Florida man/Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville is blocking over 300 military appointments – threatening our national security and disrespecting our servicemembers. https://t.co/qXmosgb2dY
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) August 11, 2023
You’d think this would mean something to the Alabamans who voted him into office, but then again, maybe they respect a rich dude who had the sense to get out of Alabama?
Campaign finance documents and property records suggest Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s main home is in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida. https://t.co/QremiLUPt2
— AL.com (@aldotcom) August 10, 2023
NEW poll: 58 percent of Alabama voters say @SenTuberville should drop his unprecedented, months long holds on military nominations, which threaten our military readinesshttps://t.co/NO5YC6E3z7
— Chris Meagher (@chrismeagher) August 9, 2023
Two decades! I will never understand the Republican mind. He doesn’t even both to lie to them, and yet.
“Campaign finance reports and his signature on property documents indicate that his home is actually a $3 million, 4,000-square-foot beach house he has lived in for nearly two decades in Santa Rosa Beach, Fla., located in the Florida Panhandle.” https://t.co/NQvHwzcbdH
— Max Boot ???????? (@MaxBoot) August 10, 2023
You can undermine U.S. national security from many addresses https://t.co/QBDDaGwU0d
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) August 10, 2023
People need to know this: Sen. Tommy Tuberville has now held up 301 military postings. He has even put a hold on the head of the Indo-Pacific command.
“This is a gift to China, and it’s a gift that keeps giving day in and day out…” https://t.co/rlaz1dSh7i
— Amy Klobuchar (@amyklobuchar) August 12, 2023
Surprise !
GOP Sen. Tommy Tuberville parroted Russian propaganda on Fox News while continuing to hold up US military preparedness
— Charlie Sykes (@SykesCharlie) August 9, 2023
When my former comrades on the right piss and moan that people like me are no longer either conservative or Republican, all I can say is that if Tuberville is a conservative Republican, you're right. That's not me. https://t.co/7sKEFAbhSm
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) August 9, 2023
I can say with absolute confidence that if today's Republicans were in charge of the US government in the 1930s and 40s that the Nazis would have taken control of Europe.
Bunch of fascist appeasers, the entire lot of them. https://t.co/dZa1BD4TEq
— The Biden Accomplishments Guy (on Threads) (@What46HasDone) August 11, 2023
Tommy Tuberville's political agenda shouldn't come at the cost of 300+ Military Officers' careers. This disrespect is un-American and unpatriotic!
Join the fight to stop this assault on our Military – sign @DougJones' petition now!
— VoteVets (@votevets) August 12, 2023
eclare
Yeah but Doug Jones had the dreaded D after his name. And did civil rights work. Boo!
Mike in NC
Florida is just South Alabama.
Baud
I would like to see Tuberville park his boat on the wrong Alabama dock.
Baud
@Mike in NC:
With DeSantis in charge, that should be its new nickname.
SpaceUnit
When I was in middle school my friends and I would draw stupid comic strips in study hall. One of them was titled Fists & Faces. Not sure what suddenly made me think of that.
WaterGirl
Why don’t they make noises about moving an existing military base out of Alabama? Surely there must be some sort of military base in Alabama, right?
Alison Rose
Why the hell do we have a system where one douchebag can do this?
Also, ever since I saw someone call him Tommy Potatotown, that is the only name I will use for him.
smith
@WaterGirl: They already canceled plans to move Space Force HQ there.
kindness
How is this any different than that Anti-Trump Republican who says they think Trump is terrible but will vote for him over Biden in ’24? Republicans aren’t a tribe, they’re a cult
@Alison Rose: No shit. The Senate needs to change a bunch of it’s rules. They won’t though because they don’t want to cut off their own potential uses of it.
NotMax
McConnell sound asleep at the switch on this. His silence is deafening.
Geminid
@WaterGirl: Well, there used to be a really big Air Force base near Mobile. Defense Secretary Robert McNamara closed it down in 1965. The story is that “F” LBJ was mad at Alabama because they voted for Goldwater in 1964.
I think most federal military in Alabama now are concentrated in Huntsville, up north. Biden already denied them the Space Force headquarters, but maybe they can threaten other programs, especially now that Richard Shelby is no longer Senate Appropriations Chairman.
Nukular Biskits
@eclare:
I used to participate on the al.com forums (before they shut them down due to the rampant rightwing trolling, threats, harassment, etc).
“Conservatives” (a lot of whom called themselves Christians) there absolutely hated Doug Jones for no other reason than he was a Democrat.
