I’m not in the best frame of mind these days and really shouldn’t do this to myself, but if you want to get depressed about this fucked-up country we live in, go to GoFundMe.com and search the term “shooting.”
I’ll wait.
What you learn there, and actually learn more quickly when we’re in a rare lull between mass shootings, as opposed to still mopping the blood from the floor from the last one, is that there are two kinds of victims of these things. There are the ones we carry out in body bags, and the ones left behind, and it’s these unfortunates we collect money for. That they survive is only the first step in a recovery that may not fully happen. They’re maimed, some seriously, left paraplegic or quadriplegic or in chronic pain forever. They have post-traumatic stress equal to that of any veteran of a war zone, because that’s what they are, with the added insult that they never enlisted in any army, never were trained for war, and simply had the misfortune of thinking they were going to a movie or to church or to the office Christmas party when they met up with our unique brand of national madness.
We always say life can change in an instant. But no one signed up for that one.
Anyway, dig down in those search results, past the big-goal campaigns, and find out how many of these people are simply…well, fucked seems to fit. Many have no or little or not-worth-shit health insurance to begin with, and are left with thousands in bills for treatment of all kinds, loss of income, whatever you need to make you whole when all you can do is lie on the couch and tremble.
So this story from Slate caught my eye today. It takes note of the infuriating Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, passed in 2005, which shields the firearms industry from any legal liability related to their products — thanks, Washington! The piece suggests a new tax on sellers and manufacturers of guns, to be pooled for the care and treatment of people whose lives are forever changed by them, the people at the center of all those GoFundMes:
Every state already has a crime victim compensation program, although not all victims are eligible and states impose strict caps on payouts. The average cap is $25,000, and most states impose lower limits on specific benefits like counseling. That $25,000 ceiling is much lower than the average jury would award to a victim of negligence, so these programs cannot plug the gap created by the PLCAA. Nor can civil suits against the shooters themselves, who are almost always too poor to pay jury awards. (By contrast, the American firearm industry made about $13.5 billion in revenue in 2015.)
Instead, states should consider the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act as a model. Congress passed the NCVIA in 1986 in response to a raft of lawsuits against vaccine companies. It created a compensation fund for individuals injured by vaccines and was funded by a tax on vaccine sales. A special court now hears claims and awards compensation to victims. In addition, the NCVIA allows victims to maintain their rights to sue manufacturers under traditional tort law.
Sounds good to me. Of course it’ll never happen. America!
And in other massacre-related news, there’s this, which I’m filing under Why I Hate the Internet:
About an hour’s drive from the carnage in Sutherland Springs, five women gathered after sundown outside an emergency room where victims of the morning shooting were still being brought in.
The women knew some of the victims, they said. Several sounded upset because authorities wouldn’t let them see any bodies. One wondered aloud if a victim who had been declared dead by officials that day actually still lived. “We have to get to the bottom of this,” one woman said.
“False flag,” said another, and then another, and another.
The story’s about the proliferation of this “false flag” nonsense so popular in Wingnuttia, the same lunacy that leads some people to harass the Sandy Hook parents who lost their children, and now, to stand outside a hospital and get upset because they’re not allowed into view bodies.
I’m really feeling sour at the moment, if you haven’t figured it out yet. Or as today’s Twitter meme goes:
But what is this week about? Looking back at the same week a year ago. Some good stuff to read on those lines:
Sometimes terrible occurrences can have good results. Something awful happens, but then you become aware of it, and change and things get better. And if there is one thing that is true about Donald Trump, as I’ve said before, he’s a symptom and not a cause. He is the same lying, bullying fraud he has always been, subtle as a brick, obvious as can be.
Nearly half of America voted for him anyway.
That is the terrible part. America elected him. He spread his goods—xenophobia, malice, deceit, delusion, ignorance—and 63 million of us signed on up.
The question now: is Trump our rock bottom? Or are there hells below this one?
From the Boston Globe, a stubborn and hardening rift in York, Pa.:
Tonya Thompson-Morgan has found herself blocking some of her old high school classmates and other Facebook friends. She struggles with the competing emotions of telling her 12-year-old daughter why it’s wrong to say she “hates” Trump, but also why it’s wrong for Trump to call the NFL players she respects “sons of bitches.” When she walked around the York Fair this summer and saw people handing out signs that read “Trump is still my president,” she felt turned away from the only community she’s ever known.
