Yes, my little minions, I made it to and from Columbus in one piece. The greatest threat was potentially dying of boredom on the trip down from Lansing on Friday, which seemed endless, all gray skies and flat fields and nothing on the damn radio. I turned on Google Maps’ navigation function as I drew near, and it led me, turn by turn, into an area I remembered as a slum, where today the greatest threat is being hit by a guy on a $3,000 bicycle who was just doored by a BMW.
Gentrification. On the one hand, it displaces the poor. On the other, it displaces the Short North Posse.
Anyway, the party was fun. Nice to see friends old and new, and my biggest fear — that I’d look around and think, “What do I have in common with all these old people” — was not realized. We have a strange relationship with the people we work with; we often spend more time with them than our own families, and when it comes to an end? Sometimes we stay in touch, sometimes people fall off the earth. But it was great to see everyone.
Several journos-turned-authors in the group, or editors of authors. That was interesting. Also, lots had bailed out when the parachutes were still pretty big. Not so much anymore. The copy desk has already been outsourced – to Austin, Texas. That’s how you get mistakes like this, which is not the Columbus Dispatch’s, but a Michigan chain with similar cost pressures:
Oopsie. The Lions played the Giants this weekend, not the Cowboys.
And while you’re feeling contempt for the media, do consider that this AP photographer literally risked his life to capture some startling images of the Russian-ambassador assassination in Ankara earlier today.
A strange business. Let’s turn from the tragic to the comical, shall we?
Remember how Tim Goeglein disgraced himself and embarrassed his hometown paper by plagiarizing a couple dozen columns over the course of several years? Well, guess what? He’s writing again — for the same paper, which apparently now has no standards whatsoever.
But he’s delivering a message they’re comfortable with, so I guess all is forgiven:
In 1988 Dan Quayle became vice president of the United States and Dan Coats was plucked from near-obscurity by Indiana Gov. Robert Orr and appointed the new U.S. senator from Indiana. Without peer, Coats was the right man for the job because his character and integrity were unassailable and because he had never lost an election. Even though most Hoosiers hadn’t a clue who he was, those who knew him best knew his personal integrity and natural grace would carry him to the heights of political power.
It’s really a remarkable column. I’m sure it’s not plagiarized, but it’s so…weird and icky that I had to read it a couple times. Coats, who is leaving the Senate at the end of this term, moves Tim to many adjectives, most of them deployed with some stupid adverb, so he’s “loved and respected roundly and widely,” a man who “intentionally widened his gyre in a manner that would serve him and our country powerfully in all the years ahead.” Needless to say, his faith is “deeply felt.” About that faith:
It is that faith that is at the heart of the man himself – utterly foundational to understanding everything he finds most important in life: his long marriage to Marsha, his boundless love for their three children, and the unmatched devotion he has for their many grandchildren. His exceptional respect, love and devotion to his wife and family are his pillars.
Tim! If you’re reading this, here’s a lesson from Comp 101: Show, don’t tell. If you can’t think of a single anecdote or example of all this love and respect in action, adding a bunch of extra adjectives won’t help sell it. And if you choose the wrong ones, it’s just creepy. Lots of people respect, love and are devoted to their spouses and families, so to call one guy’s exceptional, absent of any evidence, is irritating to many readers. And almost everyone would do anything, even give their life, for their own child, so calling Coats’ paternal love boundless is just trite.
Also, stop saying categorical. And immutable. You use utterly twice in adjacent paragraphs. And slipping in the vanilla good in the midst of all that silly froufrou is almost jarring.
At the end, Tim stands revealed as the worst kind of boot-licking toady, all flattery and blandishments and sweet nothings in the ear. Which, when you come to think of it, is probably a good skill set in Washington these days. There’s a new administration hiring, and they like that stuff.
Expect spottier posting for the next couple of weeks, as we move through the holidays. The spirit may move within me, it may take a fortnight off. Fingers crossed.
alex said on December 19, 2016 at 6:08 pm
And Dan Coats is a man most worthy of an icky sendoff. I always thought that lying sack of shit deserved to be drenched in spittle, so it’s perhaps fitting to have La Goeglein give him a tongue bath.
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basset said on December 19, 2016 at 6:19 pm
The Short North Posse… wondered what was going to happen to Doughboy, and I see it went the way I’d expected.
