So Texas Republicans have now set up a TIP LINE to rat out the Texas Democrats
So PLEASE, for the sake of the public, DO NOT FLOOD THIS NUMBER with tips on Bigfoot sightings, UFO sightings, or asking why Trump is on “the list”
1-866-786-5972
Thank you!— Isaiah Martin (@isaiahrmartin.bsky.social) August 11, 2025 at 11:04 PM
===
You know how people called women hysterical for predicting the right wing would take down Roe v. Wade (which they've done) and then attack access to birth control (which they're doing)?
Hear me when I say that women's very right to vote is next.
www.npr.org/2025/08/09/n…— Hillary Rodham Clinton (@hillaryclinton.bsky.social) August 11, 2025 at 1:15 PM
===
As a DC resident I do feel that the city has been overrun by "violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals" and I would like them to leave the White House and stop destroying the federal government.
— Binyamin Appelbaum (@bcappelbaum.bsky.social) August 11, 2025 at 6:05 PM
===
— George Conway ???????? (@gtconway.bsky.social) August 11, 2025 at 4:25 PM
===
All I read in Trump's post is that he's a lame duck. Tax bill is done, tariffs are done (subject to daily revisions), deportations underway — what else is there to his agenda? Time to measure the drapes on federal buildings and shuffle homeless camps from place to place
— ??Kriston Capps (@kristoncapps.bsky.social) August 10, 2025 at 5:10 PM
===
Hochul: "This is what I call a legal insurrection … they know they're going to lose next year. That's the only reason they're engaged in this. It also might be a nice distraction from people asking — all of the sudden this happens when? When they refuse to release the Epstein files."
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) August 10, 2025 at 9:59 AM
===
Trump to meet Putin in Alaska
(Cartoon from 2018)— Ann Telnaes (@anntelnaes.bsky.social) August 10, 2025 at 12:49 PM
===
"If you live in Alaska, I need you to buy a Ukrainian flag and turn any area that Putin is going to be into a sea of Ukrainian flags – so many that, when Putin lands, all he's going to see is just yellow and blue."
— Anton Gerashchenko (@antongerashchenko.bsky.social) August 11, 2025 at 7:41 AM
===
Circling back, something for everyone to quibble about…
this is a good piece and if we ever get a grand bargain on gerrymandering proportional representation is what it looks like.
unfortunately it would be a slaughter for incumbents so it's a very tall lift with officeholders.— post malone ergo propter malone (@proptermalone.bsky.social) August 11, 2025 at 6:34 AM
On The Road – way2blue – SAMOA—RESPITE EDITION—FEBRUARY 2025 ( first of five)
Baud
There will never be a grand bargain with Republicans in voting.
How are candidates selected with proportional representation, since you don’t know in advance how many seats you’ll win?
Baud
Also, too, you’re always fighting the good fight, AL, even when you’re swimming against the current. Thank you.
Kirk
Every suggestion I’ve seen uses post election comparison and selection. All have flaws. The ones I like best – or hate least- use some form of ranked choice voting.
Baud
@Kirk:
Can you describe what that is?
Kirk
Easiest version. Every candidate has a party tag. Voters vote, and votes are tallied by candidate and party. Candidates are ranked by vote tally.
Party gets a number of seats equal to proportion of total their party got, and seats are given to candidates in rank order until seats or candidate list is complete.
Obvious weakness of this model is that high pop areas will tend to be over represented, but it exemplifies the concept.
Suzanne
@Kirk: On the topic of ranked-choice voting, I had a thought during the NYC mayoral race. And that was just that there seemed to be a lot of candidates. It seems to me, just a layperson and observer with no expertise on this, that ranked-choice might encourage more candidates in races. Could be good for the voters to have more choices, also could result in splitting resources.
Also, seeing that NYC doesn’t have a sore-loser law, it’s disheartening to see Cuomo not get the message and throw himself into the nearest volcano as the voters clearly indicated was their preference.
Kirk
@Baud: AL, same here. Thank you.
Princess
I’m not a fan of proportional representation in countries that are very large and where populations groups have very different interests (be it regionally or rural vs urban). But in small flat places like the Netherlands, parties create lists of candidates ranked in order and the more seats they win (ie the higher their share of the popular vote) the further they get to go down their list.
i think ranked choice of some kind is better for the US and Canada.
Baud
@Princess:
Ouch. There’s no way that would work with the Democratic Party in its current form. The fights over the ranking would get bloody.
NotMax
@Kirk
In a purely two-part system, maybe. But, frankly, sounds like a bastardized parliamentary system. What about Independents, who conceivably could have nothing in common as a bloc other than the I beside their name? What about minor parties which nevertheless garner enough votes to meet the threshold for remaining on the ballot the next time?
Gin & Tonic
@Princess: Ukraine’s legislature uses a combination – there are electoral districts, where “first past the post” wins, then based on those results the other seats are allocated to parties on a proportional basis.
Baud
@Gin & Tonic:
What proportion of the legislature is first part the post vs. party named?
NotMax
Oh my.
President Trump vows to end no-cash bail in Illinois.
Geminid
@Baud: Ib ike stat-run primaries. I’d much rather have voters decide our candidates than have party officials decide.
Regarding Ranked-choice voting: I am sceptical of this system, but I think it’s the coming thing. If I had to have RCV in some form I would want Alaska’s new hybid sytem. They hold an open, “jungle” and the top four finishers advance to a Ranked-choice runoff in November
MagdaInBlack
@NotMax: Yes, I listened (god help me) to his mumbling, rambling. lie dripping press conference or wtf ever it was. I learned my Gov is ” a disaster.”
Go ahead, big orange asshat, have at it. My Gov ain’t Greg Abbott.
sab
@Geminid: I only just learned that Ohio used to have ranked choice voting for mayors in some of its cities, but when Blacks and women started to get elected for city council and mayor, party leaders and racists got together and abolished it.
Right now Republicans in the Ohio state legislature are trying to actually outlaw it.
Professor Bigfoot
“Listen to Black Voices?”
What kind of madness is this? That’s simply not DONE around here!
p.a.
If Matty Y is for it, should I automatically be agin’ it?
Also to, when (if) we get a trifecta, use the current Calvinball “rules” they’ve created to crush them, imprison them, revoke their citizenship, whatev (anyone spouting “look forward not back”, “we go high” bullshit gets primaried and public-shamed), and then do something to get representation aligned with the population.
Baud
@sab:
Trumpism is about nationalizing that strategy.
Professor Bigfoot
If it dilutes, reduces, or eliminates Black political power, it’s a winner in this country.
Baud
Baud
@Professor Bigfoot:
The only reason Epstein is a media scandal is because white Trump voters care about it.
comrade scotts agenda of rage
Matt Yglesias is Confidently Wrong About Everything.
And that’s the case here, no shock.
