|
Post by impulse on Feb 3, 2020 16:17:18 GMT -5
That is appalling. It's a small miracle she didn't hurt herself or anyone else. I'm glad she had her license pulled, and I hope this is a sobering wake-up call for her. No offense, but I've lost friends and family members to drunk drives and do not have patience for them. I'm glad you family is member is okay. I haven't much patience for alcoholism, either. I'm a hair's breadth away from becoming a teetotaler due to how negatively it's impacted my family. Unfortunately, I don't have high hopes for my sister getting her head on straight. She's a pathological idiot, and continually refuses to learn from her mistakes. Ugh. I am sorry to hear that and for any difficulties you've faced because of that. It'd be one thing if drunk drivers only endangered themselves with their actions, but she is putting every single person she comes near at risk with her choices. Ugggghh.
|
|
|
Post by hondobrode on Feb 4, 2020 6:51:03 GMT -5
Hello from Iowa !
*** groan ***
Caucused last night as I have ever since high school, and it's still a wonderful experience, though it sounds like the lack of results as I type this early the next morning puts Iowa-as-first-in-the-nation status effectively a thing of the past.
What a mess, a disappointment and an embarrassment !
My precinct, in the booming suburb of Ankeny (the 10th fastest growing micro city in the US), had Buttigieg with the most backers, followed by Sanders, Warren and Biden in that order.
The first round showed Biden not being viable, with less than 15 % of caucus-goers initially supporting him.
Klobuchar and Yang both had impressive showings initially. Neither were viable, so the caucus-goers had to determine what candidate, if any, they would support.
Klobuchar's supporters mostly split equally to Biden and Buttigieg, saving Biden.
The Yang Gang mostly went to Buttigieg but Warren and Sanders both picked up some supporters, with more going to Sanders.
My brother had a different caucus precinct in Ankeny. Haven't heard yet from him how that one went. Haven't heard yet from my mom in Denison (rural west central Iowa 70 miles NE of Omaha) and only heard from my brother in Harlan (30 miles south of Denison) that he was the solitary Steyer supporter. My location also only had one Steyer supporter.
He's sure been good for the advertising industry though ! Lots of tv ads, tons of mailers.
No supporters at my precinct for Bloomberg.
|
|
|
Post by The Captain on Feb 4, 2020 9:58:08 GMT -5
Hello from Iowa ! *** groan *** Caucused last night as I have ever since high school, and it's still a wonderful experience, though it sounds like the lack of results as I type this early the next morning puts Iowa-as-first-in-the-nation status effectively a thing of the past. What a mess, a disappointment and an embarrassment ! My precinct, in the booming suburb of Ankeny (the 10th fastest growing micro city in the US), had Buttigieg with the most backers, followed by Sanders, Warren and Biden in that order. The first round showed Biden not being viable, with less than 15 % of caucus-goers initially supporting him. Klobuchar and Yang both had impressive showings initially. Neither were viable, so the caucus-goers had to determine what candidate, if any, they would support. Klobuchar's supporters mostly split equally to Biden and Buttigieg, saving Biden. The Yang Gang mostly went to Buttigieg but Warren and Sanders both picked up some supporters, with more going to Sanders. My brother had a different caucus precinct in Ankeny. Haven't heard yet from him how that one went. Haven't heard yet from my mom in Denison (rural west central Iowa 70 miles NE of Omaha) and only heard from my brother in Harlan (30 miles south of Denison) that he was the solitary Steyer supporter. My location also only had one Steyer supporter. He's sure been good for the advertising industry though ! Lots of tv ads, tons of mailers. No supporters at my precinct for Bloomberg. You Iowans had ONE job, and you botched it completely. After the impeachment debacle, the Democrats needed a strong showing to rebuild public confidence in them, and instead we get a bomb bigger than "Cats". Who won? Who knows, but everyone has already moved onto New Hampshire, another small, largely homogenous (read: white) population that has a ton of influence on the Democrats' process even though it, like Iowa, doesn't look a thing like the Democrat Party base at large. Even worse is that the Trump campaign has already seized on the failure of the caucus as a talking point, asking if America can trust the Democrats with health care and the environment and the economy when they couldn't even get their signature event right after having months to prepare for it. They also are claiming it's because the results weren't what the Dems wanted, so they're manipulating the results in favor of an establishment (read; Joe Biden) candidate. Not a good thing to give the Republicans even a tiny crack to get their tendrils into, becaise they will keep pulling at it until they tear it apart completely.
