Pipe bombs.

I was tired last night and thought I’d blog this morning. Thought I’d have a few minutes early. I didn’t. Then the pipe bombs began turning up, and game over for the blog.

Because I haven’t had enough misery today, I’m watching the televised Michigan gubernatorial debate and want to open a vein. No, an artery. A big one. Eight, nine good spurts and then vision would start to fade and I’d be out of my misery. Remember when debates were actual arguments? These are contests in who can come up with the most bumper-sticker phrases and put them into a Vitamix, pouring out smoothies on command.

What a terrible day.

Here, this is fun: Can you spot the fake or the real photo? I couldn’t. I got 22 percent. Maybe you’ll do better.

Tom and Lorenzo pointed out an amazing fact today: Kate Middleton, aka the Duchess of Cambridge, aka Cathy Cambridge, is now as old as Princess Diana was when she died. Damn, they’re right — where does the time go? Pretty sure the tiara in that pic is the one Diana was married in.

This is old, but it’s good: Stormy Daniels on the last year. Which has been…strange, to say the least:

And now if you go to one of my shows, it’s large groups of women, oftentimes in homemade matching Stormy shirts. They are loud, and they’re angry. They’re like, “Fuck Trump.” Or they’re crying. I’m like, “Jesus Christ.

There’s no crying in tittie bars. What’s happening?” People are grabbing me and giving me money, and then later they’re sharing their personal stories — women are saying, “I was molested or I was raped, and you’ve given me the inspiration to file charges against my boss.” Just heavy, heavy shit every night.

“We hope for better things” is part of Detroit’s motto. Let’s all think that before someone gets killed.

Posted at 9:23 pm in Current events |
 

69 responses to “Pipe bombs.”

  1. Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on October 24, 2018 at 10:19 pm

    We hoped for better things?

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  2. beb said on October 24, 2018 at 10:44 pm

    So we are up to five bombs – the Clintons, Obama, John Brennen (at CNN), George Soros and Maxine Waters. No, six — also Eric Holder. The R’s are calling it “false Flag” operation but why would a Dem try to blow up other dems when there are so many R’s who are actual menaces to society?

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  3. alex said on October 25, 2018 at 7:59 am

    Seven. Robert Deniro.

    And it wouldn’t surprise me if il Douche changes course and starts praising the effort at his next rally or on Twitter.

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  4. Suzanne said on October 25, 2018 at 8:13 am

    Not to worry. tRump has already tweeted this (of course he has):
    https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/1055418269270716418?s=21

    It’s what my mom would tell me when my older brother harassed me “He’s only doing it to get a rise out of you. If you wouldn’t get mad, he’d leave you alone.”

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  5. Connie said on October 25, 2018 at 9:13 am

    Made sense to look for a bomb sent to Biden, looks like it has been found as well.

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  6. Deborah said on October 25, 2018 at 9:23 am

    I’ve read that a bomb was sent to Biden too, intercepted at a mail facility in Delaware.

    It’s interesting to me that one was sent to Deniro. My right wing sister used to accuse me of paying attention to Barbara Streisand’s political activism. I never understood why my sister paid so much attention because I certainly didn’t.

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  7. Suzanne said on October 25, 2018 at 9:41 am

    Deborah, it’s because that is what FOX and Rush and the rest of the Right’s nutty media tells them liberals do and believe and think. It’s like their attitude about Soros. Without the right wing media, I wouldn’t even know who he was. It’s also interesting that they focus on him but not Tom Steyer, who is equally rich and as politically involved.
    Could it have anything to do with the fact that Soros is Jewish? Hmmmm, I wonder?

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  8. Bitter Scribe said on October 25, 2018 at 9:54 am

    When this guy (of course it’ll be a guy) gets caught, the Trumpites will rush to proclaim that he’s a lone actor and that it’s completely unfair to judge them all by this nut.

    Then they’ll go back to screeching about how children must be torn from their parents at the border because some illegal immigrant killed once someone somewhere while driving drunk.

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  9. Sherri said on October 25, 2018 at 10:11 am

    I think I’m in love: https://twitter.com/AndrewGillum/status/1055265872930095104

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  10. JodiP said on October 25, 2018 at 10:39 am

    Thanks, everyone for your kind words. It feels like I’m on a Serial podcast or some weird crap! I will be talking with the county attorney today. I do understand the need for physical evidence. Oddly, I don’t think my siblings would be in favor of pursuing a civil wrongful death suit, but I’ll be getting advice about that. I know a lot of attorneys through work and life who could point me in the right direction for a good consult.

