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Hot air and ill-informed banter

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Georgia On My Mind

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Today is January 5.  Sometimes I thought we would never get here.  Now a part of me wants to press pause – because even though I mostly think we will prevail today and we will win both seats in Georgia, I know we could lose, and I don’t even want to contemplate 2 more years of obstruction when everything is on fire and there are a bunch of elected officials who are perfectly willing to burn down our democracy if it keeps them in power.

Watching Rev. Warnock and Jon Ossoff speak yesterday, I was struck once again by how you have to give it your all, until the very last second, believing that you can win.  And then suddenly, it’s all over, and you have either won or you have lost.  Well, that’s the way it’s always been, and I hope it will be that way again once the Republican insurrection has been put down.

We can’t control the outcome, so the name of the game is no regrets.  Did we give it our all?  If we didn’t, then we don’t beat ourselves up; we up our game next time.  And by next time, I mean starting again less than a month from now, because if we learned anything from the 2020 elections is that wins are built on organizing that doesn’t just happen in the year before an election.  It’s an investment in the future.

So today, while we are on pins and needles about Georgia, awaiting the outcome of the race, I hope everyone here will take a minute and share what they did to help with Georgia.  To state the obvious, giving it your all will look different for everyone.  So for today I hope you will join me in focusing on our accomplishments, and by sharing what you did, maybe that will inspire someone else.  And maybe some of us will be inspired to do more next time.

While we’re doing that, in case you missed it, here is Jon Ossoff showing us how it’s done.

And here’s Jake Tapper trying to play gotcha with Jon Ossoff, showing us that Tapper may have woken up about Trump, but he is still either on board with the Republicans or he thinks this is all a game.

https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2021/01/03/sotu-ossoff-attack-on-loeffler.cnn

If you watch until the end, you’ll see that Tapper wasn’t asking a question, he was pushing an agenda.

Beyond that, what’s on your mind today about Georgia, or anything else?

Reader Interactions

202Comments

  2. 2.

    Mary G

    deleted rumor I couldn’t find proof o

    Grassley walked it back. Here are the tweets.

    NEW: Iowa Sen. Charles E. Grassley, the Senate president pro tempore, says he and not Vice President Mike Pence will preside over the certification of Electoral College votes, since "we don't expect him to be there."— Roll Call (@rollcall) January 5, 2021

    Grassley's office clarifies that he was meaning to explain what would happen if Pence had to step away during Wednesday's proceedings to count electoral votes. "Every indication we have is that the vice president will be there," Grassley's office said. https://t.co/1swKXKrZ7g— Roll Call (@rollcall) January 5, 2021

  3. 3.

    WaterGirl

    @Mary G:  That’s interesting.

    I read last night that Pence and Trump had met to go over all the “evidence” so Pence can make a determination of what to do tomorrow.  I think bring a no show would be too brave for Pence.

  5. 5.

    ceece

    I only did a little for this one, as compared to November, but:

    100 postcards to African American infrequent voters through Reclaim Our Vote

     

    (I had hand surgery the day after finals and couldn’t write or text like usual, plus all the grading that STILL ISN’T FINISHED, arrgh)

  6. 6.

    dm

    I’m remembering Al Franken’s win in the 2008 election — it went on for months.  Franken wasn’t seated until July 2009.

    I hope both Ossoff and Warner win by more than 11,780 votes.

    After the last two months of nonsense, I expect more months of nonsense.

  7. 7.

    Mary G

    I put in tons of money to Ossoff, Warnocok, and the GOTV efforts, but after giving tons of money out of my savings to so many Democratic Senate candidates that didn’t win, I’m having a hard time not being cynical and thinking that Perdue and Loeffler will win by a nose hair just like Stacey did in her run for governor.

  9. 9.

    Almost Retired

    I am cautiously optimistic about the outcome, especially after Trump’s latest shenanigans (a polite word for treason).  I gave enough money to the campaigns to ensure a spam folder full of e-mails every day, and pestered random, unsuspecting Georgians by postcard and telephone.  In a just and well-ordered world, this wouldn’t even be close:  two inspiring and accomplished challengers running against odious thieves.

  10. 10.

    Brachiator

    Beyond that, what’s on your mind today about Georgia?

    I am going to be deep in work today, so I will have little time to check to see what is happening in Georgia even after the polls close.

    I know that a lot of good hard work has been done there. I gave a little bit, and wished that I could have done more.

    But now it is up to the people of Georgia. We just have to wait and see what happens.

  11. 11.

    trollhattan

    Neither the first, nor likely the last time I say I ? Nicola Sturgeon.

    Nicola Sturgeon, the first minister of Scotland, said President Trump will not be allowed to visit the country to play golf during Joe Biden’s inauguration, as reports indicated he was planning, the Independent reports.

    Given the global pandemic, Sturgeon stressed it is currently illegal to travel in or out of the country without a valid reason: “Coming to play golf is not what I would consider to be an essential purpose.”

  13. 13.

    pat

    Finally a sunny day.  I’m going to go to my favorite park and wildlife refuge with cameras.

    And get away from the news for a few hours.  Here’s hoping for a good outcome today and tomorrow.

  15. 15.

    raven

    I want to mention that my fishin buddy from Alaska made his way to Georgia to knock on doors for this election.

  16. 16.

    Punchy

     “we don’t expect him to be there.”

    then

    “Every indication we have is that the vice president will be there,”

    Does not compute.  At all.

  19. 19.

    dm

    @trollhattan: Scotland in January seems like a weird pleasure trip. I find the idea that he’s stopping at that airport to change planes for an extended trip to Saudi Arabia more persuasive.

  20. 20.

    Another Scott

    Runoffs in Georgia were designed to protect the entrenched white conservatives. In spite of that, I’m optimistic that Warnock and Ossoff will win.

    I gave a lot to their campaigns and to FairFight. A few bazzionaires and MoscowMitch gave much more, but I tried to do my part.

    No regrets.

    Also, too:

    It takes a hell of a knot to argue the Founders would invest so much power in the states, yet give almost absolute power over elections to an office that was very much an unelected afterthought until 90 years ago.

    — Richard M. Nixon (@dick_nixon) January 5, 2021

    Forward!!

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  21. 21.

    ragbatz

    Covid kept old, co-morbid me out of the contact game, and I am pining away at this exact moment at not being what I was in last election cycle: a state-wide, credentialed Democratic Party poll-watcher.

    Earlier in 2020, did some Covid-safe errands, and sent in some $$

    For this run-off, put in some more money; became a depot for Georgia re-mailing of almost ten thousand postcards to GA voters from out of state volunteers; and, similarly, redistributed a bunch of beautiful GOTV-themed posters prepared by a group of West Coast artists.

