Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

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

When they say they are pro-life, they do not mean yours.

Compromise? There is no middle ground between a firefighter and an arsonist.

The only way through is to slog through the muck one step at at time.

Jack be nimble, jack be quick, hurry up and indict this prick.

If a good thing happens for a bad reason, it’s still a good thing.

Republicans: slavery is when you own me. freedom is when I own you.

President Musk and Trump are both poorly raised, coddled 8 year old boys.

I’m starting to think Jesus may have made a mistake saving people with no questions asked.

Fight for a just cause, love your fellow man, live a good life.

Black Jesus loves a paper trail.

Stop using mental illness to avoid talking about armed white supremacy.

The poor and middle-class pay taxes, the rich pay accountants, the wealthy pay politicians.

You know he’s going to shit a cat.

Accused of treason; bitches about the ratings. I am in awe.

White supremacy is terrorism.

A tremendous foreign policy asset… to all of our adversaries.

Humiliatingly small and eclipsed by the derision of millions.

No offense, but this thread hasn’t been about you for quite a while.

Teach a man to fish, and he’ll sit in a boat all day drinking beer.

I don’t recall signing up for living in a dystopian sci-fi novel.

The republican ‘Pastor’ of the House is an odious authoritarian little creep.

Wake up. Grow up. Get in the fight.

This chaos was totally avoidable.

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Reader Interactions

244Comments

  1. 1.

    rikyrah

    LIPS PURSED.

    US attorney general says people should just ‘say no’ to opioids
    Reuters REUTERS
    26 OCT 2017 AT 13:29 ET

    U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said on Thursday that the first step to combating the country’s opioid crisis is to get people to just “say no” to drugs, and he warned that marijuana could be serving as a gateway to the problem.

    “We’ve got to re-establish first the view that you should say no. People should say no to drug use. They have got to protect themselves first,” he said, during a question-and-answer session at the Heritage Foundation think tank in Washington.

    rawstory.com/2017/10/us-attorney-general-says-people-should-just-say-no-to-opioids/

  2. 2.

    rikyrah

    Jeff Sessions reveals he ‘might’ not be recused from investigating Steele dossier linking Trump and Russia
    David Edwards
    26 OCT 2017 AT 13:26 ET

    Atttorney General Jeff Sessions suggested on Thursday that although he has publicly recused himself from the investigation into Russian interference and possible collusion with the Trump campaign, it might not include an investigation into the so-called Steele dossier, which found evidence that President Donald Trump has been compromised by Russia.

    During an interview on Thursday, conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt posed the question to the attorney general.

    “I know you’re recused from most of the Russia stuff. But are you recused from the investigation into the Steele dossier and GPS Fusion?” Hewitt asked.

    “Well, I have not made a formal announcement on what kind of recusal I might have there,” Sessions said. “But I could well be.”

  3. 3.

    Gin & Tonic

    I visited with my grandchildren last week. They don’t know who Donald Trump is. Lucky kids.

  4. 4.

    Brachiator

    U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said on Thursday that the first step to combating the country’s opioid crisis is to get people to just “say no” to drugs, and he warned that marijuana could be serving as a gateway to the problem.

    Holy shit, it’s an 80s flashback!

    So, to fight opiod abuse, Sessions will no doubt attack states with legal marijuana, instead of, say cracking down on drug companies pushing opiods like they were candy.

  5. 5.

    rikyrah

    Trump Thinks He’s Turned the Whole ‘Russian Hoax’ Around
    by Nancy LeTourneau
    October 26, 2017

    During his impromptu press interview before boarding Marine One yesterday, Trump answered some questions on the Washington Post story about Democrats funding the Steele dossier. In the end, he said that the whole “Russian hoax” was an attempt by Democrats to make an excuse for losing the election. Then he said this:

    They didn’t know what to say, so they made up the whole Russia hoax. Now it’s turning out that the hoax has turned around and you look at what’s happened with Russia and you look at the uranium deal and you look at the fake dossier. So that’s all turned around.

    I assume that he means that, as the right wingers are all reporting, it is now Hillary Clinton who is in the hot seat for colluding with the Russians. Do you see why I would question whether or not this is all a planned attempt to discredit the results of the Mueller investigation? Trump has his talking points all ready for public consumption in order to lie, distract and blame.

    When the president talks about the “Russian hoax,” it is hard to know whether he is referring to the attempt by that country to influence the election (something he’s been all over the map about) or whether he’s talking about the allegations that his campaign colluded with those attempts. It is very possible that in his small mind, he doesn’t make a distinction. But the verdict on the former has already been delivered, there’s no turning that one around at this point. Russia attempted to influence a U.S. election. The only remaining question is whether or not anyone in the Trump campaign was involved in those efforts. The Steele dossier alleges that those ties ran very deep.

    To buy Trump’s line about the Steele dossier is to believe that the Clinton campaign paid big money for it, but didn’t use it—even though the contents were being floated around D.C. prior to the election. Instead, they saved it until she lost and then spread its contents in an attempt to make excuses. How absurd is that?

  7. 7.

    Major Major Major Major

    Still very little to do around these parts so I’ve been cleaning up my portfolio, doing a little writing, and adding some security features to my new writing site behind the scenes. Now I’m getting pho for lunch, yum! Tonight is Aliens at the Castro Theatre.

  8. 8.

    TenguPhule

    @rikyrah:

    Instead, they saved it until she lost and then spread its contents in an attempt to make excuses. How absurd is that?

    Trump has already made it very clear he’s good at making his followers believe in absurdities.

    Atrocities are pending.

  10. 10.

    Betty Cracker

    I’ve been making calls, trying to pull registered Democrats off the sidelines to help us GOTV for the midterms. Wish I had better news, but lots of people just don’t give a shit. Or they’re in “a pox on both houses” mode — one lady bent my ear about that for a while. But, it’s a numbers game. If I can get just a few people to pitch in, that makes a difference. And so on.

  11. 11.

    rikyrah

    Pence says US to stop funding ‘ineffective’ UN relief efforts
    BY MAX GREENWOOD – 10/25/17 07:37 PM EDT

    Vice President Pence on Wednesday said that President Trump has instructed the State Department to stop funding certain “ineffective” United Nations relief efforts and to instead provide humanitarian assistance directly through USAID and “faith-based groups.”

    In a speech at the In Defense of Christians annual Solidarity Dinner for Christians in the Middle East, Pence excoriated the U.N., saying the international body has “often failed to help the most vulnerable communities especially religious minorities.”

    “We will no longer rely on the United Nations alone to assist persecuted Christians and minorities in the wake of genocide and the atrocities of terrorist groups,” Pence said to applause.

    ADVERTISEMENT
    “The United States will work hand in hand from this day forward with faith-based groups and private orgs to help those who are persecuted for their faith. This is the moment, now is the time, and America will support these people in their hour of need.”

    He did not specify what U.N. programs or initiatives the U.S. will no longer fund.

    Those faith-based groups, Pence said, have repeatedly had funding requests denied by the U.N., despite “proven track records.”

  12. 12.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Brachiator:

    U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said on Thursday that the first step to combating the country’s opioid crisis is to get people to just “say no” to drugs, and he warned that marijuana could be serving as a gateway to the problem.

    Holy shit, it’s an 80s flashback!

    Maybe Zombie Nancy Reagan could do cameos on all the network family hour sitcoms.

  13. 13.

    Jeffro

    @rikyrah: SHSanders herself was blathering away on TV about how it was all about to wrap up very soon (the Mueller investigation) “now that the president’s been vindicated”, etc etc.

    I think as soon as the charges drop, he goes full-bore nuts with the “WITCH HUNT!” craziness and goes all in on tribal loyalty. They’re already laying the groundwork saying it was Clinton working with both the FBI(!) and Russia(!!) to try and depose him. (Also up is down, down is up, and the sun rises in the west.)

