A Tale of Two Push Alerts pic.twitter.com/yZGplrJ3TL
— Alex Fitzpatrick (@AlexJamesFitz) June 17, 2017
Ah, summer!…
Apart from #StillResisting, what’s on the agenda as we start another week?
Mitch McConnell wants a health care vote by July 4. That makes this a crucial weekhttps://t.co/2D1kNcSQVG
— Axios (@axios) June 18, 2017
Mitch McConnell refuses to meet with the March of Dimes on the GOP health care bill https://t.co/24SpuHY5gs pic.twitter.com/LQwxdjbaHp
— #Resist (@ZaibatsuNews) June 18, 2017
You know the drill —
The toolkit can:
– help you write a letter to the editor
– sends a fax to your senator
– leave Voicemail/callhttps://t.co/mYTkAgC2ni— igorvolsky (@igorvolsky) June 17, 2017
And finally, some useful advice:
On writing when the world is ending
and there is much to be angry about: Go to work. pic.twitter.com/680cDHoH40— laura olin (@lauraolin) June 19, 2017
rikyrah
Good Morning,Everyone???
ThresherK
“Helicopter to the Hamptons for me, but not for thee”, sounds like the ne plus ultra Tragedy of the White Commons.
I wonder how the help gets there. Trebuchet?
—
ETA: Good morning, Rikyrah! Our town outdoor pool will have its “preseason” opening today, in the middle of Connecticut.
When I was young, my siblings and I would go into the water of Long Island Sound until Mom said “Your lips are turning blue. Time to get out!”
Baud
@rikyrah: Good morning.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@ThresherK: Rich people don’t care how the help gets there; though if they’re not there, they’re fired. Wealthy communities hate public transportation because “those people” use it an will come to their city.
ETA: See, I mention “those people” and Baud shows up.
Baud
@ThresherK:
What do you think is causing all the traffic?
Baud
@?BillinGlendaleCA: I bet you wish you had a helicopter now. ?
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Baud: The Prius was sufficient to get to The Hills last night for dinner(yum, yum).
Baud
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Nice.
ThresherK
@?BillinGlendaleCA: “Fired (out of a cannon)?”
Oh, of course with public transport not letting “those people” get to “our places”, even if the latter is “the good mall”*.
(*My sample size is one: Savannah GA in the late ’80s, whose native daughter, giving me the tour of the city, described the rush-hour there as lasting for about 15 minutes.)
NobodySpecial
@ThresherK: Don’t be silly, the help lives onsite in the servant’s quarters, which were built in the late 18th century.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Baud: The kid took me out for prime rib. We went to where the Rose Bowl teams have the “Beef Bowl” a few days before the Rose Bowl game. They compete on who can eat the most prime rib.
Mustang Bobby
Good morning everyone.
According to Dorothy Parker, the two most beautiful words in the English language are “Cheque enclosed.” Thank you, MadLab Theatre of Columbus, Ohio.
ThresherK
@Baud: The traffic is caused by proles like me who drive out there to wander into the shops we simply do not belong in.
Oh, and faulty trebuchet aiming, so occaisionally the help lands not in the net, but in a road.
Baud
Oooh, GMA called the latest London thing terrorism. Baby steps.
Baud
@ThresherK: Have you no shame?
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Baud:
Asking that of someone who reads and comments here?
Baud
@?BillinGlendaleCA: I have no shame.
My presidential ambitions should have made that clear.
Steeplejack
Laura Olin: “Keep clocking in.” Words to live by.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Baud: You are correct, sir.
Steeplejack
@rikyrah:
Good morning to you!
ThresherK
@Baud: I’m glad you’re not waiting til the last minute to focus-group bumper-stickers.
bystander
@ThresherK:
Funny you should mention it. In the old days, there were plenty of year-rounders to provide cleaning, cooking, yardwork, etc. They’ve all sold their two bedroom bungalows for $3,000,000 and retired to Florida. Now, the really wealthy bring their staffs from Manhattan and everybody lives in.
I also noted that the coastal washouts in California have shut down wonderful Ventana Inn. Luckily Post Ranch Inn is still open and offers round trip helicopter transport from Monterey and 4 nights, all meals included, for $4,000, I think.
ETA: Take that, Evergreen State University!
Immanentize
@ThresherK:
Baud
I feel like the weather people are using more red in their radar maps to frighten us.
PaulWartenberg
Finishing up a vacation trip to Chicago, flying back to Tampa this afternoon
Baud
@Immanentize: Excellent. Latino outreach is very important.
danielx
Good morning, rikyrah.
Spent Fathers Day repainting the beams and ceiling of the back porch, which somehow seems a very dad-like thing to do. Since the ceiling in particular hadn’t been painted since 1996, I suppose it was high time, and it does look better. Besides, I was informed it needed to be done before the daughter unit’s Harry Potter birthday party next weekend. From which I plan to be absent if at all possible (actual birthday was June 5th). After visiting Universal Orlando week before last, I don’t really want to hear or see anything Potter-related for a year or two. Or five.
Speaking of the daughter unit, her arguments in favor of taking in two new residents in the form of kittens (gulp) have carried the day, so a trip to an adoption event at the state fairgrounds next weekend is in the offing. Two, because it’s marginally less likely that Zoey the Menace will be able to wipe out a team of kittens who are considerably more agile than she is, even with her weight loss program. Plus there’s that kitten ability to levitate out of danger. I have not had being a kitten wrangler (again) on my bucket list but hey, new challenges are good, right?
I have voted for Ivan and Omar if it’s two males, Boris and Natasha if it’s a male and female. Suggestions for two females? (No, Ivanka and Melania are not allowed.)
danielx
@Baud:
This is Balloon Juice; is that supposed to be a question?
Quinerly
OT: We’ll see if an old dog can learn new behavior! Poco starts an intensive 15 day doggie training/boot camp in a few minutes. Since we spent so much time together on that 6 week driving trip in NM, AZ, and Utah…and the 4 weeks in NC when I was working on cleaning out my family home, Poco has picked up some bad habits and a severe case of separation anxiety that has become destructive…and perhaps dangerous for him. We tried a couple of days last week at the doggie daycare to give me a break and for him to meet other people and other doggies. He seemed to love it. Would love to hear some good experiences that you guys have had with breaking the separation anxiety cycle in older dogs. We have been struggling for two weeks. Have a great day. Updates later if you would like. Just ask!
Quinerly
Long Poco post just eaten. Help!
ThresherK
@bystander: Well, it wasn’t by happenstance. The town I grew up in has become one of those places where the influx of rich people commuting to NYC have pushed up the property taxes such that many inheritors can’t afford to live in the free homes their dead parents left them.
And my hometown ain’t the Hamptons. Not nearly as fancy, touristy, and doesn’t (largely) empty out in the late fall a la Provincetown and the Outer Cape.
Sab
@Quinerly: By Poco?
Kristine
@rikyrah: Good morning! ☕️
Morning dog-walking time through the state park with folks I met via Sierra Club/local political activity. There were other progressives in this conservative town all the while–I finally found them.
Also, I’m participating in the Clarion West Write-a-thon this year. Clarion is a highly-regarded writers workshop-slash-institution in the speculative fiction community, and the write-a-thon is their primary fundraiser. I know we all get bombarded with pleas for donations, but if you like the idea of supporting a program that helps develop writers, consider pledging. The write-a-thon runs until July 28.
PS–yes, you could sponsor me if you wish. Pledge page here.
