.
Like earthquakes, wildfires, and floods, recessions are recurring problems. And as with those (other) ‘natural’ catastrophes, it’s easier to prepare for them in advance and survive them afterwards if we’re not dependent on grifters, political cultists, and soggy-brained showboaters…
Trump just now on the economy: “I don’t see a recession. I mean, the world is in a recession right now. Although, that’s too big a statement.”
— Felicia Sonmez (@feliciasonmez) August 18, 2019
Recapping this morning's messaging from the White House: The economy is doing great.
There definitely won't be a recession.
PANIC PANIC PANIC https://t.co/C27FthwBNp— Binyamin Appelbaum (@BCAppelbaum) August 19, 2019
Echoing the infamous and politically-deadly McCain quote from 2008 https://t.co/pGLUEDO8pO
— Sam Stein (@samstein) August 19, 2019
Catherine Rampell, at the Washington Post — “Move over, Illuminati. The conspiracy against Trump’s economy is massive”:
… Trump, aided by his economic brain trust of cranks and sycophants, believes any indicator showing the U.S. economy could be in trouble must be fabricated. It’s all part of an anti-Trump conspiracy, he rants, according to reports in The Post, the Associated Press and the New York Times.
And move over, Illuminati, because this particular conspiracy is massive.
It’s led by the Federal Reserve, Democrats and the media, of course, or so say Trump and his Fox News minions. But it also includes the entire U.S. bond market, which flashed a warning sign last week when the Treasury yield curve inverted (meaning long-term bonds had lower interest rates than short-term ones, which usually predates a downturn).
Also colluding are the many farmers, retailers, manufacturers and economists who have been warning for more than a year that the burden of Trump’s tariffs is mainly borne by Americans, not China or other trading partners, and also that uncertainty over trade tensions can paralyze hiring, investment and purchasing decisions, which we need to keep the economy expanding…
The White House has reportedly declined to develop contingency plans for a downturn because it doesn’t want to validate this “negative narrative.” This is, in a word, idiotic. As others have analogized, it’s like refusing to buy a fire extinguisher because you’re afraid of feeding a “negative narrative” that you might someday face a fire.
Administration officials decided the best way to deal with recession risk, which they of course aren’t personally worried about, was through a show of force on TV. There, Trump’s economic advisers assured Americans they definitely, certainly, cross-their-hearts-and-hope-to-die don’t see reason to worry…
… Kudlow’s call for optimism has a whiff of Peter Pan logic about it: If only we believe in fairies hard enough, we can always save Tinker Bell — even when we’re sending her out into a hailstorm. If you believe, clap your hands; don’t let Tink die!
It’s hard to imagine nervous Americans are really this credulous. Then again, perhaps we were never the intended audience for such performances. Sure, maybe White House aides are trying to fool the public into believing recession warning signs don’t exist. But maybe they’re actually just trying to fool their boss.
A frightening conspiracy theory, indeed.
Asked about our report that Larry Kudlow is expected to leave his post in the comings months, Trump says, "I hope not. I love Larry Kudlow. I think he's done a fantastic job. He has been going through health problems, as you know…" https://t.co/6VJOaY57uG
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) August 19, 2019
Oh. Oh my. pic.twitter.com/sD3ZBjGITr
— Daniel W. Drezner (@dandrezner) August 19, 2019
.
rikyrah
Good Morning, Everyone ? ??
?BillinGlendaleCA
@rikyrah: Morning.
Baud
@rikyrah:
Good morning.
Patricia Kayden
It’s shocking that a man who bankrupted several businesses including a freaking casino is now hard at work destroying our economy.
SFAW
I find myself wishing more and more for a modern Kevin Uxbridge to rid us of these bargain-basement, grifting Husnock. Every fucking one of them.
Marcus
When we slide below the zero boundary, and we hit the liquidity trap, what name will the White House come up with – Great Recession 2.0: Electric Boogaloo?
Ryan
Maybe putting Kudlow out there on Sunday wasn’t the best way to reassure people.
satby
@Ryan:
Fixed that for you.
@rikyrah: Good morning ?
OzarkHillbilly
This is what you get when you put Republicans in charge. WASF.
JPL
@Marcus: He’ll just tell his base there is no recession. It’s part of the who you going to believe, me or your lying eyes approach.
mrmoshpotato
@Patricia Kayden:
Fixed.
mrmoshpotato
@Marcus: Given these bastards’ willingness to baldly lie to your face. I’ll take No Recession, No Recession, You’re The Recession! SAD!
satby
I hate the shorter days already. Should be light by now ?
I’ve been up since 4, so I could be unfairly impatient here.
mrmoshpotato
@OzarkHillbilly: Ozark, the tax cuts will pay for themselves!
mrmoshpotato
@satby: Have you considered summering in the Arctic?
OzarkHillbilly
@mrmoshpotato: Over and over in stock buybacks.
OzarkHillbilly
@satby: With shorter days come cooler temps and lower humidity. A wee reminder.
Baud
@OzarkHillbilly:
And the death of weeds.
ETA: and skeeters.
Raven
Yea, lets have a payroll tax cut right when I go off the payroll!
mrmoshpotato
@Baud: And the return of favorite TV shows.