    His base voters will certainly stick with him…the questions are, a) will there be more defections of GOP party leaders and elected officials, and b) will the media both-sides this to death?

    Frankly, I wish there was more of a concerted push by Dems to tell #NeverTrump folks to join us and help break this stalemate, or face the prospect of living as a Russian client state with a deranged wackaloon as our leader. Maybe if we pinky-swear not to bring back 90% tax rates? (which were never really 90% rates anyways, but still)

  14. 14.

    TenguPhule

    @Betty Cracker:

    but lots of people just don’t give a shit. Or they’re in “a pox on both houses” mode — one lady bent my ear about that for a while.

    Ideally they have enough fat to be self-basting when they get what they asked for.

  16. 16.

    rikyrah

    This administration is hell-bent on attacking women’s health
    BY DANA E. SINGISER, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR — 10/26/17 02:40 PM EDT

    ……………………

    Scott Lloyd, the head of the Trump administration’s Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), is just one example of why Trump’s appointees are so dangerous.

    Today, Lloyd refused to answer for his treatment of Jane Doe and countless others in his so-called “care.” And it’s no wonder — to answer would be to defend the indefensible.

    Lloyd appeared at a House oversight hearing after a month during which this administration brought the full weight of the federal government to bear against a pregnant, undocumented 17-year-old in Texas, attempting to block her from getting the abortion that is her right. While justice finally prevailed for Jane Doe, her case revealed just how frighteningly far the Trump administration’s abuse of power and disregard of the Constitution extends.

    As the office that oversees federally funded facilities that house refugees — including the one that’s housing Jane Doe — ORR is required to provide undocumented and unaccompanied minors with basic needs like food, shelter, and health care, including contraception and access to abortion.

    Yet, Lloyd inserted his personal beliefs into government policy, insisting that he be personally notified if any unaccompanied minor is seeking an abortion. He is actively engaged in preventing unaccompanied minors in the care of ORR from accessing abortion services. His pursuit of policies and personal practices designed to impose his views on young woman after young woman, denying them access to health care and constitutional rights is outrageous and wrong.

  19. 19.

    TenguPhule

    @rikyrah:

    instead provide humanitarian assistance directly through USAID and “faith-based groups.”

    Grafting for Jesus!

    Talk about your old time Religion.

  22. 22.

    LAO

    I have been generally out of it for the last month — prepping for a trial and now, doing trial support. The one positive is less time spent on line.

    @Betty Cracker: I took the funniest goddamn picture yesterday and wanted to send it to you but couldn’t figure out how to.

  25. 25.

    rikyrah

    BREAKING: Interpol just confirmed they’ve blocked Russia’s abusive arrest warrant. This is 5th time Russia has been rejected by Interpol

    — Bill Browder (@Billbrowder) October 26, 2017

    BREAKING (2): Interpol sent warning to all member states that Interpol channels cannot be used by Russia in my case going forward

    — Bill Browder (@Billbrowder) October 26, 2017

  28. 28.

    Roger Moore

    What have you been doing?

    I’ve been busy with work. I had to come in both weekend days the past two weekends, though it was only for part of the day each time.

  29. 29.

    Corner Stone

    Love a good National Park. It’s a shame most of them are in red states as I hate spending dollars there. But, eh, what’re you gonna do?

    ETA, most of the ones *I* want to see.

  30. 30.

    HeleninEire

    Hey all. I’ve got a Mary update. Just got off the conference call with my family and her care givers.
    Will post it in the evening open thread. Just gotta write it up so everyone (including me) can understand. SPOILER ALERT: We’re trying to stay positive and I’m trying to stay in Ireland. Once again thanks to all my lovely friends here. Stay Tuned!!

  32. 32.

    daverave

    The missus and I got back on Tuesday from an 8 day excursion to southern Utah which included 4 days going down a bit of the San Juan River with a fun group of SLCers. Our cat Buddy was not pleased to have been left in the care of house/catsitters… our first time apart from him in the last 20 months or so. He persevered but put us on notice.

    So nice to have a fully Trump-free week.

  33. 33.

    Betty Cracker

    @LAO: The email form should allow you to attach an image file. Or you can send it to bettycrackerfl-at-gmail-dotcom. I could use some funny. I’ve got a case of outrage-outrage fatigue, i.e., I’m sick of listening to other people’s complaints.

  34. 34.

    Elizabelle

    @Betty Cracker: “A pox on both houses” should indicate you have reached a low information voter. How much were they going to help you, to begin with?

    LOL. Maybe the response form should have “px” as response. You can program to call those weasels again, once Trump has stepped in it so badly that even David Broder’s ghost has to give up.

    I have not done anything in the Virginia race. Nothing. Except talk it up among people I meet locally. Am still burned out from last Election Day; not in any kind of frame of mind to find a Bro or Pox person at the doors. I think I’d slap them.

    Kamala Harris and Justin Fairfax are in town Sunday; think I’ll go to that and will hope to do some canvassing/helping in the final 10 days. By that time, people are paying attention, and you get a different response.

    Last year took the wind out of my sails. I am just dead inside.

    Although: it also woke up some of my nonpolitical friends. One is canvassing every Saturday and attending protest marches. Way proud of her.

  35. 35.

    Corner Stone

    @daverave:

    The missus and I got back on Tuesday from an 8 day excursion to southern Utah

    That’s on my list of next plans to do.

  39. 39.

    Corner Stone

    @rikyrah: Looks like the compliant US Govt pulling Bill Browder’s visa put a spotlight on this in a way Putin may not have anticipated.

  41. 41.

    rikyrah

    What Is McConnell’s Ammunition in the Battle Against Bannon?
    by Nancy LeTourneau October 26, 2017

    The media is replete these days with stories about the civil war that is heating up between Steve Bannon and Mitch McConnell. To keep the conversation grounded, it is important to remember what this is all about. As Adele Stan documented over a month ago, Bannon and McConnell are proxy warriors in a battle of the oligarchs—Mercers vs Kochs—for control of the Republican Party.

    ………………………

    Really? That is McConnell’s big plan to defeat Bannon? He’s got a Super PAC that is going to accuse Bannon of being linked to white nationalism? Give me a break! My analysis of McConnell has always been that he is not ideologically driven, but is an expert on playing the power games that go on in Washington. It might be that he’s not tipping his hand at this point and has more up his sleeve. He better hope so, because Bannon isn’t the only one who got a good laugh out of that reporting.

    …………………………..

    That is the territory Bannon is claiming in his battle against the establishment. What’s interesting to note is that McConnell gave it to him by fanning the tea party base in order to gain their support for his policy of total obstruction during the Obama presidency. The only alternative for McConnell at this point is to make a move away from that extremist landscape—which would mean tacking closer to the Democrats. It sure looks to me like he is between a rock and a hard place of his own making.

    Unless McConnell can do better than what we’ve heard so far, the only prayer for Republicans who are being targeted by Bannon in the primaries is to hope that there are some local factors that keep these races from becoming nationalized as a referendum on Trump. Otherwise we’re looking at a Republican Party in the hands of Steve Bannon and the Mercers.

  42. 42.

    Corner Stone

    @NotMax: I saw that. I’m trying to work through if it’s a good thing for the wrong reasons or just a bad thing overall.

  43. 43.

    Wapiti

    I went to White Sands National Monument last week.

    Years ago, I was at White Sands Missile Range, and there were Oryx(!) there. I guess they removed them from the National Monument.

  44. 44.

    Corner Stone

    @JPL: Seems timely, especially since I am considering having a nice egg and cheese quesadilla for dinner tonight.

