Because I know you’ve all been on pins and needles: The battery surgery was a resounding success, in fact, quite simple. Made all that running around after a professional fix pretty stupid, in hindsight. Yesterday and today I am calibrating the new battery, which means I let it run all the way down and charge it all the way up, and then it’s more or less broken in.
Current status: 24 percent, running down steadily. Let’s hope it continues.
How’s your crazy life at midweek? We learned today that the DNC debate here next month — July 30-31 — will have a complement of 20 count ’em 20 candidates. And they are, via USA Today to the Freep to Deadline Detroit:
(Those meeting both the 1 percent-polling and 65,000-individual-donors thresholds are) former Vice President Joe Biden of Delaware; Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.; Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif.; Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.; South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg; former Rep. Beto O’Rourke, D-Texas; Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J.; entrepreneur Andrew Yang of New York; Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii; Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.; former HUD Secretary Julian Castro of Texas; Washington State Gov. Jay Inslee, and activist Marianne Williamson.
In addition, Politico reported that that seven other candidates have met the 1 percent polling threshold:
Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo.; New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio; former Rep. John Delaney, D-Md.; Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y.; former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper; Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, and Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif.
Marianne Williamson? Andrew Yang? Eric Swalwell? What a field. I’m assuming most will be gone by Christmas, but in the meantime, it’ll be one wacky two-day spell in the D later this summer.
Trying to think of some story ideas around that now. I keep coming back to: Get Bernie Sanders to the Old Miami. (It’s a bar near Wayne State with a big back yard.)
Are bar yards a thing where you are? It’s weird — lots and lots of bars here have them, and I’m not talking about patios, but back-yard hangout spaces, and they predate the smoking ban, so I’m not sure why that is. In nice weather, they’re glorious; the best ones aren’t really “developed” in the traditional sense of having service or anything — just a couple of picnic tables to sit at if you’re so inclined, and just get away from the hurly-burly inside. Although some are quite large, and clustered seating areas tend to happen. Like at the Old Miami. I think Bernie should go there and declaim, see who gathers round.
So, some quick bloggage? Whatever:
Arizona jury hangs rather than convict a teacher accused of giving water, food and lodging to two migrants illegally crossing the border. Interesting.
A tiny crack in the wall of I CAN’T HEAR YOU NAH NAH NAH:
Listen, I don’t have any use for either Donny or Bette. I don’t agree with their politics, I have always been confused at their relative popularity and celebrity status, and don’t doubt for a second that they were unfairly criticizing the president before he retaliated on Twitter.
But none of that justifies the President of the United States of America using his unrivaled platform and bully pulpit to…well…bully American citizens who may disagree with him. When has that ever been okay? I am firmly of the belief that President Obama stoked an immense amount of division needlessly during his time in office, and have even written recently that our only hope of unity in this country requires that he go away.
But President Obama was not rage-tweeting in the wee hours of the morning, calling his critics “total losers” and “washed up psychos” from his official platform. If he had, the right would have rightly condemned him for violating decency norms and the standard expectations of dignity for those holding the office of President. It disappoints me beyond words to see so many of those same folks actually enjoying and applauding President Trump’s decimation of those norms and expectations all in the name of political payback.
Cry me a river, dumbass. You made this bed. Lie in it. “Firmly of the belief,” are you? Tough.
Finally, influencers! The wacky things they do:
Meanwhile in Chernobyl: Instagram influencers flocking to the site of the disaster. pic.twitter.com/LnRukoLirQ
— Bruno Zupan (@komacore) June 9, 2019
With that, I’m off to attack Wednesday. Enjoy yours.
basset said on June 11, 2019 at 10:39 pm
First in, still invisible. And I’m not even on Instagram.
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LAMary said on June 11, 2019 at 10:47 pm
Marianne Williamson was a sort of religious figure, popular with some movie star types in the eighties. She had cobbled together some chunks of various religions, maybe some meditation and some prosperity preaching. She wrote a book that had her bare tit on the cover. There was so much weird religion here in the eighties, particularly prosperity theology. It was a strange time. Not sure what Marianne is selling these days.
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jcburns said on June 11, 2019 at 11:13 pm
Alan Derringer, conquerer of Lithium-Ion.