Cermet
The height of real insanity is anyone who can say they think that there is any possibility at all – at all – of a North Korean missile killing them; do they live in Soul or something because in the US that is impossible and will be for a good while – ignoring the ridiculous idea they would ever attack the US directly. This person is unhinged.
AS for hunger by children (and adults) in Amerika, not exactly new news nor that the rich waste money on ridiculous costs while amassing ever more wealth from the middle class and poor causing these people to lose more ground
Steeplejack
@danielx:
Charlotte and Emily (as in Brontë)?
Can’t think of a pair of girls from Harry Potter.
Steeplejack
@Quinerly:
Do we really have to ask?! Updates, please.
satby
@rikyrah: Good morning, happy Monday! ?
satby
@PaulWartenberg: I hope you enjoyed your stay! I love my city, even though I currently live in exile.
Betty Cracker
@Steeplejack: Padma and Parvati Patel — the sisters who double-dated with Harry and Ron at the Yule Ball in Goblet of Fire.
bystander
@ThresherK: If you’re talking about one of the middle-class enclaves that surround NYC, isn’t a lot of the driving cost school district taxes? Some towns in NJ that once were strictly middle- and working-class neighborhoods have such huge property taxes funding their school districts that only relatively wealthy people can live there.
You find these people now living in Sullivan County, NY, and Pike County, PA, and commuting 2 hours each way to NYC.
danielx
@Betty Cracker:
Where were you when the HP trivia questions were being compiled? And great memory, but Potter-related names are not allowed either.
Quinerly
OK, Poco post back! Pretty self explanatory. Curious if people have had any luck with professional training of older dogs? (He’s 8). I trust this place and I like the program..they pretty much train the dog first, then the owner. Bottom line, Poco has become very destructive when I leave him…starting with the basement wall in his basement room two weeks ago. Plus he destroyed a very nice Kong crate in a week. He seemed happy when I just left him. It is his grooming place and he did spend two solid days last week in the daycare part. As long as I wasn’t around, he wasn’t doggie aggressive. Added bonus if they can break him of that. Thanks for listening.?
Betty Cracker
@danielx: My daughter is a Potter nut too, and we have an annual Potter movie marathon. Give me a shout next time! :)
Betty Cracker
My favorite reaction to Caitlyn Jenner’s profoundly stupid comment on the baseball practice shooting:
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
@Steeplejack: Padma and Parvati. Narcissa and Bellatrix.
Patricia Kayden
@Kristine: Good for you, Kristine! I see that we have another author in our midst. BJ is a very bright community. Love it!
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
@danielx: How about Angelica and Eliza?
*ducks*
Patricia Kayden
@Cermet: You’re right that NK doesn’t have the ability to hit anywhere in the U.S. with nuclear rockets right now but I do wonder how S Koreans feel about Trump egging on the NK dictator as they may suffer a world of hurt if Kim Jong-un decides to lash out against them.
amk
@Betty Cracker: Mine was this.
what a dick.
Elizabelle
@Quinerly: Good luck Poco (and Q). May Poco be a good student. Keep us posted.
He’s probably wondering when you will take him on another road trip. You are slacking on your driving responsibilities.
Patricia Kayden
@Betty Cracker: While it took courage for Jenner to do what she did when it comes to publicly transitioning from male to female, I never liked her when she was Bruce and I can’t stand her now that she’s Caitlin. It’s interesting that being part of the LGBT community hasn’t softened her stance on supporting the GOP given the GOP’s open hostility towards that community. But I guess, she has surmised that as a wealthy, White transgender woman, she has risen above any harm that GOP policies cause the LGBT community to suffer.
Iowa Old Lady
@Quinerly: Our dog who was about that age responded well to an obedience class I took him to. Separation problems are hard though. My son’s rescue dog ate large chunks of their woodwork when they left. She had other anxiety problems too and they wound up giving her doggie tranquilizers.
Raoul
Gotta dash to catch a flight. But, with Andy Slavitt saying AHCA vote around July 4, and new rumors of the Senate bill being even worse on Medicaid, here’s my prediction/nightmare:
The Senate passes this horror and Trump signs it. As people freak out, the House starts impeachment proceedings. Every oxygen molecule in D.C. is absorbed in the highest of high stakes drama, and AHCA resistance is incredibly difficult to organize (and they can blame Trump for the law, and say “it’s passed now, what can we do?”).
Gaaaaaah!
Baud
@amk:
FWIW, I don’t. At least not her specifically.
danielx
@Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism:
Nice, but no.
amk
@Baud: But she is the one that skates on that liberal wave.
Kay
I’ve been looking at state-level reporting to try to see what state officials know about the Bloomberg report that “39” states were infiltrated. That number (so far) looks really doubtful, although it’s possible it happened and states simply weren’t notified by Homeland Security – although why some states would be notified and others would not is a mystery. It looks like Illinois got some sort of warning, for example, but not Wisconsin.
It’s muddied up by the fact that security contractors exaggerate the threat to voting systems in order to win expensive contracts.
What baffles me about this is what they would have stolen with hacking because it was incursions like stealing the password that pollworkers use. If a (lowly) pollworker has the password it’s not a “secret” database- pollworkers don’t get access to something like that. The only thing I can think of is day-of election “updates” pollworkers get on voter rolls. They get information on who has already voted absentee and they get (new) voter reg updates so they can update “the poll book” – the “poll book” is the list they use to verify the new voter is registered. It’s like the master list for a precinct or polling station but it’s not in any way super-secret and I’m not sure what one would do with the information anyway, even if one set out to use it maliciously.
Another Scott
@Baud: NPR on the news this AM said that the UK authorities decided it was terrorism “8 minutes” after they arrived. It’s good they had all their ducks in a row before making their announcements.
Here’s hoping they are as aggressive about investigating this as they are in attacks by those with foreign ties…
:-(
Cheers,
Scott.
D58826
This isn’t going to end well.
On the other hand we can all sleep more soundly because Jared is heading to Stockholm to pick up his Peace Prize for solving the Arab-Israeli dispute. He will then head to the ME so that Bibbi and Abbas can autograph the trophy. They will also take some numbered limited edition (only 1 trillion available so hurry to get yours) ‘suitable for framing numbered’ photos that will be sold to benefit the Trump Family Grift Charity.
Yoda Dog
@danielx: Sasha and Malia.
You’re welcome.
raven
@Quinerly: Crate him, they love to anyway.
Quinerly
@Another Scott:
I sleep with BBC on. It was reporting it as terrorism all night long.
Steeplejack
@Betty Cracker:
Oh, yeah! I need to reread those books.
Laura
@Quinerly: sending a bucket load of good luck to Poco.
Chet, the slightly used weinie dog, has eased off the anxiety solely due to having our across the street neighbor having extended invitation to spend the day with her pooches and her friend’s.
But if we’re home, he sits outside the bathroom keening and whimpering like I’m climbing out the window and pulling a runner.
Not sure if it’s common in abandoned dogs who are rescued and then form a strong bond with their gals, but Chet had previously ripped the curtains down -and I figured would have dismantled the house, if he’d not found an outlet in doggy day care.
Good luck Quinnerly and Poco.
Quinerly
@raven:
Kong crate destroyed in 3 hours. I thought they were the best. Any other suggestions? Brands?
Steeplejack
@Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism:
Okay, okay. I’m going back for remedial reading.
Immanentize
@danielx: How about “Fella” and “Ursula” who will stay in step? George of the Jungle.
Gator90
@Betty Cracker: My daughters are obsessed with HP. (They fight over who gets to be Hermione when they play pretend.) I’m taking a break from obsessing about politics to obsess about UF baseball (it’s that time of year).
