Had a checkup at the doctor today so I would not need to do anything while in Arizona away from my service provider, and the bloodwork was fine and my bp and resting heart rate are surprisingly down and I have built some muscle, but other than that she was kind of disgusted with me. I am not to walk on my sprained calf muscle which may take a couple weeks to heal, the cat bite has left scar tissue on the bone and will just be there for good, and my sinus infection is worse than I realized and I am now on an inhaler, mucinex, and an antibiotic. Basically, I am doing the right things but still have managed to find myself a crutch away from a telethon.
Apparently, I am so used to feeling like shit from my sinuses that I have lost my ability to judge when I need to see the doctor. Awesome. Just a couple more weeks and I will be back in the southwest and these issues will be gone, and I can not wait.
Still going through record breaking anxiety about the election, and I think the reason it is so bad is because you simply can not rely on anything regarding the polls. 2016 killed my faith in polling and right now I feel like I am just flying blind.
Another short post tonight. I have to drive to Ohio tomorrow to take the mother in law to some doctor’s appointments, so I am going to bed early. You all behave.
Baud
We’re pretty much flying blind.
TBone
According to this, VP Harris is doing a Town Hall event (on CNN) in DelCo, PA tomorrow. No location details have yet been released (that I’ve seen), but as usual, DelConians have plenty of suggestions.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/vice-president-kamala-harris-coming-to-delaware-county-for-town-hall/ar-AA1srWrr
ETA 9pm
CNN’s town hall with Harris is scheduled to begin at 9 p.m. Eastern time on Wednesday and will air live. Moderating the event is veteran CNN anchor Anderson Cooper.
citizen dave
In Baud We Trust
Old School
Oh Wisconsin….
eclare
Eminem is introducing Obama tonight at a rally in Detroit. I’ve set my VCR.
Tom Levenson
The polls are such a noisy signal right now that they are close to meaningless (on the margins they’re reporting).
So, as a lot of people here and elsewhere have suggested, it’s better for (my) blood pressure to look to other signals that have some direct anchor in reality: money, campaign intensity, volunteer efforts, etc. Early vote stuff is reading rooster entrails, so while I take encouragement from the gender breakdown, I’m trying to ignore those too–but the measurable measures of who is up or down all favor our side, and that’s where I’m trying to hang my hat.
Doesn’t mean I don’t have panic attack and 3 a.m. sudden ascents from sleep. But enough of MIT has seeped into my take on the world to overweight empirical evidence. So I’m feeling more OK than not.
Tom Levenson
@Old School: That part of WI whose inhabitants are FL folks in waiting.
[ducks]
Suzanne
LOL, you think being in the desert will take care of your sinus issues, you sweet summer child.
I repeat: go see Dr. McKenna with Valley ENT.
TBone
@TBone: 😆an explainer
https://www.inquirer.com/columnists/kamala-harris-delco-town-hall-wawa-20241016.html
satby
Here John, remember when you introduced everyone to these guys? I’ve gotten some great gifts from them. They’re struggling:
(link to Botany Tropicals)
Hey Friends,
It’s with heavy hearts that we share this news today. In the true spirit of transparency. We’ve been working tirelessly to keep our business afloat, and stay positive but the current circumstances have left us uncertain about how much longer we can continue. While we don’t have a set date for closure and we plan to try and avoid this at all costs, as we have shortened our hours and streamlined the store. We’re not giving up, and we’re committed to working even harder to keep our doors open. Your continued love and support mean the world to us, and we’re grateful for each and every one of you. Let’s stay positive and hopeful for the future as we are sure that we aren’t the only ones feeling the pressure to keep the lights on. So please when you are shopping keep this in mind and keep as many dollars as possible local. Small businesses apricate it more than you can imagine.
karen marie
@Suzanne: In my life I have never had more shit in my sinuses as I’ve had since I’ve lived here in Arizona. Every morning, while in the shower, I expel about a gallon of mucus out of my sinuses.
twbrandt
Do what now?
PaulWartenberg
This. Having a complete racist idiot monster like trump end up in the White House all because of an archaic and broken electoral system traumatized a ton of Americans. We can do everything possible to ensure 81 million Americans (and hopefully more) show up for Harris as much as they did for Biden in 2020, and STILL there will be this terrifying dread that somehow trump – through sabotage, through violence, through a corrupt SCOTUS – will cheat his way out of justice again.
comrade scotts agenda of rage
Dry climate clearing out sinuses? Bwahahahahahahahahahahahaha. That’s so much bullshit.
Dry here in Denver and I blow my nose constantly. When I was back in steamy, lowland Central Misery, never had to.
We’re gonna win the popular vote and if the usual GOTV models prove effective at the swing state level, we’re gonna win those too because we have GOTV and the Orange Fart Cloud don’t.
hrprogressive
It’s crazy because 2016 ruined a lot of our brains, but then 2022 was so wildly bad for the other side that it’s hard to trust it being wrong in our direction, either.
Adding in how the “science” of polling has mostly been replaced by bullshit artistry designed to set the narrative instead of provide a reasonably accurate picture of what “the public is thinking at a given moment in time”, and yeah.
That said, I remember how awful everyone felt when they were poised to stomp Biden, and then how good we’ve felt and how generally out of sorts they’ve been since Harris took over.
Can’t say I feel as bad as before, but the fact that we are either unable (or unwilling) to capture some sort of Reaganesque Landslide for the Not Another Old White Guy and Also Not A Theocratic Dictator-in-Waiting is just beyond mind-blowing.