    Today’s role: dog-care of Rolfie and Bandita so that my more Covid-resistent neighbor can poll-watch a key precinct.

  23. 23.

    Warren Senders

    I started phonebanking to GA in mid-November and did every subsequent weekend until Xmas, then did 4-5 more in the past 10 days; I just finished my last shift a few minutes ago.   I also donated tons of money (thank you, BJ thermometers!), assembled 100 letters via VoteForward, and wrote/mailed 300 postcards through PostcardsToVoters.

    I live in MA so I’ve got energy to spare for states I wouldn’t otherwise want to visit.

  24. 24.

    RedDirtGirl

    I’m trying not to get my hopes up, but that’s just my approach. Given lots of money, so I know I helped in some way.
    I’m working from home today, so also making applesauce and a few other things.

  26. 26.

    Marcopolo

    I have purposely kept myself from having any expectations about what the result of today’s election will be.  I do believe that our side has pretty much run as good of a campaign during this runoff as was possible.  We’ve run a unified campaign with a clear message and everyone on the ground has been working their ossoffs.

    My meager contribution began in Jan ‘19 when I began a small monthly donation to Fair Fight 2020.  That will continue so long as I can afford it.  Since the general election I’ve been writing postcards with my local Indivisible group & have made a couple additional (they add up to a couple hundred bucks) donations to groups who are doing on the ground GOTV in GA.

    Thanks to everyone here @ BJ who’ve also stepped up.  Sure hope everyone is/has picked one, two, three, a handful of groups to make monthly contributions to so they can keep doing their great work whether there’s an imminent election on the horizon or not.

    Edited to add I keep reading accounts from reporters on the ground interviewing R voters in GA none of whom think Trump lost.  None.  That is not good news.

  28. 28.

    WaterGirl

    @Mary G:  “He won’t be there.”  “Yes he will.”

    No confusion there!

    The only good thing about the Jan 6 event is that Pence must be sweating bullets over the whole thing.  Damned if he does, damned if he doesn’t.

    I usually follow that with something like “when you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t, you have the luxury of doing what’s right.”

    But I don’t think that’s ever a factor with Pence.

    My old boss has a great phrase, which seems appropriate today while Georgia is voting.

    More nervous than a goose shitting peach pits.

  29. 29.

    The Moar You Know

    Scotland in January seems like a weird pleasure trip.

    @dm:  There’s none better.  My wife and I did it last year.  It was amazing.  Got there for the solstice, did Christmas there and…damn, just looked at the date, got back a year ago today.  Had such an amazing time, thought surely 2020 was going to be a great year.

    Nope.

  31. 31.

    Nicole

    Donated weekly via ActBlue and sent out 200 postcards.  After all of last year, and my assorted contributions to various primary candidates, etc., it’s going to be weird having my donations reduced to just the general fund one for Act Blue that I’ve been doing since November of 2016.  Though 2022 is just around the corner…

  32. 32.

    Punchy

    @dm: It’s not.  Been to the western shores of Scotland twice in Jan, and yeah, it’s almost golf-unplayable.  Constant cold-ass winds and so little daylight.  Only the hardest of hard-core duffers are out there, in gloves, coats, hats….it’s not Trump friendly at all.

  35. 35.

    The Thin Black Duke

    Tapper is just warming up before he takes aim at President Biden. The ‘both sides’ bullshit is more addictive than heroin, it seems.

  39. 39.

    UncleEbeneezer

    I wrote 200 postcards for Warnock/Ossoff.  If they win, I will be taking all the credit! ;)

  40. 40.

    Elizabelle

    Satire from Andy Borowitz of The New Yorker:
    Trump Claims Constitution Invalid Because It Was Signed by Dead People

    DALTON, GEORGIA (The Borowitz Report)—Advancing a new conspiracy theory during a rally on Monday, Donald J. Trump claimed that the United States Constitution is invalid because it was signed by dead people.

    “All we’re hearing is, the Constitution this and the Constitution that,” Trump said. “I’m telling you, as sure as you’re sitting there, that every person who signed that piece of paper is dead.”

    Trump said that he had his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani investigate the signatories to the Constitution, “and he found a scandal bigger than Hunter Biden’s laptop.”

    “Their signatures do not match the signatures of any living person,” he said. “Not only are these people dead, but they have been dead for a long, long time. This should never have been allowed to happen.”

    In addition to questioning the legitimacy of the dead people’s signatures, Trump claimed that Alexander Hamilton’s “should be thrown out twice.”

    “First of all, he’s dead, and second, he wasn’t born here,” he claimed.

  42. 42.

    Mary G

    Win or lose, I’m going to keep my monthly donation to Fair Fight going so they can get started on 2022. I have to think that Stacey is an inspiration to people in other states that can be flipped. Also, I just love how much hatred and fear she inspires in Republicans.

  44. 44.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @WaterGirl: My issue is that my mind races ahead of my hand and I end up making little mistakes here and there (not typos, but write-os?) and then have to figure out how to scratch them out or fix them without getting too messy.

  47. 47.

    Redshift

    And by next time, I mean starting again less than a month from now

    Hah! In Virginia we have elections every year; the race for governor started months ago!

    (I guess that’s good for organizing, though it can be exhausting.)

  49. 49.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Mary G:

    Grassley’s office clarifies that he was meaning to explain what would happen if Pence had to step away during Wednesday’s proceedings to count electoral votes. “Every indication we have is that the vice president will be there,” Grassley’s office said

    Brian Beutler @brianbeutler 43m
    On the next episode of Coup Veep, the Veep avoids participation in a seditious conspiracy via cleverly timed bathroom break.

    Has Armando Ianucci done some kind of Borat insertion in Pence’s office?

  50. 50.

    WaterGirl

    Dick Durbin, in his “thank you, Illinois” email after being sworn in for his 5th term as senator:

    The last four years did not break America, but revealed what was already broken.

  52. 52.

    Brooklyn Dodger

    @germy: I seem to remember that in that previous interview, Ossof also made it clear the guy was a former member. Tapper could have mentioned that.

    @WaterGirl:

    “I usually follow that with something like “when you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t, you have the luxury of doing what’s right.”

    Love that. Nominated.

  53. 53.

    Amir Khalid

    @Punchy:

    I guess Grassley decided it wasn’t a good idea after all to publicly say he expected Mike Pence to chicken out of a purely ceremonial task for fear of The Wrath of Trump. I would agree with that decision, per se; Grassley certainly doesn’t need to gratuitously insult Pence.

    But it does give away that Grassley thinks there’s a real possibility Pence night not dare show up tomorrow. I had not considered that.

