Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

How stupid are these people?

Dear legacy media: you are not here to influence outcomes and policies you find desirable.

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

There are a lot more evil idiots than evil geniuses.

“Alexa, change the president.”

But frankly mr. cole, I’ll be happier when you get back to telling us to go fuck ourselves.

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

They are not red states to be hated; they are voter suppression states to be fixed.

Every one of the “Roberts Six” lied to get on the court.

Celebrate the fucking wins.

Not loving this new fraud based economy.

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

New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

The Giant Orange Man Baby is having a bad day.

They don’t have outfits that big. nor codpieces that small.

Roe is not about choice. It is about freedom.

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

Let’s delete this post and never speak of this again.

Fucking consultants! (of the political variety)

Stay strong, because they are weak.

Hell hath no fury like a farmer bankrupted.

Not all heroes wear capes.

People really shouldn’t expect the government to help after they watched the GOP drown it in a bathtub.

You are here: Home / Politics / Impeachment Inquiry / Thursday Morning Open Thread: GOP Mantra – Always Be Stuntin’

Thursday Morning Open Thread: GOP Mantra – Always Be Stuntin’

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But not the fun kind, like Simone Biles throwing out the first pitch…


Fox News reporter, not impressed:

Reader Interactions

160Comments

  1. 1.

    clay

    So, you ever have those days where you wake up at 4 am, and even though you’re tired you just can’t fall back asleep, and so you decide to browse Balloon Juice only to find that, no matter who stupid you already thought they were, congressional Republicans were stupider beyond your wildest expectations?

    Mornin’ all.

  3. 3.

    Bruce K

    I can now see many futures in which America dies. I can see many futures in which the GOP dies. I see many futures in which both the GOP and America die.

    I cannot see a future in which both the GOP and America survive.

    Only partially off-topic: Monday is a national holiday in Greece, “Okhi Day” or “the Day of No”, celebrating the answer of Greek dictator Ioannis Metaxas in 1940 to the demands of the ambassador to Italy, representing Benito Mussolini and the original Fascists, that Greece allow the Italian army to occupy them. History records that Metaxas’ literal answer was “Alors, c’est la guerre”, interpreted by Greek crowds as simply answering “no”, and when the Italians invaded, the Greek counterattack pushed the OG fascists halfway into Albania before the Nazis decided to save Mussolini’s bacon and rolled in over everyone.

    The Greeks remember the Fascists, and the Nazis. The Nazi occupation is still within living memory for people here.

    And for some strange reason, the Greeks I’ve talked to about the situation back Stateside have faith that American society will overcome Trump.

  4. 4.

    Chyron HR

    I’m sorry, there’s an HBO series about Rep. DUI’s attempts to subvert the constitution?

    Well, gosh, what a fertile new genre. Maybe Starz can get their own reality show where they follow a group of bank robbers around as they plan to commit crimes and in the season finale we get to watch the robbery happen in real time.

  8. 8.

    NotMax

    Because even a scant smile is mollifying, aside from being a fine way to start a day – Closed Caption Capers.

    Encountered over the past week or so:

    1) Dialogue: (Doting mother comes into son’s establishment to talk with him, rattling on and on in Italian.)

    CC: [speaking Spanish]

    2) The scene – late at night, a street in 18th century London.

    Town Crier dialogue, unhurriedly spoken: Two o’ clock and (he turns a corner, voice audible but not quite enough to make out the words as it fades).

    CC: Two o’clock and clattering clams!

    Am at a total loss so far as #2 goes, Rewound several times and bumped up the volume but still couldn’t make out what actually followed the word “and.”   :)

  9. 9.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Cracks me up how teeny tiny Simone is compared to whoever caught her first pitch.

    Even funnier when I realize that long after he is the answer to a very *obscure trivia question* she will remain a giant in the annals of gymnastics.

    ** “Who caught the ceremonial first pitch thrown out by Simone Biles to begin Game 2 of the 2019 World Series?”

    #6 Jake MarisnicK?

  10. 10.

    WereBear

    The ugly truth about the LAWNORDER screaming of Nixon fans through my earliest years, but it turned out they meant enforcing the segregation laws.

  11. 11.

    NotMax

    @WereBear

    Nixon was all too eager and gleeful to co-opt it from the campaign of George “a noun, a verb, and ‘lawnorder'” Wallace.

  12. 12.

    Keith P.

    Tbh, I’m not really surprised @mattgaetz crashed the #SCIF. I just expected it to be thru the wall w his car and a fifth of Henny

    I look at those sunken eye sockets and think “and probably an 8-ball, too”

  14. 14.

    Mary G

    @NotMax: I don’t know about last night, but Monday the closed captioning on the World Series game kept writing “and the curve ball Mrs.” It took me a minute to figure it out.

  15. 15.

