Rock harder.
Saturday, September 09, 2017
Is We Capable Of Learning
If true, more awareness than I thought Trump had.
If Trump's primary goal is to be popular then for ONE MILLION DOLLARS I will tell him how. I won't tell him how to be a good Democrat. I will tell him how to please the majority of Republicans while adding another 10-15% of Dems to get him over the 50% line. It is so easy.
A Trump adviser says that after a tumultuous seven months in office, it had finally dawned on the president: "People really f@&@ing hate me." For someone who has spent his life lapping up adulation, however fake, it was a harsh realization. This is a man with an especially acute need for affirmation.
If Trump's primary goal is to be popular then for ONE MILLION DOLLARS I will tell him how. I won't tell him how to be a good Democrat. I will tell him how to please the majority of Republicans while adding another 10-15% of Dems to get him over the 50% line. It is so easy.
Tragic
I don't always think I'm obligated to comment on the tragic events in the lives of public figures I don't know, but since I dunked on the dude yesterday, I should say that I was genuinely saddened to hear that it has been reported that his son committed suicide (*adding that was what initial reports said but that might not be definitive, but while suicide is especially tragic I don't need to know) on Friday. I'm not such a big person that I can't feel a bit of schadenfreude at, say, someone being fired (obviously), but losing a child like that is a horror no one deserves.
I Don't Care Where Amazon Puts Its New Building
And I find it a bit ridiculous that it's seen as such a "prize" to be won (and therefore sought...), but I still found it to be an interesting exercise to think about which locations match the stated requirements. This is the best analysis I've read - most of the other ones are pretty dumb. One correction: Philly is no longer shrinking! But, yes, there are 2-3 locations in Philly which would be ideal, cheapish, and, sadly, the city would probably throw a bunch of money it does not have at them to get it.
I'd still bet money on the DC area - probably Tyson's Corner - for somewhat obvious reasons.
I'd still bet money on the DC area - probably Tyson's Corner - for somewhat obvious reasons.
Friday, September 08, 2017
Say Goodnight, Eric
So sad.
Fox News Channel will part ways with host Eric Bolling, a host and contributor whose on-air presence at the 21st Century Fox-owned network had been growing in recent months, after allegations surfaced that he had harassed colleagues there, the network confirmed Friday.
Should Be Fun
I don't have sympathy for these people, but it's still worth pointing out that this kind of thing is disruptive and expensive...
Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III has alerted the White House that his team will likely seek to interview six top current and former advisers to President Trump who were witnesses to several episodes relevant to the investigation of Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election, according to people familiar with the request.
Mueller’s interest in the aides, including trusted adviser Hope Hicks, ex-press secretary Sean Spicer and former chief of staff Reince Priebus, reflects how the probe that has dogged Trump’s presidency is starting to penetrate a closer circle of aides around the president.
Ponies
Times change.
It’s time for America to consider seriously a single-payer, government-run health system, says Max Baucus, Montana’s longest serving U.S. senator, former ambassador to China and one of the chief architects of Obamacare.
“My personal view is we’ve got to start looking at single-payer,” Baucus said Thursday night at Montana State University. “I think we should have hearings…. We’re getting there. It’s going to happen.”
Not Their Customer
Few of us are actually the customers of Equifax, and their "customer service line" should be called their "fraud and theft amelioration line." I (as far as I know) never voluntarily entered into any agreement with them. At best I consented to other companies to access my data, which I never voluntarily authorized Equifax to maintain.
Also, don't do anything with their site which at least for awhile was automatically signing you up for binding arbitration and now I believe is letting you "opt out" but, you know, fuck you. This should be an ex-company by tomorrow. They won't be, though, because capitalism or something.
Equifax first discovered the vulnerability in late July, though it chose not to publicly announced it until more than a month later. The company was widely criticized for its customer service approach in the aftermath of the hack, as users struggled to understand if their information had been affected. Others expressed frustration that three senior executives sold about $1.7 million in stock in the days following the discovery of the hack. A spokeswoman for Equifax said the men “had no knowledge that an intrusion had occurred at the time.”
Also, don't do anything with their site which at least for awhile was automatically signing you up for binding arbitration and now I believe is letting you "opt out" but, you know, fuck you. This should be an ex-company by tomorrow. They won't be, though, because capitalism or something.
You Fucked Up - You Trusted Us!
Obviously this is just Trump not taking responsibility for anything.