Math Guy
Saw an odd sign on my bike ride. In three rows, it read: Trump, Vance, RFK.
WTF?
Almost Retired
“I find myself a crutch away from a telethon” is quite possibly the best description of aging I have ever read.
I have mild allergies in Los Angeles – ragweed, dust, smog, flowering shit – who knows. But when I would visit family in AZ between November and March, all the allergies disappeared. Arizona is magical. For part of the year. The AZ family visited me April through October.
KatKapCC
@Old School: Yikes :(
Jackie
@Old School:
😱 I’m awaiting the answer! OMG, the SS needs to be investigated top to bottom and pronto!
KatKapCC
@Math Guy: Maybe they think that once they 25th Trump, RFK will step in as Veep. ROFL forever.
Baud
@hrprogressive:
People spent many, many years telling themselves that Republican voters were all just like us the problem was Democratic messaging. Until enough people face that reality, we don’t have a good path out of this mess.
HumboldtBlue
He’s just an utter piece of shit.
KatKapCC
@HumboldtBlue: The link doesn’t work. Who is this in reference to?
Chet Murthy
Apparently his first chief-of-staff General Kelly came out and said he’s a fascist, in an interview with FTFNYT.
Gvg
@Jackie: idiots can always outsmart smart people. Really. They think differently. Drunks count I suppose. Also their vision is messed up and imaginary. I guess maybe the SS could hire some idiots just to ask the ideas but there are so many ways to think idiotic things that it probably would still miss things and I bet it would look bad when congress audits them. “You deliberately hired idiots? Are you trying to waste our money and kill the President?”
Unlike past “failures” of the SS, this one seems…normal, and unavoidable. I have had a similar close call myself years ago on a divided Highway over a hill, but that may have been just a really lost tourist in Orlando…
JPL
@Chet Murthy: I didn’t have Kelly on my bingo card as being the first one who called trump a wanna be dictator and fascist. Maybe the flood gates will open.
ssdd
@KatKapCC: dead U.S. soldier. https://www.mediaite.com/trump/trump-reportedly-raged-at-american-soldiers-funeral-bill-it-doesnt-cost-60000-bucks-to-bury-a-fcking-mexican/
Geminid
@Math Guy: RFK Jr. has a loyal following, and Trump and his people hope it will make a difference in a close election. Same with Tulsi Gabbard.
But I don’t think they’ll pull in that many voters, and I don’t think this election will be that close.
JiveTurkin
“I need the kind of generals that Hitler had,” Trump reportedly said in a private conversation in the White House, according to The Atlantic, citing two people who heard him say this. “People who were totally loyal to him, that follow orders.”
If they can confirm this, it has to be an ad. As bad as most of the shit he normally says, this is pure unadulterated evil
Suzanne
@karen marie:
Moving to PA has been an improvement in that regard. I still have seasonal allergies, but only in one season! In AZ, I was allergic to stuff all year!
While I was in Egypt for the last few days, I was reminded about dust snot.
HumboldtBlue
@KatKapCC:
Here’s the link, sorry.
Jackie
@Gvg:
The SS doesn’t use drones to oversee traffic situations???
Baud
@HumboldtBlue:
Excerpt
eemom
Just for old time’s sake, Cole.
lamh47
Math Guy
John, I had pretty serious seasonal allergies as a kid; eyes swollen shut, severe congestion, fever. At some point I discovered that hot, spicy food alleviated the symptoms and thus began a life long love affair with peppers and horseradish.
sab
@Old School: At least that wrong way drunk was driving slowly and carefully.
Chet Murthy
$2,500 of theft, if he were black he’d be headed to prison. White Privilege.
https://x.com/Brandi_Buchman/status/1848657827922927898
No One You Know
I find the ongoing innocence of the media regarding Elon Musk to be almost disengenuous. I think it’s obvious why he’s softening the block function.
Just think of how many people will abandon their voices when their texts get them harrassed by so many hostiles– including GPT bots. Elon’s “fumigation” is a digital model of what Trump/Vance will do to people in real life: disappear them.
Every system is perfectly designed to produce the results it gets. It won’t be a bad design decision for anyone except people he doesn’t like. Cui bono!
snoey
@sab: One thing almost all Wisconsin drunk drivers have in common is plenty of practice.
JPL
Gotta say that I didn’t think it would be Kelly. This is supposed to be a gift link but not sure it will work
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/22/us/politics/john-kelly-trump-fitness-character.html?smid=url-share
lamh47
@lamh47:
CaseyL
Damn, John. It’s a wonder you’re as cheerful as you are.
My ex had horrible chronic sinus infections – and then he finally went to have an extensive imaging done of his head and found out an old, old head injury had done something to one of the bones in the sinus area. He had surgery to correct it, and no longer has near-crippling sinus infections. Have you had your head examined? :)
The election has turned my brain to mush. It’s not affecting the routine of everyday life, but it is affecting the quality of my work, so that’s another thing for me to panic about. There are things I always knew and believed about the RW in this country, but never did I dream that 45% of the adult population was all in on that repellent collection of half-baked blood-and-soil bullshit. At least I no longer have to be polite and make nice to anyone who says they’re a Republican: anyone owning that designation is a waste of the air they breathe.
Chet Murthy
@JPL: rawstory.com link to same story.
https://www.rawstory.com/donald-trump-2669459049/
KatKapCC
@ssdd: Ugh. He is just so vile. Like the worst this country has ever created.
