A powerful lift.

Glad the new design is gaining some fans. J.C., he just does this stuff for fun. He texted me and asked if I was “prepared for the chaos that is a new design,” and I replied “pull the trigger” and the next thing you know? New look. Even Alan likes it. (He didn’t like the last iteration.) Springtime calls for a new look, so a new look it is. And Wednesday is his birthday! But I got the gift.

What shall we chat about today? Zuckerberg Cohen Zuckerberg Cohen Zuckerberg Cohen Zuckerberg Cohen Zuckerberg Cohen Zuckerberg Cohen Zuckerberg Cohen – no, wait. Something else.

Transgender athletes.

I’m particularly interested in hearing Sherri’s take on this, because her social-justice and powerlifting bona fides are sound.

You probably missed this story yesterday, about a trans woman’s effort to win weightlifting gold in Australia’s Commonwealth Games this week. (She didn’t. Injury.) But it started me thinking about all the nuances of transgenderism we still have to deal with, and athletics is a big one.

The story made reference to her testosterone levels being low enough to compete as a woman, and I know T is a big factor in muscular strength, but it’s hard for me to see how a champion male weightlifter isn’t still going to be the best in her weight class, post-transition, all else being equal. How could it not be? Hormones change a lot, but they can’t change everything. Men have more muscle, a different angle in their pelvises. This is one reason I flip right past vapid remarks on trans women’s fashion choices. Don’t tell me about Laverne Cox or Caitlyn Jenner and how great they look in gowns with a high slit; genetic men don’t get cellulite on their thighs. Don’t go on and on about her shoulders; I could lift weights nine hours a day and not get shoulders like that, because they’re the product of XY chromosomes, not work.

All of this is something we’re going to have to figure out if we’re going to fully integrate trans people into stuff like sporting contests. Don’t we?

Or is this just going to be yet another thing we wrestle over forever and ever, and have a big culture war, and end up hating one another even more afterward? I wouldn’t put money on either.

So, then: Zuckerberg Cohen Zuckerberg Cohen Zuckerberg Cohen Zuckerberg Cohen Zuckerberg Cohen Zuckerberg Cohen Zuckerberg Cohen Zuckerberg Cohen Zuckerberg Cohen Zuckerberg Cohen Zuckerberg Cohen Zuckerberg Cohen Zuckerberg Cohen Zuckerberg Cohen Zuckerberg Cohen Zuckerberg Cohen Zuckerberg Cohen Zuckerberg Cohen Zuckerberg Cohen Zuckerberg Cohen Zuckerberg Cohen.

And happy birthday, J.C. Many more, because without you, this place closes up shop.

Posted at 6:28 pm in Current events, Popculch |
 

81 responses to “A powerful lift.”

  1. Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on April 10, 2018 at 7:16 pm

    Hail J.C.!

    (Hey, that has a ring to it . . .)

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  2. Jeff said on April 10, 2018 at 7:19 pm

    Still trying to get the avatar to work properly . . . but now I’m not mild-mannered. Maybe I should just revert to Jeff, since it’s down to me and Cousin Borden.

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  3. Deborah said on April 10, 2018 at 7:36 pm

    Yeah Jeff, your nn.c commenter avatar had a sort of swastika look about it.

    Happy birthday JC!

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  4. Julie Robinson said on April 10, 2018 at 8:14 pm

    Happy Birthday, JC, and thanks a million!

    Here’s a story that is getting overlooked with everything else going on, on Trump’s online store collecting internet taxes. Basically they aren’t, except in three states. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/business/wp/2018/04/09/why-trumps-online-store-collects-sales-tax-in-three-states-while-amazon-does-for-45-states/?utm_term=.873c8bfec834

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  5. Ann said on April 10, 2018 at 11:15 pm

    I like the new look a lot. Thanks, J.C., and happy birthday!

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  6. Sherri said on April 11, 2018 at 12:11 am

    Happy Birthday, JC, and I like the new design.

