The photos of the "crowds" at the tank parade remind me of when Bill Hicks would come on stage in an almost-empty club, scan the room slowly, and announce "I've had more people in bed than this" ...
When the president sends a cabinet member on TV to announce "We are using the military to liberate an American city from its elected leaders," where do you go from there. What is left to say. The idea of that being anything short of a near-universal "Wait, what the fuck is going on" moment proves how far we've backslid.
This is from 2022 but it was absolutely right. The practiced buffoonery of Trump 1, all the "just kiddings" and "seriously but not literallys" absolutely succeeded in desensitizing people who are hardly paying any attention to the harder stuff they always intended to do next. ...
The basic fallacy in chasing votes by being "tough on immigration" is that the modal American's position on the issue is "Deport the Bad ones and keep the Good ones," and they alone know who is which, and that simply does not translate into workable policy. So this kind of gestapo stuff horrifies some of the same people who cheered when Trump promised to do it. There are true sociopaths who love this, but "No, I meant only the BAD immigrants! Not my coworker/friend/neighbor!" is as likely a reaction as enthusiasm. You cannot do immigration policy that satisfies these people because what they want is nonsensical.
So by the time center-left parties fully commit to chasing the far right by "getting tough" on immigration, the backlash has already begun to build and they walk right into it. "I thought you people wanted this!" No, they want something impossible and convinced themselves they'd could have it - the "eat whatever you want AND lose weight!" of immigration policies.
It is hard to grasp but large masses of Americans are both racist/xenophobic AND not racist/xenophobic enough to applaud what Trump is doing. It's goldilocks shit, they want a level of racism/xenophobia calibrated exactly to their personal preferences, and you just can't make that policy. Don't try. ...
AP: Trump extends olive branch, invites Musk to White House cellar to taste some brand new amontillado ...
Isaac says:
Or a good bike wreck with destroyed teeth will do it too. Gained it all back and then some with a too-generous liquid diet though.
Noskilz says:
Good to hear you're feeling a bit better.
But yeah, just when you think Trump has finally hit the bottom of the barrel, he seem to take it as a challenge to dig even harder.
Mo says:
Altitude sickness _and_ turista.
Resulting in a travelling companion's epic vomiting episode on the spiral iron stairway leading down from a small restaurant. It was awesome. Incoming customers were greeted by gallons of dripping puke puddling into the entryway.
Karl Kolchak says:
It seems like before Trump is through, he's going to cause a national nervous breakdown. The American political system has been broken for long time, and things are finally coming to a head.
Mary Beth says:
Inspires me to want to travel again! Where else can we get those adventures.
We have thought he hit bottom before, and like (very like) a flattened ball, he has another bounce in him. These Repubs are the slowest learners, and I've known slow learners.
mago says:
Corroded pipes. Septic water. Vicious consequences.
democommie says:
Feel better, Ed.
I've had a few bouts of food poisoning that were serious enough to make me not want to eat for days AFTER it all stopped.
Major Kong says:
Ouch. Hope you feel better.
TakomaMark says:
I had hyperthyriodism for a couple months thanks to acute thyroiditis, and that will do it too. I remember complaining to a female co-worker that I was having trouble sleeping, my heart was racing, I was sweating all the time and dropping weight without trying thanks to my hyper-sped-up metabolism and she said, gee, I want hyperthyroidism. Of course with the condition I had that hyperthyroidism was followed by a few months of hypothyroidism so the two balanced one another out over the course of 6 months.
Brian M says:
Isaac: I badly broke my collar bone three weeks ago-the bicycle STOPPED….I did not. First broken bones in my life.
No surgery, so we are talking three months to heal.
How the hell do I make up for the 6,000 calories per week I burned during a typical cycling week? I am certainly not "dieting" right now. :(
Ed: I have this odd fascination with Ecuador. It looks like an amazing post-second civil war bolt hole/retirement location as the United States devolves. Quito is cool, although I understand it is a second world place at very best.
democommie says:
Brian M:
Did you mean, "6,000 calories per DAY?"
I eat more like 21-23K calories per week and I'm about as active as an alligator in December in upstate NY.
RosiesDad says:
Broke my collarbone cycling in 2008 but it was so displaced it had to be plated. Recovery was much quicker too.
Feel better Ed. Very few things worse than a bad gi bug.
Brian M says:
demo:
Depends. Probably closer to 10,000 per week (4,000 calories per 60 mile ride or so.)
One bone is displaced, but not quite badly enough to mandate surgery. Maybe not. I am going back for another checkup next week….I am….concerned.
Kaiser is a decent HMO, but they really do try cost control, and surgery has its own set of issues and concerns. I have been told that even when plated you still have a long recovery period.
I have people touch my collar bone to freak them out.
Aaron says:
Literal shitshow. :(
Major Kong says:
When we deployed to Turkey we had this bug that everyone got at one point or another.
We called it "SMA" which stood for "Screaming Monkey Ass". It was so bad that a lot of people needed antibiotics. We had at least one hospitalized for dehydration.
I don't think they ever figured out where it came from. Different people got it after eating at different places. I got it after eating at the Officer's Club on base, which should have been pretty safe.
Whatever t was it was nasty. I'm pretty sure there was weapons-grade plutonium coming out of me.
Katydid says:
YEESH, you guys! So many bad things. I hope you all recover (that includes you, Ed).
Mistergizmo says:
In Mexico City many years ago, the hotel had bottled water for us. Nice. One morning we left to do our tourist thing, but had to go back for something we forgot. We found the housekeeper refilling the water bottle from the tap. :-)
democommie says:
"Whatever t was it was nasty. I'm pretty sure there was weapons-grade plutonium coming out of me."
Still, it could have been worse, it could have been whatever comes out of Trumpligulmygdala.
democommie says:
@ Brian M:
Sorry I missed your reply. Yeah, get them to check it, again.
I'm going in for a carpal tunnel release next week–5 years after I started complaining about it. I also have a pronated lunate and it's impacted by the ulna which has driven the lunate into the metacarpal–no spaces anymore. I'm pretty sure that it could have been diagnosed a lot sooner.
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