Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

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

Republicans choose power over democracy, every day.

Imperialist aggressors must be defeated, or the whole world loses.

Narcissists are always shocked to discover other people have agency.

There are no moderate republicans – only extremists and cowards.

Rupert, come get your orange boy, you petrified old dinosaur turd.

Quote tweet friends, screenshot enemies.

Speaking of republicans, is there a way for a political party to declare intellectual bankruptcy?

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

Do not shrug your shoulders and accept the normalization of untruths.

If you cannot answer whether trump lost the 2020 election, you are unfit for office.

Following reporting rules is only for the little people, apparently.

I might just take the rest of the day off and do even more nothing than usual.

Every one of the “Roberts Six” lied to get on the court.

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. keep building.

Sadly, media malpractice has become standard practice.

We will not go back.

The words do not have to be perfect.

Anne Laurie is a fucking hero in so many ways. ~ Betty Cracker

If you are still in the gop, you are either an extremist yourself, or in bed with those who are.

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

Boeing: repeatedly making the case for high speed rail.

A democracy can’t function when people can’t distinguish facts from lies.

The next time the wall street journal editorial board speaks the truth will be the first.

You are here: Home / Politics / Biden Administration in Action / TGIFriday Morning Open Thread: Life (Mostly) Goes On

TGIFriday Morning Open Thread: Life (Mostly) Goes On

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I basically agree with this, but I’m sure it will be an ‘argue amongst yourselves’…

Reader Interactions

245Comments

  2. 2.

    Nina

    I also think Biden has some popularity with seniors because of the whole “Biden is old and that’s bad” media narrative.  My dad is older than Biden and takes a longer time remembering things but he still feels like he can make a contribution to society.  They’re trying to turn his age into a weakness, but for some seniors it’s a strength.

  3. 3.

    OzarkHillbilly

    we are not capable of being adults.

    Oh I’m capable alright. In fact I used to be an adult. It sucked.

  6. 6.

    raven

    @NotMax: I sent some dough to the boat I went on 11 years ago. His FB page had videos of fuckers screaming at Biden when he visited. I wish I’d never sent a dime.

  7. 7.

    Baud

    Question: Where is a good place to retire? US or abroad. And I don’t care that much about politics because I’m happy to help turm a red state blue, as long as the government actually works and people on the ground are decent.

    Need Internet access and decent weather is a big plus.

  10. 10.

    dmsilev

    Example: Afghanistan withdrawal.

    That wasn’t (directly) the public’s fault. That was an incessant propaganda campaign run by people who wanted their war to go on endlessly (or end in Victory!, however nebulously defined and unachievable that might be).

  12. 12.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Florida can’t ban teacher from asking students to use her preferred pronouns, judge rules

    “The state of Florida has a first amendment problem. Of late, it has happened so frequently, some might say you can set your clock by it,” Walker, an appointee of Barack Obama, wrote in his ruling. “The question before this court is whether the first amendment permits the state to dictate, without limitation, how public-school teachers refer to themselves when communicating to students. The answer is a thunderous ‘no.’”
    ………………………
    “In sharing her preferred title and pronouns, Ms Wood celebrates herself and sings herself – not in a disruptive or coercive way, but in a way that subtly vindicates her identity, her dignity, and her humanity,” he wrote. Florida law, he added, “has silenced her and, by silencing her, forced her to inhabit an identity that is not her own”.

    “The state of Florida has not justified this grave restraint, and so the United States constitution does not tolerate it,” he continued. “Ours is a union of individuals, celebrating ourselves and singing ourselves and being ourselves without apology.”

    I applaud his quoting Walt Whitman, kind of turns the screw a little deeper.

  13. 13.

    dmsilev

    @Baud: Book a flight on Elon Musk’s Glorious Mars Adventure. I’m sure everything will be fine and it will be a relaxing and fulfilling way of spending your retirement years.

  14. 14.

    cain

    @Nina:

    They’re trying to turn his age into a weakness, but for some seniors it’s a strength. 

    See this would have been a wonderful NYT diner story with that leads. Just add ‘In this upstate NY diner..’

  22. 22.

    Glidwrith

    @Baud: Southern Oregon, Rogue Valley. Has a string of towns, starting with Ashland but getting redder the farther away from the college town as you go.

    Prime industry in the area is taking care of old folks, lots of medical specialists.

    Wildfire smoke from Northern California has been a problem.

  23. 23.

    Another Scott

    @Baud: Ann Arbor, and the areas around it, has a lot of plusses.  It used to be one had to worry about snow and cold in the winter, but with climate change who knows…??  :-/

    We’re a big, growing country.  Any nice place is going to be found out and potentially grow rapidly (in the span of a decade or two) – look at the explosion around Austin…  :-/  That’s good (increased property values!!, etc.) and bad (traffic, increased property taxes!!, inability to head out without pants, etc.).

    Happy hunting!

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  25. 25.

    Spanky

    @Baud: Don’t like California? I’m not sure you’d like East Coast weather, but we decided there was no place like home here in Maryland. You actually get something for your taxes, and you can’t find a better medical environment. You gots your choice of waterside, rolling hills, or mountains.

  27. 27.

    cain

    The media is having fun focusing on one issue liberals who don’t like Biden. Of course it is always some young white man or woman. They like going to college campuses.

    One young lady said she is not voting in November because Biden was terrible on reproductive rights and by not voting the Democratic party will be taught a lesson.

    Missy – this ain’t how it works. The person most effected is you. Numbingly stupid take. My guess is that she was going for edgy young commentators. She will still vote for Biden in the end.

    Too bad she’s outed herself as stupid to the rest of us.

  29. 29.

    What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?

    @cain: The other issue with the “concerns about Biden’s age” is that just because a person thinks he’s too old doesn’t mean they won’t vote for him. My parents are Biden’s age and they’ve flat out said he’s too old. But they WILL vote for him anyway because the alternative is a disaster.

  31. 31.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Baud: I have heard speculation that the Great Lakes region may be the most survivable part of North America under continued climate change.

  32. 32.

    H.E.Wolf

    Electoral-Vote.com’s Friday good news item featured the women (made famous as “Rosie the Riveter”s) who worked on the home front in WWII. They’ve just been awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, the USA’s highest civilian honor.

    electoral-vote.com/evp2024/Items/Apr12-7.html

    The E-V item includes links to a detailed NPR article about the women who attended the ceremony; and that article has further links within it.

    Norman Rockwell’s “Rosie the Riveter” painting:  nrm.org/rosie-the-riveter/

  36. 36.

    Nelle

    @Baud: I’m no help.  The people of my heart are halfway around the world from the place of my heart.  I live by the people I love.  I was in joy to visit the place of my heart for three weeks this year.

  37. 37.

