Vice President-elect Kamala Harris campaigned in Columbus, Georgia, for Democratic Senate candidates Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock pic.twitter.com/jIMzHXrqH9
— Reuters (@Reuters) December 22, 2020
The big COVID relief bill continues the ban on federal funding for ACORN, an organization that has not existed for years pic.twitter.com/dXRSig7bJr
— Arthur Delaney (@ArthurDelaneyHP) December 21, 2020
If we just *give* people money it'll only encourage them to have more pandemics.
They'll be cooking the things up in bathtubs, in outhouses, in vacant lots. You name it.
— Alex Bowles (@alexqgb) December 21, 2020
Water chestnuts and Smokey Bear: Surprises await under the 'Christmas tree' COVID-19 relief bill https://t.co/W7Swdww5ql pic.twitter.com/evbrlAMgYH
— Reuters (@Reuters) December 22, 2020
Stimulus deal includes raft of provisions to fight climate change https://t.co/6XAT4G0jSW
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) December 22, 2020
rikyrah
Good Morning, Everyone???
WereBear
@rikyrah: Good morning!
NotMax
Nugget of history learned recently. Can’t recall if already mentioned this so apologies if it is a rerun.
We’ve all seen them in airports and such. Knew they are not a new invention but had no idea they went back so far.
(Link should go directly to the beginning of the relevant portion of the video.)
eclare
@NotMax: Video didn’t play for me.
Baud
@rikyrah: Good morning.
@WereBear: Good morning.
oatler.
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/dec/22/what-now-for-trumps-hollywood-supporters-jon-voight
Baud
Artifact. Each years omnibus bill is based on the prior years, and the budget process has been broken for a while now.
debbie
That ACORN, now gone for 10 years, is in the bill is something Congress should be mercilessly mocked and shamed for.
NotMax
@eclare
Hm. Works just ducky from here.
Try this one instead.
debbie
@Baud:
No excuse.
Baud
@debbie:
I don’t know what that means. I gave a reason, not an excuse. It’s not worth anyone’s time to focus on this. Maybe if Dems take over everything after 2022.
eclare
@NotMax: That one worked! Wow. I would never have guessed.
debbie
Beau’s thoughts on Trump’s state of mind (so to speak).
NotMax
In case anyone is curious about what happened with that recalcitrant flat tire with some lug nuts tightened by The Hulk brought up early yesterday –
Tried everything feasible and no luck. Resorted to calling a mobile mechanic with whom I have dealt in the past to swing by and tackle it. Sure enough, nuts still didn’t budge and he ended up snapping two of the bolts clean off. He’s already called back to tell me he picked up the replacement parts and arranged to come by first thing Wednesday morning to replace them and the two goldarn nuts which have broken off pieces of bolt still firmly inside. So *should* be able to drive landlady into town on the doughnut tire on Wednesday and get a replacement tire just under the wire before the long holiday weekend.
WereBear
@NotMax: I was thinking that it might take a pro. How great that the mechanic travels: and how sensible that is, too.
Baud
OzarkHillbilly
@NotMax: Heh. Somebody got more than a little carried away with the old impact wrench.
OzarkHillbilly
@oatler.: Now they’ll whine even more.
Baud
Trump has gone too far.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Baud: Biden’s not bringing back Arne? Sad.
hueyplong
@OzarkHillbilly: Oh God yes.
The Party of Personal Grievances.
Baud
Geminid
I was glad to hear that the bill included “a raft” of climate change measures. I have not checked them out, and they certainly won’t be as far reaching as needed. But combatting climate change ultimately will be a much larger “raft” of measures in different areas. Electrical generation, agricultural practices, alternate fuels are just a few. The new Administration can do a lot in this area, and the next Congress can push solutions further along. While “climate change denial” looms large in people’s minds, it’s played out as a political strategy. Polls show large majorities favoring action to combat climate change, and some republicans are starting to grudgingly go along.
hueyplong
@OzarkHillbilly: Oh God yes.
The Party of Personal Grievances.
NotMax
Can’t help but be curious as to how the prices might compare with any of your local fast charging stations for electric vehicles.
WereBear
@Baud: Shades of Hitler. Again.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Baud: Have you seen some of the Federal Building built in the 60’s?
Actually, I kind of agree with this EO, government buildings should have a certain imposing ‘look’.
(I’m looking at a photo on my other screen with the 1925 Hall of Justice, 1930’s Federal Courthouse and 60’s era Federal building.)
Baud
The headline is designed to inflame and get retweeted, but the story is of interest with respect to Biden’s plan for immigration.