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Suzanne said on December 19, 2016 at 6:34 pm
Funny the ire Evan Bayh brought forth from the likes of Tim Goeglein for (OMG!!) returning to politics after having been a lobbyist although that was exactly what Dan Coats did. It really does depend on whose ox is being gored, now doesn’t it?
I have, and continue to be, appalled at the boot licking (and whatever else they might be licking) of the right’s politicians and pundits. I would never have predicted it to this extent.Some, yes, but to see that almost none of them have any sort of ethics is an amazing thing to watch; amazing and frightening. I am sure they are pleased as punch to be in power and think of Trump as their toady. It remains to be seen if that plays out or if, at some point, Trump gets tired of playing their game and then what? A night of the long knives?
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Bill said on December 19, 2016 at 6:53 pm
I don’t know for certain, but my high school classmate, Sandy Wood, is at least partially responsible for the gentrification of Short North. http://woodcompanies.com
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Julie Robinson said on December 19, 2016 at 7:21 pm
Next trip, audio books. I promise, you’ll stay involved. Your library has many you’ll love.
I remember Goeglein as a smarmy youngster who got his little essays on the air at a radio station (WOWO?). He reminded me then of the obnoxious kids who got on student council and thought they were in charge of the world. Or the ones gave rah-rah Murica’ speeches for the American Legion scholarship contest. Many times they were the same. All fake, none with talent.
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Jim G said on December 19, 2016 at 8:45 pm
Dan Coats is the kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful human being I’ve ever known in my life.
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Sherri said on December 19, 2016 at 9:22 pm
You’d think a copy desk in Austin, TX would at least know the Lions weren’t playing the Cowboys. even if they didn’t know the Lions’ real opponent.
I don’t feel universal contempt for the media, just the media who suck up to power, like the ones who enjoyed drinks at Mar-a-lago and let Trump chat off the record and posed for a photo with him, when he stopped answering questions on the record from anybody weeks ago.
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Sue said on December 19, 2016 at 11:11 pm
And then he paid the doctor with a chicken.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/huizenga-son-broken-arm
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Dexter said on December 20, 2016 at 2:33 am
Yeah, well the other side had two lovable, dedicated, wonderfully compassionate servants as well, US Senator Vance Hartke, so beloved he was buried just a stone’s throw from JFK at Arlington, and Ed Roush, who served Indiana’s 5th until he had to run as a 4th District candidate,where he served another three terms on top of the five terms he served the 5th. I met Roush probably ten times, as he shook hands at factory entrances in late Octobers, and I used to attend rallies quite often…yep, Ed Roush had so much energy, apparently loving that job in Washington. Another much-loved pol was Birch Bayh, now nearly 89, still kickin’, it made me feel important when as a young teen I served him two Frescas at a banquet. …Coates, Quayle, Lugar…all of them gave me the agita.
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Jolene said on December 20, 2016 at 6:51 am
Nancy, in a Facebook comment I couldn’t find my way back to, you said that life in Russia seems to consist of drinking, recovery from drinking, and more drinking. Here’s a story about some folks who didn’t make it to recovery. This story reports a death toll of 48, but, on Twitter, the reporter who wrote it said it’s now up,to 55.
Life expectancy for men in Russia is 65 vs. 77 in the U.S., an enormous difference, though things are not moving in the right direction here either.
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Alan Stamm said on December 20, 2016 at 7:13 am
Also, not that you left much room for piling on Tin Ear Tim, but service as one of 50 senators isn’t literally “the heights of political power.”
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alex said on December 20, 2016 at 7:36 am
Also, not that you left much room for piling on Tin Ear Tim, but service as one of 50 senators isn’t literally “the heights of political power.”
In the era of Trump’s electoral and popular “landslides” it’s a trifle.
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basset said on December 20, 2016 at 8:49 am
Speaking of tongue baths, I was in the room for awhile last night as Mrs. B was watching the Oprah interview with Michelle Obama. Sheeeesh.
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brian stouder said on December 20, 2016 at 8:54 am
basset – agreed.
I tuned past that show, and stopped for a show about a kiddo who has a talent for constructing Christmas-lights displays.
