SCOOP: @VP Kamala Harris to announce $250 million in funding to help address COVID response inequities https://t.co/CjSeg7gnXf
— Tim Perry (@tperry518) March 8, 2021
The House of Representatives will take up by Wednesday the Senate version of the sweeping $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package backed by President Biden, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said https://t.co/SgpQelXUuz pic.twitter.com/tYHV3yYh1j
— Reuters (@Reuters) March 9, 2021
We cannot rebuild our economy until we control the virus. President Biden is urging Congress to pass the American Rescue Plan which will create 100,000 new public health jobs to help vaccinate, test, and beat COVID.
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) March 8, 2021
BIDEN to deliver a prime time address Thursday, @PressSec Jen Psaki says—the one-year anniversary of coronavirus lockdown. pic.twitter.com/ThTn4EgAj1
— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) March 8, 2021
Biden’s EOs today will:
—create gender policy council with a staff of four – 3 of whom will hold title of special assistant to president
—re-examine Trump admin policies on Title IX, which prohibits sex-based discrimination in schools that get fedl money.https://t.co/wopUiGRa95— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) March 8, 2021
Michelle Obama to be inducted into U.S. National Women's Hall of Fame https://t.co/g3FcZF2DOG pic.twitter.com/ZLoJiR7DA1
— Reuters (@Reuters) March 9, 2021
raven
Well ok, if we’re going to have two. . .
Dr Gupta “People will say, well that doesn’t make sense”. Joe says “if you are telling people if you get this vaccine you are going to be fine and you still can’t go see people all you are going to do is discourage people from getting it”.
rikyrah
Good Morning Everyone ???
JPL
We should not ignore the fact that Major bit a security guard and both dogs have been sent back to Delaware. Unlike their boss, they were not ready for prime time. sad
JPL
@rikyrah: Good Morning to you!
Immanentize
@raven: I agree with Joe that people need a reward but I am staying over on the cautious couch with Dr. Gupta.
OzarkHillbilly
Blech.
Immanentize
@OzarkHillbilly: I hear ya, Brother
Immanentize
@rikyrah: Good morning!
Immanentize
@JPL: Security guard was a Trump spy. Good boy.
The Fat White Duchess
@JPL: I’m waiting for the news that the security guard in question was undercover for the insurrection, and Major could tell.
@Immanentize Great minds think alike. (Your comment hadn’t posted yet.)
Jeffro
@JPL: Probably too stressful in the WH with all those people, all the coming & going, etc.
Bummer though.
Baud
@rikyrah: Good morning.
OzarkHillbilly
Lindsey Graham: Trump may destroy Republican party but he has a ‘magic’
Some mornings I just can’t make myself swim in the sycophantic sewer of Republican groveling in the hopes of finding a nugget or 2 of info.
Baud
@JPL:
Happens. Joe handled it responsibly. Trump would have blamed the guard.
MazeDancer
@JPL: Major biting someone may not be true. The dogs went to Delaware as they often do when FLOTUS travels.
Jeffro
@OzarkHillbilly: It’s funny, I was just about to post some excerpts from that article, too!
Gross. Get help, Lindsey. Or don’t, I don’t care. Oh and the “magic” is called “unadulterated racism”. Thanks for playing!
Geminid
Yesterday the Richmond, Va. paper had an article about the recovery act and it’s different parts. One piece is $17 billion to support access to broadband, for underserved communities both rural and urban (a Richmond public housing project was cited as an example of the difficulty urban poor people have in obtaining high speed internet service). The article noted that the pandemic has exposed how crucial good internet access is for at-home schooling, and effective public health measures.
Baud
Interesting The Day in Labor History at LGM.
satby
@JPL: Too many strangers for dogs that were bred to protect, and too much change and upsetting activity for most dogs, I think. The dogs are better off in their Delaware home with less stress.
raven
@OzarkHillbilly:
LINDSEY GRAHAM: I’M WILLING TO OVERLOOK THE FACT THAT TRUMP HAS PROBABLY BEATEN A FEW HOMELESS PEOPLE TO DEATH
MagdaInBlack
@satby: Exactly what I was thinking.
