Thursday’s Forum
Steven L. Taylor
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Thursday, April 27, 2023
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42 comments
About Steven L. Taylor
Steven L. Taylor is a Professor of Political Science and a College of Arts and Sciences Dean. His main areas of expertise include parties, elections, and the institutional design of democracies. His most recent book is the co-authored
A Different Democracy: American Government in a 31-Country Perspective. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Texas and his BA from the University of California, Irvine. He has been blogging since 2003 (originally at the now defunct Poliblog).
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It’s no wonder she’s -23 and trailing all potential R and Dem challengers.
Kyrsten Sinema’s Rock Star Campaign Spending Possibly Less Ethical Than Clarence Thomas On Random Tuesday – Wonkette
Do like the gif, that appears on the post.
So did Donald Trump put in an appearance at his wife’s 53rd birthday celebration or not?
Where is everyone?
@CSK:
I’m in a storage area disassembling ~4,000 flashcard packets so they can be recycled (what an astounding waste of money and man-hours).
I’m back at the hospital for a minor revision. I’ll be a fun day that I’ll be asleep for.
@Mu Yixiao:
At least you get paid, or so I assume.
@Beth:
I’m sure it will go fine.
Jerry Springer…RIP. Age, 79.
In a double wide somewhere in Ohio, someone weeps.
@Beth:
Best of luck.
I’m in a Vegas casino hotel, having begun the purchase of a condo. I’m remaining quiet as my wife does school visit Zooms in the next room.
South Korea’s President Yoon sang “American Pie” at a WH State dinner last night.
Anti-choice activists like to claim that unwanted children can be adopted.
Here is MT(G) belittling adoptive parents as something far less-than biological parents.
https://twitter.com/NoLieWithBTC/status/1651403965341347841
These MAGAt’s are really horrible human beings.
@daryl and his brother darryl:
And here is a woman calling out anti-choice Senators for the very real pain and suffering that their policies inflict.
https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1651262879788859392
Cruz was, apparently, in Cancun at the time.
@CSK: I have three 1,000-word pieces I need to research and complete by COB today, and another that needs outlining because it’s due tomorrow. I’ve just finished one (yay?) so thought I’d pop in and see what’s shaking. Back to the grind momentarily.
@CSK: “Do U care? I don’t.”
@CSK: And in addition to everybody being gone, it’s a tough day for political trivia, too. 🙁
@CSK:
@daryl and his brother darryl:
Thanks. The worst thing about this is I just got bumped back a hour. They’re just doing a minor fix and a friend just told me it happened to her too.
Ugh, and the iv sucks too. I hate ivs
@Jen:
Good luck. I’m sure you’ll cope admirably.
@Just nutha ignint cracker:
Well, I don’t actually care. I’m just curious.
E. Jean Carroll said today that Kellyanne ConwAy’s husband George convinced her to sue Trump.
This is getting incestuous.
Report that this winter gone, the EU for the first time generated more electricity from renewables than fossil fuel for the first winter on record.
40% of electricity from October and March, fossil fuel 37%.
Balance from nukes; even though nuke output was down as well, due to ongoing delays with French reactor refurbs.
@JohnSF:
Where does Vladimir Putin go to get his apology?
I got to hand it to St. Elon God Mars Emperor of Phobos. He’s proven alchemy to be real. Sure, it was an accidental discovery, but so were many others.
Anyway, he turned the Blue Checkmark into a Scarlet Letter.
Impressive.
@Michael Reynolds: Is the condo in the hotel? Living in a casino really sounds like the perfect Las Vegas experience.
@Kathy: I like that the Blue Check Brigade gets their replies pushed up, so all of the major posters on the site get an extra dose of unpleasant reply guys.
@Gustopher:
As a means of getting relatively normal people really cheesed off with the loons of both alt-right and Corbynite-style left, it’s a stroke of genius.
@Gustopher:
Shortly after the Phobos Mars God Emperor bought Twitter, I read a comment likening to Elmer Fudd buying a social network populated by Bugs Bunny clones.
@JohnSF:
When a smart person embarks on a stupid course of action, their intelligence often gets turned against them.
Well, that was fun.
@Beth:
I know it wasn’t, but I assume everything went well.
@CSK:
Nope. Too busy ranting on social media about his rape trial to attend his wife’s BD party.
Ya just know he would’ve done that at the party had he gone, so it was a wise decision.
@dazedandconfused: That’s so sad. All of her guests could have sung a song in his honor. He’d have liked that.
@dazedandconfused:
She was probably relieved not to have him show up there.
@CSK: That reminds me. Stephen Crowder recently learned that no fault divorce is a thing, and that his wife didn’t need to ask permission to divorce his ass. He is now appalled, as are some others on the right who are of the “What is a woman? Property!” political persuasion.
