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You are here: Home / Past Elections / 2020 Elections / Friday Morning Open Thread: Trench Warfare

Friday Morning Open Thread: Trench Warfare

by Anne Laurie|  February 7, 20206:50 am| 192 Comments

This post is in: 2020 Elections, Open Threads, Warren for President 2020

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Gentle reminder:
Correlation does NOT mean Causality#Science pic.twitter.com/WxKDr4a1BC

— Luis Lopez-Sangil (@bioluisinho) February 3, 2020

Seven Democrats will be taking the stage in just hours, for the final debate before the NH primary. You can see it live on #wcvb tonight at 8p #wcvb pic.twitter.com/doQM83G539

— antoinette antonio (@antoinetteA) February 7, 2020

This is my local news station, but I sincerely doubt I’ll be watching the debate tonight. The only people looking forward to it are those who think politics is a less glittery form of professional wrestling, and I’m sure that any “news” will reach me second-hand via social media in record time.

The Buttigieg surge in NH is obviously quite significant. I'd sort of love to see a poll of NV or SC though. https://t.co/CLQFbRJbUr

— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) February 7, 2020

I suspect Buttigieg took most of those ‘new’ votes away from Sanders, who has been widely regarded as the inevitable winner, because the Live Free or Die state is bottom-heavy with anarcho-libertarians and ‘Peoples Republic of Massachusetts” self-styled refugees. Also, the state takes great pride in being Not Iowa, because fvck those rubes, with their dumb-arse ‘caucus’ routine, stealing NH’s media-tourist dollars during the slow season. But now that Iowa has proven itself publicly incapable of picking a winner — and Buttigieg has moved to top position as the choice to piss off the actual Democrats, among NH’s not-inconsiderable crossover Repub/’independent’ primary voters — well, he’s not my first choice but more power to him, regardless.

Excellent suggestion for the debate, which almost certainly won’t happen:

Both Bernie and Biden should announce their VP picks. Bernie especially, because have a right to know if a vote for him is a vote for President Gabbard in 2022.

— Iowasca Tripper (@agraybee) February 6, 2020

The losers: all of us https://t.co/dINSqz1lvM

— The Mall Krampus (@cakotz) February 7, 2020

.@TomPerez this morning before heading to NH for the debate: https://t.co/k66OdEB9Va

— Muriel Chase (@MurielEChase) February 7, 2020

Also, ongoing irritation with the entire political horse-race media: Pete won, or maybe Bernie, but Joe definitely lost. What else is there to say?…

.@ewarren came out of Iowa in the top three. She OVER-PERFORMED the polling. If you are leaving her off graphs or reporting her as anything other than top three, you are erasing her and promoting a sexist narrative. Do your job. Stop erasing women.

— Jodi Jacobson (@jljacobson) February 6, 2020

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Reader Interactions

192Comments

  1. 1.

    Baud

    February 7, 2020 at 6:59 am

    I think Pete is consolidating the ABB vote at Biden’s expense, and maybe some of Warren’s.

    Man, I hope Warren can turn it around.

    And if Biden is going to fade, it’s too bad he didn’t do it earlier in the process.

  2. 2.

    OzarkHillbilly

    February 7, 2020 at 7:03 am

    Michael Bloomberg’s presidential campaign lifted portions of its policy plans from news outlets, not-for-profit organizations and policy groups, in some cases plagiarizing passages verbatim, according to the Intercept.

    At least eight plans or fact sheets put out by the Bloomberg campaign copied material from news outlets including CNN, Time, and CBS, and organizations including the John Jay College of Criminal Justice and the American Medical Association, without attribution.

    In a statement, the campaign said the policies were sent out via an email newsletter service that “doesn’t support footnote formatting”, adding: “We have since added citations and links to these documents.”

    Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York and billionaire businessman, is connected to some of the organizations from which his campaign pulled information. He co-founded Everytown for Gun Safety, a gun control advocacy group, and Building America’s Future Educational Fund, a not-for-profit focused on infrastructure investment.

    In some cases, the Intercept pointed out his campaign appears to have cobbled together passages from several sources. His plan for green infrastructure, for example, pulls verbatim from Recode, Curbed New York and Governing magazine, as well as Building America’s Future and other sources.

    After the Intercept approached the campaign, the entire fact sheet on “Smarter Faster Safer Greener: A Plan To Bring America’s Infrastructure Into the 21st Century” was taken down.

    The best plans money can steal.

  3. 3.

    Elizabelle

    February 7, 2020 at 7:04 am

    @Baud:   ABB does not work as shorthand anymore.  What is it?

    Anybody but Biden?

    Anybody but Bernie?

    Anybody but Bloomberg?

    Clear as mud.

  4. 4.

    debbie

    February 7, 2020 at 7:05 am

    @Baud:

    Or voters in conservative states are too afraid to commit to Progressives.

  5. 5.

    mrmoshpotato

    February 7, 2020 at 7:05 am

    Bernie especially, because have a right to know if a vote for him is a vote for President Gabbard in 2022.

    Feel the burn.  ?‍??

  6. 6.

    debbie

    February 7, 2020 at 7:06 am

    @Elizabelle:

    Anti-Bernie Bros?

  7. 7.

    Baud

    February 7, 2020 at 7:06 am

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    With all that money, you’d think he’d hire an editor.

     

     

    @Elizabelle:

    Let’s be real. It means Anybody But Baud! The Establishment hates me.

  8. 8.

    rikyrah

    February 7, 2020 at 7:06 am

    Good Morning, Everyone ???

  9. 9.

    Baud

    February 7, 2020 at 7:07 am

    @debbie:

    That wouldn’t explain the change in polling.  Political alignments have been set for a while now.

  10. 10.

    mrmoshpotato

    February 7, 2020 at 7:07 am

    @OzarkHillbilly: Psst Mikey.  I got some lists.  You want ’em?  Lemme know.

    -Steyer

  11. 11.

    Baud

    February 7, 2020 at 7:08 am

    @rikyrah: Good morning.

  12. 12.

    John S.

    February 7, 2020 at 7:09 am

    @OzarkHillbilly: Most folks don’t care. Social media tells them that there’s nothing new under the sun, politicians are all the same, and everyone does it anyway.

  13. 13.

    mrmoshpotato

    February 7, 2020 at 7:10 am

    @Baud: Already planning your trip to Milwaukee to protest getting 0 delegates?

  14. 14.

    SFAW

    February 7, 2020 at 7:10 am

    Someone better mansplain to Jodi Jacobson that Warren has Girl Cooties, and so therefore is not a viable candidate, because Stinky Girl Cooties Are Stinky. [And it would surprise me not one iota to see the Traitor-in-Chief (or his shills) actually use that “argument” during the campaign, if Warren gets the nom.]

  15. 15.

    debbie

    February 7, 2020 at 7:10 am

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    It’s the same kind of entitled shortcut as this disaster.

    (CNN)Barnes & Noble says it is canceling a Black History Month event at its flagship New York store and suspending plans to release a series of classic novels with new cover art featuring people of color.

    The Diverse Editions program sparked a social media backlash from critics, who point out that the characters inside the books are still white.

    …

    For the project, Barnes & Noble and Penguin Random House planned to release special editions of 12 classic novels with new covers that featured people of color.
    One cover of “The Wizard of Oz” shows Dorothy as an African American girl with her hair in a braid and puffs and a pair of red sneakers slung over her shoulder. Juliet wears a head scarf on one cover of “Romeo and Juliet”, “Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde” wears a turban and Frankenstein’s monster is a green-eyed, African American man with bolts in his neck.

    Book publishing: As white as it was when I left it 25 years ago. //

  16. 16.

    mrmoshpotato

    February 7, 2020 at 7:11 am

    @John S.: But will Upchuck Todd upgrade to “All sides are equally as bad!”?

