Yeesh, it’s almost over. I think now is the time to remind everyone — because this campaign has been SO long and SO heated — that campaigning is not governing.
I’ve read a lot in recent weeks about young people and how they’re getting into working on campaigns, having their voices heard, all that. You surely read this thing that flew around last week, about the youngsters who aren’t voting because they can’t figure out which corner of the absentee ballot the stamp goes on, or whatever. A few of them say something I’ve heard from a couple of Kate’s friends — that they’re not “inspired” by the candidates. I want to tell them — I do tell them — that inspirational politicians come along once or twice in a lifetime, that they were lucky to have Barack Obama as the president they came of age to, but also cursed, because brother, that guy was a unicorn. And even he disappointed people, because? Campaigning is not governing. He did what he could with what he had, he made mistakes, he had terrible people willing to do awful things to hold him back, but he still passed significant legislation. When the history of our era is written, surely Obamacare will be seen as the first, tentative step toward single-payer. That’s something.
I guess what I’m saying is, if the campaign is the heady early days of a relationship, the time after the oath of office is taken is when your partner starts farting in bed. S/he’s the same person you fell for, just…different.
So, fingers crossed. In 48 hours much more will be apparent. Hang in there.
Another work-hard weekend, and now I can’t even remember what we did. Oh, right — Costco, Kroger, dry cleaner, library, leaves, lawn, all that shit. In between, watched “Isle of Dogs” and four episodes of “The Haunting of Hill House,” both of which were enjoyable, although “enjoyable” is maybe not the word for the latter. Skillfully done, maybe. I saw the first HoHH, c. 1963, and it scared the crap out of me. Didn’t see the second adaptation; all I know about it is, Catherine Zeta-Jones played a beautiful lesbian in a furry vest. The TV version kept the beautiful lesbian and dropped the furry vest, and it’s more of a story about grief and loss, but it works.
Of “Isle of Dogs” I can only say that Wendy has been speaking Japanese to me all day.
As we lurch into the bloggage, I have to start with two of my own — a visit to Janet’s Closet, a Metro Detroit store for trans women and cross-dressers. And this column, about my experience taking mass transit this summer. Feedback welcome.
But on to the good stuff! How many of you are familiar with Jordan Peterson? I had a bad feeling about the guy when I heard about all the young conservative men who were flocking to see him, because he was helping them Become Men. I also heard one of his rules for life is to clean up your room, which is honestly hilarious, because I assume most of these guys had mothers who probably told them the same thing about a million times. Well, as they say: When the student is ready, the teacher will appear. I couldn’t get through any of his writing, myself — contemporary philosophy isn’t my game, folks — and the stories about him seemed to single out his nuttiest ideas, like that women are somehow cheating by wearing makeup in the workplace, because something something “the flush of orgasm,” or some bullshit.
But the latest I heard is that he went on an all-beef diet, on the recommendation of his untrained but self-styled nutrition expert daughter, and it fixed everything that was wrong with him, except maybe his dumb ideas about makeup. And by all beef, I mean ALL beef, plus water. I mean beef for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks and nothing else. But just to get an idea of what we’re dealing with here, enjoy this passage from a recent Atlantic story on the beef diet, quoting Peterson. I’m suspending my usual three-paragraph rule so you an enjoy this anecdote, beginning to end:
“Both (Peterson’s daughter) Mikhaila and I noticed that when we restricted our diet and then ate something we weren’t supposed to, the reaction was absolutely catastrophic.” He gives the example of having had some apple cider and subsequently being incapacitated for a month by what he believes was an inflammatory response.
“You were done for a month?”
“Oh yeah, it took me out for a month. It was awful …”
“Apple cider? What was it doing to you?”
“It produced an overwhelming sense of impending doom. I seriously mean overwhelming. There’s no way I could’ve lived like that. But see, Mikhaila knew by then that it would probably only last a month.”
“A month? From fucking cider?”
“I didn’t sleep that month for 25 days. I didn’t sleep at all for 25 days.”
“What? How is that possible?”
“I’ll tell you how it’s possible: You lay in bed frozen in something approximating terror for eight hours. And then you get up.”
The longest recorded stretch of sleeplessness in a human is 11 days, witnessed by a Stanford research team.
I remind you, for maybe the dozenth time, that the people who follow Peterson’s philosophy are fond of calling the rest of us snowflakes.
Anyway, this recent column about Peterson is a stitch, and you should read it.
With that, it’s time to hit Publish and go heat up some chili for dinner. Also included: Apple crisp. Hey, stop by! And don’t forget to you-know-what, tomorrow.
beb said on November 4, 2018 at 6:37 pm
Tomorrow is Monday. So what am I forgetting? To change all the clocks because we “fell back” and now have night in the middle of the afternoon? Did I forget to go to work — wait I’m retired. I don’t have to get up or go to work. Woo Hoo! Did I forget my Five-Minute-Hate of Trump? Nah, something always reminds me that I hate Trump. Tuesday, I intend to vote. But tomorrow… I should be raking leaves.
Maybe Peterson drank some apple cider vinegar thinking it was just apple cider. But even that wouldn’t knock him down for a month.
Deadline Detroit needs an art designer for its web page. Someone who knows the use of borders around the columns of text.
Commenters at other places have noted that Uber/Lyft has only increased traffic congestion because those services are stealing people away from mass transit. If you want to get people to use mass transit make it impossible for people to get to work elsewise.
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David C. said on November 4, 2018 at 6:44 pm
I have a friend with psoriatic arthritis. Someone sends her one of these miracle diets about once a month. They range from all meat to vegan. Some of the people who send the diets get really upset when she doesn’t try them and pretty much victim blame her for still having the condition. They all have stories about amazing recoveries from autoimmune diseases. Larissa explains to them that autoimmune diseases often go into spontaneous remissions and the diet had nothing to do with the remission. I don’t know what to say about psychosomatic nut cases like the Petersons.
