Poll: GOP voters trust Carson and Trump most with nuclear weapons
https://t.co/Z6r9nLPrce pic.twitter.com/EMG3kkVvE3
— Talking Points Memo (@TPM) November 3, 2015
But can we trust GOP voters with sharp objects anymore? https://t.co/Fo3ldsCDI2
— Bob Schooley (@Rschooley) November 3, 2015
@dandrezner It's like a terrorist with a nuclear weapon–so unlikely that it seems not worth discussion but an epic disaster if it does.
— Steven Metz (@steven_metz) November 3, 2015
I would be happier about the whole “In the end, the Repubs will sober up and not vote for a dangerous ignoramous out of pure spite” if my younger brother, age eight, had not actually eaten an earthworm just to prove that he could so eat worms if he wanted to, since I was not the boss of him.
Technically, the average GOP voter has more life experience than a very stubborn eight-year-old, but then, it’s not like the average GOP voter seems capable of learning anything from that experience.
****************
Apart from not encouraging the idiots, for those of us not lucky enough to be at Tom Levenson’s talk, what’s on the agenda for the evening?
Omnes Omnibus
Apart from not encouraging the idiots? Well, then I got nothing.
ETA: Isn’t Tom’s last name Levenson?
bobbo
This must mean GOP voters trust Carson and Trump most to USE nuclear weapons.
Anoniminous
Waiting for results from Kentucky governor race. Sitting Dem Gov is retiring, GOP hopes to grab it. The Dem candidate Jack Conway actually ran as a Democrat instead of Repug-Lite so should be a good test case to compare with the 2014 Senate race.
Mnemosyne (iPhone)
If lamh36 is around, I have an early birthday present for her, from the cast of “Hamilton”:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/annamenta/whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat#.gcxNKJKAYr
Yeah.
p.a.
Srv
Americans are smart, except sometimes:
We need a president with energy.
Omnes Omnibus
@Omnes Omnibus: @AL at top: I’d delete the ETA if I could.
max
Given the field of candidates at hand, it is not actually possible for the Republicans to not vote for a dangerous ignoramus (cf. Scott Walker, Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio.)
max
[‘One of those 14 loons is going to be the nominee.’]
Roger Moore
Who cares if the Republicans sober up and select one of the other guys rather than Trump or Carson? The biggest difference between them and the rest of the field is style, not substance. None of the Republican candidates belongs anywhere near the levers of power.
ETA: or what max said.
Arm The Homeless
Spending another week on the road, exploring the sights and sounds of rural Floriduh.
I am somewhere north-east of the B. Cracker compound. I have been on the lookout for a trail of wine foil sculptures, but to no avail, so far.
gogol's wife
@Mnemosyne (iPhone):
Whoa.
When I saw the first picture of those four guys in their boots I knew the show would be a hit. I just didn’t realize how big a hit.
Keith G
I am waiting for voting results here on an issue best summed up in the Times.
What is disheartening about this very close issue is that polling indicates that a large vote against the ordinance will come from the city’s Black and Hispanic populations (they combine for 62% of the 2,233,000 living here).
I hope the polling is wrong.
NotMax
First day in the Oval Office for any of the cavalcade of clowns:
“I still don’t understand. It doesn’t even look like a football.”
Mnemosyne (iPhone)
@gogol’s wife:
I was comparing it to “Frozen” — it’s just one of those right time, right place, right music things that happen once in a blue moon, and there’s no way to predict or imitate it.
As POTUS says, it’s the only thing he and Dick Cheney can agree on.
dp
They might beat the eight-year-old on quantity, but I’m not sure about quality!
raven
The reefer dudes got em to extend voting hours in Ohio. Stoners couldn’t find the polls!
MomSense
@Mnemosyne (iPhone):
I need to send myself to the naughty mat.
NotMax
@raven
“Don’t bogart the voting joints, my friend, keep ’em open for me.”
