Bleached.

I swim for exercise three mornings a week. Swimming doesn’t require a lot of equipment, but a swimsuit is essential, unless you work out at one of those old homoerotic men’s health clubs where they won’t let women in because swimming is a nude sport. (Don’t laugh. They exist.) I’ve experimented with various suits, and found one that works for me. Speedo’s list price is high, but if you watch the sales, you can find closeout discounts or, mirabile dictu, a BOGO sale.

As it happens, last week’s BOGO colors included one I bought last summer, before I headed for California. That suit is about done, but I loved the color, so hey, I’m in for round two. You want to know why swimmers have green hair and dry skin? Behold, the power of chlorine:

If you’re reading this Wednesday and I didn’t die overnight, I swam this morning. Don’t have time or motivation? You just aren’t Princess Ivanka, then:

It’s in her description of her daily life, in which she somehow — until the election, anyway — managed to run her own company, serve as an executive vice president in the Trump Organization, train for a half marathon and spend time alone with each of her three children. Absent locating a wormhole in space, there’s really only one way to find time for all of these commitments, and that is with the help of staff. Yet her household help barely rates a mention in this discussion.

That’s from the NYT review of her new book, “Women Who Work,” which sounds about as lightweight and information-dense as other books of the Trump brand. I’m glad the mommy wars are over, truly I am; as a combat vet, I’m thrilled that today’s new mothers aren’t guilted by the ones who choose a different path. I think of that time as a benefit of the Clinton economy, when expensive cigars were burning, salaries were still pretty good and a lot of middle-class women could actually quit or downshift their jobs into something that allowed them to spend more time at home with their young’uns. The next administration put a stop to that once and for all; I know lots of women wished they had a second income when their husbands were thrown out of work during the financial crisis.

So choose your path, and God be with you, but you can probably do it without Princess Ivanka’s special brand of vapid advice, I bet:

But here’s what really matters about parental leave, as far as Ivanka Trump is concerned: She seems to still believe — as she did during the presidential campaign — that Americans ought to be paid for it. She waits until the penultimate page of her book to say so. But she does. (She talks about affordable child care, too.)

These final pages were written before Nov. 8, 2016. (Trump says in the preface that she turned in her manuscript before she knew the election results.) And what’s remarkable is that she wrote them as if she thought her old man was going to lose: “We need to fight for change, whether through the legislature or in the workplace.”

Well, her father didn’t lose. Ivanka Trump now has a formal White House role, as a special adviser to the president. She has security clearance and an office in the West Wing. She has access to the ultimate C-suite. At any moment, she could walk in and demand her father put forward a plan that mirrors precisely what she provides her own employees: Eight weeks of paid maternity leave. By European standards, that may be paltry. By American ones, it’s extremely generous and a very big deal.

Don’t bet on it.

There’s also a sympathetic profile of Princess I in Tuesday’s edition. It left me unmoved.

Folks, this may be the last update for the week. I’ll be running crazy errands to get ready for our trip this weekend, and can’t commit. If there’s wifi up there, maybe some pictures. Otherwise, I’m ducking out with a clean conscience.

Enjoy the rest of your week, and I’ll likely see you Monday.

Posted at 5:52 pm in Current events, Same ol' same ol' |
 

151 responses to “Bleached.”

  1. Deborah said on May 2, 2017 at 6:10 pm

    I’ll pass on Ivanka’s book, for one thing, I don’t work anymore (well not paid work anyway) and who cares what she says about anything.

    In less than an hour we’re leaving for Hamilton, our friend who invited us also included some hors d’oeuvres and drinks deal beforehand at the theater. I’m excited and feeling fine, bringing pain pills in case I need them (no drinks for me) but hoping I don’t need them. I’m having to wear clunky shoes with my suit, bummer.

    463 chars

  2. Scout said on May 2, 2017 at 6:47 pm

    I’ll wait for Princess I’s book to be remaindered in a month or two. Haha… Nah, won’t even buy it then. I have zero respect for anyone with the last name of Trump, Kushner, Pence, Bannon, Priebus, Spicer, etc etc etc and wouldn’t spend a penny on anything that would enrich any of them even if I found it on the street.

    321 chars

  3. coozledad said on May 2, 2017 at 7:19 pm

    DC press loves it some Trump trash. I think they envision themselves a few years down the road hawking Haberman eyewear or Glenn Thrush Kneepads. They’re already just writing infomercials for their protracted fascst swoon. Good practice for whores.

    https://twitter.com/EricBoehlert/status/859534350437818368

    325 chars

  4. MichaelG said on May 2, 2017 at 8:38 pm

    Sherri, I bought a loaded 13” Dell XPS several years ago. I added everything they had and it was pretty pricey. The screen is fab, in fact the whole thing is wonderful. It’s been all over this country and to Europe how many times? I’ve never had a single problem. I love the thing and can’t recommend it highly enough. The only catch is that for the top of the line model I have you need to bring money. I would guess the current model is improved. Good luck.

    475 chars

  5. Sherri said on May 2, 2017 at 8:48 pm

    Thanks, MichaelG. I’m fine with bringing money. I spend money on my laptop; my Vaios were the top of the line Z models.

    How are you doing?

    141 chars

  6. coozledad said on May 2, 2017 at 9:16 pm

    Too much dope smoking turns you into an anoxic shitheel. Motherfucker is cyanotic:
    https://twitter.com/CNN/status/859506099254329344

    I wish the Republicans would have hanged him back before he started sucking them off.

    222 chars

  7. Sherri said on May 3, 2017 at 12:03 am

    Nancy Pelosi, I’m saying it to you, too. Do. Not. Fuck. With. The. Women.

    I’ve made progress in my recruiting quest for getting another woman on planning commission. I’ve got at least 2 now who have indicated they will submit applications, and a promise from the mayor that one of the two openings will be filled by a woman.

    327 chars

  8. Sherri said on May 3, 2017 at 12:03 am

    Oh, here’s the link for the Nancy Pelosi comment.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/pelosi-democratic-candidates-should-not-be-forced-to-toe-party-line-on-abortion/2017/05/02/9cbc9bc6-2f68-11e7-9534-00e4656c22aa_story.html?utm_term=.b256b906c862

    254 chars

  9. Deborah said on May 3, 2017 at 12:05 am

    It was glorious!

    I wanna be in the room where it happens.

    60 chars

  10. Suzanne said on May 3, 2017 at 7:14 am

    Isn’t it amazing, Deborah! One of the few things in life that lives up its hype. I don’t like hip-hop/rap much at all but it was perfect for this. And I was surprised at how colorful King George’s costume is and how the staging was. Just amazing.
    So glad you went. I want to go again.

    285 chars

  11. alex said on May 3, 2017 at 7:36 am

    The Democrats going all milquetoast on abortion stands to alienate the progressive base without winning over any Republican voters. It’s a colossally stupid idea. I’m sure that Pelosi’s dyed-in-the-wool Democrat relatives who aren’t pro-choice are also not fanatical about the issue and regard it as peripheral. Same is true for many Republicans who aren’t particularly anti-choice, just indifferent. As for those who are dedicated single-issue voters, they’re not going anywhere. Can you imagine Democrats abandoning their party for the Republicans if the GOP were to suddenly start equivocating about abortion?

