Well, friends, no two ways about it: We just came through a shit-tastic week, and there’s every chance next week will be equally shit-tastic. I was looking at an inside page in the NYT this morning, and there was a story about one homicidal maniac above the fold, and another below, both with headshots, and they even looked alike. They’re blurring together, the homicidal maniacs who are absolutely, positively not motivated by our president at ALL. Just ask any prominent conservative. The guy in Pittsburgh actually disliked Trump:
Because we are obliged by the sickness of our political culture to analyze every despicable event in a manner designed to confirm our priors, we have already, mere hours after the barbarity, sunk into a nauseating discussion about how much blame to assign to the president for this unspeakable act. The obvious answer is: None. Donald Trump should be assigned no such blame, even if the shooter were the president of the Donald Trump Fan Club, because he pulled no trigger and committed no crime. Period. To do that, to assign blame, is to whitewash the crime itself and the criminal’s responsibility for it. He becomes a cultural robot, seized by an evil collective unconscious that drove him to his crimes.
Remind me of this the next time someone claims Barack Obama is the godfather of ISIS, OK?
Blech. What an awful weekend. We went to a costume party at the end of it. The topical costume of the night was an easy one for middle-aged men — Brett Kavanaugh. Needed: A black robe, a Yale baseball cap and a calendar with BEACH WEEK blocked out. Not bad, although I think this pic, which I found on Facebook, might win the whole holiday:
Alan and I went as devils. We were devils the last year we went to a Halloween party. Horns, simple eye masks, demonic attire — Alan in nothing pants and shirt, me in a tight red dress with black gloves and seamed stockings. Also bright red lips, because that’s a demonic color. I put a spell on you…because you’re mine.
Ultimately, as bad as things have been lately, I’m trying to shrug off the worst of it, and just concentrate on Nov. 6. And the election after that, and the one after that, and so on. It won’t be easy, but it’ll be worth it.
So, bloggage:
Why social media sucks at doing what editors have done for decades.
Anything lighter? Just checked the usual traps and…no.
We hope for better things.
Sherri said on October 28, 2018 at 9:33 pm
I liked this article about Squirrel Hill: https://www.citylab.com/equity/2018/10/pittsburgh-shooting-neighborhood-is-a-beacon-of-inclusion/574192/
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Joe Kobiela said on October 28, 2018 at 9:53 pm
There has got to be a good blues song somewhere in that description of your costume, have a picture to share?
Pilot Joe
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Julie Robinson said on October 28, 2018 at 10:00 pm
Full of shite, and also cold and rainy without a hint of sun. So this afternoon I took my mother to a brass band concert. I wept when they played Hymn for the Fallen, then sat back and let the rest of the music bathe me in harmonic sound waves and overtones. I tried let go for 90 minutes. It was better than a party, because without conversation, there was no politics.
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basset said on October 28, 2018 at 10:35 pm
Red and red? Picture!
We had a quiet night in, had the neighbors over for dinner and watched the 1931 “Frankenstein.”
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Rana said on October 28, 2018 at 11:10 pm
We hosted a birthday party for our daughter (turning 5). Keeping a handful of small children entertained for two hours, and from accidentally maiming each other during the piñata-bashing portion, is an excellent way to take your mind off the larger troubles of the world.
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beb said on October 29, 2018 at 12:27 am
The cavet about the Pittsburg killer hating Trumpp is that he thinks Trump isn’t evil enough.
We went to see the Detroit Institute of Arts Ofrendos exhibit. A good dozen or so elaborate displays of shrines for the Day of the Dead. They were beaitiful, imaginatively organized displays honoring, in most cases, someone from the builder’s family. One was for a great grandmother who died last year at 98. She was a Rosie the Riveter during the war and continued being strong through her life. Another was for a brother who was lost to drugs. A third featured a Nursing Tree, something of Mexican culture. It a place where stillborn and nursing children go when they die. There is a tree there who fruit as breasts for the children will have something to sustain them. and so many more. It is so worth going to.
