2) Butthurt, he alleges vote rigging and runs as an independent;
3) DeSantis quits as Governor of Florida to focus on being nominee;
4) Biden selects Whitmer, Ossoff or Buttigieg as his VP;
5) Biden wins in an absolute landslide, due to the split vote, consigning both Trump and DeSantis to the outer darkness;
6) Biden then retires for undisclosed health reasons, leaving a capable President in charge;
7) A sane Republican nominee - Haley, perhaps? - emerges in 2028 and wins easily.
4 and 6 are not essential, but they would be optimal.
I think point 4 - maybe not necessarily one of those, but a VP who is sensible, competent and doesn't drive away swing voters - is actually essential. If Biden does that he's going to win by a landslide that even the paranoid would see couldn't be overturned.
The problem is, the VP role is occupied by someone who doesn't necessarily fulfil any of those three requirements. And who was the last POTUS to jettison their VP before their re-election bid?
Ford, and before that, Roosevelt (twice, although on the first occasion the Veep had opposed him at the convention).
I have to say with all due respect to Biden I still think it was a real error by Obama not to bring forward a younger VP in 2012. Clinton would never have bothered to stand in that case and Trump would never happened.
1. Gerald Ford's Vice President, Nelson Rockefeller, being the only VP in US history who was NOT elected on ticket with POTUS, but instead was appointed after Spiro Agnew resigned. So outside usual parameters of vice presidential re-nomination.
Ummmm...I think you'll find there was a second Vice President who was not elected on a ticket with POTUS. Bloke named Gerald Ford.
(Also, strictly speaking Adams, Jefferson and arguably Burr were all elected in actual opposition to POTUS, except insofar as Adams did not actually seek the Presidency against Washington.)
I agree incidentally that Harris won't be removed. And oddly from what I've seen of her I think she might actually make a rather good president, as long as she inherited the office rather than campaigned for it.
HOW could I forget the non-election of Gerald Ford?
So stand corrected for first time, yet again!
And you're correct on next point, though neither Adams nor Jefferson ran against Washington for POTUS.
2) Butthurt, he alleges vote rigging and runs as an independent;
3) DeSantis quits as Governor of Florida to focus on being nominee;
4) Biden selects Whitmer, Ossoff or Buttigieg as his VP;
5) Biden wins in an absolute landslide, due to the split vote, consigning both Trump and DeSantis to the outer darkness;
6) Biden then retires for undisclosed health reasons, leaving a capable President in charge;
7) A sane Republican nominee - Haley, perhaps? - emerges in 2028 and wins easily.
4 and 6 are not essential, but they would be optimal.
I think point 4 - maybe not necessarily one of those, but a VP who is sensible, competent and doesn't drive away swing voters - is actually essential. If Biden does that he's going to win by a landslide that even the paranoid would see couldn't be overturned.
The problem is, the VP role is occupied by someone who doesn't necessarily fulfil any of those three requirements. And who was the last POTUS to jettison their VP before their re-election bid?
Ford, and before that, Roosevelt (twice, although on the first occasion the Veep had opposed him at the convention).
I have to say with all due respect to Biden I still think it was a real error by Obama not to bring forward a younger VP in 2012. Clinton would never have bothered to stand in that case and Trump would never happened.
1. Gerald Ford's Vice President, Nelson Rockefeller, being the only VP in US history who was NOT elected on ticket with POTUS, but instead was appointed after Spiro Agnew resigned. So outside usual parameters of vice presidential re-nomination.
Ummmm...I think you'll find there was a second Vice President who was not elected on a ticket with POTUS. Bloke named Gerald Ford.
(Also, strictly speaking Adams, Jefferson and arguably Burr were all elected in actual opposition to POTUS, except insofar as Adams did not actually seek the Presidency against Washington.)
I agree incidentally that Harris won't be removed. And oddly from what I've seen of her I think she might actually make a rather good president, as long as she inherited the office rather than campaigned for it.
HOW could I forget the non-election of Gerald Ford?
So stand corrected for first time, yet again!
And you're correct on next point, though neither Adams nor Jefferson ran against Washington for POTUS.
Jefferson ran against Adams, though...
Edit - Gerald Ford is of course the only person to have been President and Vice-President without ever having been elected to either office. Nelson Rockefeller was the second Vice President, and to date the last, not to have been elected.
That's about 7 degrees below the average for the time of year. UGH
It's nice and sunny in Crete. But we're coming home tomorrow night.
Prepare yourself. It's bitter. Like January
Tho it is meant to get warm in about a week. Finally
Ouch. The weather has been crap this year. Maybe that means we're due a good summer?
Easter was nice but apart from that it has been a windy grey and extremely rainy spring. The forecast for this Friday is 10C and driving cold rain in London. That will be a shock after Crete
However, the medium term forecast is a lot better - starting early next week. At last. Lots of sun and even warm temps. Inshallah
Spring is still in progress, but just looking at March, it was both warmer and (in the east of the UK) drier than normal. And it's wet *now*, but the first weekend of April was lovely, and last week was pretty nice.
Basically, it's been at least as nice as normal for the time of year. Properly nice weather before May is not unknown but is at best a bit sporadic.
I disagree somewhat, from my parochial perspective. March was the gloomiest for 30 years in Wiltshire. It’s not just temperature or rain that matter - the lack of sun was, to be slightly Leonesque, horrific.