Geminid
One news item from yesterday: after a vote to extend budget talks failed in the Knesset, the Israelis will almost certainly have their fourth election in two years, tentatively scheduled for March 23 of next year.
Baud
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
Yeah, some of those designs are monstrosities.
In the spirit of national healing and reaching out to Trump supporters, I’m willing to support the agenda on this point.
OzarkHillbilly
@Baud: We’ll know he’s gone too far when he signs an executive order declaring the Lincoln Memorial be gilded in gold.
Baud
@Geminid:
Liberals tend to like parliamentary democracy, but I don’t see Americans having the patience for it.
NotMax
@Baud
No requirement for coal-fired furnaces?
//
Baud
@NotMax:
The furnaces are being fueled by incriminating documents.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Baud: I will admit, I kind of like the new Federal Courthouse here in downtown LA, it’s an elevated mirrored cube. It’s much better than the state office building it replaced.
Baud
New Jersey AG on MJ talking about police reforms in that state. It’s interesting.
schrodingers_cat
@Baud: What makes them think that they will prevail. Right now, Britain, Israel and India are all ruled by right-wing parties and they are parliamentary democracies.
OzarkHillbilly
@Geminid: from the Guardian’s article:
It was the first thing I thought of.
NotMax
@Baud
“Keep shoveling! We’re barely into February of 2017.”
:)
Raven
@NotMax: They are actually called “studs”
I had a VW bus that had a flat coming back from a Dead show in Charlotte. I couldn’t get the damn thing off and called a tow truck. The dude tried but couldn’t get them off and then his 12 year old son said “I think that VW has reverse threads on tha side”. Damn if he wasn’t right!
Baud
@schrodingers_cat:
I don’t know. It does seem to be an assumption that’s unexplained. I think a lot of people just like the idea of voting for a party more aligned with their views, instead of having to support Dems to keep Republicans out of power. I also think they believe it would also give them a bigger platform to sell their views to the public.
Spanky
I notice that the bill bans ACORN “or their successors”. How tightly defined is “successor” in the legislation, because I could see them going after some orgs while claiming that it’s a successor of ACORN?
Glidwrith
I need caffeine. At first, all I could see in the Smoky Bear picture was an angry sheep.
Amir Khalid
@Baud:
I don’t think the CNN story even mentions how many federal building projects are affected by the order, if any. It sounds like a nuisance order that is going to be ignored until President Biden gets around to rescinding it.
OzarkHillbilly
@Raven: Heh. Out of the mouths of babes…
rikyrah
Geminid
@Baud: Israel’s parliamentary system is particularly problematic. Candidates run nationwide on party slates. If a party gains 10% of the vote, the top 12 on the slate are are awarded Knesset seats. The “parties” fielding slates are often themselves coalitions of smaller parties and factions, and often are created for an election, only to disappear by the next election. Very confusing to follow. And the Knesset is very boisterous, with a lot of name calling. A couple weeks ago, a member of the left Meretz Party called Blue and White leader Benny Gantz “a Trojan Horse who spits in our faces!”
rikyrah
schrodingers_cat
@Baud: They are delusional. They are not as as popular as they think they are. A parliamentary democracy is not going to change that.
Also forming coalition governments requires a lot of compromise.
rikyrah
rikyrah
rikyrah
rikyrah
japa21
@Glidwrith: Same here.
raven
@OzarkHillbilly: My buddy in Champaign came down here in the late 90’s to buy a 56 Chevy Apache. He and his son were driving it back and when they got to Chattanooga a brake cylinder started leaking badly. After pondering the situation his son (my godson) said “why don’t we pull that line, put a bolt in it and drive it home”! They did! He’s now a civil engineer in Colorado.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@rikyrah: I had the same thought as I lay in bed this morning convincing myself that things were going to be all right.
OzarkHillbilly
Geminid
@Baud: Ideas of a parliamentary system for the U.S. are just pipe dreams. We’ll never have one. And the Democratic party is already a standing coalition, comprised of different groups and diverse individuals. Unlike Israel and the UK, though, party leadership does not control who runs on a party’s line. Rather, candidates are selected by voters in primaries.
schrodingers_cat
Always Online Complaining gave her third interview bashing Dems since the election, this time on the Intercept podcast.
