Doug Mataconis held a B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University and J.D. from George Mason University School of Law. He joined the staff of OTB in May 2010 and contributed a staggering 16,483 posts before his retirement in January 2020. He passed far too young in July 2021.
“I don’t have any problem with women candidates I just don’t like Hillary because she’s too shrill.”
“Okay, fine she’s not running this time. How about Elizabeth Warren.”
“Oh she’s too shrill too.”
“Okay, whatever. Have you seen Kamala Harris?”
“Yes.”
“What did you think?”
“Too… what’s the word…?”
“Shrill?”
“That’s it!”
“Boy you certainly aren’t just sexist, are you?”
“Certainly not!”
So a reporter asked Donald Trump what he thought about the controversy with Biden’s debate response on the 1970s bussing issue, and Trump’s answer made it clear he thinks the controversy was about whether kids should walk to school instead.
I couldn’t sleep last night so I flipped on the TV at about 3 AM. I turned to NHK, a Japanese station that has some interesting travelogues about Japan, which is #1 on my bucket list to visit. They had breaking news, and Trump was on speaking. I can’t stand listening to him so I muted the TV and put on captions. He was speaking about the Summit. All the words he was using were adjectives like big, important, beautiful, wonderful, etc. I’m guessing he speaks at bout fifth-sixth grade level. Also, since the remarks were not prepared, he has no depth at all. It is so apparent that he has no understanding at all about any issues. He’s a moron.
I thought I’d mention that Audible is running a 2 books for one credit member-only “Never Stop Learning” sale in selected titles in non-fiction, science, history, etc. including tons of Great Courses lecture series.
Lucky me, I had six credits piled up, so I’m picking up lots of books which will take me past next year. Sale ends July 4th at 11:59 Pacific time.
Currently I’m reading Aftermath: Star Wars. It’s a different book than I’m used to, as it includes sound effects, background sounds, and some music (including the Star Wars fanfare at the start). It’s part of a series covering part of the period after “Return of the Jedi.”
@An Interested Party: Republicans just get progressively worse. Dumber and more racist every year. By 2024 they’ll be running Coach Dave Daubenmire, and the VP candidate will be that guy who shot up that Cosmic Pizza place. 🙂
@An Interested Party: if Trump can manage not to start a war for the next 18 months though he’ll go down in history as a better president than George W bush, who got half a million people killed.
Public service announcement inspired by reading through a Twitter comment thread about Bret Stephens’s latest stupid New York Times article:
If a name ends with an s, you do not make it possessive by putting an apostrophe before the s. If his name is Bret Stephens, do not refer to “Bret Stephen’s article.” They’re Tiger Woods’s golf clubs, Alanis’s songs, and Bill Gates’s book recommendations. If you’re a pervert you can just put the apostrophe and leave off the second s: Gates’. But it’s never Gate’s.
Josh Marshall makes the same point I tried to make in a previous thread:
Because we are humans we tend to think, confront the past and the future, in terms of symbols and moments. I’ve been reading through all your emails that I asked for last night and I was struck that one moment came up again and again: the Trump/Clinton debates, specifically the town hall style debate on October 9th, in which Trump seemed to stalk Clinton around the stage, getting into her space, looming over her. Reader after reader invoked that moment and said Harris clearly wouldn’t let that happen.
I don’t know if she or her strategists specifically were thinking of that moment. But as I wrote last night, her physical energy, body language and assertion of mastery and power were her biggest message of the evening. It was meant for last night but just as much, I think, Trump. She was telling voters clearly that she would put up with nothing from Trump.
This was posted over at Balloon Juice. Hilarious video of Ivanka trying butt in on a talk with some G20 heavy-hitters. Gets side-eye and awkward silence in response.
@SenyorDave: Get a JR rail pass for a week/two weeks/however much time you’ll be visiting. Unless they’ve changed the system, you need to purchase the one for tourists outside the country. You can even get Shinkansen rail passes (not for the Nozomi, however) which I highly recommend if you want to do any amount of traveling. All the JR lines have english signs at each station; the private train lines can still be lacking.
Things you definitely want to do while in Japan: spend at least one night at a Japanese onsen (hot springs) with a rotenburo (outside pool). Nothing like lounging in hot water looking up at the stars and listening to the nightbirds and insects…
@Teve: I’m much kinder than you :-), so I’m willing to give people a pass of any “Stephens” name for possessive errors. The way the name is pronounced, the terminal “s” frequently gets semi-elided and tends to be difficult to hear to begin with. Easy mistake to make.
On the other hand, considering that you’re referring to a review of an article, it’s a little harder for me to allow because the person should have the article in question at hand. That makes the misspelling doltish because you can see the name right there. DUH!
