October 16, 2018 6:00 AM
Morning Reads for Tuesday, October 16
First off, mea culpa. I was out of town last weekend, returned to Atlanta on Monday in time for the Braves game, no joy in Mudville*, yadda yadda yadda… and I completely flaked on last Tuesday’s morning reads. For that, I apologize. I am, however, unrepentant about the following links:
- Gwinnett County election officials have tossed a high amount – one-tenth – of absentee ballots they’ve received.
- Macon, like most of Georgia, is dealing with a foster care crisis. Too many children need help, not enough funding, not enough homes.
- A map of every building in the United States (and a reminder that land doesn’t vote).
- Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen died yesterday.
- Candidly, I’m not sure if policymakers should make safety rules for dockless electric scooters (because Darwin).
- Two Savannah schools have opted for the state’s turnaround program.
- Savannah officials say this googly-eye prank is no laughing matter, but I am obliged to disagree as I laugh out loud every time I see the photo that accompanies this article.
*How this was not the headline on July 25, 2018, will always mystify me.
About Author
Teri
Teri Anulewicz is a Democrat who represents House District 42 in the Georgia General Assembly. She previously spent nearly a decade on the Smyrna City Council. A native New Orleanian and quasi-Texan, Teri graduated from Agnes Scott College in 1998. She's been a front page contributor since 2015, and she compiles each Tuesday's Morning Reads.
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It’s really a terrible crisis that we can’t trust our electoral system. Partisanship has overrun the concept of free and fair voting. It’s really the last step before democracy (such as it is) dies.
Even if we make a mistake electing people, we have always been able to count on another chance to get it right. That chance seems to be slipping away.
Seems like Sen. McCaskill is in heap big doo-doo. For what? Being a liar! Thanks, O’Keefe!
https://www.projectveritasaction.com/2018/10/15/mccaskill-1/
Isn’t that all the libs have tried to do is destroy any confidence in the election system since Hillary got waxed? Congratulations! Then we hear the radical idiots want to disband the electoral college so only 3 states matter! More idiocy.
Now let’s get power back and impeach anyone we dont like! Don’t let them speak on college campuses. “Get in the faces much less assault opposing part members, get little black hoods and run around like Klansmen, destroy anyone and anything we don’t like and sit around and pout about it!
Isn’t the the liberal election platform!? Good luck with that!
Those are rhetorical questions, right?
rhe·tor·i·cal
expressed in terms intended to persuade or impress.
synonyms: extravagant, grandiloquent, magniloquent, high-flown, orotund, bombastic, grandiose, pompous, pretentious, overblown, oratorical, turgid, flowery, florid; More
(of a question) asked in order to produce an effect or to make a statement rather than to elicit information.
I am an amateur psychologist and I perceive that asking questions like this is a function of trying to seem open-minded (at least to yourself) while actually retreating further into a fantasy world where you answer your own outrageous questions. This is a trick to convince yourself that you are right in the face of obvious and overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
The prospect of such a dramatic difference between reality and your dream of what reality should be is so stark that even the questions must be nonsensical in order to avoid approaching a realistic paradigm.
Ah, Occam’s razor.
If Republicans lose an elections it’s because there were fraudulent votes and if they win it’s because their disenfranchisement practices made elections more secure. It’s textbook undermining of democracy that won’t end well.
In 1859, John Brown and his followers attacked the arsenal at Harpers Ferry.
I remember that, that and Bob Beamon. 1968 was a year of assassinations, riots, bombings, and a seemingly unending war in Indo-China that raised serious doubts about the long-term viability of the republic. There was talk about organized insurrection, even civil war. The whole damn country was split on questions of war, race, dope, lawnorder that persist today. Carlos’ and Smith’s gesture may have been heart-felt, and it made for good political theater but it was gas on the fire for many.
And today we have snowflakes whining about having to listen to conservative speakers on college campuses and they didn’t get a participation trophy.