Soprano2
So, COVID status update – I’m back to work and except for the weird loss of smell I’m pretty much feeling “normal” again. I was excited this morning because I smelled vanilla in body lotion, and then was able to smell the perfume I put on! I tasted some of the fiber bar I had for breakfast this morning, too, so I’m hopeful my sense of smell is going to come back. Still no joy on coffee, though. :-( Some people go 6 months or longer without it coming back. My husband is still experiencing the occasional coughing fit and the extreme fatigue – I think he spent most of yesterday on the couch sleeping. He said the dogs stayed outside all day in the nice weather so he was actually able to get some sleep! (When you’re home, a lot of your day is spent being the “dog butler” – let the dogs out, let the dogs in, rinse and repeat over and over.) We aren’t going to have Christmas with my mother until around New Years’ Day just to be safe, plus I’m not sure my husband would be ready for it this weekend anyway. He said at this point being sick is mostly an annoyance, because he doesn’t feel like doing much of anything. He also still has loss of appetite. I told him he should taste it for me. :-)
eclare
@Soprano2: Glad you’re both feeling better. It took four to six weeks for a friend of mine to start to feel “normal”.
OzarkHillbilly
@raven: Took my sons camping next to a small spring at the bottom of a heavily rutted steep 4wd track. At the end of the wkend going back up thru a particularly brushy section, one set of wheels slid into a rut and we got high centered. I got my shovel and dug it out to the point where I could back up and make another run at it. Got stuck again. Dug it out again. Got stuck again. Dug it out again. Getting ready to make 4th run at it when my youngest pipes up:
“Why don’t you just drive around it Pop?”
Took a good look at the brush and realized it was mostly briars and such and nothing that would slow us down at all. I looked at him and said,
“Why the fuck didn’t you ask me that before???”
The little fucker just grinned.
Chyron HR
@Baud:
…for the next 30 days.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Soprano2: That sounds like progress. Good.
Betty Cracker
@Geminid:
Should have called him a Trojan llama then. Horses don’t spit.
OzarkHillbilly
@Soprano2: Good news.
Elizabelle
Apropos of nothing: went hunting for this TikTok video from late July, to show a friend. Australian comedian Blake Pavey, on COVID incidence in several countries. (UK, Ireland, Aus, NZ, Russia and …. USA)
Still true, still holds up, still funny, when you have to laugh so you don’t cry. Hope this link works for you.
I think Anne might have put it up on BJ months ago.
schrodingers_cat
@Soprano2: Here is hoping that your recovery continues and both of you are back to normal soon.
Betty Cracker
@Soprano2: I missed the news that y’all got the virus somehow — so glad you are on the mend!
PS: The “dog butler” thing really resonates. I’ve worked at home for many years, and I spend half the day opening the door for mutts.
Baud
@Geminid:
In the aggregate. But if you’re in a particular district, you have to swallow however the nominee is (also true for governors and president)
I think people don’t realize how much more top down parliamentary parties are.
Baud
@Soprano2:
Oh I missed the news. Feel better.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Chyron HR:
classy like the rotting husk of a trump casino waiting to be blowed up real good, for charity. I’m sure he took out all the mirrors and marble to be re-installed somewhere
WaterGirl
@Elizabelle: That’s one of the keepers that I go back to again and again. I have put it up several times in the comments. I join you in thinking that it’s a masterpiece!
It cannot be posted enough.
WaterGirl
@Elizabelle:
Elizabelle
@WaterGirl:
Thank you, WG. Blake Pavey is genius. “America. …. America??”
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Chyron HR: Trump has ruined the word “beautiful” for me
WaterGirl
@Elizabelle: I never get tired of that one. Last week I went in search of more stuff by him, and sadly did not find anything else I could consider genius. But this one most definitely is.
Geminid
@Betty Cracker: Yeah, it was not that accurate an insult. But I thought was a comical image.
eclare
@Elizabelle: That was hilarious! Thanks!
zhena gogolia
@Chyron HR:
I don’t know why, but this just broke me when I saw it yesterday. The text of it is so illiterate and philistine, and of course the Albert Speer echoes don’t help.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@WaterGirl: That is hilarious!
A number of years ago we were on a cruise around New Zealand and Australia, and we ate dinner almost every night with a Kiwi couple. They laughed when we said that we couldn’t tell their accent from Aussies’.
schrodingers_cat
@Baud: BS was the vessel of white resentment against the Obama years for people on the left and libertarian Ron Paulites. Their most vicious attacks are reserved for women and minorities. Obama, HRC, Nancy Pelosi and Kamala Harris. They can’t stand it that black people, women and other minorities have gained a toe-hold in the leadership of the Democratic party.
These are the same people that booed John Lewis at the 2016 DNC convention.
frosty
@WaterGirl: Aw, heck, you forced me to watch it again and I laughed again. He’s got all the accents down perfectly!
