Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

That’s my take and I am available for criticism at this time.

Fuck the extremist election deniers. What’s money for if not for keeping them out of office?

I’d hate to be the candidate who lost to this guy.

He really is that stupid.

The republican caucus is already covering themselves with something, and it’s not glory.

Republicans don’t want a speaker to lead them; they want a hostage.

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.

Just because you believe it, that doesn’t make it true.

I really should read my own blog.

When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.

Speaking of republicans, is there a way for a political party to declare intellectual bankruptcy?

I’m pretty sure there’s only one Jack Smith.

Schmidt just says fuck it, opens a tea shop.

Accused of treason; bitches about the ratings. I am in awe.

Tick tock motherfuckers!

We cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation.

They love authoritarianism, but only when they get to be the authoritarians.

Meanwhile over at truth Social, the former president is busy confessing to crimes.

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

Republican obstruction dressed up as bipartisanship. Again.

You are here: Home / Past Elections / 2020 Elections / Friday Morning Open Thread: How Far We’ve Come

Friday Morning Open Thread: How Far We’ve Come

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Whatever else you might say about the illo, grant CNN this: They cannot be accused of artificially darkening Senator Harris’ complexion!

… The CNN town halls are co-hosted by the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College and the Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School. The presidential hopefuls will field questions directly from students and young New Hampshire Democrats, said a CNN spokeswoman, who added the audience will be drawn from the two schools and a pool of young Democrats living in the state.

On April 22, Chris Cuomo will moderate the Klobuchar (7 p.m. ET) and Sanders (9 p.m. ET) town halls, Anderson Cooper will moderate the Warren (8 p.m. ET) and Buttigieg (11 p.m. ET) town halls, and Don Lemon will moderate the Harris (10 p.m. ET) town hall.

The CNN town halls will take place on the campus of Saint Anselm College, and coincide with the release of the Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School’s new national poll of young voters…

.
Elsewhere in the twitterverse:

And finally, important news update: Julian Assange’s former cat has been safely re-homed. (Yes, I too thought this had been settled months ago.)

Reader Interactions

200Comments

  1. 1.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Blech. Again. Because saying it only in the cold gray dead thread doesn’t do this day justice.

  2. 2.

    NotMax

    Repeating for the morning crowd, plus it fits right in with the theme of women in science.

    FYI, the 13th is Thomas Jefferson’s 276th birthday anniversary. There will be a livestreamed ceremony at Monticello from 9:45 to 11 a.m. Eastern time (link to get to it here) including a keynote address given by oceanographer and National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Sylvia Earle.

    Earle was the first female chief scientist of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and was named by Time Magazine as its first Hero for the Planet in 1998.
    [snip]
    In August 2014, a Netflix exclusive documentary titled “Mission Blue” was released. It focuses on Earle’s life and career as well as her Mission Blue campaign to create a global network of marine protected areas. Source

  3. 3.

    OzarkHillbilly

    It brought us dragons, a red wedding, nudity and sudden death. The final season begins on Monday, but Game of Thrones and its memorable scenes will have a lasting impact on the broader TV landscape, according to industry experts and fans.

    “The casualness of Ned Stark’s death was one of the most pivotal moments of TV drama … killing off the main character – not even in the final episode, but in episode nine of the first season – caught everyone by surprise,” said Jamie East, the presenter of the Game of Thrones podcast Previously On.

    “It made watching the rest of the series after that a joy because, even now, you still don’t know who will win or die and when.”

    ……………………………………
    One fan of the show, Jack Mallinson, said Game of Thrones fans could not use social media if they had not seen the latest episode. “The problem for UK viewers is that it airs in the UK at 2am Monday morning, and then again ‘properly’ at 9pm that evening. You simply can’t make it through the day without seeing a spoiler in some capacity. So, to be prepared, people jump through hoops to make sure that they enjoy the show in as pure a way as possible.

    “Whether that means staying up until 2am to watch it, getting up for work an hour early with a powerful coffee, or going through the unimaginable of signing out of Facebook or Twitter for the day, people are willing to make the sacrifice.”

    Oh, the horror! No twitter! No FACEBOOK!!!! For a whole 10 hours!!!!

    Something tells me my lack of twitter and Facebook is not gonna save me from spoilers over the 6 months between the airing of the last show and it’s release on DVD (when I will finally get to watch it). Such is life.

  4. 4.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    Iowa Poll — Monmouth — April 11 (link)

    Biden……………27%
    Wilmer………….16%
    Buttigieg…………9%
    Harris……………..7%
    Warren……………7%
    Beto……………….6%
    Klobuchar……….4%
    Booker…………….3%
    Castro…………….2%

    Delaney, Gillibrand, Ryan, Swalwell, Yang tied at 1%
    Bullock, de Blasio, Gabbard, Inslee tied at less than 1%
    Bennet, Hickenlooper, TerryMac, Messam, Moulton, Williamson tied at 0%

    Biden does especially well among voters age 65 and older (44%), those earning less than $50,000 a year (38%), and those without a college degree (34%).

    ***

    “If Biden does get into this race, he’ll start out as a clear front-runner in Iowa. Not only does he garner support from crucial demographic groups but he is almost universally well-liked among all Democratic voters,” said Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute.

    Uncle Joe is at the top because of his name recognition and his association with President Obama. At the same time, the media went after him hard regarding inappropriate hugging and it didn’t have an affect.

  5. 5.

    raven

    New Athens bar LumberJaxe mixes beer and ax-throwing

    LumberJaxe, a bar where drinking a brew and throwing an ax is the norm, has opened in Athens as possibly the largest such venue in the country.

    It’s a place where men and women pick their blade of choice and sling for the bullseye.