Anyone with a brain knew that the Republicans were always full of shit about "repeal and replace" because there was never any "replace" that wasn't basically Obamacare but shittier (and they hadn't even bothered to devise that). That's not to say it couldn't have happened. It almost did! But the reason it didn't happen was because it would have been a disaster, not just for the poors (who cares about them!) but for many other stakeholders (hospitals, insurance companies, etc.) that actually have a bit of power in DC.
Ultimately The Maverick did one more Mavericky thing with his vote, but I'm sure he had a few Republican colleagues in the Senate who egged him on because they really didn't want it to pass either. Whether that's 1,2,3,4... Republican senators, I don't know, but there were a few.
The president has told those close to him that he regrets choosing to tackle the repeal and replace of Barack Obama’s health care law as his first legislative push. He has singled out Ryan for blame, saying the speaker assured him it would pass and instead handed him an early, humiliating failure, before ultimate House passage of a revived bill, according to three White House and outside advisers familiar with the conversations but not authorized to speak about them publicly.
Anyone with a brain knew that the Republicans were always full of shit about "repeal and replace" because there was never any "replace" that wasn't basically Obamacare but shittier (and they hadn't even bothered to devise that). That's not to say it couldn't have happened. It almost did! But the reason it didn't happen was because it would have been a disaster, not just for the poors (who cares about them!) but for many other stakeholders (hospitals, insurance companies, etc.) that actually have a bit of power in DC.
Ultimately The Maverick did one more Mavericky thing with his vote, but I'm sure he had a few Republican colleagues in the Senate who egged him on because they really didn't want it to pass either. Whether that's 1,2,3,4... Republican senators, I don't know, but there were a few.
DREAM
The simple explanation is because the black guy couldn't get it done.
WASHINGTON ― House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Thursday that President Donald Trump told her on two occasions that he supports and would sign a bill to give legal status to young undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children.But, hey, if Trump can, why doesn't matter much...
“We made it very clear in the course of the conversation that the priority was to pass the Dream Act,” Pelosi said at a press briefing. “Obviously it has to be bipartisan. The president supports that, he would sign it. But we have to get it passed.”
Thursday, September 07, 2017
Donald and Chuck and Nancy
To be as popular as Obama (who was popular enough though not super popular), all Trump has to do is occasionally make nice with Democrats and occasionally not be the biggest asshole on the planet. It's not hard to be a popular enough Republican president. Democrats are suckers for A Good Republican, so much so that they don't have to be very good.
Destruction
If we aren't going to get serious about climate change (we aren't), we'd better get serious about ameliorating its impact. This is not a moral approach - as a rich country we can afford to do what other countries can't - but it is at least a practical one.
...and evacuation is not as practical as people think. Obviously people still have time to evacuate, so not everyone is stampeding out at rush hour on Friday, but highways just don't have the capacity that people think. I don't know anything about the transportation networks around Miami, but one lane of highway can carry about 43,000 cars per day at *peak* capacity. Obviously once congestion hits that number is reduced. Adding more cars means fewer cars move. And of course while an evacuation can be staggered, it won't be "1800 cars per hour per lane in perfect formation" staggered. 650,000 people is a lot.
That's before we get into issues of poverty and disability and...
...and evacuation is not as practical as people think. Obviously people still have time to evacuate, so not everyone is stampeding out at rush hour on Friday, but highways just don't have the capacity that people think. I don't know anything about the transportation networks around Miami, but one lane of highway can carry about 43,000 cars per day at *peak* capacity. Obviously once congestion hits that number is reduced. Adding more cars means fewer cars move. And of course while an evacuation can be staggered, it won't be "1800 cars per hour per lane in perfect formation" staggered. 650,000 people is a lot.
Over 650,000 residents are affected by the evacuation orders and being told to seek safety in other locations or at a county shelter.
That's before we get into issues of poverty and disability and...
Praise Jeebus For The House Freedom Caucus
Since 2011 they have prevented horrible things from happening by demanding that even more horrible things happen.
They're evil and crazy, but they're doing a wonderful job.
They're evil and crazy, but they're doing a wonderful job.
Please Bring Us Jobs, Amazon Overlord
Amazon is doing a Hunger Games contest (not really) for a second headquarters location
The thing is there just aren't many places that fit this.
50K jobs, million+metro area. There are some specific requirements about daily flight locations, too. I don't particularly care about where Bezos goes, but what are the options? Um..Denver? Minneapolis? LA? Philly? Baltimore? Houston? Dallas? DC? NYC and SF I guess but that would be sorta nuts. Where am I missing?