    Funny, just this morning I was thinking, “How long will it be before #45 slams the media even with the horrible Khashoggi situation continuing to unfold?” It’s really disheartening he’s outright calling the pipeboms reports lies.

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  11. Deborah said on October 25, 2018 at 11:09 am

    I agree Sherri, I hope, hope, hope Gillum wins in FL, and Abrams in GA, but there are a lot of racist in those states.

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  12. LAMary said on October 25, 2018 at 11:41 am

    That is the same tiara Diana wore. I was distracting myself with some news of royalty thing and they mentioned that was Diana’s favorite tiara. Personally, I don’t have a “favorite” tiara. I love all my tiaras.

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  13. Heather said on October 25, 2018 at 12:01 pm

    There’s so much crazy news, but how about Megyn Kelly probably getting the can at NBC because of her blackface comments? I think her show was a disaster even before this. She’s just too brittle and artificial for morning TV. It always amazes me when white people don’t know this isn’t OK, but it shouldn’t.

    In personal news, I got hit by a car while walking through the parking lot of a mall yesterday. I am totally fine–fortunately the driver stopped at a stop sign and just bumped into me. But I was seriously *right in front of her* and in a crosswalk. I got a police report just in case but I am feeling OK today. She seemed like a nice lady and I had the urge to comfort her, but then I remembered that she hit ME. Anyway, a reminder to pay attention while you are driving.

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  14. Sherri said on October 25, 2018 at 12:07 pm

    Mall parking lots (and more generally, suburban parking lots) are terrible. They are totally designed for the convenience of cars, not people. It’s completely absurd that you have to cross the entry/exit to the parking lot when you’re walking from your parked car to the store.

    And if you’re still holding out hope that AVs will solve the problem of inattentive drivers, read this thread: https://twitter.com/mtsw/status/1055137402803634181

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  15. Bitter Scribe said on October 25, 2018 at 12:10 pm

    Heather – Glad you’re OK. Parking lots are the worst. It’s like there are no rules. Not to mention all the goddamn SUVs that make it impossible for drivers of normal cars to see where they’re going.

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  16. Heather said on October 25, 2018 at 12:25 pm

    Sherri, actually I was walking to the mall from my office (it’s right across the street). The whole walk is a gauntlet really, as it requires crossing a giant four-lane roadway and dodging cars turning left on an arrow that totally are not expecting to see anyone crossing the street, even though there is a crosswalk. But yeah, mall parking lots are terrifying for both pedestrians and drivers, really.

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  17. Deborah said on October 25, 2018 at 12:50 pm

    Heather, as a frequent pedestrian, getting hit by a turning car or in front of a driveway entrance is another one of my worst nightmares. You were so lucky to only be bumped. I was walking into a store from a parking lot and got bumped by a car backing up once. But in that case, it was night and I was wearing black so it was more understandable. I’ve had near misses on the streets of Chicago, and in Santa Fe. I’m super vigilant, I don’t expect the car to see me. I never walk out unless the oncoming car comes to a stop and I make eye contact. The incidence of cards hitting pedestrians and bikers is going up since more people are walking and biking. We really need to change the perception that roads were made for cars and nothing else.

    On another note, I suspected this would happen when Republicans had total power: homelessness went up 39% last year https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2018/10/be-more-human-fighting-homelessness-on-the-front-l.html

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  18. Deborah said on October 25, 2018 at 1:06 pm

    Correction: last year is the first year since 2010 that homelessness increased nationally, in NYC alone it increased 39%, I’ve no idea what the statistics are for other cities, but I suspect they are similar. I have been seeing more homeless people on the streets of Chicago, for sure.

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  19. Dorothy said on October 25, 2018 at 2:48 pm

    Heather I’m so glad you’re okay. I try to keep my hands out and ready to pound on a car if I see one backing up toward me in reverse if I can’t get out of the way fast enough. Honestly you have to have eyes in back of your head these days. And I work on a college campus – in a reverse scenario, I creep, creep, creep when I drive in traffic when students are crossing to go to class or enter a building because every.single.one.of.them is looking at a phone screen.

