What do you call a day with three hours of meetings? (With an extra hour for management, plus driving, plus some of another meeting?) Long, that’s what. So here I am at the keys, thinking: I’m not into this.
On the other hand, so much news today. The big news! More news: Right-wing Barbie suspended for thinking independently. And then, of course, the SCOTUS hearing process began.
Isn’t that enough to discuss for 24 hours? I hope so, because I don’t have much more.
Suzanne said on March 20, 2017 at 9:38 pm
I checked the Fox News website sometime this afternoon after Comey’s testimony. Of course their very large top story was that the White House Stands It’s Ground! You had to scroll down a ways to the stories in much smaller print to read what the WH was standing its ground against.
It freaking never ends.
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Sherri said on March 20, 2017 at 10:05 pm
Ivanka is moving into the West Wing: http://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/first-daughter-ivanka-trump-gets-west-wing-office/
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alex said on March 21, 2017 at 5:05 am
Our own Brian Stouder makes his star turn.
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Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on March 21, 2017 at 7:39 am
Yes, let’s make it a criteria that only people who can do midday meetings can qualify. WHAT? That’s like saying we only want lawyers, real estate developers, and elderly cranks to be on the school board. Unacceptable.
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alex said on March 21, 2017 at 7:42 am
The witch who stipulated to the midday thing is the board’s token right-wing crank, so I wouldn’t pay it much.
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Danny said on March 21, 2017 at 7:54 am
Midday meetings: “That’s when the magic happens”
Guffaw!!!
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Deborah said on March 21, 2017 at 8:06 am
Go Brian! First the school board, then city council, then mayor!
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Jolene said on March 21, 2017 at 8:19 am
Hope it flies, Brian. Can we send a testimonial on your behalf? Am sure we can put together a convincing endorsement.
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brian stouder said on March 21, 2017 at 8:40 am
Well, I don’t think I did anything egregiously wrong* – and the interview was interesting and somewhat wide-ranging.
I went second, so for the first 20 minutes the 3 other fellows and I sat in a conference room and gabbed.
(each candidate was called into the boardroom separately, so as not to hear the questions before it was their turn)
In NCAA terms, I think I’m one of those 6 or 7 -seeded teams that make it past the first round or two….but beyond that – we shall see(!). If nothing else, I believe I set the base-line, so there’s that; and we’ll know more in April.
*I might have gushed a little, about how wonderful the other candidates were…!!
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coozledad said on March 21, 2017 at 8:41 am
https://twitter.com/dru_star/status/843958892077965313
Both Nunes and Burr are tasked with killing the investigation. The entire Republican party sinks or swims with Donward Pussyhands.
Also, Rex Tillerson cancels a NATO meeting to go buff Putin’s crank. These fucksticks are working from a Terry Southern storyboard.
https://twitter.com/ClaraJeffery/status/844061767403630592
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Peter said on March 21, 2017 at 9:26 am
Cooz, of course our Man Rex would skip NATO to do lunch with Putin – he didn’t get to be CEO on looks – he knows who’s signing the checks.
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Icarus said on March 21, 2017 at 9:29 am
“Right-wing Barbie suspended for thinking independently”
Looks like conservatives don’t even like their own women. I’ve been following this one and I cannot find it now but someone apparently has dug into her college time and she (gasp) said some things that supported global warming and other POV that are opposite conservative doctrine.
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Danny said on March 21, 2017 at 10:10 am
I do not get James Comey. He seems to be pissing everyone off. Reveals Clinton email probe reopened before election, dies not reveal Russian probe with Trump, until yesterday. And the understanding is that he is not supposed to be revealing any investigations while they are active. Weird.
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Julie Robinson said on March 21, 2017 at 10:30 am
The story implied they’re looking for youth and color, but fingers crossed anyway.
On my way to another funeral, or as we call them now, another chance for a family reunion. 66, two rounds with cancer. Damn.
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Julie Robinson said on March 21, 2017 at 10:31 am
I’ve wondered if Comey is having buyer’s remorse.
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coozledad said on March 21, 2017 at 11:12 am
Comey’s job was to get Republicans elected, because the country had just about dug itself out of the last shithole the Republicans created, and the resulting piles of money were just sitting there, waiting for the Republicans to strip them away again.
Republicans wouldn’t care if there was tape of a three way between Putin, Pence and Trump: they’re going to ride this opportunity for theft out until the drumhead trials and executions.
We’ve already seen our fundie military high command cracks over like a shotgun for Russians on the cheap, so don’t expect any help from that quarter. They’ll be more than happy to turn the guns on the citizenry if they can snag a deal whoring for the Turks, or Russians or ISIL or whothefuckever. All that’s important is the sweaty manlove of Money Jesus.
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coozledad said on March 21, 2017 at 11:39 am
The fact there’s even a hearing for a Republican nominee for Supreme Court is an outrage, and the media is complicit in this incredible failure for democracy. Gorsuch’s an old school white supremacist who’ll rule with a view to insulating our fucked-up new gilded age overlords. The Republicans already violated the Constitution to jack themselves another company man into the court.