And the same folks want to destroy the electoral college, the Supreme Court and think socialism is great. What the hell happened folks?
And lunatics whining about the snowflakes.
So you think an admitted pedophile like Milo should be speaking on college campuses?
In some ways not unlike taking a knee.
I think so, yes, although in 1968 the gesture was taken more as a movement away from non-violent incremental policies of NAACP and SNCC and towards a more impatient and militant approach, one that was ready, even eager, to use force. That’s what scared people, the idea of armed blacks who would use their guns to advance their ideas of how to build black communities.
This just in. Elizabeth Warren is 99.902% white. Ivory Soap is 99.44% pure—Pocahantas is whiter than Ivory Soap. Looks like Trump wins again. Maybe he can pay that loan back he got from his father…
Why won’t Trump release his tax returns?
Do YOU REALLY WANT TO KNOW THE ANSWER Benev? Seriously?
Would this would change anything? Does anyone think the Trumpster is cheating on his taxes while Obama’s weaponized the IRS the last 8 years?
How many tax experts does he employ? Do you think the IRS targeted him in years past? Who are you going to target? Goobers like us on this blog or Trump?
Why don’t you worry about a fake Russia investigation or routine character assassinations from the left or our intelligence services being used to frame US citizens and while trying to determine the outcome of our elections?
How about worrying about leftist domestic terrorists wearing black hoods or one party intimidating the other party’s leaders on a daily basis?
How about coming up with something that would help someone get a job?
Don’t you think that might be a better use of your time?
Yeah I want to know.
Rather than buy his lying about being audited indefinitely, I think he’s just chickenshit and doesn’t want to deal with the inevitable questions about his transactions. Or maybe he really does have some stuff in there the accountants haven’t finished hiding yet.
You know what? Mueller has his taxes and so does the NY AG. We already know he’s been committing income fraud for decades. We know he was defrauding his own charity. His tax returns are going to be made public. It is just a matter of by who and when.
A perfect example of how shysters and fraudsters use ambiguity and fungibility to evade financial obligations:
Trump said he’ll pay Warren $1 mil- “paid for by Trump”.
He used 3rd person. Meaning, it could be his personal account, the Trump Org. account, the “charitable foundation” account, etc.
That’s just part of the same shell game he undoubtedly played with some of his tax obligations. The others involve Trump Overseas Shell Corp, Inc.; Trump Bankrupt Property 1, LLC; Trump Bankrupt Property 2, LLC; Trump Cash Holdings, Inc., etc.
Trump pays, alright.
He pays himself, marks it up 140%, goes bankrupt, borrows to pay himself back, goes bankrupt again, bails himself out, marks up 250% for Russian cash…
Of course Trump doesn’t want to listen to liberal dips—ts talking about his taxes. They are too stupid to understand depreciation, tax loss carry forwards or anything else. Why bother? And he doesn’t have to. So why don’t y’all just chatter about something else.
“I hate stupid liberals so much. All they do is hate and call people stupid.”
-DTM
Damn, DTM seems to own yall on an hourly basis! LOL! Yall just need to be quiet!
You desperately need new material. You ain’t fooling anyone playing the fool.
I would still choose even a fake Native American over a fascist.
Me too Benev. I prefer a real Indian or a real American that is a straight shooter and not full of crap!
Irony They Name is DOWNTHEMIDDLE…
What’s the Presidential Lie-O-Meter up to now? Something over 5000 I think!
I like Indians too. Especially the Sikhs and Hindus since they don’t proselytize.
Yeah, what exactly is “a real Indian”? Is the phrase as fungible as “a real MAGA American”?
With your point being what?
I’d be in favor of moving Wyoming back to territorial status. Oklahoma too unless they get rid of Inhofe.
No way Andrew! Aint goona happen! They are disasters. Who in their right mind wants the billions in debt from Puerto Rico!? What is in it for the US!? Hey knucklehead, didn’t you post some article sniveling about the debt an hour ago? How stupid are you?