Ken
Cudgeling my aging brain here… Wasn’t Gantz the one who, after the last Israeli election, announced his surpise support for Netanyahu, preventing the Labor-led coalition from taking control of Parliament? And I’m vaguely remembering that Gantz did so because Netanyahu promised he’d step aside in a couple of years and let Gantz become PM? Assuming my decaying mind has it right, I can see how some might harbor hard feelings about Gantz.
BTW, as far as I recall, I got the above rundown largely from Balloon Juice. Won’t it be nice when both Trump and the pandemic are over, and Adam S. and Cheryl R. can go back to explaining international politics for us?
Elizabelle
@WaterGirl: Appreciate your keeping this one in rotation.
Here is hoping Blake Pavey comes up with something else “genius” this year. Maybe the rest of his humor does not translate?? Will check him out again later …. some time …
This one is museum quality for humor (and accuracy) during the pandemic.
Betty Cracker
Regarding parliamentary systems and coalitions, I wonder how voter participation rates compare with a U.S.-style system? I’ve always heard the U.S. voter participation rate is shamefully low among wealthy democracies. I wonder if parliamentary systems allowing voters to sort themselves in a way that more closely aligns with their views motivates people to participate more?
Not sure there’s any evidence that parliamentary systems produce better or worse results than a two-party system. The UK coughed up BoJo and Israel has the awful Netanyahu, but New Zealand’s PM seems pretty awesome, and I’d take Canada’s Trudeau over Trump any day.
I suspect the results in either system are more a reflection of the people than the system. But voter participation is always an issue. We hit 66% in 2020, and it was the highest turnout in more than 100 years. In New Zealand’s most recent election, more than 80% of voters showed up. What would this country look like if Americans voted at those rates? More like New Zealand maybe?
raven
@OzarkHillbilly: Yes!
Gin & Tonic
@Dorothy A. Winsor: This may be a bit too deep of a dive into the Kiwi accent, but my Australian friends think it’s hilarious.
If you like this, there’s a whole series.
gene108
@Baud:
Liberals fantasize about parliamentary systems of government, without understanding no system is perfect.
Also, in parliamentary systems political parties have near total control on who gets to stand as the party’s candidate in any given election.
No more primaries
The DNC would actually become the powerful entity Bernie supporters thought it was in 2016.
OzarkHillbilly
@raven: I’m pretty sure he tells that story every chance he gets.
Omnes Omnibus
@schrodingers_cat: There is a reason that some believe that you have a bee in your bonnet about AOC.
Betty Cracker
@Geminid: It really is a comical image!
One of the best “instant vindication” moments I’ve ever experienced in my life concerned spitting llamas. I was walking through Busch Gardens in Tampa with my sister and a friend, and the walkway passed between two enclosures containing llamas.
I noticed that some llamas gathered at the fence on either side of the walkway were working their lips in an odd circular motion, and I said I hoped they wouldn’t start spitting. My sister and friend scoffed at the notion that llamas spit, but I knew llamas are spitters, probably having read about it somewhere or seen it on PBS.
Anyhoo, no sooner had they ridiculed me for suspecting that the llamas would spit, the llamas DID start spitting at each other, and giant llama loogies were passing overhead, causing a human stampede that carried us away from the camelid war zone. My companions never questioned my pack animal knowledge again!
Geminid
@Ken: The once dominant Israeli Labor Party was down to just a handful of Knesset spots after the last election, and could not have put together a 61 member government. No one could. Netanyahu’s coalition was stalled at 58, just like after the first two elections. Gantz broke the impasse by bringing his Blue and White party into a coalition with Netanyahu, contrary to campaign pledges. The secularist Yesh Atid party promptly bolted. They had campaigned on a joint slate with Gantz. Now Gideon Sa’ar, a top Likud leader, has left Likud and formed the New Hope party, and Likud members and Blue and White members have signed on.
Now I’m getting dizzy. But those interested can follow this story in The Jerusalem Post and The Times of Israel. Haaretz is better, but it is paywalled.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@zhena gogolia: It sure reads like something written by someone who thinks a cheese burger is the height of fine dinning.
mrmoshpotato
Not funding an organization that doesn’t exist – good on ya, mates!
Matt McIrvin
@gene108:
Even as it was, they complained about the DNC rigging primary elections (which it had no control over, since state governments run them) but were perfectly happy with caucuses (which the party DOES run, but Bernie’s people were very good at gaming them). It never made any sense.
schrodingers_cat
@Omnes Omnibus: She is undermining the Democratic party and nothing I have said is not factual.
gene108
@Betty Cracker:
I wonder what other countries do to reduce barriers to voting, and insure faith in their election process?
I have a feeling the USA is unique in that the major conservative party here makes voting harder, and sows doubt on the validity of the process. I don’t think other countries have a party he’ll bent on throwing up barriers to voting.
