(Mike Luckovich via GoComics.com)
I scored eight out of eight in Gail Collin’s Election Day pop quiz, which may explain why I haven’t been feeling very positive about politics recently.* This article helped, though:
MILWAUKEE — “The president was the only one who could get me out here,” said Gloria Malone, a 50-year old home health care worker. “Before that, I was like: The hell with Mary Burke!”
Malone was pressed against more than 3300 people who’d come to Milwaukee’s North Division High School to see Barack Obama make one of his few 2014 campaign trail stops. Like most of the crowd, she was African-American, and had backed the president every time he appeared on the ballot. She was well aware that less-unpopular surrogates, like First Lady Michelle Obama, had trekked to the state even though gubernatorial candidate Burke has avoided nationalizing her race.
Then the presidential visit was announced, and Malone cast an early vote for Burke against Republican Governor Scott Walker, who Burke has fought to a tie in the polls.
“It’s important to see her up there with our president,” said Malone. “We’re running Walker down. The Republicans lost this election when they tried to stop black people from voting.”…
*To quote Ralph Bakshi’s Aragon: “Then we must do without hope. There is always vengeance.”
***********
Apart from making it through next Tuesday without committing a felony, what’s on the agenda for the weekend?
Baud
We have a national election every two years. If this one goes badly, let’s redouble our commitment for the next one.
Hal
I hope dems and espcially HRC keep this in mind going into 2016. No, black voters aren’t a single hive mind, but the expectation that you can run away from or outright diss Obama and then expect African American voters to turn out for you is insulting and naive.
Also, I’m not that depressed about this midterm. Republicans aren’t going to do anything but have more Benghazi hearings and veto votes for the ACA. I’m also optimistic that they don’t do as well as expected, but meh, we’ll see.
Raven
I was interviewed by a nice young lady when I voted early. She was from mainland China so I assumed she was doing some kind of research paper. This morning the is an article in the local paper about Vietnam Vets and their voting experiences. I explained to that I came home when I was 19 and couldn’t vote for a year and 2 months. She got most of it right except my name and when I came home.
Applejinx
Have you heard the latest ‘This American Life’? I thought it was devastating to Walker.
Final story had to do with a kid getting appointed to some Wisconsin state position. Republican kid, well qualified and well liked, except his Mom was a kindergarten teacher and he’d signed the recall petition. Walker’s people got wind of this and they got rid of the kid over it, stonewalling any inquiries.
The disturbing part is, pols in Wisconsin have taken the lesson to heart and this is apparently how it goes for now on: very Kremlin. Just as Wal-Mart is like Cold War Soviet supermarkets, the Republicans are apparently right back to McCarthy and enemies lists, unironically, and none of them question this. Including this kid. His loyalty to the party is unwavering and he sounds kind of brainwashed when he talks, there’s a dullness. It’s creepy.
The devastating part is this: asked if he would change his actions, if he got to go back and do it over, kid says: no. He would still sign.
Because he loves his mom, and it was for his mom that he did it.
Kid offers his services to Wisconsin Republicans in any other capacity, unironically, but he won’t recant on the petition thing, and it looks like he’s pretty untouchable on that ground (haven’t looked into the aftermath of the show). Ira Glass closes by solemnly submitting to the Wisconsin Republicans: one kid, doggedly loyal to their cause, offering to do whatever. And he loves his mom. They, says the kid, have his cell phone number.
I hope Walker goes down, and I hope this kid eventually gets deprogrammed. But it is curiously heartening to see the awfulness of it; there surely must be some who recognize what’s up. Loyalty cuts both ways, and the right wing hurts itself by these shocking and nightmarish shenanigans. (they also end up incapable of governance, thought, or decency but we knew that part already…)
Steeplejack (tablet)
Got only 6/8 on that quiz. If forced to take remedial derpology, I will drop the class and take an incomplete.
Elizabelle
@Steeplejack (tablet):
7/8. Braley and the llamas was a gimme. Missed the one about the Colorado legislator; all seemed feasible.
debbie
I have a question for the attorneys here: A Republican candidate for (I think) the Ohio Supreme Court is running an ad, claiming that her Democratic counterpart is a bad choice because she had to surrender her law license. I think I heard someone say that that’s a requirement when you serve in Congress (which the Democrat did). Is this true?
debbie
@Applejinx:
I did hear that show. What a dick.
