Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

These days, even the boring Republicans are nuts.

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

Fuck the extremist election deniers. What’s money for if not for keeping them out of office?

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

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

… pundit janitors mopping up after the GOP

Let me eat cake. The rest of you could stand to lose some weight, frankly.

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

I’d hate to be the candidate who lost to this guy.

White supremacy is terrorism.

Republicans can’t even be trusted with their own money.

If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

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

I’d try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

“Why isn’t this Snickers bar only a nickle?”

Putting aside our relentless self-interest because the moral imperative is crystal clear.

This blog will pay for itself.

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

Joe Lieberman disappointingly reemerged to remind us that he’s still alive.

Jack Smith: “Why did you start campaigning in the middle of my investigation?!”

Not all heroes wear capes.

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

Give the craziest people you know everything they want and hope they don’t ask for more? Great plan.

Stop using mental illness to avoid talking about armed white supremacy.

You are here: Home / Politics / GOP Death Cult / Late Night Horrorshow Open Thread: Repubs Will Blame the Drugs

Late Night Horrorshow Open Thread: Repubs Will Blame the Drugs

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173Comments

  2. 2.

    Yutsano

    Every single vital in that letter is a lie. Every. Single. One. How Conley thinks he’ll have any kind of reputation after this blatant falsehoods is beyond me.

  8. 8.

    Jeffro

    I’m actually going to watch/listen to any &  all trumpov rallies from here on out, even if it means missing Uncle Joe’s town hall or whatever.

    ?

    sorry/not even close to sorry

  10. 10.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @Yutsano:

    Wherever this clown is licensed, they need to start some proceedings.

    There needs to be a price for fangirling.

  13. 13.

    Cheryl Rofer

    He’s got to have two negative PCR tests within 48 hours before he can be allowed to be around anyone. And that’s cutting it close.

    Conley’s statement says nothing about a PCR test.

  14. 14.

    Yutsano

    @Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes:  He’s still a commissioned doctor in the Navy but he does have an independent medical license. There definitely needs to be an investigation into his record now. Note that Dr. Ronny Jackson didn’t bother with medicine once he left the service. The scrutiny of his lies would have killed his chances to get board certified in Texas. Conley is risking the same fate.

  20. 20.

    rjnerd

    He is making it sound like the Limp gasbag event will be in person.  I can’t imagine he has any functioning immune system left, so it has to be a remote deal.   (either that, or his life expectancy is short enough that catching covid won’t change it any.)

  22. 22.

    Yutsano

    @Ella in New Mexico:  I mean…I just bothered to listen to the clip. He’s not well. Not in the slightest. I also just noticed in the letter Conley gives his sat O2 as a range. NO ONE REPORTS IT LIKE THAT!!! That letter is beyond trash. It coming on White House letterhead stinks to me too.

  25. 25.

    Punchy

    @Cheryl Rofer: He’ll have 2 neg tests.  Thats a certainty.  Whether theyre legit or not is the question.  But theres no debate he will find someone to sign off on the paperwork.

  26. 26.

    Ella in New Mexico

    Oh, but those are just silly, overly restrictive guidelines from COVID-19 experts and the CDC, why should he let that interfere with the bellowing tantrums coming from his manic, delusional boss who could fire him in a heartbeat?  His boss is the fittest man in human history, why would he need any constraints on him after acquiring the fricking plague?

  27. 27.

    Mai Naem mobile

    Con-ley is saying Trumpov will be back to ‘normal. Trumpov’s ‘normal’ is not your average person’s ‘normal.’

  29. 29.

    TS (the original)

    @Luciamia:  Slightly different from a video rally when people could see how  ill he looks. Can’t see him when he is talking on radio.

  30. 30.

    Morzer

    I really wouldn’t be surprised if Trump is so delusional that he tries to do campaign rallies and strokes out from a combination of abused drugs, obesity, cardiovascular issues and the coronavirus crashing what little is left of his system.

  33. 33.

    Yutsano

    @TS (the original):  I’m just curious: how is that going to work exactly? He’s having trouble breathing now. He can’t just stop, hack a couple times, then jump back into it. Hell we don’t even know if he’ll be able to do it if he has to get rushed back to Walter Reed. There are way too many variables here. Off the looking glass and through the map indeed!

    Also too and OT: DA BEARZ!!!

  35. 35.

    dmsilev

    Last I heard, which was a couple of hours ago so may well be out of date already, the Debate Commission was sticking to their guns re: any debate next week being virtual only. I guess we’ll see.

  36. 36.

    West of the Rockies

    @Morzer:

    Yes, a few folks here predicted today would be the day.  Do we have anyone qualified to say when his medical staff are likely to cut the steroids?  Does such a withdrawal actually produce a “crash” status?

  39. 39.

    Benw

    Trump’s brain is basically a random walk at this point. With a statistically significant sample you could predict the outcome. With one brain it’s just fluctuations

  41. 41.

    Cheryl Rofer

    @MisterForkbeard: I voted in person yesterday. It’s taken an enormous weight off my shoulders to actually be able to do something about this train wreck.