Baud
@gene108:
True, but the idea is that they could bolt to another party. Of course, that doesn’t address the problem that every party in a parliamentary system is more top down. But I suspect that if a party were aligned more closely to their views, they would care less about how democratic it is. See Green Party.
ETA: I’m not sure about every place, but I was surprised to learn that only dues paying members get to choose leaders in the Labour Party in UK.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Betty Cracker: Interesting trivia, the original Busch Gardens was on the Busch estate in Pasadena. They wanted to donate the land to the city but the city passed, it was a great loss.
Omnes Omnibus
@Baud: I am not really sure how wide or deep American support for democracy actually is.
Betty Cracker
@gene108: Great point! I agree voter suppression is a huge problem. Still, tens of millions of people don’t bother to vote because they don’t think it makes a difference. There have been tons of studies that show pulling those folks off the sidelines would transform U.S. politics.
Trump motivated the angry bigots among the vast apathetic group, and stopping Trump motivated a smaller share of apathetic voters, which, combined with regular Democrats, was enough to rid us of Trump but unfortunately not sufficient to kick Republicans out of power altogether. I don’t know what the answer is.
Ken
@Geminid: Thanks for the info. I think I’ll self-grade my memory with a gentleman’s “B”.
Immanentize
@Omnes Omnibus: The support for democracy is miles deep — when one’s choice prevails.
In other news — actual voter fraud revealed in Pennsylvania! Trump voter also voted Trump via his dead-you-know (for 10 years!) Mother. I just wonder if she voted for Trump in 2016 too?
Omnes Omnibus
Exactly.
germy
mrmoshpotato
@Immanentize:
Oh felonious Trump trash…
OzarkHillbilly
Listen up: making music from the northern lights
germy
Lying liars and the lies they tell.
Aleta
@germy: Off the record of course (apparently)
And when do these brave hearts speak out about what they know about Kushner?
sdhays
@Betty Cracker: I think the voter participation rates are a major reason liberals tend to think favorably of parliamentary systems, although each parliamentary government seems to be its own special snowflake of tradeoffs. And like others have said, coalition building happens after the election and is handled by (hopefully) trusted leaders negotiating and getting tangible positions in a governing coalition.
For years, liberals have had to deal with various people excusing their decision not to vote for Democrats because they don’t have the maturity to enter into advantageous political coalitions themselves, so I think taking that out of the hands of the voter (who can then vote their pure essence) and handing that off to leaders has a distinct appeal. I don’t think it’s the panacea it can appear at first glance, but I think the appeal should be evident.
Geminid
@Baud: During last year’s run up to the general election, the British Conservative had a “primary” in which less than 300,000 dues paying party members selected Boris Johnson to lead the party. And now the Conservative Parliamentary Majority can run the show until 2025, unless there are significant defections or losses in by-elections. They can call for a new election, however, any time they think conditions are favorable, and reset the six-year clock.
By the18th century, the British Parliament had developed into a powerful instrument for moneyed interests. It’s still getting the job done.
JPL
@germy: SAME.
germy
@Aleta:
Kushner is staying far away. Last I heard, he’s planting trees with Bibi.
mrmoshpotato
Dump-humping Ross Douthat fanfic is the best fanfic.
(Sit down, stop drinking your coffee for a second and enjoy this thread.)
germy
@OzarkHillbilly:
Stuff like this might be better than music for my insomnia.
Just One More Canuck
@Baud: Here in Canada, the party leader has the final say on nominees. The veto doesnt happen often, usually in cases where the person did or said something so outrageous that there was no choice and the person was likely to resign anyway
H.E.Wolf
Paraphrasing an architectural walking tour in my former home city, as we gazed at the faceless facade of our City Hall:
There was a certain amount of fear of civic unrest in the 1960s (terrible scary protestors are coming for us! omg!1!), and it dovetailed with some very unfortunate architectural fads to produce some ugly, intimidating, fortress-like government buildings.
Tangentially: Harry Truman, when he was the presiding County Court Judge (an administrative, not judicial, position) in Missouri in the early 1930s, researched building styles and hired the architects for the Jackson County Court building. He chose Art Deco. :)
David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch
This is from axios.
Hilarious. Maybe Pence can get out of this by faking his own death like JFK jr. and Chavez.
gene108
@Betty Cracker:
Lack of voter participation has been a problem for ages. We covered the declining voter participation rates, when I was in high school civics, in 1988.
But I think those rates are against eligible voters, which has grown as we’ve expanded the franchise and tried to enforce the four voting rights amendments in the Constitution.