Jeffro
flying blind or not, it is starting to hit me a bit just how dramatically the axe is going to fall once we know the results in two weeks (or two weeks and two days, whatever)
we’ll either be in a democracy and a whole lot of bad people will be on their way to prison, or, we’ll be in a trump-ocracy (think ‘kakistocracy on steroids’) and a whole lot of good people will be fleeing for their lives and/or dying in hospital parking lots
I mean, it’s not like it’s going to be quiet going forward either way
(as much as we might like that)
here’s hoping for the good kind of not-quiet!
Baud
@lamh47:
Still the coolest.
Ksmiami
Look, I’m pretty skeptical of Americans at this point. There are too many greedy and dumb people in this country to ever really evolve. But don’t despair, things will be so terrible under GOP rule that we might finally break up the country
JPL
@Chet Murthy: At this point he and his family said what do we have to lose. My brother was surprised because publically the military has to be apolitical. He was happily surprised because now maybe the floodgates open.
Baud
Via reddit, Kamala Harris answering the mainstream media’s questions.
Chet Murthy
@JPL: Oh, I’m surprised too. Milley said it in a book, but that’s much, much less public than him saying it in a newspaper interview. And yes, hopefully the floodgates will open now.
wjca
Of course we will! Yes, sir!
We may behave badly, but we will definitely behave.
Bostondreams
@lamh47: I don’t know why I loved this as much as I did!
Jeffro
I just have to say, “Eminem emcees & introduces President Barack Obama at a rally for Vice President/candidate for President Kamala Harris two weeks out from an election against 3-time GOP presidential candidate (and 30+ felony count) Donald trumpov” would be a fun note to send back to most any point in American history.
No wonder we all have vertigo in this wild, wonderful country of ours!
wjca
About all the polls are good for, pretty much all they have ever been good for, it this. If you look at the results of two polls, by the same polling company, you can get an idea of the direction that sentiment is moving. Not where it is. Not how much it is moving. Just direction. And if you get several over time, still by the same polling company, you can filter out some of the inherent noise in the signal.
Trying to read anything more from polls is very much a matter of reading stuff into them.
BigJimSlade
Regarding the trash polls, ahem… Fuck ’em.
You’re doing great John – just a few bumps in the road. It’s fine – any road can be a bit bumpy. (fake cutesy voice: but this one is your bumpy road! lol)
TBone
New documentary ‘White With Fear‘ looks very interesting.
…
https://filmthreat.com/reviews/white-with-fear/
mrmoshpotato
Oh Knicks…
Lily
Last night I tried to quiet my election day anxiety by accepting it won’t be over for a few months. Then the corrupt courts came back to mind.
Anoniminous
Behavior is unavoidable.
Timill
The Chicago Sun-Times just had an election popup on a story I was reading, so I answered it. Among the questions: where do I get my election info? I listed: CST, LATimes, WaPo, TPMemo, and Balloon Juice.
That should confuse them nicely…
TS
I’m scared witless about trump winning. Every time I think MVP has this, the media comes up with reasons why not, be it polls or early votes or something else. trump is gross, rude, incapable and probably demented, yet nothing stops the disciples from thinking he is their savior. Cannot understand nor comprehend how miserable they must be to think this way. The man has been campaigning for 4 years, he does nothing else, and shows everyone who he is – and they still don’t get it.
Sorry – and I hope the reasons for him not winning are overwhelming.
Timill
@TS: Well, consider: if Biden were the one falling apart in public, we’d still be supporting him and hoping to fix the problems in post-production. They’re probably doing the same – buying into the whole package not just the frontman.
Of course, why they want the package is a whole ‘nother question.
TBone
Ugh, we lost Barbara Dane.
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2024/oct/21/barbara-dane-bob-dylan-folk-blues-activism
HumboldtBlue
@Jeffro:
Good point.
WaterGirl
@Math Guy: That’s awesome.
WaterGirl
@lamh47: Obama is so bold and confident. Love that about him.
Ell
@JohnCole
No, your provider is not disgusted with you.
You will definitely feel better in every way when you get the FUCK out of MAGA land and live in a place that is more balanced politically, better in terms of climate, and is so sunshiney every day you can’t get seasonal affective disorder.
You really oughta consider staying there, guy. Seriously. Or both of you moving to New Mexico which is even more gentle on the mind and body.
kwAwk
I curious to see if I’ve been shadow banned. If anybody can see this, give me a short reply. Thanks!
Ella in New Mexico
@JohnCole
No, your provider is not disgusted with you. I PROMISE;
You will definitely feel better in every way when you get the FUCK out of MAGA land and live in a place that is more balanced politically, better in terms of climate, and is so sunshiney every day you can’t get seasonal affective disorder.
You really oughta consider staying there, guy. Seriously. Or both of you moving to New Mexico which is even more gentle on the mind and body.
Ella in New Mexico
@kwAwk: SEE YOU
kwAwk
@Ella in New Mexico: I would love to move to New Mexico. It looks beautiful. And thank you for replying..
Jackie
@kwAwk: I see you 😊
catclub
@Old School: I love the joke:
A woman watching TV sees a report of a driver driving the wrong way on the highway she knows her husband is driving. She calls him: “Dear, be careful, they say there is a driver going the wrong way near you.”
he says: “one driver??? there’s hundreds!”
Elizabelle
@kwAwk: You’re here.
lowtechcyclist
@wjca:
And to even be sure of direction, the standard error of the difference has to be greater than the MOE of the difference.
If the two polls have essentially the same methodology and sample size, the standard error of the difference is roughly sqrt(2) * the standard error of each individual poll. (The detailed formula is in a zillion Census source and accuracy statements. The sqrt(2) multiple is basically an inexact shortcut that’s close enough for non-government work.)
catclub
I think there is one poll that does repeatedly sample the same group. That seems useful.