    Jeffro

    Last night, rather than risk another midnight ending (like with Game 1), I decided to go to bed early…

    …as in, at the end of the sixth inning. D’oh!

    But I’ll take it, just the same! ?
    Go Nats!! ?❤️⚾️

  16. 16.

    Jeffro

    @OzarkHillbilly: hmm..,it’s almost like we wouldn’t have to inflict “mass surveillance” on tens of millions of American kids if we actually did. something. about. THE GUNS.

    “Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. But gun rights trump all that so eff you, libtards” – The Constitution, as translated by the GOP

  19. 19.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    Speaking of “first pitches”

    Dump has been in office for three full baseball seasons and he still hasn’t thrown a “first pitch” at any game. None.

    Every president since 1910 has thrown a “first pitch” at some game.

    Of course, Dump, the coward, stays away because he knows 50,000 fans would boooooo him on national tee vee.

  25. 25.

    Betty Cracker

    @clay: He really does claim to be one of the greats — just a few years ago, Trump bragged that he was the best baseball player in NYC when he played in high school, way better than those bums Mantle and Maris. And humble too!

  26. 26.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Something tells me Dr. Joseph Meloche is a RWNJ: ‘Lunch shaming’: New Jersey students with $75 debt barred from dances and trips

    The Cherry Hill school board, which oversees 19 schools and about 11,000 students, agreed last week to prohibit students whose lunch debt is more than $75 from participating in extra-curricular activities such as school dances or trips. They will also be barred from purchasing a yearbook.

    Previously, the board had attempted to serve only tuna sandwiches to students with debt – something that prompted an outcry and was condemned as lunch-shaming. The school board says students who are in debt will not be prevented from receiving the necessary sustenance.

    In a video of the school board meeting posted online, the superintendent, Dr Joseph Meloche, said the goal was “responsibility with compassion”. Meloche has denied an offer from a local businessman who offered to settle the remaining balance of roughly $15,000.

    “I understand that the board has decided to NOT accept any significant donation to help with the ‘lunch’ issue. Strange,” Steve Ravitz, the owner of a local grocery chain, posted on Facebook.

    “Simply erasing the debt does not address the many families with financial means who have just chosen not to pay what is owed,” Meloche said in a statement.

    The dickishness is strong with this one.

  27. 27.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Betty Cracker: My mother was a tiny little thing too. 5′-zip when I was born, had shrunk to 4-9 I think by the time she died. But a will of steel in that tiny little package. As my old man always said, “She’s the Boss.”

  29. 29.

    Jeffro

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: Might have been better all around if the Yankees had won the ALCS…I like the Astros and would have preferred a much more hate-able team to root against.

    I’m glad I was able to catch the Nats in the NLCS…ticket prices for the next few games are astronomical. Standing-only is closing in on $1k!

  30. 30.

    Joey Maloney

    @NotMax: I was in Madrid on business a few years ago, bored in the hotel room one night I found a channel showing Italian porn that someone had taken the trouble to dub the dialog – 90% moans and grunts – into Spanish.

  32. 32.

    Bobby Thomson

    @Bruce K:

    I can now see many futures in which America dies. I can see many futures in which the GOP dies. I see many futures in which both the GOP and America die.

    I cannot see a future in which both the GOP and America survive.

    Neither can Doctor Strange.

  33. 33.

    OzarkHillbilly

    TPM:

    The Prime Minister of Italy has shot down a big chunk of the Barr/Trump conspiracy theory about a Deep State plot against President Trump that allegedly gave birth to the Russia probe. Giuseppe Conte says Italy had nothing to do with the Russiagate probe or investigation. He goes on to confirm the extraordinary detail that Barr asked Italian intelligence officials to confirm or explain the actions of US intelligence officials. In other words, Barr has told foreign intelligence leaders that he does not believe his own country’s intelligence officials and and gone to Italy to ask if US intelligence officials are telling the truth.

    Our Republicans are broken.

  39. 39.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Claire Goiran from the University of New Caledonia and Professor Rick Shine from Australia’s Macquarie University were studying a small harmless species known as the turtle‐headed sea snake located in the Baie des Citrons, but would occasionally encounter the 1.5 metre-long venomous greater sea snake, also known as the olive-headed sea snake.

    Goiran and Shine believed the greater sea snake was an anomaly in the popular swimming bay as it had only been spotted about six times over 15 years. From 2013, they decided to take a closer look at the greater sea snake to better understand its importance to the bay’s ecosystem.

    “The study zone is in the most touristic bay in Noumea, so I often meet people when I am doing field work on sea snakes,” Goiran said. “When I was snorkelling on my own studying sea snakes, I used to meet a friend of mine called Aline that was snorkelling and taking photos on the same reef. In order to help me, she started taking photos of sea snakes and would send them to me by mail.

