God Help Us All

America: Infinite Asshole War

No voting horrors to report yet, but the day is yoing.

Currently devoting time to helping a boss’s boss figure out that you should press the shift key when resizing photos in pretty much any computer program, and helping my actual boss with presentation slide formatting. It gets into my fun hobby-ish thing of going through Pixabay for Creative Commons Zero stock photos and vector graphics. Because there’s truly some weird shit on that site, although some of it is useful.

There’s just not enough weed in the world at this point.

@rptrcub: That’s amazing you’re getting work done; I shoulda just taken today off. I really want Stacey Abrams to win. She’d be an outstanding presidential candidate in the future.

@SanFranLefty: These days, I always remind myself of the crazy, shut-in neighbor from A Confederacy of Dunces whom we only hear screaming through her window blinds “shuttup out there you people, mah nerves is shot tah HAYELL!!!”

Looks like Georgia’s a shitshow. Could just be anecdotal precinct issues, but Kemp’s long since blown any credibility in election management.

Taking a break from reverse Google image searching my boss’ boss photos on a presentation where she thought it was a good idea to stretch out 160x110px images for dear life, in hopes of finding larger not-shitty ones ….

@nojo: From my read of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, these are the same damn breakdowns we have every election here; not a complete systems failure across an entire county or the state, at least at the moment. But given all the shit Kemp is pulling, there is no room for failure. In other election years these sorts of issues would just be waved off as we’re used to power going out, machines not working, etc., etc., at scattered voting locations at different places. If it was a statewide problem, or entire counties, or entire groupings of precincts, there’d be cause for serious freaking the fuck out.

ALSO, in re Georgia: If the race is close, be prepared to wait a loooong time for the final call by the AP. The core urban counties of Atlanta (Fulton, and my county, DeKalb), both majority Democratic, are notorious for taking for-fucking-ever to get the votes tallied. If it is extremely close, be prepared for fights over provisional ballots in these specific counties. It would make Palm Beach County in 2000 look like a hippie drum circle.

Also, the research presentation — political attitudes about climate change!

@rptrcub: I’m predicting a runoff in Georgia – thanks to the libertarian candidate who will keep either Stacey or Kemp from getting 50% + 1. Then the shitshow will really start, and MAH NERVES!

@¡Andrew!: To be honest, and this is going to sound horrible, but the thing that gets me through this right now? Literally, therapy for trauma. The type of therapy I had for my PTSD from a bad 2015 car wreck was (well, is) dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT). It isn’t perfect and I feel like I may need a tranq tonight or alcohol or both, but it’s helped from me being totally non-functional. The 3rd anniversary of that wreck was yesterday.

@SanFranLefty: That’s a big fear. It would be a similar situation to 2008, in a U.S. Senate race here. The Republican incumbent, Saxby Chambliss, was forced into a runoff with Democrat Jim Martin. As much as there was a push by the Dems (state and national) to GOTV, and a hope that there’d be an upset thanks to the post-election giddiness, the Republicans had their revenge and Saxby was reelected. There was a real chance to flip that seat blue during that year, but bitter Republicans just turned out more than Dems did during the runoff.

Well, all I can say is that we can make the radical choice to be optimistic at this point. Let’s focus on what is happening, rather than what we’re afraid might happen.

I felt terrorized after 2016, but thanks to ya’ll and Zoloft and Maui Wowie and channelling my inner Princess Leia, I feel boldly defiant this time around.

@rptrcub: I should confess that part if the reason that I want Stacey Abrams to win is that I really wanna come visit you for the inauguration : )

And really, isn’t being there for each other the best thing we can do during These Troubled Times?

About a decade ago, there was a gay comic about these friends struggling to make it in Seattle, and one of the friends lamented that he hasn’t done enough for the community, to which his best friend replied “Kent, you suck so much dick, you do plenty for the community.”

I feel better already.

@¡Andrew!: Either way, I’d like that!

@¡Andrew!: Also, OT, but this is a Thing That I Need In My Life.

Okay, I’m ignoring anecdotal shitshow reports, because there are too many of them for my head to contain.

@nojo: I swore that I was just gonna tune-out the news and focus on work, and yet here I am refreshing political sites every 20 minutes. Let’s all have a good laugh over that one. Even the wacky Canuckistanis at the CBC want in on the action, airing their umpteenth Cletus-nazi Safari.