    In other disastrous news and speaking of Tom and Lorenzo, have you seen this? https://tomandlorenzo.com/2018/10/sigourney-weaver-in-off-white-at-the-rome-film-festival/

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  20. Mark P said on October 25, 2018 at 3:09 pm

    I certainly hope Abrams wins in Georgia, but it would be a miracle. She has three strikes against her. First, she’s a Democrat. Second, she’s a she. Third, she’s black. Even running against a hack politician, liar, and scoundrel, plus a blatant suppressor of voting rights, the odds are against her. We’re going out to do our early voting after I post this. There are reports of a lot of republicans voting early. I’m preparing for the worst.

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  21. Deborah said on October 25, 2018 at 3:20 pm

    Whoa Dorothy, that outfit is bizarre. Take off the white shirt, make it a solid color instead of a hunting scene tapestry (or whatever it is) and it would be terrific. The basic cut of it is very nice. Of course she probably didn’t feel she could pull off a strapless dress because of her age and from the tiny photo at the bottom the way she wore it is what the designer intended, but oh my, I wonder who the designer is?

    I have a couple of pieces, both by Japanese designers that I’m sure some people are aghast at. I don’t care though, I love them.

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  22. Julie Robinson said on October 25, 2018 at 3:34 pm

    Heather, I hope you continue to feel unscathed. I feel like every other driver I see is visibly on their phone.

    Looks like Megyn Kelly is out at NBC, or at least out of her show. I don’t watch daytime TV, but every clip I saw was just horrible. No more Fox people on regular TV please.

    I got home this morning and am just trying to get warm. There was an audible groan on the plane when the pilot announced it was 30 degrees. I set my alarm for 4:40, woke at 2, couldn’t fall back asleep, and I’m now a zombie.

    One of the fun things we did in Orlando was to make iced tea from a Roselle Hibiscus in our front yard. It was easy, a vibrant red, and also delicious. I’m hoping to harvest and dry some when I’m there next. Making and drinking it felt very Earth Mother.

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  23. Dexter Friend said on October 25, 2018 at 3:47 pm

    22%…maybe the damn site is just rigged for everybody to get 22%…I got 22% as well.
    Nonstop msnbc for well over 32 hours now, covering the bombs. I had to switch away when the repeating became too much.
    I remember when the World Series was the main topic of America media. Even in 1962, as the World Series games in San Francisco kept being delayed due to hellish Pacific storms that were relentless. It was the first time ever, as I recall, helicopters were deployed to hover over Candlestick Park to attempt to dry the field, hour upon hour, hovering whirlybirds…it worked.
    Due to several postponed games, a record late date for a baseball championship game was held on October 16. October 16…the World Series mega-coverage yielded to the scary-as-fuck Cuban Missile Crisis…perfect timing.
    Now it’s 2018, and you have to tune to a sports channel or station or web page to see anything about the World Series, which is being contested by Los Angeles and Boston, and it’s been marvelous so far. 🙂

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  24. alex said on October 25, 2018 at 4:05 pm

    Good heavens! Sigourney’s wearing a drapery panel from Cracker Barrel!

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  25. Andrea said on October 25, 2018 at 4:25 pm

    I got 44% on the photo/Foto quiz, but I did not learn which ones were real or faked.

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  26. Deborah said on October 25, 2018 at 4:32 pm

    So the designer of Sigourney’s outfit is Virgil Abloh for a Milan fashion house called Off-White. Abloh is a black guy, don’t know if that’s the reason for the name. He has been designing men’s wear for Louis Vuitton for a while, and he’s lately a big deal with a lot of Hollywood types. Meh.

    Edit: he’s a graduate of Illinois Institute of Technology in 2006 (where my husband taught from 2003-2018)

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  27. Deborah said on October 25, 2018 at 4:39 pm

    P.S. Virgil Abloh was born in Rockford, IL where I happen to be this very minute (at uncle J’s). And he got his start through Kanye West. Booooo.

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  28. Diane said on October 25, 2018 at 5:07 pm

    44%

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  29. Sherri said on October 25, 2018 at 6:01 pm

    I got 44%. Andrea, there was a button underneath the chart showing how people did that said “See Answers” that showed which you got wrong.