    As to listening to him, I feel it’s my job as a political analyst. It’s kind of fascinating in a morbid way, but I like to listen to the various modulations. Right now, though, it mostly sounds like he should be back in the hospital. There’s no way he can do a rally, but it sounds like he badly needs one to slake his inner emptiness.

  42. 42.

    Anya

    @Yutsano: Conley’s been acting more like a press secretary than a physician but for some reason, I think even he can’t write a letter like that? Maybe they forged it.

  44. 44.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Yutsano: Not really a lie, I have friend who has COVID and the doc things she is getting over it, and she says it the low blood oxygen comes and goes in cycles.  All they are doing is cheery picking the good part of the cycle.

  48. 48.

    rjnerd

    An actual non-political post…

    A few minutes ago, I finished listening to the Netherlands Back Society perform the Bach St. Matthews Passion.   One of the better ones I have heard, the base was particularly  nice. and they had a light touch with the chorus size.

    So why am I listening to an almost 3 hour long piece telling the Easter story in October?   Well I don’t know why it was done, but 32 years ago today Susan and I went on our first date.  I had made a slight error, I had confused the St John’s (90 min) with the St Matthew (a touch verbose at between 2h 40m and as much as 3h 15).  Despite how late it ran, we had a good time.

    I lost her May 30th to cancer.   Guess what, societies usual rituals for the bereaved can’t happen now.  I remember back in late April when we had all the hard discussions, and planned the memorial.  By the time she was gone, we were in serious lockdown. and I was afraid I might not get to do it until possibly a year later, given the predictions she was coming up with.  (Sue was a statistician doing clinical research, the kind of calculations that go into the predictive models were her daily routine)

    Of course her estimates assumed something like rational behavior on everyone’s part.  Now I know that only a year after will be near miraculous.  Oh well I make a good hermit.  I even have a cat as a houseguest for a month more.  (her normal human is out in New Mexico enumerating members of the Navajo Nation on one of the reservations.)

  49. 49.

    Uncle Jeffy

    Note that Tom Brady ran to the locker room without congratulating Nick Foles. Nice sportsmanship.

    Now – has Pence been diagnosed positive yet?

  50. 50.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @dmsilev: that funny as all hell that Trump won’t accept anything but a blatantly fixed debate and all of the potential moderators would be idiots to accept it, because you know when Trump makes a fool of himself by vomiting on stage in a the middle of a rant he will denounce the moderator for being a secret Democrat.

  51. 51.

    prostratedragon

    @satby:  Actually mine would be similar. Of course I’ve been taking a mouthful of medications every day as directed for about 5 years, and use supplemental oxygen. I don’t see someone as messy-headed as Some taking doctor’s orders long enough to get those indexes into normal range.

  52. 52.

    Kattails

    Anybody who doesn’t need sleep should check out Dr. Bandy Lee’s twitter thread. In a Salon article dated Oct. 6, she makes the case that he needs to be evaluated by a team of independent mental health experts. She’s a forensic psychiatrist and president of the World Mental Health coalition, the ones who were fighting to be able to break the “Goldwater rule” to talk about their assessment of Trump’s mental health (i.e. the toxic narcissism stuff).

    One of her Twitter comments that I found pertinent was how one might determine whether someone like Trump was delusional based not necessarily on a clinical visit, if unavailable, but “We can gauge the likelihood of delusion based on effects on followers (i.e. delusions are more infectious than mere lies).(my italics) We got some serious infection going on.

  53. 53.

    Served

    @Cheryl Rofer: I noticed in his latest little video from the lawn that his speech cadence was a lot runnier and less distinctly choppy than his normal meandering talks. Like he was racing his own lungs from thought to thought.

  58. 58.

    Anya

    Ronny Jackson and now Conely makes me think Navy doctors are suspect. Integrity, professionalism and ethics seem to be missing from these doctors. What is up with that?

  61. 61.

    Anya

    @John Revolta: It’s similar to the stuff Trump’s old New York doctor used to write. Didm’t he say that Trump’s people used to draft that stuff and make him sign?

  63. 63.

    Emma from FL

    @rjnerd: Your story is both sad and beautiful. You have such lovely memories to cushion against the grief. It must be infuriating to have your plans hijacked by this awful man and his sycophants.

  64. 64.

    David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch

    A few months from now, Dump will be on Fox selling reverse mortgages

  66. 66.

    prostratedragon

    @West of the Rockies:  As to the second question, I was zapped with prednisone once to deal with a rash, and the doses were declining to zero. The doctor said it was to avoid some of the psychological (as well as other) symptoms people get from a sudden cold turkey, and made some effort to convey that declining was important.

  67. 67.

    West of the Rockies

    @rjnerd:

    Oh, I am so sorry.  Not being able to properly grieve is a brutal gut punch after what you’ve been through.  I’m glad that music provides comfort.

  68. 68.

    dmsilev

    This is about as close as mainstream reporters come to saint ‘The President is insane’:

    Isolated in the White House, Trump struggles to project a sense of normalcy after canceled debate

    The commission’s decision seemed to spark a frenzy of aggressive acrimony from Trump, and claims that were notable even by the president’s standards.

    During his hour-long interview with Bartiromo, Trump twice called Democratic vice-presidential nominee Kamala D. Harris a “monster,” made baseless spying accusations against his predecessor and attacked several members of his own Cabinet.

