Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

No one could have predicted…

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

Insiders who complain to politico: please report to the white house office of shut the fuck up.

Tick tock motherfuckers!

Innocent people don’t delay justice.

Is it negotiation when the other party actually wants to shoot the hostage?

Let there be snark.

They think we are photo bombing their nice little lives.

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

Ah, the different things are different argument.

You are so fucked. Still, I wish you the best of luck.

You can’t love your country only when you win.

The poor and middle-class pay taxes, the rich pay accountants, the wealthy pay politicians.

Roe isn’t about choice, it’s about freedom.

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

Bad news for Ron DeSantis is great news for America.

Glad to see john eastman going through some things.

Ron DeSantis, the grand wizard, oops, governor of FL

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

He seems like a smart guy, but JFC, what a dick!

No offense, but this thread hasn’t been about you for quite a while.

New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

You are here: Home / Healthcare / COVID-19 Coronavirus / Tuesday Morning Open Thread: (Worthy) War on Many Fronts

Tuesday Morning Open Thread: (Worthy) War on Many Fronts

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A voter initiative led by Michelle Obama announced support Monday for making it easier for people to register to vote and cast ballots during the coronavirus pandemic.

When We All Vote, a nonpartisan voting initiative, says Americans should have greater access to voting by mail, early in-person voting and online voter registration…

When We All Vote’s announcement also comes amid vociferous opposition by President Donald Trump to mail-in voting.

The former first lady, a co-chair of the organization, said expanding access to vote-by-mail, online voter registration and early voting are long overdue “critical steps for this moment.”

“Americans should never have to choose between making their voices heard and keeping themselves and their families safe,” she said in a statement. “There is nothing partisan about striving to live up to the promise of our country: making the democracy we all cherish more accessible, and protecting our neighbors, friends and loved ones as they participate in this cornerstone of American life.” …

The organization will encourage Americans to lobby for access to these options before Election Day, Nov. 3.

Currently, five states — Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington and Utah — conduct all elections entirely by mail, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. At least 21 other states have laws that allow certain smaller elections, such as school board contests, to be conducted by mail.

Forty states, including the five with all-mail elections, and the District of Columbia offer in-person early voting, according to the state legislatures’ association. Delaware has enacted early voting, but it will not be in place until 2022. Nine states do not offer in-person voting before Election Day…

Reader Interactions

134Comments

  1. 1.

    Baud

    There is nothing partisan about striving to live up to the promise of our country

    Au contraire, mon frére soeur. It’s the most partisan thing in the world.

  4. 4.

    ThresherK

    My cat barely can be bothered to chew her kibble, and throws it up too often. She eats it all, all at once, like a dog does.

    We got a “puzzle bowl” for her, and she largely has to fwip the food out of the bowl onto the floor. It has slowed down her eating and really reduced her right-after vomiting.

    However, I have the feeling teaching a cat to do this is like giving her a lock-picking kit. Now we’re wondering what else she’ll learn to open.

  6. 6.

    NotMax

    For those who have finished trimming finger and toenails, belting out 100 Bottles of Beer on the Wall in pig Latin, counting the strands in the wall to wall carpeting and are temporarily left casting about for anything to fill a spare minute, rundown from late last night on the shopping situation on Maui.

    :)

  8. 8.

    WereBear

    I am catching up on the pResidential meltdown last night via Twitter.

    Those cult members keep having to bench press more and more Suspension of Disbelief.

  11. 11.

    Central Planning

    Does anyone else find those songs that Jimmy Fallon and the Roots do with non-traditional instruments (like the kids instruments ones on YouTube) fascinating? I can’t get enough of them.

    Maybe it’s because they look like they are having a ton of fun doing them. Or the way music can be made with just about anything. Anyway, they always bring a smile to my face.

  18. 18.

    Gvg

    @ThresherK: my cat had similar issues and lost weight enough that the vet noticed. I switched her food to sensitive stomach varieties. She likes the dry Purina that I can get in the grocery store and it really helped, however I wanted her to have some wet food too to gain weight and over concerns an all dry diet causes kidney issues.

