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You are here: Home / Politics / America / Let’s Check In and See What the Leader of the Free World Was Up to Today

Let’s Check In and See What the Leader of the Free World Was Up to Today

by Adam L Silverman|  November 9, 20184:30 pm| 170 Comments

This post is in: America, Crazification Factor, Domestic Politics, Election 2018, Open Threads, Politics, Popular Culture, Post-racial America, Not Normal

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"I lack the words to describe #Kristallnacht," says German Chancellor Merkel on the 80th anniversary of the Nazi pogrom.

The state must "resolutely and consistently" fight against anti-Semitism, racism and exclusion, she added. pic.twitter.com/aL36vJFrSP

— DW Politics (@dw_politics) November 9, 2018

Oh, and the President spent most of the day on Air Force 1 live tweeting Fox News conspiracy mongering about the ongoing counting of ballots in Florida and Arizona! Though the President, like Fox News employees and others can’t seem to get their heads around that they’re still counting ballots cast, not conducting recounts yet.

Left, Fox, 10:11 am

Henry: Let's talk about one of those D.C. lawyers, Mark Elias, the big democratic attorney who is helping the incumbent senator Bill Nelson down in Florida. Mark Elias was the gentleman… who paid Fusion GPS to get that dirty dossier.

Right, Trump, 11:52 am pic.twitter.com/2CoYO5Q8cN

— Matthew Gertz (@MattGertz) November 9, 2018

Left, Fox, 12:03 pm

Keating: Scott’s “lead from Thursday night had shrunk to 15,000 votes.”

Scott (clip): “They found 78,000 votes since Election Day two days ago in Broward County.”

Right, Trump, 12:36 pm pic.twitter.com/sNWnYswwJ9

— Matthew Gertz (@MattGertz) November 9, 2018

Left, Fox, 1:11 pm
“Faulkner: “I want to ask you about Brenda Snipes, if I can. Senator Marco Rubio has been tweeting about her quite heavily.”

Right, Trump, 1:39 pm pic.twitter.com/XGQRViENBl

— Matthew Gertz (@MattGertz) November 9, 2018

The brain-meld between the president and the conspiracy-minded Fox sycophants who advise him is not good for the health of the republic. pic.twitter.com/2XLcdnx5zI

— Matthew Gertz (@MattGertz) November 9, 2018

Semi Break

A number of folks are expressing concern that a second Brooks Brothers Riot could take place again in south Florida. Aside from the fact that Matt Schlapp now has to shop at the Big & Tall store, which takes Brooks Brothers out of play, I don’t expect a bunch of MAGA hatted nuts having much impact this time around. The Democrats learned the lessons of 2000 well. Marc Elias, who is the top elections lawyer in the country, is working for Senator Nelson, as well as Congresswoman Sinema in Arizona, to ensure that every ballot is counted and that any recount necessary is completed properly. Barry Richards, who was the Bush/Cheney 2000 campaign’s election attorney in and from Florida during the 2000 recounts and is the in the state of Florida equivalent to Marc Elias, is working for Mayor Gillum’s campaign. This is the A-Team of election attorneys.

Additionally, this isn’t 2000. Almost everyone has a smart phone. We have social media (for good and ill). People that try to shut down the actual counting of ballots, let alone recounts, by force will have their faces broadcast to the world. They’ll be identified. They’ll face actual consequences because unlike in 2000, these folks don’t work for members of Congress, the Republican National Committee, and/or the Bush-Cheney 2000 campaign.

pic.twitter.com/ydCguNQymD

— IAmComplicit (@AgeDemands) November 9, 2018

(Matt Schlapp is at #6 in the green shirt)

The local supervisors of election aren’t having any of the President’s or anyone else’s crap either:

Palm Beach County Elections Supervisor Susan Bucher says the nation's highest elected officials are trying to disrupt democracy.

— Frances Robles (@FrancesRobles) November 9, 2018

And the Florida Department of Law Enforcement isn’t having any of Governor Scott’s conspiracy mongering either:

Last night, Scott called for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to investigate “rampant fraud” in his U.S. Senate race. But the FDLE says there are no voter fraud allegations to look into and that Scott made no formal request for an investigation. https://t.co/ZVDhPNgC7Z pic.twitter.com/dlxxFBDar0

— Allegra Kirkland (@allegrakirkland) November 9, 2018

It’s going to be a wild few days. But I wouldn’t bet against either Marc Elias or Barry Richards. They will ensure that every vote that is eligible to be counted is counted and that the recounts are done correctly.

Open thread.

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Reader Interactions

170Comments

  1. 1.

    Corner Stone

    November 9, 2018 at 4:34 pm

    Sooo….I guess we aren’t going to get any Mueller related indictments on this Friday? Damn you, Jeffro Mensch!

  2. 2.

    TenguPhule

    November 9, 2018 at 4:34 pm

    Barry Richards, who was the Bush/Cheney 2000 campaign’s election attorney in and from Florida during the 2000 recounts

    I keep seeing this and I am not comforted. Is he a mercenary or a true believer?

    This guy was one of the fuckers who helped ratfuck us.

  3. 3.

    TenguPhule

    November 9, 2018 at 4:36 pm

    @Corner Stone:

    Sooo….I guess we aren’t going to get any Mueller related indictments on this Friday?

    Guess not.

  4. 4.

    Yarrow

    November 9, 2018 at 4:37 pm

    @Corner Stone: We’ll probably have to make do with this:

    Breaking, via @WSJ: Federal prosecutors in Manhattan have gathered evidence of Donald Trump's participation in payments to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal "that violated campaign-finance laws" https://t.co/7XPNnxmvxR— Steve Kopack (@SteveKopack) November 9, 2018

  5. 5.

    Adam L Silverman

    November 9, 2018 at 4:37 pm

    @TenguPhule: Regardless of his own personal political views, he’s officially non-partisan. He’ll work for whoever hires him. And in this case Gillum hired him. He’s very up front about this. He is the type of attorney you want for this type of fight.

  6. 6.

    debbie

    November 9, 2018 at 4:37 pm

    They weren’t “found,” you fucking fuck. They are provisional ballots.

  7. 7.

    Yarrow

    November 9, 2018 at 4:38 pm

    @Yarrow: also:

    An important aspect of the excellent new investigative piece by the Wall St J is about to be overlooked. This part establishes that Trump committed a felony when he knowingly omitted his debt to Michael Cohen from his June 2017 financial disclosure report.https://t.co/AudW4F2HLF pic.twitter.com/F579ZNxOI3— Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) November 9, 2018

    “Trump committed a felony.” Yes….

  8. 8.

    Mnemosyne

    November 9, 2018 at 4:38 pm

    I now feel justified in Googling to find out why Chris Pine’s peni$ is trending on Twitter. It clearly was a far more productive use of my time than seeing what the president* was saying.

    The answer, for those who are curious, is that Pine’s junk makes a brief cameo in his newest film, and Twitter is disappointed in the image quality:

    https://www.popsugar.com/entertainment/Reactions-Chris-Pine-Nude-Scene-Outlaw-King-45477858

  9. 9.