    The evidence that’s available suggests that transgender athletes do not have a competitive advantage. The hormone treatment a male to female transgender athlete undergoes has both estrogen and a testosterone blocker, and the loss of testosterone has a dramatic effect on the amount of muscle mass. The athletes lose strength and speed as a result of the treatment.

    The entire issue of gender identity and sport has been a fraught one, and even without considering transgender athletes, it’s never been as simple as XX or XY. There are intersex athletes as well, some of whom might not even have been aware that they were intersex until their right to compete was challenged. Having a standard tied to testosterone level, given the impact of testosterone on the body, seems like a more reasonable approach, but that too can exclude some women whose natural testosterone is high.

    The other thing to keep in mind is that all competitive athletes are freaks of nature. Michael Phelps’ body looks like it was built for swimming; he does not look like a normally proportioned person.

    Would I be okay competing against a transgender woman in a powerlifting meet? Yes, I think so. She might have some advantages over me, but I might have some advantages, too – being shorter at a given weight is a good thing in powerlifting, for example. I finally found a sport where only being 5’5” instead of the 5’10” I always wished I were is a plus!

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  7. Dexter said on April 11, 2018 at 1:38 am

    My XM guys on radio today were poking fun at MZ’s haircut and his new suit, saying his hair was cut with a grapefruit spoon and he looked guilty walking into chambers with all the armed guards encircling his sort of perp walk. I have only seen his TV image wearing tee shirts and jeans. They said he looked like the Aurora theater shooter from Colorado. And holy shit…he does.

    Well, I am on the needle. Not insulin, B-12. I cannot absorb B-12 via pills so I must re-start the injection protocol, which starts with daily shots for 5 days before it tapers off to once a month. The RN asked me if I had given shots before and yes, I had, but the last time was in Vietnam. I had totally forgotten all about it. It all came back when I handled the syringe and loaded the medicine and stabbed myself. These ultra-thin needles are totally painless, which is good. In 8 hours I head east again, this time back to Cleveland , transporting Carla Lee to Cleveland Clinic for another of her endless checkups.
    Ricky Gervais has an XM show on CH 99. Today the topic was death and ghosts and life-ending drugs’ availability in different nations…I bring this up because I am a big fan of his and never get tired of his back-and-forth with his show panel on this radio show. Boring he is not.

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  8. beb said on April 11, 2018 at 1:47 am

    I hate things that are new but I did not like the script font used to identify poster. The faux typewriter font is an improvement. What I really like is the font using used for the list of commentors. The last few iterations has squeezed the letters too close together for me to easily read. I’m not fond of the vaguely pink background for posts. To me it reduces the contrast and makes it harder to read. I think I’d prefer the light blue used in the side bar.

    I was going to comment on the Simpson/ Apu issue but it seems like the time has passed. I’ve worked with a lot of Indians when I worked. Some spoke English very well, other barely spoke. They didn’t sound exactly like Apu but not so differently that I thought Apu was being voiced wrong. As for his being voiced by a white voice actor… Contractually voice artist can do several voices during a single session. It’s cheaper to use talent already on the set then to retain one man to voice an occasional character. It’s an arguable point but it’s no different from having men voice the roles of Linda and Tina Belcher on Bob’s Burger. Finally I never thought of Apu as a general Indian but rather as a parody of an immigrant shopkeeper. He was always treated with respect both for his race and his religion. I don’t see that the problem but then as an older white male I do see what the critics were getting act.

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  9. jerry said on April 11, 2018 at 2:33 am

    First off, Happy Birthday, JC – and congratulations on the refreshed design, I think it looks great.

    Picking up on self driving cars from yesterday: I have a concern quite apart from software, which is going to be a nightmare to test. Until the cars become fully autonomous they require some oversight by the “driver”. But the better the software becomes the harder it will be for the driver to maintain proper attention to what is happening.

    There is plenty of experience from industry which confirms the difficulty of people maintaining focus on dials which don’t change as long as all is well but which require immediate action if things go wrong.

    So as long as the software works all will be fine but if intervention is required the human response may well be lacking.

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  10. basset said on April 11, 2018 at 7:59 am

    I’m with Alan, prefer the new look to the previous one.
    Never watched the Simpsons, not even once.
    Preparations for retirement this fall are still inching along, mainly working on a new frame of mind right now.

