Tuesday’s Forum

FILED UNDER: Open Forum
Steven L. Taylor
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). Follow Steven on Twitter and/or BlueSky.

Comments

  1. Flat Earth Luddite says:

    Ugly night, no sleep for Luddite, so I’m trolling around in the interwebs. Then I found this gold!

    https://www.instagram.com/reel/DK9trWHBvLt/?igsh=eWl2cXhxZG02dm9q

    I’m struggling to see this as a real NK news clip. My gut says AI/CGI must be involved, but oh my mercy me…

    As my organic chem prof used to say, “questions, comments, observations?”

    Bwa haha hahahaha hahahahahaha!

    7
  2. Bill Jempty says:

    The Florida Panthers go for their second straight Stanley Cup tonight. I’ll be watching.

    I’m not a fair weather Panthers fan as seen by the 100 plus Panthers posts I wrote to the now defunct OTB Sports blog. That was from 2008 to 2011 or 2012.

    Today is my and Dear Wife’s 36th church wedding anniversary. We were married in a civil ceremony 36 years ago last May 30.

    DW has been through a lot with me. We lost a son, caring for me through stage IV cancer and while that was happening she having to be the only person earning money in order for us to live. We went through bankruptcy and foreclosure because of the above.

    My health did stabilize eventually. At almost the same time, my book business took off. For six years before that life with me wasn’t fun at all.

    DW stuck by me. She still does as I write books and play Strat-O-Matic baseball. I don’t smoke or drink and never have. When I’m in full blown writing mode, I am not very attentive to anything else but the computer screen in front of me. Now that DW is retired, she is having to put up with this more than ever.

    After years of struggling, DW wants to enjoy life since my book income will allow us to do so. So we’re traveling now. DW deserves to enjoy life after all she has been through with me and is still going through with this crazy author who’s written fiction around anything from Yakuza to dung beetles. Isn’t it incredible I found a woman like this?

    10
  3. Flat Earth Luddite says:

    @Bill Jempty:

    Congratulations indeed!

    2
  4. charontwo says:

    Middle East update:

    Lucian Truscott

    1
  5. Michael Reynolds says:

    Poor, deluded Thomas Friedman is once again trying to fix the Middle East. And his fantasy is – get this – that Trump could make a serious, concerted effort to. . . and at that point it no longer matters. Friedman is writing fantasy.

    I don’t understand how so many intelligent people can continue to fantasize about Trump accomplishing anything. Trump can’t pull off a fucking parade. 90 deals in 90 days? How about zero deals. Brink peace to Ukraine in 24 hours? How about give up and go home. Cut the deficit and ease the debt by adding 2 1/2 trillion dollars in debt.

    And DOGE? Ha hah hah hah. DOGE.

    The Big Beautiful Bill? Ha hah hah hah. Riiiight.

    In just 48 hours he went from mass round-ups of undocumented aliens to oops, no mass round-ups, because it occurred to him that frightening brown people would result in crops not being harvested and hotel rooms not being cleaned. And then back to yes mass round-ups because Stephen Miller was the last guy he talked to. This is his single biggest issue, his centerpiece. Now ICE is out of money because Trump is so utterly incompetent he didn’t realize his gardener-waiter-nanny-stoop laborer round-up would be expensive. So he has to go back to Congress for more cash, and good luck with that.

    Trump is not capable of actually doing anything but barking out orders which are then stopped by courts, or half-hassed by MAGA hacks, or most often simply drift away like the smoke from my cigar in a gentle Cascais breeze. How’s that Canada as 51st state thing coming along? How about the wall? How about Greenland? Or Panama? Or Trump Resort Gaza?

    Or releasing the Epstein files?

    Trump has accomplished nothing but chaos and confusion. He’s thrown a few thousand government workers out on the streets, killed some African kids with AIDS, set us up for another pandemic, and destroyed international trade, the bond market and the dollar. He’s obliterated 80 years of American good will and trust. He’s embarrassed the US Army. He’s very good at ruining things. ETTD, Everything Trump Touches Dies. But actually formulate a policy or carry out a plan? Nope. He can rage and spew and hurt people, but anything that requires thought or planning or follow-through?