    Another Scott

    Meanwhile, in the House, “work” on FISA section 702 reauthorization continues…

    Aaron Fritschner
    @Fritschner
    56m

    After patting themselves on the back for 2 days these guys are about to vote for the same rule on the same bill they took down Wednesday. The only change is early expiration so “Trump can fix it.” Guess who signed the current FISA 702 into law? His name rhymes with “Ronald Grump”

    Anna Paulina Luna
    @realannapaulina
    Apr 10

    I voted no on FISA. As written, there was no warrant requirement to spy on Americans. It also created a carve out for members of Congress to be notified by FBI. I won’t be manipulated into voting to infringe on civil liberties. #GetAWarrant

    [ image ]

    Apr 12, 2024 · 12:18 PM UTC

    🤡

    (To be clear, maybe some things need to be tweaked on the FISA section 702, but everyone knows that it’s an important tool and this House cannot tweak anything because the GQP majority is incompetent. Renewal was the only path (with any tweaks coming in a new Congress) and everyone knew it.)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  39. 39.

    What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?

    @Another Scott: Ann Arbor is a nice town but if you’re going Michigan you can’t beat the West side of the State – anywhere within an easy day trip to the glorious Lake Michigan beaches would do. Grand Rapids gives you that and a reasonably good sized city with all the amenities that entails. If you’re looking for smaller towns…take your pick of any along Lake Michigan from South Haven to Mackinaw City.

    I was in Clarens, South Africa a couple years back and that seemed like a great place to retire as long as you’re ok being landlocked. It’s in the Draks. Great little mountain town…like Santa Fe before it was discovered vibes. And with the exchange rate US dollars stretch a looong way. The government is a mess right now but hopefully they’ll start to pull out of the current cycle of corruption and failure in the next election.

  40. 40.

    Jackie

    Is it my imagination, or is this turning into an Every Friday Great News Story?

    “The Biden administration said Friday that is using existing student loan forgiveness programs to cancel another round of student debt, totaling $7.4 billion for 277,000 borrowers,” CNN reports.

    Washington Post: “This latest round brings the total loan forgiveness approved by Biden to $153 billion for nearly 4.3 million people.”

  41. 41.

    TBone

    @Baud: Heather Cox Richardson today hit that point like a home run. I texted this to my brother:

    Holy shit the Russians in our House of Representatives need to be nuked from orbit.

    Priorities: the House Rules Committee got a new chair as Michael Burgess (R-TX) took the reins from Tom Cole (R-OK). Burgess will oversee his first hearing on Monday as the committee meets to examine six bills that appear to be designed to feed the Republicans’ culture wars by denying the secretary of energy’s power to establish new energy conservation standards. Those bills are the “Hands Off Our Home Appliances Act,” the “Liberty in Laundry Act,” the “Clothes Dryers Reliability Act,” the “Refrigerator Freedom Act,” the “Affordable Air Conditioning Act,” and the “Stop Unaffordable Dishwasher Standards Act.”

    I know this is all designed to pwn the libs and still I am shaking my head in disbelief at the lengths they’ll go to to embarrass the entire nation

  42. 42.

    H.E.Wolf

    @Baud: 

    Question: Where is a good place to retire? US or abroad. And I don’t care that much about politics because I’m happy to help turm a red state blue, as long as the government actually works and people on the ground are decent.
    Need Internet access and decent weather is a big plus.
    ​

     I wonder if this would be a good research aid?
    ourtownsfoundation.org/about/

    Their most recent essay is “The Enduring Power of Place”:
    “Americans like to know where they are from—and like to think about where they might go.”
    ourtownsfoundation.org/the-enduring-power-of-place/

  44. 44.

    Tom Levenson

    @Baud: How much are you willing to spend to relocate?

    My wife and I are spending a lot more time these days on Boston’s north shore—Cape Ann in particular. It’s beautiful, the people seem good, and there’s a good commuter rail line into the city when we want the bright lights. (To be clear: we still live a 20 minute walk from Fenway Park. But retirement is getting closer and we’re starting to make choices.)

    Two issues: the weather is a lot better than it was when I first moved to this area (~40 years ago) but winter still happens. And the glory of the North Shore is the ocean hitting granite—and those views are expensive.

    Outside the US? Well…I have the possibility of Portuguese citizenship (a long story, in every sense of the term), and there’s a lot to love there, not least EU travel rights.

  46. 46.

    Brachiator

    Some very lucky sailors. And a bare bones vacation or retirement destination.

    A “HELP” sign made from palm tree leaves saved three sailors stranded on a tiny Pacific atoll for more than a week, after the U.S. Coast Guard spotted it from the sky.

    The three men were found Tuesday evening on the minute Pikelot Atoll, which is part of the Federated States of Micronesia. They had been surviving on coconuts and water from a well on the island, officials said, but were fast running out of food when they were rescued.

  49. 49.

    narya

    @Baud: While I’ll never feel like a midwesterner, Chicago has some things going for it. Decent public transportation, two airports if you’re a traveler, good medical care, more craft breweries than anywhere else. The weather isn’t always fabulous, but it’s bearable most of the year. There’s a condo for sale in my building . . .

  50. 50.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @H.E.Wolf: Too late for my Aunts, one of whom (Betty) was at work when the Joliet ammo plant blew up. It took my Uncle about 6 hrs to find her, alive and unharmed. (declared 4F, he worked there too just not that shift)

    Bernie and Dorothy worked at a canning plant. My old man’s care packages were momentous events for his bomber crew as they were able to can anything and everything from cakes, cookies, and crackers to sausages from the old Polish butcher down the street.

  52. 52.

    satby

    @Baud: I’m inclined to Mexico, northern Spain, or Portugal. Despite my poor Spanish and non-existent Portuguese. But that’s not for a couple of years.

    Living in a red state has been very depressing to me. If I stay in the US I want to move back to IL or MI.

  53. 53.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Baud: Western Massachusetts. 4 seasons. Sane politics. Driving distance from many desirable destinations. We have winter but its manageable. Nothing like Maine or the midwest

    Our rural white voters are not insane.

  56. 56.

    Melancholy Jaques

    @Matt McIrvin:

    I have heard speculation that the Great Lakes region may be the most survivable part of North America under continued climate change.

    But will the lakes still be great? We tend to take fresh water for granted.

  58. 58.

    Kathleen

    @Matt McIrvin: I think Cincinnati will be one of those spots also. Our mayor said he expects more and more people will be migrating from southeastern coastal regions to the midwest.

    I plan to stay in Cincinnati. I’m 74, still working 40 hours a week, but even if I were retired I would stay here because of climate change but also because it’s a beautiful city which values old architecture, offers affordable (relatively speaking) housing and cost of living, a thriving arts scene and sweeping views of the Ohio River, and votes Blue. And it hosts “The Best Marathon In America” per USA Today which brings in thousands of people from all over the world.

  59. 59.

