What a huge fucking relief. Thank you, black voters of Alabama, for sending Roy Moore packing.
Screw you, Roy Moore, but not that poor horse you rode in on.
Roy Moore rides away on his horse after voting in the Alabama Senate election.
Here's what to watch in today's hotly contested race: https://t.co/iONlmtfGJd #alsen pic.twitter.com/WI2xoJbi6s
— POLITICO (@politico) December 12, 2017
Why would you ride to the polls on a horse if you CAN’T FUCKING RIDE A HORSE PROPERLY TO SAVE YOUR LIFE YOU FAKE COWBOY ASSHOLE PREDATOR?
Here are some more Tweets and an open thread. CELEBRATE GOOD TIMES COME ON.
Woke up from a nap. Turned on MSNBC, expecting the worst, then … pic.twitter.com/EIvDkseYMH
— David Futrelle (@DavidFutrelle) December 13, 2017
Shouts to Steve Bannon, MASTER STRATEGIST, who managed to lose a Republican election in fucking Alabama. pic.twitter.com/fWT4AhFzGW
— shauna (@goldengateblond) December 13, 2017
Black folks elected Doug Jones. FYI. #AlabamaSenateElection pic.twitter.com/CErgK6eOeI
— deray (@deray) December 13, 2017
https://twitter.com/owillis/status/940798680214458370
https://twitter.com/pattymo/status/940787884285718528
Roy Moore not conceding is very very on-brand for a son of the confederacy.
— AT (@primediscussion) December 13, 2017
donald trump is hog tied in a bathroom somewhere desperately chewing trying to chew through the door https://t.co/Y70TmLXOdN
— Ashley Feinberg (ashleyfeinberg.bsky.social) (@ashleyfeinberg) December 13, 2017
hell yeah dude, it would be my PLEASURE pic.twitter.com/ugWregfJ3X
— Rafi Schwartz (@TheJewishDream) December 13, 2017
https://twitter.com/DIorioNathaniel/status/940797919833329666
https://twitter.com/notwokieleaks/status/940797646846988295
Big night for the Republican party https://t.co/NxhbbVF9g4
— southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) December 13, 2017
One more dancing dog because why not?
@Weatherwax
It’s only been out for two days. Give folk a week, at least. π
@Shadowplay
That seems eminently fair.
It might be a week or so before I can see the new star wars movie, so I’d appreciate no spoilers.
I will definitely see it before the new year so if you can wait until then to discuss, I’d appreciate it. π
Some conflicting follow-up reports regarding the CDC “word ban”:
http://time.com/5068160/cdc-banned-words-transgender/
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/cdc-director-says-there-are-no-banned-words-at-the-agency
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/16/health/cdc-trump-banned-words.html
TL;DR There’s no indication the “ban” came from Trump or even the White House. Reports seem to indicate it came from the CDC itself; the agency claims “word ban” is a mischaracterization. NYT reports it was an internal memo detailing strategies on how to secure funding from the current administration and congressional body. Basically the CDC’s higher ups telling their staff, “These words tend to make Republicans angry. But they’re the ones funding us, so try to work around them when writing budget proposals.”
Trump isn’t censoring the CDC. It’s just the entire Republican party systematically coercing the CDC into self-censorship just so it can do its job.
That’s bΜΆeΜΆtΜΆtΜΆeΜΆrΜΆ actually somehow even worse.
I haven’t seen it yet so yeah I personally feel it might be a bit early to start talking about it.
Mark Hamill is kicking republican ass on Twitter again.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2017/12/17/a-jedi-you-are-not-mark-hamill-slams-light-saber-wielding-fcc-chairman-over-net-neutrality/?hpid=hp_hp-more-top-stories-2_fcc-hamill-410pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.dd9c163cd697
An article about The Last Jedi some people here might like (don’t worry, there’s no spoilers): https://www.wired.com/story/star-wars-last-jedi-inclusion/.
@Weatherwax:
I assume the Douglas Adams quote is from his book The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, or one of its two sequels. How I loved those books, as a teenager. I still have my more than 30 year old copy of Hitchhiker in my bookshelf.
The Star Wars franchise…never my cup of tea. It was too simpleminded for me. I did see Stars Wars twice at the theater, though. Because that’s what American kids did, in the 1970s.
Sorry for the pointless nostalgia.
The CDC fiasco is.. better? Well, not really. It’s conflicting since Reps would be funding them but the party have been notoriously anti-science. A part of me wishes for the CDC to give the middle finger to this type of censorship and go on, but.. π
@Kat
Exactly so! I think you may have the decoder ring for my subconscious.
Nope, nothing fun like that. His browser was IE 8 tho, which was utterly unsurprising.
@Sheila
Mueller and co. are exponentially smarter than Trump. He likely has a deadman’s switch and several contingencies mapped out. Trump is too stupid to anticipate the level of public pushback he’ll get if he tries to pull a Christmas Eve Massacre and fire Mueller. We need to be ready to resist.
It might take Trump hours or days to engineer the firing (he can’t do it directly). During that time, Mueller could unleash more indictments. He’s had everything he needs for awhile. It’s now just a question of timing, and what the public is prepared to accept.
@Buttercup Q. Skullpants
I knew that bachelor’s degree in developmental psychology would come in handy someday!
This is heartening. I cannot wait to see what develops. I have a HUGE CRUSH on checks and balances.
Iβd like to discuss The Last Jedi once everyone (or as many as can get to a theatre) has seen it. I liked it, even though it had some flaws in it.
