Early bird.

I generally work out around 6 a.m. at one place or another, and today, a late cancellation meant I was the only one in boxing class. Woo, personal training! Two rounds on the speed bag, three on the mitts, two on the heavy bag and the usual grueling 12 minutes of core work, and I feel ready to kick anyone’s ass right now.

Actually, strike that. I feel calm and focused. Say what you will about this ghastly sport, but practicing its skills leaves me far more relaxed than yoga does.

So, late update today. I was out last night with a friend, seeing Sam Quinones speak about his book, “Dreamland.” I haven’t read it, but I will, after hearing his riveting tale of how heroin took over America, about the entrepreneurial youth of Xalisco, Mexico, who single-handedly built a ruthlessly efficient distribution network in cities like Columbus, and of course, of the tragedy of Portsmouth, Ohio, ruined first by globalization and later by junk. He talked for more than an hour and basically told the story of the whole book, but I’ll still buy it. It’s an important piece of work.

One of the things he did in that hour was explain his theory of how heroin (and prescription opiates) came along at just the right moment in this country, the key to a lock we didn’t know we had, salving our pain and soothing our anxieties about pretty much everything. He didn’t take questions, but I might have asked him how Donald Trump fits into his harmonic-convergence theory, as he’s doing the same thing. I see he got to it in some fashion on his blog recently, so that’ll have to do.

I also might have asked him about economics, because that’s the other part of our rot, and far more important than us just getting soft and pouty and achy. Portsmouth would likely not have a heroin problem if it still had a functioning economy, a shoe factory and steel mill and the other businesses that kept people working and providing for their families. But some questions don’t have easy answers.

The community center where the event was held exists in a cell-phone dead zone, so it wasn’t until I left that I learned John Kasich had won Ohio, depriving Trump of a coronation, at least for a little while. I heard part of his victory speech on the radio, driving home. Surely he knows he’s dead meat everywhere else, and it seemed to reflect a certain ruefulness over the ultimate result of this charade.

I’m not looking forward to November, not one bit. Who is?

Do I have any linkage for you? Let’s see…

A lot of talk on the national front about the big salvo by the National Review (can’t link to that, paywall), taking aim at the po’ whites of Portsmouth and other members of the GOP base. You can read about a million words about it elsewhere — Google Kevin D. Williamson + gypsum — but I prefer Roy’s, because they’re so amusing.

Stephen Henderson, locally, is more measured, and quotes one of the original essay’s say-amen-brothers:

“Simply put, Americans are killing themselves and destroying their families at an alarming rate. No one is making them do it. The economy isn’t putting a bottle in their hand. Immigrants aren’t making them cheat on their wives or snort OxyContin. Obama isn’t walking them into the lawyer’s office to force them to file a bogus disability claim.”

The economy isn’t putting a bottle in their hand? Spoken by a man with a sinecure at the National Review.

Rubio’s out, but I’m still glad I read this piece about him, in a home-state newspaper. A very small man in many ways, it turns out.

OK, time to make the donuts. Happy hump day, all.

Posted at 7:44 am in Current events |
 

60 responses to “Early bird.”

  1. brian stouder said on March 16, 2016 at 8:48 am

    A very small man in many ways, it turns out.

    a pre-emptive thread-win!

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  2. Peter said on March 16, 2016 at 9:06 am

    Yesterday I was an election judge in Chicago, and I think we have a problem.

    They had predicted turnout would be about 30%; without even counting early and absentee voting, we were well over 50%.

    The precinct I was working is in a pretty affluent area – mostly college educated, a lot of mid management city employees. The Republicans in this area fall into two categories – your Tea Party whack group, and the rest who would vote for John Katich but he’s just way too conservative for their tastes.

    Trump won the precinct and the three others at the polling place – by a yuge amount. He would have won by even more except that you have to pick a party ballot, and people were torn between getting a Republican ballot for the top race and the Democratic ballot for the local races – and we had a couple of competitive local races.

