Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

When do the post office & the dmv weigh in on the wuhan virus?

“Squeaker” McCarthy

They think we are photo bombing their nice little lives.

I like you, you’re my kind of trouble.

I know this must be bad for Joe Biden, I just don’t know how.

Usually wrong but never in doubt

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

Let us savor the impending downfall of lawless scoundrels who richly deserve the trouble barreling their way.

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

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

Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.

Too often we hand the biggest microphones to the cynics and the critics who delight in declaring failure.

I’m sure you banged some questionable people yourself.

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

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

The revolution will be supervised.

Peak wingnut was a lie.

The arc of history bends toward the same old fuckery.

fuckem (in honor of the late great efgoldman)

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

This really is a full service blog.

Tick tock motherfuckers!

Meanwhile over at truth Social, the former president is busy confessing to crimes.

Why is it so hard for them to condemn hate?

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Tuesday Evening Open Thread: Time Dilation

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360Comments

  1. 1.

    lamh36

    Son of a bitch! Just got an email from the hotel I was staying at in San Fran that they will be temporarily closing due to COVID and my reservation has been cancelled!

    UGH!!!

    If it was just me, I would probably cancel the entire trip, but my sister and my cousin, who’ve never been to SF, are using it as a layover. They are going to be in Las Vegas the weekend before and they changed their flight so they could layover in SF to hang with me for my birthday

    The price now to change their flights back would be way too expensive for them to change, so I’m going.  I’m looking for another hotel now. It was a Marriott property, so they recommend another Marriott property.

    I was trying to be frugal, but now I’m going to take this as a hint to maybe splurge a little…ugh

  2. 2.

    HumboldtBlue

    I’m not convinced Trump ever had the virus.

    My ballot was collected and approved two weeks ago and my mailbox is filled with campaign materials every day. The state legislature really needs to push for universal mail-in ballots in California, follow Oregon’s lead.

  4. 4.

    CaseyL

    @lamh36:

    I am so sorry your plans just got blasted to pieces.

    How can there be another Marriott property in the area that won’t have the same limitations?  Even if one is a newer hotel with automated no-contact check-in, that still leaves the issue of guests roaming the halls and lobby..

  5. 5.

    JPL

    I’m listening to Biden and thinking that I wish he’d mention that when trump says what do you have to lose, he could answer your soul.

  7. 7.

    Cermet

    Sorry to hear about the cancelled room; might as well spend since SF is so damn expensive anyway.

    In San Diego I rented a very nice room at a nice place and they refused to tell me the cost until till I check out (for a conference) – the long and short was the cost was about $19 a day; I understood why they refused to tell me – if others found out the deal they gave me, there’d be hell to pay.

  10. 10.

    Dog Mom

    Standing in the cold rain, waiting in line to vote – line is moving along and crowd looks motivated! Also everyone is properly masked!

  11. 11.

    VeniceRiley

    Again, I haven’t seen my intended since Feb.  Haven’t seen any family, including my 97yo mother, in over a year. There is a pandemic on. If I make any travel plans, I surely expect they will change or be cancelled, as they were back in Feb-March, when I was originally set to go to England for Anne Lister Birthday Weekend. The plan is always several plan B options long as far as my eye can see.  Current plan B is a fiance visa for Jan 2021

  13. 13.

    FelonyGovt

    @lamh36: Two hotels I like in San Francisco- don’t know if either of them are open or are convenient to where you want to be- are Hotel Kabuki in Japantown and Hotel G near Union Square. Kabuki is wonderful but kind of pricey.

  15. 15.

    Anonymous At Work

    …since when isn’t Rasmussen a conservative polling outfit…?  They regularly show a 3%+ GOP lean in everything they do, including Democratic primary polling…

  16. 16.

    Zinsky

    @Dog Mom:  Good on you!  Thank you so much for your resolute determination!  We must throw this monster and his enablers out with such a resounding THUD that Republicans will have to hold meetings in secret for a decade.

    On a more positive note, I listened to a simulcast of Bill McKibben today about the future of the climate change movement on NPR and it was really uplifting!  He talked about how young people as young as 8 years old are teaming with greatgrandparents in their 90s to march to end fossil fuels.  Trump may sneer at the thought, but fossil fuels are going to be as dead and obsolete as whale oil being used for lamps.  The times they are a-changin’……

  17. 17.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Baud: Melber has good guests, and his legal perspective is sometimes interesting (I think, as non-lawyer) his attempts at savvy contrarianism and what he seems to think is bold truth-telling are even more grating, if less frequent, than his labored attempts to cite hip-hop lyrics and make puns on them

  18. 18.

    Ruckus

    @HumboldtBlue:

    Well at least CA sent a ballot to every registered voter. That makes it pretty much a mail in election doesn’t it? I like it because it gives people options. You don’t want to go, stand there or you need a walker or a cane or have small kids or feel it’s your duty to show up on election day, whatever, you’re covered.

  20. 20.

    Benw

    Time dilation: so who’s traveling near the speed of light observing our clocks run slow? Somebody stop that guy

  21. 21.

    raven

    We took a seven hour drive through the Georgia, Tennessee and North Carolina mountains today. It wasn’t peak leaves but it was pretty. Way more Trump signs but there were some Biden/Harris as well.

  26. 26.

    Calouste

    @A Ghost to Most: It would be terrible if Matt Walsh’s house caught fire on Election Day and the fire brigade were late because they were standing in line at the polling station rather than having already voted the week before on their day off.

  31. 31.

    cain

    @lamh36:  It goes without saying that my hope is that all will be well and that the trip will be fun and you have a great birthday.

  32. 32.

    Fair Economist

    @lamh36:

    If it was just me, I would probably cancel the entire trip, but my sister and my cousin, who’ve never been to SF, are using it as a layover. They are going to be in Las Vegas the weekend before and they changed their flight so they could layover in SF to hang with me for my birthday

    I know travel is fun and nothing beats family on special occasions, but that is a scary amount of COVID prevention bubble popping to me.

    On a related note, my brother was diagnosed with COVID Friday. Probably got it at work from a diagnosed coworker. No, neither wears masks. My brother complains it “bothers his nose”. :rolleyes: Says it’s not too bad – only cold-level – but very strange, with sharp headaches that only last a few seconds. Doesn’t sound like he’s being very careful protecting his wife or daughter either.

  36. 36.

    MisterForkbeard

    @FelonyGovt: I second Hotel Kabuki. It’s lovely, and in a great part of town. Also right next to an amazing theater that serves you drinks while you’re watching the movie, though incant remember the name.

  37. 37.

    L&DinSLT

    @lamh36: Lately when we go to the city we stay in Larkspur, a ferry ride away – about 20 minutes. It’s a Courtyard so not splurgy but in the before times they got a lot of business travelers. The ferry building is across Sir Francis Drake Blvd, accessed by a soaring walkway. Just across the access road is Marin Mart with more than a few really good restaurants that have outside seating, so they should be available for eating. The ferry ride is pretty spectacular: San Quentin, Angel Island, Belvedere, Sausalito, The Golden Gate Bridge and the Bay Bridge, Alcatraz and landing at the ferry Building on Embarcadero. Something to consider.

  41. 41.

    Uncle Omar

    My humble suggestion for Federal court reform adding, among other things, six new Supreme Court Justices…entitle the bill The Mitch McConnell Judicial Reform Act of 2021 and shove it down his throat on the floor of the Senate, either literally or figuratively.

  42. 42.