Bupalos
@hrprogressive: I go through rounds of that feeling. What I actually find oddly comforting is taking the historical view and realizing that world-historical movements in climate, technology, and inequality are working this shit magic on the whole globe. We’re up against a lot. And we’re keeping our boat floating. And we’re going to learn to sail these new rough waters better in time. We’re just kind of waking up to our new predicament.
Even if we lose this election, which is about as likely as not, I think we’ll be surprised by how strong our democracy remains and how much more we can do. It would be a gut punch, but not a kill shot.
catclub
@No One You Know: The GOP that wanted to hang big tech out to dry for being liberal and ‘silencing conservative voices[aka nazis]’ has gone all quiet about Musk.
Elizabelle
@CaseyL:
Please stop this stuff. It is NEVER 45% of the adult population. Don’t overcount them, and make them more numerous than they are. Because we have so many nonvoters, and those not eligible to vote.
And it’s very hard to believe that more people will vote for whatever his orange name is than did in 2020. He has done a lot of repelling in the interim.
I am hoping we are going to be pleasantly surprised this election.
Jackie
Something you won’t see on FAUX:
lamh47
Another Scott
@HumboldtBlue: @ssdd: @Baud:
+1
Hammer this until the hammer breaks.
Forward!!
Cheers,
Scott.
lamh47
Random movie thought: They should def do a 3rd Sherlock Holmes with with RDJ and Watson. Both films were a good time.
Elizabelle
Love this description. LOL.
WaterGirl
@kwAwk: We don’t do shadow banning here.
JoyceH
I’ve said this on another thread, but it bears repeating. For Trump to win, he has to get voters who did NOT vote for him in 2020 to vote for him now. Not just a few – Biden won by over 7 million, so he needs to find SEVEN MILLION people who didn’t vote for him before and convince them to vote for him now. More than that, because we know there are a LOT of Republicans who voted for Trump in 2020 who are voting for Harris in 2024 – so there’s another large bucket of voters he has to replace. Do we see any signs that is happening, that support for Trump is INCREASING? Well — Trump is rallying in smaller and smaller venues and he still winds up staring at banks of empty seats. Factor in a Dobbs factor and the GOP’s horribly botched GOTV factor and the newly registered voters factor – I honestly don’t think it’s going to be close.
Ohio Mom
@Suzanne: You got here first, I was going to break my rule of only offering unsolicited advice one time and once again say, “Cole, go to an ENT already! Ask about surgery to widen the part where your sinuses drain.”
And I know you know sinuses, I remember when your last pregnancy screwed yours up.
twbrandt
BHO is so good at this
lowtechcyclist
I’ve obviously missed a couple of these nightly open threads, because the sprained calf muscle and the cat bite are both news to me. Can anyone point me back to the right night to get the details?
JoyceH
Hey? Ruby and Shaye don’t just have a Manhattan penthouse now, they’ve got Lauren Bacall’s Mercedes! (It’s one of Rudy’s Valuables that they’ll be collecting.)
lowtechcyclist
@JoyceH:
Guess he’s doing his personal version of the Spinal Tap farewell tour.
catclub
@Math Guy: I saw that one, too.
rachel
@JiveTurkin: It’s is pure, unadulterated stupid.
Hitler’s generals plotted to assassinate him something like three times.
sab
@snoey: Joking aside, I hope that driver gets some help. Wrong way drunk driving ends you up dead or in jail for a longish term unless you are named Bush.
catclub
@WaterGirl: I always thought the best way to ban trolls was to make their posts only appear to… them. They will never spark the outrage they are looking for.
lowtechcyclist
@JoyceH:
OK, now I’m envious! I wish I had the money to be able to pretend to be in the market for that car – I’d love to be able just to say I drove Lauren Bacall’s Mercedes once!
Elizabelle
@JoyceH: Good comment.
And but for the fucking Electoral College, we would all be breathing much easier. Got to get the EC gone. Confederate statues are coming down, all over the nation. We can tie that thing to its slave era reason for existence, and take it down too.
catclub
@rachel: yeah, too bad the interviewer did not ask him:
“Do you want the generals who tried to kill hitler, or the generals that committed war crimes?”
Elizabelle
@catclub: The pie filter kind of does that. They have no idea.
Kristine
@lamh47: I’d watch it. I enjoyed the first two movies.
sab
OT Echo jumped on my bed again last night, wanted to sit on me, I moved her to a comfortable pillow which was too close to the pitbull’s head, so Echo left Tony the Tiger clawprints across my arm. I yelped and she took flight. We spent all day making up. She is back under my bed. I heard her crunching away on dinner (she also has wet food, chunky) so we are okay on that but it may take a few more months for her to get used to the harmless staffie (sort of a pitbull.)
Solomon has the same problem. He likes us ( people and cats) but he is afraid of the pitbull. She would be leery of him if she ever saw him, because he is huge. But he only comes upstairs when she is sound asleep in bed. Echo is braver.
catclub
@karen marie: ummm, tmi
dc
AOC putting her finger on MAGA weak spots: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DBb1kR_RICt/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Ishiyama
So: Big, serious NBC journalist Hallie Jackson asks Kamala if she is going to pardon Trump to bring the country together. Words fail me.
Elizabelle
@sab: Poncho (?) sounds darling, but good for the new kittehs with their survival instincts.
Your pup might make a great protagonist for a comic strip. The scary dog … that is not.
