Harry Reid has just two years to add to this impressive collection of insults. A @moody joint. http://t.co/81Lkhgnos9
— Olivier Knox (@OKnox) March 27, 2015
At the Atlantic, Molly Ball is elegiac:
Nobody ever thought Harry Reid would retire, and that includes Harry Reid. Not long ago, when a reporter for CQ Roll Call asked him what might happen when he left office, Reid retorted, “If I drop dead?” He added, “I mean, I will someday. It’s just a question of if I do it while I’m here.” To everyone who knew him, Reid seemed like one of those creatures of the Capitol who would only ever leave the Senate feet first…
Reid has always been a paradoxical figure. His public image, if he has one, is largely as a shambling bumbler, pallid and reed-voiced and prone to verbal gaffes, like the time he praised Barack Obama for his lack of “negro dialect” or called George W. Bush “a loser.” Reporters who cover Reid—I was the political writer for his hometown newspaper, the Las Vegas Review-Journal, for three years—are accustomed to the difficulty of turning his garbled utterances into something resembling sentences. “He’s been wildly successful in spite of it, but generally speaking, you never knew what might come out of his mouth on any given day,” one former Reid aide told me. Another former aide, Rebecca Kirszner Katz, who served as Reid’s communications director, recalls that Reid would turn to her after every press conference and say, “Okay, tell me everything I did wrong.” “And what a list that was!” she added.
But Reid’s image among political insiders is different: He is known as a canny behind-the-scenes mastermind, a political puppeteer whose micromanagement knows no bounds. In Nevada, a small state with a provincial political culture, Reid built the Democratic Party into his personal machine, recruiting and funding candidates years in advance to defeat up-and-coming Republican politicians who might someday oppose him. His political maneuvering has helped him survive despite being personally unpopular. In the Senate, Reid carries a list of his Democratic colleagues in his pocket, jotting in the margins the favors requested and owed. As a result, his caucus has been fanatically loyal to him. “Each and every member knew that the only thing he cared about was protecting the caucus as a whole,” former Reid aide Jim Manley told me…
Dave Weigel, at Bloomberg Politics, steps into the Wayback Machine to remind us “How Harry Reid Tapped Liberal Bloggers to Stop Bush’s Agenda“:
… In November 2004, the defeat of South Dakota Senator Tom Daschle opened up the Democratic leadership. Reid, the party’s whip, quickly secured the support he needed. Progressives were horrified that a senator who’d voted against abortion rights, for the Defense of Marriage Act, and in step with the NRA would take over their party…
Yet within twenty months, Reid was delivering a speech to the first annual convention of “netroots” activists, Yearly Kos. His announcement today sparked off encomia on progressive news sites, with recaps of the bills he pushed through—repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, Dodd-Frank, the Affordable Care Act. The argument on the left was about whether New York Senator Chuck Schumer would replace Reid and drive the leadership to the right…
Policy wonk Ezra Klein, at Vox, is understandably impressed by Harry Reid’s skills:
… Many political commentators speak with awe at the job Mitch McConnell did in 2009 and 2010 uniting the Senate’s 40 (and, later, 41) Republicans in opposition to President Obama’s agenda. And it was an impressive show of party unity. But it was easier than the job Reid had: uniting 60 (and, after Scott Brown’s election, 59) senators in favor of difficult, often unpopular bills with distinct tradeoffs. And yet for all the GOP’s vaunted party discipline, Senate Democrats actually voted more in lockstep than Senate Republicans…
This chart comes from Congressional Quarterly, and it measures party unity, which is “the frequency with which [senators] vote with their party, on occasions when a majority of Republicans oppose a majority of Democrats.” The takeaway here is that in 2009 and 2010 — so, the period in which the vast bulk of Obama’s legislative accomplishments passed — Senate Democrats were actually more unified than Senate Republicans, despite the fact that there were more of them, and they were doing the divisive work of legislating rather than simply opposing… This was an extraordinary accomplishment by Reid, and it speaks to the fact that what we call Obama’s legacy is just as much Reid’s legacy. If Obama had pushed his health-care bill but five Senate Democrats had defected, there would be no Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act — which is to say, there would be no Obamacare…
Senate Democrats’ 60-vote majority, for that matter, wasn’t something Reid just lucked into. He made some controversial, behind-the-scenes moves that made the Democrats’ temporary 60-vote majority possible…
And Weigel, in another article, points out that “Democrats May Find it Easier to Defend Reid’s Open Seat“:
… Reid’s decision, like the 2010 retirement of Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd, may create one of the rare cases in which an open seat is easier for a party to defend than the incumbent. Nevada has been swinging strongly Democratic in presidential years, as the party’s machinery turns out Hispanic votes and wins by landslide margins in Clark County, which includes Las Vegas. Barack Obama won the state twice; even John Kerry had strongly competed for it, losing by only 2.6 percentage points. The Democratic turnout in 2012 was strong enough to nearly defeat appointed Senator Dean Heller, even after his Democratic opponent was dogged by a congressional ethics probe. (Like most such probes, it made headlines then sputtered out.)…
Democrats entered the 2016 cycle planning to take back Nevada, with Hillary Clinton atop the ballot, far more likely to get out the vote than no-name gubernatorial nominee who came second in his primary to “None of These Candidates.”…
Keep giving them hell, Harry — set an example for your successors.
