I took a nap this morning (we wake up around 3ish or 4), and I dreamed that I hugged Trump. What the dream told me was how much sensory appeal he has for people, like those awful magazines at the check-out counters in supermarkets. It's all sensory and romantic conflict. While to me Trump looks like an amiable orangutan, he with all his sensationalism, body language, gestures, narcissism, arouses the senses. It's not surprising because our commercials have been doing that for decades: selling beauty, sex, wealth, entertainment. It was a kind of realization. He's t he big daddy who will compliment you, hug you, pay for your lunch, and assure you that he's taking care of everything.
Oh, I do hope we the people can see through this mythology.
Particulates in the air from wildfires from California, to Utah, to Arizona, to Colorado. The air hazy, our voice thick with phlegm.
Thank you, Puddle, for the new thread. Maybe that's what made me dream. A grin here.
I try to remember that if 100IQ is average, that half our population falls below that. 80 is pretty nonfunctional (as experienced in my extended family). Below that, I doubt they could find their own underpants, so they're not voting. Top 10% 120+, top 1% 135+. Any of these people vote. What the lower half calls thinking, I really haven't a clue.
Which basically means that Trump IS electable, with or without the help of the Democratic party. It may be a joke that it is so, but it IS so.
The constitution we were given is a pretty rugged little document, and normally one man, president or not, wouldn't endanger that (witness Reagan and W). But the underpinnings have been gnawed at and weakened for nigh on forty years. One party, starting with Nixon, has been working the hate side of the street for long. For about the same amount of time the electronic media have been nibbling on the electorate's ability to even *think*--in recent years school boards have been moving against classes that teach students to think critically, i.e., question (parental) authority. . . .
Hope? Not much. Seems to me that most peeps are in for one election, and if it doesn't go their way, they're off. Not for them the thanklessness of party building, of monthly meetings, of GOTV. That's no damn fun. Gotta make hay before the butterflies and bees and bears all die. . . .
Ewwww! I almost couldn't bear to click on this thread! Sorry, just not a photo I want to come back to day after day. My reaction is visceral, but it's because of all that the image represents. I just cannot abide that man's egotistical, narcissistic, fascist ramblings!
Why not use this link? https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5082372560946279776&postID=3968177638898285761&page=1&token=1468804282328
I seldom look at the front page after it's posted.
The problem is, that either that man, or Hillary is going to be President. That's it. I personally am going to be sweating for the next four plus months, because I don't think Hillary has half the GOTV team that Obama had. And the Turnip has 40% of the vote tied up.
The first (and only?) tiny rebellion was put down at the convention. #nevertrump peeps putting up a bit of a fight, but it fell one state short. Now can be dealt with the police asking for a suspension of open carry, and Kasich refusing.
Hot and muggy. Ick! Beau hates being out during daylight. Does better at midnight.
JoeMyGod (@JoeMyGod) 3 hours ago - View on Twitter After thousands of N-word laden pro-Trump comments, the GOP has disabled chat on its convention live-stream. #RNCinCLE #RNCinCLE #TCOT
We were good for about an hour and a half of watching the convention on C-SPAN. I'm wondering if having conventions makes any sense any more. Lies, accusations, inflammatory rhetoric, divisiveness, polarization, extremist ideology, what's the point? Given our endangered planet, given the ongoing violence (30,000 people die from guns here each year), wars Middle East, Africa, ISIS, the economic precariousness here and internationally, what's the point of a convention that seeks to unite against another group of people?
What we need is community, the recognition that we are connected to each other and the earth, and blaming, instigating fear, demonstrating anger and aggression will not solve our problems, yet that's what this republican convention is doing. I wonder, will the democrats do the same?
It's time for a different kind of politics, one of discussion, facts, reason, vision for correcting the many problems we have and working towards a sustainable and equitable future.
Thanks, Puddle for putting up and commenting on the idiocy and hatefulness that was the first day of RNC? They sure rolled out all their dirty uderwear for the world to see.
It was especially enlightening to see Trump and Pence together. They obviously can't stand each other.
What a hateful pair to follow Barack Obama and Joe Biden and their relationship.
If the way the DNC has handled this election cycle so far is any indiction, then, yes, next week's convention will be a mess too. It probably won't be quite as messy as the RNC's convention, but I imagine that protests to a Clinton candidacy will meet the same fate that protests to a Trump candidacy met.
What will be different is that Bernie Sanders will take the high road. He'll be the nice guy who takes it on the chin so that Trump doesn't get elected. And do you know what? That only confirms that he truly is the leader we need for the time we are in. I know I can't watch the Republicans, and I'm not sure I can bear to watch the Dems either. I will watch on Monday night, though, to hear Bernie.