    I had 8 people who wrote Trump in for president on the democratic ballot. People wrote Trump in for senator and US representative. Trump got almost as many write in votes for the local Republican ward committeeman than the candidates.

    That, after all of the advertising exposing him for the fraud that he is. That, in an area with educated people who don’t have to worry about illegal immigrants and foreign trade, who don’t have children in the military, who have well paying jobs or on generous pensions. And, this result from someone who couldn’t have spent much money in Illinois. I didn’t see a single Trump ad, not one button, T-shirt, or Chinese made Make America Great Again baseball cap. I saw a single billboard – all it said was Donald Trump – that’s it!

    Someone’s going to have to talk me back from the ledge.

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  3. john (not mccain) said on March 16, 2016 at 9:24 am

    Heard a Trump supporter interviewed on Morning Edition (couldn’t find a link – they must not post separate stories while it’s still airing). She said she doesn’t believe him when he makes all those awful promises about immigrants and Muslims. She sounded like an otherwise intelligent and educated person. But she’s openly stating that she wants a person she herself believes to be an untrustworthy liar to be President. I don’t get it.

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  4. Heather said on March 16, 2016 at 9:27 am

    John (not mccain), I’ve heard the same phenomenon. I was listening to a Trump supporter who called in to the local NPR station and he said something like “He’s not going to actually do all that crazy stuff.”

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  5. Suzanne said on March 16, 2016 at 9:45 am

    The National Review bits are interesting because the magazine ran an article recently (https://www.nationalreview.com/nrd/articles/431154/oxy-overdose — which you can’t read due to firewall)about heroin addiction in middle America. The author blames it mainly on the over prescription of opioids. I read it and it amazed me for its lack of blame of the victim but because of prescription abuse, the easy availability of heroin, and lack of economic opportunity. I thought perhaps they had changed their tune, since this drug problem was now out of the inner city and into farm country, but I believe I may have been mistaken. From what was linked to here, “Pull yourselves up by your foreign made bootstraps, you losers!” is still apparently the mindset of NR.

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  6. Charlotte said on March 16, 2016 at 10:51 am

    My cousin and her husband lost their 26 year old son to opiates 2 weeks ago. They did everything they could for him — multiple rehabs (pretty much bankrupted themselves), supported him every way they knew how. He’d been doing really well, but a few minor setbacks and he bought something off the street and he’s gone. Only child, only grandchild. Broken hearts all the way around.

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  7. basset said on March 16, 2016 at 11:33 am

    Trump and disease, sorry about the long link:

    http://www.psmag.com/politics-and-law/how-germs-help-explain-the-rise-of-donald-trump?utm_source=Pacific%20Standard%20Newsletter&utm_campaign=adc6bd904c-daily-rss-newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_a4fd1bcb7e-adc6bd904c-76436577

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  8. brian stouder said on March 16, 2016 at 12:03 pm

    OK, I admit it – low-hanging fruit is my specialty.

    So I heard about the president’s nomination of a new Justice for the Supreme Court, and I went to Fox News (Low Hangin’ Fruitopia!)

    and saw this headline:

    PICKING A FIGHT? Obama taps DC judge for Supreme Court slot, defies GOP vow to block appointment

    Isn’t that amazing? The president does his job – and it is taken as “picking a fight”?

    http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/03/16/obama-reportedly-to-make-supreme-court-nomination-as-early-as-wednesday.html?intcmp=hpbt1

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  9. MichaelG said on March 16, 2016 at 12:44 pm

    Scalzi has a pretty good take. He voted for Kasich as well. http://whatever.scalzi.com/ It sure seems as if cross over voters put Kasich over the top in Ohio. That’s not going to get him the nomination.

    Rubio’s young. He’ll be back.

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  10. alex said on March 16, 2016 at 12:47 pm

    LMFAO:

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trumpuniversitymascot-is-the-hashtag-game-trump-deserves_us_56e87b7fe4b0b25c9183b54b

    My fave is the Trumpeters!

