US Politics, May 2023: May 1 never happened

Book of Job 2

I have a hazy memory of having chicken pox as a small child, but there's no one left who can confirm it

(or was it measles? I don't know)

Two Job

Everybody I know who's had shingles has been totally miserable, even younger healthy people, so yeah. I really need to do that.

I remember our mother deliberately letting my younger sister and me go out and play with the neighbor kid who had chicken pox so we would get it and then be immune. That was the thinking in the 60s. There was no understanding then that Herpes Varicella-Zoster was a virus that continued to live in the body in the dorsal root ganglia and could be reactivated.

I got shingles around the time I turned 50. I was lucky because it only affected my upper torso on one side and my upper arm. My sister had it in her mouth and was beside herself with pain, and she still has residual side effects, mostly aphthous ulcers when she is stressed or gets sick

There was an inferior vaccine which was the only one you could get for many years before Shingrix was introduced in 2017. Shingrix was then largely unavailable for several years, I'm not sure why, maybe because of a lawsuit. I managed to get it in 2020, after requesting it for several years. It is now widely available.

I read that Feinstein got a vaccine, but wonder if it was the one from before 2017. From the looks of it, her facial nerve was affected

yeah, I listened to that Conan podcast thing above, and it sounds like it fucked up the nerves in his eyes/face for years to come... he would feel weird tingles behind his eye, even years after it cleared up.
Anyway, sent a note to my doctor, begging for the vaxx

okay, my HMO says I should come in and get the shot, also one for pneumonia and maybe tetanus... that should be a fun couple days

But thanks to Sen. Feinstein for getting me off my ass about this!

I had my first Shringrix with those two other shots! They jabbed the Shingrix in one arm and the other two in the other arm. Both my arms hurt for a few days, and since I like to sleep on my side it was a little uncomfortable, but it was fine

Lol jab-braggin: i lived in the hosp for two months and got wee shots in me belly every mornin 6:30a for blood thinning et al. I got A LOT of other shots too, just not as regular. Me and needles, big or small, we good.

Shingrix vax was not notable to me wrt side effects, I do encourage them generally if ur doc sez so.

my punk name is Andy Vaxxer, might need to rethink that

Shingles vaxx fucked me up more than Covid vaxx but still worth it

Wow.

I'm not 50 yet. Guess I should get this eh

I'm 57, I got the shingles vax a couple of years ago. Felt like I got punched in the arm, no other noticeable side effects.

Shingles is the absolute worst. My grandmother had it in her nethers and it basically sapped her will to live and she chose euthanasia. Horrifying. I'd have gotten the vaccine already if it weren't for not being 50

That’s awful.

The fact that it is called “shingles” should be warning enough. Other than “piles” (which I think is more like slang actually) there may not be a less pleasant sounding ailment. (Not that ailments are under any obligation to sound pleasant.)

Piles are just hemorrhoids, easily treated if you are aware of your body

y'all making me want to check w/ mom to see if dad's gotten his shingrix yet

I got chicken pox relatively late when I was 16 and it was easily the sickest I've ever been, feverish, hallucinating, feeling like my skin was burning from head to toe. I'm led to believe that getting it late makes me more susceptible to shingles, and I'm really not into that idea, get me that vax.

I got it at 24 and it started in my esophagus. Almost ended up with pneumonia.

Adding to all this shingles talk — my mom got it in the mid 2000s. Her description of it meant that when I finally turned 50 two years back I got my first Shingrix vaccine shot almost immediately, and I would have gotten it earlier if I could. Get it ASAP if you are eligible and haven’t.

i got the vaxx along with a covid booster and felt more or less like shit for a day or so. second shot was standalone and my arm hurt pretty badly but no other issues so I think maybe doing it with a booster wasn't the best decision, but whatever, I lived.

That's basically what happened to my wife. The two together really kicked her ass.

So, like the COVID vax for many people then

Another winning issue, no notes:

Republicans nationwide are now pushing to repeal No Fault Divorce laws. It’s. All. About. Having. Control. https://t.co/MMvyKKelgw

— Jack Hopkins (@thejackhopkins) May 5, 2023

i haven't read this yet (it's 112 pages)

https://www.thebulwark.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/The-Corruption-of-Lindsey-Graham.pdf

i should provide some context - it uses graham as an example of how the broader gop establishment capitulated to authoritarianism. i read about it on https://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2023/05/the-hollow-men-2, which has excerpts. the early pages provide a good reminder of what was shocking to establishment republicans in 2015 and what they've acquiesced to.

Retributive torture.

On November 27, Trump said detainees accused of terrorism should be waterboarded even if their suffering elicited no information. “If it doesn't work, they deserve it anyway,” said Trump. In a debate on February 6, 2017, he repeated’ “I would bring back waterboarding, and I'd bring back a hell of a lot worse than waterboarding.”