    So, no Mr. Friedman, he’s not going to do anything useful because he’s lazy, ignorant, incapable of learning and too weak to hire people who might actually know what they’re doing. Trump 2.0 is a catastrophic failure – not a single positive accomplishment, not a single campaign promise fulfilled. It won’t get any better.

    14
  6. JohnSF says:

    @Michael Reynolds:
    If Friedman thinks Trump, or anyone in this current administration, have the skill-set, motivation, and dedication of effort required to pull a Middle Eastern general settlement out of this, he’s really setting hope ahead of experience.

    If it does emerge, it will be years ahead, after the consequences have played out.
    My personal bet as of now is that Trump will authorise air strikes soon.
    The main question is, will he go after or before the likely Iranian strikes in the Gulf?

    4
  7. Michael Reynolds says:

    @JohnSF:
    As I understand it, and I may well be wrong, our big penetrator bombs cannot be carried by Israeli jets, but they could be pushed out the back of a C130. I think we should give them the bunker busters because the worst possible outcome is an Iran still with a functioning nuclear capability. But we should let the Israelis drop them. That keeps us in our arms dealer and missile defense zone rather than becoming a direct belligerent.

    But I’m sure First Golfing Buddy Witkoff will do a deal. Because Middle East peace is really no different than a Manhattan condo sale.

    1
  8. JohnSF says:

    @Michael Reynolds:
    I doubt the “push ’em out a Herky bird” method will suffice.
    You want to be at altitude for the velocity; you want precision, so an electronic release linked to navigation and bomb aiming and fusing systems (and precision is trickier at altitude).
    The deep bunkers are going to be the last sites around with much in the way in air defences, and a lowish, slowish, C-130 is MANPADS fodder.
    Of which Iran has quite a number.
    Albeit nowhere near as good as Stinger or Starstreak, they should be able to kill a cargo plane.

    If you are going to do something like that, you might as well do it properly.

    OTOH, perhaps Trump could ask Bibi if he’s in the market for a second-hand B-2?
    “Just a few thousand miles on it, new stereo…”

    3
  9. Scott says:

    @Bill Jempty: Here’s to survivors, both physical and personal. Congratulations to you both!

    3
  10. Scott says:

    @Michael Reynolds: Some info on bunker buster:

    Air Force’s Bunker-Buster Bomb Could Take Out Iran Nuclear Facility, But Israel Hints at Other Options

    The entire Israeli campaign to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons will be considered a failure if the spinning centrifuges deep underground at the Fordow enrichment facility south of Tehran are left untouched, the former head of U.S. Central Command said Monday.

    “I take it at face value when the Israelis say if Fordow is untouched when they’re finished, they would regard it as a failure” of Operation Rising Lion, which began last Friday with wide-ranging airstrikes against Iran’s air defenses, military facilities and key leaders, retired Marine Gen. Kenneth “Frank” McKenzie said in a Middle East Institute panel discussion.

    The Air Force has the weapon that could possibly penetrate the Fordow facility — the GBU-57A/B MOP (Massive Ordnance Penetrator), a precision-guided, 30,000-pound “bunker buster” bomb that can penetrate down 200 feet before exploding.

    The MOP weapon can be delivered only by the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber, McKenzie said. “It is a uniquely American capability we’ve trained with over a number of years,” he explained, but added that the bunker buster was unlikely to be used unless Iran attacked U.S. personnel or assets in the region.

    1
  11. Scott says:

    I hate these moments (and I’m sure Trump loves them) where all the Washington players, including news media and Congress, are all abuzz and excited over the prospect of war, destruction, and chaos. They imagine themselves experts. And they all imagine themselves in a Netflix thriller.

    This is an arena where I understand MAGA and America First best.

    7
  12. Charley in Cleveland says:

    Mike “Mr. Pillow” Lindell was found liable for defaming a former Dominion Voting Systems employee yesterday, and declared it an awesome day because he has to pay “only” $2.3M. Fellow 2020 election fraud clown Rudy Giuliani used his podcast to join in Lindell’s celebration. Apparently, Mr. Pillow deemed the verdict a win for him because the plaintiff had asked for $60M. The race for Dumbest MAGAt is wide open, but Lindell has to be considered a top contender. He employed the George Costanza defense: It isn’t a lie if the liar believes it is true. and LOST, but because he believes he won….he won.