    She disliked all the special sensitive canned foods. There are quite a few at petsmart. So I allow her her fancy feast gravy foods, but I only feed her about a teaspoon at a time multiple times a day. Inadvertently I have trained her to beg vocally. She has learned to remind me to give her the food and a formerly quiet cat is now kind of a loud mouth. The vet was pleased though and her weight is back to normal.

    Before the change to working at home, it required a rethinking of when to feed. Twice in morning twice at night, for instance, when I get up, then before I leave for work, when I get home and after dinner.

  19. 19.

    WereBear

    @NotMax: I see what you did there :)

    Amnesia seems to have fallen from fashion compared to the first half of the century. Indeed, in my childhood, every TV show had an amnesia episode, including Lassie!

  20. 20.

    rikyrah

    Imagine what the world would look like if Donald Trump had not tried to cover up the coronavirus. It could have been contained. Lives could have been saved. Businesses could have stayed open.Trump’s lies changed the course of history. And you enabled him, you sick fuck. https://t.co/TwuqiPQWes— Palmer Report (@PalmerReport) April 14, 2020

  24. 24.

    rikyrah

    This entire thread???

    You wanna know what white privilege is?Let's look at the credentials for the "Council to Reopen America"1. Mark Meadows: Not only is Mark Meadows not a doctor, but his official gov't bio also says he only holds a bachelor's degree.That is a lie. pic.twitter.com/hpTnpKvO0p— michaelharriot (@michaelharriot) April 14, 2020

  27. 27.

    debbie

    @rikyrah:

    Between the Seven Scamurai and Bob Barr’s explanation of Trump’s sole right to reopen the country, this will be quite the day!

    I may even tune into Glenn Beck for his “take” on yesterday’s press conference.

  30. 30.

    WereBear

    @Gvg: In our house, we are dealing with a Treat Crisis, since everyone’s favorite brand, a grain-free in different flavors, has vanished from local shelves and online.

    I found two substitutes which don’t please all of the cats all of the time, but it does make everyone happy :)

  35. 35.

    ThresherK

    @Gvg: Glad to hear you figured your cat’s diet out. My Jazz has no problem keeping on weight. It’s merely an inconvenience to clean up, especially if it’s on the carpet, and then she gets hungry early. The vet says she’s nearly chonky, and doesn’t need to gain a pound. Given that over our years together we’ve lost two cats to cancer that’s a relief.

    Begging? Our other cat (my wife’s) is the one who is the “lead scout” and will just stare at us for an hour before feeding time, and yowl and lead us to the bukkit whenever we twitch a finger. My cat has learned she will not miss a mealtime with him around and lets him do the work.

  38. 38.

    Baud

    Readership capture.

    Poll: Black VP pick could boost Biden 

    Kamala Harris has high net favorability ratings among African American voters.

     

    Warning: NYT:

    Ultimately, Mr. Biden will make a pick based on comfort, fit and fitness for the office, and there is no shortage of talented women he can choose. If he wants to base his decision on the available evidence and proven success in areas where he has failed, then choosing Stacey Abrams is the smartest move.

  41. 41.

    WereBear

    @Leto: CNN put accurate chryons up as Trump ranted and raved at last night’s briefing:

    A sampling of some of the chyrons:

    • “Trump melts down in angry response to reports he ignored virus warnings”
    • “Angry Trump uses propaganda video, produced by government employees at taxpayers’ expense”
    • “Trump uses task force briefing to try and rewrite history on coronavirus response”

    Greatest thing since Keith Olbermann put up sarcastic chryons over Palin’s speech while in the back, turkeys were being slaughtered for Thanksgiving.

    Also, Mike Pence declared Trump has “absolute power” and this is… inaccurate.

  43. 43.

    Mousebumples

    @satby: wholly unrelated, but so long as you’re in the thread (or, well, I’m not late to the thread), is your etsy shop still going? I see the CLOSED as of December 31 notice … But I thought I read somewhere that you still had some soap to sell? Looking to replenish my soap stock as we’re running low in our house. If you’re done with the etsy work, I’m sure I can find another seller, but I wanted to check with a jackal first. ?

  44. 44.

    WereBear

    @NotMax: Thanks, but it’s easier to open a can of tuna :) The beauty of treats is how I can put them in the puzzle box and they fish them out. Without the messiness of actual fish.