After the debate, Graham disavowed Trump's remarks. “We don't torture people,” he said. “That makes us better.”

Targeting noncombatants.

In December 2015, Trump said he would “take out” terrorists' family members, threaten the “lives” of those family members, or make them “suffer.” He said he would do this intentionally, not qust as collateral
damage (in a strike aimed at the terrorists themselves) or during interrogations to avert an imminent attack, but as “retribution” and a deterrent.

Later, when Trump was advised that the military might refuse such orders because they were illegal, he shot back’ “They're not going to refuse me. . . . If I say, "Do it", they're going to do it.”

Graham was appalled. He protested that Trump would “kill . . . innocent people” and make the United States “barbaric like our enemies.” In March and April 2016, Graham threatened not to support Trump in a general election, in part because Trump might “order our troops to commit war crimes.”

of course, Trump's views in 2015 turned out to be more representative of what conservative voters actually think - physically punishing non-believers for eternity is a pillar of the white evangelicals who are trump's my loyal supporters - and also more in line with what the US military and CIA have been doing for decades. there was a stark reminder of that published just this morning (cw: torture) https://www.theguardian.com/law/2023/may/11/abu-zubaydah-drawings-guantanamo-bay-us-torture-policy

Of course it's about control. Otherwise, they wouldn't care so much about what other people do.

I feel really bad for the future Ofsteven.

Every once in awhile, I'm reminded that as awful as literally everything Trump's done in his life is, he has for a very long time wanted to do far, far, far, far, far, far worse

I know the intent is to evoke PATTON but all I see is the opening of FOLLOW THAT BIRD. pic.twitter.com/lQ4ETtDkPs

— Bill Chambers (@flmfrkcentral) May 1, 2023

my god desantis is such a clown

he really is a caricature of himself, but with Paul Lynne's voice

graphic designers apparently boycotting the desantis campaign (or wait, he's not actually running yet)

Balanced, objective, and fair except when defending their own -- that's the Beltway press for ya.

Props to @kaitlancollins who was in an impossible position but did a heroic job of fact-checking Trump throughout the town hall. No easy task given how many factually untrue things he said in such a short time. Collins was a true pro and showed what a stellar journalist she is.

— Peter Baker (@peterbakernyt) May 11, 2023

budget cut negotiations ongoing

if the negotiations deliver a very small fig leaf to cover McCarthy's ass, then that could be acceptable compared to the unholy mess that a default would cause.

McCarthy is asking for huge cuts, and in hindsight economists say that Obama having agreed to huge cuts , hurt job growth . Can they come up with a reduced budget that doesn't cause pain and that can get votes in both the House and the Senate?

Causing pain is kind of the point.

.@ddayen delivering stone cold truths: "We’re in a live hostage negotiation over what level of austerity will satisfy the hostage-takers." 😩https://t.co/EUoM1AcsvQ

— Kate Donald (@Mskaydee) May 12, 2023

Sean Patrick Maloney and Tim Ryan, both Democratic losers of very expensive campaigns, named to the Coinbase Global Advisory council. Maloney is also now Biden’s ambassador to OECD. Versatile. pic.twitter.com/8aGwwUpatE

— Alex Sammon (@alex_sammon) May 12, 2023

who the hell cares about the Cornhusker Advisory Board or whatever

Debt ceiling debacle due in large part to Trump tax cuts which, no surprise, did not “pay for themselves.” Fuck McCarthy, the GOP, and anyone who votes for them.

I dunno, man, I think it's pretty shitty for Democratic politicians/Biden appointees to work for environment-destroying pyramid schemes. (also: FTX, Sean McElweenie, etc., lessons could perhaps be learned)

Of course! I get that. But political parties employ talentless hacks to these committees/boards all the time.

Influence peddling is the norm doesn't make it less shitty or noteworthy?

I met Chris Lehane at a conference when he was the lead national lobbyist for Airbnb. The grift goes on.

Cost of doing business

Tuberville further clarifying:

In the Capitol on Thursday, Tuberville held several extended sessions with reporters explaining his position, at times embracing white nationalists but also rejecting racism.

“We can’t start distinguishing different types of people,” he said, in terms of supporting their right to serve.

Then, asked if white nationalists should serve in the military, he said, “Well, you got to define that first, what is a white nationalist?”

Reporters explained that white nationalists are white supremacists who support some Nazi views.

“You think a white nationalist is a Nazi? I don’t look at it like that. I look at a white nationalist as a Trump Republican,” Tuberville said, placing himself within their camp. “That’s what we’re called all the time, a MAGA person.”

Still, with a deadline for a possible default looming as soon as June 1, Mr. Graves said four broad areas of negotiation have emerged for a potential budget deal: capping federal spending, reclaiming unspent funds designated for the Covid emergency, imposing stiffer work requirements for federal benefits and expediting permitting for energy projects.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/12/us/politics/garret-graves-debt-limit.html

Fuck you all