If they got their way, I suspect a lot of men would be upset that they cannot shed their wives, when their wives are sticking it out because they don’t have the money not to.
Anyway, isn’t it time for Donald to trade down for a new wife?
@Gustopher:
Not in, but close. 5 minute walk to Westgate Casino (meh), 10 minutes to the Sahara (also meh) but practically on top of the Fontainebleau which is still under construction, expected within a year. We wanted to be south rather than north (better restaurants at Aria and Bellagio and Caesars) but could not contemplate a place with no openable windows or balcony. Gave us heebee jeebees. And the MGM towers wanted 2400 a month HOA, which is madness.
I hate to sound like every California refugee, but Jesus, real estate is cheaper. Sold our LA house for 600K over what we paid just over 4 years ago, so in effect we lived in LA for free. We sold for what we wanted to a member of the indie rock group HAIM. Very Silver Lake.
Hope to have the move done by first week of June.
@Gustopher:
I would think that, at age 53, Melania is well past her expiration date.
@CSK:
Yup. They ended up doing some revisions on the scars on my hips and that’s the only thing that hurts.
One funny thing did happen. I’ve had a lot of surgeries over the last couple years. This is the first time the anesthesiologist said “you’re going to be loopy and not in your right mind when you wake up. Make sure you stay off social media.” I thought that was great advice.
@Beth:
I’m very glad to hear that it all went well, and that the pain is manageable. Are you home?
@Michael Reynolds:
I visited the Westgate when it was the Vegas Hilton in 2008. The only thing it had then worth the visit, was Star Trek: The Experience. There was a motion simulator ride and a 3D movie. Kind of ok. The exhibit of Trek props in the line waiting for the movie was better.
But the best part was the full size reproduction of the Enterprise D bridge for the sim ride. It was amazing to be on the bridge.
The attraction closed a few months later.
@Beth:
The only thing the anesthesiologist said to me for the hernia surgery was “Can you slide over closer to the center of the table?”
Here is a video of a woman testifying in front of the Montana state legislature before they voted on antitrans legislation. She is talking about her suicidal trans child, and how she woke up every morning wondering if her child was still with her.
You would have to be a monster not to feel emotional about this.
https://twitter.com/davidhth/status/1651623145332252676?s=20
The emotion you feel is rage. Pure, unvarnished rage at this awful woman. She’s a lawmaker.
Also, someone responds to the tweet containing the video with “ I suddenly don’t feel as bad about my own parenting”, which made me laugh because that’s the kind of guy I am.
Three months ago somebody put together a report on the issues with SpaceX’s launch pad.
Limited engine tests had been tearing up the concrete so they decided to try fontag….and I would bet, contrary to this report, it was under it for the second test and also got chewed up. I makes no sense for them to have not used it in the first repair as it was clearly on hand. He is probably mistaken about that second batch being the original and only batch. Hence Elon’s comments about needing a steel shield.
“The schedule! We must keep the schedule!” thinking caused the Challenger disaster. Learning old lessons the hard way. Some projects can be driven by the schedule and sometimes it has to be the other way around.
@Michael Reynolds: If you’re not opening your door straight into the mouth of hell, is it really the full experience?
I’m thinking you could get a tax writeoff on the insane HOA fees if you write a book where the main character hasn’t left the casino in 15 years.
@Michael Reynolds: I was going to suggest the MGM towers, where I stayed once for a vacation, but that is robbery. Too bad; good location.
@Beth:
Glad things went well for you. My wishes for a speedy recovery.
@Kathy:
My last surgery was removal of the chemo pump (located about where a pacemaker goes, line runs over the collarbone into the jugular). Apparently, I entertained the surgical team with a 45-minute comedy routine, punctuated by them having to pause because I had them laughing too hard. No recording, all I have is the picture of the bruise (about a size 9) where it looked like they had to stand on my chest to pull the sucker out.
@Gustopher: Before I can get enraged, I have to know (and am rude enough to ask) “how did that work out for you” and “how did your reaction work out for her.” I suspect that I’ll be sad about the answers, but I can’t fix any of this and am not qualified to tell that woman how to feel. We all have to play the hands we’re dealt, and I suspect that most of us play them mostly poorly.
When I was in Korea, my students used to ask me if I was close to my parents and brothers and sisters (that part was easy, don’t have sisters). I used to take them over to the map and show them that my parents lived in Seattle and that my brother lived near Washington DC and that I live in Korea. And I didn’t have anywhere near the problems with my mom that this mom has with her trans child. I was still relieved when my mom passed away. We weren’t close (or maybe too much so).