Turns out it's not about the United States Senate.
— John Dingell (@JohnDingell) July 19, 2015
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This post is in: Open Threads, #notintendedtobeafactualstatement
Turns out it's not about the United States Senate.
— John Dingell (@JohnDingell) July 19, 2015
Comments are closed.
BGinCHI
Ironically, Grassley is the smartest senator from Iowa.
Ruckus
@BGinCHI:
Still, a great second tweet from Dingell
east is east
Little Boots memorial thread.
Katharsis
Correction. Apparently the cop pulled a taser on Bland, not a gun. Still over the line, and still too much leeway given to law enforcement. He threatened her and she had no recourse; the laws that allow that need to change.
@ Katharsis
divF
John Dingell has found his retirement hobby. I hope he keeps at it.
divF
@BGinCHI:
I prefer to think of Grassley as the second-dumbest Senator from Iowa.
opiejeanne
@east is east: What happened to Little Boots?
Steeplejack (phone)
@opiejeanne:
Read the thread downstairs.
divF
@opiejeanne: JC has given him a week’s time out, per the last thread.
mark
@johngcole:
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2015/03/24/black-woman-locked-in-psych-ward-for-8-days-because-cops-couldnt-believe-shes-a-businesswoman/
east is east
@opiejeanne: He was eaten by Donald Trump. It’s a tragedy.
Omnes Omnibus
@opiejeanne: little boots was an asshole. Time out for a week from Cole and the Cut Direct from me.
Omnes Omnibus
@opiejeanne: caligula was a complete asshole. He got a week’s timeout from Cole and the cut direct from me.
opiejeanne
@Omnes Omnibus: thanks.
Oh man. Usually he’s just a pest but not a big jerk. I’ll go look.
KG
Well, there is the one episode where the ancient aliens helped found the U.S. That was fun
Anne Laurie
@KG: What — they’re saying Ronald Reagan was an ancient alien?
BillinGlendaleCA
@Anne Laurie: Well, Reagan was pretty old.
Omnes Omnibus
@Anne Laurie: If Jesus can ride a dinosaur, why can’t Reagan be an alien?*
*Also too, it would explain a lot.
MobiusKlein
@opiejeanne: Don’t. I went there, and it totally ruined my post Brazilian food / cocktail buzz.
Omnes Omnibus
@opiejeanne: Don’t do that to yourself.
BillinGlendaleCA
@opiejeanne: It was truly awful. I don’t mind him either, wrong thread, wrong time.
Omnes Omnibus
@BillinGlendaleCA: I really am done with him.
east is east
He’s not done until he says it’s done. He’s the terminator.
KG
@Anne Laurie: nah, they think many of the founders were free masons who had connections to aliens (as the successors of the Knights Templar). It’s rather impressive, the mental gymnastics that the conspiracy theorists have to go through. The show is a bit of a guilty pleasure
Amir Khalid
Does this make sense to anyone?
east is east
@Amir Khalid: makes sense to me, but I hear voices speaking in the air conditioner, so there’s that.
Anne Laurie
@Amir Khalid: Rachel Dolezal, presumably.
She has her defenders, even at the Root (see the comments here.)
As an old white lady, I’m not gonna argument the merits of her “identifying” as African-American, because it’s not my place.
wasabi gasp
@east is east:
everyone loves me, sooner or later, everyone loves me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YcNzHOBmk8
east is east
@wasabi gasp: what nice send out.thank you.
Suzanne
@Amir Khalid: Yeah, I think it kind of makes sense, oddly. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had some interesting words to say about her in his Time column to which I am too lazy to link. I also have no opinion on her, as no one would ever care anyway.
I want to write to my reps tomorrow in support of reforming racist policing and eliminating police brutality. However, I am not aware of any policy proposals or even ideas floating around regarding how to address these issues. As our policing is so decentralized, I don’t know how or at what level to address it. I would love to hear thoughts.
jl
@Suzanne:
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: Let Rachel Dolezal Be as Black as She Wants to Be
http://time.com/3921404/rachel-dolezal-naacp-race-kareem-abdul-jabbar/
I remember that some women African-American commentators were pissed at her, but I am too lazy to find those links right now.
Jabbar didn’t mention the real problem, as far as I am concerned, which is that she lied on official papers and stuff, which is bad. But maybe the extent of her misrepresentation was not clear at the time he wrote the piece.
RK
@Amir Khalid: I would think she’s delineating between genes and culture.
opiejeanne
@Omnes Omnibus: Too late, I looked and it really spun my buttons.