    If the throw is sharp, the steel sinks with a thud into the wood.

  7. 7.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch:

    Biden……………27%

    There’s that # again. Hmmmmmmmmm………..

    @raven: You know what would be really bang up good idea for a bar? Machine guns. While you’re drinking a beer you can shoot shit up with a .50 cal or maybe a 20mm.

  12. 12.

    satby

    @rikyrah: Good morning ?
    @OzarkHillbilly: ?

    I suppose it’s hopeless to wish that the news media would quit considering Wilmer as a Democrat and quit polling people like Biden who hasn’t declared for the nomination yet? Because removing Biden as a choice would shuffle those numbers around, and not to Wilmer’s favor.

  13. 13.

    debbie

    The Stink of Stephen Miller is strong:

    The White House tried to pressure immigration authorities into releasing captured immigrants into sanctuary cities, particularly targeting liberal strongholds in hopes of hurting Democrats, according to a report from The Washington Post.

    The report noted that the White House has attempted to pitch the idea to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at least twice since November. The White House suggested both transporting migrants who were captured at the border and those currently being held in facilities to sanctuary cities where local authorities don’t cooperate with federal immigration enforcement authorities.

    No wonder he’s Trump’s Boy.

  14. 14.

    Baud

    @David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch: The only real loser in that poll is Gillibrand. She’s put enough work in that she shouldn’t be that low.

    Polls before Labor Day are meaningless to me.

    Not surprised that the Biden thing had no effect. He does need to change his behavior but the notion that people would care about his non-sexual invasion of personal space was always kind of silly.

  15. 15.

    Baud

    Steve Bannon is taking on Pope Francis! I guess he thinks America is a lost cause for him. Good.

  16. 16.

    Baud

    @satby: At this point, I actually can’t blame the media for polling Biden, given Biden’s own actions towards a run.

  18. 18.

    JPL

    @debbie: That was the second article I read about immigration this morning. The first was about an eleven year old who is on the deportation list while her family isn’t. Hell is to good a place for those that support the trump’s policies.

  20. 20.

    Kay

    @David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch:

    Well, I’ll give the contrarian take (which I believe) – with 100% name recognition and prior national campaigns both Biden and Bernie should be doing better. I have a higher bar for both of them, which is justified. They’re really well-known.

    This 42% in 2015 was considered bad for Hillary Clinton:

    In the latest Monmouth survey, Clinton drew 42 percent to Biden’s 22 percent. Sanders picked up 20 percent, while 10 percent were undecided and all other candidates earned 1 percent or less. In last month’s Monmouth poll, Clinton picked up 52 percent, compared with 16 percent for Sanders and 12 percent for Biden.

    Clinton was hammered for “only” 42%.

    Biden should start at at least 40 and Bernie should be higher than he was in ’15 – he’s since run a national campaign.

  21. 21.

    satby

    @Baud: you’re right though, polls are just wanking off to names this early.

    I wonder if figuring out what Bernie’s trying to hide in his tax returns from 2008 could be crowd sourced from public records? Our “journalists” don’t seem very interested.

  23. 23.

    Baud

    @satby:
    Didn’t he commit to releasing them on Monday? Jane’s spending the weekend dotting every “i” and crossing every “t”.

  25. 25.

    satby

    @Baud: yeah, we’ll see. But the speculation I’ve seen and heard was that he’s mentioned something about this being the tenth year… implying that a return from the 11th year (2008) might have damaging or off-brand information.
    I think he’s slimey as fuck, so I think he’s hiding something. And, like Trump, the media wants him in and winning. The Russians want him in damaging Dems.

  26. 26.

    Kay

    @David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch:

    It’s a good lesson in how numbers can be spun, I’ll tell you. Hillary Clinton was considered unpopular among Democrats with 52 and 42, while Joe Biden is considered popular with 27%. There should be some kind of Clinton Curve we can apply going forward because the absolutely insane media bias against her makes it impossible to compare, I guess.

    Bernie Sanders should be higher than 16. He was at 16 in 2015.

  27. 27.

    Baud

    @satby:

    Me too, but if he actually releases ten full years, u suppose I’ll move on to other reasons he shouldn’t be the nominee.

    @Kay:

    I believe it’s called Clinton Rules.

  28. 28.

    satby

    @OzarkHillbilly: yeah, I’m a hugger and arm toucher too. I pay attention to people’s body language though, so I try to limit it to people who would appreciate it, or not mind it.
    Says something about our cold Puritanical culture here that friendly, obviously non-sexual gestures can be recast as an assault. Some of those people would totally freak out in countries where a half hug and cheek kiss is a standard greeting.

  29. 29.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    @Kay: I agree. I posted that position 2 weeks ago when the Quinnipiac poll had Biden at 29% and Wilmer at 19%. That it was underwhelming considering not only their high name ID, but also the low name ID of their competition.

  30. 30.

    Kay

    @Baud:

    How is Joe Biden not comparable to Clinton in how well Democratic primary voters know him? I also love how “older voters” is now a plus for Biden when it was a negative for Clinton. I get the code, I really do. “Older voters” means “older men” with Biden. We count them twice. Except we don’t, so that’ll be disappointing in an actual election.

  35. 35.

    Baud

    @Kay:

    The media will say it’s different because the field is larger. They’re not entirely wrong, but you’re correct also. I file anything the media might say about Hillary in the “not credible” folder.

  37. 37.

    WereBear

    @satby: I am likewise tactile, but it’s very environmentally dependent. I can’t tell if someone will welcome it or not.

    Then again, I had to write a post about how to tell if their cat is happy:

    How to tell if the cat likes it

    So the general human ignorance on the subject of “reading each other” is at a woeful ebb.