We decided to go out for Mexican after leaving the museum. But eastbound I-94 was closed so Denice decided to turn south and go to Jefferson. Was that a bad idea. The Lion’s football game was just letting out )n the left), at the same time people were arriving for a Red Wings game ( on the right) Add into that unexpected road construction and I think we spent close to an hour getting out of the downtown. But we had a really great meal at Plaza Mexico and came home stuffed like a goose.
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Deborah said on October 29, 2018 at 5:52 am
We went to the symphony Saturday night, Beethoven and Bruckner, it was a nice way to not think about politics and mass murder for a couple of hours. I’m dreading Nov 6th. The rest of the weekend I was glued to the Internet.
My face is much better already, thank goodness. Still have a sore tooth, I can’t wait to be able to eat an apple again. Even cut up apples are hard for me to eat just yet.
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alex said on October 29, 2018 at 7:13 am
Celebrated my 57th birthday. Or my 18th annual 39th, which is how I prefer to look at it. Hubs took me out for sea scallops at Shorty’s on Friday. Parents took Hubs and me out for Ruth’s Chris on Saturday. We had the flirtiest waitress I’ve ever seen. I suppose you’ve gotta have a gimmick when you want 20 percent on a $500 tab at a restaurant in a place like Fort Wayne where nobody knows how to tip.
Last night watched the debate between Courtney Tritch and Jim Banks, our congressional candidates. He’s one fucking empty suit, I tell ya, but very polished when delivering his rehearsed bullshit about that dangerous caravan in Mexico threatening to destroy God, apple pie and motherhood. It’s a shame the debate format doesn’t allow for more substantive discussion; in fact it seems tailored precisely for those like Banks who simply want to deliver dog whistles and fact-free talking points.
We had neighborhood Halloween yesterday, and plenty of visitors, so the curse of the Fag House must have lifted.
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Suzanne said on October 29, 2018 at 7:28 am
Alex, I missed the debate but your description of Banks mirrors my opinion any time I have heard him. Empty suit, empty head, memorized talking points, and pretty much knows nothing about anything beyond a bit of veterans affairs. I really cannot wait to vote against him, but I am sure he will win.
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Jolene said on October 29, 2018 at 8:09 am
Here’s a notice about the president’s travel schedule leading up to the election. He’s going to be in Fort Wayne on 11/5, so Julie, Brian, Alex (others?), you’ll have a chance to see him the night before Election Day. He ought to be totally crazed by then. Should be quite a show.
https://www.axios.com/inside-trumps-last-minute-road-trip-21cadb4d-0542-4701-ab4a-6aae99ed2bc8.html?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=organic
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Julie Robinson said on October 29, 2018 at 8:47 am
And only five minutes from where I live, which means the whole area will be on lockdown. It’s sick-making, knowing there are enough of his crazies to fill all those seats.
We watched a few minutes of the debate but were mercifully interrupted by a phone call from our daughter. I had the same impression of Banks, and my hubby made a comment about the unhelpful format.
Happy 5th birthday to your daughter, Rana, and 57th to you, Alex. I’m 62 today, and since I’m retired, I get to go play. My first gift is turning off the news.
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Deborah said on October 29, 2018 at 9:19 am
Lots of birthdays, Alex and Rana’s daughter, sounds like they had good times. And happy BD to you today Julie.
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JodiP said on October 29, 2018 at 9:52 am
Happy birthdays to Rana’s daughter, Alex, and Julie!
I see that Brazil has elected a very right-wing guy, too. We ran into a couple Brazilians while in Paris, and they were super concerned. I am troubled that so many countries are electing right-wing leaders.
My weekend was pretty good. I got a cute new ‘do on Friday after work. I slept 12 hours Friday through Saturday; I think the stress and lack of sleep thinking about my uncle caught up. We had a very fun game night Saturday. We sat around and played Cards against Humanity from 7:30 to midnight. Unfortunately, I didn’t remember to stop drinking and was hungover for much of yesterday….ugh, what a waste! You’d think at 53 I’d have that basic skill down!
But, I made reservations for a B and B weekend, bought tickets to a play, got some laundry done, so not a total loss.