I think this was my favorite Harry Reid insult. http://t.co/tXPylAyh1Z pic.twitter.com/AnzYQ9UVtT
— Chris Moody (@moody) March 27, 2015
Tommy
Would this not open up things for Dick Durbin, my Senator.
Baud
I might enjoy seeing Harry now that he is joining Obama in the sans-fucks society.
WaterGirl
Apparently Harry Reid said today that he thinks Chuck Schumer has earned the job. I much prefer Durbin over Schumer, which I will surely tell them when the Senate calls to ask my opinion.
lamh36
As a Black woman who wears my hair natural, I have had my hair patted down at least once or twice when I traveled by air, especially when I had my hair braided. I never understood why the pat down was even needed? Are terrorist hiding weapons or bombs in Black women’s hair or something? I just never got why it was necessary.
TSA Will Stop Searching Black Women’s Natural Hair
Little Boots
new thread. new mood.
and yeah, don’t dislike reid, but it is kind of a so what moment.
gf120581
@WaterGirl: Durbin’s backing Schumer too. It’s pretty much a done deal that he’s taking over.
Little Boots
@efgoldman:
oh, he wasn’t doing that well. i still think we’ll take the Senate. and as a leader, he was losing it.
lamh36
I was literally watching the Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies when the teaser trailer for the newest Daniel Craig Bond film dropped.
Honestly can’t wait to see the complete trailer for the movie.. I love the raw brute force Daniel Craig brings to Bond. With him I’m really convinced that a Bond spy could actually be as lethal as he is described to be.
Spectre Teaser Trailer
MomSense
@lamh36:
Ugh. I had my pregnant belly patted around(?) by a TSA agent. Good times. I think she was more embarrassed than I was.
Mnemosyne (tablet)
@lamh36:
Maybe they took this scene from the original “Hairspray” a little too seriously?
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=W9AHnAsoFAY
I’ve never seen anyone’s hair get patted down, but I usually try not to linger in the TSA zone. It’s such a weird thing to do — how does anyone carry something around in their hair without it falling out?
WaterGirl
@lamh36: You know, in college I once spent the day running errands with my hot, blonde roommate and it was a real eye opener. Apparently, running errands as a hot blonde is a really different experience from running errands as a regular person. Who knew?
Your comment about the hair pat downs reminded me of that experience. I may not be a hot blonde, but there is a whole world of crap out there that I am not aware of because I am a white woman.
I know that’s stating the obvious, but the world has looked very different for me since it hit home for me that skittles and a hoodie were reason enough to get away with murder. Once you see something, it can’t be unseen, and it makes me very sad.
satby
@WaterGirl: unfortunately, because I would also rather have Durbin be leader, he threw his support to Schumer.
WaterGirl
@gf120581: well, shit.
Gin & Tonic
Sometimes I can figure out the logic of the banner ad placement. But I really have no idea why I’m seeing an ad for the Taiwan International Lighting Show. And it ends tomorrow, so I can’t even make it there, because it’s already tomorrow in Taiwan.
Mike E
@Little Boots: All things must pass…
Corner Stone
@lamh36:
I fucking love D Craig as Bond. Just raw brutality. Best Bond Ever.
Mike J
And yet the dumbfuck pony brigade never had anything good to say about Reid. Fuck all those unicorn humpers who wouldn’t be satisfied with the Buddha as majority leader.
(or minority)
Omnes Omnibus
@Gin & Tonic: If you were Superman, you could reverse time by spinning the Earth backwards. Just saying.
@Corner Stone: I am afraid I must agree.
Mnemosyne (tablet)
@MomSense:
When they used to have the backscatter x-ray machines, I refused to go through them and they would have to do the full patdown. They always tried to talk me out of it because it was a pain in the ass for them to have to do it, but I try to avoid x-rays as much as I possbily can.
My only hair-related TSA encounter was pre-9/11 when I had a giant metal barrette in my hair that set off the metal detector. As usual, they were pretty sure I was not a threat and the TSA agent was annoyed that she had to do a second search.
MomSense
@efgoldman:
I’m just relieved the exam didn’t involve latex gloves or wands.