  47. 47.

    schrodingers_cat

    I have posted this before in one of the evening threads.
    Satyameva Jayate*, the Official theme song of Aamir Khan’s talk show by the same. Aamir Khan is a one of the 3 Khans who has dominated the Hindi film industry since the last 3 decades.
    Aamir traveled the length and breadth of India for the show, something I would like to do myself. The song some great non-touristy footage of India and its people and its tremendous diversity. The lyrics are
    *Truth alone triumphs, which is India’s official motto and one of the slogans of freedom fighters from the pre-independence era.

  52. 52.

    Betty Cracker

    @Uncle Ebeneezer: I posted an LA meetup thread to hash out the time and place last night. I’m relying on y’all to reach consensus and get back to me, and when that happens, I’ll post deets.

  53. 53.

    Jeffro

    And then there’s this: Alt-Collusion: The GOP Theory to Defend Trump From Mueller

    Sickening…

    The Republicans have developed a theory of alt-collusion, centering on elements of these same facts. Their version of the story uses Steele’s research in Russia as evidence that Steele is a tool of the Russian government. Steele’s report, charges the The Wall Street Journal editorial page, is “based largely on anonymous, Kremlin-connected sources.” Ergo, “Strip out the middlemen, and it appears that Democrats paid for Russians to compile wild allegations about a U.S. presidential candidate. Did someone say ‘collusion’?” Former Bush press secretary Ari Fleischer has circulated the same bizarre theory.

    It is obviously true that Steele’s sources had some contact with the Kremlin. That, of course, is why they were sources. If they had no connections to the Russian government, Republicans could say they were ignorant people speculating on subjects they knew nothing about. But by pretending that Steele’s sources were actually Kremlin agents, Republicans can proceed to hypothesize that they were deliberately spreading a message devised by Putin in order to smear Donald Trump.

    There are some important confounding facts that the theory of alt-collusion avoids. For one, Trump’s apparent collusion with Russia involved a crime: stealing Democratic emails. Steele’s “collusion” involves no crime at all. Second, while the Russian propaganda apparatus publicly amplified political messages generated by its email theft, it has done nothing of the sort with the Steele dossier. Indeed, Russia fervently denied the charges in the dossier and called them an attempt to smear Trump.

    But if you ignore these massive flaws, the theory of alt-collusion opens the way for a prosecution of the people investigating Trump. After all, if Putin was using Steele to spread nefarious lies about Trump, then why did the FBI treat these charges seriously? Could it be that the FBI is also a tool of the Russian conspiracy?

    The purpose of the theory of alt-collusion is not necessarily to be swallowed whole. It is merely to be taken plausibly enough to raise questions about Trump’s investigators. If the FBI might be compromised by a sinister Russian conspiracy, then it follows that James Comey is suspect. And since Mueller is close with Comey, he too is suspect.

  54. 54.

    WaterGirl

    @rikyrah: I don’t have any context for this breaking news. I must have missed something big that’s going on? If anybody has a minute to summarize or supply context, it will be appreciated!

  56. 56.

    Miss Bianca

    Actually, I’ve been…filling orders for sleds for White Sands National Monument. They buy about 12,000 a year from my company for sledding the sand dunes. One of these days I’ll have to get down there and see it in action!

  57. 57.

    Jeffro

    @Betty Cracker: Jesus, you’re not kidding…I don’t even follow baseball all that closely and I want an Astros jersey, an Astros hat, AND Astros bedsheets after seeing that.

  60. 60.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Jeffro:

    SHSanders herself was blathering away on TV about how it was all about to wrap up very soon (the Mueller investigation) “now that the president’s been vindicated” , etc etc.

    Possum Queen says WUT now? I’m pretty sure it would have been an NPR top-of-the-hour headline, maybe even a CNN “breaking news” alert, if the president had been “vindicated.” Maybe even a dedicated Balloon Juice thread.

  62. 62.

    Ohio Mom

    @HeleninEire: One thing I’ve gained an appreciation for as the mom of an autistic fellow is that the professionals who work with disabled folks are usually very smart about what they do. I’m hoping the Mary’s caregivers have just the right trick up their sleeve.

  64. 64.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @HeleninEire:

    Sounds positive! Have been thinking good thoughts for you and everyone concerned, obviously very much including Mary. Looking forward to reading your fuller report.

    ****

    Anyone heard from efg today? Hope he is feeling much better.

  65. 65.

    Miss Bianca

    @Jeffro: Wait, so let me see if I’ve got this straight…The Russians have infiltrated the FBI, so their investigation into how the Trump camapign colluded with the Russians has been compromised by the Russians, who are good guys anyway so SHUT UP LIBTARDS because as always, the Democrats are the real enemy?

  69. 69.

    Gin & Tonic

    @WaterGirl: Every once in a while Russia issues (through Interpol) some kind of a warrant for the arrest of Bill Browder. This latest time it was apparently in retaliation for Canada’s passing of a Magnitsky Act equivalent. For reasons that haven’t been made clear, the US gov’t then yanked Browder’s visa (he’s a UK citizen.) There was a bit of noise about that, so the US DoS rescinded that action, and now Interpol is saying Russia can’d do what they’ve done five times already a sixth time.

  71. 71.

    HeleninEire

    @Ohio Mom: Yes. Generally the people in that profession belong in that profession. I watch Mary’s caregivers and I am in awe about how wonderful and dedicated they are.

    When my brother at the age of 45, was dying of cancer I was so stunned about how great they were.

  74. 74.

    Brachiator

    @rikyrah:

    Vice President Pence on Wednesday said that President Trump has instructed the State Department to stop funding certain “ineffective” United Nations relief efforts and to instead provide humanitarian assistance directly through USAID and “faith-based groups.”

    In a speech at the In Defense of Christians annual Solidarity Dinner for Christians in the Middle East, Pence excoriated the U.N., saying the international body has “often failed to help the most vulnerable communities especially religious minorities.”

    “We will no longer rely on the United Nations alone to assist persecuted Christians and minorities in the wake of genocide and the atrocities of terrorist groups,” Pence said to applause.

    So much wrong here. Interesting that Pence is “speaking for Trump” in front of Pence’s fellow religious zealots. This suggests that the White House and the GOP is showing how close they are, rejecting those apostates who recently spoke against Trump.

    And this nonsense that Christians are specially persecuted is just foul on all levels. It is its own fake news, a lie turned into a propaganda item for Trump’s base.

    Just imagine an upcoming administration proposing seeking to help all those white people who have been persecuted by affirmative action programs.

    I hate these people. I hate them all the more because they are channeling resources to the worst kinds of grifters, phonies and opportunists.

  75. 75.

    DesertFriar

    @Wapiti:

    Years ago, I was at White Sands Missile Range, and there were Oryx(!) there. I guess they removed them from the National Monument.

    ——-

    White Sands have the gemsbox, which is in the oryx genus. They are a pain.

    My oldest daughter interned in the summer at the White Sands Missile Range. She had to overnight in White Sands for a missile launch test. It took them 2 hours to get into place in White Sands for the launch. She said she saw during the drive, 2 herds of gemsbox. One was 25 head, the other 40 head. They made sure not to antagonize them because the cars usually suffer big damage.

  76. 76.

    NotMax

    Wishing the spirit of Heloise would move on to someone else already. Have been on an extremely uncharacteristic cleaning jag for three days now.

  77. 77.

    Roger Moore

    @Corner Stone:
    Some great National Parks in blue and purple states*:

    Yosemite
    Sequoia
    Joshua Tree
    Rocky Mountain
    Mesa Verde
    Black Canyon of the Gunnison
    Olympic
    Mt. Rainier
    Crater Lake
    Carlsbad Caverns
    Acadia
    Hawaii Volcanoes
    Haleakala
    Isle Royale
    Shenandoah

    *Not intended to be a comprehensive list

  78. 78.