    Adam L Silverman

    November 9, 2018 at 4:39 pm

    @debbie: Some of these aren’t even provisional. They’re actual ballots cast absentee/vote by mail that were dropped off or mailed in and have to still be counted. I think there may also be some ballots cast at the polls on Tuesday that are also still awaiting being counted too. These are large, urban/suburban counties with a lot of people in them. You can’t count and tally this stuff as quickly as you can in mostly rural counties.

  10. 10.

    Corner Stone

    November 9, 2018 at 4:40 pm

    @Yarrow: Sorry, but “yawn”. This is small ball.

  11. 11.

    Adam L Silverman

    November 9, 2018 at 4:40 pm

    @Corner Stone: @TenguPhule: His grand jury meets on Friday. My guess is he’s waiting for the election to be completely finalized before he does anything.

  12. 12.

    Jeffro

    November 9, 2018 at 4:42 pm

    Aside from the fact that Matt Schlapp now has to shop at the Big & Tall store, which takes Brooks Brothers out of play,

    “Hello 911? I’m calling to report a brutal, brutal smackdown here on teh Internets…”

  13. 13.

    Corner Stone

    November 9, 2018 at 4:42 pm

    @Mnemosyne:

    Googling to find out why Chris Pine’s peni$ is trending on Twitter. It clearly was a far more productive use of my time than seeing what the president* was saying.

    Either way it’s trying to find out more info about a dick.

  14. 14.

    Adam L Silverman

    November 9, 2018 at 4:42 pm

    @Mnemosyne: Pine tree or Pine cone?//

    What?

  15. 15.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    November 9, 2018 at 4:43 pm

    @TenguPhule: he’s a lawyer, they are supposed to be mercs.

    Also, keep in mind, a non-evil-idiot conservative is going to get the value of count every vote. There is no reason why those ballots all favor the democrats.

  16. 16.

    TenguPhule

    November 9, 2018 at 4:44 pm

    @Adam L Silverman:

    My guess is he’s waiting for the election to be completely finalized before he does anything.

    Is this before or after the inevitable recounts and appeals?

    I remember how long it took to get Al Franken seated.

  17. 17.

    Corner Stone

    November 9, 2018 at 4:44 pm

    It’s way past too late for Mueller to be playing by the “rules” any longer. Jesus fuck.

  18. 18.

    Jeffro

    November 9, 2018 at 4:44 pm

    @Corner Stone:

    Sooo….I guess we aren’t going to get any Mueller related indictments on this Friday? Damn you, Jeffro Mensch!

    Come on now Corner, you KNOW if there was anything coming down the pike, I would have passed that along in my own special all-knowing, yet-knowing-absolutely-nothing way ;)

    Hundreds of indictments against dozens of people. The obstruction case along is going to need a forklift. Patience!

  19. 19.

    efgoldman

    November 9, 2018 at 4:45 pm

    I believe that Weasal face is stroke-immune

  20. 20.

    TenguPhule

    November 9, 2018 at 4:46 pm

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques:

    Also, keep in mind, a non-evil-idiot conservative is going to get the value of count every vote.

    A what now?

  21. 21.

    Adam L Silverman

    November 9, 2018 at 4:46 pm

    @TenguPhule: Believe it or not, I don’t actually work for the Special Counsel and when I provide analysis here it is semi-informed, but that’s all it is.

  22. 22.

    TenguPhule

    November 9, 2018 at 4:48 pm

    @Adam L Silverman:

    Pine tree or Pine cone?//

    Well played.

    But we have to deduct two strokes for the use of wood.

  23. 23.

    TenguPhule

    November 9, 2018 at 4:49 pm

    @Adam L Silverman: Not meaning to harp on you. The whole rolling pukefunnel going on in the federal government is making me queasy.

    ETA: Also, I am seeing Christmas Decorations going up and I want those fucking metal reindeer off my lawn. /

  24. 24.

    Mnemosyne

    November 9, 2018 at 4:49 pm

    @Adam L Silverman:

    Blame Cole. It was on his Twitter feed.

  25. 25.

    Immanentize

    November 9, 2018 at 4:50 pm

    @Adam L Silverman: Sweet gig if you could get it!

  26. 26.

    catclub

    November 9, 2018 at 4:52 pm

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques: well I did hear all the non-evil-idiot conservatives demanding an uperdown
    vote for Merrick Garland. They weren’t very loud.

  27. 27.

    Yarrow

    November 9, 2018 at 4:52 pm

    @Corner Stone: It’s not an indictment but it all adds up.

    @Adam L Silverman: I agree but if that’s the case given what’s going on with Florida we could be waiting months.

  28. 28.

    Adam L Silverman

    November 9, 2018 at 4:54 pm

    This pretty much sums things up!

    pic.twitter.com/EWrIVl8ZCd

    — Florida Man (@_FloridaMan) November 9, 2018

  29. 29.

    TenguPhule

    November 9, 2018 at 4:55 pm

    Trump said he hadn’t made a decision when asked by a reporter how long Acosta would remain in the “penalty box.” But he said there could be others.

    “When you’re in the White House, this is a very sacred place to be,” he said. “This is a very special place. You have to treat the White House with respect. You have to treat the presidency with respect.”

    I can’t watch Irony’s corpse being violated like this.

  30. 30.

    Mary G

    November 9, 2018 at 4:55 pm

    Thanks, I feel a bit better now. Maybe.

  31. 31.

    jl

    November 9, 2018 at 4:57 pm

    Thanks for informative post. Looks like news reports relayed in previous thread, and Talkingpointsmemo report I read, are a little inaccurate.
    From the tweet posted here, looks like FL law enforcement did, in fact, not do anything and told Scott to buzz off (euphemism alert!) until he had a plausible justification for an investigation of any kind or of anybody.

  32. 32.

    Cheryl Rofer

    November 9, 2018 at 4:58 pm

    Adam, you left one out.

    President Macron of France has just suggested that Europe build its own military in order to protect itself from the U.S., China and Russia. Very insulting, but perhaps Europe should first pay its fair share of NATO, which the U.S. subsidizes greatly!

    — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 9, 2018

    Also, it turns out that Trump set up the trip to Paris during his snit that he couldn’t have his military parade. Emmanuel Macron set up a meeting of 80 world leaders called the Paris Peace Forum. That’s why Putin will be there. It looks like Trump will leave just before the Peace Forum meetings commence. It would be funny as trolling, if it weren’t that Trump is taking the US out of the world, and others are only too happy to fill the void.

  33. 33.

    germy

    November 9, 2018 at 4:58 pm

    Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein just called Matt Whitaker “a superb choice for attorney general,” saying Whitaker “certainly understands the work, understands the priorities of the department.” Then I asked him if he’s worried at all about the Mueller probe. He walked off.— Mike Levine (@MLevineReports) November 9, 2018

    In his remarks about apolitical law enforcement, Rosenstein cited Marbury v. Madison — a case Whitaker has publicly questioned. One person in the room laughed when Rosenstein mentioned the case, recognizing the timing as Whitaker is now being criticized for his comments on case.— Mike Levine (@MLevineReports) November 9, 2018

  34. 34.

