Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

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

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

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

Balloon Juice has never been a refuge for the linguistically delicate.

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

Imperialist aggressors must be defeated, or the whole world loses.

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

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

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

Seems like a complicated subject, have you tried yelling at it?

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

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

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

When I decide to be condescending, you won’t have to dream up a fantasy about it.

JFC, are there no editors left at that goddamn rag?

Republicans seem to think life begins at the candlelight dinner the night before.

I’ve spoken to my cat about this, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.

The next time the wall street journal editorial board speaks the truth will be the first.

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

Republican obstruction dressed up as bipartisanship. Again.

We cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation.

This fight is for everything.

“Can i answer the question? No you can not!”

Republicans do not pay their debts.

You are here: Home / Past Elections / 2020 Elections / Wednesday Morning Open Thread: So Many Clowns, for Such A Sad Circus

Wednesday Morning Open Thread: So Many Clowns, for Such A Sad Circus

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174Comments

  1. 1.

    Karen S.

    So… Tulsi’s still lurking, eh? A joke candidate without a punchline, as far as I can tell.

  2. 2.

    Lapassionara

    Good morning, jackals.

    About that increase in Democratic Party voters, how much can be attributed to the fact that many states have open primaries and there is not really a contest on the Republican side.

    I could have chosen a Republican ballot yesterday, but thought I would have been wasting my time to do so. Notably, I never saw any results from the other primaries on the TV, but I assume the paper will print them this morning.

  3. 3.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Lapassionara:  Yeah, I think we’re in danger of being misled here by a lot of November Trump supporters voting for Biden as their favorite Democrat– just as they supported Sanders over Clinton in 2016.

  4. 4.

    SFAW

    Assuming Biden can now coast (so to speak) to the nom, people are starting to talk about how he needs to pick a younger person, preferably a woman or POC, to bridge the generations, etc. I had an epiphany of sorts this morning: what about Ivanka?
    She’s young, a “successful businesswoman,” she’s “operated” at top levels of this “administration,” and she’s “hot” (in the eyes of at least one person). Plus, picking her would show Biden’s sincerity re: reaching across the aisle, which would probably get him additional votes in November, picking up the all-important lecherous asshole demographic.
    I think if he does this, my nym/nom could go down in history alongside giants such as Bob Shrum and Mark Penn.

  5. 5.

    NotMax

    Anecdotal markets report from Tuesday’s monthly grocery shopping sojourn. Did not meticulously travel each and every aisle, just impressions from quick scans of shelves for items sold out or about to be very, very soon (some of which aren’t things I shop for at any time).

    Costco: protective gloves all gone, canned corn and also canned baked beans down to the last few. New, lower limits on how many behind the counter boxes of sinus pills one can buy.

    Target: everything appeared to be fully stocked with only minor exceptions. In the seasonal Easter section, I snagged the very last bag of all black jellybeans (mounds of bags of the multicolored ones). Less expensive brands of trash bags noticeably impacted but available.

    Safeway: rice running low or gone, same with boxes of all types of soup stock or broth.

    Whole Foods (only one aisle looked at as I go there for only one item): rye flour of any type, any brand completely sold out (of course that’s what I was after), all other types of flours in abundance.

  6. 6.

    Baud

    • Agree with Federico. Last night was bittersweet.
    • It’ll be interesting to see what path AOC takes going forward.
  7. 7.

    Betty Cracker

    Via TPM:

    Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC), who endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden ahead of the South Carolina primary, is calling for the Democratic National Committee to “shut this primary down” after Biden racked up a series of wins on Tuesday, including the key state of Michigan.

    In an interview with NPR Tuesday, Clyburn said that at the end of the night, Biden will reach a point where he is “the prohibitive nominee of the party.”

    Clyburn argued that “the DNC should then step in, make an assessment and determine whether or not they ought to have any more debates” following Biden’s wins, which came a week after his strong showing on Super Tuesday.

    I hope Perez doesn’t listen to this nonsense. We’re not the Republican Party. But a come-to-Jesus meeting with both remaining candidates might not be a bad idea — reinforce the message that Job 1 is to kick Trump out of the White House, avoid tearing down each other and the party, blah blah blah.

  8. 8.

    PsiFighter37

    What’s the odds that Bernie drops out this week? That’s the most interesting question left. I hope Obama and even some of his most vociferous advocates (like AOC or Ro Khanna) do the math and tell him it’s time to get out with grace. It’s time to get on to the main show and bring all the guns to the gun fight.

  11. 11.