  17. 17.

    SFAW

    February 7, 2020 at 7:12 am

    @Elizabelle:

    ABB does not work as shorthand anymore.  What is it?

    Asea Brown Boveri, a large conglomerate. [Although I guess the second “B” could be “Baudveri.”]

  18. 18.

    Baud

    February 7, 2020 at 7:13 am

    @debbie:

    LOL. They just changed the covers???

  19. 19.

    Elizabelle

    February 7, 2020 at 7:14 am

    @SFAW:   Yeah, really.

    Too many Bs right now.

  20. 20.

    debbie

    February 7, 2020 at 7:15 am

    @Baud:

    Casting himself as the safest choice while Trump and the GOP grow nuttier and nuttier is drawing nervous people as well as uncommitted voters.

  21. 21.

    SFAW

    February 7, 2020 at 7:15 am

    @John S.:

    Most folks don’t care. Social media tells them

    I realize I’m probably an outlier here, but I question whether “social media” encompasses “most folks.”

  22. 22.

    Butter Emails

    February 7, 2020 at 7:15 am

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    I see this every once and while for different politicians and proposals and policies. My basic response is so what? Do these organizations not put out these policies specifically because they want them adopted?

  23. 23.

    debbie

    February 7, 2020 at 7:16 am

    @Baud:

    Sigh. SMH. Publishing is as insular as ever.

  24. 24.

    SFAW

    February 7, 2020 at 7:17 am

    @Elizabelle:

    Too many Bs right now.

    Yes. I’m just worried that Baud will also include “Anybody But elizaBeth” in that list.

  25. 25.

    mrmoshpotato

    February 7, 2020 at 7:18 am

    @SFAW: Any Branch Banking (various locations)

  26. 26.

    Baud

    February 7, 2020 at 7:18 am

    @mrmoshpotato:

    Yep. I’ll be doing the Laverne & Shirley chant down Milwaukee’s Main Street.

  27. 27.

    Baud

    February 7, 2020 at 7:19 am

    @SFAW:

    She should have gone as Beth Warren to complete the set.  No one likes outliers.

  28. 28.

    mrmoshpotato

    February 7, 2020 at 7:19 am

    @Elizabelle: Obligatory

  29. 29.

    OzarkHillbilly

    February 7, 2020 at 7:19 am

    The losers: all of us

    No. Just no. First, I wasn’t in competition. 2nd, I didn’t really care all that much about the results. 3rd, the only meaning that would be derived from the timely release of the results would be the slanted spins of prejudiced pundits and political operatives and that lack is a decided win for me. Not to mention the entire state of New Hampshire. I wonder if lightening can strike twice?

    In the end, the few delegates at stake will be properly allocated according to the fucked up caucus process. The late announcement changes that not a whit.

  30. 30.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    February 7, 2020 at 7:20 am

    @Baud:

    Yes, they just changed the covers. They could have featured books about diverse characters, but no. I wonder what the meeting was like where everyone said that’s a great idea!

    I see rumor is that Vindemann will be removed from the National Security council today with the excuse that Trump is trying to reduce overstaffing.

  31. 31.

    Baud

    February 7, 2020 at 7:20 am

    @debbie:

    I wish they had done that with the Bible, just for the lulz.

  32. 32.

    SFAW

    February 7, 2020 at 7:22 am

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    I wish you had given me a trigger warning; I barely made it to my fainting couch.

    Are campaign platforms now documents which must now clear the same hurdles that scholarly works must clear? I think there’s a difference between lifting platform wording and quoting Neil Kinnock without attribution. [Although that whole episode belongs in the Pearl-Clutching Hall of Fame.]

    Not yelling at you, of course, just at the pearl-clutchers.

  33. 33.

    Elizabelle

    February 7, 2020 at 7:23 am

    The LA Times had a really nice article on “Hair Love.”  Link to the short film (all 6:48 of it) is embedded within this article.
    ‘Hair Love’ filmmakers on normalizing black hair and ‘girl dads’

  34. 34.

    OzarkHillbilly

    February 7, 2020 at 7:23 am

    @debbie: Here’s an idea: Promote books by black authors, say Maya Angelou or maybe TN Coats.

    Naaahhh, who am I kidding. That’s just crazy talk.

  35. 35.

    satby

    February 7, 2020 at 7:24 am

    @debbie: Pete is a progressive, just a pragmatic enough one to know that massive change might take some time and buy in from more than the dirtbag left. And he’s bringing in the Independent voters that Sanders claimed he could. Plus he’s just a nice guy, and really, wouldn’t that be a huge relief from angry, shouty, grievance junkie old men?

  36. 36.

    mrmoshpotato

    February 7, 2020 at 7:25 am

    @Baud: That’s ridiculous.  Everyone knows Jeebus was an attractive white man with blue eyes with long flowing brown hair.

  37. 37.

    OzarkHillbilly

    February 7, 2020 at 7:27 am

    @Butter Emails: Promoting other people’s ideas is fine, but footnotes. With all that money he couldn’t buy a few footnotes? You know, give credit where credit is due?

    Or is that too old school?

  38. 38.

    Baud

    February 7, 2020 at 7:30 am

    @satby: Unfortunately, we don’t have any front pagers demanding we be nice to Pete supporters.

    I’m happy for you that he’s doing well.

  39. 39.

    SFAW

    February 7, 2020 at 7:31 am

    @satby:

    Pete is a progressive … wouldn’t that be a huge relief from angry, shouty, grievance junkie old men?

    I freely admit that I have not been following his campaign as much as Warren’s, but my sense is that he’s doing pretty well at adopting the finger-waggy, “liberals don’t understand/appreciate the Salt of the Earth, Real American midwesterners” schtick; he’s just not as shouty as Bernie. Happy to be proven wrong, especially if he gets the nom.

  40. 40.

    satby

    February 7, 2020 at 7:33 am

    I’ve always been an ally of LGBT people, but only in the last few years have I really known any (out anyway) T folks personally. So what Pete said last night on Colbert’s show really touched me, because one of my friends puts herself in danger weekly going to rural areas to do education, support and outreach to LGBT kids who may be struggling in conservative communities. Acceptance saves lives.

  41. 41.

    Amir Khalid

    February 7, 2020 at 7:34 am

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    If Bloomberg cheats on his policy homework, then he doesn’t actually know the material, and he’s not prepared to make policy decisions. Disqualifying fail.

  42. 42.

    rikyrah

    February 7, 2020 at 7:34 am

    Bernie is Trump, just from the left. Same bully the media and dissenters persona, same anti identity politics, anti trade, white working class first politics. Same lying about what he can get passed. Same insider pretending to be an outsider. https://t.co/ZTa2gtjXsV— Marcus H. Johnson (@marcushjohnson) February 7, 2020

  43. 43.

    rikyrah

    February 7, 2020 at 7:36 am

    @Elizabelle:

    Thank you for the link ??

  44. 44.

    Baud

    February 7, 2020 at 7:37 am

    @rikyrah:

    Actually, I don’t think anyone would call Trump an insider (at least not in 2016).

  45. 45.

    Ken

    February 7, 2020 at 7:39 am

    @debbie:  Wasn’t there was a case a few years back where people were complaining about some YA movie – maybe Hunger Games – because a black actress was cast, and the author said “The character is black. Did you read the description on page X?”  There was also that woman who went into a rage over some ad because “Santa is white”.

    Possibly someone at B&N was aiming for that idea.  That is, we imagine some characters as white, even though the books don’t describe them as such.  Though I really doubt that was the strategy, and if it was they made some terrible picks.