Plus Puerto Rico and DC are 98% liberal! And almost everyone is on the government dole! To hell with that! Liberal and disasters!
Think there is a common thread?! This is only coming up because libs are losing their ass. I guess more are seeing Caroline’s deck chairs on the Titanic!.
You guys are out of your FREAKING MIND! To hell with the Constitution and so sorry the country is not turning into the socialist utopia …that is gulag— that you envision!
The liberal derangement syndrome is off the chain!
Somebody tell me again why we give the island of Puerto Rico citizenship privileges such as voting in our elections.
Because history shows that colonies tend to revolt. Yanno’ that whole taxation without representation thing. Territories get the vote, even when they are full of brown people. Gotta’ problem with that? Sally forth and take it up with TR. By the time he came up there was no more frontier to conquer.
I didn’t realize that. So they truly are 2nd class citizens.
Teddy made a stupid decision that should have been corrected long ago. P/R does not pay income tax, so there goes that taxation w/o representation thing. Corporations there don’t pay US taxes either. It’s over $74 billion in debt, and we’ve already given them $16 billion in disaster aid in 2018 alone. Annual federal spending per capita over the amount of taxes, P/R is 18th from the top out of 52 (two territories), spend $5,000+ more per person than average paid by island overall. Over 50% are on welfare programs. plus mucho Medicare and Medicaid, etc. expenditures.
Puerto Rico is a total drain on the US, definitely should not be a state. Heck, I see no reason for not cutting the island loose. Maybe that would incentivize them to work on improving their own island country.
And we send $48 Billion in planes, tanks, and missiles to Israel every year and they ain’t even citizens.
That’s some convoluted rationalization you got there. Fact remains, not a single Puerto Rican pays income tax. Last time I checked, both Georgia and Florida pay income taxes, plus full freight on all the other things you mentioned. And even on those, they pay less than the full amount that the states pay. About that “Americans” thing, I’ve been there several times, and all Puerto Ricans with whom I interacted did not consider themselves Americans. They wrap themselves in P/R flag and are totally independent Puerto Ricans – except when getting money from America.
I repeat, Florida and Georgia have always paid income taxes since their inception, plus 100% level of FICA and SSI taxes. Plus Georgia was the 13th original colony and is at least 1/13 responsible for the very existence of America and our freedoms. Signed Declaration of Independence, fought and died in the Revolutionary War, Georgia Delegation 1/13th of Continental Congress, etc. of all our nation’s embryonic development. So yeah, I have no problem with the nation we helped create now helping Georgians cope with Michael’s destruction.
Haha!! Owned again by Sally’s mighty sord!!! Who needs those Mexicans anyway? I say send em all back to Spain! Lol! Awwww nawww!
“They wrap themselves in P/R flag and are totally independent Puerto Ricans.”
Every State was independent before becoming part of the Union, and federalism exists for a reason.
Speaking of the Union, half of it draped their own made-up flag over themselves a while back, and still hold that flag up proudly, as a symbol of their desire to be independent from that Union.
Texas was it’s own country before becoming a state.
There is surely more examples to counteract the useless argument you use, Sally.
Plus, last I heard ( about a year ago), there was a pretty even split (like 50/50) among Puerto Ricans on whether to become a State. I wish we had opinion polls among other States before they joined, but in writing this response, I also joined learned a lot about Hawaii’s entry into the Union– it appears that some even consider Hawaii to have its own basis for sovereign independence as a country- much like tribal nations do.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apology_Resolution
Ouch! I guess she was prettier when he was doin’ her!
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/411607-trump-calls-stormy-daniels-horseface
Is a horseface sort of like a democratic donkey? What was Snivler’s earlier nickname? Sea Biscuit or something like that a while back… Something about him being a one trick pony?
I am seeing a lot of donkeys, horses and horses’s behinds these days!
