) Will now be exposed.
I’ll say it again — lots of retirements coming both in Congress and in the administration. Lots. Many.
BlueDWarrior
@Platonailedit: Not enough of them in FL to tip the state completely over. Or there was cheating at the margins. Take your pick. But absent some kind of Federal Push to completely normalize election procedure across all states, then we have to play on the field given while trying to work to make conditions better for us.
debit
@schrodingers_cat: I think he was reviled because he cheated on his dying wife. The two Americas thing resonated, I thought.
schrodingers_cat
@debit: He was made fun of for his two Americas hypothesis by the punditry. I was never an Edwards fan and in no way excuse his caddish behavior towards Elizabeth.
His two Americas hypothesis was based on economics but that is a tad too simplistic. I just borrowed the phrase he used.
Immanentize
@cain:
The House is a majority rules institution. The party out of power really has no power. Nancy Smash has been amazing at leveraging what little power the Dems had, which was mostly truth telling and public shaming. Wait for the howli g and bitter tears when the Republicans are treated like they treated the Democrats in committees, agenda setting, legislation, etc.
Immanentize
@OzarkHillbilly:
All the rednecks in Texas are potheads. That’s why they thought Willie Nelson was one of them.
Immanentize
@Platonailedit: For one thing, Rick Scott wisely busted his ass becoming the best friend of Puerto Rico while Nelson took a nap.
schrodingers_cat
Thanks AL for the Diwali wishes. There is a great variation in how it is celebrated throughout India and other Hindus of the subcontinent and in diaspora. Lakshmi Pooja is a big deal for the business community. Its a pooja of all your accounting books etc.
Platonailedit
Yesss.
debit
I’m pretty happy about the overall results last night. Yes, some human pustules remain or were elected, but we won the House. If Trump wants anything funded, he has to deal with Nancy Smash. And he just spent the last two years demonizing her. I’m sure some of his followers will be able to manage the mental gymnastics required to understand the necessity, but most are going to be all, “Why doesn’t he just lock her up? Why is he such a sell out?”
Platonailedit
yesss, yesss.
MomSense
@cain:
I’ll see if I can find it. I saw the cross tabs this morning.
Platonailedit
OzarkHillbilly
House Dems Already Have Their List of Trump Scandals to Investigate. Here It Is.
oldgold
@schrodingers_cat:
BS.
My take on this election is that we won the essential battle. Our Republic has been saved at least for the next two years.
Rather than being concerned, I am relieved.
schrodingers_cat
OT: Home repair question
Our basement sump pump is bringing in sand, which clogs it. It is not sitting on a pedestal. The pump itself seems to be working. What could be the problem?
Platonailedit
@schrodingers_cat:
Silt build up in your sump. Time to clean it.
schrodingers_cat
@Platonailedit: Cleaned it once, but the incessant rain brought in some more. I am looking for a more permanent solution. This spring and summer we have had crazy amounts of rain.
schrodingers_cat
@oldgold:
A rather strange way of expressing relief at Ds getting the house.
Platonailedit
@schrodingers_cat: Agree, it’s a pita to clean a sump. Other solution is to raise your suction point, if possible. This will reduce your water availability.
OzarkHillbilly
@schrodingers_cat: You need to clean out the sump. The sand is likely coming from eroding mortar joints in your foundation walls, assuming you have a stone foundation. If you don’t, I don’t know where the sand would come from, but you still need to clean out the sump.
ETA and yes, as Plato said it’s a pain in the ass, but it’s the price of having a non flooded basement.
schrodingers_cat
@OzarkHillbilly: Our yard has sandy soil and it has been raining a lot. We didn’t have this problem last year. Should we also raise the pump and put it on a pedestal?
ETA: I think the foundation is concrete. The house was built in 1999.
ETA2: Sand gets in after it rains a lot. Like it did yesterday.
satby
@Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism:
Quoted for truth! Old enough to remember when Right To Life said that openly when they thought they were among like minded folks.
Platonailedit
@schrodingers_cat: Ask hubby to google waders. Time to buy a pair and make him get in there.
oldgold
@schrodingers_cat:
That was not my take.
It was Trump’s.
A take I deemed “madness.”
O. Felix Culpa
@schrodingers_cat:
QFT. We have made significant progress, in the House and in my state of New Mexico (which had nearly a clean sweep of Democratic candidates – woot!), among others. There’s more work to be done of course. Major structural change doesn’t happen overnight. The Rs worked on their takeover plan for decades; it will take concerted, sustained effort to undo it. Take heart, we’ve built political infrastructure and drawn in new voters and volunteers. We’ve won many battles. Now it’s time to rest a bit, reenergize, and reflect on how we continue to fight incipient fascism and take back democracy.
schrodingers_cat
@Platonailedit: Actually, he did bail out the water last time from the sump, which was about a month ago. The amount of sand that gets in is not a lot may be a cup or two, which is enough to block the vents that let the water flow out.
OzarkHillbilly
@schrodingers_cat: OK, that will be concrete. The sand no doubt then is from your yard. Look for cracks in your foundation walls (Ideally you would do this from the outside and would be waterproofing the basement in the process, expensive) Any cracks you find should be cleaned out and when thoroughly dry, filled with a good polyurethane caulk (I like Vulcem but there other brands (OSI) just as good) This is not a fix (that would be from the outside) but it is a good measure to slow down the amount of sand that gets in. Look also around ext doors and windows and make sure the ground is sloping away from the house (a good idea to have this condition all around the house) so that most of the water runs off away from the foundation.