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  11. Suzanne said on April 11, 2018 at 8:51 am

    I heard a bit of Mark Zuckerberg’s testimony before the Senate yesterday. Best bit was Dick Durbin asking him if he’d mind telling everyone which hotel he was staying in. Zuckerberg of course said, yes, he would mind.
    In few words, Durbin made his case.

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  12. Jenine said on April 11, 2018 at 9:13 am

    I like the new fonts a lot. I agree with beb above that the light blue background gives better contrast. A cromulent Wednesday to all.

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  13. Deborah said on April 11, 2018 at 9:18 am

    Instead of quitting, why don’t the Republicans get responsible? Not that I’m sorry to see Ryan go.

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  14. Suzanne said on April 11, 2018 at 9:21 am

    Deborah, they get their payoff from the Koch Brothers, or whatever other benefactor they have, and then they move on.
    I also think Ryan is realizing that the Democrat, Randy Bryce, running for his seat will likely win and he doesn’t want to face another defeat.

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  15. Deborah said on April 11, 2018 at 9:22 am

    Jennie, what does cromulent mean, when I asked my computer to define, it didn’t know?

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  16. Jeff said on April 11, 2018 at 9:37 am

    cromulent. adjective. Appearing legitimate but actually being spurious : These citations are indeed cromulent. [a word used by the schoolteacher, Miss Hoover, in an episode of The Simpsons, in which she defended one made-up word by making up another]

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  17. Connie said on April 11, 2018 at 9:50 am

    I am not a fan of digital fonts that try hard to look like a typewriter has been used. Let courier go people.

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  18. Dorothy said on April 11, 2018 at 10:12 am

    Happiest of birthdays to you, J.C. Thanks for the gift (to us) of the new website appearance. I especially like how the little (what do you call it? app picture?) appears on my cell and iPad where I have them stored in “Favorites”.

    Deborah you need to use dictionary.com! I see Jeff did when he replied to your ? about cromulent. I think the primary motivation for using that website is when I read some of the words my fellow Nancy-ers use here in comments. I thought I had a pretty good vocabulary but some of you are REALLY stars when it comes to using obscure words. Learning never ends, and that’s one of the reasons I hang out here so much. All of you have made my life much richer and for that I’m grateful.

    Is anyone else glued to Rachel Maddow at night lately? I’ve taken to recording it because Nestle gets us up so GD early, and I need my sleep. But I watch the first segment of TRMS every night now. And lately I’ve been recording it so I can watch the rest in the morning when I have a little knitting time before I go to work. Last night I was getting a little irritated at her looooong intro to Dana Boente and wondered where it was leading. I”m glad I stayed with it. Boy howdy it’s getting interesting….

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  19. Suzanne said on April 11, 2018 at 10:20 am

    Yes, I was watching Maddow last night, like I am most nights. I get why she is the top rated show for that hour. She doesn’t pontificate, scream, yell, or say idiotic things like her competition. She just lays out the evidence.

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  20. Jeff said on April 11, 2018 at 10:20 am

    GOP spokesperson Chip Diller is in front of the media saying “All is well! Remain calm!”

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  21. Suzanne said on April 11, 2018 at 10:36 am

    Paul Ryan is jumping ship, too.
    https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/11/politics/paul-ryan-retirement-house-speaker/index.html

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  22. Jeff Borden said on April 11, 2018 at 10:37 am

    Keep your eyes on what the Orange King does about Syria. He’s looney and stupid enough to believe a nice little war would make all his other problems go away. These are extraordinarily dangerous times and he has mega-war hawk John Bolton whispering into his spray-tanned ear, the same douchenozzle who still argues the invasion of Iraq was a brilliant idea. With the supine Congress refusing to play its part –and the rats like Paul Ryan already jumping the ship of state– there’s not much to prevent the baby-man from launching missiles, which will put us sideways with Russia in a very real and scary sense.

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  23. Deborah said on April 11, 2018 at 10:40 am

    Jenine, I really typed Jenine but autocorrect always wants to change it to Jennie, I don’t always catch it.