    PsiFighter37

    @Betty Cracker: Dumb comment by Clyburn, but the overall thrust isn’t wrong. I imagine he’s all too wary of having Wilmer and his buddies spend the time between now and the DNC spreading misinformation and being the same horrible team players that they were in 2016. The sooner Sanders gets out, the better. That said, I think the media realizes this race is over and that Bernie’s supposed appeal to the white working class was all just anti-Clinton votes. No more earned media attention will just reduce him to an uninteresting gadfly who is yammering about revolution to his voting base, which is revealed to be much smaller than thought.

  13. 13.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Lapassionara: Speaking anecdotally, none. When I voted yesterday the poll workers were very busy with…

    Smoking a cigarette. Trimming their toenails. Washing their hair. Changing the oil in their car. Erecting a modernist sculpture honoring volunteer fire fighters everywhere…

    We got there at 12:05 and we were the only ones there. The vote counter showed 30 some odd for the day (TPM says a total of 1032 DEM votes in Washington CO yesterday)(which is about what I would have expected)

  16. 16.

    Splitting Image

    I have to admit I’m a tad disappointed that Biden is the choice and Warren isn’t, but I’m still feeling pretty chipper today. Looking forward to a day and a half without a Democrats in Disarray storyline.

    The important thing to remember is that how liberal a Biden administration will be will have virtually nothing to do with Biden’s personal views on this issue or that one, or with his past actions as a Senator on behalf of this or that lobby group.

    It’s going to have everything to do with how many Senate seats the Democrats win in November, and how many state houses the party can take. If all Biden does over the next four years is sign legislation Pelosi and Schumer put on his desk and tell second amendment idiots that they are full of shit, he’ll be one of the best Presidents of our time.

    Just get him a Senate that will put good bills on his desk. That’s what this is about from here on out. And de-gerrymandering the states the Republicans took in 2010.

  17. 17.

    Baud

    @Chyron HR:

    She won’t turn on Bernie, but while she’s committed to what brung her, she also seems to have her head in reality.

    I’m not talking about what she’ll do tomorrow but over the next few years of her career.

  18. 18.

    SFAW

    @NotMax:

    Although I haven’t been there since Saturday (3/7), “Market Basket” (a chain in MA, NH, and southern ME) has generally been well-stocked. I was a little amazed by this, but when talking with one store manager, he said that they’ve been getting deliveries at triple the normal rate, in order to keep the shelves stocked. [Note: about two or three weeks ago, some of the shelves were bare or severely depleted; it seems like management worked to remedy that situation.]

    I have no idea if they’ll be able to keep it up, but keeping my fingers crossed.

  19. 19.

    Walker

    Cornell announced it was shutting down and going virtual yesterday. We had a very long TA meetings and came up with a plan that we think will work for the semester (this is not a lecture class, but instead a high-touch project course).  Today I have to convince the students it is going to work.

  21. 21.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @Baud: No, California is semi-open, “Decline to State” can request a Democratic ballot(the Republican primary is closed), but voters registered with another party preference can’t.

  22. 22.

    NotMax

    Well, that’s a new one on me. Just seen pre-opening credits:

    Rated PG. Sex, nudity, language, smoking.

  24. 24.

    Chyron HR

    @Matt McIrvin:

    NO, IT IS IN FACT BIDEN WHO THE REPUBLICANS ARE SNEAKILY VOTING FOR

    NO, IT IS IN FACT BIDEN WHO TELLS HIS SUPPORTERS TO HARASS PEOPLE ON TWITTER

    NO, IT IS IN FACT BIDEN WHO HAS SERIOUS HEALTH PROBLEMS THAT SHOULD DISQUALIFY HIM FROM THE NOMINATION

    I’m noticing a pattern here.

  25. 25.

    Mousebumples

    Open primary in Wisconsin, and in 2016, I voted on the republican side for the first time in an attempt to keep trump from winning the republican nom. I didn’t love voting for Cruz, but I didn’t want trump to win.

    … Didn’t work , but I could see some Republicans crossing over and voting for Biden over Bernie as they think “if” (hopefully – when -) Trump loses , Biden will be the better option?

  26. 26.

    Betty Cracker

    @Baud: True, but it would be a bad move, IMO. I understand the wariness after 2016 and share the anxiety, but for the sake of party unity, I hope Perez, Biden and Sanders can figure out a way to wrap this shit up with as little drama and angst as possible.

  27. 27.

    Lapassionara

    @Baud: I know that Missouri’s and South Carolina’s were. I’d need more time to figure out the others on the list.

    SC showed a big percentage increase, but the state is strongly Republican. Very red, with blue dots around Columbia and Charleston. Makes me think there were a lot of people voting in the dem primary who will end up voting for Trump, or third party, in November.