Eyeroller
@Alison Rose:
The Constitution says that the Senate (and House) can make their own rules, and “unanimous consent” is a Rule of the Senate for many situations, including, apparently, this one. You know, how the “World’s Greatest Deliberative Body” works. It would be possible to shut this down but the Republicans won’t for obvious reasons, and apparently the Democrats think it’s to their advantage to make this a Republican problem.
eclare
@WaterGirl:
Lots of bases in AL. Don’t forget Mobile Bay.
eclare
@Nukular Biskits:
Yep.
eclare
@Geminid:
There is some NASA installation in Huntsville that I went to and toured as a kid. Votes solid D. Funny how that works.
Geminid
@eclare: Huntsville’s population in 1940 was around 15,500. By 1970, the city had grown to over 150,000. Now Huntsville is Alabama’s largest city, at over 220,000 residents. This growth was almost entirely due to federal spending, starting with the TVA and then the Redstone Arsenal.
Dan B
@eclare: Doug Jones also had the temerity to have an openly gay son who was handsome and popular.
We have a friend whose father was a conservative (old style, not RWNJ) Senator for Alabama.
dmsilev
@WaterGirl: Well, they undid a decision to move SpaceForceHQ from Colorado to Alabama, so that’s a start.
eclare
@Dan B:
I did not know that about his son.
HypersphericalCow
When Alabama is sending us its people, they’re not sending us their best people.
dmsilev
I know it’s small in comparison, but the way his communications folks always refer to him as Coach has me rolling my eyes. Yes, that’s what you became famous and rich as. No, that’s not your job right now.
Citizen Alan
@Nukular Biskits: The only reason Doug Jones won one election was that he was up against a literal child predator. Alabama is a vile place. It and Mississippi are each other’s evil twin.
eclare
@Geminid:
And Birmingham is pretty D. I visited a good friend of mine there several times in the late 00’s, lots of nice neighborhoods, restaurants, etc. That old rural vs urban thing again.
Alison Rose
@Eyeroller: It’s just so maddening, because the effects of it are an “everyone” problem.
Mai Naem mobileI
Tuberville is worth millions of dollars. This fucking moron can’t just put some money aside to buy a crappy little 1 bedroom condo in Alabama. In fucking Alabama. I have to believe he can find a cheapo condo in Alabama for under $100K.
Nukular Biskits
@Citizen Alan:
Well, it’s a little more complicated than that but Roy Moore having a fondness for young women definitely had an impact.
And I’m a MS native … but I don’t take offense. I would ask that you don’t paint all of us here in both those states with that broad brush.
Sure Lurkalot
@Citizen Alan: I get nyms confused but if you are the person who escaped Mississippi for California, I hope you are enjoying your new life.
VOR
@Mai Naem mobileI: It’s a long tradition of representatives not actually living in the states they represent. I think it was Pat Roberts of Kansas who declared a relative’s Lazy Boy as his residence. GHW Bush famously had a hotel suite in Houston as his residence. There are probably many, many other examples.
Nukular Biskits
@Mai Naem mobileI:
What gets me is how many “law ‘n’ order conservatives” in AL are apparently completely okay with this.
wjca
@Eyeroller: It’s worse than that. Even under existing rules the Senate could get those promotions approved. Tuberville can block “unanimous consent”. But it’s still possible to slog thru regular floor debates and get it done.
It does take time, of course. But since the House isn’t doing anything, there isn’t a lot of important legislation to deal with. Just takes the (Dem) Majority Leader to decide to get it done.
Baud
@wjca:
There are other important nominations. And appropriations and the NDAA.
Suzanne
@Citizen Alan: Did you get your stuff yet?!
geg6
@Geminid:
My dad spent time at the base in Mobile when it was still the Army Air Corps. He hated every minute of it. He trained there to be a mechanic.
wjca
@Baud: Sure. But even with those, the calendar just isn’t that packed.
Nukular Biskits
@geg6:
Brookley Field?
eclare
@Suzanne:
My question too! Is it still in NJ with apparently no one able to read a map?
California? Can’t get there from here.
dm
@Eyeroller: Sadly, I think changing the rules means going around a filibuster, except at the beginning of a session.
Baud
@wjca:
Evidence?
geg6
Hope Cole is hunkered down tonight. Big storm heading through a large swath of WPA, panhandle WVA and eastern OH. Tornado watches and everything. Very weird sky here in Beaver County, PA.
raven
All this stuff about where they live is just balloon juice. Fucking Herschel hadn’t lived in Georgia for years. The Possum Queen and her asshole father lived on 30a forever.
