Movies and racism.

You know what makes me feel old? Watching something on TV or in the movies and thinking, “Wow, that guy looks just like William Hurt/Bill Hader/Meryl Streep/etc.,” looking them up win IMDB, and discovering they’re either William Hurt’s son or Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan’s son, or Meryl’s daughter or whoever.

And if you read that right, yes, Dennis and Meg’s son looks so much like Bill Hader that if I were Dennis I’d be checking my back calendars to see whether Bill was working anywhere nearby when young Jack was conceived. Although, to be sure, Jack Quaid looks like a perfect amalgam of both his parents. Maybe Bill Hader is their other son.

William Hurt’s son, Alex, looks freakishly like the old man. And Meryl Streep’s daughters are her virtual twins. It’s almost creepy.

I’m talking about actors and actresses because this is what’s happening in the Bahamas, and I’m trying not to start screaming:

Turning away victims of the worst environmental disaster in years. We lift our lamp beside the velvet rope. And you can’t come in.

Also, this, on the MIT Media Lab quagmire.

Happy goddamn Monday.

Posted at 9:05 pm in Current events, Movies |
 

67 responses to “Movies and racism.”

  1. Peggy said on September 8, 2019 at 11:35 pm

    People who were running for their lives when their houses washed away don’t have their papers handy. Shocker.

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  2. Dexter Friend said on September 8, 2019 at 11:50 pm

    Wanna hear a funny? Asshole neighbor, a 40-something, felon, alleged dope dealer, who does not work and lives with his momma (to save money he butched off nearly all her hair the other day)…well, tonight just 90 minutes ago he flew a cheap-ass drone at full speed into my house; he’s come close all summer and tonight he hit it. I was walking my dog and saw it and screamed “wtf and goddam!”, which resulted in his telling me I didn’t know him and he was going to knock my goddam teeth out and a bunch of other talk, and challenged me to call the cops…but his mother was witnessing this event and she would say nothing happened and the cops would simply drive away. I think threatening an old person, especially a cane-dependent one, is some sort of felony, but he would lie out of it and the cops would not do a damn thing..I know…I have had to call cops before, other issues…nothing ever happened. Now he is outside flashing flashlights around…what a demented prick!~ So anyway, the most stark example of parent-child similarity is actor Alan Hale and Alan Hale, Jr.

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  3. Suzanne said on September 9, 2019 at 8:19 am

    I had never heard of the MIT Media Lab until this boondoggle. Seems like yet another of the Harvey Weinstein, James Levine open secret kind of deal. A female student or someone somehow involved with the lab (missed that part) was interviewed on the news this morning and she said everyone knew.

    Also, does anyone really believe Trump had invited the Taliban to Camp David for talks? I think he made it all up.

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  4. basset said on September 9, 2019 at 8:31 am

    Dhani Harrison, son of George, looks exactly like him… to the point that during the Concert for George Paul McCartney said it looked like George had stayed young and everyone else on stage got old.

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  5. Icarus said on September 9, 2019 at 10:02 am

    Also, does anyone really believe Trump had invited the Taliban to Camp David for talks? I think he made it all up.

    Someone on Face The Nation sure did or at least kept his face straight during the interview. (I think it was Secretary of State Mike Pompeo).

    I don’t believe it for one second. Also, does the Taliban even have official centralized leadership? Who exactly would you invite for that sort of thing.

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  6. Jeff Borden said on September 9, 2019 at 10:10 am

    I hate what our country has become. And I’m ashamed we’ve let it happen so quickly and so easily because of one shameless, loud-mouthed grifter and a supine, sycophantic political party. Caligula is running our nation. I won’t be surprised if he drops Mike Dense and adds a horse as his veep running mate next year.

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  7. Suzanne said on September 9, 2019 at 10:22 am

    If Trump did make up the whole Taliban meeting, who is going to be nuts enough to publicly state that it’s a lie? No one. If they won’t do so about a hurricane that never going to come close to Alabama, they sure won’t about this.
    Taliban fighters are laughing to hard to make a statement about it.

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  8. ROGirl said on September 9, 2019 at 11:04 am

    And let us speculate on the reaction to a headline that reads, “Obama Invites the Taliban to Camp David for Peace Talks.”

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  9. b said on September 9, 2019 at 11:22 am

    This thing with the Bahamian boat passengers is making me think of those sheriff’s deputies who forced black flood victims back across a bridge, away from a white community, at gunpoint during Katrina.