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Alan Stamm said on November 4, 2018 at 8:34 pm
Gonna tiptoe out on a limb here to say that if my candidate for Michigan governor farts in bed, she does so silently and odorlessly.
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brian stouder said on November 4, 2018 at 8:49 pm
Loved the Deadline Detroit piece; definitely embodies our Proprietress’s distinct voice and disposition.
These times are somewhat trying, especially with so much non-sense being tossed about.
I’d ask the President of the United States what his definition of “fake news” is – and what would the opposite be? “Certified news”?
Did Owen Lovejoy produce “fake news”? Is that why he was lynched, and his press (literally) thrown into the river? Did he – or anyone – deserve such treatment?
‘Course, my mom’s mom came over on the boat from Italy (to NYC) – so I’m a gangster, right? And even though my mom was born here, she’s not a “real” American, right? (and by extension, neither am I, nor are the young folks I had a hand in bringing into existence hereabouts)
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alex said on November 4, 2018 at 9:30 pm
You had me yearning for the eavesdropping and armchair anthropology I used to enjoy on public transit. It’s quality time. “Me” time. The time everyone complains they don’t have enough of anymore.
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The Garden Fairy said on November 4, 2018 at 9:31 pm
You-know-what-tomorrow… may I suggest early-voting, or a final round of canvassing? The lists you get are filtered — registered voters of the party you’re knocking for. Some might be undecided, but unless the house has changed owners, you’re not likely to have an unfriendly conversation.
3-hr wait at early-voting in Hamilton Co., OH today. John Legend helped turn out a Dem crowd.
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Peter said on November 4, 2018 at 10:22 pm
3 hour wait for early voting in Hamilton County? Wow, I’m impressed.
I early voted yesterday because I’m an election judge in a polling place away from home, and I waited maybe five minutes.
Gossip at the Chicago Board of Elections is that early voting is up because people like the convenience – you can vote in any remote location before Tuesday – and that Tuesday’s forecast is crappy weather.
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FDChief said on November 4, 2018 at 10:47 pm
Oh, happy Oregon! Your majestic scenery! Your fine malty brews! Your vote-by-mail-for-everything gimmick!
I voted at the dining room table, in my bathrobe, with a goddamn cat insisting she could ONLY lie on the voter’s pamphlet that the state ALSO sends you so you can read and understand what new bullshit the GOP is trying to sell you this time…
Now, that said; only about 30% of the eligible voters in my state have submitted their ballots. One. Third. That’s ridiculous, and that’s what’s really making me throw my hands up about this country. We finally have an actual fight worth fighting – because if fighting fascists, whether with ballots or bullets, isn’t a worthy fight, what is? – and two-thirds of you sonsofbitches don’t even bother to show up?
We might as well invite the Brits to see if they want the damn place back. Maybe throw in the Virgin Islands, sweeten the deal…
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Dexter Friend said on November 5, 2018 at 1:54 am
Richard Cordray’s people have cast Mike DeWine to appear as a ghoul devoid of color in his face, in the TV ads. Quite effective, the handsome Cordray shown looking perfect, then the creepy gnome-monster DeWine shown slinking around, working to eliminate any medical coverage for folks with pre-existing conditions. DeWine’s radio ads come across very loud, read by a staccato voiced woman who is very irritating to hear. This is the Ohio governor’s race. Cordray is leading in polls , +3%.
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Dave said on November 5, 2018 at 7:25 am
We also voted yesterday in Pinellas County, FL, and waited in line about 25 minutes. To the best of my memory, it’s the first time in my voting life I voted a straight ticket. My first vote was in 72, the voting age changed from 21 to 18 the year I turned 21. I’m afraid all this last minute charge is going to put the despicable DeSantis into office, as well as the even more despicable lying Scott.
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Jolene said on November 5, 2018 at 7:43 am
There are several governor’s races that are looking good for the Ds. Could be very valuable for the 2020 presidential race and 2021 redistricting. Dems will definitely hold Pennsylvania, appear to be winning Ohio and Michigan, and the Wisconsin race is tied. And it will be quite a day if Gillum wins in Florida and Abrams in Georgia. Unfortunately, the Georgia race may go to a runoff, where, I keep hearing, her chances will diminish.
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Jolene said on November 5, 2018 at 7:58 am
Dave, have seen polls issued just this AM with both Gillum and Nelson ahead by four points. Am keeping my fingers crossed.
The Florida race that I am getting a kick out of is the 27th District, where Donna Shalala is running. She must be a very ambitious, energetic person. She was the chancellor of the University of Wisconsin for five years, head of HHS under Clinton, and president of the University of Miami for 15 years, and is now 77 years old.
I know there are plenty of older people in Congress, but I don’t think there are many who enter at that age. She appears, though, to be winning a seat that had been held by a Republican who is retiring.
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Jolene said on November 5, 2018 at 8:06 am
Here’s a detailed story on Shalala’s challenging race in a politically complex district. As I said, a lot to take on zag 77, but she seems to be succeeding.
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/413970-donna-shalala-seeks-comeback-in-critical-florida-house-race
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Julie Robinson said on November 5, 2018 at 8:25 am
Dave, I never believed in voting straight ticket; I’ve always thought I should carefully weigh out the positions of each candidate before voting on their individual merits. This year? Screw all the Republicans. The very name has become tainted. It’s nothing but a protest vote, but it’s straight ticket for me too.