  44. 44.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @satby: I never hug without it being initiated by the other (family is different) and have perfected the art of shoulder hugs. The pat on the arm or shoulder is my big “failing”. I do it without even thinking.

  50. 50.

    Kay

    @rikyrah:

    We have an entire team of additional people at the high school who work with truants. They meet with them weekly. Every single one of them is failing the courses they will need to graduate high school, not because they’re stupid but because they’re not there consistently. We have kids with 2 absences a week. They will not graduate without summer courses, and if they don’t show up to those they run out of time. These people who object to truancy enforcement are sentencing these kids to poverty. They have to show up. The parents DON’T say they can’t get the kids there because of poverty- logistics- getting from Point A to Point B, home to school. They say “don’t tell me what to do with my kid”. To me they’re the educational equivalent of anti-vaccers.

  53. 53.

    gene108

    @rikyrah:

    Kamala Harris is a cop. I read on Twitter, so it has to be true, that sa SF DA she arrested every black man in SF.

    Also, she’s not black, because her father isn’t American and therefore knows nothing about having ancestors enslaved

  64. 64.

    Kay

    @debbie:

    I’m not and some of the Biden photos make me cringe. It bothers me that he doesn’t seem to respond to what looks like obvious discomfort on the part of some of the people. It’s thoughtless. There are plenty of huggy people who are also thoughtful and aware enough to pick up cues when the touching is unwelcome, so they put themselves second to the other person and refrain. I don’t think it’s unforgiveable or a deal breaker though.

  69. 69.

    Baud

    Sometimes I think dogs have it right when they tolerate, even celebrate, causal butt sniffing. #BetterThanPeople

  72. 72.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Baud: Another species heard from. ;-)

    An old buddy of mine wrote a song about that exact behavior, wish I could remember the lyrics but somewhere in the chorus was “I’m peeing on your tree”

  74. 74.

    Another Scott

    ‘morning all.

    I really don’t like the picture at the top, the way Mayor Pete’s head is bigger than the others (especially Amy’s and Kamala’s). It makes the women look small and Mayor Pete look “presidential”. They’re obviously working on stacking the deck. And Wilmer’s picture isn’t exactly flattering either.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  76. 76.

    Kay

    @rikyrah:

    I think there’s some posturing on this. It reminds me of how many liberals jumped on the “Obama is silencing speech!” with the bullshit about how the IRS was “targeting” conservative orgs, which was flatly untrue. All of it was untrue. There was no “targeting” of conservative orgs and the IRS should absolutely review nonprofits, because they are tax exempt and that’s an ordinary regulatory function of the IRS.

    In late September 2017, an exhaustive report by the Treasury Department’s inspector general found that from 2004 to 2013, the IRS used both conservative and liberal keywords to choose targets for further scrutiny.

    They declare under penalty of perjury that they won’t campaign with the money. The IRS should review if they are violating that oath.

  78. 78.

    Betty Cracker

    @satby: Biden’s hugging, shoulder-grasps, etc., can be credibly explained away as a cultural/generational thing, but the hair-sniffing is weird and creepy, IMO. If a man other than my husband buried his face in the nape of my neck and sniffed me like that, he’d get an elbow to the snout.

  80. 80.

    debbie

    @rikyrah:

    NPR interviewed the Obama official who tried to talk Assange out of releasing the classified documents. The interviewer seemed sure that it had been possible to negotiate with Assange. The official was remarkably restrained in rebutting this, even though the interviewer asked about it three separate times.

  83. 83.

    OzarkHillbilly

    The World Press Photo Contest 2019 – the winning pictures

    World press photo of the year

    A two-year-old Honduran asylum seeker cries as her mother is searched and detained near the US-Mexico border on 12 June 2018 in McAllen, Texas. They had rafted across the Rio Grande from Mexico and were detained by US Border Patrol agents before being sent to a processing centre. The following week the Trump administration, under pressure from the public and lawmakers, ended its controversial policy of separating immigrant children from their parents at the US-Mexico border

  84. 84.

    Kay

    @debbie:

    People don’t seem to care that much though. Not that that stopped them with the emails, but, again, that was Clinton Rules.

    I think Biden has much bigger problems than hugging, and they’re all in his senate record. Maybe that won’t matter either but it was said to matter for Clinton, and Biden has every bad vote she had, and more.

    Jeb Bush was central to voter suppression in Florida. Voting rights are a top three issue for Democrats. Biden thinks Jeb did a great job. This will happen weekly with him. He was on the wrong side of nearly every issue as a senator. Over and over and over.

  85. 85.

    NotMax

    @satby

    What really grates are the weirdos who, on first meeting, rush to embrace and hold it forever, then spout some mumbo-jumbo about “your aura was unbalanced.”

    Full disclosure: I do not spring from a touchy or huggy clan.

  86. 86.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    @Kay: I touch people’s arms when I’m talking to them sometimes. I see Biden’s behavior as sometimes paternalistic. Also I cringe when I see coming up on someone from behind. That is not cool.

    Also, Wilmer’s numbers aren’t just weak compared to HRC in 2015. They’re weak compared to Biden now. I don’t think he’s drawing anyone new to his candidacy.

  88. 88.

    debbie

    @Kay:

    It feels to me like Biden will have more problems with Democratic voters than with the GOP. I just can’t imagine he has a chance of winning the nomination.

  89. 89.

    satby

    @Betty Cracker: no doubt. I just think it didn’t get the reaction the oppos were trying for because too many of us were cringing and wondering who might have thought we had violated boundaries unwillingly on them. I know I was. Even though I think I am responsive to “no-touching” signals.
    It’s an interesting societal change, because way back when advice on interpersonal skills included things like demonstrating openness and approachability with touch. So it’s definitely an olds thing.