We have a jungle primary system here in Denver in a technically non-partisan election where the top 2 advance if nobody gets 50% +1 the first go-round. It sucks. Anybody can get on the ballot damn near, it doesn’t make your choices any better. Our glibertarian, techbro governor tried to get what they called a RCV system voted in but it was simply a ploy to allow dark money to flood the first round and voters roundly rejected it statewide.
Yes, Maine touts theirs and Alaska’s is still too new to make any grand pronouncements but these approaches look appealing on the surface (that’s MattY’s shtick on anything) but you look at how they play out (for the most part) and they are equally quirky. Matt McIrvin here noted when we last talked about RCV that you often find the people behind it are centrist “mavericks” and the extremist third parties and their common a distaste for the two-party duopoly that is really a type of “get the politics out of my politics”. They think some technical approach will “fix” everything when in fact it’s simply an attempt to rig the system to better get outcomes they want.
NotMax
@Professor Bigfoot
Mahzel.
:)
Professor Bigfoot
For now.
Professor Bigfoot
@NotMax: Mazel tov, NotMax!! :^D
Baud
@Professor Bigfoot:
Correct. And if they move on to focus on white power, so will the media, all the savvy people on the Internet will blame Dems for not keeping it in the news.
Baud
@comrade scotts agenda of rage:
What system do you think would work best?
Kirk
@NotMax: As I said:
Professor Bigfoot
@Baud: Ah, I see you’ve been around here for a while! ;^)
Baud
@Professor Bigfoot:
This isn’t my first rodeo.
Kirk
Being honest my favorite (though unworkable and still flawed) voting method would be a proxied democracy. Think shareholder stock meetings but there are no “majority stockholders”. Just people who you’ve selected to vote your proxy for the most part. Lots of little fiddly bits but that’s the core of what I’d like.
Betty
@Baud: This will quiet the MAGAs. Um, no. What are they thinking? At least one commentator believes Vance doing interviews on the Epstein files, while ostensibly pointing the finger at Democrats, is actually keeping the story alive. That would be diabolical, so maybe.
Librettist
There are seldom structural solutions for your preferred political outcomes.
comrade scotts agenda of rage
@Baud:
I honestly don’t know. We’re talking two things here in a way, RCV and gerrymandering, they shouldn’t be the same thing.
I always encourage people to go to the Princeton Gerrymandering Project’s web site:
gerrymander.princeton.edu/
to get an idea of what’s been done in that area and what needs to be done. They talk about “aspirational fairness” which is important because it acknowledges many of the mutually exclusive goals laid out when it comes to dealing with gerrymandering and how best to approach them.
RCV is classic “there must be a technocratic fix to something we don’t like” thinking that dominates certain elements of the potential electorate. Hell, in Denver 100 years ago we had it and it was concocted in such a way as to ensure the “right” people got elected. It was voted out but shows that RCV is no panacea and has it’s own quirks that can bring about decidedly undemocratic outcomes.
And what Librettist said.
Baud
@Librettist:
+1
NotMax
First world problem?
What previously took 10 minutes or so, to have credit card companies append a travel alert on the card(s) so there should be no problems on the upcoming NY trip stretched to spending nearly two hours on the phone to do so.
“Your call is very important to us” my aunt Fanny.
Baud
My objectives aren’t outcome driven.
Basically, a higher number of candidates shouldn’t cause democracy to work less well.
NotMax
@comrade scotts agenda of rage
All in all not a bad summation., tinged with humor.
Map Men tackle gerrymandering.
:)
Professor Bigfoot
@NotMax: I firmly believe that “enshittification” is an inescapable side effect of capitalism, itself.
Professor Bigfoot
@Baud: Ain’t.
”This ‘isn’t’ my first rodeo” sounds like a city slicker pretending to be a cowboy. 😉
Baud
@Professor Bigfoot:
Busted.
rikyrah
Good Morning Everyone 😊 😊 😊
Baud
@rikyrah:
Good morning.
satby
Like FDR, I am pretty confident that JBP welcomes the felon’s hate.
Anyway
@NotMax: Haven’t done that in the last 6-7 years (domestic and international travel). Can’t remember what prompted me to stop doing it.
Bon voyage!
Matt McIrvin
I like ranked-choice voting and proportional representation but I do think it’s easy for politics nerds to overestimate the benefit of voting reforms like these. In the end, if the voters won’t come through, care about democracy and support sensible candidates, no procedural tweak is going to help.
Soprano2
@NotMax: I listened to that for 15 minutes yesterday when I was on hold to tell the opthamologist’s office that even though they told me TWICE that they had faxed my records to the eye docs at Wash U in St. Louis, when I called to make an appointment they said they didn’t have them! I also love the “listen because our menu has changed”. That’s a lie, they just say it to try to get people to listen to all the choices rather than just hitting “0” over and over again.
ETA – FFOTUS and his ilk must believe cities looked like what you see in old movies if he believes they used to be beautiful and clean everywhere. Can you imagine what cities were like when people used horses?
Scout211
California GOP Rep. Doug LaMalfa held a town hall yesterday against the advice of GOP leadership. It didn’t go well for him in Chico. LaMalfa is one of the GOP reps who would likely lose his seat in the proposed redistricting plan.
Amazing show of force by the good people of Chico.
Professor Bigfoot
@NotMax: GOOD ONE!
Baud
@Scout211:
Excellent.
Professor Bigfoot
@satby: The Great Khan ain’t skeered.
Matt McIrvin
@Soprano2: The belief that crime is always increasing, which was born of the 1970s-80s- early 90s crime wave, has become such an idee fixe on the right, and so much time has gone by, that the “good old days” when nobody bothered locking the front door are now the years OF THE CRIME WAVE, when crime was far worse than today. It’s a total hallucination, the opposite of the truth.
JML
@Matt McIrvin: RCV is very popular with certain segments of reformers who treat it as a panacea for everything wrong with politics. It’s important to remember that it generally achieves none of the goals that it’s proponents claim it will bring: it does not necessarily bring majority win candidates (it has, but frequently does not, because ballots get exhausted), it does not reduce negative campaigning (simply changes who does it most of the time), it doesn’t increase turnout, etc. They also ignore the barriers to voting it creates by making the process much more complex and who that impacts.
Admittedly, some of my problems with RCV has to do with my contempt for the fuckwits who keep pushing it by lying all the time and how they treat anyone who questions their brilliant wisdom.
Professor Bigfoot
Man you said a mouthful right there. Ultimately our problem is actually with the voters.
If we can’t get more Americans to understand that our Constitution needs to have its citizens do their civic duty, it AND we are thoroughly fucked.
Informed voting, serving on juries— without American civic engagement, the Constitution is just a piece of paper; and the RICO Party is busily striking matches at it.