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  11. MichaelG said on March 16, 2016 at 12:51 pm

    Obama made a great speech this AM. So did Garland. They really laid it out for the Repubs in the senate. Also Garland put it right out in front that he’s Jewish. That should forestall whispering campaigns. How can the Repubs be for Israel and against Garland? I hope the Dems really keep the pressure on. This is going to be fun and a real vulnerable issue for those Repubs who are running this year.

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  12. Suzanne said on March 16, 2016 at 12:56 pm

    I do want to read the Quinoines book. I just read about it last week. It looks interesting & slightly terrifying.

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  13. Deborah said on March 16, 2016 at 1:12 pm

    Hilarious link, Alex at #10.

    While reading the Rubio piece that Nancy linked to, I was blown away that Rubio started his college career at Tarkio College in Missouri. It’s a two horse college in NW Missouri, my grandmother went there probably about the same amount of time as Little Marco. She dropped out and married my grandfather much to her parents’ dismay.

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  14. Jeff Borden said on March 16, 2016 at 1:24 pm

    So, how in the hell have we arrived at a place where a lying narcissist billionaire with a comic combover and the same grasp of policy as your average 4th-grader is likely to be the Republican presidential nominee? Certainly, the conservative movement deserves much, if not most, of the blame. Decades of government bashing, creation of an entire “news” universe impervious to facts that run counter to its viewpoints, pitting themselves against the “others,” whether black or Hispanic or Muslim or gay or urban or highly educated and playing Lucy to a conservative Charlie Brown, promising to end abortion or put prayer back in schools but always yanking the prize away. The racial dog whistles. . .although in Trump’s case, it’s more like a bugle call.

    But don’t Democrats deserve some blame? What have liberals proposed that might address the chronic problems affecting so many of America’s lower class? It was our president, Bill Clinton, who pushed NAFTA and helped remove Glass-Steagall with disastrous results across the board. Most people would rather have a decent job than universal health care, but what have Democrats concentrated on? The current party standard bearer is as tight with Wall Street as Trump is with his spray tanner.

    Sometimes, I wonder if Obama didn’t err by focusing on the ACA instead of job creation. What if instead of universal health care, he had pushed and prodded the recalcitrant GOP to embrace a huge infrastructure program paired with some sort of initiatives to repurpose aging or outdated industries into something better prepared for the future? What if he had take up a populist cudgel and called for tax breaks for job creation within the U.S. and severe penalties for offshoring?

    We’re in dangerous waters. And, damn, but is this playing terribly all over the world. Jean Le Pen and Geert Wilders could only dream of ascending to the leadership of France and the Netherlands. Trump may actually pull it off. It’s too scary to think what might happen if he prevails.

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  15. Jakash said on March 16, 2016 at 2:48 pm

    From the witty Twitterer “OhNoSheTwitnt”:

    “Fitting that Marco Rubio aborted his campaign not because it was it was his choice but because some men decided for him.”

    Peter @2,

    I agree that that’s scary. It’s amazing to me that, evidently, Rump did almost exactly as well in Chicago as statewide, with just under 39% of Republican votes. Still, while he continues to nudge up the percentage that represents “peak Trump”, that’s hardly a landslide.

    But, even having watched it happen, I’m stunned that the realityTVization of this country has progressed to the point that a guy with no political experience at all, most famous for sullenly and smugly barking “You’re Fired” at people in a nation where many are very concerned about employment, appeals to this number of actual voters.

    Have to agree with Peter Sagal’s (host of NPR’s “Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me”) recent suggestion:

    “Godwin’s Law is now suspended until conditions improve.”

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  16. brian stouder said on March 16, 2016 at 2:49 pm

    I’ll just say it:

    Hillary Clinton will knock the stuffing out of that guy.

    When she’s done with him, he’ll be bleeding from his…wherever

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  17. Jeff Borden said on March 16, 2016 at 2:57 pm

    I wish I shared your confidence, Brian.