Marcus
The fear I have, is that in the quantitive easing of buying assets, that they will buy basically worthless assets. Grifters got a grift 24/7/365…
raven
Shot a man in Denver
Over some money owed
So she told me
That I had to go
But I paid my time
And a new life is gonna be mine
And a new life is gonna be mine
OzarkHillbilly
The logic here must stand on it’s head to work: “The perpetrator was nondescript and did not stand out, therefor we must make our suspect nondescript and not standing out.” If the perp had had facial tattoos, don’t you think at least some of the victims would have noticed? As long as they were altering photos, they should have photo shopped a hoodie, baseball cap, and sunglasses into the pictures. I mean, if they were looking for an accurate representation of the actual perpetrator.
This just brings into sharp relief how ridiculously unreliable eyewitness testimony is.
Raven
@OzarkHillbilly: Ghost Face Gangsters
Chyron HR
“Only by letting innumerate nazis destroy the country can we create a universal government-funded health care program.” – Bernie Sanders, probably
satby
@mrmoshpotato: I was tempted until it was as hot as here.
satby
@OzarkHillbilly: @Baud: @mrmoshpotato: oh, all right. You’ve all convinced me.
Except it’s already almost 75° and humid and the sun isn’t even up yet.
mrmoshpotato
@Chyron HR: And his supporters will figure out the details.
raven
Air Mattress attack!
OzarkHillbilly
@raven:
I gonna buy me a ticket now, as far as I can
Ain’t a-never comin’ back
Ride me a Southbound
All the way to Georgia now
Till the train run out of track
mrmoshpotato
@satby: That’s the spirit! Enjoy it now because the day will be hotter.
Oh wait. I’m taking the wrong thing away from this.
Raven
@OzarkHillbilly: They really was good!
OzarkHillbilly
@satby: That’s when you look at the forecast and say to yourself, 2 more days, just 2 more, then I get a break.
mrmoshpotato
@raven: We have angered the air mattresses. We’re inviting our own destruction.
Raven
@OzarkHillbilly: It’s 68 here but going back up. There was some serious damage last night.
satby
@OzarkHillbilly: yeah, if the nights are cool and less humid, I can get through the days. It will be drastically better here by Thursday too.
First world problems. Speak of, my exchange daughter from 2016 is back doing a university semester in San Antonio, TX. She’s from Bahrain, and she can’t believe how hot Texas is.
Baud
Not really new information in the story, but I’d imagine the Bros will use it to call out the heretics today.
MagdaInBlack
@satby:
If it helps, I’ll be spending day 3 in a body shop with no a/c. Think big metal building with giant oven (paint booth) inside. We got the bid for new system yesterday. It will take at least a week to wend it’s way thru the corporate approval process. And then…..who knows.
I know it didnt help, I just needed to whine. ??
Baud
OzarkHillbilly
@Raven: Storms into the wkend but the heat breaks on Thursday.
Raven
@MagdaInBlack: they’re not body shops but you still see auto repair places with hoists outside around here.
Our KIA goes in the body shop this morning. The backup camera didn’t help her when she banged into the palm tree.
JPL
@satby: San Antonio is a beautiful city though and I hope she enjoys her stay.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@satby:
It ain’t a dry heat in Texas.
OzarkHillbilly
@satby:
It’s hot, but it’s a wet, soggy, don’t need a pool to go swimmin’ heat.
satby
@MagdaInBlack: sympathy! I’ll be at the market, which is a square uninsulated metal building in full sun surrounded by blacktop. But I have a fan ?
JPL
@OzarkHillbilly: It’s suppose to cool off this weekend. Raven was mentioning damage from storms yesterday and the rain passed me by. A few miles north of me they had two plus inches.
OzarkHillbilly
@Raven:
Heh. My wife is terrible at backing up. Parallel parking is an adventure.
OzarkHillbilly
Jeffrey Epstein signed a will just two days before his death
My only question is, why did he bother?
Baud
@OzarkHillbilly:
Kind of undercuts the assassination theories.
debbie
@OzarkHillbilly:
Every.Fucking.Time. It’s like I’m listening to George W. Bush all over again.
satby
@debbie: hard to believe that GWB almost looks sane by comparison. They just knew how to keep the crazy on the down-low back then.
OzarkHillbilly
@Baud: Pretty much all the evidence undercuts the assassination theories.
@debbie: A more ignorant and less eloquent W at that.
MomSense
Some douchebag checkmark on twitter did a scoldy post about how terrible it is millenials haven’t saved money for the recession that is coming. The responses from millennials were hilarious. They were talking about all the interest their savings accounts had been accruing at .09%.
The pundits seem to be going back to their old Americans are spending above their means, not saving, buying too much house routine. Let’s just ignore the terrible economic policies of the GOP and their president. Let’s just ignore stagnant wages and rising expenses. Let’s pretend student loan debt isn’t a factor.
How about those pay for themselves tax cuts for all those job creators? So far they’ve only increased the deficits without all the jobs.
Baud
@OzarkHillbilly:
I find so much evidence pointing to one conclusion suspicious.
debbie
@MomSense:
Wait, how are they getting .09%? My damn bank only offers .01%.
Betty Cracker
@Baud: Saw some criticism from that quarter yesterday about Harris’s healthcare comments. I’m hoping against hope that the candidates don’t get too into the weeds on healthcare reform. Talking about their overall vision about it is a good thing, and to the extent there are real differences in opinion on the end state, e.g., whether a single payer system is better than a hybrid system with universal coverage, there’s merit in arguing about those particulars. But getting into the weeds beyond that would not only be pointless since nothing is happening immediately, it will lead to counterproductive infighting, IMO. That’s probably where we’re heading, but I wish we weren’t.
