Best wishes to you and yours. We're thinking about you.

Sorry, I missed out on the whole earthquake thing, either it was imperceptibly mild at my location, or I was doing something that interfered with me feeling it.

Next time, pay attention. ;)

When the last big quake hit that same area way back in the 80's if I recall, I was LITERALLY right in the middle of it, atop Mt. Borah, while hunting elk. There were some landslides/avalanches in my vicinity that time, but lucky for you, none of 'em got me.

Heh. I am lucky that way, Stucki. I have to admit, you may have missed the latest quake, but you still delivered some nice details. Now we know what you were doing on October 28, 1983.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9_hrnsBCAM&t

Sweet list. Thank you.

For those of you that are curious... here is what the COMFORT and MERCY do when not being involved with a crisis.

Awesome!

I can even be spotted in a couple of spots.

I saw you.

sorry the text is flipped and there are a few ads...

No apologies! It's a great video... even better in the "unflipped" version I just found and found just for you:

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6kpnmy

Stay safe and definitely keep us posted. :)

That's not a bad hook. Your verses really need work though.

Stay safe, and keep the family safe as well. And congratulations!

goode trickle [13] -

Thanks for the link!

Mopshell [17] -

Not 100% sure, but pretty sure. I know the House rules better...

At the start of each session of Congress (every two years), the very first vote is who is going to be speaker/SenMajLdr. The Democratic candidate only needs a majority of votes. This is usually what's meant when people say "Independent, but caucuses with the Democrats." If there are 50 votes for a Dem and 50 for the GOP candidate, then in the Senate the Vice President casts the deciding vote.

Once they've elected a leader, then they next vote on the rules they're going to follow. Then the normal legislative calendar begins (although sometimes they just adjourn for the rest of January at this point).

That's how I understand it, at any rate.

As for your states, picking up two in GA is a possibility, I should have mentioned that, you're right. SC would be sweet, but I'm not getting my hopes up.

Don Harris [22] -

(ignored....)

Don Harris [23] -

Seriously? Owner of a Lonely Heart?

If you're going to pick a Yes song with post-apocalyptic lyrics, you almost have to go with Yours Is No Disgrace, which contains the lines:

Death-defying mutilated armies scatter the earth / Crawling out of dirty holes, their morals, their morals disappear

But possibly the best post-apocalyptic theme ever was "2112" by Rush (nods to neighbors from the North...).

And the meek shall inherit the Earth

. . .

ATTENTION ALL PLANETS OF THE SOLAR FEDERATION
ATTENTION ALL PLANETS OF THE SOLAR FEDERATION
ATTENTION ALL PLANETS OF THE SOLAR FEDERATION
WE HAVE ASSUMED CONTROL
WE HAVE ASSUMED CONTROL
WE HAVE ASSUMED CONTROL

Or, now that I think about it, there's always "Karn Evil Number 9, 3rd Impression" by ELP, where the computer takes over at the end... kind of a Skynet scenario...

[whoops... misquoted it... had to fix it...]

C. R. Stucki [46] -

Borah? You've climbed the highest point in Idaho? Color me impressed... that's supposed to be a tough climb, with lots of scree...

-CW

Sorry, I missed out on the whole earthquake thing, either it was imperceptibly mild at my location, or I was doing something that interfered with me feeling it.

When the last big quake hit that same area way back in the 80's if I recall, I was LITERALLY right in the middle of it, atop Mt. Borah, while hunting elk. There were some landslides/avalanches in my vicinity that time, but lucky for you, none of 'em got me.

WANTED: FUNCTIONING WORLD LEADER

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3077782/wanted-world-leaders-answer-global-pandemic-alarm?utm_medium=email&utm_source=mailchimp&utm_campaign=enlz-scmp_china&utm_content=20200401&MCUID=47338f9aa2&MCCampaignID=06a8caa56e&MCAccountID=3775521f5f542047246d9c827&tc=5

But, I hope you're right!

Midterm Congressional elections were held during the Spanish Flu epidemic in 1918 and during the War of 1812 in 1814. (The British also burned Washington D.C. in 1814.)

I think the election this November 2020 will also go ahead during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Take a break and listen to this … it'll cheer you up. :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2H9Zt4XfnwQ

As I see no future in which Trump remains in office, I hold out the same dim hope for all those tethered to him politically. The GOP hierarchy realizes that if Trump is to bollocks this crisis up completely, which he's well on the way to doing, they may all hang together in Nov. They have already decided to do some revisionist history on the fly, moaning to right-wing media that were it not for the 'impeachment Hoax', they would have been all over this like $6 face mask.

I think America has had its fill of the Trump Cavalcade. It's no longer about the bluster and gobshitery, people are stuck in the house, stewing upon whom eventual responsibility must land, it's tough to avoid Trump on this one.