Baud
@debbie:
Sounds fishy. Never heard of any such requirement.
debbie
@Baud:
Rats. Thanks.
Mustang Bobby
7/8; bollocked the one on the North Carolina race.
Nice cool morning here in South Florida, which means the rest of the East Coast must be freezing. I can open the house and let the air come in. Then I’m off to the barbershop shop; there will be fifty shades of gray on the floor. [rimshot].
greennotGreen
@Applejinx: Despite its being on Nice Republican Radio, “This American Life” may not get many Republican listeners.
I used to listen to NPR from first thing in the morning till last thing at night. Then our local affiliate dumbed down to bring in more dollars, and NPR news shifted to a “both sides do it” format, and now I only listen to the music side in the car. Recently, they had a segment on the economy. Apparently the only economist they could find to discuss the economy was a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. I guess there are only two economists in the country, and Paul Krugman was out of town?
Phylllis
Looking forward to a quiet weekend at home. We do have to make a grocery run, because the cupboard is bare. Gamecocks vs Tennessee at 7:30 pm, which adds a little tension in our mixed marriage, since he’s a Vol fan. But it’s all in good fun. Mostly.
cmorenc
No. Surely someone said this as a snark, and some listener’s snark detector failed to pick that up (maybe it needs new batteries?)
beth
I have a question for the resident computer experts and serious shoppers – our 9 year old desktop needs to be replaced. We’ve got tablets and a laptop but due to work and the fact that we’re old, we’d like to have a desktop also. My question is whether the Black Friday sales are good enough to wait for to buy it then. I’ve never shopped those sales so I don’t know if the deals are good enough that I should wait for them. Thanks for any input you can give.
henqiguai
@Mustang Bobby (#11):
Wait! You have hair?! {B@sterd!}
Steeplejack (tablet)
@Elizabelle:
I missed the one about the reality TV stars and the one with the guy who couldn’t remember “birth control.” I don’t feel bad for not knowing all the idiocy; there’s just too much.
henqiguai
@beth (#15):
No. Black Friday is *never* a good time to shop for anything. Figure out what you want, figure out what you need; then go shopping like a rational human and leave the herd stampedes to the madding crowds. Personally, aside from converting an orphan laptop to full-out linux, I’ll be replacing my current way old desktop maybe in another year with a Windows box. Maybe. May go full out linux on everything; got some references on the way and a ‘project’ planned.
OzarkHillbilly
7 of 8. Working today, in an unheated house. Don’t know why but I always feel colder inside unheated buildings than outside. It could be 40 degrees inside and I’d still prefer outside at 25 with 15 MPH winds.
SFAW
@beth:
I have an Osborne 2 that I can let you have for the proverbial “song.”
JPL
Wow, I envy Anne. I missed the one about the reality shows. They all sounded plausible.
SFAW
@Baud:
Yes, because Dems have always demonstrated the ability to crush the long game.
If “long game” is quantified as “not to exceed six months.”
JPL
It’s thirty-eight and windy. The local media is focused on the snow flurries in the mountains of No.Ga. It’s actually refreshing compared to what the local news normally focuses on.
JPL
@SFAW: Flipping a few governor seats would help in the long run. That doesn’t mean that I disagree with you though.
Keith G
Anne, if you’re going to use a quote from Ralph Bakshi I prefer to go back to Wizards:
VidaLoca
Cynic that I am, I had pre-discounted the value of this tactic well in advance but the turnout for that rally was quite respectable. Holding it at North Division HS was genius, that institution means a lot to people in the inner city and it’s a lot more accessible than the downtown venue where Michelle Obama appeared.
This is a big deal. A few thousand votes could make all the difference.
The Dude
A family member who owns a successful small business somewhere in real ‘Murica just promoted a gay man from entry level to mid-management.
Three other employees quit that same day to seek employment with a more “Godly” employer.
Two more quit the next day.
This country has gone the plaid.
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
@beth: Slickdeals. Seriously. Any halfway decent deal will get analyzed in the associated forum thread. They’re gearing up for Black Friday and Cyber Monday now.