    Dog Mom

    @Zinsky: Thanks – I am done already and in nice warm car thawing my fingers. The line is longer than when I got here, but moving along quickly – a good diverse crowd.

  43. 43.

    Bruuuuce

    Went to drop off our ballots this morning, with me driving and the better half hopping out with the ballots at the early voting site, which had claimed online that it was open at 7 AM. Online lied; it was set to open at noon. Fortunately, the guy posted outside (presumably to inform would-be voters of things like that) opened up when he saw that she was dropping off and not intending to vote.

    Next up, the offspring (one at home, one at school in Allentown, PA, who’s still waiting for her ballot).

  44. 44.

    JCJ

    @Dog Mom:

    Wife, daughter, and I voted today.  Sunny and not too cold (41 degrees.)  We looked last week and there was a pretty long line in a steady rain.  Line was only about 10 minutes today.

  53. 53.

    glory b

    More somber note, this is the second anniversary of the Tree of Life massacre. The synagogue is one neighborhood over from mine, I used to walk my (dearly departed) dog past it.

    Don’t forget the reason for it. One of the congregations worshipping there were going to sponsor a group of refugees  to come to Pittsburgh and the killer was inspired by Trump’s rhetoric to do this.

    The names of the deceased:

    Joyce Feinberg, Richard Gottfried, Rose Mallinger, Jerry Rabinowtiz, Cecil Rosenthal, David Rosenthal (brothers), Sylvan Simon, Bernice Simon (husband and wife), Daniel Stein, Melvin Wax and Irving Younger.

    Six others were shot and survived.

  54. 54.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @HumboldtBlue:

    Melania Trump, who fucked an old man for a green card

    that’s not fair, I’m thinking she got anywhere from the low (the initial pre-nup) to the mid (for the post-election renegotiation) eight figures, too

  55. 55.

    dmsilev

    @HumboldtBlue:

    Children watching and learning about politics in our country deserve a better display of political responsibility.

    She’s endorsing Joe Biden then? Didn’t see that coming.

  58. 58.

    Dan B

    @Zinsky:  Good to hear about McKibben on NPR.  It’s a needed contrast to the story on huge methane increases in the ocean north of Siberia.  At 80 times the potency of CO2 over 20 years It’s like gasoline poured on a fire.

    We have all the technology we need to stop the rising heat just need to get the corporate and political resistance to see the future.

  59. 59.

    lamh36

    @Fair Economist:

    @VeniceRiley:

    I am aware of all COVID precautions and I take them seriously.  As of now, SW is not allowing middle seat flying, that changes in Dec.  I have actually flown 2x in the past 2/3 months.  I’ve stayed at hotels 4x in the past 3 months.

    I did not pick SF lightly.  I made sure to look for places that were in the safer range for the pandemic.  I picked an route that didn’t include a layover and made sure the airline I chose at the very least was mask mandated and not allowing middle seatin.

    I wear masks even when I’m with family.  I social distance even when I’m with family.  I will have my own hotel room and so will my cousin/sister.

    As for the cancellation, I booked the hotel 2+ months ago.  The hotel LITERALLY decided to stop taking reservations Oct 23.  The email about the cancellation came today.  The email did not mention it was COVID related, I called Marriott corp to get an explanation beyond just the “sorry we cancelled your reservation”.

    I also pay attention to any hotels COVID-19 cleaning policy.

    I’m the last one to be naive about prevention of COVID.

  64. 64.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Zinsky:

    On a more positive note, I listened to a simulcast of Bill McKibben today about the future of the climate change movement on NPR and it was really uplifting!

    The fact that GM and Ford are making big trucks as EVs (the F-150 and the fucking Hummer!) is one of the biggest signs of the times, IMHO. Chris Hayes said on twitter last week that he wants an electric Hummer.

  65. 65.

    glory b

    @Fair Economist: My brother caught it last week, he has fever spikes and difficulty breathing. He works for a nonprofit that provides services for at risk youth. Their programs are only partially operational now, and they’ve been assigned to assist with food giveaways at a local foodbank. He was always masked, but came into contact with a lot of people, so…

    He felt better for a while, then got a relapse that he’s coming back from. The doctor said the relapses aren’t unusual.

  67. 67.

    TheOtherHank

    @lamh36: Pacifica (where I live) has some beach-side hotels that I think are nice. It’s no more difficult to get to Pacifica from the airport than SF. Plus, it’s in a different county than SF, so maybe closures, etc, are different.

  68. 68.

    Kent

    @lamh36:

    Son of a bitch! Just got an email from the hotel I was staying at in San Fran that they will be temporarily closing due to COVID and my reservation has been cancelled!

    UGH!!!

    If it was just me, I would probably cancel the entire trip, but my sister and my cousin, who’ve never been to SF, are using it as a layover. They are going to be in Las Vegas the weekend before and they changed their flight so they could layover in SF to hang with me for my birthday

    The price now to change their flights back would be way too expensive for them to change, so I’m going.  I’m looking for another hotel now. It was a Marriott property, so they recommend another Marriott property.

    I was trying to be frugal, but now I’m going to take this as a hint to maybe splurge a little…ugh

    We stayed at Hotel Zetta in late August this year when we visited San Francisco.  It was a nice place and open with good Covid protocols.  It’s in the Union Square area near downtown.  We went there specifically because it is around the corner from the Chilean Consulate and we had business there.    I don’t know what part of SF you are looking to say in but I can recommend Zetta.

  70. 70.

    WaterGirl

    @lamh36: Not to throw water on the plan, but if they are closing hotels, maybe it would be less risky for all of you if you didn’t travel?  I know you love your birthdays and your trips, but we also love having LAMH around, so I throwing in my two cents.

  71. 71.

    Sally

    O/T. Enjoy your last two years in the Senate, Lisa. I hope the après politics is worth it. Fundraising for her as yet unknown opponent has begun. She could have been (undeservedly) a hero.

  73. 73.

    mdblanche

    I saw today that my mail-in ballot has finally been accepted as RI has finally caught up on its weeks long backlog. I sent in my original application as soon as I got it, hours before RBG died, and the process is finally complete hours after ACB is confirmed. To me this just feels like a terrible omen, like the universe’s way of telling me it doesn’t matter how fast we move, the other side will all be able to move a bit faster. That the election is going to be a Pyrrhic victory; the enemy has the courts so anything Biden or congress does is just going to get nullified, assuming democracy just doesn’t get stolen out from under us next week instead.

  76. 76.

    Sab

    My across the street Trumpster neighbor (full panoply, yardsign AND the banner) has just told us she is having a big halloween party and she promises to keep the noise down.

    I wonder if I can construct a Plague Doctor Scarecrow by Friday to post in my front yard.

  79. 79.

    TheOtherHank

    @lamh36: And if one is in Pacifica, one can take a nice walk out to Mori Point and admire the spot from which Harold drove his Jaguar into the sea at the end of Harold and Maude

  80. 80.

    Dan B

    @glory b: A speedy recovery to your brother.  Is the doctor prescribing low dose aspirin.  It reduces blood clots which are one of the dangers.  It’s not on the radar yet and has the advantage of no adverse effects.

  81. 81.

    lamh36

    @WaterGirl: They are not closing hotels.  I’ve been consistenly checking the official tourism sites for the latest updates on what level SF is.  More than likely, it’s a slow time cause of COVID yes, but also because of the election, etc.  So the hotel just as likely closed because they weren’t booked enough to stay open.  They are planning to re-open Dec 1, 2020.  Tells me they think the holiday time maybe a better way to recoup.