    Corner Stone

    @Elizabelle: I honestly think we’re going to see a flood of reports before Christmas that allege every man with access to a TV or movie camera used his position in ways to harass and/or assault others around him.

  80. 80.

    LAO

    @SiubhanDuinne: Mrs. Cracker will have to post it — I couldn’t even figure out how to send it to her using the form. NB — I’m like John Cole terrible at picture taking.

  81. 81.

    Corner Stone

    @Roger Moore: I’ve been to a few of those. The PNW is a big get on my list. I am slowly boxing them in as I have been to AK and HI, and now most of The Great American West ™ .
    Southern UT may be next or we may just decide to hit WA and slide down to Northern CA.

  82. 82.

    Betty Cracker

    @schrodingers_cat: I run into registered Dems who are actually Republicans occasionally, but today’s “pox” lady was an actual Democrat, and she intends to keep on showing up for elections and voting for Democrats. But she’s not willing to volunteer or donate until the party does more to address her concerns (which were all over the map, TBH).

    I said “the Democrats” are you and me, lady — if the county party isn’t focusing on what you think they should address, come with me to the damned meetings! Make your voice heard! But I think she’s expecting a call from Tom Perez, not a lowly precinct captain in Cockroach Acres — her complaints were mostly historic and national.

    I listened to her vent, pushed back as much as I dared (I didn’t want to piss her off since I was repping the county party), thanked her for her time, and promised to pass her concerns along. Shruggies…

  83. 83.

    Amaranthine RBG

    I just had my first personal look at the fire damage in Napa and Sonoma today.

    It is awful.

    Three families I know lost homes, but (fortunately?) only one was a primary residence and that one is a true tragedy. The couple that own it are both architects. They grew up in incredibly repressive and homophobic cultures (Alabama and Iran) but managed to get out to where they could live normal lives. The guy from Alabama did work promoting vernacular architecture around the world and had stints at the Rural Studio in Hale County (I think that is what it is called) designing and building spaces for poor and low income folks often using repurposed materials. Guy from Iran primarily does landscape and hardscapes.

    They finally settled down and designed and built their place in Sonoma. They built much of it themselves. A truly stunning space on a gentle bluff with a repurposed water tank as a small swimming pool. It was featured in AD and Sunset magazine when they finished it. Entire structure burned – since it was redwood post and beam and glass. Fire burned the wooden water tank and that released a flood of water that submerged a planted swale and those plants were saved. He had over 120 species of plants on the property and all that is left is a tennis court sized plot with grasses and succulents. For some reason that small spot of color and green just makes it all look so much worse.

    We were in Sun Valley and far away from the fires and were just shocked when we got back to the Bay Area. Still haven’t adjusted. We were at a remote lodge in Canada when 9/11 happened and the experience is eerily similar.

    People’s lives are destroyed – people I love – and I didn’t really know about it until a couple of weeks later.

    If there is a bright side, its that nobody I know died, but plenty of people did.

    My friends have relocated over the hill and are now living in our weekend place. They’ve already drawn preliminary sketches for their next house, which is no small feat since our place (just a yurt and a small cabin) are off the grid. They have vowed to have a Christmas party next year in the new place. I can’t believe they’ll be able to line up contractors and so forth that quickly but Goddamn, they are resilient.

  86. 86.

    Corner Stone

    Chris Christie is such a piece of garbage. Wonder where he’ll end up aft his Gov term is over.

  87. 87.

    No Drought No More

    At a glance that photo looks a lot like the Marin headlands as viewed from the San Francisco side. It’s similar to what a person sees looking across the entrance of the Golden Gate towards the northwest, as viewed from the city’s Ocean beach (i.e., it’s western border).

  89. 89.

    Ohio Mom

    This week my car is on the shop so I’ve been walking to the school bus stop at the end of every day to meet my kid, instead of driving. It’s a good 30 minute walk (there is a bus he could switch to that stops half a block from the house but it is full of little kids and he refuses to ride it. Yes, he can be difficult, welcome to autism).

    Anyway, I stop at the library en route to break up the walk. I found a book today on the Recent Arrivals shelf by a former Obama aide and opened it up to a random page.

    The author realizes her beloved cat’s happy and healthy days are over and takes him to the vet. She is back home, totally devasted and bereft when the phone rings and it is a work-related number, so she steels herself and answers it.

    It is POTUS, in flight, saying he’s “heard we lost Shoompy (I think I spelled that correctly). A lot of people on Air Force One are very sad but we thought we saw his spirit flying over Denali…”

    She writes that she is gobsmacked to have been included among all the other, mostly military-related condolence calls Obama has and will make. She had told one work friend and somehow Obama had caught wind and thought the cat’s passing was worth notice.

    Considering recent events, what a story to find by chance!

    When I get my car back, it’s off to the library to take “Who thought that was a good idea?” out — didn’t feel like carrying anything on that long walk. Considering this is a very Republican area, I’m pretty confident it will be right where I left it.

  90. 90.

    Gravenstone

    @rikyrah: Isn’t Nancy Reagan still kicking about? Maybe Jeffy-boy can bring her out to reprise her greatest hits from the 80’s, “Just Say No!”

  93. 93.

    Miss Bianca

    @Betty Cracker: Oh, you poor thing. A star in your crown for actually making the attempt! As for that lady, all I can do is repeat the words of a dear friend of mine (who waves hello to you, btw – apparently she used to follow the late lamented RumpRoast):

    “I will never understand the tendency of so many on the “left” to write mash notes in their Hello Kitty diaries to GOPers who exhibit the faintest signs of sanity and empathy in speeches (while voting against anything embodying those ideals) — while going into fits of unforgiving rage at actual Dem allies who deviate from their cherry-picked Purity List of must-haves.”

  94. 94.

    ruemara

    @Betty Cracker: They’ll feel that way until it starts to hurt them. I’m going to make a horrible presumption, but I’m guessing you’re hitting largely white call lists. I find it amusing that nearly every DNC call I get is a Jamaican grandma, which means I can’t disobey.

    I am prepping one of my beloved interns to go film in Beirut. She’s about 5’5″, weighs 2 oz and is a gregarious soul. So I’ve infused her with the necessary levels of paranoia, equipped her with a very good utility tool to be kept clipped to her belt under a sweater, taught her basic punching and key joints to hit for a disabling strike then jellify the nad area. Plus my mace. I do not approve of using a student this way. It seems wrong that you’re taking as student to film a research mission, especially in a dangerous area, but she’s excited to go and I will prepare her as much as I can.

    And I’m trying to wrap up a presentation or two before I am forced to go socialize and meet a big wig of note and schmooze him into visiting our facility.
    Missing clan Glidwrith so I plan to write all the emails in my head and send them out.

  97. 97.

    Elizabelle

    @Amaranthine RBG: Sorry to hear that. It would be shocking to see, and I am sorry for your friends’ loss.

    Maybe your friends’ new purpose will include designing fire-resistant homes for those who rebuild, or maybe fire-safe underground storage areas for the life’s work, art glass (one couple lost Dale Chiluly glassworks), photos and irreplaceable family and personal stuff. Could go in under or near the rebuilt dwellings. Homes, to some extent, are replaceable, but not people and treasures.

  100. 100.

    Elizabelle

    @Gravenstone: Nope, Nancy Reagan is 6 feet under. Her with Ronnie, planted in the Simi Valley.

    Tom Brokaw had a lot of nice things to say about her, when she passed. Andrea Greenspan too.

  101. 101.

    ruemara

    @Ohio Mom: I miss having a gentleman and decent soul in the lead. It obviously matters who’s in charge.