    “I was very happy, so she asked her neighbour and friend Monique to help me too. Monique asked another friend, and soon there were seven grandmothers helping me.” The group named themselves “the fantastic grandmothers” and range in age from 60 to 75.
    …………………………..
    One of the grandmothers, Aline Guémas, said she was not scared of the greater sea snakes despite their potential deadly bite. The grandmothers always keep their distance and never touch them. “That’s the job of the boss,” Guémas said.

    Her job was just to take videos and photos. Other members of the group helped with identifying the snakes and documenting their characteristics. The sea snakes could move quickly, making taking photographs difficult at times. But Guémas said “they are very slow in their movements when they forage for food”, making those times ideal for photography.

    Her friend in the group, Sylvie Shebert, said she was afraid of the snakes at first but has grown to appreciate them. “It has been interesting to learn about and discover their lifestyle and to work with the group,” she said. “It allows us to integrate our swimming with the scientific world by sharing the results of what we find with the researchers, such as the area where the snake is located, it’s condition such as if it is pregnant or not, that kind of thing.”

    Monique Mazière said “the snakes are not aggressive, just curious”.

    “Of course, we will never touch them.”

    Here’s to Grandmother’s everywhere.

  44. 44.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    I figure Gaetz et al stormed the SCIF not because Rs were shut out, but because some of them had been there and knew exactly how bad the testimony was for them. They needed to disrupt it and distract from it. And the stunt was so outrageous that it more or less worked–for a day anyway.

  52. 52.

    Joey Maloney

    @–bd: Accuracy is very important in my line of work. Naturally I needed to leave it on long enough to make sure I had collected a statistically significant sample.

    I can also report that Italians – at least those Italians – have not fallen prey to the American obsession with depiliation.

  53. 53.

    SFAW

    @Just One More Canuck:

    maybe he doesn’t know how to throw a baseball

    I seem to recall that he once claimed he was one of the best baseball players in NYC, woulda turned pro, but decided to become a trillionaire businessman instead. I don’t know if he actually believed he was a good baseball player, or it was yet another of his claim-he’s-the-best-EVAH-at-whatever-was-being-discussed insanities/lies.

  54. 54.

    SFAW

    @David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch:
    I think it’s really hard to throw a ping-pong ball more than a couple of feet, and I think that may be the largest ball his teeny-tiny hands could hold. Maybe if he switched to a pinball? I think his hands are “large” enough, and they could travel a few feet — if he put his weight behind it.

  60. 60.

    Immanentize

    @SFAW:
    True. My BiL, the Immp and I have kept a running list of band names and first albums for years. The Immp last year announced a new rule — no names that are “adjective noun” names. “Too much low hanging fruit,” he says.

  61. 61.

    trnc

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    And the stunt was so outrageous that it more or less worked–for a day anyway.

    IIRC, part of a day. They had to get back to the chamber for a vote (not sure what – coulda been to create a “Slam The Poor” day for all I know), so the testimony started after that.

  62. 62.

    SFAW

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Damn, the woman is good.

    Libtard!

    She should take her $13,000 “haircut” back to New Jersey and tend bar, the way God intended. Who does she think she is, attempting to play “Gotcha!” on her betters, i.e., men?

    Thanks for that article. She’s pretty impressive.

  66. 66.

    Spanky

    @Immanentize: “Low Hanging Fruit” would be a good band name.

    Or a porn star.

    Guess who crashed bigly after Comment #2 and only got up a few minutes ago?

  67. 67.

    clay

    @SFAW: Has anyone ever compiled a list of all the things that Trump has said he’s the best at, or knows the most about, or similar claims? Must be a pretty long list (“The longest list ever!”)

    I think that would be a pretty effective ad… just clip after clip of Trump claiming things, each one more ridiculous than the last. Would paint him as the petty braggart he is, in a way that even his supporters couldn’t deny. (Although they would try…)

  68. 68.

    Amir Khalid

    @OzarkHillbilly:
    Barr’s problem with the US intelligence community is not that he doesn’t find them credible. It’s that they’re not telling him what he, or more precisely Trump, wants to hear. The Italian intelligence people he spoke to know just how good their professional peers in America are, and I’m sure they weren’t impressed by his bogus misgivings.

  69. 69.

    SFAW

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    “Who caught the ceremonial first pitch thrown out by Simone Biles to begin Game 2 of the 2019 World Series?”

    I’m sorry, but I read that, and thought “Shaft! Damn right”

  72. 72.

    Immanentize

    @Spanky:

    Guess who crashed bigly after Comment #2 and only got up a few minutes ago?

    Well, that’s a good thing, no?

    Maybe you have stumbled on the secret incantation: “No more sleep for Spanky” which will immediately set you adrift?

  73. 73.