    He claimed that federal law enforcement was “watching” the Nevada governor and an unidentified New Mexico official for potential voter fraud as he continued to assail voting by mail as inherently corrupt.

    He also continued to downplay the pandemic, describing that the virus that has killed more than 212,000 Americans as little more than an inconvenience.

    “And, remember this, when you catch it, you get better. And then you’re immune, you know?” Trump said, adding that he believed he could have recovered from his sickness without the cocktail of multiple drugs he received.

    By the end of Trump’s tour-de-force, Vice President Pence’s performance at his debate the night before had become little more than an afterthought and, for many Republicans, a fleeting memory of normalcy in a presidential campaign.

    And another entry in the long-running ‘staff treating him like a toddler’ series:

    Trump’s advisers have told him how valuable the debates are, citing viewership that far exceeds his typical rallies. Some aides have struggled to get Trump to understand that a debate, which is likely to draw more than 60 million viewers, is far more impactful than a rally that airs exclusively to a Fox News audience of less than 4 million, according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to speak publicly.

  69. 69.

    SFAW

    @Yutsano:

    Every single vital in that letter is a lie. Every. Single. One. How Conley thinks he’ll have any kind of reputation after this blatant falsehoods is beyond me.

    No shit. A BP of 127/81? He must be on some serious BP meds. Someone should ask “Doctor” Conley which meds those are. And an ox of 96-98? Right. I guess I half-expected Conley to say the Vector-in-Chief’s BMI is 26.5

  71. 71.

    Kent

    @David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch:A few months from now, Dump will be on Fox selling reverse mortgages

    I’m more expecting a Kardashian style reality show.  “Keeping up with the Trumps”   Where the camera follows them around the world while they do their grifting and in-fighting.  And we get to hear Tiffany Trump dish on Jarred and Don Jr.   Sara Palin already paved this path.

  72. 72.

    oatler.

    I’ve been living in AZ for three-plus years and have no reason to believe doctors are either benevolent or sane.

  74. 74.

    Kent

    @Yutsano:Every single vital in that letter is a lie. Every. Single. One. How Conley thinks he’ll have any kind of reputation after this blatant falsehoods is beyond me.

    He has the only reputation he needs.  The MAGA dead enders will come flocking to him for decades until he retires.

    And he probably already has a book deal in the wings and a FOX news analysis gig waiting for a soon as Biden wins and they need “medical experts” to tell us everything that the Democrats are doing wrong.

  76. 76.

    Mary G

    @rjnerd: I am so sorry for your loss of your beloved Susan. She sounds like somebody I’d liked to have known and been friends with. Anniversaries of significant dates are so hard, especially the first year. You must have made quite the impression for her to enjoy the entire St. Matthew’s with you!

  77. 77.

    MisterForkbeard

    @Kent: I’m thinking it’s not really Trumplike if it doesn’t fuck over one of his allies, like the MyPillow guy. So I’m thinking he’ll start hawking low-quality “TrumPillows: The pillow liberals hate because it’s too American. Made in China.”

  80. 80.

    Salty Sam

    @rjnerd: this quote was one of the few things that brought me comfort when my first beloved was taken too soon- I hope it helps:

    “Grief, with his pick, mines at the heart. But he is a cunning workman- he deepens the channels by which happiness enters, and hollows out new chambers for joy to abide in after his work is done.”

    My condolences.

    eta- the passing years have proved the truth of that quote for me.

  81. 81.

    SFAW

    @dmsilev:

    Trump said, adding that he believed he could have recovered from his sickness without the cocktail of multiple drugs he received.

    “Son — fat, crazy, and stupid is no way to go through life.”

    — Dean Wormer

  82. 82.

    tom

    @rjnerd: I’m so sorry about Susan. May you have peace and healing.

    The St. Matthew Passion is my desert island disc – the towering masterpiece of Western music. JS Bach was at his best when he wrote this. Soli Deo gloria.

  84. 84.

    rjnerd

    @West of the Rockies:

    There are a whole bunch of possible mental states that decadron can put you thru.   I don’t know how a repeated dose would work (,Трумп  regimen)  my wife got a single dose with each session of chemo, and chemo rounds were every other week.  In her case the thing was effective for about 36 hours, and her mood swings happened like clockwork.

    In my wife’s case, she avoided the manic bit, as the actual anti-cancer stuff really knocks you on your ass, I expect without the boost, they might have had to admit her.  Brain fog would start to show up after a few hours, accompanied by a crabby visit.  Brain fog was on full when the crab departed, and continued most of the way thru the end.  After the fog retreated, she always had a short (10’s of minutes) but deep bout of depression/despair.  it would end (and just a “right on schedule” could break it)

    When we sat down with the oncology nurse, to go thru what she was getting, and what could happen, she warned us about the fog, and said the official recommendation was no operating heavy machinery.  She added their informal addition – No heavy decision making.  The line was, deciding its time for lunch is fine, but don’t go working on your will, you may convince yourself to leave your fortune to somebody else’s cat.  (which makes me hope that whatever sane staff are left at the White House are keeping all the dangerous things away fromТрумп and giving him more blank paper to sign.)