And this is also a plea for civility as you interact with the poll workers. Remember that they are basically volunteering for a 14 or 15 hour day. Our son is taking a vacation day from his regular job and doesn’t make a dime. In many areas poll workers get a small stipend, but in his the venue itself gets the fee and provides the volunteers.
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Jolene said on November 5, 2018 at 8:42 am
Are people rude to poll workers? Hard to understand how such a minimal interaction could lead to anything other than a polite nod of the head and a muted “Thanks.”
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Jeff Borden said on November 5, 2018 at 9:01 am
I am voting a straight Democratic ticket in Illinois, but I’m not happy about doing so. I’d prefer a mixture of different parties holding different offices, but the Republican Party is so fucking mean-spirited, so fixated on anger and hate and fear, I can’t do it. There’s a woman named Erika Harrold running for attorney general as a Republican. I’d really like to have a GOPer as an attorney general to ride herd on our horrible Democratic House speaker, who more or less rules the state. But Ms. Harrold has stated publicly she has no interest in getting involved in federal issues, so good-bye Ms. Harrold. It’s been the various state attorneys general who have fought the good fight against the tide of Trumpism including standing up for the ACA. I want my a.g. among them.
I don’t expect much will change after tomorrow. Fans of the Orange King will find solace in their numerous conspiracy theories and continue to swallow his bilge. And Cadet Bone Spurs will have a new opponent (hopefully) in the House Dems for him to run against in 2020. But even if it is a very small step, it is a step that must be taken.
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Suzanne said on November 5, 2018 at 9:04 am
I am in agreement with many of you. Never ever voted straight ticket and looked down on people who did. This year? Not a vote for one Republican, even the people for offices like township trustee who are decent people I know.
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JodiP said on November 5, 2018 at 9:45 am
I have always voted straight Democrat, because they were nominally the party that was more supportive of unions, women’s rights, the environment, etc, etc.
I will be an election judge tomorrow (i.e., a poll worker) In Minneapolis one can work the entire day, or do a split shift. I’m doing mine from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. It’s in my precinct, so I will get to see lots of people I know.The governor’s race looks good, and I am very interested in seeing how my county’s races go for sheriff and county attorney. We have a chance to elect some real progressives. Our current sheriff sent deputies to maintain law and order at Standing Rock, and there is video of them beating the crap out of people. He’s also a huge Trump supporter, and cooperates as much as possible with ICE.
Terri Gross of Fresh Air has an interview with the author of an Atlantic article about how Newt Gingrich broke politics. I found it a helpful re-cap about how we got here. What a disgusting, cynical man who is still very influential in the current WH.
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Bitter Scribe said on November 5, 2018 at 10:02 am
If Jordan Peterson really eats literally nothing but beef, I’m amazed he can move his bowels.
Peterson recently showed a rare sign of self-awareness when, after the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, he tweeted against the anti-Semitism that many of his acolytes think is so cute and hip. They responded with rage and anguish at his betrayal. One would like to think that this might make him reflect on his whole shtick and why it seems to attract bigots, but…nah.
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Jolene said on November 5, 2018 at 10:09 am
Here’s a link to that article re Gingrich that Jodi mentioned. Lots of good stuff on The Atlantic’s web site.
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/11/newt-gingrich-says-youre-welcome/570832/
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Heather said on November 5, 2018 at 10:26 am
Jeff @16, I heard Erika Harrold on WBEZ last week. She repeatedly said her job was to enforce the law and that her personal conservative views (on abortion, for example) wouldn’t influence her job–which is the way it should be, but given the way Republicans are lying through their teeth regularly and none of their fellow party members says shit about it, I’m certainly not going to trust her.
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Mark P said on November 5, 2018 at 10:41 am
What many people have failed to internalize is that some people will actually tell a straight-out lie right to your face. No, really, they knowingly, intentionally lie to you. Do you understand that? I mean, do you really, truly, deeply inside your intellect know it? Most people don’t, and that’s what the Republicans depend on. Trump is the most obvious example. Who in his right mind believes that Republicans will protect insurance coverage for pre-existing conditions and the Democrats will end it? Really? Who could believe that? Brian Kemp, R-candidate for governor of Georgia is using the same playbook. He has claimed that the Democratic Party was responsible for a failed attempt to hack Georgia’s voter registration system. Really? You mean the one he’s using to disenfranchise potential Democratic voters?
Oh well. Until people recognize the fact that Republicans are lying to them, they will continue to vote for people who will act directly against their best interests, not to mention the best interests of the country.
I have voted straight Democratic for years because politicians who can associate themselves with what the Republican Party has become cannot be trusted.
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Deborah said on November 5, 2018 at 10:51 am
My contribution tomorrow will be to distribute umbrellas. I cleaned out our one and only closet in Chicago (besides the storage space on another floor). I found many umbrellas that probably only got used once. When we’ve been out and about in Chicago many times an unexpected rain shower necessitated running into a CVS and buying a cheap umbrella, they have accumulated like wire hangers used to (we take those back now). I’m also going to go buy a few more to give out. The weather is supposed to be crappy here, and if people have to wait outside in the rain, maybe they would appreciate an umbrella and stick it out. On the other hand it’s supposed to be windy too, so umbrellas might not help much.
Somebody asked in the last thread, what kind of Miele we got. There are indeed a lot of models. Ours is a Turbo Team it was the smallest one, and also had good wattage for suction power. It’s not one of the models made in Germany though, it’s German engineered but made in China. My friend who recommended getting a Miele swears that the German made ones are better, but they were all too large for our small storage spaces. I don’t remember the one we got for Santa Fe.
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Deborah said on November 5, 2018 at 10:56 am
Mark P, I suppose there are some Republicans who believe those lies, but a lot of them know they are lies and couldn’t care less, lying is a feature to them, not a bug.