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Deborah said on June 11, 2019 at 11:21 pm
We watched the last episode of Chernobyl last night. Sobering, also timely regarding the myriad of lies from our current administration and their deference to Putin.
Kudos to Alan for repairing your computer. I bow down to that expertise.
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Deborah said on June 11, 2019 at 11:39 pm
Also watched the first three episodes of season 3 of the Handmaids Tale. Excellent. We’ll watch episode 4 tomorrow night.
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Dexter Friend said on June 12, 2019 at 1:36 am
Russia says poppycock. The American series was all balderdash and nonsense, says they. The fuckin’ CIA dunnitt, don’t ya know, says they. They even made their own movie or series to show the world. Yep, they did. Pretty depressing says I. I did watch the series. Along those lines I heard a seg on Public Radio about tiny micro:organisms have been found on the ocean floor hotter than the sun with radiation. The word was that larger creatures pooped radioactive , and it sank to the ocean bottom and the tiny organisms ate the poop. Quite alarming to hear the ocean is so fucked up with plastic, and now radiation.
When I got my iPhone I got some Bluetooth ear buds, MultiTed brand, and never really desired to use them. I figured I would get with the program, so like Alan and nance, I cranked in a YouTube tutorial. It takes hours to complete so some day I got nuttin’ to do, I’ll hook myself up.
Newly-released from an umpteenth stretch in jail or prison, the neighbor’s adult son who has visitors all night and day and is loud and obnoxious as fuck, was at it again. Late afternoon, I fortified myself with Gatorade and Coca-Cola and headed out for the lawnmower…what the fuck? There he was , mowing my yard…oh, guess what? It is 1:30 AM and he and his creepy buddy are outside again with their flashlights, with which I caught the creep shining into people’s windows some time back…I gotta go check my garage doors now. OK, so anyway…I flagged him down, he said he was just bored so he just finished up his yard and cut my grass too. Normally you’d think I would be grateful, eh? No, because this fucker is a weirdo…what the FUCK is he doing just mere feet from my window with those goddam flashlights, going on 2:00? Damn.
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ROGirl said on June 12, 2019 at 5:32 am
I couldn’t finish the 2nd season of the Handmaid’s Tale. I got about half way through and I’d had enough. It’s too relentless and grim to get through more of the same.
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Alan Stamm said on June 12, 2019 at 7:49 am
That swarm of presidential prospects flocking to a Miami debate in two weeks and Detroit’s next month is a double decagon.
Thank you, Rachel Maddow, for dusting off a suddenly useful geometry word I somehow missed learning. (Or remembering.)
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Suzanne said on June 12, 2019 at 9:12 am
I am pretty sure I never heard of Marianne Williamson until now.
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jcburns said on June 12, 2019 at 9:19 am
Dexter, that is a fine and classic 2 AM post, in every stream-of-consciousness detail.
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Julie Robinson said on June 12, 2019 at 9:22 am
ROGirl, I never even started the second season. We’re already living in a dystopia and the news makes me angry and despondent. No need for my entertainment to do the same.
And speaking of dystopias, is it just me or is the primary starting to feel like the Hunger Games?
Three years ago as we were getting ready to fly home from Orlando the news reports started tricking in about the Pulse shooting. 49 lives lost, how many since, and no progress on sensible gun control measures. Jesus wept.
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Jeff Borden said on June 12, 2019 at 9:55 am
Why do rightwingers accuse President Obama of being a divisive figure and making race relations worse? I truly don’t understand the logic. The guy was far from perfect…I’d give him a C+, maybe a B- overall…but I don’t recall him extolling minorities over whites or using his power to send great gushers of money to minority enterprises.
Meanwhile, I wonder if the Orange King’s carnival act is finally wearing even on his base. The latest polls show every Democrat taking him down. And his numbers are underwater in critical states like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan. If the past is prelude, we can expect to see him get even more crazy and unhinged. God, this presidential race is going to be so fucking depressing and ugly.
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Bitter Scribe said on June 12, 2019 at 10:00 am
I never heard of this Peter Heck character, nor of “The Resurgent,” but I confess to being a little surprised that anyone who thinks “Obama stoked an immense amount of division needlessly during his time in office” is capable of recognizing simple truths about Trump. His comments, of course, are chockablock with “there is video of Michelle Obama with a penis” types. These people.