    So she mostly got the benign ones, no paranoia, or psychotic breaks.  The only difficult one were occasional panic attacks, when some new wrinkle turned up in her treatment, and they told her about it after the dose rather than before.

    So, brain fog.  Its real, and can be strong.  My wife was simply brilliant.  She graduated from Dartmouth Summa. her PhD was in math from MIT, She had a public health degree on top of that, published over 80 journal articles, that have been cited almost 10,000 times to date.  She had an Erdös number of 2.

    It was normal for her to have a couple of novels she was reading in parallel.  She would pick one based on mood.

    When the fog started, it was straight to the lightest, least challenging fare she had.  By the time the fog was full strength, watching the most formulaic of TV shows was too difficult to follow. (like say that one on HGTV were people are pretending to find a new house from 3 choices)

    At that point the bird feeder cam was deployed.  (Cornell Ornithology had some good ones) Some motion, nice colors, no dialog..  She was often frustrated, as she was bored, but couldn’t do anything to distract herself.

  86. 86.

    Kent

    @MisterForkbeard:@Kent: I’m thinking it’s not really Trumplike if it doesn’t fuck over one of his allies, like the MyPillow guy. So I’m thinking he’ll start hawking low-quality “TrumPillows: The pillow liberals hate because it’s too American. Made in China.”

    But with Trump it’s going to have to be the best and most spectacular fucking over of your allies.  That’s why a reality TV show is the best format.  He can fuck them over on live TV.  Every week some new business partner can line up for the fucking and then get sued.  It will be a badge of honor to be fucked over by Trump on live TV.

  88. 88.

    L85NJGT

    @Kent:

    I think he’s a bad beat. Those family oriented reality shows seem to do best when there is a clueless husband as a permanent punchline. Like Ozzy or Jay Cutler. It’s lazy writing, but that’s the formula. Trump would go ballistic if they used him as a punchline.

  89. 89.

    Kent

    @Jay:

    MAGAts don’t read books,

    Dolt 45 doesn’t write.

    I thought we were talking about Trump’s doctor.   And, of course they don’t read books.  Corporate lackeys buy them buy the caseload to dump $$$ in the right pockets like they did with Don Jr.’s ridiculous book.   It’s all part of the conservative grift.

  91. 91.

    Kent

    @L85NJGT:I think he’s a bad beat. Those shows seem to do best when there is a clueless husband as a permanent punchline. Like Ozzy or Jay Cutler. It’s lazy writing, but that’s the formula. Trump would go ballistic if they used him as a punchline.

    I would watch a cage match between Melania and Ivanka over the crumbs of Trump’s inheritance and estate when he is declared senile and incompetent.

  93. 93.

    Another Scott

    @rjnerd: Thank you for sharing some of her with us. It’s important to remember.

    Condolences to you.

    Best wishes,
    Scott.

  94. 94.

    cain

    @rjnerd:

    When the fog started, it was straight to the lightest, least challenging fare she had.  By the time the fog was full strength, watching the most formulaic of TV shows was too difficult to follow. (like say that one on HGTV were people are pretending to find a new house from 3 choices)

    ugh, as a son of a mathematician it would have been heart breaking for me to see someone I loved have to go through that when they were so brilliant. Fuck cancer.

  97. 97.

    rjnerd

    Thanks everyone for the kind words.

    My real desert island music would be Abbess Hildegarde von Bingen.  A 12th century nun herbalist, and a bit of a mystic.  She wrote some wonderful thing for high voices.   It was also one of Susan’s favorites as well, and as we had discussed, I had it playing the night she slipped away.  So ordo virtutem may have to wait a while before I want to use it again.

    Yes, some of the discussions were hard, but it would have been worse if we hadn’t had them.  And we even managed occasional bits of levity – it was around then that she took a casual shot of me has become my favorite recent picture, and I use it as my avatar now.

    Another discussion got a little silly, and she offered to write what she would consider a “killer” profile for bumble/tinder/etc…

    Susan’s memorial page

  98. 98.

    dmsilev

    @rjnerd: So very sorry for your loss. She sounded like a lovely and wonderful person. And, as you listed her professional accomplishments, this stood out:

    She had an Erdös number of 2.

    Both that you listed it, and how low it is.

  100. 100.

    frosty

    @rjnerd: I’m so sorry for your loss, but thank you for describing the effects of the treatment. Chemo is like slow-release poison.

  101. 101.

    ballerat

    @rjnerd: Are you talking about a person or a pet? I’m sorry, really, I can’t tell on this blog.

    Honestly, don’t pile on me. People here make dogs and cats into people, and it’s not right.

    I’m really sorry you lost someone or something really important to you. I have lost both beloved pets and people I loved very much. Losing the latter hurts far more and leaves a bigger hole missing. I wish you closure, calm and peace in your next year.

  103. 103.

    Kattails

    I linked to Dr. Bandy Lee earlier in the thread & then ran across this, which is a timeline of what the mental health community was warning about in relation to Trump and the progress of the pandemic, and how accurately their predictions have panned out. (The header gives it as about a 35 minute read.)  He owns this massively, as do his enablers including the media, his family, and his doctors.