UncleEbeneezer
THIS! So long as the American Electorate wants White Supremacy/Fascism more than Equality/Democracy there’s no one-weird-trick to get around that. It’s been the constant problem throughout our history and it’s very much still here. The problem is People.
Baud
@Matt McIrvin:
We don’t need AI for hallucinations as long as we have white panic.
NotMax
@Soprano2
Why do brownstones (and tenements) have stoops?
Betty Cracker
@Matt McIrvin: Way too much of our politics is driven by crap that happened in the last century, and our perspectives on issues are shaped by our time too. It’s probably impossible to fully overcome that as individuals, but being aware of it is helpful.
UncleEbeneezer
@Professor Bigfoot: We had a rodeo last weekend in Taos. I didn’t go but drove right by it. I’m still definitely a city-slicker (and proud of it) but ironically unlike so many of the wannabe cowboys here walking around dressed in Gunslinger Cosplay outfits with big knives on their belts, I drove right past the rodeo on my way to actually play three sets of country music for the two-step crowd.
suzanne
@Princess:
IMO, one of the most toxic elements of our current culture is that it is too personality-driven and focused on image and vibes and all that shit. My crazy thought would be…. what if we didn’t vote for candidates at all? We voted for only for parties and their platforms, and then the winning party selected representatives from districts they won. Representatives could be swapped out every time.
I realize that, uhhhhh, this is not Constitutional. A minor detail.
Soprano2
@Matt McIrvin: I believe that when people say “crime is increasing” and they don’t live in a high crime area (because we know those areas always exist) what they are actually saying is “I see more black/brown people” or “I see more homeless people”, because there is no way for them to know whether crime is increasing or decreasing unless they read the reports put out by police departments and the FBI. How many of them do you think have read anything about those reports?
I really did grow up in a Mayberry-like place, where people didn’t feel the need to lock their house or their car. When I moved to Springfield, I started locking both, because I know the difference between the places. Locks keep honest people honest, is my philosophy. It’s shocking to me to read the percentage of vehicles the police say are stolen because people left them unlocked with the keys in them!
moonbat
Make national Election Day a national holiday and make voting mandatory for every citizen like they do in Australia.
Baud
@Soprano2:
They’re also fed the lies by media and social media (and Nextdoor). It’s the whole anecdotes in place of data problems.
suzanne
@NotMax: There is a huge amount of research on stairs/stoops as a critical element of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED). So even though the manure is gone, the elevation change endures, now serving a different purpose.
Baud
@suzanne:
Even if it were constitutional, I don’t see the US electorate accepting voting directly for a party rather than a person. And that’s across the ideological spectrum.
Politics starts with culture. US culture is individualistic.
Matt McIrvin
@Professor Bigfoot: The pattern of “enshittification” is just the online manifestation of the attractive introductory offer, like getting 15 albums for a penny from Columbia House. You know there’s going to be some kind of catch, because a for-profit entity eventually has to make a profit or die.
So if we want the good stuff to persist we have to socialize it (…but of course that still leaves it vulnerable to shitty politics) or charge subscriptions so you get what you pay for (a big barrier to entry) or go to some kind of nonprofit model.
The United States has socialized highways and nobody regards this as Communist tyranny because we all use the highways. It’s weird that we are so reluctant to apply this model to other things.
Nukular Biskits
Mornin’, y’all.
Soprano2
@Baud: I get e-mails from our Nextdoor, and strangely enough there are rarely those type of racist posts on it. Mostly it’s “I found this cat/dog” or “I lost my cat/dog” or “I’m having a hard time can anyone help” or “Someone broke into my car, be careful”. I don’t read most of them, but I see the “teasers” in my e-mails. Lots and lots of posts about lost and found pets. But I know how it can be in some places for sure
ETA – Apropos of nothing, I meant to mention that Brad Pitt’s mother Jane died last week. She was evidently quite a philanthropist, as is her older son Doug, who started a program here called “Care to Learn” that provides school supplies and other help to kids in need. She was 84. The obit said they’re going to have a “private remembrance” at a later date, and I thought “I bet, that’s so sad”.
NotMax
@Soprano2
‘Good
fencesSchlages make good neighbors.”;)
RevRick
@Baud: @Kirk: @Suzanne: @Princess: @NotMax: @Professor Bigfoot:
I think these technical solutions to the problems of inequity in outcomes miss some glaring flaws that need to be addressed first.
1). End US imperialism. We still have colonies. This is, in my view, shameful. Grant statehood to DC and a combined Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands and add our Pacific Islands to Hawaii. I know this is somewhat high-handed, but it makes the most sense.
2). Expand the House of Representatives so that every district is, as close as possible, a multiple of the smallest district (Wyoming).
3). Enact the John Lewis Voting Rights Act.
4). While we’re at it, reinstate Roe v. Wade law.
Take care of those first, and then have a conversation about mechanisms.
Trivia Man
@Professor Bigfoot: I agree. Race to the bottom, regulatory capture, profit extraction, padding margins, rent seeking – these are all FEATURES of capitalism and I would argue inevitable.
Baud
@Betty Cracker:
On a personal level, I’m constantly frustrated about being ever closer to death every day but still hung up on irrational and useless insecurities that linger from my youth. I guess societies exhibit that same dysfunction.
Matt McIrvin
@suzanne: That’s an element of parliamentary democracy, but in practice it seems like the parties get identified with personalities anyway. Still, there are advantages, like the possibility of short election campaigns because you don’t necessarily know when an election is going to happen years in advance.
Gin & Tonic
@Baud: Sorry, stepped away and just saw this. It’s just about half and half. The legislature is not operating at full strength because the seats representing districts that are in russian-occupied territories are vacant.
Baud
@Gin & Tonic:
Thanks.
Suzanne
@Baud: Yeah.
One of the enduring problems that I see in our current process is that we have to get people to hold their noses. If (this is just an example) there’s a voter in Ohio who really likes Jasmine Crockett, but their Dem candidate doesn’t light them on fire, we have to motivate them to vote for the Dem candidate anyway and that’s hard.
eclare
@Soprano2:
How are you doing?
NotMax
@suzanne
See, for funsies, a 1962 episode of Car 54, Where Are You?.
:)
eclare
@Nukular Biskits:
Mornin’
Baud
@Suzanne:
Right. People on our side today don’t understand the concept of an supporting cast. Horrible Joe Manchin was a gift that let us do a lot of things we otherwise couldn’t do. But everyone wants a Jesus like personal relationship with the people they vote for, and the lions share of candidates are not going to be superstars.
Nukular Biskits
@NotMax:
Ah, the good ol’ days …
Nukular Biskits
@RevRick:
Agreed with all three … but we need to have an effective trifecta federally: control of both Houses of Congress (including a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate), the presidency and a more-balanced SCOTUS.