OzarkHillbilly
@Jeffro: Some German Shepherds have strong instincts to defend the familial territory against all intruders. Evidently Major is one of them.
raven
@Immanentize: I don’t think “we” are the people he is taking about.
Spanky
Looks like it’s prime time for some White House cats!
(And cat puke on the Oval Office rug.)
satby
I think the CDC guidelines are pretty reasonable on vaccinated people. And I think people need to get used to the idea that covid is pretty much here to stay, with probably yearly boosters like the flu. Especially since a crazification factor level of vaccine refuseniks walk among us to keep it circulating at a low level. Sure, the vaccines aren’t 100% against all infection, but they’re damn close to 100% against serious illness and death. Good enough odds for most of us to resume some small semblance of normal.
WereBear
@Jeffro: GSDs have a strong sense of duty and think in terms of security. Unless raised and trained to manage a situation like the White House, they are going to make the wrong moves.
Had they been retrievers, like the Obama dogs — who also came there as puppies and learned the right things — it would have been different.
Baud
@satby: Agree.
satby
@Spanky: cat puke everywhere, randomly.
RedDirtGirl
@JPL: I came here to write about that too. So sad.
debbie
@JPL:
Wasn’t Major the rascal who broke Joe’s foot?
Quinerly
@Jeffro: Lindsey’s “got it bad, and that ain’t good.”
Seriously, I caught the actual video clip of him saying it… He’s got a crush on Trump. He was practically breathless. I will leave it at that.
The Fat White Duchess
Good morning, all.
The Duke wants me to give a recommendation for The New Jim Crow after I read him a few paragraphs. Essential book. I’ve been assuming all jackals have aleady read it, since I’m usually behind the curve on anything other than psychology, but if you haven’t…
OzarkHillbilly
@satby: Strategically placed right next to the bed where one places one’s bare feet first thing every morning.
scribbler
@Spanky: It’s only right to bring in a pair of kitties!
JPL
@Quinerly: Lindsay is easily impressed by all that glitters.
Immanentize
@Spanky: my cat ralphed on the rug this morning. Then wouldn’t let me back to sleep until I let him out….
Happy happy joy joy.
Baud
There’s talking about filibuster reform on MJ. It occurred to me that we should be thankful that the GOP was obstructionist on this. Had they been willing to work with Biden, the bill would probably not have ended up as good.
Quinerly
@JPL: ?
Geminid
@Quinerly: Virginia Republicans also welcomed the influx of energized tea party cranks and evangelical Dominionists that filled their depleted ranks at the beginning of the last decade. Now the party is stuck in a dilemma: they can’t win with these nuts, but they can’t win without them either.
Baud
@Geminid:
Those people have always been the base of the GOP. The base is simply tired of waiting for the corporate types to satisfy their needs.
raven
NotMax?
Heavy rainfall in Hawaii’s Maui damaged homes, sparked evacuations and worries over possible dam failure
Jay
Ksmiami
@OzarkHillbilly: that’s why as much as I admire German Shepherds, of the spitz dogs, I’m a Siberian husky person- robbers could come in and they’d be like if you pet me, I’ll show you the safe… too bad about the episode though.
debbie
@Jay:
I hate to be the one to say it: Photoshop strikes again!
Baud
Psaki wouldn’t confirm or deny the biting scandal on MJ this morning.
Amir Khalid
@JPL:
Sometimes I think of Lindsay Graham as a groupie.
WereBear
@The Fat White Duchess: It was chilling.
Jay
WereBear
@Ksmiami: If I had concerns about security, I’d have a pack of Irish wolfhounds.
Which I would like to have, anyway…
JPL
@Baud: We’ll have to wait and see what the Fox says.
Cameron
Helms, Reagan, Barnum – his ideal is a racist bullshit artist? I don’t think I can go for that.