Incase you didn't get the memo, related to the Brand New Congress:
We are hoping to announce the full slate of Brand New Congress candidates in March, 2017. That will give us one full year before the first congressional primaries and twenty months before the 2018 Midterm elections. That’s a really tight deadline -- which means we really need your help!
Do you know someone who should run as a BNC candidate? If so, please fill out this nomination form today. In general, we are not looking for career politicians or activists. We want you thinking of your co-workers, teachers, health care providers, community volunteers, local small business people who really care for their workers and neighborhoods -- think of all those people who hold your community together. We want a Congress that represents who we are as a people -- and that also means full representation of African Americans, Asian Americans, Latinos and Native Americans. And can we all agree that at least half of this slate should be women?
BNC is not going to run candidates who want to see themselves in Congress. Instead, we want a slate of candidates who fit these three important criteria:
1) They are great servants in their communities, families, and/or workplaces, and the people around them know they won't sell out because they've already demonstrated that in their lives and careers. 2) They will make good candidates: With training, they’d be able to hold their own in debates, TV interviews, or in front of a crowds. 3) They agree with the BNC program, which is basically Bernie's program -- plus a MASSIVE economic rebuilding program that will provide great jobs for all.
Please help us make this real by thinking hard and suggesting some great servant-leaders in your community.
BNC is taking off! Thanks to your financial support, a dozen BNC organizers have met with hundreds of potential local volunteer leaders in 12 states in the past few weeks alone. We have another 50 events to go on our national tour. These events will allow us to continue building local teams and meeting great leaders across the country. Existing BNC teams have already begun talking to voters about our campaign and building our GOTV list -- yes, more than two years before the midterm elections!
None of this will mean anything unless you tell us about that special person in your community who should be the next Congressperson for your district. Don't hesitate! Please fill out this nomination form today.
Gosh. Well, about 5 weeks ago our garage door busted. The cord/chain that lifts it snapped, and as it is also very old and wooden, it is separating in places and warped. A new door costs close to $2000. So, no new trees for us this year, just a door. Steel this time.
It was supposed to arrive last week. Last week they said it would be this week. Today they say that gee, only two of the four panels arrived, so it will now be next week. Meanwhile our garage sits there wide open day and night. Mah*Sweetie had rigged up a rope and some cement blocks to make a pulley, so it could be opened and closed with some serious effort. But after several weeks that way the rope snapped. We are lucky that neither time was anyone hurt, and not eager to retry that. So we wait. Darn good thing we live in Vermont, or our garage would have been cleaned out by now.
I am so tired of living in a world filled with people trying to make me afraid. I was born pathologically shy, and pretty much terrified alla time--spent the first twenty years of my life working my way out of that cesspool, and have no wish to end back there. This week is looking to be an absolute orgy of it. And hate.
Nope, no video at all. Not even teeny tiny ones. I'm not actually sure why--with the XP and a lot of patience, I could watch some. But nothing with win7.
http://www.marbleislandweather.net WOW! At this site you can see a time lapse of the day's weather. If you scroll down, you can click to see the previous day's weather. Assuming you see my post in time, you could have a look at the weather for Monday the 18th. The storms we had are shown vividly! Be sure to watch around 1:10pm, 3:15pm and 4:15pm for the intense storms, then watch for the rainbow around 5:20pm! :-)
According to xHamster, one of the leading aggregators of online porn, traffic from users in Cleveland spiked significantly this week as the Republican National Convention got underway. Viewership in the city shot up by 184 percent from its pre-convention average, surpassing traffic the site gets from people in large cities including New York, Miami and Los Angeles.
“This increase is unprecedented,” said Mike Kulich, a spokesman for the web site. “They’re making porn great again.”
You just have to wonder if there's any link in noting that Garry Marshall died the day Dump Truck was officially nominated. Nearly did in a lot of people, I dare say. RIP Garry! Thanks so much for the laughs!
Hot in GSO also...I haven't been able to go for a good walk for weeks. We seem to be getting a very fine rain just now with blue and partly clouds overhead. Strange.
No stranger than Republican political characters. ....to see them be what that party has become--greedy, ruthless, mean spirited liars. It will be interesting to see how many old time standard members of their party opt out of voting this year.