Nukular Biskits
@geg6:
Send some of that stormage my way.
Could really use the rain.
geg6
@Nukular Biskits:
I honestly don’t remember off the top of my head. My sister has all his paperwork and letters home, so I’ll have to check with her. All I remember is how much he hated it and was so happy to get shipped off to England, where he had family. Both of his parents were immigrants from England. Never met there and found each other here in the US.
Citizen Alan
@Nukular Biskits:
I don’t, of course. Almost 54 years a resident of the Magnolia State, after all. But that’s also why I know that the good and kind people of Mississippi are tragically outnumbered by people still mad with bitterness because they have to show basic respect to minorities.
eclare
@raven:
Really? Seaside or some other place. Had no idea.
Makes me loathe them even more. They get to live there?
They should have to live in a shack in Bug Guts MS.
The Kropenhagen Interpretation
@Eyeroller: The rules in our Senate are meant for adults, they don’t work with the
moderncontemporary Republican party.I’m sensitive to D arguments that scheduling hundreds of floor votes to get around the holds would encourage this sort.of behavior to continue.
But we all know the Ds should do the bipartisan thing and sign their own names to unpopular Republican policy.
raven
@geg6:
Alabama World War II Army Airfields
Dan B
@eclare: His son was at his swearing in by one of the anti gay Supremes. There was a distinct grimace on the son’s face.
Citizen Alan
@Sure Lurkalot: I am! And I’ll put it to you this way: My furniture still hasn’t arrived yet after a month! (Due to a trucking company from Alabama, natch!) And I am still happier in Fresno than I ever was in Mississippi.
@Suzanne: Not yet (see above). It’s supposed to be here Wednesday (after the truck broke down in Texas!) so we’ll see.
Suzanne
@geg6: We had the craziest weather today. Overnight, we had a rainstorm with a couple of thunderclaps so loud that the house shook, and I legit thought something had exploded nearby. Then it was gorgeous all day, then started raining and thundering again around 6pm.
RaflW
With guys like Tuberville as standard-bearers, we should be able to beat a lot of Republicans in ’24. By letting him carry on, every GOP senator is letting us paint them all as disloyal to our armed services and national defense.
Kick ’em in the ass, Democrats!
thruppence
@Alison Rose: Tommy Tatertown. More alliterative
Nukular Biskits
@Citizen Alan:
You may have told me this before but where do you live?
I’m here on the Coast in Gulfport.
raven
@eclare:
scav
It’s not that AL is lacking in a pool of local asshole talent for elected representation, so why the outsourcing? Do even Alabamans hate and distrust Alabamans in positions of power?
Alison Rose
@thruppence: LOLOL perfect.
eclare
@Citizen Alan:
That is a very eloquent way to put it.
raven
@eclare:
Roger Moore
@HypersphericalCow:
I think Doug Jones would disagree.
eclare
@Dan B:
Gotcha. Thanks.
Citizen Alan
@Nukular Biskits: I was near Tupelo. Now in Fresno, CA.
wjca
@Baud: From the Congressional Record for Friday, August 11, 2023:
https://www.congress.gov/congressional-record
“The Senate met at 9:00:08 a.m. in pro forma session, and adjourned at 9:00:38 a.m. until 12 noon on Tuesday, August 15, 2023.”
Doesn’t look like a flurry of floor activity to me.
Citizen Alan
@raven:
As would befit a humble man of God and former preacher.
raven
@Citizen Alan: And keep that riff-raff off the beach.
eclare
@raven:
Wow. Thanks. Stunning. I remember going to the beach, and we were all “wastefucks.” End of that, I guess.
Geminid
@geg6: My Dad worked at the Redstone Arsenal as a civilian 1953-56, and lived in Huntsville. That’s where this little meteor fell to Earth!
My parents did not like the South and moved back to Wisconsin. We made it to Milwaukee in time to see the Braves win the 1957 World Series. Some of my early memories were hearing about Henry Aaron, Eddie Matthews, and Warren Spahn.
Suzanne
@Citizen Alan: I feel for you! When we moved to PGH, we had the vast majority of stuff in storage until we closed on our house. There were delays due to Covid nonsense, so we didn’t get it delivered and unloaded for four months. It was hard!
And now there is so much kid stuff all over the place that I wouldn’t mind another Kondo session! Does not spark joy!
eclare
@raven:
I am shocked! How are you? Haven’t seen you for a while, but I know the morning threads ruined soccer on the DVR for you.
raven
@eclare: Have you read “The Rise and Decline of the Redneck Riviera” by Hardy Jackson? Great history of the area from Orange Beach to Panama City.