    612 chars

  12. Deborah said on May 3, 2017 at 7:46 am

    Suzanne, I loved the King George character, when he did the ta da da da spiel the audience sang along, he was great. The energy of the whole production was amazing. Every set piece was an extravaganza, which seems like it might be too much, but it was not. I spent hours online when I got home reading up on Alexander Hamilton. Of course I remember studying about him and Burr when I was maybe jr high, but the production brought history to life vividly. Also the theater was filled with young people, very diverse. Loved it.

    525 chars

  13. Deborah said on May 3, 2017 at 7:56 am

    Is it just me or is the Trump regime turning into more of a joke than anything? He’s such a big baby buffoon and he proves it every single day. His whole family and entourage are looking more and more idiotic. It may be dangerous to think that way after all he does possess the nuclear codes but he’s beginning to make me laugh instead of wince.

    Also since the announcement of her book there are tons of photo comparisons online of Ivanka before and after her plastic surgery. It was extremely extensive, and very well done. To say the obvious it must have cost a bunch.

    573 chars

  14. coozledad said on May 3, 2017 at 8:02 am

    Once it’s out of the ass, it’s just hamburger according to Republicans.

    https://twitter.com/her_nerdiness/status/859549469196644352

    The whole pro-life charade came about because Jerry Falwell and the rest of that racist ass party needed a lever to help resegregate the schools.
    It netted us the first in a series of mentally afflicted Republican presidents, and culminated naturally in our current babbling shitfinger. When you hear someone start on that crap, you know they don’t even have any human substance. They’re pure asshole.

    540 chars

  15. coozledad said on May 3, 2017 at 8:10 am

    http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/05/religious-right-real-origins-107133

    82 chars

  16. coozledad said on May 3, 2017 at 8:39 am

    Non compos mentis

    http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/trump-clinton-comey-tweets

    Maybe the NYT can help explain this by going up into the hills and snorting another tray of yuckabilly fecal samples.

    213 chars

  17. Suzanne said on May 3, 2017 at 9:52 am

    About 10 years ago or so, I had a conversation with a young man who had been a teacher at a private Christian school in the south somewhere that I can’t remember. He had told me that the dirty little secret of Christian schools in the south was that almost all were started after segregation was halted and good Christians didn’t want their children going to school with “those people.”

    386 chars

  18. Sherri said on May 3, 2017 at 10:25 am

    It was never a secret in the South, Suzanne. It was open and obvious.

    69 chars

  19. Deborah said on May 3, 2017 at 10:27 am

    I remember a Christian grade school and high school in the suburbs of St. Louis, don’t remember which denomination if it was even affiliated with one. It’s name was Whitehall just in case you couldn’t connect the dots.

    218 chars

  20. Sherri said on May 3, 2017 at 10:35 am

    Seattle mayor Ed Murray, who was a shoo-in for re-election recently, might be in real trouble. So far, the strongest candidate who has declared against him is the previous mayor, who only lasted a term and had difficulty making the transition from activism to governing. But I bet Murray’s getting some pressure to step aside at this point for someone else. The filing window is the week of May 19.

    http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/fourth-man-accuses-seattle-mayor-ed-murray-of-paying-him-for-sex/

    517 chars

  21. basset said on May 3, 2017 at 10:57 am

    Spent all day yesterday worrying that the new cat was stuck inside the couch, so we took most of the bottom off it and checked every crevice. Of course he wasn’t in there… Jr found him, way back behind the books on our dustiest and most remote shelf. Only got a minor scratch pulling him out, he might be warming up to us a little.

    335 chars

  22. Sherri said on May 3, 2017 at 11:07 am

    Okay, I have to brag a bit this morning. (In the pictures on the left, that’s my husband next to me.)

    http://awards.acm.org/about/2016-technical-awards

    154 chars

  23. brian stouder said on May 3, 2017 at 11:11 am

    So now – do you name the kitty Booker, or Mark, or Page, or Rita, or …..

    74 chars

  24. brian stouder said on May 3, 2017 at 11:13 am

    Sherri – congratulations! – and, excellent photo, too

    53 chars

  25. Deborah said on May 3, 2017 at 11:28 am

    Wow, cool Sherri, congrats to you and your husband! Tech royalty!

    65 chars

  26. coozledad said on May 3, 2017 at 12:00 pm

    Sheldon Whitehouse and Al Franken’s cross examination of Comey shows he’s an accomplice, and there’s no true active investigation of Trump’s collusion with Russia. They tore a new asshole in the lying son of a bitch, and he knows it.

    233 chars

  27. Scout said on May 3, 2017 at 1:49 pm

    I posted this on Facebook earlier today and believe it will be appreciated here as well.

    Funny (strange, not haha) how ‘checks and balances’ were a wonderful thing when Obama was POTUS. Republicans used the rules to say no to absolutely everything he proposed, and the always classy, intelligent President Obama still managed to be effective despite the unprecedented obstruction. But now, Big Crybaby in Chief thinks democracy is just too haaaaaaaard, so because he’s a giant walking Fail, he wants those checks and balances to go away.

    Dear Big Crybaby: Newsflash! What you are proposing is a whole different form of government, a dictatorship. But since you don’t know the first thing about government in any form, that is what you mistakenly thought you’d be as POTUS, a dictator. You thought being POTUS was going to be like your idiotic reality TV show. In your own words, WRONG! You will not kill democracy. We the People will not let you.

    http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/failing-donald-trump-has-a-new-enemy-democracy

    1038 chars

  28. Deborah said on May 3, 2017 at 1:57 pm

    Today on the south side of Chicago Pres Obama and Michelle will unveil a 3d model of the proposed Obama Library. It’s being designed by the architecture couple Billie Tsien and Todd Williams. I can’t wait to see photos of the model.

    232 chars

  29. Dorothy said on May 3, 2017 at 2:09 pm

    Congrats to Sherri and her hubby! That’s just great.

    Basset I”m so glad you found the kitty. I don’t know how cats can stay hidden for that long without coming out for food, water, bathroom, or all three. We love our cat but she challenges us all the time with regards to our love. She’s quite fond of pooping outside the box. She’s a persnickety little snot who wants that litter box cleaned immediately after she goes. That includes the middle of the night when we’re asleep. And during the day while we are at work. Most of the time it’s on hardwood floors, but it’s still aggravating as all get out. She’s our first AND last cat ever.

    646 chars

  30. coozledad said on May 3, 2017 at 2:10 pm

    Scout: I would suggest to all people of goodwill to become members of the NAACP. They were in this fight before Trump happened, and they’ve carried it to him the way no one else has, as the premier umbrella group of the resistance. I’ve seen what they can do in North Carolina. We’ve already coordinated actions with people across the political spectrum. Christians, Muslims Jews, Buddhists, Atheists, straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender. The bond is morality. Not some cheap suit morality, but the morality of justice.

    A majority of whites don’t believe this is their fight because they are insulated, their education is junk, or in some cases, they’re willing to trade democracy for a tax cut. These will be the neighbors who rat you out to ICE when it starts going after dissidents. They will be the ones who applaud when Trump turns the guns on protesters.
    At some point people have to decide whether they want to live as gutter Fascist cowards or stand up for the values that made this country great, and Russia a suppurating boil on Europe’s ass.

    1066 chars

  31. Deborah said on May 3, 2017 at 2:21 pm

    There are photos of the proposed Obama library that I mentioned in #28 in this link: https://www.curbed.com/2017/5/3/15531062/obama-library-chicago-design-renderings I think it’s early in the process and things about the design will change over time. It’s hard to tell from what I can see in the photos at the link, I’d like to get a lot more info about materials etc before I can have an opinion. So far I like it.

