One of the things that has stuck with me since moving back from my stay in Arizona is that by 9 pm, I am done. Just a total potato. I don’t recall being able to stay up past ten pm, and I am up at 6-7 am, and I have basically stopped taking naps. Also, I am freezing when it goes under 60, which it did again today. I am ready for some warmth.
Spent the day working on the plants, planting herbs, and just basically getting ready for spring. I just can’t afford to buy flowers this year so I planted a bunch of seeds in pots, and hopefully they will do their magic and produce some flowers for me. I have tons of perennials in the back, but I just can’t and won’t spend money on annuals beyond seeds, and really, why should I? They’ll grow. You have to work to kill things in West Virginia, you really do.
Very happy that the aid bill passed the house, and now all that needs to be done is to get it past the man John McCain accurately described as the Senator from Moscow, Rand Paul. Maybe his neighbor will kick his ass again.
I was thinking about who the biggest asshole in the Senate is right now, and I am kind of stuck. Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, and Bob Menendez are all up there, but there’s also Mike Lee, Tom Cotton, and Hawley, Tuberville, and the execrable JD Vance. McConnel is not on the list because he’s not gonna make it long enough to get stuck on a desert island- he’s on someone else’s list for a permanent trip.
It’s just so hard to narrow it down to just one, they have such a deep bench of scumbags. I tried to narrow it down with a mental game that asked “Who would you least like to be stuck with on a desert island?” My first instinct was Ted Cruz, but I decided he may not be the worst. My thinking is that Ted Cruz is a total and almost completely irredeemable piece of shit in every regard, but there is one thing about Ted Cruz- he so desperately wants to be liked. So maybe with just me and him stuck together, there would be no one else for him so he would turn into an obsequious suck up, which would be borderline intolerable, but better than say, JD Vance and Rand Paul. It’s really hard to pick a worst out of this lot!
On the other hand, it’s also kind of hard to pick the Democratic Senator I would like to be stuck on an island with. Fetterman was my obvious first choice, but after thinking about it, maybe at least one of us should not have anxiety or depression. So that leaves Ossoff, Schatz, Duckworth, and Warnock. I really like Sherrod Brown a lot, but he’s older than me, so I cut him. Same with Angus King. If you look at it from who you would most likely survive were they with you, and two stand out- Tammy Duckworth and Jon Tester. Duckworth is tough as nails and Tester is a farmer, and if you don’t understand the implications of that, ask any friend who has ever worked in an ICU about why they get a crash cart the moment someone walks into the Emergency room and tells you they are a farmer. Duckworth also is pretty damned cool and funny, so maybe the obvious choice is obvious, as she has made both my mini lists.
At any rate, I’m on episode four of Fallout, and really enjoying it. Gonna watch that and facetime Joelle for a bit. What are you all up to tonight?
sab
satby
Definitely Duckworth.
Fake Irishman
Consider Marsha Blackburn, Tommy Tuberville and Rick Scott as solid contenders for the bottom five, as are Ron Johnson and Ted Budd.
sab
Sherrod Brown is running a Tim Ryan campaign. I am horrified, but he is the highly successful politician. I guess he hopes the voters remember the Democratic firebrand and not the ” I could cooperate with Trump” guy.I really hope this works. I find it repellant, but I would walk over broken glass in bare feet to vote for him. Hope the kids feel the same.
Suzanne
I am finding Fetterman pretty disappointing. I like Merkley, Warren, Patty Murray.
Yesterday was Mr. Suzanne’s birthday, today was filled with errands, and I’m trying to go on a long run tomorrow. I am tired.
Chris T.
@Fake Irishman: Rick Scott would steal all your medications and then sell them to you for millions of dollars.
Fake Irishman
@Fake Irishman:
never mind, I saw you mentioned Tuberville. No harm in mentioning him twice
Wapiti
Tuberville would insist that you call him “Coach”.
schrodingers_cat
@sab: It didn’t work for Ryan.
Bupalos
Sherrod Brown is just a great person to be in the presence of. So you made a mistake there with your “oh but he’s too old” thing. Really, you’re way older than him in the whole “get off my lawn” and “other people can’t maneuver their shopping carts the way I think they should” department.