Mart
I think the recession is an evil Republican plan. Large tax cuts for the richest folks and corporations exploding the deficit when it should be receding during an extended expansion. Dem gets to be President. Recession hits like it always does after an artificial boost. No money in the till for stimulus. Economic ruin under the Dems, so R’s get back in charge. Now they only have money for military and interest on debt; so they take away all the nice things from the little people for their own good. They might have miss-timed the recession a bit. Hell, I am so old I remember Republicans running on establishing rainy day funds during good times…
different-church-lady
@MomSense: I got lost in some Twit-link last night, and saw idiots babbling about how the poor have too much house, and I’m like, “WHAT KIND OF FUCKIN’ IDIOT WORLD DO YOU LIVE IN WHERE THE POOR BUY HOUSES?!?”
different-church-lady
@OzarkHillbilly: Well, someone needs to get custody of the “assets”.
different-church-lady
Sesame Street doesn’t have a “word of the day.”
different-church-lady
@debbie: And I’m pretty sure the only reason we’re getting .01% is because the statement layouts don’t have a third decimal place.
Baud
@different-church-lady:
I’ve always hated how Big Number commercialized Seseme Street. Everything is corrupt.
Steve in the ATL
@OzarkHillbilly: in most states, a will signed 60-90 days before death is not valid. I wonder how this one differs from his previous one.
OzarkHillbilly
@Baud: It’s a sure sign of a conspiracy.
Baud
@Betty Cracker:
The next big upheaval will be when Warrren announces her health care plan. It’s the one big omission in her “I’ve got a plan for that” strategy.
Chyron HR
@different-church-lady:
She means the special version the President’s staff produces in lieu of a traditional daily briefing.
rikyrah
@Baud:
Yeah ????
Mart
@MomSense:
the
With wages what they are, if Americans do not spend above their means then we have a – as said on Sesame Street – recession.
rikyrah
Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) Tweeted:
Trump’s scam is failing him.
* Trump publicly says recession talk is a conspiracy
* But privately, Trump fears economy could hurt his reelection
* To top it all off, Trump laughably claims his tax cut is making ordinary US consumers “rich”
New piece:
https://t.co/77og1N85GT https://twitter.com/ThePlumLineGS/status/1163444753549201408?s=17
OzarkHillbilly
@different-church-lady: Victims.
@Steve in the ATL: I did not know that. I’m curious too.
rikyrah
@Steve in the ATL:
Really?I didn’t know that.
Wow?
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Baud: Does that mean there will be two nights of debate again? At least there’d be fewer people on stage each night.
rikyrah
@Baud:
But, the truth is…Medicare for All wasn’t really MEDICARE for All… So, I have no problem with this.
Gin & Tonic
@OzarkHillbilly: They refer to a “potentially lengthy legal battle.” Thanks, Captain Obvious. This estate will be in probate until my grandkids are old enough to go to law school. It’s like the Attorneys’ Full Employment Act. They are probably overjoyed at his death.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Raven: And start collecting what the payroll tax pays for. Cuts coming soon.
Baud
@Dorothy A. Winsor:
I hadn’t heard that. Right now there are 10 candidates. I think two more are on the bubble. Not sure what they’ll do if there are 12. I think if it stays 10, it’ll be one night.
rikyrah
Tom Watson (@tomwatson) Tweeted:
All out war against Kamala Harris for Team Bernie now, led by senior Sanders guru David Sirota – who is quickly becoming “the face” of the campaign. He who attacks first loses in this particular tilt, methinks. But we shall see. #priceless https://t.co/eIiG04bhIA https://twitter.com/tomwatson/status/1163552739739279360?s=17
rikyrah
@Baud:
Is there a date cutoff point?
Baud
@rikyrah:
From last week.
Baud
@rikyrah:
Points for Harris in my book.
Ken
@Steve in the ATL:
“I leave all my possessions, including the secret cache of the really disgusting blackmail videos, to my good friend Vladimir Putin…”
TS (the original)
@Mart:
I must be older – I remember being taught that in economics 101. Households still do it, just RW governments spend like there is no tomorrow in the good times, so they can tell any other government that they cannot afford the socialism of healthcare and retirement benefits.
rikyrah
?? ?
Martha Beall Mitchell ???️?♀️ (@MarthaBeallMitc) Tweeted:
I wonder how men would feel if the government required a man to get his wife’s permission before a he can get ED pills?
If he’s not married, well he shouldn’t be having sex outside of marriage, so that’s out.
Besides, if God wanted them to have sex they wouldn’t be impotent. https://twitter.com/MarthaBeallMitc/status/1163639307438972928?s=17
OzarkHillbilly
@Gin & Tonic: I just looked it up, he had no children of his own and apparently was never even married. Now I’m really curious as to who he left with this mess.
Steve in the ATL
@Raven: we got nothing in the northern suburbs of Atlanta, but apparently Chattanooga got hit hard too. Sunny and hot (96) today, though.
Spanky
@rikyrah: If Team Bernie wants to make it a binary choice between the Bern and Kamala … well, that would be delicious.
Steeplejack (phone)
@Baud:
Big Number on Sesame Street. They’re not even hiding it!
randy khan
There’s no way he wrote the tweet that includes the phrase “100 basis points.” He wouldn’t know a basis point if it hit him over the head.
OzarkHillbilly
@rikyrah: @Baud: When a supposed front runner is relegated to a desperate fight for 3rd place just to retain a semblance of relevancy….
Steve in the ATL
@Mart: don’t forget the avocado toast!
@rikyrah: @OzarkHillbilly: prevents dying people from leaving their estates to their end of life caretakers, or the last nephew who visited them just before they died over their children, that sort of thing.