In for a penny, in for a pound...Not exactly a winning mantra for the GOP in the midterms, where Trump was concerned, I can't see the next round going any better, or the outcome much changing.

LL&P

Thank you! That's fascinating!

Joshua: very best wishes to you and your wife for a safe, healthy and easy pregnancy and delivery.

Wow, what a time to be having a baby. At least with stay-at-home orders in place, you're both more protected from other people than you would be in even normal circumstances.

Stay safe and well. <3

Democrats will have to pick up at least three seats if Democrats win the White House, or four if Trump wins a second term.

Just wondering... are you sure about this? I would've thought that Senate rules required the party to be in the majority, not the party plus a couple of Indies. Because if that is the case, Dems need to pick up five Senate seats - or six given that Jones may well lose his re-election bid.

Before this month I would've said it was a staggeringly difficult task but now I'm thinking this is very much in the zone of possibility with some even in the zone of probability. I rate ten races as flippable:

Arizona with astronaut Mark Kelly

Colorado with former 2-term, popular governor John Hickenlooper

Georgia with Matt Lieberman going after Kelly Loeffler, insider-trader

Georgia with Teresa Tomlinson going after David Perdue who is also implicated in the insider-trading fiasco

Kansas with popular Legislature member, Barbara Bollier

Kentucky where former marine pilot Amy McGrath is in a toss-up race with unpopular McConnell

Maine with State House Speaker Sara Gideon inching ahead of Collins in the polls

Montana where popular 2-term Governor Steve Bullock is tied with incumbent Daines in the polls only 3 weeks after Bullock entered the race

North Carolina with Cal Cunningham going after a weak Thom Tillis

and finally, an outside chance:

South Carolina with Jaime Harrison, mainly because Lindsey Graham looks like he wants to lose!

[14] Thanks Bro/Sis, that's good to know.

And thank you Chris for undertaking to do a health check on Michale. I'm keen to hear how he is.

Now onto today's topic.

Democrats are talking about holding a 100% mail-in-ballot general election because, as Liz points out in [1], November is when we can expect the second wave of infection (usually the strongest wave) to hit.

Republicans, however, do not want a mail-in election because that will make it far too easy for people to vote and they're not having it! It is their policy to weed out as many Democratic voters as possible using propaganda, voter suppression laws and election cheating. It's going to be almost impossible to carry out this agenda with 100% mail-in voting in place.

But it is by far the safest way to conduct the election and I'm hoping those states which have yet to run a Dem primary will all choose to switch over to a 100% mail-in option.

there is precedent. A mid-term was held during the Spanish flu in 1918.

He might be able to delay a few weeks at most...

I can even be spotted in a couple of spots.

I have been fortunate to be highly involved with the last 4 of these deployments.

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6hcrbg

sorry the text is flipped and there are a few ads...

Here's wishing you all the very best - be very careful and stay safe.

And, keep in touch with us here so we know you're okay!

I love the song but I prefer the 1984 concert video version. What do you think?

It was … ah … hmmmm … it was … s i i i g h … um, jarring.

at least 4 people from her school lost their parents to covid-19, but considering the fact that the 3 of us are all basically free of the typical symptoms, so far either result is pretty much good news. either we never got it in which case we can isolate and stay safe, or we did get it and had mild symptoms, in which case we fought it off and are safe.

it is really very scary though.

I love the song but I prefer the 1984 concert video version. What do you think?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBIlxmug8PU

Did you feel the Earth move? We want details. :)

PBS' Yamiche Alcindor (hope I spelled that right...) has actually been pretty stellar. Trump's yelled at her twice now, meaning she must be doing something right!

Oh, I have to disagree.

She started out with … " You said … you said … you said ... Sean Hannity ... you said"

Here's a tip ... when asking Trump a question, Never NEVER ever start with "you said" ... he'll decimate your question, as he did here.

Frankly, I can't recall a more incompetent performance from the WH press corps as I've seen during these presidential coronavirus briefings ... generally speaking, of course.

I am sure that ALL of us here could come up with more enlightened questions for this president - he'd have to pass all of them off to his experts, in fact!

It's not upbeat but, the violins help.

What's been running through my head is the Talking Heads' "Life During Wartime." ..."I got some groceries, some peanut butter / To last a couple of days" ..."This ain't no Mudd Club, or CBGB, I ain't got time for that now. / Heard about Houston? Heard about Detroit? Heard about Pittsburg P.A.?"

Anyone else? Disaster soundtracks, anyone?

I'll check this out.

In the meantime, here's an audio clip (quality videos from 1979 not easily found) of one the best if not the best end of days tune and the undisputed greatest song intro of all time with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra playing along.

It's PRiSM (Ron Tabak era) performing Armageddon, naturally.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2H9Zt4XfnwQ