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  10. Bitter Scribe said on September 9, 2019 at 11:23 am

    This thing with the Bahamian boat passengers is making me think of those sheriff’s deputies who forced black flood victims back across a bridge, away from a white community, at gunpoint during Katrina.

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  11. Deborah said on September 9, 2019 at 12:02 pm

    The part of the Ronan Farrow article that I found most shocking was when he quoted a woman who was in the MIT offices when Epstein arrived for a private meeting with two young eastern european models, his “assistants”. The women who worked in the office decided to be extra nice to the girls in case those girls wanted to come forward and reveal that they were with Epstein by force. That was mind blowing, first that Epstein shows up with those girls and second that it was so well known by MIT staff what JE was up to and yet the men in power at the Media Lab took his filthy money. And I call the “assistants” girls because they probably were.

    It has taken me 3 days to clean our place in Chicago because it hasn’t had a good cleaning since March. My husband always leaves the windows open a crack and there was a thin coating of Chicago greasy grime on everything. Our place is always as neat as a pin, meaning everything is put away and straightened up but scrubbing and vacuuming away that grime was a job and a half. Next time I’m away that long I’m going to cover the furniture. I always see that in movies etc, but now I get it.

    LB is still in Chicago, until Thursday. She’s staying at Uncle J’s condo since we don’t have a place to accomodate guests.

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  12. Bitter Scribe said on September 9, 2019 at 12:52 pm

    Sorry for the double post above. I tried to delete the first one.

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  13. beb said on September 9, 2019 at 2:40 pm

    I’ve never had the problem Nancy mentions about seeing young offspring looking just like their parents because I’m reasonably face blind. Wouldn’t know one actor from another.

    Leaving Afghanistan is the right thing to do but it will be a disaster just like the departure from Vietnam.

    Who know that Bermuda was one of those shithole countries Trump hates.

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  14. susan said on September 9, 2019 at 2:45 pm

    Who know that Bermuda was one of those shithole countries Trump hates.

    Well, could you imagine FatNixon wearing Bermuda shorts? Aaaaacckkkkkkkkk……

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  15. Scout said on September 9, 2019 at 3:15 pm

    susan, imagine no more!
    https://imgur.com/gallery/kHlhS

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  16. susan said on September 9, 2019 at 3:43 pm

    That’s FatNixon in his underwear—even worse than Bermuda shorts. Gross gross gross. I’ve seen that pic before. This one might be worse.

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  17. susan said on September 9, 2019 at 3:45 pm

    Didn’t his momma teach him how to sit correctly? Sheesh.

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  18. MarkH said on September 9, 2019 at 4:24 pm

    Nancy and fellow Commentarians – seen this yet?

    https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/10/trump-dynasty/596674/

    Among the many nuggets, King Don was not-so-quietly seething when he learned his ‘idiot/dull knife in the drawer’ son was banging Kimberly Guilfoyle, a previous jonesing target, and he wasn’t. Plus lots of ‘Junior Mint’ vs. ‘Javanka’ intrigue.

    Enjoy.

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  19. Suzanne said on September 9, 2019 at 4:35 pm

    Why look! One of the Family Values’ finest is going the way of all flesh. Not to worry. There is forgiveness…at least for them. For the rest of us, they aren’t sure.
    https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ny-sarah-palin-husband-todd-divorce-20190909-iwkugh2dhjbrvhmjqan3mhzeba-story.html

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  20. susan said on September 9, 2019 at 4:59 pm

    Hey Deborah, I forget, do you vote in New Mexico AND Illinois? (heh heh) Do you get to vote for this person? Holy moly that is a well-produced ad!

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  21. Deborah said on September 9, 2019 at 5:22 pm

    Susan, I’ve voted in Chicago since we’ve had a presence in NM. But I just might switch it around to get to vote for Valerie Plame. I knew she was running a few months ago, wow is that a fantastic ad. She’s divorced from Joe Wilson by the way. She’s running in our district, there are only 3 districts in all of NM. Ben Ray Lujan is the current rep but he’s running for the senate to replace Udall who’s retiring. Everyone is a democrat in NM now, all 3 reps, both senators and the gov, they don’t really need my vote, but same for IL.

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  22. Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on September 9, 2019 at 9:31 pm

    I heard Trump was heading down to Alabama to tour the devastation.

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  23. LAMary said on September 10, 2019 at 9:07 am

    Kimberly Guilfoyle is also the ex wife of the Governor of California. She may have liberal CA cooties.
    I don’t tweet but second hand news says Trump says Mark Sanford banged a flaming dancer. This translates into a typo of flamingo dancer which is what Trump thinks a flamenco dancer is.
    That underpants photo keeps resurfacing and it never disappoints.

