Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

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

You don’t get rid of your umbrella while it’s still raining.

Come on, man.

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

You don’t get to peddle hatred on saturday and offer condolences on sunday.

Anyone who bans teaching American history has no right to shape America’s future.

Just because you believe it, that doesn’t make it true.

Hot air and ill-informed banter

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

White supremacy is terrorism.

“What are Republicans afraid of?” Everything.

Teach a man to fish, and he’ll sit in a boat all day drinking beer.

The revolution will be supervised.

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

Usually wrong but never in doubt

A last alliance of elves and men. also pet photos.

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

Too often we confuse noise with substance. too often we confuse setbacks with defeat.

American History and Black History Cannot Be Separated

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

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

Why is it so hard for them to condemn hate?

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

You are here: Home / Past Elections / 2020 Elections / Biden-Harris 2020 / Wednesday Morning Open Thread: Call Them Out

Wednesday Morning Open Thread: Call Them Out

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Say it with me: Schadenfreudelicious!

… “Republicans fell into a trap by expecting Brad Raffensperger and Brian Kemp to cheat for them,” said Jordan Fuchs, a longtime Republican strategist in Georgia who is a deputy secretary of state under Raffensperger and who says the ongoing civil war in her party will have long-term consequences at the polls, including in the state’s two Senate runoff races on Jan. 5.

“The Democrats only have one, singular turnout model, and that’s the argument of voter suppression,” Fuchs added. “They say it in their litigation — it’s the number one poll-tested message they have. This has fed into the hands of Democrats.”…

Trump emissaries have warned Kemp that the president plans to continue to relentlessly attack him and will publicly criticize him when he returns to the state on behalf of the Republican Senate candidates, possibly on Saturday. The president has attacked Kemp on Twitter, lambasted him at a rally in Valdosta, Ga., earlier this month and went after him again during an interview that aired Sunday on Fox News…

The tensions have surprised Republicans in Georgia, many of whom assumed for much of the year that at least some of the apparent chill between Trump and Kemp was staged because the governor did not want to appear to be too close to Trump ahead of a potential rematch with Abrams.

Kemp clearly has had his eye on his reelection bid all year. Kemp’s narrow win over Abrams in 2018 was dominated by the debate over voting rights and voter suppression. Abrams characterized Kemp, then secretary of state, as an architect of the disenfranchisement of hundreds of thousands of Georgians, mostly people of color, through an extensive culling of the state’s voter roll….

No honor among thieves, I guess. Wasn’t there some ‘poem’ about a snake, that the GOP embraced?

Reader Interactions

281Comments

  1. 1.

    debbie

    I can’t imagine a better GOTV strategy than to point to Perdue and Loeffler’s complicity in Texas’s treasonous lawsuit. Kudos, Joe!

  2. 2.

    Baud

    Fun to watch, but Republican voters, to their credit, have traditionally risen above their internecine squabbles when it comes to voting. Maybe this will discourage turnout at the margins enough for us to win, but I can’t imagine a day when their voters go to war against their party.

  4. 4.

    Baud

    I made be mistake of clicking on an NYT link because they were interviewing Tester about making inroads with rural voters.  But his response was basically

    ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

  6. 6.

    raven

    I’m going to repost this

     
    Racist ‘Zoombombers’ Target Minority Communities at UGA

    During a Zoombombing that lasted about five minutes, the perpetrators announced UGA professor Sharina Maillo Pozo’s home address, called the guests racial slurs and threatened their families with meat cleavers, gave ransom threats, shouted they were members of the Ku Klux Klan and showed a video of a dismembered body, according to The Red & Black. García Peña and Maillo Pozo declined to provide further comment to Flagpole.

  7. 7.

    Mary G

    I’m liking the plain speaking Prez elect. He’s not pulling any punches and that includes the media.

  9. 9.

    Martin

    That’s my congresswoman up there. Might have taken us a while to elect a Dem, but boy did we hit the ground with a good one.

  10. 10.

    lowtechcyclist

    Wasn’t there some ‘poem’ about a snake, that the GOP embraced?

    Well, there’s Vampire Weekend’s

    wicked snakes

    inside a place

    you thought was dignified

    which seems to describe the Trump White House pretty well, but I don’t think that’s  what you’re thinking about.

  11. 11.

    Amir Khalid

    Anne, yesterday WaterGirl suggested I write a letter to Bianca saying what she meant to me and how I felt about her passing. Well, I did that. And then it occured to me, the jackaltariat always took an interest in Bianca and my stories about her. Maybe they’d like to read the letter. I can send it to you if you think it’s a good idea.

  12. 12.

    debbie

    @Baud:

    It’s not about a squabble. It’s about someone trying to steal your vote. If that isn’t a motivation, I don’t know what would be.

  13. 13.

    p.a.

    Some hope IF there really is a crack in the Fux ‘News’ tRumpublican info monopoly and IF the OANN/alt reich-wing ‘news’ services are attacking the two GA daytraders as not sufficiently tRumpturdy.  Lot of IFs.

  14. 14.

    JMG

    Nate Cohn of the Times says that absentee and early voting data so far indicates that the runoffs will be high turnout affairs with no particular turnout advantage for either side. In other words, two more close contests. Which makes sense. Why should a whole bunch of devoted partisans change their minds from November 3 to now?

  20. 20.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Martin:

    That’s my congresswoman up there. Might have taken us a while to elect a Dem, but boy did we hit the ground with a good one.

    I’m envious. I’m represented by Steny Hoyer, who’ll probably serve until he’s 100.

  21. 21.

    Geminid

    @Baud: I was skeptical that backlash against Kemp and other republican leaders would hurt Loeffler and Perdue. But it may. Even a 5% dropoff from Nov. 8 could be enough to sink the two republicans. And Loeffler could run behind Perdue. She is more closely identified with Kemp.

  23. 23.

    Amir Khalid

    @Baud:

    Who could have imagined a day when a Republican President went to war against the party? And one with so much support among Republican voters, at that.

  27. 27.

    JPL

    The barrage of ads in the area, are non stop.   It’s raining today, so I’m hoping that it might be a good time to vote.

  28. 28.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Baud: Fun to watch, but Republican voters, to their credit, have traditionally risen above their internecine squabbles when it comes to voting. Maybe this will discourage turnout at the margins enough for us to win, but I can’t imagine a day when their voters go to war against their party.

    If two or three percent do, that might make the difference. In a close race, every little bit counts.

  30. 30.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    President Piggyeyes Autogolpe was up tweeting at 1 am, and is clearly agitated. It is also clear that he’s not working with the Biden team at all, and is acting not as a lame duck, but acting as though he’s re-elected.

    The irony is that had he actually worked and put the same level of effort into doing decent public modeling of distancing and mask use and then twisting arms in Congress into a decent set of supports and stimulus, he’d have been easily re-elected.