We all about education on this blog. Also too, pets and recipes and music.
Betty Cracker
@Baud: Been wondering if Warren will drop a plan on healthcare. Since she’s a cosponsor of Sanders’ Medicare for All bill (along with Harris, Gillibrand, Booker, etc.), maybe she’ll just stick with that. But I think she’s more likely to flesh out the “vision” aspects of it under her own stamp.
Steve in the ATL
@OzarkHillbilly: he could have married one of those girls if he lived in West Virginia, at least with her parents’ permission. Usually only happens with 14-15 year old girls when they are pregnant. Not joking.
Chyron HR
@rikyrah:
I love that Kamala is jockeying with Bernie for 4th place right now, and yet someone in his campaign (spoiler: it’s Bernie) has decided that they need to focus on destroying the uppity negro to the exclusion of anything else, including actually winning.
Baud
@Steeplejack (phone):
Don’t even get me started on The Count. He’s like the Number Industry’s Joe Camel.
Baud
@Chyron HR:
As I noted yesterday, he always attacks through surrogates so he can pretend his hands are clean.
Kay
@OzarkHillbilly:
The only people who can challenge the validity of the will are people who took under a prior will or people who would take if there were no will. His brother is the only person who would take if there were no will. But he created a trust. So the only thing the will does is pass the trust, entire. Then the successor trustee takes over and distributes the assets privately, under the terms of the trust. Other people can still make claims on the estate (which is now in trust for X, Y and Z) but they can’t get anywhere thru the will and probate, because trusts aren’t administered through probate. That’s why people create them.
Frankensteinbeck
@OzarkHillbilly:
Ugh. Not that they would appear in any will, but you just made me realize he must have left some of those poor kids pregnant and abandoned them. UGH.
Kay
@OzarkHillbilly:
I assume the brother (the only person who would take if there is no will) is a beneficiary of the trust, to ensure the brother won’t challenge the will. The will (supposedly) names the brother as the only person who would take with no will, but that’s ordinary- it’s ordinary to list the people who would take so those people can’t claim leaving them out was unintentional.
oldgold
@Steve in the ATL:
I doubt that.
different-church-lady
@Baud:
I’m fine with 1 or 2 getting a little promotional consideration, but 9 is just a bridge too far.
Baud
@different-church-lady:
1 and 2 are gateway numbers though.
Kay
@Betty Cracker:
Warren was lucky in debates. She didn’t get anyone who knew how to attack her on Bernie’s plan. Harris was less lucky and did, but she’s made it worse by seemingly floundering on how to explain her position. The Berniacs are attacking her because she’s vulnerable on it. Warren should be, but just happened not to get into that box.
different-church-lady
@OzarkHillbilly: That’s what I meant.
OzarkHillbilly
@Steve in the ATL:
I know, I live in the Ozarks.
PenAndKey
Pundits started blaming us for the LAST recession when the oldest of our generation were just starting college or still in high school. They’ve made a cottage industry of doing so. Of course they’d start to blame us for this one before it officially starts.
OzarkHillbilly
@different-church-lady: Hey! What about the triple digit numbers??? Nobody ever thinks of them! Especially 697, it’s the most neglected number since 696.
different-church-lady
@rikyrah: I’m sure the cross between a silver fox and a dudebro is gonna help Bernie expand his base beyond exclusively white male beer-tourists.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@rikyrah: August 28, I think.
OzarkHillbilly
@different-church-lady: Whooosh… right over my head. :-(
zhena gogolia
Everyone should take the time to read Nikole Hannah-Jones’s introductory essay to the 1619 Project. It is the most insightful, original, devastating, and eye-opening thing I have ever read in the New York Times.
Betty Cracker
@Kay: True — it was the luck of the draw. Also, now that she’s rising in the polls, Warren will be the candidate other contenders are looking to squash in the next debate, along with Biden. Speaking of which, did you see this? I’m embarrassed for them both, tbh.
“Settle” isn’t great messaging for August 2019, IMO.
different-church-lady
@OzarkHillbilly: My humor is very subtle.
Sometimes to the point of non-existence.
different-church-lady
@Betty Cracker: Can’t someone talk to them?
Kay
@PenAndKey:
I agree completely. Pundits are insufferable on millennials. It’s all just such self-serving nonsense, too. Trust me- I was there. They (we) weren’t any harder working and we certainly weren’t smarter. The whole narrative is bullshit and it isn’t backed up by anything real. Look at any measure- standardized tests, competitiveness of entry into college, cost of college, salaries and benefits, housing costs, childcare costs, and it is objectively more difficult for your generation.
Now that’s fine- it is what is is and you’re dealing, but for them to insist it’s not true is just unacceptable and also self-aggrandizing on their part.
OzarkHillbilly
@different-church-lady: Mine has all the subtlety of a 24 oz framing hammer, to the point of people saying, “Shut up already. We get it.”
different-church-lady
@OzarkHillbilly: C’mon, “framing hammer” is a funny name.
chris
@satby:
Glad I’m not the only one. I tended bar for a few years and that was my first thought. One of those older guys who is always pickled but never quite knee-crawlin’ drunk.
Kay
@Betty Cracker:
I think there’s subtext there. Biden is unpopular with teachers unions, and teachers unions had a couple of really successful years as labor activists, so all Democrats are paying them more attention. The teachers strikes in the last few years were the largest labor actions in decades, and they won a lot. They won the fights and they won some state campaigns. They got some people elected. In PA, in WI, in MI. The big three Trump states. Jill Biden was the Obama Administration smoother-over with teachers unions because they loathed Duncan (for good reason- he’s horrible). Biden will have trouble with them.