Chart of voting as percentage of total population, and not just eligible voters.
Trump did activate the angry bigots more than anyone had predicted in 2016, but I think his election sparked a lot more people to go against Republicans than switched over to him.
Also, a lot more people, like myself, became more active in politics. 2018 was the first time I canvassed for a candidate. I did text and phone banking this year.
There go two miscreants
@germy: Try this site if you haven’t already: mynoise.net
Immanentize
@H.E.Wolf: The failure to include Art deco/nautical moderne/and other amazing WPA styles really is the epic fail of this executive order.
And I am a guy who likes brutalist architecture like Boston City Hall — much hated by most.
gene108
@germy:
“High ranking” Congressional Republican needs to go on the record or STFU.
I’m sick of these bullshit anonymous drops to reporters that Republicans don’t like Trump personally, even though all their actions show they are 100% behind Trump, and are onboard with his plans to stage a coup invalidating election results.
I wish these reporters would quit falling for this shit. Go on the record, or act like you want some daylight between you and Trump’s ass.
Aleta
Immanentize
@gene108: Very interesting chart, thanks!
Historically interesting that increase in independent voting generally correlates with decreased GOP voting. Until Trump?
Kathleen
@Soprano2: I’m so glad you are starting to see some progress. Take good care of yourself .
germy
@gene108:
They’re afraid of angry mobs outside their offices and/or homes.
They spent years filling their base with poison and now their base is spitting it back at them.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Immanentize:
I’ve seen it, it sucks.
UncleEbeneezer
Asking again here from a dead thread: So here’s a question for the group: yesterday my wife ran over to help our neighbor with a pet emergency and forgot to grab a mask. Was inside with her for 30-45 mins, only close for a short time. Neighbor has no symptoms or positive test, but obviously that is no guarantee. I am 47, fit and no known co-morbitities (though I have had bronchitis a few times). How would you handle a bubble-broken without a + Covid test (everything about testing, quarantine etc., is always premised on CONFIRMED contact with the virus). We live in a tiny place, and tomorrow is my birthday. My understanding is that it takes 5-7 days before a test for my wife, would even show anything. Not sure how we should handle things. Gonna call my doc this morning and see what they say, but curious to know others’ thoughts. All 3 parties including neighbor have taken Covid very seriously and worn masks, social distance etc., regularly.
trollhattan
@gene108:
Right? “My heroin dealer is a real jerk and might have killed a couple guys, but what great heroin!”
trollhattan
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
+1. I always think of Soviet block housing when I see that…er, style. “How can we do this the most cheap way possible?”
A few postwar State buildings could really use a vigorous tearing down.
Yarrow
@UncleEbeneezer: Inside without a mask for any amount of time is very high risk for transmission. Not having symptoms is no guarantee of negative test, as you know. Personally, I’d stop any planned contact with loved ones over the holiday and stay home for 7-10 days. If you can get a quick test about 5 days from now I’d do that and watch for any symptoms.
If you can convince neighbor to get a test that could cut down on your time staying home if that test came back negative. Since neighbor would have to have it first before your wife could get it. In this scenario I mean.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
To funny.
But isn’t there a tax issue if this orgination isn’t reporting it’s employees salaries, or is this more Republicans so the law doesn’t apply?
OzarkHillbilly
@?BillinGlendaleCA: I love that stuff. Different strokes.
UncleEbeneezer
@Yarrow: The big issue is that we live in a tiny 900 sq ft cottage together (me and my wife). No plans to see anyone for two weeks at least so that’s easy. But it’s pretty much impossible for us not to be around each other. We slept in separate rooms last night and my wife is wearing a mask indoors and we plan to get tested if we can next week.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@trollhattan: I think government buildings should use a architectural style that evokes some sense of permanence and timelessness.
OzarkHillbilly
@Enhanced Voting Techniques: I suspect this is all quite legal.
Uncle Cosmo
@NotMax: “The Roads Must Roll” – or “The Walks Must Walk”…
prostratedragon
@Baud:
Huis Clos Nouveau
Just One More Canuck
@?BillinGlendaleCA: there’s a line from a Tragically Hip song (Wheat Kings) that describes this type of building perfectly – ‘walls are lined, all yellow, grey and sinister’
Another Scott
@?BillinGlendaleCA: I think government architecture should reflect the best work of architects of the time. Donnie’s EO is a stupid abomination.
The quintessential example is the Vietnam Veterans memorial. It’s a powerful place that would never have had the powerful impact it does if it were yet another GrecoRoman temple.
Let architects do their jobs, considering all the relevant factors (the site, the available materials and technologies (HVAC, solar, windows, etc., etc.). Don’t tie their hands this way.