  93. 93.

    Kay

    @debbie:

    I’ll back whoever Democratic primary voters elect, but I think it’s a mistake for Democrats to go backward. I’m not even a young person and I’m sick to death of the 1980’s and 1990’s. I don’t want to stay there. I want to GO. Move Forward.

    I read that story about how Trump has some person who plants shit on Facebook that harkens back to the 1980’s and 1990’s pop culture themes because that attracts his base and I just wanted to puke. Enough with the sappy nostalgia. Enough with the glory days of when people like Trump were in their prime. I was there. It wasn’t that great.

  94. 94.

    Ken

    @Kay:

    Bernie should be higher than he was in ’15 – he’s since run a national campaign.

    Well, just spitballing here, but maybe the national exposure is why he’s not polling higher than when he was an unknown?

  96. 96.

    NotMax

    @NotMax

    Have a personal anecdote about being on the receiving end of unexpected embracing and touching involving meeting the late John Forsythe, but shall leave that for another time. Have already previously related here a similar tale which took place with Gene Roddenberry.

  98. 98.

    Patricia Kayden

    Yay re the news that Assange’s cat has been safely rehomed. I can’t imagine how happy it is to be away from that stinky living situation and that nasty looking man. **shudders**

  99. 99.

    debbie

    @Kay:

    It wasn’t that great.

    QFT. The world is still suffering from the 1980s. Remember “Greed is good”? :P

  100. 100.

    WereBear

    @satby: It’s also a power thing.

    I misspoke in my comment above: I can pick up situational cues in most environments. But so many men have been trained to just not worry about what other people think. They are the Big Dog who makes the rules…

  102. 102.

    Ken

    @NotMax:

    What really grates are the weirdos who, on first meeting, rush to embrace and hold it forever, then spout some mumbo-jumbo about “your aura was unbalanced.”

    Seize them by the neck, twist briskly, and say “You had a vertebral subluxation.”

  103. 103.

    Patricia Kayden

    @David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch: I’m fine with Biden but I hope that he is able to be less gaffe prone during the election cycle. And he needs to stop praising evil men like Pence. This is going to be an ugly campaign since Trump and his minions are going to go all out to steal another presidential election.

  104. 104.

    Kay

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    I touch people’s arms when I’m talking to them sometimes

    I’m not very demonstrative and I don’t mind that. It’s usually because the person is worked up and engaged and I like those sorts of people :)

    I’m fine with people having different levels- I just think someone like Biden needs to consider the other person, which is the other half of this exchange. If they stiffen up let them go.

  107. 107.

    rikyrah

    @Patricia Kayden:
    This. I have absolutely no patience for anyone spouting that there are good people on the other side.
    No, there are not. And, the Democratic Party standard bearer shouldn’t be saying it.
    Period ??

  108. 108.

    Kay

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    When my daughter was little she was tiny and really cute and people would pick her up. She was fucking furious and they’d never notice. I was so proud of her when she’d say “put me down“. Like a QUEEN. How dare you, sir!

  110. 110.

    satby

    @NotMax: you would not believe how popular patchouli is at the farmers market of this college town. It continues to astonish me every week. Talk about back to the 70s.

    So funny, as I was writing this Hershey dog was snoring but apparently having a very happy dream. His tail is thumping the floor so hard I can’t believe he doesn’t wake himself up.

  111. 111.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @rikyrah:

    David Emandi, the newly minted state ethics commission director in Georgia, announced almost immediately upon taking office that he’d be issuing subpoenas to investigate bank records from former gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams’ 2018 race.
    …………………..
    Emandi, who donated to Abrams’ opponent Brian Kemp’s successful gubernatorial campaign, is being accused of partisanship, since all of the candidates he mentioned investigating (alongside Abrams) are also Democrats. His commission reportedly claims to have also audited the filings of Republican gubernatorial candidates as well, but found no irregularities.

    See? Both sides….

  112. 112.

    debbie

    @Kay:

    Good for your daughter! I was one of those, but I could never speak up. “Stop calling me Lambchop, lady!”

  114. 114.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @satby: I am one of those people who actually find patchouli pleasant, but all things in moderation please.

  116. 116.

    germy

    My neighbor's child watched me frantically fight a bug out of my hair in the driveway and now the power dynamic between us has irreparably shifted.
    — Elizabeth Hackett (@LizHackett) March 29, 2019

  118. 118.

    Mai Naem mobile

    @Baud: Bannon can’t be bothered to blame Benedi ct or John Paul. It’s all magically Francis’ fault. I’m sure it has nothing to do with Francis being considered more liberal as in general word liberal .

  121. 121.

    OzarkHillbilly

    New Government Data Shows Trump Wanted to Close the Wrong Border

    Last week, Trump threatened to close officials ports of entry along the Mexican border, citing security concerns. But of the foreigners convicted of crimes in the United States or abroad who were stopped by CBP at ports of entry from October 2016 to February 2019, 43 percent arrived at the northern border, 42 percent at airports or ports, and just 15 percent at the southern border, according to a CBP spokeswoman.

    So why the obsession with the Mexican border? I just can’t figure it out.

  123. 123.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    As I think about the horror I see some folks express over “privacy” around tax returns, I’m reminded how odd we Americans are about money. We (using that word loosely) revere money, but we don’t want our salaries shared, frex. What is it we’re hiding here (assuming we’re not a crook)?

  124. 124.

    Soprano2

    Has anyone else see the claim online that Glenn Simpson wrote the dossier in 2007 and then inserted Trump’s name when it was done in 2016? Evidently the WSJ published an article that has them all a-flutter over this. I can’t read it since I don’t subscribe.