I just got home from a state Election Official training. Many shenanigans witnessed during the primary cycle were clearly illegal…or at least would be if they got tried in Vermont. For example: * If you are a Town Clerk and you're pretty sure a particular person shouldn't be on your voter checklist, you keep them on your list for TWO MORE election cycles before you drop them, just incase you're wrong. * You MUST let the state and the public know 30 days in advance if you are going to change a polling place, with the one exception of an emergency (like a hurricane destroyed your building). * No one may campaign (or even wear a political tee shirt that isn't covered up) inside a building which contains a polling place (not only in the polling area). No solicitation of any kind, no surveys may be taken in the polling place, and no one may stand in the area outside a polling place as to converse with people about their vote. If they want to do an exit poll, they must stand away from the building, off to one side, and let people come to them if they choose to, not call out to them. This is because there are people who would not vote if they will feel impinge upon on Election Day. * Candidates and their entourage may not enter polling places that are not their own, and at their own may enter only to vote. Candidates who are unopposed my work at the polls, but candidates who are opposed may not. There's more, too, but you get the idea. I knew all this, but it was riveting to hear it again from Vermont's official in charge of elections! Vermont's primary for state elections is August 9th.
I know because tonight on Facebook someone I don't even know posted this comment:
"A 3rd party vote ensures disaster!! Read your history books."
And right away, without having to ponder it, I posted this:
Well, see, I'm in Vermont. I get to vote from my brain and heart at the same time, not out of some guilt trip, because, let's face it, Vermont is going to vote for Bernie anyway (the way we voted for Dean after he dropped out) and the country doesn't really give a care how Vermont votes anyway, because the system is rigged, we're not a swing state, and there is no real election anyway. I am an election official in my town and the shenanigans I saw across this country (changing or dropping polling places and purging voter rolls during a general election cycle, allowing a candidate's spouse to enter a polling place to schmooze, etc., etc), would never have been permitted here! The DNC doesn't get to play God with the votes then expect people to bless their actions and their choice. So, no. I'm not a Democrat and I don't owe anyone my vote. My vote is MY voice. But don't worry. The DNC doesn't care about my vote or my voice.
But, there's still hope. Next week, the Democrats could make history, since they still have an opportunity to offer us someone we can, in all good conscience, vote for. It's up to them. If they choose to ignore the fact that we have a wonderful candidate who gets it, who isn't under investigation, who has experience, isn't tied to big money, is incredibly consistent, is genuinely humble and polls well (except in the deep South which the Dems are going to lose anyway), and if they go ahead and crown the person they chose even before the voters had a chance to weigh in, then it is NOT on MY head if the wrong person gets elected. It is on the heads of the DNC and every single person who participated in voter suppression.
In the latest issue of The New Yorker, an article by Jane Mayer entitled,"Trump's Boswell Speaks" is an interview with Tony Schwartz who ghost wrote "The Art of the Deal". Schwartz says that if he had the opportunity to re-title the book it would be "The Sociopath". Schwartz was interviewed on MSNBC as well. He thinks that Trump is dangerous, is incapable of deep thought, concentration, ethics, or analysis and is wholly unsuited for the presidency. Trump's speech last night affirmed that for me.
Listener, your reasoning is worth examining: 1. My vote is my conscience and that's the only responsibility I have. 2. Vermont will vote for Bernie, so it doesn't matter who I vote for. 3. The system is rigged, so I have no obligation to be part of it. 6. I am not a Democrat, so I have no connection to the party, either in principles or process. 7. The only thing that matters is my vote. I have no larger responsibility to the country.
Along with a President a cabinet, heads of departments, staffers, ambassadors, thousands of people become decision makers and influential in determining the direction of our government from the economy, to education, to the EPA and other departments, to justice, to the Supreme Court. So, while not voting for a candidate for the Presidency can seem like a simple thing, a matter of conscience, the whole of it is huge, is determining the future for generations to come. To ignore this, to deny this, is not only ignorant, it's irresponsible in the extreme, and is in its way as dangerous as the assertions of a Donald Trump. I'm at a loss to understand the speciousness of your reasoning and fear that many will share in it. Perhaps you can address these concerns. I'd appreciate it.
And so, another hot day here, need for rain, and the tumult and unease this election is bringing to so many of us.
proofreading. Sorry for the inadequate numbering. There are only five reasons, so 6 should be 4. and 7 should be 5. I've never been any good at math. A grin here. And, there should be a comma after, Along with a President, etc.
I've been having nightmares over this election. As Thich Nhat Hanh said, "All civilizations fail, " and I cried. I hope that this isn't our time.
Did NOT sleep well last night. I blame the Turnip.
I *was* surprised at his ability to stay on script for over an hour. Progress? But ye gods, what a script. At lease no references to women leaking blood from ugly places. . . .
Heard people today giving him points for his terrific kids. Somehow I just kinda don't believe he had a whole lot to do with raising him no kids.