Professor Bigfoot
@moonbat: I like mandatory voting for a tangential reason— conservatives have fought and worked to keep Black people from participating since 1865; but if voting were mandatory, then how can a local government justify throwing roadblocks in the way of any citizen voting?
Conservatives have thrown up every roadblock conceivable to keep non-white people from participating in American governance, so they will declare “war to the knife” against any kind of mandatory civic participation. Oh, they’ll cloak it in “liberty” and “freedom to choose” rhetoric; but we know who these
motherfuh, fine people are.narya
@RevRick: Completely agree w/ 2 & 3 (I was reading through all the comments first), especially 2. The House was meant to be representative of the people, but it just can’t be now, even if it’s un-gerrymandered some; we city dwellers are underrepresented.
CaseyL
@Matt McIrvin:
Maybe on a national highway level, but state highways and roads are very much an issue among the Don’t Tread on Me nitwits.
In my state (Washington) the anti-tax freaks have continually bombed state transportation budgets – the biggest bomb was an initiative reducing car tab fees to a flat fee of $30 that passed about 20 years ago – and the state transportation budget has been put together with scotch tape and string ever since.
eclare
@Baud:
You made me do this
youtu.be/u1xrNaTO1bI?si=hXlygrJQDWUWjm5p
Matt McIrvin
@RevRick: Expanding the House is another one like RCV where I’m generally for it on fairness and representation grounds, but I suspect proponents overestimate the political effect it would have, especially the partisan effect. The power bonus small states get in the House and the Electoral College is real, but it’s a bonus to a small amount of power and it’s not, for instance, the main reason the EC favors the Republicans.
(The Senate is another story: small states get a *huge* power bonus there, but that’s locked in by design.)
Nukular Biskits
@Professor Bigfoot:
Oh, you sweet, sweet innocent child!
Soprano2
@eclare: Mixed. I’m glad I have an appointment – it’s September 2nd. I’m scared but trying to stay optimistic. Now I have to find someone to go to St. Louis with me, because if they dilate my eyes as much as they did last week I won’t be able to drive for a couple of hours!
Professor Bigfoot
@RevRick: All of that is wonderful, but none of it will happen as long as conservatism remains ascendant and in power.
We cannot do a damned thing about where we’re going as long as straight white conservative Christians remain in control of our country; because they will not share power.
They will not SHARE, period; and their lust for power is second only to their love of cruelty and their hate for the other.
We can’t do shit about any of those things until we take power away from them, and they will do anything and everything they can to make sure they continue to hold onto that power.
Right down to concentration camps and ultimately ethnic cleansing.
RevRick
@Nukular Biskits: Well, any of the suggestions made would require a trifecta.
Baud
@eclare:
Nice.
Geminid
@Baud: There are 13(!) candidates running in the Illinois 9th CD’s Democratic primary.*
They include a mayor, two state senators and one state representative, as well as a self-funding Democratic commiteeman who sank $600,000 into his campaign last quarter. I’ve it seen it suggested IL09 is a “machine district,” but if so that’s a very loosely organized machine!
* IL09 is a district north of Chicago anchored by Evanston. It’s a safe Democratic district, and incumbent Rep. Jan Schakowski is retiring.
Soprano2
They also don’t understand the fact that everyone isn’t good at everything, so we need to use people for what they’re good at. For example, Schumer might be a great leader in some ways, but he needs to leave the outrage to someone else. Every time I see him looking down through those glasses reading off a paper and trying to sound outraged, I cringe. Can he really not remember a few talking points, so that he can look at the people he’s addressing? He’s not good at that! Not everyone can be great at the fiery outrage like Jasmine Crocket is.
Nukular Biskits
@RevRick: True.
But all three are needed, IMHO, and we should still push for them.
Matt McIrvin
@Professor Bigfoot:
I’m cynical enough to think they could double down on the roadblocks, because then it’s become yet another way to turn citizens into offenders and harvest revenue from them.
Nukular Biskits
Since this is an open thread, here’s one for the Jackalariat to ponder:
Got home yesterday and immediately proceeded to weedeat, edge and cut the front yard so I could set up the sprinklers for overnight.
Around 8 pm, started feeling chills (?), so I took a long hot shower, which didn’t help. Noticed my legs from mid-thigh all the way down to my ankles had what appeared to be a very mild rash. Took a couple of ibuprofen, went to bed … and had a fever, chills and sweated my ass off.
Today, I’m feeling mostly okay but just tired.
WTF?
Soprano2
@Geminid: Sounds like a district where everyone has been waiting for her to retire, and they know this is their one chance to get elected.
RevRick
@Professor Bigfoot: Oh, I don’t deny that. The Neo-Confederate/Fascists are all in on their schemes of domination and oppression. Breaking their hold will take extraordinary work… and good fortune.
Unfortunately, I don’t have control over other white peoples’ lizard brains.
Another Scott
@Nukular Biskits: Lots of grass pollen, etc., in the air. Contact dermatitis, or something like that?
Hang in there.
Best wishes,
Scott.
Matt McIrvin
@Nukular Biskits: Poison ivy or something like it? You’ve got an allergic reaction to *something* growing in that yard.
Nukular Biskits
@Another Scott:
I guess … but it’s never happened before.
There’s always a first, I suppose.
eclare
@Soprano2:
OK, day after Labor Day. I hope you can find someone. You are dealing with so much.🙏
I would also be scared.
Nukular Biskits
@Matt McIrvin:
I’m definitely hyper-allergic to the 3Ps: ivy, oak and sumac. But this was just doing the lawn itself.
The human immune system is weird.
narya
@Geminid: And it’s interesting: it includes the People’s Republic of Rogers Park (historically one of the immigrant gateways to Chicago, including many African immigrants), a religious conservative jewish community, part of Skokie and Evanston, etc. At this point the only one I really DON’T like is the Onion-owner’s girlfriend. She doesn’t live here, and she started her campaign by trashing Dems.
RevRick
BTW, I called the 800 number above and was shocked when a real person immediately answered. But I reported seeing James Talarico at a local Arby’s.
Steve in the ATL
@Baud: makes sense since she’s a working girl
@Professor Bigfoot: Baud was a fixture at the Angola Prison Rodeo when he was inside
@Baud: it’s not too late to come to grips with youthful hangups and disappointments. If you have a credit card,there is an AI cheerleader willing to date you!
Geminid
@Soprano2: I only hear Chuck Schumer on the radio hourly radio news. If there’s a story about the Senate, Thune will get a 10-15 second soundbite and then Schumer gets his.
I think Schumer handles short-form communication like radio and TV soundbites pretty well. But his main strengths are as a parliamentary technician, and there’s no “pizazz” in that.
Scout211
@Nukular Biskits:
Grass Rash? Grass allergies can cause skin rashes. I get that occasionally but had it more often when I was a kid.