    @Betty Cracker: And, that’s exactly what’s wrong with Dems. “Cater to me, bigwhigs”, isn’t really what pay attention to my issues is about.

  104. 104.

    Gravenstone

    @Jeffro: Yeah, because why would anyone want to ask a bunch of Russians about Russia trying to influence the US election? That’s just crazy talk!

  105. 105.

    Elizabelle

    @Ohio Mom: That is so thoughtful. Condolence call about a cat, and he attempted the pet’s name.

    Why yes, we are NOT talking about Trump.

    ETA: The part about the cat spirit over Denali. Haunting and high level thinking.

  106. 106.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Ohio Mom:

    What a great story! Wow, does that ever throw my “I miss Obama!” gears into overdrive. Do you remember the book title and/or author? Would love to read it.

  109. 109.

    Ohio Mom

    @Gravenstone: Nancy Reagan went on to her reward several years ago. You will have to find someone else to take up the charge of urging us all to Just Say No.

  112. 112.

    James E. Powell

    @Jeffro:

    It isn’t even as much as the linked article suggests. There is really no need for Trump & the Republicans to undermine Mueller.

    All they needed was some fuel to give the press/media so they could “both sides” the story into the ground. Although neither Bill nor Hillary hold or will ever again hold any public office, the press/media are still following the Clinton Rules.

    Shorter me: Those assholes put Trump in the White House and they are going to keep him there.

  113. 113.

    Corner Stone

    @Elizabelle:

    Nope, Nancy Reagan is 6 feet under. Her with Ronnie, planted in the Simi Valley.

    I’m not sure but I believe Ronnie is in some kind of tomb such that it makes it difficult for one to piss on his grave. Otherwise, Nancy would have been buried on top of him to prevent future peoples from pissing all over his grave. She would “take the piss” as it were, in death as she did in life.

  115. 115.

    NotMax

    @Elizabelle

    Eleanor Roosevelt is unforgettable. Jackie Kennedy is unforgettable. Betty Ford is unforgettable.

    Nancy Reagan is eminently and deservedly forgettable.

  117. 117.

    Miss Bianca

    @Ohio Mom: My God, it is both uplifting and depressing to read that story. Uplifting to realize that once upon a time, and maybe sometime in the future, we had a POTUS like that. The depressing part, of course, is that meanwhile we are stuck with a puke stain who can’t even pretend to be human, let alone presidential, in the same role.

  118. 118.

    Lee

    White Sands has played a minor part in my family’s history.

    My Dad was stationed there in the Army testing rockets. Then back when it was the secondary landing spot for The Shuttle, we went there to watch the one of them land.

  119. 119.

    Mnemosyne

    @Jeffro:

    If the FBI might be compromised by a sinister Russian conspiracy, then it follows that James Comey is suspect.

    If James Comey lands in jail because he helped Trump last October and got the instrument of his own destruction elected, I will laugh my ass off.

  120. 120.

    Elizabelle

    @NotMax: Twas snark.

    I really, really liked Betty Ford. And admired the other 2.

    Would love to have a visit with any of them.

  122. 122.

    DesertFriar

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    Don’t know, have been very lucky not to see one up close and personal.

    The wild animals are mostly tarantulas, rattlesnakes (one captured at the missile range was 20 ft.) and coyotes. There was a bobcat sighting back in August.

  123. 123.

    Ohio Mom

    @Elizabelle: I should clear this up: Obama got the cat’s name right, I am not sure I remembered the spelling correctly, since it is not a standard name.

    The rest is a verbatim quote — I could hear it in Obama’s voice in my mind’s ear, and I read it over three times, almost in disbelief. How could the same nation elect both Obama and Trump?

  124. 124.

    Ella in New Mexico

    Beautiful White Sands–just one of the most awesome, spiritual places this incredible state is blessed with. Love New Mexico!

    And I can’t believe Cheryl and I live so close to one another! This state is huge but really it’s pretty small so I’m sure we’ll run into one another someday. ;-)

    @Lee: My father retired there about 7 years ago at age 76. My husband works there now. Both former military and career civilians.

  125. 125.

    Betty Cracker

    @ruemara: Nine times out of ten, it would be a safe assumption that the person on my call list is white, but today’s “pox” lady was black. Many of her complaints were about the party not doing enough for people of color. I didn’t think she’d take too kindly to Wonder Bread me arguing the point, so I didn’t.

    She did say the Democrats should put more effort into registering people to vote and helping them obtain ID, update registration, etc. I told her I agree 100% and that was the very type of activity I was hoping she’d join us in doing. But she’s angry at the party. Probably has her reasons. What can you do, except pass her concerns along, and call the next number?

    Hope your intern stays safe.

  126. 126.

    NotMax

    @Lee

    Makes me wonder if they’ve removed the big net (to be popped up from its underground storage) intended for use if the STS ever had to make an emergency touchdown at the airport in Honolulu.

  127. 127.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Ohio Mom:

    Nancy Reagan went on to her reward several years ago.

    Believe it or not, it was just a year and a half ago (March 2016). It seems much longer, I agree, because the last couple of years have been so head-spinningly fraught.

  130. 130.

    Ohio Mom

    @SiubhanDuinne: “Who thought that was a good idea, and other questions you should have the answers to when you work in the White House” by Alyssa Mastromonaco.

    The cover is a very adorable photo of Obama and the author, you just know he was glad to help his old staff member put by allowing his image on her book.

  132. 132.

    Betty Cracker

    @SiubhanDuinne: I think we’re going to need a “Trump years” standard similar to the “dog years” formula that makes my 9-1/2-year-old boxer an almost-septuagenarian. The last year seems like at least two, possibly five.

  135. 135.

    Elizabelle

    @Ohio Mom: Understood you; I’m sure Obama got the cat’s name right.

    And, in my heart, I truly do not think we did elect Trump. I think he and those empowering him cheated and stole the election. He lied himself into office. Also: first election without voting rights act. I suspect there’s your margin there.

    The great tragedy is that there were so many rubes, waiting there to cast their vote. And Republicans, although that’s not always a separate group.

    We need to take down Fox News and the rightwing media empire. It’s poisoning us, and will destroy our democracy. It brainwashes. It cannot be corrected for by “better information.”

  136. 136.

    Ella in New Mexico

    @Lee: My husband’s in radar at WSMR, and spent many a shift tracking the various shuttles over the years when we were still a final emergency landing site.

    BTW the last shuttle, Endeavor flew a farewell flight over White Sands and Las Cruces a couple of years ago, so low I thought I could reach out and touch it. Gorgeous. Brought tears to our eyes. youtube.com/watch?v=69U9xmv8WBk

  138. 138.

    NotMax

    Repeating from the sparsely attended overnight thread because it’s a clever campaign.

    Excuse the source linked, but it is the most succinct rundown I could readily find.

    Remainers who refuse to accept Brexit are being urged to ring up their grandparents and persuade them to rise up and protest our EU exit. Source

    Also too, Lord Adonis is an honest to gosh extant titled name that once heard is impossible to forget.

  140. 140.

    Betty Cracker

    @Elizabelle: Someone on Twitter said a do-gooder billionaire who bought Fox News for the express purpose of destroying it would serve mankind well. Would have been a better use of Pierre Omidyar’s coin than the goddamned Intercept, that’s for sure.

  141. 141.

    Mike in Pasadena

    @Major Major Major Major: Whenever I am in SF I try to catch a movie at that theatre, but it has been a long time. Do they still have an organist on the Grand Wurlitzer open the evening show , or has that tradition died?

  142. 142.