Cermet
@D58826: Seriously doubt the official statement by Russian government says that; that would be rather a-typical and crossing a line the Russian’s have never done. Be fantastic if true and they do it so 1) tRump defends mother-russia to keep his cash safe 2) the thugs in congress justify tRumps statements 3) we go medieval on the Syrian defense force 4) We discover that the middle east isn’t for us to police and tRump pulls our forces back to further protect his cash in russia.
amk
It will be interesting to see what the youngest french leader does with this mandate, especially since the traditional parties were completely routed.
Sab
@Kay: Shiny object to distract from voter suppression via the ID laws and Crosscheck?
tybee
@ThresherK:
it’s at least half an hour now.
Le Comte de Monte Cristo fka Edmund Dantes
OT – So I met my new kitten (oldest daughter’s boyfriend is keeping him until I get youngest daughter’s cat updated on shots – we’re cat sitting for two months). Little guy may be 5-6 weeks old, is emaciated and was dehydrated when he got taken in by the person who found him. Constantly hungry and obsessed with his bowl, so food has to be rationed.
Another Scott
@danielx: Sherri and Terri (Mackleberry)
hehe.
Cheers,
Scott.
rikyrah
@Quinerly:
Go Poco!!
Cheryl Rofer
@Kay: Thanks. Looking forward to hearing more from your investigation.
Quinerly
@Laura:
Thanks for the kind words. I’m feeling good this AM that we will get a handle on this. I have to be hopeful. He’s lucky to have a Mom who is semi retired and works from home. The main problem is I haven’t been able to leave him for 10 days until doggie daycare last week. Oppressively hot outside and all dogs before him and Poco until recently loved the cool basement dog room. Now when he’s in it he destroys the dividing wall to get to the other side and up the interior steps…then it’s party, party, party in the house if I’m not here. He’s damaged that door. In trying to now keep him out of the basement, he destroyed the pull down doggie door. And there was the crate incident last Tuesday. We are going to the vet Wed. Due for his shots. I also want him looked at for anything I’m missing.
Betty Cracker
@Gator90: Yes, I’ve been following the baseball action as time allows! :) I think my daughter’s HP obsession really got her into reading in a big way when she was very young. She’s 18 now and still loves HP to distraction.
rikyrah
@Baud:
Even though the victims were Muslim?
Baby steps indeed.
OF COURSE IT WAS TERRORISM.
Will Dolt45 tweet anything about it?
Quinerly
Ok. Reply comment to sweet Laura eaten. What’s up?
Patricia Kayden
@D58826: What qualifies Jared for such an important task at which diplomats and seasoned politicians have failed in the past? This is so bizarre.
rikyrah
@danielx:
May I ask what you’re going to do- party favor-wise, for a Potter themed party?
Patricia Kayden
@Raoul:
The Republican-controlled House starts impeaching their own President? Um, no. Not going to happen.
MomSense
@Quinerly:
Poco does not want you to air his dirty laundry here
Betty Cracker
@Kay: I was disappointed the Bloomberg story didn’t get more traction. I’m hoping reporters are doing a deep dive on the questions you raised and will come up with some answers. It’s a pity that real journalism (as opposed to blow-dried Beltway nitwits on TV) is facing an existential crisis at the very moment it is needed most.
rikyrah
@Steeplejack:
Hermoine and Jenny
Keith P.
I haven’t had any coffee, so maybe I was half dreaming this, but I’m watching Morning Joe (I don’t understand how Mika can stand the guy for more than her on-air role requires) and I see an ad for Joe Scarborough’s new EP “Mystified”. The ad is a profile of him with an electric guitar that looked like him trying to be Joe Satriani. I’m pretty sure I can guess how the album sounds, but I may stomach a preview just to confirm my bias.
rikyrah
@Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism:
HOLLERING…
Just get a third cat and call her Peggy…
BWA HA AH AH HA HAH A AH
sherparick
@ThresherK: Now we know why Governor Cumo has no more fucks to give about the Subway and Mass Transportation in New York. All his hedge fund and private equity friends just tell him “traffic, what traffic – although the helicopters do get a little crowded on the approach.”
Answer to CNN, 13 million families struggle to feed their children because that is the policy the Republican Congress and if Paul Ryan gets his way, we should get to 20 million in the next 4 years – Making America Great Again (at kicking those at the bottom).
Betty Cracker
@Quinerly: I fished both out of the trash bin. I have no idea why they would be directed there; you didn’t use any forbidden words, AFAIK.
Quinerly
@MomSense:
He is proud. Poco did like it when he was the star of “On the Road.” I bet everyone thought he was perfect.?
Kay
@Sab:
Oh, no I don’t think that. I don’t think it was a deliberate distraction. I think it maybe comes from broad reporting that isn’t informed by knowing how state voting systems work- how really it’s just lists of voters that are updated constantly.
There’s no super-secret info to be had in those lists. The document that Reality Winner released to the Intercept talks about “phishing”- that’s where the would be thief would send an email to an elections official that is supposedly from, say, an elections systems contractor but is not from the contractor but is instead from the thief. But there’s NO set of circumstances where election officials can change or alter a vote total once the vote is in the database- they don’t have the capacity to “erase” votes. They would have an immediate problem if they did that and the problem is the poll book- the physical, tangible record of voters who checked in. The numbers have to match. The electronic total has to match the paper sign-in record. That’s like Elections 101. They can’t go home unless that number comes out. They can’t produce a poll book with 1000 signatures and then an electronic record with 800 votes or 1100 votes. That would be flagged immediately, the night of the election.
Quinerly
@Betty Cracker:
Thanks. I’m on the Windows smarty pants phone. I notice more problems when I’m posting from it.
Matt McIrvin
@Kay:
I have to say, this particular detail incites the conspiracy theorist in me. In Illinois, of course, it wouldn’t matter much.
Kathleen
@danielx: Thelma and Louise?
Immanentize
@Patricia Kayden:
Well, Trump thinks this is just a big real estate deal. And Trump has also heard that Jared is, y’know, a Jew. Although he is a Lubavitcher.
When I lived in Miami, the Lubavitch prostyletized among the professional Jewish set of mostly secular lawyers and doctors. They were pretty successful, too.
Adria McDowell (formerly Lurker Extraordinaire
@bystander: It’s been that way for a long time. I grew up in next door Ulster County, NY, and went to school with kids whose parents either commuted two hours both ways every day, or spent Monday thru Friday in the city. According to friends who still live in the area, the closest place to NYC with affordable homes is somewhere north of Saratoga Springs. Don’t know how true that is.
Steeplejack
@rikyrah:
Okay, it should be clear by now that I didn’t spend any time thinking of girl pairs from Harry Potter. Damn my pointless conversation fillers!
Spanky
Just had an email drop in my spam folder from “Facebook” titled “3 Messages That Must Be Read Rightfully”. Yeah, that’s legit.
There’s always something entertaining about these phishers so long as English is not their native language.
(I also note that Chrome does not flag “phisher” as misspelled. )
ThresherK
@bystander: I would guess that’s a big part of it. (No kids here, so I really haven’t looked at real estate like that.)
Quinerly
@Kathleen:
Fuck Susan Sarandon. I’m always looking for an excuse to say that. Feels so good.
D58826
@Patricia Kayden: My guess is proximity to the Great Orange One. Even for such a Great One, making America great again is a full time job so he delegates the rest of the world to the kids. Jared gets the ME, Ivanka gets China and the boys the rest of the world.