    There’s an interesting piece on the Rolling Stone magazine website about what will happen to all these angry white folks if and/or when Trump does fall. The writer suggests they might morph into something very, very, very bad and ugly. . .renegade vigilantes. . .targeting those they blame for their woes. Imagine Cliven Bundy times several million.

    That’s what is so insidious about Trump. He’s already done great damage to our country.

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  18. Mark P said on March 16, 2016 at 3:52 pm

    Way back when the middle class was doing OK and it was African-Americans who were plagued by drugs, alcohol, unemployment, welfare and whatnot, it was, according to the conservatives, clearly a personal failing on their part. Now we find out that poor economic conditions make white people into personally-failing losers. Paul Krugman has a post on that subject today.
    http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/03/15/return-of-the-undeserving-poor/?module=BlogPost-Title&version=Blog%20Main&contentCollection=Opinion&action=Click&pgtype=Blogs&region=Body

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  19. brian stouder said on March 16, 2016 at 3:55 pm

    It’s the (evergreen) “mudsill” school of political thought; lots of big waves to surf, when you put voters’ worst personal fears ‘on the ballot’ – so that they can shout-out their private/secret/much-denied anxieties in the privacy of the voting booth

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  20. St Bitch said on March 16, 2016 at 5:24 pm

    I knew Obama would find the perfect bait…now he and his posse are goin fishin…

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  21. Deborah said on March 16, 2016 at 5:31 pm

    I’m with Brian, I think Hillary’s going to win but let’s all be scared enough to get everyone riled up to vote for the anti-Trump. Personally, I think Hillary had a great run as the Sec of State, there were all kinds of memes out there about her being really savvy and smart, let’s bring those back, because she is.

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  22. Andrea said on March 16, 2016 at 6:01 pm

    Jeff @14, but don’t you think that being healthy is a prerequisite for many things in life, including education and employment? It seems so fundamental, to be able to have health insurance, and to access health care reliably, that then you could have a better chance at achieving your potential. I know that lack of affordable health care, and preexisting conditions had kept lots of people from pursuing their dreams, or starting their own businesses, before the ACA. My husband, for example, had a preexisting condition that prevented him from buying health insurance on the open market before the ACA. Now he has his own business and health insurance. It’s a safety net that is tied to employability and jobs…

    It is difficult to play coulda, woulda, shoulda with what needs to be done. And I don’t disagree with you that we need to do a lot more about low-wage employment and the new economy. I just don’t think Obama did nothing in that regard, by focusing on the ACA.

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  23. Sherri said on March 16, 2016 at 6:10 pm

    I like that the National Review crowd thinks that the problems of working class whites can be attributed to a lack of morality. As it turns out, I can agree somewhat with them; I think that the corporate boards and CEOs have behaved immorally, and the Republican elites (with help from Democrats, no question) have pursued policies to enable and promote their immoral behavior. I think that putting short-term stock price and shareholder return above everything else has been damaging to the economy and the country. Offshoring is not a requirement of free trade; it cuts expenses but hurts future revenues, by slowly destroying your biggest market. But cutting expenses always gives you a boost in the stock price in the short term.

    I won’t even get into the tax policies and outright tax evasion that I think is immoral and has been destructive to the foundations of our country.

    So, yes, I think there is lack of personal responsibility and morality going on here, just among a different set of people.

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  24. Heather said on March 16, 2016 at 6:16 pm

    Amen, Sherri!

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  25. Jolene said on March 16, 2016 at 6:27 pm

    I hope the Dems really keep the pressure on.

    You can help. Call Mitch McConnell, Senate Majority Leader, Sen. Charles Grassley, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary a Committee, and your own senators.

    Demand that the Senate hold hearings and vote on Garland’s appointment. Tell that the idea of waiting for a new president to appoint the next justice so that “the people can have a voice” in the decision is bogus. The people have already had a voice in the election of Barack Obama. Tell them you are looking for them to have the courage to do the right thing.