    Yarrow

    November 9, 2018 at 4:59 pm

    @TenguPhule: How are you only just seeing Christmas decorations go up now? They’ve been up already for a month.

  35. 35.

    TenguPhule

    November 9, 2018 at 4:59 pm

    @germy:

    Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein just called Matt Whitaker “a superb choice for attorney general,” saying Whitaker “certainly understands the work, understands the priorities of the department.” Then I asked him if he’s worried at all about the Mueller probe. He walked off.

    I better check on the new bullet resistant vest order again.

  36. 36.

    TenguPhule

    November 9, 2018 at 5:01 pm

    @Yarrow:

    How are you only just seeing Christmas decorations go up now? They’ve been up already for a month.

    I live in Hawaii and we were still taking down the Halloween decorations.

  37. 37.

    Adam L Silverman

    November 9, 2018 at 5:02 pm

    @Mary G: You’re welcome. Maybe.

  38. 38.

    TenguPhule

    November 9, 2018 at 5:02 pm

    @Cheryl Rofer:

    It looks like Trump will leave just before the Peace Forum meetings commence.

    So no peace in his time then?

  39. 39.

    Adam L Silverman

    November 9, 2018 at 5:04 pm

    @jl: They did something, the contacted the Florida Secretary of State’s Office, asked if they had something that needed investigating, were told there was not anything that needed investigating, and then reported that they’d done this, had nothing further to do at this time, but are, of course, ready if they are needed.

  40. 40.

    Yarrow

    November 9, 2018 at 5:05 pm

    @TenguPhule: I think the first ones I saw up on some shopping center were at the beginning of October. I couldn’t quite believe it since we were still a month away from Halloween.

  41. 41.

    trollhattan

    November 9, 2018 at 5:05 pm

    @Adam L Silverman:
    Not sure why but that video has just made my afternoon. Bonus Quatloos for managing to hit a tree with the burning can of gasoline.

  42. 42.

    Yarrow

    November 9, 2018 at 5:06 pm

    @trollhattan: I love that video too. The guy running away screaming just makes the whole thing.

  43. 43.

    TenguPhule

    November 9, 2018 at 5:06 pm

    @Yarrow:

    I think the first ones I saw up on some shopping center were at the beginning of October. I couldn’t quite believe it since we were still a month away from Halloween.

    I’m so old I remember when the thought of the Christmas season starting before Thanksgiving was even over was heresy.

  44. 44.

    jl

    November 9, 2018 at 5:07 pm

    @Adam L Silverman: OK, thanks for the giving the full protocol. Some stories suggested they actually did something more than a pro forma phone call. If they did more than that, I would find it worrying, even it would lave been intended just as going through the motions to deep six Scott’s attempt to corrupt the election.

    Edit: I understand that in large organizations, there is a protocol for telling your boss to GTFO.

  45. 45.

    Adam L Silverman

    November 9, 2018 at 5:07 pm

    @Cheryl Rofer: I didn’t leave that out, it wasn’t part of his live tweeting of Fox News. But it is stupid!

  46. 46.

    Adam L Silverman

    November 9, 2018 at 5:09 pm

    @trollhattan: That dude’s a diva. We should probably not let him visit California once he gets out of the burn unit though.

  47. 47.

    TenguPhule

    November 9, 2018 at 5:09 pm

    In one of his final actions as attorney general, Sessions moves to restrict police reform agreements

    And Keebler Krackpot flings one last FU to the racial minorities in America on his way out.

  48. 48.

    Mart

    November 9, 2018 at 5:11 pm

    @trollhattan: When I was about thirteen my 25 year old brother-in-law wanted to show me how to speed up my incipient campfire’s progress by pouring lantern oil over it. My cat like reflexes saved me harm, but the BIL lost his eyebrows and a good chunk of hippie hair. It was an awesome lesson in campfire safety. Too bad my sister and he divorced, or I would still be giving him shit.

  49. 49.

    Corner Stone

    November 9, 2018 at 5:11 pm

    @germy: What are the odds that Rosenstein is happy now to release the management of the Russia Investigation VS Rod is dropping dry AF sarcasm and filling sandbags around his office?

  50. 50.

    ruemara

    November 9, 2018 at 5:13 pm

    @Mnemosyne: I think Chris Pine’s junk needed a featured role.

  51. 51.

    trollhattan

    November 9, 2018 at 5:13 pm

    @Adam L Silverman:
    Wonder if he can verify his whereabouts yesterday at about six in the morning Pacific Time. Here’s the Butte County “Camp” Fire footprint map. Amazing how far it traveled in about thirty hours from the ignition point in the NE corner.

  52. 52.

    Yarrow

    November 9, 2018 at 5:13 pm

    @TenguPhule: I caught some segment on the so-called news this week about how the holiday shopping season has already started, some “early Black Friday” deals are better now than they will be on Black Friday and the whole time from now until Christmas is one be shopping frenzy. Ugh.

  53. 53.

    TenguPhule

    November 9, 2018 at 5:15 pm

    @Yarrow:

    and the whole time from now until Christmas is one be shopping frenzy. Ugh.

    Except for that pesky trade war with China.

    I foresee shortages this Christmas.

  54. 54.

    Corner Stone

    November 9, 2018 at 5:16 pm

    @Mart: Do you mean kerosene aka non-potable white lightning?

  55. 55.

    TenguPhule

    November 9, 2018 at 5:19 pm

    @TenguPhule:

    Civil rights leaders lashed out Friday at Jeff Sessions, who in one of his last acts as attorney general approved an order restricting the federal government’s ability to enforce changes at state and local law enforcement agencies accused of abuse.

    In a memo released late Thursday by the Justice Department and praised by police organizations, Sessions added new requirements to court-enforced “consent decrees” reached with state and local government entities. Sessions signed the memo Wednesday, the day he resigned.

    It says that two senior political appointees at the Justice Department must approve nearly all future agreements. The decrees also are to have a “sunset” provision, limiting them to no more than three years. And Justice attorneys now must meet additional requirements beyond establishing that a police department repeatedly violated the Constitution.

    In one of his final actions as attorney general, Sessions moves to restrict police reform agreements

    Between him and Pruitt, they both should be hounded after leaving office. Their shit should not be given a free pass simply because they’re no longer on the job.

    They broke shit.

  56. 56.

    jl

    November 9, 2018 at 5:19 pm

    @Corner Stone: Trumpism has transformed Kremlinology and imported it to the US as Trumplinology.

    We know Rosenstein had to commit a public genuflection to the Great Leader. We are left to decipher the reason he felt he had to hew so closely the correct protocol for such a high level of dishonest praise, and parse the meaning of the walk off in response to the final question. Probably need to examine video in slow mo, do a facial expression analysis and look closely at the kernings.

