Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

I did not have this on my fuck 2025 bingo card.

“What are Republicans afraid of?” Everything.

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

Many life forms that would benefit from greater intelligence, sadly, do not have it.

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

After dobbs, women are no longer free.

The media handbook says “controversial” is the most negative description that can be used for a Republican.

There are more Russians standing up to Putin than Republicans.

Not all heroes wear capes.

If you can’t control your emotions, someone else will.

Following reporting rules is only for the little people, apparently.

I am pretty sure these ‘journalists’ were not always such a bootlicking sycophants.

One way or another, he’s a liar.

Welcome to day five of every-bit-as-bad-as-you-thought-it-would-be.

You’re just a puppy masquerading as an old coot.

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

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

The press swings at every pitch, we don’t have to.

There are no moderate republicans – only extremists and cowards.

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

You don’t get rid of your umbrella while it’s still raining.

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

Dear elected officials: Trump is temporary, dishonor is forever.

“Loving your country does not mean lying about its history.”

You are here: Home / Elections / Election 2018 / Tuesday Morning Open Thread

Tuesday Morning Open Thread

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One last 2018 Tuesday evening chewing our nails as the results come in…

… and some inspiration from Dahlia Lithwick, at Slate — “After Years of Taking Up Too Much Space, Trump Is Finally Small”:

The holidays can be tricky when one has begun to reflexively assume the posture of being pinned under the breakfront as the crazy racist grandpa shrieks year round. For many of us, the echo of Donald Trump’s voice, his tweets, his boasts and threats, are what wake us up at 4 a.m. and what makes us afraid to contemplate summer plans or even buy green bananas. But after two deeply destabilizing and in fact traumatic years of soaking in the president’s ugliness and invective, of absorbing the sound and sight of the sneering and the scowling and the fury, there is much to be thankful for this year. Because this year, by dint of miracle or magic or human endeavor, Donald Trump has been reduced to his actual size. He isn’t everything anymore. He is barely anything at all. He becomes smaller every single day, and for that, we have America to thank…

If the November midterms stood for anything, it was that in most jurisdictions that allow for meaningful voting and proportional representation, the whiz-bang showmanship of the past two years has become stale and dull. A clutch of exciting young candidates ran for office without even explicitly engaging with Trump or Trumpism. Powered by energy from below, they largely ignored the wallpaper of noise and sound that is the president. The narcissism and self-love of the ’90s TV hustler has finally just become tiresome.

As a final Thanksgiving miracle, Chief Justice John Roberts—who didn’t weigh in publicly when Donald Trump attacked a federal judge for being a biased Mexican, or a Seattle judge for being liberal, or three federal appeals court judges for halting his travel ban—spoke out Wednesday to rebuke Trump for berating an “Obama Judge” and the entire 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (which had enjoined his new asylum rules). Day after day, we can see that the entire legal apparatus of the United States is growing tired of being treated like Trump’s landscaping staff. More and more, the entire country is showing that it is tired and bored of being treated like gaffers and lighting technicians in the Trump show…

It’s going to be a long-ass haul to restore what’s been dismantled over the past two years. Fear and contempt are contagious and so, apparently, are ugliness and violence. But in so many ways resilience and dignity and pride are pushing through the noise. It’s hard to see it sometimes, but it’s surely rattling under the surface of things. Things will turn around the way you eat an elephant—bite by bite. But recognizing that the elephant was never all that enormous in the first instance makes it easier to do the work.

Reader Interactions

135Comments

  2. 2.

    geg6

    Morning all! Back to the academic coal mine for another three weeks until Christmas break.

    We were discussing the very idea Lithwick wrote about there during Thanksgiving. We all felt it, that something has shifted, especially since the election. I sure hope those instincts are correct because I just can’t take all this doom and despair much longer. We need a little beam of hope at this point.

  4. 4.

    OzarkHillbilly

    He becomes smaller every single day, and for that, we have America to thank…

    Ummm…. no. We have 60-63 million Americans to thank.