    SFAW

    @clay:

    I think that would be a pretty effective ad… just clip after clip of Trump claiming things, each one more ridiculous than the last.

    It might work … but only as a non-medicinal ipecac substitute.

  74. 74.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @SFAW: I liked her, “So if I ran an ad during Republican primaries saying the incumbent voted for the Green New Deal, it would be OK?” question. I don’t remember what stutters exited his mouth in response, but that last question…. That look on his face… And the nothing coming out of his mouth…

  77. 77.

    Ken

    @debbie:

    I will never understand Trump’s power over people in his orbit.

    One theory is blackmail. He gets them to do one small thing that’s illegal, then uses that.

    In some cases he might already have the goods. Remember, oh, eighty or ninety scandals ago, that brothel in Florida whose owner was connected with Mar-a-lago? Easy to imagine a further link to a certain congressman who once worked at a strip club in Florida.

  78. 78.

    SFAW

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    If I were president, I’d never be able to throw out the first pitch.

    I, for one, would be more than happy to deal with that trade-off. When will your term start? Soon, I hope.

  81. 81.

    JamesKPolkEsq

    I hope those jokers had their electronic devices confiscated, for information security assurance.

    It’s all fine and dandy to not have them frogmarched out yesterday for optics reasons. However, they need to be charged with crimes after a few weeks.

    Laws do mean something after all. Any non congresscitter that pulled a stunt like this would get lokkerupped, these guys don’t have immunity.

  83. 83.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: I’m not saying she has a future in Congress because she may very well decide that “This place sucks,” but she takes her duties very seriously and if she decides to, she could go far in the business of politics.

  85. 85.

    Original Lee

    @Chyron HR: Sadly, Donald E. Westlake already published a Dortmunder book about professional thieves getting a reality show. IANAL so don’t know the copyright issues with your proposal.

  87. 87.

    gene108

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Weird. Cherry Hill is relatively affluent, and known for having good schools. Though there are renters, who are there to have their kids in good schools, who aren’t as affluent

    I don’t get why the school board are being such dicks.

    The mayor is a Democrat, and I bet most of the city council is too.

    But not all Democrats are champions of progressive policies. They’d rather the city become a national embarrassment, than taking help offered so students aren’t punished.

    Weird hill to die on

  88. 88.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    @SFAW: What have I ever done to you to have you wish that on me????

    OT: I’ve been dealing with digestive issues since June, and yesterday I finally got a diagnosis for a specific, not-serious, treatable thing. Thank goodness! I’m relieved in general, of course, but also we have a big trip coming up in a couple of weeks and I was afraid I’d have to cancel. Today we’ll see what my insurance company says about the drug that costs $5000 for a three month supply.

  89. 89.

    oldgold

    Google Claims a Quantum Breakthrough That Could Change Computing

    A new Google device did in 3 minutes 20 seconds a mathematical calculation that supercomputers could not complete in under 10,000 years.

    This news reminds me of the joke where the the best computer scientists gathered together to build a super computer to answer age old questions. They built it and the first question they asked was “Is there a God?”. The computer answered, “There is now.”

  93. 93.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @gene108: The thing that gets me is they could easily take the parents to small claims court, wouldn’t even need a lawyer to draw it up (who they have on retainer anyway). Instead they are taking it out on the kids, who probably have nothing to do with whether things get paid or not.

  94. 94.

    Amir Khalid

    @oldgold:
    Then again, CNN reported that IBM said Google was exaggerating a bit*: per Big Blue’s statement, a conventional, non-quantum supercomputer would take only two and a half days, not ten millennia, to do the calculation.

    * See what I did there?

  96. 96.

    MattF

    @oldgold: FYI, IBM disputes the 10,000 years claim. Turns out that the maximum current supercomputer can do it in about three days. For additional interesting details, see Scott Aaronson’s blog ‘Shtetl Optimized’, which seems to be currently off-line.

  97. 97.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @zhena gogolia: “If only ________________ was perfect.” I don’t hold it against her, it’s just more information about who she is and what she believes in. Now if she endorsed trump…

  98. 98.

    SFAW

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    What have I ever done to you to have you wish that on me????

    Would it be better if you were God-Empress? Because I’d be OK with that, too. Or, you could have Hillary as your Veep, then step down to “spend more time writing” (which sounds better than “spend more time with my family.”)

    Glad to hear the medical stuff seems to be turning out OK. Keeping my fingers crossed that the insurance company doesn’t screw you over.

  101. 101.

    Jeffro

    Folks, if you wanna be entertained in an infuriating way this morning, you’ve really got to check out Hugh Hewitt’s op-ed in the Post today: the GOP Better Stand by trumpov or Lose Its Base Forever.