Same here, Puddle. It is terrifying to think this ignorant bully could be our next President! Where did the Repubs pick up these weirdos? Cruz is perhaps more dangerous...a little brighter but with an evil streak.
I will vote for Hillary proudly..she is day and night more prepared and much, much brighter.
One great YouTube to watch is Michelle Obama doing karaoke while being driven around the White House grounds....I am going to miss both of them very much..
I will vote for Hillary, but not proudly. She has been evil for our country and I fear WW III with her hawkish views. I still contend that Donald is being so "OUT THERE" because he is being paid to do so to ensure that hillary gets elected. :o(
Hillary and Bill Clinton have played the system, benefitted greatly from it, and now to declare independence is not possible or credible. Still, they will bring Democrats to the administration, and there will be ethical people, responsible people, and people who care about the whole country. That's what I'm counting on.
Listener, I apologize if my language seems harsh, and I'm afraid it does, but I do think this is a critical time, a time that Malcolm Gladwell would call a tipping point. I think you are a dedicated and compassionate person who does so much good, and whether or not we agree or disagree, I think a discussion is valuable.
Washington state has a STRONG Bernie contingent that is working hard to bring Berniecrats to office. Pramila Jayapal was one of the first to be endorsed by Bernie and, if elected to Jim McDermotts seat, stands to be the next Elizabeth Warren. just gang busters! Electing Berniecrats to hold Hillary's feet to the fire is where we win.
Evidently, the turnip intends to get his veep to do alla actual werk of being preznit, so he can play boss/world leader some more. What a waste of oxygen the man is.
However, on behalf of all the able men who sat out their time as VP, I applaud him. Now is only his pick wasn't Pence. . . .
Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) 8 mins ago - View on Twitter Clinton now a 72% favorite in Virginia per our polls-plus forecast, which makes an adjustment for her VP pick. projects.fivethirtyeight.…
Dear Puddles/Wooby I came on the blog to find out your opinion on Hillary's choice of running mate? Canada is watching closely what is happening in the states.
Rebecca, I think Kaine is a safe, not especially inspired choice, but he seems to be firming up Virginia numbers.
As for Chamberlain's "I wanna keep my job letter," the less said, the better. I'm not likely to forget his tiny-hitler impression before they killed the blog.
Thank You, Puddle. For anyone lamenting Elizabeth Warren not being chosen for VP...remember she has always said she is Not interested in the Presidency.. Chosen as VP were get her too close... we NEED her in the Senate!
Reading comments on Tim Kaine he seems a very good choice for Hillary and for us!
58 comments:
He really DOES wear a rug on his head!!!! Oh, how Presidential!
Thanks for the new thread, Puddle. I am always amazed for the
wonderful images you find and grateful to you for everything!
Amazed for? Amazed at!
Good Morning,
I took a nap this morning (we wake up around 3ish or 4), and I dreamed that I hugged Trump. What the dream told me was how much sensory appeal he has for people, like those awful magazines at the check-out counters in supermarkets. It's all sensory and romantic conflict. While to me Trump looks like an amiable orangutan, he with all his sensationalism, body language, gestures, narcissism, arouses the senses. It's not surprising because our commercials have been doing that for decades: selling beauty, sex, wealth, entertainment. It was a kind of realization. He's t he big daddy who will compliment you, hug you, pay for your lunch, and assure you that he's taking care of everything.
Oh, I do hope we the people can see through this mythology.
Particulates in the air from wildfires from California, to Utah, to Arizona, to Colorado. The air hazy, our voice thick with phlegm.
Thank you, Puddle, for the new thread. Maybe that's what made me dream. A grin here.
I try to remember that if 100IQ is average, that half our population falls below that. 80 is pretty nonfunctional (as experienced in my extended family). Below that, I doubt they could find their own underpants, so they're not voting. Top 10% 120+, top 1% 135+. Any of these people vote. What the lower half calls thinking, I really haven't a clue.
Which basically means that Trump IS electable, with or without the help of the Democratic party. It may be a joke that it is so, but it IS so.
The constitution we were given is a pretty rugged little document, and normally one man, president or not, wouldn't endanger that (witness Reagan and W). But the underpinnings have been gnawed at and weakened for nigh on forty years. One party, starting with Nixon, has been working the hate side of the street for long. For about the same amount of time the electronic media have been nibbling on the electorate's ability to even *think*--in recent years school boards have been moving against classes that teach students to think critically, i.e., question (parental) authority. . . .
Hope? Not much. Seems to me that most peeps are in for one election, and if it doesn't go their way, they're off. Not for them the thanklessness of party building, of monthly meetings, of GOTV. That's no damn fun. Gotta make hay before the butterflies and bees and bears all die. . . .