  54. 54.

    artem1s

    @dm:

    @trollhattan: Scotland in January seems like a weird pleasure trip. I find the idea that he’s stopping at that airport to change planes for an extended trip to Saudi Arabia more persuasive.

    I listened to the first part of the call to GA, he believes elections are reality shows where the most “popular” person, who has lots of idiots show up at rallies, wins.  the guy is incredibly stupid about how government works.  probably thinks he can ‘get elected’ to parliament by having a bunch of rallies there and buying himself a title and peerage from BoJo, because he ‘owns’ land there. He does not understand our elections and how they work – so he probably thinks he can game his way into office anywhere, because he already did it here.  If the courts weren’t cheating him and Pence wasn’t betraying him, he’d still be in the WH, obviously.

    /snark, kind of

    I gave Warnock money a couple of times because it seemed like that was where is was needed most. And Ossoff’s war chest seemed pretty full.

  55. 55.

    zhena gogolia

    I’ve been on a monthly donation to Fair Fight since right after the presidential election. I have no idea what’s going to happen today, but I have enough things to worry about so am trying not to stew. Work helps.

  58. 58.

    germy

    Polls show a tight race in Georgia, but the line outside the men’s room of this Buford Waffle House tells a very a different story

    — New York Times Pitchbot (@DougJBalloon) January 5, 2021

  59. 59.

    Mary G

    Are there any experts on mold here? The teen’s closet  has sprung some on its ceiling and I just had guys out who say I have to spend $500 first on a test for asbestos or lead. Then they will take 3 days to seal the room off with plastic, tear out the affected area, and treat it. That costs $1800. Then I have to get somebody else to replace drywall. They started to explain the nanny state makes them do it, and I frowned at them over my Biden/Harris mask and said in my best frosty old lady voice “Regulations are there to keep people safe.” That said, when I was younger and had mold, I just put bleach on it. The teen very sweetly offered to chip in out of his unemployment when he gets it. The dishwashing job and a new non-crazy gf have made a huge difference in him.

  60. 60.

    Felanius Kootea

    I gave monthly to Fair Fight Georgia as well as the Ossoff and Warnock campaigns.  I hope they prevail but I’m proud of their efforts even if they don’t.

  63. 63.

    JPL

    @germy: I unfollowed Doug, because he was just to close to the truth.   After trump is long gone, maybe I’ll try again.

     

    btw Tanya Roberts died again..

  64. 64.

    Zelma

    I gave money whenever another thermometer popped up.

    Something weird: I’m an inveterate hummer.  If I lived with anyone, it might drive them nuts.  This morning, I started humming a song and stopped to ask myself “What is that?”  Turns out I have been humming “Marching Through Georgia” all day.  I hope it happens.

  65. 65.

    The Moar You Know

    Are there any experts on mold here? The teen’s closet  has sprung some on its ceiling and I just had guys out who say I have to spend $500 first on a test for asbestos or lead. Then they will take 3 days to seal the room off with plastic, tear out the affected area, and treat it. That costs $1800. Then I have to get somebody else to replace drywall. 

    @Mary G: That’s fucking ludicrous.  It’s a drywall repair.  s/b a couple hundred bucks max.

    The bigger problem is that you’ve got a roof or pipe leak that is soaking the drywall at the top of the closet and that needs to be dealt with BEFORE the drywall is fixed.

    And if this is a rental, the landlord should be fixing all of this and you should not have anything to do with it.

  67. 67.

    Cacti

    Not gonna lie.  I don’t have high hopes that Jawja is going to send two Democrats to the U.S. Senate in a single election, and that evil MFer McConnell is going to continue to screw the country sideways.

    If I’m pleasantly surprised, I hope that Dems are ready to rule like kings, like the Repukes do any time they hold both of the political branches of government.

  68. 68.

    Kelly

    @Mary G: First why is there mold on the ceiling? Is there roof leak, perhaps too small to show much of a drip? Plumbing? Condensation? Anyone that estimated a fix without addressing where the moisture is coming from may not be very competent.

  69. 69.

    Amir Khalid

    @WaterGirl:

    You and I are both in favour of gratuitously insulting Pence every chance we get, which he deserves. Come to that so is every jackal; maybe even Grassley himself, who will have seen from up close that Pence is a weak-willed maroon. But Gott sei dank, we are not in Grassley’s professional position.

  71. 71.

    mrmoshpotato

    This FOX quote would be hilarious in its stupidity if there weren’t idiots who happily guzzle this shit by the tanker car-load.

    These words perfectly capture the cry-baby cohort, the -woe-is-me victimology, the endless sense of grievance that it is the Republican Party.’The entire society is rigged’: Fox News host throws tantrum after failed election challenges https://t.co/3UHLBGduOj— Kurt “Masks Save Lives” Eichenwald (@kurteichenwald) January 5, 2021

  72. 72.

    Another Scott

    (Adam’s Hulk-Smashing-Everything-In-Sight.gif)

    Wonkette:

    Trump’s legal team objected to having the hearing broadcast, so big thanks to this local lawyer for attending in-person and giving us all the rundown. In short, it was a BLOODBATH, with Judge Cohen rejecting the motion for injunctive relief — that is, the request to order the decertification of Georgia’s election results — from the bench, promising to put out an order post haste. And that order should be delicious reading! But in the meantime, it appears from the above thread that Judge Cohen rejected Trump’s motion for:

    1. Mootness, since the election has already been certified and Georgia’s electors submitted;
    2. Lack of an issue of federal law;
    3. Wrong defendants, since Trump only sued Governor Kemp and Secretary of State Raffensperger, when it’s county officials who run the election;
    4. Federal courts must abstain from cases which are already being decided in state courts, as this one is;
    5. Laches, which no lawyer thought about between taking the bar exam and 2020;
    6. And, that old canard, your failure to plan to practice law competently is not the federal judiciary’s emergency!

    So, that went well! Can’t hardly wait to see how they spin this one as a flawless victory.

    rofl.

    Click on over.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  73. 73.

    artem1s

    @Marcopolo:

    Edited to add I keep reading accounts from reporters on the ground interviewing R voters in GA none of whom think Trump lost. None. That is not good news.

    The reporters may be selecting who they put on camera too. I found it interesting the official from the GA SOS office who was debunking Dolt’s claims one by one in the presser yesterday.  He had a whole rant about people who were telling him they wouldn’t vote in the Special because their vote was stolen in the General and why vote if it won’t matter. He specifically called them out and told them that it was critical to vote if they wanted their vote to matter – sounded like a right stand up Democrat he did!  He also pointed out that the Dems were on the ground ready to do curing on questionable ballot signatures while the GOP was standing around looking confused. He was genuinely pissed at Dolt, the GOP, and the media that was calling the GA General election into question.  Dolt has been demoralizing his middle of the road, more ignorant voters with all his talk about phony ballots and stuffing the ballot box. I think GA Republicans showed how worried they were by calling that press conference yesterday.  So you can be proud of that at least.  They are in the spotlight and know that Dolt and the white supremacist BS isn’t helping their chances of keeping those seats.