Baud
I’d pick Chuck Grassley because he wouldn’t last long and then I’d get some peace and quiet.
JPL
trump’s rally was just cancelled due to thunder storms. sad Maybe god is telling him something
Bupalos
@sab: Just saw the first commercial and yeah…this is a fucking mistake. I wasn’t worried and now I’m worried.
The commercial contained the line “supported the law that President Trump later signed.” They’re trying to placate MAGA. YOU CANNOT PLACATE MAGA AND FFS YOU DON’T NEED TO.
Feels like some kind of air-dropped, national input. Trump is radioactive to the voters we need to energize here. Did they learn nothing from the other senate campaign?
sab
@Bupalos: Kay disagreed with me and she was wrong.
Prescott Cactus
or
“Who would you like to be stuck with on a desert island if there were hungry carnivorous sharks that would leave only bones and you had a rake to hide any signs of struggle on the beach. . .
HumboldtBlue
I don’t know what youse are doing tonight, but this guy, at age 31, is making his Major League debut and that’s pretty cool.
Baud
@HumboldtBlue: I’m making my Major League debut tonight.
Dangerman
Tuberville, so help me Herschel Walker. Know your lane. Or A Gap, B gap, or whatever if you play ball.
Phylllis
Watching the Braves and looking over my Memphis travel guide.
Cacti
@Suzanne: Fetterman’s better than Dr. Oz. That’s about the nicest thing I can say for him. His pandering to the anti-hispanic vote has been shameful.
And before anyone embarrasses themselves, his wife is Brazilian. A non-hispanic LatAm country.
hitchhiker
I’ think Vance is the worst … until I remember Tuberville. Yikes, I couldn’t do it. I’d build a wall around myself.
I just spent 15 minutes looking at the hate Mike Johnson is getting on twitter. Holy fuck, these people are absolutely insane. It was like watching a bunch of furry little robots programmed to spit and shake their fists.
BigJimSlade
Makin’ pizza! Half normal with tomatoes, red peppers and pepperoni, and half with no sauce, but carmelized onions and comté (or gruyere) cheese :-)
RSA
Duckworth is a great person, but unless she has desert island expertise I think Tester, not being in a wheelchair, would be a better bet. (Feel free to call me a non-PC asshole.)
Another Scott
There’s nothing wrong with wearing a hoodie nearly all the time. I do these days. ;-) Hang in there.
So, what’s up with Substack these days? I joined to support Wonkette and a few other places. I put a minimal statement in my header thing and have not even posted a comment, I don’t think. I don’t even have a custom avatar image (just a machine-picked color blob).
But I’ve got, let’s see…, 11 followers.
WTF??
Is everything a giant scam with bots and scrapers and who knows what else trolling for “followers” and “engagement” and “growing subscriber counts” and all the rest? No sensible algorithm would pick my account to recommend to others.
Has it always been like this? Is everything online (except B-J) like this??
[ /get-off-my-lawn ]
Cheers,
Scott.
Prescott Cactus
@HumboldtBlue:
31, man that’s a lot of bus rides.
Poe Larity
There needs to be a best of weird topics posts for this blog.
The only important attribute for an island-mate would be who would be the least unpaletable or has an iPhone with the satellite thing.
SpaceUnit
I’d be okay being stuck on an island with Tuberville if I had a five foot section of 2×4.
Something about that dude’s face.
Fake Irishman
@Bupalos:
what law was he referring to? MISSION Act? COVID related relief?
satby
@Another Scott: shoot, now I have to find and follow you 😉
Ohio Mom
I am waking up from a nap, enjoying the calm before the storm. Monday night is our Seder and this year promises to be particularly high-strung. Right now Ohio MIL is in the hospital, about to be transferred to a skilled nursing facility.
There’s nothing wrong with her except she’s 92 and her body has decided it’s done with anything to do with standing up and walking.
Whatever happens next, I’m pretty sure it does not include moving back into her independent living apartment. You can’t live independently if you can’t make it to the bathroom.
I will be biting my tongue very hard over the next few days as reality smashes into Ohio Dad and his brother (who is in town for the holiday with his wife). Not to mention Ohio MIL. The three of them are deep into denial.