  57. 57.

    Yarrow

    November 9, 2018 at 5:19 pm

    Why’d this happen?

    Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft and Alphabet collectively lost $75 billion in market value today https://t.co/x3YQIz7iwL— Steve Kopack (@SteveKopack) November 9, 2018

  58. 58.

    Corner Stone

    November 9, 2018 at 5:20 pm

    @TenguPhule: Sessions will be your next Senator from AL.

  59. 59.

    trollhattan

    November 9, 2018 at 5:21 pm

    @Mart:
    How did we all survive? A BIL started a trash fire (rural Missouri SOP) with gasoline and received 2nd degree burns across the face, arms and chest for his troubles. My wife swears it cleared up his acne, so there’s something.

  60. 60.

    ??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??

    November 9, 2018 at 5:21 pm

    @TenguPhule:
    I don’t know why they bother going to these press conferences. They don’t learn anything new. It’s either more lies or just more evidence that he’s slowly losing his mind.

  61. 61.

    Adam L Silverman

    November 9, 2018 at 5:21 pm

    @jl:

    The Florida Department of Law Enforcement says it is NOT investigating Broward elections chief Brenda Snipes. FDLE spokeswoman says the Department of State has not received any allegations of voter fraud, and that Gov. Rick Scott did not put his request in writing.

    — Steve Bousquet (@stevebousquet) November 9, 2018

  62. 62.

    TenguPhule

    November 9, 2018 at 5:22 pm

    @Yarrow:

    Why’d this happen?

    Markets hate uncertainty. Or so I’m told.

  63. 63.

    Corner Stone

    November 9, 2018 at 5:22 pm

    I really wish MSNBC would stop interviewing Ben Wittes on anything. He is extraordinarily dumb.

  64. 64.

    TenguPhule

    November 9, 2018 at 5:22 pm

    @??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??:

    or just more evidence that he’s slowly losing his mind.

    Slowly?

  65. 65.

    ??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??

    November 9, 2018 at 5:23 pm

    @Adam L Silverman:
    Wow. What a fucking idiot. Fire can leap up through a stream of pouring gasoline to the container. I bet even Trump knows not to do that!

  66. 66.

    TenguPhule

    November 9, 2018 at 5:23 pm

    @Corner Stone:

    He is extraordinarily dumb.

    Exactly how dumb are we talking here?

  67. 67.

    Adam L Silverman

    November 9, 2018 at 5:24 pm

    @Corner Stone: The latter. There are three types of political appointees:
    1) The competent ones who act in a professional and non-partisan manner.
    2) The component ones who are clearly partisan picks.
    3) Partisan hacks that are incompetent.

    The career folks love getting the first type. Will live with and even be supportive of the second type. They hate the 3rd type. Whitaker is the third type. Rosenstein was, for a long time, a career DOJ guy before becoming a political appointee himself. So…

  68. 68.

    TenguPhule

    November 9, 2018 at 5:24 pm

    @??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??:

    Fire can leap up through a stream of pouring gasoline to the container. I bet even Trump knows not to do that!

    I’ll take that bet.

  69. 69.

    debbie

    November 9, 2018 at 5:25 pm

    @trollhattan:

    I can’t figure out what it was he was trying to do. The fire seemed to be going just fine.

  70. 70.

    TenguPhule

    November 9, 2018 at 5:26 pm

    @Corner Stone:

    Sessions will be your next Senator from AL.

    Not if he’s run over by a bus.

  71. 71.

    ??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??

    November 9, 2018 at 5:26 pm

    @Corner Stone:
    Not if he croaks. He doesn’t look too healthy to me in pictures.

  72. 72.

    efgoldman

    November 9, 2018 at 5:26 pm

    @Adam L Silverman: it wasn’t part of his live tweeting of Fox News. But it is stupid!@Cheryl Rofer: Wattn this Dequalles dream?

  73. 73.

    Adam L Silverman

    November 9, 2018 at 5:27 pm

    @trollhattan: I’ve been following the coverage. It is both amazing, terrifying, and sad for those effected.

  74. 74.

    Corner Stone

    November 9, 2018 at 5:27 pm

    @TenguPhule: Have you never seen any one of the movie series The Leprechaun ?

  75. 75.

    chris

    November 9, 2018 at 5:27 pm

    Some good news.

    Arizona Republicans and Democrats have agreed to give rural voters an extra chance to fix problems with their ballots in the count of the state’s tight Senate race.

    That’s a compromise after Republicans filed a lawsuit seeking to stop urban voters from using those procedures. The settlement was announced in a Phoenix courtroom Friday afternoon.

    The counties have until Nov. 14 to address the issue.

    Source

  76. 76.

    The Dangerman

    November 9, 2018 at 5:28 pm

    @Adam L Silverman:

    You can’t count and tally this stuff as quickly as you can in mostly rural counties.

    Well, sure, but might as well try to count Red Counties quickly and then say game over; this an imaginative tactic. I think all touchdowns by Tom Brady should only count for 4 point, too.

    Now, I’ll go back to watching SoCal burn.

  77. 77.

    Mart

    November 9, 2018 at 5:28 pm

    @Corner Stone: My mind is telling me that I protested his impending action and started peddling backwards, and he said it was safe as kerosene was not anything like gasoline… but it was nearly forty years ago. The pour from the yellow jug, fire flash, and resulting burnt head are hard wired into my brain.

  78. 78.

    Mnemosyne

    November 9, 2018 at 5:30 pm

    @ruemara:

    He says he’s willing to let people compare him to Michael Fassbinder, so … ?

  79. 79.

    jl

    November 9, 2018 at 5:30 pm

    @TenguPhule: You need to read the fine print on a bet like that. If Trump is too damn lazy to ever do enough work to ever possibly even get in that situation, do you win or lose or is the bet voided?

  80. 80.

    trollhattan

    November 9, 2018 at 5:31 pm

    The Atlantic published this backgrounder today.

    How Mueller Could Defend the Russia Investigation From Interference An excerpt.

    Questions over Whitaker’s legitimacy could work to Mueller’s advantage, according to Jens David Ohlin, a professor at Cornell Law School who specializes in criminal law. Ohlin explained that Mueller could challenge Whitaker’s appointment in federal court on both statutory and constitutional grounds, the latter of which is “most likely to succeed.”

    “In order to get either of these issues before a federal court, someone needs standing to bring the claim, which means they’ve been specifically harmed,” Ohlin told me. “If Mueller is fired, which is Whitaker’s ‘nuclear option,’ Mueller certainly has standing to object to Whitaker’s appointment.”

    He added that Trump’s decision to appoint a “constitutional nobody” to head the Justice Department “is so far from mainstream practice” that a federal court would likely “scrutinize this carefully and would be skeptical that this is consistent with the [Constitution’s] Appointments Clause,” which outlines how appointments are to be made. Before he went to work at the Justice Department under Sessions, Whitaker served as the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Iowa from 2004 to 2009, then worked in private practice and appeared as a cable-news pundit throughout 2017.