  28. 28.

    MattF

    It’s notable how badly the ratfucking ‘register as a Democrat and vote for Sanders’ tactic has backfired. Republicans have, in fact, registered as Democrats, but they’ve voted for Biden. Ha ha.

  30. 30.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Why It Pays to Be Grumpy and Bad-Tempered

    The pressure to be positive has never been greater. Cultural forces have whipped up a frenzied pursuit of happiness, spawning billion-dollar book sales, a cottage industry in self-help and plastering inspirational quotes all over the internet.

    Now you can hire a happiness expert, undertake training in ‘mindfulness’, or seek inner satisfaction via an app. The US army currently trains its soldiers – over a million people – in positive psychology and optimism is taught in UK schools. Meanwhile the ‘happiness index’ has become an indicator of national wellbeing to rival GDP.

    The truth is, pondering the worst has some clear advantages. Cranks may be superior negotiators, more discerning decision-makers and cut their risk of having a heart attack. Cynics can expect more stable marriages, higher earnings and longer lives – though, of course, they’ll anticipate the opposite.

    Good moods on the other hand come with substantial risks – sapping your drive, dimming attention to detail and making you simultaneously gullible and selfish. Positivity is also known to encourage binge drinking, overeating and unsafe sex.

    So all you happy happy joy joy morning people can just go stuff it.

  32. 32.

    Baud

    @Lapassionara:

    I think it’s not a realistic worry.  To the extent Republicans were talking about ratfucking the primary, they were talking about voting for Bernie.  I doubt there was a secret underground movement to ratfuck us by voting for Biden.

    Hillary barely lost despite everything.  Still a lot of work to do, but Biden is in a good position.

  34. 34.

    different-church-lady

    @OzarkHillbilly:  Oh, yeah, I know for sure that when I can’t bring myself to get out of bed my days are filled with vigor and capacity.

    I actually do believe that crankiness can be a motivator, and contentment leads to slack, but come on, that last paragraph is a bunch of horseshit.

  35. 35.

    Gin & Tonic

    @SFAW: 

    (a chain in MA, NH, and southern ME

    I just read they’re opening one in RI next year (and no, contrary to popular belief, Attleboro is not part of RI.)

  38. 38.

    Immanentize

    Will Bernie stay in until next week (the 17th?). I wanted Warren to stay on until the next debate (the 15th), but she was smarter than I was.  I can see the real draw for Sanders to get another debate in.  Then again, he probably will get bar stomped in  Florida.

  39. 39.

    gvg

    I just checked the Washington Post and Michelle Malkin wrote something sane.  Really startled me and I wonder if I missed something.  It is about how people who aren’t taking the virus seriously are wrong and she specifically disses Trump too.  I’ve never heard her fable/math problem about the lilypads before.

  42. 42.

    Baud

    Just listened to Biden’s victory speech.  Best speech he’s given so far (that I’ve heard). Glad to see him stepping up to the situation.

  44. 44.

    Betty Cracker

    So, Harvey Weinstein gets sentenced today. The range is 5-29 years. Hope he gets at least 20, preferably all 29. In general, I think the US justice system is too punitive, but that motherfucker needs to die in jail.

  45. 45.

    sherparick

    The folks at Jacobin and Current Affairs, who have spent most of the last year calling Elizabeth Warren a closet Republican in order for Bernie to “take the Democratic Party” & establish the “Revolution” are all having a sad, and of course blaming Warren for last night’s defeat.

    But when you are repeating the same shit as Donald Trump, you in fact may be the problem.
    https://twitter.com/digby56/status/1237609360404054016

  46. 46.

    gvg

    @Betty Cracker: The problem is I think Sanders is an instinctive contrarian who is inclined to react badly to authority figures in the party “trying to tell him what to do”  Approaching him plays into the conspiracy stories he has been peddling about the establishment. I dunno, its obviously best for us if he drops out soon, but how to influence him?

  47. 47.

    mrmoshpotato

    @PsiFighter37:

    What’s the odds that Bernie drops out this week? 

    Wilmer exits the race.

    Hillary enters the race for fun.

    Wilmer re-enters the race screaming it’s all rigged against him.

  48. 48.

    Chyron HR

    @Baud:

    “I demand more debates!   Four-hour ones with no chairs to debate Biden’s failing health!” – Bernie

    “Ahhhh no, this is the big one!  I’m coming to join you, Karl Marx!” – Also Bernie

  50. 50.

    joel hanes

    If Joe Biden gets COVID, he has maybe a 1-in-4 chance of dying from it.

    Self-isolate, Joe.

  51. 51.