Doc Sardonic
Think of the insane amount of aerobic exercise you would get with JD Vance or Rand Paul on a deserted island. Early morning PT chasing the bastard around the island, catching and beating the shit out of them, then a leisurely breakfast.
sab
@Ohio Mom: Thinking of you.
Betty Cracker
John, the other day you mentioned your ideal outdoor scenario is to be in the sun but not hot. Mine is to be in the shade but not cold.
The mister told me I’m like an orchid, and I said, aww, how sweet — orchids are so pretty. But he meant I can only thrive in a narrow temperature range. 🤔 It’s true.
West of the Rockies
Can anyone explain JC’s farmer/crashcart reference? I don’t know any ICU people to ask.
Steeplejack
@HumboldtBlue:
He pitched Friday night. Feel-good story here.
Ohio Mom
I’m thinking that if you are on an island in the middle of nowhere with US Senator, there will be a big effort to find and rescue the Senator. So whomever you pick, you won’t have to put up with them for all that long.
The Golux
I used to think Mitch McConnell was the worst malevolent Republican shitstain in Congress, but nowadays he doesn’t even crack the top (bottom?) twenty. They’re all awful, with the possible exception of Murkowski. It absolutely astonishes me that this isn’t obvious to anyone who isn’t a MAGAt.
Ishmael
@West of the Rockies: Farmers are tough and don’t go to the doctor, much less the hospital, unless there is something seriously wrong. So if a farmer admits there is something bothering them enough to go to the emergency room, it is serious. Chest pain, heart attack: bring the crash cart.
Steeplejack
@West of the Rockies:
I think it’s that farmers are traditionally so deep in the “walk it off” school of injury management that if one of them actually shows up at the E.R. it’s really serious.
Ohio Mom
@sab: When I was imagining where Ohio MIL could land next, I thought of your challenges finding a place for your dad.
She still has almost all of her marbles and will be loudly unhappy about whatever happens next. She’s incensed she ended up in the hospital — an ambulance was called when the building’s staff found out she hadn’t gotten out of bed for a day and a half.
M31
@Steeplejack: my doctor told me a story about a farmer who came in with a hernia he’d ignored for so long it made a bulge the size of a watermelon
“just tuck ’em back in and get back to work”
West of the Rockies
@Ishmael:
Thank you (& Steeplejack, too).
wjca
And, given what minor league salaries are, one super supportive family.
Odie Hugh Manatee
Power was out this AM due to an exploding transformer but they had it fixed in just over an hour. I was just going to shut down one of the battery backups and it came back on. Tomorrow I’ll finish my project to work just over 2 yards of fresh soil into the beds. Planted beets, purple beans and snap peas so far. Added some fresh strawberry plants to the beds and have cleaned up the raspberry beds. I should have the garden wrapped up this week and then it’s just maintain and harvest.
One of my best friends passed away last October and his sis called yesterday. She’s passing through town soon and would like to stop in and meet us. He talked of us to her all of the time and she feels like she already knows us. I also have his old motorcycle here (’76 Kawasaki KZ900) with a bunch of new parts that he had bought before his health took a bad turn. She’s stopping by Monday so it will be nice to finally meet her.
@Ohio Mom:
Good luck and best wishes for a good outcome for all. Changing ways due to a changing life is difficult for some people to accept, especially when reaching the end of the road.
Ohio Mom
@West of the Rockies:
The YouTuber Dr Glaucomflecken, who does comedy sketches about the foibles of various medical specialists, has a series on rural medicine. The farmers never come in for help unless they are on death’s doorstep.