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Peter said on October 29, 2018 at 10:13 am
Happy Birthday wishes to Rana’s daughter, Alex and Julie! And Deborah, best wishes for a full recovery.
My rant is on a tangent – My son was an aviation student at SIU, where they had the Trump rally last Saturday. I read a few of the accounts from the local media, primarily The Southern, and a few items stood out:
– I was stunned, though maybe I shouldn’t have been, about WH control of the event. Vendors, even those far outside of the venue, were vetted and approved by the WH prior to the event. Cars were checked on the way in, and only the Trumpiest cars could go through and park in the lot.
– What I wouldn’t give to see a picture of how many people were really at the event. The WH said 20,000; the local authorities said probably 10,000, although the hangar could accommodate 8,000. I’ve been in that hangar – it’s not for 737’s, but for two seat props, and you could get a double row of them in there. It’s not even the biggest hangar at the airport. Sure, I’m biased, but I think 3,000 tops – this hangar’s the size of a large high school gym.
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Sherri said on October 29, 2018 at 10:31 am
I’ve had an image in my head all weekend of a different synagogue in Squirrel Hill. When I lived there in the 80s, Beth Shalom had a sign on the building that said “Save Soviet Jewry”.
I knew anti-Semitism was a thing, but I never expected it to be embraced by a president of the US.
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susan said on October 29, 2018 at 10:36 am
I knew anti-Semitism was a thing, but I never expected it to be embraced by a president of the US.
Nixon
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LAMary said on October 29, 2018 at 11:25 am
I watched the World Series and that didn’t cheer me up.
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Julie Robinson said on October 29, 2018 at 11:49 am
In some fun distracting news for our family, our daughter is headed to England and has been invited to a reception for the King and Queen of Norway where HM Elizabeth II will also be present. She hadn’t included any fancy clothing so now she has to completely repack. What a problem, right?
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Deborah said on October 29, 2018 at 12:03 pm
Wow Julie, congrats to your daughter, what a great experience.
In the news today: Kelley Ann Conway says Trump is trying to heal the country, ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.
How can she sleep at night?
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Deborah said on October 29, 2018 at 12:35 pm
By the way, I’m proud of not knowing how to spell KAC’s name. What an immoral person.
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Icarus said on October 29, 2018 at 12:35 pm
I’ve been wanting to say to Dexter (friend) that I expected Boston to make it because they started the season so strong and didn’t ever really relent as far as I could tell. Would have loved a Sox-Cubs WS but that was a pipe dream, especially once the number of games left matched their magic number.
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beb said on October 29, 2018 at 1:00 pm
Interesting report from Peter on last night’s Trump rally. It would be nice seeing reports like that on the news instead of the pre-digested press flackery from the White House.
What I’d like to know is ‘who’s paying for all these rallies?’ Besides rent on the venue there’s all the extra work the secret service does to protect that POS, flying Air Force One and so on. Since these are pure and simple campaign stops I should think that the Republican National Committee should be billed the full cost of these events. Besides, in these times of crises the President should remain in the White House to better respond to emergencies.
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Scout said on October 29, 2018 at 1:08 pm
It was a shitastic week all right. POTUS joking about having a bad hair day at his klan rally right after the synagogue shooting was the turd on top of a vomit sundae. In the past two years I’ve developed chronic gut pain, I look like I’ve aged 10 years and I’ve had bouts of depression for the first time in my life. A toxic racist constantly inciting violence at rallies while the rest of his party just whistles and looks away has not been good for my health. I wonder how many other people are experiencing the same impotent rage and hopelessness.
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Mark P said on October 29, 2018 at 1:15 pm
beb — “to better respond to emergencies” … hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahha
Good one.
I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. It’s not a school shooting, or a bar shooting, or a church shooting, or a concert shooting, or a synagogue shooting. Those are part of the first shoe that dropped. It’s not a president supporting our enemies and alienating our allies, or encouraging violence, or blowing dog whistles, or openly allying himself with white supremacists, or any of the other previously unthinkable things he does. Those are all also part of the first shoe that dropped. But what will the next shoe be? How horrible might it be? I don’t even want to think about it.