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  30. nancy said on October 25, 2018 at 6:03 pm

    Sigourney’s dress reminds me of a look you sometimes see around here, with Muslim girls. They get frustrated trying to find evening or cocktail-type dresses that cover everything they need to cover, so some will wear, for instance, a spaghetti-strap dress with a long-sleeved t-shirt underneath. It looks terrible, and one Muslim woman I know, a sharp dresser, can go on quite the rant about it. On the other hand, she’s also shared her struggles with finding nice outfits for weddings and parties, and it is not easy.

    There’s simply no excuse for those shoes, though.

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  31. Connie said on October 25, 2018 at 6:38 pm

    78%. No idea why.

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  32. Deborah said on October 25, 2018 at 9:09 pm

    I asked my husband when he got back from meetings if he had Virgil Abloh in any of his classes at IIT, he said he did not but he knew of him. Uncle J’s caregiver went to the same high school as Abloh but many years prior. Small world.

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  33. Suzanne said on October 26, 2018 at 8:45 am

    This should be getting more press in my opinion, but with all the other crazy crap happening, understandably it isn’t:
    https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/25/us/louisville-kroger-shooting.html

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  34. Dorothy said on October 26, 2018 at 9:37 am

    56%. Lucky guessing is about all I took from that experience.

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  35. Sherri said on October 26, 2018 at 9:37 am

    Even with all the other crazy crap happening, had the shooting in Louisville involved a black guy deliberately targeting white people and trying to enter a predominately white church, it would be leading the news, because the right wing noise machine would be all over it. The RWNM drives coverage in the rest of media.

    Can you imagine that even in the craziest of news cycles, had a major story strongly implicating a sitting Democratic President in criminal tax fraud dropped, it would be al but ignored, with no follow up? The conversation is usually about what the RWNM wants the conversation to be about.

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  36. Heather said on October 26, 2018 at 9:46 am

    I don’t mind the concept of Sigourney’s outfit as much as the execution. She could have found a less boxy/stiff shirt to wear under the dress. Ditch the pants. And I like the idea of the shoes, but the blah beige color–no.

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  37. LAMary said on October 26, 2018 at 10:39 am

    The dress Duchess Kate wore to meet the Dutch royals looked like something Deborah Kerr would wear in a movie from 1958.

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  38. Jolene said on October 26, 2018 at 12:20 pm

    The Louisville shooter has, apparently, lead a troubled life for many years–mental illness, domestic violence, difficulty in maintaining employment, family strife of many kinds. His attack on black victims seems more a manifestation of his illness than a hate crime.

    http://www.wdrb.com/story/39355392/accused-kroger-shooter-had-history-of-mental-illness-and-racist-comments

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  39. Deborah said on October 26, 2018 at 12:25 pm

    This morning one of Uncle J’s caregiver returned from NYC where she had been to attend a memorial service for her friend Marin Mazzie (which she said was an amazing life altering experience). She was in the city when the bomb package was found at CNN, she said the whole city cleared out soon after that, businesses were letting workers leave work early etc because people were afraid of more bombs. She said the streets were bare. I hadn’t heard any of that on the news.

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  40. Jolene said on October 26, 2018 at 12:51 pm

    Here’s a photo of the van belonging to the pipe bomb guy.

    https://www.facebook.com/1219117451/posts/10217757787355949/

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  41. Deborah said on October 26, 2018 at 12:54 pm

    There is a real thing called “stochastic terrorism” https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/stochastic_terrorism

    Also could be termed “trawling for assassins”.

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  42. David C. said on October 26, 2018 at 1:56 pm

    Jolene, someone on Twitter called it the MAGAbomber vanifesto.

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  43. brian stouder said on October 26, 2018 at 2:44 pm

    Jolene, at lunchtime I was watching the Feds pull a trailer with the guy’s van strapped onto it, and they had a tarp on it. As it rolled down the freeway with multiple escorts, the tarp began to flap.

    As the commentary went on, and the excursion continued, the tarp began flapping fiercely….until they stopped the parade, and had 4 or 5 Feds ride on the trailer with the van, holding the tarp down!

    This got me chuckling, as our IU-sophomore daughter is thinking of going for a career in law enforcement – specifically the FBI!