Ohio Mom
@JoyceH: You are leaving out the Trump voters who died from Covid. As I recall, there were more deaths in Red states.
Elizabelle
@Ishiyama: What did Kamala say? She was probably laughing to herself, behind her composed demeanor.
Idiot question.
Situation Normal
@JoyceH: It’s an appealing argument. And what Ohio Mom #107 wrote, that I was thinking but left out. 2016 left many of us unable to be optimistic.
Geminid
@Chet Murthy: I think General Milley’s comments on Trump are in Bob Woodward’s book. I expect Milley to put out his own story in book form before too long. I’ll be especially interested in what Milley has to say about January 6 and events at the Pentagon that day.
National Security Advisor Robert O’Brian might have written a good book about January 6, but he just happened to be out of town that day. That was some very fortunate scheduling!
sab
@Elizabelle: The doofus dog that is doofus.
The other five cats are puzzled by the new cats’ reaction, but hey, more food for them ( old cats.)
RevRick
@TS: I know it’s easy to get trapped in a doom loop, because the prospect of another Trump Presidency would be so catastrophic, not only for us, but for the whole world. Europe would be left to the tender mercies of Putin, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan to the expansionist desires of China, and climate change left unchecked.
For me, the antidote is to plant seeds of hope. Picking up litter on Allentown’s South Side. Leading a task force to make our church environmentally sustainable. Taking a bus trip to the African American Museum in DC. Getting involved with Central Elementary, which has a 90%+ Hispanic population. Gathering with fellow clergy to discuss the pericope lessons of the Revised Common Lectionary. This week we talked about the lessons for All Saints Day, which had a common theme of tears shed in grief met with hope in a transformed world.
Empires fall, inevitably. Fascist regimes, which are personalist, have a succession problem. We may be creating 1000 years of misery for humanity. But that’s never the end of the story.
lamh47
@Kristine: I am literally rewatching the first movie and afterwards I plan to watch the 2nd. At least untile I fall asleep.
Have to report to work early tomorrow.
wjca
I think, for a lot of those here, “pleasantly astounded” is likely to be closer to the case.
Math Guy
@wjca: Out of our minds with joy.
twbrandt
@RevRick:
No, it isn’t. Thanks for sharing this.
sab
@Elizabelle: The new cats all have well established escape routes now so they don’t fear for their lives anymore. Dog is stupid, they think.
Ponyo on the other hand is hurt and deeply offended that the new cats don’t want to meet her. Serves her right for being such a jerk to new dogs.
We are making her take walks now, often when school has just let out. She has new very young human friends now, and she sits on command so they aren’t scared. Progress for an eight year old cage-confined old lady.
ETA Very convenient for the cats that she is phobic about basements ( damp dark jail cells down there.)
ArchTeryx
@lamh47: That surprises me not one tiny bit. Frankly, I’d be safer with Homelander serving me fast food than TCFG, and Homelander has this nasty habit of lasering people in half he doesn’t like. Which is a list bigger than our blogfather’s.
The Boys is awesome as some extremely sharp edged (and at times, extremely gory) satire on corporate America and the superhero genre. And they’re made by a Canadian team, so yeah, they are absolutely not on The Felon’s side here.
Ishiyama
@Elizabelle: She said, first, I’m not going to get into those hypotheticals. Then, when pressed, she said what would help us move on: “I get elected President of the United States”.
Captain C
@WaterGirl: Although a mass pie-ing might look the same from the point of view of the recipient.
Elizabelle
@wjca: Yes! Make it so!
Also, FWIW, I am avoiding political coverage of The Orange One and doomscrolling, and reading Robert Harris’s new book, The Precipice, about British PM HH Asquith in the immediate runup to the Great War. He thinks his biggest problem is the Irish Question but — surprise!
Robert Harris is a new favorite of mine. Former journalist; writes lively historical fiction that’s grounded in facts and lots of cultural research. His book Pompeii was my gateway drug.
Elizabelle
@Ishiyama: Thank you. That was a dumbass question. Demeans the person asking it.
Sure Lurkalot
@Elizabelle:
Wish I could see that happen in my lifetime…maybe if Republicans win the popular vote but lose the White House a few times…but otherwise, it works well for Team Red to make meaningless millions of votes.
How about a true apportionment for the number of representatives, which was capped at 435 in 1929? So that the number of electoral college votes per state represents population and not land?
That too, sadly, a non starter.
Harrison Wesley
@Sure Lurkalot: The Bundestag has 733 members, and Germany is a whole lot smaller than the USA.
Sure Lurkalot
@Ishiyama: She also asked Harris whether there should be a compromise re abortion to get Republican votes and suggested a religious exemption.
What does that even mean? That if your religious boss objects to abortion, you can’t get one? How about this Hallie, if your religion forbids abortion, don’t have one. There’s your religious exemption.
Remind me why we are supposed to revere our legacy media?
wjca
No reason for it to be a non-starter.
Getting rid of the Electoral College would require amending the Constitution. But changing the number of Representatives in the House just takes Congress passing a bill, and the President signing it. Much easier lift; it’s been a while, but it’s happened numerous times. Hardest part might be getting that bill exempted from the filibuster.
So, not trivial, but a very long way from a non-starter.
Ohio Mom
@Sure Lurkalot: I always like the idea of adding more seats to the House of Representatives and then I start wondering about the logistics.
Where do they all meet? Do we add on to the Capitol building, use an indoor arena? How big can a committee get before it’s unworkable? And so forth.
But as you said, probably not going to happen, sigh.