“When can we heal? When is there a healing process?” she says, taking a long pause to compose herself and wipe away tears.
“Unless I turn off the lights, go in my bedroom, shut the door, and turn off the TV, there is no way to escape,” Thompson-Morgan says. “I feel like we eat, sleep, and breathe Trump. Trump for breakfast, Trump for lunch, Trump for dinner, and Trump as a midnight snack.”
(Man, did I identify with that one.)
A final one, non-election related, on Harvey Weinstein’s repulsive behavior as he tried to stop the various investigations into his earlier repulsive behavior.
OK, then. Night is settling in and after a trip to the dog park, the day seems less grim. Time to wind it up with a little leftover soup. A good Wednesday to all, and let’s discuss the election results from around the country as they become available.
Dexter said on November 7, 2017 at 7:17 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeqkknpYO5k
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Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on November 7, 2017 at 7:19 pm
Lots to chew on from one year ago tonight at this link — loved the Remnick observations.
http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a13266971/election-2016-behind-the-scenes/
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alex said on November 7, 2017 at 7:47 pm
Hey, Basset…
I know you’ll probably never take my word for it again as regards tenderloins, so hear it from the experts: http://wane.com/2017/11/07/huntington-tenderloin-named-indianas-best/
Take a little detour through Huntington next time you’re headed up north. You can also visit the Dan Quayle Museum: https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/9788
If Auburn’s an easier stop for you, I’d suggest trying the tenderloin at Mimi’s Retreat on the courthouse square, although I’m not patronizing that place anymore. My bills — non-itemized — struck me as excessive on occasion, and when my partner asked for a breakdown of one particularly egregious bill we got a bullshit story that not even a Trump voter would be stupid enough to fall for. So watch your wallet, forget about your waistline and enjoy one pretty fucking good sammich.
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Julie Robinson said on November 7, 2017 at 8:26 pm
Responding to Ellen from last night, my pastor daughter says to look up ELCA and UCC churches around Key West and start contacting them. She does say that the date may be an issue. Most pastors are on the verge of collapse by the time they get through Advent and Christmas. I have witnessed this first hand. Best of luck!
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Jolene said on November 7, 2017 at 8:59 pm
Ralph Northam, the Dem, won by at least six points in VA. This contest has been treated as a verdict on Trumpian, so the outcome is important. Ed Gillespie, the R candidate, is a former head of the RNC, historically a moderate guy who, after the 2012 election bought into the “autopsy” report that argued for outreach to minorities and such. But he ran as a Trumpist, stoking fear of immigrants and supporting the retention of Confederate monuments, and it didn’t work. Hooray for us!
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coozledad said on November 7, 2017 at 9:01 pm
Gillespie gets his ass blown out of the water, and five minutes later, Trump says “He didn’t embrace me enough.”
This is almost verbatim old Soviet humor, i.e. “It’s impossible to suck Stalin’s dick hard enough.”
Also, Sarah Huckabee Sanders is wearing fatigues in Korea. Is she about to fry some squirrels or something? Must have left the hog washers on the plane.
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Jolene said on November 7, 2017 at 9:05 pm
Part of the sweetness of the Northam victory stems from the repudiation of Trump himself. He tried to participate in the election by, of course, tweeting that Northam was weak on crime (especially immigrant gangs) and insensitive to veterans. Also claimed that the Virginia economy is terrible.
In fact, Virginia’s unemployment rate is, I believe, 3.7%, and Northam is a veteran, a former Army doctor who practiced for years as a pediatric neurologist. He just didn’t make a good villain.
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susan said on November 7, 2017 at 9:21 pm
This.
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susan said on November 7, 2017 at 9:33 pm
Oh, and this should be all we need.
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alex said on November 7, 2017 at 9:46 pm
Hardly seems like a year ago already, and the Esquire piece just made me relive it. And they saved the best quote for last:
Gary Johnson: Well for me, just speaking personally, I do not aspire to be president of the United States anymore. Why would anybody want to be president of the United States now that Donald Trump’s been president of the United States?