Quinerly
Good morning! Traveling dog parents… Favorite foldable dog crate? I’m asking everyone and gathering info. I need to buy one for JoJo las Orejas for the Sept-Dec trip. Be able to store easily in the van. He is crate trained.. But we have a hard sided and it’s huge… takes up too much space. Always had Midwest brand metal ones in the past but from reviews the quality isn’t so good anymore. Has to be able to store under the single/twin bed platform. I guess metal is really my only option. Just don’t see a fabric one working for him. Need it for certain stops, areas.
Yes, I’m focused on things to lift my spirits. There is a light at the end of this tunnel. I feel it. Thanks for any suggestions. Like I said I am asking everyone. ?
Ken
Andrew Paul at McSweeney’s got there first with the Nyarlathotep series. Problem is, Graham wouldn’t get the reference. Hmm, are there any Christian figures who are destructive but have “magic”? Could it be….. SATAN?!
JPL
@Amir Khalid: Lindsay dropped McCain as soon as a shinier trinket appeared. Groupie indeed
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Baud: Good point. The Rs missed their chance to affect the bill. But then, how would boring old legislating get them on TV?
Ken
@Jay: I have to think that a trip to Kenya counts as “fleeing the jurisdiction”.
Jeffro
@Quinerly: ‘starbursts’ and what not, ugh.
Anyone who thinks trumpov is ‘magical’ needs their head examined.
Cameron
@Baud: Oh, Christ. It’s time for – Majorghazi hearings!
Quinerly
@Baud: just heard that.
OzarkHillbilly
@Ksmiami: Labs are the same. They’d just roll over for some belly scritchins.
@Baud: Pray tell whatever are they hiding??? This could be bigger than Ben Ghazi’s sex scandal.
Betty Cracker
I’m hoping the Bidens can get excellent dog trainers on the case and bring the hounds back to the White House soon. It’s sad for dogs to be separated from their people.
Immanentize
@The Fat White Duchess: fabulous book.
All thumbs up ??
Tonight I’m doing a panel with three other people about “Trial Four” and the Boston trials of Sean Ellis for the murder of an off duty cop, John Mulligan, in 1993. There is a six part documentary about the case on Netflix. I also recommend that.
Quinerly
@Jeffro: don’t these people watch the video replays of themselves? It’s pretty obvious…. Shades of junior high. Can’t anyone tell him to tone it down it a bit?
debbie
@JPL:
He’s a fan boy: “Leave Trump alone!!!”
OzarkHillbilly
Quinerly
@Betty Cracker: I agree. I really don’t understand this story. If they stay in the residence, it’s like being in a home. Where did the incident take place?
RobertDSC-iPhone 8
A bit of good news: my company’s people have been at home for almost a year now. One of my best people, who is actually in the building to provide support for her boss, mentioned to me that she is 7 months pregnant with a baby girl.
I do a lot of mail work for her and we are close, so this news filled my heart and made me happy.
Took the edge off some major melancholy of late.
Geminid
@Baud: In the 1950’s, Eisenhower could achieve temporary ascendance over the nativist, New Deal-hating Taft Republican majority. Dean Acheson aptly described these people as “the Primitives.” Eisenhower had to compromise with them. But since the addition of the segregationist Southern Democrats during the realignment of the 1970’s, the Republican Party has been in thrall to the reactionaries.
The Chamber of Commerce/Country Club elites still called the shots in Virginia until ten years ago. Their voters got away from them though, and now the Virginia party is hardpressed to even figure out a process for this years state office nominations. They are terrified that trumpist state senator Amanda Chase would win a primary for Governor, and drag the rest of the ticket into the Dismal Swamp.
evodevo
@JPL:
Well, I’m not saying I know, but there was probably a reason he was given to a shelter…
Jay
@Baud:
not a fan of “sources say”,
knowing dogs, if there was a bite, they had it coming.
Ken
@OzarkHillbilly: I saw that earlier, and I’m still not sure if the pastor’s out because of the sexism and racism, or because he suggested that Melania’s skill set was primarily decorative.