Bill Arnold
@kwAwk:
As Watergirl says, this site does not do shadowbanning.
There are a online few tools for detecting shadowbanning on twitter/X, which is an actual thing (with what look like a few independent flavors), and pretty annoying to observe, since the triggers are often pretty unclear.
Don’t know about other sites.
Redshift
@Elizabelle: It’s insanity that for the most powerful elected office in the world, everyone knows who’s going to get the most votes, but no one knows who’s going to win.
And the myths that prop up the Electoral College! That it was elegantly designed by the Founders for very specific purposes — bullshit! They debated a lot of different ideas, and as they were running out of time, a group of small states threatened to tank the whole Constitution if they didn’t get disproportional representation, so the others gave in.
Jackie
BAHAHAHAAA!!!
Mute point. Dems won’t help MAGA Johnson be the House Minority Leader, either.
Bill Arnold
@catclub:
At least one. (ipsos comes to mind; it uses the same pool each time, at least, IIRC, with some sort of replacement when people drop out.). Really, we should mostly pay attention to tracking polls, and only to the shifts.
TBone
@lamh47: I would like to see that.
sab
@Ohio Mom: New building, not in the capitol building, but near. Sucks to be in House not the Senate, but better bigger offices. Better, closer offices for staff all around. Don’t they have a tiny train for Congresscritters to get around on already? This is very doable
ETA: /// Maybe move the Supreme Court a couple of states away. Make them commute like the rest of us do. Long car or train ride every morning amidst the hoi poloi might focus their minds a bit away from their bank accounts.
Bill Arnold
@Jackie:
You won’t see any focus on gas price drops on Fox, sure.
But people do see that price, in a large glowing font, a few times every time that they drive (or are a passenger) where there are gas stations.
Those who are complaining about high gas prices might not be Americans; at least they should be called out.
sab
Ponyo thinks Echo is not the brightest cat on deck. I think Ponyo misunderstands her.
JoyceH
@wjca: getting rid of the Electoral College is too heavy a lift, but the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact is doable and somewhat close to done. The compact is an agreement that the state will award their EC votes to the winner of the national popular vote. States vote for it and it will go into effect once enough states to total 270 EC votes have passed it. It currently has 209 votes confirmed and 50 pending, so it’s inching pretty close to 270. Once the compact passes, the EC becomes a historic curio and the voting of the EC becomes a quaint ritual like parading around with a scepter and an orb.
Redshift
@Ohio Mom: WaPo did a whole series about it last year by Danielle Allen, a scholar of public policy. Here’s one (gift link) about what renovations might be required and how they’re quite feasible.
TS
@RevRick:
Thanks RevRick – you remind me of the Rev who was there for us at College (and that was so long ago it is the first time I have thought of him in many years). It gets difficult to be a Christian in current times, but you reflect what can be with love instead of hate and retribution. I’m not in the States – if I was I think I would be working so hard for MVP I wouldn’t have time to get immersed in the MSM version of her opposition.
Jackie
@Bill Arnold: republicans drive with blinders on, or with severe tunnel vision when passing gas stations start lowering prices.🙈
Redshift
@Bill Arnold:
I find it hard to imagine that any site that doesn’t have some kind of boosting algorithm already (instead of straight chronological posts/comments, like here) would bother to do such a thing. Things like blocking or the pie filter let individuals control content they don’t want to see, and if you’ve done something egregious enough that the admins feel they have to take action, they’ll want you to know about it.
Sometimes I go through periods where no one responds to things I post, and I get grumpy. But that’s just life, not the system.
Ohio Mom
@Redshift: I’m heartened!
TS
@Ishiyama: I hope she said NO, but she is probably more diplomatic than me.
The MSM can’t stop themselves asking Kamala questions about trump & trump questions about trump. He’s all they want to know
TS
@Harrison Wesley: 650 in the House of Commons with a population c. 70 million in the UK
Elizabelle
@Redshift: It’s insane.
We wouldn’t get on a plane that crashed 10% of the time. But we have to live with the Electoral College, which gave us a corrupt developer turned reality TV star, who lost the popular vote by millions, and is now running with 34 felony convictions.
I shall be optimistic that we can legislate our way out of this mess. More congressional seats — a lot more — for starters.
ETA: I think President Harris’s admin needs to frontload protecting us against the EC, and the Supreme Court. Would love if President Biden headed up an effort to curb the USSC’s lawlessness and privilege. Expand the Court!
sab
Seventh freight train today. Midwest economy must be booming. Too bad nobody told us. We don’t actually hear trains roaring by all day and night.
Redshift
@Sure Lurkalot: Repeal the Permanent Apportionment Act of 1929!
This is my quixotic political quest. It may sound like a 19th-century campaign slogan, but it is actually quite real and relevant!
Another Scott
@lowtechcyclist:
9/20/2024 – Cat bite.
The calf muscle strain isn’t jumping out at me.
HTH!
Cheers,
Scott.
Another Scott
@Ohio Mom:
(Repost) 1725 Representatives could fit in the existing House chamber.
Fight for 1725!!
;-)
[ RedShift got there first! ]
Cheers,
Scott.
HumboldtBlue
Yet another reason for the worry-warts to take heart:
Chet Murthy
@Another Scott: At the very least, we should go to Wyoming Rule. That’d be 600-some, which would be a fine fit.
ETA: I think 600ish. Might be 800ish, I’m not going to do the math.
