thersday nite!

Glad to see ya back in the saddle, M’dear…!

Aloha, Thers…!

THERSday!

Don’t have any money, but here’s the next best thing.

Yeah! Where you been? It’s been lonely lately.

thanks tut — was jonesin’ real bad for my tubes dood

Thersday!

Alas, I am unemployed for the next seven weeks or so, but I’ll gladly send my best wishes for Glenn Beck not to be able to remove that big sticker from his cakehole.

Once, when my son and I were driving him to school and listening to an NPR fund drive, I made fun of the station manager. “If you’ve been listening to this station, and you haven’t joined, you go to your room right now! You just think about what you’ve done. To take advantage of such a great resource!. You just think about it, and when you’re ready to own up, you come out and we’ll talk about it.
I’m not a fan of fund drives, although I do realize that they are necessary. Like death and taxes.

There is also this.

I’m glad I wasn’t on the receiving end of your frustrations, for a change…! ;-)

Evening, all.

Oh Poor Poor Cokie☻ ☻
Yeah like I care about her & her opines….

I have no problem with fund drives; I just have a persistent problem with funds.

Yep.

to be cereal for a moment, great post thers

i blame the fundies

Well, it wasn’t Cookie, but the local LA station manager. A real New Yorka Bah Bustah. Still.

I do that at every opportunity, regardless of the problem. ;-)

Oh, yeah. The early days, before kids and mortgages. Green Peace, Sierra Club,….yada yada. Those were the days…. $20, $50, $100 here and there. When we grew up and got the house and kids, things started looking different. I had to start walking the streets, ringing bells and leaving flyers to support.

Cocoa Puffs!

The fundies fundamentally have far more funds than I do. In fact, the word “fundamentalist” is a compound of “funds” plus “mental(ly ill).”

When did Cocoa Puffs become a thread killer?

i’m so glad my funds go to fdl and not cookie roberts or other members of the veal pen

Mmmfrplfhsgh.

I used to buy a box of Cocoa Puffs and a box of Peanut Butter Cap’n Crunch and combine them. It was awesome! Yeah, I know you can buy Reese’s Puffs but they’re not as good.

Now the only cereal I eat is bran flakes. Guess that makes me officially middle aged.

Great read Thers!!

I sometimes rewatch that vid clip JUST to hear Mz. Wheeler say that ‘word’.

*G*

In my pajamas, in my mom’s basement.

And I laugh at the two broadcasters at the end.

And then I feel better!

Suz!!

Welcome back to teh toobz!

More exciting than plain yogurt and a piece of fruit, which is my normal breakfast.

I just remember a time when I was here, insomniacing and I think Suzanne recommendded Cocoa Puffs or it might have been Sugar Pops. I could be insane and not remembering correctly

I could be insane and not remembering correctly

You mean, just like everybody else?

Gotta love being 50+. (okay, closer to 60) I splurge when I go for the poached egg on toast. :)

My Favs

I dunno, might be a toss-up. The cereal chases a bowl of blueberries, if that makes any difference.

i’m not a puffs person — but if you have any pebbles…

I must have missed this discussion. And I’m not sure how sugar-laden cereals are going to help insomnia.

That’s a culinary marvel of a mix!

Nice!

Used to put crunchy peanut butter in my Cap’n Crunch, but I like yers better!

*chirps*

Danke

Yep. Two more years for me. I splurge on Sundays and cook the big breakfast with two eggs, sausage, and hashbrowns. The highlight of my week. ;-)

Gotta water the garden, oinks to all, c ya later . . .

smashed up cap’n makes a great french toast. after ya dip in egg mix, dredge the bread in some smashed up cap’n and cook as ya would for french toast.

I’ll be 49 soon. I don’t get excited about birthdays, just another day but I’m suddenly conscious of the fact that I’m closing on 50. I saw one of my high school classmates this afternoon and he’s in great shape for almost 50 but he looked so OLD and I’m just as gray as he is. I couldn’t help but wonder how the hell this happened? That 30 years seems to have gone by awfully fast.