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Heather said on December 20, 2016 at 9:05 am
I already some some Facebook chatter (friends of a friend) that the assassination in Turkey was a false flag. “Why are there so many photos? How did the photographer stay calm enough to take pictures?” etc etc. Um, because that’s their job?
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Suzanne said on December 20, 2016 at 9:41 am
Heather, I noticed the same thing. Just a few hours after and already, the conspiracy theories were out there. How could that cameraman kept filming? Why was he standing at a good angle to film? And on and on. How do these conspiracy people function in real life?
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Peter said on December 20, 2016 at 9:43 am
“intentionally widened his gyre” WTF? Or is it a “that’s what she said!”
Suzanne, what gets me about the boot licking is the scale of it all – seriously, I’m not that big a student of history, but when was it ever this bad? Forget the Democratic side – I don’t think it was this bad with Johnson, and that guy kept score. Reagan? I guess if the GOP had a majority in the House it would have been different, but I don’t recall it being this bad.
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brian stouder said on December 20, 2016 at 9:48 am
How did the photographer stay calm enough to take pictures?
Leaving aside the lunatic “false flag” crap, it’s a good question.
How did Zapruder keep a steady hand, and stay focused on filming?
I suppose it boils down to – if that’s all there is to do at that moment – then keep a steady hand and stay on it.
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Bitter Scribe said on December 20, 2016 at 9:52 am
There’s a new administration hiring, and they like that stuff.
Like that stuff? The guy soon to be in charge craves that stuff. He can’t get enough of it, never has and never will. It will guide all his decisions, personnel and otherwise, and will make him the most susceptible to manipulation of any president in U.S. history.
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Heather said on December 20, 2016 at 10:32 am
Also, it was at a *photography* exhibition, presumably with a lot of professional photographers in attendance.
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Suzanne said on December 20, 2016 at 10:33 am
Peter, there is a cynical part of me that thinks the Russian hacking brought forth all kinds of stuff on the GOP operatives and thus, all the licking. They have to stay on Trump & Putin’s good side or else. And is it really blackmail if they are so willing to succumb to it in order to remain in power? I don’t know.
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Jolene said on December 20, 2016 at 12:32 pm
Here’s what the photographer had to say about what happened.
https://www.apnews.com/eadca282d5d341a79bb464bbadc4fa11
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nancy said on December 20, 2016 at 12:40 pm
And if this isn’t the most AP edit ever:
Then came the gunshots in quick succession, and panic in the audience. The ambassador’s body lay on the floor, just meters (yards) away from me.
Only the AP would think to insert “yards” there. I’d bet a C-note that wasn’t the photog’s word choice.
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brian stouder said on December 20, 2016 at 2:35 pm
I’d betcha an icy cold Diet Pepsi (or Coke), just to be contrary, and because – who knows? – the guy might’ve been a little condescending*; but not a c-note!
*he might think ‘how many stupid yanks know what a meter is, aside from what generates your water bill?’
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Charlotte said on December 20, 2016 at 3:28 pm
Some good reporting on the opiod crisis from the WV Charleston Gazette-Mail: http://www.wvgazettemail.com/news-health/20161217/drug-firms-poured-780m-painkillers-into-wv-amid-rise-of-overdoses#sthash.uP4pg9x3.dpuf
“The unfettered shipments amount to 433 pain pills for every man, woman and child in West Virginia.”
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Sherri said on December 20, 2016 at 3:29 pm
Sue @8:
Republicans think our health care is too expensive because poor people use too much of it, i.e. any of it. To think otherwise would be to go against their world view that rich people can never have too much money.
If you are poor, it’s because you are lazy and dependent upon government handouts. Just read any of the interviews with Trump supporters, pre or post elections. They deserve their government handouts, the problem is those other people who won’t work because living off the government is too easy.
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LAMary said on December 20, 2016 at 3:59 pm
Good news for a change. I got a job and it’s a good one.
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brian stouder said on December 20, 2016 at 4:03 pm
Mary, that is the very best news I’ve heard today/this week/this month….and it’s top-5 for the year, too!
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Jolene said on December 20, 2016 at 4:16 pm
Great news, Mary. Tell us about it.