    Major Major Major Major

    @NotMax: ISTR there’s some titled position in the UK for the person in charge of the unicorn rampant on the coat of arms, including “unicorn rampant” in the title, but can’t locate it at the moment.

    @Mike in Pasadena: They still do it, though they had to replace the Wurlitzer and for a while did not.

  144. 144.

    rikyrah

    @WaterGirl:

    Putin hates this guy because he’s behind the Act that people use to justify the sanctions against Russia. Putin’s tried to put him on Interpol’s most wanted list. ..and, they turned him down again…

  147. 147.

    zhena gogolia

    @Corner Stone:

    I heard one of them give a talk yesterday, and yeah, it was deeply depressing. Most of it was about Obama’s “feckless” foreign policy and how he failed to intervene in Ukraine and Syria.

  150. 150.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Roger Moore: I have to “me too” that, and add that if you like driving, UT Hwy 12 between Torrey and Bryce is one of the US’s premier scenic drives.

  155. 155.

    Van Buren

    @DesertFriar: My father used to be in charge of the testing there, waay back when LBJ was President. Very cool place to be a small child. I remember encounters with rattlesnakes, tarantulas and Horned Lizards in our yard, and bats in our garage.

  156. 156.

    ruemara

    @Betty Cracker: That’s sad to hear. I’m still donating, although I know where she’s coming from.I have to admit, I’m hearing a “Let ’em all drown, both sides proved they don’t care about us” tone coming from more engaged AA voters. The Unity commission shenanigans have made that seem clear, as is the WWC as the desired voters strategy. I’m struggling to overcome my inertia to do some calling for Alabama & Virginia.

    @Major Major Major Major: And he got some serious RW hatred for it.

  157. 157.

    Corner Stone

    @Roger Moore: I had been planning a two week trip for Southern UT this last summer. But after my son and I started talking about it we changed our goals. It’s still on my list and I may make it happen one year soon.

  159. 159.

    Roger Moore

    @eclare:
    The Great Gallery was probably my favorite part of the trip. It’s in the middle of nowhere- to get there from the nearest town involves about 30 miles on paved roads, 30 miles on dirt roads, and a 3 mile hike- but it’s definitely worth the trip. I’ve visited all the biggest attractions in Utah’s national parks, so these days I try to get to some of the more obscure and hard to get to places.

  160. 160.

    Elizabelle

    NY Mag: HBO Drops Mark Halperin Project From Development Amid Sexual-Harassment Allegations

    HBO, which produced the TV adaptation of Game Change, says that it is dropping a project tied to Halperin’s upcoming book on the recent election from development. “HBO is no longer proceeding with the project tied to the untitled book co-authored by Mark Halperin and John Heilemann on the 2016 Presidential election,” the network said. “HBO has no tolerance for sexual harassment within the company or its productions.”

    In all honesty, who from our side wants to relive the 2016 election, to see it, as penned by Mark “Frotterer” Halperin? Once was enough.

    Never again.

  162. 162.

    Baud

    @ruemara: Ugh. Not surprised in the least but sad to hear it’s gotten that far. Hope there’s time for course correction before feelings become immutable.

  165. 165.

    sibusisodan

    @NotMax: pedantry point: Andrew Adonis does have a _great_ name, but he’s only a life peer. Adonis is his surname, not his title. It’s how they put former members of the government out to pasture.

    Life peers are “Lord [Surname] (of [Place])”. Hereditary peers are “[Surname], Lord [Place]”.

  167. 167.

    Elizabelle

    @ruemara: Do you think the AA community was targeted with anti-Democratic ads, perhaps that flew under the radar?

    It’s sad.

  170. 170.

    ruemara

    @Baud: We may be feeling that way now, but our lives are on the line. Some feel it to a greater degree than others, but even with our understanding that neither left nor right really supports minorities, we understand who at least will allow us to live. It seems they wish for us to live in silence, at the back, doing the labor and giving out cool points and entertaining them so folks can feel spiritual, but let us live nonetheless. This new conservatism melded with nationalism? They are overtly championing ethnic cleansing. We look at PR and the completely ignored USVI and we see our neighborhoods.

  172. 172.

    ? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?

    @Betty Cracker:

    . Or they’re in “a pox on both houses” mode — one lady bent my ear about that for a while.

    Did you manage to shut her up with facts? And tell her she’s part of the problem?

  173. 173.

    Miss Bianca

    @Betty Cracker: @ruemara: Ugh. That really is bad to hear. I’ve been up in arms against my white lefty friends’ bitching about the DNC and the Democrats in general, mostly because they’ve been in love with All Things Bernie and their narrative of how the Great White Hope was robbed, and how we have to get away from “identity politics” – but to hear that AA voters are that disillusioned – and, sadly, rightly so – makes me just want to crawl into bed and pull the covers up over my head. If we lose AA voters because we’re so busy trying to hunt the “White Working Class” unicorn – a mythical beast who will likely do nothing but spurn our puny efforts anyway – we are so, so screwed I can’t even think about it right now.

  174. 174.

    Baud

    @ruemara:

    Good?

    In all seriousness, that is good. It seems like it’s easy for people to be frustrated into lassitude. (I know I struggle with it on a personal level, although never when it comes to voting.). So it really is a positive thing to have the strength to overcome that.

  177. 177.

    ruemara

    @Elizabelle: No. We knew we were getting snowed. The bigger damage has been done by the Bernie campaign, where real black folks could rip off the scabs of the mediocre aid Dems give to AA issues and rub serious salt into the wounds mixed in with Bernie super promises.

    And then white folks failed the most basic test of not being complete sacks of shit. That was a knife in the soul to see that. Conservative might mean biased but full on soaked in haterade, selling the country to Nazis? Wow. Then you have the Bernie crewe trying to dismiss our vote and stifle our voice by advocating open primaries and caucuses over primaries? For real? And lefty media talking about “identity politics” as the reason why HRC lost and how we need to reach out to racist motherfuckers and promise not to call them racist and keep the browns in their place if they’ll pretty please vote Dem for free college? Nah. Poison in the blood, this betrayal is. We did the hard work, we paid in our blood, the bodies of our people to elevate this fucking country from being the goddamned model for apartheid and the Final Solution and this is the way we’re repaid for a fucking minute of near parity.

    It’s not propaganda when it’s real. Begging for help to vote, begging for fair & free elections, minimal help from all the committed leftists who could fill the street for “Bust up big banks”. Hard to get energized when we’ve been doing a lot of the work for decades and now we have to do even more with an even savvier bunch who owns the cops, the military and the DOJ. Great. Thanks. We’ll just run along and all buy guns so we can demonstrate that won’t get you a gun law that does more than criminalize black folks with guns.

  178. 178.

    Miss Bianca

    @Baud: Yeah, there’s a reason I don’t talk to a lot of them anymore except to pour snark acid over their “Bernie Totally CouldaShouldaWoulda Been God-King” FB postings. Yay, me…: (

  180. 180.

    ? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?

    @Chyron HR:

    Dump: “Just say no to opiates!”

    *** DOCTORS ARE PRESCRIBING THEM YOU JACKASS ***

    Well, actually, you do the have the right to refuse as a patient. Most people won’t because they’re in excruciating pain and completely banning opioids isn’t the answer as they have legitimate therapeutic use.

  183. 183.

    ? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?

    @ruemara:

    The Unity commission shenanigans have made that seem clear, as is the WWC as the desired voters strategy.

    But if that strategy fails, then they’ll have to admit that maybe “identity politics” is something everybody does, especially the Republicans and you can’t escape it.

  186. 186.

    Immanentize

    @frosty: I am with you. Then again, Sessions probably has some kind of drug addiction — just not “street.”