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basset said on June 12, 2019 at 10:04 am
saw a photo yesterday of 45 walking with Queen Elizabeth, caption was something like “when the little old lady you’re walking with has more military experience than you do”… she was actually in uniform during WW2, no bone spurs mentioned that I know of.
Big decision today, about to go look at a house and a building site for another.
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LAMary said on June 12, 2019 at 10:25 am
Oprah promoted the books and ministry of Marriane Williamson. Back when Oprah was giving Dr Phil and Dr Oz Marriane was part of her team.
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Jason T. said on June 12, 2019 at 12:53 pm
Because, despite continued warnings, he flagrantly and with malice aforethought walked around being openly Black in public! In front of everyone! He even had a Black wife … and Black children!
Obama even had the unmitigated nerve to suggest that the United States of America, a country created by God Himself, might continue to have racial divisions!
Everyone knows that all of our racial divisions were healed when Sammy Davis Jr. kissed Archie Bunker.
There was a time when Those People Knew Their Place, you know.
There are too many states nowadays. Please eliminate three. P.S.: I am not a crackpot.
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Jakash said on June 12, 2019 at 12:55 pm
IIRC, I thought the first several episodes of the second season of Handmaid’s Tale were perhaps the most depressing portion of all. The second half of that season wasn’t nearly as oppressive, for whatever that’s worth. Haven’t seen season 3.
“And speaking of dystopias, is it just me or is the primary starting to feel like the Hunger Games?” Stephen Colbert had an ongoing feature during the last primary season based on just that premise. When a candidate would drop out, he’d give them the joking “tribute” treatment, with their picture and a funny nickname eventually being projected on the ceiling of the studio. It was all fun and games until we never got to see the expected final one, with the Stable Genius getting his roasting…
The Ted Cruz edition is below, quoting the long-departed, version 1.0 of Lindsay Graham: “If you killed Ted Cruz on the floor of the Senate, and the trial was in the Senate, nobody would convict you.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRb6Ztzo1Aw
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Jason T. said on June 12, 2019 at 12:58 pm
In all seriousness, I agree with our proprietress, in that Peter Heck and all of the rest of the never-Trumpers can take their Deep Feelings of Concern and fold them five ways and stick them where the sun don’t shine.
You assholes created the monster, brought it to life and fed and nurtured it for years. Now it’s loose.
You can either sit down and shut up, or you can repent and try to do something about it. But you don’t get to sit around and go “tut-tut, what a shame, whatever has become of decency and manners?”
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Scout said on June 12, 2019 at 1:36 pm
My grandson is an influencer, or so he tells me. He has over 10,000 followers on instagram and over 5,000 on tiktok, whatever that is. He tried to explain to me how he makes money at this, but even as social media savvy as I consider myself to be, I still don’t really get it.
Jason T @18 – you can say that again. The addiction to bothsiderism is beyond depressing. “I am firmly of the belief that President Obama stoked an immense amount of division needlessly during his time in office, and have even written recently that our only hope of unity in this country requires that he go away.” This asshole could not pen a legitimate criticism of Twitler without dragging Obama through the mud and I’m only surprised he didn’t take a backhanded swipe at Hillary Clinton while he was at it.
I’m very relieved that Scott Warren was not convicted, but he is not in the clear yet. It’s a shame there wasn’t a definitive not guilty verdict. From the local news: “Before Donald Trump became president, federal prosecutors generally turned a blind eye to humanitarian groups that refused to stand by while people died in the desert. Instead, prosecutors went after smugglers and those who turned a profit from illegal immigration. That all changed in 2017, when then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions declared it a priority to go after anyone harboring undocumented immigrants. People like Warren, a long-time volunteer with No More Deaths, a ministry of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Tucson. A guy who acts not out of a profit motive but out of a Christian motive, a belief that helping his fellow man is the good and right thing to do.”
We knew it was going to be bad, but it’s even worse than we could have imagined. We are living the Handmaid’s Tale meets 1984.
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JodiP said on June 12, 2019 at 1:58 pm
JasonT. beat me to it: the right’s biggest problem with Obama is that he is a proud Black man. A lotta white people are pretty fragile and can’t stand any black or brown person doing well.