@rptrcub: Hoping we’ll have a big reason to celebrate! We’ll figure it out : )

Jeez, Dems were a lot more efficient at this stuff. LBJ would just call a bordertown boss and order up the votes he needed.

In other observations — it has been too, too quiet in the office today.

Really glad I dropped cable some years back.

Quote of the hour (this one’s for you, Cubbie):

Greg Martin, 70, is a native of Atlanta. He says the hour and half he waited to vote is the longest he’s ever waited. “I voted for Stacey Abrams because Brian Kemp is an asshole…and misogynistic piece of shit.”

Virginia 10 flips blue!!

In Rowan County, KY – Kim Davis, of fame for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples – currently is trailing in her race….

@SanFranLefty: That is an unexpected and very pleasant surprise!

KY-6 was trending toward Amy McGrath, but now it’s tilting back. :(

I’m stroking out with the early Georgia returns. I keep reminding myself what rptrcub said, that the Atlanta wave will come late in the night.

I’m praying to the FSM that I wear out the following keys on the keyboard:

B-Y-E B-I-T-C-H

@mellbell: Hey, how’ve you been?

Man, did I ever choose the wrong night to quit dabbing dope.

Ha ha, jus’ kiddin’. In half an hour I’m gonna be baked as a cake.

@SanFranLefty: The more populated counties in Georgia, including those of the smaller cities in the state, are starting to report their votes. Local CBS affiliate sez that a court order is keeping some polling stations which had problems tonight open until 9:25 pm, AND … after all right thinking people in this state had ASKED for paper ballots at the polls … those folks still there or in line will have to cast a paper ballot because they’ll have already packed up the machines.

@SanFranLefty: Here’s the link to the results in Georgia tonight, county by county, as they come in.

*double post, oh so sorry*

And another precinct’s voting hours, this time at Morehouse College (the HBCU next door to Stacey Abrams’ undergrad alma mater, Spelman), extended until 10 pm.

No wave is the early call. House remains likely to flip, but not yet certain.

ADD: Well that was only a few minutes early.

ADD2: Definitely a popular-vote wave. Not reflected in House pickups because, well, you know.

My Soros overlords at MSNBC have called TX Senate race for shitstain slimeball Cruz

@SanFranLefty: Mixed bag overall, but plenty of individual victories to celebrate. And hey: House hearings!

Aaaand there are still people holding paper ballots in line at at least one precinct in Georgia, at 10:44 pm EST.

@nojo: Kris Kobach losing Kansas Governor seat is pretty FUCKING AWESOME

Also, we turned the TV briefly to NBC and Savannah Guthrie blabbed, and Chuck Todd reaffirmed in his smarmy, proud way, about Kemp avoiding a runoff. Fulton and DeKalb are still counting, as are the counties where Augusta and Savannah are.

@SanFranLefty: That does make me very, very happy to see that fucker lose.

OMFG Crazy Rich Asians is out on video and now I own it, praise be!!!

Tonight I learned my new governor is gay, and Colorado now has a First Man. I really hadn’t been paying attention, but I’m also not sure anyone was really talking about it.

@nojo: Is he really called the First Man?

Gillum is conceding. I’m weeping. But Amendment 4 passed to restore the franchise to formerly incarcerated people.

Gillum’s grandma for Governor!

@SanFranLefty: That’s how Jared introduced him. I don’t know whether Colorado has a gubernatorial spouse tradition.

SchadenfreudeWatch: Where are we on our favorite asshole Congresscritters?

In happy news, Kim Davis, the county clerk in Kentucky who refused a gay couple a marriage license, lost her race.

Steve King declared winner. I really wanna see the national exit-poll demographics, although I suspect I already know the breakdown.

Pour one out for Beto. Damn, that one really hurts. The good news is that maybe he could run for governor in the future.

I’d convinced myself that even Texas wouldn’t reinstall Asshole Supremacist Ted Cruz. Whoops.

And as always, now and 4ever, FUUUUUUUCK FLORIDA.

@rptrcub: She and her nasty ass can go away #ByeFelicia

@¡Andrew!: Yet Florida voters passed Amendment 4, which is YUUUUUGE w/ major implications for 2020.

Retaking the House and ending the Republinazi dictatorship is a big deal, and there are lots of positive results on which to focus, however it’s just depressing that so many Americans are fully on board with and support the lying, the racist hatred, the corruption, the open kleptocracy, the betrayals of our allies, the incoherence, the incompetence, and the chaos. They love it and want more. A divided result means that our dysfunctional and destructive federal government now will be completely paralyzed, and there will be loads more POS mini-Tdumpnazis running in the future. Ugh.