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Dorothy said on October 29, 2018 at 2:37 pm
Julie that is all kinds of amazing! Is she borrowing a tiara from anyone?! (said with tongue in cheek). I can’t wait for you to tell us her observations of the experience. Oh and happy birthday – to you and Alex and Rana’s daughter.
I am just so devastated by the happenings in Pittsburgh on Saturday. I grew up in a neighborhood practically next door to Squirrel Hill. Mike and I went on lots and lots of dates in Squirrel Hill. Once when we were going around the corner on Beacon Street, his dad’s car suddenly died and we had to pull over and park. We knocked on the door of the house where we parked and the kind lady inside let us in to use her phone. That was in Squirrel Hill. I met my first quilting friends at a home in Squirrel Hill after seeing their quilts on display at the SH branch of Carnegie Library. I took my kids to that same branch ALL the time when they were growing up because we didn’t have a library in Wilkins Twp (where I lived for 13 years after getting married.) My mother worked at the Rehabilitation Institute for around ten years, which is now the Children’s Institute, across the street from the Tree of Life synagogue. My brother Greg took me driving through Squirrel Hill all the time when I was learning to drive. My brother Joe had a summer job at a cemetery in …. well you get the picture. Seeing so much coverage of the incident on national t.v. was almost too much to bear. Sherri I well remember the Save Soviet Jewry sign.
Scout I have been having very similar feelings. Almost but not quite sick to my stomach. Like I want to get sick thinking it might make me feel better, but dreading that. I’m wearying of the Trump bullsh**. But I know we can’t look away. Just pinning all my faith on the case that Mueller is building. It’s what I cling to allthe time now.
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Peter said on October 29, 2018 at 3:09 pm
OK, they’re not appropriate, but Sherri’s comment at #15 reminded me of T-shirts from my youth: “Save Soviet Jewry – redeem for valuable prizes” and “Free Tibet – with purchase of a Tibet of equal or larger value”.
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Sherri said on October 29, 2018 at 4:03 pm
Dorothy, David and I lived at the corner of Nicholson and Shady, across from Allderdice HS, after we got married. Before that, I lived near the corner of Wightman and Forbes. Seeing the pictures of the vigil at Murray and Forbes was painful.
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alex said on October 29, 2018 at 4:13 pm
Peter, I’m still waiting for my free Mumia. Those fuckers never sent me my Mumia.
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Deborah said on October 29, 2018 at 5:54 pm
My husband and I both voted today around 2pm. The place was very busy. A very short wait in line and all of the machines were occupied, maybe around 60-80 in all. I was very happy to see the turnout. This was the one at 175 W. Washington in the loop. I was surprised my husband wanted to vote early, he usually likes the ritual of voting on Election Day.
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LAMary said on October 29, 2018 at 6:47 pm
On a similar note, Alex and Peter: Jesus Saves, Moses Invests.
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Andrea said on October 29, 2018 at 7:20 pm
Peter, I am in Chicago and, along with several dozen other people that I am aware of, reserved two tickets for that rally in southern Illinois to guarantee there would be empty seats. Have you see the coverage of Rauner at that event? Insane. What was he thinking? How could that benefit him in any way, to go and be ignored?
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Suzanne said on October 29, 2018 at 7:38 pm
I am listening to a replay of the Banks/Tritch debate. Banks is one of those entitled pricks I have met over the years; thinks he has all the answers, thinks he knows everything, and clearly thinks anyone who disagrees with him is stupid. He keeps talking about how great the stupid wall will be at keeping us safe even while Tritch comments that 2/3 of the Illegal immigrants are people who have overstayed their visas. But drugs, you know, are FLOWING over that border. Yeah, Jim, wake up. They have supply lines by that bring drugs on shipping containers, mailed in small packages, flown in, none of which would be impacted by a wall.
I voted today. The guy said they had a near record day but I know the area. The Republicans will win.