Have you taken Benadryl or another allergy med? That could help if it’s an allergic reaction.
eclare
@Nukular Biskits:
Umm…chiggers? But how do you not know that?
Nukular Biskits
@RevRick:
LOL
Nukular Biskits
@Scout211:
Have never had that happen before yesterday. I thought about taking Benadryl (we have some here in the house) but that and most other OTC meds of similar nature tend to make me extremely hyper. Believe me, that’s the LAST thing you’d want to inflict on Ms. Biskits!
eclare
@Scout211:
Benadryl is da bomb. Mosquitos love me, and I take many so that I can go outside in the summer.
Soprano2
@eclare: Thanks, yeah it’s a lot. I find I can’t concentrate as well as usual. Yesterday I thought I completed my payroll and submitted it, but I forgot to submit it! Stuff like that.
Professor Bigfoot
@Baud: The number of times I found myself defending Joe MF Manchin… like “his vote for Senate Majority Leader” was just chopped liver, you idiots; he comes from a state that went 70% Trump— they fucking HATE us; and here’s one more thing- if you make a deal with him, he will stand by his part of the deal, something you cannot say about a single Republican on Capitol Hill.
Yeah, he was problematic in many ways, but he actually voted more with Biden than did Saint AOC.
It’s wild how Black folks get this, but white people “on our side” simply cannot.
Nukular Biskits
@eclare:
You mean “red bugs”? ;>)
Experienced those as a kid many a time running through grassy fields (and soaked in the tub full of bleach water as a result) but this was a well-manicured lawn, if I do say so myself.
Soprano2
@Geminid: He might be better on the radio; the visual of him reading off a list through reading glasses is not a good one. That’s what I mean, he has strengths but they aren’t ones that are visible in this age of video and social media.
Professor Bigfoot
@Nukular Biskits: Yeah, yeah, I know, they will find a way, the villains.
Geminid
@narya: Ah yes, young Kat Abughazaleh. She has plenty of fans nationwide. The debates will likely draw a big internet audience because of that.
There’s another young candidate in the race, a 26 year-old member of the Skokie school board. I forget her name, but she got some attention a few years ago when she won a seat a seat on the school board because was the youngest Muslim American ever to win public office.
rikyrah
She nails it why Washington DC and the DMV bother conservatives
There has been a Black Professional Class in DC for GENERATIONS.
You can literally find a Black person specializing in ANY SUBJECT within 90 minutes of DC
tiktok.com/t/ZP8kTqWsL/
satby
@Baud: or maybe, and I’m just spitballing here: people could grow the fuck up, educate themselves about issues and policy, and behave as participants in their own government rather than as petulant children who aren’t being treated as the special entitled beings they think they deserve to be.
We waste so much time trying to diaper and burp grown humans; worrying about crafting the perfect words and performances that will inspire them to do the bare minimum a functioning society requires from its citizens.
Professor Bigfoot
@RevRick: Nor I, Rev, nor I.
But there’s nothing for it but to continue to put one foot in front of the other and keep working the problem.
satby
@narya: and yet, little Kat is the one the Bernie bros hearts go pittypat for. Odd.
Professor Bigfoot
@Steve in the ATL: <snort><chortle><guffaw><spew>
When some sealioning shitweasel makes me reconsider my participation here, one of y’all will come up with something that reminds me of why I stay!
Now excuse me while I wipe off my iPad and keyboard…
comrade scotts agenda of rage
@NotMax:
Thanks for that.
I love the quote (after describing the origins of the tactic):
In a proper democracy, such obvious cheating would have been instantly spotted and nipped in the bud. But due to America’s quirky, stunningly undemocratic system where its politicians themselves draw their own district maps, gerrymandering very much continues to this day”
I actually understand why somebody like Ahnold is gonna fight GoodHair II’s attempt to redistrict CA should TX go thru with its plan. He’s got a principled objection to the entire process and this could be a giant step backward in what progress that’s been made to do our best to mitigate this practice.
Of course Ahnold’s wrong in this case as he’s letting that one issue override the far bigger and more dangerous threat. We should not be throwing an allowable (if execrable) out the window while our political enemies are using it.
I’ve said this before, letting states do this, as has been our wont, clearly results in a very undemocratic system…by design. We either pass a constitutional amendment or, equally impossible, get Congress to enact legislation that means everybody’s doing, for example, what CO does, or nobody does.
Scout211
@Nukular Biskits: I get that so Benadryl is a no for you.
But if it is a skin allergy, just be aware that you are now susceptible to more reactions in the future. Next time you mow, wear long pants tucked into your socks and a long sleeve shirt tucked into gloves. Then when you are done, throw all your clothes into the laundry and take a hot shower.
Nukular Biskits
@Professor Bigfoot:
Not sure if I’m wording this correctly (still groggy from lack of sleep) but it’s logical that “conservatives” are doing everything in their power to consolidate political power to the detriment of everyone and everything else. True, the desire for power is probably the predominant driver here but it’s also (for many? most?) driven by the need to “protect” the country; i.e., protect the white patriarchical status quo.
My problem (well, one among many) is that
theirthey’re so fucking dishonest about their motivations. I mean, I’m still not going to agree with them about their machinations but I’d have perhaps some grudging respect for them if they’d just say something along the lines of “We’re going make it so that only white Christian males are in charge. What you gonna do about it, Stewpit Libtard?”ETA: Grammar correction before Prof gets even with me for something I did on Bluesky … LOL.
Soprano2
@satby: I feel the same way. I think the current trend of seeming to put off adulthood until sometime in the mid-20’s has not been a good one.
Professor Bigfoot
@Nukular Biskits: Right there with you.
I’d have so much more respect for the shitweasels— especially the ones ostensibly “on our side”— who are unwilling or incapable of articulating their true motivations.
They’ll produce reams of text talking all around what they want; but they just ain’t got the goddamn stones to OWN UP TO IT.
Nukular Biskits
@satby:
No disagreement from me on that one.
But given all the demands on our time from everything else in life, it is hard even for a lot of us who consider ourselves politically-engaged to stay informed.
When I ran for county sup about 15 years ago, I made it a point to attend every single Board of Sups meeting. The only other people there were either county employees, people with business before the Board, a local reporter (sometimes) and a sprinkling of senior citizens.
And I’m of the considered opinion that a LOT of elected officials prefer that the hoi polloi NOT be civically engaged.
Soprano2
@rikyrah: She’s right, it freaks white people out. What they mean when they say they want to “restore” D.C. is to get rid of all the people she’s talking about and replace them with white people. I wish she would talk just a little bit slower, because in some parts I had a hard time following her because she was speaking so fast. Maybe that’s my Midwesterness.
jimmiraybob
Bear BJ,
Earlier…..