  5. 5.

    Cermet

    It takes a village to eat an elephant – so, organization is required (and lots of small donations!) The mid-terms proved this; now on to 2020 and removal of the orange fart cloud from office! Start taking the senate back, too.

  6. 6.

    TriassicSands

    The GOP has a seemingly endless supply of horrendously bad people but with the exception of Trump himself Hyde-Smith seems as bad as any of them.

    I sincerely hope that November 27 will be the worst day of her political life.

  7. 7.

    satby

    @rikyrah: Good morning rikyrah ?!

    @OzarkHillbilly: yeah, the same people who tried to prevent the last two years of horror. Not all of America, but a majority at least.

    Happy news at the Chicago branch of Casa de Crazy: my Japanese exchange daughter from 1990-1 will be in town and spending Christmas day with her American family. She came for a visit once about 1994, but hasn’t ever gotten back to Chicago. So we’re all excited about that.

  8. 8.

    Lapassionara

    Good morning, everyone. Does anyone know what happened to the Russia/Ukraine crisis? Or does the US now operate on the principle that if Trump doesn’t say anything about it, it did not happen?

  10. 10.

    GregB

    Trump is back on his heels. This week Mueller gives evidence of conspiracy. This weekend he prostrates himself in front of Putin.

  11. 11.

    Frankensteinbeck

    Democrats won the House with the largest margin of victory for either party

    And we did it against an energized Republican base. Make no mistake, they also turned out big. The difference is our motivation. Hopefully the way Republicans have stopped hiding their evil will keep us motivated.

  13. 13.

    p.a.

    What do the Miss polls show? I haven’t been following except to note that the R is even more of a shit than their usual shit. I expect an Espy loss by < 7% is a real good showing, and a recount/victory would be ground-shaking.

  15. 15.

    rikyrah

    @geg6:
    Hope.
    November told us that the American Experiment will continue.

    And, clarity. We have never been more clear. There is no such thing as a reasonable Republican….so, they must be dealt with accordingly.??

  17. 17.

    Schlemazel

    @p.a.:
    The last I saw, a couple days ago put it about 7% so you are probably right.

    Dump is just a symptom even after he has been removed the disease will still be with us and require constant care

  21. 21.

    Betty Cracker

    This Lithwick quote from the excerpt above:

    The narcissism and self-love of the ’90s TV hustler has finally just become tiresome.

    I felt that vibe from Trumpster relatives last weekend. They didn’t bring Trump up at all, let alone crow about the mofo like they did in 2016. They didn’t even mention the big Republican wins in Florida, probably because they knew that would introduce the topic of Trump. My hope is that their demoralization accelerates to the point where they don’t bother to drag their asses to the polls in 2020.

  23. 23.

    Barbara

    70% of voters turned out in my county this year even though there was no really competitive election on the ballot. Local press were amazed.

  25. 25.

    Kay

    @debbie:

    Baubles adorned with Melania Trump’s ‘Be Best’ initiative. The Red Room is decorated to celebrate ways in which children can excel in life

    Be Best is my favorite ridiculous slogan ever. You can tell they slaved over it, yet it’s still so vapid and meaningless!

  28. 28.

    FlipYrWhig

    @Kay:

    The Red Room is decorated to celebrate ways in which children can excel in life

    Ways like “inherit millions from your corrupt racist father.”

  29. 29.

    Kay

    Darrel Rowland
    ‏@darreldrowland
    9h9 hours ago
    More
    Job promises made in Youngstown just last year could haunt Trump with GM Lordstown plant closure

    I’d like to say it will matter but after ’18 I don’t believe that. You’re better off canvassing in Mississippi. Better use of your time.

    Yesterday they were saying it “won’t matter here” because we have engine and transmission plants. There’s not even solidarity between counties.

  32. 32.

    debbie

    @Kay:

    As horrible as the situation is, I laughed out loud when Trump said he told the CEO that GM better put something else in that plant. Maybe a cupcake factory?

