Anybody who doesn't agree with my opinion of Don Harris's pathetic grasp of basic election concepts as practiced herein in the 50 states and multiple districts of America can suck it. :)

Actually, Mopshell, I was being too careful.

Actually, Elizabeth, you weren't being all that careful because you once again were so seemingly "offended" about word usage that you felt the need to repeat the word you're whining about multiple times thereafter... thus once again making it a hard sell that you actually find its usage all that "demeaning" to "this place" as you claim.

Additionally, Mopshell didn't call Don Harris's ideas "stupid" or refer to Don Harris as "stupid," as you incorrectly claim multiple times. Paraphrasing and not quoting, what she said was that Don's understanding of the basics of election concepts was similar to Trump's. Don unequivocally demonstrates this Trump-level stupidity on a regular basis, and that's likely why she referred to him as a fool, not unlike we have each done... including yourself... at some point or other over the course of several years.

You should stop calling your fellow commenters stupid. It reflects poorly on you.

She didn't call him stupid, she called him a fool. If Don Harris wasn't so butthurt by Mopshell's single comment, he likely wouldn't have followed it up with multiple comments regarding same.

It would be better to just ignore the ideas in comments you don't like if you can't engage in an enlightening debate about them.

If you actually practiced the above sentiment that you continue to spew unabated, you'd have simply ignored Mopshell's single comment versus following it up with your multiple comments regarding same wherein you've assigned yourself the role of board monitor.

Your incessant interest in word usage and board monitoring doesn't actually constitute the "enlightening" and "muscular debate" you keep claiming you desire while proving over and over that you're actually not interested in. Just saying. :)

if you get a chance, take a look at milton mayer's work on the nazis. it really gets inside the heads of the people on the ground, and what really strikes you is the similarity between their responses to government actions and the responses of americans to some of our own government's actions, such as the intentional separation of immigrant families. obviously we haven't yet descended into the depths of genocide, but it's amazing how easily regular or even supposedly "enlightened" people can end up going along with awful stuff just because it's out of their immediate line of vision.

JL

Peterson's videos are like the late night bullshit rants I had to endure in a freshman dorm. The guy ought to read some competently written history - starting with:

Black Earth: The Holocaust as History and Warning by Timothy D. Snyder - which covers a lot of the same ground Three Arrows does in the video you posted.

Another historian who demolishes Peterson's NAZI LITE mental framework is Adam Tooze in his book The Wages of Destruction which covers NAZI economics.

Snyder is not an easy or fast read, but in fairness, the ground he covers is vast and requires a lot of revisits unless you have an exceptional memory. I just discovered Snyder and I went to the same high school - but about a generation apart.

Did you watch the Jordan Peterson one? Peterson has always given me a "half baked" vibe, and Three Arrow's video on him (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8AcmzqFdPM) pins this down - as soon as Peterson gets off his academic expertise, his "facts" get very self serving - more to bolster his self image as the "Personal Guru to the Young Males" than about accuracy and reality.

Did you watch the Jordan Peterson one? Peterson has always given me a "half baked" vibe, and Three Arrow's video on him (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8AcmzqFdPM) pins this down - as soon as Peterson gets off his academic expertise, his "facts" get very self serving - more to bolster his self image as the "Personal Guru to the Young Males" than about accuracy and reality.

"The nihilism on the right is deeply depressing."

A commentator who goes by the YouTube handle Three Arrows is doing some outstanding work combating the neo-fascists aka alt-right. He is German, knows his history, has nose for bullshit and can frame an airtight logical argument.

Here's a short intro sample (his videos tend to run long)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOHthnsuhPw

YouTube isn't all cat videos! ;)

You should stop calling your fellow commenters stupid. It reflects poorly on you.

I wish you would stop referring to your fellow commenters' ideas as 'stupid'.

That just demeans this place.

It would be better to just ignore the ideas in comments you don't like if you can't engage in an enlightening debate about them.

You are right about the necessity of picking the best candidate for the job - and that goes double for 2020 democratic presidential candidate.

I know. Ironic too, since their brand obviously plays better in Milwaukee than it does in Monterrey.

We might have to impeach him just to get rid of his fat ass, but unless a groundswell of Republican indignation rises up in the Senate, that's off the table, and that ain't happenin'.

Yeah, isn't it? Punk was nihilist, Southpark is nihilist. But the faux-Republicans have taken it to a whole new level. They want it to be literally existential.

Counter that with the fact that the new leader of the Republican minority is Californian Kevin McCarthy

Handy, since Rupert Murdock now runs Faux News from his estate in Bel-Air, and is planning new facilities for the channel in L.A., on land he acquired in the sell-off of 20th Century Fox.