    But then again, he’s Donald Trump. Expectations of intelligence and effort are always wasted efforts.

    If, as I expect, he attempts to use DHS mercs to do something stupid after Barr’s departure, he and his enablers will have earned a gigantic wave of violence that has an unknown outcome. The scope of that would depend on the level of success he achieves. In a grim set of moments in 2016, I surmised that Donald Trump may well be the lest President of the United States as currently exists under the 1789 constitution, simply by virtue of being him.

    Also remember that everything Trump touches dies. That doesn’t just include associates, hirelings and companies.

  32. 32.

    sab

    @Amir Khalid: I hope she thinks it’s a good idea.

    I have been appreciating my little guy a lot more since reading your posts. He is always there for me, and I had been taking his presence for granted.

  35. 35.

    Anne Laurie

    @Amir Khalid: I would be honored to publish your letter!

    Never saw you on a ‘live’ thread until now, but:  May the thought of your beloved fur-companion soon bring a smile to your lips before it brings a tear to your eye.

  36. 36.

    Mousebumples

    @lowtechcyclist: I was in Atlanta for a conference between Christmas and New Years, maybe 10ish years ago. Freak snowstorm in Atlanta canceled my flight from Milwaukee since they didn’t have snowplows to clear runways.

    Unless things have changed (and I’ll defer to local Juicers) Georgia is not prepared for snowstorms.

  38. 38.

    germy

    From the WaPo article linked above:

    Kemp, meanwhile, has told allies that he can’t spend his time worrying about Trump’s vindictive tweets and rhetorical broadsides, and that while he wishes the president would stop attacking him, he believes it would be illegal to do most of what Trump is asking. Instead, he said, he is focused on keeping Georgia open as coronavirus cases continue to rise.

    (He doesn’t want to feud with Trump, he wants to focus on making sure the virus spreads.)

    But it was Kemp’s handling of his selection of Loeffler to fill Georgia’s empty Senate seat in late 2019 that particularly angered the president, culminating in the frosty White House meeting that November. Kemp never consulted Trump about the Senate seat when it first opened. And after Kemp created an online application process for the post, Trump complained privately that the Georgia governor was treating the process as if he was “hiring a truck driver,” according to an outside Republican in frequent contact with the White House.

    (I know the truck drivers who cheer at his rallies will never read this, but it’d be nice if they knew the level of contempt he has for their chosen profession.)

  39. 39.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    One other thing – national media is failing again. Every time they do some uncritical story on some local goober in some redneck state senate or house seat talking about martial law, suspending habeas corpus and giving their reasons (kind of a Cletus safari in different form), they’re amplifying and giving credence to it.

  40. 40.

    germy

    … “Republicans fell into a trap by expecting Brad Raffensperger and Brian Kemp to cheat for them,” said Jordan Fuchs, a longtime Republican strategist in Georgia who is a deputy secretary of state under Raffensperger…

    Surprising candor from a professional Republican.  They’re coming right out and admitting it now.

  55. 55.

    JPL

    Democratic turnout in runoffs is always poor, and if it doesn’t change, we lose.    The suburbs went for Biden, but in some locations their vote split for the republican senators.    The negative ads are not going to help change that.  imo

  58. 58.

    Baud

    @JPL:

    We’ll see.  Dems don’t win in Georgia until Biden just did.  The past only gets you so far.  I think he odds are tough, but I have my fingers crossed.

  60. 60.

    OzarkHillbilly

    US soldier reunites with Italian children he almost shot during second world war

    Martin Adler fought along the Gothic Line, and in October 1944 was among the US troops liberating the area surrounding Monterenzio, a village in the Apennines mountains close to Bologna.

    He entered a cottage in Monterenzio with a fellow soldier called John Bronsky, thinking it was empty. When they heard a noise coming from a large wicker basket, they thought German soldiers might be hiding inside and so prepared to shoot. At that moment, a panicked mother entered the room shouting: “Don’t shoot … children, children!” Three siblings, aged between three and six, then jumped out of the basket.

    Relieved, Adler asked if he could have a photo taken with the children – Bruno, Mafalda and Giuliana – using a camera he had with him. Their mother agreed, but on condition she could dress them in their best clothes.

    Seventy-six years later, and now living in Florida, Adler asked his daughter, Rachelle, to try to track down the siblings to see if any were still alive. On 12 December, she posted a message alongside the original photo on a Facebook page for veteran soldiers from the US and Canada who had been stationed in Italy.

    ………………………

    As the story was being shared in Italy, Rachelle wrote on her Facebook page: “My dad Martin Adler is being featured in an article in Italy. We are hoping for a holiday miracle to reunite him with these three children he could have mistakenly killed. Thank God he and Bronsky kept their cool.”

    On 13 December – the day many Italians mark the feast day of Santa Lucia, or “the festival of light” – Incerti received a message from the care worker of a friend of Bruno.

    The care worker said she had met Bruno in a park and he had told her he recognised himself from the photo in the newspaper and wanted to contact the journalist but did not know how to. “Straightaway she found me on Facebook and wrote me a message,” Incerti said.

    Mafalda also recognised herself in the photo.

    Incerti swiftly set up a video call between Adler and the three siblings, now aged between 79 and 83, which took place on Monday.

  61. 61.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Mousebumples: Unless things have changed (and I’ll defer to local Juicers) Georgia is not prepared for snowstorms.

    I lived in Newport News, VA for a few years in the mid-1980s.  They were not prepared for snowstorms; an inch or two would shut down the Peninsula.

    I can’t imagine Georgia is any more prepared than they were.

  63. 63.

    Raven

    @lowtechcyclist:  Better now than then!

    ATLANTA — It’s one of the most infamous weather events in Atlanta history, and it turns six years old today: Snowmageddon.

    On Jan. 28, 2014, two inches and change of snow brought the city to its knees, the images of cars trapped on the interstate indelibly fixed in Atlanta’s collective memory.

    Although the city only received 2.6 inches of snow, cars were stranded on all three highways for up to a day. Over a million people were jammed on the major highways in Atlanta primarily because everyone in the city was attempting to head home out of the snow at the exact same time.

  64. 64.

    SFAW

    @Amir Khalid:

    Maybe they’d like to read the letter. I can send it to you if you think it’s a good idea.

    I certainly would, and think it’s a great idea.

    But then I’ll have to clean out all the dust which will undoubtedly pop up while I’m reading it. [Damn! The dust seems to have started already.]

  65. 65.

    Betty Cracker

    @Baud: I have no idea who will win the GA senate races, but from afar, it looks like GA Dems got lucky with their Republican opponents. Loeffler and Perdue seem like what central casting would send over if a movie producer asked for a pair of completely unsympathetic, charisma-free crooks. On the other hand, Mitch McConnell handily won reelection, so…

  66. 66.

    Baud

    Not going to link, but looks like Politico is again trying to create conflict between AOC and Pelosi.  Based on the quotes they published, AOC’s comments to the Intercept were not as provocative as the story makes them seem.  (I have not read the original interview.)