    Again, I’m not taking anything lightly…and if I decide to cancel the trip, then I will likely reimburse my sister and cousin to help them pay for the change their tickets.

  82. 82.

    Sab

    @Sab: My county is teetering on the edge of purple alert, the most serious where hospitals stop functionning well. And she is going to have a big maskless party.

  83. 83.

    Scout211

    @HumboldtBlue:

    This election is 100% mail-in by executive order due to Covid-19. But the state passed the Voter’s choice act in 2016. It is designed for counties to opt-in to 100% mail-in but it isn’t mandatory.
    I hope all counties will now opt-in permanently after being forced to go 100% mail-in for this current election.

  85. 85.

    Yutsano

    @Kathleen:  Her former friend noted that every time the Third Lady picks an outfit she does so deliberately. Just like the Don’t Care jacket was no coincidence, neither is retreading this outfit. I mean, why else would a lady of her wealth and refinement drag out a retread of an outfit? Unless her allowance got cut.

  91. 91.

    PsiFighter37

    @lamh36: I would venture to guess that hotels closing now are unlikely to be opening soon. California just got put back on NY’s quarantine list…cases are going up virtually everywhere in the country. People are going to need to buckle down soon, especially once Trump loses and everyone working for him stops giving a marginal shit about doing anything to stop the virus.

  95. 95.

    Aleta

    @lamh36: I wonder if Marriott has upper managers  in  customer service who can book the people who inform them of the personal difficulty and dilemma this causes, into good rooms elsewhere at the same rate as your previous one.  Even if the email from them didn’t offer any help.   If that fails, it’s said that complaining on their twitter account, more than once, gets attention and CS response.  I travel much less than you so I may be naive though.

  98. 98.

    different-church-lady

    Look, don’t think I’m not worried, don’t think I’m not on the edge of feaking out. But… doesn’t the vibe feel different than it did four years ago?

  99. 99.

    HumboldtBlue

    @Scout211:

    I hope all counties will now opt-in permanently after being forced to go 100% mail-in for this current election.

    I’m with you on that.

    @Bluegirlfromwyo:

    Of all the people to speak about civility.

    @different-church-lady:

    doesn’t the vibe feel different than it did four years ago?

    It does, but then we endure the Barrett nonsense and the fact the GOP is openly signalling its intent to steal the election and I waver right back to deep concern. I have no confidence of an honest ballot county in Georgia Texas or Florida and that even with a landslide we’ll still have to endure weeks of GOP shithousery.

    It’s gonna be a long winter.

  104. 104.

    randy khan

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    that’s not fair, I’m thinking she got anywhere from the low (the initial pre-nup) to the mid (for the post-election renegotiation) eight figures, too

    Only if she got it in cash at the time of signing.

  105. 105.

    PsiFighter37

    @different-church-lady: We are going to fucking obliterate the other side this year. 4 years ago, it was clear some states were moving away hard at the end, such as Iowa and Ohio. While I think Ohio (in particular) seems to be playing hard to get, I am feeling more confident that Biden, aside from crushing Obama’s popular vote count from 2008, will also record the largest EV win for Democrats since LBJ in 1964.

  107. 107.

    Fair Economist

    @lamh36: Well, you’re certainly doing the precautions right.

    If you go, SF is a beautiful place. Lots of marvelous vistas to see from relatively safe outdoor locations. Catch the fog blowing in in the late afternoon, weather permitting.

  108. 108.

    randy khan

    @different-church-lady:

    One of my colleagues asked today how worried I am on a scale of 1 to 10.  I said some days 2 and some days 7.  The vibe does feel different, but I know that a loss would beyond disastrous for our country, so sometimes my anxiety gets a lot higher.

  112. 112.

    LadySuzy

     

     

     

    @Baud: Melber is really getting on my nerves.

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: “his attempts at savvy contrarianism and what he seems to think is bold truth-telling are even more grating ”

    THANK YOU for expressing my exact thoughts so clearly.

  114. 114.

    Sab

    @Sab: Damn. My husband says no for plague doctor scarecrow.  Next year ( my scarecrow will hopefully encourage vaccination.

  115. 115.

    lamh36

    @PsiFighter37: It’s true that parts of Cali are def doing as well as others.

    It’s why I chose San Francisco County and NOT LA for example.  SF as of 10/27 is at Yellow which is the minimim level.  LA county on the other hand is Purple which is the WIDESPREAD level.

    As I said, I check it consistenly since I decided to go

  116. 116.

    James E Powell

    @Baud:

    It’s been 20 years now and I still haven’t gotten over the 2000 selection. I will probably die still angry at everyone who did not vote for Hillary Clinton.

  119. 119.

    TS (the original)

    Biden/Harris campaign isn’t worried about losing PA MI WI MN

    when they are doing this

    BREAKING: The Biden campaign has announced a three-day bus tour in TEXAS, starting tomorrow in Amarillo, Lubbock, Abilene, Fort Worth, and Dallas. Congressmembers, elected officials, Democratic candidates, and special guests will be part of the tour.
    — United for the People ?? (@people4kam) October 27, 2020

    It is not yet confirmed if Joe Biden or Kamala Harris will be part of this bus tour but the campaign has not announced where Biden will be campaigning tomorrow and Kamala Harris is expected to be in Texas on Friday.
    — United for the People ?? (@people4kam) October 27, 2020

  122. 122.

    Aleta

    Time stupidity: from twitter of Ken Cuccinelli, the Acting* Deputy Secretary of Homeland Sec. Dept.    *Acting must mean he only plays one

    @realD–Tr– takes his place as the greatest SCOTUS President since the founding era (at least), and possibly of all time. This, plus that ‘sure thing’ Nobel Peace Prize for Mideast peace … pretty good track record!

    since it existed  … and also before it existed   (?)  …  and (just in case)  any other time that isn’t covered by “since it existed”  (?)

    The twitter style sounds like the Noble winner himself.

  124. 124.

    lamh36

    Lordt I’m gonna try to book an AirBNB.  If I’m gonna splurge, I might as well book a WHOLE house…LOL

  125. 125.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Aleta: Obama got the Nobel for not being Bush. What are the odds Biden gets one for not being trump? Along with a Pulitzer, a Booker a César, a Golden Bear, a Pritzker and a….

  126. 126.

    Dan B

    @Sab: That’s scary.  To have hospitals unable to admit new patients means that there will be increased suffering for people at their most vulnerable and for healthcare workers and staff.

    I wish there were masks that had a ” ❤ Healthcare ” and “heroes” or “workers”.

  128. 128.

    Dan B

    @WaterGirl: Low dose aspirin that’s recommended for certain stroke conditions.  It used to be recommended for everyone over 65 but now it’s at a physicians recommendation.

  131. 131.

    Goku (Amerikan Baka)

    @TS (the original):

    538, Nate Silver: Is Joe Biden Toast If He Loses Pennsylvania?

    He’s only up by 5.1 points in PA according to 538 and he’s been polling worse with black voters (while polling better among rural whites) than Clinton did in 2016. PA is a racially diverse state. I’d prefer it if he stuck to PA. Combined with a polling miss and Court fuckery, Biden might lose PA

    Biden has a lot of paths, so losing PA while still winning MI, MN, and WISC would be manageable, it wouldn’t be ideal

  134. 134.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Hey, look who’s weighing in on the Streisand Effect!