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Sherri said on October 29, 2018 at 9:37 pm
Mike Pence is whistling to the dogs, too.
https://newrepublic.com/minutes/151946/mike-pence-got-rabbi-really-christian-pray-synagogue-dead
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Deborah said on October 29, 2018 at 10:50 pm
Has anybody read anything about the cost to taxpayers of sending thousands of troops to the border before the election when the so called caravan is at least a thousand miles away and basically traveling on foot? As if they’re needed even if they were on our doorstep. How much is this political scam costing us? Why is it ok to waste money when the deficit is so huge and the Republicans care so much about that (snark). I want to scream.
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Deborah said on October 29, 2018 at 11:01 pm
So I just found this, Vox says about the cost:
“The Pentagon will foot the bill for the deployment. It’s unclear how much it will cost, but so far the military paid $185 million to send 2,000 National Guard troops to the border earlier this year.”
And that was for only 2,000 troops. This time it’s going to be 5,000. Also the caravan is made up of mostly women and children fleeing for their safety.
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Diane said on October 30, 2018 at 2:18 am
Sherri @33
That wasn’t a dog whistle, it was loud and clear. They’ve realized that they don’t need to dog whistle anymore.
Count me in among those feeling depressed and physically affected and genuinely frightened by what is happening in today’s world.
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alex said on October 30, 2018 at 6:36 am
If Trump’s coming to Fort Wayne on the night before election day, I wonder if the GOP’s shitting itself over internal polling for our congressional districts. There hasn’t been any polling since May regarding Tritch and Banks. Donnelley has polled ahead of Braun for the most part, but last I heard it was more of a tossup.
Glad to hear he may not be darkening Pittsburgh’s doorstep. If I were a grieving family member, I sure as hell wouldn’t want that malignant narcissist showing up and sucking the life out of the funeral and making it even more about himself than in already is.
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bb in DE said on October 30, 2018 at 8:05 am
They held elections here in Hesse (the central-western state that includes Frankfort) on Sunday. Both the moderate-right and -left parties lost seats, in about equal measure, to the fringe-ier left and right parties. As a result of that result, Merkel announced that she’s stepping down as her party’s leader and won’t run again after her term ends. The talking heads are even whispering that she might be forced out sooner, because nobody loves a lame duck. With Obama gone, Brexit coming, and Macron too new to fill Angela’s shoes, the West just doesn’t have anyone at the wheel anymore. Look at where we were 2 years ago and where we are now. It’s hard to argue with the idea that Putin is winning, and Enlightenment is losing.
Jesus saves. Gretzky gets the rebound, shoots–and he scores!
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Heather said on October 30, 2018 at 8:10 am
MarkP @24: Well, the administration is sending a few thousand more troops down to the U.S.-Mexico border to deal with the “invasion” of maybe a couple thousand tired, hungry, and poor men, women, and children. The DHS secretary has said they’re prepared to fire if they need to. Sounds like a recipe for a massacre to me.
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Suzanne said on October 30, 2018 at 9:32 am
The nutty thing is that the amount of troops being sent to the border is idiotic even if it was needed, which it is not. There is going to be one or two soldiers per migrant, including children. How idiotic is that?
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Sherri said on October 30, 2018 at 9:55 am
Maybe all this will bring a little attention to what the right wing conservative Christian “support for Israel” is all about. It’s about their beliefs about the Rapture, not about supporting Jews.
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Peter said on October 30, 2018 at 9:56 am
Andrea, I think Rauner might finally be getting the message that he can spend millions of his own bucks but he’s going down big time.
In a way, I feel sorry for him, because in moments like these, he just doesn’t have a clue. What is this doofus thinking? He almost lost a primary to Jeanne “I’m not any old Nazi – I’m a Neo Nazi” Ives, and now he thinks he’s going to get applause from her supporters?
I think he’s been better than the last two governors, but that’s like saying W is better than Trump.
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alex said on October 30, 2018 at 10:32 am
Pence is getting some heat for having the “Jews for Jesus” guy lead a prayer for Pittsburgh yesterday in Michigan. And I read an interview with Pence’s daughter yesterday in which it’s apparent that Israel is a big subject in her new book, a paean to her papa. No doubt these people are awaiting the Rapture the way the rest of us look forward to vacation.