    Betty Cracker

    @gvg: That was McArdle, the math-challenged low-quality WaPo hire who is horrible, but not quite Malkin-level awful.  

  52. 52.

    NotMax

    @Gin & Tonic

    Maui recently got its first Jollibee fast food emporium. Filipino chain whose secret recipe, as I understand it, is sugar added to everything.

    Including spaghetti with a sugary tomato sauce and chopped up hot dogs. Shall be giving it a wide berth.

  53. 53.

    SFAW

    @mrmoshpotato:

    Good morning SFAW.  Care for some iced coffee – dumped on your head? :)

    WTF is good about it? And what’s your damn problem?

    [Please note that I’m doing my best to take Ozark’s admonition (@ 30) to heart.]

    The more I think about it, floating that rumor might be a good thing: it would drive the Lecher-in-Chief crazy — OK, crazier — and see if he really IS seriously considering having her as his running/bed mate, as has been speculated recently.]

  58. 58.

    Nicole

    @Betty Cracker:

    In general, I think the US justice system is too punitive

    Not as a rule, unfortunately, when it comes to sex crimes committed by white men.  I am going to guess closer to 7-10 years, with the hope that, as I am wrong about many, many things (see my firm belief back in the autumn that Biden wouldn’t be the nominee), I’m wrong about this, too.  I would also like to see 20+ years.

  59. 59.

    Immanentize

    @Betty Cracker: The way he is looking, I think a sentence of 10 will be a death sentence.  I am not familiar with the NY parole/good time laws, but what I want a sentence that will reliably keep him locked up in prison for 7 years before release.  The jury found him only guilty of lesser crimes prosecuted, so the judge is not going to unload the top line on him.

    Will California still prosecute?  Depends on the lightness/severity of the NY sentence.

  61. 61.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Chyron HR: Do you own copies of War and Peace, Crime and Punishment, Anna Karenina and the unabridged Oxford English dictionary to pass the time?

  63. 63.

    Nicole

    @gvg:

    It is about how people who aren’t taking the virus seriously are wrong and she specifically disses Trump too.

    Funny how right wingers’ tunes can change when something like a virus,  which isn’t susceptible to the influence of racism or misogyny, shows up.  It’s like they’re scared something might actually affect them, for once.

  65. 65.

    kindness

    Who actually voted for Tulsi?  I mean really now.  I was in disbelief when I saw cars with Tulsi bumper stickers.  I’ve see 2 in the last couple months.  They both still had 2016 Bernie stickers on them too.  But that doesn’t mean they voted for her, they could just be trolls.  Or those that voted for her were willing to troll with their primary vote.  I don’t get it.

  67. 67.

    Immanentize

    @gvg: Why didn’t he give any kind of speech last night?  That was very odd for any politician running for President.  Look at all the gracious speechifying the other people who lost bigly gave.  They were there for their people.  I don’t get it.

  68. 68.

    Betty Cracker

    @gvg: Agreed. If I ran the zoo, I’d approach BOTH candidates (even though only one needs to hear it) and try to wrangle a gentlemen’s agreement to keep things positive/respectful and focus on beating Trump. Sanders himself hasn’t been super-negative on the campaign trail about Biden the way he was about Clinton, IMO, but his horrid staff and rabid media surrogates are a problem. Maybe he wouldn’t listen, but I think Sanders really does want to get rid of Trump and can do the math.

  71. 71.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @Walker: Universities and colleges here in Philly are doing the same or at least recommending the online option. My wife just converted her classes to online.

    And we’ve only had a couple cases. First one in the city itself reported today.

    We’re going into lockdown, folks, regardless of the actual progression of the disease. Trump acting like Kevin Bacon in Animal House (“All is well!!!!”) has probably exacerbated the panic.

  72. 72.

    Morzer

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    The Greek philosopher Aristotle was a firm believer in catharsis

    This would surprise Aristotle.  One extremely enigmatic mention of catharsis in the Poetics and suddenly you’re a firm believer…

  74. 74.

    Baud

    @Betty Cracker:

    I’m not going to try to predict Bernie’s behavior, but he raises money when he challenges Democrats.  At this point, I think his chief concern is fundraising.

  76. 76.

    Frankensteinbeck

    I am happy to see the Democrats starting to coalesce behind the nominee.  I knew we would.

    I do not believe Sanders will concede or be gracious.  He started feeding his followers the ‘the Democratic Party cheated you’ narrative the moment he lost South Carolina.  I am thankful he has less followers to turn off this time.

    Seeing them on Twitter, it is bizarre how convinced they are that Sanders would win the general and Biden won’t.