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LAMary said on December 20, 2016 at 4:28 pm
I will be recruiting for a new acute rehab hospital here in LA. It’s affiliated with two very prestigious hospitals here and it’s part of a national company that operates rehab facilities for some of the best hospitals nationally. I am very happy. I get to hire staff for three floors they are looking to have open by the end of February.
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Colleen said on December 20, 2016 at 4:53 pm
Congratulations Mary!
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Sherri said on December 20, 2016 at 5:09 pm
Congratulations, Mary!
Jeff(tmmo), if you’re lurking about, the latest episode of the podcast 99% Invisible has a brief story about Circleville, OH, and the original city design for building on top of a Native American mound: http://99percentinvisible.org/episode/mini-stories-volume-1/
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Julie Robinson said on December 20, 2016 at 5:18 pm
Mary, that’s wonderful! Hope this place appreciates you more than the last.
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basset said on December 20, 2016 at 5:20 pm
Really happy for you, Mary!
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LAMary said on December 20, 2016 at 5:45 pm
Thank you for the good wishes. It’s great to have you all as friends, really it is. There is a lot of caring in this group.
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Deni Menken said on December 20, 2016 at 6:17 pm
LA Mary, that is just the best news right now. You can just relax and enjoy the holidays. I am so relieved for you. It does feel like we are all in this together.
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Suzanne said on December 20, 2016 at 6:37 pm
Hooray for you, Mary!!
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MichaelG said on December 20, 2016 at 6:45 pm
So you all know I’ve been hanging more and more with my (ex) wife, T. We had lunch today at Mulvaney’s. It’s the fourth time in the last few weeks and it ain’t cheap. There’s a small bar overlooking the prep kitchen and I reserved seats there. Lucky because the place was packed beyond 2:00. They had a fois gras appetizer which we ordered and they comped. We’re officially regulars now!
T suggested Christmas Eve at her house so there will be a full family at Christmas for the first time in nine or ten years. Yea!
Also we will be going to Mexico (Todos Santos) in January. Me for about five days and T for a couple of weeks. I know I sound awfully selfish and self-absorbed but I feel so much better than I did just a little while ago that it’s almost miraculous. Back in October I honestly thought I was dying. Right now I’m a happy camper. Who knows how long I’ll feel good but I’m going to take every advantage of it.
Fantastic news, Mary! Wonderful. That just completes my Christmas.
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alex said on December 20, 2016 at 6:58 pm
Yay Mary and MichaelG too!
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Jolene said on December 20, 2016 at 7:18 pm
In addition to simply having a job, being a recruiter seems like a great thing. Will be very satisfying, I’m sure, to find just the right people to staff a new organization, as well as to help people who are seeking new jobs. Matchmaking is always fun!
Great news, MichaelG. Am really happy to hear that you are feeling well, and it sounds like you and T. are finding new ways to be together that are good for both of you. A great state of mind to take into the holidays or, really, for any time.
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Julie Robinson said on December 20, 2016 at 7:25 pm
Michael, wonderful healing news!
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Sherri said on December 20, 2016 at 7:32 pm
I’m so happy for you, MichaelG!
In sadder news, my mother-in-law is declining much more rapidly than expected. Back in the summer, she was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis, but wasn’t responding to treatment very well. After more tests, the doctors decided that she had ALS, too. Originally, they thought her prognosis was 2-3 years, but her condition has deteriorated. Today, her doctor was talking 6 months. Her breathing has been greatly compromised, as has her swallowing. There had been a plan to put in a feeding tube in the next few days, but now her breathing may be too compromised to do that without a trach, which she had wanted to avoid.
We are scheduled to go out there after New Year’s, but we may have to move the trip up. The goal had been for our daughter to spend some time with her, since it had been obvious since summer that my MIL would not be able to travel out here for my daughter’s college graduation this May. It had become increasingly clear to us over the last month that she might not even live that long.
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Suzanne said on December 20, 2016 at 9:13 pm
Happy news and sad today. Best wishes to all of you!
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Dorothy said on December 20, 2016 at 9:26 pm
Sherri I’m so sorry to hear about your mother-in-law. I’m glad she has such a loving family to look after her and help her in these final months.