https://www.google.com/search?q=dr+glaucomflecken+rural+medicine&client=safari&sca_esv=7267969e525acff1&sca_upv=1&hl=en-us&sxsrf=ACQVn09LV5fdUVnPdwmgGd8h1pwaQ6cb0w%3A1713659257488&ei=eV0kZq_9HLvn5NoPmfKOoAw&oq=&gs_lp=EhNtb2JpbGUtZ3dzLXdpei1zZXJwIgAqAggAMgcQIxgnGOoCMgcQIxgnGOoCMgcQIxgnGOoCMgcQIxgnGOoCMgcQIxgnGOoCMgcQIxgnGOoCMgcQIxgnGOoCMgcQIxgnGOoCMgcQIxgnGOoCMgcQIxgnGOoCMgcQIxgnGOoCMgcQIxgnGOoCMgcQIxgnGOoCMgcQIxgnGOoCMgcQIxgnGOoCSIBVUABYAHAFeAGQAQCYAQCgAQCqAQC4AQHIAQD4AQGYAgWgAhmoAg_CAgoQABiwAxjWBBhHwgINEC4YgAQYsAMYQxiKBZgDC4gGAZAGCZIHATWgBwA&sclient=mobile-gws-wiz-serp
Redshift
Another Scott did the research on the bill, and it’s structured as an amendment to the original Senate bill, so apparently it can’t be filibustered. So I think it’s safe from Putin’s puppets in the Senate.
Lyrebird
@Ohio Mom: More good thoughts coming your way.
KayInMD (formerly Kay (not the front-pager))
How could you forget Ron Johnson? OK I’ll go back & read the rest.
wjca
Kinda depends on which Senator. I’m guessing that nobody would fund an effort to find Ted Cruz.
Chacal Charles Calthrop
@Ohio Mom: good point.
I’m doing some yoga, then dinner, then reading a Wuxia novel
KayInMD (formerly Kay (not the front-pager))
If you’ve seen any of the vidios Tester has made with various other senators, Tester is pretty funny too. He’d be a pretty good island mate.
Redshift
@The Golux: McConnell may not be as terrible a person as many of the current ones, but he’s much more effective in his evil, which I still think makes him a worse senator.
One of the things that has saved us from even worse outcomes is that so many in the conservative and Trumpist movements are lazy AF. They are horrible people and they want horrible things, but they can’t be bothered to do actual work to make them happen. So a lot of what they’ve “achieved” is blocking things, which our system makes easy.
HumboldtBlue
@Prescott Cactus: @Steeplejack:
Lot of bus rides and spring training dreams. Been at it since he was, what, 18? Great story.
Nukular Biskits
Question: Will assault be legal on that desert isle?
If so, I have a couple of Republican senators who might be contenders for the 2nd party …
Nukular Biskits
Looking at congress.gov, I don’t see the House votes for the various foreign/military aid packages yet.
cain
Rand Paul is the biggest asshole .. the number of times he has disrupted Senate business is ridiculous. Tuberville is next.
Prescott Cactus
@Odie Hugh Manatee:
At that time, it was dream of mine. One I’m glad never came true.
Matt McIrvin
@Another Scott: I have an account on YouTube, so I have a YouTube channel. It has nothing in it–I have never posted a single video. It has 35 subscribers.
Baud
@Nukular Biskits:
https://live.house.gov/
piratedan
Arizona, yeah….. Arizona.
https://blogforarizona.net/lyingloserlake-nailed-on-abortion-flip-flop-at-tucson-rally/
While I loathe even the idea that there is any nuance between bugfuck crazy and hypocritical shitbird, I hope that they enjoy masticating on each other waffling between evangelical purity and pragmatic cruelty.
KayInMD (formerly Kay (not the front-pager))
@West of the Rockies: He means if a farmer walks into an emergency room he probably got his arm ripped off in a combine (my grampa), fell off a roof, shattered his arm, and drove a stick shift 20 miles to the hospital in the next town (my dad, at 74), or had a heart attack while shearing sheep and drove himself to the hospital (my uncle). In other words, farmers are tough. If one of them walks into your ER, they are really REALLY sick or injured.
NotMax
Finally getting around to making the pan of noodle kugel for which I bought ingredients (checks calendar) 10 days ago.
First time firing up the oven since Xmas.
Steeplejack
@Chacal Charles Calthrop:
Which novel? Other Wuxia recommendations?
Gin & Tonic
This Sixers-Knicks game is old-school tough, but my Knicks have prevailed.
Nukular Biskits
@Baud:
Thanks!
Looks like all three MS Republican Reps voted against aid to Ukraine but for aid to Israel.