We should have excised the Republican cancer when we had a chance. It would have been bloody, and ugly, but nothing like we’re about to see with these clowns thieving their way to the dissolution of the country.
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BItter Scribe said on March 21, 2017 at 11:46 am
This Tomi Lahren doesn’t like it when her own ox gets gored. She reminds me of Megyn Kelly coming out in favor of maternal leave after having children.
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brian stouder said on March 21, 2017 at 12:24 pm
So, after all of last night’s board meeting excitement, Pam and I were watching Jeopardy, and Alex made me come out of my chair!
The “correct” question would have been “What is Fort Wayne, Indiana, Alex” – but if I’d have been there, and said that – he’d have said “Ohhhhh – Sorry! Sorry!”……and after the commercial, they’d have given me my money back
http://www.wpta21.com/story/34963308/social-media-lights-up-jeopardy-over-johnny-appleseeed-festival-answer
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Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on March 21, 2017 at 12:44 pm
Happy J.S. Bach’s birthday – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nu9MDqGhIak
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Icarus said on March 21, 2017 at 12:58 pm
Bitter Scribe, that analogy would imply that Tomi had an abortion herself. That theory has been put forth by some of the Right Wingers who are feasting on her dissent, but I prefer not to go there.
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BItter Scribe said on March 21, 2017 at 1:04 pm
Icarus @#21–Me neither. I only meant that making abortions illegal could affect her personally, since she’s of childbearing age.
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Sherri said on March 21, 2017 at 1:19 pm
Here’s speculation that the new electronics ban on certain airlines flying into the US is about going after those airlines, since the security argument makes no sense: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2017/03/21/trump-wont-allow-you-to-use-ipads-or-laptops-on-certain-airlines-heres-the-underlying-story
Perhaps my theory of an attack on certain people is just a nice side benefit for them.
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Sherri said on March 21, 2017 at 2:08 pm
Thanks to the person here (Kathy?) who suggested that I cook my steel cut oats in my rice cooker. You’re right, they’re come out perfect!
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Sherri said on March 21, 2017 at 2:08 pm
*they, not they’re
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Sherri said on March 21, 2017 at 2:17 pm
If they’re going to have executions, maybe they should just randomly assign a member of the legislature to shoot the inmate in the back of the head. If the legislator refuses, then commute the sentence to life without parole. Why force other people to torture the inmate to death to carry out your law?
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/20/opinion/arkansass-cruel-and-unusual-killing-spree.html
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candlepick said on March 21, 2017 at 2:35 pm
It was, I believe, the same Jeopardy show in which Alex referred to Ashlee Vance, a biographer of Elon Musk, as a she. Ashlee, Elon and Alex may sound like the heroines of a Sweet Valley High novel, but all three are male.
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David C. said on March 21, 2017 at 3:36 pm
Sherri, that would work for normal people, but I doubt Arkansas legislators are normal people. They’d do it because of the great tough on crime campaign ad it would make. If the inmate was black, all the better.
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Sherri said on March 21, 2017 at 3:56 pm
They probably would, David C., but it would still be better than asking other people to torture 8 people to death in 10 days with midazolam.
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Deborah said on March 21, 2017 at 3:59 pm
Ashley Wilkes is a male character in Gone With the Wind, I thought that was so weird when I first read the book when I was in high school. A good friend of mine, a woman, is Alix. But I don’t know of anyone named Elon, except Musk. Also, I went to high school with a girl named Sidney, and another girl named Kevin.
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brian stouder said on March 21, 2017 at 4:23 pm
Well, there’s –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOHPuY88Ry4
because Johnny Cash’s song was the first thing I thought of.
On second thought, there could well be many boys named Tsu…
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Icarus said on March 21, 2017 at 5:19 pm
Why do I think the new electronics ban on certain airlines is a distraction from something else coming down the pike?
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MichaelG said on March 21, 2017 at 6:19 pm
I tend to agree with Sheree @23 about the electronics ban. The big three American carriers, American, Delta and United (especially Delta) have been grousing for some time about the perceived unfair advantage afforded to what are called the ME3. That is Qatar, Emirates and Etihad airlines. The electronics ban seems more like a response in this area than any real security concern.
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MichaelG said on March 21, 2017 at 6:20 pm
Sherri. I’m sorry for the bad spelling.
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Dave said on March 21, 2017 at 6:24 pm
My wife had a great aunt named Kenneth, how she came to be named Kenneth is a mystery lost to the ages. I’m sure it caused her much time spent explaining all throughout her life.
I worked with a man named Shirley and another named Faye, there was a well known Washington, DC, sportswriter named Shirley Povich. The man named Faye once told me being named Faye made him tough, which takes us back to Brian’s mention of Sue.
I would have thought that Jeopardy has factcheckers to make sure the answers are right but perhaps they’ve had budget cutbacks.