Baud
@SFAW:
The Democratic Party needs a lot of organizational reforms, and those will take a long time to implement. I think we should support those who are making that effort. However, if Democratic voters don’t really care that much who runs the government, then maybe the GOP should be in charge, because their voters care a lot.
big ole hound
After the GOP takes the Senate the nation will see just what stupid bastards they are and throw them out of Congress in 2016. Then we will control everything and straighten out the Supreme Court too. Rosy enough?
GregB
One thing we know, with 4 billion dollars spent on advertising this election, there is really zero incentive for any media outlets to want to change Citizens United.
Dollars, dollars…..
JPL
@big ole hound: Twenty seven percent will blame changes to the economy on Obama. Bush and Greenspan didn’t tank the economy, Clinton did. Clinton’s economy was because of Reagan. Facts really don’t matter to republicans.
beth
@Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism: Thanks, never heard of that site. That could help a lot.
bemused
The most disturbing thing to me about Collins’ quiz is not only that the Republican party has seceded to the bat shit crazy but that Republican voters barely blink as far as I can tell. I’m rereading The Authoritarians again but the thinking processes or more accurately, the non-thinking processes of high RWA’s will always be unfathomable to me.
I was shocked to read that a local rightwing newspaper editor endorsed Rep. Rick Nolan over Stewart Mills. The editor will no doubt get a lot of flack from local wingnuts.
Elizabelle
Point Blank, revenge flick with Lee Marvin on TCM at 6:15 p today. Sounds worth a view; set in San Francisco; John Boorman directed it. 1967 vintage.
Boorman directed “Catch us if you can” (re Dave Clark Five) previously and “Deliverance” after. I always associate him with “Hope and Glory.” He is still directing.
VidaLoca
@Baud: I get a laugh from the Democratic Party activists I talk to here because they still think that there’s such a species to be found in the wild as a “Democratic Party voter”. Whereas, when I go and talk to the voters it becomes pretty clear that the Democratic Party has burned through a large supply of its nominal “Democratic Party voters”, and those that remain are a pretty dispirited bunch. Organizational reforms are all well and good — in particular, it would be helpful if the Democratic Party were somewhat more democratic — but it will take more than organizational reforms to turn the ship around.
Gin & Tonic
@beth: Henqigai has it right. Only go into an electronics store on Black Friday if you have a death wish. Even if you can save $100, which is really unlikely, once you get home you’ll say to yourself that you’d have gladly spent that hundred not to put up with the BS you just lived through.
gene108
@Mustang Bobby:
Not really freezing. 45-50’ish with a steady rain and some wind gusts.
Elizabelle
When it turns cold, a stew or Indian curry sounds delectable.
The Secret to Making Great Curry, from The Guardian.
A Guardian reader comment: “Comparing the onion/ginger/garlic base to the French onion/carrot/celery triad is the eye opener.”
And here’s link to Mamta Gupta’s recipe collection, mentioned in the story. Yum.
Keith G
@bemused:
Republicans have perfected a way of communicating directly to the id of the lower socioeconomic half of their core voters. While Democrats seem to be waiting for the next good idea, the next non white male champion, or the supposed future increase in Democratic voting Hispanic populations, the Republicans just keep throwing punches.
Remember, the ticklish situation that Democrats find themselves in right now have as much to do with their decisions as decisions made by Republicans.
Baud
@VidaLoca:
Well, I’m a Democratic voter. I think there are a few others out there. Hopefully, we can increase our numbers with some better organization. Organization isn’t everything, but it’s vitally important.
WereBear
@Elizabelle: Point Blank is a real gem, especially when you consider when it was made. Wonderful roles for John Vernon, Carroll O’Connor, and Angie Dickinson, and Lee Marvin is marvy on every level.
PsiFighter37
Anyone see Turtle’s newest (and pretty despicable) mail flyer? It has to be the most bullshit piece of political crap I’ve ever seen.
I didn’t predict it to happen, but I really hope Grimes pulls off a miracle and defeats that musty, dried turd of a human being.
Also, the authorities found a shitload of coke on a boat owned by Elaine Chao’s father. Of course we’re too kind to run ads about that kind of shit…
Elizabelle
@VidaLoca:
I think the Democrats could have a resurgence if they made it clear they can fight for what they believe.
The running away from Obama sucks. It’s for careerists, not for anyone who cares about the Democratic party.