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  44. Jenine said on October 26, 2018 at 3:11 pm

    @LA Mary, I’m glad to hear you don’t pick favorites. Sharing this site in case you need lots more tiara history and pretty pics: http://orderofsplendor.blogspot.com/

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  45. beb said on October 26, 2018 at 4:07 pm

    The MAGAvanifesto is just the sort of over-the-top effects you would expect from a false flag operation — or from a psychotic madman. Looking at the mug shot of the arrested man I think we can agree that he’s on the psychotic end of the spectrum.

    Mark P @20 mentions that the woman running for Gov of Ga has three strikes against her — being a dem, being a woman and being a black. Mark hopes she will win as do I. But I think two of the strikes Mark mentions are probably pluses for her. The most energetic part of the Democratic party are woman and specifically of black woman. So I think Abrams has the best chance of winning over any Democratic white male.

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  46. LAMary said on October 26, 2018 at 5:43 pm

    You have ruined my time management plan, Jenine. The tiara site is wonderful.

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  47. FDChief said on October 26, 2018 at 6:14 pm

    So the MAGAbomber turns out to be a petty crook who lives with his mom and subsists on a rich and varied diet of Cheetoes and Fox & Friends. What a shock. And the dumb bastard is so dumb that he left his fingerprints – which are on file because he’s a petty crook – on the bombs. Sounds like he’s a perfect selection for a Trump cabinet officer.

    What was really embarrassing was the presser, with Sessions starting with a little ebony-and-ivory can’t-we-all-get-along paean. I’m shocked his goddamn nose didn’t shoot right across the room with the sudden growth a porn flick boner. Nobody there, either Session or the Feds, wanted to talk about why this stop-n-rob shoplifter had some how suddenly gone into the political terrorism business, concentrating insead on the brilliant detective work of finding a fingerprint ON FILE of a lunatic Cheeto-gobbling petty crook.

    And, of course, all the wingnut dailies are insisting that this guy is really a Soros plant.

    Just your daily reminder; the GOP must be destroyed.

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  48. Connie said on October 26, 2018 at 8:37 pm

    So Geraldo admits to his false flag stupidity: Geraldo Rivera is walking back comments he made this week suggesting the rash of bomb threats to high-profile Democrats may have been an “elaborate hoax” meant to “embarrass President Trump” ahead of the midterm elections. https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/oct/26/geraldo-rivera-walks-back-false-flag-theory-i-outs/

    While Candace Owens has deleted Her tweets saying same.

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  49. Mark P. said on October 26, 2018 at 9:54 pm

    beb, if people turn out for the Georgia election, Abrams has a chance. Unfortunately, the specter of a black woman as governor has scared most Trump supporters so bad that they hurried out to vote early just as soon as they changed their underwear. My pessimism is rooted in the behavior of the typical Republican voter. If you remember, a known child sexual abuser (not to mention multiply-sanctioned by the courts religious fanatic) almost won the senate race in Alabama recently. I have said before, if the Democrats nominated Jesus and the Republicans nominated the devil, most Republicans would vote for the devil and be happy about it.

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  50. beb said on October 27, 2018 at 12:46 am

    The FBI said they also found DNA on one or more bombs that pointed to the guy. I’m curious how they found DNA on the bombs unless he cut himself putting one together or …. he licked the glue to seal the envelop, and they picked up the DNA from that. We should all be grateful that the man was such an incompetent bomb-maker.

    Mark, I admit that a black woman would have a hard time winning on Georgia. But it’s also clear that blacks were flocking to vote early just whites were. The bigger issues are Kemp vote disenfranchisment and Georgia’s centralize, all digital voting machines. Makes it real easy to fudge the voting count. Already people are complaining that the machines are registering Kemp when people press Abrams. Which is why we should return to paper ballots.

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  51. Diane said on October 27, 2018 at 10:55 am

    I absolutely loved Chicago. Now admittedly I’m speaking from the perspective of a tourist there for two and a half days for a conference. But the architecture, the walkability (is that a word?), the art, the shopping! The Obama Library is going to have a public library branch in it-how cool is that!

    My husband did a lot of walking around seeing some of the things Deborah mentioned and went to the Art Institute. I went to the conference and shopped (great stores close enough to get to during breaks). And it cost $3 on public transportation to the airport (Midway)! Amazing (at least to this rube from the mountains).