    We will get no break from the ‘Democrats in disarray’ narrative.  It changed to its new stage last night:  Democrats have a problem with young people.

    I have trouble figuring out how much of the difference between Sanders’ 2016 and 2020 numbers is misogyny and how much is people who got angry with him over 2016.

  77. 77.

    Betty Cracker

    @Immanentize: That was odd. Maybe he’ll surprise everyone and drop out this week. He’s going to get hammered next Tuesday. Hey, it could happen! (Monkeys, butt, etc.)

    <a href=”#comment-7621010″>@Frankensteinbeck</a>:

    <blockquote>I have trouble figuring out how much of the difference between Sanders’ 2016 and 2020 numbers is misogyny and how much is people who got angry with him over 2016.</blockquote>

    I’ve been puzzling over that same question.

  83. 83.

    joel hanes

    @gvg:

    You’re thinking Megan McArdle, not Michelle Malkin, and while she was right about the pond being only 1/8 covered just three days before it was completely covered, she didn’t actually understand or do the math to see *when* that would happen to her pond, and just pulled “40 days” out of her ass.  As usual with McMegan.

    Her 8-inch lilypad, doubling every day, would cover a 100-yard wide pond in less than 20 days.   If it continued to double every day for another 20 days, it would cover a million 100-yard-wide ponds.

    That this innumerate woman was an “economics editor” at The Atlantic Monthly, but can’t do the math needed to really understand compound interest, is … a reason I dropped my subscription after 30 years.

  85. 85.

    kindness

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: Up where I voted (Modesto) they were just asking people what ballot they wanted.  I don’t know whether they shouldn’t have been doing that but that is how it was when I went through the line.  I voted against Open primaries and lost that one though.

  87. 87.

    MattF

    @NotMax: Ugh. Essence of bad restaurant food. I suppose it’s a culinary niche. PSA: Classico bottled sauces generally have no added sugar.

  90. 90.

    mrmoshpotato

    @NotMax: If you threaten to turn this country around, no one will complain, but you’d better follow through with that threat.

  93. 93.

    Immanentize

    @Frankensteinbeck: @Betty Cracker:

    I think there is a different third possibility about why Sanders lost so much vote % this time around. First, his young army grew up. Most who were in college are no longer there but trying to live their lives in perilous times. And the new crop of college aged first voters have different agendas. Sanders was the favorite of the crowd, but not necessarily the dominant favorite. My son is an example: 2016 he was feeling the Bern, 2020 (first vote) he was Yang gang tech future focussed, by the time he voted it was either Biden or Warren here in Mass. Idealistic, but not in the old Sanders direction

    Meanwhile, all the older voters have had three plus years of Trump who, even if you didn’t vote for him, probably did not seem like such a potential HUGE disaster because, you know, guardrails. So what was tolerable is now clearly intolerable. So get out and vote against him.

  94. 94.

    geg6

    Well, just got a questionnaire from the VP for Commonwealth Campuses regarding my technological ability to work from home (internet speed, etc.).  And the IT people were in my office when I came in.  They were doing a campus wide survey of who has a University laptop that can be taken home.  Most of us do in my office suite.  We moved to all docking stations several years ago.  I think only our administrative assistant doesn’t have one.

    I expect an announcement today or tomorrow as to whether we re-open after this week’s spring break.

  100. 100.

    mrmoshpotato

    @SFAW: Am I missing something here?  Sahara-level dry humor?  Biden saying Kremlin Barbie is his running mate, then going “HAHA PSYCHE!”?

  101. 101.

    Immanentize

    @geg6: I am trying to put together two or three quick posts regarding teaching online courses for the jackalariat.  Cheryl said I could do them as guest posts.  I will try to put an opener out tomorrow with just some basic language and some thoughts about reverse design.  Then one on course design and one on assessments.  Maybe a separate one on technologies?  Or maybe that can just be embedded in the substantive discussions….

    I am sure there are people here with experience and anecdotes about on line teaching.  But I know that there are folks who just were thrown into this recently.

  102. 102.

    NotMax

    @SFAW

    You bloomin’ literary snobs, rejoycing at being able to show off.

    I believe it is called playing to the room.

    :)

  104. 104.

    SFAW

    @Don Beal:

    Congrats to you all. Corporate Joe will have our backs now. I am so reassured.

    As contrasted to Bernie, who would have had his own back, and no one else’s.

  105. 105.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Don Beal: It’s not the end of the world, just the end of trump.

    And IF, somehow, someway, trump actually manages to find another rabbit up his ass AND manages to actually pull it out you are free to come back and point and laugh at me. Just know that I will point out that if Biden loses, there is no way the man who was losing the primary vote by over 25% at this date ever had a chance in hell of beating the orange fart bag.