Chet Murthy
@HumboldtBlue: “… and I love my mom”
That brought a smile to my face.
sab
@TS: I am not impressed by the House of Commons representing the people of UK. Seems like they are better at representling Eton. More in the House of Commons is just more Etonians have seats.
Kent
Tuesday’s suck.
It is the only night of the week that there isn’t football on to distract me from this damn election.
Mike in Pasadena
@Tom Levenson: You, Cole, and I suffer from anxiety caused by a combination of high stakes and feelings of helplessness to affect the results in a handful of tiny counties located in seven states.
Kent
It was really more about preserving and privileging slavery.
The electoral college and House of Representatives is what gave meaning to the 3/5ths compromise in the Constitution.
The only reason to count slaves as 3/5ths of a person in the census is to over-count southern states for the dual purposes of electing a House of Representatives and electing a president.
lamh47
Mahn…rewatching the Sherlock Holmes movies with RDJ and Jude Law makes me want to re-read my fav Sherlock Holmes novel!
Chet Murthy
@lamh47: which one is that? My favorite short story is The Adventure of Silver Blaze.
West of the Rockies
@lamh47:
I’d love another RDJ Sherlock Holmes movie. They were stylish and fun.
Kayla Rudbek
I’m in a mood tonight (vanity of vanities, all is vanity). I’m stuck on the last shawl that I cast on, stuck on making a decision about which color combinations to use for towels, and not wanting to do anything except play mobile games. There’s so much that I need to do and should be doing and I have no motivation to actually do anything.
And the job that I applied for last year appears to have an open posting again, so I need to update my resume and cover letter and reapply (government so it’s not a surprise, just discouraging)
dmsilev
@HumboldtBlue:
‘Kamala Harris: She knows how fucking magnets work’
Seems like a niche appeal slogan, but what do I know?
Chet Murthy
@dmsilev: obligatory: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MO0r930Sn_8&t=1s
“Richard Feynman Magnets”
Another Scott
@Chet Murthy: I’m still fond of every state having at least 2 representatives. They have 2 senators, why not 2 representatives?? I don’t have time to search for my previous comment with the math. 1100? Something like that.
Simple to explain, easy to adjust over time. And much more representative of people than land…
Cheers,
Scott.
Jay
Just got home from the hospital, T’s doing okay so far, we won’t know the results for about 2 weeks.
I spent 6 hours waiting.
Omnes Omnibus
@Captain C:
We don’t have an obligation to engage with shitheads.
frosty
@Elizabelle: That name sounded familiar. I read his novel V2; it was good. I’m a fan of WWII historic fiction. My two favorites are Alan Furst (of course) and Kate Quinn, who writes female protagonists in the thick of things.
(Thanks to Reading List I know that I read it two years ago.)
Chet Murthy
@frosty: i really enjoyed Tim Powers’ novel Declare
frosty
@sab: Yes! Put the Supreme Court in Baltimore and they can ride the MARC train like I did for 14 years. Maybe they’ll grow to appreciate their afternoon naps on the way home like I did.
Jackie
@Jay: My heart goes out to you and T. Two weeks in your situation is eternality! Hugs and fingers crossed for both of you that the results are as positive as possible.
frosty
@sab: I’m enjoying the stories of inter-pet dynamics. We only ever had two at a time, a German Shepherd and a mutt. The GSD came as a puppy when the mutt was already here so they mutt made sure the GSD knew who was boss in the few weeks when she was bigger. They were good together, no fights, no drama.
Gloria DryGarden
@Jay: did they say the surgery went ok/ was successful in anyway way? Two weeks is a long time, when you’re waiting for news if this sort.
May there be blessings, kindness and hugs.
Gloria DryGarden
@Kayla Rudbek: maybe start by writing yourself a letter about why youd love this job, etc, all you great and amazing qualities you bring. Then narrow it down.
I need to take this suggestion, thanks for inspiring me to think of it. If it’s good for you too, cool, but if not, trash can.
I’m playing mobile games a lot, too. Avoiding, anxious, off kilter.
Ruckus
@Tom Levenson:
As an old man who has voted for a fair number of decades I can say easily – Vote early, vote for Kamala Harris, make sure everyone you know and trust not to vote for you know who – get out early and vote and vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Waltz. I’ve seen some important presidential races – OK they are all important – some are just far more important- and this is one of them.
frosty
@Chet Murthy: That was awesome!
frosty
@Jay: Six hours waiting, that’s hard. And two weeks until you know more, that’s harder. I saw someone, probably here, say the election is like waiting two weeks for the biopsy results. You’re getting it double. I hope news is good; hang in there, yada yada yada. Take care of her while you wait, there’s not much more you can do.
Gloria DryGarden
@Redshift: oh I have to create an account to read it, even though it’s free. Hmmm.
Elizabelle
@frosty: Have read Alan Furst. Now to check out Kate Quinn one of these days.
Painless way to learn some history, and sort out what was real and what is fiction.
Ruckus
@JiveTurkin:
The only thing shitforbrains knows how to sell is bullshit. And like everything else he’s ever tried or done it is not even good bullshit.
Jay
@Jackie:
@Gloria DryGarden:
Thank you both.
We know that what they removed was a cancerous polyp,
Now we wait for the biopsy results, ( and so does her cancer team).
But one way or another, because of hard masses, they have decided they have to remove her uterus and fallopian tubes.
So that’s next.
It is what it is, we just keep walking forward.
Barbara
@Jay: Wishing both of you the best.
