US Politics, May 2023: May 1 never happened

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

Fuck you all

Yep, it's bad.

A different approach in Minnesota where Dems have control

By the end of next week, the DFL-controlled Minnesota Legislature could spend much of the state's surplus, legalize marijuana, toughen gun control laws and create a state paid family and medical leave program. https://t.co/FVyBGyghiq

— Star Tribune (@StarTribune) May 13, 2023

It really feels like the DFL’s biggest swing in this state in quite a long time

I feel like moving to Minnesota to help the revolution succeed, like idealistic American Communists moved to the Soviet Union.

But you'd have to live in Minnesota, which I should remind you is halfway between Wisconsin and the Dakotas. Draw your own conclusions.

Heading there tomorrow for 10 days!

The Twin Cities are cool. The cold, as Prince was fond of saying, keeps dickheads out (yes, I’m paraphrasing).

Weather is not an issue for me I lived there from birth to age 10 and went to college there!

Interviewed Westerberg years ago, and this is what he said:

How did cold weather affect your development as a songwriter? Do you think you would have written the same songs had you formed the Replacements in Hawaii?

PW: Good question. We'll never know, but I suppose I would have. But I would have written less. The sheer volumes of songs have come from the hours of cold and darkness that one spends inside with the lights on. We make our own fun here, sort of. It's not like a constant summer day, like in L.A. I wouldn't get as much done if I was in a warm climate like that.

I considered moving to Minnesota about 10-12 years ago. Went to Minneapolis in mid-December to check it out. It seemed nice but we ultimately didn't pull the trigger, obviously.

The cold, as Prince was fond of saying, keeps dickheads out

It's just as cold in the Dakotas and Wisconsin, so... draw your own conclusions.

Not really sure what this is supposed to mean, Aimless, but Washington is next to Idaho, and also Oregon, which is an infinitely worse place that either of the Dakotas or Wisconsin afaic— perhaps this explains why most people on the west coast

are such dickheads about it?