Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Let’s not be the monsters we hate.

I wonder if trump will be tried as an adult.

if you can’t see it, then you are useless in the fight to stop it.

Just because you believe it, that doesn’t make it true.

Putting aside our relentless self-interest because the moral imperative is crystal clear.

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

Fuck the extremist election deniers. What’s money for if not for keeping them out of office?

“But what about the lurkers?”

Do not shrug your shoulders and accept the normalization of untruths.

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

If you are still in the gop, you are either an extremist yourself, or in bed with those who are.

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

The arc of the moral universe doesn’t bend itself. it’s up to us.

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

You can’t love your country only when you win.

Usually wrong but never in doubt

Optimism opens the door to great things.

“In the future, this lab will be a museum. don’t touch it.”

Even though I know this is a bad idea, I’m off to do it anyway!

“What are Republicans afraid of?” Everything.

If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

Cole is on a roll !

Within six months Twitter will be fully self-driving.

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

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Michael Demmons (Michael D.) wrote for Balloon juice from 2007-17.

Michael D.

Socialized Medicine: Be Careful What You Wish For

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OK, I generally agree that we need some semblance of universal healthcare in this country. But be warned about what you are in for. You’ll remember that, a couple days ago, I told you my dad had a minor stroke because he has 69% blockage in his carotid artery.

Well, today he found out that they will not operate on him. He has to have 90% blockage in order to be considered.

If you want socialized medicine in this country, know what you are getting into. The decision about my dad was not made from a health perspective. If it was, he’d have been in the operating room already. It was made from a rationing perspective, and I am pissed off royally. It would not have happened here. You can talk all you want about the people who don’t have healthcare in this country, and I definitely sympathize with that because my ex-partner’s parents, who I love dearly, are ill and don’t have insurance. But if you do have health insurance, and if your carotid artery is 69% blocked and you had a stroke because of it, you’d get the operation here.

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Michael Steele, Meet Your Party

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The nutters are getting their panties in a wad:

The Republican National Coalition for Life and the Rev. Donald Wildmon’s American Family Association both have came out against Mr. Steele because he and former New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman were co-chairmen of the centrist Republican Leadership Council and because of his unclear comments about abortion on “Meet the Press.”

A separate e-mail being sent to RNC members notes that the Log Cabin Republicans, a group that advocates for same-sex marriage and other homosexual issues, has embraced Mr. Steele’s candidacy.

He’s black, sympathetic to gays, pro-life, but not not rabidly so – exactly what the Republican Party needs, right? Well, I hope they don’t choose him. I hope they choose the most fucking right-wing lunatic they can find so that the rot that has become the Republican Party can fester in the wilderness for a couple decades or so. (via)

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Things

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1. My dad has 69% blockage in his carotid artery and needs surgery. He had a stroke this weekend. He’s fine for the most part – no permanent damage that I know of. I talked to him tonight, and he’s very tired, but only because he had to wait all weekend in the ER – just like I have had to do in the U.S. – for all you people who think shit is better in you country.

2. Had a wonderful weekend at a wedding in Savannah, GA. I swear, I think my friend spent 100K on her wedding (probably less than that but it seemed like it – every bar was open.)

3. When you are an expensive hotel hosting an upscale Jewish wedding, don’t play Christmas carols in the lobby during cocktail hour.

4. Savannah, Georgia is an awesome vacation. Halef and I spent a good amount of money going there for the wedding, but it was worth it for the vacation. Just visiting all the town squares (originaly 24, but now 21) was nice. There are statues in every one. Amaizng to see the history.

5. Want to go to Fredericton, NB to see my parents for Christmas. $1000+. It was better when Delta flew there direct. It would have been about $400. I can’t blame them for cutting the route – but why before I needed it??

6. How was your Thanksgiving? I went to my cousin’s place. Normally, I hate deep-fried turkey. He made it marinated with cajun spice and it was awesome. Best TG dinner ever. Yeah, it’s late to post that, but whatever.

7. Obama’s National Security Team. Pretty good, IMO. What did you expect from Obama? Did you think he’d take a kindegarten teacher and hire her as Education Secretary? A corporal at a local police department and make her Secretary of Homeland Security? A bank teller and make him Treasury Secretary? Some lawyer who advertises during Judge Judy and make her AG? How about Jackie Chan as SecDef?? Would that have been change you could believe in??

8. Resveritrol. Had lots of that this weekend at the wedding. I am now 27 – not 39.

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I Was a Citizen

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This morning, I went to the DMV to renew my driver’s license. It took forever. As a non-citizen, I am required to present my passport and my I-94 (immigration) card. I did that, as required. I was held up for over 2 hours because, according to the database, I was registered as a citizen of the United States of America. I presented evidence otherwise.

Shit.

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Why You Could NEVER Convince Me to Support the Death Penalty

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Cases like this:

Innocence Project client Steven Barnes was released from prison Tuesday morning, nearly two decades after he was wrongfully convicted of rape and murder in Oneida County.

New DNA test results support Barnes’ longstanding claim of innocence in the 1985 rape and murder of a high school student for which he was convicted in 1989.