  67. 67.

    germy

    @satby:

    It’s a fascinating topic.

    It wasn’t until the industrial revolution that people expected to sleep for 8 hours.  For some people the logic was 8 hours work, 8 hours leisure, 8 hours sleep.

    But for thousands of years there were two sleeps.  Folks would sleep for a few hours, then get up and spend a few hours doing various things (gossiping with friends or having sex or whatever) and then go back for their second sleep.

    All these sleep problems we have… I think it’s us trying to adapt ourselves to a machine that didn’t exist for most of recorded (and unrecorded) human history.

  69. 69.

    Baud

    @Betty Cracker:

    I can actually understand why some people don’t like us more than I can understand why some people like Republicans.  Their cast of characters is truly grotesque.

  72. 72.

    germy

    HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — A former Houston Police Department Captain was arrested and charged for running a man off the road and pointing a gun at his head in an attempt to prove claims of a massive voter fraud scheme in Harris County, according to a news release from the Harris County’s DA’s office.

    Mark Anthony Aguirre, 63, was arrested by Houston police Tuesday and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a second-degree felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

    “He crossed the line from dirty politics to commission of a violent crime, and we are lucky no one was killed,” Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said. “His alleged investigation was backward from the start – first alleging a crime had occurred and then trying to prove it happened.”

    According to court documents, Aguirre told police that he was part of a group of private citizens called the “Liberty Center,” who were conducting a civilian investigation into the alleged ballot scheme.

    According to Aguirre, he had been conducting surveillance for four days on a man who was allegedly the mastermind of a giant voter fraud scheme. Aguirre told authorities the man was hiding 750,000 fraudulent ballots in a truck he was driving.

    Instead, the victim turned out to be an innocent air conditioner repairman, court documents said.

    https://abc13.com/mark-anthony-aguirre-former-houston-police-department-captain-arrested-aggravated-assault-liberty-center/8802235/

  73. 73.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    @germy:

    Folks would sleep for a few hours, then get up and spend a few hours doing various things (gossiping with friends or having sex or whatever) and then go back for their second sleep.

     

    sounds like college

  74. 74.

    germy

    @David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch:

    I remember reading a novel, one of those real ancient ones from the first or second century, a real bawdy and meandering story.  At one point the author mentions, in passing, the first and second sleep.

    I wish I remembered the title.  I’m too lazy to search through my library.

  75. 75.

    SFAW

    @lowtechcyclist:

    I lived in Newport News, VA for a few years in the mid-1980s.  They were not prepared for snowstorms; an inch or two would shut down the Peninsula.

    I’ve lived in MA since the 1970s. By the quality of driving I see, most residents HERE are not prepared for an inch or two on the roads.

  77. 77.

    SFAW

    @germy:

    Whenever I see a “government official” like DeVos say stuff like that, the Zero Mostel voice in my head starts singing

    “Sedition, sedition *bump da-da dump dump* SEDITION!”

  79. 79.

    Matt McIrvin

    It’s interesting that Fuchs (when talking about Democrats) uses the phrase “turnout model” to refer to a rhetorical strategy around turnout, rather than an actual turnout model.

  80. 80.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @germy:

    His Wingnut lawyer is claiming that the prosecution is “political”, that there was an accident and that the truck driver rushed up on him.

    What I find interesting is that Aguirre was the captain on the scene of the great K-Mart parking lot mass arrest in 2003 in Houston – all charges were dropped pretty quickly and multiple officers were disciplined (including at least one resignation and possibly some being fired).

    Clearly, the stable sort of guy upon whom you want to bestow six figures in wingnut welfare.

  85. 85.

    satby

    @germy: It is a fascinating topic. And I remember reading some research about first sleep, second sleep too. Biorhythm research keeps turning up interesting ways our bodies work and how modern life sabotages them.

  87. 87.

    germy

    @satby:

    My wife and I both have insomnia.  She’s seeing a sleep doctor, who told her if she wakes up in the middle of the night and can’t fall back asleep, she should go into another room.  So she goes into the living room and watches TV until she’s sleepy again.

    That advice didn’t work for me.  About eleven years ago I had a severe case of insomnia.  A hundred times more severe than what I live with now.  I tried getting up, but I would end up staying awake the rest of the night.  I think I got about three hours of sleep a night for two years. My blood pressure went through the roof.

    What works for me now is simply remaining in bed if I wake up.  I keep my eyes closed and just let my mind wander.  I imagine I’m gardening or mowing a lawn or whatever, and most times I’ll drift off again.  And if not, I try not to worry about it.

    My wife is worrying too much about it, keeping a sleep log, and feeling like a failure if she doesn’t experience six or seven hours of uninterrupted sleep.

  90. 90.

    Cameron

    @Mary G: That’s amazing – you mean we can actually have a President who makes his point without resorting to childish insults?  Be still, my heart!

  93. 93.

    Ken

    @germy: Aguirre told authorities the man was hiding 750,000 fraudulent ballots in a truck he was driving.

    In Texas. Which went to Trump. A month ago.

    I can only guess Aguirre is trying to set up an insanity plea.

  96. 96.

    TS (the original)

    @rikyrah:

    Get the ENTIRE PHUCK OUTTA HERE

    Which is what 99% of the comments on that article say. WHY the Washington Post has to give trump sycophants space to spread their lies (without any editorial push back) is beyond understanding.

  99. 99.

    Barbara

    @rikyrah:

    Opinion: Giving Trump credit for the vaccine is the best way for Biden to unite the country https://t.co/X16hn5w9F4— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) December 16, 2020

    It’s almost funny to me, in a “yeah, fuck me now” kind of way how easy it is to get sucked into the domestic abuse paradigm — the belief that you can actually win by abasing yourself or by appeasing and flattering the abuser — NO, NO, NO.  It just gives them a bigger opening to keep abusing you because you just showed them that the abuse is working!

  101. 101.

    germy

    The "we break it, you fix it" relationship between Republicans and Democrats can no longer stand. It's time to experiment with doing what feminists realized women need to do: Tell men who expect their wives to fix what they broke to go fuck themselves.— Amanda Marcotte (@AmandaMarcotte) December 16, 2020

    No more of this "if he hits you/cheats on you/degrades you, well, it's your job to placate him/blame yourself" model. Let's try the "if they fuck with you, tell them they can shove it" model. It is very effective!— Amanda Marcotte (@AmandaMarcotte) December 16, 2020

    We see this in the marriage analogy. Yes, when women started to hold men, not themselves, accountable for men's choices, the divorce rate went up dramatically. But then….it started to decline. By a lot. Turns out accountability improved male behavior.— Amanda Marcotte (@AmandaMarcotte) December 16, 2020

  102. 102.