    Barbra Streisand @BarbraStreisand ·1h
    After Jared Kushner said that New Yorkers deserve to suffer extensive deaths and sickness of coronavirus because the governor did not beg Trump sufficiently for help, it is laughable that he wants to sue for having his words plastered across Times Square.

    Blue check and everything

  140. 140.

    Splitting Image

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

     I probably shouldn’t tempt fate, but I don’t think anybody’s gonna trot out the “don’t try to blackmail me with the Supreme Court”  line this time

    Anybody who does that at this point isn’t playing hard to get. They are ungettable. They are the leftist version of Susan Collins, furrowing their brows at Republican wrong-doing then shivving the Democrats when the chips are down.

  144. 144.

    Benw

    @lamh36: you can also airBNB apartments! One thing I like about airBNBs is that you get a kitchen and can actually save a bit over hotels (and eat fewer calories!) by cooking some meals in.

    Have fun! SF is rad

  148. 148.

    Comrade Colette Collaboratrice

    @lamh36: Oh rats, I’m so sorry! I hope you’re able to find another place to celebrate. I know you’re super careful and aware, but this part:

    my sister and my cousin, who’ve never been to SF, are using it as a layover. They are going to be in Las Vegas the weekend before

    freaked me right out for everyone involved, including us here on the receiving end in SF.

    I did not pick SF lightly.  I made sure to look for places that were in the safer range for the pandemic.  I picked an route that didn’t include a layover and made sure the airline I chose at the very least was mask mandated and not allowing middle seatin.

    I hate to say it, but this is exactly what we’re worried about here. We’ve only been in the “yellow tier” for a few days. We badly need the tourism business, but at the same time, an influx of folks from other, worse-off places will shut it all down again right quick. It sucks. You deserve a fun birthday.

  149. 149.

    TS (the original)

    @Goku (Amerikan Baka):

    I’ll bet you Romney’s 10K that trump is done. The last 2 days seems to be democrats in disarray and not willing to accept that trump is done. I refuse to be part of that.

    538 is no gospel of anything. I prefer to believe that a large majority of the US is sane enough not to re-elect trump. The continual talk about the election going to congress or SCOTUS or anywhere except the electoral college is trump & the media pretending there is a path to victory for the GOP.

  152. 152.

    Baud

    @Immanentize:

    If we adopt a look forward, not back policy for all past injustices, I’ll be on board. If we’re making a rule only for 2016, I’m not playing along.

  155. 155.

    Raven

    The wing nuts are salivating about this Bobulinski dude and Tucker tonight, what’s the score?

  156. 156.

    Sab

    @Miss Bianca: It’s also Beggars’ Night, which my city has decided to go on with. They recommend leaving the candy on the porch.

    So all these little kids will interact with th partiers.

    Sigh.

  157. 157.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Raven: Fredo was tweeting out some audio allegedly of Hunter Biden. I think they’ve cried Hunter one time too many, myself

    ETA: Weigel’s at a (maskless, indoor looks like) Fredo rally in Iowa. He’s either a lousy salesman or they don’t have much

    Dave Weigel, Re-Animator @daveweigel
    Don Jr promoting tonight’s scheduled Tony Bobulinski interview on Fox. “He’s got recordings. They’re still going to cover it up.” He asks for a show of hands: “How many of you have been in Facebook jail or the equivalent?” About 1/5 of hands go up.

  159. 159.

    Martin

    Over a million of ballots already received in Florida are from voters who didn’t vote in ’16 or ’18.

    Lot of polls gonna be busted in a week.

  161. 161.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @HumboldtBlue:

    Here’s an interesting tidbit from Electoral-vote.com:

    Judge Amy Coney Barrett was confirmed by the Senate yesterday and then officially sworn in as Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s replacement just a few hours later. The swearing-in took place at a White House ceremony similar to the one when Barrett was formally announced. This time, however, the administration decided to observe social distancing. Wonder why…

    As expected, the vote was along partisan lines, with only Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) crossing the aisle. That leaves us with a final tally of 52 to 48. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who apparently couldn’t resist a little gloating, took a few potshots at the Democrats before the vote, asserting that they don’t believe in “legitimate defeat,” and that they only want “activist judges” on the Court. Very classy stuff; no wonder he gets along so well with Donald Trump.

    It is inconceivable that the Democrats, if they regain control of the Senate and the White House, are going to take this lying down. Though Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) & Co. have developed something of a reputation as shrinking violets when push comes to shove, their base is furious, and any hope they have of implementing their political program could be dashed upon the shoals of a 6-3 conservative SCOTUS majority. Further, as we also noted yesterday, Joe Biden has already committed to forming a bipartisan commission to study changes to how the Supreme Court is set up. That is what it looks like when a politician is slowly but surely dragging the Overton Window in his party’s direction.

    So, what might the Democrats do? We’ve covered most of the options in the last month or so, but here are the obvious ones in one space:

    • What Court?: This is a short-term solution (or, perhaps, a medium-term solution if the Democrats fail to recapture the Senate and/or the White House). However, as we have noted many times, the Supreme Court commands no police or troops and has no enforcement powers. On many occasions, when their rulings have been too obviously political (or have been merely objectionable), the politicians have ignored them. Andrew Jackson and Abraham Lincoln are among the high-profile examples but this is actually a persistent dynamic of the American democracy. After all, what are all the abortion-limiting laws that have been adopted in the last decade? They are examples of politicians ignoring or pushing back against Roe v. Wade. Anyhow, imagine that the Supreme Court tries to order Pennsylvania to stop counting absentee ballots on Nov. 5. And then imagine that Gov. Tom Wolf (D-PA) says, “John Roberts has made his decision; now let him enforce it” and tells Secretary of the Commonwealth Kathy Boockvar (D) to keep counting. What, exactly, could the Supreme Court do? (Answer: Not much.)
  164. 164.

    Martin

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): Yeah, the showdown the GOP is architecting is going to be really fucking ugly.

    The saving grace is that it’s the next Congress that validates the election. If we win both chambers, they can overrule anything USSC says. They can refuse to seat members of congress from states where votes went uncounted, shit like that.

  167. 167.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @Martin:

    Hopefully. I just hope it’s not the QAnon freaks or infrequent voter racists who weren’t sure about Trump being a racist like them but are all in now. I remember reading that newly registered voters in FL among minorities were more or less evenly split R/D

  168. 168.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Baud: I can’t tell what they think the bomb is. A bunch of video on twitter of Baba-booie saying he has tons of evidence. No sign of said evidence.

    I think this is like trump talking about Bruce Ohr and Andy McCabe’s wife. You need at least an average of two hours of Fox prime time a night for the last year to follow it.

  171. 171.

    WaterGirl

    @Dan B: I’m not asking the question right.  is low dose aspirin what they call “baby aspirin”?  Because that’s what people I know take if they are taking aspirin every day at a doctor’s recommendation.

    I haven’t taken aspirin since high school, so I am totally clueless re: aspirin.  But If it’s something I should have on hand in case of COVID, I would like to know what to buy.  :-)

  172. 172.

    cain

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): Anyhow, imagine that the Supreme Court tries to order Pennsylvania to stop counting absentee ballots on Nov. 5. And then imagine that Gov. Tom Wolf (D-PA) says, “John Roberts has made his decision; now let him enforce it” and tells Secretary of the Commonwealth Kathy Boockvar (D) to keep counting. What, exactly, could the Supreme Court do? (Answer: Not much.)

    and that is exactly what should happen. They don’t get to dictate election counting and how long it takes. That is not part of the constitution.

  175. 175.

