U.S. Politics: Impoverished In Squalor

[Fez]

15 minutes ago, S John said:

Ha.  He could probably mitigate that by moving it to Austin.  But personally I really like El Paso and west Texas.  Been out there many times for work and visiting wife's family.  Climate is better than east Texas, better scenery, far less people.  If someone offered to equal my Austin household income in El Paso I would be very, very tempted to do it.  Money would go a lot farther for one.

Texas is so god damn big that I look at it in terms of - where can I get in 8-ish hrs drive from Austin vs. El Paso?  From Austin the only thing of real interest to me that I can get to in 8hrs that I couldn't get to in 8hrs from El Paso is New Orleans... and just barely, at that.  Other than that, all the cool natural shit in Texas that I might want to go to is to the west of Austin.  But from El Paso?  In 8 hrs you could hit all the best parts of Texas (to include Austin and San Antonio), all of New Mexico, much of Arizona, and parts of Southern Colorado.  It'd be much easier to regularly go camping, skiing, hiking, fishing in LEGIT fuckin' spots and not a bullshit overcrowded state park.  El Paso is surprisingly big too, it's got all the same shit most other cities have.

Anyway, I get why beltway types wouldn't exactly be thrilled about it for a 1-2 year stint where you'll probably just be working the whole time, but it's definitely on S John's list of cities in Texas I would live in.  Maybe I should go work for Beto.  

That's the issue. It's not just political advisors from DC, it's tech folks from San Francisco and Seattle, media and PR folks from NYC (and DC and LA), fundraising experts from NYC and LA, etc. Almost all big-city folks used to big city perks. And they will be working a lot, so any down-time attractions need to be immediately available; no long drives.

Although, if El Paso has good enough bars with strong happy hour specials available, that would go a long way towards making the place seem more attractive; at least based on the campaign staffers I know.

[lokisnow]

18 minutes ago, Fez said:

That's the issue. It's not just political advisors from DC, it's tech folks from San Francisco and Seattle, media and PR folks from NYC (and DC and LA), fundraising experts from NYC and LA, etc. Almost all big-city folks used to big city perks. And they will be working a lot, so any down-time attractions need to be immediately available; no long drives.

Although, if El Paso has good enough bars with strong happy hour specials available, that would go a long way towards making the place seem more attractive; at least based on the campaign staffers I know.

I'm guessing most bars in el paso sell on tap beer for $1-3 each, maybe fancy stuff at snooty bars for $5.

plus the mexican restaurants are probably outrageously good, $4-6 margaritas I'd guess.

that should be Beto's slogan: the beer is cheap and plentiful!

[Fez]

7 minutes ago, lokisnow said:

I'm guessing most bars in el paso sell on tap beer for $1-3 each, maybe fancy stuff at snooty bars for $5.

plus the mexican restaurants are probably outrageously good, $4-6 margaritas I'd guess.

that should be Beto's slogan: the beer is cheap and plentiful!

Fuck. Alcohol prices in DC are such a bubble. I don't think I've seen basic tap stuff for less than $5 in years and decent beers for less than $8. I don't drink beer much anymore, and even well bourbon is probably going to $9; nicer stuff is at least $11. 

[S John]

18 minutes ago, lokisnow said:

I'm guessing most bars in el paso sell on tap beer for $1-3 each, maybe fancy stuff at snooty bars for $5.

plus the mexican restaurants are probably outrageously good, $4-6 margaritas I'd guess.

that should be Beto's slogan: the beer is cheap and plentiful!

Hell yea.  You can get fuckin' ripped in El Paso for twenty bucks. 

But honestly, while it's obviously not even close to NY, DC, SF in terms of cultural happenings, it is also not the backwater people are picturing.  Last time I was there I went to this new shopping / dining area they had and it was very much like anything you'd see in Dallas or Austin.  If you want $7 craft beers you can find that.  I just think that for a year or two and a chance to work on a presidential campaign, I could tolerate cheap drinks and stellar Mexican food for 18 months and if that is seriously stopping anyone who would otherwise want to do it, they should consider growing a pair.   It's its own type of cultural experience.

[Morpheus]

White nationalist president says he does not see a rise in white nationalism as a threat while complaining about an “invasion” of migrants.

[Fragile Bird]

27 minutes ago, Morpheus said:

White nationalist president says he does not see a rise in white nationalism as a threat while complaining about an “invasion” of migrants.

He also sent "best wishes" to the people of New Zealand. The guy has so little empathy he doesn't even know best wishes are for birthdays and anniversaries, not massacres.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

3 hours ago, lokisnow said:

I'm guessing most bars in el paso sell on tap beer for $1-3 each, maybe fancy stuff at snooty bars for $5.

plus the mexican restaurants are probably outrageously good, $4-6 margaritas I'd guess.

that should be Beto's slogan: the beer is cheap and plentiful!