I’m in the midst of listening to Pod Save the World. I haven’t made time for news lately, and missed the clip of Trump commenting on the possibility that CIA had turned Kim Jung Un’s brother and that’s why he was assassinated. Trump, of course, assures Kim “that [getting a North Korean family member to spy] would never happen under my auspices.” Not a word about the assissination in Malaysia using a banned chemcical weapon. Or the concentration camps. Or ongoing missile testing and weapons building.
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Jakash said on June 12, 2019 at 2:49 pm
Well, here’s a provocative column from Eric Zorn of the Tribune.
“When my time comes… I want to decay into topsoil and rich loamy earth where I can return the favor to the flowers, the plants, the bushes and trees that have fed me in so many ways for so long. I want to, almost literally, push up daisies.”
Perhaps you’re familiar with this idea, Sherri, since “natural organic reduction,” has been legalized in Washington state.
“Human composting is based on a method already used for disposing of livestock. The body is placed in a reusable hexagonal steel container with wood chips, alfalfa and straw to accelerate decomposition. Heating the container to 131 degrees kills off any dangerous pathogens.
In about a month, everything — including bones and teeth — has been turned into about two wheelbarrows worth of odorless, nutrient-rich soil that can be distributed in a garden bed, packed around the base of a tree or otherwise scattered on private property.”
https://www.chicagotribune.com/columns/eric-zorn/ct-perspec-zorn-human-composting-recomposition-20190611-story.html
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Icarus said on June 12, 2019 at 2:52 pm
Last episode of Handmaid’s Tale I recall was the one with Marisa Tomei in it.
Jeff Borden @ 12 The guy was far from perfect…I’d give him a C+, maybe a B- overall
who would you give an A to and why? Do you grade on a curve? Asking for a friend.
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Kaye said on June 12, 2019 at 5:05 pm
Bassett – Best part of my day: a guy planning a trip from CA to IA to pick up a bassett puppy. Thought of you. Hope your home shopping went well.
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Jeff Borden said on June 12, 2019 at 5:39 pm
Icarus, I’m not sure I could give anyone an A. I thought President Obama did well on domestic issues. The ACA has been controversial but it began the slow turn to some sort of national health care plan. I also give him props for handling the horrible economy W. left behind. But his foreign policy was pretty messy particularly regarding Egypt and Syria.
I loved having him as my president. I grieve at the absolute P.O.S who has followed him. I wonder if I’ll ever be excited by a presidential candidate again.
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David C. said on June 12, 2019 at 5:57 pm
The right wing sees everything through a fun house mirror. So while we saw a calm, thoughtful, intelligent, caring man, they saw Mandingo.
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Suzanne said on June 12, 2019 at 9:45 pm
Good Lord. Now the Orange Menace has publicly stated that he doesn’t see any need to tell the FBI if a foreign country contacts his campaign with dirt on other candidates. What’s the problem? It’s not a problem. That’s not how the world works, you know.
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basset said on June 13, 2019 at 12:16 am
Thanks, Kaye… we passed on the existing house we looked at today, still going back and forth with the builders on the new construction.
Our own basset-pup journey was, now that I think of it, close to forty years ago, Michigan to Mississippi and all in one day. Up early in Kalamazoo, Portage actually, and an hour’s drive to Grand Rapids… fly Piedmont to Dayton with the pup in a little crate under my seat, change planes, Dayton to DC, change, DC to Roanoke or maybe it was Richmond and then to Charlotte, change, stop in Nashville and deplane in Memphis, then drive four hours to Jackson. In those days I could still do a trip like that, the first few hours would probably kill me today.
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Julie Robinson said on June 13, 2019 at 9:17 am
Good grief, basset, that was one epic day. I’m exhausted just reading about it.
Trump keeps showing us exactly who he is, yet his supporters don’t see it. Talk about cognitive dissonance.
I’d be fine with being composted.
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alex said on June 13, 2019 at 10:02 am
Trump keeps showing us exactly who he is, yet his supporters don’t see it. Talk about cognitive dissonance.
I disagree. His supporters know fully well who he is and they’re saying fuck you liberals and your black president, payback is a motherfucker. And a pussy grabber.