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  52. David C. said on October 27, 2018 at 11:08 am

    Now a synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh. Four confirmed dead. Will this never end?

    https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2018/10/27/heavy-police-presence-near-synagogue-in-squirrel-hill/

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  53. Deborah said on October 27, 2018 at 11:13 am

    Diane, so glad you had a good time in Chicago. I think it’s a great city.

    Speaking of the Obama Library, there is now a suit against it, by people saying public land is being used for a private entity which they deem unacceptable. That truly is misplaced leftist zealotry, those idiots know nothing about urbanism, and are not thinking about what’s best for the immediate area around the site and the people who live there. Chicago is so lucky to have been chosen for the library and particularly that it’s going to be on the south side.

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  54. Jolene said on October 27, 2018 at 11:26 am

    Agree, Deborah. Institutional uses are not always good for neighborhoods, but it is hard for me to see that having the Obama library on the South Side will not be a long-term net gain for the city.

    The relative youth of Barack and Michelle means that they will likely be hosting events there for years to come. They will bring both money and visibility to the library and its environs.

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  55. Jolene said on October 27, 2018 at 11:38 am

    Now reporting eight dead at Pittsburgh synagogue, with more injured, including three police officers. Apparently, shooter walked into the building and said, “All Jews must die.”

    Shooter was injured and is now in custody.

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  56. Sherri said on October 27, 2018 at 11:52 am

    I had dinner last Saturday with friends at their house only a block away from Tree of Life. They’re Jewish, though not members of Tree of Life. Another friend gave me a ride to the airport on Sunday; he’s president of his synagogue, maybe a mile away.

    Squirrel Hill, the neighborhood where this happened, is the Jewish neighborhood, and also where I lived most of my time in Pittsburgh. I have many friends living in Squirrel Hill, as it’s convenient to CMU. This hurts.

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  57. beb said on October 27, 2018 at 2:49 pm

    My heart goes out to all those affects by the synagogue shooting. I just got up, opened the laptop and was confronted with another racist mass murder. This has got to stop.

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  58. Brian stouder said on October 27, 2018 at 3:09 pm

    This is awful. Human beings, individually and specifically, can be wonderful/unique/loving/curious/talented/modest/dedicated/hard-working……and a very few are irredeemably hateful/cruel/heartless…and looking for their own violent claim to have their name and their malice displayed for all to see. Our current president is like a careless camper who doesn’t realize how much damage and destruction his (many) inadequately tended fires are causing, and will continue to cause

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  59. The Garden Fairy said on October 27, 2018 at 4:10 pm

    Voted ~noon today in Hamilton County, OH’s new, easy-access board of elections. Despite dreary, misting weather, 12 – 15 ballot pick-up stations kept the short line moving and dozens of the 4-up voting booths provided plenty of space for folks to mark ballots at leisure. Primary parking lot was starting to clog as I left, but over-flow parking is convenient. Traffic cop was busy at ingress/ egress (the only feature of this site that leaves something to be desired).

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  60. Deborah said on October 27, 2018 at 4:20 pm

    I didn’t get around to voting Wednesday morning like I said I was going to. I was running around doing errands before we went to uncle J’s. Now I plan to do it Monday, but I’m not sure when early voting stops. I don’t think it goes up to Election Day, I’ll have to look that up. My husband likes to vote on Election Day, sometimes I do that, but in case the weather is bad or something, I like to do it early. Our polling place a couple of blocks away has never been crowded.

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  61. susan said on October 27, 2018 at 4:33 pm

    Obama says to vote. The way he says things, just makes me cry. What a long strange trip…

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  62. Sherri said on October 27, 2018 at 6:04 pm

    I have heard from the two friends who live within a block and two blocks of Tree of Life. Both families were out of town today, I was relieved to hear.

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  63. brian stouder said on October 27, 2018 at 6:31 pm

    btw – on the ‘fake or real’ photo challenge, I got 67%

    With Nancy’s forewarning (in the above post) I simply voted for ‘fake’ on the ones I thought were REAL photos….so, really I suppose my score would have been 33%…but forewarned is forearmed, eh?

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  64. Deborah said on October 27, 2018 at 6:41 pm

    I got 56%, I was expecting way more examples to choose from.