@Corner Stone:
I agree Craig is the best bond ever.
WaterGirl
@lamh36: I must have been living in a cave or something because until today when I watched a clip of The Wire that was linked here, I had no idea that Idris Elbe was in The Wire.
I’ve always planned to watch the show, but I was riveted by the 3-minute clip of the standoff that was an introduction to one of the episodes.
I may have to do the $15 HBO on apple tv thing that was announced at the big Apple presentation a couple of weeks ago.
WaterGirl
@MomSense: I’m surprised they didn’t make you pull your skirt up.
The most personal pat down I ever had was at a Jimmy Buffett concert. That was a shocker. Yikes.
lamh36
As much as I love Daniel Craig as Bond, I believe that Spectre is his last film. So they will be soon searching for a new Bond.
I suspect they’ll leave the brute force with Craig and go back to an older more suave and sophisticated Bond. The Craig version is in sorts a prequel to what a Bond new to the secret service would be like I think.
Now many names have been bandied about as a replacement for Craig, if ya know me, then you know which of the names is at the top of my list, but I don’t know that he’ll be really in contention. I’d love for him to get his own secret agent franchise or superhero franchise rather than being stuck with the bullshit outcry that would ensue if he was chosen as the new Bond.
I think he’d be great though.
Other than the obvious one, I haven’t really heard any other big named contenders. So maybe they’ll go for a lesser known actor to replace Craig
Corner Stone
When I’m down and feeling out, I re-watch the first 25 minutes of D Craig’s Casino Royale.
I make it to the next meeting/venue and am ready to fucking go to work.
Corner Stone
G-Dammit. Said Schmasino Royale in a comment and am now fucked.
Omnes Omnibus
@WaterGirl:
Mine was at a Prince concert. They were checking for recording devices. I had a small pocketknife with me and security could not have cared less.
Corner Stone
@lamh36:
Ricky Gervais?
Mnemosyne (tablet)
So tomorrow is the LA Yarn Crawl but, as seems to happen every other year, I have a freakin’ cold, so I don’t know that I want to go too far afield. We’ll see what I’m feeling up to doing.
lamh36
@WaterGirl: I’ve actually never watched the Wire.
I discovered Idris Elba from movies rather than tv.
The only tv show I’ve ever watched him in was Luther. Which is a great show. They are currently shooting the next series in London. Can’t wait for it.
MomSense
@Mnemosyne (tablet):
I’ve had underwire bras set off the metal detectors and then they send someone over to run the wand along your chest.
I still don’t know what they are expecting to find in hair–very odd.
Little Boots
@MomSense:
a depressed pilot?
sorry, too soon?
MomSense
@WaterGirl:
Once she pulled up my shirt and found the ugly maternity elastic on my pants, she knew I wasn’t faking. No one would wear those ugly pants unless they were actually pregnant.
Mike J
@Omnes Omnibus: Mine was backstage at a Sugarsmack show, but I’m too nice to talk about it.
Omnes Omnibus
@Mike J: For which we are forever grateful, I am sure.
Mnemosyne (tablet)
@MomSense:
A bra makes sense since a fair number of women do use it for storage, you can get bra holsters for your gin, etc. But hair? How are you going to put something in your hair and have it stay there?
Mike J
@lamh36: Did you see this?
Mnemosyne (tablet)
@Mnemosyne (tablet):
Autocorrect changed “gun” to “gin.” Perhaps I should have a drink after all.
Gin & Tonic
@Mnemosyne (tablet): you can get bra holsters for your gin
Sometimes autocorrect does the right thing.
WaterGirl
@Mnemosyne (tablet): well, maybe in those beehives in the 70s…
Little Boots
blues, we need blues.
omnes?
Mnemosyne (tablet)
@Mike J:
We’ve been watching the 1966 “Batman” series on Blu-Ray and now I see why Frank Gorshin hated wearing the Riddler jumpsuit. They really should have given the guys on that show dance belts like male ballet dancers wear to protect their modesty.
Mike in NC
@lamh36:Never watched “The Wire”, even though I got to know Baltimore pretty well over the course of close to 20 years. Mostly Federal Hill and the Inner Harbor/Fort McHenry area, though. “Homicide” was one of our favorite shows.
WaterGirl
@Mnemosyne (tablet): Batman was the only TV show we ever got to watch during dinner. My mom would let us watch the little portable TV on the stand. We must have been wild about that show for her to make an exception.
Little Boots
sometimes, I dunno, sometimes the left, is not all that great.
MomSense
@Little Boots:
It’s not exactly blues but we were talking about gun holsters in bras and she has a killer voice.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3YmaADISlo
Mnemosyne (tablet)
@WaterGirl:
We watched it after school in syndication in the 1970s. I was so crazy about it that my mom made me a Batgirl costume for Halloween because you couldn’t buy them in the store. I wish I knew where that picture was.