And his newest star is Tucker Carlson, who hails from San Francisco. I'm just sayin', the plot thickens. heh.

Trumpism has taken over the Republican Party. Trumpism needs to be defeated to save America.

The article misses an interesting aspect of California - that while the coast is deep blue, the central valley is deep red. The nihilism on the right is deeply depressing. The Republicans paid so little attention to my constituency that the elected a holocaust denier in the primary and the state party had to backtrack furiously after they found out (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/06/us/politics/john-fitzgerald-holocaust-denial.html).

It isn't a democracy when you have a mandated two way election and one of the candidates is a complete loon.

I'm very happy with my congressman, and he is center-left rather than left of center, however the fact that Fitzgerald could get to the run off ballot reeks of a total disregard of conservative ideals within the Republican Party.

Counter that with the fact that the new leader of the Republican minority is Californian Kevin McCarthy, and you can see that the Sturm und Drang crowd are elbowing their way to the front to support Trump.

Trumpism has taken over the Republican Party. Trumpism needs to be defeated to save America.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Friday_(shopping)

People who go in for competitive first citations of words and phrases reckon it began with the traffic cops. (Sorry, I don't know if the link will be live or not.)

wow, that article really does make a ton of sense. the national republican views under trump seemed to make absolutely no sense anywhere but california (or perhaps 1920's germany), but in the context of culturally liberal nocal and demographically non-white socal it all fits together. of course the older white conservative men are scared to death of becoming irrelevant, because in california they already are.

JL

I resisted participation in the event previously because I'm not a fan of unbridled consumerism. I was brought up believing there's no such thing as 'give-away-sale', if something was on sale, chances were good it was either not popular the first time on the shelf or it was antiquated. Then along came a third option...There I was, squinting at my iPhone to see a message from Best Buy (don't ask me why I get mail from best Buy, I've only ever been into the store once, and that was to ask directions), in the message was a 'preview' of the now usurped 'Black Friday' event. One thing leapt off page 3 of 17..." $300 gift card for iPhone upgrade *with two year contract". Given that our family all have iPhone products in a shared plan, and that we were all overdue an upgrade, we bided our two days, and went in and cashed out. The reason this is, for us, a win win, is we were resigned to a two year plan, regardless, so it's no hardship to be tethered to a phone plan...the three brown-bills were a nothing more than a signing bonus.

Happy Thankswhatsit, folks.

LL&P

How California conservatives became the intellectual engine of Trumpism

Questions: What criteria define the order of the role call? Are the ordering criteria well defined by House Rules? Alphabetical would be logical, but hey this is politics, and rules can shift. My Google search has not resolved this.

Early voters get some cover, but being last is potentially very powerful. The Whips must be all over these late voting Reps.

A belated Happy Coldest and Windy-est Ever Thanksgiving to All. I have just thawed out enough to use the keyboard.

I might also point out that the "Blue Wave" continues. A DEMOCRAT was finally declared the winner by less than 700 votes in the formerly Republican suburban House district around Salt Lake City in deeply Red Utah! Former Democratic Mayor of Salt Lake City Ben McAdams won against Black Republican Congresswoman Mia Love, who had been seen as a rising star in the party when she was first elected in 2014. Trumpism really is failing in all the diverse urban and suburban areas.

Democrats: 134 seats - republicans: 198 seats

with 3 seats to be decided, according to the wonks at Five-Thirty-Eight. The unresolved seats are: NY-22, NY-27 plus CA-21 which they say was called too early and may also end up in the D column.

From their website:

In California, it’s not unusual for close races to still be uncalled even several days after the election. That’s because most people in California vote by mail, and mail ballots only have to be postmarked by Election Day; they can arrive at elections offices as late as three days later and still be counted. For that reason, we think the California 21st District is far from over, even though the Associated Press and ABC have both already projected a Republican win there. GOP Rep. David Valadao has less than a 1-point lead, but the votes that have been released in recent days have favored Democrat T.J. Cox, and the counties that have yet to report the most votes appear to lean Democratic as well.

I have been tracking the progress of all Dem contenders for republican seats since before the primaries. You can find that spreadsheet here:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1A0AQh9Oa1PREPornKdVEeipsTxMnXAsaCVxHosfePAQ/edit#gid=1507519830

Your boorish incapacity to understand the basics of elections places you at Trump-level stupidity. And that's my last comment on the subject because I'm too old to bother with fools.

Before indulging in pet policy contests, there is a republic to save. That's a life-and-death battle that takes priority over every other concern.

There's not much point in arguing about "big money" in politics or single-payer versus a multi-payer universal health program if you fail to keep your right to vote in a fair election. The plutocracy will be deciding for you - and it won't be anything you want.