    Raven

    @WaterGirl: Low dose aspirin and baby aspirin are two different things. Baby aspirin is chewable and low dose is not. However, both low dose aspirin and baby aspirin are each 81 mg in strength

  179. 179.

    Martin

    @TS (the original): Trump pulling out of Florida is a big deal. This is why money unfortunately matters in politics. In a lot of cases this turns into a war of attrition.

    People asking why I think Katie Porter is safe. Because there has not been a single ad for her opponent here or oppo ad against her. Meanwhile, CA-48, the next district over is getting fucking hammered by both parties. The GOP conceded CA-45 from the outset – they can’t beat her and they know it. But they think they have a shot at -48.

  180. 180.

    Goku (Amerikan Baka)

    @Martin:

    Trump pulling out of Florida is a big deal. This is why money unfortunately matters in politics. In a lot of cases this turns into a war of attrition.

    Wasn’t he just shuffling money around? I read that the RNC will still be airing ads in FL and take up the slack

  182. 182.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @Martin:

    They can refuse to seat members of congress from states where votes went uncounted, shit like that.

    No they can’t(Powell v. McCormick, 1969).  They can seat the member and then immediately expel them.

  185. 185.

    moonbat

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): Good observation in the article. The GOP’s entire strategy for success relies on their opponents playing by the norms — after they themselves have already violated all the norms.

    I may yet live to see the day when Cleek’s law blows up in their faces; when they will indeed have worked so hard to “piss off the libs” to the point that the libs use their own tactics against them.

  186. 186.

    Some Doc

    @Dan B: I wish there were masks that had a ” ❤ Healthcare ” and “heroes” or “workers”.

    Every mask says that loud and clear. We hear it.

  187. 187.

    A Ghost to Most

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    I can’t picture Chris Hayes charging up a high Rocky MTN pass in the new Hummer.

    It’s $112k at this point, and it’s built for off-roading.  But I guess New Yorkers gotta bling.

  189. 189.

    Princess

    @PsiFighter37: It may have been obvious to many that IA and OH were drifting away at this time, but it wasn’t obvious to the Hillary campaign which had us making calls into IA instead of WI. I’ll never forget that. At the time I thought it must be because she was doing so well but as it turned out, no. Even in 2012 the Obama campaign was cautious/smart enough to have us calling WI.

  192. 192.

    AWOL

    @Benw: I turned it off when Buck began the military suckoff and Trump was shown as a pious statesman putting the Medal of Honor on a soldier he’d piss on in real life. I’m pretty much done with US culture.

    I’m watching the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks play the Chiba Lotte Marines now—Japanese baseball is about sports, not nationalism. I’m lucky I get this channel.

    Their stadiums are also allowing more fans than US stadiums, as they’ve handled the pandemic better.

  193. 193.

    lamh36

    Sister and I found a nice AirBNB in the Mission District that has a great location and looks safe…near enough places to eat w/COVID restrictions…and short travel to sites that are still openIt’s from a superuser who had over 100 reviews majority of them glowing, and a number of them from a diverse group of guests…plus loads of pics of each room

    After the last hotel cancelled, I might still book an hotel room as backup JIC…but I hope it works out and I can cancell the hotel before being charged a fee!

  194. 194.

    Martin

    @HumboldtBlue: We’re good now. The closest by evacuation orders are lifted. New ones being added farther from me.

    This fire is not a high intensity fire any longer. Only 5% contained, but the uncontained parts are able to be managed by fire crews. We have air support again now that the winds are lower.

    The concern now is that it’s going to start spreading back toward the mountains and threatening those communities, whose few egress options are covered somewhat by fire. But the wind event should be over tonight, and is not forecast to return for at least a week.

    Air quality is garbage though. Some polling places closed. Schools closed. Covid testing sites closed. Just a mess.

  195. 195.

    Goku (Amerikan Baka)

    @Martin:

    Glad to hear you’re okay. I was really concerned yesterday when you saying the wildfire was only a few miles from where you live

  198. 198.

    mdblanche

    @Splitting Image: 

    Anybody who does that at this point isn’t playing hard to get. They are ungettable. They are the leftist version of Susan Collins, furrowing their brows at Republican wrong-doing then shivving the Democrats when the chips are down.

    Yes. This.

  199. 199.

    Gravenstone

    Just because I’m in a mood (plus I just found this wonderful thing), a bit of light hearted fun for your amusement. A little something to take the edge off for five minutes.

    Dead Man’s Party, done in the style of Iron Maiden.

  209. 209.

    Chacal Charles Calthrop

    @Goku (Amerikan Baka): If we can turn Texas blue, we can literally throw away the blue wall.  If the Dems can count on the West Coast, the Southwest including Texas, and New York +New England, they never need care about the heartland again.

    If the salt of the earth want to vote themselves to death, let them.

  210. 210.

    AWOL

    @Benw: After attending hundreds of sporting events in-person and having to endure the militarism from chicken hawk war wusses, the last thing I want to see is Joe Buck make Trump an Elder Statesman on a Fox broadcast.

    I’ll take Japan and tune in to the WS about four or five hours in when they reach the fourth inning . . .

  214. 214.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    WOW. As of 8:30 PM EST, over 70 million ballots have been cast! That’s over 50% of all of 2016’s votes with 7 days still to go until Election Day

  215. 215.

    WaterGirl

    Maybe it’s because this is a terrible timeline to begin with, but I am feeling really thrown off by it being dark when I get up and then starting to get dark at 4:30 in the afternoon.  Not liking this at all, and the time change never really bothers me like it does some people.

    Usually the only thing I notice is that my guys expect their food at the normal time for awhile because they don’t watch the clock.

  220. 220.

    Suzanne

    Mr. Suzanne and I got terrible news tonight: the eight-year-old daughter of one of his colleagues, who was also Mr. Suzanne’s student for a time as well as a good friend of Spawn the Younger, was killed in a plane crash over the weekend. This year can fuck right off.

    And, because we are a monstrous society, the family had to put up a GoFundMe for the funeral expenses.

    I am so, so sad.

  229. 229.

    James E Powell

    @NotMax:

    For me it would be posts by people from high school. I lost track of most of them, so I don’t know when or why they turned into ignorant, hateful bigots, but they did.

  230. 230.

    JAFD

    I would note that, on metro NYC and, I would guess, much of the Northeast. four-and-a-half of the last five days have been low grey clouds, fog, drizzle, rain, and general drear.  Please allow for that if you think the news be derpressing today.

    Meself, supposed to see my PCP, get med clearance for my cataract operation, and get Covid test on Thurs Nov 5th, and self-quarantine until operation on the 10th.  So have decided not to work at polls on Election Day.  In process of stocking up on food.

    Seeking advice:  Outpatient surgery center is out in suburbs, can get there by bus but ‘should not drive or take public transit afterwards’.  Usual medical transport out because of covid.  Don’t know anyone who could take day off.  Uber ??  Lyft?? Local taxi ?

    Thanks very much for your thoughts here.

  234. 234.

    Kent

    @lamh36:

    Sister and I found a nice AirBNB in the Mission District that has a great location and looks safe…near enough places to eat w/COVID restrictions…and short travel to sites that are still openIt’s from a superuser who had over 100 reviews majority of them glowing, and a number of them from a diverse group of guests…plus loads of pics of each room

    After the last hotel cancelled, I might still book an hotel room as backup JIC…but I hope it works out and I can cancell the hotel before being charged a fee!

     

    I wouldn’t bother.  I doubt any of the big hotels are at full capacity right now.  It will be trivial to pick up the phone and call around to find a hotel room if the AirB&B falls through.  This isn’t the high season.