  46. 46.

    debbie

    February 7, 2020 at 7:39 am

    @satby:

    No argument from me. If it’s between the two, I’d have no hesitation. But I’m not ready to let go of Warren yet.

  47. 47.

    satby

    February 7, 2020 at 7:39 am

    @SFAW: no, that’s a wrong impression, so you may want to look at some actual videos of his appearances instead of relying on social media stuff, which usually has a bias.

    @Baud: Still team Warren, but I’m happy that in spite of all the crap thrown at him he’s doing better than (I’m sure) even he expected. Because it means a great deal to many people who only 6 years ago even got the right to marry, and who are their civil rights getting rolled back now.

  48. 48.

    rikyrah

    February 7, 2020 at 7:39 am

    I dunno, Bernie being 2 points ahead in what should be his second strongest state seems like a darker tiding than Biden flopping in states that look the least like his base.— Iowasca Tripper (@agraybee) February 7, 2020

  49. 49.

    Starfish

    February 7, 2020 at 7:40 am

    @Elizabelle: Anyone But Baud. Band’s stunts this campaign season have drawn a lot of haters who do not like the Comic Sans on  the t-shirts. Baud did not realize how much design nerds hate that font.

  50. 50.

    Elizabelle

    February 7, 2020 at 7:40 am

    @rikyrah:   You were so good to bring “Hair Love” to our attention in the first place.  Excellent film.  Rooting for it.

    ETA:  I think making the dad a young one with dreads and tattoos was a perfect choice.

  51. 51.

    rikyrah

    February 7, 2020 at 7:40 am

    Wouldn’t be surprised to see Buttigieg win New Hampshire too tbh. But those diverse southern states are coming and they will be really tough for a lot of candidates.— Marcus H. Johnson (@marcushjohnson) February 7, 2020

  52. 52.

    satby

    February 7, 2020 at 7:41 am

    @rikyrah: exactly what I’ve been saying for years!

  53. 53.

    debbie

    February 7, 2020 at 7:41 am

    @rikyrah:

    Two old men, shaking fists at the clouds from porches on opposite sides of the same, white street. Nothing more than that.

  54. 54.

    Jeffro

    February 7, 2020 at 7:42 am

    I’ll be interested to see where we stand after Super Tuesday.  I think that’s when Bloomberg will either get out or really step up the spending/campaigning, and we’ll know by then if Buttigieg has any staying power as well.  Amy K could well be out after NH too.

  55. 55.

    rikyrah

    February 7, 2020 at 7:42 am

    ha. i just tweeted that nobody knows what's going to happen in primary, and it's true. but i look at data here Biden has huge leads among black voters and 20+ pt lead among voters 45+ and i kind of shake my head at the media's Dead Man Walking narrative this week. https://t.co/hTTODZR0BS— Eric Boehlert (@EricBoehlert) February 7, 2020

  56. 56.

    debbie

    February 7, 2020 at 7:43 am

    @Ken:

    New Yorkers are very insular. If they think something is a good idea, the rest of the country will too! //

    Coming from the Midwest, I ran into this a lot in NYC. Of course the opposite is also true.

  57. 57.

    SFAW

    February 7, 2020 at 7:43 am

    @satby:

    relying on social media stuff

    Good one!

    I don’t “do” social media, except reading some of the stuff I see here. My (apparently incorrect) assessment was based on his own commercials, also some random comments he’s made (which subsequently appeared on TV). The “I’m the only one who understands Middle America” vibe came through on those — at least to me it did. As I said: happy to be proved wrong if he gets the nom.

  58. 58.

    Baud

    February 7, 2020 at 7:44 am

    @satby:

    Warren/Buttigieg would be kind of cool, except for all white aspect of it.

  59. 59.

    Jeffro

    February 7, 2020 at 7:44 am

    @rikyrah: Yup.  2016 was Wilmer’s high-water mark, even if he doesn’t realize it yet.

  60. 60.

    rikyrah

    February 7, 2020 at 7:45 am

    Bernie, Buttigieg, and Warren have all struggled mightily to poll at 15% in the southern states. I think their focus will be on staying viable in alot of areas moreso than winning the state. Recent polls have Bloomberg/Steyer close or beating them in southern states. https://t.co/btn2kmXDgH— Marcus H. Johnson (@marcushjohnson) February 7, 2020

  61. 61.

    SFAW

    February 7, 2020 at 7:46 am

    @debbie:

    If they think something is a good idea, the rest of the country will too!

    If the rest of the country knows what’s good for them, they will.

  62. 62.

    satby

    February 7, 2020 at 7:46 am

    @Jeffro: I don’t think Pete will go the distance, but he’s demonstrated that decency can win and he’s got some clear capabilities at management and coalition building, plus he’s got good advisors. Warren and Biden are also happy warriors, decent and capable. We’re in good shape with three out of the top four candidates.

  63. 63.

    rikyrah

    February 7, 2020 at 7:48 am

    #SouthCarolina Democratic Primary Polling:Biden: 37%Steyer: 19%Sanders: 14%Warren: 8%Buttigieg: 4%Yang: 3%Klobuchar: 2%Gabbard: 2%East Carolina University / February 2, 2020(Pre-Iowa)#Democrats #USA— Polling USA (@USA_Polling) February 7, 2020

  64. 64.

    Ken

    February 7, 2020 at 7:49 am

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: I see rumor is that Vindemann will be removed from the National Security council today with the excuse that Trump is trying to reduce overstaffing.

    I guess the upside is that next January the incoming President (assuming please God it’s not Trump) can just dump the few remaining people on our top executive and advisory bodies, on the grounds that they were either a Trump lickspittle or didn’t have the principles to resign.

  65. 65.

    SFAW

    February 7, 2020 at 7:49 am

    @Starfish:

    Baud did not realize how much the all-important “design nerds” voting bloc hates that font.

    Fixed

  66. 66.

    satby

    February 7, 2020 at 7:50 am

    @SFAW: but a lot of biased and sometimes inaccurate social media gets copied here, including two times entire threads went sideways in outrage over what turned out to be completely inaccurate stories about Buttigieg.

  67. 67.

    OzarkHillbilly

    February 7, 2020 at 7:50 am

    @Ken:That is, we imagine some characters as white, even though the books don’t describe them as such.

    According to JK Rowling, that’s what happened with Hermione in Harry Potter.

  68. 68.

    Baud

    February 7, 2020 at 7:50 am

    @satby:

    I kind of disagree.  I feel like no one is really a happy warrior this year, and that’s what is missing and making the primary so dreadful.  Kamala had the best shot at it, and Warren comes close, but no one quite has it yet.

  69. 69.

    Ken

    February 7, 2020 at 7:51 am

    @rikyrah: Though I never plan to run for office, were I to do so, I would hope that I’d retain sense enough to drop out when my polling numbers fell below the margin of error.

  70. 70.

    SFAW

    February 7, 2020 at 7:52 am

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    I see rumor is that Vindemann will be removed from the National Security council today with the excuse that Trump is trying to reduce overstaffing.

    He should be glad that Shill Barr isn’t opening a Treason investigation on him. So far.

    And after him, Pelosi and Schiff.

    [I wish I were kidding a lot more than I am.]

  71. 71.

    satby

    February 7, 2020 at 7:52 am

    @rikyrah: so why would Bloomberg or Steyer have  more appeal than Biden?!? Does not compute.

  72. 72.

    Baud

    February 7, 2020 at 7:52 am

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    To be fair, she has a pretty white name, it’s set in the UK, and there were the movies.

  73. 73.

    SFAW

    February 7, 2020 at 7:53 am

    @satby:

    As I said, I don’t generally form my opinions based on tweets, etc.

  74. 74.

    A Ghost To Most

    February 7, 2020 at 7:53 am

    @Elizabelle: Mighty rich, coming from Barcelona Barbie.

