Well, this is how I spent Wednesday. And this is how my colleague Ron spent the day. I encourage you to scroll down, in Ron’s story, to the subhead on the electoral college. If the legislature takes up that one during lame duck, I might disappear like Coozledad. That fight will make Right to Work look like a picnic.
Some bloggage, before I get back to work:
Hank on “The Comeback,” which I am anticipating like a big slice of cake.
…and that’s it. I’m so election-full, I’m electioned out. Back to more civilized content tomorrow, I think.
brian stouder said on November 6, 2014 at 12:02 pm
Superb (and scarey) Bridge stuff, indeed.
If Michigan is now a really Red State, then one wonders whether the legislature really would try and do the gerrymandered Electoral College thing, instead of the winner-take-all method that they (and 48 other states) have.
267 chars
beb said on November 6, 2014 at 1:11 pm
Anyone who thinks a super-majority of Republicans in the legislature will allow the R’s to become more moderate is an idiot. Every legislator lives in fear of being primaried come the next election cycle, so every Republican will continue hewing to the most extreme conservative ideology around. Forget the electorial college. Personhood anyone?
345 chars
Scout said on November 6, 2014 at 1:28 pm
Time to obstruct and fire up the veto pen. We don’t have a country any more anyway. If the Dems we have left don’t play dirty with these assholes, they’re just a bunch of Charlie Browns landing on their back every single time.
226 chars
Jolene said on November 6, 2014 at 1:30 pm
Personhood amendments failed in Colorado and North Dakota on Tuesday. As I understand it, that was the third time it had been voted down in Colorado. Also, in ND, the legislator who has been the most extreme anti-abortion activist and the chief proponent of the personhood amendment was voted out of office. A year or two ago, a personhood amendment was voted down in Mississippi. You’d think, after while, people would get the idea that this idea isn’t popular.
462 chars
Jolene said on November 6, 2014 at 1:48 pm
On the other hand, some people just can’t resist bringing up bad ideas whose time has passed. Here’s a group that wants to establish a Confederate Heritage Month in Mississippi. But, who knows, maybe they are right. It’d certainly be an easier route to promoting pride in the state than actually doing something about Mississippi’s perennial last place on measures of education, health, infant mortality, teenage pregnancy, and poverty.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/magnolia-state-heritage-confederacy-month-ballot-initiative
538 chars
Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on November 6, 2014 at 2:24 pm
Not all pro-lifers like the personhood amendment, btw.
I’m intrigued by Joe Biden’s maneuvers on Election Day and following; he really does look like he’s at the very least keeping the option open. Maybe he thinks “if for some bizarre reason Hillary doesn’t run, I will” or he’s actually planning to go against her, but he’s certainly showing sharper instincts than most. Making calls, making sure the right calls are noticed by the media, showing up just the right amount in front of cameras. It will be interesting to watch him these next few months.
And on Facebook, you really should search “Motivational Biden” and “Like” that page.
643 chars
brian stouder said on November 6, 2014 at 2:24 pm
Jolene – that is fairly astounding. While we are in somewhat bumpy times, how freaked out would we be (I can’t really imagine) – if this was 1957 in Little Rock, or 1963 in Tuscaloosa; places where actual United States troops intervened to ensure that concepts like ‘justice’ and ‘opportunity’, let alone “self-evident truths” (like ‘all men are created equal’) were not just dead and dried-up platitudes and frippery, but really true and alive and active organizing principles of the United States? That Mississippi group sounds more than a little loopy, but we’ve had much worse, in the not-too-distant past.
642 chars
brian stouder said on November 6, 2014 at 2:32 pm
(and by the way – although I’m certainly not a Constitutional Scholar, it sure does look to me like that Mississippi mish-mash would violate the establishment clause of the United Staes Consitution, quite apart from offending the sensibilities of reasonable people everywhere)
276 chars
Sue said on November 6, 2014 at 2:49 pm
I’d put a Joe Biden sticker on my Trans-Am.
43 chars
paddyo' said on November 6, 2014 at 3:37 pm
Jolene @4: The Colorado personhood-amendment folks are actually touting their 2-to-1 margin of defeat as a vicvictory because they got 10 percent more of the vote this time than in the previous two tries. Clearly, they won’t take no for an answer — and I’m guessing they probably think that if they hammer away long enough, they might somehow turn the electorate. (Not unlike the GOP and Obamacare, I s’pose . . . )
524 chars
Suzanne said on November 6, 2014 at 6:11 pm
I definitely lean pro-life, but these personhood amendments scare me. Do people not realize that under one of these laws, every miscarriage would be suspect and need to be investigated. What did the mother eat? Drink? What physical activity did she engage in that might CAUSE this? Frightening.