  104. 104.

    SFAW

    @patrick II: 

    I’m 72 with somewhat better numbers overall (127/70 bp), so it happens, just probably not to him.

    He’s 74, has a BMI of (I’m guessing) 35, and does zero exercise (except golfing, but uses a cart). If he’s not dosed to the gills with beta blockers and/or ACE inhibitors, then a systolic of 127 for him is almost certainly bullshit, and a diastolic of 81 is only slightly more believable.

  105. 105.

    hitchhiker

    @rjnerd:

    Wow. Sitting here with nothing but respect. Your obvious and tender attention to these details must have been an enormous comfort to her; all of us should be so lucky as to have a partner so capable and kind.

    Also, thanks for the information. I can’t understand what’s happening to trump right now, having no personal experience with steroids or the virus. I can’t even be sure that he’s any crazier than usual, but it has to mean something that his doctors are clearly hiding information, especially in the context of the ongoing hiding of trump himself.

  106. 106.

    Jay

    Samaya died today. Came to Canada as a 16 year old Syrian Orphan Refugee. Sponsored by DERA. Started working at the store two years ago. I had only known her for 9 months. She had joined the Corporate Homelessness ,(Unhoused) program the moment she started working here. So did I, when I started working here.

    She was “amazed” that all the advocates for the Unhoused knew me, when she didn’t know me. They told her what I did, and have done for years.

    So she came to me and asked to join. I pointed out, you don’t join, you volunteer, and what you needed to know, and how/where to learn,…… for free.

    So she got her certs, in 3 months, and about a dozen times, we were paired as volunteers. She was joy, and youth, and light, and I am old, cranky and have a mouth.

    She was in close contact with a Covidiot in the store, 3 weeks ago, self isolated, tested positive, and died at 9pm tonight. She had listed me as her emergency contact.

    So much light lost.

  107. 107.

    Kattails

    @rjnerd: I am so sorry for your terrible loss in this terrible time. May the painful memories recede and the sweet ones remain as touchstones for you.

    Have you listened to any of Morten Lauridsen’s work? Lux Aeterna, O Magnum Mysterium can move me to tears.  The King’s College Christmas choir did the latter, found on youtube. Soaring music, in line with Hildegard, in a fifteenth century chapel.

  108. 108.

    West of the Rockies

    @rjnerd:

    Thank you for the information on a steroid comedown (wrapped in a touching and compelling narrative, too).

    I suspect things will get weird fast with Trump (as no one seems capable of giving him a bag of gummies and sitting him in front of a Gilligan’s Island marathon).

  109. 109.

    Thor Heyerdahl

    @Yutsano: Blackadder seemed so apt for the doctor’s lies

    Edmund: Never had anything you doctors didn’t try to cure with leeches. A leech on my ear for ear ache, a leech on my bottom for constipation.
    Doctor: They’re marvellous, aren’t they?
    Edmund: Well, the bottom one wasn’t. I just sat there and squashed it.
    Doctor: You know the leech comes to us on the highest authority?
    Edmund: Yes. I know that. Dr. Hoffmann of Stuttgart, isn’t it?
    Doctor: That’s right, the great Hoffmann.
    Edmund: Owner of the largest leech farm of Europe.
    Doctor: Yes. Well, I cannot spend all day gossiping. I’m a busy man. As far as this case is concerned I have now had time to think it over and I can strongly recommend a [in chorus] course of leeches.
    Edmund: Yes. I ‘ll pop a couple down my codpiece before I go to bed ?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3D6Ecs7VhQ

  110. 110.

    rjnerd

    Oh yea, my latest pet project.  She was horrified at the politicization of the public health response to the epidemic.  So there is now The Herman Cain Medal  Its awarded to those people who use their public stature,  soapbox, bully or real pulpit, political office, or  by having the bystander video of their no stinking masks flameout go viral, etc. to make pronouncements that hinder the public health profession, and thus promote the spread of contagious diseases.

    For those whose actions qualify, and they are still around to mess stuff up further, receive a Dishonorable Mention.  For those whose zeal, and immune system are truly special, and like the medals namesake, hoist themselves on their own petard,  will qualify for the actual medal, which is only awarded posthumously.  Since dumb people in large numbers are a force unto themselves, I am collecting Super spreader events.

    Nominations by the general public are strongly requested.  there is a RSS feed, and each new “honor” is announced on twitter @hermancainmedal   So let others know its out there.  And I hope the regular staff egosurf done for the pol’s turns it up…

    And yes, I have an artist acquaintance designing an actual medal like object, that I want to get turned into “challenge coins” (cheaper than medals) and offer them up for sale, to raise money for Medicine Sans Frontiers, who are going to be stuck for years cleaning this mess up in the third world, and I figure could use the help.

    No I am not going to give grieving families a medal.  Suitably obnoxious politicians may get a printed dishonorable mention certificate in the mail…  (the one exception, I will send Jr, the dumb one, and the princess Трумп a real medal, they do deserve it)

  113. 113.

    hitchhiker

    @rjnerd:

    A good friend of mine had a sister who was the soul and voice of a group dedicated to Hildegard’s music — the group was called Sequentia, and the sister was Barbara Thornton.

