It really isn't proper for the documents to be taped back together before the regime falls.
Corker's comment about the White House being an adult daycare couldn't have been more on target.
Adult daycare makes me think of a place for people with dementia with locked doors so you can't wander away without being signed out. That would be a huge improvement.
Voter suppression in Ohio is fine, 5-4 supreme court vote.
Also, how perfectly Obama to ensure that his decisions to, for instance, do nothing at all about a Russian-directed fascist takeover of the United States, be correctly recorded for posterity.
I suspect that's a little unfair and that, while their response was utterly inadequate, the digital bombs they planted throughout Russia's infrastructure before the election discouraged Putin from further tampering with our electoral system. Pure speculation on my part, of course.
Of course it's unfair. It is consistent, though, with my interpretation of Obama as essentially a guy who drank his own kool-aid.
It's true. You couldn't bribe him with stolen Kool-Aide.
Does that mean he deliberately poisoned the Kool Aid and then drank some of it himself? Who is the Jim Jones in this metaphor?
Anyhow, Obama's biggest problem in the 2016 was that, like literally everyone else including Donald Trump, he assumed that Clinton would win.
I almost get a feeling of vertigo, trying to imagine an America that's post-Trump and also not a police state and/or economically depressed shithole.
I know, in many ways things already are pretty bad, but they could still be a lot worse. And I'm not saying I can't imagine getting back to normal, I'm just saying, getting from here to there, and then getting used to the new old normal, would be dizzying. Imagine the sequence of events that would lead to a peaceful, legitimate transfer of power. I've read that last few weeks of the Nixon administration were very tense, and Trump makes Nixon look like Mr. Rogers. Imagine the old kinds of embarrassment at our foreign policy, being embarrassed that it doesn't live up to our lofty rhetoric, not being embarrassed that the President is saying that India has a 100 percent tariff on imports. Imagine intra-Democratic Party debates actually mattering because it has some slight chance of becoming law, rather than being at best a statement of principles, and more likely bullshit between know-it-alls arguing for the fun of it. Imagine a "moderate Republican" after the lunatic lawbreaking of the current party.
And the calculation was that doing something overt without McConnell's sign-off would redound to Trump's benefit. They didn't know Comey and/or the traitors at FBINY Comey was trying to preempt would end up fucking it all up anyway.
Not to mention the supposed fucking "left" who convinced a bunch of people who'd voted for Obama that Clinton was way way beyond the pale.
He still should've informed the public, especially after Comey's betrayal. Granted, it might not have done any good and could conceivably have accelerated the rise of fascism regardless of who won.
By mid-2016 it was abundantly clear that the Republican establishment had no control over their voters or Trump. More important, as has been said before, getting Clinton elected wasn't his job. His job was to defend the country.
Not to mention the supposed fucking "left" who convinced a bunch of people who'd voted for Obama that Clinton was way way beyond the pale.
Obama voters who didn't vote for Clinton were primarily POC who stayed home in 2016. Where's the causal role of the "left" in that?
I apologize for 6, because re-opening this fight is really fruitless at this point.
He still should've informed the public
For sure. In many ways the lesson of both this (and Comey, who I think made a similar calculation based on an expectation that Clinton would win) is that you know less about the future than you think you do and can manipulate the system less than you think you can, so play by the rules, and transparency is mostly your friend, not your enemy.
Not to mention the supposed fucking "left" who convinced a bunch of people who'd voted for Obama that Clinton was way way beyond the pale.
And this is also true. One does shudder to think of the combination of right-wingers and the Glenn Greenwald crowd if Obama had gone public with information about Trump/Russia in September-October 2016. He still should have done it, as we know now.
Sort of on topic, in an attempt to avoid thinking about politics I decided to watch Babylon 5. Whoops!
(I'd watched some of it when it first ran but lost interest as the plot was so frustratingly and unrealistically* dystopian.)
*Hey, I was a ST:TNG fan at the time.
Do you remember how everyone was so worried that Trump wouldn't concede defeat? That all seems so naïve and silly now, but that could have turned out really badly too.
My hope for a Vir-wave opportunity is the only thing keeping me going.
Where's the causal role of the "left" in that?
It's the thought that counts. That form of leftism was persuasive to almost nobody, but as it turns out, "almost nobody" turned the presidential election to Trump.
22: My last watch-through of B5 was in 2003-2004. Didn't feel great then, either.
24: I'm only on season 3, but the smart money is on a Psi Corps/Shadow alliance.
I DID NOT COLLUDE WITH THE SHADOWS. DON'T BELIEVE THE FAKE NEWS AND CROOKED AMBASSADOR DELENN!
If even one Republican has as much integrity as Londo there may be hope for the Republic.
So how come they always called it the Centauri Republic when it always had an Emperor? Was that supposed to be a reference to Rome? I don't know if the Romans kept calling themselves a republic for long into the imperial period, but that's not how we remember it historically at any rate.
There's a good chance Lyndon is getting canned tomorrow morning.
It's not entirely bad, especially if they give him a severance package. But definitely unsettling.
31: Augustus was just Princeps, first among equals, and he carefully manages expectations. This was followed to varying degrees with the rest of the Julio-Claudians (at some point Caesar becomes a title), weakens during the Severans and by Diocletian the emperor is explicitly claiming he's a deity in his own lifetime. (As opposed to Vespasian's sardonic supposed last words, "Dear me, I think I'm becoming a god.")
32: Ugh. I hope he can land on his feet.
A republic is just a state with elections right? So maybe they can elect a god-emperor-for-life and still be a republic. The Centauri succession wasn't hereditary, IIRC.
Also, I was completely unaware of the second meaning of "nonplussed" (N American, informal, says Google). Is it common for the rest of you?