Find a punchy way to talk about economic opportunity and why healthcare is so important, and economically responsible.
Gail Collins’ quiz shows how loopy the GOP has become. They’re in thrall to their rightwingers, whose ideas are repellant.
Mike E
Here’s a glimmer that all is not lost.
Elizabelle
@Baud:
What’s the bumpersticker version of that?
People who lean Democratic and don’t bother to vote need to wake the f*ck up.
SFAW
@JPL:
As well as flipping some state houses. But I was talking about the ability of the Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy to march toward one (or at most, two) goal(s) for a period longer than the life of a mayfly. The reason those traitors, a/k/a Rethugs, are more-or-less running the country is because they started their Long March in the 1970s, and kept at it. And it was a multi-pronged attack.
I laughed when, after 2012, some geniuses were proclaiming that the Kochs et al. were defeated, even with all their money, because Obama won. When you have $40-plus billion to spend on getting what you want, you can afford a few setbacks now and then.
SFAW
@Mike E:
Let’s wait until all the votes are counted before declaring victory, shall we?
JGabriel
beth:
In my experience, yes. But my experience is buying parts on the internet at NewEgg and building the PC myself.
That said, I routinely see good deals on systems at NewEgg, and I would think there will be even better sale prices for them on Black Friday – actually, some of the sales at NewEgg start the day before Thanksgiving, so you may want to check them out then. But the bulk of the discounts will start on Thanksgiving Day.
JGabriel
@Steeplejack (tablet):
If it’s any consolation, those are the same two I missed. Got the rest of them, though.
aimai
@Elizabelle: I’m making a lamb curry with two kinds of masala (one seared on and one cooked into the sauce) mixing aspects of Rogan Josh and Vindaloo techniques and adding chickpeas for the hell of it for a party tonight. Also sweet rice (saffron, sugar, almonds, cardamom) to go with. Indian food is wonderful come the cold weather.
Gin & Tonic
@SFAW: they started their Long March in the 1970s, and kept at it
I think they started it at the 1964 convention.
max
@beth: I have a question for the resident computer experts and serious shoppers – our 9 year old desktop needs to be replaced. We’ve got tablets and a laptop but due to work and the fact that we’re old, we’d like to have a desktop also. My question is whether the Black Friday sales are good enough to wait for to buy it then. I’ve never shopped those sales so I don’t know if the deals are good enough that I should wait for them.
Generally, the electronics places have ‘doorbuster’ items for sell all year around – but unless you camp out before the opening, you’ll not get the item because it’s ‘sold out’ if you even get it then because they, you know, sometimes fail to stock the announced number of items.
The real problem with Black Friday or Xmas sales in general is that the merchants mark up their prices before season, and then later announce a sale which turns out to be the same price they had in the first place. Generally, great deals are not around during the two biggest shopping months of the the year.
Come January they will be trying to unload everything they didn’t sell, at which point real genuine sales and price cuts abound.
max
[‘Of course, if you need one now, you can get one, I’d just not worry too much about sale prices.’]
JGabriel
@henqiguai, @Gin & Tonic:
I assumed beth was asking about internet shopping on Black Friday, which would be far less hassle than big box shopping on Black Friday.
SFAW
@Baud:
Not sure what you mean by “organizational reforms.”
What the Dems/liberal/rational country really need(s) is an actual equivalent of “George Soros,” i.e., someone willing and able to fund the long game, but who’s somewhat more altruistic than the Kochs, Scaife, and the rest of the Evil crowd. (I use Soros’s name because he seems to be the go-to “evil left-wing billionaire” used by the Rethugs to attempt to scare their sheep, despite evidence to the contrary.) Business interests will always be allied against the left-wing goals, no matter how much sense – short-term, long-term, or any-other-term – those goals make, because FSM-forbid their quarterly profits get eaten into.
A Party structure is not conducive to the Long Game. A highly-focused individual or small group, having the wherewithal, is what’s needed. A boogeyman – on the other side – can help make things easier, but may not be required.
Provider_UNE_AndPlayersToBeHatedLater™
@gene108: that sounds nasty. Add wind and rain to anything under 50 and you have the suck.