When they say Obama was divisive, they’re speaking of his very existence. What a wonderful kick in their teeth it will be if we elect Mayor Pete.
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basset said on June 13, 2019 at 10:04 am
They see it and they like it. Been reading Nazi history the past few day, didn’t know Hitler went into office with just 44% of the popular vote. and… women with four kids got a bronze mother’s badge, six got silver, eight gold and a meet & greet with the Fuhrer.
Julie, that epic journey happened the way it did because I had a free ticket from being bumped off a flight earlier and had to get it done in one trip. Eudora the basset was with us for close to sixteen years and was such a fine example of the breed that someone came up to us at a show once and asked what we wanted for her… well, she’s not for sale… guy kept coming back to Mrs B insisting that we sell her and we eventually had to run him off.
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Deborah said on June 13, 2019 at 10:07 am
So tomorrow is flag day and I’m going to try my damndest to make it a no Trump day. Meanwhile today I can’t help but lol about the tweet in which he mentions the “Prince of Whales”.
While I wouldn’t mind being composted, the current process sounds expensive.
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ROGirl said on June 13, 2019 at 10:29 am
The traditional role of women in Germany was “kinder kuche kirche,” or children, kitchen, church.
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ROGirl said on June 13, 2019 at 10:51 am
Is it Whales or Wales? There are good people on both sides.
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Suzanne said on June 13, 2019 at 11:33 am
Some of the Trump people know exactly who he is and embrace it. I still hear people claim as awful as he is, he is better than Hillary. The others don’t pay enough attention to bother with understanding what he is because they think (assume?) that the nation’s norms, traditions, and constitution will keep the unthinkable from happening. It won’t.
The Founding Fathers planned for an unethical & compromised president. It appears that they did not plan for a Congress that either looks the other way or is too weak to act and an electorate that can’t be bothered with reality.
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Deborah said on June 13, 2019 at 12:17 pm
Suzanne, well said.
If someone already linked to this my apologies, this by Ed Burmilla is both funny and informative as is most stuff by him https://newrepublic.com/article/154176/state-emergency sorry about the long url here, I never remember how to shorten them.
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Scout said on June 13, 2019 at 12:58 pm
Deborah – that piece by Ed Burmilla is positively terrifying.
“Disruption? Lawlessness? That is exactly the kind of subjective terminology that a properly motivated chief executive could make an argument for applying to a broad range of situations—particularly a president who does not seem to care if the arguments he makes are logical, legal, or even comprehensible.”
Every day it becomes more clear that everything we feared about an unhinged mobster becoming POTUS was not hyperbolic, and in fact is worse than we even imagined. That 99.9% of the GOP enables this lawlessness and daily deluge of lies scares the shit out of me. That 35% of Americans think he’s the 2nd coming scares the shit out me. I want to believe that Pelosi and Nadler have a plan that includes getting evidence into the mainstream that cannot be ignored and that they start cracking down on people who try to ignore subpoenas. I understand they need to have an airtight case before they proceed, but each time Twitler tosses out another bomb that indicates he intends to get away with everything, I worry it’s already too late. No wonder my health is suffering.
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LAMary said on June 13, 2019 at 2:04 pm
The daughter of Lori Laughlin, the actress who paid a half million dollars to get her kids into USC (university of spoiled children) is or was an influencer. I think she lost her influencer certification when her mom got caught. I try to be an influencer but all I’ve done so far is piss off a lot of people in the New York Times Food Community by refusing to back down on my opinion about keeping the pit in guacamole to keep it from going brown.
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beb said on June 13, 2019 at 2:10 pm
I would like to see Congress pass a law barring any president from having a twitter account. All communications as to come from the White House Press Secretary. And anything that doesn’t come from the Press Secretary is not valid law.
I’d also like to see the House open investigations into the practices of Mrs. Mitch McConnell (aka Elaine Cho) who has been alleged to have funneled money into her husband’s state. I’d also like to see an investigation into the investment of Russian money into Mr. McConnell’s state as this seems like a bribe.
I also think it’s time for Democrats to slam Joe Biden for thinking that Republicans will change once Trump is out of office.