  75. 75.

    Felanius Kootea

    @rikyrah: I knew Brian Kemp was terrible but I didn’t realize just  how bad he was.  The way the final charges were dismissed quietly in 2016 after years of a seemingly unending nightmare for defendants. I’m glad that Ms. Dennard was elected mayor of Quitman. I’m also glad that Stacey Abrams figured out how to thwart the GOP’s voter suppression tactics last November.

    Sounds like Raffensperger wants to reduce the availability of absentee ballots as a renewed voter suppression tactic, since African American voters are taking advantage of this.

  76. 76.

    sheldon vogt

    @Mary G: Hi, Mary.

    Bleach is ineffective against mold.You can get Concrobrum Mold Control at any big box store.

    There’s no reason you and your son can’t do the demo and mold removal, and have someone install and mud/tape the drywall. Youtube is your friend.

    Feel free to email me at [email protected] if you get hung up or have a question.

    Sheldon

  78. 78.

    sheldon vogt

    @Mary G: Hi, Mary.

    Bleach is ineffective against mold.You can get Concrobrum Mold Control at any big box store.

    There’s no reason you and your son can’t do the demo and mold removal, and have someone install and mud/tape the drywall. Youtube is your friend.

    Feel free to email me at [email protected] if you get hung up or have a question.

    Sheldon

     

    @sheldon vogt: Other commenters are right. Fix the leak first.Whatever you do, don’t scrub the mold spores.

  79. 79.

    catclub

    @Almost Retired: 

    In a just and well-ordered world, this wouldn’t even be close: two inspiring and accomplished challengers running against odious thieves.

    hey that’s the world where Mitch McConnell also gets clobbered.

  81. 81.

    Mary G

    @The Moar You Know:

    @Kelly:

    It’s in a closet that was added onto the house after it was originally built by someone who probably didn’t get a permit. It just hangs off the wall. I assume there is a small leak where it joins the house wall as the mold and closet ceiling are not wet to the touch. If it is as minor as it seems, some caulk might be all that’s needed.

    So it is OK to hire a handyman and not go through all the rigmarole? I want to do what will keep the child in my care safe and healthy.

  84. 84.

    Miss Bianca

    This was the wrong year to buy a horse. Thinking of all that money that could have gone to Democratic candidates and causes instead. Oh, well. It is what it is. Just thankful so many others were able to step up to the plate and contribute money, time or both.

  85. 85.

    WaterGirl

    @artem1s:

    He specifically called them out and told them that it was critical to vote if they wanted their vote to matter – sounded like a right stand up Democrat he did!

    I didn’t see it that way at all.  The “don’t stay home, we need to you vote” seemed to be clearly a Republican telling the Republicans not to say home.”

    Totally partisan.

    The message wasn’t “I don’t care which party you support, your vote is important blah blah blah.

    The message was “don’t listen to them when they tell you to stay home in protest, we need your vote.”

  86. 86.

    catclub

    @rikyrah: I want her to work in Mississippi and Texas

     

    The problem in Mississippi is not turning out black voters. As evidence:

    in 2008, if Obama wins 18% of white voters, he wins Mississippi.

    He got 11%.  I would be surprised if Biden got any more than that in 2020.

  87. 87.

    opiejeanne

    We gave a nice chunk of money to both Warnock and Ossoff, more than once.

    I just got a text from Ossoff’s campaign asking for more money to help him win today. It’s nearly 1:30pm there in Georgia so I’m not sure what good that would do at this point, or if they could even process it before the polls close.

    We gave to every Senatorial campaign before the November 3, including the lost cause in Kentucky. Not sorry.

  88. 88.

    Redshift

    I was talking over the holidays with a friend’s husband who is from Indiana. He had the misfortune once to be at an event where Pence was the main speaker. He already knew Pence was dumb (since he lived in Indiana), but he was still amazed at how terrible a public speaker he was, since that’s usually a necessary skill to get elected to public office.

  93. 93.

    Kelly

    @Mary G:So it is OK to hire a handyman and not go through all the rigmarole?

    That’s what I’d do. The hard part is finding somebody competent. Ask local friends. Be picky.

  94. 94.

    Matt McIrvin

    Just want to say, all the ActBlue thermometers and associated posts here have been crucial in determining where my money goes, in this runoff and earlier. Just priceless work.

  95. 95.

    Redshift

    I gave what I could to Warnock/Ossoff/Fair Fight, including my covid relief (plus a small monthly contribution to Indivisible’s work there.) I wish I could have done more directly, but I had family stuff to deal with and was just burnt out after months of texting.

    We also have a couple of special elections for the VA House of Delegates today, so I tossed some coin there as well. (Tim Kaine asked me personally!)

  96. 96.

    zhena gogolia

    @Mary G:

    I got a similar story about my own house. I didn’t quite trust it, so I just hired a really good painter. He stripped everything and painted with some kind of mold-resistant paint, and the mold has never come back (in the bathroom).

  98. 98.

    jonas

    @Mary G:  Contractors are funny about this sometimes. A while back, there was something causing a water leak in the dining room ceiling right beneath our master bath. Obviously you had to cut open the sheetrock ceiling and see what was leaking. We had this one plumber come in for an estimate who told us we would have to do the drywall cut ourselves and seal off the whole room with plastic sheeting before he would go up there and look for the leaky pipe or whatever. Like your guy, claimed state regs on asbestos and lead were so onerous that he refuses to do any access cuts on anything anymore because he could lose his license. Well, we didnt’ hire him, but another contractor came right over and just cut out the damaged ceiling section, found the problem, and fixed it and never mentioned the jackboot of the regulatory state. Charged a few hundred $100  iirc.

  99. 99.

    zhena gogolia

    Today I get “comment submission failure” about 50% of the time. Then when I refresh, my comment is there.

  100. 100.

    Anya

    @Elie: How the Dem senate voters underperformed Biden. I just hope more of our people show up and less of theirs. Looks like Republican areas has voter lines while the Dem areas are without lines, which means, most Dems early voted.

  101. 101.

    BC in Illinois

    @trollhattan: 

    More from First Minister Nicola Sturgeon:

    I’ve no idea what Donald Trump’s travel plans are, you’ll be glad to know. I hope and expect that, as everybody hopes and expects . . . (well, as everybody expects, not everybody necessarily will hope) . . . that the travel plan immediately that he has, is to exit the White House.

    Scotland forever.