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coozledad said on November 7, 2017 at 10:36 pm
Why would anybody want to be president of the United States now that Donald Trump’s been president of the United States?
He’s got a point, but the early to mid twentieth century did a lot to revise our expectations of the Presidency. Trump, with the aid of the Russians, just set the clock back to Polk and Buchanan, notably avatars of a protofascist crisis.
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Mark P said on November 7, 2017 at 10:55 pm
Alex, yes, the office will need to be thoroughly sanitized. Thermite should be sufficient.
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basset said on November 7, 2017 at 11:04 pm
Alex, that does look like a powerful tenderloin… have been aware of that place for some time but it seems like every time I come through the area it’s either in the middle of the night or I have to be in Cadillac in four hours or there’s some other reason we are compelled to keep going.
The previous trip to Auburn’s coming back to me now, we went to some place just off the square that wasn’t anything special and to some freestanding little building where we met Joe K for the first and only time, that one was good.
Never had a tenderloin to beat the one at the old Food & Fuel down in Gnaw Bone, though. The Gerst House tenderloin in Evansville is worth stopping for, too bad the Gerst House in Nashville, same owners, doesn’t know what one is… closest we can get to a restaurant tenderloin down here is at Culver’s.
The fish sandwiches at the Odon Tavern in Daviess County used to be a treat when we were kids, stopped there a year or so ago and they didn’t seem nearly as good.
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susan said on November 8, 2017 at 12:22 am
Sherri, it’s looking good for Manka Dhingra. And looking good for Democratic controlled west coast state houses. Wooot!
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Deborah said on November 8, 2017 at 2:39 am
It’s a bit after 1:30am. I can’t bring myself to click on the “shootings” go fund me link. I want to be able to get back to sleep because I have a morning appointment for my annual physical and want to be rested for it. I know if I go to that link it will be the end of sleep for me for a while. I’ll try reading it tomorrow after my appt and when I’ve sufficiently braced myself. The fact that one can’t sue the gun manufacturers or dealers makes me furious.
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adrianne said on November 8, 2017 at 5:01 am
Well, I went to bed early and woke up to the wonderful news from all corners of these United States…Gillepsie defeated in Virginia. A Sikh mayor elected in Hoboken, N.J., despite virulently racist ads against him. New Jersey defeating Christie’s lieutenant governor. Oh, and even in New York state, the Democrat won the county executive post in Westchester County.
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David C. said on November 8, 2017 at 6:13 am
It doesn’t get any better than this. Danica Roem a trans woman beat the asshole who wrote Va’s bathroom bill.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/danica-roem-will-be-vas-first-openly-transgender-elected-official-after-unseating-conservative-robert-g-marshall-in-house-race/2017/11/07/d534bdde-c0af-11e7-959c-fe2b598d8c00_story.html
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Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on November 8, 2017 at 6:31 am
Our Children Services levy won last night in Licking County, Ohio!
Here’s why we were right to not let up and campaign hard right through Election Day — vote totals from 2014’s renewal, and from last night’s request for a second mil, our first increase in the millage since 1985:
In 2014 —
29,588 voting for, 63.43%
17,060 voting no, 36.57%
In 2017 —
18,894 voting for, 55.83%
14,949 voting no, 44.17%
People kept telling us don’t worry, but we aggressively raised almost 30% more than three years ago, and spent it on radio, newspaper, and billboards plus one countywide mailing and direct first class pieces to everyone who requested a ballot by mail. About $40,000 (ask me again in two weeks when I finish the BOE report), so it cost us about $2 a vote. In 2014 a win ran us more like $1 per.
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Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on November 8, 2017 at 6:32 am
Democracy’s a pain, but strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sprrQ1OLW6g
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David C. said on November 8, 2017 at 6:36 am
Nor strange orange men lying in a swamp.
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Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on November 8, 2017 at 6:50 am
Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony.
You can’t expect to wield supreme executive power just ’cause some watery tart threw a sword at you!