March was fecking horrible, as @Cookie has now agreed. That slashing rain, for day after day. Jeeez
Anyway let us look forward. This time next week in London it is meant to be 19C with cloudless skies. YAY
Right now the weather here is such that no sensible person would step outside. Thankfully the house is still intact this time; the really strong gusts have been few and far between.
I’m pleased to be Italy-bound early next week.
Same here on the south coast - horrendous conditions. Sadly, two lifeboats and a helicopter are currently looking for bodies around Brighton Pier; rumour is that one poor sod has already been fished out.
That's about 7 degrees below the average for the time of year. UGH
It's nice and sunny in Crete. But we're coming home tomorrow night.
Prepare yourself. It's bitter. Like January
Tho it is meant to get warm in about a week. Finally
Ouch. The weather has been crap this year. Maybe that means we're due a good summer?
Easter was nice but apart from that it has been a windy grey and extremely rainy spring. The forecast for this Friday is 10C and driving cold rain in London. That will be a shock after Crete
However, the medium term forecast is a lot better - starting early next week. At last. Lots of sun and even warm temps. Inshallah
Spring is still in progress, but just looking at March, it was both warmer and (in the east of the UK) drier than normal. And it's wet *now*, but the first weekend of April was lovely, and last week was pretty nice.
Basically, it's been at least as nice as normal for the time of year. Properly nice weather before May is not unknown but is at best a bit sporadic.
I disagree somewhat, from my parochial perspective. March was the gloomiest for 30 years in Wiltshire. It’s not just temperature or rain that matter - the lack of sun was, to be slightly Leonesque, horrific.
March was fecking horrible, as @Cookie has now agreed. That slashing rain, for day after day. Jeeez
Anyway let us look forward. This time next week in London it is meant to be 19C with cloudless skies. YAY
Right now the weather here is such that no sensible person would step outside. Thankfully the house is still intact this time; the really strong gusts have been few and far between.
I’m pleased to be Italy-bound early next week.
I've been indoors most of the day - but all three daughters are on (different) sports camps today. Obscurely proud that in at least two cases they appear to have played on happily all day regardless of the weather. We breed 'em waterproof in the North West. (Cricket, which my oldest did, was less sanguine about the weather, of course.)
That's about 7 degrees below the average for the time of year. UGH
It's nice and sunny in Crete. But we're coming home tomorrow night.
Prepare yourself. It's bitter. Like January
Tho it is meant to get warm in about a week. Finally
Ouch. The weather has been crap this year. Maybe that means we're due a good summer?
Easter was nice but apart from that it has been a windy grey and extremely rainy spring. The forecast for this Friday is 10C and driving cold rain in London. That will be a shock after Crete
However, the medium term forecast is a lot better - starting early next week. At last. Lots of sun and even warm temps. Inshallah
Spring is still in progress, but just looking at March, it was both warmer and (in the east of the UK) drier than normal. And it's wet *now*, but the first weekend of April was lovely, and last week was pretty nice.
Basically, it's been at least as nice as normal for the time of year. Properly nice weather before May is not unknown but is at best a bit sporadic.
I disagree somewhat, from my parochial perspective. March was the gloomiest for 30 years in Wiltshire. It’s not just temperature or rain that matter - the lack of sun was, to be slightly Leonesque, horrific.
Yes, I take it back - I was looking at the wrong map. Parts of the SE had less than half the average sunshine for March.
That's about 7 degrees below the average for the time of year. UGH
It's nice and sunny in Crete. But we're coming home tomorrow night.
Prepare yourself. It's bitter. Like January
Tho it is meant to get warm in about a week. Finally
Ouch. The weather has been crap this year. Maybe that means we're due a good summer?
Easter was nice but apart from that it has been a windy grey and extremely rainy spring. The forecast for this Friday is 10C and driving cold rain in London. That will be a shock after Crete
However, the medium term forecast is a lot better - starting early next week. At last. Lots of sun and even warm temps. Inshallah
Spring is still in progress, but just looking at March, it was both warmer and (in the east of the UK) drier than normal. And it's wet *now*, but the first weekend of April was lovely, and last week was pretty nice.
Basically, it's been at least as nice as normal for the time of year. Properly nice weather before May is not unknown but is at best a bit sporadic.
I disagree somewhat, from my parochial perspective. March was the gloomiest for 30 years in Wiltshire. It’s not just temperature or rain that matter - the lack of sun was, to be slightly Leonesque, horrific.
March was fecking horrible, as @Cookie has now agreed. That slashing rain, for day after day. Jeeez
Anyway let us look forward. This time next week in London it is meant to be 19C with cloudless skies. YAY
Right now the weather here is such that no sensible person would step outside. Thankfully the house is still intact this time; the really strong gusts have been few and far between.
I’m pleased to be Italy-bound early next week.
Same here on the south coast - horrendous conditions. Sadly, two lifeboats and a helicopter are currently looking for bodies around Brighton Pier; rumour is that one poor sod has already been fished out.
The RNLI have issued a warning about the weather and sea conditions
That's about 7 degrees below the average for the time of year. UGH
It's nice and sunny in Crete. But we're coming home tomorrow night.
Prepare yourself. It's bitter. Like January
Tho it is meant to get warm in about a week. Finally
Ouch. The weather has been crap this year. Maybe that means we're due a good summer?