    415 chars

  32. Rana said on May 3, 2017 at 3:14 pm

    I think the part of Ivanka’s discussion of the challenges faced by working mothers that had me rolling my eyes was when she was complaining about being too busy for her usual massage and meditation. I have sympathy for that feeling like there’s no space for self care, but her phrasing implies this is something all working mothers would find relatable. It’s Gwyneth Paltrow GOOP levels of unacknowledged privilege at work.

    423 chars

  33. basset said on May 3, 2017 at 3:18 pm

    Named him Rufus, I have had this tune on my mind for awhile:

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iK5SRUXuHQc

    105 chars

  34. brian stouder said on May 3, 2017 at 3:19 pm

    Deborah, honestly – and taking into account that I’m an aging Hoosier who doesn’t know shinola ’bout nuthin’ –

    those images look (to me) incomplete; or (at best) like a radar-evading stealth museum, absent any flourishes or extras

    234 chars

  35. Heather said on May 3, 2017 at 4:03 pm

    Congrats to Sherri and hubs! And basset, so glad you found the kitty.

    In my ongoing cat shenanigans, I ended up taking mine to the ER vet at about 4 this morning. She started having sneezing and coughing fits about midday yesterday, and then it seemed like she was breathing through her mouth, which is a danger sign. I called the ER and they said to bring her in. They did X-rays in case it was fluid in her lungs or a heart problem, but all looked normal, and the vet said she was stable and didn’t think she was in danger. I suspect it was another weird allergic reaction, this one pretty severe. She is much better today, and my wallet is much lighter.

    659 chars

  36. Deborah said on May 3, 2017 at 4:20 pm

    Cats, we loved ours but when they’re gone you both miss them and don’t miss them. AS I’ve said we won’t be getting any more because of my husband’s allergies. Sometimes I just really want to pet a cat, I need to find one of those shelters where you can go and give cats attention but not take one home.

    LB had her surgery this morning, everything went well. She had a friend with her, they’re on the way home now. It’s one of those things that you’re glad it’s less stressful for her but too bad the reason it’s less stressful is because she’s had it done so many times. Thank God for Obamacare and its Medicare expansion, making this all affordable.

    653 chars

  37. Suzanne said on May 3, 2017 at 4:28 pm

    Deborah (and the rest of you who know Hamilton), if I had known this when I sat through “It’s quiet uptown” I would have cried even more. The artistic director of Public Theater (where Hamilton began) lost his son before production was even finalized. Quiet Uptown had not even been staged yet…

    https://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/10/16/theater/oskar-eustis-public-theater.html

    “AN MP3 ARRIVED by email, hours after Jack’s death. It came from Lin-Manuel Miranda, a new arrival to the Public fold.
    It was a demo recording of “It’s Quiet Uptown,” the song from “Hamilton” describing Alexander Hamilton, and his wife, Eliza, as they grieve the death of their 19-year-old son, Philip:
    There are moments that the words don’t reach
    There is suffering too terrible to name
    You hold your child as tight as you can
    And push away the unimaginable
    The moments when you’re in so deep
    It feels easier to just swim down.
    “There is nothing you can say,” Mr. Miranda recalled thinking. “And yet, I had a song about this. So I wrote to him saying, ‘If this is useful, then lean on it, and, if not, delete this email.’”
    Mr. Eustis and his wife found it useful. “Every line of ‘Quiet Uptown’ feels like it’s exactly correct to my experience,” Mr. Eustis said. “It was the only music we listened to for a long time, and we listened to it every day, and it became a key thing for the two of us.”

    1431 chars

  38. Deborah said on May 3, 2017 at 4:56 pm

    Suzanne, I’m wiping away a tear. Lovely.

    40 chars

  39. Sherri said on May 3, 2017 at 5:05 pm

    Was Liz Spayd or Bret Stephens the worst hire for the NYTimes?

    https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/03/public-editor/bret-stephens-climate-change-liz-spayd-public-editor.html

    173 chars

  40. Julie Robinson said on May 3, 2017 at 5:23 pm

    Congratulations, Sherri! Glad you found the cat, bassett. And glad your cat’s better, Heather, even though it sounds traumatic. And most especially, glad LB’s surgery went well.

    I did know the story about Quiet Uptown and have already done a lot of sobbing in private. It’s the kind of song you listen to on repeat when you’re very low. Lin-Manuel Miranda is only 37 years old, and I wonder how he can write stuff this deep. Go ahead and read the entire lyrics because it gets even more beautiful.

    “Eliza: There are moments that the words don’t reach
    There is suffering too terrible to name.
    You hold your child as tight as you can, and push away the unimaginable.
    All the moments when you’re in so deep it feels easier to just swim down, then try to live with the unimaginable.

    Chorus: The Hamiltons move uptown, and try to live with the unimaginable.

    Hamilton: When I was in the garden. I walked alone to the store. And it’s quiet uptown. I never liked the quiet before. I take the children to church on Sunday, the sign of the cross on the door. I pray, that never used to happen before.

    Chorus: If you see him in the street, walking by himself, talking to himself? have pity.

    Hamilton: Phillip you would like it uptown, it’s quiet uptown.

    Chorus: He is working through the unimaginable.
    Chorus (male): His hair has gone gray. He passes everyday, they say he walks the length of the city.

    Hamilton: You knock me out, I fall apart.

    Chorus: Can you imagine?

    Hamilton: Look at where we are. Look at where we started. I know I don’t deserve you Eliza, but hear me out. That would be enough. If I could spare his life. If I could trade his life for mine he’d be standing here right now, and you would smile, and that would be enough. I don’t pretend to know, the challenges we’re facing. I know there’s no replacing what we’ve lost, and you need time. But I’m not afraid, I know who I married. Just let me stay here by your side. That would be enough.

    Chorus: If you see him in the street, walking by her side, talking by her side have pity.

    Hamilton: Eliza do you like it uptown? It’s quiet uptown.

    Chorus: He is trying to do the unimaginable. See them walking through the park, long after dark. Taking in the sights of the city.

    Hamilton: Look around, look around Eliza.

    Chorus: They are trying to do the unimaginable.

    Angelica: There are moments that the words don’t reach. There’s a grace too powerful to name. We push away what we can never understand. We push away the unimaginable. They are standing in the garden, Alexander by Eliza’s side. She takes his hand. It’s quiet uptown.
    Chorus: Forgiveness
    Can you imagine?
    Forgiveness.
    Can you imagine?
    If you see him in the street, walking by her side, talking by her side have pity. They are going through the unimaginable.”

    I particularly like this phrase: “There’s a grace too powerful to name.”

    2912 chars

  41. Icarus said on May 3, 2017 at 5:24 pm

    Deborah @36

    know what you mean. we have been catless for almost two years now and while we miss them, we don’t miss the pet bills, and I don’t miss cleaning the kitty litter.

    we do plan to get pets again when the kids get a little older (out of diapers as well) and we move to Tennessee. I guess my circle is litter – diapers — litter and/or dog poop.