Bob says howdy (in between rips). He’s currently shredding paper. I have to go get him another ream of paper tomorrow. They last about two months.

Don’t blink or you will miss the next ten entirely.

Gotta kickstart those bowel movements, eh…? ;-)

Nice to know that he has a hobby.

Yes and yet, more satisfying than a cup of herbal tea, which is what I do. I was just remembering an old thread and Suz’s excellent advice. ‘Course she has to stay up later than I do. :)

I find a little alcohol works as well as anything.

My 50 year reunion is coming up. Let’s not talk about age, honey. I stil haven’t decided for surely if I’m going. They’re all like doctors and lawyers and successful authors. Arg!

I have a theory that after we reach adulthood ten years is not so significant but for some reason 15 years is MAJOR. I don’t feel that different than I did at 39, apart from being more sober but I’ve changed a hell of a lot since age 34. I confess that the fact that in 15 years I’ll be well into my 60s freaks me out a little.

Oh well, I’ve yet to learn of any acceptable alternative to aging, so I’ll keep going with the flow.

You and I are the same age, if I remember correctly. High Five, gentleman! Oy! Cute and smart still rules, my friend. And, you are both.

Go and have a good time and lie your ass off, dear. Most of them will too. :)

I’m thinkin’ he’s younger, late 50s unless I’m mistaken. (ducking)

I actually like bran flakes but yes, regularity is one of life’s underrated pleasures.

What? I’m not getting a tote bag? Boy, this place sucks!

It sure is after you’ve gone without it for a while.

Heh. Have to say it feels a bit weird to think I will be 60 in a couple of years. Even weirder to think that I am hiking, white water rafting, and all this other stuff at almost 60. Not fond of aging, but as you say, it beats the hell out of the alternative.

It is mutual.

But, I’ll have friends there who will know if I’m lieing. Plus, I’m kinda more inclined to truthiness. Damn my ass. I was going to say it helps me sleep at night. Oh, yeah. My tea is ready, as we speak.

not even one of them companion coffee table books.

Long hikes in the mountains helps a lot with that sort of thing.

As someone with many years of experience in fund-raisers at my kids’ various schools, as well as ones for various animal rescue organizations, I’d like to suggest that you’re missing a great fund-raising technique: the “silent auction.”

Just think, if you had an item, say, “for your winning bid, Marcy Wheeler will utter the word/phrase of your choice on her next media appearance,” how much do you think THAT would bring?? Folks would be pooling their resources in order to be successful.

I must admit that the drawback of this method is that it permits the “rich guys” to win. An alternative is to have a lottery/raffle — folks can buy as many $5 tickets/chances as they want — and the “winner” [drawn at random by an impartial party] gets the prize.

However, Dr. Dicks’s comment @ 45 above is the most important: “a little alcohol works as well as anything.”

We’re face book friends. So….Pow, buster! Ha!
We’re watching Best In Show, and it’s cracking me up.

So does fruits and vegetables, but I was just making a philosophical observation.

If you get close enough to a grizzly, regularity will be a moot consideration anyway. It’s brown trouser time.

Doesn’t it tho…! Btw, any more on the Research 2K polling…?

Definitely. Absence makes the heart something, something. Sorry, I forget the rest. :)

Yep. I’m not quite 2 months older.

EDP, you ought to be able to raise big bucks by licensing your screen name. It’s the best!!

Well, little Ms. Demi’s heading out with her tea.
Bring on the bad boys! Hugs, Doc D and Ratfood! And all those others who shall not be named. :)

Healthy diet and exercise has benefits. Who knew? :)

Too true. Was hiking a week or two ago and came across a cougar track in the path. They are even scarier than grizzlies.

Good evening. Hope everyone is doing well. You can thank the Congress for my not being able to give anymore.

Sweet dreams, demi.