    Actually, don’t – I’ll just summarize it for you:
    – Dems are impeaching ’cause they can’t beat trumpov in 2020
    – I’m in touch with “the base” ’cause I’m not one of those “Manhattan-DC elites” (!)
    – No quid pro quo, much less an illegitimate one, has been proved
    – But quid pro quos still happen all the time
    – And if one is established w/ trumpov and Ukraine, that’s not illegitimate. It’s basically the same thing as the Mueller report
    – Also this impeachment inquiry better not interfer with Barr’s cover-up er I mean investigative efforts
    – and the House GOP better get loud and angry in its defense of trumpov…
    – …so that the Senate knows which way it had better vote, if you know what I mean

    Oh and also, #NeverTrumpers’ views don’t count

    It’s like a six-tier bullshit cake. It’s really unbelievable.

  102. 102.

    Amir Khalid

    @OzarkHillbilly:
    Taking it out on the kids probably is why they’re doing this. If it was about balancing the school district’s books, they would have accepted Mr Ravitz’s offer.

  103. 103.

    --bd

    I do love the part where the catcher autographs the baseball like he would normally do for some local schmo after them throwing the 1st pitch, when he should be taking the ball and asking her for her autograph and keeping it. Or better yet, pull a second ball out and have her sign that one for him so that they each have an awesome souvenir.

  104. 104.

    kindness

    I have to wonder what Nancy Pelosi is going to do about the smash & grab Republicans pulled yesterday. She does have a keen sense of justice. Too bad the ugly will probably fall on staffers more than Republican Congresscritters.

  105. 105.

    MattF

    @Jeffro: Also, Giuliani is merely ‘the man who made private inquiries in Ukraine on the president’s behalf’, the very soul of innocence. Hewitt is all in for Trump.

  107. 107.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    @OzarkHillbilly: Many people have some kind of character trait that helps steer them into a kind of work. Sometimes the trait turns out to be helpful in that work. A desire to be the center of attention can help an actor or a teacher, for that matter, as long as it doesn’t cripple the person. So people who wind up in positions of power may be people who really like exercising power. Some school administrators fall into that group. I’d say this guy does for sure.

  109. 109.

    Kay

    @gene108:

    “Simply erasing the debt does not address the many families with financial means who have just chosen not to pay what is owed,” Meloche said in a statement.

    Ok, so two things are going on with this. Every student is entitled to apply for the federal school lunch program. There’s two tiers- “free” and “reduced”. So what school managers say is the people who are incurring the debt either didn’t apply for the payment waiver or reduction or didn’t qualify for the reduction because their income was too high. From their perspective this is people who CAN afford it just refusing to pay. They know it’s people who can pay because there’s another whole group who get free or reduced. That group isn’t included in the group who didn’t pay.
    I agree that it would be easier to just make all the lunches free, but they’re not targeting poor people. They’re targeting people who can afford it who won’t pay, because it’s not fair to those who DO pay their bill.

  110. 110.

    Immanentize

    @Kay:
    I understand what you are saying, Kay, but isn’t the word “many” in the quote doing just too much work? Are many also poor? Are many in seriously difficult family situations? Are there more non-pays in some schools rather than others? Why? How are the district’s social worker professiinals tasked? Etc.

  111. 111.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Amir Khalid:

    Barr’s problem with the US intelligence community is not that he doesn’t find them credible. It’s that they’re not telling him what he, or more precisely Trump, wants to hear.

    Watching Trump, it is clear to me that he believes all of the insane hard right bullshit, including stuff that he knows are lies because of his personal involvement. Watching Barr, I think he doesn’t care what is or isn’t true. He’s going to do everything he can think of, brilliant or stupid, to protect Trump. He’s going down a checklist, and some of the items on that checklist were added by Trump or Trump’s equally deluded buddies. “Ask the Italian government to say the CIA lied” is now checked off. Hey, maybe they would have answered “What will you give me in return?” It’s worth a shot.

  112. 112.

    RedDirtGirl

    @Immanentize: Thanks for asking. Don’t have much new info. Doesn’t help that my 87 year old dad is having a nervous breakdown over in Spain, and threatening to jump out a window. Oversharing?

  114. 114.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    So people who wind up in positions of power may be people who really like exercising power.

    Power is seductive. I have been in a position to feel it’s pull (in a small way) a time or 2.

  115. 115.

    Kay

    @gene108:

    So this is Cherry Hill- a high school. That’s a low number (there are about 2000 students) so it’s a wealthier district- on the higher end in income.

    Free lunch eligible: 192 Reduced-price lunch eligible: 78

    So if they’re not in this group and not paying they either didn’t apply or don’t qualify because their income is too high.

  116. 116.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    So it’s California all over, the GOP has stopped cared about governance it’s just about fund raising and playing to their base.