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LAMary said on October 30, 2018 at 11:04 am
Take a long look at the 14th amendment. Trump wants to make it go away with an executive order.
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Deborah said on October 30, 2018 at 12:39 pm
Nancy on Twitter linked to an article in NY Magazine in the words of some millennials who probably aren’t going to vote. One of them described another young person who was going to vote absentee but was confused by the term “postmarked”. That is so interesting to me, there is apparently a huge group of people who don’t use regular mail, have no idea how to do it, don’t have stamps or even know where to get stamps. Our systems are so antiquated. Why can’t we vote online if we would prefer that. There have to be ways that can be done securely. Yes, it’s so hard for people like me to wrap our heads around how people can be so ill-informed about doing ordinary stuff like mailing an envelop, but if you give it a little thought you can realize how it can actually happen.
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beb said on October 30, 2018 at 12:57 pm
That millenials have no idea about the postal system is just wrong. Theyre like people who don’t know how to boil water. As for a hack-proof on-line voting system, I don’t think that will ever be possible. The endless stream of viruses, malware, ransomware and hijaclers suggests to me that anything can be hacked nothing short of pen on paper will be reliable.
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Jeff Borden said on October 30, 2018 at 2:10 pm
I put nothing past the Republican Party including efforts to fiddle with the 14th Amendment. They’ve built a Supreme Court to validate their most unctuous ideas. Brett Kavanope has already earned his bonus, siding with the other four rightwing white men in denying voting rights to Native Americans in North Dakota because they don’t have the street addresses the state requires to be able to vote.
The old white men aren’t going to go down without a vicious fight.
We went to a good Halloween party in Hyde Park. Every year, the hosts set a theme. This year it was “Con artists, thieves and crooks.” The showstopper was a Donald Trump –with a very conspicuous piece of toilet paper affixed to his shoe– accompanied by Melania, in high heels, sun glasses and a pristine garden shovel and super clean gardening gloves. (Check Google for the photo of our First Lady wearing about $5K in fancy duds and stilettoes allegedly planting a tree.)
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Deborah said on October 30, 2018 at 2:45 pm
I howled at the You Tube video of Trump climbing the steps of Air Force 1, with toilet paper on his shoe and now there’s another one where he has a ginormous umbrella that he leans over and sets down still open before he walks onboard. The umbrella kind of blows around listlessly on the top landing of the stairs after he disappears into the plane, the camera stays focused on it. He didn’t appear to know how to close the umbrella or he couldn’t be bothered, in a “let the peons do that” gesture. If I can’t laugh at him from time to time, all I’d be doing is crying or screaming. And I mean laugh at him not with him.
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john (not mccain) said on October 30, 2018 at 3:33 pm
I’m far from being a millennial, but about a month ago I was trying to figure out how I was going to mail something without having to go to the post office. I’d completely forgotten that mail deliverers are also mail pickeruppers. I don’t think I’d ever mailed anything from the house I moved into 25 years ago.
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Deborah said on October 30, 2018 at 3:54 pm
All of this idiocy of Trump’s claim for him to be able to stop citizen birthright by Executive order (or whatever), has prompted me to reread up on the Dred Scott decision and the need for the 14th amendment. Wow was it disgusting what Scott had to go through when he tried to free his family from slavery.
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Sherri said on October 30, 2018 at 4:56 pm
I quickly learned that if I wanted my millennial daughter to return her ballot when she was off at college, I needed to include a postage stamp when I sent her ballot to her! Finally, this election, the ballots don’t require postage. Our Republican Secretary of State had resisted this until King County said, fine, we’re going to do it anyway, and faced with that, the Republicans had to relent.
I have a locked mailbox that the postal worker doesn’t have a key for, so they can only drop off mail, not pick up. Anything I mail out, I have to take to a drop box or the post office.
No, it’s not possible to build a secure online voting system, not currently. The electronic voting systems currently in use in a number of states are laughably insecure, and some of them (Georgia) don’t even have good audit trails.