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kayak woman said on November 5, 2018 at 11:01 am
Rude to poll workers? Certainly not! But I can’t help but remember an experience a number of years ago when “something” was wrong with my ballot (either I mis-marked it or the machine mis-read it). The poll worker yelled, “She over voted!” and I was so mortified I ducked out of there without checking my ballot. So no, I didn’t vote and the experience put me off voting for a couple years. Yes, I know how ridiculous that was.
I eventually forced myself to confront the “ballot-eater” again and will be at the polling place well before it opens tomorrow (it’s a 5 minute walk from my house) ready to “go blue”.
Also, Ann Arbor is not Detroit but I occasionally take the bus downtown and absolutely love it. Not to work though, that would require 2 transfers and if I am ever temporarily without a car, I can telecommute.
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Connie said on November 5, 2018 at 11:07 am
Straight ticket is not currently an option in Michigan. That was a Republican decision.
Not sure what to do about my local state rep, the one in Lansing. Unfortunately the dem Candidate has been charged with major embezzlement from the county treasurer’s campaign committee. The Republican candidates mailings are pretty much just her mug shot. So probably not voting on this one.
My absentee ballot is on my desk and will get turned in at the township hall on my usual Monday trip to turn in bills.
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Jenine said on November 5, 2018 at 11:42 am
@ Deborah – I love your idea to give out umbrellas at the polling place.
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beb said on November 5, 2018 at 12:31 pm
blogger Atrios writes from his “Urban Hellhole” (Philadelphia) that they have one polling place per 1000 people so he’s never had to stand in line for more than a few minutes to vote. I don’t know the ratio of voters to polling sites here in Detroit but it must be about the same because there is almost never a line to vote. (This could reflect a lack of voters, too.) The idea that people have to stand in line for hours to vote is ridiculous. Just open more polling places. Clearly that lack of polling places is yet another attempt by one party to disenfranchise people by making voting too much trouble.
I’ve never ticked the “straight ticket” box on any ballot, and as Connie says, it’s currently not an option in Michigan but I don’t think I’ve ever voted for a Republican. But what’s hard for me are the so-called non-partisan ballots — for judges and the like. These candidates appear without party affiliation but you know that most of them swing one way or the other. I could, of course, google them and make a list of left-leaning judges but I’d never remember which are which in the booth. So I generally vote for the woman. Has to be better than the same old white male.
One of the creepiest picture coming out of the 2016 voting was that of Trump and the Mrs. voting. They were in adjacent booths and Trump was leaning over to see who Melania was voting for. What a control-freak. But I was hearing that things like that are pretty common — allowing the husband to advise and direct his wife’s voting. Woe betide someone helping someone figure out how to vote — if they’re black. But husbands controlling their wives — no problem.
I also like Deborah’s idea of passing out umbrellas at polling sites.
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Dave said on November 5, 2018 at 12:46 pm
When you write that you cannot vote a straight ticket, you surely mean that you can’t mark one box designating you are voting for all the candidates of one party, correct? There was no such box on the paper ballot in Florida, either, every candidate had to be marked separately.
I’ve never witnessed anyone being rude to poll workers.
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Sherri said on November 5, 2018 at 2:03 pm
Washington is entirely vote by mail, so no poll workers to be rude to. Finally, with this election, postage paid ballots as well, and they only have to be postmarked by tomorrow, not received by tomorrow.
The fairly progressive King County prosecutor was a RINO until just a few months ago, when he acknowledged the obvious and changed party affiliation, so I have voted for a Republican in his case. There is no straight party option on our ballot, and in fact no requirement that party affiliation be declared. Each candidate may state a party preference, and the Republicans don’t always say “Republican”, some choosing “GOP”. With a blanket primary, there is no party nomination being won in the primary.
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Suzanne said on November 5, 2018 at 3:05 pm
My father has always told my mother how to vote. Her reasoning is that if they don’t vote the same, their votes will cancel each other out. I got in a huge argument with her when I was younger because of it but she wouldn’t budge. Now, they just vote straight GOP, even my father, who doesn’t know what day it is. I can’t convince my mother to not have him vote, either.
It angers me to this day.
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4dbirds said on November 5, 2018 at 3:31 pm
Men and makeup. I knew many men had hard-ons about it way back when I was in the army. The bitching they did about women and makeup. “False advertising, they look better without it and it was nonmilitary”. It only got worse as I visited boards on the early internet and now the groups on Facebook and Reddit. Jesus H. Christ, I just want to scream. Men, makeup doesn’t have a thing to do with you. Women can wear none, as little or as much as they want. Get the eff over it.
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Icarus said on November 5, 2018 at 4:15 pm
Men, makeup doesn’t have a thing to do with you.
four years ago, when Boris & Natasha were 2 months old, we had an unusually warm November day. We were going to take them for a stroll around the neighborhood. Nightingale went inside to use the bathroom while I pushed them around the backyard until she came back. 25 minutes later I ran in to see what was taking her so long.
“Oh I decided to try on some jeans and put on some makeup”
We lost our good weather and non-crabby baby window. I wanted to toss all her makeup into the trash.
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The Garden Fairy said on November 5, 2018 at 4:20 pm
This bit of hope from Vox — https://www.vox.com/2018/11/5/18059058/ohio-senate-governor-race-union-workers
And this from Aftab Purval’s campaign (running against R incumbent Steve Chabot in Ohio’s 1st congressional district):
snip >>Voter turnout in Hamilton County and across the OH-1 is breaking records.
The latest numbers show that midterm turnout is more than 500% (!!!) up compared to 2014.<< end snip
Of course, Thumper is coming back to OH….