Something about a whimper not a bang.
Ewwww! I almost couldn't bear to click on this thread! Sorry, just not a photo I want to come back to day after day. My reaction is visceral, but it's because of all that the image represents. I just cannot abide that man's egotistical, narcissistic, fascist ramblings!
It's gonna be a long week.
Why not use this link? https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5082372560946279776&postID=3968177638898285761&page=1&token=1468804282328
I seldom look at the front page after it's posted.
The problem is, that either that man, or Hillary is going to be President. That's it. I personally am going to be sweating for the next four plus months, because I don't think Hillary has half the GOTV team that Obama had. And the Turnip has 40% of the vote tied up.
Good news comes in many forms: https://www.balloon-juice.com/2016/07/17/rights-for-forests-rivers-and-nonhumans/
The first (and only?) tiny rebellion was put down at the convention. #nevertrump peeps putting up a bit of a fight, but it fell one state short. Now can be dealt with the police asking for a suspension of open carry, and Kasich refusing.
Hot and muggy. Ick! Beau hates being out during daylight. Does better at midnight.
More. . . .
http://time.com/4411116/republican-convention-never-trump-floor-protest/
JoeMyGod (@JoeMyGod)
3 hours ago - View on Twitter
After thousands of N-word laden pro-Trump comments, the GOP has disabled chat on its convention live-stream. #RNCinCLE #RNCinCLE #TCOT
Jeff Loveness (@JeffLoveness)
30 mins ago - View on Twitter
The Republican National Convention is Comic Con for uncles you have to block on Facebook.
listener, this is the original: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/07/25/donald-trumps-ghostwriter-tells-all
Trump's wife done stole Obama's wife's speech from the '08 convention. Grifters all. . . .
“I am Spartacus.”
-Melania Trump
“And the words of the Prophets are written on the subway walls.”
-Melania Trump
“In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God.”
-Melania Trump
Stolen from this thread: https://www.balloon-juice.com/2016/07/19/other-things-melania-trump-wrote/#comments
Good Morning,
We were good for about an hour and a half of watching the convention on C-SPAN. I'm wondering if having conventions makes any sense any more. Lies, accusations, inflammatory rhetoric, divisiveness, polarization, extremist ideology, what's the point? Given our endangered planet, given the ongoing violence (30,000 people die from guns here each year), wars Middle East, Africa, ISIS, the economic precariousness here and internationally, what's the point of a convention that seeks to unite against another group of people?
What we need is community, the recognition that we are connected to each other and the earth, and blaming, instigating fear, demonstrating anger and aggression will not solve our problems, yet that's what this republican convention is doing. I wonder, will the democrats do the same?
It's time for a different kind of politics, one of discussion, facts, reason, vision for correcting the many problems we have and working towards a sustainable and equitable future.
Thanks, Puddle for putting up and commenting on
the idiocy and hatefulness that was the first day of
RNC? They sure rolled out all their dirty uderwear
for the world to see.
It was especially enlightening to see Trump and Pence
together. They obviously can't stand each other.
What a hateful pair to follow Barack Obama and Joe Biden
and their relationship.
Love to all.....
If you know of someone who is a Berniecrat running for (or who should be running for Congress, nominate them to be included in the 2017 Brand New Congress. They will be chosen in March 2017. Here's where to find the nomination form:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScinehRufM2tKVqUne8XaCrRHhJ8c0bSuMeRW9pG8gNiBnDZQ/viewform
If the way the DNC has handled this election cycle so far is any indiction, then, yes, next week's convention will be a mess too. It probably won't be quite as messy as the RNC's convention, but I imagine that protests to a Clinton candidacy will meet the same fate that protests to a Trump candidacy met.
What will be different is that Bernie Sanders will take the high road. He'll be the nice guy who takes it on the chin so that Trump doesn't get elected. And do you know what? That only confirms that he truly is the leader we need for the time we are in. I know I can't watch the Republicans, and I'm not sure I can bear to watch the Dems either. I will watch on Monday night, though, to hear Bernie.
Incase you didn't get the memo, related to the Brand New Congress:
We are hoping to announce the full slate of Brand New Congress candidates in March, 2017. That will give us one full year before the first congressional primaries and twenty months before the 2018 Midterm elections. That’s a really tight deadline -- which means we really need your help!
Do you know someone who should run as a BNC candidate? If so, please fill out this nomination form today. In general, we are not looking for career politicians or activists. We want you thinking of your co-workers, teachers, health care providers, community volunteers, local small business people who really care for their workers and neighborhoods -- think of all those people who hold your community together. We want a Congress that represents who we are as a people -- and that also means full representation of African Americans, Asian Americans, Latinos and Native Americans. And can we all agree that at least half of this slate should be women?