I am stunned.
eemom
Good evening y’all. Lately every time I click on this site it crashes my browser (Safari). I’m on a Mac. I am a technotard. Any suggestions appreciated.
/RIP little psycho-boots
jl
Christopher Walken is not tweeting anymore? I followed him for awhile.
Dingell is a good replacement.
Edit: next Dingell tweet:
“What is Gawker and why is everyone talking about it so much if they don’t really like it in the first place? Is this like Sharknado?”
oh yeah, that’s the ticket, I’ll follow Dingell and see what he has to say.
dogwood
I wasn’t the most articulate but I was the first to respond to Little Boots. I’ve never been that angry reading this blog. As soon as I posted I regretted it, fearing I would just make things worse. But I’m not sorry now. And he doesn’t just screw up open threads. A couple of weeks ago he showed up in a regular thread and derailed it along with his banter buddies. I injected “this is not an open thread” , but it did no good. He crossed a line tonight and I was glad to see that there are readers here who really do “mind him”. Who don’t think he’s funny or interesting or clever. Anyone who reads that thread and doesn’t get what Little Boots is about is blind. He likes control and he’s a master of it, but when he got ganged up on he lost control and got himself banned for a week. Sorry for the rant, but it comes from years of being appalled by that asshole and keeping my mouth shut.
Suzanne
@jl: He addressed her lying:
I can see his point. I can also understand why some people are angry at her.
ruemara
@Amir Khalid: It translates to ” I like the attention and deference of playing black even as I know I’m not even in one drop territory.” She’s just awful.
As I approach 2 weeks, I’d really like my hearing back and this awful sore throat and the pounding in my ears to go away.
Edited to reflect: GAWD, WHAT FUCKING ACCOMPLISHMENTS! The bitch didn’t even handle.her chairmanship for the police ombudsmen properly. Gay. This is why black women in particular are mad. Black men are the ones largely saying this mental game of blackface is somehow valid.
RK
@mark: That reads like fiction.
Mike J
@Omnes Omnibus: Related, I also don’t like it when there’s a thread about cops murdering black people and the first comment is complaining that Cole hasn’t posted pictures of his pets lately. Not that I don’t enjoy a Steve pic as much as the next guy. I’m sure they’re not trying to be rude, but damn.
jl
@Suzanne: Thanks. I misremembered the piece.
east is east
@jl: Christopher Walken is going to kiil you. He heard about you following him. Big mistake.
opiejeanne
@Anne Laurie: I have a very distant cousin who thinks she has NA ancestors. She misread some information about the Trail of Tears and thinks she’s Cherokee because her great great grandpa is listed on a roster as an “escort”.
She goes to tribal events and dances with the women, and they seem to welcome her, but I worry that she is imposing herself on their hospitality. Maybe it does no harm, but it seems similar to what Rachel Dolezal is doing.
opiejeanne
@eemom: Only for a week, then Caligula will be resurrected. Like Dracula, when the stake is removed.
Suzanne
@ruemara: That’s an interesting observation. Why do you think black men are more okay with her?
jl
@east is east: I won’t open any social media accounts that I do not absolutely need. So by ‘follow’ I mean that I do a twitter search and look recent tweets every once in awhile when it crosses my mind.
So I guess I am safe, but with a guy like Walken, you never know for sure.
Ruckus
@opiejeanne:
John give trials in the out box. They seem to get longer if the miscreant continues their ways. Some seem to get the hint. Not sure that’s possible in this case.
Amir Khalid
@opiejeanne:
I’m curious to see whether Caligula comes back chastened, or in a “did everyone miss me?” mood.
ruemara
@Suzanne: I’m answering a question with a question. Why, when they satirize the 70’s and the black power movement, is there always one white lady who’s as dashiki’d and corn rowed as possible? It’s so stock, you almost want to substitute blacks who identified more with native Americans.
east is east
@jl: Too late. He already killed Natalie Wood. Now he’s coming for you. RIP jl.
opiejeanne
@Ruckus: I only remember one time there was a time-out and I think we all wanted the person banned permanently.
OT, sort of: Has Tommy been absent recently or is it just me? I’ve missed a lot the past few days because of my husband’s back surgery, which was yesterday but there were lots of preliminary worries and prep stuff that had to happen. He’s fine, it went well, and he’s sleeping happily right now. The pain from the pinched nerve is much better, just a little soreness in his left calf, and near the surgical site, but we think that means it worked. Now he just has physical therapy in a couple of weeks.