  75. 75.

    randy khan

    February 7, 2020 at 7:55 am

    @Ken: 

    I don’t know what B&N was thinking, but my first reaction on reading about this was to ponder why there was some reason the characters in question were assumed to be white. There is, after all, a quite famous Broadway (and movie) version of The Wizard of Oz in which all of the characters are black, and theaters regularly cast black actors in Shakespeare plays. (I’ve even seen a race-switched version of Othello.)

  76. 76.

    Starfish

    February 7, 2020 at 7:56 am

    @satby: They may be running commercials while other candidates are not?

  77. 77.

    Starfish

    February 7, 2020 at 7:58 am

    @OzarkHillbilly: Rowling is a liar who stole the concept of a black Hermione from the fandom. The character from the Hunger Games was black in the books.

  78. 78.

    Kathleen

    February 7, 2020 at 7:59 am

    @OzarkHillbilly: Considering it’s the Intercept I’m assuming Russia is not supporting Bloomberg.

  79. 79.

    Baud

    February 7, 2020 at 8:00 am

    @randy khan:

    Is that really a Black History Month thing, though, when the underlying work hasn’t been adapted in any way?

  80. 80.

    SFAW

    February 7, 2020 at 8:01 am

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    According to JK Rowling, that’s what happened with Hermione in Harry Potter.

    I think at least one the illustrations depicted Hermione as white. Over Rowling’s objections, no doubt.

  81. 81.

    Princess

    February 7, 2020 at 8:01 am

    @Jeffro:  I think his supporters are beginning to realize it and it is why they are so angry, despite doing fine in Iowa and expecting to do fine in NH.

  82. 82.

    SFAW

    February 7, 2020 at 8:03 am

    @Starfish:

    Rowling is a liar who stole the concept of a black Hermione from the fandom.

    To go along with the underlying concept that she appropriated. [Yes, I’m aware she won the lawsuit filed against her.]

  83. 83.

    OzarkHillbilly

    February 7, 2020 at 8:11 am

    Antarctica logs hottest temperature on record with a reading of 18.3C

    Antarctica has logged its hottest temperature on record, with an Argentinian research station thermometer reading 18.3C (That’s 65 F for the metrically challenged out there), beating the previous record by 0.8C. The reading, taken at Esperanza on the northern tip of the continent’s peninsula, beats Antarctica’s previous record of 17.5C, set in March 2015. A tweet from Argentina’s meteorological agency on Friday revealed the record. The station’s data goes back to 1961.

    Antarctica’s peninsula – the area that points towards South America – is one of the fastest warming places on earth, heating by almost 3C over the past 50 years, according to the World Meteorological Organization. Almost all the region’s glaciers are melting.

    The Esperanza reading breaks the record for the Antarctic continent. The record for the Antarctic region – that is, everywhere south of 60 degrees latitude – is 19.8C, taken on Signy Island in January 1982.

    Those Chinese are going too damned far with this hoax of theirs.

  84. 84.

    MomSense

    February 7, 2020 at 8:11 am

    Things don’t look good for Buttigieg and Warren in SC. They are both in the single digits.  Nevada was looking ok for Warren – she was third but that was before the mess with her campaign there.  Buttigieg is taking voters from Biden and that is very bad news for anyone who thinks Sanders is a disaster. Sanders is set to do very well on Super Tuesday.  This is a nightmare of a primary.

  85. 85.

    Amir Khalid

    February 7, 2020 at 8:12 am

    @SFAW:

    Rowling said her only physical description of Hermione in the books says she has frizzy hair. Rowling had no problem with a black actress playing the adult Hermione in the premier production of the play Harry Potter and The Cursed Child.

  86. 86.

    Butter Emails

    February 7, 2020 at 8:13 am

     

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    If this were a university assignment, scholarly article or paper, footnotes would have been insufficient given the quantity of material appropriated.

  87. 87.

    zzyzx

    February 7, 2020 at 8:13 am

    @Starfish: From the interviews I’ve read it was less, “Yes, of course, she was black all along! Why didn’t you know that?” and more, “You know, once she was cast I realized that my actual description didn’t preclude her being that ethnicity, so, sure, why not?”

    Rowling didn’t cast the play. She just respected the choice that they made.

  88. 88.

    Ken

    February 7, 2020 at 8:16 am

    @SFAW:  When someone claimed that the Potter books and character were similar to Gaiman’s Books of Magic, Gaiman said,

    I wasn’t the first writer to create a young magician with potential, nor was Rowling the first to send one to school. It’s not the ideas, it’s what you do with them that matters.

    Seems reasonable to me.

  89. 89.

    Shalimar

    February 7, 2020 at 8:16 am

    @Amir Khalid: Does anyone think Bloomberg is doing his own homework?  He has campaign staff writing/plagiarizing this.  His entire lifetime as a manager suggests he actually listens, so I assume he will understand policy.  I do not expect I will agree with most of his policy choices.

  90. 90.

    satby

    February 7, 2020 at 8:17 am

    @MomSense: well, polls haven’t been very indicative so far.

  91. 91.

    Anne Laurie

    February 7, 2020 at 8:18 am

    @OzarkHillbilly: Here’s an idea: Promote books by black authors, say Maya Angelou or maybe TN Coats.

    Those classics B&N (with only the best intentions!) re-covered are out of copyright.

    Costs much more to pay Angelou or Coates for their work.

    I’m assuming this was meant to be a Black History Month promo geared to having ‘youth groups’ buy bulk packs for redistribution.  Strictly a short-term impulse buy, like the Valentine-themed cards and chocolates stacked by the checkout lines.

  92. 92.

    Immanentize

    February 7, 2020 at 8:18 am

    I feel like I am being chased from this blog by earlier and earlier second morning posts.  When is on the road coming back?

  93. 93.

    Amir Khalid

    February 7, 2020 at 8:18 am

    @Baud:

    The enrolment at Hogwarts is racially diverse in the books and the movies. I gather that’s just what Britain looks like these days.

  94. 94.

    satby

    February 7, 2020 at 8:19 am

    @Immanentize: Alain said he was taking a week off, so next week probably.

  95. 95.

    OzarkHillbilly

    February 7, 2020 at 8:19 am

     

    @Starfish: @SFAW: What Rowling said was that Hermione’s race was never mentioned. Black, white, Asian… That she could have been any race. The fact that she was a Muggle is a bit of a tell that whatever else, she was not acceptable to those who cared about these things.

  96. 96.

    Shalimar

    February 7, 2020 at 8:21 am

    @Ken: You remember correctly, it was one of the supporting characters in the first Hunger Games movie,  Rue.

  97. 97.

    Baud

    February 7, 2020 at 8:21 am

    @Amir Khalid:

    Well you figure the Patel sisters were not white.

    I’m not saying that Hermione has to be or was written as white.  Just that presuming her to be white is less unreasonable than in the average context.

  98. 98.

    Amir Khalid

    February 7, 2020 at 8:21 am

    @Shalimar: Bloomberg’s staff, who cribbed all this material, are also the ones who explain it to him. If they don’t have a deep grasp of the stuff, neither will he.

  99. 99.

    Matt McIrvin

    February 7, 2020 at 8:23 am

    @Baud:

    I feel like no one is really a happy warrior this year, and that’s what is missing and making the primary so dreadful.

    I think we’re having a hard time believing that it’s really possible to win this one. In the sense of actually having someone other than Trump assume the Presidency in 2021. Who knows if enough of the democratic process really remains that we can do this, even if the people prefer our candidate to Trump?

    Trump is going to use the power of the presidency to smear, harass, maybe even imprison our nominee no matter who it is, and it takes a lot to get past that. He may even have already done a lot to select his opponent, if Biden’s underperformance in Iowa happened because of anxiety about Hunter Biden and Ukraine.