…
SFAW
@Gin & Tonic:
Yeah, I guess you’re right. I tend to associate it with Nixon and the Southern Strategy, which I also (for some reason) peg to the 1970s, but I guess the ’60s is closer to the truth.
beth
@JGabriel: I live really close to some big box stores but I’ve never felt the urge to fight the throngs shopping on Black Friday. I guess I was more wondering whether it would pay to wait until closer to the holidays to buy the computer. I don’t know if there’s a “season” when computers tend to go on sale or if new models come out at a certain time so the old ones go on sale (how badly does my lack of knowledge about computers show?).
SFAW
@aimai:
You live in MA, right? Send me your address, so that I can come over for dinner.
(Kidding, of course, but it sounds great.)
beth
@SFAW: The problem is that liberal sugardaddies seem to want to solve specific problems, not just amass power for themselves. Even when we get a news station that’s supposed to have a “liberal” viewpoint like MSNBC, they always feel the need to bend over backwards to give the other side a fair shake. I’ll give the right this – they’re focused and merciless in a way I’ve not seen the left be capable of.
aimai
I hate to appear unsympathetic to the nice lady quoted in the story but I’m reading Race and Reunion, David Blight’s book about the death of Reconstruction, and I’m really pretty much so over people–whatever their race–who have to be wooed to get out and vote by a candidate who is exactly the right size and fit for them aesthetically or emotionally or politically. Politics is a game that is won by people who show the fuck up and vote. Without instant gratification. Without the ego boost of imagining that the candidate knows or cares about you personally. Because the political arena is the space in which you are either fighting for yourself or letting someone else rule over you. Not voting for Burke was the equivalent of letting all the god damned white people in Wisconsin vote for Walker to fuck you over again for the next six years. Mrs “Michelle Obama wasn’t good enough to get me off my ass to vote” might have realized that it was important that She, herself, stand up for her rights against Walker before she prides herself on having done anything superspecial.
lamh36
Good morning friends. My birthday vacation has begun. My first flight leaves this morning to California. My next flight day will be Monday flying from sunny Cali out to sunny Honolulu Hawaii! Expect updates :-)
-LAMH
aimai
@SFAW: Its a potluck at my house for my daughter’s high school class (parents division) and I don’t trust these goons to bring enough food. Once I had them over and there was so little actual food that I had to cook some chicken fingers to make sure there was enough. This time I’m not taking any chances. I’m doing all the hors douevres and all the desserts myself as well as a couple of entrees.
aimai
@lamh36: Oh.! Take lots of pictures.
beth
@lamh36: Have a wonderful time!
gene108
@Elizabelle:
The default trio my mom taught me are Asafoetida, mustard seeds and crushed red chilli’s.
WereBear
That’s because they only want their way and do not have real lives to distract them or divert their energies. Don’t be fooled by the fact that they have wives and children and friends. For way too many of them, these are servants and victims and levers; as we see when a scandal breaks, yet again.
Hate is a full-time job.
Gin & Tonic
@lamh36: Enjoy your trip. I’ve been to lots of places, but somehow never Hawaii, which I keep thinking I need to rectify.
Elizabelle
@aimai: Sounds wonderful. Enjoy!
@lamh36: Bon voyage! Plz tell us about your trip, when you can. Enjoy SoCal too.
Corner Stone
@SFAW:
It’s the “altruistic” part that’s the sticker. As you allude to, the Kochs aren’t giving because it makes them feel warm and fuzzy, they are investing for their reward. Going from $4B to $40B in less than a decade or so didn’t come from altruism.
And the problem for D’s is that policies that advocate for the commonweal don’t usually make one person or company fabulously wealthy.
IMO, policies that put more money in more widely spread people’s hands *does* tend to make more wealth for those with positions of power. But they’d rather rig it so they just take it all now, thank you very much.
Elizabelle
@aimai:
And what will it take to get that message out? Because the problem is falloff in the midterms and local/state races. Why don’t Democrats vote more, while Republicans will vote for a ham sandwich (make that, tire rims and anthrax) with R attached to it?
Karen in GA
@JPL: Kind of early in the year for that, isn’t it?
I’ve got two Autumn Leaves Yankee Candles ready to burn. Okay, they’re overpriced, but I love that smell.
Karen in GA
@lamh36: Happy birthday! Have a great time!