    Also, after my recent experiences, I am not ready to go full on “suck it up” abstentionism. People in serious pain need serious pain medication. The new anti-narcotic suspicion even had nurses and interns questioning the type and level of my wife’s med regimen. One innocent intern told my wife “Golly, if you were opioid naive, that dose would kill you.” She said, “I am Not opioid naive.”

  188. 188.

    ruemara

    @Baud: They have money & whiteness. They already went to Stein et al. So many of the serious still never HRC crowd are fricking trust fund babies! Serious WTFuckery.

    @? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?: You must’ve missed the issue about identity politics. It’s only identity politics when it’s non-white, non-male. That’s the default, ergo it’s not a variance on identity, it’s the standard identity that works for everyone.

  189. 189.

    ? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?

    @Baud:

    But the lefties have no where to go either. Maybe they don’t care because they have money and/or whiteness.

    Would threatening them with physical harm change their minds?

    /Not really. I’m just at my wits ends with such people.

  191. 191.

    Miss Bianca

    @Elizabelle: OK, that is cute. (And probably the only viewing of “The Revenant” I’m ever going to get, because NO BULLDOGS in my house – just a Siberian Husky who will only huddle underfoot and not even LOOK at the screen during the scary parts).

  192. 192.

    ? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?

    @Baud:
    They do. They just have to be made to. Preferably by activist pressure and good old politicking but I wouldn’t be adverse Enhanced Interrogation methods if the situation was dire enough.

  200. 200.

    Elizabelle

    @ruemara: I hear you, ruemara. Whole situation is disgusting, with a lot of people acting horribly, and others not being recognized for the hard work and endurance they’ve shown.

    The whole thing has been a blow to the body and soul. I just have to hope that we will eventually deal with the reasons we have Trump in an office for which he is unfit. All of them, not just the convenient, lip-flapping ones. Use simple language, too.

    You may not be, but I am surprised at the hard slide backwards. You knew it was out there, but not the degree.

  201. 201.

    ? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?

    @ruemara:
    We have a semi-regular troll, LanceThruster, who voted for Stein. Claims to live in California, so it didn’t matter. Is also a 9/11 Truther, thinks Bezos works for the CIA because they bought some space on Amazon’s servers, hates Hillary Clinton, and vehemently denies Russian interference in the election. Also completely blames Clinton for the loss.

    Now isn’t that convenient? Bezos owns the WaPo, which has done great work on Trump and Russia so far; that bs CIA story nicely discredits the WaPo and all the reporting they’ve done. He (I’m assuming) has deluded himself.

  202. 202.

    Patricia Kayden

    @Betty Cracker: That’s awful to hear. You’d think with all the nonsense Trump is putting this country through, our side would be chomping at the bit to vote against him. But alas. Huge sigh.

    Good on you, Betty, for trying though.

  203. 203.

    MisterForkbeard

    From TPM: Apparently Devin Nunes is explicitly saying the Democrats are officially the group that allowed the Russians to hack the election, because they helped fund the Steele Dossier.

    EDIT: Link: talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/where-we-are-2

    I don’t say this lightly, but after a certain point Nunes has actually crossed the line into “traitor”, and should be dealt with accordingly by the law. He’s actively and knowingly impeding our Nation’s ability to combat the Russians acts of war, so as to protect the president of his party.

  205. 205.

    danielx

    Picking up tools and various stuff from a job I’ve been for too long (yay!) and enjoying an absolutely perfect October day. Oh, and kittens. Well, half grown cats at this point.

  207. 207.

    MisterForkbeard

    @danielx: Much like I suspect my daughter will always be my little girl, my cats are still my kittens. Even the 15 year old one. :)

  208. 208.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Jeffro: So basically, the Republican plan is to create an alterntive reality were Trump and Hillary reversed.

    I am telling you the Republicans are about to run in 2018 on impeaching Hillary.

  211. 211.

    rikyrah

    @ruemara:
    No lie told.

    They are trying to kill these American Citizens.??
    We can see it as plain as day.
    3.5 MILLION American Citizens without power, and they give a fraudulent contract to muthaphuckas ? without the experience to do the job. Dolt45 knew about the bullshyt contract, which is why he kept on bringing up that the infrastructure was broken BEFORE the hurricane, which is a goddamn LIE.

  213. 213.

    ? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?

    @Major Major Major Major:
    I’m paywalled, so I can’t read it, but all patients should have the right to effective pain relief, regardless of race. Excessive pain can lead to more health problems and prevent people from performing their activities of daily living.

    These physicians are probably white closet racists who don’t want “the blacks” selling prx

  215. 215.

    ? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?

    @Major Major Major Major:
    I’m paywalled, so I can’t read it, but all patients should have the right to effective pain relief, regardless of race. Excessive pain can lead to more health problems and prevent people from performing their activities of daily living.

    These physicians are probably white closet racists who don’t want “the blacks” selling prx Oxycontin on the corner.

  217. 217.

    Betty Cracker

    @Miss Bianca:

    If we lose AA voters because we’re so busy trying to hunt the “White Working Class” unicorn – a mythical beast who will likely do nothing but spurn our puny efforts anyway – we are so, so screwed I can’t even think about it right now.

    Yep. And Ruemara’s got a point about the Unity Commission shenanigans — what a fucking clown show. But as I tried (and failed) to convey to the “pox” lady, we can really make a difference as individuals if we get involved locally. The stuff she was complaining about was 100% valid, but it was also 100% national-level politics.

    Somehow, Republicans have figured this shit out. They’ve nationalized all elections around a few issues that galvanize their base, and they turn their voters out for school board races on up. It’s easier for them because ginning up hate and appealing to greed is easy. But goddamn it, we’ve got to figure this shit out too, or we are screwed.

  220. 220.

    WaterGirl

    @germy:

    Andrea Mitchell defends George H.W. Bush: ‘Someone should be ashamed and it isn’t ’41’

    I know, I know! Call on me!! The answer is Andrea Mitchell. She’s the one who should be ashamed.

  221. 221.

    Roger Moore

    @eclare:
    The Great Gallery is in Horseshoe Canyon, which is an isolated unit of Canyonlands NP that was added to the park specifically to protect the pictographs there. I’ve seen a lot of rock art in the Southwest, and it’s easily the most spectacular.

  223. 223.

    Elizabelle

    @Baud: Jebus. With friends like that.

    I am sick of hearing how flawed and unlikeable Hillary was. You know, maybe Hillary was actually a bit of a mirror, and that woman and others might check their own assumptions. She talks about how Hillary does not come across as loving and nurturing. Really? Did you ever watch any extended interviews with her?

    Is there a female politician you can think of where “loving and nurturing” are the first descriptors? Does not mean those qualities are not part of the mix.

    And vox went with the clickbait for headline. I have no desire to read that book.

  224. 224.

    Miss Bianca

    @Betty Cracker:

    Somehow, Republicans have figured this shit out. They’ve nationalized all elections around a few issues that galvanize their base, and they turn their voters out for school board races on up. It’s easier for them because ginning up hate and appealing to greed is easy. But goddamn it, we’ve got to figure this shit out too, or we are screwed.

    Word. What I keep saying over and over is that the ONLY thing I admire and envy about Republican organizing efforts is that Republicans eventually WILL fall into line and vote for their candidates, however much they may bitch about them. Because to them, “power” is not a dirty word – whereas to leftists, it almost seems that even the desire to run for office is almost too much impurity for them to bear in Democratic candidates – let alone having to compromise, take unpopular positions, or advocate incremantalism in trying to attain political or social progress.

  225. 225.

    germy

    @WaterGirl:

    A second accuser, New York actress Jordana Grolnick, was revealed at about the same time the last statement was released.