|
|
|
Post by impulse on Feb 4, 2020 10:34:32 GMT -5
Hold up. Did people who actually followed the farce that was the impeachment situation think that it made the Democrats look bad? I'm speechless.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 4, 2020 10:40:04 GMT -5
I'd like to ask a favour, please. I'm a renter (private). I'm looking at an apartment next week. I suppose I'm after good vibes. This current apartment hasn't been the best. Plagued with repair issues that landlord hasn't exactly taken seriously. Previous tenant was also a guy who left a lot of debt and didn't pay fines. In my years in this apartment, I've had bailiffs and even coppers looking for him (all rectified once I show them my tenancy agreement and ID). The home I lived in before that also had some maintenance issues. And the one before that had a rat problem as the neighbour didn't take pest control seriously. So I guess years of this has drained me a tad. The final straw was when a cop showed up at my door around 8pm because the previous tenant hadn't appeared in court (I wish people, including police, would check the electoral roll to see who lives somewhere, but I suppose they can only go on information provided). This kind of thing bothers an over-thinker like me. Even before I view this property, I'm thinking, 'Please let it be a trouble-free apartment that doesn't have issues or repair problems every five seconds.' I'd appreciate any good vibes, thank you.
|
|
|
Post by The Captain on Feb 4, 2020 10:46:39 GMT -5
Hold up. Did people who actually followed the farce that was the impeachment situation think that it made the Democrats look bad? I'm speechless. In a way, yes. They rushed the timeline, for whatever reason, to get the House portion done before the end of the year, forgoing using the courts to fight the WH on refusing to let Bolton, Mulvaney, etc., testify. The Dems knew the Republicans weren't going to allow witnesses, so the Senate portion was a foregone conclusion. They should have played the long game, working the courts and keeping Trump off his game and unfocused throughout this entire year, but instead they handed him a quick victory and the opportunity to smear Joe Biden ahead of the Iowa caucus with zero repercussions. As such, it was incumbent on them to get as much information out into the open before letting Human Turtle Mitch McConnell and Professional Flip-Flopper Lindsay Graham shut it all down. The Republicans look bad as well, but everyone knows they only care about winning and serving their orange master, not doing what is right for the country as a whole, so their behavior wasn't unexpected or shocking even.
|
|
|
Post by impulse on Feb 4, 2020 10:54:27 GMT -5
Hold up. Did people who actually followed the farce that was the impeachment situation think that it made the Democrats look bad? I'm speechless. In a way, yes. They rushed the timeline, for whatever reason, to get the House portion done before the end of the year, forgoing using the courts to fight the WH on refusing to let Bolton, Mulvaney, etc., testify. The Dems knew the Republicans weren't going to allow witnesses, so the Senate portion was a foregone conclusion. They should have played the long game, working the courts and keeping Trump off his game and unfocused throughout this entire year, but instead they handed him a quick victory and the opportunity to smear Joe Biden ahead of the Iowa caucus with zero repercussions. As such, it was incumbent on them to get as much information out into the open before letting Human Turtle Mitch McConnell and Professional Flip-Flopper Lindsay Graham shut it all down. The Republicans look bad as well, but everyone knows they only care about winning and serving their orange master, not doing what is right for the country as a whole, so their behavior wasn't unexpected or shocking even. The entire issue was that the WH was point blank refusing any cooperation at all. Unprecedented obstruction which on its own is illegal. Also they were kind of forced into the timeline because the heart of the issues around the impeachment pertained to cheating in the last election, and if left unchecked they would cheat in the next one, too. The WH was obviously trying to force them into the courts which would take forever, likely blowing past said election. They were kinda damned if they do, damned if they don't. This way they have him on record impeached and forced the Republicans to go on record with their flagrant corruption and enablement.
And they got a SHIT LOAD of info out there already. They more than proved the case, and some of the R Senators even admit it. They just still don't want to impeach him. There was no amount of evidence that would have changed the outcome. Also, info is going to keep slipping out that is going to make the "acquittal" look worse and worse with time.
And how sad that naked partisan cheating to save their bacons is no longer surprising.