    Marty Lederman, who served as the deputy assistant attorney general in the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel under Obama, is less sure, writing Thursday that the constitutionality of Whitaker’s appointment is “technically an open question.” But he tentatively assumed that “anyone who suffers an ‘injury in fact’ by virtue of something Whitaker does would have … standing to challenge his appointment in court.”

  81. 81.

    trollhattan

    November 9, 2018 at 5:35 pm

    @Adam L Silverman:
    We’re breathing it inside, at the office as I type this. Afternoon sun is a pale red button. Luckily the wind has ebbed, just a day too late.

  82. 82.

    ??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??

    November 9, 2018 at 5:35 pm

    @Yarrow:
    According to CNBC, this is why:

    Stocks fell across the board Friday as declines in oil prices and skepticism about a trade deal with China raised concerns that economic growth is headed for a slowdown. Thursday’s report from the Federal Reserve pointing to future rate hikes compounded worries and sent investors fleeing from tech companies, which are particularly susceptible to swings in the economy.

    Tech stocks are coming off their worst month since 2008. The Nasdaq closed October down 9.2 percent, with Amazon and Alphabet leading the decline down 20 percent and 9.7 percent, respectively.

    Analysts were underwhelmed by recent tech earnings reports, including those from Amazon, Apple and Alphabet. Amazon gave lower-than-expected guidance going into the holiday season and Apple announced it would no longer disclose unit sales for iPhone, iPad and Mac devices.

    Even with Friday’s losses, the Nasdaq and S&P tech index finished the week up, as did shares of Amazon, Microsoft and Alphabet.

  83. 83.

    Belafon

    November 9, 2018 at 5:36 pm

    As a member of CERT, I take SkyWarn training every year. And one of the things they tell us is to not report what the radar on TV says because they can see it as well.

    Trump needs that training.

    Also, make sure you mock your conservative relatives who freaked out over Trumps warning of the oncoming horde.

  84. 84.

    Mart

    November 9, 2018 at 5:37 pm

    @??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??: Trump tomorrow: “See what happens to the stock market when you vote Democrat.”

  85. 85.

    Kent

    November 9, 2018 at 5:37 pm

    @trollhattan:

    Not sure why but that video has just made my afternoon. Bonus Quatloos for managing to hit a tree with the burning can of gasoline.

    I wanna know what happens next. Does his whole yard burn down?

  86. 86.

    Adam L Silverman

    November 9, 2018 at 5:44 pm

    @chris: Good. Every vote that can be counted should be counted. Regardless of who they’re for.

  87. 87.

    Kent

    November 9, 2018 at 5:45 pm

    @??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??:

    It wasn’t a particulary big up or down day Wall Street today. Pretty ordinary. It has been bouncing around a lot more lately. It was way up on Weds. This is just a bit of slackening. The big tech companies combined have such astronomical market caps that even an ordinary day on the stock markets looks like a huge amount of money.

  88. 88.

    Mart

    November 9, 2018 at 5:46 pm

    @Kent:

    Does his whole yard burn down?

    Probably not. Gasoline vaporizes quickly in a fire’s heat and then the fuel is gone. Mixing it with oil and/or Styrofoam gives it more staying power.

  89. 89.

    jl

    November 9, 2018 at 5:47 pm

    @??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??: Better a gradual correction of overvalued stocks than a sudden bursting of a big bubble. I don’t see anything worrying about it, apart from the fact that new earnings reports are consistent with late stage of an expansion.

    If you were some famous conperson using the stock market as a bogus sign of your genius at boosting the economy forever, and trying to fool people that your idiot tax cuts would pay for themselves and actually be a gold mine, like many famous almost top 10,000 blogs, then you might throw a tantrum and recklessly blame random people for what was going to happen anyway.

  90. 90.

    burnspbesq

    November 9, 2018 at 5:47 pm

    @Corner Stone:

    No, Wittes knows his shit. You’re too fucking stupid to appreciate it.

  91. 91.

    ??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??

    November 9, 2018 at 5:49 pm

    @Adam L Silverman:
    It’s so sad that something so basic and fundamental is being turned into a partisan fight by the GOP. I sometimes wonder if current times are something of a return to what party politics were like in the 19th century as opposed to the Cold War Consensus we have grown accustomed to.

  92. 92.

    Syd from Pasadena

    November 9, 2018 at 5:54 pm

    Ahh. Tom Pyle. My old friend from USC. The place he got his undergrad in ratfuxing. When sugar(land) daddy went to jail he found a new love in a kock-funded pro fracking concern.

  93. 93.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    November 9, 2018 at 5:55 pm

    @Kent: Looks like the house is not far from the tree, and neither is his fence. So I see a nice toasty fence fire and roof fire in his future.

    I learned years ago, when I was at a company barbecue and nobody remembered lighter fluid, that it’s just as easy or easier to start your charcoal with a small wood fire made of a few small twigs. So I haven’t had any accelerants in my house for many years.

  94. 94.

    Yarrow

    November 9, 2018 at 5:59 pm

    @Adam L Silverman: Speaking of which:

    As we think about the actual ballot counting timelines in Florida, notwithstanding some of the tweeting going on, reminder there are about 20,000 overseas ballots that legally have a few more days to come in. Follow @electionsmith for more on this. https://t.co/NPMGmhJEPS— Steve Schale (@steveschale) November 9, 2018

  95. 95.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    November 9, 2018 at 5:59 pm

    @Belafon:

    I take SkyWarn training every year. And one of the things they tell us is to not report what the radar on TV says because they can see it as well.

    Trump needs that training.

    Trump needs the kind of socialization training that most of us get in kindergarten. He’s got a ways to go in his training schedule before he gets to professional-level training.

  96. 96.

    MomSense

    November 9, 2018 at 6:01 pm

    @debbie:

    I don’t know why but your comment made me laugh. I yell things like that at my radio and tv all the time. It’s like a kind of Tourette’s.

  97. 97.

    JPL

    November 9, 2018 at 6:09 pm

    @TenguPhule: If you can’t understand it, then you’re a horseface too.

  98. 98.

    Steve in the ATL

    November 9, 2018 at 6:11 pm

    @TenguPhule:

    Except for that pesky trade war with China.

    Was chatting with a lawyer from dollar general last night. They are rather concerned about the impact to their merchandise, prices, and profit margins.

    Of course, they are headquartered in the red state of North Carolina, so they may be part of the problem.

  99. 99.

    joel hanes

    November 9, 2018 at 6:12 pm

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym:

    accelerants

    potato chips or Fritos work astonishingly well.

    So does the stump of an old candle laid atop the medium kindling.

  100. 100.

    JPL

    November 9, 2018 at 6:16 pm

    @Steve in the ATL: You’ve been chatting with lots of great lawyers lately. If you want my advice you’d be better off at a bar with Suburu Diane.

  101. 101.

    trollhattan

    November 9, 2018 at 6:18 pm

    @JPL:

    you’d be better off at a bar with Suburu Diane.

