Tuco

Very cool. I like Tony Vargas quite a bit. He is a young, Latino state senator representing South Omaha - which has a large Latino and other immigrant population. He looks good in a suit, which shouldn't matter, but does. His father died of Covid and Tony led a passionate fight to get better protections for meat packing workers, netting him a little national press. He's a lawyer, but I'm not sure how aggressive he would be in a debate. Four years ago Kara Eastman came within 2 points of Bacon in the midterm. That got a lot of people excited for a general election matchup. In 2020, the district went to Biden, but Kara came more like 5 points short. My best guess is that the racial justice protests, subsequent police violence, and the fallout from the killing of James Scurlock hurt Kara. Or maybe her commercials weren't that good. Who knows. This time around, there isn't that same dynamic. Probably a bigger deal is that Bacon has broken with Trump...in the half ass pussy way he does everything, saying he wouldn't support Trump in a hypothetical 2024 primary. Also, there is a bit of civil unrest in the NEGOP. It was a nasty primary for the new governor candidate. The most pro-Trump shitstain candidate was accused of groping several women, including Julie Slama, a current Republican state senator. Slama was appointed by the current governor, Pete Ricketts [...fucking sucks], and is very tight with him, so it was seen as a political hit piece. Additionally several Republicans had their credentials pulled from the state convention because they publicly spoke ill of Ricketts [...fucking sucks]. So, yeah, in a midterm election without Trump on the ballot, it is certainly possible that pro-Trump Republicans won't show up to vote for Bacon, or for Ricketts' [...fucking sucks] hand picked governor candidate. The bad news is that in 2020 the district was gerrymandered. It basically took it back to the R/D percentages it was 2010. In 2010, when they gerrymandered it, they removed significant portions of South Omaha, and I think they may have sliced off a little more this time around. Oh, and Pete Ricketts Fucking Sucks. As far as NE-1 in the special, keep in mind it was a special election because the incumbent stepped down after facing federal charges. (Lying to FBI on foreign campaign contributions.) So, the dynamic on that one may have been a bit weird as well.

It may have more to do with how the families want to approach it than it does with anything else. My understanding is the usual game plan is to avoid media coverage. If you’re asking a foreign government to circumvent their normal legal system, it means their normal legal system is not just or that Americans should be above it. Neither proposition is one a foreign government wants to admit publicly. Imagine how that plays out with you their public. Making that argument publicly paints them in a corner. The alternative is to beg for clemency. Say they fucked up, they’re really sorry, they never meant any disrespect for the just government of Freedonia, and could you please do us this solid and let them come home to see their dying nana. But you are asking for a favor, not demanding justice. You do that quietly. The latter was never an option for Griner.

Buy more missiles from the West?

Speaking of coal strikes, Pride is a good one. 1984, true story, gay activists raise money and protest to support coal miners striking in Wales, many of whom are not terribly sympathetic to the plight of homosexuals. It touches on several issues, particularly taking the first step in trying to build a coalition with people who were previously hostile to you. (I think it probably has a healthy layer of candy coating to make it more digestible, but it's still interesting).

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington It's my go-to when discussing patriotism. It's also not bad for an anthropological study on sexism in the 1930s. Bob Roberts.

...did a quick search. The Epoch Times runs a story on the Georgia Senate race the same day the candidate tweets a challenge to Pelosi on stronger support of Taiwan. It looks like it's their first story mentioning Walker since May. The article is behind a paywall, but from the title it appears to indicate that this will be a very tight race. These are the kind of stories that will drive massive donations over the next week. I've watched this dynamic play out on a tight Congressional race last cycle. These stories are fucking gold. Isn't it fun watching foreign religious cult influence our politics in real time. For those who aren't familiar, the Epoch Times is the media offshoot of the Falun Gong, a religious group that has been banned in China. The outlet runs some more of the right-wing nut job type stuff, but consistently bending it towards an anti-China, anti-Communist slant. For example, their coverage of BLM pushed the idiocy that it was a Communist movement. It is very much in their interest that the US/China/Taiwan conflict stays relevant with voters.

It would be more effective if the target audience could distinguish Taiwan from Tijuana. I mean, I guess the whole tough guy postering may convey strength, but as a policy issue I'm not sure it's something that would move the needle for anyone who hasn't decided their vote. Maybe its a bone for the EpochTimes cult.

Ranked voting for electoral college votes would be a step backwards. That’s more because the EC is fucked up, but it is still a concern. Hypothetical: California goes to ranked choice to decide EC votes. It’s a slate with Biden, Trump and Bernie. Biden gets 35% Bernie gets 34%, Trump gets 31%. Biden gets the plurality but not the majority. But most Trump voters pick Bernie in their second slot. Bernie comes in 2nd and wins the EC votes. Trump, finishing 3rd in the most populous state, kills Biden’s path to the White House. Trump would have been worse off if he had finished 2nd. It’s just a thought experiment, but certainly strategist would try to game for it.

Thanks for the correction on Teddy. As far as the Dems pushing Trumpy candidates, I was referring to this. I should probably fact check it, as I don't have much respect for CNN commentators.