    Melancholy Jaques

    @Jackie:

    Has anyone looked into whether and how those 4.3 million people voted in 2020 and whether and how they intend to vote this time?

  61. 61.

    Ken

    @Brachiator: They had been surviving on coconuts and water from a well on the island, officials said, but were fast running out of food when they were rescued.

    They were nowhere near running out of food, as William S. Gilbert recounted in “The Yarn of the Nancy Bell“.

  62. 62.

    SFAW

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    fulfilling way of spending your retirement years days.

    Big assumption there, i.e., that the rocket don’t a-splode before it leaves the atmosphere.

  67. 67.

    TBone

    @satby: I live my life as a “before” because I can’t recreate and maintain the hair and makeup regime required to look like that on my own.  It’s a time and money sink. I get in front of the mirror and think “well, this is taking a lot of time away from more important activities” and I get really impatient with the whole task.  But seeing those ladies so happy is wonderful and now I’m calling to make an appointment at the salon. 💜

    ETA When I was young I spent a LOT of time looking and feeling cute.  It’s time for a renewal.

  70. 70.

    frosty

    @Baud: Pennsylvania doesn’t tax pension or 401K income, so that’s something to think about too. New Jersey is one of the most popular retirement places. Now, about that decent weather …

    In the mid-Atlantic’s favor, there are no volcanoes, earthquakes (!), tsunamis, long-term droughts, hurricanes, or massive wildfires. The worst we get are ice storms. Oh, and don’t get a tidewater place.

  74. 74.

    SFAW

    @satby:

    I’m not big into hair care stuff (mainly because I have so little left) but that was awesome. The joy on the faces of the women is just amazing.

  75. 75.

    frosty

    @zhena gogolia: ​That’s my big worry too! The Susquehanna used to freeze regularly. One year in the 1970s you could walk across Chesapeake Bay! Where are my kids going to find an ice floe now??

  76. 76.

    NotMax

    @p.a.

    Trust me, walkability slacks off after 70.

    Almost in inverse proportion to the search for public rest rooms.
    ;)

  78. 78.

    Ken

    @schrodingers_cat: The earth will survive even if human beings don’t.

    I’m fairly confident life will survive. It might only be the thermophilic bacteria and archaea living in the deep-ocean hydrothermal vents….

  79. 79.

    SFAW

    @Spanky:

    I suspect that advantage won’t become evident until long after he becomes an ex baud.

    He won’t be “ex,” he’ll merely be pinin’ for the fjords.

  80. 80.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    @TBone: I’ve been making these tiktok videos and it’s occurred to me that one advantage of being old is that I no longer care what I look like. At the moment, I even have a scab on my nose because the dermatologist saw something she didn’t like and froze it off. But who cares? Shoot that selfie video!

  81. 81.

    Jackie

    Will next week be the moment the Ukraine aid debate comes to a head in the House?

    Well, not according to the Rules Committee schedule, which indicates that GOP leaders will be more focused on appliances than armaments. The Liberty in Laundry Act, Refrigerator Freedom Act and Stop Unaffordable Dishwasher Standards Act are among the bills planned for floor action — though that list could always change.

    🤦🏼‍♀️🤷🏼‍♀️🙄

  82. 82.

    satby

    @OzarkHillbilly: my only “grandchildren” are my exchange sons’ (two, older and younger brothers) in Mexico. So that’s a consideration. I’d be a snowbird if I got a place there anyway, though Aguascaliente is on a high plain, so bearable in summer.

  83. 83.

    frosty

    @Baud: A few years back Raven recommended The Retirement Maze. You (and everyone within a few years of retiring) should get it and read it. I did and it’s one of the reasons we didn’t move away from all our friends. And why I stayed at work part-time on-call for a couple of years.

  84. 84.

    Ken

    @Melancholy Jaques: But will the lakes still be great?

    As I recall, both Arizona and California politicians have proposed pumping Great Lakes water to their states, that being more feasible than telling their voters they have to cut back on water usage.

  87. 87.

    geg6

    @Baud: ​ Well, I’m partial to Western PA, having been born and raised here and having made the choice to stay. You’ve got a great city, Pittsburgh, that has everything a big city has but is small enough to feel safe and homey. The sports, culture and food scenes here are like nowhere else. Fantastic health care in every direction, much of it cutting edge, with great universities and colleges on the forefront. Two hours or less to Lake Erie or Cleveland. Another couple of hours to Buffalo and even Canada. Fallingwater and Kentuck Knob (Frank Lloyd Wright heaven) just down the road. Skiing, boating and water sports rule here. Great food culture here ranging from excellent fine dining to ethnic festivals and churches that highlight particular cultures, such as Italian, Indian, Thai, Ukranian and other Eastern Europeans, Irish and German. Wonderful museums and two of the great universities in the state and nation (and many others that are also terrific), Pitt and CMU. The three rivers, of course. And, as a bonus, very close proximity to Bethany, WV. ;-)​
     
    ETA: Like many similar places, the weather here has definitely modified, most likely due to climate change, since I was young. It’s quite rare now to have a lot of snow in the winter and spring seems to come earlier every year.

  90. 90.

    frosty

    @Baud: The mid-Atlantic does pretty well with climate change, too. No drastic change in temperature. More rain is about it. Living somewhere with water is a good plan.

  91. 91.

    TBone

    @Kathleen: I need the assistance cuz most days I just don’t GAF what I look like – a daily stylist would indeed be lucrative!  I’d pay someone to come here and make me look beautiful if the price was semi reasonable!  I just can’t work up the gumption on my own to do all that work every damn day.  I used to never leave the house unless I had my mascara+ and hairdo.

  94. 94.

    satby

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: agree. I’ve never been all that into my looks even back when I had some. But you can see the resignation on the women’s faces that they don’t like how they look and think they’re unattractive, and he changes that so completely. With not very high maintenance styles either. Positively made me tear up.

    I just wish he did white chicks 😆

  96. 96.

    TBone

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: I frickin’ feel you girl!!!  I told my dermatologist when she wanted to prescribe something to make my skin more “even toned” “Well, since I don’t have to look at me all day, I don’t need even skin tone. Hubby already knows what I look like before coffee.” 🤣

  100. 100.

    Geminid

    @geg6: I was interested to see that Magdi Jacobs, aka Mangy Jay, moved to Pittsburgh recently. She is quite enthusiastic about her new home.

  104. 104.

    Jackie

    @Melancholy Jaques:

    Has anyone looked into whether and how those 4.3 million people voted in 2020 and whether and how they intend to vote this time?

    I don’t think that matters to Biden. He doesn’t hold forgiving student loans over recipients’ heads with threats the way TIFG did/does/will.

    Biden wants to help ALL Americans. Period.

  107. 107.

    satby

    @cain: I would love to live in Ireland, still have distant relatives there. But expensive. My late uncle got citizenship, but ancestry citizenship ends after grandchildren, and I am a great grandchild on both sides.