    Barbara

    @Ken: No, he was angling for an award from some right wing group. He had already been paid several hundred thousand dollars, or at least that was what I read.  Which is probably another violation of law for someone in public service.

  103. 103.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @germy:

    When I feel like I’m cycling back into that 3:30 am crap sleep pattern, I’ll take either a Xanax for a couple of nights or 10 mg of melatonin, and that seems to disrupt the pattern.

    I’ve tried laying there and letting my mind wander, but that just turns to various worries.

  105. 105.

    August West

    Congrats to Mayor Pete for being chosen to lead the Transportation Dept.

    Buddha Buddha Buddha Buddha Buddha Buddha!!

  109. 109.

    Geminid

    @Ken: the incident occurred October 19. Retired Houston police captain Aguirre was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon yesterday. Some right wing religious group had deposited a large amount of money in Aguirre’s account the day before he rammed the HVAC technician’s van. Evidently he was out trying to earn his pay. I’m hoping the tech can successfully sue the religious group.

  111. 111.

    Barbara

    @germy: Yes, rather interesting that those of us with experience in the realm of domestic abuse see the problem with this idea right away.

    ETA:  It was Thiessen.  Should have known. Nothing he says is worthwhile.  Ever.

  114. 114.

    Matt McIrvin

    @germy: Most of the decline in the divorce rate came from a decline in the marriage rate.

    But that isn’t necessarily a bad thing–if people don’t feel obligated to get married just to be married, a lot of bad marriages won’t happen. It looks like since about 2010 the decline in the marriage rate has stopped while the divorce rate continues to drop. (Of course you’d expect the relation between the two to have a time lag.)

  115. 115.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Well, goddam, this fucking year simply cannot let up for a second. Just found out that a dear friend — literally the first person I met at the Consulate in 1987, and a valued colleague and friend for these three-plus decades — died last Friday of complications from Alzheimer’s. This one’s a blow to the solar plexus. GO AWAY, 2020, AND DON’T COME BACK.

  116. 116.

    germy

    @Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: I’ve tried laying there and letting my mind wander, but that just turns to various worries.

    Yes, my worries show up in the middle of the night, too.  Everything from various issues with our old house to worries about money and family.

    But when I let my mind wander, I focus instead on imagining some mindless physical activity.  Pulling weeds in the garden. Pushing a lawnmower in neat rows over a large shaggy lawn.  It isn’t easy, but it works better for me than leaving the bedroom.  Because if I get up, then I’m up for the rest of the night.

    Xanax works, but I’m not sure if it allows quality sleep.  It’s more of a knockout punch.  Anything’s better than lying awake in anxiety, though.

    My wife refuses all medications.  She’s determined to go the sleep hygiene route, and her doctor his helping her with it.  But so much anxiety around something that should come naturally to all of us.

  121. 121.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Omnes Omnibus: Long time ago I had a friend who’d driven a cab in both the Apple and the Hub. Said NYC drivers were aggressive but predictable while Boston drivers were aggressive and unpredictable.

    Only place you don’t have an issue is the Pike, if you follow the primary rule: if you’re driving at 80, keep to the right and don’t block traffic.

  122. 122.

    WaterGirl

    @germy: I listen to podcasts as I am going to sleep.  Sometimes they are political, but the doesn’t induce sleep.  So I listen to the first Harry Potter book, or the Wind of Change podcast on my iPad, which rests against a pillow at my feet.

    If I wake up in the night, I simply grab the iPad, start a chapter in Harry Potter or an episode from Wind of Change, and most often I am asleep again immediately, and if not, there’s something familiar in the background so I am not lying there with my own thoughts, and I drift off to sleep a little more slowly.

    Waking up is totally stress free for me, and I fall asleep again.

  125. 125.

    Elizabelle

    @WaterGirl:   Great idea, about the Harry Potter books.  Might try that.

    Forensic Files youtubes work for me.  Never last more than a few minutes.  The late, great Peter Thomas, narrator extraordinaire.  Makes murder and mayhem soothing.

  127. 127.

    Gin & Tonic

    Dear wife just violated a hospital rule and sent me a picture of herself getting dose 1 of the Pfizer. Now 30 minutes for observation.

  128. 128.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Matt McIrvin: (Now I’m wondering if the legalization of same-sex marriage had anything to do with marriages no longer declining over the past decade–both the same-sex marriages themselves, and any effect it might have had to make people who weren’t hardcore cultural conservatives to think about marriage in a more positive way as a supportive relationship between equals. Conservatives of course predicted that it would cause marriage to be tainted and evaporate as an institution, but that clearly hasn’t happened.)

  134. 134.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Omnes Omnibus: You can still take credit for passing it on to me. It is rare I show up on any threads other than the AM ones.

    ETA which is why I am so often befuddled about topics everybody else here already knows all about.

  135. 135.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @Gin & Tonic:

    Ohio drivers are terrible, too. My commute is along I-71, which connects Louisville and Cincinnati. Precovid, there were at least two to three awful snarls inbound per week, and most of those were pickups with Ohio plates, generally going too fast and threading.

  137. 137.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @OzarkHillbilly: Then it becomes a question of credit and blame.  If I take credit for the good, I should accept blame for the bad.  Who knows how that accounting would work out.  No, let’s give credit to the unremembered original poster.

  138. 138.

    raven

    After a maddening dermatology appointment I’m waiting on delivery of my first ever recliner! I don’t know how I’m going to be online constantly from the chair but I hope top figure it out!

  140. 140.

    Tazj

    @Gin & Tonic: That’s great! I hope everything goes well. My husband is supposed to get his at 3pm, right before he starts his shift.I’m hoping my sister and niece will be getting theirs soon as well.

  143. 143.

    debbie

    There’s a serious discussion at Glenn Beck’s cave about secession over COVID. A Texas state rep is planning on passing a bill that would confirm secession is legal.

  145. 145.

    jeffreyw

    @WaterGirl: This is my strategy as well.  I have an old phone that I keep loaded with my various libraries.  I pair it with a bluetooth speaker and set it to going at a volume just above a murmur.  It gives my brain something to tune to.  I buy audio books by narrator rather than author.  I’ve run Promised Land all the way through several times now.  I know what it covers because of tweets and reviews – not from hearing it from my bedside.

  146. 146.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    @germy: I’ve read that before and always wondered how it worked with dim artificial light (except for the sex part, of course). Every time our power goes out I learn again that it’s hard to read by candlelight.

  147. 147.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @debbie:  Serious? At Beck’s place?  Also planning on passing?  Do you mean introducing a bill?  They are different things.

  149. 149.

    hueyplong

    I’m getting more and more acclimated to a definition of “healing the country” that involves most Dems lining up for vaccinations while most Republicans angrily decline to do so.  It’s a scenario in which I’m on the same page with FoxNews, OANN and Newsmax.

    Vaccines enough for those who want them, “freedom” for those who don’t.  Having been vaccinated, health care workers presumably would no longer be collateral damage in the scenario.  