    Dorothy, if I come across a word I don’t know while reading, I highlight it and hit define, it usually works well and it’s easier than copying and pasting the word into dictionary.com. Unless there’s an easier way to do that?

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  24. Snarkworth said on April 11, 2018 at 10:43 am

    I love the new design. The font looks so type-y that I expect to see ink buildup in the lower case E.

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  25. Sherri said on April 11, 2018 at 11:01 am

    Doing some more reading on the topic of gender differences, from what I can find, it is the case that most of the differences between men and women with regards to body composition are tied to hormones, and changing the hormones changes the body composition. There is a reason that athletic competitions test for testosterone; taking extra testosterone increases muscle mass, and increased muscle mass is a huge factor in athletic performance.

    Transgender women can get cellulite after hormone treatment. Their muscle mass decreases, and they get more subcutaneous fat on the lower half of their body. Their skin becomes thinner.

    I saw Laverne Cox up close last fall at a reception before an ACLU dinner where she was the keynote. She’s really quite striking and attractive.

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  26. Bitter Scribe said on April 11, 2018 at 11:34 am

    Transgender athletes have been a tough question for a long time. (Anyone remember Renee Richards?) My own feeling is that athletic sanctioning bodies etc. will probably have to set some kind of standard that, no matter what it is, will leave a lot of people unhappy. And I’m not even going to try to suggest what that standard may be.

    Regarding the new design: I always use Courier New to write, so I love it. (Although I switch to Calibri when I turn my stuff in. Mustn’t seem fuddy-duddy.)

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  27. Dorothy said on April 11, 2018 at 11:53 am

    See I had NO idea you could highlight a word and ask to define it. That’s new to me. I just open a page and type in dictionary.com (it goes fast cuz I’ve used it more than once, and my computer remembers it), then type the word. Your way sounds much faster Deborah!

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  28. Deborah said on April 11, 2018 at 12:03 pm

    My favorite font right now is Serifa, it’s a slab serif, not unlike an earlier one called Lubalin Graph (or Graf?), only a little more refined.

    I think the courier font used here in the new format is appropriate for the blog of a writer. Seems fitting. Says a former graphic designer.

    And once again I never knew when it was appropriate to say font or typeface and I was in the biz for over 35 years.

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  29. Icarus said on April 11, 2018 at 12:03 pm

    I like the new nn.c look. Has the idea of new comments being at the top of the page every been brought up? easier from a smart phone but i imagine there are downsides too.

    Going back to the self-driving cars….I think someone (here?) pointed out that they just have to be as safe as human drivers. I suspect that they will have some learning capability just like Alexa.

    For instance, I live near six corners in Chicago. You can only make a left turn from Cicero, not from Irving Park or Milwaukee Avenues, though often enough people do, either because they don’t realize or more likely don’t care. But the question is, how does a Self-Driving car “know” it cannot make a left turn at this intersection, except from one street?

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  30. Sherri said on April 11, 2018 at 12:16 pm

    When mocking the Senators over their questions of Zuckerberg, at least take a moment to mourn the death of the Office of Technology Assessment, a victim of the Republican War on Government, an office hose purpose was to provide Congress information and support on scientific and technology issues.

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  31. Suzanne said on April 11, 2018 at 12:24 pm

    Yes, Sherri, yes.
    https://www.wired.com/2016/04/office-technology-assessment-congress-clueless-tech-killed-tutor/

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  32. susan said on April 11, 2018 at 12:26 pm

    sherri @30 The damned Republican party can’t die fast enough to save this nation. Republican terrorists and morons are a greater threat to us than Daesh could ever be.

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  33. Jakash said on April 11, 2018 at 12:59 pm

    You’ve really gotta hand it to this law-and-order president and his administration for the way their conduct is providing us citizens with ongoing lessons as to how the legal system works. Of course, what they’re mostly being handed is search warrants and indictments, but still…

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  34. Judybusy said on April 11, 2018 at 1:19 pm

    Happy birthday, J.C.! I like the new look–a bit retro in a cool way.