But 30 hours since the Navy announced the loss of the Fitzgerald crewmen and 12 hours since the white nationalist attack on the London Mosque and twitter silence from Der Fuhrer. But Melania likes Camp David. Glad it was the GOP Ike that gave it that name. Otherwise they would be taking bids on how much to charge for renaming it to Trump Forest.
Steeplejack
@Keith P.:
She’s the Patty Hearst of cable news. She’s got Stockholm syndrome so bad I can’t believe she doesn’t have a Swedish accent.
Immanentize
@D58826: or
Forest Trump.
Quinerly
I don’t like the sound of this. A lot of damage can be done: http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/338220-gop-considers-cancelling-august-recess-to-salvage-agenda
Kay
@Sab:
For a voter fraud scheme to work you would need co-conspirators, and you would need a lot of them- an army of people. You would need someone on the ground at the county level to alter (or omit) the paper record because that record exists. It doesn’t go away no matter what the electronic record says. The two tallies have to match.
I’m reading this book about Bonnie and Clyde. They were really pretty inept criminals. The difference between them and successful criminals of that era was the successful criminals had corrupted systems. They paid off local law enforcement and they paid off bank employees. That’s how they robbed banks w/out getting caught. The less well-connected criminals were caught almost immediately. The difference was having someone on the inside of the system. That’s what a vote scheme where the thief intended to alter results would need.
Immanentize
@Quinerly: I think the key word there is “considers.”. I put that on the highly unlikely list. Too many villas already rented in Italy y’know.
Amir Khalid
@Patricia Kayden:
It’s like Trump doesn’t even know there’s a State Department full of Middle East experts and diplomats, isn’t it? Jared is of course the son-in-law who also rises.
Raven Onthill
I read the news today oh boy.
“There are one dead and ten injured in the London van attack…
“In Seattle, Charleena Lyles, an African-American woman, called the police on a burglar and was shot by the police…
“In DC, 17-year-old Muslim girl assaulted and killed after leaving Virginia mosque…”
We have gone cray-cray.
Immanentize
@Kay: But one doesn’t need a vast conspiracy to mess with the voter database or registration systems.
Kathleen
@danielx: Thelma and Louise?@Quinerly: Oh, hell. I forgot Susan Sarandon starred in that movie. There are a few others I could add to my own list as well.
Quinerly
Interesting Politico read. CIA Director Pompeo has to meet Trump daily at the WH. Commerce Secretary practically lives at the WH: http://www.politico.com/story/2017/06/19/trump-cabinet-white-house-239691
Kathleen
@D58826: Or Ivankaville.
MomSense
@Quinerly:
Puppy pax – il?
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
@Raven Onthill:
Quinerly
@Kathleen:
She was my favorite actress for a long time. Fuck Susan Sarandon.
danielx
All suggestions (aside from the Potter thing) have merit, but still not quite right.
D58826
@Kay: I wonder if, at the very least, :
1. Testing to see what they can and can’t do in future elections. You are the BJ expert on the mechanics of the election process but since Putin has the time/money and expertise I’m sure they will continue to probe for a way around the checks and balances that you describe. It doesn’t mean he will succeed but he doesn’t have any pesky bookkeepers reminding him that he is over budget.
2. grabbing what ever info they can to help target the fake news/social media that they did do. Since both the D’s and R’s spend billions on election advertising to try and influence the voters, it would make sense that the Russians would try to do the same. Might be easier to influence a voter than physically change his vote.
Kay
@Matt McIrvin:
It maybe shouldn’t though because reading between the lines on what the Wisconsin state official said, he is doing that thing they do where he says “we have to communicate better” which you’ll recall they do after every security fuck-up, ever.
It could just as easily be Illinois got it and passed it down the chain, took it seriously, and some other states just put it in the “Homeland Security is raising flags, again” file. We don’t have anything to compare it to. Maybe they raise flags all the time. They’re Homeland Security. I imagine they watch elections systems like they watch everything else.
We don’t know anything and this happened a year ago, but I would bet 50 dollars the “39 states” is exaggerated/incomplete/out of context info.
Kathleen
@Raven Onthill: Final arguments in Tensing’s trial today. I am praying for justice for the Dubose family.
rikyrah
@Quinerly:
Those clowns actually work?
Are you kidding me?
Quinerly
@MomSense:
I guess you are referring to drugs? Not big on that but I did get a prescription from the Dr. for a correct dosage of Xanax, hoping it would take the edge off….(for him, not me) That’s the day he destroyed the crate after I dosed him.
Steeplejack
@Immanentize:
Are you kidding? The Freedom Caucus doesn’t leave the States. Too many foreigners over there!
But, yeah, beach house at Padre Island, hunting kidnapped homeless people at an oligarch’s huge ranch in Montana, etc.
Spanky
Meanwhile, back here in the land of opportunity (WaPo):
D58826
@Raven Onthill:
London police now officially calling it a terrorist attack on Muslims.
There is a vid on Twitter showing the crowd holding on the driver and an Imam making sure emotions do not get out of hand. I wonder if the situation was reversed would a Christian crowd lead by say Jerry Falwell Jr or Franklin Graham show as much restraint?
Quinerly
Now I’m in moderation for responding to Momsense. I’m done.
rikyrah
@Raven Onthill:
Terrorist attack.
Terrorism by police. She was killed in front of her CHILDREN.
This is the second of such stories in less than a month – Black people calling the police because they had caught someone in their home, and THEY wind up being shot. The other story was in Ohio.
Don’t know yet if it was a hate crime.
rikyrah
@Quinerly:
Maddow pointed out – how come Pompeo isn ‘t being called to testify about Comey.
Kay
@D58826:
Absolutely. That’s I think what they’re alleging. That the data was used to influence voters. But a lot of what they would use to influence voters is a public record. In Ohio you can go to a polling place and read a list of voters who have already voted. They have to post it periodically pursuant to state law. It’s a transparency check on fraud- not voter fraud, but corrupt local official fraud. The local officials wound’t be trying to turn a national result. The concern is they would turn a LOCAL result.-
city council, something like that. Campaigns go down there physically and use the list for GOTV day-of. It isn’t secret.
Steeplejack
@danielx:
Betty and Veronica. Ginger and Mary Ann. Laverne and Shirley. Kate and Allie. Two Broke Girls. Wait, what?
rikyrah
@Spanky:
I wanna know why it’s not being qualified as a hate crime.
Kathleen
@Quinerly: Me, too. Now I’m boycotting anything she appears in.
Jeffro
@Kay:
I’m thinking that if The Bad Guys know throughout the day which infrequent-GOP voters haven’t shown up yet, especially later in the afternoon, they can then pretty safely add in those votes on the “R” column. It doesn’t even have to be a lot to tip the balance – it sure didn’t take much in PA, WI, and MI. That’s the kind of thing you could use ‘updates from the poll book’ to help you win.
Cheryl Rofer
@Quinerly: Comment released.
Steeplejack
@Quinerly:
It might help to get out of Balloon Juice, close your browser and then delete the cookies on your smarty phone. (Only the Balloon Juice ones, if you have that option.) That has been known to work in the past.
ETA: Oops, might have to reopen the browser to delete cookies.
Steeplejack
@Kay:
Just a thought: If you got a hacked list of voters, it might be pretty easy to link them to their various social media accounts and then let loose the bots of war to influence, (mis)inform, harangue and harass them that way.