NotMax
For some reason people always leave Marcia Blackburn off the senatorial sh*tlist.
NobodySpecial
Been watching the Candidates chess tournament where the winner will have spot in the World Championship match. One of the closest ones I’ve seen in my lifetime.
One round to go tomorrow. The current leader is a 17 year old prodigy from India at 8.5-5.5. Three people are a half point behind at 8-6. Those four play each other tomorrow by the fortunes of the schedule. It’s going to be a bloodbath.
Melancholy Jaques
@Suzanne:
Are you disappointed in his votes or in his tweets?
Another Scott
@West of the Rockies: Yet another farmer story…
My best friend’s father was working the fields one day when he was young and keeled over in terrible pain. It took 3 days for someone to find him and take him to the hospital – appendicitis.
Later, when he was farming and also taking classes at THE Ohio State University, he was broke all the time so would go to a diner for early morning breakfast and have a cup of tea (cheapest thing on the menu), ask for extra hot water, squeeze a ketchup packet into the water, and have a cup of “tomato soup” for nothing extra.
It’s a tough life and only tough people can do it. If they’re at the ER, something really bad has happened.
Cheers,
Scott.
Starfish
@Doc Sardonic: You are making the idea of this exercise stuff really appealing.
Baud
@Nukular Biskits:
They’re good soldiers.
Prescott Cactus
@HumboldtBlue:
I wish him a long career, but if he gets one AB, just one, he’ll sleep as soon as his head hits the pillow for years.
If you ever have the chance look up Joe Cleary from Ireland. He pitched for the Washington Senators in 1945. He gave up 8 baserunners (5 hits and 3 walks) and 7 earned runs in just 1⁄3 of an inning. His lifetime 189.00 ERA is still the highest on record for pitchers who retired at least one batter. His only MLB appearance.
Dig deep, it’s great story
Nukular Biskits
@Baud:
Not sure about Kelly or Guest (although they are Trump supporters) but Ezell is unfortunately my congressional rep and he’s an a-hole.
Quadrillipede
I mean, there’s a non-zero chance that some of the replies literally are being posted by bots…
Starfish
@Nukular Biskits: Are they all fringe protestant nutters with haircuts that they haven’t changed since they graduated from Ole Miss?
Firebert
Re: John Tester, farmers and toughness: nobody’s mentioned that Tester is missing several fingers due to a meat grinder accident.
Chacal Charles Calthrop
@Steeplejack: the classic Jin Yong – the condor heroes: https://www.amazon.com/Hero-Born-Definitive-Legends-Condor-ebook
If you’re into wuxia, post your recommendations! It became my pandemic hobby.
Quadrillipede
While I’m here, it’s kind of a relief to see somebody else devote an excessive amount of mental energy on absurd thought experiments. It’s nice to see evidence that it’s not just me doing that. 👍
(Also, I think I would pick Ted Cruz and then just inexplicably keep calling him “Rupert” just to see how he reacts to it each time…)
Prescott Cactus
@NobodySpecial:
The Surf Life Saving National Championships are on TV and I wonder about the last place finisher. . . and their partner. . .
Suzanne
@Melancholy Jaques: Both, at this point.
zhena gogolia
JL Cauvin addresses flatulenceGate.
mrmoshpotato
I fail to see the problem. :)
catclub
Russian bots.
Melancholy Jaques
@Prescott Cactus:
I had one and loved it. After two years, it was stolen. But a lot of fun while it lasted.
Always thought I’d get another motorcycle. Never did.
Melancholy Jaques
@Suzanne:
I can’t remember any of his votes that were objectionable. Though I have to admit I haven’t followed him closely since he came back.
Nukular Biskits
@Starfish:
I don’t know much about Kelly and Guest, other than they’re wingnuts.
Ezell is the former sheriff of Jackson County who took over after the previous sheriff pleaded guilty to ” misleading conduct toward another person with intent to prevent communication to a federal law enforcement officer” among other things.
Ezell won the seat from incumbent Steven Palazzo who rode the TEA Party idiocy into Congress. Palazzo, towards the end of his term, was pretty much a no-show at public events, something Ezell mocked him for.