From Digby at Salon:

Good morning. Welcome to the first official day of the 2020 presidential campaign! I’m sure you’re all ready to roll up your sleeves and get to work. If that makes you feel like burying your face in a gallon of Ben & Jerry’s and never coming up for air, I don’t blame you. But it’s the truth. Tuesday night marked the end of the beginning of the Trump era. We can only hope we’re now at the beginning of the end.

Best headline: Meet the Republican Party’s Newest Rising Star, a Nevada Brothel Owner Who’s Been Dead for Three Weeks

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/11/dennis-hof-a-brothel-owner-whos-been-dead-for-three-weeks-is-the-nevada-republican-partys-newest-star.html

Update from Washington’s notorious 8th District: “Democrat Dr. Kim Schrier held a 6 point lead on Republican Dino Rossi in a district that has *never* had a Democratic representative.” Yay!

She’s winning the seat vacated by living dumbbell Dave Reichert (R-Asshole) aka Sheriff Hairspray.

Early line: Whites 45 and older voted Republican. Every other demo, blue.

If you’re 45, you were born in 1973 and grew up with Reagan-Bush. If you’re white, your parents thought that was a good thing.

And if you were around at the time, you know how the 1984 Olympics felt. USA! USA! Frightening shit.

100% This:

“The reason people are dejected is because they are trying to come to terms with the fact that around 50% of their neighbors, co-workers, etc., will happily vote for and support a racist, lying, stupid, ignorant sexually predatory conman and his enablers.
That’s a very good reason to be dejected, if you ask me.

It doesn’t mean last night wasn’t a win, it simply means that this society is sick. Very, very sick. Tens of millions of Americans are divorced from reality. They don’t know what’s true. They don’t care what’s true. They will believe just about anything but the truth.

A racist, ignorant, sexually predatory conman and pathological liar sits in the White House. Half the country is okay with that. That’s a real problem with a solution that is not obvious.”

@nojo: I’m trying to breathe deeply while awaiting word on whether white women and apathetic Millennials fucked us over again.

@¡Andrew!: I’m waiting for the media to recognize that the only tribalist, identity-politics group out there is white folk.

Don’t mind me, just busy coding a website, and WAIT WHAT?!!!

And now we won’t have Jeff Sessions to kick around anymore. It’s back to ol’ bammy and screamin’ at black folx from his front porch. Bye bitch!

One does have to wonder about the Rapeublinazi strategy of going all-in on hate-KKKrazed old white people, most of whom will go to their Klan rally in the sky by 2024 according to demographic and life expectancy trends.

A demographically challenged party of the rural elderly that’s incapable of attracting younger voters, while simultaneously declaring war against literally everyone else has no future.

@¡Andrew!: Lifetime judge appointments.

@¡Andrew!: Please don’t think they haven’t passed on their hatred to the next generation. See, e.g., Proud Boys, every white fraternity ever.

More good news: Over 150 LGBT candidates have been elected in a Rainbow Wave.

“The rainbow wave touched down in state capitals throughout the country on Election Day – with an astounding number of out LGBTQ candidates shattering long-standing political barriers and becoming historic firsts,” Annise Parker, president and CEO of Victory Fund, said in a statement.

Among the big wins were Colorado’s Jared Polis — he became the first out gay man elected governor of any state, and Angie Craig of Minnesota and Chris Pappas of New Hampshire becoming their states’ first out candidates elected to Congress. Another historic first was Kansas electing Sharice Davids, making her the first gay Native American woman elected to Congress.”

@Mistress Cynica: Oh believe me, I know. My hope is that statistically there won’t be enough of them to swing elections.

Didn’t expect that feeling of helplessness to return so quickly.

Not hopelessness, but man, it’s gonna be a long couple of months.

Inconsolable Jeff Sessions Tries To Commit Suicide By Smoking a Joint

WTF was that press conference? I’m just watching the lowlights on MSNBC now. Hoooooo-leeeeee fuck.

@SanFranLefty: Was that today?

Meanwhile, the White House has banned CNN’s Jim Acosta (posting an InfoWars vid to defend the decision), and Concern is Being Expressed all around, and nothing will happen because at this point I don’t know what it would take for the political media to get its ass in gear.

Juky 2017: “When Robert Mueller is fired, the coup against America will be complete.”