  153. 153.

    Matt McIrvin

    @debbie: They can pass anything they want in Texas; it doesn’t make secession federally legal.

    (I think the idea that Texas has a special dispensation to secede, or to split into five states, any time it wants is widely believed legend among Texans; they probably teach it in school. But Texas seceded from the union once already and it seems like that didn’t go too well.)

  159. 159.

    The Moar You Know

    During a virtual meeting, Betsy DeVos urged career employees at the Education Department to resist the Biden administration

    @germy:  Clueless from first to last.  The careerists at DoE hate her guts, and are the reason she needed a huge security team in the first place.

    Can’t wait til she’s gone.  The feds have little effect on local ed policy – it’s not exactly like most districts are waiting for that fat 3% of Fed money to finish up their budgets for the year – but there’s a moral component.

  161. 161.

    raven

    @jeffreyw: Sweet critters! With this recliner we had to get rid of an old chair that was low enough for the boy to get in once in a while.  It wasn’t good for him anyway but his old bones will have to do on the many dog beds scattered around the house.

  162. 162.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @raven:

    The trick to a recliner is in learning how not to drown in your own drool. Any time I sit in one, sleep comes on quickly.

  165. 165.

    JPL

    Early voting in GA today, ten minutes.    Early voting for the presidential was an hour and a half, if memory serves me.    Since it’s cold with light on and off rain, it’s not surprising.      The worker did say voting was heavy the first two days.

  167. 167.

    jeffreyw

    @raven: I keep a 34″ monitor on the credenza beside my seat that works well when I need the TV for a movie or series.  Windows handles it well enough out of the box although there are programs that can add more features for dual monitor setups.  Watch a movie on the big screen and run IMDB on the second monitor for those “who is that, looks familiar” moments

  168. 168.

    Wyatt Salamanca

    @debbie:

    There’s a serious discussion at Glenn Beck’s cave about secession over COVID.

    I look forward to that day when Glenn Beck and Rudy Giuliani are admitted to the same psychiatric ward.

  170. 170.

    germy

    @debbie:  There’s a serious discussion at Glenn Beck’s cave about secession over COVID.

    Anyone else notice how Beck does all his “Open Up!” barking from the safety of his cave?

  171. 171.

    Just One More Canuck

    @Omnes Omnibus: The worst I experienced (never as a driver, but as a passenger) was in Mexico City. I saw a group of road workers pull somebody out of their car and beat the crap out of him after he grazed one of their colleagues a few yards up the road.

    Time of year doesn’t seem to make a difference – staying in your lane is a sign of weakness. In spite of its reputation, I find Montreal easy to get around.

  174. 174.

    Miss Bianca

    @germy: Possibly The Golden Ass, by Apuleius?

    I remember all the raunchy bits quite vividly – but not the second sleep stuff. Just shows you what will grab your interest at 17 as opposed to 57. ; )

  176. 176.

    trollhattan

    @Stephanie Luke:

    Holy shit, LaMalfa of “You know, I don’t have proof that men landed on the moon in 1969 because I wasn’t there.” infamy? His district includes smarter rocks. He’s a pip.

  178. 178.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Baud: I suspect Trump is irrelevant to the GOP vote in a special election. The past four years he made no difference in these kind of things. If anything the fact that Trump lost might demovitate out people because of the lack of the feeling to need to stop Trump.

  179. 179.

    trollhattan

    “Freedom” means free path to get-sick-and-die.

    A large Northern California church has established what it is calling a “freedom fund,” designed to dedicate thousands of dollars to local businesses as most of the state has landed back in an economic shutdown.

    But the fund isn’t for businesses that have closed their doors. It’s intended chiefly for those that are defiantly open.

    Pastor Greg Fairrington of Destiny Christian, a Pentecostal church in Rocklin, has been a vehement opponent of Gov. Gavin Newsom and his administration’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The church and its parish have continued to congregate indoors on Sundays despite multiple state-imposed orders directing places of worship to cease those gatherings and instead hold them outdoors or virtually.

    Fairrington last week announced the creation of the “Placer Freedom Fund,” which Destiny Christian said in Sunday social media posts was at $20,000 and growing.

    “The Placer Freedom Fund is a collaboration between Destiny Church and business leaders of the church to provide financial assistance to businesses who are struggling in the midst of the pandemic,” Destiny Christian spokesman Tanner Di Bella wrote in an emailed response to The Sacramento Bee.
    https://www.sacbee.com/news/business/article247835115.html#storylink=cpy

    Wonder what the church’s vig is on these “freedom funds”?

  187. 187.

    Major Major Major Major

    @germy: In pre-Christian Scandinavian literature there is a concept of the “hour of heroes”, which is roughly 4am, and is when a person who was drinking beer all day and night might get up to pee. Quests often unexpectedly begin at this time.

    As for the first/second sleep stuff, we did used to do it but there’s not really any evidence that it’s good (or bad). The most most most important thing about sleep is simply getting enough, however that works for you. Getting up to read at the halfway point in your REM cycles is fine and dandy if you want it, but… as William Dement, father of sleep science, said: the only thing he knows for sure about sleep is that we do it because we get sleepy.

  190. 190.

    frosty

    @lowtechcyclist:  Not to go all Four Yorkshiremen, but I envy you Steny Hoyer. I’m represented by Lloyd Smucker. To his credit, he’s not Scott Perry and he didn’t sign on to the TX lawsuit. But other than that he’s just another Republican right wing cipher.

    @OzarkHillbilly:  I see we had the same idea.

  191. 191.

    Yarrow

    @germy:  My doctor recommended I take Vitamin D. It helped with my sleep, which was an unexpected side effect. It’s worth getting levels tested and maybe considering supplementing if sleep issues are ongoing. As we get older it’s harder for our bodies to process Vitamin D from sun, so supplements are often recommended.

  192. 192.

    trollhattan

    @Baud:

    They’re gonna miss those F16s and whatnot. “Defenseless against cartel air forces” won’t play well in…I assume the capital gets moved from Austin because hippies. Dallas, I guess.

  193. 193.

    debbie

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Yes, a state TX representative is going to introduce a bill confirming that TX can vote to secede. I don’t think COVID is specifically in this bill, but the rep contended that this constitutes tyranny, which he says is sufficient grounds for secession. I missed the very beginning of the discussion, so I don’t know if he objected to Biden’s expected 100-day mask mandate or the orders closing bars, etc.

  194. 194.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @debbie: Any member of a legislative body can introduce any legislation.  Many do on many silly issues.  Most get very few votes.

  197. 197.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Kattails:

    @lowtechcyclist: Here’s a short video of Trump reciting it at a rally, if your stomach can take it.  It’s an Al Wilson song, being used as anti-immigrant racist bait.  Jake Tapper used a clip in his amazing takedown of Trump a few days ago as well.