We’re practically twins!

Yeah, I have been meaning to ask where you came up with that. It is pretty awesome and not at all obvious. I mean mine is basically just kind of my name (and the nickname my friends use).

I’d rather give them (Congress) a swift kick, if that’s okay. Dems are talking like populists with the midterms approaching but when it comes to action… not so much.

Nighters!

WooHoo! I can say for a fact that my Blood Pressure went from a high of 195/105 to 107/54 and my gout went entirely away. Just on the strength of regular exercise.

Yes, thanks for asking. I haven’t written much today (just an update), but it’s looking like a real court spat shaping up. Pollster and TPM both dropped all R2K results from their tracking until this thing gets cleared up. Nate Silver and Mark Blumenthal both have found some troubling things in the data. Blumenthal thinks they need to rethink how we evaluate polls, which I’d have to agree is a good idea.

Like ships in the night. Hello and good night, Margaret.
Nighty nite Rattypants.

Not me for far too long. 8-P

Night demi. Sorry I missed you g/f. :-)

Well, thank you.

g’nite demi

…thank the Congress…

That looks like English, but it makes no sense.

The really annoying thing is that they could sort Ben Nelson out in a hurry, if they but chose to do so.

…thank the Congress /s
Better?

I faithfully attend my college reunions, and each time I think “who are all those old guys in our tent”?

Also, our solemn pledge to you is that absolutely none of your contributions will ever go to Cokie Roberts.

And Doris Kearns Plagiarist won’t get anything from us, either, aside from mockery and abuse.

You are amazing. I weigh more than I would like but am reasonably fit. Blood pressure runs about 120 over 70, so I’m happy with that.

I wouldn’t want to tangle with a wolverine either…! ;-)

Biden was pointing out that the Republicans have it figured out. You either back the leadership on signature issues or lose your committee chairmanships (which is what I have long said they should do). It’s called party discipline and the Dems used to know how to do it (Hey, LBJ!).

Cocoa Suz Puffs!!!

Just so long as we figure it out in time to do some good.

EXACTLY! Threaten Ben Nelson’s pet projects and his re-election funding and he’ll soon see the plight of the unemployed. Instead Reid allows him to support a fake Republican filibuster and adjourns for a week and a half.

Yes, but unlike cougars, they are unlikely to eat you. Bears, even grizzlies, will generally run away if they hear you coming. Cougars not so much and they sometimes mistake us for some kind of funny deer.

There’s also D[SC]CC support, etc. Why do they continue to support people who don’t support the party agenda, at least on procedural matters? I think the answer to that question is they don’t care about the party agenda.

Reid may be the worst majority leader in my lifetime.

It’s getting to where polling is just another way of running a scam. I blame corporatization.

It suggests to me that there is a lack of sincerity in those signature issues. Just empty campaign rhetoric. The Republican might be complete assholes but you have to at least give them credit for not pretending (very hard) to be something else.

Forty pound radioactive mutant weasel from Hell! Personally I’m glad I live far south of them. I’d rather deal with the gators!

DeLay? Armey?

I’ve heard that black bears aren’t like that. At least, they’ll attack you if they’re hungry, which is about the only reason they’ll approach you. Different behavior from grizzlies, who mainly attack out of territorial concerns.

Have to admit I am still trying to figure out exactly what is going on there. Some of it is too many DLC/Conservadems making those kinds of decision, but that is not all of it. You cannot successfully run on issues and then turn around and let your own members shoot you down.

Yep. Poor Nevada! having to choose between Angle and Reid? I hope there is a none of the above choice.

When AOL first started, I claimed this as my name. We lived in DC at the time, but went to Maui almost every year [tickets purchased with miles].

Now we live here [arrived in 2008], and I hate it. We’re moving back as soon as we can sell our place. But I’ll probably keep the name. Don’t know.

Oh, it occurs to me you were asking about EDP’s name, not mine. Well, never mind.