    Wouldn’t we all.

  102. 102.

    Barbara

    November 9, 2018 at 6:19 pm

    @joel hanes: Best campfire starters ever: dryer lint in a cardboard egg container, with melted paraffin poured on top. You rip off one at a time. My husband also fills empty toilet paper rolls with the lint and uses them without paraffin. But I am going to try the old candle stumps, because they are something I hate throwing away and yet they are basically useless.

  103. 103.

    Gravenstone

    November 9, 2018 at 6:19 pm

    @trollhattan: But a deduction for not managing to somehow set himself alight. Extra credit had he tripped into the fire pit.

  104. 104.

    debbie

    November 9, 2018 at 6:19 pm

    @??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??:

    Bipartisan fight or death throes?

  105. 105.

    StringOnAStick

    November 9, 2018 at 6:24 pm

    @jl: Market pros will tell you that the daily “this is why the market did this today” is mostly just fluff to fill the airwaves and provide a sense of order, but what you wrote is exactly right: late stage economic expansion looks like the general lay of the land, the day to day stuff is just noise.

    However, Tuesday is a big day with regards to Italy and the EU. Italy’s economy has been shrinking (funny how one result is a rise in neofascism with an Italian face, isn’t it?) so their debt is at 130% of their GDP and the EU prefers 60%, max, so there will be some fuss about this. The new leaders in Italy are far right and have adopted the “oh yeah, how ya gonna make me?” approach to their financial obligations and agreements with the EU. It could get……messy.

  106. 106.

    Gravenstone

    November 9, 2018 at 6:25 pm

    @??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??: Fire does not propagate through the liquid. It is only the vapor at the surface that burns. But yes, a highly volatile and flammable liquid like gasoline can have flame quickly propagate along the surface. Hence the flame at the spout, which in turn ignited the spilled contents when he panicked and chucked it behind him.

  107. 107.

    Gravenstone

    November 9, 2018 at 6:27 pm

    @debbie: Floriduh man doesn’t need a reason. He simply is.

  108. 108.

    debbie

    November 9, 2018 at 6:32 pm

    @MomSense:

    It’s ridiculous, right? It’s not just the news, I’m even yelling at the reporters: “Shut up, Steve, stop rephrasing every answer you get!” “Ailsa, you whore! Give them a chance to answer!”

  109. 109.

    Frankensteinbeck

    November 9, 2018 at 6:36 pm

    @Steve in the ATL:

    the red state of North Carolina

    North Carolina is an excellent microcosm of the United States. It is deeply divided, with a larger liberal than conservative population, but when conservatives got lucky enough to control the government they gerrymandered it to all Hell and back, and since then have piled on the ruthless attempts to cheat the system and freeze out Democrats at every level. Despite most of the population disagreeing with them, the conservatives in charge are absolute batshit insane extremists.

  110. 110.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    November 9, 2018 at 6:36 pm

    @trollhattan: Looks like the Woolsey fire is going to burn to Malibu and may link up with the Hill fire at the coast; can’t burn any further than that. I went out to Franklin Canyon today today to take some pics and you could see the massive smoke plume to the west.

  111. 111.

    TenguPhule

    November 9, 2018 at 6:38 pm

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    can’t burn any further than that.

    Famous last words. //

  112. 112.

    Corner Stone

    November 9, 2018 at 6:38 pm

    @burnspbesq: You’re as fucking dumb as Wittes is. Tell us again what a Great Man Brett Kavanaugh is, Counselor. You’re too stupid to really look at who Ben Wittes actually is and understand he is dumb and has God awful judgment. Go Fuck Yourself.

  113. 113.

    lamh36

    November 9, 2018 at 6:39 pm

    @Mnemosyne: Fassbender…

    https://media.tenor.com/images/9a336c764dc24544e633a7615fb79054/tenor.gif

  114. 114.

    lamh36

    November 9, 2018 at 6:41 pm

    Soooo… Acosta still aint’ got his privileges back?

    Cause his fellow high profile reporters are certaintly quiet now.

    Guess the WHPA really ain’t planning to do nothing

  115. 115.

    TenguPhule

    November 9, 2018 at 6:42 pm

    GOP Sen. Collins calls for vote on bill to protect Mueller from being fired

    Traitorous Traitor tries tearful squid ink.

  116. 116.

    JPL

    November 9, 2018 at 6:44 pm

    @TenguPhule: hahahaha

  117. 117.

    feebog

    November 9, 2018 at 6:45 pm

    I am on vacation in Puerto Vallarta this week, and have nothing to add except I got to play golf twice this week. But this thread has been BJ gold standard. Thanks for the laffs. Gunna go eat tacos now.

  118. 118.

    germy

    November 9, 2018 at 6:46 pm

    @lamh36:

    Guess the WHPA really ain’t planning to do nothing

    They’re still exhausted from scolding Michelle Wolf.

  119. 119.

    trollhattan

    November 9, 2018 at 6:47 pm

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:
    Ugh. Wasn’t that long ago the only fires this time of year were in southern pockets of the state but they now have to keep stations opened and crewed from border to border, waiting for the storms to arrive. And nobody’s predicting that.

  120. 120.

    Ruckus

    November 9, 2018 at 6:47 pm

    @Kent:
    Many have made this point many times. It seems to only sink in a very short depth.
    Do remember though that in historical timeframes it was not that long ago that the Dow was not in the 26,000 range or anywhere near it and a change like we just saw would be a much larger percentage indicator of the basic idea of the index, to give an overall picture of the stock market. As it is it’s up over 700 points on the week, down .04% from yesterday.
    OMG the market is crumbling!!!!! Not.

  121. 121.

    TenguPhule

    November 9, 2018 at 6:48 pm

    @feebog:

    Gunna go eat tacos now.

    Have fun.

  122. 122.

    Origuy

    November 9, 2018 at 6:52 pm

    I have no opinion on the presence or absence of Chris Pine’s junk, but Outlaw King is getting good reviews from people who know Scottish history. Certainly better than the Mel Gibson atrocity. Even though they appear to have left out my ancestor, Roger de Kirkpatrick.

  123. 123.

    whomever

    November 9, 2018 at 6:53 pm

    I’m really going to miss Angela Merkel. Ironically a number of my German friends are down on her because they consider her too conservative. But she has a PhD in Quantum Chemistry, can you imagine what it’s like for her to have to deal with certain leaders who don’t even know what Quantum Chemistry is?

  124. 124.

    Mnemosyne

    November 9, 2018 at 6:54 pm

    @lamh36:

    His nude scene in Shame is so famous that George Clooney made a joke about it at the Golden Globes the year Fassbinder was nominated. ?

  125. 125.

    Mnemosyne

    November 9, 2018 at 6:55 pm

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    My brother and his family are all packed up to evacuate, but there are no hotels available close by, so they would have to go to one of the emergency shelters in a pinch. Their only option is to go north and west — the fires have them cut off from the other directions.

