Sunday’s Forum
Steven L. Taylor
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Sunday, July 10, 2022
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23 comments
About Steven L. Taylor
Steven L. Taylor is a retired Professor of Political Science and former College of Arts and Sciences Dean. His main areas of expertise include parties, elections, and the institutional design of democracies. His most recent book is the co-authored
A Different Democracy: American Government in a 31-Country Perspective. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Texas and his BA from the University of California, Irvine. He has been blogging since 2003 (originally at the now defunct Poliblog).
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Our nearly 40 yo washing machine went on the fritz last week. My wife’s reaction was, “We were gonna have to buy a new one sooner or later.”
I recalled how the last time our repairman worked on it he had commented that unlike the new machines, ours was repairable and told my wife, “Maybe not. We can hope anyway.”
Gary came yesterday and a half hour and $110 later, our machine was working again. Long may it reign.
‘Extinct’ parrots make a flying comeback in Brazil
@OzarkHillbilly: Ha! They made the movie Rio into reality! (Looks outside for flying carpets or a beanstalk stretching to the clouds) 😛
@Jax: Funny you should mention that. From the article:
I never saw the movie, so the reference didn’t mean much to me.
@OzarkHillbilly: You should watch them with your granddaughters, they were both pretty good!
@Jax: Addy is obsessed with Cinderella and Moana. She wants to watch them every time she comes here. Fortunately for me, she will accept Toy Story 1 and 2 from time to time. Hopefully I can introduce to 3 and 4 some day soon. Then I’ll go to work on Up and Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
@OzarkHillbilly: I like Moana, too, that chicken cracks me up! Encanto was also really good. The Croods 1 and 2 are probably my all-time favorites, and the How to Train Your Dragon movies. I’m gonna have a whole collection by the time I get to introduce grandbabies to them. 😛
@Jax: Encanto is most excellent.
At his rally for Sarah Palin yesterday, Trump called Elon Musk “a bullshit artist.”
@CSK: He’s just jealous. Musk’s BS is obviously more lucrative than trump’s
@OzarkHillbilly:
Moana is one of my favorite movies. I just sob my way through it each time.
In other news, we added to our family yesterday. We went and adopted a 75 pound muscle baby, Branko, the pit bull. Well, technically some sort of chocolate pit mix. He is a giant dopey baby.
Also, his name is technically “bronco” but I misheard the shelter people. I think Branko is way better anyway.
@OzarkHillbilly:
Trump was hoping Musk would give him back his Twitter account.
@Beth:..Also, his name is technically “bronco” but I misheard the shelter people. I think Branko is way better anyway…
Years ago my stone deaf grandfather paid us a visit. He had one of those old time hearing aids that he put in his shirt pocket with the earpiece on the end of a wire. When gramps met our jet black cat “Popcorn” he asked what the cat’s name was.
“Popcorn”
“What?”
“POPCORN!” My sister yelled at his shirt pocket.
“Oh, Hello Boxcar.” he said.
“Boxcar. That’s a funny name for a cat.”
Needless to say from that day on we called the cat “Boxcar”.
@Beth: Moana is also most excellent (I just don’t need to watch it once a week) That Lin Manuel Miranda guy knows how to write some songs. He was one of the principle song writers for both Moana and Encanto. (iirc he wrote or co-wrote most of the songs for both.)
On kid’s entertainment, Zootopia is great fun. Jason Bateman makes everything good.
Steve Bannon has been “released” from his executive privilege by Trump, so he’s now willing to testify before Jan. 6 committee. He insists it be public. The committee says no.
Zoe Lofgren says Pat Cippollone did not contradict any previous testimony given by others to the committee.
I assume Trump wants Bannon to lie on his behalf.
@CSK:
Only if his lips move, CSK, only if they move.
Just for the record, has is there any evidence that Bannon is capable of speaking truth? Does he know the difference between a truth and a lie? Inquiring minds want to know.
@Flat Earth Luddite:
Bannon probably does know the difference between the truth and a lie, but as he himself said, he wants to “burn it all down.”
He’s an evil little troll.
@CSK:
well, except for the fact that he gives evil trolls a bad name, I’d have to agree with you. Personally, I think you’ve overstated his good qualities.
@Flat Earth Luddite:
Well, the original meaning of troll is “fiend” or “demon.”
@CSK:
I suspect it’s yet another of Bannon’s gambits to delay his trial for ignoring the subpoena. Pretty sure he does not want to be under oath. His plan is to claim he complied but since the committee didn’t agree to his conditions he doesn’t have to submit to it. Lotsa luck with that if so. The judge appears to have had his fill of his delaying tactics.
@dazedandconfused:
Indeed, but the committee knows how to deal with him.
On a slightly different tack on the theme, “see, FG’s not the only idjit…”
Maybe, just maybe, when you’re pulling down a sweet, high-paying contract gig solely because you retired as a 2-star (I presume he got the 3rd on retirement, but IWNAO*), you shouldn’t act as the example of stuff not to say? Or is this just another example of a senior level officer who doesn’t think the rules (or common sense) apply to them?
https://www.newser.com/story/322756/after-tweet-mocks-jill-biden-a-general-is-suspended.html?utm_source=sundaysummary&utm_medium=email&utm_content=18637930836150319782&utm_campaign=20220710
*I was never an officer, and trust me, you wouldn’t want me to be one!