I agree that the Iowa caucus being a shit show doesn't help though. Ugh.
|
|
|
Post by impulse on Feb 4, 2020 11:00:53 GMT -5
And on the topic of politics, my garbage disposal is out of order. Got a kid's medical syringe jammed under the grinders too far for me to get it out with pliers, and jammed in too tight for me to adjust from the bottom. Going to have to call a plumber to unstick the festering garbage in my sink, much like American politics feels these days.
|
|
|
Post by The Captain on Feb 4, 2020 11:04:55 GMT -5
impulse, I agree with you. When I used the term "debacle", I didn't necessarily mean the Dems were to blame for the outcome, as there was never going to be any result other than the Repubs circling the wagons for Trump, whispering that while what he did was questionable, was it truly impeachable? To the folks not paying close attention, the Dems look like failures in every regard, because it's about winning and losing, and Trump can claim victory, no matter how slimy or underhanded the means by which it was achieved.
|
|
|
Post by Prince Hal on Feb 4, 2020 11:26:04 GMT -5
Hold up. Did people who actually followed the farce that was the impeachment situation think that it made the Democrats look bad? I'm speechless. In a way, yes. They rushed the timeline, for whatever reason, to get the House portion done before the end of the year, forgoing using the courts to fight the WH on refusing to let Bolton, Mulvaney, etc., testify. The Dems knew the Republicans weren't going to allow witnesses, so the Senate portion was a foregone conclusion. They should have played the long game, working the courts and keeping Trump off his game and unfocused throughout this entire year, but instead they handed him a quick victory and the opportunity to smear Joe Biden ahead of the Iowa caucus with zero repercussions. As such, it was incumbent on them to get as much information out into the open before letting Human Turtle Mitch McConnell and Professional Flip-Flopper Lindsay Graham shut it all down. The Republicans look bad as well, but everyone knows they only care about winning and serving their orange master, not doing what is right for the country as a whole, so their behavior wasn't unexpected or shocking even. I can see why you'd say this, but there's always going to be a lot of woulda-coulda-shoulda about this. There was no way that the courts were going to move quickly on a decision re Mulvaney, Bolton et al. They've been trying to get a decision on McGahn since last April. The administration was going to play the appeals game as far as they could go, which would likely take them through the election. Trump is quite easy to unfocus, because he's not a strategist, but a tactician. he lives in the moment, like my dog Sam. So it's a moot point whether a prolonged court battle would have done any more to unfocus him than the next critical tweet from some TV personality. If anything, playing the long game in the courts would have forced all the impeachment talk to the back burner. And he would have and will be smearing Biden no matter what was brought up in the impeachment. They had the information,as even the spineless Lamar Alexander admitted. Their persistent call to allow witnesses was a way to bring the witnesses forward indirectly. Bolton and Mulvaney testified. The votes from the Republicans would have been the same even if by some miracle, those two had shown up to testify before the House committee. One might argue that no matter what, Trump's behavior will not change. That's a given, isn't it? Absolutely true. He's too far gone to respond to shots across the bow. But sometimes, a lost cause really is worth fighting for. The Democrats had to take a shot at revealing to the country in an official, formal, legal, rational way that the Constitution matters, that our future as a nation is threatened immediately and long-term by having a mob boss, and not a President, in the White House. All of which is actually feckin' important if we actually believe in the principles on which the nation was founded and don't just measure our "Americanism" by how teary-eyed we get when someone sings "God Bless the USA." I can't say if it worked, or how widespread its effect will be, but it was necessary to try to expose not just how destructive Trump is and has been, and will continue to be, but how complicit and gutless the Republicans are. Though many Americans thought the proceedings as "boring," because the Hannitys and Limbaughs of the world told them to think that, the impeachment at least brought Trump's treasonous behavior under the microscope, and served as the lever that will open up other sewer covers, as it has opened Parnas' and Bolton's revelations. There will be more, and it will be the Democrats who can say, "We told you about all this." Though I am with H.L Mencken when it comes to being unsurprised by the ignorance of Boobus americanus, I sense that the larger turn-out for the 2018 elections, the influx of young voters (millions of Americans have turned 18 in the last few years), and the fact that I have heard nothing about voters who didn't vote for Trump say they will in November are signs that Trump can be beaten in November. And as for Iowa last night, anyone who conflates that fustercluck with any particular candidate's ability to govern deserves Trump. Granted, there are those who will, but they are all safely ensconced in the cult already. Not to mention that most people have the memory of a goldfish and the attention span of a mayfly. This too shall pass. It's just too bad that conventions aren't run the way they used to be; if they were, the Democrats would draft Adam Schiff, who has the unique ability to see problems simultaneously from both a bird's-eye view and from within.