    362 chars

  42. Deborah said on May 3, 2017 at 5:28 pm

    Another thing about Suzanne’s link in #37 about Oscar Eustis the head of the Public Theater in NYC, the article mentions (unrelated to the It’s Quiet Uptown incident) about how important it is that their productions be free some of the time. I felt that way last night at Hamilton. We got to go free because a wealthy friend of ours had a cancellation of another couple and she offered us the tickets instead, we offered to pay for them but she wouldn’t hear of it. It’s not like we needed free tickets, granted, and it was awfully nice to have them. I wish everyone who wants to see Hamilton gets a chance to see it, but I know lots of people can’t afford what it costs to go to the theater, opera, symphony etc, especially young people, you want them to have the opportunity. It’s so important in so many ways.

    812 chars

  43. Julie Robinson said on May 3, 2017 at 7:31 pm

    Hamilton has a couple of programs: a lottery for tickets in the front two rows, for either $10 or $20; I think just in NYC as of right now. The other is a program for high school kids in disadvantaged areas who pay only $10 to see the show on some Wednesday matinees. They have also developed curriculum for the kids to study so they aren’t just dropped in without context. The friend we stayed with teaches in such an area and got very excited when I told her about the program.

    479 chars

  44. Sherri said on May 3, 2017 at 8:38 pm

    I’m not sure which is more surreal about the award announcement today: getting congratulations from Vint Cerf, one of the “fathers of the Internet”, or hearing from my daughter that one of the CS professors at her college contacted her and told her that she had studied AFS in grad school and hoped to be able to congratulate us in person at graduation in a few weeks.

    368 chars

  45. Diane said on May 3, 2017 at 9:39 pm

    Just, in no particular order, congrats on the found kitten, the software award, LB’s successful surgery and the shared love of Hamilton.

    136 chars

  46. Deborah said on May 3, 2017 at 10:18 pm

    This is really happening https://archpaper.com/2017/05/flying-pigs-trump-sign-chicago/

    86 chars

  47. basset said on May 3, 2017 at 11:09 pm

    Rufus is back in hiding, we’ll see hiw long it takes him to show himself.

    And I realize that I am showing my ignorance and lack of sophistication and pop culture trendiness here, but I am still not going to have anything to do with this Hamilton show. Don’t like Broadway shows, refuse to listen to rap, it could only be worse if it were a Broadway rap Christmas show.

    372 chars

  48. coozledad said on May 3, 2017 at 11:21 pm

    And I realize that I am showing my ignorance and lack of sophistication and pop culture trendiness here

    You’re a bit young for that sort of chat, aren’t you?

    167 chars

  49. Jolene said on May 3, 2017 at 11:21 pm

    I love the flying pigs, Deborah. Wish they could be permanent.

    62 chars

  50. LAMary said on May 4, 2017 at 1:52 am

    Basset, just give Rufus some space. He’ll come out. Clementine, my cat who disappeared for five days in the house, still has her own schedule. She has her daytime snoozing places and she comes out for some petting and lap sitting a few times in the late afternoon and after dinner. She also likes to play by herself, batting a catnip ball around or climbing into boxes. It took her a while to get to be this sociable.

    417 chars

  51. Sherri said on May 4, 2017 at 2:25 am

    I’ve long had a jaded view of the white Christian evangelical complex, it’s true, but the cynicism of these people still sets me back on my heels.

    http://time.com/4766485/national-day-prayer-white-house-dinner/

    214 chars

  52. basset said on May 4, 2017 at 6:39 am

    That sort of chat? I suppose I could call someone a suppurating boil or a babbling shitfinger in every last thread and think I was being clever, too old for that though.

    170 chars

  53. Deborah said on May 4, 2017 at 7:02 am

    Sherri, your link at #51 is sickening. Why don’t people like that see how cruel and unchristian they are behaving?

    So here we are, later this morning the house will vote to repeal Obamacare.

    193 chars

  54. Suzanne said on May 4, 2017 at 7:08 am

    Bassett, I thought the same thing about Hamilton before I heard it. Rap? Hip hop? Founding fathers? I thought it was the newest fad thing and thought, meh. No.
    Then I listened and was amazed. The more I learn, and listen, the more impressed I am. PBS did a documentary about it called Hamilton’s America which led me to like it even more.

    340 chars

  55. basset said on May 4, 2017 at 7:36 am

    I’m sure it’s a good story, and I’m always interested in history – I just have a knee-jerk adverse reaction to hip-hop which would keep me from enjoying it. If I go into a shop or a restaurant and hear that beat, I’m outa there… same for Fox News.

    Meanwhile, the cat has not yet shown his face, but his dish and litter box have been used. Friskies-licking little shitheel. Night-sneaking pus-leak of an alleged family pet.

    There, that’ll show him.

    458 chars

  56. ROGirl said on May 4, 2017 at 7:45 am

    My kitty, aka monkeybutt, just turned 15. I’ve had her since she was 6 weeks old, brought her home in a cardboard box. She wouldn’t eat until I hand fed her cheerios. She ditched the box for my bed.

    198 chars

  57. basset said on May 4, 2017 at 7:56 am

    Our previous cat lived to be almost sixteen – got her from a golf course machine shed which had litters of strays under the broken mowers.

    Back to hip-hoppin’ for a minute, how about this:
    http://host.madison.com/ct/news/local/city-life/hip-hop-architecture-camp-brings-young-urban-planners-together-at/article_53cc9c2f-f62c-5f74-aaeb-ad7782daf071.html

    One of our planners told me about that yesterday… apparently there’s a “design justice” movement out there aimed at making architecture more diverse and correcting social inequities through community design.

    569 chars

  58. coozledad said on May 4, 2017 at 8:01 am

    Too old to rock and roll…
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gcr3b8YRbTo

    72 chars

  59. basset said on May 4, 2017 at 8:05 am

    And Prince Philip is retiring:

    http://www.itv.com/news/2017-05-04/buckingham-palace-duke-of-edinburgh-to-stand-down-from-royal-duties-for-good-itv-news-understands/

    167 chars

  60. coozledad said on May 4, 2017 at 8:09 am

    Qbama just donated two million dollars to a youth summer jobs program.

    Here’s pube-headed shart Jason Chaffetz goin’ full peckerwood on him:
    https://twitter.com/GaryLegum/status/859935102486401026

    201 chars

  61. Deborah said on May 4, 2017 at 8:38 am

    “a “design justice” movement out there aimed at making architecture more diverse and correcting social inequities through community design.”

    What could be better? Sounds great to me.

    189 chars

  62. coozledad said on May 4, 2017 at 8:43 am

    Sounds mightyurban, Deborah. Know what I’m sayin?

    56 chars

  63. coozledad said on May 4, 2017 at 9:06 am

    Speaking of white resentment, Trump’s healthcare bill is going to strip special education funding. Them mountain inbreds done shot themselves in the foot agin. Cleetus Junior Jr. won’t be able to leave the front porch with his banjo no mo.

    Deborah: I was reading about the Pruitt-Igoe projects in St. Louis just the other day, and what a fundamental failure of design it was. Elevators that skipped floors by design, no bathrooms on the first floor, cheap materials… When white people take up the cause of social engineering as bleeding-heart conservatives, they invariably fuck up.

    There was a seperate piece about Kowloon Walled City that showed some promise for how community developed architecture can beautifully (if shabbily) function as a base for an organic, self governing system.
    It was filthy, and crime ridden, but any human microcosm crammed into that small a space (a couple of million people on forty? acres) is going to mimic populations in general. Most residents remember it fondly, but the city was Chinese by temperament, and I think beyond the comprehension of most of the Anglosphere:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kowloon_Walled_City

    1169 chars

  64. coozledad said on May 4, 2017 at 9:23 am

    Sorry, actual density figures: 33,000 residents within its 2.6-hectare (6.4-acre) borders.