And Michael G and Mary – that is just such wonderful news from both of you! Mary it seems like you weren’t out of work for more than maybe 8 weeks? I forgot when you lost your job. As the wife of a cancer survivor, Michael (also my husband’s name) I can really appreciate your good health and all the positive feelings you are experiencing Michael. Here’s hoping it persists for a very long time. And we’ve also been through two job losses, Mary, so getting the news that you’ve been hired must have been so exciting and the answer to many hours of worry and stress. What a great way to lead into the holidays!
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basset said on December 20, 2016 at 10:12 pm
Steppenwolf just came up on the Sirius radio… “America, where are you now? Don’t you care about your sons and daughters? Don’t you know we need you now,
We can’t fight alone against the monster…”
Indeed. Just a different monster these days.
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Jill said on December 20, 2016 at 10:20 pm
MichaelG and Mary, you made my day. Great news and I’m happy for both of you.
Sherri, I’m sorry about what your family is facing. ALS is an awful thing. Good thoughts to you.
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Diane said on December 21, 2016 at 2:05 am
LA Mary – Congratulations!
Michael – that’s wonderful!
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Dexter said on December 21, 2016 at 3:07 am
Looks like LAMary will be rolling in fast cash and MichaelG will be spending just as much…great reports…glad you are feeling so well these days MichaelG. Way to go LAMary, finding work in your field and seeming excited about it.
We’ll be heading back to Columbus as usual for Christmas. Oh snap…look what time it is…3:00 AM, and I have an appointment at the Toledo VA Community Outpatient Clinic in a few hours.
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Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on December 21, 2016 at 7:11 am
Huzzah and hallelujah for LAMary and MichaelG; Sherri, I could tell you some fun and infuriating stories about Circleville, but I’ll try to listen to the podcast before I do so — after New Year’s! Two funerals here last week and one this week, plus some major health crises in the congregation has the season feeling . . . complex. Got my son on the bus with the Marching 110 to Mobile yesterday, and you can look for the tall clarinet player in the crowd shots of the band on ESPN Friday, 8 pm. I hear there’s a football game, too.
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Jenine said on December 21, 2016 at 9:05 am
Yay Mary! Cheers MichaelG! Sympathy to Sherri, sorry for your MIL’s decline. And huzzah for the band, Jtmmo. (Whew, things are hopping around here.)
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alex said on December 21, 2016 at 9:08 am
I haven’t done Christmas cards in many years, although I’m tempted to resume the tradition with cards like these.
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Connie said on December 21, 2016 at 9:23 am
I get a pile of corporate cards at work that are close to meaningless. And I get several large glass jars of nuts. And big things of Costco cookies. From architects and my cleaning company and my construction manager and on and on. Yesterday at home a huge Harry and David package and an Omaha Steaks box. Only the Steak box is a personal gift. I used to feel guilty about those corporate gifts. But I got over it. It is always from a rep or company with whom I already do business.
The Omaha steaks box reminds me that I meant to tell you we are no longer cooking steaks on the grill. We are using the Omaha steaks sear and roast method and every steak turns out perfect. http://www.omahasteaks.com/servlet/OnlineShopping?Dsp=32&FID=sear_roasting_cookchart&title=Sear+Roasting+Cooking+Chart
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Sue said on December 21, 2016 at 10:47 am
How Santa got his job:
https://www.facebook.com/KinneTVshow/videos/1193790857374593/
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Judybusy said on December 21, 2016 at 10:50 am
Such welcome news for LAMary and MichaelG! Mary, I must have missed the post about your job loss–so I’m sorry to hear you had to go through that, and very excited for your new opportunity. MichaelG, don’t worry about being self-absorbed. I know we all enjoy your updates.
Sherri, I’m so sorry to hear about your mother-in-law. I am glad you can be there for her.
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brian stouder said on December 21, 2016 at 10:59 am
Alex @ 50 – marvelous stuff!
We have an aunt who does the Christmas newsletter thing, and she was mostly fine; two pages of updates and so on.
But she couldn’t resist, and the last two or three sentences pretty clearly lauded the results of our late election, albeit in couched terms….and one of those cards would pretty much fill-the-bill!
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MichaelG said on December 21, 2016 at 12:28 pm
Thanks for all the good wishes. This is turning out to be one of the best Christmases (sp?) ever. I can’t tell you how much I’ve enjoyed all the time I’ve been spending with T lately.