  35. 35.

    CliosFanboy

    somehow “Be Best” manages to be an even worse PR slogan/camoaign than Ford’s “WIN: Whip Inflation Now.”

  36. 36.

    Kay

    @debbie:

    It’s supposed to look like children wrote it. That’s what kills me- the amount of EFFORT put into this garbage. This took tens of people weeks to do. They had multiple meetings :)

    I’m baffled by the red trees. Just confused. It’s green and red, right? The trees were already green so she made them red? Then she has to add green?

  39. 39.

    Kay

    @debbie:

    It is horrible and my heart goes out to the older workers especially but it must be said that UAW are the absolute worst union members in Ohio, as far as voting for their own interests. They’re belligerent, in your face Republicans, like 40% of them. Give me hotel workers or teachers any day of the week.

  41. 41.

    Kay

    @debbie:

    I know this doesn’t even merit saying at this point but imagine if Obama had told a company what to do with a plant.

    The complete and utter abandonment of conservatism continues. And fuck GM. They waited until after the midterms to announce this. Trump should be thanking them. They’re corrupt and colluding with the GOP.

  42. 42.

    Betty Cracker

    @Kay: My guess is Team Melania assembled their personal wedding planners, PR flacks, marketing hacks, etc., and ordered them to come up with slogan ideas to present to the Third Lady. On the big day, she sat through their presentations, bored out of her mind and drumming her sharp and greedy claws on a priceless antique table before choosing two words at random from the storyboards and impatiently snapping, “Be Best!” And they’ve tried ever after to pretend it makes sense.

  43. 43.

    debbie

    @Kay:

    It’s supposed to look like children wrote it.

    Then it’s an even worse job. The lettering looks like an amateur attempt at using markers. I’ve got more than a few “child-like” fonts; they could have just hired me!

  44. 44.

    debbie

    @Kay:

    I heard Trump just telling workers not to sell their homes and move out. Like they can depend on him! Dig that hole deeper, you fat fuck!

  45. 45.

    MazeDancer

    John Barrow PostCards must be in the mail today.

    But still time to write a couple. Revenge Stacey Abrams. Stop Brian Kemp from stealing more elections.

    Gwen Collins-Greenup, in a tight runoff for Sec of State in Louisiana on Dec 8th, needs our help. National Dems and media don’t even notice she exists.

    Get addresses: PostCardPatriots.com

    (And sending big turnout energy to Mike Espy! We also sent about 1442 PostCards over 8 days. Not bad for a runoff.)

  47. 47.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Kay: I remember how racist the UAW’s anti-import campaigns were back in the 1970s and 80s. I think it actually made me more skeptical of trade protectionism than I should have been.

  48. 48.

    Betty Cracker

    @Kay: We don’t have to imagine it!

    Gangster Government: Barack Obama and the New Washington Thugocracy Hardcover – April 4, 2011

    In this new and stunning book, New York Times best-selling author David Freddoso (The Case Against Barack Obama) provides the much-needed exposé of an administration that has brought Chicago-style corruption and strong-arm politics to Washington, looking to reward its friends (the unions, federal workers, and other liberal interest groups) and punish its enemies (the private sector workers and taxpayers who foot the bill for Obama¹s massive expansion of the federal government).

    In Gangster Government you’ll learn, among other shocking revelations:

    How the Obama administration has used “czars” and “recess appointments” to install powerful bureaucrats, some with extreme views and shady pasts, without congressional oversight

    How the Obama administration ignored the Constitution and reversed 100 years of bankruptcy law to reward its friends (the United Autoworkers) in the GM and Chrysler bailout

    Why even the pretense of “cutting costs” in Obamacare came second to rewarding the Democrat-supporting trial lawyers’ lobby

    Bet this same asshole is lauding Trump’s bold leadership today without a hint of cognitive dissonance. They’re utterly shameless, every single one of them.

  49. 49.