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  24. Suzanne said on September 10, 2019 at 12:06 pm

    Bolton is out
    https://www.npr.org/2019/09/10/724363700/trump-fires-john-bolton-in-final-break-after-months-of-policy-divisions

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  25. Deborah said on September 10, 2019 at 12:25 pm

    So Bolton will probably write a book which should come out prior to the election.

    I’m surprised Guilfoyle was married to Newsome. Makes me think less of him, but at least they split. She seems like a power/gold digger.

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  26. Scout said on September 10, 2019 at 12:41 pm

    “Bolton was Trump’s third national security adviser and continued the pattern of departures by advisers who proved a bad fit for a White House led by the rare president with no prior experience with the military, national security or elected office.”

    Dear NPR: Golf clap for that subtle but oh so cutting shade.

    https://twitter.com/ScoutVotesBlue/status/1171203633200762880

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  27. Joe Kobiela said on September 10, 2019 at 1:18 pm

    Kimberly Guilfoyle,
    Wasn’t married to the Governor of California, she was married to the mayor of San Francisco.
    Pilot Joe

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  28. Jakash said on September 10, 2019 at 1:40 pm

    https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/popcorn-gifs

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  29. Connie said on September 10, 2019 at 3:17 pm

    Guilfoyle’s ex, Gavin Newsom was then the mayor of San Fran and is now the governor.

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  30. Deborah said on September 10, 2019 at 3:17 pm

    Typical schmoogy day in Chicago, 90° and humid. This is what I expected to come back to. We had a few surprisingly cool days when I first got back, so that was nice. We’re headed to Uncle J’s house for a few days, where it’s marginally cooler, so that’ll be a little nicer. When we get back to Chicago it’ll be a little better than today.

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  31. LAMary said on September 10, 2019 at 6:23 pm

    Joe, what Connie said. Trust me for cheesy gossip.

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  32. Joe Kobiela said on September 10, 2019 at 8:10 pm

    La Mary,
    No worries
    Pilot Joe

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  33. Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on September 10, 2019 at 9:37 pm

    My wife just sent me this:

    https://i.redd.it/q1299x9rskl31.jpg

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  34. LAMary said on September 10, 2019 at 9:47 pm

    Thank your wife for me JTMMO. I love it.

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  35. Deborah said on September 10, 2019 at 11:19 pm

    We’ll shoot, the republican won NC. Oh well it was a wildly red district, so it’s not super surprising.

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  36. alex said on September 10, 2019 at 11:21 pm

    Pilot Joe as a stickler for facts. Well I’ll be a monkey’s uncle. Guess we’re gonna hafta hold him up to some standards now, even if we forgive the typos/wordos/grammos. Not that it’s difficult getting the gist of what he’s saying so much as the mentation that inspires it.

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  37. Sherri said on September 11, 2019 at 12:19 am

    Don’t forget the misogyny.

    https://www.salon.com/2019/09/10/whats-destroying-democracy-around-the-world-at-least-in-part-misogyny-and-sexism/

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  38. Dexter Friend said on September 11, 2019 at 2:57 am

    Loved the busted roomba but this Dan McCready loss better not become the thin edge of the wedge. This crap of people voting for Bishop as “a vote for our great President Donald Trump” can spread like an aggressive cancer, hellsfire, it is not out of the realm that the repugs could retake the House and retain the Senate and the White House because Trump wormed his way in 3 years ago. Women activists, Latinos y Latinas better get organized, and whites who don’t vote better get the fuck registered and turn out to vote . I do not trust absentee or early voting, personally. I think many get screened and discredited if they are blue tinted. Goddammitt, we must end Trump’s run next year.

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  39. Joe Kobiela said on September 11, 2019 at 8:46 am

    Bless your little ok heart Alex, here I was just trying to help LA Mary retain her good standing in the liberal world because we all know liberals are never wrong.
    Pilot Joe

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  40. LAMary said on September 11, 2019 at 9:27 am

    My liberal credentials are pretty solid, Joe. Knowing Gavin Newsome is governor of California isn’t liberal. I live in California. You might have guessed I had a clue. Even the local Reagan worshippers know who the governor is.