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  35. Sherri said on April 11, 2018 at 3:16 pm

    The Grifter-in-Chief: https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/trump-inc-podcast-trump-company-suing-towns-tax-breaks

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  36. Sherri said on April 11, 2018 at 3:20 pm

    I should also say, thank you, Nancy. It feels really good to have my social justice and powerlifting bona fides called out!

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  37. Sherri said on April 11, 2018 at 3:30 pm

    This is excellent!

    On June 3, Nyerges, two sheriff’s deputies and a moving truck showed up at the local BofA branch. The deputies informed the manager that he could either pay the Nyerges’ legal fees— $2,500—or the movers would start taking away the bank’s furniture and cash. The manager, after conferring with his superiors, gave the deputies a check.

    http://abcnews.go.com/Business/bank-america-florida-foreclosed-angry-homeowner-bofa/story?id=13775638

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  38. beb said on April 11, 2018 at 3:59 pm

    connie@17. The font used for the identity of posters isn’t courier. It’s a faux typewriter. You tell as much because of the uneven lines in the letter which imitate the uneven impressions typewriters make. An electronic courier font would have consistent line width throughout. As for whether it’s a font or a typeface Microsoft lists them as fonts so fonts it is.

    Having passed an emornous wealth transfer tax for his billionaire patrons and having to put up for two years with firebrands, jackasses and white supremacist in the house, I imagine Ryan is thinking enough is enough.

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  39. Icarus said on April 11, 2018 at 4:05 pm

    The Onion nails it as usual

    https://politics.theonion.com/entitled-deadbeat-finally-breaks-out-of-20-year-cycle-o-1825185530

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  40. LAMary said on April 11, 2018 at 6:02 pm

    We’ll always have those hot gym photos of Paul Ryan. I especially like the one where he’s holding a Shake Weight.

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  41. Sherri said on April 11, 2018 at 7:47 pm

    When I said that I thought a Louisville Slugger was a better self defense tool than a gun, I meant a real, full-size one, not the ones they hand out at the end of the tour!

    https://deadspin.com/pennsylvania-school-district-arms-teachers-with-dinky-b-1825178573

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  42. David C. said on April 11, 2018 at 8:09 pm

    Lyin’ Ryan must have some internal polling showing him losing badly. Nobody gives up a dream held since college kegger days to kill Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid that easily. I’m not sure when the filing deadline is, but the Republican running against him in the primary is a full-on Nazi.

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  43. Suzanne said on April 11, 2018 at 9:29 pm

    He’s baaaack
    https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/bannon-pitches-white-house-on-plan-to-cripple-mueller-probe-and-protect-trump/2018/04/11/1ec5b1b2-3d9f-11e8-a7d1-e4efec6389f0_story.html

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  44. Dexter said on April 11, 2018 at 10:46 pm

    My old army buddy is a volunteer weight-lifting official, even doing Olympic qualifiers, and traveling to many venues to officiate. He knows weightlifting. He weighs in: ” Ah, transgender and “gender-different” athletes, now that’s a topic I’ve given much thought. Even posted comments on NY Times some months ago. You may have encountered the name Castor Semenya? “She” is a black S. African who is way too masculine for me to accept as a “legit” woman. “She” has dominated middle-distance running for past few years, and now is joined by at least two other very “suspicious” looking African “women” in almost always being in top few runners to cross the line. I object to “real” women having to go up against them–that was basis of my NYT comments. IAAF, world governing body for Athletics (Track & Field here and in UK), has been wrestling with testosterone levels for a long time now. This is so touchy a topic they keep delaying making new rules, begging for time for more studies. As I’ve stated before, I am completely sympathetic toward the “differently-gendered” and the discrimination they face in straight society. But on the other hand, I seek justice, and I don’t think it’s fair for “real” women to be consistently beaten in competition by “she-men.” That’s why my comments to Times proposed a new, separate competition division for such folks. But the big sticking point is “where to draw the dividing line” when looking at chromosomes and hormone levels. BTW, this topic is only now seeing some discussion in Olympic Weightlifting circles.” /END~

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  45. Sherri said on April 12, 2018 at 12:04 am

    Dexter, your friend is full of shit. “Way too masculine” to be a “legit” woman is just bullshit, I don’t care how much she is dominating. Wayne Gretzky dominated hockey, but no one questioned that. A man can dominate a sport, but let a woman look less than traditionally feminine and dominate, and people start questioning whether she’s a woman. Especially if she’s not white.