  108. 108.

    TBone

    @Kathleen: obvs I didn’t get that joke till it was too late 😆 more coffee needed and I’m now rejiggering my attitude.  “Before” is just fine until my hair is too long and  gets in my face and eyes and tickles me to death.  I EARNED the gray and the wrinkles.

  110. 110.

    Sure Lurkalot

    @Nelle: I would pick your homeland, Nelle. I went to NZ for 3 weeks some 20 years ago and just scraped the surface of its beauty and culture.

    I do realize that life on vacation is not real life, there have been more than a few places I’ve visited where I’ve said “I could live here” when it was just as much being away from work and the familiar.

  115. 115.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @satby: ​ I haven’t been there in years but Real de Catorce used to be a great place to visit and very popular with the ex-pats. (high elevation) Can’t say about recently tho, it may have become too popular.

    I have an old friend who is very fond of the little fishing village of Yelapa, spent every winter there. It is across the bay from Puerto Vallarta. There was a time not too long ago where there was no road to the village and one had to take a boat to get to it. Google Earth says there is one now but from the looks of it, the boat is far far safer than it.

  118. 118.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Tom Levenson: We have the advantage of a completely paid-off home in the Merrimack Valley, but at some point, we’ll probably have mobility issues that make a two-story duplex in a car-centric neighborhood harder to deal with. My wife has been speculating about Philadelphia as an interesting, relatively affordable city to move to, with a rough reputation but maybe on the way up.

    I like visiting outside the US but I don’t have dreams of permanently fleeing the US–many societies have features improving on ours but they’re not mine, and many have stronger notions than the US that if you’re once a foreigner you’re always a foreigner.

    If the political situation gets too bad (totalitarianism or civil war) my idle fantasies are more of fighting and dying than fleeing… but I also have responsibilities to my wife and child, even when the latter is off on her own.

  119. 119.

    TBone

    @NotMax: 💜 I just re-watched that recently.  I adore Harlow for her ability to be sublime and baudy simultaneously.  She’s an honorary Delconian.

  121. 121.

    RaflW

    While we did make errors in the Afghanistan withdrawal (foremost, to me, was not getting enough of the Afghan support folks — translators, local staff, etc — out with us at the time), overall Biden getting us un-mired in that GWB-era war is a good thing!

    I bet if reporters stopped 10 people at random in a Shop-n-Save parking lot in Mt Lebanon, PA or a Festival Foods in Racine, WI and asked them “How do you feel about the end of the US-Afghanistan war?” 8 of each would look at the reporter and say “What? When was that?”

    Except in the weeks of the troops leaving, the inevitable collapse of the installed regime, and months of concern trolling after, this has mostly only been a Beltway obsession — military veterans excepted. I think they care, but maybe not all in one opinion direction, either.

  122. 122.

    Bill Arnold

    @Baud:
    I would examine global heating projections for any particular destination. As said above, near the Great Lakes is projected to be OK (weather might get worse). Any now-hot areas will be hotter.

  124. 124.

    Matt McIrvin

    @RaflW: But it caused the media-political ecosystem to flip from a general message of Biden-as-Mr.-Fixit to Biden-as-failed-President, and this affected perceptions even of people who never cared about Afghanistan at all.

  126. 126.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @satby: There are YouTubers who offer style at advice to men who basically say that, if you bother to make sure your clothes fit properly and keep your hair, nails, etc., clean and trimmed, you will be ahead of most guys.  Then, if you only upgrade from that a little, you will be miles ahead.  The same applies here.

  130. 130.

    Captain C

    @cain:

    One young lady said she is not voting in November because Biden was terrible on reproductive rights and by not voting the Democratic party will be taught a lesson.

    Perhaps she is a member of the Judean People’s Front?

    Also, I wonder how many students they had to go through to find this particular idiot.

  133. 133.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Bill Arnold: I still fret about nuclear war quite a bit, including nuclear civil war (think how easy it would be to alter the electoral map just by annihilating a few metro areas), but I don’t think I’d have much ambition to survive that.

  134. 134.

    Sure Lurkalot

    @NotMax:

    Trust me, walkability slacks off after 70.

    Maybe for some. I walk between 10 and 25 miles per week. Take vacations to find wondrous walks, like the beautiful islands of Hawaii.

  135. 135.

    Betty Cracker

    @OzarkHillbilly: It used to be weird in a laid-back, quirky Margaritaville way. Now it’s teeming with belligerent fascists, and I guess you could call that a species of “weird,” but to me, “weird” has offbeat connotations that I wouldn’t apply to the hard-right kooks, who are at their core hysterically rigid and conventional.

  136. 136.

    frosty

    @Omnes Omnibus: And shave. I watched the younger guys at work with the 3-day hipster stubble so I tried it. Guess what? It didn’t make me look like a hipster, it made me look like a homeless old guy!

  137. 137.

    satby

    @cain: lots of people gain citizenship there who don’t. There’s a process and IIRC it’s faster than here. If I got citizenship, it would be via the same process, even with 100% Irish ancestry. Ireland still has a lower population than it did at the start of the famine, one hundred and sixty years ago.

  138. 138.

    sdhays

    @RaflW: One of the things that really makes me mad on any discussion of the Afghanistan withdrawal is that people (obviously not here) complain about how it ended up, while no one (only some ignored Democrats) said shit while Trump “negotiated” the withdrawal with the Taliban without the involvement of the Afghan government and then proceeded to just pull out most of the American military presence without worrying about any planning.

    Neither Biden nor the hapless Afghan government was set up for success in that scenario – the people who say Biden shouldn’t have continued the withdrawal are delusional – stopping the withdrawal would have required a re-invasion. Our presence was already too small to not be vulnerable – obviously!

  139. 139.

    narya

    @Baud: If you really want to help turn a purple state blue, then I’d suggest Wisconsin. Both Madison and Milwaukee have a lot to recommend them. I’m less familiar with Michigan, but they could probably use an extra blue vote too.

  141. 141.

    RaflW

    @What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?: The country — well, half of it — lost it’s freaking mind when we elected the 5th youngest president ever, in Nov. 2009.

    Granted, it wasn’t so much the generational gyration that did it.

    And, congrats to NBC for this headline that I turned up this morning on this theme: “With Obama, many say bye-bye to boomers”. Turned out to only be “au revoir.”

  142. 142.

    TBone

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: yeah, it made me realize I’m not doing enough for myself.  Instead of caring for nails, I just clip them short because it’s easy to keep my hands clean that way.  That won’t change, but a better hairstyle would go a long way towards the refresh I need for Spring.  My problem is, there isn’t a stylist in this hick town that knows what to do!  I was told “You need an age-appropriate haircut” last time and she shredded my fine hair like she’d used a weed whacker.  It took months before my hair grew back enough to look healthy again.  So, I’m going to treat myself and travel back to my hometown for an overnight stay to get some REAL food and a good stylist.  Even our new Paris Bakery here was a serious disappointment.  It serves Pepperidge Farm frozen puff pastry like we don’t know the difference (I guess most locals don’t know).