  102. 102.

    Grace

    Just like for November, I sent thousands of texts and donated to both, as well as to Fair Fight, until it hurt. And I voted for them! And made sure my daughter did, and pestered the few people I’ve met in the short time I’ve been in Georgia about voting too. Fingers crossed, but literally no sense of how it will go.

  105. 105.

    Elizabelle

    And:  the FTF NY Times is upping their (shitwad) game.  Thank Dog this is no longer at the top of the front page with voting roundups:

    ‘My hope is compromise.’ Some see ballots as a ‘backstop’ to a Democratic White House.

    MARIETTA, Ga. — Outside a polling site in the affluent Atlanta suburbs of Cobb County, voters on Tuesday morning described their ballots as a desire for balance or an aversion to one party controlling two houses of government.

    Joy Phenix, 55, voted for gridlock. [Props for this, NY Times, honest.]

    “They need a backstop,” said Ms. Phenix, who waited in a modest line that shuffled through the station all morning.

    So, you’re thinking, Ms. Phenix is a Trump voter. But no: the FTF NY Times found the (glibertarian) unicorn:

    She voted for President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. in the general election, helping to usher in the first Democratic candidate for president in Georgia in 28 years. But on Tuesday, she voted for the Republican senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler. If President Trump had been elected, she said she would have voted for the Democrats.

    “It’s so hard to deal with Trump’s rhetoric,” said Ms. Phenix, who described herself as a Libertarian more than anything. “I’m all for capitalism, but I felt like he was a dirty capitalist.” She added that, in November, “You had to hold your nose and cast your vote.”

    I would describe Ms. Phenix as an imbecile, actually, but thanks for the vote for Joe. Asshat.

    The other voter in this story voted for Trump, and is now — surprise, surprise — voting for both Republicans again, as a check on the liberal Democrats. Let’s hear from this dunce, who has voted straight GOP and calls himself a centrist.

    “It almost feels radical to be in the center,” said Mr. [Tyler] Applonie, who works in sales for a technology company. “I think it’s important to find the good in both ideologies.”

    He believed that the push-and-pull of the two parties having to negotiate with each other would benefit the country.

    “My hope is compromise,” he said. “The risk is that there could be complete gridlock.”

    How much “negotiation” has this fucker seen? Really, NY Times.

  106. 106.

    WaterGirl

    @zhena gogolia: I have never seen or heard of that error, so I will need help tracking that down.

    What device/browser combination are you using?

    Can you get a screen capture?  That will help me see where the error message is coming from.

  108. 108.

    marcopolo

    @artem1s: These were all dead tree (newspaper) reporters (4) no video interviews.  I suspect the majority of these GA Rs were interviewed on the outskirts of R campaign events which would probably increase the denialism quotient but several were just “some voter I talked to on the street” interviews.

  109. 109.

    artem1s

    @WaterGirl:

    I didn’t see it that way at all. The “don’t stay home, we need to you vote” seemed to be clearly a Republican telling the Republicans not to say home.”

    true enough, but the stream didn’t selectively go out to Republicans.  and he had to proceed his GOTV appeal with ‘every vote got counted and every vote counts’. they know it’s getting harder and harder to selectively repress votes. and they know that disinformation about ballot validity is as likely to repress their voters as POC or filthy libs.  It’s getting harder and harder to tell us apart! and the old dog whistles just aren’t loud enough anymore!

  110. 110.

    ALurkSupreme

    When it comes to forecasting, Kornacki is a hack.   He can do simple arithmetic in his head and talk at the same time, which seems to impress people.

  111. 111.

    Elizabelle

    @sheldon vogt:  @ WaterGirl:

    I think maybe go back and “mask” Sheldon’s email address?  Don’t we worry that bots sometimes scrub the threads?  Could be name at gee mail ….

    whatever you guys think.

  113. 113.

    Mike in NC

    I’ll be happy when I don’t get 25 emails every day asking me to donate money for the goddamn elections in Georgia.

  114. 114.

    H.E.Wolf

    @UncleEbeneezer:

    I am Error City on postcards. I use correcting tape (I purchased postcards with a white writing area for that reason), and/or draw little patriotic stars (good for accidental blots and ink smears).

    Some of my cards have been… really patriotic. :) And a few got shredded before mailing, if the error was too messy to fix.

  117. 117.

    VeniceRiley

    @zhena gogolia: I met the Gregory Brothers (and sister) one year at a Streamy’s party.  Very nice people. Super talented signers live.  Autotune the news notwithstanding.  They’re very very good.

  118. 118.

    Elizabelle

    @artem1s:   Yeah.  That was interesting.  He was begging the conspiracy theory voters to come out and “vote your values” (Klaxon, Klaxon) and also talking about those who had to fight for the right to vote, which would seem to be … a lot of people who wanted to vote for Stacey Abrams and other good candidates, through history.

    Could that also be felons?  What does Georgia do about restoring felons’ right to vote??

  120. 120.

    Redshift

    @Elizabelle: As I’m sure you’ve noticed, all the Republicans in Virginia are running against the horrors of “one-party rule” and for the need for “balance.” Weirdly*, we never heard a peep out of them when there was “one-party Republican rule.”

    *not actually weird, they’re just goddamn liars.

  121. 121.

    WaterGirl

    @H.E.Wolf:

    Some of my cards have been… really patriotic. :)

    I laughed out loud.  I’m sure the recipients knew exactly what was going on, and your mistakes/stars probably endeared you to them.

  124. 124.

    Mary G

    This thread is fucking terrifying: Republicans in Pennsylvania state senate refuse to seat a Democrat whose victory has been certified:

    Welp. Republican majority of the Pennsylvania State Senate just removed @JohnFetterman from the chamber. President Pro Temp Corman is presiding instead. Fetterman refused to recognize a motion that would have prevented a duly elected Democratic senator from being sworn in. pic.twitter.com/BOFe1kRMfe— Abraham Gutman ? (@abgutman) January 5, 2021

    These fucking motherfuckers are trying to pull a slow motion coup.

  125. 125.

    Elizabelle

    @Redshift:   Happily, I have not heard much of anything about Republicans running for anything in Virginia.

    Well, except for the lunatic Amanda Chase (our more politically experienced version of Ms. Colorado Gun Humping Bunny from last night) and that State Senator Ben Chapin … ain’t going to be running for anything no more.  Covid.

    2021 Virginia governor’s race is going to be lit.  And so many Democrats running!  I was glad AG Herring decided to stick with running again for AG.  He’s been very good.

  126. 126.

    Delk

    Has anyone asked Mother what she thinks? Or is having an opinion not part of her marital duties?