WaterGirl
@MomSense: I didn’t realize that “bra holsters for your gin” was an autocorrect, and I thought, wow, I had no idea. I need to get out more.
Little Boots
if you asked the typical juicer, or really the typical progressive, what we want, what do you want?
MomSense
@efgoldman:
They did the chemical pad thing on a stroller once. I had to take the fussy toddler out so they could inspect the stroller.
MomSense
@WaterGirl:
Not a bad idea to keep your booze close to your chest I suppose.
WaterGirl
@MomSense: Speaking of kids, when does your son leave for school? Sunday?
Mnemosyne (tablet)
@Little Boots:
I have Lesley Gore, but it’s from when she guest starred on “Batman”:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CRvF5VABOAo
Omnes Omnibus
@Little Boots: Garage rock.
satby
@Mike in NC: was it you who liked film noir-ish crime shows? I’ve been watching a good one on Acorn channel on my Roku. It’s called Rebus and stars John Hannah, the Scottish actor. Seriously good. After 4 episodes it was continued with another actor in the lead and a less dark and deep atmosphere, so I haven’t watched those. The Hannah ones are really good.
Omnes Omnibus
@satby: Based on the books by Ian Rankin. Haven’t seen the show but the books are good.
Mnemosyne (tablet)
@MomSense:
@WaterGirl:
The Wine Rack. It’s a real thing:
http://www.amazon.com/The-WineRack-200-008-Wine-Medium/dp/B001FYZZI2
Violet
The worst “pat down” I’ve ever had was on the jetway of a return flight from the UK to the US. Horrid experience. I felt completely violated. Had me strip down to practically my underwear in front of everyone. This was December in the UK and I was on the jetway. It was fucking freezing. Searched me so hard felt like I was raped. I was practically in tears at the end of it and the entire multiple hour journey home I just wanted a shower. Horrible experience.
The next time I flew home and again got pulled out of line on the jetway I just started yelling at the security person and stripping off all my clothes. “What do you want to see? Sure I’ll take off whatever.” I’d rather strip down myself than be searched like that by someone. They were horrified and told me I didn’t need to do that. I think the previous person was a sadist.
Little Boots
@Omnes Omnibus:
that was lovely, sort of.
satby
@Omnes Omnibus: yes, now that I have seen the show I want to read the books.
Had no idea Hannah had such dramatic chops as an actor. I had only seen him in 4 Weddings and a Funeral. Though now that I think about it, he was so good in that I thought he was gay in real life.
MomSense
@WaterGirl:
Yes. Today was the shopping trip to buy XL sheets, comforter, towels, etc. I hate shopping so we made a list and worked quickly. His roommate is flying in from the ME so we are packing up a lot of extra things figuring she won’t be able to bring that much with her.
satby
@Mnemosyne (tablet): Beats the gun rack. A Darwin award winner nearby just shot herself to death last month putting her loaded gun into her bra holster. Because St. Joe, MI is a hellscape of crime. Not.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@MomSense: They turned the US District Court metal detectors to 11 when John Demjanjuk was in court here and my underwire made them screech. It was pretty awkward since the marshals all knew me professionally, but we mostly chuckled.
WaterGirl
@MomSense: Okay, I’m confused. I hear “going away to school” and I think “living in the dorms”. But guys in dorms don’t get assigned female roommates, do they? Is this a girlfriend? Is ME the middle east?
Everything I knew about your son apparently fell out of my ears while I slept.
P.S. You guys are nice to bring extra stuff for the roommate!
Karen in GA
@MomSense: Ooh, that was good.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@Mnemosyne (tablet): Bra flasks were a thing, though, so I took it for topical word play.
Violet
@efgoldman: I really can’t describe how demeaning it was. The other passengers walking by, either looking at me with shock and pity or averting their gaze. The freezing cold. The finger raping me through my underwear. The other security people standing there staring at her and me. I asked if one of them could help so I could put my clothes back on because I was freezing, but no. I had to stand there in below freezing weather until they’d searched me, my purse and my carry on with a fine tooth comb. Horrifying.
MomSense
@a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q):
I bet they have seen all kinds of things in their purse/bag/briefcase searches.
@Mnemosyne (tablet):
Of course someone came up with a wine rack bra. Oh my.
@efgoldman:
Nothing like a liberal arts education!
Violet
@efgoldman: I have to steel myself when going through security, especially in the UK. I’ve learned not to be first in a group to get on the plane and I always avert my eyes. I have to go to the UK to visit family and flying is the only realistic way to do that.