    97 chars

  65. Deborah said on May 4, 2017 at 9:53 am

    Ah, the infamous Pruitt-Igoe. I actually worked for the architecture firm that designed that monstrosity. Well, sort of. It was designed by Minuro Yamasaki who was the principal designer of a firm called Hellmuth, Yamasaki and Leinweber, which was headquartered out of Detroit. Yamasaki’s project designer was Gyo Obata. The firm later became Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum (HOK), headquartered out of St. Louis, where I worked for 18 years. I had worked there for ages before I knew that because it was carefully covered up. Nowhere in the company information would you ever find anything about that. Also, in case the name Yamasaki didn’t ring any bells for you, note that he was the designer of the twin towers of the World Trade Center. Small world, huh?

    759 chars

  66. brian stouder said on May 4, 2017 at 10:12 am

    …and further to the design of presidential libraries, what will the Trump presidential library look like?

    I’m guessing a giant female anatomical part*, with “..and you can get away with it!” in Times New Roman font, above the entrance.

    *like that monstrosity in the eastern Med

    292 chars

  67. Julie Robinson said on May 4, 2017 at 10:30 am

    bassett, it’s fine to not like hip-hop. I don’t listen to it in any other context except musical theatre. I also go running from most rock, country, heavy metal, and opera. OTOH I adore choral music which I understand has a tiny fan base. There are plenty of ways to tell stories and express yourself through music, and hopefully, something for everyone.

    And I wonder if your new kitten is reacting to trauma in his previous life. My family adopted all the strays who found their way to our house after being dropped off in the country, and one in particular must have been horribly mistreated. It took me three months of feeding her before she would let me touch her, and a couple more before she would come in the house. Even after years of the plush life she would hide any time someone came over to the house.

    Can you blame Prince Phillip? He’s 95! He’s been putting on uniforms and trotting around to ceremonies and ribbon cuttings for most of his adult life. Not the life I would want.

    998 chars

  68. Deborah said on May 4, 2017 at 10:34 am

    Brian, on my FB feed this morning an African American woman (friend of a friend) likened the design of the Obama library to a large african fruit with good seeds inside. She was referring to the multistory entrance/museum element. I thought that was a fine analogy.

    265 chars

  69. Kirk said on May 4, 2017 at 10:37 am

    Ever work on any of HOK’s ballpark projects, Deborah?

    53 chars

  70. Deborah said on May 4, 2017 at 10:59 am

    Kirk, my husband worked for HOK Sport, he designed a couple of sports facilities but mostly he designed convention centers which was part of their focus. Convention centers came to be associated with sports facilities, for instance in Indianapolis, St. Louis too, etc. I did some signage design for the dome in St. Louis, not any baseball facilities (that I can remember anyway).

    379 chars

  71. john (not mccain) said on May 4, 2017 at 11:41 am

    “he was the designer of the twin towers of the World Trade Center.”

    He also designed M&T Plaza in downtown Buffalo. It’s one of my favorite public spaces in the city. The lobby of that building has the sort of quiet majesty that is pretty much the opposite of any Trump-branded space.

    293 chars

  72. Deborah said on May 4, 2017 at 11:55 am

    He also designed this building in Detroit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minoru_Yamasaki#/media/File:OneWoodwardAvenue.JPG

    which I’ve been in, the design firm I worked for before I retired (Gensler) had their Detroit office in one of the top floors. I don’t know if the office is still there.

    294 chars

  73. basset said on May 4, 2017 at 11:58 am

    Comic Sans, Brian.

    18 chars

  74. brian stouder said on May 4, 2017 at 12:18 pm

    basset – a much more fitting font, indeed!

    42 chars

  75. basset said on May 4, 2017 at 12:31 pm

    some flashing Windows clip art would really pull the facade together.

    69 chars

  76. susan said on May 4, 2017 at 12:36 pm

    Mr. Clippy

    10 chars

  77. Deborah said on May 4, 2017 at 12:38 pm

    What a great bill, “A new report estimates that the House GOP’s Obamacare replacement would help cover 110,000 of the 2.2 million people with pre-existing conditions in the individual marketplace.” http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/house-gops-obamacare-replacement-covers-110000-of-the-2-2-million-people-with-pre-existing-conditions. The moderate republicans always cave.

    377 chars

  78. Deborah said on May 4, 2017 at 12:53 pm

    More https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2017/05/04/the-gops-strange-ugly-strategy-of-rushing-todays-vote-will-backfire-heres-how/?utm_term=.c7fc15cb8820&wpisrc=nl_most&wpmm=1

    197 chars

  79. coozledad said on May 4, 2017 at 12:56 pm

    As Josh says, there’s no such thing as a moderate Republican. Only a pack of racists and grifters who worship money. We’ve got a kakistocracy.

    142 chars

  80. Deborah said on May 4, 2017 at 2:20 pm

    I’m sitting here waiting to see if there will be a vote soon. Chewing off my fingernails.

    89 chars

  81. Deborah said on May 4, 2017 at 2:21 pm

    God damn, it passed.

    20 chars

  82. Sherri said on May 4, 2017 at 2:36 pm

    It’s all about the tax cuts. That’s the only thing Republicans care about any more.

    But the real problem is Dems giving speeches to banks, right?

    149 chars

  83. Sherri said on May 4, 2017 at 2:39 pm

    They got enough votes that Empty Suit Dave Reichert got to vote no on the bill, but I’m sure the ex-sheriff still won’t be brace enough to face his constituents over the recess.

    177 chars

  84. Jolene said on May 4, 2017 at 2:56 pm

    Could there be anything more sickening than Donald Trump undermining the separation of church and state in the name of religious freedom on the same day as these great religionists vote to eliminate or weaken health insurance for millions of Americans?

    252 chars

  85. Deborah said on May 4, 2017 at 3:18 pm

    The US is just about the only country of all the developing countries in the world, who doesn’t have universal healthcare. I know you all know this, just think these countries do have it and many have had it for a long time now, Canada, the UK, France, Germany, the Netherlands, FInland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Italy, Greece, Australia etc etc etc, the list goes on and on. The US also does not rank high on quality of care, access etc, compared to many of those listed above. What the fuck is wrong with our country that we don’t see healthcare as a basic right? I am so depressed. I was actually surprised when Trumpcare didn’t pass previously, and I got myself in a wishful thinking mode for a while there.

    I wonder what kind of arm twisting went on in the back rooms to get this passed? All I can say is, I hope when the CBO report comes out next week, people will see how bad this piece of crap is and it will lead to drastic changes in outcomes in 2018 and 2020.

    983 chars

  86. Bob (Not Greene) said on May 4, 2017 at 3:34 pm

    Deborah, it’s because Americans value suffering in ways that any other civilized nation could not imagine. Being ill, like being poor, is a moral failure. Cruelty is needed to show those who are ill or poor or both the error of their ways. It’s why we also can’t find it in ourselves to pay people a living wage. Relishing others’ suffering is a national pastime.

    363 chars

  87. susan said on May 4, 2017 at 3:45 pm

    good xtian calvinism. amerikkkan puritanism. making amurka grate agin.

    (And I don’t mean Calvin and Hobbes.)