    Also, while I have mastered grilling, my cooking skills are erratic. Though I am perfecting a modified cheesecake which can be made with a regular pie pan and without that waterbath fussing. So I just might try a new challenge!

  45. 45.

    Lacuna Synechdoche

    Catherine Rampell via Anne Laurie @ Top:

    24% of Americans said they don’t expect to feel comfortable going back to a shopping mall for at least six months

    Then we’re still not taking corona-virus seriously enough, since it will probably be one-three years before it will be safe for people to gather again in large congregations – by which time, something else to make us all feel endangered will occur.

    Just call me Mr. Happy Camper.

  46. 46.

    Jeffro

    @Baud: I’m very excited at the prospect of Harris, Abrams, or any of the excellent potential veeps out there.  Can we vote next week, America?

  48. 48.

    Jeffro

    Btw per the Rampell tweet…only 24% say they will still mostly stay home?

    What, did wingnuts uniformly respond “can’t wait to get back out there around tons of people again!” in order to own the libs?

  49. 49.

    Lacuna Synechdoche

    Well, at least something good has come out of this lockdown – a new porn / rom com plot:

    Because of the coronavirus, I am staying in my late mother’s home with my husband, his brother and wife, and our young children. This seemed like a good idea, so we could share chores and childcare (two of us are still working, from home, full time). But the situation has become uncomfortable for me because I am extremely attracted to my brother-in-law. I had hoped this feeling would die down, but it has got worse and over the past three weeks I have become aware that he seems to be lusting after me. My husband and I rarely have sex, owing to his lack of interest, which set in after our second child was born, so I am frustrated and afraid that something is going to happen, or that others in the house will pick up on the vibe between us. How can I stop this feeling?

    Oh, no! Lust In The Time Of Corona Virus!

  50. 50.

    satby

    @Mousebumples: hi, yes, still open. I changed it to be tentatively closing at the end of this year, next December 31, but I may just take that off again until the fall because it’s confusing. And I have tons of soap since I took it all home from my Farmers market booth, including some great ones I don’t list online (because they turn over so fast at the market). You can email me at sbarrt at hotmail dot com to get a list of unlisted on Etsy ones. Also, if you use PayPal, you can pay me directly through the same email and get the market prices, which are lower because no Etsy fees to cover. The endless fees are the reason I was going to shut the online shop. <<– Anyone else can email directly too ?

  55. 55.

    Lacuna Synechdoche

    @Baud:

    How big is their house that they could get away with having an affair with all those people stuck at home with them?

    I have no idea. It’s from a letter to a columnist at The Guardian, and that’s all the info they gave.

  65. 65.

    Soprano2

    @NotMax: I would think you could get eggs from a couple of the millions of chickens I saw running free everywhere I went on Maui. LOL There are probably more chickens there than actual residents. I didn’t believe my stepson when he said they were everywhere; I was wrong!

  66. 66.

    Gin & Tonic

    So with a week-plus of brush fires in the Chernobyl exclusion zone having been largely put out by rain, now that it’s near-freezing in Kyiv (about 90 miles away) the big question on people’s minds is: that stuff falling from the sky right now, is that snowflakes or radioactive ash?

  69. 69.

    NotMax

    @Soprano2

    Yeah, they’re ubiquitous. Friends and I have a theory in progress that there are groups of them who forage and live only on individual median dividers on the roads and will develop into distinct species a la Galapgaos Islands.

  70. 70.

    Geminid

    Among the good work the Virginia General Assembly did this session was legislation allowing no excuse absentee voting. Not as comprehensive as vote by mail, but a step in the right direction.                                                            This year we have two critical Congressional races in the 7th and 2nd districts, where first term reps Abigail Spanberger and Elaine Luria are defending formerly republican seats. And my 5th district is a good pick up opportunity for the Democrats.                       Re Stacey Abrams: she is a very impressive and exciting campaigner, and I understand the desire to see her on the national stage. But she has very important unfinished business in  Georgia, and personally I hope to see her take cheatin’ Brian Kemp’s blow-dried scalp in 2022. The people of Georgia really need a good governor, and she’d be a great one. Then, “Abrams for President” in 2028.

  71. 71.