She has an answer for him and it begins with a mushroom.
She wasn’t complaining when he was giving it to her at the time. Must have been alright!
Wow, sounds like you were right there, Idiot!
Hmm, so you’re now admitting to be one of those people who likes to watch?
Hey Noway, her allegations were never proven, so we don’t know if he was ever “doin’ her.” I don’t think he’d sink that low. All I ever saw was a picture of her at some golf tournament he played in. The smarmy porn lawyer needs to get a life.
Truth bomb! Aww nawww! If the hooooor don’t fit you must aquit!!
Trump admitted to it. Of course, Trump lies about everything. So there’s your excuse.
On constitutional conventions:
“I suspect our true belief is not that our system of governance is performing so well that it should be immune to change, but that we are performing so poorly that we do not trust ourselves to change it.”
I would only trust delegates to act in good faith if they swore off politics, appointments, or advisory positions and allowed auditors to go way up their b-holes. Otherwise, I think constitutional changes would be made to benefit the same billionaires that our laws are crafted for now. Who would ever agree to terms like that though? Alternately, I’d nominate Jimmy Carter, Andrew Young and Sam Olens to represent Georgia.
More to Faris points: Ranked-Choice voting seems like a very easy way to add legitimacy to our House elections, but increasing the size of the body seems pointless and absurd, since Federal politics have become a vacuum that no amount of money can fill.
Just rode by the early voting location. Line roughly 50-75 people long. That means the inside is full!! Oh, man!!!
Time to go vote myself. I cant get over the number of MAGA hats worn by our more colorful brethren around the polls. They are making them take them off but there are a pile of them outside of the building.
Thanks Kanye! Thanks Trump!
Ooo that sounds fun, let me try:
‘Bout to go vote too! I’m all fired up by our more melanin-deprived brothers (whoops, and sweet-little-darlins!). They’re not allowed to drive their lift-kit trucks right into the church to vote but they’re all parked in a Super-G 100-yards away so their Stacey Abrams wraps and sticker bombs don’t violate the campaigning law.
Thanks paint thinner! Thanks dementia!
Let us know how long your wait was!
I’m worried they are going to run out of provisional ballots in my precinct (5th district) since probably nobody is on the active voter roll anymore.
It was pretty busy. I figured I would get in and out with no wait. Probably 50-75 or so.
Same for me. Long lines and lots of MAGA hats! Red wave coming!
I suspect you have a Deep Dark future here.
I read the article Andrew. It shows the true genius of our founding fathers and the Supreme Court should feel the same way for decades to come!
Economy is growing, unemployment is low, but the deficit keeps getting bigger. When do those tax cuts for the wealthy start paying for themselves?
Maybe when they buy stocks and invest.
I’m curious if you know how an economy or capital markets work. Cause your response to Benev’s question makes absolutely no sense.
As the economy grows tax receipts grow. Tax receipts are at record levels and that should improve. There is still way too much spending if you ask me. Put a 1% decline or maybe free spending in all areas and let us grow out o fit.
The 2 % growth we had for the prior 8 years was t00 little to pay for all of the things we have promised. The only way is to get better growth. Like him or hate him, Trump has passed amazingly pro growth policies.
Obama did not. It is just a fact.
The economy is growing because all the restrictions the congress placed on the budget (GOT TO CUT SPENDING!!! THE DEBT! THE DEBT!) and shelving bills like the corporate tax cut, of course we can now super pump the economy.
Now we have to cut sending… but don’t worry Mitch has a plan for that too…
Well so far the tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations aren’t paying for themselves, and the Trump budget calls for cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, so apparently they don’t expect it to.
It took only a few collective tens of millions spent lobbying, so they’ll pay for themselves upon filing of the first tax return.
Question, if Obama and Hillary are so popular, why are they NONEXISTENT in any campaign efforts in the midterms ?! What am I missing! Something tells me they are toxic or just don’t want to help and just count their money … what do you think?