Baud
@wjca:
That’s a snapshot of a pro forma session. Most of the Senators were probably out of town. I thought you had seen an analysis that pushing through these nominees would be costless to Dems in terms of not sacrificing other priorities.
raven
@eclare: I just quit logging on, it solved that. I also go to the dog park very early and don’t spend as much time here as I used to.
Adam L Silverman
@WaterGirl: Maxwell AFB, home of Air University. Air University is the Air War College, the School of Advanced Aeronautic and Aerospace Studies (the strategist school), and the USAF Intermediate Leader Education school (Command and General Staff). Leto will chime in if I’ve missed one as I’m not sure if their senior NCO school is there. Redstone Arsenal is also in Alabama.
eclare
@raven:
I will look for that at my library! Thanks!
eclare
@raven:
Gotcha. Hope you are doing well is all.
Adam L Silverman
Eventually we’re going to run out of general officers/flag officers (GOs/FOs) because of the hold up and we’re going to have civilian Senior Executive Service (SES) and uniformed O6s and O5s (colonels/Navy captains and lieutenant colonels/Navy commanders) doing these jobs in an acting capacity. And then, of course, we’ll start running out of the O6s and O5s too.
Geminid
@Roger Moore: Rep. Terry Sewell (Birmingham) is pretty solid too.
raven
@eclare: I had coffee with Hardy a few years back. Delightful guy even though he went to Auburn (he did his PhD at Georgia so he’s not all bad)!
raven
@eclare: Have I mentioned this to you?
The Gulf: The Making of An American Sea Hardcover – March 14, 2017
by Jack E. Davis(Author)
He quotes Hardy in it.
Craig
Useful Idiot.
Shalimar
@eclare: The only military currently in Mobile is a Coast Guard Station.
eclare
@raven:
That is a yuge thing for you to say! I will check it out.
And I hate now living in MEM I am about twelve hours away. I was much closer in ATL.
The tab for the book has been opened, I won’t forget.
Nukular Biskits
@Citizen Alan:
Been years since I was in Tupelo. I think we had a soccer tournament there when the kids were playing.
Relatively speaking, I always thought Tupelo was downright liberal compared to most of the state with the exception of the Coast and around the college/university towns.
Nukular Biskits
@Adam L Silverman:
OT but saw your “rant” the other night.
I feel ya. And second ya.
wjca
@Baud: Anything that happens comes at the expense of other priorities. In this case, suppose the decision was to sacrifice one (1!) weekend to getting a couple of hundred promotions done.
Sure, it’s unfair that the Rep senators could leave town. And probably would, if only to avoid taking a position on the whole mess. But sometimes ya gotta do what ya gotta do.
SiubhanDuinne
@NotMax:
Kind of like his press conference a couple of weeks ago.
Baud
@wjca:
I don’t think they can do it all at once. I think they have to do it one at a time. In any event, I’m not going to assume what it would cost Dems without seeing some informed analysis. This is 100% the Republicans responsibility.
eclare
@SiubhanDuinne:
Lower the mic!!!
Adam L Silverman
@Nukular Biskits: I’m still not amused!
Adam L Silverman
@wjca: @Baud: And Feinstein is out again because she fell. Yes, she’s resting at home, but that doesn’t mean she’s going to be able to make it to the Senate when they come back from recess.
eclare
@Baud:
Yeah from what I understand getting these promotions through would require hours each. And it would be to the exclusion of any other business like judges.
Keep getting those judges through. Wheel Dianne out there on an O2 tank, just get her there.
Adam L Silverman
@Baud: You are correct, hey have to do them one at a time to overcome a hold. And each one would take 3 to 4 days depending on how obstructionist the Republican caucus would be. And, remember, Feinstein would be unavailable right now because of the fall she took a week or so ago.
eclare
@Baud:
I think Chuck knows the rules.
Sorry, no snark. Directed at people who say “why doesn’t Washington work anymore?”
Baud
@Adam L Silverman:
I’ve seen nothing suggesting she won’t be back on time. We’ll see.
SiubhanDuinne
@Adam L Silverman:
Oh no! I missed this news entirely. PLEASE, Senator, PLEASE just resign already.
I wish her well, I really do, but c’mon, lady.
Baud
@SiubhanDuinne:
Republicans won’t let us fill her Judiciary seat if she resigns.
eclare
@SiubhanDuinne:
She was released after the trip to the hospital the same day. We are ok for now.