    Google will get you the phone numbers of McConnell, Grassley, and your senators.

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  26. Joe K said on March 16, 2016 at 7:03 pm

    Just throwing this out there. There has been a lot of talk of Trump running as a independent, however what would happen if Bernie ran as a independent?
    Or if bothTrump and Bernie ran independtly.
    Any chance? Anyone?
    Pilot Joe

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  27. Julie Robinson said on March 16, 2016 at 7:32 pm

    Charlotte, my heart goes out to your family on the loss of your cousin’s son. I’ve seen firsthand how heartbreaking it is when your loved one is addicted, you spend years helping, then lose them anyway. A dear friend is still reeling, her husband is bereft, their other child angry at everything. Legally prescribed originally after being in a car wreck, went through rehab and clean for years, then one mistake and it was the end. Their pain will never end.

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  28. Deborah said on March 16, 2016 at 7:32 pm

    I think Bernie is smart enough not to run as a third party candidate, but I wouldn’t put it past Trump at all. I think Trump would siphon off many more R votes than D votes. So it’s a suicide move. IMO, but what do I know.

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  29. Jolene said on March 16, 2016 at 7:38 pm

    Season 4 of The Americans begins tonight at 10:00 PM EDT on FX.

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  30. St Bitch said on March 16, 2016 at 7:52 pm

    Joe @26 – As a longtime Independent, Bernie made a strategic decision to run under the auspices of the Party machinery to avoid a Ralph Nader spoiler fate. He’ll stick with that decision and soldier on.

    I still think Trump is gonna go rogue after being maneuvered out by the GOP

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  31. Charlotte said on March 16, 2016 at 7:54 pm

    Thanks Julie — sadly, our family has too much experience with losing kids, but each one is heartbreaking in totally different ways. I’m glad I’m going home next month. I couldn’t get there for the funeral, and it was very upsetting.
    Scared me to death with the ankle surgery — I come from a long line of drunks and addicts — got off the opiates as soon as I could. And they sent me home with so MANY of them.
    Montana has much more of a meth problem than an opiate problem these days, but Livingston is in the middle of a suicide spike — 4 people last month, 2 of them high school kids.

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  32. Sherri said on March 16, 2016 at 8:11 pm

    A friend who recently underwent surgery and didn’t want to deal with opiates instead took advantage of legal marijuana here for managing his post-op pain.

    I don’t have a good sense for how big the opiate/heroin problem is around here, but it does exist. We’ve had several rashes of car prowls and house break-ins that have usually been perpetrated by a heroin addict looking for something to sell, often someone who lives in the neighborhood.

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  33. Charlotte said on March 16, 2016 at 9:22 pm

    I will admit to availing myself of a way-too-potent pot brownie that Himself’s hippie friend made — a tiny slice puts me to sleep every night. (I’m also a pot lightweight.) Seems more manageable to me than opiates …

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  34. Deborah said on March 16, 2016 at 10:08 pm

    I just got out of the Animation Show of Shows at the Cocteau Theater in Santa Fe. It’s 11 animated shorts, some were up for Oscars and it was fantastic. I highly recommend it if it comes to your city. It’s what Little Bird saw Sunday night when she met Neil Gaiman and Amanda Palmer. She went with me tonight. Go see it.

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  35. Heather said on March 16, 2016 at 10:38 pm

    I got Vicodin a few times, but I didn’t see the appeal. My ex was a big pothead and I didn’t really get that either. I just end up feeling spacey, and it’s pretty boring. However, I did get some awesome muscle relaxants for a broken shoulder once. I wouldn’t mind getting more of those to use occasionally.

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  36. Deborah said on March 17, 2016 at 12:00 am

    Any painkillers I have ever been prescribed have only made me nauseous, so I never take them. I’ve had minor surgery a few times but the pain hasn’t been that bad, thankfully. I have had pot a few times and it makes me paranoid. So I guess my drug of choice is alcohol, mostly in the form of red wine. I do like my wine.