Hillary is not going to help if her words goes national.
Obama do going localized targeted events for select races. Also a lot of big donor dinners and whatnot. Like Trump, there are some races his campaigning will do more harm then good for the candidate. Only Trump is doing daily rallies, and even Fox is no longer covering them live. Obama has a major Las Vegas rally on October 22nd.
OK, so do you see how ridiculous your comments are?
“if Obama and Hillary are so popular”
According to who? I mean, just because Breitbart and whatever other right wing sites try to keep you at a fever pitch all the time doesn’t mean the rest of us lose our minds too.
“why are they NONEXISTENT in any campaign”
You have no idea, haven’t bothered to look, and don’t really want to know. I guess this is supposed to reinforce some story that breitbart is pushing lately.
“What am I missing!”
Where do I start?
“Something tells me they are toxic or just don’t want to help and just count their money … what do you think?”
Ah yes. The rhetorical question. The other questions are all designed to reinforce your own paradigm embodied in this question, and it doesn’t matter how anyone else answers because you have already answered your own question! Who needs facts!
Hillary and Obama are both campaigning for Andrew Gillum in Florida. Some candidates are having them campaign for them and some are not. It’s not all that unusual. Kemp has traitor tot campaigning for him. Frankly if you wanted to know you could look all this up but then you’re lazy and want to be spoon fed information.
Ok. Another fake Noway post! It starts again.
Ellynn touched on coastal building codes yesterday but sometimes the ol’ picture is worth a thousand words thing is true:
Among the Ruins of Mexico Beach Stands One House, Built ‘for the Big One’
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/14/us/hurricane-michael-florida-mexico-beach-house.html
Apparently the building codes for the panhandle are not as strict as they are in south Florida, and this one was built to the higher standards. I think all new coastal construction on the panhandle, greater Gulf Coast, barrier islands, hell, the Atlantic Seaboard should be required to meet the stricter code. If you want to play you’ve got to pay. In the end we all subsidize the rebuilding. That being said, a friend of the family owned a house in Mexico Beach that dated back to when they didn’t need no stinkin’ code. She inherited it in the late 70s and it was the typical beach house that only stood so long because half of the usual breezes blew through it. She will be selling the empty lot now, no demolition required.
Yup. Like Isle of Palms after Hugo.
Another example of government regulation stifling free markets, weighing down the economy and undermining liberty.
Unfortunately in this regard I no longer live in Gwinnett but in case you do want to actually vote early there (unlike Noway’s fictional trips to the polls), you might find this site handy regarding the wait times. Right now with only one polling place open in the county the wait times have still been averaging 10 minutes or less:
https://www.gwinnettcounty.com/web/gwinnett/Alert
My initial thought that is legislation should be enacted requiring the County election office to inform voters in writing of any ballot that has been rejected and the specific reasons(s) for rejection. I think then we’d see changes to the absentee ballot system.
Ok. The next rallies for The Great Man are in Missoula, Thursday; Mesa, Friday; Elko, Saturday and Houston, Monday!! Wow! What a grueling and hectic pace!!
“Yesterday Obama campaigned with JayZ & Springsteen while Hurricane Sandy victims across NY & NJ are still decimated by Sandy. Wrong! -DJT 3:01 PM · Nov 6, 2012
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What a Republican!
Meanwhile…
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-10-16/mcconnell-blames-entitlements-not-gop-for-rising-deficits?srnd=premium
Not all of them. Maybe 90 %…
Ryan has delivered and it’s time to cash in.
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What a Republican!
I didn’t think the Saudi murder of Khogosshi (sp.?) was going to have any impact on the midterms at all, until I just heard that Down in the Drumpfs said that we’re all just jumping to conclusions about whether the Saudis committed the murder (bone saw anyone?).
Next thing you know, the Saudis are having the presumption of innocence torn away from them, and we as Americans are sorry that MBS and the Saudi royal family has been treated so unfairly.