For highlighting the Enlightenment ideals and principles locked into the original founding documents, that have been used ever since to progress toward a multi-racial and more equitable democracy, the good Professor has attacked me as a “sealioning ofay MF shitweasel” – a clear racist attack, not to mention an insult to weasels.
And, LAC accused me of “white mansplaining” – a clear racist and sexist attack.
Is this what this blog stands for?
Nukular Biskits
@Scout211:
I suppose. And it’s not uncommon for folks to be repeatedly exposed to something and not experience any negative reactions … and then one day BOOM!
I’m hoping this was a one-off because I do love working outside in the yard.
Getting older sucks!
stinger
So I called the Texas tip line number in the top tweet and asked, in a very pleasant voice, if they had any of the Epstein files would they please release them. The sweet young thing who’d answered instantly replied, “I’m going to have to disconnect this call,” and hung up, so I imagine I wasn’t the first!
Repeating the number here for Jackal convenience: 866-786-5972
Suzanne
@Nukular Biskits: If it, uhhhh, makes you feel better….. my allergies have been getting worse with age, too.
narya
@satby: figures. I hope someone else makes a good effort; I’ve already seen yard signs for her.
Geminid
@jimmiraybob: I would not judge this blog by two commenters.
Nukular Biskits
@Suzanne:
No, that does not make me feel better. LOL
Professor Bigfoot
@Nukular Biskits: Here’s an accident of American history: due to having been systematically denied the franchise for generations, once the Voting Rights Act went into place you’ll find that Black people, as a demographic, are the most informed and most thoughtful voters in America; but white people just take that shit for granted.
jimmiraybob
Again, why is someone allowed to make racist generalizations – “white people” – with impunity?
Nukular Biskits
@Professor Bigfoot:
Perhaps of a certain age, Prof, but I don’t see People of Color, particularly the younger ones, being more immune to the apathy (or outright lack of time to be civically engaged).
Granted, what I’m offering here is anecdotal, but both when I ran for public office twice and even now, several years removed, I just don’t see POC being as involved as they were like during the Civil Rights era. And you’d think, being down here in the South, I would see that here more than anywhere else.
The times? The demographics? Social media got folks spending more time doing “click-to-vism” instead of activism? Lazy Gen-Zs? All the above? None? Damfino.
But, from a personal perspective, I just don’t see the level of civic participation from ANY of the younger folks, much less those of color, that you’d think the outrages should be generating.
Kathleen
@Baud: Let me add to that. Thank you, AL. I appreciate all you do.
satby
I ran and won two terms as a local school council member in Chicago in the 1990s when they first started. Barely anyone attended the meetings most of the time. Barely anyone voted after the first election for local school councils. And yet, when an issue brought people out to complain, the first words they started with were almost always “this is the first time I ever came to a meeting / got involved with…”. Well, ok; if the school your kid attends isn’t important enough for you to pay attention to until you didn’t like something like a book in the library … And I was doing that as a single mother/sole support of my kids who worked two jobs so I understood how hard it was to keep up with events. But that was my obligation as a parent, and a citizen of the city/state/country. We have rights, but the obligations that support those rights don’t get mentioned when we consider how to engage people. And, you can probably tell I’m completely over worrying about people who have to practically be bribed to do the bare minimum of citizenship by voting.
Nukular Biskits
@satby:
Preaching to the choir!! AMEN!
satby
@jimmiraybob: because it’s a pretty accurate generalization.
stinger
@RevRick:
Hah! I just now read as far as your comment — and I love it!
I’m going to call again tomorrow, this time saying “Are you still looking for the Democrats? Well, I’m still looking for the Epstein files.”
Kathleen
@Baud: And Bill Clinton’s name can be randomly thrown in!
satby
@Kathleen: 😂
jimmiraybob
@satby:
It’s a racist and divisive generalization. Now, if you were to say a lot of white people are ignorant racist pigs, I’d have no argument.
I do not lump “black people” into negative stereotypes.
WaterGirl
@jimmiraybob: personal attacks are against the Balloon Juice comment policy. There’s not someone watching in moderating every comment on the blog so if you feel you’ve been personally attacked, or see someone else being personally attacked, it’s best to send an email to me and John So we can take a look and address it if there’s a clear violation and at least respond to you even if not.
Soprano2
@Suzanne: I developed asthma as an adult in my late 20’s. Strange thing with my allergies – after Covid happened, they’ve almost completely gone away. During Covid I thought it was wearing masks that made it better, but things have continued to not bother me anymore. I used to get bad when the tree pollen came out in April and in August when it was ragweed season. Now, I might have a problem one day a year or even less. It’s weird, because I know Covid didn’t make my allergic reactions go away.
Madeleine
@Geminid: Schumer has certainly been a great “parliamentary technician” this year! //
@Geminid:
Kathleen
@satby: Perfect! Thank you! What happened to “Don’t ask what your country can do for you ask what you can do for your country,” It inspired this 11 year old!
Geminid
@Madeleine: Do you have any specific criticism in mind; an instance where he failed and another Minority Leader could have succeeded?
Otherwise, I’m not taking your pushback seriously.
laura
@jimmiraybob: because it’s fucking true and stands up to intellectual scrutiny all day every damn day. That’s why. ffs.
WhatsMyNym
@jimmiraybob: that’s why the comments have a pie filter at the top of comments. Click on the Pie and select the nym’s you want don’t want to read.
jimmiraybob
@laura:
So, you think that it is OK to lump all “white people” as racist?
jimmiraybob
@WhatsMyNym:
Is this a place I need to hide?
Geminid
@jimmiraybob: Just stand your ground, if you believe it’s good ground. I’ve done that when I’ve been dogpiled. I can tell you have skills.
One thing that may be going on and please correct me if I’m wrong: you may be new here. I got hazed and picked on here when I showed up. It’s not a good feature of this blog, but it happens. You just have to hang in there.
Another feature: people react more to something disagreeble than something tbey agree with. So you won’t neccesarily get support from people who appreciate your comments.
Ed. But if you think an attack is over the line, by all means bring it up with WaterGirl or John Cole. They want this blog to be a non-hostile environment.
frosty
@Nukular Biskits: Mild flu-like illness? You had a fever, that explains the chills. I’ve gotten a rash with a fever for the last ~15 years at least – I never bother to take my temperature any more. Maybe the same thing is happening to you.
Professor Bigfoot
Jesus, Mary and Joseph, what utter crap.
EVERYMOTHERFUCKINGBODY KNOWS it’s not ALL white people; but if a white man wants to take it personally, then we can assume it applies to him, particularly; and in the vein of “I said what I said,” well, I said what I said and the offended individual is cordially invited to kiss my fat Black ass.
jimmiraybob
@Geminid:
I’ve been reading here and occasionally commenting since the early to mid 2000s. I’m not new to seeing people steamrolled out of here. But thanks for the reply.