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  37. MichaelG said on March 17, 2016 at 12:24 am

    I’ve had a couple of surgeries what with this cancer business. They always send me home with a jar of pain pills. For whatever reason, I haven’t had a pain problem and haven’t taken any of the pills. Several years ago I broke some ribs and I took pills then and they worked exactly as advertised. They relieved my pain but didn’t get me high. The docs always ask me if I have pain and offer me pills. I always decline. I’m sure that in a while when I get towards the end stage I’m going to want lots of pain relief but in the meantime, I’ve just flushed the pills down the toilet. I know, I know. So sue me.

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  38. Jolene said on March 17, 2016 at 1:31 am

    How are you doing lately, MichaelG?

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  39. Jakash said on March 17, 2016 at 1:53 am

    I realize that much of “real” America thinks it’s a liberal hell-hole, but how ’bout a little credit where due? According to Chicago Magazine, “Of the 760,355 votes cast for president in Chicago yesterday, 4.3% went for Donald Trump.”

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  40. Sherri said on March 17, 2016 at 2:44 am

    Vicodin and its relatives never held the appeal of alcohol to me, so I’ve never been worried about addiction to them. When the doctor prescribes them after surgery, I take the bottle, and use them so that I can be up and moving after the surgery as soon as possible. I know I should throw them out afterwards, but I don’t, because I need something on hand for the occasional migraine that Imitrex doesn’t stop. they also came in handy today when I bent over to tie my shoes before my workout this morning and my lower back spasmed. No workout for me today, sigh.

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  41. Suzanne said on March 17, 2016 at 6:50 am

    I took one Vicodin after getting my wisdom teeth removed years ago but it made feel queasy, so I switched to Tylenol. When my kids had their wisdom teeth removed, they got prescriptions for Vicodin, at least 20 pills each. I found the number odd. If the pain from teeth extraction is that bad that you are still guzzling strong pain killers a week later, probably something is wrong and you need to revisit the oral surgeon. I still have a nearly unused bottle in the cupboard because the kids took only one or two and then, like me, switched to Tylenol.

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  42. alex said on March 17, 2016 at 7:25 am

    In my work reviewing personal injury claims, I can tell you that it’s not at all uncommon to find claimants who are already chronic pain management patients receiving multiple opioid medications. Typically they receive both long- and short-acting drugs like Opana and Vicodin, respectively, along with muscle relaxers, antidepressants and anxiolytics — all highly addictive drugs and in quantities that would astound most people. I often get the impression that they sue for personal injury just so that they can milk it as an opportunity to keep receiving drugs. I’m skeptical of their subjective complaints of pain given that the pre- and post-accident complaints are often indistinguishable in the medical records and when they’re higher than God 24/7 how do they feel any pain anyway?

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  43. ROGirl said on March 17, 2016 at 7:43 am

    I got tylenol 3s after foot surgery. I took them for a day and I remember having to lie on my bed because the room was spinning. When I called my doctor and told him what was happening he told me to stop taking them, so I did.

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  44. john (not mccain) said on March 17, 2016 at 9:15 am

    The only time I ever tried to use marijuana for pain was when I injured my back about 20 years ago. It made it much worse, but maybe that’s just me or because it was bone-related pain. That’s certainly the only time it ever made anything worse.

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  45. Jolene said on March 17, 2016 at 9:32 am

    Alex, I don’t think anti-depressants or anxiolytics are usually considered addictive drugs. People adapt to them and may have withdrawal symptoms, but they don’t build up tolerances in the sense that more and more of the drug is required to produce the same effect.

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  46. Julie Robinson said on March 17, 2016 at 10:13 am

    Pivoting a bit, my daughter shared her experience working at a voting center in Orlando: they had to turn away over 100 (625 total voted) people because they hadn’t declared Democrat or Republican 29 days in advance of the primary. Many were very upset and challenged her, even when she called the election board, where they provided scans of people’s registrations clearly showing which boxes were marked.