Even rubes may catch on after falling for the same trick time and time again.
Maybe not.
Also, how did they get the intel about the bone saw? Are we just going to believe Turkey’s allegations without any corroboration?
Trump defending another brutal dictator? Who should be suprised by that especially after talking about how he and Kim Jung-un fell in love.
They brought a bone saw with them from Saudi Arabia, like any garden variety tourist would do, but who could have foreseen things would get out of hand?
Trump compares the Sauds to Kavanaugh. Well, isn’t that interesting that he compares Kavanaugh to murderers who us bone saws.
I didn’t even realize he had gone that far already.
He’s already past “the Saudis shouldn’t be judged guilty until proven innocent”, and already past a call for an investigation lasting no longer than a week.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/trump-criticizes-rush-to-condemn-saudi-arabia-over-khashoggi/ar-BBOtWhZ?ocid=ientp
It will no doubt be interesting to see how Trumpists defend their man defending a murdering monarch– and by extending the principles of Constitutional protections to a non-citizen, no less. Oh, and there’s tons of evidence against him.
I just wonder if the rubes are gonna re-think their defense of Kav now that the playbook is known, and so fresh in their minds. They surely won’t drink the Kool Aid for the Saudis will they?
And if they don’t drink it for the Saudis, will they vomit up the Kool Aid they drank for Kav?
If I were a running Dem, I’d be compiling clips of Trump defending Kav, and his current defense of the Saudis, and playing them right alongside each other, for the next 3 weeks.
Don’t worry. No one is gonna give the Saudis any leeway on this one.
Trump has, and Trump will.
And ppl will probly accept that we’re not going to war with the Saudis, and may be fine with just forgetting about the whole brutal murder and dismemberment thing.
But my question is whether the use of the same “logic” and playbook as was used with Kav will make even a dim bulb flicker with recognition, and whether that flicker changes any minds (among Independents, of course. I know Trumpists gonna Trump no matter what murderer or assaulter — sorry, alleged murderers or assaulters— get to walk away scot-free with American money or America’s respect or America’s most respected jobs.)
Trump is already making excuse after excuse for the Sauds much like he has been doing for Putin for years now. It’s happening in real time but I guess if wingnut welfare isn’t reporting that you’re not gonna know. Inform yourself and quit letting the GOP lie to you over and over.
Oh, the Trumpers will drink the Saud kool aid and swear up and down it tastes good.
It’s not like the country isn’t a source of terrorists or anything.
Andrew you are so depressing you make Al Gore sound like an upbeat person instead of fat, fear -mongering liar.
Do you know how many feet the seas have risen since the last ice age that ended about 18000 years ago? Guess how much the sea levels have risen the last 6000 years? Yes 6000 years…
I am glad to give you the figures later. What do folks think on the blog?
Well obviously the conclusion of everyone living in your head is that downthemiddle is smarter than 99.9% of the world’s scientists. And I’m sure FoxNews will be able to back that conclusion.
It’s something that must change. The system is slowly being twisted to sustain minority rule instead of protect the minority. Sustained minority rule usually doesn’t ends well.
Mitch McConnell says the U.S. budget deficit is “disturbing” and spending on entitlement programs must be addressed by both Republicans and Democrats. I mean who could have foresaw that cutting taxes for the rich and increasing military spending would increase the deficit?
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No worries if Social Security and Medicare aren’t cut. There’s always Plan B, print another $1.5T and give 80% of it to the top 1%. MAGA.
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McConnell at the time of the tax cut: “I not only don’t think it will increase the deficit, I think it will be beyond revenue neutral”?
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Ignorant as poop or a liar? You make the call.
I’m turning in to the church taxi, it seems. “Paw Paw” Jenkins needs a ride in the am! 93 and sharp as a tack! Maybe a Waffle House breakfast first!?
Don’t hit it. It’ll increase your insurance premium.