BNC is not going to run candidates who want to see themselves in Congress. Instead, we want a slate of candidates who fit these three important criteria:
1) They are great servants in their communities, families, and/or workplaces, and the people around them know they won't sell out because they've already demonstrated that in their lives and careers.
2) They will make good candidates: With training, they’d be able to hold their own in debates, TV interviews, or in front of a crowds.
3) They agree with the BNC program, which is basically Bernie's program -- plus a MASSIVE economic rebuilding program that will provide great jobs for all.
Please help us make this real by thinking hard and suggesting some great servant-leaders in your community.
BNC is taking off! Thanks to your financial support, a dozen BNC organizers have met with hundreds of potential local volunteer leaders in 12 states in the past few weeks alone. We have another 50 events to go on our national tour. These events will allow us to continue building local teams and meeting great leaders across the country. Existing BNC teams have already begun talking to voters about our campaign and building our GOTV list -- yes, more than two years before the midterm elections!
None of this will mean anything unless you tell us about that special person in your community who should be the next Congressperson for your district. Don't hesitate! Please fill out this nomination form today.
Gosh. Well, about 5 weeks ago our garage door busted. The cord/chain that lifts it snapped, and as it is also very old and wooden, it is separating in places and warped. A new door costs close to $2000. So, no new trees for us this year, just a door. Steel this time.
It was supposed to arrive last week. Last week they said it would be this week. Today they say that gee, only two of the four panels arrived, so it will now be next week. Meanwhile our garage sits there wide open day and night. Mah*Sweetie had rigged up a rope and some cement blocks to make a pulley, so it could be opened and closed with some serious effort. But after several weeks that way the rope snapped. We are lucky that neither time was anyone hurt, and not eager to retry that. So we wait. Darn good thing we live in Vermont, or our garage would have been cleaned out by now.
Get your comic relief here, thanks to Colbert and Stewart, together again…
http://www.cbs.com/shows/the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert/video/4s9AB_CsMTJa5EucOc2jKw_7xusYOfGF/the-late-show-7-18-2016-zoe-saldana-/
(Sorry puddle. Could you maybe download a small video clip if I can post one?)
I am so tired of living in a world filled with people trying to make me afraid. I was born pathologically shy, and pretty much terrified alla time--spent the first twenty years of my life working my way out of that cesspool, and have no wish to end back there. This week is looking to be an absolute orgy of it. And hate.
Smaller clip:
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/jon-stewart-stephen-colbert-reunite-gop-coverage-article-1.2716500
Trumpiness: Stephen Colbert returns with The Word!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqOTxl3Bsbw
Nope, no video at all. Not even teeny tiny ones. I'm not actually sure why--with the XP and a lot of patience, I could watch some. But nothing with win7.
Hungry For Power Games (Colbert…)
http://www.cbs.com/shows/the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert/video/GrKSua1koWatCSt4p4raD0IhmXSvvG59/hungry-for-power-games-republican-national-convention-edition/
Can you get CBS? It will be live at 11:35pm.
Any luck with YouTube?
No TV.
Oh, i see. I'd forgotten that because you can use the DVD with your computer.
http://www.marbleislandweather.net
WOW! At this site you can see a time lapse of the day's weather. If you scroll down, you can click to see the previous day's weather. Assuming you see my post in time, you could have a look at the weather for Monday the 18th. The storms we had are shown vividly! Be sure to watch around 1:10pm, 3:15pm and 4:15pm for the intense storms, then watch for the rainbow around 5:20pm! :-)
^ That's the bay we sail in, and in the distance to the left is Mount Mansfield, so my house is over that way.
Cooler today, and grateful for it. Wishing it would last, doubting that it will.
Life's gonna be very different without Faux Gnus as we know it.
Seems like Josh Marshall's speculation about M's speech were pretty damn close, lol! I knew there was a reason I loved that man.
According to xHamster, one of the leading aggregators of online porn, traffic from users in Cleveland spiked significantly this week as the Republican National Convention got underway. Viewership in the city shot up by 184 percent from its pre-convention average, surpassing traffic the site gets from people in large cities including New York, Miami and Los Angeles.
“This increase is unprecedented,” said Mike Kulich, a spokesman for the web site. “They’re making porn great again.”
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/07/20/opinion/campaign-stops/Opinion-Donald-Trumps-Convention-Day-3.html?list_item=porn-and-gop-politics&_r=0
You just have to wonder if there's any link in noting that Garry Marshall died the day Dump Truck was officially nominated. Nearly did in a lot of people, I dare say. RIP Garry! Thanks so much for the laughs!