Quinerly
@RobertDSC-iPhone 8: ?
Jay
@debbie:
there is video.
Betty Cracker
@Quinerly: This CNN story doesn’t say, but there’s this line:
So, maybe it’s a temporary thing. Both Bidens seem like genuine hands-on dog people, so hopefully they’ll bring the dogs back and train the youngster so there are no further incidents.
We can safely assume the press will be on this story like, well, a dog on a bone…
rikyrah
@raven:
I think that is crazy.
I am staying in and double ?? until September at the earliest.
Ken
Aha! Another clever eleven-dimensional chess move, giving the press a story that will make them all go “Squirrel!” and keep them distracted while the Democrats sneak through HR1.
rikyrah
@Immanentize:
That’s my thought too?
rikyrah
@Geminid:
Truth.
I am getting a little excited about 46 signing this bill.
p.a.
@Jay:
Looking for Obama’s birth certificate!
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Betty Cracker: Rescue dogs can sometimes do things you don’t expect. They may have had hard, frightening lives.
Ken
BTW I just realized it’s March 9, and I haven’t heard anything about Biden ripping off his face and revealing he’s been Trump all along, or whatever insanity/inanity the Qultists were claiming. I take it that Biden, Harris, Pelosi, et al haven’t been arrested as scheduled?
rikyrah
@Jay:
Kenya??
Is he now considered a flight risk??
Jay
@evodevo:
most dogs and cats wind up in shelters because their owners are assholes,
a few wind up in shelters because their owners face such life changes, divorced from family that love them, that a shelter is the only option for the pet.
evodevo
@OzarkHillbilly:
Or, like my dog, in the narrow hallway in the mobile home leading to the bathroom where I trod on it in the dark…
Quinerly
@Betty Cracker: thanks. I saw a blurb about it but it gave no details. I tuned out for a few days. Really helped my mental state. Scored that left over J&J vaccine at that rural event Fri, 4 hrs from St Louis (2000 doses, less than 120 people signed up, my tier isn’t eligible so some of us have become Vaccine Hunters here in Missouri since all the vaccine seems to have gone to the rural areas where no one wants it)
Ended up staying at a cabin near the event the whole weekend. First I really caught any news/BJ was late last night. Lots of posts to get caught up on.
rikyrah
Yesss??????
JAFD
@Spanky: Q: Why don’t cats play basketball ?
A: They can’t stand it when the crowd chants
“Hairrrr Ballll.. Hairrrr.. Balll”
OzarkHillbilly
Speaking of cat puke… Miss Kitty came upstairs just now for the sole reason of puking right behind my chair. Thanx to whoever first brought it up.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Ken: I believe the schedule changed. The new date is March 20. Or possibly something else. Watch this space.
Kathleen
@Baud: That was fascinating. My Irish immigrant grandfather worked in the railroad his whole life. He said in 1968 that biggest mistake unions made was keeping Black people out. I wonder what his views were during the period Erik covers.
Betty Cracker
@Quinerly: Glad you got your shot! I’m trying to stay attuned to the rollout in my rural area for the same reason you did in yours — hoping to score a leftover if local eligible people don’t show up.
Just in the last week and a half or so, all of my elderly relatives I’ve been so worried about got their first doses, except my father, who is holding out for the J&J because he doesn’t want to have to go twice (yes, I told him that was dumb).
Frank Wilhoit
@Jeffro: Namecheck Helms before Reagan! Quite a tell.
rikyrah
Any FrontPager going to take on the Voter Suppression nightmare in Georgia?
Or that the CAPITOL OF MISSISSIPPI HAS BEEN WITHOUT DRINKING WATER FOR 4 WEEKS ??
Jay
@Dorothy A. Winsor:
Major was adopted in 2018 by Dr. ( Not Seuss) Jill Biden and Future President Joe Biden, after being a foster fail, ( months where they fell in love).
Until Major and Champ testify otherwise, I will believe the dogs.
JPL
@Betty Cracker: DIL’s father is waiting for the J&j also. DIL is not happy.