And resigning would accomplish jack and shit. No replacement or she stays. Those are the options.
ETA what Baud said.
JMG
The cold fact is that of the 100 Senators, 51 of whom are Democrats, maybe 35 tops would vote to lessen their own individual powers just for the good of the country. One of the major users of the individual block, although he doesn’t take it to the same extreme, is Bernie Sanders. The Senate should be abolished, not that it ever will be.
wjca
@Baud: No argument that the Republicans own this. Just saying that tuberville can’t absolutely block the promotions, even under current rules.
P.S. Are you sure they couldn’t do a single mass approval? I’m not familiar with all the arcana of the Senate rules.
Josie
If I were Schumer, I would be tempted to run a marathon session, day and night, to clear some of these military positions. It would make the potato man very unpopular with his colleagues and call public attention to his idiocy.
Baud
@JMG: Agreed.
@wjca:
No. I’m not sure, but others here say the same thing.
NotMax
Maui update (slightly edited):
Jeffro
I am picturing a countdown-clock, only in Tuberville’s case, it would be a count-UP-clock, that keeps counting the number of military promotions he is holding up.
And I’m picturing this clock in front of each of his many homes, and his Senate office.
And I’m picturing a rotating cast of Democrats calling a short presser each day in front of one of the clocks (doesn’t have to be the same one every day) to remind U.S. voters that our military readiness is in jeopardy due to the petty pathetic stunts of a former football coach and his enabling, anti-American party. “WHY WON’T THE GOP TELL TUBERVILLE TO QUIT ACTING OUT?” etc etc
Why not? Nothing else is moving this clown off the dime.
eclare
@raven:
Wow I just looked on Amazon, that book sounds amazing! Thanks!
Ruckus
Such a great state. Aren’t they lucky that one of the shittiest senators doesn’t live there?
raven
I’m going to post this because, besides Not Max, this is the only person I know on Maui. I fished with him 11 years ago and had a great time. If you care to he and his family could use help. This is his Venmo Link.
Ruckus
@NotMax:
Not to be too petty but McConnell seems to be asleep quite often these days, sometimes while standing at a microphone.
raven
@eclare: It is but it’s a bit depressing as it’s a documentation of the human impact on the Gulf.
eclare
@raven:
Oh. That brought up a QR code to scan. Is there a way to do PayPal?
Great that you are looking out for your friend. I cannot begin to imagine the destruction. Property and lives.
Ruckus
@Jeffro:
I’d like to mention that when most children act out they offer to hold their breath. Maybe he could do that for an hour or two, because in all other aspects he’s acting like a 2 yr old.
raven
@eclare: I don’t know, I pulled that off his Facebook page. I’m not sure he or his are interacting much with FB but I’ll ask on his page.
eclare
@raven:
Gotcha. It’s early and communications are still down.
NotMax
If Schumer stops the pro forma rigamarole and declares the Senate in recess, could Biden fill the offices by way of recess appointment? Honestly don’t know if the positions on hold fall under the “all other Officers of the United States” text in the Constitution’s Appointments Clause.
raven
If anyone is in Vegas his son works at a Kava bar in the 9th Island (Las Vegas).
eclare
@NotMax:
I have no idea either. But I have said from the beginning, I trust Chuck and Nancy. If there is a way to get stuff done, they will find it.
frosty
@raven: This is on my To-Read list. I’m saving it for the winter when we’ll be on the Gulf at Cedar Key and Fort DeSoto State Park.
eclare
@raven:
Great piece. Again, I cannot imagine.
NotMax
@raven
Commenter Hkedi [Kang T. Q.] also returned to Maui a while back after a stint on the mainland.
Adam L Silverman
@NotMax: I have never heard of a GO/FO filled as a recess appointment. I do not think it could be done that way.
Omnes Omnibus
@eclare: Hakeem, not Nancy.
Ruckus
@Adam L Silverman:
I was in the navy a very long time ago, stationed on a DDG out of Charleston SC and I’ll cut to the chase, ended up doing temp duty for about 3 months in Long Beach, and then got assigned to a ship that had a new captain, who had been the flotilla commander of the destroyer I was stationed on in SC. His time was up at his previous rate and he wanted a promotion because that would mean he’d be sent to the Pentagon. The powers that be there decided, very wisely, that they didn’t want him. He was so great (just ask him) that he assumed that he’d get what he wanted. The navy was far smarter. If you look up asshole in any dictionary you’ll see his picture. He was the epitome of the entire concept of asshole. They gave him command of a ship that I got transferred to. And having spent 2 weeks under his direct command I can give you first hand experience that the Pentagon was 1000% correct. It takes all kinds to make up a world, and we’d be far, far better off if the kinds that “KNOW” they should be way up on the list of movers and shakers because in their opinion (only) they are the greatest addition to mankind – never existed. His parents must have been so proud. Most of the rest of humanity – not so much.