  125. 125.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @satby: Back when I was traveling thru Mexico on a semi regular basis, I’d always make a special effort at the markets to find and bring back some copal. It’s still a favorite scent of mine. Got to thinking about it and now I’m gonna get some off the internet.

    @NotMax: Whoa! I’d forgotten how horrible fashion sense among certain segments was back then.

  127. 127.

    geg6

    @Kay:

    There are plenty of huggy people who are also thoughtful and aware enough to pick up cues when the touching is unwelcome, so they put themselves second to the other person and refrain.

    Really? Because I have yet to meet one.

    I’m one of those people who really hates hates hates for other people to touch me, with a very few exceptions such as my sisters and nieces and my John. So I totally get how creeped out some of these people are about Joe’s space invasions. But I do know a lot of people who are just like Joe–of both sexes and, actually, many more females than males. So I tend to thinking that Joe’s transgressions are no big deal and no worse than others who do this.

  135. 135.

    Kay

    @geg6:

    I just hate how Biden says “this is just the way I am!” Well, the same is true of less demonstrative people. That’s just the way we are. If I’m willing to allow for him, why won’t he return the favor?

    But some people really do pick up on it. I was having “heated” negotiations with a contractor over an estimate v a bill (heated to him- to me it’s Tuesday) and he got worked up and moved really close. He’s kind of an excitable person. He mentioned it. Checked himself. Joked that he would just go back to his chair now. He knew he had crossed some line.

  136. 136.

    satby

    @Kathleen: @geg6: the Wilmerites certainly do, which is why they keep trying to land punches on him. My son and younger relatives were all in on Wilmer last time, but they like having more and younger choices this time.
    This sparks much joy for me.

  138. 138.

    OzarkHillbilly

    No honor among thieves (or con artists):

    “I’ve lost my home, my insurance, what little savings I had, my ability to make a living because people pay me to write and talk, and of course the things they want me to write and talk about are the very things I’m not allowed to talk and write about. In the blink of an eye you can lose everything,” he said.

    “I have to pay everything I have to lawyers,” Stone continued. “And I could no longer pay the rent in the property that I was in. I moved from a nine-bedroom house to a one-bedroom apartment. Had to do the move myself with my wife renting a truck. On the last day of the move in kind of a freak accident the truck slips out of gear and rolls over my wife’s ankle, breaking it.”

    As far as friends go, Stone “really” misses Trump, who he hasn’t spoken to in nearly two years, and feels abandoned by Alex Jones, who isn’t selling his Stone t-shirts and hasn’t offered a dime to his legal defense fund.

    “I am grateful for Alex Jones for giving me a platform. He is a friend of mine. I like the guy, I like hanging out with him. I do not agree with everything he says, I agree with some of the things he says. He probably doesn’t agree with everything I say. But you know, the check would be nice.”

    All together now,

    “Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww………….. Pobrecito…”

  139. 139.

    Spanky

    Close but no cigar:

    Beresheet, a modest Israeli spacecraft with the audacious aim of making a soft landing on the moon, came close but ultimately failed in its goal on Thursday. The probe crashed on the lunar surface after engine and communication troubles arose shortly before its planned touchdown. The vehicle, engineered by an Israeli nonprofit organization called SpaceIL, would have been the first private spacecraft to make a lunar landing—and would have made Israel only the fourth country to do so, after the U.S., the former Soviet Union and China.

    “Well, we didn’t make it, but we definitely tried,” said SpaceIL president Morris Kahn during a live broadcast of the landing attempt. “I think the achievement of getting to where we got is really tremendous. I think we can be proud.”

    Quote is from Scientific American, and I think it’s behind a pay wall. (Can’t tell for sure, since I’m a subscriber.)

  140. 140.

    rikyrah

    @Baud:

    Steve Bannon is taking on Pope Francis! I guess he thinks America is a lost cause for him. Good.

    WHY is he given a platform to talk about anything?

  142. 142.

    Doug R

    @OzarkHillbilly: HBO is what, $15 a month? The 8 or so episodes of GOT should take about 2 months plus HBO generally lets you stream on demand ALL shows it has currently running. That’s a lot of entertainment for about $30.

  143. 143.

    Just One More Canuck

    @Baud: there are plenty of reasons to dislike BS. His pie-in-the sky, magical unicorn, then-a-miracle-occurs economic projections were enough for me

  145. 145.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @NotMax: Anything more than he has now? How low does one have to go to stoop to begging from Alex Jones?

    Oh and, Hey Roger, the American people would be more than happy to relieve you of the combined burdens of rent, utilities, clothing, transportation, food, etc. Heck, we’ll even spring for the movers.

  146. 146.

    zhena gogolia

    @zhena gogolia:

    P.S. I read the Vanity Fair article on Beto, and I liked him much less after reading it.

    But at this point, I like having him and Buttigieg in the race if they’re drawing off bros from Sanders.

  148. 148.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Doug R: It wouldn’t be $30 tho. More like $1230+ after signing the minimum one year contract for satellite (no cable out here). I think I’ll save the $1200 that the basic plan I would never watch any of would cost me, and just buy the DVD set for… $35.

  149. 149.

    Kathleen

    The Principal at a school in my neighborhood would walk the streets every day looking for truants and telling them to get to school.

  150. 150.

    germy

    Beresheet, a modest Israeli spacecraft with the audacious aim of making a soft landing on the moon, came close but ultimately failed in its goal on Thursday.

    Bibi wants to build settlements on the moon? Maybe he can annex Tranquility Base.

  152. 152.

    germy

    @NotMax: Our library’s DVD and CD collection seems to grow every day. Box sets of TV shows, movies, documentaries. It’s how we binge watched all the earlier seasons of Doc Martin.

  153. 153.