    111 chars

  88. Icarus said on May 4, 2017 at 3:45 pm

    Politicians can’t get past the idea that the only possible way to fail in America is if you sit back and do nothing. The idea that someone can put out the effort, yet not gain ground is inconceivable to them.

    208 chars

  89. brian stouder said on May 4, 2017 at 3:59 pm

    I think that JC guy said something about looking out for “the least of these”, eh?

    Uncle Google didn’t hesitate for even 1 full second before sending me to this piece of unapologetic “go to hell” garbage – which you just KNEW had to exist

    http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2015/march-web-only/what-you-probably-dont-know-about-least-of-these.html

    (I confess that I read the first several paragraphs, and then bailed)

    428 chars

  90. Deborah said on May 4, 2017 at 4:33 pm

    Brian, that was a disgusting link. How the Republicans try to justify their cruelty is even more disgusting. They should be ashamed of themselves, not just the politicians but the people who voted for them. Shame.

    213 chars

  91. Sherri said on May 4, 2017 at 4:39 pm

    Give to opponents of the Republicans who voted yes today.

    https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/noahca

    110 chars

  92. Deborah said on May 4, 2017 at 4:53 pm

    If any of you other Chicagoans hear of a spontaneous protest of this healthcare bill tonight or in the next few days, let me know. I need to let off some steam.

    160 chars

  93. Deborah said on May 4, 2017 at 5:20 pm

    I just gave Ossoff some more money to flip the 6th in GA. That asshole Tom Price, the HHS secretary deserves to be kicked in the pants even more now. His seat needs to be filled by a Democrat.

    192 chars

  94. Deborah said on May 4, 2017 at 6:56 pm

    Best tweet I’ve seen today: Wow. House Republicans voted to repeal and replace themselves in 2018.

    98 chars

  95. Jolene said on May 4, 2017 at 7:44 pm

    I hope you’re right, Deborah. But, at this point, I don’t have much faith in the electorate. Also, even if the eventual bill is horrible, its effects may not yet be apparent before the 2018 elections.

    200 chars

  96. David C. said on May 4, 2017 at 8:08 pm

    This is the legislative equivalent of jerking off. They know it’s going nowhere in the Senate. So they pass it, go to the White House, grunt like baboons, fling a little shit for the cameras, and hope there’s enough Koch money floating around so nobody remembers in 2018.

    271 chars

  97. coozledad said on May 4, 2017 at 8:20 pm

    The rest of this hat trick involves voter suppression. This kind of ball swinging presumes a program of racial gerrymandering. Putin will help with the propaganda.

    Your hill trash will vote to keep dying by the dumpsterload and the NYT will keep braving the hep C to go shit whisper them. These whores kept a childfucker as Speaker of the House. It’s not like there’s a new depth for them to seek

    Until they turn the guns on us, that is.

    443 chars

  98. Sherri said on May 4, 2017 at 8:35 pm

    The Senate won’t pass this bill. They’ll pass some other facsimile, just palatable enough to pick off the Manchin types from the Dems and maybe prevent a filibuster. Then the conference will turn it into a big mess that will confuse things so much that the whole market will implode. They’ll just cause it to die, rather than literally killing it.

    It’s still possible to flip the House in 2018. Gerrymanders are fragile in the face of waves. State legislatures are key, too.

    If the DCCC had anyone with a clue, they would have had a donate page already up targeting Rs who were undecided. As near as I can tell, ActBlue got one up today after Zeynep Tufecki suggested that tactics needed to increase beyond phone calls, and suggested it.

    744 chars

  99. Sherri said on May 4, 2017 at 8:59 pm

    As usual, Charlie Pierce says it best: http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/news/a54896/republican-healthcare-bill-pass/

    130 chars

  100. Suzanne said on May 4, 2017 at 9:32 pm

    I have no faith in the electorate. None.
    I just booked a flight to go visit one of my kids. Might as well spend my money now because I am pretty sure that my life has just been shortened by 10 years because Medicare will be next. No insurance in retirement = early death. So live it up now!

    291 chars

  101. Sherri said on May 4, 2017 at 9:50 pm

    I’m asking my ACLU friends about this apparently secret assasination department they have, Maybe I’ll up my donation some more.

    https://www.amazon.com/Fourth-Vow-Richard-T-Dolezal/dp/154033712X/

    197 chars

  102. ROGirl said on May 5, 2017 at 5:42 am

    I’ve been thinking about this quote since the election, it’s from “Ulysses” by James Joyce:

    History is a nightmare from which I am trying to awake.

    150 chars

  103. coozledad said on May 5, 2017 at 6:55 am

    I think it’s odd, but predictable, that old white headed to the battlements to fight for his ethnic nationalism, and the first thing he did there was make damn certain he’d lose both legs to diabetes and mortgage his house and his children’s futures to a couple of hundred people who’d have the shit beaten out of him if he so much as cast a shadow on them.

    Then sadboy gets to weep in a reporter’s lap

    You know what’s the most galling thing about the American slave state? It’s predicated upon the racial superiority of the shit Europe shook off- its blithely cruel biological pools of murderers and thieves, marks for shamans of every grifting stripe, and the rabid calculus of predatory capitalism. The second most galling thing? – it was never destroyed utterly with the vaporizing force necessary for minimal atonement. It’s still poisoning the well, and white trash is still cheering it on.

    Now they’ll cheer it to their early graves.

    951 chars

  104. alex said on May 5, 2017 at 7:36 am

    On a brighter note, Trump’s religious freedom edict is such a meaningless word salad that the ACLU sees no point in fighting it. So either the religious right is happy on a diet of crumbs again or is too stupid to know it’s been had.

    233 chars

  105. coozledad said on May 5, 2017 at 7:59 am

    too stupid to know it’s been had.

    Maybe it’s a mass hallucinatory experience facilitated by rampant inbreeding and pharmaceutical dumping. They’re all looking at Trump with the same primordial eye, and all they can see is Pussgrab Jesus in neon trails.

    264 chars

  106. Deborah said on May 5, 2017 at 8:38 am

    Bernie Sanders (I know, I know) said on Chris Hayes last night that the bill that got passed isn’t about healthcare, it’s a tax cut, pure and simple. An egregious act that takes directly from the poor (Medicaid) and gives to the top 2%.

    My niece, who voted for Trump is devastated that the bill passed. She and her husband have some pretty serious pre-existing conditions. She beleived what Trump said he was going to do for healthcare during is campaign.

    459 chars

  107. Jolene said on May 5, 2017 at 9:20 am

    Deborah, here’s a good piece from NPR on the tax implications of the bill that passed in the House yesterday. On this point, Sanders is correct.

    291 chars

  108. brian stouder said on May 5, 2017 at 9:24 am

    ..and by the by, I recall our local radio right-wing lip flapper working himself into an absolute tizzy over President Obama’s ‘incessant Executive Orders’ (aka – ‘abuse of power!’), and I began to wonder how our current case of national DTs compared…and Uncle Google lead me here-

    http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-executive-orders-memorandum-proclamations-presidential-action-guide-2017-1

    an excerpt –
    In his two terms, President Barack Obama issued 277 executive orders, a total number on par with his modern predecessors, but the lowest per year average (35) in 120 years. Trump signed 32 executive orders in 100 days.