|
|
|
Post by impulse on Feb 4, 2020 12:05:05 GMT -5
impulse , I agree with you. When I used the term "debacle", I didn't necessarily mean the Dems were to blame for the outcome, as there was never going to be any result other than the Repubs circling the wagons for Trump, whispering that while what he did was questionable, was it truly impeachable? To the folks not paying close attention, the Dems look like failures in every regard, because it's about winning and losing, and Trump can claim victory, no matter how slimy or underhanded the means by which it was achieved. Yep, I follow you now. Only thing I would add is that the people who believe that it's about winning and losing and that Trump claimed victory were already unreachable.
In a way, yes. They rushed the timeline, for whatever reason, to get the House portion done before the end of the year, forgoing using the courts to fight the WH on refusing to let Bolton, Mulvaney, etc., testify. The Dems knew the Republicans weren't going to allow witnesses, so the Senate portion was a foregone conclusion. They should have played the long game, working the courts and keeping Trump off his game and unfocused throughout this entire year, but instead they handed him a quick victory and the opportunity to smear Joe Biden ahead of the Iowa caucus with zero repercussions. As such, it was incumbent on them to get as much information out into the open before letting Human Turtle Mitch McConnell and Professional Flip-Flopper Lindsay Graham shut it all down. The Republicans look bad as well, but everyone knows they only care about winning and serving their orange master, not doing what is right for the country as a whole, so their behavior wasn't unexpected or shocking even. I can see why you'd say this, but there's always going to be a lot of woulda-coulda-shoulda about this. There was no way that the courts were going to move quickly on a decision re Mulvaney, Bolton et al. They've been trying to get a decision on McGahn since last April. The administration was going to play the appeals game as far as they could go, which would likely take them through the election. Trump is quite easy to unfocus, because he's not a strategist, but a tactician. he lives in the moment, like my dog Sam. So it's a moot point whether a prolonged court battle would have done any more to unfocus him than the next critical tweet from some TV personality. If anything, playing the long game in the courts would have forced all the impeachment talk to the back burner. And he would have and will be smearing Biden no matter what was brought up in the impeachment. They had the information,as even the spineless Lamar Alexander admitted. Their persistent call to allow witnesses was a way to bring the witnesses forward indirectly. Bolton and Mulvaney testified. The votes from the Republicans would have been the same even if by some miracle, those two had shown up to testify before the House committee. One might argue that no matter what, Trump's behavior will not change. That's a given, isn't it? Absolutely true. He's too far gone to respond to shots across the bow. But sometimes, a lost cause really is worth fighting for. The Democrats had to take a shot at revealing to the country in an official, formal, legal, rational way that the Constitution matters, that our future as a nation is threatened immediately and long-term by having a mob boss, and not a President, in the White House. All of which is actually feckin' important if we actually believe in the principles on which the nation was founded and don't just measure our "Americanism" by how teary-eyed we get when someone sings "God Bless the USA." I can't say if it worked, or how widespread its effect will be, but it was necessary to try to expose not just how destructive Trump is and has been, and will continue to be, but how complicit and gutless the Republicans are. Though many Americans thought the proceedings as "boring," because the Hannitys and Limbaughs of the world told them to think that, the impeachment at least brought Trump's treasonous behavior under the microscope, and served as the lever that will open up other sewer covers, as it has opened Parnas' and Bolton's revelations. There will be more, and it will be the Democrats who can say, "We told you about all this." Though I am with H.L Mencken when it comes to being unsurprised by the ignorance of Boobus americanus, I sense that the larger turn-out for the 2018 elections, the influx of young voters (millions of Americans have turned 18 in the last few years), and the fact that I have heard nothing about voters who didn't vote for Trump say they will in November are signs that Trump can be beaten in November. And as for Iowa last night, anyone who conflates that fustercluck with any particular candidate's ability to govern deserves Trump. Granted, there are those who will, but they are all safely ensconced in the cult already. Not to mention that most people have the memory of a goldfish and the attention span of a mayfly. This too shall pass. It's just too bad that conventions aren't run the way they used to be; if they were, the Democrats would draft Adam Schiff, who has the unique ability to see problems simultaneously from both a bird's-eye view and from within. You have a way with words. Bravo.