BillinGlendaleCA
I’ve been watching some 4K youtube videos on my new monitor, pretty pics.
Suzanne
@ruemara: I find her story interesting. In general, I believe that people should get to define themselves, but I can’t wrap my head around this.
opiejeanne
@Amir Khalid: Oh, it will be “did anyone miss me?”, I would bet on it.
I’m really surprised by his behavior tonight.
Suzanne
@opiejeanne: DON’T SAY HIS NAME, HE’LL APPEAR.
Tommy is probably Little Boots.
jl
@east is east: Is Walken an ancient alien?
@Suzanne: After rereading the piece, I guess I misremembered because I was surprised that Jabbar was so easy on her lying. I agree with Jabbar that biologically, genetically, racical categories are an artificial construct that we find convenient. Jabbar does concede that racial categories are a useful social convention. So the rule about which side of the road you drive on. Violating social conventions, in some circumstances, is a serious thing.
And obviously, I am getting old and grouchy. Get off my lawn you dang whippersnapper, Kareem!
dogwood
I started the Little boots dust up on the last thread and worried that I would regret it by derailing the thread even further. But I’ve never been that angry here. He’s a control freak. The pattern is simple; he enters a thread, the people who like to banter with him show up, and everyone else leaves. I was glad to see that there are plenty of people like me who aren’t fooled by him. He lost control of himself tonight because he couldn’t get control of the thread. He’ll be back in a week, and for those of you who like to banter with him, I only ask that you remember what he did tonight, what he said to Bella, and how uncomfortable he makes so many of us before you decide to engage.
Mnemosyne (tablet)
@ruemara:
Have you had your throat swabbed for strep? It’s potentially not a good sign that you’re having trouble with your ears at the same time
BillinGlendaleCA
@jl:
Yes.
I hear that Jabbar guy plays a mean roundball.
east is east
@jl: Of course he’s an ancient alien. And he’s pissed off. Specially at you.
Ruckus
@opiejeanne:
I believe there have been a few, mostly when they go so far over the line, like Caligula (thanks Amir!) did tonight. John’s line is pretty far out there, which I think is a good thing, but there is one, which is also a good thing.
Tommy seems to be here a lot and then gone for a few days. It is a repeating pattern. Would not presume to guess at a reason.
Best of luck with the PT, I’ve had some great results and one time that six months of PT went nowhere (ortho was trying to avoid surgery, insurance wouldn’t cover it, we gave it a shot on my dime) then surgery and another 6 months of PT they did cover. That worked wonders.
jl
@ruemara: The stereotypes on TV from decades ago are so artificial and arbitrary I think it is pointless to try to figure them out. Especially TV shows that highlight white and black culture. I suppose they are a product of some formula that the marketing and casting people work out. Probably in 100 years, people will look at it and find it as insulting and racist as blackface.
Amir Khalid
@ruemara:
It seems to me that, on some level, Rachel Dolezal somehow does sincerely believe she is black. It’s a preposterous belief for a child of two white parents, so naturally people are mystified and suspicious. But it’s not the most preposterous belief I’ve come across.
Ruckus
@opiejeanne:
That’s an easy bet. You won’t get odds that’s for sure.
And I’m not surprised by the behavior. He’s done this before on posts but it is always very late and so few notice that he gets little chance to act out in the fashion that he did tonight.
east is east
@Amir Khalid: I believe you are right. She does consider herself to be black and we should all leave her alone in her belief. But making a living in her delusion is another thing altogether.
opiejeanne
@Ruckus: Thanks. My DH did therapy for a couple of months trying to avoid the surgery, and like your experience, it was not enough. The cortisone injection made a huge difference in the amount of pain, really lowered it, but then his left calf was sore all the time, the kind of soreness you experience after you use a muscle that you don’t normally use. Since the surgery his calf has almost completely stopped aching. I’m hoping the PT will make it go away for good.
Mnemosyne (tablet)
@Amir Khalid:
I developed a little more sympathy with Dolezal when it came out that her parents were crazy, abusive homeschoolers who had adopted several children from Africa. Dolezal got custody of at least one of her (adopted) brothers because she is less crazy than her abusive parents.
I can see how someone in that situation might decide they don’t want to be associated with their abusive parents anymore, even to the extent of denying that she shares their race.
Redshift
@Suzanne: Ideally, people should be allowed to define themselves, and once we have a society where anyone can define themselves as white and be given all the privileges that it entails, I’ll have no problem with what she did.