  126. 126.

    ??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??

    November 9, 2018 at 6:57 pm

    @Ruckus:
    Just so you know, I wasn’t making that point. I was just answering Yarrow’s question about what was causing the market share of Google, et al to decrease by $75 million

  127. 127.

    Ruckus

    November 9, 2018 at 6:58 pm

    @debbie:
    I have an ex marine buddy who does this. And he gets worked up like he’s going to do something destructive to something/someone, soon, and with grave force. Right up till the moment his wife comes in and tells him to use his indoor voice. If I hadn’t seen it for over 40 yrs it would probably concern me. BTW he’s also a liberal. Hates republicans.

  128. 128.

    Corner Stone

    November 9, 2018 at 6:59 pm

    @whomever: What does one expect to do with a PhD in Quantum Chemistry?

  129. 129.

    Yarrow

    November 9, 2018 at 7:03 pm

    This is good news.

    Cochise County, one of the redder counties in Arizona, reported nearly all of its remaining ballots today (4000/4700), and McSally won them by half of what she leads by in the county overall. #AZSen https://t.co/oixpAPdkUv— Taniel (@Taniel) November 9, 2018

  130. 130.

    lamh36

    November 9, 2018 at 7:04 pm

    @mkraju
    Follow Follow @mkraju
    More
    Pelosi detractors plot their first steps in hopes of generating more support to deny her votes on floor, beginning with debate next week in caucus over a rules change. No candidate yet but they say at least 12 will hold together. w/ ⁦@KilloughCNN⁩

    @sethmoulton
    Leadership asking new members to make a choice: break campaign promise on your 1st vote, or stand up to a status quo that will punish you. We’ve been fielding lots of calls from incumbents. We’re the voices of a silent majority who want new leadership & to protect new members

    like someone said…this is no longer play time…this is the BIG LEAGUES with big stakes.

  131. 131.

    C. Isaac

    November 9, 2018 at 7:04 pm

    @Corner Stone:

    Be the Chancellor of Germany.

  132. 132.

    Villago Delenda Est

    November 9, 2018 at 7:05 pm

    I am just checking in to let you all know that I am alive and kicking, but my old ISP is not, and that a new ISP (Xfinity? Oh my!) is on the way. My posting will be sparse-to non existent over the next week or two.

    Also, how about that Dana Rohrabacher? What a delightful ex-congressman he will be!

    Also, fuck Trump.

  133. 133.

    Taking Out Just Enough To Win

    November 9, 2018 at 7:06 pm

    Update in AZ
    Sinema 990,177
    McSally 968,992

  134. 134.

    Villago Delenda Est

    November 9, 2018 at 7:07 pm

    @lamh36: Seth Moulton needs to take a long walk off a short pier. He is no leader at all…he’s just an asshole who happens to be a Democrat.

  135. 135.

    Formerly disgruntled in Oregon

    November 9, 2018 at 7:09 pm

    @Corner Stone: Lead a Country, apparently!

  136. 136.

    tobie

    November 9, 2018 at 7:11 pm

    @lamh36: I saw Spannberger on CNN pledge to vote against Pelosi as Speaker. What was frustrating is that she wouldn’t give any reason for this decision except that the caucus needs a new face. Newness is overrated IMO.

  137. 137.

    Cheryl Rofer

    November 9, 2018 at 7:11 pm

    A+ trolling

    Greetings from Paris where we are on the ground for Trump’s trip to France. #1A pic.twitter.com/rno9bPFcJV

    — Jim Acosta (@Acosta) November 9, 2018

  138. 138.

    Cheryl Rofer

    November 9, 2018 at 7:12 pm

    Big dump from Maricopa jumps Sinema's lead to 21,185, full percentage point https://t.co/oAXx81z7QP

    — Phil Vogels (@FutureChanged) November 10, 2018

  139. 139.

    Adam L Silverman

    November 9, 2018 at 7:13 pm

    @Yarrow: Yep, I used to be one of those voters.

  140. 140.

    Yarrow

    November 9, 2018 at 7:13 pm

    @lamh36:
    Fuck Seth Moulton. NANCY SMASH FOREVER. ?

  141. 141.

    Omnes Omnibus

    November 9, 2018 at 7:14 pm

    @Villago Delenda Est: A couple of years ago, i was high on Moulton and Kander as future leaders of the party. Only one has held up well.

  142. 142.

    Mary G

    November 9, 2018 at 7:16 pm

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: Caitlyn Jenner’s house burned down, so there is a Dog.

  143. 143.

    Platonailedit

    November 9, 2018 at 7:16 pm

    Vote totals just updated in Arizona. As of 7:05PM ET, Sinema now leads McSally by more than 21,000 votes.

    Sinema (D): 990,177 — 49.36%

    McSally (R): 968,992 — 48.31%https://t.co/FNfqys0v0z

    — Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) November 10, 2018

  144. 144.

    cain

    November 9, 2018 at 7:16 pm

    @TenguPhule:

    So no peace in his time then?

    No peace on his watch. It’s a threat. To us.

  145. 145.

    Omnes Omnibus

    November 9, 2018 at 7:17 pm

    @Origuy:

    Even though they appear to have left out my ancestor, Roger de Kirkpatrick.

    No offense but everyone knows he was a wanker.

  146. 146.

    Villago Delenda Est

    November 9, 2018 at 7:18 pm

    @Mary G: My Schadenfreude meter is broken, again.

  147. 147.

    Yarrow

    November 9, 2018 at 7:25 pm

    WTF, Florida!

    NEW: I obtained photos that appear to show tons of uncounted ballots sitting inside a Miami-area mailroom in Opa-locka. Miami-Dade Elections spox says they're aware of the reported ballots but can't do anything: https://t.co/DkqdnODIjD— Jerry Iannelli (@jerryiannelli) November 9, 2018

  148. 148.

    Adam L Silverman

    November 9, 2018 at 7:31 pm

    @Yarrow: This is on the US Postal Service, not Florida.

  149. 149.

    Platonailedit

    November 9, 2018 at 7:32 pm

    @Yarrow:

    Miami-Dade Elections spokesperson said that it was on voters to mail ballots back to the county by 7 p.m. on election day, but multiple sources tell me they're worried that USPS had left ballots sitting inside the mailroom that could have been counted:

    https://t.co/DkqdnODIjD— Jerry Iannelli (@jerryiannelli) November 9, 2018

    Looks like vote by mail is not the be all , end all to prevent the gop’s electoral malpractices.

  150. 150.

    Haroldo

    November 9, 2018 at 7:32 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Yeah, and, unfortunately, Moulton’s my Rep. Time for phone calls…..

  151. 151.

    ??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??

    November 9, 2018 at 7:33 pm

    @Adam L Silverman:
    Why can’t the Miami-Dade Elections staff collect the ballots from the USPS?

  152. 152.

    Platonailedit

    November 9, 2018 at 7:38 pm

    @lamh36:

    ” silent majority”

    Isn’t that rethugs’ and especially trumpturd’s dog whistle?