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  46. beb said on April 12, 2018 at 1:25 am

    Sherri @41: I agree that for self-defense in a home invasion a baseball bat would be more effective than a gun, but I think a small bat, maybe Little League size would be maneuverable inside a house than the full size Louisville slugger.

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  47. Connie said on April 12, 2018 at 7:59 am

    Nor do I see any light blue as referred to above. dark blue for commenting list, tealish for search box, yellow fade for comments. Same on my ipad and pc. Am I seeing things? Am I not seeing things?

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  48. Suzanne said on April 12, 2018 at 10:50 am

    Interesting. Comments equally interesting. Not much sympathy for this man.
    https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/04/12/how-donald-trump-upended-paul-ryans-plans-217989

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  49. beb said on April 12, 2018 at 11:00 am

    Connie, interesting that your seeing the background color of the comments as yellowish. I wonder if it’s related to the device your using or how people interpret subtle colors. The pale blue people have mentioned is the color of the area outside the comment roster and the search box.

    Suzzane — It is hard for most people to generate any sympathy for Paul Ryan (or most conservatives) they seem to have a unparalleled lack of sympathy for for anyone but themselves. Charles Pierce had it right when he calls him a zombie eyed granny killer.

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  50. alex said on April 12, 2018 at 12:31 pm

    On my Mac on the Safari browser the pinking-shears-looking trim is yellow and on my PC in google Chrome it’s white.

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  51. Scout said on April 12, 2018 at 1:04 pm

    I had a discussion yesterday about Lyin’ Ryan’s sudden exodus. I am in David C’s camp that the internal polling looked grim. My friend (who is a lawyer, so therefore thinks she is always right about everything) insisted it means he’s running for POTUS in 2020. I guess it’s plausible but I think he’s damaged goods after his refusal to stand up to Hair Furor. I guess we’ll eventually find out unless the dotard manages to end us all in the meantime.

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  52. Connie said on April 12, 2018 at 1:27 pm

    I see the same colors on my PC at work as I do on my ipad at home.

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  53. Suzanne said on April 12, 2018 at 1:29 pm

    Scout, it could be both. Grim internal polling and coming back in 2020 to run. Give Trump the matches to burn down the house and then show up with a hammer and saw and condolences to build it back up. Like the guy at Taylor U in Fort Wayne who set the dorm on fire so that he could be the hero.
    https://www.christianpost.com/news/authorities-file-charges-against-student-for-taylor-university-dorm-fire-7788/

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  54. Jakash said on April 12, 2018 at 1:33 pm

    Connie,

    Is this dress gold and white, or black and blue? ; )

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_dress

    To me, the “pinking-shears trim” (fine description, Alex!) is the same color as the rest of the boxes and background upon which they sit; the boxes being as Connie described them. I’d have said the background for the comments is a *very* light blue, with the lines in-between and the comment numbers being tannish. (Firefox browser on PC.) But when I get down to the bottom to actually “leave a reply,” the bottom of the page gradually gets more and more tan, until it pretty much matches the lines in-between the comments. What Burnsish sorcery is this?

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  55. Jakash said on April 12, 2018 at 1:47 pm

    Upon further review, it seems to me that the post is in a tan box. The comments section only has the tan at the bottom and in the lines between the comments. The background for both is actually plain white, but *appears* very light blue due to an optical illusion, because the color of the boxes on the right and the background on the side of the page where they sit, along with the type for the number of characters in a comment and the hyperlinks, are bluish.