MomSense
@WaterGirl:
The school is mostly women so apparently room assignments are often co-ed. She is from Israel, but I’m not sure which city. I’m not exactly sure if they are in the same room or rooms that share a common room. I’ll let you know on Monday
WaterGirl
@efgoldman: surprises me, too!
Little Boots
need late night people.
WaterGirl
@MomSense: college is supposed to be an adventure!
MomSense
@Violet:
I had an unfortunate experience at Gatwick many years ago but it doesn’t sound as bad as what you went through. Security in the UK and Turkey are the worst in my travels so far.
Gin & Tonic
@MomSense: I took a domestic, internal flight in Ukraine a few years ago, and had a Leatherman multi-tool and a half-gallon bottle of vodka in my carryon. Nobody even checked. The plane was half-full of middle-aged guys with shaved heads wearing leather jackets, I guess that was “security” enough, if you get my drift.
I also think the airplane may have had a preventive maintenance once or twice since WWII, but I wouldn’t bet too much on it.
Little Boots
okay, partly to annoy omnes, which is what I do, but also I kinda like it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blrHHRWKygw
Corner Stone
@Gin & Tonic:
Neo-Nazis?
wasabi gasp
George Harmonica Smith – Trying to Hide the Things I Do
MomSense
@Gin & Tonic:
I was on an Olympic Air flight and a guy was in the toilet for the whole flight including the takeoff and landing. No bag check, seatbelt check–nothing.
@Gin & Tonic:
Aren’t those the guys BiP has been warning us about??
Omnes Omnibus
@Little Boots: Did you mention tears?
Gin & Tonic
@Corner Stone: Generic Eastern European tough guys.
Mnemosyne (tablet)
@efgoldman:
You could take a transatlantic cruise, assuming you have an extra two weeks and $2,000 (to start).
One of my coworkers travels back and forth to the UK frequently because his wife lives there (she’s a UK citizen). I haven’t heard too many horror stories from either one of them, but I’m pretty sure the abusive assholes are careful to pick on non-UK citizens who are on their way out of the country so they have no way to complain. A UK citizen could probably raise a ruckus in the press, if nothing else.
Corner Stone
@Gin & Tonic: So…Nazis?
Little Boots
@Omnes Omnibus:
knew you couldn’t resist … and vice versa.
Gin & Tonic
@Corner Stone: Most guys like that have only one clear political allegiance, and that is their wallet.
Little Boots
slow tonight.
Omnes Omnibus
@Little Boots: Who am I?
Little Boots
@Omnes Omnibus:
oh nice, damn.
Mike J
@MomSense:
Speaking of him, A professional Russian troll tells all.
Corner Stone
@Gin & Tonic: Nazis!
Jacks mom
Open thread so…..I just got home from the hospital where I got to welcome my first grandson into this world. He is of course the most wonderful baby ever.
The new puppy is the best dog God ever put on the earth. Thank you juicers that encouraged me to go ahead with that decision.
Lost a very good friend last Sunday. She was an ER doctor. She caught a wicked virus from a patient and spent 23 days in ICU before she lost the battle.
Circle of life? I’m not sure how I should feel right now.
Little Boots
@Jacks mom:
damn. survivey?
Omnes Omnibus
@Little Boots: Childhood memories. This was one of my dad’s favorite albums. I was three when it came out.
Little Boots
@Omnes Omnibus:
sweet.
Corner Stone
@Jacks mom:
W.T.F?
Little Boots
want more omnes music.
i’m greedy that way.
jl
I don’t have time to read through all the comments. Though did see link to Pierce, and surprised he does the ‘problem for Democrats’ dance.
Reid said he was wasn’t running the Senate, I didn’t see where he said he was shutting down his Nevada political operation before he left office. Reid has an incentive to set things up for a successor. He almost kept that nonentity Heller out with Berkley, who was not the greatest candidate and had lots of ethics baggage.
And, from what I saw at one of the links, half of Reid’s supposed insults were just plain talk. GW is not a loser? The press does not ask clown questions? George Romney wouldn’t be embarrassed by what has become of Mitt?
I can’t figure out how Reid would know whether Barney was fat or not, though. OK, that was an insult, against a poor innocent dog that Dub dropped on its head and generally did not know how to leadererer. Reid is human and makes mistakes.
Omnes Omnibus
@Little Boots: Yeah, well, I’ve got stuff to do tomorrow morning so you’ll just have to live without.
wasabi gasp
Jay Reatard – Turning Blue
BillinGlendaleCA
@Mnemosyne (tablet): You know the TV series Batcave is in Griffith Park? It’s called Bronson Caves and is off Canyon Drive. The kid and I climbed Mt. Hollywood yesterday and visited the observatory.