    Betty Cracker

    @Baud: On paper, at first glance, it can appear Abrams lacks the experience to back up a 78-year-old president. But after reading more about her career and listening to her discuss all kinds of issues in multiple interviews, I have come to believe Abrams would be an inspired VP pick.

  74. 74.

    SFAW

    @ThresherK:

    They’re just playing the same movie 6x. Don’t be fooled.

    Midway through #2: “Hmm, this looks familiar.”

    Midway through #3: “Hmm, this looks familiar.”

    Midway through #4: “Hmm, this looks familiar.”

    Midway through #5: “Hmm, this looks familiar.”

    Midway through #6: *sound of snoring

  77. 77.

    Amir Khalid

    @Baud:

    The possessive adjective needs a feminine ending to match the feminine noun. So it’s ma soeur, not mon soeur.

    Sigh. I sound like the language teacher I could probably have been.

  79. 79.

    Jeffro

    @Geminid: I like that sequence of events for Abrams!

    If I had to guess, I would say Harris is the odds-on favorite, followed by Whitmer.

  80. 80.

    Aleta

    A pensioner who was given a surprise flight in a £70million fighter jet as a retirement present was flung out at 2500ft after grabbing the ejector seat handle to ‘steady himself’. …

    (The report by French aviation investigators) describes how the unidentified 64-year-old …. shot out at high speed, losing his helmet that had not been fastened round his chin properly, before landing in a field close to the German border. His anti-g force suit, worn by aviators who are subject to high acceleration forces and designed to prevent a blackout, had also become loose around the trousers. …

    The pensioner had ‘never expressed a desire to take part in a flight like this, and especially not in a Rafale,’ reads the report by the Paris-based BEA (Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis). Despite this, his colleagues at the defence contractor where he had worked for most of his career set up the flight.

    ‘The need to keep the surprise until the moment of the flight,’ had hugely risky consequences, especially as regards ‘preparation for the flight,’ reads the report.  It continues: ‘This situation generated a feeling of stress for the passenger, and this was particularly felt during the ejection seat briefing where he had to assimilate a large amount of information in a very short time.’ ‘In addition, the stress of surprise has been magnified by the complete lack of military aviation experience.’ …

    Four of the pensioner’s colleagues had turned up with a professional photographer, and they placed a Go-Pro camera on their friend’s helmet to film the afternoon flight. ‘Faced with a fait accompli on the day of the flight, it was very difficult for him to refuse to participate in the flight,’ says the report. The flight had also been authorised by the French Air Force staff at the request of the Defence Ministry, which also piled pressure on the pensioner who was ‘considered a VIP’.

    …

    The pensioner, meanwhile, had expected a gentle ascent, but the plane ‘climbed at 47 degrees’, compared to around 10 to 15 degrees for a standard passenger plane. This was when the Frenchman reached out to hang on to anything he could, and pulled the ejector handle. There was then a loud bang, with the force of the ejection tearing his unsecured mask and oxygen mask from his face.
    …
    He managed to land with the use of his parachute and ended up in a field, shocked and with minor injuries. The report calls on the French Airforce and the Defence Ministry to review its procedures for allowing civilians on military flights.

    Photos:  https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8212305/amp/Pensioner-64-given-flight-fighter-jet-retirement-present-flung-2500ft.html?__twitter_impression=true

  81. 81.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    @WereBear:

    I avoid the briefings because I already had one heart attack, but I’m almost sorry I missed yesterday’s. It looks like it was a doozy. And I conclude the CNN chyron writer has taken to day drinking.

    Actually, I conclude that propaganda video finally drove the press corps over the edge.

  82. 82.

    Immanentize

    Kinda OT, but I just heard that Trump’s Council to Re-open America Pronto (CRAP)  will be having their first meeting at a resort at Wannsee.

  85. 85.

    Betty Cracker

    @Immanentize: Another consideration: if Trump’s support winnows down to the hardcore base — a possibility given the bungled C19 response and cratered economy — Georgia could be in play, and both its US senate seats are up this year. It has been years since a nominee made a VP pick on regional strategy, but this might be the year to do it, depending on how things shake out.

  86. 86.