However, from the small amount I’ve paid attention, it seems like she had a pretty messed up upbringing (which many expected was coming after the initial story broke) so it seems more sad than outrageous.
And as a middle-aged white guy, I’m not really in a position to judge, and I’d just as soon forget her.
opiejeanne
@Ruckus: I’ve seen him, but he was never like this when I was here; he always seemed like a harmless silly person who wanted attention and behaved like a needy child. At times it irritated me, other times I played the game with him and posted music.
Steeplejack (phone)
@Ruckus:
From what he has said before, I think Tommy goes on long work jags and doesn’t come here in the interim.
Jordan Rules
@Ruckus: This! I’ve seen shades of it before late at night and I reckon that’s exactly how he’ll come back. Or he’ll resurrect himself with just enough cover cause I swear I’ve seen another version of him before.
Anyway, thank you Omnes (sorry you were in that position tho) and John for saying and doing what was needed. Fuck him!
dogwood
@opiejeanne:
Why would you be surprised by his behavior? He’s a control freak. The pattern is he enters a thread, a group of people who seem to understand and enjoy his schtick start bantering with him, and everyone else leaves. He lost control of himself tonight because he couldn’t get control of the thread. I started the dust up, and while I’m sorry that Bella got insulted, I’m not sorry he got exposed for what he really is. He’ll be back in a week and unless people ignore him he’ll be hijacking threads.
dogwood
@opiejeanne:
I hope you realize now that by playing the game you are enabling him to drive a lot of other people off. I’ve never been fooled by that asshole, and tonight we got the Ballon Juice version of Nixon’s silent majority.
wasabi gasp
I see Little Boots as a real-life storybook character that squanders his brilliance for joy. I might take issue with that if in the end we weren’t going to all die horrible, painful deaths, but since that isn’t the case, I think he’s just adorable.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hyl7_7moaVg
wasabi gasp
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bo16qG-a9WM
sharl
@dogwood: He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named went to comments over at atrios’ place, which is what I figured he would do. And his behavior there is in keeping with your description. He’s been like this for as long as I can remember (several years at least).
NotMax
@Omes Omnibus
Halle-freaking-lujah.
Late at night on weekends, when the crowd is light and generally more laid back, is one thing.
It gets very, very old, though, when it is thread after thread being hijacked, regardless of content, coupled with the inane lower case burbling and naked link after naked link.
Never could decide if he craves attention, derision or a mix of both.
Mike J
LA Times has picked up the story that the video of Bland’s arrest was edited.
http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-sandra-bland-footage-20150721-htmlstory.html
It’s one thing for some guy in the internet to say it. There may be additional questions asked if the media pays attention.
opiejeanne
@dogwood: Oh sure, blame me for it but I was not alone: Omnes played, so did Steeplejack and BillinGlendale. Do you want to blame them too?
I only noticed him recently, never saw him except late at night on threads that were mostly dead, and it didn’t seem matter if we played with him, and a couple of weeks ago Omnes described him as harmless but annoying, and at that point I joined in.
opiejeanne
@NotMax: Sorry, not all of us know how to change the name of the link.
Randy P
@Amir Khalid: Maybe something along these lines.
From the film The Commitments
Peale
Checking in from steamy India, where I regret not packing handkerchiefs to keep off the sweat. I’ve barely had a chance to check the news since I left last week. Are we still having a primary or is it over?
Amir Khalid
@opiejeanne:
Caligula has little to add to any discussion. I’ve noticed how he steers clear of the more serious threads at BJ. Up until he dropped the C-bomb on Bella Q, he was indeed a harmless annoyance. But I can’t get my head around his neediness, or his need to express it in blog comment threads. They don’t seem like promising places to find relief.
opiejeanne
@Peale: Kasich threw his hat in the ring, and I think the number is up to 17 now but I could be wrong. Trump seems to be ahead in the polls.
opiejeanne
@Amir Khalid: True. I think I only noticed him about a month ago, he was never on any of the late night threads I read, and I am not always here to read every thread.
BillinGlendaleCA
@opiejeanne: It’s 16, If Erlich(?)(former gov of MD) gets in, it’ll be 17.
@opiejeanne: As far as links go: (1) Copy the link’s address, (2) Click the link button above, (2) Paste the link address into the dialog box, (3) Click Enter, (4) Type the text you want to appear, (5) Click on the /link button to close the link.
Anne Laurie
@Amir Khalid: I’m Irish-American, so I always assume it’s the bloggish equivalent of drunk-calling.