The thing is there just aren't many places that fit this.
Requirements:
Proximity to population center: 30 Miles
Proximity to International airport: Within approx. 45 Minutes
Proximity to major highways and arterial roads: Not more than 1-2 Miles
Close to major arterial roads to provide optimal access
Access to mass transit: At site
Direct access to rail, train, subway/metro, bus routes
50K jobs, million+metro area. There are some specific requirements about daily flight locations, too. I don't particularly care about where Bezos goes, but what are the options? Um..Denver? Minneapolis? LA? Philly? Baltimore? Houston? Dallas? DC? NYC and SF I guess but that would be sorta nuts. Where am I missing?
Wednesday, September 06, 2017
Nobody Knows In America
The Acela Corridor bubble isn't anything compared to the "US Territories Don't Even Exist" bubble. Not that the lives of US citizens are the only ones that matter, but they should at least matter some given the usual rules of media coverage. Irma's going to do a lot of damage before it hits Florida.
Lunch Thread
Some days I got nothin'. Like the "maybe Nazis are good!" days. I miss the dog whistles.
Tuesday, September 05, 2017
This Is Us
Polls show people are pretty in favor of the DREAMers if you spell it out to them, but polls also show that Americans elected Donald Trump president so, you know, shruggy.
Ephemeral
Is there any chance the governors of Texas and Florida and the current FEMA (I know nothing) can handle the devastation that has happened and the devastation that is likely to happen?
Lex Luthor in Florida, for all his faults, might, but I picture the governor of Texas being like "LOL your house is gone."
Lex Luthor in Florida, for all his faults, might, but I picture the governor of Texas being like "LOL your house is gone."
Savvy Beliefs
Lotsa of savvy people (this is not a compliment, though they aren't all people I would usually put in the joke "savvy" category) seem to be pretty sure that if Congress doesn't do something about DACA that Trump will just extend it again.
I would take the other side of this bet.
I would take the other side of this bet.
Will Move On Too Quickly
The "Acela corridor" bias is certainly real in a geographic sense. The national media will move on from Houston fairly quickly, and whatever horrors people continue to experience and whatever failures of government perpetuates them will largely be a local story.
Minor Reprieve
According to my deep sources on the twitter, the six month DACA "repeal delay" will let people with expiring status to continue to apply for 2 year renewals up until the 6 months is over. Bummer for those with status expiring in 7 months, but...it could have been worse.
Contours
Been sorta reported/rumored/suspected, that Trump's basically going to tell Congress to do a DACA for Wall money deal.
The Wall is hideously stupid and gross, though of course the border already has a Wall in many places, and there are bunch of landowners who are going to find the Republican commitment to private property to be, uh, not absolute...
Congress, get ready to do your job - DACA!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 5, 2017
The Wall is hideously stupid and gross, though of course the border already has a Wall in many places, and there are bunch of landowners who are going to find the Republican commitment to private property to be, uh, not absolute...
Monday, September 04, 2017
Some Light Holiday Reading
An interview with Suki Kim, author of Without You, There is No Us: Undercover Among the Sons of North Korea's Elite.
Sure
They'll be free!!!
Of course they could just do this with Uber/Lyft, now, too...Actually I am going to do this with Uber/Lyft now too. Please give me 100 billion dollars for my idea.
It's Saturday night, and you're planning an evening out. You fire up a ridesharing app to head out to your favorite restaurant.
But then an ad appears, offering a free ride to a new Thai spot on the other side of town.
Suddenly, you're reconsidering plans: Why pay for a ride to one neighborhood when another is totally free? Ultimately, your favorite restaurant could lose a customer.
Of course they could just do this with Uber/Lyft, now, too...Actually I am going to do this with Uber/Lyft now too. Please give me 100 billion dollars for my idea.
They Love This Stuff
The problem with this kind of thing is that its audience doesn't care if it is true. They are pleasing stories. Pleasing for deranged racists, but still pleasing.
Sunday, September 03, 2017
Laughing All The Way To The Apocalypse
I veer from "haha Trump's a big dumdum" to "oh shit we're all going to die."
Crazy days.
Crazy days.
Your Moment of Zen
WATCH: President Trump loads a man's pickup truck with supplies in Houston https://t.co/GDf559LNXI
— NBC News (@NBCNews) September 2, 2017
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