frosty
@raven: ETA Thank you!!! Today was the day to make reservations at Fort DeSoto (six months in advance). We remembered this morning but forgot until I saw your mention of the book on the Gulf. It’s one of our favorite campgrounds; I’d hate to have missed it.
geg6
@raven:
My ex’s SIL is from Panama City. I remember we once visited her and ex’s brother who was stationed there in the USAF. We were invited to her parents’ house for a bbq and we knew we were in the Redneck Riviera when we got to their house and saw the two rusting hulks of 70s era Monte Carlo and Ford Marquis on cinder blocks in the yard. The house was okay and the food excellent, but between the preaching and the stereotypical cars on blocks, we just couldn’t get out of there fast enough. Nice beaches, though.
Citizen Alan
@Nukular Biskits: I would describe Tupelo as center-right. The mayor before the last one was a Dem I went to law school with. And he could have gone on to become a Congressman (or at least staged a credible run) if he hadn’t suffered a badly times divorce-malpractice suit combo.
I lived in Oxford for 20 years as a resident not counting my time in college there. And it is amazingly progressive given its history and the enormous influence of the Ole Miss Greek system over the cultural fabric of the town. They have drag shows now, on occasion!
lee
I’ve got a personal tie to Tuberville being a shit head.
I’m good friends with Gen Smith. The acting Commandant of the Marine Corps. I tell him to look on the brightside that he will go down in history for this!
Timill
@Citizen Alan: Did you at least go down to Rent-a-Center (or similar) and get some temporary stuff
[I think our stuff only took 3 weeks to turn up, shipping transatlantic]
NotMax
@Timill
Once tried renting a center but my psyche rejected it.
:)
Citizen Alan
@Timill: No. I went to Walmart and bought a $30 inflatable mattress, plus a folding chair and a card table to eat on. Other than that, my apartment is empty. I’m not happy. Supposedly it will get here on Wednesday, but they have blatantly lied to me several times, so we’ll see.
Villago Delenda Est
@eclare: Bucksnort, TN.
Renie
@WaterGirl: They sorta did. Space Force was going to be put in Alabama but then it was decided it would stay in Colorado. Tommy T’s response “this is all politics”. Projection much?
Nukular Biskits
@Citizen Alan:
The problem here in MS, IMHO, is that enormous swaths of the state are still stuck in the previous century … in the 1950s.
I’m originally from Meridian but I’ve been on the Coast since graduating from USM in 1987. I’m not kidding when I say that going back “home” is like going backwards in time.
I continue to have mixed feelings about my home state. On some days, I’m ready to pack up and move somewhere that accepts reality and progress. On others, I’m optimistic that, perhaps, maybe, MS can move into this century with the rest of the world.
Timill
@Citizen Alan: Sympathies. If you had gone to RAC, you could have had the Comfy Chair, the Soft Cushions and maybe even the Nice Cup of Tea…
When we moved from the UK to the US, we got stuff from RAC so we could get our 7 cats and the dog out from the kennels earlier. We actually brought 8 cats home, but that’s another story…
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Nukular Biskits:
What rant?
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Adam L Silverman:
Perhaps because it’s never needed to be done before?
kalakal
@frosty: Fort DeSoto is one of my favourite places. Mrs kalakal and I got married there . We live about 25 miles north of the place and often go there for the day, though not so much this year with heat advisories every day for weeks.
Egmont Key is worth a visit as well, the ferry runs from DeSoto. Have a great holiday!
Tony G
@kindness: The U.S. Senate must be one of the most asinine institutions on the face of the earth.
Gin & Tonic
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): Adam’s intro to the Ukraine thread the other night.
Sebastian
Amon Bundy arrested.
Nukular Biskits
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
War for Ukraine Day 533: Zaporizhzhia Still in the Cross Hairs as Russia Targets a Children’s Day Camp!
Grumpy Old Railroader
In Tuberville’s defense, his relocation to Florida was in order to raise the average IQ in Alabama
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Nukular Biskits:
Thanks
Nukular Biskits
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
NP.
I empathize with Adam quite a bit on this. Russia is deliberately targeting civilians and the rest of the civilized world is taking … a “measured approach” to assisting Ukraine.