  117. 117.

    dmsilev

    Washington Post headline: “Spain exhumes dictator Francisco Franco after years of bitter controversy”

    Clearly, the first question that needs answering is whether or not he is still dead.

  118. 118.

    p.a.

    Don’t know who made this point first on the intertubes: Rethug establishment went from using FoxFantasyWorld to rile the rubes to vote, to having BELIEVERS in FFW beat establishment Rethugs and actually get elected, resulting in the current situation.

    When days like yesterday get me down, I find thinking 2 words can bring relief: Boaty McBoatface. Can’t help but giggle…

  119. 119.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Kay:

    but they’re not targeting poor people. They’re targeting people who can afford it who won’t pay, because it’s not fair to those who DO pay their bill.

    No. They are targeting the children of people who can afford to pay. Maybe. Sometimes people’s circumstances change. But that is beside my point.

    You have a problem with a parent? Deal with the parent, don’t take it out on the child.

  120. 120.

    Kay

    @Immanentize:

    Sure, all of those things come into it but just looking at the one high school in that district they’re at around 15% free and reduced lunch. That’s an upper middle class district. Mine is a little below 50% free and reduced and there are thousands of schools at 90% or better free and reduced. He mostly has a payment problem, not a poverty problem.
    Punishing the kids for it is definitely wrong though- he needs a better solution.

  121. 121.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Ken:

    One theory is blackmail.

    Not that he wouldn’t, but that’s a level of organization atypical of him, and a broad scale of activity that is unlikely to hold up. Like the Ukraine thing, sooner or later one person spills the beans.

    I think it’s much simpler. Trump is good at spotting assholes, and hires them. This isn’t a special power. A lot of, maybe most people can quickly identify the kind of person they like and get along with in conversation. Trump’s history suggests he would be especially good at that, although again, this ain’t Lex Luthor stuff. The kind of man (women are objects) Trump gets along with is a corrupt, racist, sexist asshole who doesn’t show Trump up by correcting his imbecilic mouth-feces. Once you’ve gotten that far, everything else happens naturally.

  122. 122.

    Kattails

    @OzarkHillbilly: I’ll take a look at the link, thanks, but am really unhappy with her Wilmer endorsement. Unfortunately, it just soured, for me, anything she might do. He does not need any more oxygen… bah, better go get more coffee grouch grouch.
    Simone on the other hand is awesome.

  124. 124.

    Kay

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Right – I agree with that. There has to be a cost/benefit too. Spending a lot on collecting just doesn’t make sense if they’re collecting really low amounts. They get pissed though- there are parents who go years and just won’t pay anything- not lunches, not activity fees, not nothing. They don’t see it as legitimate. Some of them say they’re already paying for the school and they shouldn’t have to. So then you have a large group paying and a smaller group not paying and that causes resentment. It has to be consistent.

  125. 125.

    Kay

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    I have a friend with a very sweet son who was putting non-payers on his lunch card. She was putting lots into his account and finally she was like “what are you EATING?” and he told her. We were laughing- “just put it on my tab”, like a big shot :)

  126. 126.

    germy

    Matt Gaetz says he’s about to lead this phalanx of House Republicans into the SCIF to check out what’s going on with the whole impeachment thing pic.twitter.com/iFyxqMgcsr— Sam Brodey (@sambrodey) October 23, 2019

    Can someone here tell me who the woman in blue is? The way she looks up at the light makes the photo resemble a medieval painting. Is she a journalist or an assistant to the thugs?

  127. 127.

    germy

    Matt Gaetz… Donald Trump…

    Our country (and planet) is suffering from Boss’s Son Syndrome.

  128. 128.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @MattF:
    If it were overt blackmail, he’d have to have done so much of it that we would know. This administration is incredibly bad at keeping secrets. At this point, anything they’ve done that’s still hidden is just because criminality sprays out of Trump like a hippo’s ass marking its territory. Blackmail would get lost in the shuffle.

    However, a subtler version may be at work. They may be blackmailing themselves. After all, once they’re in, exposing Trump exposes themselves. Trump doesn’t have to think about it or plan on it, it just happens as a result of how he operates. If he surrounds himself with corrupt assholes, then if he does his thing they’ll do their thing to support him. The Republican Party at all levels is a rancid stew of corrupt assholes.

  131. 131.

    Joey Maloney

    @Kay: I’m going to ask, how the heck does Meloche know what the families’ financial means are? The official “poverty line” is a cruel joke. There are plenty of people whose income is too high to qualify for what we laughingly call our safety net but who are still not making ends meet. There are plenty of others who were doing okay until some medical emergency, maybe not even a major one, loaded them up with five figures of debt. And you can understand how things like mortgage, electricity, health insurance take precedence over school lunch.

  132. 132.

    germy

    @MattF: I worked in several family businesses. The boss’s son was invariably placed into upper-middle management and would make bad decisions while goofing off and harassing female employees. But their actions affected only staff and customers.