  238. 238.

    a thousand flouncing lurkers was fidelio

    @Suzanne: How horrid! My condolences to everyone, family and friends.
    Can we just draw a line through this year?

  239. 239.

    bluefoot

    @glory b: Good luck to your brother.  I am sending good wishes.  I know several people who have had COVID.  About 25% of them relapsed, at least one seriously.  (He had been severely ill, was in the hospital, discharged, then back in the hospital 2 weeks later but recovered completely shortly thereafter.)

    Re exposure, I think it would be more accurate for people to think about it as (number of people)*(time).  So if you’re a teacher, you’re not exposed for 7 hrs in one day, you’re actually exposed 15 students times 7 hours, so that would actually be 105 hours of exposure.  If we understood more about infectivity, we would add a constant to that equation that would adjust for distance, ventilation, etc.

  240. 240.

    Anotherlurker

    @Benw: I’m pulling for The Rays, only because they are a pretty consistent Yankee Killer.   (Spoken as a Mets fan.)

    I feel the same way about the A’s.

  241. 241.

    Jeffro

    @James E Powell:It’s been 20 years now and I still haven’t gotten over the 2000 selection. I will probably die still angry at everyone who did not vote for Hillary Clinton.

    Shoot, I’ll see your 2000 election and go back even further to the Clinton impeachment  ;)

    Been getting madder every year, with the exception of 2008 (amazing!)  Even 2012 didn’t sit all that well with me.

  243. 243.

    Benw

    @AWOL: I get where you’re coming from. Raven can speak for himself, obvs. Here’s my solution: in person I take a knee during the anthem and subsequent jingoism. It has zilch to do with military service, it’s to protest ongoing violence toward black Americans and police brutality. Watching the TV I just tune in about 10 minutes after the start

  245. 245.

    Suzanne

    @Immanentize: Yes. Her dad was piloting a single-engine plane from Phoenix and was headed to Page. It was just the two of them in the plane.

    Those small planes are absolute death traps.

  246. 246.

    Immanentize

    @Suzanne: I have a friend who pilots planes (doesn’t own one) but does organ runs when needed.  He is always tempting fate.  My son flew with him once and I had the white knuckles at home.  I am so sorry.  Misery.

  248. 248.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @Suzanne:

    I feel so sorry for the wife/mother and anybody else in the family. Losing a husband and child at the same time seems like it would be a awful blow

  249. 249.

    TS (the original)

    @HumboldtBlue:

    I check it each day too. It seems to be based on the latest most reputable poll. I like comparing it to previous years and also some of their articles.

  251. 251.

    AWOL

    @Benw: I’d eliminate the anthem from games (I dream! I dream!) The best games I’ve been to have been Ajax games in Amsterdam—no anthem, no jingoistic bullshit. (Not really—but this concept of sports for sport’s sake is just seductive.)

    raven seems irrationally angry at me. I know nothing about this human. I’d like to know why this human is so offended at what I said.  I’d prefer not to pie this person, as this person may potentially be intelligent. Certainly, this person is on the correct side of politics.

    But why this rage?

  253. 253.

    CarolPW

    @JAFD: Masked with your window open for Uber or Lyft I think would be your best bet. My niece in DC who does not drive took Lyft to work and opened the windows, and she has managed to avoid any transmission. Given that you will be medicated I think you need to embed the mask/open window thing thoroughly so you manage to remember to do it going home.

    I picked up my ex from a colonoscopy last week, and he was pretty toasted but knew he needed to be wearing his mask (a Biden/Harris mask!). You can be pretty fucked up and still manage to do the right thing if you mentally practice ahead of time. I would pick you up but I am on the opposite coast, sorry.

  255. 255.

    Scout211

    @JAFD:

    Around here , there are people who drive medical transport vans to take patients to clinics and office appointments. Maybe your surgical center can recommend something like that.

    I just had cataract surgery in February and you definitely can’t drive yourself. Managing public transportation wouldn’t be safe, either. Uber, etc., can work, too. Good luck.

  257. 257.

    NotMax

    This weekend is when y’all change the clocks, yes? Always takes me at least a month to lock into the brainpan the different times the MSNBC folks I occasionally tune into air here after the time change in the fall.

    Also have to get used to marking time here awaiting the B-J morning thread until 2 a.m.-ish rather than around 1.

  260. 260.

    Martin

    @Goku (Amerikan Baka): Yesterday morning was really harrowing. Woke up to smoke in the house. 60 MPH winds blowing large ash over the house but not yet embers. Could barely see the house across the street. News hadn’t quite gotten on the story.

    In hindsight it made for a good evacuation drill. Kids did great. Cars were ready to go, pets were all ready to go, we knew where we would evacuate to, go bags were already ready, emergency documents packed. Took about 15 minutes, but we could have done it in 5.

    Ms Martin is our CERT person. She’s got us set up well.

  262. 262.

    Suzanne

    @Immanentize: Another friend of mine lost his brother in a small plane crash about eight years ago. He had won a charity auction, and the prize was a short trip in a historic WWII plane. Also had a colleague who was a pilot with his own small plane. One day, after picking the plane up from his mechanic, he took it out and the engine died in midair. He was able to safely land it on the highway. But he was terrified.

    Never. Never ever.

  266. 266.

    AWOL

    @WaterGirl: Thank you. I was feeling very hurt. I thought I made valid points and someone just slapped me for no reason

     

    I am still hoping to hear raven’s response. raven?

  269. 269.

    WaterGirl

    @Suzanne: So awful.  I am trying to figure out how an 8-year-old is in a plane without parents, but if the family is trying to raise money, then the must be what happened.  Was she an only child?

  271. 271.

    mad citizen

    @HumboldtBlue: I’ve been looking at this Princeton EV predictor site. https://election.princeton.edu/electoral-college-map/

    Biden’s been in the 350s for the week I’ve been looking at it. They seem to be using some Moneyball-type analysis (which I think is simply “analysis”; I used to read Bill James SABR-metrics stuff back in the day) to come up with their numbers.
    They have the Senate at 52 D 48 R. Last week it was 53/47

    Re: Melania–just saw a headline about her “media created a portrait of my husband I don’t recognize”.  She can just F the right off.  Feeling-wise, while I’m generally very confident of the win and the Senate, I’m concurrently so disappointed that it’s not, like, 80% Biden and 20% R.  I can’t imagine how anyone could vote for the dude.  Total con man, under investigation for financial AND sexual abuse crimes.  wtf?

  272. 272.

    WaterGirl

    @JAFD: In non-COVID times, I think there are people who help drive people to medical appointments.  Can you check with the social worker person at the hospital and see if there is something like that?

  273. 273.

    There go two miscreants

    @WaterGirl: starting to get dark at 4:30 in the afternoon

    Be glad you’re not in Alaska. Anchorage is losing 5.5 minutes of daylight every day this time of year!

  274. 274.

    Suzanne

    @WaterGirl: She was in the plane with her dad, dad was piloting. No one else in the plane.

    ETA: She was her mom’s only child. Family is trying to raise money as they are Diné and they want to take her back to the Navajo Nation.

  277. 277.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @Benw: There’s a probably urbane-legendary story about a physics prof who was ticketed for running a red light & came to court with the alibi that it was all the fault of the Doppler shift (which he explained to the judge in words of one syllable or less): At the speed he was driving at the time, the light had blue-shifted from red to green.