But I agree it’s not a great message and it’s too bad because I like her a lot. She seems like a genuinely good person.
Gin & Tonic
@different-church-lady: Ball-peen is funnier.
OzarkHillbilly
@Kay: Butbutbut Kay, we had to walk to school, barefoot, in the snow, uphill both ways.
Steeplejack
@Baud:
Inorite!
Betty Cracker
@Kay: That makes sense — hadn’t thought of the teachers union angle. I also like Jill Biden a lot, so much so that Joe gets credit from me for landing such an accomplished and genuine spouse. :)
Baud
@Betty Cracker:
From the news reports I’ve seen, she was specifically targeting voters who already prefer another candidate. Maybe electability isn’t a great message, but I don’t read her comments as saying “settle” to all voters.
OzarkHillbilly
@different-church-lady: If you think that’s funny, try “waffle head framing hammer”. Of course, it’s not too funny when one misses and it rips half the skin off on it’s way to removing the nail from the end of one’s thumb.
Baud
@OzarkHillbilly:
Well, not haha funny.
different-church-lady
@Gin & Tonic: But over-used.
zhena gogolia
@zhena gogolia:
Just to be fair, I wrote to my friend Dean to thank him for it.
different-church-lady
@Baud:
Problem being that they probably prefer another candidate because “electability” is the sole thing Biden is offering them.
oldgold
@Steve in the ATL:
Are you an experienced probate lawyer?
Baud
@different-church-lady:
Sure. The effort probably won’t have much success, but it’s not a ludicrous attempt. It’s not like Biden is going to change his whole platform to try to appeal to them.
different-church-lady
@Betty Cracker: Maybe Jill needs to be running instead.
Spanky
@Baud: He has a platform?
Baud
@Spanky:
He has policy proposals. I use platform for short. Although perhaps technically only parties have platforms.
different-church-lady
@Baud: He has policy proposals?
Baud
@different-church-lady:
Yes. Probably more than most candidates.
Cacti
@different-church-lady:
His healthcare plan beats the brakes off MFA, and wouldn’t cost us the election.
Unlike those of certain policy mavens who promise to eliminate private health insurance.
germy
schrodingers_cat
The Indian government does not want you to retweet this image. If you are on Twitter or any other social media. Please retweet.
Kay
@Betty Cracker:
They think they have more clout, teachers, and I think they do too. They helped win some state races. They won states back partly because Republicans (of course) went too far Right on public education and with DeVos they’re now in the wacko section of the room. They were not-so-quietly racking up wins in states post-Obama. They aren’t going to be told to sit down again. Mike DeWine has completely dropped the anti-public education rhetoric of Kasich. It’s gone.
germy
We like watching Rick Steves travel shows on PBS.
We were surprised last night to see him do a show on the rise of fascism in Europe. Hitler, Mussolini, Franco… and he kept making comparisons to our present day.
Steve in the ATL
@oldgold: are you?
Ohio Mom
I saw a video of Jill Biden right after Joe announced. She was on some talk show and was describing the discussion the Biden family had had around whether or not he should run.
While her words were, “I think this is great, just what our country needs!”, everything else about her was saying, “Can the floor open up and swallow us all now?” I felt sorry for her.
zhena gogolia
@germy:
It was a good show.
Cacti
Speaking of Biden, he just put up his first campaign ad.
Link
Ohio Mom
@germy: Rick Steves has always believed that travel changes people and makes them lean left. I guess he is feeling the need to be more blatant these days.
schrodingers_cat
@schrodingers_cat: The image is a blood red chinar* leaf which says I stand with Kashmir, made by artist Shubnum Khan who has given the permission to redistribute it and use it.
* A deciduous tree indigenous to Kashmir which looks like a cross between an oak and a maple leaf to me.
oldgold
@Steve in the ATL:
Yes.
O. Felix Culpa
It’s my birthday today, so I had ice cream for dessert after my oatmeal. Mint chip. Sadly I don’t get a day off from “organizing” the local Democratic Party. With great age does not necessarily come great wisdom, it seems.
germy
@Ohio Mom: Between the documentary, he was shown talking to an audience about fear and walls and freedom.
It’s a PBS fund drive, so while he was in the studio asking for donations, he went into more detail about “the times we live in” and “politicians using fear to control people”
chopper
trump is literally calling for quantitative easing? right now? oh man, WASF.
germy
@zhena gogolia:
Interesting when he would tour the actual locations seen on old newsreels.
Baud
@O. Felix Culpa:
Happy birthday!
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Ohio Mom: I really liked his book Travel as a Political Act.
Miss Bianca
@O. Felix Culpa: Happy Birthday! Just said “goodbye for now” to the Chairman of our local Democratic Party. He and his wife are headed off…to Taos. So you may end up meeting them someday!
I congratulated them on their escape back to majority-Democrat lands!
Elizabelle
@O. Felix Culpa:
Happy birthday! Moar ice cream, later. Hope it’s a good one.
chopper
@OzarkHillbilly:
now we just have to figure out why there was a nail in the thumb in the first place.
Elizabelle
Went to see the 1958 teen movie, The Blob, on a big screen last night. With “Steven” McQueen in his first movie role, a 28 year old playing a teenager but really playing Steve McQueen. It was fun.
The last line of the movie is the most 2019 thing ever.