Quinerly
@rikyrah: I had bought some real N95s. I’m taking my mask wearing down to the KN95s. Haven’t been to a restaurant (like most of us) in exactly one year tomorrow. I’m going to go to one when this J&J kicks in in11 days. Pick one of my favorites and sit outside. It’s warming up here. By myself. Stay for hrs. Very doubtful I will actually go inside one and sit until Sept. ❤️???
Kathleen
@Baud: I feel Bitegate scandal percolating.
What. Did. Major. And. Champ. Know. And. When. Did. They. Know. It?
Ken
@Jay: I have friends who foster Westies. About one in three is a “failure”. I can’t help but think deliberate sabotage is involved.
Jay
@rikyrah:
from what I understand so far, it’s “infrastructure”.
Kathleen
@JPL: Fox hell! Jake Tapper yearns for a Peabody!
gvg
@evodevo: Pretty sure he was born there. His mom was in the shelter. I seem to recall his siblings had been adopted but he was more rambunctious and Biden heard about it.
He’s young and energetic and probably a Presidents dog needs special training, plus frequent professional refreshers, because frankly no responsible President has any extra time.
Ken
Maybe they can confirm that the Biden’s decades-long marriage is a sham, as first reported on Fox.
Baud
@Ken:
Champ and Major sit down with Oprah and reveal shocking details about the inner workings of the Biden White House.
Ken
BTW, from the late-night thread, David The Establishment Koch reminds us that it’s confirmation day for Marcia Fudge (HUD), Merrick Garland (AG), and Michael Regan (EPA). Which Republicans will start acting out like spoiled toddlers?
Baud
@Ken:
Will start?
Spanky
@OzarkHillbilly:
ISWYDT. I posted my early comment right after cleaning cat puke off the dining room rug. No Oval Office around here.
Totally undigested kibble, too! A wonder that one of the Floofy Bros. didn’t eat it up, as they are wont to do.
(Floofy Bros are also cats, btw)
Kathleen
@Ken: That or Hillary’s emails or Obama’s birth certificate.
wenchacha
@Jeffro: I saw an old Star Trek last night, where the crew went all dazed and confused when they were sprayed with spores from some pretty flower. The original scouting crew had been there for years and accomplished nothing, ‘cuz they got high. Capt Kirk found that anger and violence was a buzz kill, and that harshed the mellow.
Anyway, long story, Lindsey has done a few 180s by now. Former Guy “magic”? Is he unable to use grown up vocabulary to explain/justify his somewhat steadfast support of the ex? Admit that he has lied and bribed and bullied. Admit that you are counting on his magicon to promise GOP victories.
Soprano2
@Ksmiami: Oh Lord, we had huskies that the postal carrier could pet! You’re so right about them. Beautiful dogs, but I’ll never have another one if I can help it because they shed all the time, and not just fur but big dust bunnies! They’re hard dogs to have in the house, and they absolutely hated the summers here, it was too hot for them.
Ken
@Spanky: There seems to be mounting evidence that cats are conspiring to coordinate their puking, perhaps using coded messages in Balloon Juice comments. We all need to be careful — they’re quite capable of killing to protect their secrets.
Soprano2
@OzarkHillbilly: What’s really sad is that this used to be considered normal belief among most people. At least now we point at them and say “You’re crazy”! I’m only surprised that didn’t happen down here, I’m sure there are pastors at small churches here with similar views. If I were his wife, I’d start looking for evidence of him cheating, because he sure sounds guilty to me.
Just One More Canuck
@OzarkHillbilly: maybe it was a love offering
Quinerly
@Betty Cracker: re finding left overs… I looked at the state map where the rural events were in the Trumpy counties 3-4 hrs away. “Liked” their county health dept FB pages and checked their web pages. Got a feel for the areas as I was flying blind. Picked a location that had had one event prior that was a dud.. No shows. Figured the second event that was scheduled after J&J being approved would be a J&J event since the next day was event for second shots. Night before the county posted on its FB page that it was indeed J&J. My back up plan if I didn’t get the J&J on Fri was to show up Sat in hopes of getting a left over from that second shot event. Then it would be a scramble to find somewhere to give me my second. I was going to be prepared to go to another rural event. The city doesn’t have enough and many can’t travel. I think those of us who are doing this should go to the locations where they don’t want it. Leave what little the city is getting for the underserved.