Westyny
Reposting from a dead thread below, is this the Montana beat-down WaterGirl was alluding to last night?
https://www.rawstory.com/gop-senate-candidate-used-160m-promised-for-local-job-creation-to-pay-off-investors-repo/
Gloria DryGarden
@JoyceH: thank you for saying this. Tr needs 7 million votes that he was short last time, and he’s been losing supporters.
you have given me hope. Crying, w some relief, letting out a little of the hyper anxiety.
we shall win.
NotMax
@West of the Rockies
Look for the Sherlock movies starring, of all people, Mat Frewer. Surprised me how well he inhabits the character. Four of them, originally made for Canadian TV. A sample.
Aziz, light!
@JoyceH: The popular vote compact is a lofty and desirable goal, but saying “once the compact passes” is a weighty lift. We’ll need a sea change in the statehouses of a majority of the current swing states to get to 270 EC votes. I don’t think this goal is reachable unless Texas can be flipped.
Tim C.
@Ella in New Mexico: And John, if you really want to live in a green land of rain and people actually caring, come to Western Oregon. We are a gentle people who live among the trees who have a deep abiding love of nature… and unions… and sometimes being very silly.
NotMax
#182:
Mat = Matt
Kayla Rudbek
@Jay: best of luck to T; I hope things go well for her.
Chet Murthy
@Aziz, light!: What I fear about the National Popular Vote Compact, is that any state that decided they wish to break it, is always free to do so. So it requires that the Dems already control a majority of the states’ electoral votes, and in a pretty durable manner.
I don’t think it’s a solution. But I could be wrong. Maybe there’s some way to make it irrevocable.
Captain C
@Omnes Omnibus: Which is why I love the pie feature.
Kayla Rudbek
@Gloria DryGarden: the funny thing is that I am a contractor and basically already doing the job. I thought they had hired somebody else from looking at the organization chart, but since the other IP attorney has been griping that he’s been doing the work of three people, maybe they got funding for having two IP attorneys besides him.
wjca
@Westyny:
Even if it isn’t what she was referring to, it certainly seems to qualify as Montana’s October Surprise. Assuming Tester can splash the story across the state, he may produce yet another “strong finish.” Here’s hoping. .
BigJimSlade
@Chet Murthy: Just watched the Feynman video – that was fun, thanks! (I may have seen that before, but if I have it was long ago enough for it to be new again.)
Mike in Pasadena
@Mike in Pasadena: the “feelings of helplessness” in my previous post should have been preceded by the word “false”. That’s how I actually feel.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
IDK, the way the
doom porn addictsthe stern realist here talk one would imagine the Republicans aren’t running the same useless damn fool whose last time in office couldn’t even get his pet infrastructure program through congress during his honeymoon while controlling all three branches of Congress. Do remember Trump re-election in 2020 should have been a sure thing with a national crises going on, but Trump found a way lose. I mean what kind of fool tries to rig an election after he lost?Jacel
@JoyceH: The flaw I see in solving the Electoral College problem through that Interstate Compact is the lack of an official national procedure to verify the number of votes reported by each state. The present overall system defers to the states. So if the Compact commits states to the popular vote result, who stands in the way of Alabama or Mississippi authorities reporting that 500 Million votes were cast in that state for the Republican?
Melancholy Jaques
@TS:
We would need about 3000 congresspersons to match that ratio.
Jacel
@Chet Murthy: Given the small population of Wyoming, do some citizens hold more than one seat?
Chet Murthy
@Jacel: well they can’t report 500 million votes because the Census Bureau measures how many residents there are in each state. But you’re right that they could overstate the number of Voters.
Mel
@Jay: Thank you for the update. You have both been in our thoughts today. Fingers crossed that the news is good, and that recovery is swift. Please keep us posted, and take extra good care of yourself this week.
Mel
@Jay: Oh, no! I’m so very sorry that she has to have more surgery.
Kent
No, they absolutely could not do that. Elections fraud in Federal elections is most definitely a FEDERAL crime. And mis-reporting of presidential election results would get the DOJ breathing down your neck in a heartbeat provided that we don’t have someone like Trump in the White House.
The Federal penalties for any state official who fucked around with the results of any Federal election would be very severe. See: https://www.justice.gov/usao-nh/page/file/1328371/dl?inlin
Federally prohibited acts include:
Malfeasance by election officials, acting “under color of law,” such as diluting valid ballots with invalid ones (so-called “ballot box stuffing”), rendering false vote tabulations, or preventing valid voter registrations or votes from being given effect in any election (18 U.S.C. §§ 241, 242), as well as in elections where federal candidates are on the ballot (52 U.S.C. §§ 10307(c), 10307(e), 20511).
HumboldtBlue
Fernando Valenzuela has died. That’s a profound loss.
SectionH
@Jay: All I’ve got is hanging on for her best outcomes. ALL OF THEM.
Gloria DryGarden
@Jay: oh, man! I’ve been sending out the prayers for you both tonight. Yikes.
Gloria DryGarden
@Kayla Rudbek: I hope this works out the best way possible for you.
TS
@sab:
I thought that was the Lord’s – but could be the Commons as well.
Jay
To everyone who has expressed support, and the lurkers who are holding us in their thoughts,
Thank you.
And to all, including Betty Cracker and Rosie,
FUCK CANCER.
Msb
@Jay:
yes, the only way out is through. Can be a hard road, though.
Thinking of you both and wishing you all the best.
opiejeanne
What’s this about a cat bite? One of your kitties bit you hard enough to cause that king of damage?
MagdaInBlack
@Jay: ❤️
pabadger
@Bupalos: I agree with this. It might get very bumpy though.
Chris T.
@wjca:
I am being hayve!