Yarrow
@O. Felix Culpa: Happy Birthday! Mint chip ice cream…yum! Thank you for your hard work for the local Dem party.
germy
@Elizabelle: He apparently was offered a percentage of the film’s profits but turned it down (to his later regret).
He was a starving artist at the time, and wanted more of an upfront salary so he could pay his back rent.
Yarrow
@schrodingers_cat: It’s very pretty. Thanks for sharing it and the explanation. From the tweet:
It’s a really big deal. I’m sorry it isn’t getting more coverage. Maybe it’s one of those slow-burn types of things where it takes time to build until people pay attention. It really does have the potential to affect the entire Indian political system.
Elizabelle
@germy: Yes. That movie did well! $110,000 in initial costs, including Steven’s $3,000 salary (according to wiki, came in under budget of 120K), another $300 K for distribution and publicity, and over $4 million in revenue. It did well.
Did you ever see it? It was fun.
germy
@Elizabelle: I’ve never seen it in a theater, only on TV.
There’s something magic about the big screen experience. For a while, my local movie house was featuring classic old films on weekends. Even the ones I’d already seen, it was like seeing them for the first time when I saw them in the theater.
schrodingers_cat
@Yarrow: Thanks, central government in India has clamped down on all news even cellphones and landlines.
But the truth has started to trickle out.
rikyrah
@MagdaInBlack:
Whine away…you are more than entitled. May the A/C come sooner than later.
Yarrow
@Betty Cracker: @Ohio Mom: I liked Jill Biden and then saw her as a guest on The Daily Show in May. I was completely underwhelmed.
She was doing damage control about his touching women and just claimed “Joe heard what they were saying and it wont’ happen again.” Okay… And also, “I’ll be out there on the campaign trail with him because I really do believe he’d make the best president. So, I’ll be out there.” Not exactly a ringing endorsement and it was almost like she was saying she’d be making sure he stayed in line with the touching women thing. It was so weird. I completely agree her words were supportive of his run and her body language said the exact opposite.
rikyrah
@Kay:
thanks for the explanation, Kay.
eric
@schrodingers_cat: sacred games season 2…started it last night….
rikyrah
@O. Felix Culpa:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY :)
Elizabelle
@germy: We have this great old 1928 movie house in Richmond, The Byrd. Runs old films, film series, and second run movies. (Rocketman is there now; caught The Avengers: Endgame for a second viewing last week.)
Inexpensive, and you cannot beat a big screen. (Plus chandelier, and harp, and balcony, and enormous red velvet curtain.) Would really recommend checking it out, if you are ever in RVA.
Elizabelle
@Yarrow: If Biden takes Bernie out, I will be fine with all of it.
I think (and hope) the nomination will go to Elizabeth Warren or Kamala Harris. Biden is a placeholder.
Yarrow
@schrodingers_cat: A symbol like that can really help I guess they could ban the symbol but that has the potential to backfire. It all happened so quickly that perhaps people have to catch up to understand how dangerous that move is to the entire country. If they can do that with Kashmir they can do it with any state or any thing. It’s terrifying when you actually think about it.
schrodingers_cat
@eric: Tell me if it is worth watching. One thing I didn’t like about the last season was they shied away from naming names when they were commenting on the toxic brew of the combination of religion and politics. They blamed it all on Rajiv Gandhi without even mentioning the current ruling party and its leader L. K. Advani who destroyed Babur’s mosque. So not as edgy as they would like you to believe.
lurker dean
@zhena gogolia: just saw a link to purchase it from the nyt.
https://store.nytimes.com/products/the-1619-project
it’s posted here for folks who don’t want a hard copy. it’s so good i wanted one.
http://pulitzercenter.org/sites/default/files/full_issue_of_the_1619_project.pdf
germy
@Elizabelle: I remember, back in 1975, seeing Animal Crackers in the old Fox theater in Hackensack, and I realized that the film had played there during its original run in 1930.
(Both the Fox and Oritani theaters in Hackensack are gone now. They were right across the street from each other. Beautiful old movie palaces)
schrodingers_cat
@Yarrow: BJP government has clamped down on the media, if you criticize Modi you are out of a job if you are a prominent journalist, if you are a no name stringer, freelancer you end up in jail or worse. RWNJ terror organizations have murdered intellectual and rationalists. Most of the middle class is in a stupor though if my own and husband kitteh’s family is any indication and have drunk the majoritarian casteist Kool-Aid willingly.
chris
@schrodingers_cat: Thanks, I thought it was the Canadian flag at first glance.
Elizabelle
@germy: I love when communities save their old movie palaces. They are priceless. Although it seems they might need extra money (foundations) behind them.
schrodingers_cat
@chris: It does look a lot like that.
germy
@Elizabelle: I remember when George Burns was still living, he made an appearance at Proctor’s Theater in Schenectady. I think he was in his nineties by then. He began the show by telling the audience that the last time he’d played at Proctors was in 1928.
Yarrow
@chris: @schrodingers_cat: Yeah, I thought the same thing. Hey, maybe it’ll have an unexpected effect of getting Canadians to pay attention to what’s going on.
That’s terrible what the Modi government is doing. Unfortunately it’ll probably take something that impacts the middle class before they wake up. How’s the Indian economy doing?
Yarrow
@schrodingers_cat: Can you ask AL to front page the tweet and include a bit of a description of what it’s about? You could do a short write up. Might boost the signal. John’s Twitter feed automatically tweets posts with photos so it’ll go there too.
schrodingers_cat
@Yarrow: The trend is downward. But subjugating Muslims is a heady drug for now. Just like the Orange T here Orange Menace in India has unleashed a lot of ugliness that lurked just beneath the surface.
schrodingers_cat
@Yarrow: I am in the process of doing so. But I have some work to do before I do that.