    Thanks for the link.  I’d heard the punch line many times, but I never knew it was the end of a poem.  Seemed to stand alone perfectly well.

    Weird that Trump should recite a poem about himself. Well, it would be weird if we didn’t know Trump totally lacks self-awareness.

  198. 198.

    Yarrow

    @debbie:

    A Texas state rep is planning on passing a bill that would confirm secession is legal.

    No, he’s planning on filing the legislation. Passing it is another thing entirely. Texas talks about seceding all the time. It’s part of the culture. Never goes anywhere.

  199. 199.

    Raven

    @germy: I wake up @ 4am and have to hit the head. I went to the urologist a few years ago and he said “you’re 69 years old and you have to go once a night? Get the hell out of here”! When I wake up I move out to the couch and do a breathing thing I saw on Dr Jo (YouTube physical therapist). Inhale for 5 seconds, hold for 7 and exhale for 8. Most times it works pretty well, better than just counting. Of course it all depends on what I start thinking about and whether I can let that go.

  200. 200.

    bemused senior

    @debbie: It’s never the wrong time to re-read Molly Ivins’ “Molly Ivins Can’t Say That, Can She?”  The Texas Leg is … legendary?

  205. 205.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Kaitlan Collins @kaitlancollins
    Secretary of State Pompeo is quarantining after coming into contact with someone who tested positive for coronavirus. He’s tested negative, but this means he won’t be at today’s Cabinet meeting.

    good thing less than 10% of invited guests showed for his Christmas party last night, it will make contact tracing easier

  210. 210.

    lowtechcyclist

    @trollhattan: “Freedom” means free path to get-sick-and-die.

    It must be due to one of those modern translations of the Bible, where “love your neighbor as yourself” comes out as “expose as many of your neighbors as possible to a lethal virus, and be an asshole about it while doing so.”

  214. 214.

    germy

    @Yarrow:

    I went that route about ten years ago.  Had the blood test, Dr. prescribed the super powerful, prescription-only vitamin D.

    I’m one of those unfortunates who has a bad reaction.  Muscle rigidity, tightness in the chest, headache… I felt like I was going to have a heart attack.  I stuck it out as long as I could, but had to eventually stop the vitamin D.

    Everyone’s different.  I wish one treatment could help everyone.

  216. 216.

    Miss Bianca

    @Baud: Can we file that one in the “Oh, you DON’T say” category? Alongside the study that shows that when 3-year-olds are thwarted, they become aggressive?

  218. 218.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @WaterGirl: and @Elizabelle:

    I really, really, really wish Rowling hadn’t turned out to be a mean-spirited bigot.

    @germy:

    Apparently candles were a rich-people thing for most of history, and most of the time everyone else used something called a ‘rushlight’.  I saw it on a video about misconceptions about torches – the major misconception being that torches were used as lighting inside.  Torches last about three hours and are completely impractical, although there are records indicating huge, man-sized torches might be used for long trips outside.  Torch sconces are basically umbrella holders.

  220. 220.

    germy

    @Raven:

    The main thing is that you can go.

    I remember Buddy Hackett doing a monologue about waking up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, and then standing there and realizing that nothing was happening other than his feet getting cold.

  222. 222.

    NotMax

    @Raven

    The La-Z-Boy desk chair here is unabashedly showing its age yet I still wouldn’t give it up for love or money. Remains the comfiest desk chair have ever sat in.

  223. 223.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Ian: Bad weather is worse for low income voters and those who do not have cars. Many public transit systems are under tight covid restrictions.

    In a Georgia snowstorm, a car is no advantage, unless you like playing bumper cars for real.  And city residents are more likely to be able to walk to a polling place than suburban and rural residents.

    Besides, the point is that we’re probably going into Election Day with a pretty good lead; the question is whether they can make it up with in-person voting on Election Day itself.

  224. 224.

    cain

    @rikyrah:

    Why is it only important to unite the country when a Democrat is in charge? You never hear about this when a Republican is in charge. Just boggles the mind.

    If you didn’t give a shit the last 4 years about unity, why do you care now?

  228. 228.

    debbie

    @Raven:

    Years ago, a therapist showed me how to breathe deeply from both the diaphragm and chest at the same time. It was awesome for deep relaxation. You picture your belly button as the base of a “V” and then breathe in both directions. You hold it, then slowly exhale, again in both directions, and then don’t inhale until you feel the need to.

  230. 230.

    Old Dan and Little Ann

    Regarding sleep, I have had my fitbit 1 year on Christmas. My favorite function is the sleep tracker. It provides all kinds of detailed info. I’ve had maybe 3 nights in this year that I’ve fallen asleep and did not have one wake-up until morning. It’s also interesting that sometime a 6+ hour night of sleep sometimes gets a better score than an 8+ hour night of sleep.

  231. 231.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Raven: I still wake up in the wee hours sometimes, but what helped me a lot was getting a CPAP for sleep apnea. A friend of mine who also got one pointed out that he used to apparently have to get up to pee a lot, but when he went on the CPAP that stopped, which suggested to him that the need to pee wasn’t really what was waking him up. His pulmonologist told him that was pretty common.

  232. 232.

    patroclus

    The thing about Texas dividing into 5 states is taught in Texas schools.  It just isn’t taught well.  When the merger between the two Republics was being discussed, there were all sorts of ideas and proposals about how to do it.  At first, a treaty was proposed, but that had little to no chance of getting through the U.S. Senate, which required a 2/3rds majority.  The 1844 election was largely about the issue and Polk was for it and arguably beat Clay because of it because Clay waffled.  But then, crazy lame duck John Tyler decided he wanted to get it accomplished before his term was up 5 months later and he maneuvered a “Joint Resolution” through both U.S. Houses on 3/1/45, which proposed to Texas a process, which included the “divide into 5 states” option.  That went to Texas, who convened a special convention, which accepted it in July.  Then, the process of negotiating the merger began, which was the genesis of the Texas Admission Act, which was enacted in December by the U.S. Congress and its terms were/are that Texas (alone) would join the Union “on the same terms as that of other states.”  Texas, through its Congress and by President Anson Jones, accepted this and enacted similar legislation.  So Texas joined and the “divide into 5 states” thing never officially happened.  And can’t (now or ever).

    But there were other issues, largely dealt with by the Compromise of 1850, most specifically including outstanding debt (which the U.S. ultimately assumed) and boundaries.  Texas, as a Republic, had “claimed” a vast portion of territory, including large swaths of New Mexico, Colorado, Oklahoma and even Wyoming.  Its northern border with the U.S. on the Red River had been set by treaty with the U.S. – this U.S.-Texas treaty followed the U.S.-Mexico treaty, which in turn followed the U.S.-Spain treaty (Adams-Unis) of 1819.  But the Red River peters out in the Panhandle and other boundaries weren’t set.  So, with the Compromise’s resolution of the boundaries, parts of what Texas had claimed ultimately were divided into 4 other later states.