    8
  13. de stijl says:

    Re: Sen. Mike Lee’s take on the politically motivated assassinations in Minnesota.

    JFC! What tf is wrong with you? The bodies aren’t even cold yet.

    And, apparently, you got it dead wrong, and dude was one of yours. Will Lee retract and contritely apologize?

    People whose knee jerk reaction to any tragedy is to blame their political opponents immediately without seeing any evidence – I don’t get it. Casually calling him a “Marxist” with zero evidence.

    List of folks who immediately spun this as D on D violence and castigated the Left for this: Laura Loomer, Charlie Kirk, Mike Cernovich. And they got it exactly wrong!

    How about withholding judgement until you see some evidence and not immediately be an asshole looking to score political points?

    Lee is from Utah, so his seat is safe as houses, but I want someone to run against him and throw this slimy crap in his smug gob.

    Intentional assholishness is not a good trait.

    13
  14. @Scott: Agreed. No one ever learns that it isn’t so easy to control these outcomes. Blowing stuff up just seems so easy and satifying!

    @Charley in Cleveland: What a shame.

    @de stijl: Lee has demonstrated himself to be one of the biggest hacks I have ever seen at his level in politics.

    6
  15. CSK says:

    Trump on telephoning Tim Walz after the shootings: “He’s a mess. So I could be nice and call, but why waste time?”

    4
  16. Scott says:

    @CSK: As I’ve said since as far back as 2016: Trump is a classless pig, always has been, always will be.

    5
  17. Kingdaddy says:

    During recent his press conference with British PM Starmer, announcing a new trade deal, the current occupant…

    Claimed he had finalized a deal with the EU, which of course, the UK is no longer part of.
    Dropped the pages from the binder holding the “agreement.”
    Many pages were blank, including one signed by Trump.
    Trump also signed the binder.
    Starmer politely picked up the papers that Trump dropped, yet another example of someone cleaning up one of Trump’s messes.

    10
  18. Bill Jempty says:

    Come fly with meTrump’s FAA pick has claimed ‘commercial’ pilot license he doesn’t have

    President Donald Trump’s nominee to head the Federal Aviation Administration long described himself in his official biography as being certified to fly aircraft commercially — but records examined by POLITICO show that he does not hold any commercial license.

    Bryan Bedford’s biography at Republic Airways, the regional airline where he has been CEO since 1999, said until Thursday that he “holds commercial, multi-engine and instrument ratings.” (By Friday, after POLITICO’s inquiries, the word “commercial” had been removed.) The FAA registry that houses data on pilot’s licenses does not list any such commercial credentials for Bedford.

    Similar language asserting commercial credentials for Bedford appeared in his Republic bio since at least 2010, according to the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine.

    Bedford is a licensed private pilot, the FAA records show, and has attained additional credentials allowing him to fly in a variety of specialized circumstances, including operating multi-engine planes and piloting at night or in bad weather. He has passed “written and oral exams” for becoming a commercial airline pilot, the Transportation Department said in a statement, adding that Bedford had not “personally nor publicly claimed to be a commercial airline pilot.”

    I’ve flown paper airplanes and are very knowledgeable about aviation accidents, should I apply if Bedford’s nomination gets derailed?

    4
  19. Kingdaddy says:

    One thing bugging me since this weekend: the WWII-era Sherman tanks in Sunday’s celebration subversion of the Army’s 250th birthday really do sound that squeaky. As lame as many elements of the parade were, that’s actually the noise that the US Army’s armored force made as they trounced the Nazis. Plenty of empty stands, lackluster marching, announcements of crypto company sponsorship, and guys holding up drones to underline how perverse and ridiculous a spectacle it was.

    8
  20. de stijl says:

    My mom got FOX News-ified in her later years.

    Instead of catching up and chatting about whatever, every call was about politics and about how shitty and awful and evil the folks I vote for are.

    I abided it for awhile. After the fifth time I said “I don’t want to talk about this.” Tried to shut that topic down. She, though, delighted in it. After the tenth time I set a clear boundary with consequences: “If you bring this crap up again I will hang up on you. Are we clear?” I had to say that to her at least three times. Her aim wasn’t debate – the exchange of information and opinion – but point scoring and gotchas. I had no interest in being her whipping boy. Had had enough of that. (If it looks like bipolar, and quacks like bipolar, it’s probably bipolar.)