    Baud

    @debbie:

    But I tell you, our farmers laid off GM workers are great patriots. These are great patriots. They understand that they’re doing this for the country. And we’ll make it up to them. And in the end, they’re going to be much stronger than they are right now…

  50. 50.

    TS (the original)

    @debbie: That’s a very polite description. She either has no ucking idea – or she is trolling everyone who steps foot in the place.

  52. 52.

    Procopius

    I guess it’s good that Roberts, who disemboweled the Voter Rights Act, is offended that Trump criticized the Ninth Circus, but what do Alito, Thomas, Gorsuch, and Kavanaugh have to say about it? I still think all five of them are going to overturn Roe v. Wade. I expect them to rule that the National Labor Relations Act is unconstitutional. They already ruled that Americans do not have a right to seek justice in the courts and for years they have limited those who have “standing” to appeal to the courts anyway. At least with Shelby County, theoretically they left an opening for Congress to revise the statute to reimpose the Justice Department review of voting rules. Hahahahaha! All they need is 350 Democratic Congressmen and 80 Senators.

  53. 53.

    hueyplong

    I wonder what would have happened in Ohio on election day had GM made its announcement on November 1 instead of November 26.

    [My bad. I now see that Kay was way ahead of me. Probably not for the first time.]

  56. 56.

    TS (the original)

    @Kay:

    They waited until after the midterms to announce this.

    Their support of the GOP sees no limits – despite it was a democrat that rescued them from the disaster of 2008/9

  58. 58.

    Matt McIrvin

    As Trump gets smaller, he actually gets more horrible and angry, and his vocal followers become more nakedly authoritarian and violent… and while many Trump voters may be quieter, his overall level of support actually isn’t dropping.

    So it doesn’t feel very good.

  59. 59.

    wasabi gasp

    Dahlia Lithwick is hot! I could listen to her whisper sweet nothings of dystopian collapse into my ear all the damned day long. Hot!

  60. 60.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @geg6:

    Back to the academic coal mine

    You have my sympathies. I just finished my last lecture last night. Finals are next week and grades will be in by Saturday. Then off to Munich for a week – wheee!

    ETA: And yes, the election outcomes, locally and nationally, are greatly cheering. Our hard work paid off. And will pay off again in 2020 (fingers crossed). The orange excrescence in the WH must be (will be!) ousted.

  63. 63.

    Aleta

    (The Hill) House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) said that “it’s awfully tough” for government officials like Ivanka Trump to comply with government communication standards when sending emails.

    “When things like this come up, it’s important people understand, they need to make sure they’re doing what they can,” Goodlatte told CNN’s Erin Burnett on “OutFront” late Monday.

    “And it’s awfully tough, as everyone knows, when you’re sending emails about a lot of different things to make sure that you’re doing it according to the rules in the White House or wherever you’re doing it,” the Virginia Republican added.
    …

  65. 65.

    Kay

    @Baud:

    “The farmers” are another one. They must like soybeans rotting in storage. I saw ag bankruptcies were up. I bet they are.

    Obama was the best thing that ever happened to them but they were too racist and aggrieved to get over themselves and use their heads. There’s consequences to actions! There has to be. I hope they enjoyed that 24 month hate-fest. Now they’ll pay for it.

  67. 67.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Lapassionara: It is still a crisis. Ukraine has declared martial law in the states (oblasts) which border Russia and has begun calling up military reservists. As I saw on Twitter from a knowledgeable source “Ukraine has no security guarantees but for itself.”

  68. 68.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    @Kay: Many soybean farmers were kind of insulated from the damage this year because they planted on contract last spring (ie they and a distributor agreed on a price in April or so) and they get that money even if market conditions have now changed. The distributor of course is sweating it. But next year, there will be payback. So the damage is going to accelerate.

  69. 69.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Aleta: It’s not hard at all. Lots of us do it every day – I have a company e-mail account, that I use for work stuff and only work stuff, and I have a personal e-mail account that I use for personal stuff. I send and receive a lot of e-mails in both, and it’s simple to distinguish the two.