Immanentize
@rikyrah: I can think of lots of reasons — suspect is also Muslim and attends the same mosque? That this is a boyfriend – girlfriend crime i.e. domestic violence? There are other possibilities. But hate crime is certainly one possibility not knowing anything but the identity of the victim.
Kay
@D58826:
So say the foreign “thief” had a list of what they determined to be likely Trump voters. They could turn those people out with internet “pushes” – Facebook bullshit or the rest. I bet there were Trump “influencers” locally- people in local areas who were big on passing along Right wing conspiracy who could be used to “push” other Trump voters to come out. The reason they’re credible is they’re LOCAL. So it’s like “oh, this is this real estate agent we know who is proclaiming Hillary Clinton has child sex slaves”. Maybe they used voter lists to find those people. If you had the influencers name you could connect that person to a precinct or county and then cross-match the influencer to a group of voters in each state. My point is legit campaigns could do that too, and with the same information. They wouldn’t have to steal it. It’s available.
rikyrah
@Immanentize:
looked at the name of the ‘alleged’ killer – did not sound Muslim.
Does seem to be Hispanic. Are they under the delusion that Hispanics can’t hate Muslims?
rikyrah
President Emmanuel Macron’s Republic on the Move! party dominates French parliamentary elections. https://t.co/rEs6BBh67B pic.twitter.com/iU50sHbI2p
— ABC News (@ABC) June 18, 2017
rikyrah
The Navy has released names of the 7 sailors who died in Fitzgerald collision; youngest was 19 years old. RIP pic.twitter.com/j3DdZfK2Q8
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) June 18, 2017
rikyrah
TRUMPCARE ALERT
This week undecided Senators will be making up their minds.
THIS. IS. IT. https://t.co/VRlFgKHs2T
— Topher Spiro (@TopherSpiro) June 18, 2017
Immanentize
@Kay: This is why a hack of Willer’s db would be so valuable. A large group of nationalized supporters (avoiding the local aspect) who could be discouraged from voting for the Democrat.
Spanky
Oh look! Another poser opinionating in the WaPo:
This will end well.
ETA: The commenters are uniformly calling him an idiot, FWIW. Mostly because he is.
rikyrah
THIS IS IT. FIND YOUR STATE, CALL YOUR SENATOR, TELL THEM TO VOTE NO ON #Trumpcare (#AHCA): https://t.co/gU8T3WkRjN https://t.co/Ys5qAOLgRK pic.twitter.com/5P2x9GVzw0
— ☪️ Charles Gaba ✡️ (@charles_gaba) June 19, 2017
rikyrah
1. Putin plays the long game-he’s done with Trump. Has been for a while. It may not seem evident now-but it will soon. It was about creating
— Claude Taylor (@TrueFactsStated) June 19, 2017
2. chaos. He has. The Republicans should be afraid of what comes next. Very afraid.
— Claude Taylor (@TrueFactsStated) June 19, 2017
Immanentize
@rikyrah: I had a Muslim friend in New York whose name was Bob Jones. We gave him a lot of shit about that.
Kay
@Jeffro:
Right, but you don’t have to steal that. So what they would have to prove is some foreign agent accessed US info to do a GOTV, which is bad and probably illegal but not an elaborate incursion into secure systems because anyone could do it. If I had enough people I could do it and I could do it without stealing anything. So the key isn’t really “incursion” it’s “foreign” – the identity and motive of the person accessing information is the key, not the method.
I’m not really commenting on the “collusion” investigation with Trump. I’m looking at what happened to election systems. The “collusion” thing is obviously a huge problem for Donald Trump, but “election tampering” is much bigger than Trump and his low quality hires and whatever sleaze they were up to.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Helicopters to the Hamptons as the Senate is about pass, through norm-shattering secrecy, tax-cut bill that will gut health care for millions of people, and Republicans in GA are crowing out loud that the shooting last week is bringing their peeps home to Handel.
Well, another great start to the week.
Quinerly
@Steeplejack:
Thanks. I gotta get some work done anyway. Maybe the gods are telling me to get to Lowe’s and get what I need for Poco proofing the basement. Haven’t been in moderation since using the word “p*nis” back in the summer. Is “X*nax” an off limits word? This is such a quaint, polite place, it probably is. (BTW, Fuck Susan Sarandon)?
rikyrah
BUT BUT BUT
It was gonna be the CRIMINALS….REMEMBER?
Young boy holds on to his Mom while law enforcement tries to take her away for Immigration laws ? pic.twitter.com/lOT9VCZGoT
— Hip Hops Revival (@hiphopsrevival) June 17, 2017
WereBear
@danielx: Thelma and Louise.
rikyrah
Watching different videos on Facebook makes it obvious that the fire in London wasn’t just tragic, but devastating.
Like HUNDREDS of people dead devastating.
They are playing with those people, not releasing a list of the victims. It’s like pouring salt on their pain.
This is a political philosophy that wound up getting those people killed.
rikyrah
Fmr. US ambassador to NATO says unpredictability of Trump administration may open opportunities for opponents https://t.co/uHL5yRCLc2 pic.twitter.com/lx2zSR3XJ0
— ABC News (@ABC) June 19, 2017
Another Scott
@D58826: Yup. They were hoovering up everything they could and figuring out afterwards what they could do with it, is my take. How much they were able to actually implement, and what effect it had, is something that needs to be investigated very, very carefully.
Cheers,
Scott.
Kathleen
@Spanky: FFS. The “good guys who were armed”* were trained police officers.
*Sub-text to Collins’ tweet, “Only reason blah people who were armed were good guys is because they were defending white male Republicans”.
Kathleen
@rikyrah: Funny you should post that. That very thought crossed my mind this morning long before I saw your comment!
Kay
@Jeffro:
I guess the question for me is the question that’s always in play re: security. How much security can one have in a system that has to have some measure of transparency because the transparency is a FORM of security. Posting the lists of people who have voted is a transparency check on local official corruption. You could HAVE a really secure election system but if you did that you’d have to close off a lot of what is now public record and that leaves it vulnerable to “inside job” corruption.
Just think about “election observers”. To be one (I have been one) in Ohio you file an entry with the county court and then sign an affidavit and present that to the precinct official. We used to file the entries individually but then Democrats got better at so they file for us as a group. That’s so there’s accountability for me. If I harass a voter they have my name and info. We’re all watching each other :)
It’s like “ballot security” with the GOP. We could ASSURE there is no voter fraud, ever, but we would knock out a lot of lawful voters. It’s a balance between access and security. Liberal voting people are…liberal. They protect access and they bake in some risk to do that.
Another Scott
@Quinerly: Have you considered putting up a web camera to see what exactly he does when you’re not there? E.g. some dogs go nuts within a minute after the owner leaves, so maybe you can slowly break him by leaving for a minute, coming back, disrupting the routine, and extending the time. The main thing, I think, is to come up with some other distraction/activity that is more rewarding than the destruction.
My dad has a metal wire box in his basement for his dog when they go out for the evening, etc. Kinda like this. I don’t think there’s any way a dog could destroy that…
Good luck!
Cheers,
Scott.
(“Sophie hated thunderstorms…”)
the Conster, la Citoyenne
@danielx:
Patsy and Eddie (AbFab)
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
@danielx: Sugar and Spice.
rikyrah
Team Trump looks for nuance in the words ‘under investigation’
06/19/17 08:00 AM—UPDATED 06/19/17 08:08 AM
By Steve Benen
The news last week was stunning and historic: the special counsel’s investigation into the Russia scandal now includes “an examination of whether President Trump attempted to obstruct justice.” It makes Donald Trump only the third sitting American president ever to face a federal probe from the Justice Department.