Soprano2
@Dorothy A. Winsor: Yes, we have a dog who was returned to the shelter we got him from, and we soon figured out why – he was undisciplined and tore up a bunch of stuff before he got older and calmed down. He was able to jump over our chain link fence easily; then, he’d just sit there waiting for us to come home. We had to put him in a pen (we’ve never had to do that before or since) until we replaced our 3 ft chain link fence with a 6 ft chain link fence. (He could sit at the bottom of that 3 ft fence and jump over it! I’d never seen anything like it before). I’ve got all kinds of evidence still in the house of things he chewed on – multiple couch throws, couch pillows, couch cushions, throw rugs, the edge of our wooden end table, and many, many other things. Lucky for us he got older, and for some reason getting the 6 ft fence calmed him down a lot.
OzarkHillbilly
@Just One More Canuck: Miss Kitty loves my wife. She barely tolerates my existence and it’s only because I’m the one that feeds her.
Ken
Maybe your rescue was one of the Air Bud stunt dogs?
Joey Maloney
@Ken: All of ’em, Katie.
Soprano2
@rikyrah: I heard Gabriel Sterling interviewed about the new proposed laws this morning. He seems to believe a lot of it won’t pass (I think he’s wrong), but he was generally positive (of course, he’s a Republican). He didn’t seem to think there was anything wrong with making Fulton County administer their elections the same as smaller counties. I kept waiting for the interviewer to ask him if he thought the provision making it a misdemeanor to bring food and water to people standing in line to vote was reasonable, but the question was never asked. He sounded pretty panicked and upset about HR 1, too, because “it would make our voter ID provisions almost illegal!”.
Soprano2
@Ken: Might have been. We think he’s half greyhound, because he has really long legs and runs like one. My BIL calls him Stilts.
Soprano2
@Quinerly: This scandal is finally getting some traction in the press. I shared a story about it on FB. It’s terrible that Parson is sending vaccine where people don’t want it, while restricting vaccine to areas where they really need it. That good ole boy schtick covers up a really nasty streak, I think.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Soprano2: They can’t tell you their history. You can sometimes read it in their actions. Poor babies.
Just One More Canuck
@Ken: all of them, Katie – I mean Ken
Josie
@Soprano2:
I’ll put my corgi up against any husky for shedding ability. I often wonder as I swiffer up all the dog fur how there could be any left on his body.
WereBear
@Quinerly: We like Zampa brand. Sturdy and easy to collapse when a human tries it.
WaterGirl
@Immanentize: That was my first thought! That or a nazi. But I repeat myself.
Woodrow/asim
RE: Cat puking — if it’s often, please raise it at your next Vet visit.
My beloved senior cat, Theda, has been seemingly-randomly puking for years. After a couple of bad bouts last year that sent us to the local Emergency Vet, we came to find out she actually has had IBD and Pancreatitis for some time, now :(
It’s a pretty stressful situation when it gets this bad, so please make sure your wee kitties aren’t just puking for the sake of it.
Soprano2
@Josie: I’d take that bet, huskies are a lot bigger.
Jay
@Soprano2:
most Dog’s don’t mature until 2 1/2 years old.
Until then, they are a handful.
Sugar ate a kitchen floor, a coffee table and parts of a wall.
Part boredom, part teething.
Casey chewed her way through several dozen board feet of pine. Freshened her breath.
TomatoQueen
I’m hiding this thread from Merlin, who does not puke, ever. Also no silent hairballs or even that warning noise.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
@Dorothy A. Winsor: Our little guy was a rescue at 18 months. He seemed amazingly sweet-tempered and outgoing, and he still mostly is. But there have been some weird changes in him since his heartworm treatment last year (his puppyhood in WV left him with every conceivable parasite).