    As it happened, the judge remembered enough college physics to agree to void the ticket – provided the prof paid the fine (at so many $$ per 10 mph increment over the speed limit) for going fast enough to blue-shift the light from red to green. Since the resultant levy would have run to some major multiple of the accumulated national debt of the USA, Dr Leadfoot chose to plead guilty of running the light & pay the original fine (plus court costs of course).

  279. 279.

    Ruckus

    @Scout211:

    Your comment is tad misleading. CA is mailing everyone a ballot but you can still vote at a polling place or mail it back or drop it off at a dropbox or a polling place. However if your county went full mail in ballot then I’d imagine that mail in is all you’ve got.

    I was once denied a ballot by the county registrar’s office because I was and am a CA permanent vote by mail person and they didn’t like my mail address. I went to the office and asked the registrar what a homeless citizen does to vote. They sent me the ballot, she had no answer whatsoever. I wasn’t homeless, I just used my business address.

  282. 282.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Matthew Gertz @MattGertz·44m
    The big revelation from Tucker Carlson’s whistleblower is he says he spoke to private citizen Joe Biden twice and in neither of those conversations did they discuss the business deal he was doing with Hunter Biden and a Chinese company. Ok.

    If you haven’t been paying attention to this, and why would you?, this rather obvious point usually gets glossed over: Hunter Biden didn’t start trying to do business in China until 2017.

    Justin Baragona @justinbaragona·1h
    If Fox News, whose news division reported Tony Bobulinksi’s records don’t show Joe Biden did business with him or China, wanted this interview to have credibility, they’d have Chris Wallace do it. Instead, it’s Tucker, who Fox lawyers successfuly argued can’t be taken seriously.

  285. 285.

    Martin

    @HumboldtBlue: That site predates Bush/Gore. One of the first. Remember talking to Nate about it back when we were chatting about things at Kos.

    Pretty simplistic in terms of analysis. Sam (Princeton) and Nate have much more robust models. Polling suggests around 340. I think polling will be off a bit and it’ll be higher. The GOP are risking some of their own voters right now. Dems heeded the warning to vote early.

  288. 288.

    Old Dan and Little Ann

    Ugh.  Awful need about the plane crash.  Our friend has one and he flies his wife and 2 young kids all over.  I’ve been asked to go up with him dozens of times.  My answer is always the same.  No Fucking way.

  290. 290.

    Suzanne

    @WaterGirl: I’m sorry. It’s terrible. My heart is broken for her mom. My husband is devastated. He had identified her hearing impairment a few years ago, and as a result, her mom got her hearing aids and that really made such a difference for her.

  291. 291.

    J R in WV

    @Sab:

    My county is teetering on the edge of purple alert, the most serious where hospitals stop functionning well. And she is going to have a big maskless party.

    Call the cops on her soon after dark…  She deserves it.

  293. 293.

    Martin

    @Ruckus: I’m not aware of any county in CA that is mail only. In fact, that’s not allowed under the legislation that the EO sped up implementation of.

    There has to be an in-person option, there has to be a drop-off option, there need to be mechanisms to fix spoiled ballots, time to clarify voter intent rather than discard ballots, etc.

    Everyone *can* vote by mail, without having to do anything. But nobody *must* vote by mail.

  294. 294.

    Scout211

    @Ruckus:

    No, you don’t have to mail your ballot or drop it in the drop box. You still can vote in person, either at the election office any day during the early voting period or 3 days of early voting at county voting centers scattered around the county. Its pretty much exactly like what the entire state is doing for this election, (by executive order).

    Sorry if I wasn’t clear.

    https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/voters-choice-act

  297. 297.

    WaterGirl

    @AWOL: You asked the question, didn’t get an answer.  I would let it go.  Rage is far too strong a word, maybe annoyed is a more accurate description..

    We’re all on edge, if it were me, i would let it roll off and carry on.  My two cents.

  300. 300.

    Ruckus

    @WaterGirl:

    A lot of us geezers take low dose aspirin, and it is the same dosage as baby aspirin but not the same form. I haven’t used full strength aspirin for decades but take an 81mg per day as it is supposed to assist your body by slightly thinning your blot to help reduce clots, which a lot of geezers get because our hearts don’t work as well as they once did  or because we’ve actually had a heart attack – that’s me, and would appreciate not having another.

    Some take more powerful anti clotting medication but 81mg aspirin is cheap insurance, I buy 500 tabs for 6-8 bucks.

  301. 301.

    lamh36

    @Comrade Colette Collaboratrice: And I do understand that.  TBH, I was coming to SF w/or without them.  They actually chose to make the stop.  I am actually going to arrive the day before my birthday.

    Unfortunately I can’t control their travel plans, I can only be careful and aware of my myself.

  302. 302.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Michael McFaul @McFaul · 2m
    (Toggling during World Series commercials) I just watched Ingraham try to explain to her viewers the alleged alliance between “big business” and the “hard left” to elect Biden.
    That crazy hypothesis sounds like desperation to me. Am I wrong?

    the secret alliance between Jamie Dimon and AOC has been revealed!

  303. 303.

    WaterGirl

    @Martin:

    There has to be an in-person option, there has to be a drop-off option, there need to be mechanisms to fix spoiled ballots, time to clarify voter intent rather than discard ballots, etc.

    Everyone *can* vote by mail, without having to do anything. But nobody *must* vote by mail.

    That sounds so very reasonable.  It should be like that everywhere.

  305. 305.

    Benw

    @Uncle Cosmo: lol seems like BS because no physics PhD would bother to argue that the redshift would effect speeds here on Earth, but I could imagine a moron thinking they’ve got a winning case from wikipedia :)

  309. 309.

    Dan B

    @WaterGirl:  It’s called Low Dose. They are 81mg.
    Baby aspirin may be stronger but if it’s close it would work. My Mike guy was told by his doctor to take one in the AM and one in the PM. Normal dosage is one per day. At much higher doses it is less effective.

  311. 311.

    JanieM

    @Suzanne: Unbelievably sad. I don’t know how someone who has lost a child keeps getting up in the morning.

    Would you be willing to put up a link to the GoFundMe?

  312. 312.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Nathan Bernard @nathanTbernard · 4h
    Joe Rogan hosted far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones on his podcast today. They pushed anti-vaxx conspiracies and broadcasted banned Infowars videos. Rogan continuing to platform these far-right sickos is incredibly gross and dangerous.

    Coastal media pet “contrarian” Bari Weiss spent a week or two promoting the idea of Joe Rogan as debate moderator.

  313. 313.

    Ruckus

    @Raven:

    I’ve been on a number of differing drugs that do the same process as we are all a bit different and I seem to be more on the a lot different side of the equation. But among them is a statin and low dose and I’ve been on the that for years. And it seems to work great, the lab numbers are fantastic.

  314. 314.

    Dan B

    @Raven:  Thanks for answering the question about aspirin.  I had to crash for a bit since I only managed to get about 6 hours sleep last night.

  315. 315.

    Gremcat

    @Suzanne:  God I am so sorry for that poor mom, as well as for you and your family.  You said that they are trying to raise money via a Go fundMe. Do you think that the mom would mind if you shared the link so that I/we could make a donation.

    ETA janieM got there first.

  316. 316.

    Frosty Fred

    @Scout211:  I’ve lived in the same California county for over 40 years now. The county does not have mail-only voting, but our district definitely has, for years.

  318. 318.