    Robert Sneddon

    @SFAW: In the second series of the Suzumiya Haruhi anime series the producers repeated the plot and story of a single time-loop episode eight times, the so-called “Endless Eight” mindfuck that infuriated many and boggled the minds of the survivors. Epic!

  89. 89.

    NotMax

    @BillinGlendaleCA

    “The meeting rooms of a certain nearby hotel were determined to be the most suitable. Luckily, they had a lot of cancellations so we could slide right in.”

    //

  92. 92.

    NotMax

    @raven

    The installation of that traffic light not all that long ago was a BFD. I’d lay down real folding money the guy crossing the street is headed to Mana Foods for his mung bean fix.

    ;)

  93. 93.

    Amir Khalid

    I have just found out that Carole King turns off comments on all her YouTube videos. This is bothering me because I have for some reason become curious to know the name of the cat on the Tapestry album cover.

  94. 94.

    Leto

    @Immanentize: Hey! Sorry, was side tracked after I posted this. I do still plan to attend an open house, but for the foreseeable future it’s on hold until the all clear is given. North Bennett has closed for however long this lasts. When it’s safe to re-emerge from our caves, I’ll get a new date and let you know :)

    @WereBear: I hate Nazi analogies but Hitler in the bunker is so spot on for this…

  95. 95.

    Leto

    @Amir Khalid: Google is your friend! :P

     

    The Story Of The Tapestry Photo Shoot And Some Out-takes

    One of the best selling albums of all time is Carole King’s Tapestry from 1971. The appealing cover image of Carole King sitting in the living room of her home in Laurel Canyon, CA was taken by rock n’ roll photographer Jim McCrary. An interesting sidenote was that King’s cat Telemachus was moved while sitting on the pillow from across the room by McCrary to be used in the final cover shot.

    We identify famous covers and just accept that is the cover. The conclusion is “it’s the right cover!” In Tapestry’s case, McCrary’s use of the cat definitely helps draw the viewer in.

    What if a different cover had been used?

    Here are four other photos from The Tapestry shoot

    Stuff Nobody Cares About

  98. 98.

    EmbraceYourInnerCrone

    @ThresherK: My daughter had to get a timer bowl for her cat because she would do the same thing(eat the whole bowl in a minute flat) and she was getting pudgie.  She HATES waiting and she tells everyone about it. She got into the cabinet and tried to chew through the cat food bag…

  104. 104.

    NotMax

    @satby

    Used to be a drug/general store here (soda fountain straight out of Andy Hardy movies, could have been moved intact to the Smithsonian) which kept the “gentleman’s magazines” in a rack behind the cashier. Visible but one needed to ask at the counter for a title to purchase them.

    No Playboy. No Penthouse. Selection displayed consisted entirely of dozens of the strangest and most bizarre of such media. Left-Handed Leather Lesbians. Biker Chick Amputees. Jills with Jugs. Co-ed Capers.

    I exaggerate, but not by very much.

    Place was one of the stores burned to the ground when one wing of the original strip mall on the island caught fire and went up in a spectacular inferno.

  105. 105.

    Leto

    @Immanentize: I definitely will. I receive email updates from them, I spoke with the head of admissions about rescheduling back in early March when it looked like this was all going sideways, and it’s still the place I have my heart set on. Even if I just wind up producing items for around the house, and friends/family, I think the experience of the place/journey/teachers will be more than worth the wait.

  108. 108.

    Sloane Ranger

    Just had the Water Company outside. Apparently several weeks of toilet paper substitutes led to a blockage of the sewers they’ve had to pump out.

    On a different note, the number of people here in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire who don’t seem to either know or care what 6 feet looks like is amazing. Went for my 1 period of exercise this morning and had to manoeuvre around mums with pushchairs walking side by side along the pavement chatting and totally ignoring other pedestrians, people sitting on their garden walls ensuring that people have to step out into the road to keep 6 feet distance from them and, I’m sorry, fellow Jackals, but dog owners walking their furry friends and acting like they own the pavement.

    Everyone I met acted like it was up to everyone else to get out of their way.

  113. 113.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Too good to not pass along: Woman’s attraction to chandeliers not a sexual orientation, Ipso says

    A woman in a long-term relationship with a 92-year-old German chandelier has been told that her attraction to historic light fittings is not considered to be a protected sexual orientation.