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  41. Heather said on September 11, 2019 at 9:29 am

    Sherri, that Salon article is spot-on. Conservatives are hanging on to a misogynist, patriarchal system by their manicured fingernails because…why wouldn’t they? It’s a system that benefits wealthy white men over everyone else, and they quite rightly fear that they’ll lose their spot at the tippy-tippy top of everything, which most of them gained because of that exact system. And they’ve managed to convince conservatives who aren’t wealthy white men that it benefits them too, in spite of overwhelming evidence that it absolutely does not.

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  42. Joe Kobiela said on September 11, 2019 at 10:38 am

    LA Mary,
    It’s all good.
    Pilot Joe

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  43. jcburns said on September 11, 2019 at 11:27 am

    Pilot Joe: Quite a bit of “it” is good, but smearing liberals (as a group?) for, what, a focus on accuracy and precision? —that’s not good. You’re a pilot. You know that science facts matter. The laws of gravity and thermodynamics: worth paying attention to. When the current president gets all counterfactual, how does that feel to you?

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  44. Joe Kobiela said on September 11, 2019 at 11:35 am

    Jc,
    Of course you have never smeared conservatives (as a group) I was just having a bit of a chuckle with Mary, not trying to be mean lighten up and laugh a bit, just once I would like a happy liberal I never met a happy liberal even when obama was president.
    Pilot Joe

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  45. 4dbirds said on September 11, 2019 at 12:41 pm

    You do know if you don’t say Candy Man’s name three times he doesn’t show.

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  46. jcburns said on September 11, 2019 at 12:51 pm

    That’s correct, I haven’t smeared conservatives as a group! And I’ve seen LOTS of happy liberals out there. I’ve even seen people who are personally happy who do not like the guy in the White House. Tunnel vision isn’t a good mode for a pilot, Joe. Maybe work on your peripheral scan a little?

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  47. Scout said on September 11, 2019 at 1:20 pm

    Gosh, why would someone who claims he’s never met a happy liberal would want to hang out on-line with so many unhappy liberals? It makes no sense, unless that someone finds their own happiness in others’ misery.

    Moving on to a more serious subject, I’m sure I’m not the only one who remembers exactly where I was and what I was doing 18 years ago today.

    On a different and happy note, here is a short video of my great granddaughter eating her first peach. https://www.facebook.com/jeanne.smith.14203

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  48. Jakash said on September 11, 2019 at 1:21 pm

    “we all know liberals are never wrong”

    It may not seem like it, but I try not to engage the troll as much as I used to. But, holy moly, that’s a bit much to take from PJ. Especially coming after a week in which his incompetent, thin-skinned hero quintupled down on making a mistake, then compromised a key government agency, rather than simply admitting it and moving on.

    Uh, liberals are wrong sometimes, of course. Journalists make lots of mistakes, too. The difference is that many liberals and particularly journalists go out of their way to concede and attempt to correct their errors, when they occur and they are pointed out. If only the guy PJ voted in to piss us liberals off was a tad more self-reflective and operated the same way. Maybe he’d have a few less bankruptcies, fired appointees, and tawdry affairs on his list of “achievements.”

    “I never met a happy liberal” Uh, I believe that’s referred to as a self-own.

    https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/congratulations-you-played-yourself

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  49. Heather said on September 11, 2019 at 1:46 pm

    If smearing conservatives as a group means holding those accountable who continue to support this president and his party’s unconstitutional, racist, and cruel policies, not to mention illegal activities, then yeah, I do do this, and I’m not sorry.

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  50. jcburns said on September 11, 2019 at 2:22 pm

    I’d like to think there are conservatives who do not support Trump, his actions and criminality. I hold out that possibility out of..I don’t know…faith in humanity? But meanwhile, the crimes accumulate and the accumulated hypocrisy cannot be denied.

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  51. Jakash said on September 11, 2019 at 2:54 pm

    Stupid, pointless, but it made me laugh.

    “Someone combined John Bolton with Michael Bolton and I can’t unsee it”

    https://twitter.com/Todd_Spence/status/1171598282444853249

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  52. Julie Robinson said on September 11, 2019 at 3:06 pm

    Anything that makes us laugh is neither stupid nor pointless. So thank you, Jackash.

    jc, my mom’s a conservative who despises Trump and feels deserted by the Republicans. She thinks of herself as an Independent these days.

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  53. annie said on September 11, 2019 at 4:17 pm

    to jc: our neighbors, small business owners and life-long republicans, reluctantly voted for Trump. Now they are appalled by him, and may not vote at all next year. I’m working on them to vote democratic to stave off a 2nd term of this idiot.