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MichaelG said on March 21, 2017 at 6:27 pm
I pretty much quit drinking some time ago but ended up having some wine and some grappa at lunch today. This was at the wonderful Mulvaney’s here in Sacramento. T has developed a relationship with Ms. Mulvaney and the two have become thick as thieves. Today Mulvaney’s received a secret stash of abalone which they plan to highlight at dinner tomorrow. They’ll save some for us for lunch tomorrow. Can’t wait. Haven’t had abalone in years.
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MichaelG said on March 21, 2017 at 6:29 pm
This abalone is, by the way, legal. Lord knows what it’s going to cost.
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MarkH said on March 21, 2017 at 6:55 pm
Strictly OT – we seem to have missed a couple of birthdays this weekend:
By way of saying (and not for nothing!), Sunday 3/19 was Brian Stouder’s. Saturday the 18th was Danny’s. Happy Belated to both!
Brian, when I first saw your picture on this thread, I thought I was looking at a young(er) Carl Levin. Best of luck to you.
Michael G, great to see your posts; continue enjoying all you can.
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MarkH said on March 21, 2017 at 6:58 pm
Oh, and on the name thing, one of the most beloved nn,c contributors ever was a guy named Ashley. RIP.
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Deborah said on March 21, 2017 at 7:04 pm
Happy birthday Brian and Danny!
I haven’t even mentioned how happy I am that we’re back in Daylight Savings Time, I love it! Even though I’m retired and having daylight after work isn’t as thrilling as it used to be, it’s still so nice to be done with dinner and be able to look out over the mountains in Abiquiu or the lake in Chicago. We have decided to call where we live now as Chibiquiu, it will keep people guessing.
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Sherri said on March 21, 2017 at 7:16 pm
I’m always a grump about DST up here. Just as we’re starting to come out of the darkness in the morning, suddenly we’re back in it. I’d be happier with sunrise at 6:08 and sunset at 6:22 instead of 7:08 and 7:22, especially since we’ll be rapidly moving to sunsets after 9 pm in June. Morning light is better for my mood.
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Sherri said on March 21, 2017 at 7:51 pm
Thinking and reading some more, here’s a possible scenario in which the electronics ban is not completely and totally a cynical ploy, but might conceivably serve some security purpose. Keeping in mind that security is never a 100% game, but a matter of reducing risks, suppose the concern is that someone will use multiple electronic devices to hide parts of a bomb, which will then be assembled on the plane. Then restricting everybody to one smallish electronic device might make sense, though making it be a cell phone rather than an ereader or a handheld game doesn’t. Of course, you can use anything to hide parts for later assembly, but electronic devices provide more cover for sneaking through X-ray machines. (Interior pockets on the sides of your clothing are another possibility, as long as you go through the body scanner and don’t get a patdown, because those machines at least used to be vulnerable to that kind of exploit.)
However, the tradeoff of limiting carryon electronic devices is that you’ve now filled the cargo hold with a bunch of lithium-ion batteries, which have a distressing habit of overheating and catching fire. So, you’ve increased the probability of a fire in the cargo hold that will take longer to be detected vs some unknown probabibility of someone successfully smuggling and assembling bomb parts onto a flight and blowing up the plane. The former probability is probably calculable within a reasonable margin, with a pretty good guess of the consequences; the latter is almost impossible to guess. It doesn’t appear that there is intelligence of a specific threat, which makes limiting the ban to a handful of airlines less sensible; terrorists can communicate worldwide, bomb parts are available anywhere, and homegrown terrorists of all stripes exist.
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alex said on March 21, 2017 at 8:59 pm
Dave, my dad worked with a man named Shirley. He was a southerner.
And was your Faye the one who owned the Sands Supper Club and some other bars and eateries back in the day? And a big place on Lake James? He had a baby with my deceased neighbor lady — the one whose home is now my investment property. They were legally married for a split second back in the 1950s right after the child was conceived, but then they divorced and she married another man who raised the child as his own. But the child — a boy — kept the middle name Faye.
Just had dinner at Shorty’s. Again. Have you been there since it’s been under new ownership? They have the place done up nice and the food is awesome. It’s my new favorite place. Tonight had a lemon-zest crusted walleye that was out of this world. Last weekend had a filet mignon with lobster croutons and caesar dressing and that was wonderful too, as are the desserts — creme brûlée, key lime pie, peanut butter pie… I can hardly make myself go back to my usual dives now that I’ve had this taste of heaven.
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Suzanne said on March 21, 2017 at 9:23 pm
We used to live next to a guy named Shirley. Everybody called him Bud.
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Danny said on March 21, 2017 at 9:41 pm
When I was a kid, our neighbor three houses down was a man named Carol. Not sure if the spelling. I remember Ashley and I discussing how we were both bummed that he was not THIS Ashley Morris.
http://www.puffingod.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/BB-UMM-Ashley-Diana.jpg
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