Friday, June 09, 2017

Happy Hour Thread

Get happy.
by Atrios at 17:00


Who Would Take A Job

At this point anyone who would take a job in the Trump administration is either a) truly an abysmal person in every way or b) someone with a savior complex who thinks it's their job to save the country from him. I suppose having a few from category b) isn't the worst thing, but not everyone with a savior complex is any good at the saving...
by Atrios at 15:30

End of A Longish Week

And I've got stuff to do this this afternoon/evening/tomorrow. So you know the deal...
by Atrios at 13:51

You Go To The Elections With The Voters You Have

They're stupid and horrible and deplorable, but you still gotta get their votes.
by Atrios at 12:03

Corbyn The Communist

It's conventional wisdom in the US and the UK that Corbyn, whatever his flaws or merits, is a SUPER LEFTY. And, you know, by the standards of recent US and UK politics I suppose that's fair enough. But that mostly means returning the UK back to what was perfectly standard a few years ago. Public railways and post office. A bit higher corporate tax rate. Free college tuition.

He's probably not as enthusiastic about blowing people up around the world and selling arms, and isn't too thrilled about Trident, but it's hilarious seeing him described as "far left." Hell, even we have a public post office and government run (essentially) passenger rail service.

by Atrios at 10:25

Complaint

I can't figure out if they're stupid enough to believe this makes any sense or if it is just to get the rubes all riled up.

by Atrios at 09:20

The Kids Are Alright

No actual figures, but presumably there was big yute turnout in the UK Everyone will now claim that a non-commie Labour leader like that nice Ed Miliband would OF COURSE have done as well as Joseph Stalin Lenin Marx Corbyn, and in fact BETTER, but that's bullshit. That nice Ed Miliband couldn't do in 2015, and I'm not sure who the "unnamed generic normal Labour candidate" would otherwise be. Theresa May's incompetent evil helped, but Corbyn staved off what was supposed to have been a Labour extinction election and while there will still likely be a Tory-led government, it will be pretty fragile. A coalition with a bunch of bigoted religious nutters from Northern Ireland who aren't on board with May's Brexit plans. Labour went after The Kids Today and got them to the polls. Wasn't enough to win, but the polling outfit predicting a likely hung parliament was considered to be "insane" even just a few days ago.

Tutition used to be free in the UK. Then they decided that those lazy students needed to have some skin in the game and suddenly tuition was 1000 pounds. Then a few years later it was 9000 pounds and all the college grads there now have US-level student debt. A big reason Corbyn's a commie is because he wants to abolish tuition to bring the UK back to its communist past of 1997 and give young people the same deal all the people in charge had.

In 2015, Miliband said he'd cut them. To just SIX THOUSAND POUNDS. Maybe if he'd gone all the way...
by Atrios at 08:30

Morning Thread

Go England.
by ql at 05:15

Thursday, June 08, 2017

A+ Troll Game




...
The prime minister called the election because she wanted a mandate. Well the mandate she’s got is lost Conservative seats, lost votes, lost support and lost confidence. I would have thought that is enough for her to go actually ...
by Atrios at 22:23

Oh Jeffy Jeff

by Atrios at 18:42

Markers

Possibly winning the crown from Trump for Stupidest. Tweet. Ever.
by Atrios at 17:50

Not A Majority

Not optimistic this will be the actual result, but given that Labour was facing an extinction level event just 3 weeks ago, if May actually loses seats...



326 needed for an actual majority.
by Atrios at 17:09

Shortages

Complete mystery how they could attract workers to this job.

Mackinac Island has a permanent population of about 500 people and just as many horses, but no cars. From May to October, the picturesque Michigan getaway relies on about 3,000 workers to power its economic engine: summer tourism.

Historically, up to a third of those workers are foreigners, including Mexicans, Filipinos, Canadians and Jamaicans, who are hired on seasonal visas. But when many of the island’s business owners applied for those visas this year, they heard from the government that none were left.

So at the Iroquois Hotel, a Victorian property on the waterfront where rooms command up to $1,200 a night, the owner is trying to figure out how to maintain its high standards without 30 Jamaican housekeepers. Other hotels are contemplating closing off whole sections. Even those who own the ubiquitous horses are wondering if they will have enough workers.

Nothing I learned in economics taught me how employers can attract more workers to jobs...
by Atrios at 17:00

Foolproof

I suppose they are, in a way...

“One thing I know about radar, it doesn’t drive drunk, it doesn’t drive distracted,” Inslee said. “We humans are really good at a lot of things, driving cars isn’t necessarily one of them compared to the automated processes that are digital and foolproof. I just have huge confidence in the safety aspects of this.”

I don't really think safety is the issue. If they work they'll be safe. If they aren't safe it's because they don't work. Foolproof? well...
by Atrios at 16:51

Miserable Failure

Absent the kind of event (oy) that makes Americans think they have to say they love the president no matter who it is, Trump is never going to go above 40% again (sure in a poll or two but not generally). Heckuva job, Trumpy.
by Atrios at 15:30

Narrator: He Won't

Ryan won't cut Trump lose. It's going to take Trump deciding he's too ill (or being too ill) or the 25th amendment remedy. I don't like the idea of a 25th amendment remedy, so let's hope Trump decides he's not up to the job after all. Because while bumbling evil is often preferable, things like Trump practically declaring war on Qatar over Twitter because he didn't know we had a large military base there is a bit frightening.
by Atrios at 15:12

Afternoon Thread

Only 2 1/4 hours until the polls close in the UK!!
by Atrios at 14:47

Adopted Identity

I don't really have much "sympathy" for any nostalgia for the Confederacy, but it's extra sick when it's a modern affectation in a US state that didn't achieve statehood until 1912.

They tell another, even less well-known story: one of white Southerners who moved to Arizona in the post-World War II era and brought their fondness for intimidating black citizens with them. The state's oldest Confederate memorial was dedicated nearly 80 years after the Civil War ended, in 1943. The newest, shockingly, went up in 2010.
by Atrios at 13:30

Laws For Rich White People

Pretty much optional. Takes a few years to learn how to be president.

by Atrios at 11:58

Comeying II: Electric Boogaloo

The pee tape is real.
by Atrios at 11:01

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