And I’d like to know why Memphis is rioting over the killing of a young black man, who was shoot while attempting to kill or injury the police. It sounds like there must be more to the story but I haven’t heard it.
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susan said on June 13, 2019 at 3:10 pm
Deborah @35 – I use https://tinyurl.com to shorten long URLs. Should be self-explanatory on that page.
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jcburns said on June 13, 2019 at 4:03 pm
Deborah: the stuff after the question mark, including the question mark,
?utm_content=buffer0c19c&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer&fbclid=IwAR11xjj7gYkBnrfuhjfd8mxtCMzuyU8M8pErZOJD1PLnDzdGPXYxdpP2ojk…is just (evil) twitter tracking stuff and not the actual story URL. I’ve shortened the link you put in.362 chars
Suzanne said on June 13, 2019 at 5:26 pm
Sarah Sanders is leaving the White House staff. But she didn’t seem to do much of anything anyway so all that will really be missed is her bad fashion sense and creepy eyebrow.
Go on back to Arkansas, hon, and hand out with daddy.
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Suzanne said on June 13, 2019 at 5:44 pm
Clearly, that was supposed to be “hang out with daddy”
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LAMary said on June 13, 2019 at 6:41 pm
I will not miss Sarah Sanders. Her reflex was to lie and then get pissed off if a follow up question challenged her lie.
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Dexter Friend said on June 14, 2019 at 2:55 am
Ladies and gentlemen, I now proudly give you the next guv’nah of the great state of Arkansas…Huckleberry Sanders! — Did Trump pull that out of his ass or really?—the governor? Well, I guess she is considering it. She has a couple years to decide. But now, it’s time for some good old Arkansas hand-fishing for huge catfish.
A short comment on cars: A few days ago our daughter in Las Vegas bought a new Kia Telluride. It’s a near-robot car. Any driving deviation and the SUV corrects itself. she told me it takes a few driving sessions to discover what the thing will do in regards to auto-braking and speeding or anything else. I realize cars have had some of these features for years, but she told me this one seems to be telling her to just let it do the driving . I suspect in a week or so she will have a pet name for it. It’s been a year here since my wife’s car was condemned to the crusher and I replaced her Ford with a very clean, nice Chevy Impala. I was not excited as I have had worse luck with GM vehicles than any make except Volkswagens, as far as repairs go. But this one has been perfect for an entire year. Oh, it will need brakes this fall, big deal. It came with brand new tires, so that was good. I have to say, this Chevrolet is a good one. It zipped to Cleveland OK, 78 mph all the way. Smooth. *thanks JC*
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Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on June 14, 2019 at 6:23 am
What’s fascinating about Hamilton and the whole gang writing under the name of “Publius” is how much they anticipated, and how well:
“Nothing was more to be desired than that every practicable obstacle should be opposed to cabal, intrigue, and corruption. These most deadly adversaries of republican government might naturally have been expected to make their approaches from more than one querter, but chiefly from the desire in foreign powers to gain an improper ascendant in our councils. How could they better gratify this, than by raising a creature of their own to the chief magistracy of the Union?”
But they missed a few aspects of how their process might actually operate:
“The process of election affords a moral certainty, that the office of President will never fall to the lot of any man who is not in an eminent degree endowed with the requisite qualifications. Talents for low intrigue, and the little arts of popularity, may alone suffice to elevate a man to the first honors in a single State; but it will require other talents, and a different kind of merit, to establish him in the esteem and confidence of the whole Union, or of so considerable a portion of it as would be necessary to make him a successful candidate for the distinguished office of President of the United States. It will not be too strong to say, that there will be a constant probability of seeing the station filled by characters pre-eminent for ability and virtue. And this will be thought no inconsiderable recommendation of the Constitution, by those who are able to estimate the share which the executive in every government must necessarily have in its good or ill administration. Though we cannot acquiesce in the political heresy of the poet who says: “For forms of government let fools contest That which is best administered is best,” yet we may safely pronounce, that the true test of a good government is its aptitude and tendency to produce a good administration.”
Federalist No. 68 and the next couple are some relevant reading these days:
https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/fed68.asp
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Sherri said on June 14, 2019 at 1:22 pm
You should be reading Adam Serwer. In a just world, he would be more influential than David Brooks.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/06/ahmari-french-orban/591697/
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David C. said on June 14, 2019 at 1:33 pm
In a just world, what I scoop out of the litter box would be more influential than David Brooks.