    The idea of a boss’s son in a position of political power is frightening. They’re fucking all of us.

    I don’t care about their psychological issues with their fathers. I care about the power the have over us.

  134. 134.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Kay:

    Spending a lot on collecting just doesn’t make sense if they’re collecting really low amounts.

    As I pointed out above, small claims court doesn’t cost much and they don’t even need a lawyer (or maybe as a govt entity they do?) to represent them. They could have a fill in the blank filing written up that a school secretary could finish and (I suppose) take to the court house and file. If a lawyer is required to represent them they can add legal costs to the suit.

    I would bet 80-90% of these cases would be resolved long before the court day.

  137. 137.

    Another Scott

    ‘morning all.

    Twitter:

    Jesse Lehrich Verified account @JesseLehrich

    TREY GOWDY after kicking DARRELL ISSA out of a Benghazi deposition:

    “[Issa] is not a [Benghazi] committee member & non-committee members are not allowed in the room during the deposition. Those are the rules & we have to follow them, no exceptions made.”

    1:36 PM – 23 Oct 2019

    Hmm…

    (via Popehat)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  139. 139.

    Amir Khalid

    @OzarkHillbilly:
    I think that in America (and not just there) it’s how bullies find their way into the police, and then wind up recruiting other bullies to the force.

  140. 140.

    Just One More Canuck

    @MattF: Great article, especially the last paragraph:

    “It’s too early to tell if the United States will follow Mordor’s route down into the Void, though the descent of the leadership into a spirit of malice gnawing on itself, as Sauron became, has arguably already happened. There is still time to make America truly great again, as the center of the international order, by strengthening existing alliances, forging new ones, healing internal divisions at home, and renewing America’s image and soft power abroad. Also, an elite corps of invisible military commanders flying on monstrous pterodactyls wouldn’t hurt either.”

  141. 141.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @oldgold: IIRC in Stand on Zanzibar SF author John Brunner recasts an old joke with Shalmaneser, the World’s Smartest Computer, in a supporting role:

    Shalmaneser requested to see a live demonstration of human reproduction. Eventually a married couple from the support team was persuaded to perform coitus before the computer’s cameras.

    After they concluded, Shalmaneser through its speaker system asked them where the human offspring was. Oh, the couple replied, you have to wait nine months for that.

    In that case, said the machine, why were you in such a hurry at the end?

    (I saw a variation of this years before: The first (mixed-gender) human expedition to Mars encounters Martians – the Martians demonstrate how they reproduce, with a Marsbaby popping out at the end, & then it’s the humans’ turn….)

  142. 142.

    tokyokie

    @Joey Maloney:

    I was in Madrid on business a few years ago, bored in the hotel room one night I found a channel showing Italian porn that someone had taken the trouble to dub the dialog – 90% moans and grunts – into Spanish.

    When I lived in Norway years ago, I’d go to English-language movies, which would be subtitled in Norwegian, because the country’s population was too small to justify the expense of dubbing. I’d see previews of coming attractions, and those for the English-language movies were similarly subtitled. But the trailers for soft-core porn from Sweden were never subtitled or dubbed, as spoken Norwegian and Swedish are pretty close, or at least close enough for movies in which nobody cares about the dialogue.

  146. 146.

    RedDirtGirl

    @Immanentize: It is a bonkers situation. He is with his (Spanish) wife, but when he’s there he wants to be in the States, and when he’s here he wants to be over there with her. And he refuses to let her hire anyone to help him so he is completely dependent on her, and therefore completely resentful towards her. She doesn’t communicate with me ever since I had the temerity to point out that he probably shouldn’t be driving anymore after dinging the local bike-riding eccentric in the small town in Maine where he has spent his summers. @Immanentize: That’s a relief!

  147. 147.

    Miss Bianca

    @NotMax:

    CC: Two o’clock and clattering clams!

    Damn, I think “Clattering Clams” might have to be our band’s new name. Or at least, the title of a new tune!

  148. 148.

    Miss Bianca

    @OzarkHillbilly: Y’know, I’m not crazy about her – keep thinking she’s more squeak than wool – but damn, she sure can call down the lightning when she feels like it. Good for her on this one!

  149. 149.

    H.E.Wolf

    @Slappy Kincaid:

    A quick reminder to all of us that using gendered slurs related to a woman’s body, as a description of That Horrible Person Right There, helps to perpetuate negative societal attitudes about women.

    Gendered slurs about men’s body parts are problematic, too [ETA: made a slight change in hope of improved clarity] – though it’s notable that disparaging a man using a gendered slur related to women’s bodies tends to be more common than the reverse.

    For times when a bodily reference is the only term that will do, “asshole” is one such pejorative that’s gender-neutral. I bet there are a lot of others in Betty Cracker’s posts.