I’ve been screwing with my email but got some more goofy shit yesterday. I have a guy coming out tomorrow so everything should be good then.
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LAMary said on December 21, 2016 at 12:59 pm
Wow, thank all of you for your good wishes. And Michael, have a great time with your family and on your trip.
I was laid off on November 7, so not that long ago. I think that my experience as a recruiter helped me find a new job. Not just because health care recruiters are in demand but because as a recruiter you have some insight into has the hiring process works. I wasn’t really ready to jump into interviewing until about three weeks ago, but I was reading all the job postings and checking Glassdoor for employee ratings of different companies.
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Connie said on December 21, 2016 at 2:08 pm
Also as to Congressman Bill Huizenga who waited to get his son’s broken arm treated. I knew Bill as a little kid running around the neighborhood. His much older half brother and sister were very close friends of mine for many years. I knew his mother very well and she would never have made him wait to get his broken arm looked at. Just saying.
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Sue said on December 21, 2016 at 2:24 pm
Sherri @25, I know I have read that people experiencing health insurance for the first time have been having some trouble figuring out how to use it – as in still going to the ER or thinking they need to go to the doc on the first day of a cold, etc. It’s a learning curve and I don’t hold it against them.
But what is this whole ‘I have insurance, I get everything free, money is no option’ attitude that people like that politician think we all have? Who do you know who isn’t afraid to actually USE their insurance?
Big push at my workplace is not to use clinics or hospitals for tests etc. Get your MRI at a standalone place. And it makes sense. But like everything else the thinking goes from A – B instead of A – unintended consequence.
Of course you will go to the cheapest place. And then expect your hospital or clinic to be full service when you need it.
On a related note, I emailed my vet clinic yesterday wondering whether I needed to bring my cat in. As I would in a phone call, I described symptoms and asked if a visit was necessary. I received a reply that said we don’t diagnose by email and if you are worried make an appointment. Ok. Then I remembered at work they were pushing a service that allowed a doc to talk to you over the phone and decide what was going on. Prescribe drugs and everything, without a visit. They actually mentioned how useful it would be when your kids have ear infections etc. So – I get a curt reply from my vet telling me to $$ if I want to know, and my work insurance is thinking of going with someone who will be prescribing drugs over the phone. And I’ll bet they’re both responding to the same money pressures.
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Sherri said on December 21, 2016 at 2:33 pm
I can’t necessarily fault Huizenga for waiting a day to get his son’s arm taken care of. It’s not always clear at all that there’s a fracture. I’ve had three fractures that nobody thought were fractures on physical examination but were obvious fractures on X-ray, and a complete ACL tear that wasn’t diagnosed until the MRI. I continued the activity I was doing when I suffered the injury for three of those four events.
I can fault the Congressman for generalizing from his specific case to what everybody else should do, and for not having a clue about how not having insurance or having high deductible insurance impacts the process of getting care. He waited until the next morning knowing that his child would be taken care of the next day if the injury was more serious, that he could go to the ER secure in the knowledge that he could pay the bills, his son would get the X-ray, would be seen by a specialist if necessary, would get surgery if needed to make sure the bone healed correctly, would get the appropriate followup care, and that none of that would constitute a financial emergency or cause him to miss work and not get paid or lose his job taking his child to followup care.
People who think that everyone has the same options they do drive me nuts. I was having a discussion with a friend (not a Trump voter) about voter ID laws, and she was in favor of them (we don’t have them in WA, we don’t even vote in person). She just thought they sounded reasonable, even though there wasn’t any problem with in-person voter fraud. She also hadn’t thought about how voter ID laws were implemented, or how people who don’t drive don’t necessarily have a photo ID, or how difficult it might be to get on. To be fair, she thought that if the state required them, the state should make it very easy to get one, but she hadn’t thought about the likelihood of states being willing to pay for that happening.
Just a suburban mom who has a difficult time seeing a different frame.
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LAMary said on December 21, 2016 at 3:45 pm
Connie, I don’t know Bill Huizenga but having a Frisian father I was not at all surprised they waited. My father broke his arm when he was a kid and his father “set” it himself. No doctor. Remarkably it worked and my father didn’t have anything weird about his arm.