I don't think making waves is the issue. In '92, a third party made waves. If Trump started his own party, it would definitely make waves. Hell, Yang and his Forward Party could make waves. What I am stating is in the current political system for electing President, the two party system is the only stable condition. They don't have to be called Republicans and Democrats. There have been instances where one party has been displaced by a new party. Last time that happened was around 160 years ago with the Republicans. There have been instances where a well known political figures have taken the third party mantle and won, like Teddy Roosevelt. That was like 110 years ago. But, every time, the disturbance to the natural order dampens out within a couple of cycles. Usually, the third party takes more votes from the party they are more closely aligned to, causing the "lesser of two evils" to lose, and the third party disintegrates. If Forward takes more votes from former Dems, and Trump is elected, the former Dems become new Dems. If Forward were to actually win the Presidency, then more Dems become Forwarders, and the Dems disintegrate. [Just a hypothetical; Forward isn't going for the top seat.] This is why the Democratic leadership is absolutely fucking wrong in trying to prop up Trump candidates. Maybe short term, you win a few more toss-up elections. But there will always be a viable opposition party who will win roughly 50% of elections. And the Democratic leadership is making that opposition party more Trumpy, which makes our country more Trumpy.

Uh huh. And now we have a two party system. History has shown us that a 3+-party system has not been survived for more than what, two cycles? What that screams to me is that given our current political system, a 3+ party system is not stable. It's not about right/wrong, proper representation, etc., it's about evolution. Evolution is driven by environment. And it is clear that with our political environment, a 2 party system is the one that survives. If you want to change that, you have to change the political environment. There are so many parliamentary systems where multiparty systems actually seem to work. But that's not the way the US is built. The whole "less than 40% of the popular vote" line clearly demonstrates the difference. In our system, the candidate with a plurality wins. In other systems, the PM needs to gather support from a coalition of parties which. And because of that difference, voting for a third party is frequently helping the candidate that you least like. And this is an excellent point. At the state and local levels, the parties have been successful in controlling the ballot. That shit should be addressed. And that is good. Those local races are frequently structured differently so you don't have the same political environment.

"handwash only" Even his coffee mug is a pussy.

Biden could retire in February 2023, making Harris the first woman President. That would potentially give her the incumbent’s advantage for two elections. (Can’t serve more than 10 years, thus the Feb 2023 timeframe.) That would be after Biden taking the hits on pulling out of Afghanistan and the inevitable post-pandemic inflation. While I think that’s the best case scenario for the Dems (barring some youth serum for Biden), who knows if Biden would be onboard. The elderly aren’t always willing to step aside and Biden wanted the Office for a long time. 2 and Q is a lot to ask for.

Remember when that sentence would have been read as an insult against Sicily? Despite all the rest of the shittiness, or maybe because of it, it is worth noting much of it is a reaction to progress. Not fast enough. Not full enough. But still progress.

It sounds a little high, but how much would you pay to not see Rudy’s feet? I’ll throw in an extra $20 for a version that covers the toe. $100 bucks or he shows up to your apartment shoeless.

I’d bet homeschooling with purchased curriculum.

Yep. When dental insurance become more common, the cost of dental visits increased. When college loans become more subsidized, the cost of college increased. Parents who support these measures are frequently looking at the current rate structures, not understanding that they will increase almost dollar for dollar with the subsidy. Granted, the extra subsidies for the schools will create motivation for more seats, and more access. But, if it is at the expense of public school quality, it will also increase demand for those seats. If you can’t afford private school now, you still won’t with the vouchers. In the end, it’s still a question of competing with other people for seats and your relative position against your competition doesn’t change, neither does your access, assuming the same overall spend on education.

I love it when idiots crying for diplomacy don't recognize it.

Sounds to me it's increasing the IQ of the average recruit.

I loved the early seasons. The episode where Coach gets worked by a cardshark and they bring in Harry the Hat to get the money back is my favorite. Later, it seemed like they played the characters for quick laughs. Sam particularly. Early seasons he is uneducated and uncultured, but still smart and charismatic. Later seasons he was just a clown to be laughed at. Still funny, but lazy writing and not that much better than other TV. Almost didn’t watch the finale, but they brought back the original writers, and it was well done.

I moved from Omaha to Seattle a year ago this month. Politics were a big part of it, particularly since my wife worked on a failed Congressional race. She was all sorts of fuck-this-town, and I like her quite a bit, so whatcha goin to do. My parents are old, and dying, in the general cantankerous way old, smart, insane people do. I left my sisters to deal with that. I feel bad about that. I’ve got the Catholic upbringing to reinforce the guilt. Other than that, no regrets. I mean, you pay those prices for a reason. And frankly, anytime I think about sitting on my ass for a weekend, I remember that I am paying roughly $100 a day in rent to be here, and I get my ass to a mountain. Or a sound. $150 to go watch some whales, with a glacier capped volcano backdrop seems perfectly reasonable. And it is. Because orcas are badass apex predators, who, for some idiotic reason, don’t attack humans. My lust-for-life is primarily driven by the fact that I am a frugal bastard. And my daughter moved to Dallas. Fuck.

This is the painful thing as a native Nebraskan who was in high school in the 80s. I recognize that there was no greater champion of the rural Midwest in the 80s than J©M. I also recognize that there is no greater doggish allegiance to the “conservative” dogma than the rural Midwest. I wonder if John (and Willy) had just wished they let the small towns get fucked by free market forces they so adore.

I don't know. It sounds like a decent percentage of them have had unprotected sex with Walker. So it could go either way.

I wonder how much the lotteries have added to the problem. They created this fantasy world where ordinary people see themselves as wildly rich. And what's the first thing people say, "Sure, it's 400 millions dollars, but after taxes it's only like 250 million. Fucking government stealing my hard earned money." Never mind that lotteries are actually government conning people out of their hard earned money, one stupid dollar at a time.