Responding to the multiple news outlets that reported the developments, Trump complained on Twitter, “I am being investigated for firing the FBI Director by the man who told me to fire the FBI Director!” The statement seemed to represent a not-so-subtle shot at Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, but it also seemed to confirm the underlying story.
Or so we thought. As Rachel noted on Friday’s show, the White House balked soon after, arguing that just because the president wrote, “I am being investigated,” it doesn’t mean he’s being investigated.
If that wasn’t confusing enough, things got worse yesterday. Jay Sekulow, best known for his role as the head of TV preacher Pat Robertson’s legal group, appeared on several Sunday shows in his capacity as a leading member of Trump’s defense team. He repeatedly insisted the president is not being investigated and Friday’s tweet was intended to paraphrase media accounts. (This is not the first time Trump World said it’s the media’s fault the president used words the White House didn’t want him to use.)
But Sekulow’s case took a strange turn during an interview with Fox News’ Chris Wallace: I bolded the phrase that stood out as especially problematic:
When the host noted that Sekulow had just twice said the president is under investigation, the attorney insisted otherwise. “No, he’s not being investigated,” the president’s lawyer said.
“Sir, you just said two times that he’s being investigated,” Wallace responded, looking rather annoyed. “No,” Sekulow said, “The context of the tweet, I just gave you the legal theory, Chris, of how the Constitution works.”
Sekulow went on argue that to say he claimed Trump is under investigation is “unfair,” adding, “I do not appreciate you putting words in my mouth.”
D58826
@rikyrah: According to the article he wastes 3 hours a day in traffic. He would be more productive if he was just chasing lightening bugs at Langley
rikyrah
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 6/16/17
CIA Director Pompeo ducks query from Senate Judiciary Committee
Rachel Maddow reports on congressional committees building their witness lists in the Trump Russia investigation, but CIA Director Mike Pompeo missed the deadline to reply to a query from the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Kay
My daughter and her husband live in Pittsburgh in a really cheap apartment because they are graduate students and horribly poor :)
ANYway! They have a very nice landlord and she did this thing where she invited all of her tenants who graduated from anything, anywhere in June to a “graduation party” (at her big fancy house). So they had a kindergarten graduate and high school graduates and graduate student..graduates all at the same party. The kindergarten graduate had to leave after cake because he has a bedtime. The high school graduates were telling him to stick with it – good job so far! It’s such a nice thing to do. It cracks me up that she so wants her tenants to succeed. If they get richer they’re moving out of that neighborhood, someone should tell her.
rikyrah
Under latest Trump policy, ‘Dreamers’ remain in jeopardy
06/19/17 09:20 AM—UPDATED 06/19/17 09:29 AM
By Steve Benen
The fate of the Obama administration’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy has been unclear for months. As a candidate, Donald Trump said the programs’ beneficiaries – children, known as “Dreamers,” who entered the country illegally at a young age – would be subject to deportations, but as president, Trump said the kids could “rest easy.”
Soon after Attorney General Jeff Sessions, asked about these young immigrants’ fate, said, “Well, we’ll see. I believe that everyone who enters the country illegally is subject to being deported.”
Friday brought some clarity to the issue: the White House announced that while President Obama’s Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA) is no more, DACA would remain in place. In effect, young people who benefited from Obama’s policies don’t have to worry about deportation, and they can continue to receive work permits, but their parents may yet have a problem.
And at first, the continuation of the status quo – DAPA was blocked in the courts – seemed largely encouraging for Dreamers and their allies. But the details matter: these young immigrants aren’t in the clear yet. The New York Times reported:
rikyrah
@Kay:
That is so sweet :)
Quinerly
@Another Scott:
I’m on the move. Thanks for the suggestions. That’s pretty much the crate Poco (80lbs) destroyed in 3 hours. The best I can tell is that he rocked it enough to get the mat to slide forward and out. Then twisted it by slamming against it over and over. Once the mat slides out, it’s not as stable, I guess. Pried the slide down door apart from the channel it fits in. It was a Kong which is supposed to be the best. Apparently, “Nobody puts Poco in a box.”
Nelle
@Betty Cracker:
D58826
@rikyrah:
Given the intensity of the fire there may not be any remains left to identify. Most they can do are provide lists of those reported missing. They are redoing the walls of photos of the missing from 9/11. I think there are still 9/11 victims who are still listed as missing.
rikyrah
@Another Scott:
Cole did that, didn’t he, in the new house?
WereBear
In my rescue, they ate as much as they wanted. Sometimes they got a little tubby, but always calmed down and returned to a normal weight, if so. Feed only canned, and let him soothe his near-death anxieties, I say.
Nelle
Did anyone post Dan Savage’s tweet in response to Jenner? I’m having trouble with posting it here as a tweet –
”
The liberal black lesbian married cop who took out the shooter got the job done, you asswipe.”
rikyrah
BULLSHYT
Cause these muthaphuckas are still gonna vote for it.
Stop.with.the.fake.azz.posturing.
…………………………………
Secret health care bill roils Senate Republicans
06/19/17 08:40 AM—UPDATED 06/19/17 09:21 AM
By Steve Benen
When a reporter noted the other day that Senate Republicans are pushing a health care bill amid a level of secrecy “not seen since before World War I,” Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) dismissed the observation as “crazy talk.” In this case, the GOP gambit may be “crazy,” but the charge is true.
Don Ritchie, the official historian emeritus of the U.S. Senate, told the L.A. Times last week that during the Wilson administration, Senate Democrats crafted major tariff reforms in secret, but such an approach to federal legislating “hasn’t happened since.” The report on the GOP’s health care scheme, citing Ritchie’s analysis, added, “[N]ot since the years before World War I has the Senate taken such a partisan, closed-door approach to major legislation.”
The truth may make Cornyn uncomfortable, but doesn’t make it wrong.
Aleta
@Quinerly: I think lots of reasons for optimism.
Did the trainers tell you how much experience they’ve had with this, and what kind of outcomes?
I only know a small slice of the issue. (Recently read something about thunder anxiety, which is that the effect of the adrenaline released makes a dog (humans too I expect) more reactive to other stimuli while it’s in in the system. This makes sense to me in understanding some things once my dog’s anxiety has been triggered.).
My dog had severe separation anxiety when he came 3 years ago. He’s much much better now. He still can’t bear being in shut in a small room or crate; he needs to be able to see wider surroundings.
He was untrained (at 7 yo). I used Emily Larlham’s methods for the basics and for anxiety. For him they worked very well. (I didn’t try the clicker nor the tricks wearing a tutu.) (jk)
https://www.youtube.com/user/kikopup/playlists
https://dogmantics.com/category/freereading/english/
Her philosophy might at least be useful as one example as you figure out what’s the best method for him as an individual.
Very interested to hear about his progress going forward.
Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho
@danielx: Desdemona and Cordelia.
D58826
@Kay:
As I say your the expert on these kinds of voting mechanics. But it’s one thing for the D’s or R’s asking for the info and another if Boris Badenough shows up asking for info for the Russia Today network:-). Kidding aside you also have to consider who is asking for the info – Putin and his crones are not really used to coming in the front door and just asking.
rikyrah
Planned Parenthood funding creates key challenge for Senate GOP
06/19/17 10:00 AM
By Steve Benen
About a week ago, the Wall Street Journal reported that Senate Republicans plan to “strip federal funding from Planned Parenthood … and add several other abortion restrictions” to their still-secret health care bill. That may not sound especially surprising, given much of the GOP’s fierce opposition to the group in recent years.