If you do not have gutters on your house, get them. If you do, check them to see that they do not leak and are properly draining, and also clear of debris. Check to make sure the downspouts are not clogged up.
Putting the pump on a pedestal will, as Plato stated, have the effect of reducing the volume of water the sump will hold and also just allow for more sand to gather in the bottom of it. It is not a solution. Do as I outlined above and it will reduce your problem.
One other thing: Keep all the bottom shelves and floor clear of things that will be ruined by water. It is inevitable that a big frog choking thunderboomer of a storm will cut your power during a 5″ downpour.
rikyrah
@schrodingers_cat:
Bring it, muthaphucka.
schrodingers_cat
@rikyrah: I was quoting oldgold, who in turn was paraphrasing T.
schrodingers_cat
@OzarkHillbilly: Thanks for your detailed response. The house sits on flat ground so the ground around it is not exactly sloping away. I will check the exterior soon. The basement is finished and has two entrances one from inside the house and a bulkhead entrance from the outside.
Mike in DC
When do we start idle chatter about 2020 candidates? Monday?
Platonailedit
@schrodingers_cat:
Where you are getting your water from? The sand could be from that source.
Chris Johnson
@rikyrah:
Hm. You know what? We got Ocasio. We got (for NEXT time) black people in Florida who’ve gone to prison and done their time, RE-enfranchised. We’ve got lots of women, lots of people who refused corporate and PAC money, elected.
I voted for my lefty Senator on a ballot that had practically no Republicans running. Up here in Vermont they try to hide as Independents, that’s how tough it is for them. There were NO Republicans running for Justice of the Peace so I simply picked all the female Democrats knowing there was not even a Republican to vote against, up here.
I will vote against my Senator when you have a younger, more progressive ideally-woman to run against him. That’s my condition. It’s not hard: back in 2016 the guy was wildly more left-wing than anybody in American government. He’s exactly the same as ever but the electorate has swung so far left that now he’s lacking. He is not nearly as good on POC issues as he should be and those are life and death issues, he’s not nearly as good on gun control as he should be and that’s a life and death issue, he is too old (WAY too old for another Presidential run, that’s completely off the table) and he’s hopelessly tainted by getting played by Russia.
And before you judge him so sharply on that I’m seeing shitloads of Debbie Downer posting from funky unfamiliar names that I am certain are trolls. Hiring trolls is really cheap, and they’re everywhere, and Debbie Downering is their brief this morning. Russia actually worked pretty hard to fuck us, and although things are not totally smooth for them back at home they’re totally still at it, even right here today, because they found their groove and know what to do.
That aside: I absolutely will help you get rid of Bernie and I am a Vermont voter and have always voted for him. It’s been about his message all along and I’m happy to prove that. Find me a real person who is more to the left and commit, as a Democrat, to supporting that person for the Vermont Senate and completely backing their more-left agenda, IN VERMONT where it’s safe to do that (we practically didn’t HAVE any republicans running!) and I will ditch Bernie (somewhat affectionately: he is a good supporter of constituents and I will NOT be ditching his program, notably his emphasis on economics and its injustices)
I will vote against Bernie if you bring somebody better (younger, more progressive, and plausible: I have to believe it’s not a fucking con job or stitch-up).
You’re welcome to believe that’s a personality defeat if that pleases you. This all is way more important than having faith in any one person, as if they will save us.
WE will save us. Collective action, collective sanity, thinking of us as US and not ‘I got mine’ will save us.
If Bernie can’t keep up, yeah, totally dump him, and I will help.
schrodingers_cat
@Platonailedit: Rain water. Our yard has sandy soil.
Omnes Omnibus
@Adria McDowell: Jordan went to Wisconsin.
bemused
@rikyrah:
Last night absolutely means a lot. Gaining even more seats than needed to take the House is a biggie. I haven’t felt this good about our future for at least two years. Making me happy dance today:
Cummings and Schiff heading oversight committees and they’re no slouches.
Flipping 6, 7 governor seats from R to D representing 170 million Americans, more than half.
Dems won seats in states that went for trump, MI, PA, WI.
Record number of very diverse, impressive women won seats, mostly Dems.
3 states expanded Medicaid.
“Independents” went for Democrats.
In my Minnesota district 8, (rural, small town, mining country) I wasn’t shocked that Republican Stauber won US Rep seat but he’s a newbie and with the House in Democratic hands, he won’t have as much impact.
I check out how people voted in my township precinct (majority voted straight Dem ticket) and other townships/towns in my area. Very interesting how most precincts voted, often by double digit percentages for Dems, US Senator, SOS, State Auditor, Governor, Attorney General with exception of Republican Stauber. My first thought was I was relieved to see that my neighbors are much smarter, more principled people than I feared.
District 8 is huge in area and has been redistricted to include more central counties that are farming areas more politically and religiously conservative than the northern part of the district. More people voted straight R ticket.
Platonailedit
@schrodingers_cat:
Hmm, filter at suction point, which would eventually need cleaning.
Adria McDowell
@Omnes Omnibus: Ah, yes. You are correct. But he was a coach at OSU, so he gets passes others wouldn’t. But good point.
MomSense
@cain:
Here is the link. You have to select governor’s race and then scroll down endlessly to get to the race and gender chart.
nbc news vote total breakdown
artem1s
@JPL: Evidently Kemp saved all his voter suppression ratf**king for his own race and wouldn’t share any with Handel.