For more information on voting security, visit https://www.verifiedvoting.org, which was founded by my husband’s grad school roommate.
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Sherri said on October 30, 2018 at 5:14 pm
After the election two years ago, I had a long talk with my priest, and told him that I could not keep spending my energy in a church that couldn’t take a strong stand for protecting the vulnerable among us. I said, at least I understand what the ACLU is about; if the church isn’t willing to stand up for the least of us, I don’t get the point.
My church does a lot of good things, but it’s deathly afraid of anything political. Except, of course, that’s not true; to be afraid of anything political is to protect the status quo, which is a political act. It is possible to be political without being partisan, though the current state of the GOP makes that close to impossible.
Anyway, this is a long-winded way of saying that I’ve taken that energy and directed it elsewhere, including the ACLU, and I’m increasingly glad I did.
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Sherri said on October 30, 2018 at 5:53 pm
I just read the article that Deborah referred to, and I want to pull my hair out. Their excuses all boiled down to “it’s too hard!” and “the Dems suck, so what’s the point?”
I’ll agree that it’s harder than it should be, but get off my lawn! I suspect they’ve worked harder for less important things…
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Scout said on October 30, 2018 at 5:57 pm
In Arizona our ballot return envelopes are postage paid. All states should do that, imho.
Have any of you been following the scam targeting Mueller? It’s a doozy. Apparently it involves two of the skeeviest of skeeves, Jack Burkman and Jacob Wohl. Sometimes I think the only thing that will save us all is the sheer comic incompetency of these evil assclowns. https://twitter.com/yashar/status/1057325791187427328
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Sherri said on October 30, 2018 at 6:11 pm
BTW, my daughter did vote. Not just because she knows I’ll disown her if she doesn’t!
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David C. said on October 30, 2018 at 7:02 pm
tRump’s welcoming committee in Pittsburgh.
https://www.rawstory.com/2018/10/watch-live-protest-against-trumps-visit-to-pittsburgh-grows-in-size/#.W9jTJCCnh4s.twitter
I feel better after seeing this.
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The Garden Fairy said on October 30, 2018 at 7:29 pm
@Sherri/ Deborah/ Nancy — that Intelligencer article gives me chills. Those kids will get the government they deserve. Meanwhile, they’re being schooled in the comment section.
In other news, it’s possible that by suspending indulgence for a week or so might make it possible to learn how to buy stamps… https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/10/30/662127406/when-adolescents-give-up-pot-their-cognition-quickly-improves
They can buy online and have ’em delivered to their mailbox! https://store.usps.com/store/home Heck, they can even buy stamps on Amazon… sheesh.
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The Garden Fairy said on October 30, 2018 at 7:48 pm
This sister article should be persuasive, though in states like Ohio, it’s too late to register — http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/10/disaffected-young-americans-vote-in-the-2018-midterms.html Link at the end provides a pamphlet version for distributing to friends/ family.
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Kaye said on October 30, 2018 at 8:42 pm
My mail-in ballot in Ohio included advice on how much postage to include: .50 for a one page ballot and .70 for a two page one (for example) Realized while I have stamps on hand they do not indicate a value and I do not know the current price of postage stamps. This increased my understanding of those who do not know how to send mail.
Very much looking forward to dropping the ballot in the mailbox tomorrow and avoiding all political media for the next week.
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Julie Robinson said on October 30, 2018 at 9:13 pm
My kids do everything electronically and barely even have pen and paper around the house. Paying bills? Online. A list? On Keep. Communicating with others? Text, DM, whatsapp, etc. They sent me a Mother’s Day card in the mail and had to go search out stamps. Places that sell cards should also sell individual stamps–wait, that’s a great marketing idea!
I hardly send anything in the mail myself, though my hubby has what I call a card ministry and sends everyone in the extended family birthday cards. (Universally it makes people’s days.)
Anyway, Kaye, put two stamps on that ballot to make sure it gets there. One ounce is 50 cents, 70 for two. There are second ounce stamps that you can buy, and I used to keep them around, but these days I usually buy my stamps at Costco, and all you get is first ounce.
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