    Betty

    @satby: For me, it isn’t Joe’s hugging. It is coming up behind a smaller person and putting your hands on them, without warning. I would hate that. If you approach me from the front, I can decide how to react, return a big hug or hold you off a bit.

  154. 154.

    Kraux Pas

    @rikyrah:

    A serious question for supporters of Julian Assange and WikiLeaks: Why have they NEVER released any secret government or military documents that were harmful to Putin or Russia?

    Wikileaks doesn’t want to compromise one of its main sources.

  157. 157.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @NotMax: No, but our library is having trouble putting books on the shelves much less movies. In defense of the local citizenry, they just opened a brand new library which is really very nice compared to the old moldering facility. It had to have cost a pretty penny. It is quite spacious…. Which leads me to think (hope) they have big dreams of filling that space with books and people.

  160. 160.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Doug R: Yeah, but so much TV is such drivel that the only thing I really miss is baseball. Besides, I know my weaknesses and I would end up wasting hours channel surfing instead of reading a book or magazine.

  162. 162.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @raven: And you need a refresher course in spelling. “Canon” doesn’t mean what you think it does; you want “cannon”.

  163. 163.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @NotMax: No, we have Hughes Satellite for internet. Not perfect, weather can disrupt, my wife complains about the speed and her downloads have to be done between 2 and 6 am iirc. It works fine for my limited purposes but my wife would give her left tit for fiber optic or even just cable (which we had when we lived in town).

  164. 164.

    tobie

    @geg6: I rewatched Buttigieg’s interviews with Chuck Todd and Chris Wallace yesterday and two things struck me: he rags on the Democratic Party a lot and presents himself as something of a savior of the party. Chris Wallace asked him to justify his candidacy and he said, “It’s what the country needs.” I found that response unnerving. In terms of positions, he’s a moderate Democrat. There’s scarcely a difference between him and Amy Klobuchar ideologically. She got criticized for saying the Green New Deal is aspirational but out of his mouth, it’s presented as wise, independent, and thoughtful. I don’t get it.

  165. 165.

    Miss Bianca

    @satby: I am absolutely a non-hugger, “shake hands” kind of gal. I have had to learn to tolerate being hugged by strangers because that seems to be the norm out here – at least among my “hipneck” clan – but I don’t like it, and I particularly don’t like it when it’s strange men rushing in to get all huggy. I have disconcerted people (read, “guys”) by sticking my hand out to shake hands when they are rushing in to get more physical, that’s how much I dislike it. I am about as WASP as it’s possible to get, and my family was not a touchy-feely one, so maybe that has something to do with it.

    I will say that if Uncle Joe rushed in for a hug, I’d probably tolerate it. Hair-smelling, on the other hand, would be right out. ; )

  167. 167.

    NotMax

    @MomSense

    Glad to hear it. Fair notice to keep some tissues at the ready. As it proceeds it doesn’t shirk from dealing with some of the more somber circumstances which can occur during this thing we call life.

  169. 169.

    scav

    @Kay: Yup. We are just the way we are. I must have permently warped my poor mother as I was her first and often the way to stop me crying was to put me down. Luckily, she eventually figured it out. Also to ask before hugging because if touched unexpectedly I jumped half a block (that I’ve managed to moderate as a startle reflex).

  170. 170.

    rikyrah

    @Kay:

    Jeb Bush was central to voter suppression in Florida. Voting rights are a top three issue for Democrats. Biden thinks Jeb did a great job. This will happen weekly with him. He was on the wrong side of nearly every issue as a senator. Over and over and over.

    Like I wrote above..I have no interest in a Democratic Standard Bearer trying to tell me that the other side has good people.
    No..they don’t.

  171. 171.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @rikyrah: I got hooked, hard, when they killed off a main character in a very brutal and final fashion in the first season. It was a “this show is different” moment. Sometimes it wanders and gets a little lost in the details or wastes time with belabored nudity (or violence for that matter, some of the battle scenes last so long they get boring), but overall it is very entertaining.

  172. 172.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @tobie:

    She got criticized for saying the Green New Deal is aspirational but out of his mouth, it’s presented as wise, independent, and thoughtful. I don’t get it.

    Ah, but I think you do. ;)

    It’s the requisite outer parts, aided by pigmentation. (Not Pete’s fault for how MSM fluffs him, but his policy positions are fair game, IMHO.)

    ETA: Final Dem candidate, broken glass, &c &c.

  173. 173.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @Betty Cracker: Thank You!!! You don’t have to be a world-class Feminist to know that that behavior (hair-kissing, coming up behind someone etc.) is creepy as F…

    “Don’t touch people” is a pretty simple guideline to follow in 2019. If my 5 year old students can understand that, 70-something, rich, white men should be able to as well. And having known many creepy guys personally let me just add that the whole “he just does this to everyone” is not an excuse. They are extra-handsy to a lot of people so that when someone they really want to touch comes around, they can get even more inappropriate and still have plausible deniability. It’s all about creating a reputation as toucher so that they can touch people when those people might not want to be touched.

  174. 174.

    Miss Bianca

    @rikyrah: I’m with you on this one. Just.So.Done. One of the reasons I didn’t support my eventual Democratic candidate for Congress in the primary was because she kept making this big point about how skilled she was at bipartisanship and “reaching across the aisle”. I was like, “lady, I don’t want to hear that. I want to hear about how you’re going to FIGHT these mofos, because they can’t be reasoned with.”

  175. 175.

    rikyrah

    @tobie:

    @geg6: I rewatched Buttigieg’s interviews with Chuck Todd and Chris Wallace yesterday and two things struck me: he rags on the Democratic Party a lot and presents himself as something of a savior of the party

    uh huh
    uh huh

    phuck.outta.here.