    The scans were also helpful for those who thought they had registered but had left an area blank, so the applications were considered unfinished. She did a lot of education, telling everyone they had to follow up with a phone call if they didn’t get a letter in the mail showing their registration status.

    Her biggest concern was people who had registered to vote at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles or at events, whose registrations had never been processed. Some were as long as a year ago. Willful exclusion or simple incompetence?

    She also had someone who last voted in 2008 and didn’t realize she’d been removed from the voter rolls, was out of the country and says she didn’t receive a letter from the state.

    Other polling places ran out of ballots and requested extended voting hours, but the Republican governor declined.

    All in all, it seems the state of Florida has put up plenty of barriers to voting. You have to be educated and determined. Draw your own conclusions.

    And BTW, this was just for the Presidential race–they have another primary in August for the other positions. Don’t they know these elections cost money to run?

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  47. Dorothy said on March 17, 2016 at 11:07 am

    Michael G please, please don’t flush pills down the toilet. That’s not good for the sewage system. Many police departments have bins in their offices where you can put pills in a zip loc bag. Then, much like a library chute for returning books, or a mail box, you put the bag of pills in there and they slide away to a protected area. I’ve had someone tell me y ou can also mix pills in with kitty litter, coffee grounds, or some other unpalatable medium and put them in the trash.

    http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/BuyingUsingMedicineSafely/EnsuringSafeUseofMedicine/SafeDisposalofMedicines/ucm186187.htm

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  48. Deborah said on March 17, 2016 at 11:12 am

    Speaking of voter registration, I’ve voted by mail in the last couple of elections because I claim Chicago as my residence and vote there, but I happened to be in Santa Fe at the time of the elections. My husband received a new voter registration card in the mail a couple of weeks ago but I didn’t (in Chicago). So now I’m wondering if I’m no longer registered in IL because I’ve voted from NM so many times? I’m not going to do anything about it until our move across the street in Chicago because I have to change addresses on everything. At that point I’ll inquire about my status and correct it if it’s messed up. I have considered changing my residence to NM for political reasons but really IL and NM are both blue states so it doesn’t make much difference. They both have Republican governors right now which is interesting. Also at this point I’m spending more time in NM than IL because of the weather, so I’ve been thinking about it.

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  49. Jolene said on March 17, 2016 at 12:37 pm

    Fans of Happy Valley may be interested to know that Netflix has released a second season.

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  50. alex said on March 17, 2016 at 1:39 pm

    Jolene, Valium and Xanax are both addictive. You’re correct as antidepressants go.

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  51. MichaelG said on March 17, 2016 at 1:57 pm

    Hanging in there, Jolene. We’ll see how it goes.

    Here’s your good guy, the reasonable John Kasich: http://gawker.com/reminder-john-kasich-is-also-evil-1765357335

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  52. brian stouder said on March 17, 2016 at 2:15 pm

    MichaelG – true about Kasich.

    The national right-wing lip-flappers (shit-for-brains Sean and Oxy-Rush, for two examples) amongst others actually seem (to me) to be almost hoping that Trump DOES get deprived of the nomination, since they will then have their “lost cause” talking point, for the next several years.

    I’m almost ready to say – I hope the Donald does get the nomination.

    I believe Secretary Clinton is what the R’s used to call themselves – “the adult in the room”; and I think she’ll steam-roll the Donald – and the lip-flappers will be left with a weak-tea excuse, such as “Donald woulda won, if we’d a rallied around him sooner

    Much less satisfying for them, then to nurse the idea that “we was robbed” for the next 4 years

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  53. Dorothy said on March 17, 2016 at 2:16 pm

    This story is the one about Kasich that will stay with me forever. If he wanted to call someone an idiot he just had to look in a mirror.

    http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2011/02/17/17-kasich-idiot-meeting.html

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  54. BethB from Indiana said on March 17, 2016 at 2:31 pm

    After an eleven-day stint in rehab following lumbar fusion surgery in 2013, the doctor who was signing off on me leaving (the only time I’d seen him!!), gave me an RX for 100 10-mg Hydrocondone. I couldn’t believe the amount. My husband got it filled for me, and I think I took the recommended dosage for several days then quit.