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Deborah said on November 5, 2018 at 4:34 pm
This is an interesting article by David Frum (I know, I know). He debated Steve Bannon in Toronto and it didn’t go the way he expected. There’s a plot twist near the end so stick with it. He has a point about trying to use reason. But what else have we got? https://www.theatlantic.com/amp/article/574867/?fbclid=IwAR0v7ELArm762U6b2agBVxJYK-9rPYpUxposfPJ-cPDi0KpWql4ay8SG6Es&__twitter_impression=true
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Suzanne said on November 5, 2018 at 4:45 pm
We only got reason, but that gets you nowhere with someone who completely believes the lies tRump and his ilk spew. As I said the other day, how do you use reason with someone who believes that the 20 dead children at Sandy Hook school either didn’t exist or are hidden away somewhere, perfectly fine, and that the massacre was staged? How?
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Colleen said on November 5, 2018 at 5:18 pm
I, too, used to look down on straight ticket voters. Now I am one. All dems on my ballot this time around. Republicans are just so repugnant to me that I couldn’t possibly cast a vote for one.
I am concerned about our gubernatorial race here in Florida. If Desantis wins, I will be beside myself. Polls have them close, some with Gillum ahead by a point or two, but I am afraid all the old racists are going to turn it for Desantis in the end. My parents live among other retirees, most of whom are Trump supporters. Except my parents. I told my mom yesterday I can’t keep quiet about my feelings about him…it is too close to being the good German during World War 2. We have to keep up our protests.
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The Garden Fairy said on November 5, 2018 at 5:31 pm
One R mom understands the lesson of Kavanaugh — https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/11/brett-kavanaugh-ken-starr-heidi-heitkamp-republican-campaign-democrat.html
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David C. said on November 5, 2018 at 5:47 pm
I’ve never voted for a Republican and see no reason to start. I’m a big believer in undervoting. All the Winnebago County offices are held by Rs and I won’t vote for them. I also undervoted when I lived in Michigan when Geoffrey Feiger, Jack Kevorkian’s lawyer, ran for Governor. I knew it was putting Engler in office for another four years, but Feiger was such a total asshole I couldn’t bring myself to vote for him and I damn sure wasn’t going to vote for Engler.
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Deborah said on November 5, 2018 at 6:45 pm
Our cable/internet service in our building has been down all day today. It’s not Comcast, it’s something called RCN. I’m so paranoid now about Republican dirty tricks I wonder if the R stands for Rauner, lol. Chicagoans will get that. I hope it’s down tomorrow too though, otherwise I’d be glued to the teevee all day and night. This way I only have what I can watch or read with my iPhone.
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icarus said on November 5, 2018 at 7:32 pm
Deborah @ 40 I know RCN very well. In Chicago you essentially have two choices: comcast (xfinity) or AT&T.
RCN serves therms very east Green Zone of Chicago, like Lincoln Park and downtown. If you live west of Ashland, too bad.
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alex said on November 5, 2018 at 9:04 pm
Ah yes, RCN. I remember their sucky service from my Chicago days.
Well I phone banked tonight to get out the Dem vote while Trump was on the other end of town blowing it out of his ass to a crowd that eats shit.
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Julie Robinson said on November 5, 2018 at 9:57 pm
Colleen, when we talked* to our daughter tonight she said much the same thing about DeSantis. She said as horrible as Florida has been under Scott, it’ll be much worse under him.
*From Edinburgh, via her phone through the wifi at her friend’s place. For free. To me, who still remembers having a party line, or when you carefully called after 11 pm or on Saturday but not Sunday early evening, this still feels like a miracle.
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Sherri said on November 5, 2018 at 10:03 pm
In non-partisan (sort of) news, we have two initiatives on the ballot here that have drawn a lot of money and tv advertising, much of it misleading. The more expensive one is a carbon tax, and the oil companies have been throwing lots of money around to stop it: https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/11/what-initiative-1631-means-climate-change-us/574825/
The other is an attempt by the soda companies to stop any cities from copying Seattle and passing a soda tax. This one has had the most outrageously misleading ads, with talk about how a “loophole” in our law allows cities to tax groceries, and we need to protect ourselves. There is no loophole. Yes, cities have some taxing authority and could theoretically tax some groceries, but no city is coming after groceries. They might, however, come after soda, so Coke, Pepsi, and Dr Pepper are trying to make sure they can’t.
I don’t know what’s going to happen with either of these, even if we get a blue wave. It’s easy to pick out problems with the carbon tax, because the initiative process is a blunt instrument and a poor way of implementing policy. But I think it’s a good enough proposal. The other one is so confusing I had to read it twice to make sure I was voting the way I intended, and I knew what was going on!
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Deborah said on November 5, 2018 at 10:10 pm
Still no cable or WiFi so we spent the evening watching Katherine Hepburn and Spenser Tracy in Adam’s Rib. Total distraction from the stress and anxiety of tomorrow.
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Sherri said on November 6, 2018 at 12:01 am
David Frum is much younger than I thought he was, only 58, which makes this tweet even more hilarious.
https://twitter.com/davidfrum/status/1059649611550351361
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bb in DE said on November 6, 2018 at 7:48 am
Took my ballot to the PO yesterday, mailed for free and sent express for folks using the AE or AP (Armed Forces Euro/ Pacific) systems. The instructions from the OH Board of Elections said it needed to be postmarked by 12:01 AM on election day–in other words: yesterday–but the supervisor for the window clerks at the base CMR told me they’ve been instructed to process ballots thru’ the end of next week. Not sure why the discrepancy (trying to account for different states with different cutoff rules, maybe?) but my ballot is on its way regardless. They even gave me a tracker number so I can watch its progress from here to there.