Little Boots
@Omnes Omnibus:
a mood. great.
Jacks mom
@Corner Stone: Not sure of the specifics. We just got the call from her husband yesterday. The memorial service is tomorrow. I can’t go because I’ve got my grandaughter until the new baby comes home.
Little Boots
at least billinglendale is here.
BillinGlendaleCA
@BillinGlendaleCA: The intrepid climbers prepare for the final assault on Mt. Hollywood.
Chris T.
I’m just going to test this out here … see if I can get it to turn into a meme :-)
Many of the Republican primary candidates are suffering from DEPRESSION as Jeb BUSH is CRASHing the Republican’s party by HOOVERing up all the big-money dollars.
wasabi gasp
David Sylvian – Sugarfuel
Little Boots
@Chris T.:
startin to get it.
eemom
@Little Boots:
Trying to catch up on the mood….but will surely fail miserably no matter what I try.
/Boots-ette
NotMax
Lost respect for Sen. Reid today when someone on the TV mentioned (as a supposed plus) that the first thing he reads each week is People magazine.
Little Boots
@eemom:
the mood is whatever you want. like that.
Mnemosyne (tablet)
@NotMax:
For a politican, that’s probably not a bad decision. They do a lot of “ordinary people” stories that can help a politician see what his constituents might be concerned about as far as social issues go. One of my coworkers brings in the gossip glossies and People has a sad but informative story abiut a woman caring for her early-onset Alzheimer’s mother getting tested to see if she also had the gene for early-onset Alzheimer’s. (She did.) That’s the kind of thing a constituent might read and start asking about Alzheimer’s services or why genetic testing is so expensive.
Violet
@NotMax: You believed what someone on the TV said about Harry Reid’s reading habits?
Little Boots
time for ray?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rEsVp5tiDQ
NotMax
@efgoldman
Yes, he did. But then, that’s part of his job.
(Didn’t say lost all respect for him, only that it is less than it was yesterday.)
NotMax
@Violet
It wasn’t some random talking head, but someone introduced as familiar with all things Reid.
Little Boots
it’s kind of an odd night. the witching hour, or something.
Little Boots
needs more omnes, who is in a mood.
needs more steeplejack.
NotMax
@efgoldman
Even his staunchest booster would have to admit he long dawdled over that (and the chorus calling for it) before taking the plunge.
danielx
@efgoldman:
True. People can gripe all they want about Reid, or Pelosi for that matter, but over the last few years they’ve held their respective caucuses together a whole lot better and maybe more effectively than their Republican counterparts.
Granted, exercising leadership more effectively than John Boehner doesn’t require a whole lot of heavy lifting even if Boehner is trying to lead a pack of rabid wolverines.
Violet
@NotMax: Meh. Still not buying it. Did Harry Reid say it about himself? Then I’d believe it. As for him the magazine, like Mnem says, it’s probably not a bad thing for him to read or skim to have an idea of what regular people talk about. People magazine has more general interest stories and is less celeb-centric than other magazines like that.
Little Boots
I don’t dislike harry reid, but it is not that tragic that we get somebody else in charge. he’s had his day, and it was not always all that great. time for somebody else.
Redshift
@efgoldman: We had mixed-sex floors when I went to college in 1980.
wasabi gasp
Bohren & der Club of Gore – Prowler
srv
@Jacks mom: Life is not fair..
Little Boots
@efgoldman:
he was good at that, and knowing the rules is actually a thing that takes time, but it’s not so tragic that somebody gets to step into that role. it’s inevitable, and he’s kind of had his time, and it’s done.
Tommy
@Little Boots: Yes. I said a few things today and didn’t think they’d be of issue. I was wrong there. You never know Witching hour.
Suzanne
@Corner Stone: I love Craig as Bond, too. He’s way hot.
Little Boots
@Tommy:
it’s probably omnes’ fault. or corner stone’s.
Tommy
@Redshift: I don’t know that, single sex dorms. I didn’t have that in the late 80s when I was in college. We were not supposed to have ladies in our rooms overnight, but the RA didn’t care. Many nights a lady might have been in my room, used the bathroom, but never a joint kind of use thing going on. That would have been pretty strange, but cool!
Tommy
@Little Boots: Not so sure they are wrong. I just can’t get over talking about Amanda Knox, and how the fuck did I get to talking about her, there is a body in my house. Maybe I am crazy but I don’t know the world where there is a body in my house.
Little Boots
@Tommy:
it happens.
the important thing is, what is with omnes? dammit? and where is steeplejack and billy?
that is the thing.
Tommy
@Little Boots: Look I got no problem with people getting their freak flag on. Heck I might be with them. But there is a dead body. That is kind of a issue for me. It would be at this point I’d call 911 and say this is fucked up.