    643 chars

  109. Julie Robinson said on May 5, 2017 at 9:30 am

    Has anyone watched Victorian Slum House on PBS? I caught the last few minutes when it was on and watched the whole first episode last night. To quote Deborah, Holy Cow. It was absolutely devastating, a real slice of Dickens. The modern families, with all their education and good health, are immediately unable to cope with the situations they’re put in.

    The rent collector agonizes over the single mother who hasn’t earned enough making piecework boxes and lets her stay on although she can’t pay. In the meantime he’s going hungry because he isn’t skilled enough to produce woodworking at a fast enough pace. Factory job? Not with a missing leg.

    The store owners have their own rent to pay and may not earn it if they’ve given too much credit to people like the single mother. She probably won’t be able to pay it back, and if the rent collector throws her out, her next step is probably walking the streets.

    A family whose father/grandfather is too injured to go back to the factory has to send their kids out on the streets selling watercress. They are also making piecework matchboxes, but aren’t skilled or fast, and they earn one single penny.

    The family that does the best is the tailor who puts his entire family to work cutting up rag clothing and producing hats. Worried about putting too much on credit, mom and dad stop eating so the kids can.

    A chilling line from the show: “Children were considered economically viable at the age of 7 or 8.”

    This is the America that we are headed towards. The show should be required viewing for today’s politicians.

    1585 chars

  110. basset said on May 5, 2017 at 10:18 am

    Saw that, it was brilliant. we could very well get there.

    58 chars

  111. brian stouder said on May 5, 2017 at 12:21 pm

    Guess who was in Fort Wayne, in the last few hours?

    http://wane.com/2017/05/05/paul-ryan-in-fort-wayne-day-after-healthcare-vote/

    Sounds like he did a quick in-and-out, with a hand-picked crowd of boot-lickers.

    Hell, I took 2 hours off today to go to Chloe’s (our 12 year old) school, to see her play; and I coulda’ taken an extra hour or two, and protested his ass!

    375 chars

  112. brian stouder said on May 5, 2017 at 12:22 pm

    (Maybe instead of “Speaker of the House” we should call him “Sneaker of the House”, eh?)

    88 chars

  113. Heather said on May 5, 2017 at 12:29 pm

    I just call him Dipshit Asshole.

    32 chars

  114. brian stouder said on May 5, 2017 at 12:38 pm

    Heather for Thread Win, I say!!

    31 chars

  115. Scout said on May 5, 2017 at 1:06 pm

    “Pussgrab Jesus in neon trails” gets my vote for thread winner.

    63 chars

  116. Sherri said on May 5, 2017 at 1:07 pm

    trump thinks Amanda Knox owes him loyalty. Amanda Knox thinks she owes him thanks, but not loyalty.

    http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-knox-trump-loyalty-20170504-story,amp.html

    188 chars

  117. Rana said on May 5, 2017 at 2:07 pm

    I dunno, Julie. I don’t want to give them any more ideas.

    Regarding voting the bastards out – in addition to gerrymandering and lack of competition, a big part of the problem is that for a lot of people, their “news” sources are propaganda that reinforce GOP partylines. See this analysis: https://www.mediamatters.org/blog/2017/05/04/why-republicans-think-they-can-get-away-devastating-health-care/216276

    408 chars

  118. Icarus said on May 5, 2017 at 2:36 pm

    can anyone explain this to me in simple terms?

    https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/heres-why-congress-exempted-itself-122606984.html

    134 chars

  119. David C. said on May 5, 2017 at 2:42 pm

    Icarus, I can explain. They do is because they can.

    51 chars

  120. David C. said on May 5, 2017 at 2:42 pm

    They do it because they can.

    28 chars

  121. basset said on May 5, 2017 at 3:00 pm

    Sherri, one of our planners just sent me a picture of the Amazon headquarters. That thing is just awful.

    105 chars

  122. Sherri said on May 5, 2017 at 3:32 pm

    You don’t like the biospheres, basset? I wish they were going to be more open to the public.

    http://www.seattletimes.com/business/amazon/amazons-spheres-are-centerpiece-of-4-billion-effort-to-transform-seattles-urban-core/

    http://www.seattletimes.com/business/amazon/amazons-spheres-welcome-their-first-occupant/

    318 chars

  123. brian stouder said on May 5, 2017 at 3:53 pm

    It looks like the statement is “Amazon has balls” – or some such (they really do look a bit testicular…)

    which is no worse than the Trumpian vagina tower…

    https://www.google.com/search?q=trump+building+vagina&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjB7ZDbw9nTAhUpxoMKHS7GCw0Q7AkIMg&biw=911&bih=155#imgrc=EN2SAHdysNlEdM:&spf=198

    372 chars

  124. Deborah said on May 5, 2017 at 4:12 pm

    Those are basically interconnected geodesic domes ala Buckminster Fuller, the project was designed by the architecture firm NBBJ, a very well respected firm. I think it’s great that they’re creating a lush garden for their employees in a somewhat dense urban space in the city. It’s very much in the same biophilia notion as the carpet company I did the photo shoot with a few years back. My photo is on pg 14 of the brochure in this link (if it works). http://www.interface.com/US/en-US/about/modular-carpet-tile/Biophilia.

    524 chars

  125. Deborah said on May 5, 2017 at 4:13 pm

    Well, to see the brochure you have to click on the thing called Folio 5.

    72 chars

  126. Deborah said on May 5, 2017 at 4:22 pm

    I read that 12 white men senators plus Ted Cruz (Cuban) will write the healthcare bill for the senate, they include McConnell, Hatch, Cotton and others I’ve forgotten. I can’t imagine that anything those guys could come up with will be any better than the House’s version, especially healthcare for women. Oh we are in for it, for sure.

    336 chars

  127. Suzanne said on May 5, 2017 at 4:37 pm

    Brian @ 108, that has been a point of amazement for me. Obama was constantly called “imperial” for thinking he could legislate by EO. “Who does he think he is?!?!?!”
    Now Trump signs EO like he signs hush money checks and…crickets.

    The hypocrisy is astounding. Pro-life but if people die from lack of reasonable health insurance, oh well. We love morality and family values, but love our sleazy Mr T even more!

    My head may explode soon.

    445 chars

  128. basset said on May 5, 2017 at 4:54 pm

    I’m sure the domes are wonderfully green and great places to work, they’re just ugly. Layman’s opinion here, your mileage may vary.

    132 chars

  129. Sherri said on May 5, 2017 at 5:07 pm

    I’m agnostic on whether they’re ugly or not, but they don’t dominate the skyline, so they don’t bother me. They’re less weird than Frank Gehry smashed guitar building that houses the MoPOP, formerly known as the EMP.

    216 chars

  130. Deborah said on May 5, 2017 at 5:57 pm

    Suzanne, yes the hypocrisy is mind boggling. Have you seen the side by side comparisons of Paul Ryan in 2009 and 2017, saying what he said about cramming a bill through for a vote. It makes me want to scream and scream and scream.

    I realize that just yesterday or the day before I said that Trump was just becoming a big joke to me and that my first reaction was to laugh now instead of wince or cringe. Well, he may be a joke but he’s a dangerous joke.

    456 chars

  131. Jakash said on May 5, 2017 at 6:44 pm

    Neil Steinberg’s column today marvels at the boobs like Joe Walsh (and Eddie Munster, of course) who don’t seem to grasp the basic idea of insurance. “The poignant plight of others does not obligate him or anybody else to pay for their health care. But you know what does? Possessing health insurance. Paying for the care of others is the definition of health insurance.”