|
|
|
Post by Prince Hal on Feb 4, 2020 12:18:01 GMT -5
impulse , I agree with you. When I used the term "debacle", I didn't necessarily mean the Dems were to blame for the outcome, as there was never going to be any result other than the Repubs circling the wagons for Trump, whispering that while what he did was questionable, was it truly impeachable? To the folks not paying close attention, the Dems look like failures in every regard, because it's about winning and losing, and Trump can claim victory, no matter how slimy or underhanded the means by which it was achieved. Yep, I follow you now. Only thing I would add is that the people who believe that it's about winning and losing and that Trump claimed victory were already unreachable.
I can see why you'd say this, but there's always going to be a lot of woulda-coulda-shoulda about this. There was no way that the courts were going to move quickly on a decision re Mulvaney, Bolton et al. They've been trying to get a decision on McGahn since last April. The administration was going to play the appeals game as far as they could go, which would likely take them through the election. Trump is quite easy to unfocus, because he's not a strategist, but a tactician. he lives in the moment, like my dog Sam. So it's a moot point whether a prolonged court battle would have done any more to unfocus him than the next critical tweet from some TV personality. If anything, playing the long game in the courts would have forced all the impeachment talk to the back burner. And he would have and will be smearing Biden no matter what was brought up in the impeachment. They had the information,as even the spineless Lamar Alexander admitted. Their persistent call to allow witnesses was a way to bring the witnesses forward indirectly. Bolton and Mulvaney testified. The votes from the Republicans would have been the same even if by some miracle, those two had shown up to testify before the House committee. One might argue that no matter what, Trump's behavior will not change. That's a given, isn't it? Absolutely true. He's too far gone to respond to shots across the bow. But sometimes, a lost cause really is worth fighting for. The Democrats had to take a shot at revealing to the country in an official, formal, legal, rational way that the Constitution matters, that our future as a nation is threatened immediately and long-term by having a mob boss, and not a President, in the White House. All of which is actually feckin' important if we actually believe in the principles on which the nation was founded and don't just measure our "Americanism" by how teary-eyed we get when someone sings "God Bless the USA." I can't say if it worked, or how widespread its effect will be, but it was necessary to try to expose not just how destructive Trump is and has been, and will continue to be, but how complicit and gutless the Republicans are. Though many Americans thought the proceedings as "boring," because the Hannitys and Limbaughs of the world told them to think that, the impeachment at least brought Trump's treasonous behavior under the microscope, and served as the lever that will open up other sewer covers, as it has opened Parnas' and Bolton's revelations. There will be more, and it will be the Democrats who can say, "We told you about all this." Though I am with H.L Mencken when it comes to being unsurprised by the ignorance of Boobus americanus, I sense that the larger turn-out for the 2018 elections, the influx of young voters (millions of Americans have turned 18 in the last few years), and the fact that I have heard nothing about voters who didn't vote for Trump say they will in November are signs that Trump can be beaten in November. And as for Iowa last night, anyone who conflates that fustercluck with any particular candidate's ability to govern deserves Trump. Granted, there are those who will, but they are all safely ensconced in the cult already. Not to mention that most people have the memory of a goldfish and the attention span of a mayfly. This too shall pass. It's just too bad that conventions aren't run the way they used to be; if they were, the Democrats would draft Adam Schiff, who has the unique ability to see problems simultaneously from both a bird's-eye view and from within. You have a way with words. Bravo. Thanks, impulse. I sure wish it could have been another subject.
|
|
|
Post by Icctrombone on Feb 4, 2020 14:11:08 GMT -5
Did this become the political thread while I wasn’t looking ?
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 4, 2020 14:36:19 GMT -5
Did this become the political thread while I wasn’t looking ? nope. . no one yelling about "snowflakes" or breaking out the "what-about-isms" . . or "BENGHAZI"
it's been a rather nice discussion thus far.
|
|
|
Post by impulse on Feb 4, 2020 14:36:42 GMT -5
Did this become the political thread while I wasn’t looking ? No way. Far too civil. And sorry. It's just really hard to completely avoid touching on any trace of anything remotely political considering everything going on. That said... Lex Luthor or Normal Osborn - who would be the better president?
|
|