A cable/internet/phone company here has a “Yankee Special” package geared specifically for all the US military in the area. Along with free calls to the states, they offer a cable package with only US channels. (I wish they included at least a couple local channels if only so I could watch the news, or even The Simpsons dubbed in Deutsch, for the sake of improving my limited language skills.) Anyway, the network feeds have to come from somewhere, and the somewhere seems to be Miami. For the past month+, during the commercial breaks for Jeopardy and Saturday football games, we’ve gotten a steady diet of political ads about “Empty Suit” Nelson, I-was-born-wearing-this-Navy-hat Scott, Did-I-mention-I-played-Little-League-in-Dunedin DeSantis, and He-maybe-did-something-vaguely-illegal Gillum. Fellow Florida TV viewers: anyone else notice that in the anti-Gillum ads his picture is about 5 shades “blacker” than his face appears in the pro-Gillum ads? Meet the new dog whistles. Same as the old dog whistles.
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Heather said on November 6, 2018 at 7:54 am
Sherri, that tweet made me rage. We’ve only been saying this what, at least for the last 30 years?
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ROGirl said on November 6, 2018 at 8:05 am
David Frum’s mother, Barbara Frum, was a prominent Canadian journalist and anchored the national evening news for a long time. No doubt she had her share of being called “difficult” in her career.
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Dave said on November 6, 2018 at 9:35 am
bb in DE, you neatly summed up the political commercials here in Florida, that have played over and over and over again. I add my voice to those who fear what happens if DeSantis wins.
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Sherri said on November 6, 2018 at 10:00 am
Heather, I’m past rage at conservatives. At least Frum is beginning to notice.
Conservatives are usually going to give the benefit of the doubt to the system and assume that you must have done something to merit what the system did to you. Eventually, something happens to someone they know personally, and maybe then they recognize that there’s a problem with that particular part of the status quo, but they never generalize to assume that any other parts might also be problematic.
They like order. I was going to say they prefer order to justice, but to them, order is justice.
I had read Frum, and had assumed that he was much older than he was. I find it kind of amazing that he’s of an age with me and just now encountering a difficult woman among his friends.
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daisy said on November 6, 2018 at 10:12 am
Whatever Jordan Peterson’s theories about crustaceans and cows, he’s a free speech absolutist, which I consider one of the highest and most critical elements of a functioning democracy.
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Deborah said on November 6, 2018 at 10:16 am
We got cable/internet back, I awoke at 2am (i N S o m N i A) and was able to use our wifi. They said that the RCN outage was caused by the cable being cut accidentally on Walton by the Drake hotel a block or so away where they’re doing a lot of road work now. I think they’re putting in new sewer lines or something. Part of me is loathe to look at the news but the other part can’t stop myself. It’s supposed to start raining soon so I’m getting ready to fire up my umbrella plan
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Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on November 6, 2018 at 11:03 am
As early voting catches on — I keep hearing about more early votes in 2018 than in many areas for all votes cast in 2014 — I wonder what it will mean for polling places in 2022 or after? If you end up with 75% of all votes cast by mail or special early voting centers, the pressure will be huge to scale back the scope of precinct level voting. The machines, the pollworkers, etc.
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alex said on November 6, 2018 at 11:31 am
Jtmmo–
Everyone I’ve spoken to today who voted at their regular precinct had a lengthy wait, as did everyone who early voted in the last several days. Glad I got it done a couple of weeks ago when the wait was minimal. Early voting should be encouraged. I don’t think I’ll ever go back to my precinct again. It’s an effing church surrounded by raving right-wing idiots on election day. Much better to go unmolested to my satellite site.
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LAMary said on November 6, 2018 at 12:01 pm
I would have loved to vote early but at first they had very few locations open, none close to me, and then when more opened they were just as packed as sites will be today. Lines around the block. I’ll go to my local place in a bit. It’s in the rec room of a senior living center.
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Heather said on November 6, 2018 at 12:29 pm
There was a (short and fairly fast-moving) line at my polling place–very unusual in a presidential election but unheard of in a midterm, at least in my 13 years of voting at this location. Saw more people of color voting this time too.
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Deborah said on November 6, 2018 at 12:43 pm
I took 8 umbrellas to our voting place on LSD, in a park facility. There was no one waiting in line outside, there’s a vestibule and a front office, then a large gym type space where the booths are. All of the booths were occupied. I left the bag of umbrellas with one of the workers, she asked me if I wanted them back, lol, I said no of course. She was very appreciative. I decided not to buy any new umbrellas because the situation seemed well in hand. While there aren’t a lot of down and out types in our neighborhood, there are a lot of elderly people and medical students because of the Northwestern Hospital complex. I tested our umbrellas to make sure all of them opened, two were broken so I threw those away. One of them was those gargantuan kind that I learned early on when we moved to Chicago made no sense walking around the city with congested sidewalks but would easily cover 3 or 4 people standing in line if it came to that. It’s supposed to get very windy soon, it’s trending that way now so an umbrella can be a hinderence in that kind of weather, unfortunately. I rarely use umbrellas anymore because of the wind, I buy jackets and coats with hoods and get by with that. I probably could have found a more fitting precinct to donate the umbrellas to but I didn’t really plan it out that well, live and learn.
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Sherri said on November 6, 2018 at 4:28 pm
David Brooks faults the Dems for not having a national message to counter trump’s ethnonationalist one (you can find his column if you’re interested.) I’m not a fan of Dem strategies in general, but maybe Brooks needs to stop listening to the right wing noise machine.
https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2018-what-the-midterm-campaign-looks-like-in-your-hometown/
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Sherri said on November 6, 2018 at 5:03 pm
LAMary, when filing for permanent absentee status in California became possible, I did that. I did it with a pang of nostalgia for my neighborhood polling place, but it freed me up to do GOTV work on Election Day.