  127. 127.

    marcopolo

    Speaking of one party rule, in PA today the majority R state senate refused to seat a duly elected (and certified) D because even though his R challenger has lost all her appeals so far she has not yet conceded.

    Here’s the last tweet from the guy whose twitter thread you’ll want to read if you want to follow events as they have unfolded over the past couple hours–which included the R majority removing Lt. Gov. Fetterman from overseeing the session:

    I don’t have the most experience in watching the Pennsylvania state senate but I can’t say that I’ve *ever* seen something like what just happened. To be clear: the 45th district seat is *empty* as they are reading roll call now despite a certified election winner in the chamber.— Abraham Gutman ? (@abgutman) January 5, 2021

    It’s a total shit show

    Edited to add Mary G just beat me out by a nose at comment 124.  Lol.

  128. 128.

    MisterForkbeard

    @WaterGirl:

    I read last night that Pence and Trump had met to go over all the “evidence” so Pence can make a determination of what to do tomorrow.  I think bring a no show would be too brave for Pence.

    To be fair, the ‘source’ for this was Giuliani. So about as dependable as you’d think.

  129. 129.

    burnspbesq

    @Punchy:

    Trump’s resort is, IIRC, in Aberdeenshire on the east coast, but it’s still hard to imagine golf weather in January. One of my nieces is married to an Aberdonian, so I will check with him (time difference is tricky; they’re in HK).

  130. 130.

    Elizabelle

    I am going to be so glad when Trump is out of office.  All this is too exhausting, and too dangerous.

    And:  prosecute his ass.

  131. 131.

    LivingInExile

    Mary G  Closets can have mold problems because of no air circulation.  It may not be a leak.  Jomax is another mold c!eaner you mix with bleach and water.  Just make sure you have good ventilation if you use it. There are also additives you can mix with your paint that will help resist mold.

  132. 132.

    Mary G

     

    @sheldon vogt: Thank you and everyone else who contributed and especially the recommendation of the Concrobrum Mold Control that looks like just the ticket. My housemate the teen’s stepfather, the teen’s grandfather, and an uncle/cousin/brother-in-law who works construction are going to do it. I feel better about the choice with all y’alls backup.

  133. 133.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    Trump is now going off on twitter about todays election being rigged, so I suppose that’s a sign the Republicans aren’t feeling optimistic.

  135. 135.

    Mary G

    @marcopolo: I’m usually the one that gets beat out, but that should be repeated because it’s blatant authoritarian ignoring the will of the voters.

  136. 136.

    Nelle

    @WaterGirl: when my daughter was a stringer for NYT, she was constantly told to find Trump supporters, never Clinton supporters. Between that and the abusive Trump rallies themselves,  she quit.  No job but at least she isn’t doing that.

  139. 139.

    MisterForkbeard

    @marcopolo: Right then. Time to start just not seating Republicans for anything ever, I guess.

    They DO understand that they’re setting themselves up, right?

  140. 140.

    Baud

    @marcopolo:

    though his R challenger has lost all her appeals so far she has not yet conceded

     

    Although what they are doing is bullshit, there is apparently a pending federal lawsuit. It’s misleading to suggest that that there are no active court cases.

  141. 141.

    artem1s

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques:

    Trump is now going off on twitter about todays election being rigged, so I suppose that’s a sign the Republicans aren’t feeling optimistic.

    he doesn’t say which way, so maybe just saying the quiet parts out loud again?  GOP projection rule applies?  maybe all three at once?

  145. 145.

    germy

    Reports are coming out of the 12th Congressional District of Georgia that Dominion Machines are not working in certain Republican Strongholds for over an hour. Ballots are being left in lock boxes, hopefully they count them. Thank you Congressman @RickAllen!

    — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 5, 2021

    Dominion!

  147. 147.

    Geminid

     

     

    @Elizabelle: After the Republican State Committee decided they would go the Caucus/Convention route to nominate statewide candidates, Amanda Chase said she would campaign and appear on the November ballot as an Independent. It seemed like a strange decision by the committee, but maybe they think they can nominate former House of Delegates Speaker Kirk Cox that way. My State Senator, Emmitt Hanger (R-Mt. Solon) might also run. Both he and Cox voted for Medicaid expansion in 2018.

  150. 150.

    MisterForkbeard

    @germy: Reading the twitter responses by people who are convinced there’s massive theft going on an Biden is a lying cheater is kind of amazing.

    I don’t know where these people live. Certainly not in this universe.

  151. 151.

    Elizabelle

    WaPost: USPS delays could hit Georgia military, overseas ballots
    While mail service for in-state voters has been solid, more than 18,000 international ballots could face more snags within an overwhelmed Postal Service

    [Happily, instate Georgia mail processing is doing much better than for the November elections. More at the end about that.]

    … Military and overseas voters automatically received absentee ballots for the runoff election if they received one for the general election, but new voters had to sign up by Dec. 7. All of those mail-in ballots must be postmarked by Tuesday and received by Friday to be counted.

    …. For the Senate runoff races, the Postal Service faces even stronger headwinds than in November. The surging coronavirus pandemic has flattened the agency’s workforce, with close to 19,000 postal workers in the U.S. off the job as of Jan. 1 after contracting the virus or close contact to it, according to the American Postal Workers Union. In Atlanta, nearly 2,500 of the district’s 15,000 workers were out because of the virus, local labor leaders said.

    Meanwhile, the agency continues to struggle with an avalanche of package deliveries from the holiday season that have clogged up the mail stream, leaving prescription medications, bills, and even local newspapers sitting undelivered in postal facilities. The Postal Service delivered only 70.6 percent of first-class mail items on time during the week of Dec. 12, the most recent data available, compared with better than 95 percent during the same period last year. (The Postal Service does not release data on package performance.)

    On Dec. 28, the Postal Service initiated specific measures to expedite mailed ballots leading up to the Georgia runoff election, including processing them as priority mail express, sorting them separately at the processing plants to move them through more quickly and transporting them directly to boards of election to meet the state’s deadlines for domestic and overseas voters.

    … Service members abroad, and their families, use the mail service at their bases, the Military Postal Service Agency, which operates under the U.S. Postal Service.

    … Vote From Abroad, a nonpartisan voter support tool run by Democrats Abroad, encouraged voters to send in ballots by government-run postal mail by Nov. 30. For those mailing their ballots in December, the organization’s advice was to use a courier service to avoid mail delays. Both UPS and FedEx encouraged customers to pay attention to their state deadlines when mailing ballots through their services.

    …. Leading up to the runoff, [both Democrats Abroad and Republicans Overseas] continued with voter education efforts but found election officials and voters seemed more familiar and confident navigating the system leading up to Jan. 5.

    And: local mail delivery in Georgia is reportedly doing well.