I will send AL something today.
ETA:Sometimes I wonder if I am spamming Balloon Juice with Indian politics, though.
Miss Bianca
@Elizabelle: Damn it, you made me go and LOOK IT UP.
And along the way, I discovered (re-discovered?) just *how many* fucking great movies came out during the 50s!
Elizabelle
@germy: Both showing their age a bit. But still classic.
Yarrow
@schrodingers_cat: Yeah, the temptation to blame someone else seems to be universal.
Elizabelle
@Miss Bianca: I have been enjoying the original Perry Mason series, first 5 seasons (over 100 episodes!) on Amazon Prime. Longer episodes than we are used to — 52 minutes — and no commercials. Heaven.
Some dated plots, and glaring absences, but really a good show. And I always think Los Angeles is a character of its own. Interesting to see it before development (some of the rural scenes).
Miss Bianca
@Elizabelle: They do need money, and foundations, to back them up. Here is the theater I work for.
chris
@Yarrow: Canada has a lot of people from India, hindus, Sikhs and, I learned yesterday, the largest number of Zoroastrians outside India. How cool is that?
germy
@Elizabelle: We don’t have amazon prime, just antenna TV, but we’ve been watching Perry Mason on Me-TV.
I used to watch the original series back in 1963-64, but it was new to my wife. She was completely surprised by the endings of the shows – the guilty person is never the one she suspected. (She’s used to current shows where she can guess the ending after about five minutes) I told her the old Perry Mason show was tricky – they’d always try to misdirect viewers with multiple shady characters you thought just HAD to be the guilty one. But they were just shady.
It’s still a great show, and while enjoying the plots, I love soaking up the atmosphere: the clothes, the sets, the cars, the hair styles. And so many familiar character actors.
Gin & Tonic
@schrodingers_cat: Don’t worry about “spamming” – if people are uninterested they can move on. There’s one owner here, and I’ve figured if he doesn’t say “shut up” then I’m free to post what I want even if people aren’t interested.
Yarrow
@schrodingers_cat: I don’t think you’re spamming Balloon Juice with Indian politics. I find it interesting. Maybe sometimes people don’t know a lot about it so don’t feel they can contribute to a discussion on it but it’s always good to learn about what’s going on in other countries. Authoritarianism is increasing around the globe so if for no other reason it’s good to learn what’s happening in India and see if there is anything that might be relevant to the US.
germy
@schrodingers_cat: Not really spamming.
You’re drawing attention to a topic that isn’t being covered in any detail on the U.S. news. Maybe it’s too complicated for the media to deal with?
Elizabelle
@Miss Bianca: Way cool! And Westcliffe has, like, 7 streets in each direction (N/S, and E/W). A small town to check out. (Candy’s Coffee.)
Do you live near there, or just work virtually for them?
Yarrow
@Gin & Tonic: Did you see my comment to you yesterday about going online with your credit union website to see if you can set up a travel/vacation alert. My bank offers that option. You can tell them when you’ll be gone and what countries you’re planning to visit. Might be easier than dealing with the people on the phone.
tokyokie
@Patricia Kayden:
A statement like that is completely unfair. When has der Trumpenführer ever been hard at work at anything?
Steeplejack (phone)
@Elizabelle:
I always laugh when Perry or Paul Drake talks about driving “out to Malibu” or “out to Encino,” like it’s going to be an all-day deal and they should take a sack lunch.
Just watched “The Case of the Lucky Legs” this morning. Scam involving starlet talent search (hint: legs!) leads to murder.
schrodingers_cat
@Gin & Tonic: @Yarrow: @germy: For years after I left India in the 90s my interest in Indian politics was cursory. I just kept up with the news headlines but I have paid a lot more attention since Modi came on the national political scene. I know these people, I know the Sangh ideology. I am from Maharashtra which gave rise to the Sangh. They lie and keep their true agenda hidden because it is really alarming and not popular except among the diehard supporters.
They are fascists. Their founders were influenced by Hitler and Mussolini. Their worldview is antithetical to a pluralistic society. This is not going to end well.
Gin & Tonic
@Yarrow: Yes, I saw that comment and am looking into it. Thing is, the current credit union absorbed an even smaller credit union that I started out with, and there I was on a first-name basis with the branch manager and could just send her an e-mail if I had any issues. So it’s been downhill anyway.
Heidi Mom
@satby: Some years ago I went to an endodontist from Nigeria, and as we were waiting for the novocain to take hold, I asked her how the weather in Nigeria compared to the hot-and-humid weather we were then having in south-central PA. She said she thought the weather here might be worse! And it’s great that your exchange daughter is continuing her education here. Any chance you’ll get to meet up?
Elizabelle
@Steeplejack (phone): Yeah. You reminded me to look for Perry Mason, since I don’t have MeTV. (And wish I did. But that would take a TV. And cable.)
I am gonna start reading the Erle Stanley Gardner books, too. Jeez, that guy was prolific. An industry. I have 2 or 3 of the 1960s paperbacks in Spanish (purchased at second hand bookstore in Barcelona.). Universal appeal.
Ohio Mom
@Yarrow: Anyone who is married finds themselves every now and then putting on a good face on behalf of their spouse when they rather not, say Thanksgiving at the in-laws they really don’t like. Jill Biden is taking this to a whole other level.