Little Boots
calling about a dead body is probably a good idea. yes.
Little Boots
why is everyone a little crazy tonight?
Tommy
From CNN:
Really a “normal” life. Gosh you folks are shit all stupid. Life will never be “normal” for her.
Amir Khalid
@Tommy:
Closer to normal than she’s had so far, at any rate. I think she’s suffered from prosecutorial ineptitude, careerism and malice for long enough. The Court of Cassation in Italy seems to think so too.
Tommy
@Amir Khalid: I think she is guilty. Just my two cents. Amir you come to my house. Sex happens. No chance you are not leaving the place alive. You’d protest (gosh I hope you would) but you don’t die. I will keep saying it. She had a dead body in her house.
opiejeanne
@Violet: That is terrible. One of the worst stories I’ve heard.
My stories are mere inconveniences. The worst we encountered was once returning to the US, Chicago O’Hare from Ireland. We’d gone through customs and were still inside the secure area of the airport but we had to present our tickets and an ID (passport) to get to our gate. I smiled at the woman as I handed her my papers, said “Hello, how are you?” and she looks up at me and points to a glass box and tells me to go stand in it. She pages security, and I wait patiently because I know how much worse they can make things if they want to. Meanwhile, my husband is just the other side of the glass box and our flight is being called. The TSA agent looks up, realizes he’s with me, and tells him to come back and stand in the glass box with me.
She pages security again.
We are watching the clock as the minutes go by and are starting to sweat it just a bit.
She pages security again, and this time her supervisor comes over and asks about us. She shows her our boarding passes, points to a code in the upper left corner. Her supervisor looks at her in utter disbelief, and tells her to let us go, to give us back our papers. The code was something to do with the flight and this ninny thought it was code for, “watch these two, they look dangerous”.
opiejeanne
@MomSense: I just realized that I’ve never flown out of the UK, just into it. I’ve flown out of Dublin, Ireland, Paris, Italy, and Amsterdam. I’ve only had a problem in the US, and only in Chicago and DC.
Flying out of Seattle we’ve been given a pre-clearance almost every time we’ve flown the past two years. I don’t know why.
opiejeanne
@Tommy: None of us do, but Knox came home and found the body. That is the point. She wasn’t there when her roommate became the body in question.
I’m not trying to be a snot, but were you drinking when you posted that? Because you didn’t seem your usual self.
opiejeanne
@Tommy: @Tommy: You think she’s guilty, why?
What are you basing this on?
Have you read about what happened at all?
That the guy who was convicted of murdering the roommate never once mentioned Knox or her boyfriend at his trial; it was months later, after he’d been given 30 years that he suddenly remembered that, oh yeah, they did it and he was there with them, and had his sentence reduced to 16 years for testifying.
You say you’d call the police if you found a body. She didn’t. She panicked.
JordanRules
@Tommy: How do you reconcile your view with the multiple people here who have admitted they had people die in their company at their residence? You’ve been given multiple benign scenarios and still your persist with your bizarre insinuations and leaps of judgement within some weird sheltered view.
Do people that work in the same place that people die have that same presumption of guilt and immorality? This slope you’re on isn’t just steep, it’s a straight shot to bullshit!
How do you keep jumping to crazy sex shit around this case?
How have you not answered pointed questions from other commenters about this situation especially in regard to the person who has been convicted WITH evidence?
Someone got shot about 15 feet from my bedroom window at 3:30AM last Sunday morning does that proximity mean I have to answer for things beyond normal police questioning and re-evaluate my life decisions? Sorry I couldn’t afford a better apartment dude.
Tommy
@opiejeanne: Not sure it matters but yes. Drinking. Got some Alison Krauss going on, going to go dance a little.
Tommy
@JordanRules: You folks are looking at two different things. A loved one dying in your household of an illness is not the same as a person, healthy and able dying in your house. Those two things are not the same. People are calling me out on these comments, why do I have to even say this.
JordanRules
Echoing sentiments that Craig is a great Bond!
opiejeanne
@Tommy: They’re calling you out because you are so focused on the body being in her house, as if that proves her guilt.
Let me say this again, just once: SHE CAME HOME AND FOUND THE BODY.
opiejeanne
@JordanRules: He is. I was surprised by how much I liked him in his first Bond movie. I’d never seen him in anything before that, and he won me over by the end of the first scene (which I can’t remember, just that it won me over).
opiejeanne
@Tommy: That’s nice, dancing to Alison Krause, but you are sometimes nearly incoherent when you post and I’ve wondered if you had been drinking before tonight.
JordanRules
@opiejeanne: I was delightfully surprised at the first movie as well. I honestly don’t remember how much the tide was against him and how feverishly he was opposed at the time. If it’s serious redemption, that’s pretty awesome and if it’s just slight, well, I bet he still gets a good snicker out of it.