    I’ve read all the treaties and have researched this issue multiple times because my old hometown is in the Red River Valley and was arguably part of the U.S. before Mexico and Texas even existed as sovereign states.  The original 18th Century deal between Spain and France merely specified that lands drained by the Mississippi, including the Red River, constituted “Louisiana.”  When Jefferson purchased it, it presumably covered all lands drained, including the southern part of the valley (now in Texas).  Adams and Unis changed that to the south bank of the river itself, and that change was reflected in all subsequent treaties and Acts.

  233. 233.

    West of the Rockies

    @Baud: 

    Piggy Pompeo is singularly unappealing. I think he makes Cruz look charismatic. I’m amazed that he thinks he can do it.

  234. 234.

    Jeffro

    @germy:  there is a Robert Harris book (sci-fi/dystopia/mystery) called The Second Sleep that notes this very thing.

    Not recommending the book by any means, I’m just sayin’… =)

  238. 238.

    Jeffro

    @debbie: I’m confused…why didn’t they secede back when the feds mandated seat belts?

    Oh that’s right: because they didn’t have the orange moron setting a bad, then worse, example all year long about it.

    Leader signaling, how does it work?  I hope Biden calls them out in his own unique way, and soon: “You putzes would slap a mask on in a New York minute if your cult leader trumpov told you to.”

  241. 241.

    BlueGuitarist

    @WaterGirl:

    As Raven says, lines might not mean much.

    Gwinnett and Cobb counties are Atlanta suburbs, the 2nd and 3rd most populous counties in the state. Gwinnett mostly GA-07, the one (non-redistricting) US House seat D gain in 2020 (Carolyn Bourdeaux). Some of Cobb is in GA-06, which Lucy McBath flipped in 2018 and won again in 2020. Successes downballot in both counties including sheriffs, county commissions. Gwinnett also had rare D gain in state house and state senate this year.

  242. 242.

    Yarrow

    @germy:  That sounds awful. Has your wife tried it? It might help her even though it wasn’t good for you.

    I once read an article about a guy who took massive doses of Vitamin D and it lowered his BP so much he got off his BP medication. He then moved to another state, got a new doctor who freaked out at his high levels of Vitamin D. New doc insisted he lower it, so he did and up went his BP. Eventually they both agreed he could be on the high dose of Vitamin D because there were no obvious negative issues for him and the BP medication had side-effects. It’s so weird how we’re all different.

  243. 243.

    Jeffro

    @cain: I think it’s because Republican presidents are only responsible to/only need to listen to Republican voters, whereas Democratic presidents also need to listen to Republican voters.  I mean, they can listen to Democratic voters too, but only as long as it doesn’t cost anything or slow down Republican priorities.

  244. 244.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @germy:

    the everyday habits and devices of ordinary people.

    Which we know so little about, because all the histories were written by rich people and reflect the writers’ biases about what is appropriate to pretend the world is like.  I read an article once about how despite all the ‘marrying 13 year olds’ and obsession with virginity stuff the nobility went on about, the historian dug into parish marriage records and found out peasant women almost never married before the age of 20, and often had a couple of kids already.  Teenagers die in childbirth too often, and nobody wanted that.  But nobility were obsessed with strategic marriages and priests were obsessed with chastity, and they wrote the books.

    And sometimes the historians straight up admit it.  The Gesta Danorum was a fascinating read, but at the ending of one story Lagertha becomes ruling queen of a major country, and it pisses Saxo Grammaticus off so much that a woman would be that successful that he says in the text he won’t say which country and he’ll never refer to her by name again so that his readers won’t know her accomplishments.

  245. 245.

    Kent

    @cain:

    @rikyrah:

    Why is it only important to unite the country when a Democrat is in charge? You never hear about this when a Republican is in charge. Just boggles the mind.

    If you didn’t give a shit the last 4 years about unity, why do you care now?

    Can anyone name a SINGLE effort to reach across the aisle on any topic coming out of the Trump Administration in the past four years?  Any effort at all to reach common ground on any area of policy at all?

    Anyone?   Anyone?  Bueller?

  247. 247.

    NeenerNeener

    @West of the Rockies: Pompeo is big among the Evangelicals. If my former high school classmates are representative, they voted for Trump thinking he’d leave office early (death, impeachment, boredom, etc) and they would get Pence as Prez.

    Don’t count Mike Dense out.

  249. 249.

    Kent

    @Yarrow:

    A Texas state rep is planning on passing a bill that would confirm secession is legal.

    No, he’s planning on filing the legislation. Passing it is another thing entirely. Texas talks about seceding all the time. It’s part of the culture. Never goes anywhere.

    And, of course, the Texas Legislature doesn’t get to decide whether or not it is legal.  Texas already seceded twice in its history, both times in defense of slavery.  The last time didn’t end well.  The only successful secession in the history of the US was West Virginia, and that wasn’t really a secession, it was a refusal to secede.

    In any event, if we think a no-deal Brexit would be a clusterfuck, Imagine the clusterfuck that would be Texas secession if they ever actually tried to do it.

  251. 251.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Kent:

    Why is it only important to unite the country when a Democrat is in charge?

    Because the national press, who set these narratives, agree with Republicans on most issues, strongly see the Republican base of white men as the definition of America, and see Democrats as the wimpy Mommy party who want everyone to get along.

  253. 253.

    patroclus

    @Kent: Actually, the last time did end well for Texas (as did the first time).  Texas was never successfully invaded during the Civil War (like the U.S. in WWI and WWII), and emerged from the war relatively unscathed and got to rejoin the Union without slavery following Juneteenth.  Many of the idiots that went off to war in the East didn’t return but the State itself came out of it much better than most of its eastern colleagues.

  254. 254.

    Kent

    @NeenerNeener:

    @West of the Rockies: Pompeo is big among the Evangelicals. If my former high school classmates are representative, they voted for Trump thinking he’d leave office early (death, impeachment, boredom, etc) and they would get Pence as Prez.

    Don’t count Mike Dense out.

    I think the problem with both Pence and Pompeo is that they are both too low-energy to run the table in the GOP primaries.  Trump trailblazed the path to nomination in the current GOP with his frenetic high-energy MAGA rallies across the country, riling up the crazies who actually vote in the primaries.  As well as his bitch-slapping male dominance show in the debates.  The next successful GOP candidate is the one who figures out how to follow in his footsteps.  I don’t see Pence or Pompeo doing that.  They are both scummy fungelicals.  But they don’t have the high energy charisma and demagogic ability to follow in Trump’s footsteps.

    Ted Cruz has that sort of energy but he is just so damn smarmy.  I really don’t know who it will be.

  257. 257.