Easter was nice but apart from that it has been a windy grey and extremely rainy spring. The forecast for this Friday is 10C and driving cold rain in London. That will be a shock after Crete
However, the medium term forecast is a lot better - starting early next week. At last. Lots of sun and even warm temps. Inshallah
Spring is still in progress, but just looking at March, it was both warmer and (in the east of the UK) drier than normal. And it's wet *now*, but the first weekend of April was lovely, and last week was pretty nice.
Basically, it's been at least as nice as normal for the time of year. Properly nice weather before May is not unknown but is at best a bit sporadic.
I disagree somewhat, from my parochial perspective. March was the gloomiest for 30 years in Wiltshire. It’s not just temperature or rain that matter - the lack of sun was, to be slightly Leonesque, horrific.
March was fecking horrible, as @Cookie has now agreed. That slashing rain, for day after day. Jeeez
Anyway let us look forward. This time next week in London it is meant to be 19C with cloudless skies. YAY
Right now the weather here is such that no sensible person would step outside. Thankfully the house is still intact this time; the really strong gusts have been few and far between.
I’m pleased to be Italy-bound early next week.
I've been indoors most of the day - but all three daughters are on (different) sports camps today. Obscurely proud that in at least two cases they appear to have played on happily all day regardless of the weather. We breed 'em waterproof in the North West. (Cricket, which my oldest did, was less sanguine about the weather, of course.)
The worst of it is in the south, today. One of those days when my house has to hold the front line against incoming wind and rain so that those of you in the villages and towns behind can be sheltered from the worst of it…. It’s not long since I spent £9000 repairing the damage from the storm back in February.
If I point off to somewhere close to the south west/west south west most precisely, there is nothing but ocean between my house and Venezuela.
That's about 7 degrees below the average for the time of year. UGH
It's nice and sunny in Crete. But we're coming home tomorrow night.
Prepare yourself. It's bitter. Like January
Tho it is meant to get warm in about a week. Finally
Ouch. The weather has been crap this year. Maybe that means we're due a good summer?
Easter was nice but apart from that it has been a windy grey and extremely rainy spring. The forecast for this Friday is 10C and driving cold rain in London. That will be a shock after Crete
However, the medium term forecast is a lot better - starting early next week. At last. Lots of sun and even warm temps. Inshallah
Spring is still in progress, but just looking at March, it was both warmer and (in the east of the UK) drier than normal. And it's wet *now*, but the first weekend of April was lovely, and last week was pretty nice.
Basically, it's been at least as nice as normal for the time of year. Properly nice weather before May is not unknown but is at best a bit sporadic.
I disagree somewhat, from my parochial perspective. March was the gloomiest for 30 years in Wiltshire. It’s not just temperature or rain that matter - the lack of sun was, to be slightly Leonesque, horrific.
March was fecking horrible, as @Cookie has now agreed. That slashing rain, for day after day. Jeeez
Anyway let us look forward. This time next week in London it is meant to be 19C with cloudless skies. YAY
Right now the weather here is such that no sensible person would step outside. Thankfully the house is still intact this time; the really strong gusts have been few and far between.
I’m pleased to be Italy-bound early next week.
Same here on the south coast - horrendous conditions. Sadly, two lifeboats and a helicopter are currently looking for bodies around Brighton Pier; rumour is that one poor sod has already been fished out.
That implies that someone voluntarily went into the water, thereby getting into trouble. In this weather?
Unless they were swept off the pier or the beach by a freak wave
2) Butthurt, he alleges vote rigging and runs as an independent;
3) DeSantis quits as Governor of Florida to focus on being nominee;
4) Biden selects Whitmer, Ossoff or Buttigieg as his VP;
5) Biden wins in an absolute landslide, due to the split vote, consigning both Trump and DeSantis to the outer darkness;
6) Biden then retires for undisclosed health reasons, leaving a capable President in charge;
7) A sane Republican nominee - Haley, perhaps? - emerges in 2028 and wins easily.
4 and 6 are not essential, but they would be optimal.
I think point 4 - maybe not necessarily one of those, but a VP who is sensible, competent and doesn't drive away swing voters - is actually essential. If Biden does that he's going to win by a landslide that even the paranoid would see couldn't be overturned.
The problem is, the VP role is occupied by someone who doesn't necessarily fulfil any of those three requirements. And who was the last POTUS to jettison their VP before their re-election bid?
Ford, and before that, Roosevelt (twice, although on the first occasion the Veep had opposed him at the convention).
I have to say with all due respect to Biden I still think it was a real error by Obama not to bring forward a younger VP in 2012. Clinton would never have bothered to stand in that case and Trump would never happened.
1. Gerald Ford's Vice President, Nelson Rockefeller, being the only VP in US history who was NOT elected on ticket with POTUS, but instead was appointed after Spiro Agnew resigned. So outside usual parameters of vice presidential re-nomination.
2. Franklin Roosevelt's first Vice President, John Nance Garner, did NOT oppose FDR at 1940 Democratic National Convention, which he did not even attend. Instead, he'd already broken with Roosevelt (in private but only semi-publically) long before, over course of New Deal in general, and court-packing AND third-term in particular.
The former Roosevelt loyalist who DID oppose FDR at 1940 DNC, as declared candidate to replace him, was his former campaign manager and cabinet secretary as US Postmaster General, James Farley.