Erm, make that "spiritual guide"
Well, cooler has past, hotter has returned.
Very quiet here, campers. . . .
Hot in GSO also...I haven't been able to go for a good walk for weeks.
We seem to be getting a very fine rain just now with blue and partly
clouds overhead. Strange.
No stranger than Republican political characters. ....to see them be
what that party has become--greedy, ruthless, mean spirited liars.
It will be interesting to see how many old time standard members of
their party opt out of voting this year.
Love to all.
I just got home from a state Election Official training.
Many shenanigans witnessed during the primary cycle were clearly illegal…or at least would be if they got tried in Vermont.
For example:
* If you are a Town Clerk and you're pretty sure a particular person shouldn't be on your voter checklist, you keep them on your list for TWO MORE election cycles before you drop them, just incase you're wrong.
* You MUST let the state and the public know 30 days in advance if you are going to change a polling place, with the one exception of an emergency (like a hurricane destroyed your building).
* No one may campaign (or even wear a political tee shirt that isn't covered up) inside a building which contains a polling place (not only in the polling area). No solicitation of any kind, no surveys may be taken in the polling place, and no one may stand in the area outside a polling place as to converse with people about their vote. If they want to do an exit poll, they must stand away from the building, off to one side, and let people come to them if they choose to, not call out to them. This is because there are people who would not vote if they will feel impinge upon on Election Day.
* Candidates and their entourage may not enter polling places that are not their own, and at their own may enter only to vote. Candidates who are unopposed my work at the polls, but candidates who are opposed may not.
There's more, too, but you get the idea.
I knew all this, but it was riveting to hear it again from Vermont's official in charge of elections!
Vermont's primary for state elections is August 9th.
* impinged
For me, at least, it's definitely still Bernie.
I know because tonight on Facebook someone I don't even know posted this comment:
"A 3rd party vote ensures disaster!! Read your history books."
And right away, without having to ponder it, I posted this:
Well, see, I'm in Vermont. I get to vote from my brain and heart at the same time, not out of some guilt trip, because, let's face it, Vermont is going to vote for Bernie anyway (the way we voted for Dean after he dropped out) and the country doesn't really give a care how Vermont votes anyway, because the system is rigged, we're not a swing state, and there is no real election anyway. I am an election official in my town and the shenanigans I saw across this country (changing or dropping polling places and purging voter rolls during a general election cycle, allowing a candidate's spouse to enter a polling place to schmooze, etc., etc), would never have been permitted here! The DNC doesn't get to play God with the votes then expect people to bless their actions and their choice. So, no. I'm not a Democrat and I don't owe anyone my vote. My vote is MY voice. But don't worry. The DNC doesn't care about my vote or my voice.
But, there's still hope. Next week, the Democrats could make history, since they still have an opportunity to offer us someone we can, in all good conscience, vote for. It's up to them. If they choose to ignore the fact that we have a wonderful candidate who gets it, who isn't under investigation, who has experience, isn't tied to big money, is incredibly consistent, is genuinely humble and polls well (except in the deep South which the Dems are going to lose anyway), and if they go ahead and crown the person they chose even before the voters had a chance to weigh in, then it is NOT on MY head if the wrong person gets elected. It is on the heads of the DNC and every single person who participated in voter suppression.
Good Morning,
In the latest issue of The New Yorker, an article by Jane Mayer entitled,"Trump's Boswell Speaks" is an interview with Tony Schwartz who ghost wrote "The Art of the Deal". Schwartz says that if he had the opportunity to re-title the book it would be "The Sociopath". Schwartz was interviewed on MSNBC as well. He thinks that Trump is dangerous, is incapable of deep thought, concentration, ethics, or analysis and is wholly unsuited for the presidency. Trump's speech last night affirmed that for me.
Listener, your reasoning is worth examining: 1. My vote is my conscience and that's the only responsibility I have. 2. Vermont will vote for Bernie, so it doesn't matter who I vote for. 3. The system is rigged, so I have no obligation to be part of it. 6. I am not a Democrat, so I have no connection to the party, either in principles or process. 7. The only thing that matters is my vote. I have no larger responsibility to the country.
Along with a President a cabinet, heads of departments, staffers, ambassadors, thousands of people become decision makers and influential in determining the direction of our government from the economy, to education, to the EPA and other departments, to justice, to the Supreme Court. So, while not voting for a candidate for the Presidency can seem like a simple thing, a matter of conscience, the whole of it is huge, is determining the future for generations to come. To ignore this, to deny this, is not only ignorant, it's irresponsible in the extreme, and is in its way as dangerous as the assertions of a Donald Trump. I'm at a loss to understand the speciousness of your reasoning and fear that many will share in it. Perhaps you can address these concerns. I'd appreciate it.