And, guess what? Ezell has pretty much followed in Palazzo’s footsteps since taking office.
evodevo
@Ohio Mom:
lolol LOVE IT. So true here at Hell’s Half Acre
Prescott Cactus
@Melancholy Jaques:
Stolen… sad.
Buddy had one and T-boned a car. 6 months of limping with a few surgeries to keep him busy. I remember a guy named Pops Yoshimura who would fine tune Kaw 900’s to add speed & quickness… Like they needed it…
NotMax
@Another Scott
The mock tomato soup is an old Automat trick, dating back to the Great Depression.
Nukular Biskits
@Odie Hugh Manatee @Prescott Cactus @Melancholy Jaques
The largest bike I ever owned was a 1997 Suzuki Intruder 800. We were doing a bunch of horsetrading post-Katrina and coworker sold it to me for $2700. Only had 5K miles on it.
All my bikes were rice-burners. Previous ones:
Jackie
@NotMax: And MS’s Cindy Hyde-Smith. She’s a detestable woman.
wjca
A great story indeed. And a record that is likely to stand forever.
Eolirin
@Bupalos: They kinda do though? Trump won Ohio by 9 points iirc. I believe the Brown campaign has stated they need to win over 1 in 6 Trump voters in order to be able to win in Ohio.
Brown’s very well known and liked with the populations he needs to be able to get, but a lot of them are Trump voters and he can’t alienate them.
I’m not sure that Ryan’s campaign was “wrong” in its approach so much as that seat wasn’t winnable by someone who didn’t already have Brown like connections with the Ohio electorate. As it is, it’s going to be very close at best.
If we can keep economic growth going there, and the cities start to grow faster, maybe in 10 years, with the right party infrastructure, we can turn the state purple again, but right now it’s a heavy lift all around. Brown is probably the only candidate that has a chance in hell of pulling off a win.
HumboldtBlue
@Prescott Cactus:
I went down an RNLI rabbit hole a few years back and found myself in another hole yesterday.
An absolutely amazing organization.
JoyceH
I’m starting to see ads for the Congressional campaign of Eugene Vindman. He talks about “MAGA Republicans who want to ban abortion and ban books.” Then he says, just totally positive, no ifs ands or buts, “Send me to Congress, and I’ll stop them.” Sold!
CaseyL
Which GOP Senator is the most detestable? An impossible question: they’re all walking, talking vomit.
I had a lovely day. The morning was sunny, clear, and just the right amount of warm. I went to the Zoo, where about one-third of the animals didn’t want to be seen; one-third came out to play; and one-third found a sunny spot – visible to visitors or not – and sacked out.
I then visited with a dear friend recovering from surgery. The weather changed radically on the 15-minute drive to her house: sun went away, clouds moved in, temperature dropped about 15 degrees. We tried to go for a walk, but were maybe 100 yards from the house when very strong winds started blowing all kinds of stuff around. Scurried back into the house, hoping the wind would die down. Which it did – after a couple hours. We went out into an almost-not-there drizzle, had a nice jaunt around the neighborhood, and returned just in the time for the rain to really start.
Seattle in Spring, folks.
cain
I’m actually in Phoenix right now. Well just the airport .. heading back to PDX after a long 2.5 weeks away.
Prescott Cactus
@HumboldtBlue:
Nothing better than a good, deep rabbit hole !
laura
@Ohio Mom: i don’t know if you or your family might find this helpful and/or comforting, but I cannot recommend this highly enough. If I could climb into a wayback machine and hear this, I would, but it reassured me in a way that nothing else actually hit on- on many bases.
https://www.npr.org/2024/04/17/1197964999/death-doula-alua
Ohio Mom
@laura: Oh, I am fine with saying goodbye to Ohio MIL. But she has repeatedly said she wants to live forever.