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Jenine said on November 8, 2017 at 9:12 am
Congrats on the levy passing, Jtmmo! You’ll be happy to know that when our sophomore told us she was studying the Spanish Inquisition for AP History, we had a youtube clip for her to watch…
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Peter said on November 8, 2017 at 9:13 am
David C at #17, I would agree, although the Maine vote for expanding Obamacare is a close second. I hope Paul Le Page’s head explodes over that one!
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Peter said on November 8, 2017 at 9:19 am
Yesterday’s Tribune had an article, which I believe was originally in the Washington Post, about how to protect yourself during a mass shooting.
While I found it disturbing on several levels (How to protect yourself from a mass shooter? How about not letting the nut have a gun in the first place!) it did make me think about it, especially after this tidbit:
How many people have died in a school fire since 2000? Zero.
How many people have died in school shootings since 2000? 117 and counting.
Yet kids and teachers go through countless fire drills, but nothing is done to train them in case of a shooting (BTW, I think his advice is to GTFO – hiding will only make you a sitting duck).
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Kim said on November 8, 2017 at 9:35 am
Bob Marshall is a colossal moron and danger to society. He’s known most widely for his stupid bathroom bill attempt, but he’s done plenty other idiot moves. To wit: After Sandy Hook, he proposed legislation that would require teachers to carry concealed weapons at school.
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Sherri said on November 8, 2017 at 9:41 am
It will be a few days before all the votes are counted, but yes, Manka Dhingra has won the state senate race! I was at her party last night, which had a lot of people, TV cameras, two likely candidates for governor next time, and Jay Inslee Skyping in. But the best thing about her campaign is the number of teens who were involved. Her son is in high school, and he and his friends were tireless in working this campaign.
The two women running for city council that I campaigned for also won, so it was a good night!
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Sherri said on November 8, 2017 at 9:48 am
More on Manka, with a nice interview video: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/45th-district-state-senate-manka-dhingra-jinyoung-englund/
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Connie said on November 8, 2017 at 9:52 am
I have been to mass shooting training. Essentially it all boils down to: Run, Hide, Fight. Have you identified the possible safe and lockable places at your work place?
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Dorothy said on November 8, 2017 at 10:00 am
Peter someone I used to know from a previous job relocated to North Carolina recently. She has 6 year old triplets. She mentioned some time ago that the kids did drills in the classroom on what to do in case of a shooter in the building. So I’m pretty sure this is not an isolated case – I’m guessing most schools probably do this now. Which just depresses me endlessly.
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Dorothy said on November 8, 2017 at 10:08 am
Just looked at her Facebook entry to be sure I understood her correctly. They had a ‘practice lock down’ on September 26 at school. One of the comments someone made said that her husband’s school orientation (guessing he’s a teacher) they learned how to do multiple tourniquets. If that isn’t sobering, I don’t know what is.
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Deborah said on November 8, 2017 at 10:18 am
Wow, just wow, I never in my life thought that kids in classrooms were being taught how to survive a shooting in the school. But of course that is reality now. Talk about sad.
I’m sitting in the Drs waiting room. Still can’t bring myself to click on that link.
Good news Jeff tmmo.
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Rana said on November 8, 2017 at 10:27 am
Yeah, active shooter drills are a usual school thing now. I’m not looking forward to when they start for us.
Danica Roem’s comments after her election are a thing of beauty: “When asked about her opponent last night at her victory party, Roem said simply, “I don’t attack my constituents. Bob is my constituent now.””
( https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/11/8/16622890/danica-roem-transgender-candidate-virginia )
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ROGirl said on November 8, 2017 at 10:27 am
I remember those duck and cover drills in elementary school. We would all have to kneel on the floor in the front of the classroom underneath the chalkboard, and the principal would walk through the hallways with a hand held siren that sounded like an air raid siren from London during ww2. It was an air raid drill, but I never knew why the fuck they were having us go through it, somehow they left out the part about nuclear annihilation.
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Sherri said on November 8, 2017 at 10:30 am
In other good news from the evening, the virulently anti-Islam city council candidate in Mukilteo was trounced, despite spending $50k of his own money. He donated $1000 to a candidate in a Redmond city council race who had fought against building a mosque here, and one of my candidates, a Southeast Asian woman, trounced that guy, too!