    My friend has been working for years on a novel that features a fictional version of Barbara, who died of brain cancer in 1998.

    My friend also has lived for a long time now with a head injury that prevents her from being able to use screens of any kind — a rough situation for a writer. She does her drafts by hand and has a paid helper who types them into a computer. Our writing group then reads them aloud and offers comment. The book is amazing, it’s about music, and cancer, and mysticism, and loss.

  114. 114.

    Pete Downunder

    @cain: Have you read or seen the play Proof by David Auburn. That is sort of the plot. Excellent play by the way.

  117. 117.

    rjnerd

    @Kattails:   Sounds interesting, I will look for it.  There is a group that seems to include a lot of the Kings Chapel alums that made it down to London, but I am spacing on their names.

    They came to Boston, as part of the early music festival winter series, they were supposed to be back this spring and of course it got canceled.  I bet if you poked around at https://bemf.org they would turn up

    They reminded me of the early years of the Tallis Scholars, back when they were mostly fresh out of school.

    An American ensemble that is doing very good things is Blue Heron Renaissance Choir

  118. 118.

    aliasofwestgate

    @prostratedragon: Yup. Even Prednidsone, which is your go to standard for most steroids post astma attack or whatever issue brought on the use? Tapering down is the most important thing. Even then, your body is going to crash. I know this from experience after years of semi regular severe asthma attacks before i was able to figure out a regimen with my docs to keep it at bay.

    Every time i finished a course, whether it was 3 days or 10 days, i basically slept that day afterwards and felt like shit.  Bad enough that with my particular metabolism that i had to take it in the mornings or insomnia would have been incredibly bad. I had few mental effects aside from that.  If the dose was high enough, i’d get mild cases of the shakes.  It worked, but at the end of it was glad to leave that thing behind. It is NOT a fun med, and Dexamethasone is accordingly stronger to take. Which makes the effects even more extreme, and i’m in my early 40s at this point.  Trump’s in full manic crazies and it is NOT fun to watch. Scary as fuck, in fact.

  120. 120.

    rjnerd

    @hitchhiker:  I knew her, and still see her partner Ben Bagby when he makes it to Boston to perform.  It was her recording of Ordo Virtutum that was playing for Susan that last night. Let your friend know that her sisters performance was a comfort.

    He does an amazing solo Beowulf, in old english from memory, (bardic tradition, remember the plot, generate the text improv on the fly)  accompanying himself on a lyre.

    Another group that he was part of did one of the Icelandic edda’s Man those guys were vindictive, it was a typical family reunion with a tiny disagreement, and without even a Grendel, bodies wound up stacked like cordwood.

  121. 121.

    Another Scott

    @Jay: I’m very sorry, Jay.

    Hang in there.  Remember the good times, and keep trying to make the world better.

    Condolences and best wishes,

    Scott.

  122. 122.

    The Pale Scot

    @rjnerd: 
    Sorrow shared. I have multiple memorials to to up in NJ if, when this ends. Nothing such as your loss. Wish I something more to say. Talk to the cat, he won’t reveal anything you say :)

  124. 124.

    Mary G

    @Jay: That is a tragedy. I am so sorry to read of such a young person doing good in the world dying. It just makes me want to lock Twitler and Pence up in one of their cages at the border. It’s just so fucking unfair.

  125. 125.

    SFAW

    On the plus side: I just bopped over to electoral-vote.com. Their latest numbers are Biden 356/Trump 126/Tied 56. One of the “tied” states is Texas.

    The campaign ain’t over, not by any stretch, and we have to keep working as if Biden is behind, but I was pretty amazed to see those numbers.

    Of course, this also means that Shill Barr will announce on October 29th that Biden and Harris have been convicted, in absentia, of Treason, Sedition, Being a Demon-rat, and Saying Mean Things About Dear Leader. Their sentence will be summary executions at dawn to be done on November 1st

  127. 127.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    @rjnerd:

    You have my deepest, heartfelt sympathy. Our lives together with our loved ones fly by in a blur of everything that makes up our lives and to suddenly have that change is quite a shock to absorb. Our memories keep our loved ones with us while we move forward with our life, as our loved ones would want.

    Take care…

  128. 128.

    Jay

    @RinaX:

    tomorrow, after work, a bunch of us from work, are going to dig her grave, so she can be buried according to her Islamic beliefs.

    there is a backlog now.

    A couple of old white guys, a Cuban Canadian, a couple of Pakistani Canadians (Amir, Fahad), a couple of Hindi Canadians, ( Amaya, Saad), Sammy, who is Metis, Tim, who is Septememic, all from our work bubble.

    Dr.Mohammed Arif, who I met from Interfaith Ceremonies and Mosque protection programs after 9/11 will insure she is buried  properly.

    Tim and a bunch of the DERA community will also attend.

    So much light lost.

  129. 129.

    hitchhiker

    @rjnerd:

    I’ll definitely tell her; I’ll be talking with her tomorrow afternoon. Ben appears in this novel, btw … it’s odd to “know” the fictionalized version of a real person.

  131. 131.

    Emma from FL

    @Jay: Oh no. Damn, I hate them. I can’t help it. I have lost all empathy, sympathy, and just basic kindness. I hate them for that too.