3. Last time an incumbent POTUS ended up with a new VP running mate, replacing his old, elected-in-normal-way Veep, was FDR, when Henry Wallace got dumped (with Roosevelt's connivance) for Harry Truman.
1944 being a special case, because > wide-spread concern among Roosevelt's inner circle and other top Democrats re: his deteriorating health as WWII was about to reach it's crescendo, and prospect that his (next) VP might well end up becoming his successor before their term was up…
So not entirely unadjacent to the situation the Democrats find themselves in now.
I agree with you that replacing Harris is pretty unlikely - and even if a vacancy were to arise on the SC (again unlikely), elevating Harris, just to free up the VP slot, would look very odd, and do nothing for her credibility as a justice on the court.
Keep on coloring me skeptical. HOWEVER, the VEEP > SCOTUS route is perhaps an very outside possibility.
BUT question whether KP's current status as President of Senate would help OR hurt her chances of confirmation as Justice?
PLUS fact that, if she DID move to the Court, then her place as next-in-line in presidential succession would be taken by . . . wait for it . . . Kevin McCarthy. Unless and until POTUS nominated and US Senate confirmed an appointed Veep.
If a Vice President resigns in office, then both the House and Senate must approve the replacement.
I stand corrected - first time for everything!
Incidentally I've checked and Garner was a candidate at the 1940 Democratic Convention, although he came third.
It's not that surprising he didn't bother to attend - nor did Roosevelt.
Unlike James Farley, John Nance Garner was never a declared candidate, or even an undeclared one; the votes that both received were protest votes NOT serious attempts at nomination.
DNC 1940 votes for President at first, and only, roll call; Roosevelt 946.43 Farley 72.9 Garner 61 Tydings 9.5 Hull 5.67 Absent 3.5 Not Voting 1
Note that fractional votes were due to states sending more delegates than allocated, with each splitting a single delegate vote.
Millard Tydings was conservative Democratic US Senator from Maryland; Cordell Hull was FDR's Secretary of State; votes for both were also cast in protest.
That's about 7 degrees below the average for the time of year. UGH
It's nice and sunny in Crete. But we're coming home tomorrow night.
Prepare yourself. It's bitter. Like January
Tho it is meant to get warm in about a week. Finally
Ouch. The weather has been crap this year. Maybe that means we're due a good summer?
Easter was nice but apart from that it has been a windy grey and extremely rainy spring. The forecast for this Friday is 10C and driving cold rain in London. That will be a shock after Crete
However, the medium term forecast is a lot better - starting early next week. At last. Lots of sun and even warm temps. Inshallah
Spring is still in progress, but just looking at March, it was both warmer and (in the east of the UK) drier than normal. And it's wet *now*, but the first weekend of April was lovely, and last week was pretty nice.
Basically, it's been at least as nice as normal for the time of year. Properly nice weather before May is not unknown but is at best a bit sporadic.
I disagree somewhat, from my parochial perspective. March was the gloomiest for 30 years in Wiltshire. It’s not just temperature or rain that matter - the lack of sun was, to be slightly Leonesque, horrific.
March was fecking horrible, as @Cookie has now agreed. That slashing rain, for day after day. Jeeez
Anyway let us look forward. This time next week in London it is meant to be 19C with cloudless skies. YAY
Right now the weather here is such that no sensible person would step outside. Thankfully the house is still intact this time; the really strong gusts have been few and far between.
I’m pleased to be Italy-bound early next week.
Same here on the south coast - horrendous conditions. Sadly, two lifeboats and a helicopter are currently looking for bodies around Brighton Pier; rumour is that one poor sod has already been fished out.
That implies that someone voluntarily went into the water, thereby getting into trouble. In this weather?
Unless they were swept off the pier or the beach by a freak wave
Nasty
Whichever way the RNLI volunteer crews will go to their rescue often with great risk to themselves
Connor's Wedding" received unanimous critical acclaim, with many calling it the best and most shocking episode of the series, as well as one of the greatest episodes in television history. Shortly after its debut, "Connor's Wedding" achieved a perfect score of 10 out of 10 on IMDb after over 10,000 votes. As of April 2023, it is one of only two episodes with this rating, the other being the Breaking Bad episode "Ozymandias"
Tucker Carlson may be the most evil man in the world, or whatever, but he is also really good at what he does.
Lying with a straight face. Yep.
He's a polemicist, and he is superb at it
Also a liar and the rest. But talent is talent.
My reaction is more akin to kjh’s, but each to their own.
That's a failing, to my mind. It is easier to make good judgements and predictions if you can set aside your own beliefs and see things objectively
eg I can appreciate the talents of people on the left with whom I utterly disagree. Stewart Lee on form is a genius, yet I generally abhor his politics. Owen Jones can write very skilfully, even if he annoys the heck out of me, and even tho he lies
Ditto politicians. Salmond was bloody good in his pomp, yet he wanted to break up my beloved country.
Trump is also good in his own weird way. He knows how to wind his opponents up til they lose it - which benefits him (Boris has a bit of this too)
That's what makes Trump so dangerous. Not because he's useless, it's because he has weird but definite skill
Well that was a blooming huge assumption on your part wasn't it? I also appreciate journalists and politicians from a broad spectrum. I have nothing in common with Farage but consider him to be one of the most influential commentators and politicians, similarly with you on Salmond. You have just made a massive assumption about us. All I said was Tucker's demeanour makes me want to punch him in the face. He is smarmy and condescending as well as being dishonest and .....