  177. 177.

    tobie

    @O. Felix Culpa: My beef with him has been and continues to be that he doesn’t have the experience to be President. Maybe a mayor of a city as large as Los Angeles or New York would have the experience of running a huge bureaucracy, negotiating trade agreements with domestic and international partners, establishing a civil rights division, handling multiple revenue streams etc. but that’s generally not the case for small-town mayors. The only equivalent I can think of would be to make the owner of a small business with 10 employees CEO of a multinational with 55,000 employees. Is it theoretically possible that the individual could do a good job? Yes. Is it a huge gamble? Also, yes.

    ETA: I also like the Democratic party and don’t think it abandoned the rust belt in terms of policies in the last 20 years.

  178. 178.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @tobie: @tobie: Agreed. I can see how the rust belt feels undermined by NAFTA, but that’s outside my area of expertise to evaluate specifically although I think that off-shoring would have happened regardless, as manufacturers chase cheap labor. My concern with Mayor Pete is that he appears to be positioning himself as the WWC-whisperer and unnecessarily taking potshots at HRC. I understand how he needs to position himself as more centrist locally, but I don’t like it in a national aspirant. That said, I am leery of quick judgments and excess pillorying since some (much?) of that might be coming from Wilmerites who perceive a threat to their guy.

  179. 179.

    chopper

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    On the last day of the move in kind of a freak accident the truck slips out of gear and rolls over my wife’s ankle, breaking it.

    yeah, moving trucks are always slipping out of gear. big issue with uhauls.

  180. 180.

    Miss Bianca

    @O. Felix Culpa: @tobie: I find myself more annoyed by the “oh, thank God, a WHITE GUY to save us!” vibe I get off all the people who are high on Wilmer, Biden, Beto, and Mayor Pete. It’s just depressing to me how that nexus of racism and misogyny keeps trapping people I think of as good Democrats. Plus, the sheer gall of thinking that being a mayor of a mid-sized city is “what America needs” in a POTUS. Of course, the fact that Trump has set the bar so fucking low means that yeah, at least Pete *does* have more governmental experience than than the current POTUS, but dammit, I want Democrats to insist on setting that bar HIGH again.

  182. 182.

    Kathleen

    @Miss Bianca: That is a real thing. If I weren’t relegated to my phone right now I’d share my story about encounter with CNN reporter during 2008 campaign.

  183. 183.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @NotMax: Ha, nice flashback to my teenage wasteland years, which weren’t half wastelanded enough – if only I’d had any inkling I’d survive to my current superannuated decrepitude… (Curious factoid: The SAC keyboardist is a dread wringer for my li’l bro in his 20s.)

  184. 184.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @Spanky: Repeating my thought from down below FWIW: Next try Israel could do the home planet a mitzvah by stuffing NuttinYahoo into the payload compartment just before launch.

  185. 185.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @rikyrah: Apparently that scroungy-arsed momser is unaware that Frankie is a (ETA: fully-paid-up member of the Society of Jesus, i.e. a) Jebbie. One does not fuck with a Jebbie Papa unless seeking martyrdom beneath the wheels of the Popemobile.

  186. 186.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @Miss Bianca: Don’t disagree. I nearly bit the head off a dear friend who first dissed (in my view) Elizabeth Warren because She’s Schoolmarmy And Not Like Working Class Folks (even though her actual personal history suggests otherwise) and then lauded Pete because he’s the next Great White Male Hope And Is One With The WWC (even though his actual personal history suggests otherwise). I think Pete has something to offer and seems like a good guy, but I seriously bristle at the ongoing unrecognized misogyny in our midst.

  187. 187.

    WaterGirl

    @Another Scott: I wonder if Buttigieg has a bigger head (my head is bigger than average) or if they sized his photo just a little bit larger than the others. He clearly has the most prominent position at middle front.

    Bernie’s not a democrat, so anything that stacks the deck against him is okay by me. Is that wrong?

  188. 188.

    WaterGirl

    @Betty Cracker: Every time someone talks about Biden’s hair sniffing I restrain myself from talking about how my dog Tucker does that. Bailey used to do it, also, even though they weren’t alive at the same time.

    Tucker LOVES hair product, and sadly for him I don’t really wear any, so if you use a lot of hair product or have a really yummy smelling shampoo, he tries to rub his face in your hair. It’s pretty funny with a dog, and people always just giggle if that happens, but it is definitely creepy behavior in a grown man.

    I have always loved Biden, but this paternal attitude of his towards women as he says he understands and he won’t do it anymore and then he makes disrespectful jokes about it or just does it again a day or so later… well he’s not a dog and he should know better.

    I can’t believe that Jill isn’t humiliated over this whole thing. We have an abundance of good candidates this time around, and I am really feeling like this 2020 run of Joe Biden’s is all about Joe wanting to be president and not about what the country needs, so I find that I am growing more and more disappointed in Joe. It’s time to let the next generation take the lead.

  189. 189.

    WaterGirl

    @OzarkHillbilly: You can sign up for HBO Now — without having cable or satellite or anything. I just did it yesterday so I know. I can watch it on my phone, my iPad, my laptop or my Apple TV. And I can cancel whenever I want. $15 a month.

    HBO GO requires the cable or satellite, etc. but HBO Now does not.

    You have the same access to all the current shows and all shows in HBO inventory regardless of whether you have HBO GO or HBO Now.

  190. 190.

    WaterGirl

    @OzarkHillbilly: You could also get yourself Apple TV and subscribe to major league baseball. You might be able to do something like that with roku or something else but I have no familiarity with them.

    I just googled. If the pricing below is still available, you could get all MLB teams for 50 bucks.