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beb said on November 6, 2018 at 5:56 pm
Someone needs to remind David Brooks that pre-existing conditions/medicare-for-all has been the Democrats message for this election cycle.
the blogger Atrios had to issue a mea culpa today because instead of the 5 minutes he claimed it would take him to vote, he had to wait in line for 45 minutes.
He probably was caught in the morning before-work rush. My family went at 2PM and there was no line but people were coming at a steady pace. I was ballot 228 in my precinct. For the primary I was ballot 030. So a healthy turn out.
Weather was cold and windy. Actually it wasn’t that cold but the wind just knocked the heat out of ya, so glad there was no lines outside.
What this about candidate Kemp’s voter registration being expired? Mister Exact-Match couldn’t remember to renew his registration! Lock him up for attempted voter fraud.
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Bitter Scribe said on November 6, 2018 at 5:57 pm
Sherri @59: Brooks needs to stop listening to the right-wing noise machine? Brooks is the goddamned right-wing noise machine. Don’t forget that he started at the National Review, founded by William F. “those Negroes in Birmingham probably blew up that church themselves” Buckley.
From that column:
Gosh, all those people who resisted “integration” back in the day…remind me which race they were? And which party they and their political heirs belong to now?
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LAMary said on November 6, 2018 at 6:27 pm
Surprisingly my polling place wasn’t too bad. There was even a parking space.
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Deborah said on November 6, 2018 at 7:50 pm
Here we go…
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Dexter Friend said on November 6, 2018 at 8:24 pm
I waited until 5:00 PM to vote…no line at all, a man held the door for me on my cane, I waltzed right in and blacked out all the squares beside the Democrats. Then, the paper into the scanner, a flag appeared showing me all was good, I received the “I voted” sticker, and was on my way. Tomorrow morning I go in for the nuclear medicine heart stress test, a mere 4 hour test. Yeah, ya can’t stop what’s comin’….
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The Garden Fairy said on November 6, 2018 at 8:28 pm
AP just called for Shalala.
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Deborah said on November 6, 2018 at 8:31 pm
Carville says it’s not going to be a blue wave, but could still be a good election for the Dems. Depressing.
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Suzanne said on November 6, 2018 at 8:50 pm
I am becoming depressed. Very depressed. No blue tsunami, barely a blue wave so far.
We will be living in a full blown fascist state.
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Bob (not Greene) said on November 6, 2018 at 9:08 pm
Well, if it makes you feel any better Suzanne, that Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis, who became a right-wing darling for refusing to give marriage licenses to same sex couples lost her bid for re-election.
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basset said on November 6, 2018 at 10:31 pm
Well, at least Mark Coonrippy Brown didn’t get elected governor in Tennessee…
https://twitter.com/Coonrippy/status/1059583181463150592?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet
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Jolene said on November 6, 2018 at 10:41 pm
Well, at least Mark Coonrippy Brown didn’t get elected governor in Tennessee…
But Marsha Blackburn got elected senator. She may be my least favorite candidate in the whole country.
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Linda said on November 6, 2018 at 11:40 pm
What a bunch of sorry Sallies you are. Ohioans have something to feel bad about (a GOP sweep, the defeat of Issue 1, which was an attempt to end the stupid war on drugs). But the Dems will have big gains in the House. Adam Schiff will be in charge of the Intelligence Committee. In Florida, a law to automatically give felons the right to vote after their sentences is passing. Congress will be younger and have more women than it has for a long time. And no more political ads.
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Deborah said on November 6, 2018 at 11:44 pm
I started out depressed but I’m feeling pretty good now. It could be better but it’s a darn good start.
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diane said on November 6, 2018 at 11:58 pm
Colorado has early voting and mail in voting for anyone who wants it. I don’t know anyone who actually goes to a polling place on Election Day here. It is unconscionable that people have to stand in long lines to vote.
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Sherri said on November 7, 2018 at 12:51 am
There are some important wins tonight. Voting rights for former felons are restored in Florida. Louisiana’s split jury conviction law is ended. Michigan passes a big voting rights initiative. Big Supreme Court win in North Carolina. Over 100 women elected to the House.
Step by step, people. It’s not going to happen overnight.
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David C. said on November 7, 2018 at 5:51 am
Not a great night, but a good one. ‘lil Scotty Walker went down, so I’m pretty happy. A Dem house so if tRump sacks Mueller they can say come on over here.
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Suzanne said on November 7, 2018 at 6:40 am
Yes, Scott Walker took a hit but Randy Bryce will not replace Paul “Munster” Ryan. Proving that the working class, for all their whining & complaining, still don’t want one of their own in charge but rather gravitate to the empty shirt elites who say they like them.
Oh, and the dead pimp in Nevada was elected.
http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-nevada-dead-candidate-20181106-story.html
This is why I am still bummed out this morning.
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Suzanne said on November 7, 2018 at 6:53 am
Oh, and Steve King in Iowa was re-elected. Clearly, in the GOP, being dead, or a racist who flirts with Nazis, or being under indictment (there were 2 of those re-elected) are no longer considered problems.
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Deborah said on November 7, 2018 at 7:11 am
The Republican Party is definitely the party of Trump, something to reckon with in 2020. Unless of course Mueller has the goods on him big time. Women did well.
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Heather said on November 7, 2018 at 8:08 am
I’m feeling pretty good. Beto and Gillum really hurt, but the House is great, and in IL, we flipped a couple House seats, including one that I focused on with $$ and canvassing. Got to take the long view with Florida: there are 1.5 million more voters there now that previously incarcerated people can vote. Kobach is out, Walker is out, and yes, lots of women. And turnout was insane! I think these are great signs.