  132. 132.

    bluefish

    @rjnerd: Beautiful. I am so very sorry for what happened. It helps to think one might be a good hermit. Me too. Love yr cat as I know you do since you told us so. Keep listening to music. Much comfort. I am so very sorry. Very moving writing. Sorrow of this sort never leaves the frame. Take care of yourself. Thank you.

  133. 133.

    rjnerd

    @dmsilev:

    Well if she had started her thesis a year or two earlier, she could have scored a 1, but he had moved on since then..,,

    I did some coding for her for an analysis of a randomization system. and wrote the corresponding chunk of the methods section. It didn’t occur to me at the time, but I should have pushed for nth author, so I could get a number myself.

    It would have made me a different sort of rare, as I have a Kevin Bacon number,  4, thanks to appearing on some shows with Robert Llewellyn Aka Kryten from red dwarf.  (No, I didn’t do red dwarf,  I appeared on Scrapheap Challenge/Junkyard Wars)  I wouldn’t be the only one, but…

  135. 135.

    Ruckus

    @patrick II:

    I’m 71, have had a HA, cancer and my BMI is 24.2 and I just took my BP – 113/74, my O2 is 98-99. I try to walk 2-3 miles a day but the heat  kicks my ass so I’ve been a bit remiss until about a week ago.

    So I’m agreeing that shitforbrains numbers are pretty much pure bullshit. That’s on the numbers, looking at him, listening to him tell us he’s the picture of health really does bring home that he’s more full of shit than an actual cow.

    Narcissism, sociopathy, and dex is a grand combo isn’t it?

  136. 136.

    Jay

    @rjnerd:

    junkyard wars, love,

    so sad “they”ruined it.

    Glad you got most of a life, filled with a partner, you not only adored, and respected, but admired,

    that was the first post about “your” not her accomplishments.

    Yeah, I am amazed that SWIMBO is with me, because she is brilliant and amazing,

    I am mediocre.

  137. 137.

    Kattails

    @rjnerd: I included a link to the youtube video of the Christmas performance, it’s a short piece, only about 6 minutes, don’t think it’s available on an album(?) I think I’ll watch it as a lullaby tonight.  Other Lauridsen stuff available there and on many albums, he also did Les Chansons des Roses based on the poetry of Ranier Maria Rilke.  American composer, professor of music composition at UCLA, recipient of the National Medal of Arts.

    Love the Tallis Scholars, will  check that link for the Blue Heron Renaissance, had not heard of them.  Very lucky that the local public radio station, VPR, has a full time classical feed and just started a weekly early music program.

  139. 139.

    JaySinWA

    How soon until we see the unmasking of the “wool blanket brigade” of dead “Rinos” who deliberately infected the patriots following dear leader, manfully exposing themselves to save the republic by herd (heard) immunity (mentality)

  140. 140.

    rjnerd

    @ballerat:

    Susan was human, and my wife.

    I happen to be taking care of a friends cat while he is off working for the census.   Since the director of the census backed down, he will be there till the end of the month.  When he left he was due back at the end of Sept (about two weeks) then Oct 6 as close enough, finally when the judge made it clear to the Трумп crony, that he would have a bailiff stick him in a cell,  he backed down….

    Since the NM tribes are very reliably democratic, the census team was sent out at the last possible second, to a place where getting to some of the settlements means a gravel track – making it as difficult as possible to have time to count everyone

  142. 142.

    trollhattan

    @rjnerd:

    Excellent job!

    Did not know about the Ammon Bundy incident. They’ve been quiet, the Bundys, while Trump has been in office but I expect come January they will be back in front of the cameras to our collective dismay.

  143. 143.

    trollhattan

    @Jay:

    So very sorry. Every loss is a tragedy and she was also clearly a special person. To have endured that journey, only to be lost so unnecessarily.

  144. 144.

    Felanius Kootea

    Update at end of dead thread:  I now have a publisher for my book; an imprint of Harper Collins.  I am over the moon.

  148. 148.

    patrick II

    @Ruckus:

    I haven’t communicated this too well, but it is not just age that makes Trump’s numbers not very believable.  Age is a factor, but so is weight, exercise, disposition, etc.  Plus he’s a damn liar and seems to be able to find others who will lie for him.

    I am happy for your good health.  May you live to be a hundred.

  149. 149.

    patrick II

    I’m wondering who will show up if Trump as an in-person rally on Saturday.  I know his fans believe everything he tells them, but I wouldn’t go anywhere near him myself.  Neither will Mitch McConnell unfortunately. But still, will they still believe it is safe after the Rose Garden and 34 people at the White House being sick including Donald?

  154. 154.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @rjnerd:

    Any memories that include Bach cannot help but be comforting memories. I grieve for you and with you in the loss of your Susan, but I’m glad you have JSB to help you through the pain.

  156. 156.

    patrick II

    @Jay:

    It is heartbreaking that someone so kind and generous should leave us so soon.  I am sorry for your loss.

  157. 157.

    BeautifulPlumage

    @rjnerd: thank you for sharing your loss with us and please accept my deepest sympathy.