PurpleGirl
I’m going back and forth between BJ and the Livestream of Cassie’s Kitten Kastle. She had shut the cam down when she she began packing her apartment to move into her house. She had the cam on as a test for about a day and I think she is bringing in kittens!!! tonight. (I am trying to be patient…)
http://livestream.com/cassieskittenkastle/events/4477322
(Cassie is the rescuer I know in Northeast Connecticut.)
raven
@NotMax: Bogart is the next town west of Athens!
SatanicPanic
If I had to choose, I suppose I would say Carson seems less likely to use nukes than Trump. Then again, Carson is very clearly a fool and who knows what kind of creeps he’d put in his cabinet. Not to mention, explaining a concept like “hey if we use to many nukes we might end up with a nuclear winter” to either of them would be a mission impossible.
Mnemosyne (iPhone)
@Keith G:
Unfortunately for transwomen, weirdo creepy men have made it difficult for women to be comfortable with the idea of sharing public bathrooms with people who might have penises. Men are caught ALL THE DAMN TIME setting up cameras in women’s public bathrooms. So a lot of women are very, very uncomfortable with the idea of men being allowed in the women’s bathroom.
This may be TMI, but if you’re a transwoman (or even just in drag) and need to use the ladies room in public, PLEASE sit down. Using it while standing up will freak out every other woman in that room and convince them that you are a pervert planning to take an upskirt video of them while they pee. Thank you.
Mnemosyne (iPhone)
@MomSense:
TMI, Madam Vice President! :-o
I usually prefer them skinny and nerdy, but I’m willing to make an exception. If necessary.
Anne Laurie
@Omnes Omnibus: Thanks, corrected!
Corner Stone
@Keith G: I’ve honestly thought a lot about this and still am not sure why there’s a push for HERO.
Not putting it on you to explain it to me but just wondering how it promotes equality.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
NBC’s Chris Jansing, who says she covered her first presidential election in 1980, seems to think Ben Carson would be a formidable general election candidate
Anne Laurie
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: So would Chauncey Gardiner, for about the same reasons, Goddess help us all!
Ocotillo
@Anoniminous: Any chance the retiring governor of KY would run against Prince Rand?
MomSense
@Mnemosyne (iPhone):
Redeeming myself with “the littlest Hamilton”
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6oQyCFOyRcA
Corner Stone
Who is this horrible woman on Tweety’s show with Chairman Steele?
Corner Stone
No, Tweety. You do not “need” 60 votes in the Senate.
benw
@SatanicPanic: other way around. My gut feeling is that Trump likes to be the biggest asshole in the room but wouldn’t pull the launch trigger because he wouldn’t see the profit/ego-gratification in it. I’d like someone to ask Carson the difference between nuclear and conventional bombs and see how whacked out his answer is. I can imagine him giving the order to fire without raising his voice.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Corner Stone: Carson’s press secretary.
Have any MSM VSP-types pointed out that the man is nuttier and squirrelier than a dumpster full of fruitcakes on December 26?
BillinGlendaleCA
@Anne Laurie: Yes, but can Dr. Carson walk on water?
piratedan7
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: perhaps she is right. Carson rarely raises his voice and sounds reasoned even when what he is saying is flat out stupid. Appearances matter to a lot of folks.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
No, because that would out the MSM VSP-types as liberals with a bias against good hard workin’ conservatives.
Elizabelle
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: NBC is so in the tank for Republicans. Reminds me of why I stopped watching long before Brian Williams encountered his “troubles.”
Mnemosyne (iPhone)
@MomSense:
Daisy! If you look on Lin-Manuel’s Twitter feed, her dad took a picture of her in front of the Hamilton house that’s in Harlem. (The one they move to in “It’s Quiet Uptown.”)
feebog
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Wait, what? Fruitcakes contain squirrels?
BillinGlendaleCA
@Elizabelle: Hogwash, I’ve been assured by none less than Joe Scar that NBC is full of liberals that never voted for a Republican in their lives. This include the one’s that have passed on like Tim Potato.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@piratedan7: I’m a congenital pessimist, but the three GOP nominees who wouldn’t scare me are Trump, Cruz and the guy calling for a Bible-based tax code.
Omnes Omnibus
@feebog: Yeah, that sounds more like mince meat.