Except that I wasn't addressing you, I was addressing @Nigelb
Apart from that, good point
You made the same unfounded assumption about him so yes a good point.
If I wanted to have a chat with a stupid, pompous boring old fuck, I would have addressed you directly, as is only polite. I always insist on politeness. As it is, I had no desire to talk to a rancid git like you, so I did not begin a conversation with you
I hope that is clear, and no offence need be taken by either side, and we can draw a line
You don't normally fall apart so quickly when you lose an argument, but seeing as I was the subject of the discussion that brought on your incorrect comment it is only polite that I should be allowed to contribute and as you have clearly pointed out by what you say you are clearly very polite. Regardless suck it up. I'll contribute to any of your comments as I wish.
2) Butthurt, he alleges vote rigging and runs as an independent;
3) DeSantis quits as Governor of Florida to focus on being nominee;
4) Biden selects Whitmer, Ossoff or Buttigieg as his VP;
5) Biden wins in an absolute landslide, due to the split vote, consigning both Trump and DeSantis to the outer darkness;
6) Biden then retires for undisclosed health reasons, leaving a capable President in charge;
7) A sane Republican nominee - Haley, perhaps? - emerges in 2028 and wins easily.
4 and 6 are not essential, but they would be optimal.
There's quite a lot of argument over whether point 2 is realistic in light of "sore loser" laws which either explicitly bar candidates who have lost a partisan primary from standing in the subsequent election or effectively do so by making the registration date the same for independent and partisan candidates.
They don't apply in all states, some states explicitly exclude Presidential elections, and there is argument over validity in others. But there would be real obstacles to Trump getting on the ballot in some key states including Michigan, Texas and Pennsylvania.
Agree it would screw DeSantis, though, regardless of whether those problems meant Trump was ultimately off the ballot in enough states to be effectively unviable.
Currently & sadly an Air & Sea search underway by @RNLIBrighton & @HMCoastguard for a body in sea next to ‘Brighton Palace Pier’. Absolutely inconceivable that @BrightonHoveCC & @sussex_police allow the Pier to remain open during #StormNoa & Gale Force Winds
2) Butthurt, he alleges vote rigging and runs as an independent;
3) DeSantis quits as Governor of Florida to focus on being nominee;
4) Biden selects Whitmer, Ossoff or Buttigieg as his VP;
5) Biden wins in an absolute landslide, due to the split vote, consigning both Trump and DeSantis to the outer darkness;
6) Biden then retires for undisclosed health reasons, leaving a capable President in charge;
7) A sane Republican nominee - Haley, perhaps? - emerges in 2028 and wins easily.
4 and 6 are not essential, but they would be optimal.
I think point 4 - maybe not necessarily one of those, but a VP who is sensible, competent and doesn't drive away swing voters - is actually essential. If Biden does that he's going to win by a landslide that even the paranoid would see couldn't be overturned.
The problem is, the VP role is occupied by someone who doesn't necessarily fulfil any of those three requirements. And who was the last POTUS to jettison their VP before their re-election bid?
Ford, and before that, Roosevelt (twice, although on the first occasion the Veep had opposed him at the convention).
I have to say with all due respect to Biden I still think it was a real error by Obama not to bring forward a younger VP in 2012. Clinton would never have bothered to stand in that case and Trump would never happened.
1. Gerald Ford's Vice President, Nelson Rockefeller, being the only VP in US history who was NOT elected on ticket with POTUS, but instead was appointed after Spiro Agnew resigned. So outside usual parameters of vice presidential re-nomination.
2. Franklin Roosevelt's first Vice President, John Nance Garner, did NOT oppose FDR at 1940 Democratic National Convention, which he did not even attend. Instead, he'd already broken with Roosevelt (in private but only semi-publically) long before, over course of New Deal in general, and court-packing AND third-term in particular.
The former Roosevelt loyalist who DID oppose FDR at 1940 DNC, as declared candidate to replace him, was his former campaign manager and cabinet secretary as US Postmaster General, James Farley.
3. Last time an incumbent POTUS ended up with a new VP running mate, replacing his old, elected-in-normal-way Veep, was FDR, when Henry Wallace got dumped (with Roosevelt's connivance) for Harry Truman.
1944 being a special case, because > wide-spread concern among Roosevelt's inner circle and other top Democrats re: his deteriorating health as WWII was about to reach it's crescendo, and prospect that his (next) VP might well end up becoming his successor before their term was up…
So not entirely unadjacent to the situation the Democrats find themselves in now.
I agree with you that replacing Harris is pretty unlikely - and even if a vacancy were to arise on the SC (again unlikely), elevating Harris, just to free up the VP slot, would look very odd, and do nothing for her credibility as a justice on the court.
Keep on coloring me skeptical. HOWEVER, the VEEP > SCOTUS route is perhaps an very outside possibility.
BUT question whether KP's current status as President of Senate would help OR hurt her chances of confirmation as Justice?
PLUS fact that, if she DID move to the Court, then her place as next-in-line in presidential succession would be taken by . . . wait for it . . . Kevin McCarthy. Unless and until POTUS nominated and US Senate confirmed an appointed Veep.
If a Vice President resigns in office, then both the House and Senate must approve the replacement.
I stand corrected - first time for everything!