    The fact that we can’t grieve with family & friends in person makes this so much harder. Sending peace & strength.

  158. 158.

    Comrade Colette Collaboratrice

    @ballerat:

    Are you talking about a person or a pet? I’m sorry, really, I can’t tell on this blog.

    “Sue was a statistician doing clinical research” should have been a clue.

    On the internet, it’s perfectly OK to just say nothing if you can’t tell what is causing someone’s grief.

  159. 159.

    Ruckus

    @patrick II:

    Going for 95. 100 just seems a bit over the top……

    What I’m saying about trump is that my numbers really aren’t a lot different than his and yes I’m in decent shape for my age, even though my age and health events are showing, I haven’t shared all the details….. but he’s anything but in good shape. Now he may just be that ass who has treated his body like crap his entire life, is well and truly overweight, out of shape and yet may be aging better than most. What tells me that’s not true is that they have given him every medication possible for covid and yes he’s still alive but it’s taken a rather obvious toll. And given the general course of the disease, he’s due for a rather steep drop of everything. He’s managed to be one of the leaders of the parade of shit humans, fail on a regular basis his entire life and find a way, most likely illegal of course, to land on his feet. It seems to me that covid just doesn’t give a damn about his money, his narcissism, or whatever else he’s used to get this far without someone doing something unspeakable to him and that it’s going to claim it’s due here, for him being such a shit, or just because it can. There is a range of outcomes for this crap, from a week to gone to maybe 3 and then there are stories of people of all ages living through it. He looked bad enough prior but now he’s a hell of a lot worse. Oh well we’ll see how it goes.

  162. 162.

    Darrin Ziliak (formerly glocksman)

    @SFAW:

    No shit. A BP of 127/81? He must be on some serious BP meds. Someone should ask “Doctor” Conley which meds those are. And an ox of 96-98? Right. I guess I half-expected Conley to say the Vector-in-Chief’s BMI is 26.5

    I’m considered obese (BMI 33.9) but my BP average is 129/79 and I don’t take BP meds.

    I do take warfarin because I have an artificial heart valve, metformin for diabetes, and a statin for cholesterol, along with Paxil for anxiety since last year.

    IOW going by my personal experience, I don’t see that BP as necessarily faked in and of itself.

    Of course given Trump’s record of truthfulness, it probably is.

  163. 163.

    mrmoshpotato

    Rush Limbaugh: “I’m thrilled to announce that our commander-in-chief, President Donald Trump, will be right here tomorrow hosting the largest virtual rally in radio history.”

    C’mon you chicken shit Soviet shitpile mobster conman with “good genes”!  Your cult wants to see their god emperor fascist leader in person!

    Afraid you’d keel over and die in front of your cult members, you shitpile?!

  165. 165.

    SFAW

    @Darrin Ziliak (formerly glocksman):

    I’m considered obese (BMI 33.9) but my BP average is 129/79 and I don’t take BP meds.

    That’s what I get for talking out of my ass. Yet again.

    My experience is somewhat different from yours, and I assumed (unjustifiably) that my “model” (so to speak) was the norm.

    And, of course, there’s always his omnipresent lying and his dictating the letters his “doctors” have written. But that doesn’t excuse my statement.

  167. 167.

    Anya

    @rjnerd:  Thank. you very much for sharing with us your memories and for giving us a glimpse of the woman you loved. Such an immense loss. She was a wonderful person and the world needs people like her. Again, my condolences. May her memories continues to be a comfort.

  169. 169.

    tokyokie

    I work as a nurse in a nursing home, and the vital sign that stands out to me as utter bullshit is his respiratory rate. The way one calculates respiratory rate is to count breaths for 15 seconds and multiply by four. Virtually everybody is between 16 and 20 breaths a minute, meaning that you count four breaths, then look at the stopwatch to see when it hits 15 seconds. The number of residents I’ve found with a respiratory rate of less than 16 is less than 5%, and probably closer to 1%, and the ones whose respiratory rates are that low are usually very slim and usually former athletes. And Trump, despite his claims of being in perfect condition, is morbidly obese, and although he claims to have been an excellent athlete as a lad (more bullshit; he played first base in high school and hit under .200), he wasn’t. There is no way his respiratory rate is that low. The other vital signs are normal, but the quack who reported them doesn’t know enough about geriatric patients to realize the respiratory rate is obviously garbage.

  170. 170.

    Miss Bianca

    @rjnerd: Way late to the thread, but condolences on your wife’s passing. She sounds like a lovely person in every way. 2020 sucks.

    I had to look up “Erdös number”.

    I will also have to check out the St Matthew Passion. It’s better-known than the St John out there in the wide world, but not by me – I have a soft spot for the St John after having sung it in church choir in my youth, so it’s my go-to for Easter Bach.

  173. 173.

    J R in WV

    @Felanius Kootea:

    I now have a publisher for my book; an imprint of Harper Collins. I am over the moon.

    No thread is dead until I have my way with it!!!

    Sincere congratulations on your announcement of success as an author tonight.

    We all hope it is presented to the world and becomes a popular book, requested at many libraries, read by students of the art of writing, etc.

    So happy for you ~!!~

    Thanks for letting everyone know!!

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