    This package allows you to select one team only and watch out-of-market regular season games live or on demand. For full access to all teams and additional MLB.TV features, subscribe to the All Teams package for $24.99 a month or $115.99 a year, currently discounted to $49.99 a year.

  191. 191.

    WaterGirl

    @tobie: After watching/listening to at least half a dozen hour-long town halls or interviews, I wouldn’t say that Buttigiieg is a moderate democrat at all. He very much holds progressive positions.

    edit: wow, this is a record for me. 5 comments on a totally dead thread!

  192. 192.

    tobie

    @WaterGirl: I actually think it’s prudent to say that any move to single payer is going to involve a period of transition and that the best way to manage that transition is to offer a Medicare-, Medicaid-, or public option buy-in and I’m happy that this has become the mainstream position on the Democratic side this time around. (Wilmer’s the outlier.) The same holds true for debt-free college (Hillary’s brainchild) and the goal of complete carbon neutrality by 2050, as the IPCC recommends, though with a push for earlier if possible. As I said, all these positions are at this point mainstream on the Democratic side, and I could easily add to the list. My issues with Buttigieg are of a different nature and have, among other things, to do with the strawman of the party he’s set up, as if the party’s to blame for alienating midwestern voters and the WWC and, more importantly, as if Republicans had not worked overtime to disenfranchise millions in rustbelt states like WI, MI, OH, and IN. It’s not an accident the Democrats have done poorly in these states in recent years. The problems are structural, not cultural, IMO.

  194. 194.

    WaterGirl

    @tobie: Example 1: Israel

    Thank you!! I highly disagree with Netanyahu and people will call me anti Semitic for it (meanwhile I’m Jewish!). Disagreeing with Israeli policy and their current government isn’t anti Semitic.
    – Pete Buttigieg (April 6)

    Pete Buttigieg
    Verified account
    Apr 6

    Pete Buttigieg Retweeted Haaretz.com
    This provocation is harmful to Israeli, Palestinian, and American interests. Supporting Israel does not have to mean agreeing with Netanyahu‘s politics. I don’t. This calls for a president willing to counsel our ally against abandoning a two-state solution.

  195. 195.

    tobie

    @WaterGirl: I’d actually be interested in gathering all the candidates’ statements on Israel. O’Rourke said the following four or five days ago:

    “That relationship, if it is to be successful, must transcend partisanship in the United States, and it must be able to transcend a prime minister who is racist, as he warns about Arabs coming to the polls, who wants to defy any prospect for peace as he threatens to annex the West Bank, and who has sided with a far-right, racist party in order to maintain his hold on power,” O’Rourke said.
    O’Rourke continued, saying he did not believe Netanyahu “represents the true will of the Israeli people” or the “best interests” of the relationship between the US and Israel. He went on to endorse a two-state solution to achieve peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

    Sounds like the two agree on the substance. As a Jewish-American I take offense at Buttigieg’s use of the tired canard, “Just because I criticize Israel doesn’t mean I’m anti-Semitic.” No one’s accusing him of that so why say it?

  196. 196.

    a thousand flouncing lurkers (was fidelio)

    @satby: I think part of it has nothing to do with sex, and a lot more to do with the fact that people who REALLY don’t like being touched unawares and without permission are now in a position to say so, loudly and in public and find other people who agree with them. I’m not in the Touch-me-not camp, but I’m not much of a casual hugger, especially with people I don’t know well and can sympathize with people who are even worse than I am. There are also a lot of valid reasons people in the Touch-me-not group feel that way, and we shouldn’t just dismiss it all as a puritanistic view of physicality. Then there are those pointing out that not being allowed to set your own boundaries here leaves people open to physical abuse; I think they have a point we shouldn’t ignore.

  197. 197.

    Another Scott

    @WaterGirl: Pete is shorter than Obama, and his head doesn’t seem especially big.

    Wilmer is much shorter than Obama, and his head is roughly the same size.

    I still think they’re playing games with the relative sizes of the people in that image.

    Yeah, I’m with you on weakening Wilmer. ;-) But weakening Donnie and his minions – and not weakening our side before we even get started – is more important. The press shouldn’t be doing this crap.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  198. 198.

    Dan B

    @rikyrah: When you add up the facts Cory Booker looks a lot like Buttigieg. What medua types look fir is a story / narrative arc. Cory is black. Pete is gay. Gay pres is new = storyline. Cory is “coastal”. Pete is midwest.
    Another set of stories is conflict. Pete is vet. Trump is not. Pete is gay christian. Pence is anti gay christian. Pete is “gay christian. Media has not seen these except in tearing apart denominations.
    There are more examples. The next gay pres candidate is probably going to be old news.

    It infuriates me but until we return to the Fairness Doctrine and figure out how to crowd fund a powerful non profit media we’re not going to hear much about my top three favorites: Harris, Warren, and Castro.

    I’d love to have a front pager deep dive into Harris, for starters. Or at least a regular debunking if the “cop locking up thousands ot truants” trope. I’ve read them but would welcome the truth being repeated until we’re all furious about the false smears.

    I’d also like to know more about whether or not she is a centrist or is a pragmatic progressive.

  199. 199.

    WaterGirl

    @tobie:

    As a Jewish-American I take offense at Buttigieg’s use of the tired canard, “Just because I criticize Israel doesn’t mean I’m anti-Semitic.” No one’s accusing him of that so why say it?

    Why? Have you not been paying attention? To republicans nearly every criticism of Israel it is an opportunity to accuse that person of being anti-Semitic. I see nothing wrong with pre-empting the accusation with a statement.

  200. 200.

    Original Lee

    @OzarkHillbilly: He’s mad at Mexico for confiscating his hotel in Cancun thirty years ago. Never mind that the workers he imported from New Jersey destroyed antiquities.

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