  147. 147.

    rikyrah

    the way that the MSM fawned over this phony azz – propping him up as some ‘ moderate Republican’.

    FOH!

     

    Abigail Spanberger (@SpanbergerForVA) posted at 6:23 AM on Fri, Apr 12, 2024:
    This week, Governor Youngkin refused to sign a bill to protect access to contraception. Instead, he gutted the bill’s protections for IUDs, birth control, and emergency contraceptives.

    As the next Governor of Virginia, I will defend the right to contraception for all Virginians. t.co/D5Zk4qyLD0
    (https://x.com/SpanbergerForVA/status/1778745790237696341?t=K9irhNnsuiZAo751NWCoRQ&s=03)

  150. 150.

    RaflW

    @narya: Early 50s-ish friends of mine are in the early stages of house hunting in Milwaukee for retirement. For them, the actual move-in will be down the road (they’ll rent it or Air BnB it), but they can’t afford to live their golden years in LA where they work now.

    There are some very cool neighborhoods there, a pretty affordable housing stock compared to much of America, and while the spring can be a bit chilly because of Lake Michigan, it’s likely to be a more moderately impacted area as climate change keeps it’s worrying trajectory.

    Madison is lovely. And really expensive.

    If anyone wants more info on Milwaukee, let me know. We’re an hour SW of there for a chunk of the year, and my BF grew up in a Milwaukee suburb. His parents are still in the home they moved to when he was 4.

  152. 152.

    Helen

    @H.E.Wolf: My father was rated 4F. A young guy in his mid-20’s, he was already trained as a welder and general machinist. The steel works made him a foreman in charge of ‘new’ workers. In later years, he talked about the experience. They almost all worked hard and took pride in helping the war. But many, men and women were hurt. Long hours, lack of experience, and equipment not adapted for women caused accidents that sometimes maimed a worker. I think these women deserved recognition decades ago when they could have enjoyed it. But I’m afraid they were viewed as merely ‘helping.’

  153. 153.

    rikyrah

    Brian Beutler (@brianbeutler) posted at 9:53 AM on Thu, Apr 11, 2024:
    Really valuable insights here into how MAGA weaponizes lies AND truth—lying to Trump supporters, while funneling truths about Biden’s moderation to progressives (but not to Republicans).

    Greg Sargent (@GregTSargent) posted at 9:50 AM on Thu, Apr 11, 2024:
    Imagine if voters in the heartland learned that oil production is high even as lots of green manufacturing jobs are being created. That would be popular! Yet MAGA agitprop effectively oversimplifies this story. 4/

    (h/t @brianbeutler and @mattyglesias)

     

    Greg Sargent (@GregTSargent) posted at 9:59 AM on Thu, Apr 11, 2024:
    Amazingly, Bannon says “no Republican knows” that oil production is high under Biden.

    What he really means is no Republican voters will ever be informed by right wing media that Trump is lying in their faces.

    Bannon/MAGA will keep them ignorant. 5/5

    t.co/qAoz0WRQIc t.co/HCQxEI0M3B
    (https://x.com/GregTSargent/status/1778437701470945679?t=VMaBn9PofIzXwkZjiAV-PQ&s=03)

  154. 154.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @Tom Levenson: As a former resident (elementary through high school years) I can say that Topsfield is lovely (though probably rather pricey now).  Yes, things get a bit crazy when The Fair happens but otherwise, a very mellow, small-town kind of vibe with picturesque scenery, especially the town square.  I think Ipswich is a bit more affordable, at least that was the case when we were fantasizing about moving back there after my wife fell in love with it after her first visit in 2016.

  155. 155.

    narya

    @RaflW: My best friend lives in Appleton and likes it a lot, too. (Her son lives across the street and her daughter lives in Madison.) There are townships, etc., right outside of Madison that aren’t bad, though be on the lookout for industrial cow and pig operations.

  157. 157.

    Another Scott

    @frosty:

    Don’t be so sure…

    USGS.gov:

    U.S. East Coast

    [ image: Coastal area with little remains of a building and lumber and other debris strewn about.

    Historical photo shows the aftermath of a tsunami caused by an earthquake whose epicenter was in the Grand Banks offshore of Newfoundland, Canada. ]

    Because there are no major subduction zones in the Atlantic Ocean, except for where it borders the Caribbean Sea, there has been a relatively low frequency of tsunamis compared to the Pacific Ocean. The most famous Atlantic tsunami is the 1755 Lisbon tsunami that was generated by an earthquake on a fault offshore Portugal. The most noteworthy North America local tsunami is the 1929 M=7.2 Grand Banks earthquake near Newfoundland, Canada (see also, Wikipedia). This is a complex event; most, if not all, of the tsunami energy may have been triggered by a submarine landslide. The maximum tsunami runup from this event was 2-7 meters concentrated on the coast of Newfoundland, though it was recorded as far south as South Carolina. Like the Gulf Coast, there a couple of reports of small tsunamis from Caribbean earthquakes, all less than 1 meter.

    Read more:

    Improving Earthquake and Tsunami Warnings for the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Atlantic Coast – USGS Fact Sheet 2006-3012

    Assessment of tsunami hazard to the U.S. Atlantic margin – Marine Geology 353

    WHOI.edu – Undersea Cracks along Continental Shelf Could Trigger Tsunamis along U.S. East Coast

    Etc.

    ;-)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  158. 158.

    Sure Lurkalot

    @satby: Thanks for the great clips this morning. The hairdresser’s joy in that video was just as profound as the women’s.

    And hell yes woke is not the reason we don’t have affordable housing, healthcare or college or a thousand other things we could be doing to make this planet better and sustainable. I never thought I’d grow old in the age of such inane silliness.

  159. 159.

    TBone

    @Another Scott: we may find out the hard way very soon.  The new climate warnings about our polar continents are extremely bad.  Haywire feedback loop.  “Tsunamis may be eclipsed by hurricanes” finding out.

  160. 160.

    Layer8Problem

    @satby:  Same problem, and only on one side of my parents as well.  Dad got his Irish passport and then let it expire.  I’ve had at least one Irish local say check with the consulate, but it sounds more hopeful than reasonable.  Damn, I’d love an easy EU passport.

  161. 161.

    Betty Cracker

    The NYT gave JD Vance column space to chicken little about Ukraine today. No linky for the stinky, but here’s an accurate summary: “all is lost!”

    Funny how that ambulatory canned ham and the sloshing orange bag of lipids he serves inevitably land on Putin’s preferred policies. Every goddamned time.