BillinGlendaleCA
@feebog: This is why I never eat fruitcake.
Patricia Kayden
Republican big wigs better do something to sabotage Trump and Carson long before the primaries get popping. They’ve got to know that neither of those Clowns will win in a general election and the Democratic candidate will give either of them a good shellacking. At least with a Rubio, they’d get closer to 50% of the popular vote.
Omnes Omnibus
@BillinGlendaleCA: More for me then.
Mnemosyne (iPhone)
Also, too, since some of the Hamilfans are here, Lin-Manuel is going to be on Jimmy Fallon’s show this Friday night (11/6). Set your DVRs.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Omnes Omnibus: I always knew there was something just not right with you, Omnes.
Baud
@BillinGlendaleCA:
Just one thing?
Omnes Omnibus
@BillinGlendaleCA: Dude, that is so far down on the list that it doesn’t count.
@Baud: Yeah, it is pretty clear that there is something deeply wrong with BillinGlendaleCA.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Baud: Heh, you have a point there.
MomSense
@Mnemosyne (iPhone):
Yes!
BillinGlendaleCA
I put up a few more pictures in my Infrared Album.
ETA: I particularly like the way the pic of Glendale’s city hall turned out.
Baud
@BillinGlendaleCA:
You make me want to get into photography again.
Schlemazel
@NotMax:
+1 for the reference
Back in the early 70’s I worked in a small resort community in Northern MN. 1500 residents & during fishing season 15,000 vacationers. The town theater had a PA system that could play outside and the owner had it running during their big community hoopla. He just grabbed the stack of records the kids working at the theater had. I’m walking down the street in a huge crowd and from the theater I hear, “DON”T BOGART THAT JOINT MY FRIEND!” The looks on faces was priceless.
Alex
@Anoniminous: Kentucky race looks like the Republican is going to win the Governorship.
Next up — getting rid of health insurance for 400,000 people.
Elizabelle
Some excitement in the immediate neighborhood late afternoon. 11 year old girl got wedged in but good to a baby swing at the playground. Had to call 911 to get her extricated; they had to cut the swing off her. She’ll be fine.
Asked dispatcher if there would be a charge to her family; didn’t want to saddle them with that but was worried people on the scene might dislocate her hip trying to get her out.
Dispatcher: “No. It’s completely covered. Your tax dollars at work.”
Rescue did a great job, but it was tricky and took a while to free her. They were wonderful and soothing, but she was very scared. Fine after her ordeal, but might have a bruise.
Elizabelle
@Alex: Please.
How stupid can Kentucky be? Beautiful state, but for dog’s sake …
lamh36
So I told my sister that every year for past like 2-3 years I try to get @idriselba to tweet me on my birthday. So she’s been sending me pics daily for my bday to tide me over…lol.
Check out today’s pic. She captioned it “I believe you took this pic when ya’ll were still together”…lol. I told her…”hmmm, that does look like my bedsheets”…lol
I do love my sisters…
bemused
“You’re not the boss of me” definitely plays a big role in the mindsets of Republicans, Libertarians, right leaning “independents” and hybrids which makes them prone to latch on to wildcards. It does make me nervous. Heck, bluish Minnesota went for Jesse Ventura.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Alex: and after that: blaming Obama
BillinGlendaleCA
@Baud: The camera I’m using for infrared isn’t the best (10mp) but it’s been altered to capture IR. I got it on ebay for around $50.
Baud
@BillinGlendaleCA:
What a steal.
bemused
@Schlemazel:
Where in north MN?
BillinGlendaleCA
@bemused: And CA had the Governator.
Mnemosyne (iPhone)
@lamh36:
We found you a new boyfriend (see my comment near the top). If you don’t want him, MomSense is happy to pick up the slack.
;-)
bemused
@BillinGlendaleCA:
Yes, another good example. Ventura ran as Reform candidate and narrowly beat R-Coleman and D-Humphrey. I don’t remember who Reagan ran against.
BillinGlendaleCA
@bemused: For the CA Governorship? Pat Brown(Jerry’s dad).