294 chars
Sherri said on November 6, 2014 at 6:46 pm
The 6th Circuit did as expected, and we have a circuit split. It will be harder for SCOTUS to duck same sex marriage next session.
http://www.scotusblog.com/2014/11/sixth-circuit-the-split-on-same-sex-marriage/
213 chars
Deborah said on November 6, 2014 at 8:54 pm
I don’t know what I think about Biden. On the one hand I think the right wing is trying to promote Biden because they know he’s a weaker candidate than Hilary, and on the other hand I can see that to them Biden is more in their mindset. But what do I know. I do know it’s a long shot but I would love to see Elizabeth Warren as president someday. Maybe after Hilary?
366 chars
brian stouder said on November 6, 2014 at 10:21 pm
Deborah – I’m quite taken by Senator Warren; she has tons of brains, and she comes across as a straight-shooter.
Honestly, as 2016 rolls toward us, one thing Hillary Clinton doesn’t seem to represent (to me, anyway) – is a symbol of “change”. In fact, then-Senator Obama defeated her on precisely that ground, and if the Republicans are smart (which they are, in the same sense as Ben the rat in the movie Willard was, but we digress!) then they will emulate how Senator Obama defeated HRC in ’08.
Senator Warren sounds like today and tomorrow (as opposed to yesterday) to me…but then again, I suppose I’m still shaking off the national drubbing the Democratic party took yesterday, all across the nation.
SecState Clinton looks like status quo – if not an actual step backward in time.
The republican that I think might surprise us all is John Kasich (spelling?) of Ohio, because….Ohio!
912 chars
Sherri said on November 7, 2014 at 12:20 am
I couldn’t make this up if I tried. Guys, you may find this TMI.
https://www.elvie.com/
90 chars
Deborah said on November 7, 2014 at 5:30 am
Oh my.
6 chars
David C. said on November 7, 2014 at 7:05 am
Warren/Franken 2016? I’d go for that. I think Al laid low for his first term because of the razor thin margin he won with. Now that he has won re-election with a comfortable margin, I hope he steps up and takes a more visible role. I heard him speak during his book tour for “The Truth with Jokes”. He’s brilliant and funny as hell. We could do a lot worse.
357 chars
brian stouder said on November 7, 2014 at 8:24 am
Al Franken can draw a map of the United States, state to state, freehand and from memory.
Having seen that, I agree; that guy is deceptively brilliant
153 chars
Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on November 7, 2014 at 9:04 am
Spent an interesting hour on lockdown in the court offices for my department, a few blocks east of these events. A parishoner of mine has his office/shop right in the middle of where all this went down, and I had attempted to counsel with the already ex-girlfriend of the suspect three weeks ago — so this is all very personal, including the fact that Officer Conley is one of our best and best-trained officers for mental health interventions and crisis response. Very glad he’s going to be okay. Anyhow, I’m somewhat amazed this story hasn’t captured more national attention, but I guess the British footage is more compelling in a freaky, face-to-face sort of way:
ttp://ohne.ws/1pvwToy
693 chars
Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on November 7, 2014 at 9:04 am
Hmmm.
http://ohne.ws/1pvwToy
31 chars
brian stouder said on November 7, 2014 at 9:12 am
Wow.
That story could have been so much worse, at several junctures.
I’d say the videos will make it national
116 chars
alex said on November 7, 2014 at 9:25 am
Greetings from the City on the Take.
My EZ Pass worked fine on the Toll Road but they shook me down for cash on the Chicago Skyway and told me the EZ Pass was “invalid.” I did a lot of driving on Illinois tollways yesterday and I went to look at my bank account activity online and don’t see any debits so I find it a bit concerning.
336 chars
Connie said on November 7, 2014 at 9:45 am
When I got my Indiana EZPass I made a deposit on account of something like $40. Actually I think that was part of the price for buying it. The tolls are deducted from that. When the deposit is low the electronic message at the exit in Indiana will tell you. Then they debit another $10 for the account, so the individual tolls don’t get deducted.