    If we had a dynamite, Obama-level charismatic candidate it’d likely be possible to rack up enough support to get past this, but we don’t have one. Sanders’ core fans believe he’s that, but he’s not.

  100. 100.

    Baud

    February 7, 2020 at 8:23 am

    @satby: Agree.  Polls seem all over the place.

  101. 101.

    Butter Emails

    February 7, 2020 at 8:25 am

     

    @Amir Khalid:

    Hermione’s oversized incisors are also described in the books. I was also under the impression that Hermione was Rowling’s admitted quasi Author Avatar/Mary Sue.

  102. 102.

    Another Scott

    February 7, 2020 at 8:25 am

    @satby: ‘morning satby.  I hope you, your store, and your fanimals are doing well.

    Yeah, we could do much, much worse than Pete.  Thanks for your patience in continuing to remind us of that.

    It’s still very early.  We’ll see what happens.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  103. 103.

    OzarkHillbilly

    February 7, 2020 at 8:26 am

    @Butter Emails: Yeah well what do I fucking know. I’m just a dumb ass carpenter who spent 35 years building shit that rich fucks who don’t know how to swing a hammer claimed they had built.

  104. 104.

    SFAW

    February 7, 2020 at 8:26 am

    @Amir Khalid:

    Rowling said her only physical description of Hermione in the books says she has frizzy hair.

    I don’t think Rowling’s comment is quite accurate, but it’s her series, so whatever. Whether Hermione was/is black, or white, or brown, or whatever, is immaterial to the character. Although I’ve never heard “frizzy” used vis-a-vis blacks, but maybe I just need to get out more.

  105. 105.

    Ken

    February 7, 2020 at 8:29 am

    @Amir Khalid: The enrolment at Hogwarts is racially diverse in the books and the movies. I gather that’s just what Britain looks like these days.

    Rumor has it that some of the Brexit support was from racists who didn’t like how Britain looks these days.  That captures the deep thinking we’ve all come to associate with racists, since the diversity is that of British citizens, and not due to EU “foreigners” living and working in the country.

  106. 106.

    Baud

    February 7, 2020 at 8:30 am

    @Matt McIrvin:

    We constantly tell Dems fight more. We should stop doing that if we are going to shit our pants whenever there’s a fight.

    Not directed at you.

  107. 107.

    Elizabelle

    February 7, 2020 at 8:31 am

    There’s a new musical, called “Six” about the many wives of Henry 8th, and they’ve done amazing cross cultural casting.  Kind of fun; envisions the wives as pop stars competing in a talent show; each gets a song at the mike.

    Google it; you will see that Anne of Cleves (wife number 4, divorce) is always played by a black woman.  Production I saw, Catherine of Aragon was Asian; Catherine Parr was a statuesque mocha skinned beauty.  They have a great number — Haus of Holbein (a la Dieter and Sprockets) about Anne not matching her portrait.

    Also, was glad to see Bosch on Amazon doing some unusual (and worked out great!) casting.  Irv Irving in the books is definitely a white Mr. Clean lookalike (he’s described that way) and a nemesis and spoiler (most of the time), whereas the series has an incredibly handsome and tall black guy in the role, and he’s more of a good guy.

    Catch up, publishing.

  108. 108.

    Another Scott

    February 7, 2020 at 8:32 am

    @SFAW: Amy K. did the I’m from the MidWest and we’re the best, suck it coastal looooosssers! shtick far too much for my taste, also too.

    I assume both of them were just pandering to the rubes in Iowa, like every candidate does (to greater or lesser extent).

    It can only work for one of them, obviously.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  109. 109.

    SFAW

    February 7, 2020 at 8:33 am

    @Ken:

    Google mentions the name Adrian Jacobs. I also recall stories about how Rowling lifted terms like “Muggle” (or maybe something else?), as well as various characters, from the Jacobs book. Based on the contemporaneous accounts, it seemed that Jacobs’s claim(s) had some merit, but memory fades. [This was 10 or 15 years ago, at least, that I heard the report/stories.]

    That said, the Harry Potter saga was/is great, and Rowling did a pretty good job, and I don’t recall too many deus ex machina plot points (which is pretty good for a seven-part series).

  110. 110.

    Elizabelle

    February 7, 2020 at 8:33 am

    We have some amazing winds passing through central VA.  The clouds are flying.  Windchimes symphony.

    Good day to be on terra firma.

  111. 111.

    MomSense

    February 7, 2020 at 8:34 am

    Just found out I have a snow day!  More like an ice storm day, but I need it. My candle’s been burning at both ends for so long I’m down to just wick.

  112. 112.

    schrodingers_cat

    February 7, 2020 at 8:36 am

    @Elizabelle: ABBS Anybody but BS from Vt.

  113. 113.

    Immanentize

    February 7, 2020 at 8:36 am

    @MomSense: Ice day?  it’s 38 here on your side of Boston.  No snow. No ice.  Although yesterday was slushy.

  114. 114.

    Baud

    February 7, 2020 at 8:39 am

    @MomSense: I’m happy for you. Hope your power stays on.

  115. 115.

    Elizabelle

    February 7, 2020 at 8:40 am

    @MomSense:  Wishing you a lovely and sane day, with Korra, knitting, and lots of restorative hot tea or whatever you like.

  116. 116.

    Elizabelle

    February 7, 2020 at 8:40 am

    @schrodingers_cat:   Yeah, that works.

    And I loved your “leap year Democrat” quip.  One for the books!

  117. 117.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    February 7, 2020 at 8:41 am

    @Baud: I once heard Linda Sue Park (who’s of Korean descent) respond to authors who say they just won’t identify their characters’ race, so the character could be anything. She said that at least in the US, if you don’t identify race, your character is white. That’s because if you’re not white in the US, you have to think about race with some frequency.

    YA books increasingly include many characters of color, though they’re often secondary.

  118. 118.

    Amir Khalid

    February 7, 2020 at 8:42 am

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    It’s also worth mentioning that Hermione, whatever we take her race to be, herself suffers bigotry from Purebloods at Hogwarts like Draco Malfoy who despise her for her Muggle origins.

  119. 119.

    Baud

    February 7, 2020 at 8:42 am

    @Elizabelle:

    Agreed.  Excellent quip.  Biden should use it.

  120. 120.

    MomSense

    February 7, 2020 at 8:43 am

    @Immanentize:

    Yesterday I drove to and from work through an obstacle course of cars and trucks off the road.  Unfortunately there were also ambulances and stretchers and cars that looked so bad that I am terrified for the people in them.

    We are hovering at 30-31 and it’s sleezing. My car is covered in a thick coating of ice.  Not sure I could open the door to start the car.

  121. 121.

    Immanentize

    February 7, 2020 at 8:48 am

    @MomSense: That happened to me once — in Texas driving from Texarkana to Waco.  Worst ice storm I have ever been in.  Cars were flying off the road like the Red Sea parting.  I just kept chugging along at about 35 mph.  Got to Waco, alive.  Ice had stopped.  I pulled into a pizza restaurant for lunch and a beer.  Waco is a friggin’ dry town!  Never was I happier to reach Austin later that day.

    Stay safe up there.  And defeat Collins.

  122. 122.

    SFAW

    February 7, 2020 at 8:50 am

    @Amir Khalid:

    Fortunately, Scheissgibbon Voldemort said he had plenty of black Muggle friends, and would not do anything to harm them

  123. 123.