  153. 153.

    Yarrow

    November 9, 2018 at 7:38 pm

    @Adam L Silverman: Seems like there has to be something they could do.

  154. 154.

    Adam L Silverman

    November 9, 2018 at 7:39 pm

    @??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??: @Yarrow: Florida election regs state that other than ballots coming from overseas, all absentee/vote by mail ballots must be in possession of each supervisor of elections office by the time the polls close on election day. So if the Post Office screwed up, as in these were post marked/mailed far enough in advance to arrive by the time the polls closed on election day, and didn’t get these delivered in time, this is a Post Office problem. If these were all mailed too late to be delivered by the deadline, that’s on the voters. As to whether this regulation is a good one, I personally think they should be counted if they’re post marked by election day, but I don’t make the rules.

    ETA: It is possible that when either Elias, Richards, or both find out about this they’ll seek a court order to have them counted, but that is also out of my control.

  155. 155.

    tobie

    November 9, 2018 at 7:41 pm

    I made fun of my folks for insisting on voting on election day in Florida instead of doing vote by mail. My mother said she didn’t trust Rick Scott to count all votes by mail. She was right. I have to hand it to her. This is just one SNAFU after another on top of one of the most massive voter suppression efforts we’ve seen in history. I feel bad for all the vote canvassers in southern Florida. People mess up when undue pressure is brought to bear on them. The pressure on these folks right now is unbearable.

  156. 156.

    Amir Khalid

    November 9, 2018 at 7:41 pm

    @Formerly disgruntled in Oregon:
    Or maybe even work as a scientist, which is what Merkel did before politics.

  157. 157.

    TenguPhule

    November 9, 2018 at 7:47 pm

    @Yarrow:

    NANCY SMASH FOREVER.

    or at least long enough to train up a new generation to select a successor from.

    We can’t rely on her to bail out the caucus forever.

  158. 158.

    TenguPhule

    November 9, 2018 at 7:48 pm

    @Mary G:

    Caitlyn Jenner’s house burned down, so there is a Dog.

    Were they still in it? //

  159. 159.

    Fair Economist

    November 9, 2018 at 7:49 pm

    @StringOnAStick:

    The new leaders in Italy are far right and have adopted the “oh yeah, how ya gonna make me?” approach to their financial obligations and agreements with the EU. It could get……messy.

    It’s a little more complex than that. The ruling coalition in Italy is an alliance of a rightist group, the Northern League, with a weird left-leaning populist party, 5 Star. 5 Star has been heavily infiltrated by Russian agents, but it is still formally pushing more leftist policies like a universal basic income. The Northern League is going along because it gets tax cuts and deregulation. It’s like a coalition of Mitt Romney and Bernie Sanders.

  160. 160.

    TenguPhule

    November 9, 2018 at 7:50 pm

    @Fair Economist:

    It’s like a coalition of Mitt Romney and Bernie Sanders.

    That might be giving the Italian political parties too much credit. As mindboggling as that might sound.

  161. 161.

    Fair Economist

    November 9, 2018 at 7:55 pm

    I adore Pelosi as a Congressional Leader, but although it would be sad if she got passed over for Speaker because of some idiotic promises by new members, it wouldn’t be the end of the world if she were Majority Leader with somebody good and compatible as Speaker. The CBC has been making noise about being somewhat short in leadership positions – perhaps we could get Barbara Lee as Speaker and kill two birds with one stone?

  162. 162.

    John Revolta

    November 9, 2018 at 7:55 pm

    @Platonailedit: @Adam L Silverman: This kind of crap is why I’ve never been all that crazy about mail-in voting as a concept. The Post Office is made up of human beings, and we all know what they’re like.

  163. 163.

    Jackie

    November 9, 2018 at 7:57 pm

    @TenguPhule: what a horrid thing to say! People and pets fleeing for their lives isn’t humorous.

  164. 164.

    TenguPhule

    November 9, 2018 at 8:18 pm

    @Jackie: In my defense, its Caitlyn Jenner.

  165. 165.

    J R in WV

    November 9, 2018 at 8:27 pm

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym:

    I use a small propane torch for starting both charcoal grill fires and wood stove fires. No fuss, no muss, just fast hot fires.

  166. 166.

    Jackie

    November 9, 2018 at 8:35 pm

    @TenguPhule: No defense. I might not like her politics, but she’s a human being. And has pets. Everyone fleeing their homes/losing their homes deserves respect and compassion.

  167. 167.

    Villago Delenda Est

    November 9, 2018 at 8:58 pm

    @John Revolta: It may have something to do with the political climate of the state in question. Oregon and Washington have never had problems like these, but they’re blue states. Florida, OTOH, is competing with New Jersey in the shitty political climate sweepstakes.

  168. 168.

    Villago Delenda Est

    November 9, 2018 at 9:00 pm

    @Jackie: Her pets might deserve compassion, but she does not. No one who supported Donald is deserving of it. That ship sailed two years ago.

  169. 169.

    J R in WV

    November 9, 2018 at 9:23 pm

    This US Post Office mail center with “tons” of undelivered ballots is – to me – a huge problem. We know who is in charge of the Federal government today, and as independent as the USPS is in theory, how do we know that a few managers, in love with herr Drumpf, didn’t so as asked and store these ballots until they turned stale.

    If much of the nation is going to depend upon mail-in ballots, perhaps post office staff that fuck with ballots should be imprisoned for years, and lose their pension, health care, etc. If the postmarks on these ballots show that they should have been delivered before close of business election day (whenever the regs say!) then shit should hit the fan, and the ballots should be counted.

    In any case, hard questions should be asked, like late at night right away, and all day the next day. Then prosecutions should commence. This pisses me off as much as anything Trump as done so far.

  170. 170.

    sdhays

    November 9, 2018 at 10:09 pm

    @Fair Economist: It’s stupid to engage on whether or not you’re going to vote for a particular leader in Congress during your campaign, especially when it’s not clear who would replace the person you’re not in favor of. You’re just playing on the opposition’s turf. None of those new Congresspeople won their elections because they said they’d vote against Nancy Pelosi; they simply forced themselves into a fight they don’t need right after an historic victory.

    I don’t know why any Democrat would want to go into the next two years with anyone other than Nancy Pelosi at the helm because she’s skilled and tenacious. Maybe someone else would be good too, but I don’t see why we need to dick around about that with all of the shit going on; at least get us past 2020 and hopefully a new Democratic President. And if numb-nuts Hoyer’s the one who benefits from these people throwing a hissy fit over their ill-considered “promise” (which, as far as I can see, is the most logical conclusion at this stage), what, I will ask, was the fucking point?

    Maybe a truly fresh face would get the opportunity to succeed Pelosi and might be awesome, but, damn, none of these idiots should get it in their heads that the new face won’t be demonized by Spankee and Fux News the very next day as much or more than they’ve demonized Nancy Smash. It’s an awful time to have “someone learning the ropes” as Speaker…

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