Mrs Whiggins

In my head I am picturing Tina Fey's character in Date Night (with Steve Carell) and she's driving down the road looking at the little screen, "Oh c'mon! Little rainbow wheel?! Why do I always get the little rainbow wheel?!

1. No, I am aware of the requirements in order to be a presidential candidate. 2. The metrics of using his platform to service the hate machine on behalf of other oligarchs and authoritarians like himself or to sway the significant percentage of the population to which @Brisketexan refers below to aid others who may fulfill those requirements or to sow chaos in order to benefit them. 3. He was not exactly in an area where he is beloved right now nor do people like surprises when they've paid for something else. I understood that he wasn't part of the original ticket purchase correct? Could someone have foreseen that? Well, anyone who has self-awareness, sure. But I believe the consensus on this site is that is not one of his strong suits. Pretty much this.

Not in the business sense of which you are thinking in which normal metrics of success apply-- I'm going full on CR here, but there is precedence with having a failed businessperson gathering a bunch of very outraged angry people to do anything he asked of them.

What I’d like to know is, who are the people assigned to read and approve books for the schools in this review process? It's been awhile since that has come under my purview but it often varies by state, then school district. In Wisconsin, for example, school librarians must also have a teaching certificate and many of them use the *CCBC at the UW Madison's library school if they have questions or concerns or someone has raised a challenge. Some areas will have a standing committee to address reviews. Every library from coast to coast should have a policy manual which directs patrons to the mission statement and other policies such as challenges, weeding, donations, and where books are shelved (i.e. cataloguing a book as Young Adult that has slightly more mature content). What are their names? Where do they live? Where do they work? What are their qualifications? What are their histories? Do any of them have a criminal record? I’m not saying anyone should make death threats against them and their families like right-wing election deniers do to election workers, nor that people should demonstrate outside their homes. But I think concerned parents have a right to know who’s deciding what little Johnny can read. You shouldn't be surprised to discover that most parents have never set foot into their child's school library even during Scholastic Book Week, but talking to the librarian and (if the librarian is lucky enough to have an assistant) one will usually discover it is the librarian who does initial reviews and once again, depends upon various state and/or local district policies but names are usually not a problem. With respect to criminal history, I wouldn't have been able to volunteer in the district anywhere w/o a background check and most people I have been around on committees have had their names put forward by teachers/admins or thought they had the skillset to do whatever committee tasks were needed. I did volunteer for many years in an elementary library (the upper grade schools used student volunteers) and there are a lot of parents who really do not know how to shelve a book., what books are available, or how wide the reading ability can be on a K-4 campus. And that is the clincher right there. You have nine year olds that can read at a HS level but most librarians I interacted with knew that it is difficult to navigate (in the short time they have with the children each week) age appropriate topics for advanced readers. Then again, the parents back in the day that wanted to BAN Harry Potter but hadn't read the series can form a line out the door. Also, to add onto @horn4life's excellent post, if you've ever been around a lot of children's literature you do do not have to be particularly observant to notice just how startling the difference is between a quality children's book vs a cheapo GOP self-published or discount drugstore book. One will have a wonderful simpatico between the illustrations and the text, the others all have the same look and appearance of a paint by number I-just-threw-this-together and if the words rhyme it's probably good enough to sell. A **book with Caldecott Award worthy illustrations is often one a child will remember for years and years. (or the text, or the entire piece depending upon the reading level targeted). All I have to do is say kerplink-kerplank-kerplunk and my children know exactly to which book I'm referring. Those well written beautifully illustrated books and books in general are pricey, and that is why the pooled resource of a library as book center for all is so important. So of course the GOP hates them. *CCBC is the Cooperative Children's Book Center. https://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/ I don't know if they have twitter, but they have Face: https://www.facebook.com/SOECCBC/ **Not all books have to be the fanciest in order to be considered good quality children's lit as much as the ability to engage the child's mind where they are and where they are headed (with respect to verbal/nonverbal and other intellectual milestones). For example, babies love board books, squeaky bath books, cloth books, and the little books that have things for them to do included in the story (always be careful with those because they sometimes have small parts that can detach.) Perfect for that age group because they can use all the senses while sitting on a caregiver's lap snuggled in a safe while they look, taste, listen, and feel.

SIAP. The Onion always nails it.

RE: The rent, nonpayment of assorted expenses, etc. Perhaps he will go with the 'whaddya gonna do about it' aka 'the make me' assertion knowing he can drag any legal issues out for a lot longer than certain other people Who Shall Not Be Named due to his wealth, reduced somewhat though it may be. He also knows, if he did not before, that he can easily make himself out to be the victim and sic any and all of his friendly followers after any foes with just one or two tweets (SEE: Roth, Yoel) regardless of veracity. This was written much more eloquently by other posters several pages back, but whether his brain is 'broken' or not, he is using the outrage machine to great effect right now and in a manner that really should be setting off more and more alarm bells for what it may mean in the future. I believe author/journalist/pundit Greg O'Lear or maybe it was Brian Beutler (sp?) commented that should one replace the name Elon Musk with the name Steve Bannon it should be made clear enough. I don't think that is far off the mark given the chaos that has been a feature not a bug. I know the whole 'reading her DMs' and his ex and all that is bandied about a lot, but at this point that is not going to matter. The rest of what I think pushes political boundaries in a nonpolitical thread so I'll stop there.

That seemed to be our experience when we caught it in September. One of my children had it, and I didn't fall ill and test positive until about five or six days later while my spouse fell ill after about two-three days after exposure. We are vaccinated, etc but had not gotten the latest booster at the time but fortunately the worst of the symptoms didn't hang around for too long. We all have RSV now, yuck.