    GBVA

    February 7, 2020 at 8:52 am

    @Another Scott:

    Gotta disagree here. Pete’s the American Macron. Or rather, Pete would be the American Macron, if his nomination didn’t ultimately depend on the support of nonwhite and younger voters, the vast majority of whom actively detest his particularly unctuous, millenial brand of careerism and ideological fluidity. The party is rife with African-American and Latinx activists warning that his candidacy constitutes a huge middle finger to their constituencies, and that choosing him to lead the party would drive down turnout and doom us to 4 more years. I for one am loathe to ignore them.

    Beyond that, though, as a progressive a genuinely believe Pete’s presidency would be a disaster for the Democrats, much in the same way Macron’s has been for the center-left in France. Pete makes a lot of nebulous gestures at progressive goals–expand health care! do something about climate change!–but in instances where he offers substantive proposals to attain them they are often, like Macron’s infamous gas tax, disproportionately punitive to working and middle income citizens. Take all the stories yesterday about Pete’s healthcare plan, and its professed intention to dramatically expand the single most unpopular element of the ACA–the individual mandate and its associated tax penalty–and potentially leave the uninsured on the hook for thousands of dollars. It’s tone deaf technocracy at its worst, and precisely the kind of stuff that’s driven Macron’s approval #’s into second term GWB territory. No thanks.

  124. 124.

    Kathleen

    February 7, 2020 at 8:52 am

    @rikyrah: It is so hard for the political propatainment complex to let go of the white states.

  125. 125.

    Immanentize

    February 7, 2020 at 8:54 am

    I think worrying about who will drop out or win the nomination is pointless until after Super Tuesday.  I doubt anyone will drop out before then.  If Biden does drop out, who gets his votes?  Does he support someone else?  Specifically NOT support Sanders?  Same for Warren.  And everyone else.  And what if Sanders has another health episode?  This thing is far from over.  I am looking forward to unplugging from March 12 to April 6.  But who knows, maybe my ship will be quarantined and I will be out of touch until May?  That could be a blessing….

  126. 126.

    MomSense

    February 7, 2020 at 8:55 am

    @Immanentize:

    The tide shifted on Collins.  Media coverage changed and I absolutely think it is the result of her interview with Mal Leary two days ago.  He’s a very familiar presence in Maine. He was so measured and calm in the way he asked her basic questions which made her response so revealing.  We all feel like Mal is a friend. He also happens to be a wonderful person.

    https://www.mainepublic.org/post/sen-collins-her-decision-vote-acquittal-and-what-she-hearing-constituents

  127. 127.

    Jeffro

    February 7, 2020 at 8:56 am

    @Elizabelle: Yup!  It was getting so noisy out there earlier this morning that the dog nosed her way into our bedroom and curled up right next to my side of the bed!

    I was like, “it’s ok…it’s just a little storm…” petpetpetpetpet :)

  128. 128.

    Betty Cracker

    February 7, 2020 at 8:58 am

    We had a huge storm last night and a good bit of damage. Lost electricity for several hours, but that’s back on now, thank dog. About 3/4 of our fences were blown over, so the dogs can’t go out except on leashes because I don’t want them on the riverbank. (Gators aren’t usually around this part of the river until spring and summer, but I’m not taking any chances.) The house is okay as far as I can tell.

    A big sweet gum tree at the property line in the water fell over, and half of it is in our jon boat. As good luck would have it, the mister had the outboard off and in the garage to change the foot oil; otherwise, the motor, which is fairly new, might have been damaged because the tree fell across the stern. The boat should be fine; it’s one of those indestructible metal tubs my dad has used at his marina since the 1970s. Didn’t look cracked or bent when I inspected it.

    The storm came through last night just before midnight, and I watched from the porch until the wind got scary enough to drive me inside. It was amazing! The lightning lit up the horizon like daytime. Even with that, I had no idea how much damage was being done until this morning. The pooches are very crabby about the leash thing.

  129. 129.

    Baud

    February 7, 2020 at 8:59 am

    @MomSense:

    Aside from the presidency and McConnell, beating Collins is the outcome I want most in November.

  130. 130.

    Betty

    February 7, 2020 at 9:00 am

    Pete says nice words in a soothing tone, but his very fluidity on he issues, such as health care, would seem to indicate that he has not thought deeply about the key issues – very superficial.

  131. 131.

    Kathleen

    February 7, 2020 at 9:05 am

    @satby: I’ve concluded the constant breathless poll reporting is intended to confuse and divide us. There seems to be a need for the political propatainment complex to frenetically hype Sanders.

  132. 132.

    MomSense

    February 7, 2020 at 9:15 am

    @Baud:

    Me too!  At least I don’t feel so alone in my disgust with Collins.  I think that people started really paying attention and realized how manipulative she has been.  It is now common to hear people say that she only votes with progressives if the bill is either doomed to fail or will pass easily.  In other words she votes with democrats when it doesn’t make a difference. Planned Parenthood finally figured out she is not our friend which helps with women voters. The other thing is that she has changed her phone protocols so it has been almost impossible to even leave a message at her local offices.  This has been terrible for her constituent services – which was the only thing even I will concede she was good at.

    This is personal for me.  Her uncle was a close family friend and a well respected attorney, legislator, and Justice. He made a huge difference in my dad’s life, including helping him find his avocation.

  133. 133.

    MomSense

    February 7, 2020 at 9:18 am

    @Betty Cracker:

    I’m glad you are all ok.  When I visited my dad in Florida, he took me to so many gator viewing places and they are terrifying.  If your dogs realized what you were protecting them from, they wouldn’t complain one bit.

  134. 134.

    Dupe1970

    February 7, 2020 at 9:20 am

    @Baud: I really want a Warren surge. I view her as the least bad option at this point. But Buttigieg is ok if I can just get over my revulsion for McKinsey consultants….

  135. 135.

    Dupe1970

    February 7, 2020 at 9:22 am

    @OzarkHillbilly: I don’t mind him stealing plans but give people credit. Talk other people. A good manager knows to recognize good ideas and give credit which is why I am concerned about Bloomberg. I don’t think he is all that of a good manager.

  136. 136.

    Aleta

    February 7, 2020 at 9:23 am

    Fwiw, from Portland Press Herald

    This searchable database includes all itemized individual donations of $200 or more (or additional donations by individuals who have exceeded $200 for the election) as well as PAC contributions to the 2020 U.S. Senate re-election campaign of Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Bangor. The database covers the period from July 1 through Dec. 31, 2019.

  137. 137.

    Omnes Omnibus

    February 7, 2020 at 9:26 am

    @Baud: Not a good plan.  Main St. in Milwaukee is only a few blocks long and far west of downtown.  Unless your real goal is to just go to the Bull Shooter Tavern – in which case, just go there; it’s Milwaukee after all.

  138. 138.

    Elizabelle

    February 7, 2020 at 9:27 am

    @Jeffro:   Now we’ve got an amazing rainbow out there.

  139. 139.

    Aleta

    February 7, 2020 at 9:35 am

    @Betty Cracker: That’s intense.  Sorry about your tree and fences.  For some reason I like seeing those banged-up indestructible metal boats.  I guess because you can see in them collisions with rocks and underwater logs that didn’t end them, and because around here the people who use them are (don’t know how to describe it so I’ll call them) kinetic and interacting with the wild world.

     

  140. 140.

    satby

    February 7, 2020 at 9:35 am

    @GBVA: got a link for those assertions? Because on the candidate’s website describing his health care proposals, it doesn’t say he’d pay for it that way, it specifically states rolling back the Trump tax cuts would pay for most of it, with some additional costs covered by going after pharmaceutical companies both by increasing taxes and discounts on governmental purchases /reimbursements.

  141. 141.

    WaterGirl

    February 7, 2020 at 9:36 am

    @Aleta: Your comment at #139 went into moderation because you had somehow appended the word “Those” at the end of your email address.