This was the second time that I’ve been personally attacked for standing up for the liberal democratic principles incorporated into the DOI and Constitution supporting multi-racial, equitable progress, because “white people.”
laura
@jimmiraybob: nice try champ, but the “not all white people” caveat is silent. If your not a racist white people, you just keep on rolling, knowing that you’re not included in that set. If it really bothers you, perhaps just maybe it bothers you because of some self-knowledge. Hit dogs holler. And if you cannot or will not see the obvious effort to re-establish a white male dominance and erasure of Black Americans by the current administration and not feel sickened personally, and generally as a bad thing for this country, then just keep on polishing that rage boner.
comrade scotts agenda of rage
@jimmiraybob:
Heh heh, you’re then very aware of how things play out here and how they’ve been since 2016.
Keep it up, it’s appreciated.
Professor Bigfoot
Cordially.
jimmiraybob
@Professor Bigfoot: “…we can assume…”
I think this applies to big black asses as well.
There will be no kissing.
Professor Bigfoot
Hit dogs not only holler, but they don’t know how to shut up, either.
Paul in KY
@satby: I hope Gov. Pritzker can do one of those FDR grins while he’s savouring that.
Steve LaBonne
Not all “Enlightenment values” are salubrious ones. The period saw the invention of systematic “scientific” racism, developed to excuse and justify European exploitation of Africa and Africans.
Baud
@Steve LaBonne:
There’s nothing good that won’t be twisted by bad people toward evil ends.
Steve LaBonne
@Baud: Which is why we shouldn’t uncritically applaud people who bang on about Enlightenment values.
Baud
@Steve LaBonne:
I applaud no one.
satby
@Geminid: But if you think an attack is over the line, by all means bring it up with WaterGirl or John Cole. They want this blog to be a non-hostile environment.
Ha. planet eddie probably would disagree.
Paul in KY
@jimmiraybob: We do stand sometimes for invective. “sealioning ofay MF shitweasel” is pretty good, IMO, for ‘invective’. Should have capitalized ‘Ofay’, IMO.
Not sure whether it was warranted or not. Have no idea what ‘sealioning’ is…
Steve LaBonne
@Paul in KY: wondermark.com/c/1062/
jimmiraybob
@Professor Bigfoot:
The irony is that the case that you object to, the one I have been making, is that there are principles of equity (fairness and impartiality) embedded in the Declaration of Independence as well as the 1789 Constitution and the first ten amendments (1791) that have been key to our modern concepts of liberal justice. Principles that Douglass, Lincoln, MLK, Jr., John Lewis and everyone working toward advancing civil rights in this country have used in the fight.
And yes, crowning me as a “sealioning ofay MF” and “shitweasel” seem inappropriate for doing so.
So be it. Free speech and all.
Paul in KY
@Professor Bigfoot: If the shoe don’t fit, then don’t wear it :-)
Paul in KY
@Steve LaBonne: Thank you, good Steve! Now I know!
jimmiraybob
@Paul in KY: As invective I agree. It is crafty wordsmithing. As to ‘sealioning,’ it’s worth looking up and adding to the vocabulary.
jimmiraybob
OK Professor, you can now have the last word.
stinger
The Prof has many, many times spelled out Not All White People, but often simply shortens the phrase. And you know what, it can feel personal, but if your conscience is clear, then IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU. If you’re concerned that stereotypes and generalities about “white women voters” or “red states” or “Latino voters” or whatever hit too close to home, then work to make them obsolete.
Geminid
@satby: I don’t know what happened behind the scenes with Planet Eddie. I read his threads, and I reread the first three twice because I could see the troible brewing.
I have some opinions of my own about this matter that don’t align with the consensus here, but I cannot argue them based on the threads because those are no longer available.
I think that some of the front pagers know more of the story. But John Cole is the only one who knows all of it and he’s not saying.
Baud
@Geminid:
IIRC, PE uses “they.”
Paul in KY
@jimmiraybob: As a white dude (very pasty white), alot of what Repubs and their Fascist ilk plan and scheme for will probably not impact my daily life. I hate hate hate it and I’m sure you do too, but it’s just not as visceral as it is for our Black brothers and sisters.
It’s just not a great country to be Black in. Always keep that in mind as we all try to get our country back on the path of sanity and fair, honorable policy/practices.
stinger
@Baud:
You are hereby officially uninvited to my Broadway debut. Thank you for your attention to this matter!
jimmiraybob
@stinger: “then work to make them obsolete.”
Been doing my best since the 60s.
Ramalama
@Professor Bigfoot:
Nominated. Nom nom.
Geminid
@Baud: Thankyou for the correction. Planet Eddie identified as female and like you say preferred the pronoun “they.”
jimmiraybob
@Ramalama: So, you applaud trying to shut me up?
Let me get this straight. I make a case for constitutional principles, including equity, and I should shut the fuck up?
Got it. Next.
jimmiraybob
@WaterGirl:
As I said in the email, I’m not looking to turn someone in for judgement and possible retribution and think its best at this point to keep it in an open forum – seems more democratic.
Anyway, it’s a done deal for me for now.
Iron city
@Soprano2: Nextdoor is interesting but pretty useless. I am signed up for it from a place we lived 5 or 6 years ago so I get the emails though I don’t look at the substance because I don’t remember the password. The postings are from all over, in many cases the other side of the county, so not really NextDoor. And a portion of the postings are reposts of “the’re eating the dogs, they’re eating the cats type stuff”. Not very useful and not worth the time and trouble to read. Like many online forums, except Balloon Juice, of course.
Steve LaBonne
The problem with white people’s need to be comfortable. (This is something I have seen in action in a UU congregation that I left partly because of it.)
satby
@Geminid: planet eddie, in a now deleted post, made it abundantly clear where the problem and lack of support lay. Since I can’t link, I’ll not elaborate more, but certainly many other readers saw it too.
Citizen Alan
@rikyrah: Great video. But I had to use Google to figure out what DMV meant in this context, as I assumed it was complaints about POCs working in the Dept of Motor Vehicles.
artem1s
The Ohio GOP loves open primaries so they can spoiler vote for a Democrat candidate that has no chance of winning the general. But they hate the idea ranked voting because the fringe looney ‘independent/libertarian’ candidates will likely rank higher than the mainstream GOP candidate due to the influence of white nationalist militias in rural areas. See also,too, Vance, JV R-Carpetbagger, Tech Lord Puppet.
Professor Bigfoot
@Steve LaBonne: The pie filter is certainly helpful; but one must avoid the temptation of the toggle button lest all desserts be for naught.
artem1s
@p.a.: the only representative realignment I would support is increasing the number of House reps proportional to population growth since the last time the House had rep seats added. Instead of stealing reps from one state and giving them to another when populations change in a state, just add another seat. Our population has more than doubled since 1929 and legislation has become exponentially more complicated yet we are still capped at 435 reps. WHY? Who does this benefit?