    A couple of commenters on his blog apply a Russian parable to the Republicans’ seeming sole interest in the health care debate: making sure that nobody, nowhere might possibly get something they don’t “deserve,” regardless of how that might affect they themselves. Ah, yes, the “Christian Right,” don’t you know.

    A man saves a forest gnome caught on the fence in his back yard. The gnome tells the man that his reward will be one wish, but since the man saved the gnome from being caught on the fence between himself and his neighbor, whatever the man wishes for himself, his neighbor will receive in double measure. The man thinks to himself for a moment, and then says, “Poke out my eye.”

    http://www.everygoddamnday.com/2017/05/what-part-of-health-insurance-doesnt.html

    1156 chars

  132. Jakash said on May 5, 2017 at 7:34 pm

    Good one:

    https://twitter.com/BenjaminJS/status/860227084265725952

    71 chars

  133. Deborah said on May 5, 2017 at 7:48 pm

    Jakash at #131, that parable is spot on, I’m going to remember that.

    68 chars

  134. Sherri said on May 5, 2017 at 8:34 pm

    Talk about your buried ledes.

    The outgoing White House also became concerned about the Trump team’s handling of classified information. After learning that highly sensitive documents from a secure room at the transition’s Washington headquarters were being copied and removed from the facility, Obama’s national security team decided to only allow the transition officials to view some information at the White House, including documents on the government’s contingency plans for crises.

    https://apnews.com/b109774705594ae887a86b337c444e6b/Trump-transition-raised-flags-about-Flynn-Russia-contacts

    But you know, there might have been some classified emails on her server.

    695 chars

  135. Joe Kobiela said on May 5, 2017 at 9:25 pm

    Thought it was remove one testical.
    Pilot Joe

    46 chars

  136. coozledad said on May 6, 2017 at 8:16 am

    Haha. Where’s Mr. “Empathy”?

    https://twitter.com/edroso?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

    Waiting to see how you twist yourself up your own ass on this one.

    183 chars

  137. coozledad said on May 6, 2017 at 8:21 am

    I hate to link to this gutter page, but twitter is fucked up:

    http://www.nationalreview.com/article/447365/jimmy-kimmel-baby-son-health-care-empathy

    Anyone bragging about their association with Jonah Goldberg is fucked in the head.

    237 chars

  138. coozledad said on May 6, 2017 at 8:24 am

    More on this souless and unambiguously evil assemblage of fat cells:
    https://wonkette.com/616699/jonah-goldberg-explains-jimmy-kimmels-baby-is-a-lot-like-hitler

    Cum stain boy is cum stain.

    192 chars

  139. coozledad said on May 6, 2017 at 9:11 am

    The logical end of hick “conservatism.” A Hungarian Fascist who eats shit and demands to be called “Dr.”
    http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/05/exclusive-sebastian-gorka-leaves-rant-for-mcdonalds-server.html?mid=twitter_nymag

    Hey, servers. You know what to do when you see one of these pricks.

    303 chars

  140. coozledad said on May 6, 2017 at 9:16 am

    Well, dayum. it was satire. But dead on.

    40 chars

  141. David C. said on May 6, 2017 at 1:32 pm

    Too bad it’s satire. I wanted to hear Lovett read it in his Gorka voice.

    72 chars

  142. Deborah said on May 6, 2017 at 2:58 pm

    I wish I trusted these guys. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/05/how-obamacare-repeal-could-run-aground-in-the-senate/525534/ We have been hoodwinked so many times now, it’s like Lucy and the football. How many times are we going to fall for it? Just a few weeks ago we were led to believe that the house bill was dead in the water, but it came to life in short order and sucker punched us. I would like to know what the Democrats are doing about this, I’m not hearing much. Is there strategy to give the Republicans enough rope to hang themselves? Is it to lay low and let the Rs dig their own grave? The Dems are either playing their cards close to their chest or their not doing a GD thing. Wish I knew.

    723 chars

  143. Jolene said on May 6, 2017 at 6:08 pm

    There’s not very much the Dems can do, Deborah. The Dems have said that, if the Rs would set aside the notion of repeal, they would work with the Rs to improve O’care, but the Rs have rejected that premise.

    Meanwhile, the Rs have, in principle at least, the numbers to do whatever they want. In fact, though, they are fairly divided, so there’s no telling what they will actually do. Most observers are predicting something more moderate than the House bill, but, again, no one knows.

    488 chars

  144. Jakash said on May 6, 2017 at 7:56 pm

    Since this is the swimsuit edition of nn.c, and I keep seeing that photo…

    That is a remarkable photo, especially given that the swimsuit editions of certain publications don’t really seem to feature anything that seems like an actual swimsuit. What’s most interesting to me is how only the blue has been bleached out so badly — the green and yellow seem to have held up pretty well. I’d be glad I didn’t have blue hair, were I the proprietress. ; ) We always called them swimming suits, though, being bumpkins and all…

    530 chars

  145. Deborah said on May 7, 2017 at 12:27 am

    Yeah I get that Jolene, that the Dems are powerless in the traditional channels now but we’re all aware there are other ways to get things done. Given that they have no power things have managed to go in their favor for quite a while during this admin. But now that things have taken this turn I want to be assured that they have LB’s back. And weirdly that’s literally because her latest surgery was on her back (as was mine).

    428 chars

  146. Peggy said on May 7, 2017 at 1:45 am

    Costco often has Speedo suits for $20. They’re my go-to. But your BOGO is cuter.

    82 chars

  147. ROGirl said on May 7, 2017 at 8:03 am

    1. If Hillary had won, the election hacking and Hillary hate would have played out in non-stop, daily, continuous, increasingly hysterical investigations by the Republicans.
    2. If any other Republican had won, the Obamacare repeal would have taken place too — maybe sooner because there would have been more competence behind the effort. And all the other things on the agenda.

    Trump is the nightmare scenario playing out in real time, but it would have been pretty bad no matter what the outcome.

    503 chars

  148. coozledad said on May 7, 2017 at 9:54 am

    Traitor trash. And Comey’s working for them.
    https://twitter.com/JoyAnnReid/status/861190705099796480

    102 chars

  149. coozledad said on May 7, 2017 at 3:41 pm

    Well at least the French aren’t letting Putin and hicks who pick corn out of their shit decide their election.

    Trump’s America scares the shit out of rational beings who believe in the rule of law, science, modern medicine, and gravity. So it’s just us plus a backward nation of people who will never be anything but peasants and criminals (Russia), the Phillipines (a feudal Catholic jungle hellhole) and The Nation Without Teef wot give us Keef.

    The Axe’s Body Spray Powers.

    482 chars

  150. Deborah said on May 7, 2017 at 5:18 pm

    The Nation Without Teef wot give us Keef. Ha ha.

    48 chars

  151. coozledad said on May 7, 2017 at 8:04 pm

    I wish Hillary would start commenting here. I think she has little patience for suckups and martinets. It would be a joyous field of fire.
    https://twitter.com/HillaryClinton/status/861317789537193988

    We missed our chance for a woman to demonstrate the character of our nation-To elide the Fascist moment. But if there’s anything positive to creep out of this nadir, it’s we know for sure who the shits are. The kowtowing Fascist Republicans. The miserable old white dreck from the sixties, looking to burn shit down, Manson style. and the privileged Berniecrats who as yet are undiagnosed with schizophrenia.

    612 chars