19 years behind bars for something he didn’t do. What a waste of a life. We are not perfect. Sure, you can show me cases where it’s pretty much a given that the person is guilty (Hussein, Hitler, Manson, Bundy) but you are either for it or against it. Even in a nation that has a pretty good justice system (and with the exception of the inherent racism, the death penalty, and drug laws, the U.S. has a pretty good one) we don’t always convict the right person.

Steven Barnes will NEVER have a normal life. He’s spent the most productive days of his life in jail for something he didn’t do. He probably doesn’t know how to use a computer very well. Think about that? I don’t know this, but he probably doesn’t have many skills and is condemned to be unemployed for quite some time. Thankfully he has family there for him.

The whole thing makes me sick. But Steven Barnes is alive. He could very well have been put to death. The death penalty needs to die.

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Six Random Things About Me

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Since John “tagged” me for this whole 6 Random Things About Me meme, I feel I should respond. So here it goes – brutal honestly follows.

1. I have an obsession with counting things. This is probably the most annoying thing in my life. For example, I know exactly how many steps it takes to get from the bottom floor of my building to my cubicle. I know how many steps it takes to get from my back door to my mailbox. And I hate it. I really do. A couple years ago, I saw a psychologist for something unrelated. I was thinking of bringing this up. I didn’t. I wish I did.

2. I hate talking on the phone. It’s almost a phobia. I call my parents in Canada once every two weeks because I have to. Same with my sisters. When I am physically with them, I love talking to them. I hate the phone thing. Same with other family members. I know my brother reads this blog. It’s not that I don’t love you bro. I just hate the phone thing. I really do. But honestly, I like a phone call from you because you are so far away (he lives in Japan.)

3. I love my dog more than anything. Yet, if I had thought about it, I would never have bought her. Turns out, I love her so much that it never occurred to me that she was going to die before me. Still, she is my best friend and I wouldn’t trade her for anything. And, like John, I treat my pet like she is the head of household. She truly is the love of my life.

4. I hate sugar – with few exceptions.

5. I am selfish. I hate that about myself. If someone died tomorrow, I would first think about how that would affect my schedule. I fucking hate it. Fortunately, I have an excellent moral compass. When “shit happens,” I DO tend to think about how those things affect me personally, but I also am very empathetic. I would never let my selfishness affect how I deal with others, for the most part. I am a pretty decent person. Like others, I have my failings, I suppose.

6. I did not know that laws about alcohol differred between counties in Georgia. I am going to Thanksgiving dinner at my cousin’s house on Thursday. I got it in me to go buy his favorite wine at midnight tonight. Turns out, you cannot buy alcohol in Dekalb County after 11:45pm on any night. You can, however, go 100 feet across the street to the store in FULTON county and buy the same thing.

7. I know it’s only supposed to be 6, but I’m adding this one to explain what I would do if I ever win the lottery. First, let me say that I don’t ever play the lottery. To me, it’s a tax on the stupid. But if I ever DID win millions, I would probably pay off everything I owed and the debt of many of my friends and family. Having said that, the FIRST thing I would do if I won millions would be to put out a press release that said, “I just won xxx millions of dollars. I plan on being very generous with this money. If you are a charity that needs money, I understand your plight. However, if you feel the need to badger a person who just won the lottery, you are out of luck. It is the policy of this lottery winner to ignore the pleas of people who are taking advantage of him. The surest way to ensure that you never see a penny of my millions is to bother me in the next six months. After that, please call my attorney, who will decide for me the best way to spend thhe money I have allocated to charity.”

Anyway, that’s a bit about me. And, for what it’s worth, I am a very charitable person. I give a LOT of my yearly salary to charity. I just would hate to win millions and deal with vultures. :-)

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ZOMG – Obama’s Getting a Very Secure Limo!

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Linked by Drudge – no surprise there – a story about Obama’s new presidential limousine:

The Obamobile being prepared for the president-elect is said to be a monster gas-guzzler made by General Motors, the troubled car giant. It will look like a black Cadillac but is built like a tank. A spy photographer who tracks down future car models for magazines snatched pictures of the heavily disguised first-car-in-waiting when it was being road-tested last summer.

The armour-plated car, which has a raised roof, windows up to 5in thick, extra-strength tyres and a body made of steel, aluminium, titanium and ceramics, is thought to be based on a GMC 2500 truck that gets less than 10 miles to the gallon. Three cars are believed to be in production so that two can serve as decoys.

The thing is that Obama has little to no say in anything involving his security. In fact, I would be surprised he even knows anything about this. Perhaps if America didn’t have to deal with some of the crazies (you know, like the nuts you regularly saw at Sarah Palin rallies) the president – no matter what his or her party affiliation – could still cruise through the streets of Dallas in an open air limo. The fact is, Obama can’t do that – and he has no say in it.

If the Secret Service determines that Obama is going to do “x” for his safety, Obama does “x” whether he wants to or not. I suspect security for Obama will be unprecedented. There are nuts out there – enabled on by crackpots on the right – who neither want “the most liberal, most socialist president in history” nor “an African American President” in the White House.

So, Obama will be carted around in a limo built like a tank that gets 10 miles to the gallon precicely because he has no other choice, and to use this as a jab to say that he’s not as green as he promised he would be is plain stupid.

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