Cheers,
Scott.
(“Who is spending part of his morning upgrading a Win7 VirtualBox machine to Win10 on macOS. Fun!!11”)
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@OzarkHillbilly: Normally I would agree but it does seem like the Trumpets break the law as a matter of habit. I guess they assume Trump will just issue them all a blanket pardon.
Yarrow
@UncleEbeneezer: Outside of someone pitching a tent outside that’s probably the best you can do. So sorry you’re having to deal with this. Is where you live warm enough that you can open windows and doors to get in fresh air? Even if not, a small cracked window or occasionally opening doors to bring in fresh air may be worth it.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
And at the time the Right crapped their pants over it so badly the government had to do the heroic Victory Vietnam monument they wanted and no one remembers.
artem1s
@debbie:
I’m fine with it staying. It’s a fine example of why it’s a bad idea to elect know nothings and ideologues to Congress or any other office. It should serve as a reminder to anyone who is tempted to vote third party in a close election. The GOP wants to put a Planned Parenthood ban in all the funding bills right along side ACORN. And would probably mandate government funding of the NRA in every bill if they thought they could get away with it.
Uncle Cosmo
@Baud: Surprised the list didn’t include “Stalinist wedding-cake.” Cf. Warsaw’s Pałac Kultury i Nauki (PKiN) for a particularly obnoxious example.
Varsovians say the most charming view of their city is from the top of PKiN – mostly because that’s the only place in town where you can’t see PKiN…
For an entire town planned & rebuilt post-WW2 in that style, try Sillamäe. Dr Rofer has spent time there & can confirm.
gene108
@UncleEbeneezer:
Only thing I can think of is to mask up at home, as much as possible, until you can get a COVID test, and the results come back.
UncleEbeneezer
@Yarrow: SoCal, so yes. We have windows open all the time. Neighbor does too, fwiw.
gene108
@Enhanced Voting Techniques:
I think contracting to another company that someone owns, which in turns pays the person is not illegal.
IT person works as a contractor. He/She has their own S-Corp or LLC, which the client pays instead of the person directly. This seems similar.
I’m not sure if the actual payment arrangement is illegal.
@OzarkHillbilly:
It might be illegal depending on campaign finance disclosure requirements. I think this is where Trump and his gang may trip up here.
Miss Bianca
@Betty Cracker:
@Soprano2:
So we’re not the only dog butlers up here at the Mountain Hacienda! “First I go out, then I come in. Then I go out, then I come in. Then I go out, then I come in…” Sometimes within the space not of moments, but *seconds*, merely. Roxy, particularly. Little fuckers.
Of course, Roxy the Wolf Girl was off her feed for a little while last week, and was doing nothing but lying around refusing food and looking peaky for a couple days, so the fact that she’s back to her old tricks is actually a gladsome sign!
OzarkHillbilly
@Enhanced Voting Techniques: Such creative corporate structuring happens everywhere anymore. A lot of it for the dodging of taxes, other times for avoiding certain regs. It’s the inevitable result of our piecemeal law making. It’s almost impossible to avoid creating loopholes.
Uncle Cosmo
@Dorothy A. Winsor: On my first trip to Europe I heard a couple speaking English & asked if they were Australian. They both looked very sad & replied, Naaow, we’re from New Zealand.
So the next time I heard a similar fashion of English being spoken I asked the young fellow if he was from New Zealand. He looked at me with disgust & snarled, Wha’, I sound like a fookin’ Kiwi ta yew?
Three nations separated by a common language…:^D
Geminid
Politico has a report on an interview McConnell gave to the WSJ, in which he said that every Biden Cabinet nominee will get a vote on the Senate floor. He did not guarantee that they would all get voted out of committee.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Another Scott:
I’ve seen the results of this line of thinking, it’s not pleasant.
Good luck with the Win upgrade on V-Box, Windows is pretty well behaved in a virtual environment so you shouldn’t have too much of a problem.
artem1s
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
yea, sorry, Conservatives love Brutalism and Soviet style Neo-Brutalism almost as much as it does Neo-Classical. Donnie is espousing ‘beautiful’ buildings and has no idea what he is talking about. Modern can describe anything from the 1920’s onward. Neo-classical hasn’t been used much since the 40’s for public buildings because no one wants to pay for all that stone detailing. I’m sure these know nothings would be fine with Post-Moderism and International Style as those are typical choices for Fortune 500 companies, suburban office complexes and useful if you have lots of worker bees and shared/flex spaces.