It does, however, create a challenge for Republican leaders, who have precious few votes to spare in this endeavor. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), for example, recently said, “It’s not the only issue in this huge bill, but I certainly think it’s not fair and it is a mistake to defund Planned Parenthood.”
She’s not the only one. Politico reported late Friday:
? ?? Goku (aka Junior G-Man) ? ?
http://www.salon.com/2017/06/18/americans-are-resisting-trumps-authoritarianism/#.WUc2ArOg_0A.reddit
Americans Are Resisting Trump’s Authoritarianism
Anthony Dimaggio
Aleta
@Quinerly:
Emily Larlham also gives seminars or lessons at one’s home.
https://dogmantics.com/services/
rikyrah
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 6/16/17
Klobuchar: Trump makes no sense on Cuba
Senator Amy Klobuchar talks with Rachel Maddow about the acquittal of the police officer who killed Philando Castile, Donald Trump reverting some sanctions on Cuba, and the call for Jeff Sessions to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Jack the Second
@Adria McDowell (formerly Lurker Extraordinaire: I’m not really qualified to speak about “affordable”, but Ulster County still isn’t too bad. It’s not, like, Midwest pricing.
The major thing is that prices are roughly proportional to distance from the nearest train station, which amounts to distance from the Hudson River. If you’re willing to live an hour from a transit hub, it starts becoming downright affordable. Of course, if you are commuting to work —
D58826
@Spanky: @rikyrah: The one article I read said he was a stranger who pulled up beside the girls in his car and then started to harass for being Muslim. He then grabbed the victim and drove off. It does sound like something that a reasonable person would label as a hate crime. However what a reasonable person understand and what the law says can be two different things. To take it out of the legal area for an example. The scientific meaning of theory is much more restricted than the every day usage of the word, It is possible that the facts of the case do not fit that jurisdictions definition of a hate crime, assuming they even have a hate crime statute. Hate crime laws have drawn a lot of fire from a variety of points on the political spectrum.
On the other hand I certainly would not be surprised if it was a case of bigoted cops cover for a white guy since the victim was only a MOOOOOOOSLIM. Der Fuhrer still has not commented on the events in Portland or the ROTC graduate in Maryland.
O. Felix Culpa
@danielx: Ruth and Sonia?
NotMax
@danielx
How about borrowing an alliterative pair of names from two women who were push the boundaries pioneers in their own right?
Hester and Harriet.
(Hester Stanhope and Harriet Quimby)
JCJ
@danielx:
Ginger and Mary Anne?
rikyrah
About Dolt45’s Twitter silence with attacks on Muslims:
And yet, in the first chaotic hours of the London Bridge attack, he was retweeting Drudge and using the moment to push for his travel ban. https://t.co/K2LZj39zqA
— Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) June 19, 2017
rikyrah
While MitchyBoy won’t meet with the March of Dimes:
Reminder: During ACA debate, Obama visited GOP retreat & answered questions at length; later held day-long bipartisan session at Blair House https://t.co/Gt4LYUeZcN
— Jonathan Cohn (@CitizenCohn) June 19, 2017
Immanentize
@danielx:
Xena and Gabrielle?
rikyrah
They could start filling hearing rooms with people who’ll be uninsured. McConnell’s strength is knowing his callousness can’t be matched. https://t.co/ilRt8LYOmM
— LOLGOP (@LOLGOP) June 19, 2017
rikyrah
NEW INFO ON SENATE BILL: Word is bill submitted 2 CBO is actually MORE severe than the House bill.
Same House bill Trump described as mean.
— Andy Slavitt (@ASlavitt) June 19, 2017
eclare
@Quinerly: I give my dog trazadone every day to help with anxiety, and it helps a lot, more so than I would have thought. The current crate pillow is now several months old, before trazadone, a pillow might have lasted a few weeks.
The Moar You Know
@rikyrah: They’re not playing with the families. They can’t identify the victims. You may recall it took months after 9/11 to even get out a partial tally of those who could be identified and they never did identify everyone. This isn’t much different. Also, quite a few people in the building weren’t “official” residents, people staying with friends and that sort of thing. They have no idea who was actually in the building.
Tazj
@Quinerly: Poor Poco and poor you! My sister keeps her American Eskimo rescue inside a large baby playpen in a room when she’s at work but that suggestion would be useless for you. I had no idea Poco was such a big guy. Hopefully, Aleta’s suggestions will work.
@rikyrah: Good. I have a sliver of hope that those two will vote against it. People have to keep the pressure up on Republican senators this week. Mitch McConnell is truly an evil mastermind when it comes to passing cruel conservative legislation.
rikyrah
Trump IN LESS THAN ONE YEAR is expected to outpace the entirety of former President Barack Obama’s eight-year travel costs. https://t.co/cEgNiSfWf7
— Anthony De Rosa ? (@Anthony) June 19, 2017
D58826
My news feed keeps light up – SCOTUS has struck down an NC law baring registered sex offenders from using social media. NC hasn’t been having a good month before SCOTUS and if it was unanimous the C. Thomas must have a thing against NC.
And Paris police are reporting an incident where a car was driven into a police vehicle. Sounds like they are treating it as possibly terror related.
rikyrah
Amazing video from neurologist explaining how repealing Obamacare will harm her patients.
If you’re a doc, send me your videos & ill RT https://t.co/RGWvbSUID6
— igorvolsky (@igorvolsky) June 17, 2017
JCJ
@danielx:
Lursa and B’Etor (the Duras sisters)
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Is LOLGOP saying that’s callous? Whatever. I think it’s a decent ploy. I don’t know what I would do in Schumer’s (et al) place. I can’t fathom why interest in this seems to have dropped off since the first House vote.
rikyrah
Trump under the mistaken impression that the economy will save him
06/19/17 10:30 AM
By Steve Benen
Donald Trump has taken a look at his presidency, and he’s convinced he’s doing a great job. Before his cabinet meeting last week, in which members of his team took turns offering gushing praise for their leader, the president declared, “Never has there been a president, with few exceptions … who has passed more legislation and who has done more things than what we’ve done.”
Trump tweeted a similar message yesterday, insisting that his “MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN agenda is doing very well.” (Trump seems to have a special fondness for capitalized letters.) He specifically pointed to the number of bills he’s signed and the “great” Supreme Court justice he named to the bench.
And while it’s true Neil Gorsuch is now on the high court – filling a vacancy of dubious legitimacy – Trump’s legislative accomplishments are hard to take seriously. An NBC News reported, “Three of those bills were appointing three members to the Smithsonian’s board, another approved a war memorial, a fifth promoted women in entrepreneurship, and a sixth encouraged the display of the American flag on Vietnam War Veterans Day.”
Hardly the stuff of presidential legend.
But at the core of Trump’s defense of his presidency to date, over the weekend and in recent weeks, appears to be an unshakable belief that the economy can serve as a political life-preserver. Scandals and investigations may represent rising waters, but Trump seems to believe that the economy will keep him from drowning. The Washington Post reported:
? ?? Goku (aka Junior G-Man) ? ?
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Summer vacations
D58826
@rikyrah: Sen. Lisa Murkowsk and Collins are supposedly being given a pass on the bill. Yurtle can kill Americans with 50 votes and VP Pantsless he doesn’t need their votes. The GOP is made up of a bunch of spineless, ballless (or in some cases ovaryless) scum. Whatever honor the members who served in the military may have earned is being stripped away. The military prides itself on ‘no person left behind’. If they are willing to leave 23 million Americans behind on healthcare, I wonder what they did on the battlefield. As to the non-vets they talk about their religious faith constantly but maybe they should actually READ the Bible rather than listening to Jerry Falwell misquote it.