Interestingly enough, I was in grad school while the fluff up about “apostrophe s” or “s apostrophe” was going on. From what I recall, the decision to go with apostrophe s as the universal standard (not rule) was because people couldn’t remember “the rule” because it’s so seldom used. Even 30 years later (wow), students still ask me which is correct sometimes. I tell them just be sure to not leave out the apostrophe and they can stick on an “s” if it looks right to them. (I know that’s risky with students, but “either way is correct” isn’t clear enough for some of them.)
@grumpy realist: In the case of the cloud, an alternative definition would include having given millions in tax breaks in return for buying the electricity that the aluminum plant used to use at the same (or a similar) discounted rate. (See: server farms in The Dalles, OR)
The Democrat candidates were invited to address a gathering of the Indian First Nations chiefs in Denver, CO.
Each spoke in total for almost two hours about their plans for increasing the standard of living for all of their citizens by totally free government grants for free college educations, free Medicare for all,etc. They mentioned how they always supported these issues that came forward to them.
Although They were vague about the details for the funding of the plans, they spoke eloquently about these ideas if one wins the White House in 2020.
At the conclusion of his speech, the chiefs presented each of them with a
beautiful plaque inscribed with their new Indian name, “Walking Eagle.”
The proud candidates accepted the plaque and then returned home.
A news reporter asked the chiefs how they came to select the new name they had given to the candidates.
The Chiefs explained that “Walking Eagle” is the name given to a bird so full of shit it can no longer fly.
@grumpy realist: Point taken! Still in all, a relatively cute joke given Guarneri’s usual output. Way more clever than his basic schtick. I wonder what YA reader joke book he got it from and whether the book belongs to his grandkid or great grandkid.
“It was in 2004 that we first encountered Internet versions of a piece about Native Americans tagging a pandering U.S. politician seeking their votes in an upcoming election with the name “Walking Eagle” (or “Running Eagle”) because that’s “the name given to a bird so full of shit it can no longer fly.” This item is simply an old bit of humor that is dusted off and trotted out every election cycle…”
“I don’t have any problem with women candidates I just don’t like Hillary because she’s too shrill.”
“Okay, fine she’s not running this time. How about Elizabeth Warren.”
“Oh she’s too shrill too.”
“Okay, whatever. Have you seen Kamala Harris?”
“Yes.”
“What did you think?”
“Too… what’s the word…?”
“Shrill?”
“That’s it!”
“Boy you certainly aren’t just sexist, are you?”
“Certainly not!”
When all your friends are in the club but you got turned away at the door.
“i know you’re angry but this isn’t what it looks like”.
@Teve: Anne Laurie put that up at Balloon Juice this morn. As I said then, “That’s gonna leave a mark.”
@Teve: Love it!
So a reporter asked Donald Trump what he thought about the controversy with Biden’s debate response on the 1970s bussing issue, and Trump’s answer made it clear he thinks the controversy was about whether kids should walk to school instead.
I couldn’t sleep last night so I flipped on the TV at about 3 AM. I turned to NHK, a Japanese station that has some interesting travelogues about Japan, which is #1 on my bucket list to visit. They had breaking news, and Trump was on speaking. I can’t stand listening to him so I muted the TV and put on captions. He was speaking about the Summit. All the words he was using were adjectives like big, important, beautiful, wonderful, etc. I’m guessing he speaks at bout fifth-sixth grade level. Also, since the remarks were not prepared, he has no depth at all. It is so apparent that he has no understanding at all about any issues. He’s a moron.
@Stormy Dragon: did you see his response to a reporter asking him about Putin’s comments about liberal democracy?
@Teve: It wasn’t pretty…this idiot makes George W. Bush look like a genius…
I thought I’d mention that Audible is running a 2 books for one credit member-only “Never Stop Learning” sale in selected titles in non-fiction, science, history, etc. including tons of Great Courses lecture series.
Lucky me, I had six credits piled up, so I’m picking up lots of books which will take me past next year. Sale ends July 4th at 11:59 Pacific time.
Currently I’m reading Aftermath: Star Wars. It’s a different book than I’m used to, as it includes sound effects, background sounds, and some music (including the Star Wars fanfare at the start). It’s part of a series covering part of the period after “Return of the Jedi.”
@An Interested Party: Republicans just get progressively worse. Dumber and more racist every year. By 2024 they’ll be running Coach Dave Daubenmire, and the VP candidate will be that guy who shot up that Cosmic Pizza place. 🙂
@Kathy: I just picked up Quicksilver at the library, I’m going to reread the whole Baroque Cycle. It should take me through about Halloween 😀
@An Interested Party: if Trump can manage not to start a war for the next 18 months though he’ll go down in history as a better president than George W bush, who got half a million people killed.