Though I am curious as to what gesture Rose Tico makes thatβs supposed to be extremely meaningful OOC to other Asian viewers. I _think_ I know what it was, but Iβm not 100% sure, and canβt exactly ask here without spoiling certain things.
But I will wait until an official discussion is greenlit here to ask. ASSumimg I donβt learn what it was somewhere else first.
Aaand there you go: that’s a mini-spoiler for TLJ already!
Perhaps people could use rot13 if they want to discuss Gur Ynfg Wrqv? I know it’s a hassle, but maybe it’s better than driving other commenters away? There’s a rot13 extension for Chrome, or you could cut-and-paste from rot13.com.
It’s the internet. Minor spoilers are going to happen. Hell – I got two minor spoilers for TLJ by going to the corner shop yesterday for a pint of milk. Some people just talk loud. π
My partner is trying not to burst though – she’s seen it (went to the premiere with the son-in-law, they’re both complete fanatics and were the best use of the invite – who the hell wants to get suited and booted to go to the flicks?) and can’t talk about it in this house until I see it. π
Then again, I got bored and gave up partway through Rogue One, so I don’t particularly care about TLJ.
@Dormousing_it
The SW franchise looks simple at first, but can be viewed as a shameless riff on the Roman Republic’s transition to Roman Empire and the ensuing political instability.
@Kevin:
Really? I always thought of it as a comic book, translated to film, on steroids.
The corny dialogue. The mediocre to bad acting. I thought Mark Hamill’s acting was bad, even when I was 10 years old.
It just didn’t ring true to me. Although, they weren’t given much to work with, I guess. Harrison Ford has so much charisma…I think it was a big help.
The score was great, though. My sister had the LP – I don’t even know if that term is in use any more.
@Manecki Neckbeard,
Absolutely, fellow cat person! It’s actually my real, true name (which gives you all untold power over me now, according to several different traditions). Ah, well.
@Weatherwax,
You’re named after the greatest witch of them all (and the leader even though witches don’t have leaders), and then you quote Hitchhiker’s.
*happy little sighs*
One of my favourite Adams quotes is “It is a mistake to think you can solve any major problems just with potatoes.” I love the specificity – “just with potatoes.”
Re Star Wars: I have a vivid memory of my brother coming home from the cinema, aged around 10 or 11, raving about the first one. And one morning, years ago, my then boyfriend waking up in bed and re-enacting the entire “Luke, I am your father” scene, complete with screaming and laser effects, all while remaining perfectly horizontal.
It’s got a lot of good associations for me, including Carrie Fisher π
@Kat and Sheila
I presumed the Sat. night leak of the email story was Mueller telling Team Treason that he’s not going anywhere. He’s had those emails for quite some time and notice how he’s let it leak now, after they have served their purpose…so now their remaining purpose was to tell them all precisely how dead they are. Most members of the transition team have already testified, and their lawyers have handed over non-incriminating emails, not realizing Mueller already had the goods. If they lied, they’re up shit creek.
Also, Orange Fuckface’s legal team has been assuring him the investigation will be wrapping up by early next year. According to CNN, he somehow got the idea that Mueller will be providing him with a letter of exoneration that he can brandish in front of Congress and the world to “prove” his innocence. Reports from staffers are that he’s been calmer about the Russia investigation the last few weeks. He may still try something, though. He’s unpredictable and loves to stir the pot, plus Putin is always hissing in his ear, telling him to inflict chaos and pain on US citizens.
At any rate, he may get a piece of paper from Mueller, but it won’t be the one he’s expecting. That’s what happens when you live in a delusional bubble and surround yourself with paid lickspittles.
@Dormousing_it
I even heard Jar Jar Binks was an attempt to introduce a ‘Claudius’ (succeeded the deranged and debauched Caligula despite not having been taken seriously prior to that) type character by way of a curve ball in the plot lines. If public reaction had been different, maybe Palpatine would have been a Gungan…
@Buttercup I particularly liked the bit where Mueller asked both the GSA and the Trump team for the emails. All they had to do to see what Trump wants to hide was to compare the two sets.
Remind me never to plat poker with Mueller.
Guess I’m ghosting this place for a while then.
Edit:
I had episode 7 spoiled for me because of asshole trolls. Thought people on here cared more but guess not.
@Sheila – I also enjoyed the fact that the GSA general counsel assured the Trump team that their emails were safely hidden away from Mueller. Then Beckler died in September, and no one on the GSA staff bothered to inform the Trump team. Nor did they consult with Beckler’s successor before handing over all the transition team materials to the FBI without a subpoena.
We’re lucky that Trump and his cronies are colossally, breathtakingly, hubristically stupid, but this should be a five-alarm wake up call to close the loopholes in our democracy before a competent right wing autocrat gets into power. It’s only a matter of time. For the past few decades, 30% of the nation has been clamoring to be ruled by a strongman who will cleanse America of its impurities through violence* if necessary. Sooner or later, someone who isn’t a witless bag of partially melted circus peanuts is going to answer that call. Our institutions had better be ready to withstand the assault.
*And violence always seems to be deemed “necessary” for purification, doesn’t it? Personally, I don’t understand the mindset that you can murder your way to goodness. I guess in the human psyche, it goes all the way back to the stories about Noah’s flood.
Edit: No Jedi spoilers please! I won’t be able to see it until after the holidays. And kupo, I don’t want you to feel like you need to avoid WHTM. We need everyone to keep this place going until David is back on his feet again.