JinYoung Englund, Manka’s opponent, tried to shed association with trump, but by running as anti-Seattle, she really turned the race into Seattle vs. trump. Seattle won. We’d rather have safe injection sites than trumpism here.
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LAMary said on November 8, 2017 at 10:56 am
A year ago this week I lost my job, Trump got elected and Leonard Cohen died. That was a rough week. I’m working now and it seems like it’s ok and stable. Trump still manages to piss me off at least once a day. Looking for a job when you’re 64 is really hard work. If you ever feel a little too good about yourself, give job hunting at my age a try and you’ll get your smackdown.
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Scout said on November 8, 2017 at 12:05 pm
Last night’s election results feel like a glimmer of light at the end of what has been a very long and dark tunnel. Danica Roem’s victory is especially savory on many levels, and Northam beating Gillespie so handily… well, it just makes me smile bigly thinking of the giant tangerine tantrum that is certainly taking place today.
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Peter said on November 8, 2017 at 12:10 pm
I apologize in advance for my comment, but when I saw a Danica Roem clip last night I did say to myself that she is going to be one mighty fine looking state delegate.
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FDChief said on November 8, 2017 at 12:21 pm
I’m not sure that this off-year results fill me with optimism. The U.S. is still stuffed with racist Know-Nothings who, if the polling is any indication, are as sentient as a bag of hammers. How you can “approve” of the tangerine shitgibbon after the past year tells me that you’d vote for a baggie full of used food if it promised you you’d get to own 15 AR-15 knockoffs and refuse service to same-sex couples.
Don’t get me wrong; I’m glad that all these Trumpkin lookalikes got whipped. But until the general next year I’m not holding my breath. The single biggest mistake all of us to the left of Reinhard Heydrich made was to assume that our fellow Cracker-Americans were ashamed enough of their prejudices and aware enough of their ignorance that they would refrain from voting for those ignorant prejudices. Hail, Trump! Boyhowdy, were WE wrong.
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Jeff Borden said on November 8, 2017 at 12:25 pm
When Democrats turn out, Democrats win. The old saw about how Democrats fall in love while Republicans fall in line remains fairly accurate, but the scourge of the Orange King has upended so many norms that even these early races were affected by his toxicity. We’ve all needed a little good news after the awful 12 months since the bigot-in-chief was elected.
That said, the Dems better start fashioning a platform that is more than anti-Trump. What is the party for? Where does it stand? Certainly, health care is a winner. The voters in Maine shoved the ACA up the ass of the Tea Party governor who has refused to expand Medicaid, leading supporters to put the issue on the ballot. It won easily. The party should also be howling about the proposed tax reforms, which will screw almost everyone except the ultra-rich and large corporations. They could start with how the Republicans –the so-called pro-life party– are taking away deductions for adoption.
Also, the Dems absolutely must concentrate on state races. The GOP has clobbered them at the state level, which in turn has led to unprecedented efforts at voter suppression and attacks on everything from school lunches to access to abortion. Watching the once progressive state of Wisconsin being turned into a morass of failed rightwing politics because the GOP controls all three branches of government has been heartbreaking.
So, I’m buoyed, but only cautiously optimistic. The Democratic Party always has a knack for fucking things up.
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Deborah said on November 8, 2017 at 12:55 pm
Ed at Gin and Tacos is cautious too http://www.ginandtacos.com/2017/11/08/hold-your-horses/. I’d like to be optimistic but I’m too jaded now to think that way. The Democrats can be awfully good at screwing things up. They managed to win races yesterday in spite of Donna Brazile’s stupid book for instance.
I had the very last girlie exam I’ll ever have to have in my life. When you’re between 65 and 70 you don’t need to do that ever again. Hooray!
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Deborah said on November 8, 2017 at 1:11 pm
I will add that I totally agree with Jeff B about the Ds, when they vote they win.
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Suzanne said on November 8, 2017 at 1:12 pm
Interesting. I happened to be, today, at an office in which the radio station was playing Focus on the Family’s daily radio show. The program began with an appeal to contact your GOP legislator to ask that he/she rethink removing the adoption tax credit because it would be tragic for children.