    “We all circled around him and Barbara for a photo, and I was right next to him,” she said. “He reached his right hand around to my behind, and as we smiled for the photo he asked the group, ‘Do you want to know who my favorite magician is?’ As I felt his hand dig into my flesh, he said, ‘David Cop-a-Feel!'”

  227. 227.

    MisterForkbeard

    @rikyrah: Right? At some point maybe someone in Congress or the media should point out that Nunes is compromised and actively trying to sink a counterintelligence investigation into how our elections were hijacked?

  229. 229.

    Miss Bianca

    @danielx: Oh, kittens!!

    Just saw one of my former Office Kitties the other day – Pancho, the orange and white boy – he let me pick him up and snuggle him – love how he reaches his paws out for a hug. Lefty, my darling little girl, is AWOL – I think she may have run thru’ her nine lives in less than a year. Hurts to think of it, for I loved her to death, but so glad to see her brother the other day, I almost burst from squealing.

  230. 230.

    PST

    What have I been doing today? I had a colonoscopy in the morning and a cystoscopy in the afternoon. I thought it was an efficient use of my time. I am an idiot.

  231. 231.

    Immanentize

    @germy:. HW is certainly experiencing some age-related difficulties. They say that as one experiences age related deteriorations or dementia, you don’t become a different person but you become more of what you were like before. So I suspect HW was pretty much always a letch.

  232. 232.

    Betty Cracker

    @Baud: Yep, and a shit-ton of other structural advantages, including that media outlets are owned by rich folks who benefit from Republican rule. Have fun storming the castle! :)

  233. 233.

    Miss Bianca

    @Immanentize: It was, according to one of my college boyfriends who ended up working for the CIA, an open secret in Washington that HW had a mistress (news that, strangely, never made it into the media – what it is to be the former head of the secret police, eh?) – so wouldn’t be at all surprised to hear he was a common lecher, as well.

  235. 235.

    danielx

    @PST:

    Won’t make that mistake again, will we now?

    First reaction when getting ready to endure cystoscopy: You’re gonna stick that thing WHERE? All of it?

  236. 236.

    Elizabelle

    @Miss Bianca: You will love this.

    Suspected GHWBush mistress was named Jennifer Fitzgerald, who had been a longtime Bush aide and was named to a good job at the Dept. of State. Got into trouble bringing a fur or something back into the country, avoiding customs. That was a big deal in DC; even I had heard of it.

    Anyway, the WaPost that day, on its Federal Pages:

    Jennifer Fitzgerald, who has served in a variety of positions under George HW Bush, ….

    Coffee spitting time. Read the story out loud to the whole office. Aha — here’s confirmation from People magazine, 1992, on the eve of the Republican convention:

    People magazine: George Bush Confronts a Rumor

    Now, on the eve of [the convention], the long la-boo [sic; meant taboo?] question of an alleged First Mistress has reared its ugly head. A front-page story in the sensationalist tabloid the New York Post reported that a new book quotes former U.S. Ambassador Louis Fields as saying that he arranged for then Vice President George Bush and his former appointments secretary Jennifer Fitzgerald to share a private cottage during an official visit to Geneva in 1984. “It became clear [they] were romantically involved,” said Fields, according to The Power House, a book about influence peddling in the capital … the rendezvous took place when Barbara Bush was out promoting her book about C. Fred, the family dog. Fields said the rendezvous, which had the couple “staying in adjoining bedrooms,” was “so heavy-handed” that it made him “very uncomfortable.”

    … When The story broke last week. Fitzgerald, now 59 and deputy chief of protocol in the State Department, was said to be out of the country on business and unreachable for comment. Not so President Bush, who responded sharply when a CNN reporter broached the topic at a news conference in Kennebunkport. “”I’m not going to take any sleazy questions like that,” Bush bristled. “I’m not going to respond other than to say it’s a lie.” Fitzgerald’s mother, 86-year-old Frances Patteson-Knight of McLean, Va., also denied the reports, which she says have “devastated Jennifer. “She had a very unhappy marriage, and she can’t stand men,” says Patteson-Knighl, who recalls her daughter once telling her, “I’ve been through so much. I couldn’t have sex with anybody.” [Thanks, Mom.]

    … In 1974 she was appointed Bush’s personal assistant after he was named U.S. envoy to Beijing; it was then, rumors say, that the alleged affair began. When Bush returned in 1975 to head the CIA, Fitzgerald came along as his aide. With the exception of a year in England at the U.S. Embassy, she stayed by the Vice President-side-technically as his appointments assistant but in reality as an all-powerful gatekeeper. Colleagues say she has an extremely tough office style and a fondness for shopping.

    When Fitzgerald was transferred from the White House to become Bush’s liaison to the Senate in 1985, rumors circulated that it was because their relationship had become a liability to Bush. After Bush became President. Fitzgerald was named to her present job at the State Department. Gossip surfaced again during the 1988 campaign, when the alternative L.A. Weekly ran a story naming Fitzgerald as Bush’s longtime mistress and quoting an unnamed source that Fitzgerald had spoken openly of the affair. Last May, Hilary Clinton, fuming over stories about her husband’s alleged affair with Gennifer Flowers, complained in Vanity Fair that everyone knew there was another “Jennifer”—in Bush’s life—but that no one was reporting it.

    It is true that the controversy surrounding Fitzgerald has not been widely covered. Nonetheless her name is well known to influential people in the capital, and Fitzgerald’s run-in with U.S. Customs was a hot topic in 1990. Fitzgerald was fined $648 for underestimating by $2,100 the value of a nutria-lined raincoat and a silver-fox cape that she purchased for 82.100 in Argentina.

    The long-term political significance of last week’s accusation was unclear. Most Washington analysts agreed that Bush’s denial would quell the gossip. Bill Clinton, for one. wasn’t gloating over George Bush’s distress. “I didn’t like it when it was done to me,” he said, “and I don’t like it when it’s done to him.”

    I had never seen the People magazine story, but it was pre-internet for our office, and folks used to think People was kind of trashy/celebrity fluff. (Alas, it was just ahead of its time.)

  237. 237.

    Patricia Kayden

    @MisterForkbeard: The entire GOP is actively colluding with Russia and did so to elect an unqualified manbaby. Nunes is just doing what the rest of them want him to do.

  239. 239.

    J R in WV

    @Ohio Mom:

    How could the same nation elect both Obama and Trump?

    The nation didn’t elect Trump, we voted for Hillary. A bunch of unAmerican Republican mobsters voted the looser into office, in spite of who actually won the election. Now remember that, and don’t forget it again!!!

    Hillary WON that election! The longer they counted votes, the further ahead she was!! It should be illegal (truthfully, I thought it was!) to disclose any vote totals until all the votes have been totaled up nationwide.

  240. 240.

    Roger Moore

    @eclare:
    Island in the Sky isn’t bad at all. It’s served by a paved road that takes you to most of the famous hikes and viewpoints. Mesa Arch is a classic place to see at sunrise, Grandview Point has a nice flat trail, and Upheaval Dome (an ancient meteor crater) has some spectacular views after a short but steep trail. There are some places you can get in The Needles that don’t require a 4×4, though it’s definitely not as accessible as Island in the Sky. The Maze is definitely 4×4 only. If you’re visiting Island in the Sky, Dead Horse Point State Park is definitely worth a visit, too.

  242. 242.

    WaterGirl

    @germy: ugh. even worse than i imagined. boys will be boys, doncha know? even if it is related to age or some mental deficit related to health, then barbara and others should have protected women from this.

  244. 244.

    jame

    Last weekend friends from BR were visiting. We went to Albuquerque Old Town, Bosque Farms, Santa Fe and Taos.
    The cottonwoods are golden, and we saw aspen as we traveled farther north.
    The weather was perfect, and I came away with renewed appreciation for New Mexico.

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