    According to Georgia postal workers and mail agency data filed in federal court, mail-in ballot processing for the runoff has run smoothly statewide.

    The Postal Service reported on-time ballot processing scores of 96 to 98 percent in the Atlanta postal district, the area responsible for more than 40 percent of the state’s mail-in ballot requests, since Dec. 29. Postal and election administration experts say the agency should process 97 percent of ballots on-time based on past performance. [This is markedly better than the 81.3 processed on time for election day in November.]

    Figures in the Gulf Atlantic postal district, which serves the region just south of Atlanta and all points east, are just as strong.

    Voting rights advocates are encouraged by those results, particularly after the dismal scores the Postal Service recorded before the general election.

  152. 152.

    Elizabelle

    @Nelle:

    when my daughter was a stringer for NYT, she was constantly told to find Trump supporters, never Clinton supporters.

    Gag.  I think NPR does that too.  Can’t say, because I barely listen to their news “product” any more.  Their classical and jazz is fine, but no Mary Louise Kelly and All Things Considered [through a Republican frame].

  153. 153.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @MisterForkbeard: Well these are same people that are convinced the earth is flat, four thousand years old, was created by a sky wizard and magical lizards from another planet control our society.

  155. 155.

    mrmoshpotato

    @MisterForkbeard:

    Reading the twitter responses by people who are convinced there’s massive theft going on an Biden is a lying cheater is kind of amazing.

    I don’t know where these people live. Certainly not in this universe.

    It’s a universe where 1. a human can shove its head up its own ass and 2. somehow still be able to breathe.

  156. 156.

    PaulWartenberg

    Pennsylvania is witnessing a Republican-controlled Senate refuse to seat a Democrat whose vote was certified. They’re trying to create a situation, aren’t they, to claim the election certification for the whole state has been compromised?

  158. 158.

    WaterGirl

    @PaulWartenberg: God, I hope not.  That’s even scarier than anything i came up with

    edit: Is this similar to Franken’s situation, where he wasn’t seated for months because the other guy wouldn’t concede?  Or is this outright crazy “let’s see them try to stop us” territory?

  159. 159.

    Elizabelle

    @burnspbesq:   Here’s the newly appointed US Attorney. “On January 4, 2021, by written order of the President, Bobby was named Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia.”

    Bobby Christine.  Sounds like a Talladega Nights character, but that is his name.  Lot of legal experience, and also a Brigadier General in the National Guard, served as a JAG and Combat Engineer (Army reserve).  Iraq experience.

    https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdga/meet-us-attorney

  160. 160.

    TomatoQueen

    @Mary G:  After enduring my previous landlord’s ludicrous attempts at mold abatement, including loss of possessions stored in sealed plastic bags on advice, I fled to a new place, just before my first hip surgery in mid September.  The problem was a years-ago decision by the previous property owner (now not in business) to disable the bathroom fan systems in all the apartment properties they owned, all over Alexandria and Arlington. No fan system, no moisture control, and therefore, eventually, slowly but then too rapidly to overcome, Mold Central.  After this experience I have learned to be paranoid about mold, and foresee no end to the unpacking and throwing out and seething.

  161. 161.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Nelle:

    when my daughter was a stringer for NYT, she was constantly told to find Trump supporters, never Clinton supporters.

    during the 2016 Dem Convention, MSNBC seemed to be doing all its floor interviews with Bernistas. I particularly remember after Michelle Obama’s speech, which was incredible ( leading into Sanders in one of worst shifts of tone I can remember for such a thing), they found a pouting twenty-four year old with a TPP button saying she hadn’t heard anything that would earn her vote. They had nutty Nina Turner on seemingly once an hour to bleat “Our voices must be heard!”

  165. 165.

    Aziz, light!

    Trump is now going off on twitter about todays election being rigged

    It’s a cover, should the Democrats win, for every future Dem win to be branded as illegitimate.

  168. 168.

    germy

    Marcus Arbery — is the father of Ahmaud Arbery.

    Marcus says we can finally achieve an "anti-racist majority" if his fellow Georgians vote today:

    "If my son's life mattered to you, I'm asking you to get out & vote.”

    Powerful…pic.twitter.com/RkvC4A51Li

    — Rex Chapman (@RexChapman) January 5, 2021

  169. 169.

    Brachiator

    @Aziz, light!:

    Trump is now going off on twitter about todays election being rigged

    It’s a cover, should the Democrats win, for every future Dem win to be branded as illegitimate.

    Trump is illegitimate. And a legitimate loser.

     

  170. 170.

    karensky

    @Mary G: 
    I live in Philly and will spend all my politicking time on state races. The Republicans in PA are toxic performative asshats who attempt and often succeed in stopping any move to help the Commonweath and its people. Good for Fetterman.

    This theatrical move to not seat the Democrat will not end well for the asshats.

  171. 171.

    germy

    Part of the goal of some Trump supporters was to try to destabilize and delegitimate a Biden presidency that most of them realize will happen. But as he got further away from e-day, Trump started believing the idea he could somehow undo the results. And so here we are. https://t.co/GSrY06k3vY

    — Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) January 5, 2021

  172. 172.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Baud: I think the question isn’t whether the objections will succeed through the designated voting procedure (they can’t), it’s whether Mike Pence will pull some stunt to disrupt the session and foment a constitutional crisis, like opening fake Trump-elector envelopes instead of the real ones.

    Pence really doesn’t seem like the type to do that, and I read his mealy-mouthed statements supporting the objections as probably being political cover for presiding over the joint session normally. On the other hand, he’s the ultimate Trump toady and knows he’ll be on the receiving end of the ultimate tantrum if he just does his job and follows the law. So it’s hard to say what will happen.

  174. 174.

    Brachiator

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques:

    Well these are same people that are convinced the earth is flat, four thousand years old, was created by a sky wizard and magical lizards from another planet control our society.

    Something I find amazing. At it’s best, the Internet and other technology allows for the ability to find out accurate information at the click of a mouse or the tap of a touchpad. It’s like Gutenberg’s printing press to the nth degree.

    But (maybe again like Gutenberg) this has also seen an incredible resistance from people who desperately need to cling to fantasy, lies and conspiracies.

    Bigfoot wept.

  177. 177.

    Brachiator

    @germy:

    Part of the goal of some Trump supporters was to try to destabilize and delegitimate a Biden presidency that most of them realize will happen. But as he got further away from e-day, Trump started believing the idea he could somehow undo the results. And so here we are. https://t.co/GSrY06k3vY

    — Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT)

    Bad punditry from Maggie. Trump has always been a fabulist who insisted on his electoral invincibility.  His supporters are just suckers along for the ride.

    The GOP leadership, as always, will spin their own brand of bullshit about why Biden is no good.