    Origuy

    I’ll never forget being driven to the airport on my last day in Moscow. The lady I was staying with had a small Kia which was covered with snow when we came out. We started digging it out and she grabbed a young man and ordered him to help us. I’m pretty sure they didn’t know each other. Once we had the car free, we headed down the city streets toward Sheremetyevo. Fortunately, she lived close; as we got there, the traffic was backed up. At one point we were on a street with two lanes in our direction and the exit of a shopping center merging. There were a lot of big trucks squeezing in and at least one driving on the sidewalk. I thought we were going to get crushed.

  258. 258.

    VeniceRiley

    Sister’s SO caught the rona- probably for one of the younger guys at work. They’re social distancing in the house. My 97 year old mom is downstairs. They’re being very careful, but I still worry. SLC is cold and no way are they circulating air properly. I ordered and sent everything I’ve read about in the studies.

  259. 259.

    Matt McIrvin

    @NeenerNeener: Even a Republican needs more than just the evangelicals, though. The ones who succeed are the ones who can get them AND the big money Republicans AND the petit-bourgeois racist jerks. The white evangelicals were originally skeptical of Trump, picking Pence helped, but he won them over just by saying the right things about abortion, being racist and giving “abusive strong daddy” signals. I think they like him more than Pence now.

  261. 261.

    smedley the uncertain

    @Old Dan and Little Ann: Spouse got FitBits for each of us last Christmas.  Sleep results was the first topic in our morning coffee conversation.  Very informative.  Too bad both fitbits failed in June.  Calls to the company got the classic runaround.  Other devices on the market look interesting.

  262. 262.

    Kent

    @patroclus:@Kent: Actually, the last time did end well for Texas (as did the first time).  Texas was never successfully invaded during the Civil War (like the U.S. in WWI and WWII), and emerged from the war relatively unscathed and got to rejoin the Union without slavery following Juneteenth.  Many of the idiots that went off to war in the East didn’t return but the State itself came out of it much better than most of its eastern colleagues.

    Well, OK point taken.   The first time they bankrupted themselves and had to get the US to bail them out.  The second time it is true, they never faced Sherman or the wrath of Union armies. But I have a hard time figuring out the alternate history where Texas and the south doesn’t come out better in the end by not seceding.  The war set the south back for a generation or more, Texas included.  Although it was certainly better for the Black population.

  263. 263.

    patroclus

    @Kent: Well, we disagree.  In my view, the Civil War ended (largely) well for Texas – there was no real war (Sabine Pass and Palmeiro were minor engagements and were Texas victories) and it ended peacefully with the acceptance of Granger’s proclamation.  It was Restoration and the philosophy of white supremacy that set Texas back for generations (until Spindletop); together with coupling itself with the South politically.  The Texas of Rayburn and LBJ made vast strides in prosperity and security; and only since they left the scene has Texas been slipping back into its Restoration legacy.

  264. 264.

    Kent

    @Matt McIrvin:@NeenerNeener: Even a Republican needs more than just the evangelicals, though. The ones who succeed are the ones who can get them AND the big money Republicans AND the petit-bourgeois racist jerks. The white evangelicals were originally skeptical of Trump, picking Pence helped, but he won them over just by saying the right things about abortion, being racist and giving “abusive strong daddy” signals. I think they like him more than Pence now.

    Josh Marshall did a big investigative story over at TPM about how Trump and Cohen basically blackmailed Falwell and Liberty University into coming out strongly for Trump early on in the primary.  It was the “pool boy tapes” or something.  Which certainly helped seal up the fungelical vote.

  265. 265.

    Kent

    @patroclus: I guess one could argue that Texas was uniquely situated and benefitted from the whole westward expansion that happened post Civil War, largely as a result of the Homestead Act and transcontinental railroads that were Lincoln’s initiatives and probably only made possible by the south seceding and leaving mostly only Republicans left in Congress.  Being forced to give up slavery helped bring them kicking and screaming into the modern world to some extent.

    In any event, it ain’t happening again.  I spent over a decade living in Texas and there isn’t the slightest bit of secession sentiment down there in the normal population.  It’s only the libertarian crazies who are rattling on about things like “constitutional sheriffs” and returning to the gold standard when they aren’t dreaming of secession.

  267. 267.

    dave319

    @lowtechcyclist: Stenys a sad Yesterday’s B-Level wheelhorse, ain’t he? Jeez. Mute testimony to the Wait-Your-Turn codependent douchebaggery strategy of the Dems. Worked so well for 40 years, why stop?

  268. 268.

    J R in WV

    Regarding sleep problems, I have found that keeping relaxing music (as opposed to The Stones, etc) on all night really helps me sleep. I can focus on the notes instead of my thoughts about what I’m worried about. When I’m thinking about things I’m worried about I can’t ever get to sleep.

    Since wife and I both love classical music, I’ve burned CDs with multiple albums by favorite composers that will run all night. Family doc told me that this helps with tinnitus too, ringing in your ears, for which there is no cure, but you can overload the buzzing noise with real sounds that you like. Some CDs have other styles of music in there too. Lucinda Williams, k d lang, cuban bands, etc.  But mostly classical.

    WV public radio used to have all night classical music, but dropped that for BBC world news, which they already had a subscription to, so saved money. But BBC news isn’t restful like classical music can be.

  272. 272.

    evap

    @smedley the uncertain: I went through several fitbits (all but the first free replacements) before I gave up.   I got a Garmin and have never looked back.   One of my offspring worked at REI for a few years and she said that the Fitbits were the most returned items.

  274. 274.

    JustRuss

    @germy:   As a man of a certain age with a bladder of a certain size, I usually wake up about around 3 or 4 AM.  Like you, I just stay in bed and let the mind wander, sometimes I drift off, sometimes not.  Once in a while I’m dragging through the day due to lack of sleep, but mostly I do fine.

  275. 275.

    Kristine

    @Kent:

    I really don’t know who it will be.

    I’m concerned about Josh Hawley, who seems at this point to be the slightly more attractive version of Tom “That Boy Ain’t Right Cotton.

  276. 276.

    mad citizen

    @evap: Similar experience.  Had a fitbit or two (still around here somewhere–it was the big-ass watch style with GPS on it–I saw Obama had one on back in the day).  Got a Garmin tracker, as did my wife–the vivosmart 3.  After a couple of years both of our bands broke earlier this year.  Sent them off to Garmin, and they sent back two new ones.  Couldn’t be happier with that service.

  278. 278.

    cain

    @mad citizen: 
    I got one of those vivo watches – I like it – my only complaint is that I have to wear glasses to look at the digital part of watch. But that’s probably more of a personal problem.

  280. 280.

    Geminid

    @Another Scott: I watched Riggleman during his nomination contest with Bob Good, and when they weren’t  calling each other liars they were trying to out trump each other. Had Riggleman been reelected he almost certainly signed the amicus brief.                                                      A better grounded conservative critique of trump’s republican party than either Riggleman or Sykes’ can be found in M.D.Russ’ Bearing Drift article “Donald Trump is the Republican President.”

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