  162. 162.

    Kathleen

    @TBone: I have not worn makeup in years because my eyes are always red from allergies and I’m lazy. I do splurge on my hair though!

  165. 165.

    JMG

    I have retired to Cape Cod and it’s terrific. But spring is on the cold and wet side (although the ocean in the fall and winter keeps it warmer. Also, while snow is rare, winter storms that disappear not-insignificant parts of dry land are not. The ocean is going to win here, but not while I’m here. Place has probably 1000 years left.

  168. 168.

    evodevo

    @Geminid:  that’s what I would recommend…Western NC is a great place. Mr Evodevo’s cousin lives out in the boonies there near Asheville, and we visit often.  KY, where we live, is cheap and scenic, also…

  171. 171.

    Kristine

    @Baud: Spain and Malta are supposedly pretty desirable. Portugal topped the list for a while but has had to crank down the spigot of late.

    I’ve talked with friends, and we’re pretty happy with NE Illinois. Access to a world-class city and healthcare. Good source of fresh water. State that’s pretty blue and while I know that can always change, the trends don’t appear to be indicating a flip. My little strip east of I-94 was bumped up to USDA Zone 6, and if this past winter is any indication of what’s ahead, welp, I didn’t crank up the snow thrower once and I do not recall that ever happening before.

    Illinois Beach State Park is in the midst—or maybe the tail-end by now—of a massive shoreline preservation effort. Outdoor spaces and the critters that live there are considered important.

    Oh, and Illinois doesn’t tax retirement income either.

  172. 172.

    cain

    @RaflW:

    He should have given Trump credit. He would have gladly take it because he is an narcissistic asshole. Not realizing that by doing so Biden could deflect.

  173. 173.

    Matt McIrvin

    @JMG: I don’t want to be close enough to the beach that I have to do a lot of worrying about tropical cyclones and northeasters. I figure I’m close enough already that it’s easy to get there when I want to.

  174. 174.

    Layer8Problem

    @Timill:  He’s mid-eighties and progressively more immobile so I doubt he’s making a return trip, but it’s good to know.  I don’t expect his citizenship’s gonna make it easier for me, but I still will inquire.

    My partner who also wants an EU passport has a thornier problem that way:  lack of precision on exactly where Partner’s ancestral shtetl was.  Austria-Hungary?  Imperial Russia?  Kinda need to know which modern country to apply to and Russia’s right out.

  176. 176.

    cain

    @satby: I remember though that the Irish govt bad to put land use rules in place because foreigners were coming and buying up the land and making it unaffordable for the Irish living there for centuries.

  177. 177.

    Origuy

    A while back I visited the Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond, California. It’s on the way to the Richmond San Rafael Bridge, which I cross a few times a year. Finally one time I stopped and checked it out. There is a lot of information about the shipyards where the women and men built the ships that were used in WWII.

  179. 179.

    cain

    @sdhays: the beltway is still all in on Bush era nation building and think it’s some great thing of American ingenuity but it’s really racism and colonialism at its heart and Americans as a whole on either spectrum care about all that.

    Just shows how the press is wired with damning evidence.

  180. 180.

    topclimber

    @H.E.Wolf: Not sure if it was true of all Rosie shots, but Rockwell’s and the “We Can Do It” don’t “feminize” their subjects with earrings or finger rings. In other words, there is little evident patronizing.

    ETA: Perhaps such jewelry could be a job hazard and these were serious working women.

  181. 181.

    Spanky

    @RaflW:

    There are some very cool neighborhoods there, a pretty affordable housing stock compared to much of America, and while the spring can be a bit chilly because of Lake Michigan, it’s likely to be a more moderately impacted area as climate change keeps it’s worrying trajectory.

    This  can be said of a lot of the post-Rust Belt cities. Just need to look into how they’ve re-invented themselves so that there is still/ again a viable tax base.

  183. 183.

    Matt McIrvin

    @sdhays: It’s just the general pattern that the Republicans fuck things up enough that after four or eight years, people want Democrats in to fix everything, but some of the long-term damage doesn’t really manifest until the Dems can get blamed for it, and the people get dissatisfied and take their tools away at the two-year mark.

    The question is just whether we can limp along to reelect some Dems at four years like we did with Clinton and Obama, or if the disaster cycle repeats early this time. But eventually, the people are going to get bored and elect a bunch of Republicans back in to wreck everything again. I don’t think we can do anything to stop that permanently, not anything that we would regard as decent behavior.

  184. 184.

    Baud

    @Matt McIrvin: I’m coming to the conclusion that it’s not just the fact that fixing Republican messes takes a long time. It’s that a lot of people — include many Dem voters — become really, often subconsciously, uncomfortable with Dems in positions of power and making the kinds of judgments that effective governments must make, regardless of how close the Dems align with their preferred policies.

  185. 185.

    TBone

    I just realized I spelled baudy wrong 😆 that’s why this extra coffee today is imperative.  I blame Bawd!

  186. 186.

    VFX Lurker

    @Baud: Question: Where is a good place to retire? US or abroad. And I don’t care that much about politics because I’m happy to help turm a red state blue, as long as the government actually works and people on the ground are decent.

    Need Internet access and decent weather is a big plus.

    Addendum to all the great answers upthread:

    • You can receive Social Security worldwide
    • You can only get Medicare here in the States
  187. 187.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Betty Cracker: All is lost, but it’s because we can’t stop JD Vance and people like him. So it’s a bit like the perennial Republican argument that you should vote for them because the Democrats are too weak to protect you from the damage Republicans are going to do.

  188. 188.

    Layer8Problem

    @Baud:  My aspiration is to relocate to a foreign college town or city with good medical care, reasonable living expenses, a diverse expatriate community that aren’t wall-to-wall assholes, access to a beach within seventy-five miles, won’t progressively global-warm us to death, and an Irish pub.  Andalusia and Portugal looked good, but it’s getting warmer.  That list’s probably answered by “choose any two . . .” .

  189. 189.

    TBone

    @Kathleen: I’m about to do the same.  Hubby is going in for surgery end of month so I’m treating us to a road trip home so we can see his daughter and possibly grandkids, go out to eat without the immediate regret we get here, and I can get a knowledgeable hairstylist.  I’ll not ever bother with makeup too much anymore but hair is gonna look nice again, dammit!

  190. 190.

    topclimber

    @TBone: I think “Liberty in Laundry” is what right wingers want women to prefer vs. work outside the home. Right up there with “Vacuum up Your Worries” and “Chores are the Best Hobbies.”

  191. 191.

    cain

    @Origuy: True – but the net effect is still kind of the same – rich, well off folks coming in and buying the land and then raising prices to the point that the population can’t afford the land they’ve been on for centuries.

    I applaud the Irish govt for that. Because otherwise, you’re going to get entities like hedge funds, rich international industrialists, and AirBNB wastrels coming in and buying everything up.