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basset said on June 14, 2019 at 7:21 pm
Meanwhile, getting away from Washington for a minute… this might be interesting to those of us who attended IU Bloomington. Mrs. B and I went to a small estate sale today here in Nashville, seller was one of these old women who wants to tell you her life story.
I had an old shirt on from Indiana Sprint Week, annual series of sprint car races around the state, so she tells me how she used to live in Bloomington and was Herman B Wells’ secretary for years. You could not make this up… was going on about how Wells lived with his mother and she pushed him around, used to come in the office and bitch the secretary out for letting him eat sweets because “Herman can’t have candy!”
Herman B was on campus for two of my elementary schools years and nearly all my time at IU, but as far as I remember I never saw him in person.
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susan said on June 14, 2019 at 8:13 pm
Who is/was Herman B Wells?
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Dave said on June 14, 2019 at 8:38 pm
Onetime well-known president of Indiana University.
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basset said on June 14, 2019 at 11:18 pm
And later Chancellor, whatever that meant, an office created just for him.
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Deborah said on June 14, 2019 at 11:19 pm
So it was really hard to avoid reading about the man who is supposedly our president today, in fact it was impossible. That guy is everywhere and he is destroying our country. What a mess.
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susan said on June 14, 2019 at 11:31 pm
Mitch McConnell is destroying our country.
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Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on June 15, 2019 at 8:07 am
But Cub Scout Day Camp gives me hope. Just finished this year’s for our county; first year with females fully integrated into the entire program, and the opening flag raising was led by a girl in her Webelos den who told me she wants to earn Eagle Scout and asked me for tips — a first for me! 250 kids and 75 adults and Scout helpers, two days of rain but lots of sun, and a wonderful experience with youth and leaders alike.
Gives me hope.
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Julie Robinson said on June 15, 2019 at 12:27 pm
Under Herman Wells presidency, from 1938-1962, IU became a modern liberal arts university instead of a pokey little small-town school. His other legacy is the grand campus plan that emphasizes the use of green space over buildings. Walking to class every day felt like walking through an arboretum, and I was constantly finding new delights.
He was also, in the parlance of the day, a dedicated bachelor. Ahem.
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alex said on June 15, 2019 at 1:03 pm
I had a dustup with a Trump supporter sitting next to me at a bar yesterday. Lucky for me he was a reedy, effeminate little douche and not some hulking bruiser. Someone on the other side of this guy was talking about Pelosi’s long game on impeachment — she wants to see him criminally charged when he leaves office in 2020. I concurred and then the guy next to me started lecturing me about how he’s read the Mueller report and blah blah blah. So I asked if he had a legal background or something which made him very defensive. “What, you think I’m stupid?” I couldn’t keep a straight face when that came out of his mouth. I hemmed and hawed with a smirk and it drove him up a wall. He called me an arrogant asshole and kept repeating “You don’t even know me” to which I replied “And I’d like to keep it that way, thank you very much.” The guy left in a huff. Then the guy on the other side of him, with whom I’m somewhat acquainted, told me that was his son-in-law and apologized for his behavior.
I should add that this was also the second time I tried the Impossible Burger at that place, although I had taken to calling it the Nothingburger because they’ve been advertising it for some time but couldn’t obtain it and almost took it off the menu. It was just as promised — indistinguishable from real meat. And much less greasy than their regular burgers. However it doesn’t do me a whole lot of good as I’m diabetic and what’s a burger without all the bread and condiments I’m not supposed to be eating. Guess it doesn’t matter if I’m washing it down with alcohol I’m not supposed to be drinking.
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David C. said on June 15, 2019 at 2:51 pm
If the dude read the Mueller report and thinks everything is hunky-dory for tRump, his reading comprehension is shit. As someone whose reading comprehension is shit from dyslexia he should listen to the freebie audio Mueller report from Audible like I am. My guess is he’s lying though. I do feel bad for the man’s daughter though.
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Sherri said on June 15, 2019 at 6:05 pm
In the words of Paul Simon, a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest.
