Saturday, October 06, 2018

31: One Month to Go


23 comments:

  1. listener--replies on previous page. Re Susan Rice, I don't see that she has any connection to Maine.

    Alan

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    1. How much connection did Bobby Kennedy or HRC have to New York?

      Mit Romney got himself elected as governor of Massachusetts by giving his son's address and living in his basement for a while. At least, that's the way I heard it.

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    2. Alan, Susan Rice doesn't live in Maine, but her mother grew up in Portland, Maine and she has relatives connected with Bowdoin College.

      "Rice, whose grandparents immigrated from Jamaica to Portland, has a strong family connection to Bowdoin, according to the Press Herald. Rice’s mother, Lois Dickson Rice, who died in January 2017, received an honorary degree from the college in 1984, the Press Herald reported. Rice also has four uncles and two cousins who are Bowdoin alumni, the paper reported."

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  2. Christine Blasey Ford Didn’t Come Forward in Vain [Click]

    My Grandfather Was a Republican Nominee Who Put Country First[Click] “Wendell Willkie has been compared to Donald Trump, but he powerfully articulated liberal ideals of political and economic freedom.” And he was sunk by a chance photo that made him look like a maniac, as memory serves me.

    —Alan

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  3. That's a lovely poem, Alan; it's a long time since I last read it. Thanks. And thanks for the link to contribute to Collins' eventual opponent, whoever that may be. Looks like they're within reach of their four million goal.

    Zipping through the Swallows and Amazons books. Apparently, there are twelve of them,and I've just started the ninth. It's a trifle confusing though since, as so often happens, publication order is not the same as internal chronological order. I'm sorted out, though, and know where I am. The one I just started, The Big Six purports to be something of a detective story.

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  4. This is from a post by Dan Rather.

    " Cut through the clouds of the present, consider the long river of history, and one can see this as a breakthrough moment for women. To paraphrase the daughter who recently said in another context, "women have never had a better moment to be heard in politics, to make a difference.” That is, if they—and those of us men who support them—seize the moment (if they don’t miss the moment as Senator Collins has.)

    What that requires is that women and the men who love them and hate what has happen adopt an attitude of “we can be beaten but never defeated.” Adopt it, cling to it and live it as a credo.

    Be relentless. When things are bad, when the going is tough, just keep putting one foot in front of the other and carry forward. Also, maybe take as a goal what an old man once said to me: "keep trying, keep fighting, keep smiling every minute you’re alive; you’re going to be dead a long time.”

    And recognize that you are not alone. Far from it. Look to your left and right, before you and behind you, at the millions who will support you on this journey for justice. Fill your lungs with the determined air of action. I find myself humming that old but powerful anthem of the Civil Rights Era. "We'll walk hand in hand!" "We are not afraid!" "We shall overcome!"

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  5. I've just read the newspaper article on the BK vote, and it strikes me as odd that everybody is focusing on Collins rather than Mancin. It was arguably his defection that put BK over the top. Of course, Mancin is irretrievably the Democratic nominee, but still ---

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    1. I would defer to Puddle on this one, but Joe Mansion (sp?) has never impressed me with his dedication to Democratic Party values. Then again, there don't seem to be any Democratic Party values anymore, except perhaps "out-Republican the Republicans."

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    2. I've mentioned Manchin to puddle, but she told me his Republican opponent is actually worse. There WAS a good Progressive woman running against Manchin, a miner's daughter, Paula Jean Swearingen. But, as usual people seem to stick with the familiar no matter how ill it serves you.

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  6. My Sanders Institute sweatshirt arrived in today's mail. It's a grey hoody made of lightweight material but nice and fuzzy inside. I'm wearing it right now.

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  7. FORMER DEAN OF YALE LAW SCHOOL:”His performance is indelibly etched in the public mind. For as long as Kavanaugh sits on the court, he will remain a symbol of partisan anger, a haunting reminder that behind the smiling face of judicial benevolence lies the force of an urgent will to power. No one who felt the force of that anger could possibly believe that Kavanaugh might actually be a detached and impartial judge. Each and every Republican who votes for Kavanaugh, therefore, effectively announces that they care more about controlling the Supreme Court than they do about the legitimacy of the court itself. There will be hell to pay.”

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    1. As if it weren't bad enough that they appointed Bush the Younger President.

      Alan

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  8. Reply function broken.

    He actually promised that he *wouldn't* be the deciding vote. And wasn't. But way too much casuistry for me. He's mistaken the Turnip vote for a Republican vote. It wasn't. It was an anti-Hilary vote. Coal jobs are never coming back, is true, but a truth too big for people whose lives depend on those mines.

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    1. The question is, did his decision affect Collins' vote at all? With him voting "yes," her vote isn't crucial and she can fall in line with the party. But if he votes "no," I can see her voting "present." In which case Murakowski votes "no," and BK is defeated 50-49 unless that Montana senator flies back.

      All speculation, of course.

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  9. Hmmm... Looks like the CrowdPac fundraiser for Sen. Collins' 2020 Democratic opponent is coming right along--nearing a million dollars a day.

    Alan

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    1. Yes, I didn't sign up for it in advance, but you can bet I'll be sending money when the time comes.

      On a sour note I just discovered that the wax turtle who calls himself "Mitch" shares my birthday, except he's two years older. Ugh! Birthday pollution! And since I feel pretty dang spry and healthy the chance of that POS dropping dead is pretty slim.

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  10. Bill, she declared before he did.

    Susan, men die younger.

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  11. I am reminded of a sign I saw on the back of a big truck donkeys' years ago:

    JESUS IS COMING!
    And, boy, is he pissed.

    I should be most pleased if the same should be true of Womankind this coming election. Including registered Republicans.

    Alan

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  12. Susan Collins definitely declared before Joe Manchin did. And he is being castigated by the Republican leadership for being weak and insecure in waiting so long. They desperately want to unseat him and put a Republican in his place, and they figure his own party might be mad enough at him to make it possible. I believe he really wanted to vote No, but he knew he could definitely kiss his seat goodbye, and how would that help West Virginia going forward? Some of the decisions were very difficult. I'm not upset with Sen Murkowski for voting "Present" so that Sen. Daines would not have to leave his daughter's wedding to come back and vote. That was decent of her, since it wasn't going to change the outcome and she made it clear she was NOT in favour of Kavanaugh. But I am really disgusted with Sen. Susan Collins for turning out to be such a party player after all. No doubt the Republicans are going to pour money into her campaign. I think we need to think about sending a little $ to her challenger and possibly to Manchin as well. What say you on the latter, puddle? Is there another person more worthy for West Virginia for whom some funding would make it possible to win?

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  13. They don't need to overturn Roe v Wade to wreak havoc:

    "a new conservative court majority intent on restricting abortion wouldn’t need to overturn Roe, which would leave abortion laws to the states, but could effectively end abortion rights by approving restrictions that limit availability and set up medical and emotional roadblocks for doctors and women."

    https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-07-08/democrats-botch-supreme-court-politics

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  14. In WV-02, Alex Mooney has a 51% to 33% lead over Democratic challenger Talley Sergent among all potential voters and a 52% to 38% lead among likely voters in both models. While the sample sizes for these two electorates are small (n=87 for WV-01 and n=138 for WV-02), the GOP candidates’ leads are outside the margin of error for the gap in all cases

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