Provider_UNE_AndPlayersToBeHatedLater™
Make the chocolate cranberry raiason oatmeal before adding garlic to the simmering red beans…
I was literally gonna start in on the garlic when a small voice said…”dude that shit is gonna be simmering for hours”…
…
Baud
@SFAW:
I mean one or more institutional apparatus (apparati?) that can both mobilize voters and communicate to political leaders what message they need to send. In the Democratic Party, that function used to be performed by party bosses, churches, and unions. We have never developed a replacement structure for these institutions.
Corner Stone
@Elizabelle:
I think in some cases it is understandably pragmatic to not be tied to President Obama, but in some cases it’s just down right silly and insulting.
It’s hard to argue that in a southern state like AR or KY, where the white vote is 80%, that standing on a stage with Obama is a smart move politically.
Elizabelle
@Corner Stone: I hear you, but you stand up for Obamacare and explain that Kynect could not exist without it, and that Mitch McConnell has done everything in his power to take health insurance away from people with pre-existing conditions, and their kids under age 26 in a terrible job market, and people who could not afford good health coverage.
Explain that yes, Obama and the Democrats have had a jobs plan, and that the GOP will not support it because they’d rather have a political win than put people back to work after the Great Recession, which has not equally lifted all boats.
Say it over and over again, because repetition works. The Republicans know that.
No one needs to be washing Obama’s feet on stage, but they should have his back because his policies work a lot better for the middle class than the Republicans’, which don’t.
Joel Hanes
It’s raining in the Bay Area ! For the second morning in a row !
Drought apocalypse perhaps delayed by a few days.
SFAW
@aimai: @aimai:
OK, in that case, what would you like me to bring? I made a pot of tomato sauce last night, but it’s not the haute cuisine type. I’m a lousy baker. I might be able to do some pulled chicken. Or I could pick up some really good soup from the local Farmers’ Market.
I can also do some stir-fry (veggies and chicken) and rice, but I’d need to do some shopping first, give Artie T some more of my money (gladly).
Anyway, sorry the other parents are clueless, I hope at least a few of them wise up before tonight’s festivities.
aimai
@Elizabelle: It isn’t really a top down message. People need to get their act together and vote for local offices and grasp that they aren’t sojourners here, they are citizens with interests that are getting trampled. In a democracy, for a democracy, people have to act based on their self interest and their native wit–if you are waiting for someone to energize you and beg for your vote you are probably shit out of luck because they are off propositioning someone else for an easier/cheaper vote.
People need to get organized–the newly freed slaves got themselves organized instantly, just off the boat Irishmen got themselves organized–what excuse does any adult person in this country have for not being passionate about voting? For not getting their friends and family out to vote?
Frankensteinbeck
@Elizabelle:
Grimes has done everything you said except mention Obama’s name. I live in Kentucky, and think that was a pretty good strategic decision. This is a deeply racist state, and the word ‘Obama’ terrifies and angers the locals.
Jack the Second
@beth: Depending on what you want out of a desktop computer, note that most modern TVs are close kin to most modern computer monitors. Same resolution, same cables to hook them up. If you were going to buy a new monitor, you could potentially save money by opting for a couch-top computer instead of desk-top computer.
As far as price goes, electronics have the thinnest margins of consumer goods (except, of course, for Apple products). You should be able to find good prices year-round.
Elizabelle
@Frankensteinbeck: OK. Good to hear it. Fingers crossed for Grimes. That would be a sweet upset, and more importantly, a good Senate vote on many issues.
WereBear
@beth: If money is a factor, ask around and see if other people are getting a new computer for Black Friday or Christmas, and see if you can take their “old” one off their hands.
You can create a new User and wipe out old ones for privacy.
If you’ve been okay with a nine year old computer, you don’t need to have the latest & greatest.
Buddy H
A friend recently became single, and she told me she went on craigslist to look for eligible bachelors. I told her I didn’t think it was a good idea; a lot of these craigslist men are crazy and/or dangerous. She found this, and sent me the link:
http://glensfalls.craigslist.org/m4w/4695502334.html
So this man was disgusted by the sight of a black guy walking with a pregnant white woman. He took a cellphone photo of them, and posted in craigslist “men seeking women” with the title “If this pic makes you sick you might be the girl for me.”