     

    ETA wrong reply button

  107. 107.

    PST

    @joel hanes: Well I’ve got a math problem for you then. If Michelle Malkin were to double her mental acuity every day, how many years would it be before she wrote something reasonable.

  111. 111.

    Betty Cracker

    @Don Beal: I’m not thrilled about a Biden nomination either, but that’s looking like reality. So, if your goal is to advance a progressive agenda, what do you do now?

    1. Work your ass off to defeat Trump, hold the House and flip the Senate. If you can’t stand Biden, focus on down-ticket races and/or voting rights initiatives, then show up in November and vote the straight D ticket.
    2. Push for progressive legislation from a position of strength. Democrats support universal health care, raising the minimum wage, climate change action, gun control, etc. — let’s use that consensus!

    Biden isn’t an ideologue. He’ll go with the party consensus, and the party consensus is behind a liberal agenda. He’ll sign the legislation. We have to make sure it lands on his desk.

  113. 113.

    geg6

    @Immanentize:

    For me, it’s not about teaching, thank heaven.  But what I want to know is how they plan to get us our phone calls.  I can do anything online at home, but I get a lot of calls.  Especially this time of year.  As a financial aid officer, it’s a huge part of my job, talking on the phone to students and families during the college decision period in the spring of every year.  I’m not too concerned about most of the faculty here.  Almost all of them, even adjuncts, have online classes at some point every academic year.  It’s the bio and chem and engineering classes that will have the most challenges but I’m sure that’s being worked out.  And it seems silly, but our campus’ women’s basketball team is going to the USCAA Division II National Championship game today.  I hope they stay safe and win.

  115. 115.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @FlyingToaster: That’s me, working to reduce global overpopulation one comment at a time.

    “No. No kids, we might get stuck with an OzarkHillbilly.”

  116. 116.

    SFAW

    @mrmoshpotato:

    I was kidding about Joe picking Ivanka, of course, but I could envision some “well-meaning centrist Dems” proposing something not unlike that. [The whole “reaching across the aisle” thing seems to be somewhat of a fetish for some of them.]

    As far as the Lecher-in-Chief-dumping-Pence-and-picking-his-daughter thing: I’ve seen that speculation in a couple of different places, noting that his move to FLA could have been part of that plan (because the Pres and VP nominees can’t be from the same state), and that he (probably) wants a “dynasty.” Don’t know, don’t much care, but it doesn’t take much to amuse me.

  118. 118.

    A Ghost To Most

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Cranks may be superior negotiators, more discerning decision-makers and cut their risk of having a heart attack. Cynics can expect more stable marriages, higher earnings and longer lives – though, of course, they’ll anticipate the opposite.

    I feel better. But not much.

  119. 119.

    Immanentize

    @NotMax: I can tell you that, because so many schools are probably not going to reopen after break, that parents are ordering their kids home.  Almost all of the Immp’s friends have cancelled their break travel plans — except driving to skiing, like there is any snow in the Northeast this weird year to ski on.

  122. 122.

    SFAW

    @different-church-lady:

    I’ve read Finnegans Wake in the original French.

    “He’s such a commie, he reads Karl Marx in the original Russian.”

    I saw that one 20 or 30 years ago. I’d use it on RWMFs, but they wouldn’t get it. [Plus, “commie” is apparently no longer a bad thing as far as they’re concerned.]

  123. 123.

    geg6

    @NotMax:

    Not sure because, in my experience, most of the students at my campus don’t do the “traditional” spring break.  Our campus usually has several mini-study abroad programs we run through spring break that, obviously, were cancelled.  Most of our students either just go home if they live on campus or work more hours, which both residential and commuter students do.  We have a high level of students who work more than 20 hours per week, even during the semester.

  131. 131.

    Immanentize

    @geg6: Our University closed our dorms after Spring Break.  We have a pretty active food pantry for students in need.  I really don’t think the dorm closure was the right thing, but we are in the very middle of downtown Boston.

    Some of the administrators, like you, trying to bring in next year’s class and keep this year’s students are likely to be still working in their offices.  It might be one of the safest places — clean and deserted.  But the commute!

  135. 135.

    Immanentize

    @NotMax: That ship is, right now, still set to sail.  Which doesn’t surprise me because they have to get it back to the Med if there is ever going to be another cruise this year.  Also, cruise ships haul a huge amount of cargo paid for by companies.  So I am not surprised they are making the cross-ocean jaunt.  But the rest of the trip just can’t happen.  So I am keeping my eye on it.

  136. 136.