  70. 70.

    Procopius

    @OzarkHillbilly: I tend to give high credibility to RT, while trying to correct for pro-Russian bias on their part. YMMV. I also tend to be skeptical of the good faith of the Ukrainian government, since they are the puppets of the neoconservatives who financed the coup that installed them (granted that Yanukovich was incredibly corrupt and evil, even by Eastern European standards). Apparently the crisis is past, but I’m sure Congress and the State Department will call for increasing “sanctions.”
    https://www.rt.com/news/444948-fsb-intelligence-ukrainian-ships/

  71. 71.

    WereBear

    I haven’t forgotten any outrages, and I plan to remind them for decades to come.

    “How can I trust your judgement? X, and Y, and Z, and now we go to the Greek alphabet.”

  72. 72.

    Baud

    @Kay: If I win the lottery, I’m putting up billboards in Trump country with pictures of Hillary Clinton living large and enjoying her life.

  73. 73.

    zhena gogolia

    @Gin & Tonic:

    The people I had lunch with yesterday had absorbed the analysis that Ukraine provoked Russia so Poroshenko could declare martial law. I guess that must be the cable-news wisdom. I was too preoccupied with a personal matter to get into it with them.

  76. 76.

    Jeffro

    I’d just like to take a moment to point out that Brooksie is at his disingenuous best today in That Paper, trying to pit older liberals (so full of virtue!) against their “militant progressive” children (ie, “cultural Marxists”, ie “young wokesters”)

    David, if you’ll step over here a minute, I have an open elevator shaft I’d really like to show you…

  77. 77.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Procopius:

    I tend to give high credibility to RT,

    Ha!

    From the linked piece

    Commenting on the incident, Virginia Senator Rickard Black said both sides have “some merit to their claims,”

    Sure, I give a lot of credence to unknown Virginia state senators commenting on European military affairs.

  79. 79.

    gvg

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: They should still be afraid, but the problem for Trump is, it has been proven that he is too random and stupid so that even bowing to him won’t save you. Therefore, they just go ahead and do the best they can after his damage.

  82. 82.

    Immanentize

    @Gin & Tonic:
    If a real President was in office, he would sail a couple of light cruisers through the straight’s international waters — like Obama used to do when China claimed unreasonable water rights. Maybe some EU country will do that?

  85. 85.

    hueyplong

    “I tend to give high credibility to RT…” especially when they deny something very strongly. Who’s to say?

  88. 88.

    Immanentize

    @rikyrah:

    without soul

    That’s it exactly! She decorates from some Eastern European Soviet era storefront fantasy. Very showy, but grim and lifeless like hell is.

  89. 89.

    Elizabelle

    More on those awful red trees Melania inflicted on us: SF Gate: Melania Trump’s blood-red Christmas trees mocked with memes

    WaPost: Melania Trump didn’t show up to explain her spooky Christmas decorations. So what about those red trees?

    Her spokeswoman, Stephanie Grisham, said Trump decided “to let the decorations speak for themselves.” …. The first lady’s office described the red motif: “The choice of red is an extension of the pales, or stripes found in the presidential seal designed by our Founding Fathers. It is a symbol of valor and bravery.”

    Valor and bravery. And Trump. Right.

    Top-liked WaPost reader comment:

    ‘You could see there was blood coming out of its needles, blood coming out of its wherever.’

    My favorite reader comment:

    What do you want from a former porn model married to Goldfinger? You want taste?

  91. 91.

    Immanentize

    @debbie: It will be easier for Trump to try to bully her, but the fact that it will have no effect will drive him around the corner. She has more important things to think about than Trump — namely future profits.

    It makes me so sad that all the American car companies are doubling down on trucks and SUVs. But who can blame them? Trump lifted the pending CAFE standards on those vehicles and the cost is much higher profit margin than on cars. Nice planet we had once.

  92. 92.

    Elizabelle

    @Immanentize: The buyers don’t think there will be a surge in gas prices? Ever?