  193. 193.

    TBone

    @Kathleen: 👍 at my age, “invisibility” is a problem no matter how gussied up I get.  I’m learning to enjoy the lack of attention when I’m out in public!

  194. 194.

    stacib

    @satby: Wow, this guy can cut hair, and this level of skill is worth it’s weight in gold to those of us who prefer short hair.  Thanks, satby – made my day!

  195. 195.

    satby

    @evodevo: My younger son keeps implying that when I decide to live closer to my kids I should move nearer to him in Lexington. Nice city, but… red state, even with a D governor. And way too humid for me in the summer. I’d move further noryh, but I doubt my kids would visit me in the Yukon.

  196. 196.

    Percysowner

     

    Elections have consequences! Sadly so do filing deadlines. In addition to Ohio, Alabama’s deadline is before the Democratic Convention

    In Alabama, Democrats have introduced a bill to get Biden on the ballot, which is nice, but the legislature is controlled by Republicans, so it may go nowhere. Ohio Republicans are pretty much “so sad, too bad the law is the law” and refusing to change the date. Also Washington State has an early deadline, but they are amenable to making an exception.

    Really guys? This should be Getting Elected 101. I know that in years past, states would make accommodations, but the Republicans are FINE nominating a guy who tried to over throw the 2020 election via force, so expecting Republican legislatures to do the right thing is folly. I’m also not counting on court intervention here.

  197. 197.

    TBone

    @cain: thanks, good to know.  But the nearest TJs is a half a day travel time from me, plus they’re anti-union from what I read. I upped my baking game but hubby’s peripheral artery disease is rearing its ugly head, forcing us to buckle down in the saturated fats dept.  Getting old is not for sissies!

  198. 198.

    JML

    Had to unfriend one of my former interns on FB. The constant stream of unhinged rants just got to be too much. (Apparently, trilateral discussions between the US, Philippines, and Japan over security in that part of the pacific is the imperialist US seizing control of the Philippines to use them in a pending war against China or something.) He’s part of the “Biden is no different than Trump” crowd and we’re all just stupid sheep if we don’t understand how they’re all part of the same racist crew.

    I’m kind of bummed to see one go sideways like this.

  199. 199.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @topclimber: Perhaps such jewelry could be a job hazard

    My first wedding ring got crushed onto my finger when I slipped while carrying a bundle of drywall. I had to cut it off. (no great loss, eventually I cut off the Ex too) My current wedding ring is a small white gold and (single) sapphire hoop in my ear. It will also be my last. She’s not getting rid of me so easily.

  201. 201.

    TBone

    @Matt McIrvin: I’ll be gatdamned if I can’t do anything to stop that from happening, even if it’s unsuccessful I gotta try.  This is a never ending battle, not for the easily deterred.

  202. 202.

    RaflW

    @Matt McIrvin: I’ve been kind of shocked that Minnesotans haven’t gotten bored (and forgetful of the consequences) as we’ve now made it four elections in a row for a Dem governor.

    It helped that the last Republican was a crazed MAGA & anti-vaxxer.

  203. 203.

    TBone

    @Matt McIrvin: cowards are easily vanquished.  It’s really as simple as standing up to them IRL – it’s worked for me every single time.  Once they realize you mean business, they shrink up like a salted slug.  Especially if you’re laughing at them while you do it.  Show no fear.

  206. 206.

    Baud

    @JML: I’m sorry to hear that. We lose people and we gain people every cycle, but losing people is harder to deal with.

  207. 207.

    Betty Cracker

    @Percysowner: Is there any reason the DNC couldn’t officially declare Biden the nominee prior to the convention? IIRC, he already has the votes to clinch it.

  211. 211.

    H.E.Wolf

    @topclimber: Not sure if it was true of all Rosie shots, but Rockwell’s and the “We Can Do It” don’t “feminize” their subjects with earrings or finger rings.​

     I’m not aware of any well-known WWII-era images that portrayed what you envision. Norman Rockwell’s 1943 “Rosie” painting for sure didn’t!

    The link below is worth reading: it includes details on specific aspects of the painting, like the union pins, the metaphorical stomping of Hitler, and an “Easter egg” that I won’t spoil here. :-)
    nrm.org/rosie-the-riveter/

  212. 212.

    Jackie

    THIS IS HAPPENING TODAY!!!

    Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliviera are asking Alene Cannon to drop their charges in the MAL purloined documents trial! If Cannon drops the charges, does SC Jack Smith have any recourses to counter this with???

    “Lawyers for two co-defendants of former President Donald Trump in the classified documents case are asking a judge on Friday to dismiss charges against them,” the AP reports.

    “Trump valet Walt Nauta and Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira are charged with conspiring with Trump to obstruct an FBI investigation into the hoarding of classified documents at the former president’s Palm Beach estate. All three have pleaded not guilty.”

  213. 213.

    Bill Arnold

    @Matt McIrvin:

    I still fret about nuclear war quite a bit,

    Likewise. But at least that is only a possibility; global heating is a certainty. Global heating can be more or less catastrophic, depending on how much and how quickly the planetary population (rich countries in particular) shift from being “Good Germans” re mitigation.

  214. 214.

    Sure Lurkalot

    @Betty Cracker: I’m not sure how much “real Americans” read the NYT, but I saw a clip from Fox yesterday where Vance was crowing that Biden’s policies benefit billionaires…you know, like his former mentor Mr. Thiel. Trump’s the real populist.

    Elite! Woke! Drink!

    No link because I’m too kind for that.

  215. 215.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Gin & Tonic:

    I’m shaking my head in disbelief at the HOOHA Act.

    Definitely the best acronym, but I’m a fan of the Refrigerator Freedom Act.

    What gave humans the right to treat refrigerators like a common household appliance? They deserve their freedom!

  217. 217.

    sdhays

    @cain: But that’s not 100% the issue – I was actually surprised at how muted the response was when Trump totally capitulated to the Taliban in exchange for their letting the US military high-tail it out of their in 2020.

    Maybe they were sufficiently scared/cowed by Trump that they didn’t dare make a bigger fuss? After Biden was elected, I thought they suffered under some delusion that Biden would just completely reverse the Trump policy and go back to their glorious 100 year of occupation plans. And then they felt betrayed when he didn’t. But, of course, they’re more angry at Biden for not spending the political capital to go back into Afghanistan rather than the guy who just told the Taliban, “Whatever you want, just let us leave. Oh, you don’t like a timeline that lets us withdraw all our heavy equipment? Ok, we’ll just leave whatever we can’t take. No worries.”

    The man tried to have the leader of the Taliban to Camp David! But Biden’s the one they’re furious at!

  218. 218.

    Tarragon

    @frosty: And shave. I watched the younger guys at work with the 3-day hipster stubble so I tried it. Guess what? It didn’t make me look like a hipster, it made me look like a homeless old guy!