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  54. Dave said on September 11, 2019 at 7:17 pm

    What the Republican Party pulled today in North Carolina tells folks all they need to know about today’s party. Somewhere, I suspect Coozledad is beside himself.

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  55. susan said on September 11, 2019 at 7:55 pm

    Dave @54, yep.

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  56. David C. said on September 11, 2019 at 9:14 pm

    Republicans aren’t conservatives, they’re radical reactionaries. We haven’t had a conservative Republican President since Ike, at least as far as domestic policy is concerned. His foreign policy, with the help of the Dulles brothers, was pretty shitty and reactionary and helped make many of the problems we’re still dealing with today (Iran, Central American banana republics).

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  57. Deborah said on September 11, 2019 at 9:34 pm

    Omg, the Michael/John Bolton mash up is hysterical.

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  58. LAMary said on September 11, 2019 at 9:42 pm

    Joe, I bet you don’t hang with many liberals. I have a lot of conservatives in my family and while in some ways they’re happy, they also have a lot of fear and hate going on. I don’t. I have to hang with them at times and I just keep it light and walk away when the talk gets too racist or fear mongering.

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  59. alex said on September 11, 2019 at 9:48 pm

    Never met a happy liberal says the man who was a complete grouch when Trump got elected because the world didn’t gush and celebrate his ridiculous choice for a president.

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  60. Dexter Friend said on September 12, 2019 at 12:43 am

    alex…I am still in the Bernie camp, with hopes of a Bernie-Mayor Pete ticket, but I will be happy as hell to see Warren claim the prize, initially to see her debate that repulsive moronic orange bastard. I’ll say again, I have Harris at the bottom of potential candidates because I am totally opposite of her “lock ’em up and sentence the life out of them”, generally speaking, as I am for prison reform, as there must be a better way than what the USA employs, packing prisons way over maximum populace limits. Harris thinks she can get votes by being for law and order, which actually means heavy repression and abolishing all hope. West coast posters, am I wrong about her?

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  61. beb said on September 12, 2019 at 1:55 am

    I like the idea of a Warren-Castro ticket. I think it will take a male on the ticket to sooth the misogynists in the D camp. And Castro as a former cabinet secretary will bring some hand-on experience to the ticket.

    We are still getting commercials about “government rate-setting,” a term most people have never heard, which the ads do not explain but declare that the proposal will close hositals and drive Doctors into… you don’t say what. It’s being funded by an obscure organization of dark money. It’s really creepy and in our area tells people to call Gary Peters (a D) and tell him to vote ‘no.’

    I would like to see Politcal Action Committees (PACs) abolished. All of them.

    If Warren debates Trump I image he will creep up behind her like he did with Hillary. But I doubt that she would allow him to pull that kind of stunt. It would be interesting if she flatly told him him to go back to his chair and sit down. As a former professor I’m sure she has the kind of voice to make it work.

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  62. Suzanne said on September 12, 2019 at 6:43 am

    A Warren-Trump debate would no more move the needle for Warren than it did for Clinton. People who love Trump don’t do so because of his eloquence or great ideas. They love him because he says the crap about minorities and the Democrats and women and all sorts of other stuff that they like to say and have gotten blowback about saying. But see? He is the President and says that crap happily & boldly, so it makes them feel like someone understands them. They think government isn’t working for them (often it isn’t but that’s because they vote in people who don’t want it to work for anybody except those in power) but they don’t want to reform it, they want to blow it all up (that’ll show the libs). Trump is the perfect vehicle for that. They aren’t really thinking past that but not to worry. Everything happens for a reason, dontchaknow,and God will work it out in their favor.

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  63. Deborah said on September 12, 2019 at 8:30 am

    They aren’t thinking… that about says it all.

    Going back to Chicago later this morning.

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  64. Julie Robinson said on September 12, 2019 at 10:25 am

    Just got home myself, need to take my mom grocery shopping and run laundry and pay bills. Back to the slog.

    I’m missing the solar installation in Orlando. They started yesterday with all the pounding. The kitties and I just hunkered down and snuggled for comfort.

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  65. Icarus said on September 12, 2019 at 11:33 am

    Good God, what does this mean?

    https://www.yahoo.com/news/democrats-concerned-judiciary-sets-impeachment-042045608.html

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  66. Sherri said on September 12, 2019 at 12:42 pm

    It means the Dems are feckless.

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  67. basset said on September 12, 2019 at 2:50 pm

    Sherri, any thoughts on this?

    https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/2019/09/12/strongest-woman-world-indy-jessica-fithen-strongman-competition-arnold-sports-festival/2199631001/

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