    Geminid

    @sherparick: I think the Sanders fans knew after Super Tuesday he was probably going down, and some of this crap about E. Warren not endorsing him is a retrospective shifting of blame from Sanders to Warren. “If only she had….” Reminds me of a  high school history teacher a friend had in Macon Georgia, who kept saying, “if only we’d had another barrel of powder at Vicksburg….”

  138. 138.

    mrmoshpotato

    @SFAW:

    [The whole “reaching across the aisle” thing seems to be somewhat of a fetish for some of them.] 

    Oh baby, I love it when you reach across the aisle.

  141. 141.

    NotMax

    @OzarkHillbilly

    Mom gave me gift of a brass plaque reading

    Work is the curse of the drinking class.
      – W. C. Fields

    many years ago which hangs in the kitchen to this day.

  143. 143.

    Geminid

    @Mousebumples:  There are Republicans and independents crossing over to vote for Biden in states like SC and VA because they intend to vote for him in November. People are sick and tired of Trump’s chaos.

  146. 146.

    GeriUpNorth

    @geg6: I can forward my office phone to any local phone number, and can check my voicemail from off campus. We can also request to have our voicemail forwarded to our email as an attachment. Hopefully your system has similar capabilities. There are still issues with returning long distance calls from your personal phone, but you should be able to at least receive calls.

  147. 147.

    Feathers

    @joel hanes: Apparently the more men is somewhat misleading because in China the majority of men smoke, but only 2-3% of the women. Beware the lurking variables!

  149. 149.

    NotMax

    @Feathers

    And one of the results of the one child policy being that China has more men, period, which has to skew the statistics at least a skooch.

  150. 150.

    schrodingers_cat

    Right now the mortality rates for the Corona virus are not reliable because although we know the number of dead people there is great uncertainty about the # of infected. (We have no good idea of the denominator) so while caution is warranted we need to take the mortality rates thrown around with a grain of salt.

  151. 151.

    Miss Bianca

    @gvg: I’d be inclined to go Michael Corleone on his ass and say: “this is our offer. Nothing.”

    And not even bother to try to get him out of the race. Let him lose and lose and lose and lose, primary after primary, till the big, steaming waft of FAIL STINK drives him out.

    But that’s probably one of the reasons I’d be a lousy politician – I’m a vindictive kinda mofo.

  152. 152.

    PenAndKey

    @schrodingers_cat: Don’t most projections have it around 3%? I know the WHO has it at 3.4%, and that’s factoring in likely hidden infections. Even if the actual rate is a quarter of that, it’s still drastically higher than the flu’s 0.1% death rate.

  155. 155.

    schrodingers_cat

    @PenAndKey: No quibble with the 3% estimate, I am seeing some bar graphs circulated around that say 25% mortality for people over 65. I am talking about those estimates.

    ETA: Because we lack tests we don’t know how many people are infected but don’t develop symptoms or get the disease.

  158. 158.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Betty Cracker:

    So, if your goal is to advance a progressive agenda

    Based on commenting history, I’m pretty sure “Don” ‘s only goal is to troll this blog.

  159. 159.

    Marcopolo

    @schrodingers_cat: While we may not know the actual number of folks infected in the US, I think they have a pretty good handle on the #s in S. Korea & China.  And although some folks have questioned the Chinese numbers, pretty much everyone is full of praise for the transparency of the S. Korea corona virus response.

    The current mortality rate for COVID-19 in S. Korea is a little under .7–7X seasonal flu.  So if you have a good mitigation program, a good healthcare system, and very aggressive COVID-19 response that is probably a best case number (caveat: I don’t know the age demo breakdown for S. Korea).

    If you don’t have an aggressive response, don’t have a good mitigation program, your healthcare system isn’t great in the first place & gets overwhelmed then I would think that number would go up a fair amount.  Look at Italy & Iran as examples.  The mortality rate in Iran was though the roof last I read about it.

  162. 162.

    Marcopolo

    @Betty Cracker: While in my state the Presidential primary was the only race on the ballot, I know in other states there are other contests that could benefit from higher turnout (WI Supreme Court anyone? Primary is April 7). I wouldn’t have a problem with things continuing if both camps could agree to run positive campaigns focused on Trump. Of course, the likelihood of that happening is probably negative, but maybe cooler heads will prevail.

  164. 164.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @OzarkHillbilly: So all you happy happy joy joy morning people can just go stuff it.

    To steal a word from the MIT Cheerleading Squad**: COSINE!!

    Now GTF off my lawn!

     

    ** E to the x, the x the x! E to the x, the x, the x!

    Secant, tangent, cosine, sine – three point one four one five nine!