My Lord. If even Focus on the Family is seeing the flaws in this tax revamp, you can see how bad it is.
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FDChief said on November 8, 2017 at 1:26 pm
Although the Dems COULD screw up a wet dream I won’t agree that they HAVE to; a lot of the problems in the current party go back to the panic that struck deep after the Mondale and Dukakis wipeouts in the 80’s and if the New New Deal Left can erase that DNA a lot of those problems go away.
But…a LOT of the economic problem is that there are some fundamental changes in the industrial economy that may be impossible to “solve”. The old high-school-education industrial jobs aren’t coming back. Automation will only not-happen if it’s prohibited by law, and that’s not going to happen, either. So in a nation where you are what you do the basic idea that “we’re going to make sure you have a living wage job” is going to become more and more difficult to turn into reality.
Plus there’s a big landmine in problems inherent in capital mobility. If multinational organizations and shift their cash around the globe without constraint and tariffs aren’t going to get in the way of their products why bother to pay someone in Des Moines $15/hr when someone in Bogota will do the same for half that and the move-to-market cost is only a quarter of that?
A hell of a lot of the Democratic Party’s problems are inherent in the “free market”. Trying to tinker with that critter to profit more people than the rentiers is difficult as hell legislatively and potentially fraught politically. Like I said; there’s a lot of idiot Know-Nothings out there. Until THEY start understanding that MegaCorp is more than happy to let them sink into a guns-and-God-infested mire so long as the profits roll in, until they begin to believe that a corporate “bureaucrat” has no more interest in their welfare than that government “bureaucrat” they’ve been so terrified of for so long it’s an uphill battle for the Left.
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Scout said on November 8, 2017 at 1:27 pm
The good mood continues! My day is made.
https://twitter.com/imaginista111/status/928327217788067840
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AndreaJ said on November 8, 2017 at 1:32 pm
Another article about Pennsylvania and Trump voters, a follow up from a story Politico did earlier in the year.
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/11/08/donald-trump-johnstown-pennsylvania-supporters-215800
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Suzanne said on November 8, 2017 at 1:51 pm
AndreaJ, just a skim of that Politico article already has me depressed. Cult membership is the only explanation. How else to explain people like the guy who disliked Obama because he golfed to much but when told Trump golfs even more, shrugs and says “Meh”?
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jcburns said on November 8, 2017 at 1:55 pm
Congrats Scout! Some Chicago juror-to-be liked your tweet!
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coozledad said on November 8, 2017 at 2:11 pm
Once again, Republicans prove they believe in nothing. The whole pro-life kabuki was designed and perpetuated to dismantle desegregation, and to deepen ties to a racist demographic. They don’t give a flying fuck about embryos or children unless they can be used as a tool to acquire power.
https://twitter.com/byrdinator/status/928275124360482816
One of the qualities that allow great myths to survive over centuries, among very different cultures, is their ability to stand on their heads (indeed, to turn cartwheels), to invite complete reversals of the political stance taken by the interpretation of the basic plot.*
*Wendy Doniger, The Hindus pp.666-667
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Sherri said on November 8, 2017 at 2:39 pm
Never forget the Crazification Factor: http://kfmonkey.blogspot.com/2005/10/lunch-discussions-145-crazification.html
trump will never lose his support among his core supporters because they love him not for anything he promised or anything he does, but because he hates all the right people. That will never change, and neither will they. Don’t bother trying to win those people over. Don’t try to understand them. Just nod your head, and back away slowly.
I hold hope not so much in the Democratic Party, but in all the people I’ve seen changed by the election. The ACLU more than quadrupled in membership. There are new candidates running for office who never would have run for office before. People are stepping up, and despite the ineptness of the institution of the Dems, I have to believe that will make a difference.
This state senate race I’ve been talking about endlessly was contested between two first time candidates, both women of color, for a seat that had been held by white men since I’ve lived here.
A trans woman defeated the long-time incumbent Republican delegate in Virginia who wrote their bathroom bill,
I think we can celebrate for a day before we start worrying about 2018.