Having said that, however, I do also realize that escalating the conflict by bringing direct US and other Western support into the calculus has a lot of risks, including dragging the US/NATO directly into the conflict. Adam is far more qualified to comment on that than am I.
Kent
The obvious solution to this problem is to give the panhandle back to Alabama.
That would have the likely side-benefit of turning Florida blue.
Jackie
Just received an update re Maui. The death toll has reached 89, making it the highest death toll caused by wildfire in the US in the past 100 years. A record no one wanted to see.😢
Sandia Blanca
@Jeffro: That’s an excellent plan! Would love to see this.
NotMax
@Jackie
Also, this tally released from the Hawaii Department of Land & Natural Resources, Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation:
““We had nearly 100 vessels moored in the Lahaina Small Boat Harbor before the fire and now only seven are above water.”
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Nukular Biskits:
I also understand what he’s saying.
Even though I was born 4 years after the end of the Cold War and the fall of the Soviet Union, the 1980s anti-nuclear movement and media inspired by it (Threads, The Day After, When the Wind Blows, WarGames, World War lll (1998) by ZDF, Two Tribes by Frankie Goes to Hollywood, 99 Red Balloons by Nena, etc) were an influence on me in my teenage years.
These movies, songs, etc emphasize the horrors of a global nuclear holocaust, that there are no winners in a nuclear war, and that the first nation to push the button doesn’t have to do it on purpose, it could be completely by accident/mistake/due to a false alarm (nuclear missile/bomber detection equipment/radar malfunction, such as what happened in 1983).
In your (or anybody wants to answer) opinion, does that media still have messages that apply to today? Is it still relevant? Or are they outdated relics from a different time and place?
Quinerly
I worked in my yard all day. 60 Daylily bulbs in, Wormwood bush moved, and other boring stuff. The Band and Leon Russell blaring all day.
My commentary on Alabama….3 of 4 of my grandmother’s husbands were from there. My grandfather, her second husband, was not from there but taught at Auburn. Four of his 5 wives were from Alabama, including his first and last wives who were sisters.
Fucked up state. Has been for at least 200 years.
That is all.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
And I hope I’m not coming across as an apologist or something. If I do I apologize. I do support doing the absolute most to help Ukraine win in this conflict
Jackie
@NotMax: 😢
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Jackie:
This is awful. And there’s an estimated 1,000 people still missing
NotMax
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
Ever seen Fail-Safe? Link to the trailer, with commentary (I agree with Mr. Dante that the trailer is overly sensationalized, while the film is anything but).
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@NotMax:
BTW, glad you’re safe. I can’t imagine hard it would be to lose everything for the people living in Lahaina and other areas
NotMax
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
Thanks.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@NotMax:
I haven’t, but it sounds right up my alley. The trailer definitely sells the movie imo, even if it’s not quite the tone the actual movie has
NotMax
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
Outstanding performance by Henry Fonda.
Ruckus
@Alison Rose:
Why the hell do we have a system where one douchebag can do this?
Many of our federal laws were written a very long time ago, in a world far different from today. In some ways it is amazing that we have progressed to where we are today. But you have to look at WHY those rules were written the way they were. It was usually because the previous owners had violated a lot of the concepts of what this country was intended to be. And intended to be such that no one had ever actually seen something like it previously. So there are laws, bits and pieces of what we have as laws that CAN protect us from the government easily being used to crush an actual democracy. This is one of those. But it can be extremely difficult to write such a law that will stand the test of time, politics and language. It can be equally difficult to write such a law that it can’t be used on some occasion by what could be considered last, or close to it, man standing, and on the wrong side of the line. This is that.
trollhattan
She totally fell down those stairs by accident, yo, because when you’re rich and turn 73, shit just happens. The judges will also accept, “Ivana, Ivana, I don’t think I know the name. Why?”
Sebastian
@trollhattan:
Let’s not forget that the pallbearers, six grown men, struggled carrying the coffin containing her ashes.
prostratedragon
@trollhattan: I still expect a directive for very different interment arrangements will be found eventually.
NotMax
@Sebastian
Don’t have much experience in the area but pallbearers struggling is not unusual.
TS
@Sebastian:
@NotMax:
With the coffin only containing ashes? Must be a heavy coffin & I find it hard to imagine trump would pay for the timber to make a heavy coffin.
Ruckus
@NotMax:
I have a fair amount of experience. It isn’t an easy task. One problem is not everyone carrying is the same size so some actually may have to carry more weight. Also there may be some level of grief involved.