Incidentally I've checked and Garner was a candidate at the 1940 Democratic Convention, although he came third.
It's not that surprising he didn't bother to attend - nor did Roosevelt.
Unlike James Farley, John Nance Garner was never a declared candidate, or even an undeclared one; the votes that both received were protest votes NOT serious attempts at nomination.
DNC 1940 votes for President at first, and only, roll call; Roosevelt 946.43 Farley 72.9 Garner 61 Tydings 9.5 Hull 5.67 Absent 3.5 Not Voting 1
Note that fractional votes were due to states sending more delegates than allocated, with each splitting a single delegate vote.
Millard Tydings was conservative Democratic US Senator from Maryland; Cordell Hull was FDR's Secretary of State; votes for both were also cast in protest.
No, he declared his candidacy in December 1939. This from the Miller Center at the University of Virginia is a convenient source but I've checked it against several others:
When Roosevelt began to hint at the possibility of a third term, Garner was aghast and declared his own candidacy in December 1939. Although he attracted some support, Garner knew that Roosevelt would take the nomination if he sought it. The increasing instability in Europe assured Roosevelt's nomination and eventual election. Garner did not reconcile with Roosevelt, however, and did not even vote in the 1940 election.
That's about 7 degrees below the average for the time of year. UGH
It's nice and sunny in Crete. But we're coming home tomorrow night.
Prepare yourself. It's bitter. Like January
Tho it is meant to get warm in about a week. Finally
Ouch. The weather has been crap this year. Maybe that means we're due a good summer?
Easter was nice but apart from that it has been a windy grey and extremely rainy spring. The forecast for this Friday is 10C and driving cold rain in London. That will be a shock after Crete
However, the medium term forecast is a lot better - starting early next week. At last. Lots of sun and even warm temps. Inshallah
Spring is still in progress, but just looking at March, it was both warmer and (in the east of the UK) drier than normal. And it's wet *now*, but the first weekend of April was lovely, and last week was pretty nice.
Basically, it's been at least as nice as normal for the time of year. Properly nice weather before May is not unknown but is at best a bit sporadic.
I disagree somewhat, from my parochial perspective. March was the gloomiest for 30 years in Wiltshire. It’s not just temperature or rain that matter - the lack of sun was, to be slightly Leonesque, horrific.
March was fecking horrible, as @Cookie has now agreed. That slashing rain, for day after day. Jeeez
Anyway let us look forward. This time next week in London it is meant to be 19C with cloudless skies. YAY
Right now the weather here is such that no sensible person would step outside. Thankfully the house is still intact this time; the really strong gusts have been few and far between.
I’m pleased to be Italy-bound early next week.
Same here on the south coast - horrendous conditions. Sadly, two lifeboats and a helicopter are currently looking for bodies around Brighton Pier; rumour is that one poor sod has already been fished out.
That implies that someone voluntarily went into the water, thereby getting into trouble. In this weather?
Unless they were swept off the pier or the beach by a freak wave
Nasty
Whichever way the RNLI volunteer crews will go to their rescue often with great risk to themselves
Yes, I watched them an hour ago. The boats were being tossed around in awful, swirling sea conditions. Huge admiration.
That's about 7 degrees below the average for the time of year. UGH
It's nice and sunny in Crete. But we're coming home tomorrow night.
Prepare yourself. It's bitter. Like January
Tho it is meant to get warm in about a week. Finally
Ouch. The weather has been crap this year. Maybe that means we're due a good summer?
Easter was nice but apart from that it has been a windy grey and extremely rainy spring. The forecast for this Friday is 10C and driving cold rain in London. That will be a shock after Crete
However, the medium term forecast is a lot better - starting early next week. At last. Lots of sun and even warm temps. Inshallah
Spring is still in progress, but just looking at March, it was both warmer and (in the east of the UK) drier than normal. And it's wet *now*, but the first weekend of April was lovely, and last week was pretty nice.
Basically, it's been at least as nice as normal for the time of year. Properly nice weather before May is not unknown but is at best a bit sporadic.
I disagree somewhat, from my parochial perspective. March was the gloomiest for 30 years in Wiltshire. It’s not just temperature or rain that matter - the lack of sun was, to be slightly Leonesque, horrific.
March was fecking horrible, as @Cookie has now agreed. That slashing rain, for day after day. Jeeez
Anyway let us look forward. This time next week in London it is meant to be 19C with cloudless skies. YAY
Right now the weather here is such that no sensible person would step outside. Thankfully the house is still intact this time; the really strong gusts have been few and far between.
I’m pleased to be Italy-bound early next week.
I've been indoors most of the day - but all three daughters are on (different) sports camps today. Obscurely proud that in at least two cases they appear to have played on happily all day regardless of the weather. We breed 'em waterproof in the North West. (Cricket, which my oldest did, was less sanguine about the weather, of course.)
The worst of it is in the south, today. One of those days when my house has to hold the front line against incoming wind and rain so that those of you in the villages and towns behind can be sheltered from the worst of it…. It’s not long since I spent £9000 repairing the damage from the storm back in February.
If I point off to somewhere close to the south west/west south west most precisely, there is nothing but ocean between my house and Venezuela.
NE Brazil here.
Crazy windy still; thankful that the trees aren't in leaf yet, or there would be even worse branch carnage than there is.
That's about 7 degrees below the average for the time of year. UGH
It's nice and sunny in Crete. But we're coming home tomorrow night.