MomSense
@Mnemosyne (iPhone):
I’m thinking Lamh36 wouldn’t want to make Idris jealous.
Mnemosyne (iPhone)
@MomSense:
Idris lives in England. He’ll never know.
Thoughtful Today
“Oops.”
“Hey Ted Cruz, You’re Holding Your Gun Backwards.”
Omnes Omnibus
@Thoughtful Today:
Brilliant.
bemused
@BillinGlendaleCA:
Yes, thanks. Do you remember how close the votes were?
Keith G
@Corner Stone: I will give it a very brief attempt to be clear (I have just gotten back from a new Italian restaurant in the neighborhood and several glasses of wine are sloshing around in my system)
Even though restaurants, excuse me, restrooms have gotten most of the press, the issue is about the consumption of all public services within the city.
The explosive controversary is about the inclusion of gender identity as one of the protected classes. That is only one portion of the ordinance. There are 17 states and over 200 municipalities that have these protections extended to transgender citizens. These protections include the ability for transgender people to use public restrooms consistent with their gender identity. This is the part of the issue causing the greatest backlash.
JMG
Perhaps I’m way off, but I think Carson could easily win a general election. The majority of voters know less than zero about public policy, and he looks and sounds nice.
Corner Stone
@Keith G:
I’ve read multiple articles on this issue and what I repeatedly find interesting is that articles supporting HERO spend 5% or less casually mentioning it’s about equal rights and then the rest of the time talking about how ridiculous anti-HERO people are on bathrooms. None of them, that I have seen have clearly articulated that it’s about equal rights for public consumption and equal protection. All they ever talk about is crazy bathroom fetishists.
I got the impression we were fighting to vote for Ally McBeal style bathrooms across the city.
PaulW
right now I’m seeing on Twitter that Kentucky voters are going with the Tea Party psycho, meaning their state health care program is doomed.
And this is after weeks of polling suggesting the Democrat was going to win.
this is why we can’t take the Republicans for granted at the national level. If they send us the craziest SOB possible as their candidate for 2016, there’s a 50-50 chance that crazy SOB can win and we as a nation will be fucked.
Keith G
@JMG: Being the nominee gets him to about 45% of the popular vote, but that does not translate to 45% of the electoral vote.
I can’t imagine him doing better in the swing states than McCain or Romney. So….consider that.
JMG
@Keith G: The white men who voted to take away their own health insurance tonight, and a whole lot of other white men, will take out their sexual anxieties and frustrations by voting against Hillary. I think it’s an underrated part of this election.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@JMG: I don’t think he’s reality-based enough to finesse his Biblical literalism, and that would scare the crap out of a whole lot of Chamber of Commerce types and “fiscally-conservative, socially-liberal” tote-baggers who can tell themselves that McCain, Romney and Whoever are just humoring those… odd people.
ETA: He’s loopier than Palin, and he would be on the top of the ticket. Nobody would want him in the number two spot, and I doubt he’d want it.
ETA, again: Did anyone see a clip yesterday of some woman kneeling in front of Carson’s book-signing table and serenading him? I think it was a song from one of those Jesus musicals from the early 70s? Godspell or JC, Superstar?
Mnemosyne (iPhone)
@Keith G:
As I said above, creepy perverts like this guy make women very nervous at the prospect of having biological men sharing the same bathrooms. It’s not fair, but that’s what people are thinking of when they think of transwomen using the women’s bathroom.
I do wonder if it might be helpful to try and increase the penalties for that kind of thing in conjunction with the next version of the law.
Keith G
@Corner Stone:
Ah well….that happens quite a lot here on this blog.
Much, much bandwidth spent on snark and self congratulation, who is liked and not liked, and not enough spent on what our policy choices are, what they mean about us and our future, or how to make them better.
Pretty thin gruel, but hey, at least we got a Black president.
What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?
However the primary turns out, I have to say watching a member of the Bush family get the Al Gore treatment has been pretty enjoyable. Thanks for the schadenfreude JEB!