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  65. Dexter Friend said on October 27, 2018 at 7:00 pm

    Trumps bloviates how nobody would have died in Pittsburgh had there been more guns, more armed people to shoot the killer dead…I thought this was totally the wrong time to say that, then I remembered that many if not most temples, synagogues, and some churches do have a couple heavily armed guards at the door in 2018. Just after the killings, the President of the U.S. uses the tragedy to back the NRA, and that, Trumpites, sucks. The sad thing is yes, the gunman would have been silenced, but the tragedy is the 8 dead people. Trump is the one that is off-base here.
    How many stayed up until 3:30 AM today to watch the end of the World Series game? Me! And I bet dollars to donuts I am the only naller who did this…of course I didn’t begin watching until the 9th inning , as I was driving in the rain back from Columbus. What a trip in the driving rain…I did not enjoy that drive.
    Sad news…it now seems impossible for Beto to defeat Cruz down Texas way. That is a shame. The daggone millennials must march to the polls in their pajamas and vote for an upset to happen…oh, they talk, yeah they talk alright, but they just won’t go vote.

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  66. Connie said on October 28, 2018 at 11:02 am

    This has not been a good week. My husband and I were out for lunch. I could see the television screens in the bar behind him. And I saw big ten football and professional soccer suddenly switch to live news in Pittsburgh. I could read the captions across the bottom and saw the number of confirmed dead go from unknown to eight before we finished and left.

    As we turned into our street we immediately saw one of our occasional confused drivers who didn’t realize that it is a deadend not a through street, and there is no good place to park or turn around. By the time I was out of the car she was coming up the drive with a handful of Michigan Democratic Party flyers. She was maybe fourties, told me she was sort of my neighbor, and that she had never done this before but felt compelled this year. After a brief chat we explained how to go out and around the deadend to find the rest of her list of street numbers.

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  67. The Garden Fairy said on October 28, 2018 at 3:53 pm

    After I got home from voting I went poking around early voting data for my small city outside of Cincinnati. Once overwhelmingly red, we’ve gone purple in recent years (and strongly for Obama & Clinton). Many voter records do not indicate party affiliation, likely an indicator of the number of attorneys in the community.

    Early voting among Dems & Reps is running fairly close and most are returning their VBM (vote by mail) ballots promptly. (Data indicates date requested and date returned or voted-in-office.)

    Just eye-balling things, not running actual Excel calcs, the “Nons” are sitting on their ballots, taking much longer to return them. Will be interested to see if news of the week cures the hesitation.

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  68. Deborah said on October 28, 2018 at 5:13 pm

    TGF, I didn’t know you could get that kind of early voting data, so I looked it up for the place I’m planning to go tomorrow. Can it be possible that since they opened only 71 people have voted there? Hardly seems like that could be true? Granted except for the Governor’s race there are no major elections locally but the guv race is a big deal. I’m surprised. Maybe I’m looking at the info incorrectly? WTF.

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  69. The Garden Fairy said on October 28, 2018 at 8:39 pm

    @Deborah 68 – Ya, boy this varies wildly from state to state. Ohio opens early voting a month before the election, but closes registration the day before voting begins. So, unlike some other states, you can’t register & vote the same day (the R’s that have been in charge wouldn’t want folks that need to take a bus to the Board of Elections to be convenienced or anything….)

    It looks like early voting in Cook County just opened on the 22nd, so yes, it’s entirely possible that only 71 have voted in the precinct (would expect many more for the county).

    In Hamilton Co., OH, there is a lag in data collection/ reporting. Ballots are not counted/ recorded until after close of biz on day of receipt. If you vote in person on the 24th, it wouldn’t appear on the report ’til morning of the 25th. Then, whether updates appear EVERY morning or only on weekday mornings has to do with which days BOE is open for in-person voting (i.e., not Sundays early in the month, but daily later in the month).

    The info is quite valuable in GOTV efforts — saves you from knocking doors of (most) people that have voted early. And helps you encourage folks that ordered a vote-by-mail ballot to return it in the event disaster strikes and prevents them voting on E-day.

    While active in GOTV efforts myself, I also view early voting as a way of stopping _some_ of the incessant phone calls. Not the fund-raising ones, but certainly the “please do your part” ones.

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