I agree and look at the people next in line. I’m pretty confident Chuck Schumer and/or Dick Durbin would be just as bad.

They’ll definitely leave a mark on ya too…! ;-)

I’ve heard that black bears aren’t like that. At least, they’ll attack you if they’re hungry,

Perhaps but if they ain’t hibernatin’, they’re hungry. Never get between any bear and food.

Or the party agenda is just for losers and fools. It’s either kabuki or the Democratic leadership is the worst leadership ever. I don’t see a lot of space between those two choices.

If none of the above was a choice it could win every election. Would certainly get my vote.

Yep. At least you can avoid the gators. Just stay out of their territory and no problem.

Black bears are not at all aggressive unless threatened. The grizzlies are the ones that you have to watch out for, but even there it is mostly when they feel threatened. We get black bears in town here all the time with no real problems. They don’t even eat the pets, unlike the occasional mountain lion who wanders in. A colleague had a mountain lion take down a deer in her back yard. You know you are in a different world when “urban deer herds” are a serious urban planning issue.

I don’t consider those mutually exclusive options. They are charlatans AND the leadership sucks.

Hmmm…Good point.

It gives me some strange pleasure that you hate living there. I don’t know why.

It reminds me of the way everyone say how great it must be to be a single straight guy in San Francisco since all these hot women were probably available. Since I wasn’t dating anyone it made me feel like an ever bigger piker.

Of course part of the problem was the massive hours I was working. The Silicon Valley ethos of “If you aren’t there on Saturday don’t bother showing up on Sunday.” That is another thing to hate about this economy, the sick workaholics will have an excuse to apply their views to anyone lucky enough to get a job.

And you don’t even have to choose between Max Baucus and an Montana Republican.

It’s hard to tell scams from legitimately bad polling sometimes. I’m hoping we’ll learn something from this blowup, though I have my doubts. Markos ain’t exactly a stirling example of intellectual honesty. R2K has been so eager to send everyone involved cease and desist letters that I don’t expect much honesty out of them, either. Still, one can hope.

I’ve never lived anywhere in this country where they weren’t to be honest. Granted I haven’t lived too many places but those places have been fairly widely separated.

I’ve just about concluded local elections are the only reason for me to show up on election day and I confess I’m wavering on that.

Yeah. I think it is a bit of a mix of the two. Too many DLC/Conservadem types (actually moderate Republicans before the species went extinct) and a thoroughly incompetent leadership in the Senate which is afraid to enforce party discipline. Have to think LBJ is spinning in his grave. Pelosi on the other hand has actually exceeded expectations.

Oh, I don’t know. We’ve been having local problems with deer overpopulation for quite a few years now. Me, I say reintroduce wolves into the Iowa River corridor and watch the problem solve itself…but does anyone listen to me? Nooooo…

You cannot successfully run on issues and then turn around and let your own members shoot you down.

I guess we’ll see. I’m starting to think that the only thing that really matters to them is how much money can be shoveled into their campaigns.

Pelosi has twice the backbone of Reid although to be fair, so would a jellyfish.

Pelosi talks a better game but when it really matters, she folds and whips the Senate HCR bill.

Maui is beautiful but incredibly expensive and I always felt cut off time wise from the rest of the country when I was there. Too many intervening miles to make visiting affordable and too many time zones to make calling practical. I only spent a total of a month of two in Hawaii but it was the epitome of a nice place to visit but I wouldn’t want to live there.

For far too many you are correct. On the other hand, if you fail completely to deliver on the things you campaigned on, the voters tend to turn on you. Even the social conservatives are starting to turn on the Republican leadership and they are about as sharp as a sledge hammer.

Pelosi is just being loyal to Obama. Just reflexively following party doctrine. That’s not a great thing but it’s better leadership than Reid can muster. But he has set that bar so very, very low…

I wonder what Jane’s thoughts are, since she’s utilized them too…?