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Minnie said on June 15, 2019 at 6:33 pm
Sherri, lately that phrase has been running through my head. I’d been listening to Emmylou Harris sing Paul Simon’s song, and the phrase stuck with me in a new light.
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Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on June 15, 2019 at 6:35 pm
“You don’t even know me” is a set-up for so many good punch lines . . .
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Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on June 15, 2019 at 6:39 pm
Hamilton didn’t see our current impasse when he was laying out how impeachment would work, and why:
“So far as might concern the misbehavior of the Executive in perverting the instructions or contravening the views of the Senate, we need not be apprehensive of the want of a disposition in that body to punish the abuse of their confidence or to vindicate their own authority. We may thus far count upon their pride, if not upon their virtue. And so far even as might concern the corruption of leading members, by whose arts and influence the majority may have been inveigled into measures odious to the community, if the proofs of that corruption should be satisfactory, the usual propensity of human nature will warrant us in concluding that there would be commonly no defect of inclination in the body to divert the public resentment from themselves by a ready sacrifice of the authors of their mismanagement and disgrace.”
Yeah, you’d think.
https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/fed66.asp
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brian stouder said on June 15, 2019 at 9:07 pm
Jeff, I came around that barn from the other direction, as I’ve been reading “Six Frigates” (by Toll), and the big “XYZ scandal” (etc) from right after our nation’s founding (wherein the French government/Tallyrand demanded a flat-out bribe of $75,000)….it oddly sort of captures the flavor of Trump’s international clumsiness/criminality.
By way of saying, nothing is ever really new, eh?
For the record, I think Speaker Pelosi is handling this whole thing about as well as it can be handled. I (unrealistically) want to see Trump get primaried, and failing that, I want to see him get defeated in November of next year.
Failing that, we will have to face it that – if there is a such a thing as a “Greatest Generation” in American history, so too must there be a “least of these” generation….and we’d be living in the latter
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Dexter Friend said on June 16, 2019 at 3:20 am
Well, Alex, as Wild Bill Hickok told Jack Crabb in “Little Big Man”, “…any damn fool can drink hisself to death.” But then, shee-itt…we all know a few drinks never hurt anybody. And hell, back before any pills had been marketed and insulin was not used to help, why…doctors treated diabetes with grain alcohol. I forget the science in that prescription, but I have heard that from time to time for years. As a type 2, I have kept my A1C results right where they are “good to excellent” with 2 pills a day and eating about anything, just child’s portions, sort of. ~ Pelosi is fucking adamant, I mean gawd-DAMN! She brushes it all off , as you know, wanting no way in hell to take this to the Senate and have those bastards throw it back. And OMG, what about Mrs. and Mr. McConnell? He’s an arrogant blowhard and she’s guilty of not divesting stocks in her gravel and asphalt companies and then trying to cook deals with China to ship road building materiel to China. She’s the Sec’y of Transportation. See where I’m going with this? She was told to divest, agreed to do it…she was questioned later if she had divested yet, she lied and said she had, then she went to China pimping stone and asphalt. And every time shit goes haywire. Mitch McConnell says, “…move on.”
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Suzanne said on June 16, 2019 at 8:31 am
It’s graduation party season and I live around farmers, so we have talked to many of them the past few weeks as we celebrate with grads and their families. The conversation always centers around the unprecedented rain we’ve had and how crops are not in and how farmers have never seen anything like this, even those who have been farming for 30-40 years, or more.
Has there been any mention of climate change as the possible cause? Absolutely not.
This is, after all, Trump country.
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Joe Kobiela said on June 16, 2019 at 10:30 am
Susan,
And we welcome you with open arms.
Don’t we have some one here that has ties to Oberlin college? Any thoughts on the $33 million judgement against the college? Sounds serious.
Pilot Joe
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LAMary said on June 16, 2019 at 3:00 pm
A relative, an inlaw, posted something on facebook about the farming crisis. It was about a speech made by the CEO of Land O’Lakes about how farmers are suffering because the rain and flooding are destroying their crops. This same relative is very pro Trump and does not believe climate change is real. She does, however, think the federal government should provide more help to farmers. Without completely alienating her I can’t comment on what she’s written, but I’m freaking sick of biting my tongue with my family. I have one niece and one grand niece who somehow avoided the family curse.
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