    There’s a level of beard that can be trimmed nicely.  Once you’re there upkeep is closer to hair styling then shaving every day.

    For me that’s a clipper guard of 3-4. Maintenance is washing and combing and I have to trim it once between hair cuts.

    Find a barber who will trim and style with hair and you save 1/2 the work.

  219. 219.

    horatius

    @Baud:

    South Goa has a year round expat community. If you don’t mind mosquitoes, all food there is farm to table. North Goa, beaches and airport are an hour away. Healthcare us cheap. And one can live comfortably on 2-3k a month.

  221. 221.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Percysowner:

    Elections have consequences! Sadly so do filing deadlines. In addition to Ohio, Alabama’s deadline is before the Democratic Convention

    The silly thing about this is that, in almost every recent cycle, at least one major party nominating convention has been after both states’ deadlines.  So they’re used to dealing with this without taking anyone off the ballot.

    Other than 2016, when both parties had their conventions in July, at least one convention has been held after the deadline in every Presidential year going back to 1992. (And probably further, but that’s as far back as I bothered to check.)

  224. 224.

    Steeplejack

    @lowtechcyclist:

    What gave humans the right to treat refrigerators like a common household appliance? They deserve their freedom!

    As more smart appliances join the Internet of Things, they may rise up and seize freedom for themselves. Wait till you come home one day and the porch cam and smart lock won’t let you into the house.

  225. 225.

    stinger

    @cain: ​

    @cain: ​
     

    folks coming in and buying the land and then raising prices

    But they aren’t the ones raising prices. It’s the locals who do that.

  229. 229.

    Mr. Bemused Senior

    @Steeplejack: Wait till you come home one day and the porch cam and smart lock won’t let you into the house.

    “I’m afraid I can’t do that, Dave.”

  230. 230.

    Matt McIrvin

    @TBone:

    @Matt McIrvin: cowards are easily vanquished.  It’s really as simple as standing up to them IRL – it’s worked for me every single time.  Once they realize you mean business, they shrink up like a salted slug.  Especially if you’re laughing at them while you do it.  Show no fear.

    I had the shit beaten out of me in my youth because I tried that–eventually found that since the bullies I knew vastly outclassed me in numbers and mass, the most effective way to deal with them was to stay out of their way until they destroyed themselves. But this isn’t really an option in politics.

  231. 231.

    wjca

    @Matt McIrvin: If the political situation gets too bad (totalitarianism or civil war) my idle fantasies are more of fighting and dying than fleeing

    Mine are similar.  Except that, being fantasies, they run more to the other guys dying.

  232. 232.

    Nelle

    @Sure Lurkalot: To be clear, I am native to the US.  But my husband took a job in New Zealand so we moved there.   Then came back for what we thought would be a short spell.  He had been offered a job here and wanted to fly instruments, which he couldn’t do as a private pilot in NZ.  Then, as with Ozark, the grandchildren came.

  233. 233.

    Matt McIrvin

    @lowtechcyclist:

    The silly thing about this is that, in almost every recent cycle, at least one major party nominating convention has been after both states’ deadlines.  So they’re used to dealing with this without taking anyone off the ballot.

    Of course–this is legislative hardball in retaliation for the attempts to remove Trump from the ballot. Only because the federalism/separation-of-powers argument used to shoot that down doesn’t apply here, judges are more likely to say “sorry, our hands are tied”.

  235. 235.

    Another Scott

    @Jackie: Isn’t that pro-forma?  IOW, doesn’t every (competent) lawyer ask that?

    If she does grant that request, they can be charged again (no double-jeopardy) and the trial would be in a different court.

    The bad case is when a judge throws out the charges after the trial starts but before the case goes to the jury.  In that case, double-jeopardy does apply and they cannot be charged again and that is not appealable.  As I understand it.  (This is why the furor about Cannon’s proposed jury instructions was so intense.)

    IANAL.

    Corrections welcome.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  236. 236.

    Dave

    @RaflW: I can certainly attest that as someone who was there I do care.  And I’m of the opinion that the withdrawal was overdue, went about as well could be expected, and that there was never anything to win in Afghanistan unless we were willing and able to commit an order of magnitude more resources military and civilian (probably even more civilian) then we were for at least another 25+ years.

    Also of the opinion that any intelligence service worth it’s salt was fully aware that the Afghan government such as it was would inevitably collapse quite rapidly though the speed it did collapse may have surprised them a bit.

    My only real issue with the withdrawal was that we once again screwed over the people that worked for and with us and that it screwed the women of Afghanistan over but truthfully that last part was inevitable barring the aforementioned commitment of resources that was simply never going to happen.

    The entire occupation or whatever you want to call it was an exercise in futility that was well overdue to end.

  238. 238.

    AM in NC

    @Baud:  Triangle NC?  Temperate weather (unless you can’t abide humid heat in the summer); world-class medical care with UNC and Duke; natural beauty; small-city ease of living but punches above its weight WRT food, cultural events; diverse population ; 2.5 hours from amazing beaches and 3.5 from mountains.

    And we need to be turned bluer!!!

  240. 240.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @topclimber: The “lack of patronizing” might be even more practical than that: Some of the working women had boyfriends or husbands in the service far away, and for the rest, well, there was always this.

  241. 241.

    wjca

    Go with Montana.  Gorgeous scenery.  And, as Senator Tester shows, a real possibility to turn another state blue.  With far fewer people than it would take in most red states.

    Plus, Baud 20XX could be the first ever President from Montana!

  242. 242.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @Omnes Omnibus: Among other people, a pair of young Austrians who I met in Vienna in 1980. Karl and Susanna – both students at the University, he working on a Master’s in economics, she a baccalaureate in English – were already married, having signed the papers at whatever bureau registered marriages, so it was something of a surprise when I accepted an invitation to visit their flat and arrived to find Susanna being measured for a wedding dress by her mother. “Charlie” (Susanna’s nickname for him) explained that the following week they would return to their hometown out in the hinterlands for a religious ceremony in the parish church.

    I understand this tradition is (or at least was) not unusual in much of Europe. Surprising that a certain poster who asserts that he knows everything about everything would not be aware of it – or not even be aware that there was something he should have been aware of.

  244. 244.

    TerryC

    @Kathleen: One of those FB memes passed by the other day asking “If people could only see you in profile as you are now what would they call you?” I replied: “Emperor.” (Old white guy with white beard and mustache.)

     

    @Kathleen:

  245. 245.

    evodevo

    @stacib: ​
      for masterful short haircuts for women, I can heartily recommend my hairdresser…I hunted for literally years to find someone who could do it right. I’ve been going to her for 20 years – if she ever retires I will be devastated… her shop is right off I-75 at Corinth, KY in case anyone’s interested.

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