I only said she exceeded expectations (which were fairly low). She is still the most effective and progressive Democratic leader we have right now (depressing as that is).

I’m going to go to bed myself. Tomorrow’s another day, no doubt chock full of disappointment and outrage from my “allies”, the Democrats. Oyasumi Nasai.

g’nite margaret

Night!

Yep but again, that bar is sooooo low with Reid in the Senate and Rahm in the White House. One would have to set to really try to be crappier than those two.

As I said, depressing.

Aloha, M’dear…!

Be nice if you could divide your time between the tropical lowlands and the mountaintop, like CT. Way too good for one of those sneaky Canucks (but he’s a great guy, anyway). :)

I’m out too, sweet dreams Margaret. Wishing a pleasant evening to all.

g’nite rat

Hey, since it’s late night here on the main page, can I go OT?
Can someone explain to me why Tennessee hates MSNBC? I mean, it’s true that I’ve only been here less than a week, and only have a sample of TWO motels, but neither the one in Meyem-pheyis and one in Gnoshville that we stayed at offered MSNBC on their list of cable channels. Can someone explain this?

Bob in AZ
Temporarily in TN

Nighters. I should toddle off as well. Take care all.

Haven’t heard. I thought most of FDL’s polls were done by SurveyUSA. I was trying to find one of them yesterday when I got distracted by something. Let me go look…

UPDATE: Yes, at least this poll, the one that supposedly chased Vic Snyder into retirement, was done with SurveyUSA.

Goodnight, ratfood and Margaret.

Night, Dr. D.

g’nite dr dick

Aloha, Doc and Rat…! ;-)

Next time you reload the page, re-read my #137. It was SurveyUSA, at least in the instances I was thinking of.

I suspect at one time or another most progressive organizations have used R2K. That MA-Senate poll I referred to used them, and that was done by Democracy For America. If they’ve been scamming, they’ve been doing that to a lot of folks.

I was thinking of the Arkansas race, but, it was all DK/R2K polling…!

I think that was the final straw for Kos. They had Halter ahead by about enough that you’d think he should have won, and yet he lost by nearly that same margin. Not a good performance, and we needed one. Knowing you’re a little behind gives you extra incentive to get out the vote, etc.

We utilized SurveyUSA, whose polls rank at the very top of Nate Silver’s accuracy rankings. We talked to R2K but were more comfortable with the way SUSA conducted their polling, even though they were more expensive.

Too bad Nate and others spent so much time picking our SurveyUSA polls apart at the behest of the DCCC, and completely missed the R2K problem sitting right under their noses.

Well, Jerome Armstrong called it in 2008:

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/11/21/11152/254/736/664376

I guess now we know who has actual insight into polling, and who is just too busy laundering the DCCC’s propaganda.

In the end, nobody was able to find a flaw in our SurveyUSA polling, and their rigorous documentation made them impervious to the accusations now being launched against R2K.

Ironically, Steve Singiser was casting aspersions on the SurveyUSA polling once again only a month ago:

http://elections.firedoglake.com/2010/05/27/steve-singiser-and-the-dccc-propaganda-shop/

I’ve thus far resisted the temptation to write about it. But my face hurts from smiling.

Shutting down 40 of 42 polling places in one’s stronghold will have an impact…! 8-(

Mahalo, Jane, for your clarification…! *g*

I’ve thus far resisted the temptation to write about it. But my face hurts from smiling.

Silence is the best way a stiletto works, M’dear…! ;-)

Sure looks like SurveyUSA was a better choice now. Even back then, Nate rated them better than R2K. All that criticism about the SUSA polls mystified me at the time. In retrospect, it might have been a case of them not wanting to see something.

It looked to me like Halter didn’t have enough of an advantage there to have made a difference. I hate vote suppression for any reason, but I think we should probably look deeper for the problem than just that one county.

For instance, were other Halter strongholds similarly handicapped? I never heard of such a thing, but I could have missed mention of it.