Given the levels of alcoholism in the D.C. area, those prices would ensure that nothing gets done if the relocate to El Paso. 

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

52 minutes ago, Fragile Bird said:

He also sent "best wishes" to the people of New Zealand. The guy has so little empathy he doesn't even know best wishes are for birthdays and anniversaries, not massacres.

Since Jace isn't here because she's swimming around in her moat trying to ride an alligator, I'll step in with the dark humor.

Trump probably associates a massacre of Muslims with birthdays and anniversaries. 49 fewer people to ban from the country. 

[Zorral]

Don't fash yourselves: there are ample places of upmarket food and drink in El Paso.  Though yah, it's still less higher priced than in NYC, D.C. SF, etc. --  just about anywhere here in the USA liquor is less expensive than in those locations, -- it's still pricey.  But Mexican food, the best cuisine evah! is really good. But no one is limited to that.  Back from UT-East Texas, on the oil refinery island that is Beaumont - Port Arthur -- alcohol there is really cheap.  And not so ... various. OTH, it seems there people believe climate change is real and that they are doomed.

But, ya, Beto's roll-out was fairly poor, wasn't it.  Especially for a non-employed fella lookin' for a job. 

Additionally -- who says the USA isn't any good at exporting?

 

[lokisnow]

Washington state just moved it's primary from May to March 10, the week after Super Tuesday. 

the democrats will decide whether or not to use the primary or their vile caucus to allocate delegates sometime next month, but this move probably indicates they're going to use the primary.

***

and in solid recruitment news, Joaquin Castro is not running for president, but is probably going to run against Cornryn for the 2020 TX senate seat. 

Looks like whether or not the DNC wants the expense, TX is lumbering itself into play for the 2020 elections. 

[DMC]

4 hours ago, Fez said:

That's the issue. It's not just political advisors from DC, it's tech folks from San Francisco and Seattle, media and PR folks from NYC (and DC and LA), fundraising experts from NYC and LA, etc. Almost all big-city folks used to big city perks. And they will be working a lot, so any down-time attractions need to be immediately available; no long drives.

That is the issue, but not the way you think.  Beto isn't especially better than any of the other top candidates at raising money.  And not just Biden and Sanders, but the rest of the top 7-8.  Harris' fundraising record is just as impressive as Beto's, controlling for stakes.  

[Jace, Extat]

2 hours ago, Fragile Bird said:

He also sent "best wishes" to the people of New Zealand. The guy has so little empathy he doesn't even know best wishes are for birthdays and anniversaries, not massacres.

Hey take it easy on the guy. He's just confused. A bunch of dead "them"s is quite simply something Donald thinks everybody would be celebrating.

1 hour ago, Tywin et al. said:

Since Jace isn't here because she's swimming around in her moat trying to ride an alligator, I'll step in with the dark humor.

Trump probably associates a massacre of Muslims with birthdays and anniversaries. 49 fewer people to ban from the country. 

Sorry love, but I was busy being a hero today. A big hero. The bigliest.

As appropriate, our minds seek similar tracks. Well done with the Peterson anecdote, by the way.

56 minutes ago, lokisnow said:

Washington state just moved it's primary from May to March 10, the week after Super Tuesday. 

the democrats will decide whether or not to use the primary or their vile caucus to allocate delegates sometime next month, but this move probably indicates they're going to use the primary.

***

and in solid recruitment news, Joaquin Castro is not running for president, but is probably going to run against Cornryn for the 2020 TX senate seat. 

Looks like whether or not the DNC wants the expense, TX is lumbering itself into play for the 2020 elections. 

I like everything about this. I mean TX isn't in play, but that's whatever. Let Castro bash his face into a wall for a couple of years. I imagine his road map to an actual (not happening) victory goes something like

Harris or Biden as Dem nom>>>> Beto gets Veep >>>> try to ride a Beto Bump to a win

[DMC]

I think Beto is an absolutely positively horrible VP pick.  What does he bring?  You're worried about fundraising?  Ok, if you're worried about fundraising at that point you should not be president anyway.  You're worried about excitement?  Other than Biden, this should still not apply, and is a detriment if it is a worry.  I could envision a Biden/Beto ticket, hypothetically.  That could work.  Except if Biden does get the nomination there will be tons of pressure for him to pick a minority and/or woman.  And knowing Biden, he will almost certainly accede to such pressure.

[Martell Spy]

Quote

 

President Trump helped kick off the week with a tweet alleging that “Jewish people are leaving the Democratic Party” and citing a television appearance by a woman named Elizabeth Pipko from a group called Jexodus.

He followed it up Friday morning with another “Jexodus” tweet that, again, seems to have been inspired by something he saw while watching cable news (which was not, at that moment, covering the anti-Muslim mass shooting in New Zealand during the American nighttime).