We had to leave him with the vet for two all-day treatments. They told us the treatments were very painful. So that was kind of traumatic for all of us.
I don’t know if that experience triggered some older traumas or what but now we can’t trust him with strange people or dogs. While happily wagging his tail and playing he may suddenly lunge and snap without warning. Then go back to wagging.
Uncle Cosmo
Was your granddad aware that one major reason factories and mines in the post-Civil War USA required such a volume of immigrants was that they would not hire blacks for those jobs – largely because the incumbent white workers refused to work alongside them?
I am morally certain that my Italian-American immigrant grandfather who became an Italy Hillbilly digging coal in WV (& died when I was 2) was either unaware of that, or approved of it. In my experience italoamericani are among the worst racists here – once godfathered into whiteness (from prior status as swarthy criminals & anarchists) they are the quickest & most eager to yank up the ladder out of poverty so no one else can climb it.
Steeplejack (phone)
@raven:
He said last night that he’s not in the danger zone.
Ksmiami
@Soprano2: after my guy goes to husky heaven (it’s real), I might adopt a couple older huskies because I’m not young enough to handle the puppy version – you know 4 year old sibes…
Ksmiami
@Soprano2: my guy isn’t destructive- he does like landscaping the yard but he’s a menace to furry and feathered creatures and to himself- I’m on surgery 2 for his avulsed ankle and tendon…
Mary Ellen Sandahl
@debbie: No, it’s not a fake. Follow the link and you’ll see it’s a still from an amazing piece of video of a vast flock of starlings swirling above the Irish lake. Also, surrounding context of dedicated nature photographers and the interest of the Irish Times, a newspaper of repute. Reality can be real! Not to mention amazing.
Zelma
I have a rescue Lhasa Apso who objects to anyone coming into the house and then objects to their leaving. He dislikes most men – except my son – especially those wearing ball caps. He doesn’t like the mail man or the trash collectors. He barks when people walk by the house. But he is otherwise a wonderful companion. He’s 13 now and has slowed down. But I tell everyone that Lhasas were bred as watch dogs and he’s just doing his job! He is adorable but I never let people pet him. He doesn’t like kids. Training hasn’t helped. He was 4 when I got him and sometimes you just have to live with their quirks.
J R in WV
@debbie:
Nope, they were also shooting video while you hear the shutter running high speed on the still camera. It’s real, for about a second as they swoop over the loch.
Bill Arnold
@OzarkHillbilly:
In style, it’s closest to contemporary Chaos magic. (see also Gnosis (chaos magic) )
crossed with Norman Vincent Peale’s The Power of Positive Thinking[1] (introduced to DJT by Fred Trump).
In these belief frameworks, he (DJT) has to work around personal weaknesses, including a massive ego and selfishness, a near-lack of empathy (excepting cognitive empathy), pathological intellectual laziness, a disrespect for probability, and a very primitive understanding of probability. (some of which directly conflict with gnosis).
He has an affinity for Prosperity Gospels because they are similar, the later just couching their selfish spells for a higher position in the crab bucket as legitimate demands (their theology is worse than crap) that God make them prosperous. (Watch their fluttering hand movements. :-)
I’m not sure that Graham fully understands this but he’s seen how Trump operates and is impressed with the often-surprising results. But DJT lost power and does not understand why. His luck failed him, and this is making him miserable. He denies his loss to soften the damage to his ego/narcissism.
[1] 2020 Crises Confront Trump With An Outage In The Power Of Positive Thinking (July 25, 2020, Ron Elving)
Quinerly
@WereBear: thanks! Late getting back to the thread.
The Fat White Duchess
@Uncle Cosmo: Since moving to Boston, I’d have to say that everything you said applies to the Irish. (No, not all. I have a good friend who is Irish—but they left, and emigrated to somewhere not the US, for reasons.)
The Fat White Duchess
@Bill Arnold: Excellent analysis.