    (Shakespeare had a fine way with an insult. “Cream-faced loon” has always stuck in my memory, and that’s one of his milder ones….)

  150. 150.

    J R in WV

    NEW: Trump had advance knowledge and supported a protest by Republicans who told him they planned to barge into a secure hearing room on Capitol Hill where Democrats are holding impeachment testimonies, according to four people familiar with the matter.t.co/FD93uj4HNW

    So this means there was a conspiracy to commit this crime prior to it taking place, including the Drumpf. Isn’t a conspiracy to commit a federal crime as serious as the federal crime itself? Sure it is!!!

    Now I’m gonna read all these comments.

  153. 153.

    Another Scott

    @gene108: As usual, it seems to be more complex than the sound bites.

    Patch:

    […]

    District officials have noted the policy follows state law. Superintendent Joseph Meloche said he sent a letter to Murphy about the law before final adoption of the revised policy, but never received a response, the Courier Post reports.

    […]

    Businessman Steve Ravitz, the owner of a chain of ShopRite stores in South Jersey, even offered to help pay for the debt, but the district said it isn’t accepting donations, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Superintendent Joseph Meloche said erasing the debt doesn’t solve the problem that many families don’t have the financial means to pay for lunches. The U.S. Census estimates that just over 6.2 percent of Cherry Hill families live below the poverty line.

    The district will continue to work with families who find themselves falling behind in paying school lunches. Currently, parents are sent a letter by mail every 10 days they have a lunch debt. That timeline would change, but it was unclear what the new timeline would be.

    Phone calls are also made, but no emails are sent to parents. The letters inform parents how to apply for payment plans and free/reduced lunches. Parents can apply for free/reduced lunches at any point during the year, officials said previously.

    The district will also continue to work with any family that makes a good faith effort to pay their delinquent lunch bill. An in-person meeting will be held if the debt exceeds $75.

    Read more here: Changes Possible For ‘Inhumane’ Cherry Hill School Lunch Policy

    In August, Assistant Superintendent Lynn Shugars suggested the district needed to start following the policy of not providing lunch for students who were more than $20 in debt. The policy has been in place since 2017, but the district never adhered to it.

    Shugars said enforcement was needed to prevent what is currently a $14,000 debt in unpaid meals gets even deeper. Critics of the policy called it “inhumane.”

    Lots of questions, like: 1) What exactly is the state law? 2) Why exactly was it never enforced until now? 3) What changed?

    With 6.2% of individuals (Census.gov says individuals, not families) below the poverty level (and we know that the poverty level is far lower than what is needed for families to actually survive ($25,750 for a family of 4 in 2019)), it’s a problem that they need to address with more than meetings and phone calls (and donations from rich guys). Like maybe raise the property taxes a tiny bit if they need more money for the schools, or lobby the state for more funding.

    My $0.02.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  154. 154.

    Barbara

    @Another Scott: If the jurisdiction is in New Jersey whatever is going on is not attributable to too low property taxes. They have among the highest in the nation, which is why New Jersey voted out every Republican congressional candidate save one last cycle: they are the biggest net losers from the Trump tax bill limitations on deducting state and local taxes.

  155. 155.

    Kathleen

    @RedDirtGirl: No I’m a recovering Catholic. I don’t belong to a church or attend services but I believe in the power of love, light and healing. Are you a Quaker?

  156. 156.

    Kathleen

    @H.E.Wolf: I don’t like term ass hole because without a way to rid ourselves of toxins we would die. Therefore my pejorative of choice is “bowel blocker”.

  157. 157.

    Another Scott

    @Barbara: Yeahbut…

    Around here (Fairfax County, VA), the school board recently spent something like $1M to rename a few high schools (as should have been done decades ago). New Jersey and/or Cherry Hill’s school district could find a way to come up with $14,000, and to keep the issue from recurring, without stigmatizing the kids. (The letter below indicates that none of the kids are missing meals because of the policy.) The Cherry Hill budget is around $175M a year. 14000/175000000 = 0.008%.

    Poking around on their web site, it looks like a $200M school bond for capital improvements was defeated in 2018 and they’re trying again.

    The August letter to the community from the Superintendent and President of the Board of Education lays out many of the issues. It sounds like the state needs to step up. But ultimately it’s up to the people there and in New Jersey to fix it, not the students.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  159. 159.

    laura

    @RedDirtGirl: RedDirtGirl {{{{{big hug}}}}. Parenting is hard, and I’m hard pressed to see how you can do it with a dad who’s so far away. I wish you Grace in your efforts. The same for your niece- and other juicers have been insightful about how tough it is to be a teen in even the best of circumstances. Keep your chin up, you’re not alone and sharing your burden is how you bear a burden.

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