Apparently even racists need love. Any women out there want to catch this prize bachelor? Or at the very least, make his life a living hell?
beth
Thanks to all for the good advice.
boatboy_srq
@Hal:
Somebody really needs to explain this to me. I’m not buying into the “hive mind” thing (my lily-white management was astounded that I couldn’t travel next week because Vote), but I do NOT understand why anyone would avoid an election just because POTUS isn’t on the ballot and/or hasn’t stumped for a particular candidate.
Mike in NC
Yesterday it was in the 70s and I went to the beach, but today the temperatures are in the low 50s and I had to put on long pants. Thanks for November, Obama!
boatboy_srq
@beth: Meh. I’ve never been especially impressed by consumer-grade PCs. I’d look up some of the “certified pre=owned” vendors out there hawking the off-lease business stuff (Aventis Systems is one, and there are plenty of others): you’ll get a solid workstation-grade machine for a decent price, complete with new operating system and whatever bells and whistles you care to add.
feebog
No golf this morning, so I’m filling out my absentee ballot and paying bills. My grandson is coming over and we are going out to the movies to celebrate him winning his Halloween costume contest at work yesterday. Mrs. feebog gave him a bunny suit she made over 30 years ago. Going to some friends house for dinner and cards after that. This is about as exciting as my life ever gets.
Full metal Wingnut
@JPL: There are people in Louisiana who blame Katrina on Obama for Christ’s sake. Some people are absolutely hopeless.
Ruckus
@henqiguai:
Even I have hair. None of it grows on top the noggin but still, I have hair. Everyfuckingwhereelse.
beth
@boatboy_srq: Puzzled me too. Haven’t the Dems been the ones pushing to get home health care workers better working conditions and benefits? Does she think her lot will improve under Walker?
Ruckus
@beth:
Computers are a commodity, which means that the costs are close to the bottom for all but the top few models. You get a rat killing deal on black friday? It isn’t because what you are looking at is a decent box, it’s because it’s had every corner cut to get into that store or they couldn’t sell it before then(clearing out the warehouse).
Go with the advice above and research what you want and buy that. The cost difference will be minimal but you will stand a better chance of getting something worth it.
SFAW
@Baud:
Apparata?
I think that, post-Citizens United, that is significantly more difficult for both parties. And you still need someone overseeing the entire war plan. Howard Dean had a clue, but of course he yelled on TV, so he clearly should not be allowed near the wimmins and childrenses. But some one or ones need to map out a 20-to-30-year strategy, and implement the shit out of it.
Ruckus
@Gin & Tonic:
For sure things didn’t just start with ronnie. But I think you are also citing too late. The current crazy started with uncle joe from WI. Yes he was a little to bat shit for some conservatives, but not all of them. That empowered a bit more crazy, like 1964. The culmination of the late 40s to ronnie got the ball rolling that has picked up steam in the last decade. And yes there has been little actual push back from Democrats and in too many cases Democrats have been helping to push the ball forward(Example, VP Biden and the credit card mess. I give him a small, very small break on this one, because he was representing DE citizens, which he was elected to do. But he screwed the rest of us. And that he wasn’t supposed to do.)
Ruckus
@aimai:
This. 1000% This.
SFAW
@beth:
No, she doesn’t.
SFAW
@Ruckus:
Pegging it to McCarthy is a bit of overreach. He was just a product of Red Scare insanity and Roy Cohn’s twisted brain. And, although TG Joe had support for a time, it’s not clear that he energized a base or movement in a manner similar to Goldwater (who would probably be considered a leftie in today’s Rethug Partei).
Of course, it took his going after the Army to get him smacked down, so there’s not a ton of consolation there.
FlipYrWhig
@beth: She just figured it didn’t matter, politicians are politicians, they all suck in most ways, who cares, I’m busy. There are millions of people who think like this. aimai is right — the whole key is just getting people to listen and engage, because politics affects their lives.
jayboat
@beth:
The really good news for anyone looking for a desktop is that it is most definitely a buyers market.
My preference is ebay- bought my last 2 cpu’s there and they deliver it to your door.
If you aren’t the type who needs the ‘new car smell’ check out any factory refurbished model that suits you.
Already had a good monitor so I bought a high-end Dell with I7 and a dedicated graphics card for a third of new retail. It’s a high-end business computer that is so fast they were marketing them to gamers. As a photographer, my processing needs are similar.