Tommy
@opiejeanne: Yeah I get that. Maybe my bad. I just don’t know how you get away from there is a dead person in your house. Murdered! Just going to watch/finish an Alison Kraus video. Makes the world happier.
JordanRules
@Tommy: You don’t know how people get murdered in other people’s houses and it’s not the “owners” fault? Seriously? I’m not a creative genius but I can think of 20 scenarios off top.
Mercy. You might need to get out more.
And where has ulee been? Hmph
“Just saying…”
Tommy
@opiejeanne: @JordanRules: Hard to say. I don’t know what to say about her. I really don’t. As for being a drunk, yes, you might be right.
Zinsky
Good riddance. If Harry Reid is what passes for leadership, it is no wonder that the Democratic Party can’t win elections despite the majority of Americans identifying themselves as being Democrats.
Cervantes
@gf120581:
Two years is a long time.
Cervantes
@NotMax:
Surely you don’t believe everything you hear on TV.
Here’s what Reid said:
jurassicpork
There was a death in our family yesterday and we really need financial assistance. Details are here, if you wish to help or at least pass the word. Thank you in advance.
rikyrah
@WaterGirl:
DO you have Amazon Prime?
I think The Wire is free with Amazon Prime.
WaterGirl
@rikyrah: I do have Amazon Prime!
Did you happen to see the video I linked to yesterday of Morris Dees (Southern Poverty Law Center) speaking at the anniversary of the selma march?
It was only 5 minutes, but I was so impressed. He called out the governor and the republics who were sitting right there. I thought of you because at the end of it, I found myself thinking “tell the truth”. Because he surely did.
WaterGirl
@Tommy:
Can you try saying that again in plain English? Because it sounds to me like you are suggesting that you would have sex, and the other person would protest, and that you would hope they would protest. But hey, they wouldn’t die!
If I am reading that correctly, it’s one of the creepiest things I have ever seen on balloon juice.
Germy Shoemangler
Watergirl, what is happening with the paving next door? I’m hoping for a satisfying conclusion with your neighbor thwarted.
WaterGirl
@Germy Shoemangler: Sadly, the neighbor has not been thwarted.
His contractor appealed the city ruling and he gets to go ahead with the concrete on the side. Apparently good old boys do return from vacation and then the other good old boys get their way.
On the other hand, I do believe they made some changes to their original plan in order to make it appear better to the city, so my efforts did have some positive impact.
In theory, instead of the concrete pad all the way to my fence line, they are saying they are now only going to put in a 3.5 foot wide sidewalk along the house and that they will not be parking anything on that. Since my neighbor has already lied to the city once, I will believe that when I see it.
But the city did tell them they have to form the concrete in such a way that water will run down toward the street rather than over the edge onto my property, so there’s that!
I am hoping it will be less awful than the original plan, and at least I won’t have the water issue or a concrete wall right up against my fence.
Thanks for asking!
Corner Stone
@WaterGirl: I read that at least three times.
“Sex happens.”
That is fucking comedic gold, right there.
I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet
@Mike J: Thanks for the pointer!
Cheers,
Scott.
Suzanne
@JordanRules: He keeps jumping to crazy sex shit because he is slut-shaming.
Tommy, you are trying to read even when sober. For serious. Step away from the internet.
J R in WV
@WaterGirl:
Jimmy Buffet, now that’s a name from the past.
I lived in Key West in the early 1970s, and Jimmy was playing for tips and drinks in bars there, along with Jerry Jeff Walker. Good times! Good parties… A nice guy, glad he made it big and is having a fun life.
Lots of great music there back then. Now it’s pretty much a tourist trap for people getting off cruise ships for the afternoon and evening. Sad what it has devolved into.
WaterGirl
@J R in WV: Yeah, I think he is one of the good guys. He gets the occasional TV role now and again, too.
Sounds like Key West is not what it once was. Too bad.
Groucho48
There actually is a fair amount of circumstantial evidence tying Knox and her boyfriend to the murder. plus all the lies the two of them told. The Wiki article linked in the story on her was very sympathetic to her. There are other articles out there that aren’t. Having read up on things a bit, I would say there isn’t enough evidence to prove them guilty beyond the shadow of a doubt, but, there is enough so that saying the Italian justice system was on a witch hunt isn’t accurate, either.
I mean, just read up on her version of what she did the day after the murder when she came home. The front door was open. (In a rough part of town.) There was blood on the floor. There was a fair amount of blood in the bathroom, including a large, bloody footprint on the bathroom rug. But, she says she didn’t think anything out of the ordinary was going on, took a shower and left. And, her weird behavior continued all day.