    Press regulator Ipso made the ruling after Amanda Liberty, a woman from Leeds in her mid thirties, complained about an article in the Sun mocking her public declaration of love for Lumiere, her name for an intricate lamp she bought on eBay.

    She argued that the newspaper’s article breached the regulator’s code of conduct which requires publishers to avoid prejudicial or pejorative references to an individual’s sexuality.

    Liberty identifies as an ‘objectum sexual’ – an individual who is attracted to objects. She objected to being included in an end-of-year article by Sun columnist Jane Moore, which nominated her for a “Dagenham Award (Two Stops Past Barking)” prize, simply because of her sexual attraction to Lumiere.

    She also raised concerns about the accuracy of the newspaper’s reporting after the article referred to her being married to the chandelier. She pointed out she was in a relationship with the chandelier but not yet married to it.

  123. 123.

    Geminid

    @Betty Cracker:  the Johnny Isaacson Senate seat, currently held by the illustrious Kelly Loeffler, is very much in play. With Doug Collins (Idiot-GA) waging a nasty red on red fight with Loeffler, and a strong candidate in Raphael Warnock, the Democrats have a very good shot at the seat. Warnock is senior pastor at Ebenezer Baptist church in Atlanta; Abrams persuaded Warnock to run, and she will do fine working full time for him and the other Democratic candidate. She is an excellent organizer. Note: the Isaacson seat will be contested in a “jungle primary” in November, with a runoff in January.

  125. 125.

    Sloane Ranger

    @Immanentize: Sorry no. Wellingborough, Northamptonshire. Completely wrong end of the country. I think Robert Sneddon is in Scotland and might be able to help

    And…he got in before my reply.

  126. 126.

    Immanentize

    @Robert Sneddon: Sorry for the misspeellling.  How is the health situation there?  My neighbor and friend’s daughter was accepted at Edinburgh and it is her first choice — but my friend is thinking he will put the kabash on it because Covid plus uncertain health care? I told him it is one of the premier medical schools in the world, etc. Any weigh in you can offer would be nice.

  128. 128.

    Betty Cracker

    @Geminid: I heard a clip of Warnock on one of the Sunday shows — Joy Reid’s, I think? He’s impressive. Abrams’ organizational skills are first rate. She listens to experts, weighs information and builds consensus, and she has that track record as a public servant and an activist.

    Seems like we had a first-rate organizer with a CV that was deemed light by a lot of experienced pols who nonetheless turned out to be a pretty damn good president? Also, Abrams is a solid progressive who understands that progress has to be intersectional. I hope Biden is seriously considering her.

  130. 130.

    laura

    @Amir Khalid: So about that Carole King – Roadie Brothers ADORE her! In a backstage after show situation at Madison Square Garden a crowd stood around waiting to get dressing room access to Axl. Carole King and trump + wife #2 amongst them. Brother the younger reported on who wanted in and told trump to F off, grabbed Carole King by the hand and pulled her in. Much happiness and piano and singing ensued.

    Roadie Brother the elder assembled a back up band as a surprise for her boyfriend’s birthday party. He did side work with her for years. She had a guitarist Rudy Valentine who died of cancer. Spouse and I saw his last set – a backyard concert with many session musicians. Rudy played a Gretsch – the most beautiful sounding guitar in my mind. He had found it in a pawn shop in the Pacific North West.

    Of all the many artists they have had an opportunity to work with Carole King is both among their dearest favorites. A lovely person.

  131. 131.

    Geminid

    @Immanentize: when I saw Clyburn downplaying Stacy Abrams as a VP candidate, I thought, he lives next door and knows how much good she can do for Georgia as governor.

  134. 134.

    Kent

    You know.  It is a VERY good thing to see that every 2020 swing state has no-excuse vote by mail.  I had not seen that laid out as such before.  Makes me feel a little bit more optimistic.

    But 2020 isn’t JUST about the presidency.  It is about control of dozens of state legislatures for 2022 redistricting.  It is about the Senate and retaining the House which requires winning elections in many red states.  So what happens in states like Texas very much affect the future of the country even if it may not affect the race for the white house.

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