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Sherri said on November 8, 2017 at 2:53 pm
Republicans haven’t cornered the market on jerks. I haven’t said anything about the King County Sheriff’s race here, which was contested between two Dems. The incumbent had a huge advantage entering the race; he had done much to clean up the mess that the KCSO had long been. But then, a rape allegation came out, and worse, stories about how he had handled it. I was at the meeting where ha came to ask for our local party group’s endorsement, and my overwhelming impression was that the guy was an asshole. He continued to demonstrate that throughout the campaign, and last night:
Urquhart, who has been critical of The Seattle Times’ coverage of the sexual abuse allegations made against him, sent its reporter to a non-existent campaign party across town from where the sheriff showed up Tuesday night at Shaun O’Donnell’s American Grill and Irish Pub in the Smith Tower. When the reporter tracked him down, Urquhart said he had sent the reporter to the wrong place as a “joke.”
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/king-county-sheriff-john-urquhart-mitzi-johanknecht/
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Deborah said on November 8, 2017 at 3:06 pm
Scout, WOW!
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4dbirds said on November 8, 2017 at 3:56 pm
Ecstatic Virginian here. I knew it was going to be good when I arrived early yesterday at my polling place and they were doing brisk business. Good turnout is always good for the dems.
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adrianne said on November 8, 2017 at 4:22 pm
That Politico story was done by a former colleague, Michael Kruse, whose reporting during the runup to the election and after has been spot-on. His story is a little long, but hang with it until the kicker. It will depress you, but it’s worth it.
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Jeff Borden said on November 8, 2017 at 5:12 pm
ABC News is reporting the Michigan Senate is okaying guns in schools? WTF is that all about?
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Scout said on November 8, 2017 at 5:38 pm
Well, as it turns out I celebrated a bit too early. The like was from @BarrackObama, (extra r) which is a parody account. Cue the sad trombone. But it was a thrill while it lasted! Thanks to Jolene for setting me straight.
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nancy said on November 8, 2017 at 5:39 pm
If you’re unaware, there’s a sub-movement of the gun nuts, of those who use terms like “constitutional carry.” CC is the idea that gun rights are in the constitution, just like free speech and religion and all the rest, but you don’t have to get a permit to speak or go to church, so why do you need one to carry a gun?
So they’re pushing to chip away at any and all restrictions on firearms. Schools, hospitals, churches, bars, etc. have all been gun-free zones under state law, and this package of bills would take that away. The Senate majority leader is all about lawfully armed citizens being a “deterrent” to mass shooters, etc.
All this while the state is facing a fiscal crisis in about a year. Good to know they’re listening to their constituents.
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David C. said on November 8, 2017 at 6:15 pm
Peter @23. The Maine Medicare vote was barely counted when LePage, the human bowling jacket, vowed to fight it. I don’t know what he can do legally but when has legality ever stopped the Rs from not doing something they didn’t want to do.
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Bitter Scribe said on November 8, 2017 at 11:15 pm
Isn’t York, Pa. where they had that Federal case over mandating the teaching of “intelligent design” (which is creationism with one more syllable)?
Harvey Weinstein, or his apologists, are now claiming he’s a “sexual addict.” Ambrose Bierce noted that “kleptomaniac” means “rich thief.” I guess “sexual addict” means “rich rapist.”
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Dexter said on November 9, 2017 at 3:57 am
LA Mary, today marks the date I took off for Vietnam, and also the date I started my career in the factory, and also the date the Edmund Fitzgerald departed the Superior docks loaded with iron ore. Also the same week-date my first wife “R-U-N-N-O-F-T”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsAZ0RweVxk
Quite a lot to think about for a while.
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adrianne said on November 9, 2017 at 7:23 am
Call me a crazy optimist (Adrianne! You’re a crazy optimist!) but I do feel that regular people are tired of the Orange King and his minions and are fighting back. You’re never going to reach the “Niggers For Life” people (read Michael Kruse’s story for more), but so what? We don’t need them or want them.
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Sherri said on November 9, 2017 at 9:45 am
This is the candidate I’m supporting in WA-08 in the bid to flip the seat: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/emilys-list-boosts-democrat-kim-schrier-in-washingtons-8th-congressional-district-race/
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4dbirds said on November 9, 2017 at 10:11 am
November 9th. KRISTALLNACHT and The Berlin Wall fell.