I don’t even wanna know how cheap they are now, but that’s just me.
henqiguai
@boatboy_srq (#87):
Stupidity. That’s what I go with, and I’m sticking with it. Minimally, you don’t vote, not matter which way you vote or who wins, the winner is ‘your guy’; the policies implemented are ‘your policies’. Bitchin’ rights at the very least; you didn’t vote, STFU. No matter what is done.
henqiguai
@Ruckus (#92):
Pain – your’s, mine. Yeah, feelin’ that.
I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet
@greennotGreen: Krugman’s in Japan, so yeah, he’s out of town.
;-)
I understand the frustration with NPR and I share some of it. (Marketplace from APM makes me want to throw things most times if I happen to catch it.) But they need our financial support. Write letters if you hate their coverage, but don’t let only the crazies provide the money they need or it will only get worse.
If you don’t want to support the whole network, you can support many of the shows directly. Check out On The Media if you want a show that refuses to do “both sides do it”.
Cheers,
Scott.
Origuy
If you want a factory refurbished business computer, here’s HP’s site. I’m sure Dell and Lenovo have similar sites, but I’m plugging my employer. (At least for the next year, until the PCs and Printers company splits off.)
West of the Cascades
Has anyone been closely following the litigation over the 40,000-50,000 lost voter registrations in Georgia? I can’t find any good story about what’s happened since the lower court judge refused to get involved.
Given Georgia’s early voting, have people tried to vote thinking they were registered but been refused? And is this a situation that — even if it can’t be resolved by next Tuesday — could get a state Supreme Court resolution before the December and January runoffs?
grandpa john
@aimai: This type of thinking amazes me, how much intelligence does it require to realize that not voting for “the lesser of two evils” is the same as voting for the “greater of two evils”
grandpa john
@Corner Stone: `yeah but it’s also true that given the choice between a republican light and a real republican that they will vote for the real republican
PhilbertDesanex
@SFAW: Hell some of Reagan’s ideas (like no tax cut for capital gains) are Commie to these idiots now. Not that their brains could accept such facts . That kid mentioned up above is like Village of the Damnned!
Goldwater had some good libertarian impulses and good quotes about teh gayz , and on guns. But he had Ronnie give his nomination speech and down the tube we have gone. .
grandpa john
@beth: I don’t grow hair on my chest, but enough of it grows on my stomach that I have to shave before applying my insulin pumps infusion set which is held on by tape
cckids
@lamh36: Have a wonderful time!! Enjoy & relax!
Howard Beale IV
Let’s tie the right to purchase a firearm to the right to vote. After all,. they’re both supposively Constitutionally sacrosanct-no more of this state interference bullshit.
And, while we’re add it, let’s add the Australian amendment, making voting MANDATORY.
SFAW
@PhilbertDesanex:
Big deal.
If Jesus suddenly reappeared to the TeaBaggers, they’d either send someone out for 40d nails (which are probably too narrow anyway), or they’d just blow that DFH away with their Constitutionally-mandated AR-15 or Street Sweeper, as the vengeful god they worship demands.
I wish they’d all Rapture themselves the fuck offa my planet, ASAP.
SFAW
@Howard Beale IV:
What? And make it legal for the
niggersfraudsters to vote? Are you some kinda anti-‘Murican commie pinko Lie-beral?Ruckus
@SFAW:
Wasn’t saying that uncle joe made a big start, he just got the ball rolling. It unleashed the crazy. They didn’t jump in with both feet at the time but he showed the real crazy that they could make a stink. Sometimes the smallest push is all a tipping point takes. And remember I said that a lot of conservatives thought he was nuts, and they were right. So let’s call him a bit ahead of his time. But someone had to be the catalyst and he was it.
SFAW
@Ruckus:
I’d say he was more a product of his time, rather than ahead of it. And that he was Cohn’s willing stooge (or perhaps dupe?) reinforces that idea for me.
But, as Cole would say, let’s agree to disagree (but I’m right). We could probably debate it for a long time, not sure we could resolve it.
On the other hand: I have done the calcs, and I can definitively state the exact number of angels that can dance on the head of a pin. The answer is >mumble< Try and disprove THAT!