What they are really are probably talking about is Deconstructivism as the thing they want to hate-ban. All those wavy lines make them stabby. They get confused if they have to take more than a second to identify the front door.
scav
I rather doubt there’s a bright and universal line for “beautiful” and am in no way in favor of a guideline that would rule out (Untraditional!!) the Vietnam veterans memorial.
(Personally, there’s a lot of federal stuff that looks like nothing more than cheap banks — and am also entirely fond of a grand bit of Rochardson Romanesque when given the opportunity.)
OzarkHillbilly
@gene108: They should have lawyers to advise them on setting this stuff up, but if Ghouliani and Powell are any indication of the level of legal talent they hire….
Uncle Cosmo
Um…
?BillinGlendaleCA
@artem1s:
Both the east and west fronts of the US Capitol were replaced in the 1960’s and 1980’s(sandstone to marble), so the skill set exists. But it doesn’t have to be built in stone, we had really nice looking high schools here in LA that ended up being replaced by fugly shit. I’ll also point to the California Capitol annex as well as the Criminal Court building here in LA. FUGLY!
Miss Bianca
Just for the record, Kiwis and Ozzers sound different to my ears.
Brachiator
@Baud:
Trump has gone too far?
Or, Trump has gone insane.
germy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/From_Bauhaus_to_Our_House
scav
@Uncle Cosmo: So I guess they’ve ruled out yurts, Saxon roundhouses and possibly a wealth of really fine southwestern, mission style and adobe buildings. There may be a lot of gothic edifices tossed out with the bathwater as well, depending on how anal they are about the holy greco-roman talisman.
catclub
How about the phrase “looking at strongly”?
catclub
@Brachiator: Didn’t prince Charles express the same opinion in the 1980’s in England?
catclub
I think it is a big architecture fail if you cannot immediately identify the front door of a building.
Kattails
@debbie: I watched the video, not familiar with the guy. My quibble is with him referencing friends who are in the mental health field who would “never attempt a diagnosis of someone based on headlines” (i.e. Trump’s latest meetings). As I understand from Bandy Lee and others, one needs a clinical setting to make a clinical diagnosis of specific mental illness.
However it’s entirely possible to make a reasonable prediction of behavior based on more than ample publicly available evidence both current and past. We have years of videos of Trump, in his own words, in a variety of settings– more evidence than any psychiatrist is likely to have available in an hour or two meeting once a week. We can also make predictions of behavior from repetitive crime scenes even when we don’t know who the criminal is. A heft swatch of psychologists and psychiatrists have al declared Trump to be a malignant narcissist, which comes with a set of predictable results. So far, their predictions have borne out.
Tenar Arha
@Immanentize: Not everyone. This is a very nuanced Brutalist Architecture explainer, with a segment on BCH too.
@?BillinGlendaleCA: It was actually planned to be an open plaza/gathering place like in Europe, but it never had a proper surround of small cafes & business to bring life to the plaza, except for when a music festival or Super Bowl celebration occurred. (& IIRC it was because of security they closed the North entrance making it harder for the public to pass thru the building).
Another Scott
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Other than forgetting that I need to stretch the install partition in Winders after expanding the disk in the VM…
And having to change the VM type from Win7 to Win8.1 to overcome the CompareExchange128 fatal error…
And Windows Update continuously trying to install an update everytime Win7 shuts down…
And who knows what will be next…
It hasn’t been too bad!! ;-)
Cheers,
Scott.
(“Who isn’t a fan of Brutalism, either, but mandating is bad…”)
Geminid
@germy: I wonder what Baudhaus architecture would look like.
Yarrow
@UncleEbeneezer: Well, that makes a big difference. You guys are probably fairly safe given your neighbor has been very safe too. If your neighbor can get a test fairly quickly and it’s negative that should put your minds at ease. Best of luck.
Brachiator
This kind of thing is another example of why Trump’s supporters love him. This shit is trivial and retrograde, but some people see a building they thing is ugly or … modern … and wish they could just get rid of it and go back to something from the good old days.
And now they have someone big and powerful in the White House who can snap his fingers and make their wishes come true. They don’t have to go begging to some planning commission composed of disdainful elites.
It’s Deplorables Nirvana.
Another Scott
@catclub: Public buildings, maybe. Maybe.
All buildings? No. Robie House.
IIRC, Wright designed the main entrance so that the architecture confronts you gradually – a low wall, then a higher wall, then steps, then the overhanging roof, etc. It’s sensible and it works. There’s not some overwhelming “Here is the Entrance” quality to it. Federal buildings might have good reasons to have similar architectural features.
Cheers,
Scott.
tybee
@There go two miscreants:
that’s pretty cool. thanks.