    Next call, she did it again. Started ranting about Elizabeth Warren or somesuch. I told her “I’m going to hang up now.” I did. Actions, consequences.

    She went *BALLISTIC*! Shouty voice-mails, angry e-mails, tantrum texts. Just another manic Monday. I wish it was Sunday.

    9
  21. @Kingdaddy: To me it wasn’t the squeaky part that was funny. It was that it was so quiet all you could hear was the squeak.

    11
  22. JohnSF says:

    @JohnSF:
    On my “Iranian strikes in the Gulf” line, from the reports it looks like Iraq is more likely to be where Iran and the US begin open conflict.

  23. @de stijl: Over the years I have noticed a weird predilection of FNc watchers to want to make political conversations into “gotcha” games.

    5
  24. de stijl says:

    @Kingdaddy:

    Trump’s Soviet style parade (parody?) of awesomeness went over like a lead Krushchev. When the de-Stalinization phase takes over Hegseth will be airbrushed out of all official photos.

    3
  25. CSK says:

    @Michael Reynolds:

    According to the WaPo, Trump has reversed the exemption for farm, hotel, and restaurant workers.

    3
  26. gVOR10 says:

    @Kingdaddy: I got a chuckle out of reports I saw that didn’t seem to realize the Sherman wasn’t a current tank.But then the press have for decades called anything large and brown a tank.

  27. gVOR10 says:

    @CSK: Doesn’t matter. He said they wouldn’t raid farms, hotels, and restaurants. He never said they wouldn’t pick up the workers at court dates, local stores, or their kids schools.

    4
  28. CSK says:

    Trump is announcing far and wide that he not only invented the term “America First,” but that it means whatever he wants it to mean.

    Apparently he never heard of Woodrow Wilson, who first used the term…in 1916.

    And the America First Committee was founded by Yale students…in 1940.

    What a fucking ignoramus Trump is.

    6
  29. a country lawyer says:

    @charontwo: Also the USS Nimitz, CVN 68 has been diverted to the Indian Ocean from the Pacific.

  30. Daryl says:
  31. CSK says:

    @Daryl:

    Yeah, the Klan, too.

    Charles Lindbergh was a big America First proponent as well.

    Trump knows nothing, not even what every school kid of his generation did.

    4
  32. Jen says:

    @de stijl: Yep. My dad’s started doing this. It’s bizarre and annoying to have a parent talk down to you, trying to pick a fight, about Medicaid policy or whatever. He started in with that ish on Father’s Day when I called. :-/

    All FOX news-driven drivel.

    4
  33. de stijl says:

    @CSK:

    And the 1940 version was arguably functionally pro Nazi Germany. Debatable. Neutral and isolationist.

    (BTW, Stephen Miller is a flat-out fascist with less rizz and pizzazz than Heinrich Himmler.)

    If you stand by and watch evil win when you have the capacity and power to prevent it, are you complicit? Certainly pretty shitty, in my book.

    3
  34. Eusebio says:

    @Kingdaddy: “Starmer politely picked up the papers that Trump dropped”

    Because Starmer has at least normal awareness of himself and the world around him. As does Canadian PM Mark Carney, who had to stand politely during yesterday’s mercifully brief joint press conference with trump. Amid questions on Israel and Iran, trump really wanted to talk about Putin. He said three different times that Obama and Trudeau (twice by name, once by position) made a mistake by kicking Russia out of the G8, and that there would be no war in Ukraine had they not done that. Nearly everything else he said was unfocused criticism of democratic governors, fantasies of large numbers of non-citizens voting, and crime-ridden hellhole cities in blue states.

    Someone please tell him that Russia was kicked out of the G8 by all the other countries in the group because Russia annexed Crimea, and that that happened 20 months before Justin Trudeau became the Canadian PM.

    4
  35. CSK says:

    @Eusebio:

    Well, Trump did say he’d end the Ukraine-Russia war in 24 hours by “giv[ing} Russia what it wants.”