    If you haven’t already noticed that and corrected it, you’ll want to fix that in the browser you posted in.

    I see that you have already fixed it, so I deleted the duplicate comment after I approved it.

  142. 142.

    Jeffro

    February 7, 2020 at 9:39 am

    @Elizabelle: good but also a bummer, I’m stuck inside for the next few hours…oh well…

  143. 143.

    satby

    February 7, 2020 at 9:43 am

    @Betty Cracker: glad the damage seems minimal! Trees coming down can do very bad things to houses.

  144. 144.

    mali muso

    February 7, 2020 at 9:44 am

    @Elizabelle: Thanks for that! I loved the short film and this was a lovely article. As a white mom of a biracial little girl, I have been learning so much about hair care and trying really hard to do right by her.

  145. 145.

    satby

    February 7, 2020 at 9:44 am

    @MomSense: I hope she’s tossed out by your neighbors this November.

  146. 146.

    GBVA

    February 7, 2020 at 9:45 am

    @satby:

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/buttigieg-health-plan-hinges-on-supercharged-version-of-unpopular-obamacare-mandate/2019/12/24/415ae876-21bb-11ea-9146-6c3a3ab1be6c_story.html

    The plan automatically enrolls the uninsured, and then it charges them the cost of their premiums as a penalty at the end of the year if they don’t pay. Which, sure,t nominally achieves the goal of insuring all Americans. But how many millions of people who don’t follow politics are going to ignore these premium bills when they start to pile up because they did not ask for insurance and don’t trust it? It’s a disaster and yet another debt crisis waiting to happen.

  147. 147.

    Betty Cracker

    February 7, 2020 at 9:47 am

    Big storm last night! pic.twitter.com/jM6rhWVzaM

    — Betty Cracker ? (@bettycrackerfl) February 7, 2020

  148. 148.

    WaterGirl

    February 7, 2020 at 9:48 am

    @Baud: It’s funny because they are so stupid.  But it’s beyond insulting, and demeaning.  Here’s your lollipop (black people on the covers) so be a good girl/boy and go away now.

  149. 149.

    satby

    February 7, 2020 at 9:52 am

    @GBVA: so when you read his proposal, it also states that they would include and expand the current subsidies now in the ACA. But to be fair, I can’t read your whole link because I’m not a WaPo subscriber. And, all proposals are aspirational, including Vermont Trump’s; since anything proposed has to get through Congress. Bernie keeps glossing over that bit though. 

    edited to bold the significant part.

  150. 150.

    Elizabelle

    February 7, 2020 at 9:57 am

    @satby:   I will email you the text of the WaPost article.

  151. 151.

    Elizabelle

    February 7, 2020 at 9:58 am

    @Betty Cracker:   But blue skies today.  And maybe gators, right under the surface.

    Glad you moved your outboard.

  152. 152.

    WaterGirl

    February 7, 2020 at 9:58 am

    @rikyrah:  I noticed 3 tweets from the same person.  What do we know about Marcus H. Johnson and where he’s coming from?

  153. 153.

    WaterGirl

    February 7, 2020 at 10:00 am

    @SFAW: I don’t do social media, either, but I feel like I get a whole lot of it on Balloon Juice these days.  It’s like second-hand smoke used to be.  It’s everywhere.

  154. 154.

    O. Felix Culpa

    February 7, 2020 at 10:01 am

    @MomSense: Part of me worries that we will repeat what happened in the 2016 Republican primary: too many candidates splitting the vote, so the worst (most demagogic) person wins. Not sure what the other part of me thinks.

  155. 155.

    WaterGirl

    February 7, 2020 at 10:02 am

    @satby: The Pod Save America guys were saying last night that the race is now Bernie’s to lose as he is the clear front runner.  It was terribly depressing.

    Since when do even the good guys declare the race ABO (all but over) when only one tiny white state has voted?  In a caucus, no less.

  156. 156.

    satby

    February 7, 2020 at 10:03 am

    @WaterGirl: bio here

  157. 157.

    WaterGirl

    February 7, 2020 at 10:04 am

    @A Ghost To Most:

    Barcelona Barbie?

  158. 158.

    Omnes Omnibus

    February 7, 2020 at 10:04 am

    @WaterGirl: Fucking panic.

  159. 159.

    satby

    February 7, 2020 at 10:05 am

    @WaterGirl: it just disgusts me that after seeing the cost of an incompetent con man in the White House that people seem ready to vote another incompetent con man in.

  160. 160.

    Elizabelle

    February 7, 2020 at 10:06 am

    @WaterGirl:

    @O. Felix Culpa:   Agreed.  MomSense’s comment last night about her sons’ perception of the race:  I thought “that’s social media driven” and it’s terrible, because it distorts what is actually happening.

    Mostly, this campaign has been way too long, and it is distressing to finally be waiting to vote and favorite candidates are running short of money.  We could do better with shorter, publicly funded campaigns (after full disclosure), free TV — they’re public airwaves — and ditch Iowa and NH going first.

    This feels like a tragedy happening in slow motion, but maybe not …

  161. 161.

    satby

    February 7, 2020 at 10:06 am

    @WaterGirl: yeah, it should have been Barcelona Betty (so sorry Elizabelle ?)

  162. 162.

    debbie

    February 7, 2020 at 10:08 am

    @MomSense:

    Nice long weekend!

  163. 163.

    Elizabelle

    February 7, 2020 at 10:09 am

    @satby:  LOL.  I saw it, and was wondering if Ghost really wanted to say Becky.  Was not sure if it was snark or what, so left it.

    But … Barcelona.  Never a bad time to think of that beautiful city.  And Catalunya.

  164. 164.

    WaterGirl

    February 7, 2020 at 10:09 am

    @Matt McIrvin:

    If we had a dynamite, Obama-level charismatic candidate it’d likely be possible to rack up enough support to get past this, but we don’t have one. Sanders’ core fans believe he’s that, but he’s not.

    I think Buttigieg has that more than anyone who is still in the race.  Not Obama-level, but it’s there, and I think it goes a long way toward explaining his current success.

    Also, I think Buttigieg’s strategy of telling people who he is and what he believes in – before putting out specific policy statements or plans – worked, too.

  165. 165.

    mapaghimagsik

    February 7, 2020 at 10:10 am

    @Baud:
    Huh. Not tracking with my experience of Britain, but the only Scotsman I know thinks Brexit is a good idea.

    @Amir Khalid:

    I distinctly remember that description and thought, “Hey…” I didn’t actually go back and look for skin tones, though.

  166. 166.

    mrmoshpotato

    February 7, 2020 at 10:11 am

    @WaterGirl: But Watergirl, less than 2% of the electorate has voted, and then, not really, because it was a caucus and whatever.  The rest of us should just throw in the towel. /S

  167. 167.

    satby

    February 7, 2020 at 10:11 am

    @satby: oops, there’s two of them, so this guy

  168. 168.

    Elizabelle

    February 7, 2020 at 10:12 am

    @satby:   Thank you.  Marcus sounds like a cool guy, but the posts rikyrah has been putting up sound blowhardish.

  169. 169.

    mrmoshpotato

    February 7, 2020 at 10:13 am

    @MomSense: Wheeee!!  Ice sledding time!

  170. 170.

    mapaghimagsik

    February 7, 2020 at 10:13 am

    @satby:

    Never you fret. They’ll vote the same one in.

  171. 171.

    satby

    February 7, 2020 at 10:13 am

    @Elizabelle: depending on how November goes, I may be hauling ass back to Barcelona pretty quickly next January.

  172. 172.

    WaterGirl

    February 7, 2020 at 10:13 am

    @Baud: That would be right up there with a noun, a verb, and 911.

  173. 173.