    And it’s all about profit margins for the manufacturers. No doubt. Sad!

  93. 93.

    Immanentize

    @hueyplong: I imagine Trump on 9/12:

    “I’ve talked to Mr. Bin Laden and he assures me, very strongly, many times, that he had nothing to do with the terrorist attacks. I mean, very strongly, several times. Who’s to know?”

  98. 98.

    Jeffro

    @Immanentize: No, he’s clearly not just wailing on ‘those damn kids’…he’s actively praising older liberals (as if he believes one iota of the things they believe in) and attributing all kinds of virtue to them, then slamming the kids for wanting to “burn it all down”. Total caricatures, created to stir up infighting on the left.

  100. 100.

    Immanentize

    @Elizabelle: have you ever met a large pick up truck owner, who wasn’t a real working person who needs a truck? They think very little of anything outside their image, IMHO. The future is not their fault!!

  101. 101.

    Aleta

    @debbie: What struck me about the decorations was their bad-factory unpaid labor toxic plastic import look. Made me think that (just like FEMA-contracted repairs in Puerto Rico) the job was contracted out to some low-grade design company that used the shoddiest materials for the largest profit margin they could get away with. Melania is the catalogue model. Oh what fun it is to buy cheap plastic all the way.

  104. 104.

    Butter Emails!!!

    @Immanentize:

    It makes me so sad that all the American car companies are doubling down on trucks and SUVs. But who can blame them? Trump lifted the pending CAFE standards on those vehicles and the cost is much higher profit margin than on cars. Nice planet we had once.

    We can blame them because the American Car companies are part of the group hiring lobbyists and stuffing politicians’ pockets to prevent/remove things like CAFE standards.

  107. 107.

    Elizabelle

    @Immanentize: I remember my BIL, the general contractor, hanging onto a fuel-efficient lightweight pickup truck, for long drives when gas was expensive. Still parked at his house.

    If the other fools have less $$ for MAGA hats and dining out, because they’re feeding their own guzzlers, well … fools.

  109. 109.

    hueyplong

    This is the second consecutive year in which Tim Burton would have said of the decorations, “Man, that’s creepy.” A Bucket Of Blood meets The Handmaid’s Tale.

    I have no idea whether she’s trying or just trolling, which makes her a the very model of a modern mainstream Republican.

  110. 110.

    Steeplejack

    @Betty Cracker:

    How the Obama administration has used “czars” and “recess appointments” to install powerful bureaucrats, some with extreme views and shady pasts, without congressional oversight.

    So it was a how-to manual, not an exposé?

  111. 111.

    Aleta

    @OzarkHillbilly: You forgot the ones who didn’t vote for president. Especially the ones in high places who advertised they would leave that space blank as a moral act, e.g., Ari Fleischer.

  114. 114.

    FlipYrWhig

    @hueyplong: I just assume that any stylist or designer with any talent or, really, any desire to avoid being shunned into oblivion is staying THE HELL AWAY from Melania Trump and her pet projects.

  115. 115.

    Aleta

    @Gin & Tonic: She has a staff and WH legal advisors and tech people, and we’re told she ran a big business or two. I can only conclude that she and Kushner were trying to keep some communications out of WH records.

  116. 116.

    FlipYrWhig

    @JPL: BTW, if any other Presidential spouse had worn a coat to a humanitarian photo-op that said “I really don’t care do u?” on it, clucking pundits would be characterizing it as an all-time gaffe for generations. Whereas in the Dumpster Fire Presidency it was just one of those quirky things that happens.

  118. 118.

    bemused

    I agree with Lithwick. The idiot president is boring, an incredibly boring person. Reminds me of the stereotypical obese, egotistical, white drunk boob who is always sitting at the bar loudly opinionating while most bar patrons pointedly avoid him or tell him they are sick of his crap and shut up already. Trump may not drink but he is ego drunk.