And that’s just carrying the casket. Add in everything else going on to get to the carrying part.
That is if you are a normal human being. I think you can see where this is going……
I have a bit of experience at this concept, as I am now the oldest in the extended family. Saying goodby started when I was 5, a month ago I became the oldest in the extended family. That’s 69 yrs of funerals. It’s the cycle of life, one cousin made 6 months, the oldest, my mom made 95 yrs. It never gets easier, it unfortunately gets somewhat familiar.
Unfortunately.
And that’s just family. I been to funerals for friends and for participants in the professional sport I worked in, I’ve sat with vets who went to war for their country and it is often even far worse because of the numbers, the reason, the after effects. And that sometimes there is nothing left to put in the casket.
Life isn’t always fun.
Ruckus
@TS:
With the coffin only containing ashes? Must be a heavy coffin & I find it hard to imagine trump would pay for the timber to make a heavy coffin.
I see we think along similar lines. But in this case that would only decrease the weight by around 100 lbs. That’s less than 17 lbs per person to carry. That’s not nothing but it isn’t a lot.
NotMax
@TS
I’ve a mind to think Dolt 45 did not pay a penny for the casket. Perhaps the children did, or even a prepaid, pre-arranged box.
brantl
@dm: Nope, rules votes are a simple majority, and can be taken at any time.
raven
@geg6: Tyndall, it got really wasted in the hurricane but they are rebuilding it.
Princess
@Sebastian: Six grown men with tears in their eyes.
I’ve always thought he had her rubbed out, like a mob hit. She had something on him and decided to threaten she’d use it, to get more money and he thought, what’s the good of being president if I can’t knock off my ex?
Frankensteinbeck
@Sebastian: and @TS: and @Ruckus:
Don’t fall for the temptation of conspiracy thinking. There are too many possible innocent-ish explanations for any oddity of body language. Life is chaotic.
And what would be in there? Documents? No way. Trump either destroys stuff or leaves it on the floor. Hiding valuables in a coffin is not his way. It’s more likely petty, vengeful asshole Trump filled the coffin with manure than classified documents.
Occam’s razor, greatest probability by far, is meaningless coincidence.
Nelle
Very late to this party ( was sick yesterday) but yesterday, I got an email from senator Joni Ernst saying that she is prolife and therefore supports Tuberville. Let’s build the biggest killing organization in the world and then yell “prolife! prolife!”
Ben Cisco 🇺🇸🎖️🖥️♦️
@Adam L Silverman: Also the Community College of the Air Force.
Happy that Space Force stays in CO. Only reason it was “moved” was b/c Fat Bastard and fuck him.
Embarrassed that Doug Jones was replaced by the waste of protoplasm that is Tubs.
Miss Bianca
@Nukular Biskits: At this point, I say that the US and NATO *should* be directly involved. Enough is enough. Russia has proved over and over again that it’s an existential threat to the entire world, not just Ukraine.
trnc
Read that at first like they were HIS sisters. Almost didn’t give it a second look cuz, hey, Bama.
Another Scott
@wjca: Dead thread, but the Senate has all kinds of rules about doing stuff that would take impossibly long if they actually followed them. So, instead of following them, they do requests for Unanimous Consent to bypass the rules. With UC, anything is possible and can be done quickly. Without it, they have to follow the rules and everything grinds to a halt (debates, cloture votes, mandatory delays, etc.).
Just getting rid of the filibuster/cloture votes won’t fix the Senate. They need to do a top-to-bottom fixing of the rules. My view is the majority has to be able to pass their legislation – it’s the way Democracy works. Yeah, it sucks when the monsters have the majority, but that means voters have to actually pay attention and vote to keep the monsters out. Other systems suck more.
Cheers,
Scott.
Another Scott
@Frankensteinbeck: +1
My step-mom’s doctor died after hitting her head falling on some stairs in her home. She was 59.
I missed the last step coming down the basement stairs once and somehow managed to catch my fall on my forearms and not hit my head.
Google’s first hit:
Stairs are dangerous.
Cheers,
Scott.
Ruckus
@Frankensteinbeck:
Believe me, I’m not in any way discounting your version.
It’s just that none of us are likely to be able to understand what he might do, other than it will be the wrong thing.
Also a jar with ashes in it does not weigh what a body does, not even close. Somewhere I read ashes, and one would put that in a coffin? Someone who really really doesn’t like to spend a dime that doesn’t make him look like whatever the hell it is he thinks he is?
Capstanislavskibum
Why is Tuberville blocking these appointments?