    After hip-replacement surgery the following summer, I was again prescribed Hydroconone. This time I kept a diary of the exact times I took the stuff and how much, and I was able to taper off about the same time I started sleeping in bed again instead of upright in a recliner, so I was probably on them for about two weeks.

    I still have the mostly full bottles, and I intend to hang onto them in case I need them some day in the future when my MS becomes too awful to live with. At least that is what I tell myself. When the time comes, I’ll probably be too chicken to do anything.

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  55. Connie said on March 17, 2016 at 2:51 pm

    Butler 71 Texas Tech 61 ! Go Dawgs!

    Hydrocodone is Vicodin and I have three unused expired bottles in the back of my cupboard. Three different strengths: 5, 7.5, and 10. Usually given to me by dentist, I rarely take any. Though I did get a brand new bottle of size 5 the other week due to a very odd and painful infection of my OUTER ear. Ever have your ear swell up and turn red? Hurt like hecky darn. 🙂

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  56. A. Riley said on March 17, 2016 at 3:06 pm

    Deborah #48, you can check your voter registration status and re-register (if needed) here: http://www.chicagoelections.com/en/your-voter-information.html

    I’m sure a few of us here used to spend our election nights toiling in the newsroom until all hours. I used to work for City News Bureau of Chicago long ago and I used to spend six weeks before each election (and we elect people all the d@mn time) organizing how we were going to report all those numbers out to the newspapers and tv stations, and then each election night making sure they got out as quickly and accurately as possible — and O M G, it’s *so* much more fun to spend election night at home on my sofa with a glass of wine, a pair of cats, and thou (as I said to my spouse).

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  57. Jerry said on March 17, 2016 at 3:25 pm

    Jolene @49 Happy Valley season two has just finished here, Tuesday. We enjoyed it greatly. Not sure it’s quite as good as season one but still better than much that appears.

    The last episode wraps up all except one story point with one incident that really took us by surprise. Some great performances but sometimes the discussion was so muted that we resorted to subtitles to be sure we were getting everything.

    Recommended.

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  58. Dorothy said on March 17, 2016 at 4:10 pm

    We subtitle so many shows these days, Jerry. British shows are a definite because sometimes they use slang we don’t know and don’t recognize – seeing it spelled out helps considerably. Mostly we use closed captioning because when the music swells it’s too damn loud, so we turn it down. Then you miss dialogue if you do that. Damned if you do; damned if you don’t as my mom used to say.

    For my thumb joint replacements and my knee replacement I used the pain killers just as long as I needed to – maybe 3 days. Something made me itch so I’m allergic, but dang if I can remember what the name is. I told the doctor at the time so I trust they kept it in my file for future reference. After three days or so I didn’t use them anymore. I either have a high tolerance for pain, or just over the counter stuff works fine after I got over the initial Big Hurties.

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  59. Kirk said on March 17, 2016 at 6:20 pm

    I have found Vicodin to be helpful in dealing with nasty pain. I also can see why some people get hooked. It doesn’t make you feel wasted; it just puts you in a better, happier frame of mind. In 1998, I had a long-term pinched nerve in my neck that caused me a lot of pain in the neck, shoulder and arm. One joint + one Vicodin made for a quite effective pain treatment.

    As for flushing opioids, measurable levels have shown up in some water supplies.

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  60. Deborah said on March 17, 2016 at 8:50 pm

    Thank you A. Riley, your link tells me I am in good standing. So now I just need to change my address when we move in a month or so. It should be the same polling place since it’s right across the street from where we are now, unless we are on the edge of a precinct or something.

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