Keith G
Maybe. I actually think it is more about those “icky trans weirdos”. As said above, very many other places are making the right choice, but there are till pockets of confusion and down right ignorance.
tybee
@raven:
got a cat from there back in the day. named it “bogart” for some reason.
lamh36
@Mnemosyne (iPhone): Ha…I recognize him, he was on an episode of SVU last week or so. Didn’t realize he was in Hamilton.
I love his hair BTW
lamh36
@MomSense: @Mnemosyne (iPhone): LOL…Idris is bae, but we are no longer exclusive…lol.
As I said, I like this dude hair and can imagine the beautiful natural haired babies we’d have ;-)
Mnemosyne (iPhone)
@Keith G:
Well, you can discount ciswomen’s fears that are grounded in actual incidents that happen all the time and keep losing, or you can address those fears honestly and see if there’s a compromise or solution that allows transwomen and ciswomen to both feel comfortable and safe. From the non-legal side, there are ways to install and design bathrooms so everyone has privacy.
Yes, there’s some transphobia and misunderstanding there, but it’s expressed with a rational fear that needs to be addressed, not dismissed.
The Raven on the Hill
It appears Bevin has won in Kentucky. Shall we start a death count?
Ajabu
Road Show Update!
I passed the half way mark earlier today so I guess I’m actually going to finish this ordeal. I’m currently in Flagstaff, AZ (where it’s cold & raining) so I broke down and checked into motel. – Every other night I’ve slept in the truck in a truck stop. Damn, taking a shower feels good… The worst part of this trip is the endless hours of abject boredom riding through desolation with literally nothing on the radio but country singers & preachers. Shit, I can’t even pick up AM hate talk (which would be good for a laugh or two). Of course, the boredom is occasionally interrupted by periods of intense concentration when you hit the urban traffic in cities and realize that you’re essentially driving a small building with wheels.
One observation: This kind of trip makes you truly understand why it’s called “flyover country”. If an alien being was dropped down onto I-40W outside of Oklahoma City and didn’t notice Amarillo, Gallup or Flagstaff, AZ (don’t forget Winona!) <—– couldn't help it. I am, after all, a musician, and this fucker runs parallel to Route 66… Anyway, where were we? Oh, said alien would think this was some Mad Max scene with 18 wheelers chasing each other and an occasional stop for worship at Pilot, Flying J or Love's. There's literally NOTHING out here.
For those of you who'd like to sing along, tomorrow is the hard part – Kingman, Barstow, San Bernardino… but also the last ugly stretch before I hit the CA freeways with their own version of ugly. And then I get to spend the night with my lovely wife after 3 long months apart.
Stay with me, guys. I'm going to finish this MOFO!!!
Keith G
@Mnemosyne (iPhone):
Well, once the exist polling is sifted through, I will let you know. Many of the pre election interviews that I happened to see were cismen talking about protecting their daughters from the herds of dicks poking out of dresses waved in their youngster’s faces.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@Ajabu: Safe travels on your last grueling leg through the flyover land.
Mnemosyne (tablet)
@Keith G:
Nobody knows better just how pervy cismen are than other cismen. I can’t remember which creepy Republican was all, Hur-hur I totally would have dressed in drag to get into the girls’ locker room, but that’s a not atypical thing to say. (I have 4 older brothers who would forget I was within earshot. I’ve heard a lot.)
The transphobic part of the equation is that people assume that transwomen are just men who want to pretend to be women but have the same creepy interests as certain cismen. The other part is the creepy interests of certain cismen who keep spying on women in bathrooms. I really think that emphasizing bathroom privacy for everyone regardless of gender identification is going to be a more winning message next time.
Matt McIrvin
@Mnemosyne (tablet): For many years, when people heard about gay schoolteachers or Scoutmasters, they automatically thought of pedophiles. And, in fact, pedophile sexual predators are real and are all over the place, preying in positions of authority over kids; it’s just the assumption that gay people are more likely to be pedophiles that’s wrong.
Somehow, people managed to make the separation from their legitimate fears to a sufficient extent that it’s now considered normal in at least a chunk of the country for there to be openly gay teachers.
Something like that transition needs to happen. But it’s happened before.