Guess we’re about to watch that play out.

http://www.stinque.com/2017/07/22/the-coup/

The Onion: Key Takeaways From The 2018 Midterms

Landmark elections of first Muslim women, 986th white supremacist to Congress.

We probably won’t miss our grandparents as much as we think.

&

Kushner Assures Worried Ivanka They’d Definitely Be Last Jews To Go

Even more good news: It looks like Lucy McBath is gonna defeat the noxious Karen Handel in GA-06, avenging Jon Ossoff.

Dana Nessel will be Michigan’s next attorney general, the first gay person to hold statewide office. MI continues to impress this year.

Mass shooting. Twelve dead. Barely a blip in the public consciousness, it seems.

This story from Houston warms my heart:

And this year, 19 black women were running for judgeships in Harris County, several on a criminal justice reform platform; they had united under the banner of “Harris County Black Girl Magic.” Each and every single one of them won on Tuesday night, buoyed in large part by the excitement and on-the-ground organizing generated by O’Rourke’s campaign. If these hyperlocal races had barely made a blip on the media radar, the women who ran—and won—understand how critical these positions can be.

https://theslot.jezebel.com/where-texas-goes-next-1830277666

@¡Andrew!: The Beto down-ballot effect is his great gift to TX. I’m encouraged by the local and state races around the country. Never forget, that’s where the GOP started the movement that left them in control of the entire federal government, and where Dems never bothered to put up a fight. The OKC district that elected a Dem woman to the US House? I lived there and can remember years when there was either no opponent or just a pro forma candidate. That seat was left to the GOP for 45 years.
Here in Yamhill County, a progressive organic farmer (who also grows his own pot) was elected in a landslide against a Republican incumbent that has held local offices for decades. I saw signs for him in rural pastures usually devoted to GOP candidates. Clinging to these signs of a shift from the ground up.

@Mistress Cynica: Yes! We flipped several governors mansions and state legislatures. It’s gonna be a long slog over the next two to four years, but this is how we’re gonna rebuild a national Democratic majority in the 2020s.

The only way to fix our toxic, destructive politics is to elect many more women to office at all levels—especially women of color—who can translate their lived experiences into humane laws and policies.

Re: Acting AG

Whitaker looks like a giant dildo, so the whole country is about to get fucked.

TPM:

“Democrats flipped more than 350 seats nationwide and seized control of seven legislative chambers. They gained six new trifectas, meaning Democrats control the governor’s mansion and both houses of the legislature. Democrats also picked up seven new governorships and now hold a majority of the nation’s attorney general offices.”

This is a massive win, and it’s only the beginning.

+ AZ, FL, and GA are still in play!

And now we’re getting some prognosticating on the 2020 Electoral College. The possibility remains that Trump could win two terms without winning the popular vote, and the Senate, well, we’ll see what happens when more Republicans than Dems are defending their seats.

I’m seeing “illegitimate” turn up more on the fringes of The National Conversation. An exception to a historical pattern is one thing, but when the exception becomes the new pattern, people notice.

@nojo: That was one of my thoughts on 2020 nightmare scenarios after this week’s Senate results: Tdumbp’s open criminality, corruption, incompetence, and insanity are on full display over the next two years thanks to Mueller and the Democratic Congress, he loses the popular vote by huge margin, and then the (s)Electoral College installs him in office again anyway marking the third time in 20 years that the EC installs a Republinazi preznit against the will of the people.

Well, now we can’t say that we don’t know what it’s like to live inside a Kurt Vonnegut novel.

@SanFranLefty: Gillum undoes his concession. Pass the popcorn.

AP calls Rohrabacher a loser Saturday night, because this election is a gift that keeps on giving.

Oh, and midterm turnout is now tracking to be the highest in more than a century.

ADD: Highest since women’s suffrage, as someone contextualized it.

@nojo: 78% turnout in Seattle, with 74% overall in King County, which sure sounds unprecedented for a mid-term.

Coincidentally, this was an extinction level event for the handful of remaining Republican reps in Western Washington. One long-time ex-urban rep was knocked out by his female Dem challenger by 206 votes (and counting)!

@¡Andrew!: Around 50 percent nationwide, which, I dunno, modern record, but I’m not aware of local breakdowns, which would be interesting if plotted on a map. I have friends who get sniffy about American turnout, but every “qualification” for voting — including registration itself — has been deliberately designed to keep out the riffraff.