    3
  36. Kylopod says:

    @Michael Reynolds: I’m sure that as an author you’re more than familiar with the trope of the outsider showing up all the hoity-toity elites. The Trump myth is built so much on that trope it manages to sway even people who don’t especially like him. A lot of what fuels it is the memories of 2016, which, contrary to popular belief, was the only time he was seriously underestimated by the media at large. Ever since the shock of that election, the overwhelmingly commonest response since then has been to bend over backwards to give him a chance, or even outright predict his success, or else interpret something as a success that wasn’t–whether regarding elections or governance or anything else. And part of the problem is confusing electoral success with ability to govern.

    He has undeniable strengths in how he created and maintains his cult, but when you get down to it I think the main reason he’s the wart we can never get rid of is little more than simply his dogged refusal to go away. It’s just a broader version of Matt Yglesias’s old observation that the secret to surviving a scandal is simply not to resign.

    There is nothing more pathetically ironic than one of the laziest, most cliche-ridden, and dare I say establishmentarian pundits glomming onto the view of Trump as being intrinsically gifted at unconventional methods of success.

    3
  37. Mister Bluster says:

    Trump
    WE now have complete and total control” over Iran Skies.
    CNN

    2
  38. de stijl says:

    @Jen:

    Handle it better than I did. I let it be, let it fester too long, hoped it would blow over. (Is silence or inaction complicity?)

    I wish I had spoken up earlier. I wish I had been clearer. Don’t engage with it, that crap – there is no upside – it’s unwinable. They’ve internalized confrontation and “winning”. They’re looking for a a disagreement, and argument. One they will think they’ve “won”. The loudest, most persistent person wins. So, just don’t engage beyond stating you have no interest or desire to discuss this topic.

    One thing that flummoxed and pissed off my mom no end was responding to one of her rants was innocuous chat. “I went camping up in the Loess Hills last weekend with some friends. What’d you do?”

    Obvious non-engagement. Obvious topic change. Obvious tone change. Is it passive aggressive? Absolutely. Does it work better than aggressive aggressive? Yes. (Well, it did for me.) I eventually shamed her into not being an asshole.

    Be clear. Set boundaries. Enforce boundaries. This is a thing I don’t want to discuss with you. If you bring this up again I will tell you this again. If you bring it after that, well, actions meet consequences. Hang up /leave. It’s entirely okay to be an adult with boundaries. Parenting your parent sucks. LC or NC is a valid option.

    You are not obligated to take shit from people who sired / birthed you.

    4
  39. CSK says:

    @Mister Bluster:

    Also CNN: Starmer says there’s nothing Trump said that indicates he wants to get further involved.

    Update: Vance disagrees with Starmer.

    2
  40. Michael Reynolds says:

    @Kylopod:
    It’s the old saying: For every complex problem there is a solution that is simple, neat and wrong. We need to treat gubmint like a bidness! No, we don’t, we need to treat government like government because it’s government.

    We get a version of this in kidlit: Oh, maybe I’ll write a kid’s book some day! Yeah? Try it. Get back to me when you reach a dozen rejections. Almost every job is harder than it looks to outsiders.

    As for Trump, many people have a hard time seeing what’s right in front of their noses. Especially if it’s something outside the norm. Doubly so when they’ve been fooled once. It’s the saving grace of the con-man: the victim can’t admit they were suckered. They’d rather lose than admit they were fooled.

    3
  41. just nutha says:

    @CSK: Bumbling into war is always so much better

    2
  42. Michael Reynolds says:

    Welp, we just rented a house in Cascais, Portugal. Sure as hell hope the visa comes through.

    3
  43. CSK says:

    @Michael Reynolds:

    It certainly is gorgeous there.

  44. Matt Bernius says:

    @Michael Reynolds:
    Everyone I’ve talked to who has done an extended vacation in that area LOVED it.

  45. CSK says:

    @just nutha:

    The U.S. just sent another aircraft carrier and warships there.

  46. de stijl says:

    Even after my mother and I arrived on a rapprochement, a detente she would line step. Habitually.

    Instead of ranting about X, she would ask me “What’s your opinion on X?” She was trying to be clever. Do a work-around.

    My reply was always some variation of “I don’t want to discuss that topic with you.”

    She was always fiending for an argument, a disagreement she could “win”. I declined to participate.

    Line-stepper. Habitual line-stepper.