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alex said on November 7, 2018 at 8:23 am
Joe Donnelly’s enormous defeat is alarming given that polling showed him substantially ahead of his opponent for most of the race and still neck and neck right before the election. Other red state Dems like O’Rourke and Abrams were thisclose to winning and Donnelly lost by ten percent. He probably didn’t do himself any favors sucking up to the flat-earthers who weren’t going to vote for him anyway.
All in all, I’m pretty fucking bummed. Sure we got the house back but the country seems to be in fascism’s thrall. I’ll be interested to how much the Dems outperformed the GOP numerically but lost because of gerrymandering.
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Suzanne said on November 7, 2018 at 9:00 am
Donnelly’s debate performance was awful. I listened on the radio and he didn’t inspire me but he was at least not a nutcase like “Real World” Braun.
I was more disappointed that Tritch lost by as much as she did. I thought she had a real chance. But, as a guy I knew from high school said on Facebook to explain Indiana voters “everybody with half a brain leaves the state as soon as possible”.
If Charles Manson ran as a GOP candidate in IN, he would be elected.
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Deborah said on November 7, 2018 at 9:09 am
I think the Dems need to get rid of Schumer as the minority leader. IMHO he doesn’t fight hard enough, maybe Kirstein Gillibrand or Kamela Harris would be better in that role? Also the chairman of the Dem party, Tom Perez needs to go, yes the Dems took the house, but Perez was pathetic on the teevee last night. The young gay guy from Indiana with the weird name that was running for the chairmanship, seems to me, would be a lot better. Pete Buttigeig, I looked it up.
And boy does Nancy Pelosi have some bullying in store for her coming from Trump in the future.
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Sherri said on November 7, 2018 at 9:46 am
Time for the Dems to put women in charge of everything. Stacy Abrams for the chairmanship? Patty Murray for majority leader? Gillibrand or Harris might be too far a reach for the seniority loving Senate.
Still a lot of votes to count, but Kim Schrier has a healthy lead over Dino Rossi in WA-8, a previously Republican seat. Maybe a 4th straight defeat will finally send Rossi away for good.
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Sherri said on November 7, 2018 at 9:59 am
I donated to seven legislative races in WA, four of them being flip able seats. Two of those four have successfully flipped, while the other two are too close to call yet.
The carbon tax failed, and Big Soda’s initiative to ban soda taxes is succeeding, but stronger firearms regulations and better police use of force initiatives passed. Now for the NRA lawsuit…
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basset said on November 7, 2018 at 10:13 am
Jolene@71, agree with you on that… the Blackburn/Bredesen ads were the worst of the bunch around here, we actually stopped watching local news for a few days because we were so sick of them.
Some of the accusations in Blackburn’s ads just weren’t true, but that’s how it is these days… she could have accused him of sinking Noah’s Ark and the base would have eaten it up.
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alex said on November 7, 2018 at 10:13 am
Suzanne, I didn’t see or hear Donnelly’s debate performance, but I suspect part of the problem for him and for Tritch as well was that neither of their opponents were tethered down by facts or reality.
Another thing that may have cost Donnelly some support on election day was a stupid gaffe he made recently when he talked about the diversity of his staff and put his foot in his mouth. “So and so is African-American BUT she’s an outstanding chief of staff, yada yada… .” His support among minorities and progressives was already tepid anyway given his efforts to recast himself as a pro-Trump Democrat who supports the border wall and Trump’s immigration policies. If the gaffe lost him the election, it’s a cruel twist of irony. His opponent in 2012 went down in a ball of flames just days before the election after making a similarly careless comment about rape.
I was smart and left Indiana in the 1980s. Then I got stupid and came back in 2005. Sometimes I wish I had just fucking stayed put.
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Connie said on November 7, 2018 at 10:14 am
Lena Epstein lost, and I believe it was the Jews for Jesus that lost her the election.
And legal marijuana passed. Thought word is it will take a year or so to get the rules and regulations together.
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Mark P said on November 7, 2018 at 10:35 am
Well, here in Georgia, my neighbors showed me who they are. I’m not really surprised that Abrams lost. Georgia still has a very large population of racists and the ignorant, so now we have a governor in the mold of Trump, a corrupt liar. The Democrats’ taking the House is encouraging. Now all they need is the courage to do the right thing.
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Icarus said on November 7, 2018 at 11:31 am
Joyce Mason, a friend from high school (though we have been connected via FB and even Real Life recently) won State Representative in Illinois District 61.
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Sherri said on November 7, 2018 at 11:51 am
A good Twitter thread on where to go from here: https://twitter.com/LesterSpence/status/1060147394602508289
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Jeff Borden said on November 7, 2018 at 11:52 am
I believe it is time to end the fantasy that my birth state, Ohio, is a swing state. It is a red state. Period. Northeastern Ohio will always be a haven for Dems, but overall, the state now looks a lot more like Indiana. While I left there in 1985 and have zero intention of returning, it still stings to see how deeply entrenched the yahoos are in Buckeyeland. What the hell happened to the Tafts and the Voinivichs? Is Jim Jordan the real avatar of Ohio now?
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Deborah said on November 7, 2018 at 11:55 am
I just realized that every candidate that I gave money to, lost. But I’m not sorry I gave to their campaigns, I knew they were long shots but I was compelled to help them by the only way I could. And I know they did as well as they could. They gave their opponents a run for their money, and the final vote counts were way higher than anyone expected in most cases. Well, I take that back, I don’t think Abrams has conceded yet so who knows, maybe. Maybe?
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Jolene said on November 7, 2018 at 12:19 pm
Abrams is an impressive person. As a speaker, she has great presence and real power. So many women struggle to command attention. It seems unlikely that she will prevail in Georgia, but I hope she finds another way into our public life.
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