There is a larger political point here. If the GOP can violate so many Congressional norms on healthcare repeal, why not just junk regular order and pass all legislation using the backroom in the middle of the night approach? I realize that reconciliation offers an easy path in this case. But surely Yrtle and ZEGS can find ways around the rules for all other legislation.
? ?? Goku (aka Junior G-Man) ? ?
@rikyrah: I just want this guy gone. Removed. He’s a utterly corrupt POS that doesn’t care one whit for this country beyond how much he can scam from his position as president. All he cares about are the Benjamins and being adored by his fans like the North Koreans do for their President-For-Life.
ISIS or Islam aren’t existential threats to America. Donald Trump, the GOP, and the people who vote for them are. They’re the real enemy
SenyorDave
A takeoff on the old sixth grade joke.
What’s a crying shame? 50 Senate Republicans working late on the health care bill and the ceiling collapses and kills only 49 of them.
These people are truly evil MFers.
Tazj
@D58826: So, those senators will get a pass on the bill. I should have known.
rikyrah
@? ?? Goku (aka Junior G-Man) ? ?:
I feel you.
BOY, do I feel you.
D58826
@Tazj: Yes that is the latest report. With VP Pantsless Yrtle only needs 50 votes. I would suspect, if he could finesse P/P somehow they would fall in line also. The standard approach for the GOP is rush before the cameras, expression OH SO MUCH concern on an issue and then decide voting the party line is more important than that hypothetical CONCERN.
japa21
If the Senate bill is meaner, it won’t pass in the House. Just in Illinois, there are three GOP reps who voted for the bill that would vote against a meaner bill than they passed. And I don’t care how much the GOPers fall in line, it won’t happen this time.
D58826
@rikyrah:
And he owes that to Yrtle. He could have nominated a fireplug and the GOP would have confirmed so it wasn’t exactly a heavy lift.
Matt McIrvin
@rikyrah: Why does Benen think that impression is mistaken?
D58826
@japa21: Problem with that is I think some of the freedom carcass members voted No because the House bill wasn’t mean enough. So you might lose a few on the mean side but gain a few by making it meaner.
The Moar You Know
@japa21: Goddamn, you are funny. One of the requirements of being a Republican is “falling in line”. They will. They always have, they always will.
? ?? Goku (aka Junior G-Man) ? ?
@D58826: But would that be enough? The “moderates” in the House would still vote no, yes?
Denali
@Kay, Thanks for your comments re voter information and election fraud. I am an election inspector and the thought that the voting process could be compromised is very upsetting. Two people came to my door asking for my signature for people who are running for office. They made sure I signed with my middle initial in their records. I am sure this is because of the story that people were turned away at their voting districts because their middle initials were not what what the books showed. Speculation is that hackers changed the middle initials to suppress voter turnout. Any thoughts on this?
satby
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo fka Edmund Dantes: very late and you may not see this, but you can get kitten replacement formula at many pet stores and vets. He probably needs some of that as well as regular kitten food.
Origuy
@Quinerly: I haven’t had a dog since I was a kid, so take this with a grain of salt. Could Poco be lacking stimuli when he’s shut up? Maybe leave a radio or TV on (out of reach) while you’re gone. Not tuned to Fox News of course. We know what that does to people.
D58826
@Denali:
And forcing a provisional ballot that would never be counted. In losing a state by 20-30k might be the reason.
We have been kicking this around for a week or so and haven’t come to a mind changing (kay’s or mine) resolution. In fact I suspect that Putin would have thrown all kinds of mud at the wall and then followed up on whatever stuck. Regardless of who is right at this point it would seem that would be just one of many of the topic discussed by a commission charged with developing plans to protect the electoral system in the future.
D58826
and just to add fuel to the fire I just saw this on twitter
Aside from the grim humor that the RNC was hacked this raises a number of thoughts:
1. Again the obvious question if Trump wasn’t in cahoots with Putin why wasn’t this leaded like the DNC data was
2. it makes it more and more likely that Trump[ was in cahoots with Putin
3. there goes one more GOP talking point,
4. wasn’t Dear Son-in-law in charge of thew campaigns big data operation, and
5. and as to the ‘lousy’ campaign that Hillary ran, it certainly is a lot of headwind for a campaign to deal with when the other side has this much help.
never heard of them but that is hardly surprising. Here is a bit from their ABOUT US page.
https://www.upguard.com/breaches/the-rnc-files
Quinerly
@Origuy:
Want to thank everyone for all the words of encouragement/suggestions. I’m hopeful. A little background. Poco was rescued a little over 3 years ago from inner city street life (they think he was on the streets for about two years). He had done well with separation from me and being in the courtyard (we live in the city, nice sized yard, land scaped, with fish pond and walk out basement). Had a wonderful basement room that he could come and go through outside…heated and cooled. Two weeks ago, I rushed home after a clap of thunder…probably 10 minutes after. Within that short amt of time, he tore through the wall in the basement (a studded out dividing dry wall). Since he now knows what’s on the other side and what’s up the interior steps, he won’t stop ripping the wall apart to come in that way…even if I’m here. It’s so hot, he can’t spend extended periods outside if he’s blocked from his doggie door. I tried him alone in the house a few hours on Saturday. He did pretty well. Radio/stereo always on in my house. Trying to figure out materials to clad what is left of the drywall that would be indestructible. What a mess. Thanks guys! We’ll get through this. We have to.
Quinerly
Reply to Origuy eaten.
Shalimar
@japa21: We will see what happens in the House. My guess is, no matter how mean the bill is, Ryan’s people will meet privately with each member and basically say “do you enjoy being in the House? The Kochs and Mercers will make sure this is your last term if you vote against this bill.” And just like last time, they will get just enough for it to pass, even though some of them won’t be able to explain afterwards why they voted for it.
JR in WV
@Quinerly:
We have used a sturdy wire crate with a big athletic dog recovering from spinal surgery. Nothing to chew, really, but black painted steel. The floor was a plastic sheet, but there was wire under than so Clyde wouldn’t have been able to get out anyway. Not that he was interested, but once he was able to use his hind quarters again, he got pretty verbal about wanting out. As in continuous talking “I’m ready now guys, really I am!!” in Clydeese.
JR in WV
@Kay:
Hi Kay,
For the past two elections in our county in rural WV, I was signing a touchpad surface rather than the old fashioned book we used to sign every election. So the signature DB isn’t a paper record any more here.
TenguPhule
@D58826:
I remember when Hillary Clinton was supposed to get us into a War with Russia over Syria.
Funny that.
TenguPhule
@japa21:
You are Charlie Brown and I claim my five pounds!
Quinerly
@JR in WV:
Sounds like the same kind of crate I described above that Poco rendered unusable in a few hours. Kong brand. Rocking it until the mat slid out, then twisting it so the channel where the gate slides down was bent. Painted metal wire crate. It can be done. He did it. Broke a tooth in the process. Thanks, though.
JR in WV
@Origuy:
This idea, to leave a TV running is a great idea. A friend of ours, former Vet D. has rescue dogs, somewhat nervous dogs, and leaves a cooking show on, soft voices, no drama, something going on on screen all the time. Started with a nature show, but that was too stressful for the pups.
No One You Know
@Baud: Isn’t it Baud who draws all the traffic by starting the parade?
Bumper stickers are not optional.