The informal one was the only one I knew for most of my life. To the point where maybe I just misunderstood it in correct contexts from day 1.
Ditto. I think I sussed it out from context clues? Then at some point I learned the real meaning, then forgot it, then realized I should just stay the hell away from that word. Same with "bemused."
I was unaware of the formal definition until this thread.
My mind is blown. I'm an informal North American but I had no idea that people used "nonplussed" to mean "unperturbed." Really?
I'm an informal North American and it's news to me.
In conclusion, America isn't a civilized country; it's just rich enough to dress like one.
In other conclusions, preview before posting.
Actually, I'm totally minused. Comatose, just about.
I thought we'd been here before...http://www.unfogged.com/archives/comments_15958.html#1950795
32/34: I'm sorry about the job loss, but I kind of suspect from your descriptions that Pres. Johnson would make kind of an amazing househusband and may need the break. Hope he gets a break of the right length for him and a better work environment.
I thought nonplussed meant 'pantsless.'
Anyway, I didn't realize there was a correct definition and thought the informal American version was the only definition.
That means somebody who insists on words using the exact denotation and connotation described in the dictionary.
It means someone who disagrees with me.
The first mention I saw of "nonplussed" was when it was defined as a word with two meanings that are the opposite of each other, so it should never be used. Like "sanguine".
then realized I should just stay the hell away from that word. Same with "bemused."
Oh yes.
Sanguine has two meaning?! Is the whole world living in Stairway to Heaven?!
They aren't actually opposite, just very different.
They can even work together: the serial killer, having broken his dry streak, was sanguine.
The whaler's deck was lined with sanguine crewmen, processing the last catch of a good season.
Sweet San-gu-ine.
Sad times never seemed so good.
I'm on pins and needles! Lyndon is in his Very Serious Meeting with the boss right NOW!
60: Oh, I do know those two meanings. But they have the same origin, so they aren't confusing to me.
I told him to drive a hard bargain if they offer him a severance package. Tell them you won't leave unless they give you 6 months!
You down with VSM. Yeah, you know me.
"Severance package" sounds like a euphemism for orchiectomy.
Good luck. Does he have a contract or is he at-will?
Done deal. 6 months severance, pretty good. It's been coming a long time and it may be really good for Lyndon.
That sicks, but at least it came at the start of the summer.
I heard that with big corporations, they watch you from when they give you notice until you've left the building. You can't enact any petty revenge unless you ask to use the bathroom and clog the toilet.
6 mos severance is good, and hopefully (actually, for real, probably) moving will make things better and be a net life positive. Still sucks to go through.
Can you get severance and unemployment?
The whaler's deck was lined with sanguine crewmen, processing the last catch of a good season.
I think the "bloody" meaning is "sanguinary", not "sanguine"?
Although that does spoil the joke in "Firefly":
Zoë: You sanguine about the kinda reception we're apt to receive on an Alliance ship, Captain?
Mal: Absolutely. ...What's "sanguine" mean?
Zoë: Sanguine. Hopeful. Plus, point of interest, it also means "bloody".
Mal: Well, that pretty much covers all the options, don't it?
The whaler's deck was lined with crewmen, sanguine from the last catch of a good season.
(Same sense, but better.)
The North American informal meaning of "nonplussed" exists because "nonplussed" sounds like "not fussed".
|| Why am I so disturbed every time I notice this Slate headline?
Why Are People So Helplessly Riveted by Ariana Grande and Pete Davidson's Engagement?
||
85 She's taken, peep. Best just to accept it and move on.
86: Maybe that's right. I'm in love with Ariana Grande and I won't admit it to myself.
Thanks for the insight, Barry!
"Helplessly Riveted by Ariana Grande and Pete Davidson's Engagement"
Sounds like Chuck Tingle had a go at writing celebrity gossip.
Slate has moved beyond headlines that all start with "How" or "Why" to headlines that tell you how you should feel about the story.
There's a wild bear in Pittsburgh today. I hope he or she finds a mate and starts a breeding population. It's just like the peregrine falcons and the bald eagles coming back, except a bit larger. Imagine how many pigeons a bear could eat in a day if it figures out how to catch them.
OT: I have a decision making bleg which I also posted at the other place but I need basically instantaneous feedback; I need to make a decision in the next twenty minutes:
I need help making a decision in the next twenty minutes. I've been volunteering in the clinic I was working in last year again, and I'm at a training right now in Albany for working with family members. It's been a good training. Two days of it are done and there are three hours left tomorrow, mostly focused on certifying in this particular technique, which I don't care about, but it would be useful to see the videos of therapists highly rated, therapists less well rated, etc. There was a pretty big conflict for me about this training which I didn't realize until I signed up for it -- the last weekend in a particular training program at my meditation center is starting tonight and continues all day Friday through Sunday. When I realized that tomorrow was only a half day, mostly about certification, and that I've really gotten almost all of the information out of this training and in fact have tomorrow's slides, it occurred to me I could leave and still do the meditation weekend (I checked with them it's ok to watch the opening talk during lunch). Relevant info: this training didn't cost my clinic anything but it's funding my travel. More relevant info: my supervisor is pretty chill and nice. Still more relevant info: I couldn't do this meditation weekend again until around this time next year. On the other hand, this weekend isn't a prereq for anything I would need to do lots of other stuff at the meditation center, and the things it's a prereq for aren't really accessible till after June next year anyway. I'm really genuinely torn. What should I do?
You should go. If the half-day tomorrow isn't valuable for you, go get the value you do want from the meditation weekend.
Thanks Megan. That was also the advice at the other place. I'm on the train.
I only take advice from my neighbor's dog.