 

“Jexodus,” the fake departure of American Jews from the Democratic Party, explained
It’s not happening, but it’s fun to pretend.

https://www.vox.com/2019/3/15/18267129/jexodus-trump-jews-democrats-israel

[Jace, Extat]

17 minutes ago, DMC said:

I think Beto is an absolutely positively horrible VP pick.  What does he bring?  You're worried about fundraising?  Ok, if you're worried about fundraising at that point you should not be president anyway.  You're worried about excitement?  Other than Biden, this should still not apply, and is a detriment if it is a worry.  I could envision a Biden/Beto ticket, hypothetically.  That could work.  Except if Biden does get the nomination there will be tons of pressure for him to pick a minority and/or woman.  And knowing Biden, he will almost certainly accede to such pressure.

Whoa whoa whoa! Let's be clear! I agree. Fuck that loser, I hope he gets Hansen's disease.

I was just laying out what I assumed Castro's strategy was. It's not gonna work, but even Napol3on had a plan.

[DMC]

1 minute ago, Jace, Basilissa said:

Whoa whoa whoa! Let's be clear! I agree. Fuck that loser, I hope he gets Hansen's disease.

I was just laying out what I assumed Castro's strategy was. It's not gonna work, but even Napol3on had a plan.

What's this now?  I was not responding to you nor anything involved with Castro's strategy.  Just was a general statement.

[Jace, Extat]

3 minutes ago, DMC said:

What's this now?  I was not responding to you nor anything involved with Castro's strategy.  Just was a general statement.

Guilty conscience.

[Centrist Simon Steele]

On 3/14/2019 at 5:50 PM, Kalbear said:

He's candidate #16 in the race. He doesn't have the consistent name recognition of Biden or Sanders, nor does he have the national support built in for them. Coming in late is fine if you're already going to be a frontrunner, but otherwise you want to get as much early momentum as you can to get your foot in the proverbial door - and a lot of the people's opinions are already staked out on other candidates that they've spent their thoughts on.

And once you've said 'yes, this person is the person I like' it's really hard for people to switch. This is one of the reasons incumbents have an advantage as well. So Harris, Warren, Gillibrand, Booker - all have gotten a lot of people to say yes to them and make them their first choice, and those people are going to be much harder to sell on switching to O'Rourke.

Especially since O'Rourke is running on a lot of charisma and ideology but not a lot of actual goals. As someone on twitter said, O'Rourke had to make a choice between buying a motorcycle and running. If he had banked on his charisma and momentum post-2018 and gotten the ball rolling early, I think he could have staked out a lot of people. But now? Nope. 

This is a good point. I liked Beto last summer/fall when I saw him interviewing. I thought he was interesting and exciting (exciting!?), but now I've kind of moved on. I like Warren, I want to know more about Harris, and Gillibrand seems pretty good too. I'm not saying Beto can't re-establish any momentum he might have had, but in his absence, negative stories have painted an image of someone connected with big money donors. 

[Martell Spy]

Quote

 

Critics of Holder’s remarks, including at The New Republic, argue that if Democrats violate the “norm” of a nine-person court, Republicans will do the same once they return to power. This tit-for-tat allegedly will spell the end to an independent judiciary and our democracy.

Such end-time worries are nothing new. When Congress voted to increase the size of the Court during the Jefferson administration, one newspaper wrote that “the Constitution has received a wound that it will not long survive.” Another lamented: “The independence of the judicial power is prostrated. A judge, instead of holding his position for life, will hold it during the good pleasure of the dominant party. The judges will of course become partisans, and the shadow of justice alone will remain in our courts.” Despite these histrionics, a moment’s reflection on the history of the Court shows that it remained fiercely independent after each of the seven instances in which Congress changed its size. It is difficult to believe that a future expansion of the Court would break this mold.

Far from leading to democratic death spirals, changes to the size of the Court have gone hand in hand with the most vibrant periods of our democracy.

 

 

Court-Packing Is Not a Threat to American Democracy. It’s Constitutional.
Congress is allowed to change the size of the Supreme Court, and it has done so seven times. The country survived just fine.

https://newrepublic.com/article/153325/court-packing-not-threat-american-democracy-its-constitutional
 

[Jace, Extat]

8 minutes ago, Martell Spy said:

 

Court-Packing Is Not a Threat to American Democracy. It’s Constitutional.
Congress is allowed to change the size of the Supreme Court, and it has done so seven times. The country survived just fine.

https://newrepublic.com/article/153325/court-packing-not-threat-american-democracy-its-constitutional
 

Eeeehhhhh....

Like I'm all for it. Pack it like this bong I'm 'bout to hit.

But it's a pretty severe step. Again, I say fill 'er up. "As if she were unconscious" as the Republicans say. But there's no need to play around and pretend we're not playing with knives here.

Takes out all the fun.