    Jinchi

    February 7, 2020 at 10:15 am

    @Jeffro: I’ll be interested to see where we stand after Super Tuesday.

    I think this race will be down to at most two viable candidates after Super Tuesday. Democratic voters like their field of candidates and they’re eager to choose someone to take on Trump. That means they’ll switch to one of the leaders if their own favorite can’t win.

  174. 174.

    Elizabelle

    February 7, 2020 at 10:15 am

    @satby:   Oh dear.  I was more disposed to like the Baruch Marcus Johnson.

    Anyway, blowhard, and anyone can say anything on Twitter.  We tend to see a lot of disembodied and depressing stuff from there.

    The blowhard quotes strike me as “I am holding this person down as hard as I can and look — no traction in the polls.”

    Anyway, I will take actual voting (primaries, please) over polls and twitter any day of the week.  And remember, this site is not the whole of reality.  More like a sports blog where our shared hobby is politics.

  175. 175.

    debbie

    February 7, 2020 at 10:17 am

    Ick on all ice storms. February 1, 2011: The day of two separate ice storms. I had just started a part-time second shift job and when I left it to go home at 9pm, the ice was even thicker than the ice I’d scraped off that afternoon. I got impatient with all the chipping and pulled the windshield wiper off the ice, only to leave most of it stuck to the windshield. Luckily it was the passenger-side wiper. Lesson learned.

  176. 176.

    Elizabelle

    February 7, 2020 at 10:17 am

    @satby:   Yeah.  I have been thinking that for a while.  Sigh.

  177. 177.

    NotMax

    February 7, 2020 at 10:17 am

    @Elizabelle

    These days, Always Bring Booze.

    ;)

  178. 178.

    satby

    February 7, 2020 at 10:17 am

    @Elizabelle: very true.

  179. 179.

    WaterGirl

    February 7, 2020 at 10:20 am

    @MomSense: In what way do you think it has shifted?  I read the article at the link, but I loathe Collins so much that I can’t bear to listen to her talk.

  180. 180.

    germy

    February 7, 2020 at 10:21 am

    one of the most annoying things to me are the people who say bernie sanders didn't campaign for hillary in 2016

    so i found video from every single event he did for her, stamped each with a date and location, and edited it down to about a minute and a half pic.twitter.com/tjRt98qlPI

    — Matt Binder (@MattBinder) January 22, 2020

  181. 181.

    Jerzy Russian

    February 7, 2020 at 10:22 am

    @Betty Cracker:

    (Gators aren’t usually around this part of the river until spring and summer, but I’m not taking any chances.)

    Do gators lurk by the banks underwater and launch themselves at their prey like crocodiles do? I remember seeing a nature show years ago about the crocodiles in Australia and it was mentioned that the crocs can “leap” a substantial fraction of their own lengths when attacking their victims in this manner. That is a scary though considering how long some of them can get.

  182. 182.

    GBVA

    February 7, 2020 at 10:22 am

    @satby: Right but I don’t think there’s really any precedent for suddenly beginning to send millions of heretofore uninsured Americans bills for healthcare they did not enroll themselves in, nor what’s going to happen to those people who end up in arears to the federal government. By all accounts though, almost all of them would be working class–i.e. eligible for modest subsidies but not enough to render insurance feasible for one reason or another. This is precisely the demographic that shattered the democratic electoral coalition in 2016. I think it’s a really bad idea but ymmv!

  183. 183.

    WaterGirl

    February 7, 2020 at 10:23 am

    @Betty Cracker: I’m sorry to hear about all the damage, and I’m sorry to hear about the tree you lost, because they are not easily replaced, at least not in stature!  Yay for the motor, and for that fact that you guys are fine.

  184. 184.

    WaterGirl

    February 7, 2020 at 10:26 am

    @Betty Cracker: The blue of the water is so gorgeous, and with the green it makes a lovely scene.  So was your sweet gum a little tree, more easily replaced?  Or was that just a branch that we see in the photo?

  185. 185.

    Elizabelle

    February 7, 2020 at 10:30 am

    @NotMax:   Yesh.  And you all have been very good at recommending good ones to try.  Buffalo Trace.  Basil Hayden.

  186. 186.

    NotMax

    February 7, 2020 at 10:31 am

    Bands of rain passing through here, beginning yesterday and continuing through Tuesday. Upper 50s temps at the moment. Brr.

  187. 187.

    mrmoshpotato

    February 7, 2020 at 10:42 am

    @NotMax:

    Upper 50s temps at the moment. Brr. 

    Time to dust off a pair of jeans! :)

  188. 188.

    Betty Cracker

    February 7, 2020 at 10:43 am

    @Jerzy Russian: Gators do lurk and launch at prey, but they aren’t nearly as aggressive as crocs. I don’t worry about gators for myself and other adult humans, just the dogs (and children when present). Gator attacks on humans are really rare; I’m guessing cows are more of a menace, statistically speaking! :-)

    @WaterGirl: It was a large tree that was on our property line and a few feet in the water. A big branch fell in the boat (pictured), but luckily, most of it fell in the water.

    I was out again to double-check the roof line, which seems fine, and I noticed the tops of a few of the big trees are twisted and bare, so I’m guessing we got a micro-cell or small tornado. Glad it wasn’t worse!

    As for the tree in the boat, I’m sorry it’s gone because the more trees the merrier in my book. But this is a heavily wooded area, so from an aesthetic point of view, losing one is no big deal.

  189. 189.

    NotMax

    February 7, 2020 at 10:56 am

    @mrmoshpotato

    Fie on that. Fleecy bathrobe along with house slippers. No reason to go outdoors.

    Should it not warm up much once the sun comes up might opt to turn on the space heater for the first time this winter. Cottage doesn’t retain the heat very well (no insulation, drafty jalousie windows) but running that for a while does enough to chase the edge off the chill.

  190. 190.

    satby

    February 7, 2020 at 11:42 am

    @GBVA: Well, Elizabelle very kindly sent me the article and the tone and conclusions aren’t that negative. But the Libertarians don’t like it because, let’s face it, they don’t believe in universal health coverage paid for through any taxes, and the left wing think tank guy doesn’t like it because it potentially may cost some upper income people not eligible for subsidies money I guess, even though they would have been insured the entire time (and for less per month on average than a private insurance policy would cost). PLus, you know, everyone would have the option in enrolling in whatever insurance they want.

    this way the Libertarian assholes who crash their Harleys while not wearing helmets (ask me how I know about this) are covered for their hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical care when it happens. NOpe, not shedding tears on this. And again, proposals are aspirational, the laws that result are sausage.

    “If you want to cover everybody — and Pete’s plan gets awfully close — you need a big enough risk pool to control costs. And to control costs, you need two things: a mandate and to subsidize people who can’t afford the costs. . . . That kind of mechanism is integral to the architecture of any plan that gets to universal coverage.” Former Biden advisor.

    “In the ACA mandate, you had to pay something for nothing. You’re paying a penalty at the end of the year. This isn’t that. . . . You are getting the benefit of health insurance and walking around with financial protection in the event of illness and injury,” said Christen Linke Young, who has written extensively about retroactive taxation for the Brookings Institution, a nonprofit policy group.

  191. 191.

    J R in WV

    February 7, 2020 at 1:20 pm

    @Immanentize:

    When is on the road coming back?

    When Alain feels capable of undertaking that task again, we all hope soon. Like many of us from time to time , his life got more complicated than he expected.

  192. 192.

    Caphilldcne

    February 7, 2020 at 4:43 pm

    @OzarkHillbilly: as a person who has worked for non-profits I will frankly say I want candidates to steal our policy platforms verbatim. And I don’t care if they are not footnoted. However if they are elected I *will* hold them to those positions.

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