Maybe not on a Tuesday night, though.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Anne Laurie: Usually it’s also on an open thread, that makes a big difference. Also I believe, and I think has been admitted, that there might have been a few adult beverages consumed by Caligula.
ETA: I’ve learned over the years, that it’s sometimes a good idea to unplug the keyboard while consuming adult beverages. This, of course, does not apply to me. I have a wireless keyboard and do not consume adult beverages.
opiejeanne
@BillinGlendaleCA: Thank you. I sort of missed the boat when all of my friends were learning how to do it, about 15 years ago. Always meant to, never got around to it.
opiejeanne
@BillinGlendaleCA: I know that Tommy has admitted to consuming a few adult beverages, in those exact words. His spelling and sentences go to heck usually at those times.
opiejeanne
@BillinGlendaleCA: Does it seem as if this is the first time in many years that we haven’t had a solid idea of who the GOP nominee will be?
BillinGlendaleCA
@opiejeanne: Unfortunately, I can no longer use the consumption of adult beverages as an excuse for my poor spelling. I quit drinking 5 years ago. I think Tommy has said that he’s long had problems with spelling, as do I.
Amir Khalid
@opiejeanne:
But no matter how drunk Tommy gets, he never forgets any of his family history. Ever.
OzarkHillbilly
@opiejeanne: 16.
BillinGlendaleCA
@opiejeanne: They do have a wide bench, just with very little depth. I still think it’ll either be JEB! or Walker. If Walker doesn’t do a Rick Perry style OPPS in the first debate, he’ll do well in Iowa. JEB! will probably take NH. Trump will be a non-factor by the time Iowa rolls around(possibly after the first debate).
BillinGlendaleCA
@Amir Khalid: He’s Scottish. We like to talk, I’m only part Scottish. My German part makes me a bit more antisocial and an introvert. God knows what the English part does…
mtiffany
NaN Error: (Signal/Pie) Divide by zero. Value undefined. Little Boots? Little Boots? Bueller? Anyone?
opiejeanne
@Amir Khalid: Ha! True.
opiejeanne
As far as links go: (1) Copy the link’s address, (2) Click the link button above, (2) Paste the link address into the dialog box, (3) Click Enter, (4) Type the text you want to appear, (5) Click on the /link button to close the link
Testing:
Circle of Life
The little dancer in green is my youngest daughter, when she was about 24.
mark
@RK:
I know!! that’s exactly what I thought when I was first told this. but there’s plenty of articles about it
http://m.nydailynews.com/new-york/exclusive-woman-held-psych-ward-obama-twitter-claim-article-1.2159049
satby
@Amir Khalid: LOL. In detail.
Patricia Kayden
@mark: This is crazy! How the hell could something like that happen? That story needs to be more publicized and the city needs to pay her millions for improper detainment and forced medication.
What is going on in this country?
dogwood
@opiejeanne:
I realize it came across as blame; and I’m sorry for that. For years I have kept my mouth shut and politely left every thread when he appears. That’s on Little Boots, and has nothing to do with you or Omnes or anyone else. But he’s been especially annoying for a few months now, and tonight I hit my limit with him. I admit I always hoped people wouldn’t engage with him, but it really doesn’t matter if you walk out or play along. He’s relentless. I’ll give LB credit for one thing though. He the only person who can change the subject of a thread without having and interesting or even coherent thought on the matter.
dogwood
@opiejeanne:
I realize it came across as blame and I’m sorry. For years I’ve walked out as soon as he walked in, but I don’t think it matters if you leave or play along. He’s relentless. He’s been especially annoying lately, so I lost my patience and my temper. Also too, I get much more aggravated with him when I’m reading a thread rather than than commenting.
satby
@dogwood: I think most of us leave the thread as soon as he starts. Amazingly, those threads end up being really long with only 4-5 people commenting anyway, but they usually have fun. Just not my cup of tea.
raven
@dogwood: The dude’s a fucking punk, what’s new?
opiejeanne
@dogwood: Ok, thanks.
Years? He’s been here for years? How have I missed him all this time?
J R in WV
I always thought he was a harmless goofball, until he suddenly went abusive, in a very serious thread. Good that John shut it down, he was way over the line.
I also hate those naked links – I can’t do videos with my connection, too much buffering through the sat systems… if it’s just stupid music videos, no big deal. I would like to be able to see the edited video the Texas cops released for myself, even though I wouldn’t click on it.
That kind of stuff upsets me too much these days!