Prepare yourself. It's bitter. Like January
Tho it is meant to get warm in about a week. Finally
Ouch. The weather has been crap this year. Maybe that means we're due a good summer?
Easter was nice but apart from that it has been a windy grey and extremely rainy spring. The forecast for this Friday is 10C and driving cold rain in London. That will be a shock after Crete
However, the medium term forecast is a lot better - starting early next week. At last. Lots of sun and even warm temps. Inshallah
Spring is still in progress, but just looking at March, it was both warmer and (in the east of the UK) drier than normal. And it's wet *now*, but the first weekend of April was lovely, and last week was pretty nice.
Basically, it's been at least as nice as normal for the time of year. Properly nice weather before May is not unknown but is at best a bit sporadic.
I disagree somewhat, from my parochial perspective. March was the gloomiest for 30 years in Wiltshire. It’s not just temperature or rain that matter - the lack of sun was, to be slightly Leonesque, horrific.
March was fecking horrible, as @Cookie has now agreed. That slashing rain, for day after day. Jeeez
Anyway let us look forward. This time next week in London it is meant to be 19C with cloudless skies. YAY
Right now the weather here is such that no sensible person would step outside. Thankfully the house is still intact this time; the really strong gusts have been few and far between.
I’m pleased to be Italy-bound early next week.
Same here on the south coast - horrendous conditions. Sadly, two lifeboats and a helicopter are currently looking for bodies around Brighton Pier; rumour is that one poor sod has already been fished out.
That implies that someone voluntarily went into the water, thereby getting into trouble. In this weather?
Unless they were swept off the pier or the beach by a freak wave
Nasty
Whichever way the RNLI volunteer crews will go to their rescue often with great risk to themselves
Anyhow all the ferries are still running so you will be relieved to know that none of you are cut off.
Connor's Wedding" received unanimous critical acclaim, with many calling it the best and most shocking episode of the series, as well as one of the greatest episodes in television history. Shortly after its debut, "Connor's Wedding" achieved a perfect score of 10 out of 10 on IMDb after over 10,000 votes. As of April 2023, it is one of only two episodes with this rating, the other being the Breaking Bad episode "Ozymandias"
Edit - Now up to nearly 16,000 votes.
NO SPOILERS PLEASE!
I really want to save this up so I can binge it later in May
That's about 7 degrees below the average for the time of year. UGH
It's nice and sunny in Crete. But we're coming home tomorrow night.
Prepare yourself. It's bitter. Like January
Tho it is meant to get warm in about a week. Finally
Ouch. The weather has been crap this year. Maybe that means we're due a good summer?
Easter was nice but apart from that it has been a windy grey and extremely rainy spring. The forecast for this Friday is 10C and driving cold rain in London. That will be a shock after Crete
However, the medium term forecast is a lot better - starting early next week. At last. Lots of sun and even warm temps. Inshallah
Spring is still in progress, but just looking at March, it was both warmer and (in the east of the UK) drier than normal. And it's wet *now*, but the first weekend of April was lovely, and last week was pretty nice.
Basically, it's been at least as nice as normal for the time of year. Properly nice weather before May is not unknown but is at best a bit sporadic.
I disagree somewhat, from my parochial perspective. March was the gloomiest for 30 years in Wiltshire. It’s not just temperature or rain that matter - the lack of sun was, to be slightly Leonesque, horrific.
March was fecking horrible, as @Cookie has now agreed. That slashing rain, for day after day. Jeeez
Anyway let us look forward. This time next week in London it is meant to be 19C with cloudless skies. YAY
Right now the weather here is such that no sensible person would step outside. Thankfully the house is still intact this time; the really strong gusts have been few and far between.
I’m pleased to be Italy-bound early next week.
Same here on the south coast - horrendous conditions. Sadly, two lifeboats and a helicopter are currently looking for bodies around Brighton Pier; rumour is that one poor sod has already been fished out.
That implies that someone voluntarily went into the water, thereby getting into trouble. In this weather?
Unless they were swept off the pier or the beach by a freak wave
Nasty
Whichever way the RNLI volunteer crews will go to their rescue often with great risk to themselves
Anyhow all the ferries are still running so you will be relieved to know that none of you are cut off.
Unless you live in Scotland, in which case there are no ferries anyway.
That's about 7 degrees below the average for the time of year. UGH
It's nice and sunny in Crete. But we're coming home tomorrow night.
Prepare yourself. It's bitter. Like January
Tho it is meant to get warm in about a week. Finally
Ouch. The weather has been crap this year. Maybe that means we're due a good summer?
If only it worked like that!
Easter being a moveable feast plays tricks on us. It’s early this year and the weather has been changeable to say the least. But then April is the month for showers, hinting at an increase in westerlys and increased convection from the stronger sunshine. Give it a week or two and a decent sunny day will see temps into the high teens.
Point of order, Easter is not early this year.
Easter falls on a Sunday between 22 March and 25 April; that's a range of 35 possible days. This year, Easter Sunday fell on the 19th of those 35 days.
Connor's Wedding" received unanimous critical acclaim, with many calling it the best and most shocking episode of the series, as well as one of the greatest episodes in television history. Shortly after its debut, "Connor's Wedding" achieved a perfect score of 10 out of 10 on IMDb after over 10,000 votes. As of April 2023, it is one of only two episodes with this rating, the other being the Breaking Bad episode "Ozymandias"
Edit - Now up to nearly 16,000 votes.