    Anotherlurker

    LoL! I grew up with Mets fans so it is ingrained into my psyche. In addition, I have worked in sports television, as an audio tech, for 20 of my 40+ years in TV. Working Mets games was always so much more enjoyable than working Yanks games.

    @Benw:

  319. 319.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    LOL LOL LOL

    Jenna Ellis @JennaEllisEsq · 1h
    The ENTIRE hour of @TuckerCarlson and Tony Bobulinski didn’t trend once.

    Twitter is a joke.

    if you’re not on twitter, and I am not sure this person exists outside of it, I suspect Jenna Ellis would be a prime example of what Kay calls trump’s “low quality hires”

    Jenna Ellis @JennaEllisEsq
    Constitutional Law Attorney. Senior Legal Adviser @TeamTrump and Counsel to @realDonaldTrump. Senior Fellow @Falkirk_Center. Special Counsel @ThomasMoreSoc.

  320. 320.

    Jeffro

    Joe Rogan x Alex Jones babbling away is probably what’s awaiting me in my own private room in Hell.

    I mean, there are worse things, but not many.

  322. 322.

    Ruckus

    @Martin:

    Guy who used to work where I do is in the National Guard and has done a year tour stopped by work today and is now working full time with the NG, doing firefighting work. The NG has been taking up the slack for the people in jail who did this for getting time off. But so many of them have COVID because of the living conditions that there just isn’t enough people for all the fires.

  324. 324.

    Dan B

    @Some Doc:  I’d like to have something to point to if I ever encounter a denier.  Something that says the mask is not about me.  In soviet Seattle not sure I’ll have an encounter but I believe a great number of people would appreciate the statement.  We all could benefit from encouragement.

  326. 326.

    Nelle

    @Old Dan and Little Ann:  I married an Alaskan bush pilot so our earlier years involved a lot of hunting and pecking in the clouds and through mountain passes.  At 76, he is still flying, now with Civil Air Patrol, which does Search and Rescue.  He’s been involved with them one way or another for over 60 years.  He’s got thousands of hours flying time and a lot of experience landing where there isn’t a runway (on tundra, gravel bars, and pastures). I love tootling along at low elevation.  But I’m always with a very experienced pilot.

  330. 330.

    Peale

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: God, I really hope the vaccine is effective when it arrives, and just makes me immune so I can go about my life again and not have to worry about the vast numbers of people who won’t be taking it.  I really don’t care if I have to take it every three months.  I’m so sick of the anti-vaxxers and herd immunity and China Virus crowd.  If it wasn’t for the fact that they’ll eventually fill the hospitals and make lives miserable for millions of nurses, I’d just like to ignore them.

  333. 333.

    MisterForkbeard

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: It’s amazing that the Tony Bobulinski ‘interviews’ are happening at all.

    You know what his total input is? That he talked to Joe Biden twice after Biden wasn’t the VP. He can’t even prove that, either. And the other business partners say there was no place for Joe in their business plan and Joe was never involved.

    That’s all. It’s useless information on its face, but they can’t even corroborate anything about his story at all. So it’s an unverified story about a completely legitimate set of events that didn’t even appear to have happened.

  334. 334.

    mad citizen

    @Jeffro: Seen enough Alex Jones clips and just had the realization that he has nicked some of the late Sam Kinison’s shtick.  Not as full on as when Denis Leary nicked Bill Hicks after Hicks died.

  336. 336.

    prostratedragon

    @HumboldtBlue:
    “Also, never smoke a bowl and then watch Ina Garten make Beef Bourguignon unless you have the ingredients on hand,”

    Words to live by, I’m sure.

  342. 342.

    Suzanne

    Thanks, all. This is just so terrible. Amira was such a great kid…. funny, weird, charming. Her mom is a wonderful lady (a school librarian). She has got to be destroyed. Amira was her entire world.

  343. 343.

    J R in WV

    @AWOL:

    But why this rage?

    We are all under a great deal of stress right now. That’s all I can suppose. Raven is a good guy, lost a beloved puppy recently, looking at Trump running for re-election. We are all stressed out right now.

    Wife and I voted yesterday, I expected that to help. It did not.

  345. 345.

    prostratedragon

    @Luciamia:
    Oooh, never seen those, but can just imagine. I still chuckle a bit about the first time I saw Tampopo and hit the rice omelet scene. [“Stop the video! I have eggs!]

  349. 349.

    Suzanne

    @J R in WV:

    Wife and I voted yesterday, I expected that to help. It did not.

    My MIL called yesterday having a panic attack about the election. It’s not good. Not good at all.

  350. 350.

    J R in WV

    @Suzanne:

    I’m sorry. It’s terrible.

    Please post the GoFundMe for the family. No one deserves to go through this alone! We will help!

  353. 353.

    Ruckus

    @Martin:

    @Scout211:

    Thanks. I was going on what I understood Scout211 said about some counties being mail only, didn’t know that wasn’t the case. Otherwise we are on the same page.

  355. 355.

    Ruckus

    @Jeffro:

    You’ll be OK. They are for sure going to hell and their hell will be that they can never speak a word again. You might have to listen to recordings of them but their hell will be worse because their entirety of living was in talking to hear themselves have verbal diarrhea.

  356. 356.

    tomtofa

    @WaterGirl: They call it ‘low dose’ these days – 81mg. Yes, it’s the same dosage as baby aspirin. There’s a more cautious attitude toward it these days; it increases risk of bleeding, including strokes from burst blood vessels and gastrointestinal bleeding. Heart attack or stroke – choices, choices…

  357. 357.

    swbarnes2

    @Ruckus: I suppose homeless people can use a local shelter address.  But for the really local stuff, you are supposed to vote for the people in the district where you live, not where you work.  When I was a California poll worker, I had one of those; someone whose address I knew was not a residential one.  I let him vote, since he was on the roster, but noted in the roster that the address wasn’t a residential one, and gave him a registration form so he could register properly for next time.

  358. 358.

    Ruckus

    @J R in WV:

    It felt good when I dropped my ballot in that box. A little better when I got the email telling me it was received – a big I voted email sticker.

    Ten minutes later nothing had changed, shitforbrains was still president, and alive, and we have weeks to go before any sense of sanity hits the big picture. Someone on twitter said she was out of fucks to give and she’s just one of many. In times past republicans still wanted to do and be who shitforbrains is but thought it wouldn’t go over well. They were right, it didn’t go over well for a lot of us, some far worse off than others. But we are still here with a massive lunatic no where near in charge of anything but an unending supply of bullshit and racism. It does seem that Dodgers fans are happy. It sounds like an off shore bombardment with all the fireworks going off around me.

  359. 359.

    Ruckus

    @swbarnes2:

    I lived in the district. I actually lived at the location, I just wasn’t legally living there. I still have a right to vote, same as that homeless person. I’m a citizen, not a felon, not in jail, didn’t even owe taxes. My address shouldn’t matter, there were homes all around me, they lived in the same district, it was as I asked the registrar, telling me I had to own or rent a home to vote and that is, plain and simple, bullshit. Now that my address in a county might change the district I vote in might be an issue but that I have no right to vote? That is wrong on every count and the registrar knew it, which is why I never even got an answer to my question, just a ballot to vote, in the district that the address was in.

    Also I got a ballet to vote when stationed on a US naval vessel almost 3000 miles from where I lived, even if that ship was out to sea. It was never in that district, often not even within US waters and I got ballots mailed to me. It was my home, it’s where I worked, ate, slept, showered and….. voted.

    Slaves weren’t allowed to vote because they didn’t own property, they were of course considered property. And that was also always wrong.

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