  119. 119.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Aleta: In this past election no DEMs voted for president. I’m not sure how many GOP voters took to heart trump’s declarations that he was on the ballot this year and were heartbroken when they couldn’t find his name there.

  120. 120.

    Citizen Alan

    @p.a.:

    What do the Miss polls show? I haven’t been following except to note that the R is even more of a shit than their usual shit. I expect an Espy loss by < 7% is a real good showing, and a recount/victory would be ground-shaking.

    It would be beyond ground-shaking. It is literally inconceivable that Espy can beat the Klan Hag in Mississippi having lived here for 50 years, but something is up. I had to wait in line to vote … absentee … on a Saturday morning.

  122. 122.

    Citizen Alan

    @debbie:

    The red Xmas trees are kind of horrifying, but the rest doesn’t look too bad. Certainly not as bad as last year’s terrifying “Christmas at the Overlook Hotel” theme.

  124. 124.

    Aleta

    @Immanentize: That’s unbelievable. And he’s being promoted a bit as a presidential candidate, and popular because ‘he opposed Trump.’ Not voting is not ‘opposing Trump.’ He let him pass. It’s better to make children suffer than vote for a Democrat, they told the country.

  125. 125.

    CliosFanboy

    @Gin & Tonic: Richard Black is, no surprise, a nutjob. He’s a big Assad supporter, is very, very anti-gay and anti-Muslim. He calls birth control pills “baby pesticide.”

  126. 126.

    Citizen Alan

    @Immanentize:

    My BiL used to work at his dad’s car dealership (until dad sold it out from under him, much to BiL’s chagrin), and he was always after me to by a Ford F150. One day, I finally snapped and said “No thank you, I’m quite satisfied with the size of my penis.” He didn’t like that at all, but it shut him up on the topic.

  128. 128.

    tobie

    @Immanentize: @Elizabelle: It kills me that GM and Ford have essentially given up on manufacturing subcompacts in the US. The bottom line is that industry needs regulations like CAFE standards; otherwise they end up destroying the commons and themselves in their pursuit of short term profits.

    Do you have any idea how contractors manage to haul stuff in Europe and Asia? Typically pick-up truck drivers justify their vehicles by saying they need it for carrying heavy items for work, and I always think to myself that other countries have managed this problem but I realize I haven’t paid that much attention to vehicles. From moving in Germany, I know rental trucks are canvass topped and don’t have a hard shell. That must cut the weight.

  130. 130.

    Butter Emails!!!

    @Citizen Alan:

    It would be beyond ground-shaking. It is literally inconceivable that Espy can beat the Klan Hag in Mississippi having lived here for 50 years, but something is up. I had to wait in line to vote … absentee … on a Saturday morning.

    Why is that exactly? Mississippi is 59% White, 37.5% African American and 3.5% other. It would seem to be a good candidate to target for a Democratic takeover based purely on demographics.

  132. 132.

    J R in WV

    @Immanentize:

    If a real President was in office, he would sail a couple of light cruisers through the straight’s international waters…

    Unfortunately Russia has built a long bridge/causeway across the strait, and then moored a very large freighter across the navigable channel, so not even the best US Navy cruiser can actually sail through the Russian blockaide of the international waterway.

  133. 133.

    ns

    One of the links is re-reporting this god-awful article: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/democrats-smash-watergate-record-house-popular-vote-midterms-n940116

    “Democrats smash Watergate record for House popular vote in midterms: Nationally, Democrats have 53.1% of all votes counted…” The article goes on to cite the Democrats’ popular vote gross margin of 8.8 million votes, whereas the 1974 class the gross vote margin was 8.7 million votes. That is not “smashing” a record, the record itself is pointless, and the sub-headline is implying that 53.1% was a record % of the vote which it is not.

    NBC News please hire an editor.

  135. 135.

    Procopius

    @OzarkHillbilly: Ah. Thanks for the information. I only knew about ‘/s’. I’m afraid I’m a little socially inept and have difficulty decoding what people mean. I tend to take a lot literally.

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