    None of it means a goddam thing.

  178. 178.

    Skepticat

    @Elizabelle: In Maine, military service members out of the country and those of us who quality as residents living overseas vote online, though we may mail a paper ballot if we wish. I’m not sure why all states don’t do this. But there’s a lot I don’t understand lately.

  180. 180.

    Elizabelle

    @Skepticat:   Great to hear about online voting for Maine service members and overseas residents.

    Definitely something that should go into a voting rights act.

  182. 182.

    Matt McIrvin

    @karensky:

    This theatrical move to not seat the Democrat will not end well for the asshats.

    If they can just nullify any election, how does it not end well for them?

  183. 183.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Brachiator: The same technology that provides access to facts provides access to bullshit, and in many ways it privileges bullshit. The old adage about a lie going around the world before the truth gets its boots on just got sped up–it all happens in seconds now.

  185. 185.

    WaterGirl

    @Matt McIrvin:

    If they can just nullify any election, how does it not end well for them?

    That question presumes that their ploy will be successful and that there will be no consequences for attempting this.  Neither of can be known to be true, because this just happened.

  186. 186.

    Baud

    @Matt McIrvin:

    He’d be out on his own on a limb.  Can’t rule it out, but it would surprise me a little. Like you said, he doesn’t seem like he has it in him.

  187. 187.

    Jay

    @Mary G:

    you can go to any Box Store and in the Plumbing Isle, get a mold test kit. The test kit is a mail-away, 1 to 2 weeks for results. The test kit will let you know if it’s one of the nasty molds, or a cosmetic one.

    If it’s a roof leak or a flashing leak, the back side of the drywall will be saturated with the mold. So, the ceiling drywall should be removed, the leak fixed, the insulation replaced, and all the rafters and plywood sprayed down with Concrobium, then sealed with 2 coats of Kilz primer.

    Nasty mold or not, you want to wear a Tyvek suit, nitrile gloves, sealed eye protection and a HEPA cartridge mask, and seal off the work area as tight as you can, with a positive airflow to the outside, to avoid spreading the spores.

  188. 188.

    burnspbesq

    @Matt McIrvin:

    The pending federal litigation will be disposed of in due course, with the Republican candidate losing. Once that happens, they’re out of options. Seating the winner becomes a ministerial act which a state court can compel by mandamus. And once that happens, failing or refusing to seat the Democratic winner is contempt of court, punishable by jail time.

    Let’s see how many Republicans are willing to go to jail.

  191. 191.

    rikyrah

    @germy:

     

    Isn’t it nice for Maggie to give us motives.

     

    I don’t give two shyts about their motives.

    They were undermining democracy and doing sedition.

  192. 192.

    catclub

    @Skepticat: 

    overseas vote online, though we may mail a paper ballot if we wish. I’m not sure why all states don’t do this. But there’s a lot I don’t understand lately.

    I think it is because the combination of voting security and anonymous voting is NOT considered a solved problem online. Sending a ballot by mail, with an outer envelope having your signature, and inner, anonymous envelope with your ballot, kind of solves that. How do you do that if the computer that takes your vote knows your IP address? I would be interested to know how this prevents someone else from impersonating those overseas/military voters online. and maintains anonymity.

  193. 193.

    Poe Larity

    My parents just got a call from a friend in GA thanking them for their Christmas card. Which was sent two weeks before Xmas and arrived today.

  195. 195.

    marcopolo

    @burnspbesq: Trying to find where I read it but the reason this is so offing crazy is the R candidate lost the recount, lost her state court challenge & lost a federal court challenge.  The reason the D winner was not seated was solely because she has not conceded.

    I will post if/when I find it.

  196. 196.

    Steve in the ATL

    @burnspbesq: FYI, teh replacement’s law school, Cumberland, was for a long time the worst ABA-accredited law school in the country. It hasn’t improved at all, but a few worse schools have since received (dubious) accreditation.

  198. 198.

    Quinerly

    @Jay: DIY mold test kits available on Amazon. No trip to store actually needed. I used one about 5 years ago re a basement area.

  199. 199.

    D_Ladislaw

    @Mary G:

    Delurking to say that I a licensed mold assessor. Generally, if you have more then 10 sq feet of mold, you are supposed to have it dealt with by trained mold remediator. Smaller than that, and you can deal with it yourself or with a handyman.  That said, bleach will work to wipe off surface mold, but if it’s coming through the drywall/ceiling from a leak above, that generally means it’s all through that material. You’ll want to remove any porous materials 12-18″ past where it’s wet (a handyman should be able to check that with a moisture meter), fix whatever the source of the leak is, and clean any remaining surfaces with bleach or similar before replacing drywall.

    If your house is old enough that lead paint or asbestos as a concern, you might have to test for them, but $500 is crazy. If someone suggests that’s needed, ask what materials are the concern, then google a local lab that will test for it, and mail them a chunk of whatever. That should cost $30 or less per sample, depending how fast you want results.

    If you do any of this yourself, definitely wear gloves and a mask, and clothes you don’t mind washing on hot. Putting up plastic to stop any mold spores from getting in the rest of the house is not mandatory for less than 10 SF, but is still a good idea.

    I mostly do commercial mold work, but my general impression as that residential mold work is a mix of reliable folks who do good and reasonable work, and utterly shady folks who overcharge wildly and push a lot of stuff that isn’t remotely needed.

  200. 200.

    Origuy

    Asbestos may also be an issue if you have a “popcorn” ceiling. That’s the spray-on stuff that is used for sound absorption. Until 1980, this was allowed to have asbestos. Builders were allowed to use it until their stock ran out, so some houses built after 1980 may have it.

  201. 201.

    S. Cerevisiae

    @Mary G: the key with mold is to stop the moisture intrusion, you have to cut off the water supply and the mold will die then just clean with a light bleach solution.

  202. 202.

    Skepticat

    @catclub: There are a fair number of hoops to jump through to prove your identity, and as everything is PDF, they have signatures and identity documents to check. The ballot is sent in the same email but in a separate document, so it does have some privacy factor. The forms asks me to acknowledge “I understand that by faxing or emailing my voted ballot, I am voluntarily waiving my right to a secret ballot. (Although the right to a secret ballot is waived, the Secretary of State will make every attempt to preserve ballot secrecy for the voter.) I understand that as with any absentee ballot, my name and signature will be permanently separated from my voted ballot to maintain its secrecy at the outset of the tabulation process and thereafter.” There also are a number of passwords. I get an email when it’s received/accepted and another when it’s counted. To be candid, I’m not as concerned about a secret ballot as I am about having none at all, which is what I’d have otherwise. It may not be perfect, but I’m fairly comfortable with the procedure.

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