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Andrea said on November 9, 2017 at 2:34 pm
Roy Moore is being accused of creeping on adolescent girls.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/woman-says-roy-moore-initiated-sexual-encounter-when-she-was-14-he-was-32/2017/11/09/1f495878-c293-11e7-afe9-4f60b5a6c4a0_story.html
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Heather said on November 9, 2017 at 2:47 pm
A story about Louis CK is about to drop in the NY Times, apparently.
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Peter said on November 9, 2017 at 2:59 pm
Andrea at #63 – I just saw that in the Tribune.
I don’t know if this will hurt him or not – sure she’s 14, but she’s not black or a guy, so can you blame him?
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Deborah said on November 9, 2017 at 3:07 pm
I had to look up who Roy Moore is, the name didn’t ring a bell. Oh, him! I hope it turns out to be true, wouldn’t that be a humdinger.
I’ve been reading the back story on Manafort and boy howdy, that guy is a basic crook from the get go. His former son in law Jeff Yohai is in it up to his eyeballs too.
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Scout said on November 9, 2017 at 3:34 pm
Turn over ALL the rocks.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/09/arts/television/louis-ck-sexual-misconduct.html
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Colleen said on November 9, 2017 at 3:43 pm
Just read the Louis CK story. Why on earth are so many men such pigs? That question is only slightly rhetorical…..
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Peter said on November 9, 2017 at 3:44 pm
Oh boy. This Louis CK stuff is pretty creepy.
At the AV Club, someone commented that there’s so many of these creeps being outed, you got to ask which future revelation will blindside you…he offered Christopher Walken. For me, I’d be stunned if someone calls out Jim Gaffigan.
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Deborah said on November 9, 2017 at 4:10 pm
In my reading about Manafort that I mentioned earlier, I also got side tracked reading about Roger Stone who was a partner with Manafort and Lee Attwater in a lobbying company (I think, or maybe it was a political consulting company). Anyway, then I read here Andrea’s comment about Roger Moore and I have to say it makes you wonder if Stone isn’t involved in this outing somehow. I mean he’s a big Trump supporter and longtime pal of Trump. Since Trump got embarrassed by endorsing Strange who then lost to Moore. It seems ripe for a dirty trick by Stone. I really want to believe that Moore did what the women claim he did, but now I’m paranoid after reading about Stone this afternoon. I must be turning into a conspiracy theorist, I need to get a life, I’m spending too much time reading all of the dirt about Trump and his honchos.
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coozledad said on November 9, 2017 at 4:23 pm
Whus wrong with a datin’ a gurl whose mama is ur age? We talkin’ Bama, boy! It goes like this.
A) family cat
B) young’uns with them cute little teeths
C) ur 1 an only true love hooz deddy paid fer ur camp pain.
U wooden want ol’ Roy to go straight from the cat to his sugar mama, right? Right?
Y’all just don unnerstan southern tradition.
https://academic.oup.com/ahr/article-abstract/106/5/1619/190163?redirectedFrom=PDF
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adrianne said on November 9, 2017 at 4:30 pm
Read the Louis CK article. It’s pretty gross, a serial masturbator who can’t control himself.
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Suzanne said on November 9, 2017 at 4:39 pm
Some Alabama elected yahoo is already defending Moore saying Mary was young when she married Joseph and they got Jesus out of the deal!
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susan said on November 9, 2017 at 5:06 pm
suzanne, that’s The Onion, right? Right? No? My dog, you really can’t tell anymore.
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Suzanne said on November 9, 2017 at 5:15 pm
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/alabama-state-auditor-defends-roy-moore-against-sexual-allegations-invokes-mary-and-joseph/article/2640217
Nope. Not the Onion.
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susan said on November 9, 2017 at 5:40 pm
oh good grief. The Onion will be out of business at this rate. Moon over Alabama, indeed. With its pants down.
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Sherri said on November 9, 2017 at 8:52 pm
I’m not even sure a dead girl or a live boy would shake Moore’s supporters.
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