    Clearly, this is very important to figure out! Inquiring minds want to know! ; )

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  56. Sherri said on April 12, 2018 at 4:58 pm

    Pay attention to where these talking points show up: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2018/apr/12/teacher-strikes-rightwing-secret-strategy-revealed

    Also, this guy. You couldn’t make up someone this crazy: https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2018/04/11/obesity-not-starvation-real-problem-universities-column/500855002/

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  57. Dexter said on April 12, 2018 at 6:35 pm

    Light piss-yellow bordering white text pad. Works for me.

    As a former ballplayer who failed in my quest to play real paid Organized Baseball, I applaud the 32 year long-time minor leaguer and physics tutor Andre Ingram who has been called up the the LA Lakers. In his first NBA game last night he scored 19. There’s even talk of keeping him around for three more years. He had never been given a big league opportunity because of his slight stature. https://www.reviewjournal.com/sports/basketball/ex-math-tutor-makes-nba-debut-after-10-years-in-minor-league/

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  58. Deborah said on April 12, 2018 at 8:34 pm

    It was in the 70s today in Chicago, yet the weather app on my phone shows that it’s supposed to snow here on Sunday. Yep, it’s April.

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  59. Sherri said on April 12, 2018 at 10:02 pm

    James Comey is a self-righteous prick. He can tell the truth about trump as loudly as he wants, and that won’t change.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/james-comeys-memoir-trump-fixates-on-proving-lewd-dossier-allegations-false/2018/04/12/64493866-3ce2-11e8-974f-aacd97698cef_story.html

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  60. Rana said on April 12, 2018 at 11:12 pm

    I like the new look – clean and spacious. Only complaint is that the main text is small. I’ve had to enlarge 3x to have it be easily legible, which then does strange things to the comment box (which looks enormous).

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  61. alex said on April 13, 2018 at 6:04 am

    Self-righteous prick or no, he kicked that sumbitch where it counts.

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  62. ROGirl said on April 13, 2018 at 11:01 am

    He’s going to go down in history as the man who tipped the election to trump.

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  63. beb said on April 13, 2018 at 2:48 pm

    I think Comey did more to put Trump in the White House than the Russian ever did. The Russians, I think, were basically preaching to the choir. After Comey the biggest factor, IMHO, was the New York Times with its 30 year obsession with both Clintons.

    It’s doubtful that any Republican will primary Trump in 2020. The Trumpaniste will hate anyone who would challenge il Deuce. As for Paul Ryan I think he has made more enemies in the House than allies. His career is over.

    I doubt that I’ll be around to see it, but I suppose Emma Gonzalez for president on 2036. She seems to understand more about politics at 17 than most people do as 67.

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  64. Suzanne said on April 13, 2018 at 3:15 pm

    The Comey book comes out, Scooter Libby is pardoned. Any chance of there not being a bomb or a bombshell dropped by Trump this weekend?

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  65. Jakash said on April 13, 2018 at 3:47 pm

    Silly, but funny:

    “I am bigger than a steak knife, but smaller than a cleaver—maybe I am a fillet knife? I am definitely not a bread knife, though you will try to slice bread with me, and you will curse me as you do.

    Damn me! But you need me.

    I mightily resist cutting potatoes, but so easily I cut your hand.

    Though I do not work well, I work better than the Wi-Fi—sometimes you must search for sources of pride.

    … And so, dull of blade and wobbly of handle, I remain, the only kitchen knife in your Airbnb.”

    https://www.newyorker.com/humor/daily-shouts/the-only-kitchen-knife-in-your-airbnb?

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  66. Sherri said on April 13, 2018 at 4:18 pm

    The enemy of my enemy is not my friend.

    https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a19808876/never-trumpers-republican-party-conservatives/

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  67. jcburns said on April 13, 2018 at 8:36 pm

    Rana, the main text is the same size and font—100% unchanged—as the previous design. Out of my curiosity, what browser and type of device are you using?

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  68. Rana said on April 13, 2018 at 10:23 pm

    Hi JC, I’m running Firefox on a Macbook Pro. Let me get a screen cap for you.

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  69. Rana said on April 13, 2018 at 10:24 pm

    Got it. Shall I email it to you?