Mine worked on the skyway a few years ago, perhaps the agreement between the two states has changed. Also mine worked in Ohio and Pennsylvania as well.
505 chars
Deborah said on November 7, 2014 at 9:50 am
Quite an event Jeff tmmo. Hope the guy gets the help he needs while in prison or where ever.
92 chars
brian stouder said on November 7, 2014 at 10:50 am
Gotta say – Thread Win for Sherri at 25!!
And the thing about these quantifiable exercise apps is, people then compare numbers, and try to one-up (so to speak) each other.
Which means that….never mind!
210 chars
brian stouder said on November 7, 2014 at 10:51 am
Make that 15!!
14 chars
Deborah said on November 7, 2014 at 11:17 am
I got my boarding pass for tomorrow’s flight back to Chicago. I checked the weather there again and of course next week we’re in for temps with highs in the 30s. I will miss these mountains but then again when I’m in Chicago I get to look out at the lake.
Until this thread about Illinois toll roads, I didn’t realize that you could get a temporary pass. I thought you had to pay for a year or something and had to keep an electronic gizmo on your car dash. I rarely use the tollroads because I hardly ever drive in and around Chicago but it sure would have come in handy when I took my road trip this summer, driving in and out of Chicago is a bummer if you have to stop and pay tolls in cash.
698 chars
susan said on November 7, 2014 at 11:17 am
Wow. Did y’all see this? I suppose there is something to say for getting shit out in the open, but then it means bigots are increasingly comfortable with being out and out bigots. And what does that mean?
300 chars
alex said on November 7, 2014 at 11:25 am
Connie, I spoke by phone with EZ Pass customer service and they said other people have been having problems with the Skyway for the last few days. Otherwise all of my tolls in Illinois yesterday were recorded and when they reach a certain amount, my bank account will be debited. These days there’s no need for a deposit if you set up a direct debit.
Enjoyed cocktails last night with friends, including a creative writing prof at one of the local universities* who had some very funny rants about “kids these days.” (Prestigious school that shall go unnamed.) He says a lot of them seem to be animated by a bizarre mix of conservative paranoia and liberal victimhood. Increasingly, there are students who complain that there weren’t any “trigger warnings” given when their fellow students’ work is discussed in class, and a lot of this bullcrap appears to be just arbitrary potshots by lesser writers aimed at the better ones. Then there are the “cisnormative standards” police who scold anyone whose work doesn’t flatter their gender politics.
People demanding self-censorship by others in a creative writing class. As if it weren’t difficult enough to put yourself out there for judgment already.
In his many years teaching, my friend has never seen so many self-entitled brats engaged in so much silliness and he thinks a lot of this is the result of hover parenting and computers having taken the place of real social interaction.
1445 chars
brian stouder said on November 7, 2014 at 11:40 am
Kids, nowadays!
15 chars
Jolene said on November 7, 2014 at 2:38 pm
More bad news for supporters of Obama and the ACA, AKA Obamacare. The Supreme Court has agreed to take up a case that, in my view, is the stupidest of all the legal challenges that have been undertaken.
Essentially, the case argues that because of a certain phrase in the law, it is illegal for the government to provide subsidies for the purchase of insurance through the federal exchange. Subsidies can only be provided, the challengers argue, through exchanges established by the states. And, as we know, many states, mainly headed by Republican governors, have not set up their own exchanges. If the Supreme Court finds for the challengers, people in those states would immediately lose their insurance.
Here’s how the NYT explains the case: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/19/us/supreme-court-upholds-texas-voter-id-law.html?_r=0
839 chars
Jolene said on November 7, 2014 at 2:50 pm
Note that the Times describes the case that Court has accepted, King v. Burwell, as being brought by four individuals in Virginia, but, of course, the case was really concocted by opponents of the ACA, this time from the Cato Institute, which, if I recall correctly, is also responsible for District of Columbia v. Heller, the case that undid DC’s handgun ban. Clearly, this organization is interested in achieving maximal social good.
Here’s another piece on the case re the ACA that provides a bit more background, including the idea that everyone involved in writing the law believes that the interpretation put forth by the challengers (i.e., the idea that subsidies must be funneled through state exchanges) is entirely antithetical to their intentions.
http://www.newrepublic.com/article/120198/supreme-court-grants-cert-obamacare-challenge-king-v-burwell
881 chars
brian stouder said on November 7, 2014 at 3:28 pm
So, corporations are people (my friends!); but insurance companies are…deities – which we musn’t touch or corrupt or defile….and if the Blessed Insurance Companies decide you are unworthy and should die, well, too bad!