And so, another hot day here, need for rain, and the tumult and unease this election is bringing to so many of us.
proofreading. Sorry for the inadequate numbering. There are only five reasons, so 6 should be 4. and 7 should be 5. I've never been any good at math. A grin here. And, there should be a comma after, Along with a President, etc.
I've been having nightmares over this election. As Thich Nhat Hanh said, "All civilizations fail, " and I cried. I hope that this isn't our time.
Schwartz was also on Bill Mahar on one of Mahar's convention coverage. A good "get". Was good to hear from the horses mouth about the Sociopath.
cool and rainy here. much needed. now i don't have to water my garden :o)
Oh, I'm at work, so can't use my google account so this will be anon y mouse
Still hot and sunny.
Did NOT sleep well last night. I blame the Turnip.
I *was* surprised at his ability to stay on script for over an hour. Progress? But ye gods, what a script. At lease no references to women leaking blood from ugly places. . . .
Heard people today giving him points for his terrific kids. Somehow I just kinda don't believe he had a whole lot to do with raising him no kids.
Same here, Puddle. It is terrifying to think this ignorant bully
could be our next President! Where did the Repubs pick up
these weirdos? Cruz is perhaps more dangerous...a little brighter
but with an evil streak.
I will vote for Hillary proudly..she is day and night more prepared
and much, much brighter.
One great YouTube to watch is Michelle Obama doing karaoke
while being driven around the White House grounds....I am going
to miss both of them very much..
Hi Ladies. Shirlee thought you'd like this.
Brenda
https://youtu.be/ln3wAdRAim4 (Michelle O. In carpool karaoke)
I will vote for Hillary, but not proudly. She has been evil for our country and I fear WW III with her hawkish views. I still contend that Donald is being so "OUT THERE" because he is being paid to do so to ensure that hillary gets elected. :o(
Barbara @ Work
Hi again,
Hillary and Bill Clinton have played the system, benefitted greatly from it, and now to declare independence is not possible or credible. Still, they will bring Democrats to the administration, and there will be ethical people, responsible people, and people who care about the whole country. That's what I'm counting on.
Listener, I apologize if my language seems harsh, and I'm afraid it does, but I do think this is a critical time, a time that Malcolm Gladwell would call a tipping point. I think you are a dedicated and compassionate person who does so much good, and whether or not we agree or disagree, I think a discussion is valuable.
Washington state has a STRONG Bernie contingent that is working hard to bring Berniecrats to office. Pramila Jayapal was one of the first to be endorsed by Bernie and, if elected to Jim McDermotts seat, stands to be the next Elizabeth Warren. just gang busters! Electing Berniecrats to hold Hillary's feet to the fire is where we win.
Agree, Barb. That's what we can do. Can you imagine what would have happened had John McCain and Sarah Palin been elected???
Evidently, the turnip intends to get his veep to do alla actual werk of being preznit, so he can play boss/world leader some more. What a waste of oxygen the man is.
However, on behalf of all the able men who sat out their time as VP, I applaud him. Now is only his pick wasn't Pence. . . .
Nate Silver (@NateSilver538)
8 mins ago - View on Twitter
Clinton now a 72% favorite in Virginia per our polls-plus forecast, which makes an adjustment for her VP pick. projects.fivethirtyeight.…
Dear Puddles/Wooby I came on the blog to find out your opinion on Hillary's choice of running mate? Canada is watching closely what is happening in the states.
Hallo Canada! I'm in Vermont.
I was just coming by to post this:
Kaine as VP could be a disastrous pick.
http://thehill.com/policy/finance/288726-liberal-group-kaine-as-vp-nominee-potentially-disasterous
Rebecca, I think Kaine is a safe, not especially inspired choice, but he seems to be firming up Virginia numbers.
As for Chamberlain's "I wanna keep my job letter," the less said, the better. I'm not likely to forget his tiny-hitler impression before they killed the blog.
Almost through my dozenth viewing of I, Claudius, and just ordered Rome. Due Tuesday.
New thread!
Thank You, Puddle. For anyone lamenting Elizabeth Warren not being chosen for
VP...remember she has always said she is Not interested in the Presidency..
Chosen as VP were get her too close... we NEED her in the Senate!
Reading comments on Tim Kaine he seems a very good choice for Hillary
and for us!
Happy Saturday to all!
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