    1
  47. Mister Bluster says:

    “We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding. He is an easy target but is safe there — We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now. But we don’t want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers. Our patience is wearing thin. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
    Trump

    “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER.”
    Trump

    This person is such a gasbag how can anyone know what he means? Is he giving away military tactics to our enemy in advance or is he just bloviating for his own self gratification?
    Commander in Chief? Total Fool?
    I think that he is affirming the opinion of his former advisors that have called him a moron.

    2
  48. Fortune says:

    @de stijl: I’m sorry for what you’ve been through, but it has nothing to do with politics.

  49. de stijl says:

    @Fortune:

    Politics put a stake between me and my mom. She couldn’t let go of her politics. Wouldn’t let go. Regurgitating talking points was her go-to move. For years.

    Fortune, you fucking suck at empathy. Your effort has been noted.

    12
  50. Fortune says:

    @de stijl: So you were kidding that she’d been bipolar and abusive before politics?

  51. Michael Reynolds says:

    @CSK: @Matt Bernius:
    We came over with a plan to see Cascais, Coimbra, Figueira da Foz and Porto. But as soon as we hit Cascais we knew were done. And now we rented the first house we were actually shown – following approximately a thousand hours on Idealista.pt. 30 minute walk to Centro Storico, five minutes to the beach, half a dozen restaurants with a 10 minute walk.

    Of course we’re spending too much. That’s the expat disease, much as Californians moving to Nevada. Wages are low in Portugal – I’m getting Ubers for 6 euros I’d pay 30 bucks for in Las Vegas.

    The weather is San Diego, the tourist crowds aren’t the Ramblas in Barcelona or St. Mark’s Square in Venice levels, and even though it’s supposed to be the center of posh, the Portuguese just aren’t capable of snobbery. Great fish, great pastel de nata, good wine, acceptable beer, better bread than Italy but not as good as France.

    On the downside the house is unfurnished, which is going to mean the living hell that is IKEA shopping, followed by tiny wrenches and cursing. And we’re going to have to buy a tiny car of some sort.

    2
  52. de stijl says:

    @Fortune:

    I’m sorry your mom dropped you on your head. Chin up, lil buckaroo!

    6
  53. Gustopher says:

    @de stijl: Are you certain that Fortune isn’t your mother?

    5
  54. Fortune says:

    @de stijl: It never happened, as far as I know, so I didn’t claim it. You claimed your mother was abusive and bipolar before she got into Fox News.

    @Gustopher: If you can’t tell the difference between a conversation with someone who disagrees with you and someone who’s bipolar, you have the problem.

  55. de stijl says:

    @Gustopher:

    There is upside in toying with Fortune. It amuses me.

    It’s a mitzvah.

    3
  56. dazedandconfused says:

    @Bill Jempty:

    Bill,

    The oral is always immediately prior to the check ride. He flunked the check ride.

    2
  57. JohnSF says:

    @Michael Reynolds:
    Never been there myself, but friend have, and consider it a lovely spot.
    Not too hectic, but handy for Lisbon if you feel in need of the city scene.
    Hope you enjoy it.

    1
  58. just nutha says:

    @CSK: Does this make three now or are you talking about the Nimmitz (???) carrier group announced earlier?

  59. Fortune says:

    @de stijl: Toying with me? Sounds more like lying about your mom.

  60. CSK says:

    @just nutha:

    It was confusing, but as far as I can tell, there are two there now, the Nimitz and the Vinson. The Nimitz is on its way, if not there.

  61. CSK says:

    Michael Woolf told the Daily Beast podcast that Trump’s private nickname for Stephen Miller is “Weird Stephen.”

    White House response: “Michael Woolf is a lying sack of shit.”

    3
  62. Gustopher says:

    https://abcnews.go.com/US/scientists-confirmed-existence-200-million-year-species-thought/story?id=122773046

    The long-beaked echidna is one of just five egg-laying mammals in existence today, including the platypus and two other species of modern echidna, the researchers said.

    My takeaway is that researchers are carefully concealing that fifth species of egg-laying mammal to prevent a public panic.

    1
  63. de stijl says:

    @Fortune:

    Hey man. I understand your kink is public humiliation. Don’t get it, myself, but no harm, no foul. Be you. I won’t judge.