229 chars
Jolene said on November 7, 2014 at 4:52 pm
This case doesn’t have to do with the insurance companies. It is strictly a legal maneuver by people who, for political or ideological reasons, want to kill the ACA. Insurance companies have, as I hear it, been responding favorably to their initial year of experience with the ACA. More companies are offering a greater variety of plans in more states for the upcoming Year 2 enrollment period, and the rate increases are within the realm of reason.
449 chars
Deborah said on November 7, 2014 at 6:12 pm
I had a heart attack when I read Jolene’s comment at #31 but then Littlehttp://www.c Bird reminded me that New Mexico has its own exchange. I really hope LB can hang on to her coverage through this Republican take-over. I can’t imagine it will be very popular if they pull the rug out from under millions of people.
317 chars
Deborah said on November 7, 2014 at 6:27 pm
I have no idea what happened when I typed “Little Bird” in my last comment. Weird.
82 chars
Jolene said on November 7, 2014 at 6:55 pm
I had actually looked up New Mexico’s status, Deborah, because I wondered about Little Bird. I can’t quite imagine what will happen if the Supreme Court accepts the challengers’ argument. Will the ACA continue in effect for states that have their own exchanges, but not in those that don’t? I don’t know, but it seems like that would be the basis for another set of lawsuits.
375 chars
David C. said on November 8, 2014 at 7:24 am
I finally got around to looking your article from The Bridge that you link to Nancy. I have one question. Why did The Bridge put a map of Michigan with the counties that went for Snyder colored red, and the ones going for Schauer blue without the context population density? Such a map doesn’t explain, it distorts. I’m sure everyone remembers the maps showing the counties Bush won versus the ones won by Gore. Remember all the comments of “See, look at all the red counties, Bush won!”? The Bridge getting the same thing in the comments from John. “Look at the map, it’s red”, he says. A better context, it seems, would be Snyder won with a pretty anemic majority compared to recent Governors, and that more people voted for Democrats for the State House and the US House, yet Republicans took way more seats. It’s a shame that didn’t come from the article, but from the comments. I really don’t know what to think of this coming from a shop that tries, and usually succeeds, at playing things right down the middle – sometimes to a fault. If I was truth squading this article I’d give it a warning.
1119 chars
nancy said on November 8, 2014 at 10:40 am
It’s more of an inside-Michigan thing. Snyder won by a large margin in 2010, and got almost all the independents and even moderate Democrats. The Dem candidate in 2010 was weak and had zero ideas, and Snyder sold himself as a social moderate and technocrat — the famous “one tough nerd” campaign. Then he got into office, gave business a huge tax break (paid for by individuals) and claimed it would bring job creation. It hasn’t, although the economy has improved overall, mainly because of the auto industry recovery. He also knuckled under to the right wing of his party on several key issues, but did succeed in getting Medicaid expansion passed. So it was pretty clear he wasn’t going to win by the same margins. The idea of the map was to show how much they shrunk.
But I hear you on the red/blue thing.
812 chars
David C. said on November 8, 2014 at 7:24 am
Whoops, I f-ed up the italics. Sorry.
37 chars
Deborah said on November 8, 2014 at 9:52 am
I’m waiting at the Albuquerque airport for my flight to Chicago. I had to get up at 4 this morning, took a cab to the shuttle stop at 5, left on shuttle finally at 6 and now I’ve got an hour and a half wait for my flight. It’s a 3 hour flight and I’m already exhausted.
I see those red and blue maps all the time, they are deceiving. I saw a map one time that I think I linked to once here, that showed in orange where half of the population live, it had a remarkably small amount of orange. I will try to find it again.
523 chars
Deborah said on November 8, 2014 at 10:03 am
Well, I couldn’t find the map I was looking for but I found this instead about population density in the world, off topic but interesting: http://persquaremile.com/2012/08/08/if-the-worlds-population-lived-like/. Wow does Houston ever have a sprawl problem.
257 chars
Jolene said on November 8, 2014 at 10:51 am
These may be the sort of maps Dave C. was talking about. I found this (and lots more) by googling “US election results maps.”
http://vserver1.cscs.lsa.umich.edu/~crshalizi/election/
184 chars