Steeplejack (phone)
@germy:
I also like the money references. “A motive for murder? I think . . . $30,000 is motive for murder.” [Dramatic music]
Last week a top executive at a big company testified that his salary was . . . $20,000 a year. Plus bonuses!
cain
@MomSense:
Yes victim shaming.. on the other hand, a number of those policies could have been prevented if we all showed up to vote. (not blaming millennials here, fyi)
Yarrow
@Gin & Tonic: Frustrating. May be time to look around for a better place anyway.
@Ohio Mom: Oh, sure. But she’s signing up for an entire life change if he were to win. Even just running means her life goes under the microscope. For it to work well the spouse really needs to be on board.
germy
@Steeplejack (phone): Drake always has a cigarette in his hand.
And Mason’s office… ugly wood paneling, but I like his big desk and African art on his wall. And the view from his window.
Elizabelle
@Steeplejack (phone): I love the prospect of scandal. Which would not be so, today.
Still looking for a black character. Have just watched the first 20+ episodes from 1958. Not there. Not a one.
It’s like TCM, although blacks and people of color show up occasionally, mostly as servants and staff, although sometimes as characters in their own right. A whole group of society, just. Not there.
Have seen some Mexicans and Latinos/Latinas.
Steeplejack (phone)
@Elizabelle:
Good luck with the books. I haven’t tried them. Even Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett get pretty pulpy pretty fast, and Erle Stanley Gardner is well below that, I think. But reading them in Spanish would probably be an enjoyable way to hone your language chops.
Elizabelle
@germy: Yes. So much smoking. It’s like a parody now.
William Hopper (Paul Drake) died of a stroke/aftereffects at age 55. Am sure all the cigarettes caused that. A LOT of the actors/actresses died youngish, of cancer, etc. Although some 90 year olds too.
Had forgotten Hopper was Hedda Hopper’s son.
Elizabelle
@Steeplejack (phone): Just reading them in English. The Case of the Bigamous Spouse now. From 1961. Eventually made into a TV episode (well, 1963).
germy
@Elizabelle: The guy who played the D.A. actually filmed some anti-smoking PSAs before he died of cancer from smoking.
germy
William Talman (played the Perry Mason D.A.) was 53 when he died.
Steeplejack (phone)
@germy:
That’s the ninth floor of the Brill Building! In one episode Perry’s client is the actual Brill guy’s wife, who has a slightly shady past. I think James Coburn was the villain (and murder victim) in that one.
Steeplejack (phone)
@Elizabelle:
There are some black characters, but they are few and far between. I think there are actually more Asian-American characters, and not just in “domestic” roles.
Elizabelle
@germy: William Talman, as Hamilton Burger. Died at 53. Had appeared in a classic noir movie before Perry Mason. As the villain. Also served in the Pacific during WW2.
And, briefly fired from the show on a morals charge! The audience demanded his return.
germy
@Steeplejack (phone):
Really? I always assumed it was just a movie set. It looks sort of… artificial…. even the view out the window.
Steeplejack (phone)
@Elizabelle:
Talman was really creepy in The Hitch-Hiker (1953; directed by Ida Lupino!). It shows up on TCM occasionally.
Steeplejack (phone)
@germy:
It is a set. But in the series Perry’s office is given as being on the ninth floor of the Brill Building. Pointless show trivia.
Steeplejack (phone)
@Steeplejack (phone):
And Ray Collins (Lieutenant Tragg) was Boss Jim Gettys in Citizen Kane!
germy
@Steeplejack (phone): But the Brill building is in NYC. I thought Perry Mason was set in California?
Steeplejack (phone)
@germy:
Jesus effin’ Christ, it’s not the Brill Building of music fame, it’s a Brill Building that they decided to name it in a fictional TV series. And, yes, it’s (fictionally) in Los Angeles (sometimes said with a hard g).
I won’t mention Perry’s office telephone number, lest someone call it and get pissed then it’s not correct. ?
satby
@Heidi Mom: Hi, yes we hope to get together at least once.
zhena gogolia
Wow, I missed a Perry Mason trivia session.
Elizabelle
@zhena gogolia: Perry and Della and Paul Drake have their fans here.
zhena gogolia
@Elizabelle:
It’s one of my husband’s favorites.
Steve in the ATL
@schrodingers_cat:
You are, which is why you are dead to me. You post on lots of other things too though, which is why you are alive to me. It’s almost like a paradox.
schrodingers_cat
@Elizabelle: I have read some ES G’s Perry Mason books but have not seen the TV show. They were good yarns.
@germy:Its not that hard actually. I can usually guess the killer in Christie’s novels, she gives you enough clues along the way. Focus on what people do, not just what they say.
polyorchnid octopunch
@Cacti: Speaking as a Canadian, there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that you should definitely be seeking to get private insurance out of primary health care.
Allowing private insurance for things like massage therapy and physio is one thing, but when it comes to the basics (primary care family physician, emergency services, hospital stays, surgery, etc) you need to chase the moneychangers out of the temple.
germy
@Steeplejack (phone):
“Well, not The Brill Building, even though I said “The” !! I just meant some random building (lowercase) named Brill! I mean, no real building has ever been used in fiction before!”
Miss Bianca
@Elizabelle: I live there. : )
tomtofa
@germy: I chatted with Steves after an event he did a few months ago, and told him he should get into politics. “I am in politics” was his reply.
Bill Arnold
@schrodingers_cat:
You are not. it is a huge country. More links please though. (I poked at google about current journalism in India and it was helpful but you probably have better links.)