  165. 165.

    James E Powell

    @Betty Cracker:

    I’m not thrilled about a Biden nomination either,

    No disrespect, many have that feeling, but I think we ought to set a date – and soon – after which we will stop saying that.

  168. 168.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @joel hanes: IIRC, there is some scientific evidence that the prime cause of death in oldsters is that this stuff, like SARS, is pretty good at crossing the blood-brain barrier & colonizing the central nervous system, where it blocks the breathing reflex. This would explain the need for respirators.

    I wonder if some technology might come to the rescue here. A couple years back I enrolled in a study of diabetics with sleep apnea, & an early step was to wire me up with a box that detects when you stop breathing & have me sleep with it overnight to see if I qualified. Again IIRC, the box kept a record internally that was read when I came back in.

    Sounds like it wouldn’t be hard to modify the hardware & software to (gently) zap the wearer (“joy buzzer” on the finger?) when s/he hasn’t breathed for X seconds. It’d disturb one’s sleep but when breaths are few & far between, no one gets decent sleep.

    I also wonder if a combination of OTC decongestant (Flonase, Nasacort, etc.) and CPAP might be pressed into service early in the course of the disease as a way to reduce respirator/ICU demands.

  169. 169.

    MCA1

    @Miss Bianca: I don’t think anyone even needs to approach him that way.  In fact, it risks him going scorched earth against The Establishment if he perceives forces trying to tell him what to do.

    You’re right on about the stink of losing, and it’s already emanating from him.  The media’s started treating him like he’s past his sell-by date, especially after last night, and that perception is a couple steps behind where Democratic voters seem to be.

    Sanders knows this, too.  Consider: he gave no speech last night, not even via remote.  And he lost Michigan, the state that more than any other made his ’16 candidacy seem like a legitimate threat to Clinton (which, incidentally, allowed him to hang on way too long).  And he didn’t just lose it – he lost it by close to 20 points.  He’s a dead man walking in this race.

    Contrary to four years ago, when he was on the upward path of his arc as a national figure and it benefited him to keep his name and face out there, every day he stays in this race now he increases his risk of being embarrassed or, worse, rendered irrelevant going forward.  He also knows he’ll be persona non grata with a much larger swath of the country if he sticks around to do anything other than create a glide path for his supporters to move over to Biden.

    He may think he can pull off a miracle debate this weekend and turn things around as quickly as Biden did, but he’s seen the polling in Florida, and he’s not innumerate.  I would not be shocked if he pulls out as early as tomorrow.

  170. 170.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @James E Powell: I think we ought to set a date – and soon – after which we will stop saying that.

    Good luck with that. A few threads back I remarked that the reaction here to EW’s crash&burn called to mind that of Adlai Stevenson supporters in 1952 when he was crushed by Eisenhower (442-89 in the EC).

    The rest of the story is that four years later, Stevenson’s faithful Democrats got him nominated for a rematch with Ike – which he lost even more resoundingly (EC: 457-73).  There was even a short-lived boomlet for Adlai at the 1960 Democratic National Convention (which might have gotten more traction if he’d announced his candidacy before many sympathetic delegates were committed to others).

    Dreams die hard, often kicking & screaming on the way down.

  171. 171.

    PST

    @Uncle Cosmo:

    I also wonder if a combination of OTC decongestant (Flonase, Nasacort, etc.) and CPAP might be pressed into service early in the course of the disease as a way to reduce respirator/ICU demands.

    Good thought, but I don’t think it would work. The basic difference between a respirator and CPAP is that a respirator blows and sucks while CPAP just blows. It treats what they call obstructive apnea events by generating enough pressure in the throat to keep flabby tissue from collapsing. The analogy, lost on young people, was to old paper straws, which would sometimes collapse while you were drinking, and sucking harder only made it worse. But there is another kind of apnea event, a central apnea, caused by the central nervous system failing to send a signal to breathe. And it turns out that CPAP can aggravate these. That is one reason for testing people before prescribing CPAP. Someone with central apnea needs what is in effect a respirator. I should add that my medical degree is self-awarded based on home study.

  172. 172.

    glory b

    @MCA1: I was listening to some political number cruncher this morning who said that Bernie’s problem is that he can’t just win the upcoming states, he needs a blowout victory in them. These are also states that he lost before and frankly, he’s been significantly under performing from 2016, something that’s not being specifically pointed out IMO.

  174. 174.

    KrackenJack

    @NotMax: if it’s like the ones in Cali, they have the authentic slow fast food experience. The ChickenJoy is okay. Skip the YumBurger. There was a Filipino food truck over in Lahaina. That was a better option.

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