    It’s fine. I won’t rat you out. If it’s consenting adults I really don’t care. Not my circus….

    Not my business (nor my monkeys) …

    2
  64. Fortune says:

    @de stijl: Teachers don’t feel humiliated by the taunts of 2nd graders, they don’t want to hang out with the popular 2nd graders, they only want to teach them.

  65. Beth says:

    @Fortune:

    Omg. This is golden you dork. lol.

    3
  66. de stijl says:

    @Fortune:

    The fuck?

    1
  67. JohnSF says:

    @de stijl:
    Polish proverbs for the win!
    “Nie mój cyrk, nie moje małpy”

    2
  68. Gustopher says:

    @Fortune: Who does this sound like?

    Instead of ranting about X, she would ask me “What’s your opinion on X?” She was trying to be clever. Do a work-around.

    If you said both yourself and de stylj’s delscription of his mother, you would be correct. No prize though.

    Anyway, I’m still not mentioning the Israeli embassy worker(s) who were harassed/attacked/killed or whatever you were so disappointed that no one had said anything about last month, while not actually saying anything about them yourself.

    2
  69. Just nutha ignint cracker says:

    @Beth, @de stijl: My reaction, too. To the whole thread with Cookie TBT.

    1
  70. de stijl says:

    @JohnSF:

    Not my circus. Not my monkeys.

    I.e. , this a problem, but it isn’t my problem. I’m leaving. Not my issue. You need to resolve this yourself. This is a you problem/issue. (I think that basically encapsulates the original. Correct me if I’m wrong.)

    One of my major areas of studies was linguistics. I loved it. Still do. It was the one area of inquiry I’ve kept up on throughout life.

    My main professor was this cool-ass German lady who could not say “jazz” like an American to save her soul. Said it like “yatz”. She cringed and recoiled upon herself – it pained her deeply to say “jazz” like an American. So, of course, we made her do it every class once we found out.

    She was very cool.

    I would insert one and only one instance of “jazz” into every paper I ever wrote for her class.

    1
  71. CSK says:

    Kristi Noem was rushed to a D.C. hospital suffering from an allergic reaction. She is said to be recovering.

  72. de stijl says:

    @Fortune:

    How do you think this a “gotcha”? Actually perplexed. Please explain more. I don’t understand why you think I’m lying.

    I’m truly curious. I don’t get it.

    1
  73. Fortune says:

    @de stijl: You said you knew she was abusive and bipolar before she became a Fox News viewer, so you can’t also claim she became abusive and bipolar because of Fox News. (Of course the idea of Fox News turning someone bipolar is nonsense on its own.)

  74. JohnSF says:

    @de stijl:
    I came across the saying first from a Polish girl who was a student at Worcester back in the 1990’s.
    It takes a Polish accent and related shrug and rolled eyes to to really convey the weary dismissal of the entire subject. lol

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  75. de stijl says:

    @Fortune:

    Did I ever claim the latter? When did I claim that? Show me. Quote me where I said anything like you think I said.

    When did I indicate that FNC caused her (apparent) bipolar illness? I did not. Show me. That was pre-exusting before Murdoch fled Australia. When did I call her abusive – you are aware that “whipping boy” is a figure of speech with a long history and understood meaning, yes? (Possibly apocryphal. Are there contemporaneous accounts?)

    Why would your brain invent a thing I didn’t say? There is written proof. Please feel free to read my comments above. Did I say that? Please explain where I said FNC caused my mother’s (not a pro psych person, but pretty apparent) bipolar illness. It was apparent in the late 1960s.

    Straight up honest here, you need to seek out help. No fooling. You are having delusional thoughts. In public. You typed it out.

    It’s not my fault you are functionally illiterate and, possibly, delusional. Not my circus. Not my monkeys.

    Bye.

    5
  76. de stijl says:

    @JohnSF:

    If I could get a do-over I would strongly consider etymology. No idea how I’d make any money doing it, but it’d dope af.

    Linguistics served me fairly well later in life. Pattern recognition.

    A SQL query is basically a sentence.

    SELECT StyleName
    FROM db_art_history
    WHERE artist = “Piet Mondrian”
    AND style = “neoplastic%”

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