Public service announcement inspired by reading through a Twitter comment thread about Bret Stephens’s latest stupid New York Times article:
If a name ends with an s, you do not make it possessive by putting an apostrophe before the s. If his name is Bret Stephens, do not refer to “Bret Stephen’s article.” They’re Tiger Woods’s golf clubs, Alanis’s songs, and Bill Gates’s book recommendations. If you’re a pervert you can just put the apostrophe and leave off the second s: Gates’. But it’s never Gate’s.
Who let the’se idiot’s on my internet? 😛
Josh Marshall makes the same point I tried to make in a previous thread:
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/power
This was posted over at Balloon Juice. Hilarious video of Ivanka trying butt in on a talk with some G20 heavy-hitters. Gets side-eye and awkward silence in response.
https://twitter.com/ParhamGhobadi/status/1145074623035449357?s=20
The Guardian has come up with a list of Silicon Valley vocabulary, with definitions. I chortled at quite a few of them.
@SenyorDave: Get a JR rail pass for a week/two weeks/however much time you’ll be visiting. Unless they’ve changed the system, you need to purchase the one for tourists outside the country. You can even get Shinkansen rail passes (not for the Nozomi, however) which I highly recommend if you want to do any amount of traveling. All the JR lines have english signs at each station; the private train lines can still be lacking.
Things you definitely want to do while in Japan: spend at least one night at a Japanese onsen (hot springs) with a rotenburo (outside pool). Nothing like lounging in hot water looking up at the stars and listening to the nightbirds and insects…
@Teve: I’m much kinder than you :-), so I’m willing to give people a pass of any “Stephens” name for possessive errors. The way the name is pronounced, the terminal “s” frequently gets semi-elided and tends to be difficult to hear to begin with. Easy mistake to make.
On the other hand, considering that you’re referring to a review of an article, it’s a little harder for me to allow because the person should have the article in question at hand. That makes the misspelling doltish because you can see the name right there. DUH!
Interestingly enough, I was in grad school while the fluff up about “apostrophe s” or “s apostrophe” was going on. From what I recall, the decision to go with apostrophe s as the universal standard (not rule) was because people couldn’t remember “the rule” because it’s so seldom used. Even 30 years later (wow), students still ask me which is correct sometimes. I tell them just be sure to not leave out the apostrophe and they can stick on an “s” if it looks right to them. (I know that’s risky with students, but “either way is correct” isn’t clear enough for some of them.)
@grumpy realist: In the case of the cloud, an alternative definition would include having given millions in tax breaks in return for buying the electricity that the aluminum plant used to use at the same (or a similar) discounted rate. (See: server farms in The Dalles, OR)
@Just nutha ignint cracker: I can be a jackas’s at time’s.
News Item:
The Democrat candidates were invited to address a gathering of the Indian First Nations chiefs in Denver, CO.
Each spoke in total for almost two hours about their plans for increasing the standard of living for all of their citizens by totally free government grants for free college educations, free Medicare for all,etc. They mentioned how they always supported these issues that came forward to them.
Although They were vague about the details for the funding of the plans, they spoke eloquently about these ideas if one wins the White House in 2020.
At the conclusion of his speech, the chiefs presented each of them with a
beautiful plaque inscribed with their new Indian name, “Walking Eagle.”
The proud candidates accepted the plaque and then returned home.
A news reporter asked the chiefs how they came to select the new name they had given to the candidates.
The Chiefs explained that “Walking Eagle” is the name given to a bird so full of shit it can no longer fly.
@Guarneri: Considering the promises that The Fat Mango has made (and not carried out), this moth-eaten tale really applies to another person.
Not that you’ll ever admit it, however, Drew.
@Teve: Is it really that you’re being a jackass, or is it that I’m being a pedant? Either way, it’s all good because it’s open forum.
@grumpy realist: Point taken! Still in all, a relatively cute joke given Guarneri’s usual output. Way more clever than his basic schtick. I wonder what YA reader joke book he got it from and whether the book belongs to his grandkid or great grandkid.
@Guarneri:
You need new material.
snopes
“It was in 2004 that we first encountered Internet versions of a piece about Native Americans tagging a pandering U.S. politician seeking their votes in an upcoming election with the name “Walking Eagle” (or “Running Eagle”) because that’s “the name given to a bird so full of shit it can no longer fly.” This item is simply an old bit of humor that is dusted off and trotted out every election cycle…”