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    • jcburns said on April 14, 2018 at 12:46 am

      Kind of you to offer, but Firefox is one of the ones we test it on. Looks good there when you don’t zoom the text. (Which in this day and age, probably isn’t a good idea on any site.)

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  70. beb said on April 14, 2018 at 11:03 am

    The limits of Capitalism…..
    https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/04/curing-disease-not-a-sustainable-business-model-goldman-sachs-analysts-say/

    Curing patients is not a good business model because then you run out of patients needing your cure. Maybe this is why Big Pharma keeps raising the price of their drugs.

    Suzanne wins the internet! Bombs were dropped over the weekend. I’m trying to be sarcastic here but it just comings out sad. Trump’s going to get us all killed yet.

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  71. David C. said on April 14, 2018 at 11:09 am

    Donnie Dollhands got the “Mission Accomplished” banner out of the attic. This is how things were on the ground last time it was unfurled. https://twitter.com/adamdavidson/status/985145755726999552

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  72. Suzanne said on April 14, 2018 at 12:26 pm

    I do feel honored to have won the internet. I was hoping for a bombshell, not bombs. Sad.

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  73. Sherri said on April 14, 2018 at 1:40 pm

    I’m a fan of Sandra Oh, so when I saw an ad for Killing Eve, her new TV show, I recorded it. The first episode aired last week on BBC America, and my husband and I both loved it. It’s a thriller with a dark sense of humor, and all the main characters are women. We’re looking forward to more episodes.

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  74. Julie Robinson said on April 14, 2018 at 5:21 pm

    JC, I have to zoom the text or I can’t read it. My best friend is Ctrl+.

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  75. Sherri said on April 14, 2018 at 7:42 pm

    It’s not going to be Russia that takes him down. That’s nothing compared to the criminality of his entire enterprise.

    https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/michael-cohen-and-the-end-stage-of-the-trump-presidency

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  76. David C. said on April 15, 2018 at 8:07 am

    Is there anyone who thought Engler would be anything but a total pig. I seriously doubt he actually believes Nassar did anything wrong.
    Kaylee Lorincz, a gymnast from Shelby Township who attends Adrian College, was one of the courageous women who took the stand in the criminal trial against Nassar in Ingham County. Doing so forced her to recount abuse that began at age 13 and to endure a painful cross-examination. She previously hoped to remain anonymous, but said her identity was compromised when one of Nassar’s defense attorneys identified Lorincz as her daughter’s gymnastics coach in open court.
    On Friday, at the Board of Trustees meeting, Lorincz described a chance run-in with Engler a few weeks ago when she stopped in to sign up to speak on Friday. She approached Engler so he could put a face to a name. She has been one of the most outspoken survivors.
    “My hope was that if he actually met a survivor he might be more empathetic to what we’re experiencing,” Lorincz said.
    She was accompanied by her mother, Lisa, but was without an attorney when she sat down with Engler, along with MSU spokesperson Emily Guerrant and Carol Viventi, the vice president and special counsel to the president.
    “Mr. Engler looked directly at me and asked, ‘Right now, if I wrote you a check for $250,000, would you take it?’” Lorincz said.
    Lorincz explained to Engler that it wasn’t about the money, but he didn’t seem to understand. Or care.

    https://theathletic.com/313629/2018/04/14/strang-its-time-for-john-engler-to-go-at-michigan-state/

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  77. Jakash said on April 15, 2018 at 3:11 pm

    “Fifty-three percent of whites also say they approve of Trump’s job performance.”

    Uh… Wow?

    http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/383213-poll-trump-approval-hits-highest-mark-since-first-100-days-in-office

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  78. Deborah said on April 15, 2018 at 3:58 pm

    No, just no. What is wrong with this country that 53% of whites think Trump is doing an OK job? Reading that makes me want to puke. Do people not read the papers or watch the news? Trump is a crook, that’s becoming more clear every day.

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  79. David C. said on April 15, 2018 at 4:03 pm

    So much for the master race.

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  80. Jakash said on April 15, 2018 at 4:10 pm

    A masterpiece, from conception to realization, in 2 tweets:

    https://twitter.com/Chagg164/status/985359233569865729

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