In 1929 Congress (with Republican control of both houses of Congress and the presidency) passed the Reapportionment Act of 1929 which capped the size of the House at 435 and established a permanent method for apportioning a constant 435 seats. This cap has remained unchanged since then, except for a temporary increase to 437 members (twice, in 1959 and 1961) upon the 1959 admission of Alaska and Hawaii into the Union.[18]
artem1s
@Baud:
so the local whorehouse has an opening for a madame?
Steve LaBonne
@Professor Bigfoot: You mean I can’t eat my pie and have it too? ;)
Geminid
@satby: I think I remember that one, but I might have missed it. I did not read Planet Eddie’s later posts as closely as his first series, especially the first three which were where the trouble started.
My impression is that Planet Eddie wanted someone banned; and that after reviewing their exchanges John Cole decided not to, and those were the grounds on which Planet Eddie claimed he was not properly supported. But John Cole never told his side of the story, and neither did any other front pagers who may have been consulted.
Paul in KY
@Professor Bigfoot: I have never used it. There are some nyms that I generally scroll on by, but not always. You never know when a nugget of wisdom might be dispensed (from an unlikely source).
Paul in KY
@Geminid: I know Kay’s posts/comments pissed them off.
Geminid
@Paul in KY: Oh, I remember. Their conflict started on Planet Eddie’s very first post. I reread that one and the two that came after twice.
The irony is that I remember Kay going after J.K. Rowling several times, for Rowling’s agitation against transgender people. This was over a year before the issue of discrimation and hatred against transgender people became a hot topic here, and John Cole invited Planet Eddoe to post.
artem1s
@Nukular Biskits: You needed to take a shower immediately after. Use plenty of mild soap on all skin that may have been exposed. The hotness doesn’t matter. The soap does. It breaks down the oils and/or pollen that are sticking to your skin. The sooner you get them off your skin the better. If you keep your legs and arms covered while cutting the grass that’s even better than soap afterwards. Gloves, long sleeves and pants. Sorry Baud
Kirk
@artem1s:
The people who don’t want to deal with construction and/or rearrangement so there are seats and offices for everyone is who it benefits. Well, that and the ones who’d lose power if further diluted.
btw, agree with you.
Paul in KY
@Geminid: It appeared that Kay did not like Planet Eddie’s personal opinions of ‘white feminists’ (of which Kay considers herself a part of). Kay appeared to feel that ‘white feminists’ had helped women in general over the years and although Planet Eddie had sincere grievances against some of them, they should only focus on the individual who they had the grievance with and not make any disparaging comments towards ‘white feminists’ as a class. And so on…
satby
@Geminid: John wasn’t as involved as WG. And I had a real row with him about it, because he should have backed his friend better.
The planeteddie mishegas turned out to be a rehearsal for how toxic and abusive a set of people became last summer
planeteddie uses the pronoun they. Constant misgendering was part of the issue, even after corrections were offered.
Geminid
@Paul in KY: All I’m gonna say is that Planet Eddie got plenty of support from the other commenters. So it was not a hostile environment in that sense. There was a lot of hostility to Kay though.
satby
@Geminid: people usually react very poorly to bullies.
Geminid
@satby: I thought Eddie leaned into the conflict with his third post title. So at that point he was willing to fight with Kay. He had plenty of allies backing him in the comments.
When Mistermix left, a lot of people said he’d been bullied off the blog too. My relationship with Mistermix was similar to Kay’s with Planet Eddie, and that’s one reason I never told my side; I was a party to the conflict. I just referred people to his last three posts before before the final one.
Unfortunately, I can’t do that in Planet Eddie’s case so it’s a Rashoman-type situation.
Gin & Tonic
@Geminid: You keep referring to planet eddie as “he.” Why is that?
Miss Bianca
@Geminid: I don’t even remember the Planet Eddie fracas except in an after the fact ‘wha’ happened’ mode. I guess I must have beenMIA during that one
chemiclord
@Matt McIrvin: As I like to say, there is no election system or rules that will protect you from a shitty electorate. If the American people want to elect con-men, idiots, and criminals, then we’re going to get con-men, idiots, and criminals.
And frankly, the United States of America is a very shitty electorate. We are, collectively, very terrible, incurious people.
satby
@Gin & Tonic: Especially after 3 corrections, including an acknowledgement from Geminid. Odd.
@Geminid: Kay started that fight, continued even in the face of other commenters asking her to tone it down, and executed a perfect DARVO when it got insanely ugly. And since you’re a more recent commenter (in years) you may not be aware of the history of K doing that on the regular. She was out of line, and made that very personal against p.e. even though a number of people weighed in. All of which repeated throughout last spring and summer during the election, again despite people asking for less hostility from her and the others.
Geminid
@Gin & Tonic: It’s a recurring error that I’ve made before today; I have a hunch why I keep making it but you can read into into it what you want.
Elizabelle
FWIW, I do not think threads should ever be deleted. Pulled off public view, for sure, for the worst of them.
But there is a lot of information in a heated argument, or a topic that went nuclear, and sometimes it is worthwhile to go back and look once tempers have cooled.
We have, it seems to me, a rather false narrative at times about who gets driven off. Do not delete the original evidence.
Elizabelle
@Geminid:
Yes. That was a classy way to handle it; I remember appreciating that at the time.
How lucky for us they were not published in invisible ink, no?
Geminid
@satby: I see one correction, by Baud. When were the other two?
satby
@Geminid: you corrected yourself @#189, Paul in KY consistently used the correct pronoun in all his answers to you though he didn’t make a production of it, and I repeated again @ 208.
satby
Agree. Without the original posts to cite back to, history becomes distorted.
Ramona
@Nukular Biskits: All allergies are acquired. The immune system has to be exposed to the allergen in order to produce antigens. Also, load (or dosage) matters and other unrelated factors can influence an individual’s reaction at different times.
Ramona
@Soprano2: My hypothesis is that the masking protected you from low levels of allergens long enough that your tissues finally got the chance to heal completely and the inflammation cycle was arrested.
Ramona
@Professor Bigfoot: I’m not offended but may I still most respectfully kiss your esteemed ass ;-)
Geminid
@satby: That is some creative counting..
strange visitor (from another planet)
@satby: kay was a liar. a liar who doubled down and bristled up when called on her lies.
mistermix was a coward who wanted the privilege of posting while needing to be free of having to respond to people’s criticisms or comments.
Kayla Rudbek
@rikyrah: a Black professional class since the days when Henry Baker was working at the Patent Office as an examiner wtop.com/alexandria/2023/02/virginia-historian-handwritten-list-opened-doors-for-black-inventors/
Kayla Rudbek
@Soprano2: although I think that delaying having children has been better for women overall (taking having children as a big marker for adulthood).