I suspect someone as narcissistic as she is can’t stand the thought of not existing. And Ohio Dad and Ohio BIL are committed to making her happy. Ah, entrenched family patterns, aren’t they grand?
laura
I stood in line for 90 minutes this morning at the Phono Select because it’s Record Store Day and I got 4 of my 8 hope to gets. I didn’t get Billy Bragg Bloke on Bloke, or the lost studio recording of Chet Baker or Faces BBC Collection, or The Cramps but did score my first choice Fun Boy 3, The Slits, a double album studio recording of Gene Clark 1964-1982 and a crazy Punk compilation with a too long and too offensive title. I made the Woks of Life sweet & sour chicken recipe for dinner, but because spouse is feeling poorly, I stopped after the double fry, packed everything up for tomorrow night’s dinner and had a devilled egg salad sammich for dinner…plus a beer. I’m likely going full “that guy in court” under the covers tonight ☺
Sister Golden Bear
@SpaceUnit: There’s gotta be a German word for a face that cries out for a 2×4.
Steve in the ATL
@Phylllis:
I assume the entirety of the text is “don’t go!”
Mai Naem mobile
Mark Kelly would be a good island mate to have. He’s got to have been trained on a lot of basic rescue/survival/first aid stuff in case the space shuttle crashed. Probably have to be pretty enterprising to live on the space station. Also has to have learned some medical stuff helping Gabby Giffords during her recovery. Surprised you left your own Senator Manchin off the asshole list.
Mai Naem mobile
@cain: lucky you. You’re leaving just as the heat is hitting. They’re predicting a possible 100 degrees on Tuesday but then it’s supposed to go back down to the mid upper 80s.
Nukular Biskits
@Mai Naem mobile:
Where do you live?
Hoppie
@Nukular Biskits: Presumably Phoenix area, AKA “valley of the sun”, since that’s where Cain was leaving.
Nukular Biskits
@Hoppie:
According to the temp readout on my F150 when I drove to Lowe’s this afternoon, it was 85 here in Gulfport. Which is a little warm for this time of year.
But the temp has dropped tonight. I was on back porch listening to blues via streaming but was forced inside as temps dropped into the low 70s.
Melancholy Jaques
@Eolirin:
Ryan may not have been known statewide, but his connections with the voters in his congressional district (actually districts, due to redistricting) where he had been getting re-elected for nearly 20 years. He lost in those counties and it was not very close.
Now, since it was a mid-term, we know it wasn’t the very same voters who re-elected him then rejected him.
I will leave it to those who live and work there now to try to explain what is going on there, but the usual explanation of racism seems to be inadequate considering that Obama won the state twice.
Mai Naem mobile
@Nukular Biskits: Metro Phoenix
Mai Naem mobile
So there was another wrong way fatal accident here a couple of days ago. It seems like a lot of the wrong way accidents seem to be either on the free way ramps or the freeways. I don’t understand how you get on the freeway on the wrong direction. I’ve done driving in the LA area and I can kind of imagine somebody doing that in LA but the Phoenix freeways are set up where it’s hard to screw up. Even if you manage to get on in the wrong direction the ramp would have to be very empty and you could turn back around(illegally) 1onto the ramp.
sab
@Melancholy Jaques: Ryan was popular in the western side of his district, where he didn’t live. Not because we didn’t know him. He became over the years policywise more aligned with us. We are more blue.
His problem was that as he tried to win back his own neighbors he did nothing to attract people outside of his district who would have liked him had they known him. He was counting on Democratic solidarity and in Ohio even Democrats don’t trust our party.
Odie Hugh Manatee
@Nukular Biskits:
Late reply to the old bikers here but yeah, the KZ900 was a pretty lethal street weapon of the time. My brother had one that he chopped from brand new…lol! It was insane with 16″ short pipes on it.
Speaking of insane I bought a 1973 Kawasaki H2 Mach IV in 1975. I rode it for that summer and sold it feeling lucky to still be alive. That thing would wheelie cranking the throttle at freeway speeds. In fact it would wheelie pretty much any time you cranked the throttle! A friend bought it from me and sold it shortly afterward as it was too nuts for him too.
I too was a Yamahauler! I had an XS850G and later on an XS850SG (Special) that I gave away about six months ago. Odd bike but really good for cruising the highway, which I did a lot of.
I’m glad I’m off bikes now that phones have the attention of too many drivers. I really miss the riding with my wife.
BillD
Best desert island companion for me would be Mazie Hirono. She’s funny and will say damn near anything. Worst? Gotta be Hawley, Cotton or Paul.