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Sherri said on December 21, 2016 at 5:04 pm
One more thing Huizenga didn’t have to worry about: someone deciding he wasn’t a fit father and taking his child away because he chose to save money no wait to get his child’s broken arm treated.
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Julie Robinson said on December 21, 2016 at 5:20 pm
Our son broke his pinky finger playing football at recess when he was maybe 8. He didn’t even mention it that night and it took two or three days to swell and for his pain to reach a level where it concerned him. Then we had him right to the doc and after an X-ray all they did was tape his last two fingers together. No one seemed to think it was a big deal that we had waited. They just said it can be hard to tell.
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Sherri said on December 21, 2016 at 5:56 pm
I was going to write something about the way opioids had been dumped into West Virginia like someone was getting rid of their stash in a hurry before the cops came, and about Senator Joe Manchin, the worthless Democrat whose daughter was last noticed jacking up the price of Epipens from her post as CEO of a pharmaceutical company, but who can compete with Charlie Pierce?
http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/news/a51734/joe-manchin-war-on-drugs/
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Sherri said on December 21, 2016 at 6:22 pm
Ted Cruz stands ready once again to save homophobic bakers, florists, and pizza makers from gay cooties, and this time, he thinks he will succeed (part the nth in it’s not just Trump): http://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/first-amendment-defense-act-would-be-devastating-lgbtq-americans-n698416
The religious extremists who want this have been convinced that the federal government is persecuting them ever since the IRS took away Bob Jones University’s tax exempt status over their ban on interracial dating. That was the original animating cause of the Moral Majority types, not Roe v. Wade. Abortion was just easier to fundraise off of than keep the n****** away from our women.
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David C. said on December 21, 2016 at 6:36 pm
As long as Kennedy is still on the court, I don’t think an act like that would go anywhere. I guess that’s one thing his nearly worthless ass is good for.
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susan said on December 21, 2016 at 6:55 pm
The coming racist theocracy is more than a’trickling in… Alabam Gov. Robert Bentley interviews Roy Moore for potential US Senate seat, to replace racist theocrat Jeff Sessions who will be replacing USAG Loretta Lynch. Holy shit. That useless fob, twice-suspended state supreme court factotum, Roy Moore. For four years in the US Senate. What is happening to this country is just so hard to fathom.
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Sherri said on December 21, 2016 at 7:26 pm
Kennedy is probably reliable against Cruz’s plan, but he’s 80. RBG is 83, and Breyer is 78. The Republicans are not likely to allow Trump to get by with a moderate justice, and the Dems won’t filibuster forever.
The ACLU will certainly sue, but the Republicans are going to push everything they can, and as we saw in North Carolina, change the rules when they lose.
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Charlotte said on December 21, 2016 at 9:38 pm
Sherri — I’m being driven to distraction by clueless white suburban guys my age (50s) who I either went to college or high school with, who think everything is going to be “just fine” and “it’s only 4 years” and “how much damage can he do?” and “the system won’t let anything too bad happen.”
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Sherri said on December 21, 2016 at 10:23 pm
Suburban white guys get to be clueless most of the time. They never recognize it as privilege.
When they figure out that the Republicans are going to screw them over Medicare, too, then maybe they’ll wake up.
In other news, the California DMV finally got Uber to back down. To recap, Uber put autonomous vehicles in San Francisco without getting the appropriate permit, California said, get the permit or get off the road, Uber said, not gonna do it.
The DMV cancelled the registrations of the vehicles. Uber pulled the vehicles off the road.
No one really knows why Uber refused to get the permit; it’s neither pricey nor onerous. It does require that any accidents be reported and made public.
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Sherri said on December 21, 2016 at 11:14 pm
Maybe some of those Trump voters should have taken him literally: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-voters-planned-parenthood_us_585ab7cde4b0d9a59456bfb8?seud9zixyd8daq0k9
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susan said on December 21, 2016 at 11:19 pm
Sherri @70 –
Poor dears.
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john (not mccain) said on December 22, 2016 at 8:46 am
“the system won’t let anything too bad happen.”
Donald Trump being elected president is one of the “too bads” the system was supposed to prevent. American institutions have been failing for a while because conservatives are not interested in respecting norms; they merely crave power. Fortunately the middle class peckerwoods who vote for them are dying off at a higher rate than they used to. Hope it’s enough to save the country.
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