JFC, just hand the man a Sharpie, a roll of paper towels, and a bottle of bleach and accelerate the timeline cause I'm rather weary of it all.

His inner circle has a similar viewpoint and squishy politics that tech oligarchs seem to share--I'm thinking shades of Mark Rylance's character from his recent Netflix movie. Without going full CR, from my perspective it's a bit messiah (only I/we can save whatever or whomever they deem worth saving) complex regardless of whether the narcissism exists. The adulation is certainly tied in with that, but it is complicated because there are layers and not only Elon involved in this, IMO. His closest bros aren't just riding his coat-tails for fun--they have their own agenda as well, both with their own 'brand' and also for their own gains in wealth and power.

I've read too many NYT so I could only read the bits previously posted, but the author is wishy washy about the entire 'nuance' of Musk. It's no surprise that Democratic Feinstein received dollars from Tesla's owner. During the time the HQ was in Palo Alto, there was no way she was going to be unseated, nor was donating to a politician who sits on energy and tech subcommittees a dumb move. That doesn't mean that someone is a party supporter as much as someone knows how influence works. Few are so loyal as Mike Lindell and most give strategically to gain the most benefit. People change for a lot of reasons, witness the migration of conservatives from the Republican party who see money being wasted on performative stage acts instead of on issues that can affect real change. But, you do raise a good point about Twitter and propaganda. It's hard to say what he's doing, but he's got a little less than two years until decision day (11/5/2024) and (I suspect) some 'helpful' suggestions being whispered in his ear. Guess we'll see.

If one happens to venture into the CR to the Marjorie Taylor Greene thread and reads the link to an Atlantic article about her rise to DC, there are some similarities in the way certain personalities react to the subsequent rise to power and fame.

Followed by

Anecdotal, but my Gen Z kiddos and their friends see Elon for what he is and it is not the visionary in the thread title....

Apparently Stermon had suffered a stroke recently and was going to 'distance' himself from politics. So, the rumors that he had received a 'terminal' diagnosis due to his health and thus the impetus for his death may mean something entirely different if one follows the other rumors related to the investigation currently ongoing by LEOs regarding sexual misconduct, or the ones that were shut down regarding election improprieties in Florida.

Ah, the company one keeps. I, too, like to socialize with family and friends, but an event like this leads to heartburn and regrets Brett.

The tea I have from friend in the area is that they're alright. Had a really good RB go down before the season but had a kid transfer in during the summer that has filled his shoes and is young so provided he doesn't get injured will likely be their go to guy for awhile. QB has improved quite a bit. Defense is solid enough. Coach was moved up when the OG coach left to coach at Decatur and didn't take all the staff so not a big change for the team. Some butthurt in the community as CS is the 'new' school and the older hs just had their coach (Fedora?) resign. Don't know the story on that. Keep in mind it's a band parent so have no clue if anything I said is just the usual bland sports fodder but I suspect it is.

^^^^ Grackle Guano Since now it appears its only use is to fertilize 'hate.'

Elon giving off some of those each accusation is a confession vibes....

That is the same recipe (Drummond's) I use for Salisbury Steak, and the whole family really enjoys it. I used to use another one (might have been from my Mom's recipe drawer) but we've been using this one ever since I first checked it out. Some of the semi-regular meals in our rotation that might fit in your category are: roast beef with carrots and potatoes and onions (my next oldest's favorite), meatloaf, New England Clam Chowder, fried chicken, salmon patties (we had those this week with the last of the leftover fillet), sloppy joes, pork chops with milk gravy, chicken pot pie (my oldest's favorite) and one of my favorites: corned beef with vegetables and soda bread. We don't eat out a lot so we pull from various types of cuisines, but these are some we've made in the last few weeks or so.

From one of the comments, someone remarked on Greene's request for a pardon from Trump. Maybe she should be thinking about that instead of attempting to wrap her brain around foreign policy and adversarial relationships.

Those are drapes from Melania's latest reno.

I certainly understand why folks are quick with the witty responses, but I also see some of the pathos behind the human beings. I mean, around the 14th century just after the bubonic plague there were only around 350-375 million people on the planet. None of the exposure or technology or advancements to show what brain chemistry gone awry can be like. Well, maybe other than certain royal families that had issues or STD related mental deterioration that have been highlighted to a great extent because of their power or infamy. I didn't watch the entire video but the woman above is Cambridge educated and that isn't an easily gotten spot. To know that there is something off, that the brain is telling you one thing and repeatedly doing so while another part of the brain also knows that isn't what is observed is a special kind of torture. Society will say, "just stop it," but it is not as simple as it sounds any more than someone with tinnitus can just "ignore" the ringing in their ears. Hence, my comments about the parts of the brain that we've yet to plumb. It all acts in sync and yet we are not all playing the same tune.

Shouldn't be a need for security. Just walk up and tell him how it's great that he's the President of the Bobby Petrino Pen Pal Club and by the time he parses out what that means you'll be long gone. Alternatively and if you'd like to have a more visceral response, there is always the incredulous reaction that you thought his tongue would be longer given that he's licked so many boots with nothing to show for it.

Because it is a rare mental condition? In a way, the mind is the final unexplored frontier for medical research and with a population of just over 8 billion worldwide, maybe scientists can figure out how to help aggregate groups of humans who fall into the range of behaviors that struggle with the disconcordance of brain and body. I get the comments and it's Surly, but the brain is a fascinating piece of work.