NO SPOILERS PLEASE!
I really want to save this up so I can binge it later in May
Connor's Wedding" received unanimous critical acclaim, with many calling it the best and most shocking episode of the series, as well as one of the greatest episodes in television history. Shortly after its debut, "Connor's Wedding" achieved a perfect score of 10 out of 10 on IMDb after over 10,000 votes. As of April 2023, it is one of only two episodes with this rating, the other being the Breaking Bad episode "Ozymandias"
Edit - Now up to nearly 16,000 votes.
NO SPOILERS PLEASE!
I really want to save this up so I can binge it later in May
Oh mate.
Seriously. Please don't tell me. I've got friends and fam all raving about it, but I have managed to avoid any actual spoilage!
Connor's Wedding" received unanimous critical acclaim, with many calling it the best and most shocking episode of the series, as well as one of the greatest episodes in television history. Shortly after its debut, "Connor's Wedding" achieved a perfect score of 10 out of 10 on IMDb after over 10,000 votes. As of April 2023, it is one of only two episodes with this rating, the other being the Breaking Bad episode "Ozymandias"
Edit - Now up to nearly 16,000 votes.
NO SPOILERS PLEASE!
I really want to save this up so I can binge it later in May
Oh mate.
Seriously. Please don't tell me. I've got friends and fam all raving about it, but I have managed to avoid any actual spoilage!
I'd be astonished if you made it to May spoiler free.
"The veteran star, 76, also told Alastair Campbell he believes a united federation would be the best way for the United Kingdom to operate in future, claiming that currently it is not a union of equals."
On the other hand, he does have a good point on the name. "National" always has a faintly unpleasant tinge, and if any party needs a rebrand right now, it is the SNP
Currently & sadly an Air & Sea search underway by @RNLIBrighton & @HMCoastguard for a body in sea next to ‘Brighton Palace Pier’. Absolutely inconceivable that @BrightonHoveCC & @sussex_police allow the Pier to remain open during #StormNoa & Gale Force Winds
The footage is quite striking. Certainly quite blowy
The intensive training all lifeboat crews take part in, including at Poole, equips them with the skills for survival and sea rescue but also the modern all weather lifeboats are self righting
Furthermore the lifeboats and helicopters from the coastguard also train together extensively to gain the skills of operating together
The volunteer crews are not paid and their dedication is not only to be greatly admired but to be highly respected
I do speak as the father of a sea going crew member hoping to qualify shortly , after two years, as a helm in his first command position
Connor's Wedding" received unanimous critical acclaim, with many calling it the best and most shocking episode of the series, as well as one of the greatest episodes in television history. Shortly after its debut, "Connor's Wedding" achieved a perfect score of 10 out of 10 on IMDb after over 10,000 votes. As of April 2023, it is one of only two episodes with this rating, the other being the Breaking Bad episode "Ozymandias"
Edit - Now up to nearly 16,000 votes.
NO SPOILERS PLEASE!
I really want to save this up so I can binge it later in May
Oh mate.
Seriously. Please don't tell me. I've got friends and fam all raving about it, but I have managed to avoid any actual spoilage!
I'd be astonished if you made it to May spoiler free.
You make a good point. So many people are talking about it, maybe I just need to embrace it. And watch it
Connor's Wedding" received unanimous critical acclaim, with many calling it the best and most shocking episode of the series, as well as one of the greatest episodes in television history. Shortly after its debut, "Connor's Wedding" achieved a perfect score of 10 out of 10 on IMDb after over 10,000 votes. As of April 2023, it is one of only two episodes with this rating, the other being the Breaking Bad episode "Ozymandias"
Edit - Now up to nearly 16,000 votes.
NO SPOILERS PLEASE!
I really want to save this up so I can binge it later in May
Oh mate.
Seriously. Please don't tell me. I've got friends and fam all raving about it, but I have managed to avoid any actual spoilage!
I'd be astonished if you made it to May spoiler free.
You make a good point. So many people are talking about it, maybe I just need to embrace it. And watch it
That's why I am watching every new episode at 6am Monday morning so I don't get spoiled.
Connor's Wedding" received unanimous critical acclaim, with many calling it the best and most shocking episode of the series, as well as one of the greatest episodes in television history. Shortly after its debut, "Connor's Wedding" achieved a perfect score of 10 out of 10 on IMDb after over 10,000 votes. As of April 2023, it is one of only two episodes with this rating, the other being the Breaking Bad episode "Ozymandias"
Edit - Now up to nearly 16,000 votes.
NO SPOILERS PLEASE!
I really want to save this up so I can binge it later in May
Oh mate.
Seriously. Please don't tell me. I've got friends and fam all raving about it, but I have managed to avoid any actual spoilage!
I'd be astonished if you made it to May spoiler free.
You make a good point. So many people are talking about it, maybe I just need to embrace it. And watch it
That's why I am watching every new episode at 6am Monday morning so I don't get spoiled.
OK I'm gonna watch it today and tomorrow. Can we please resist spoilers until Friday? Thanks
"The veteran star, 76, also told Alastair Campbell he believes a united federation would be the best way for the United Kingdom to operate in future, claiming that currently it is not a union of equals."
On the other hand, he does have a good point on the name. "National" always has a faintly unpleasant tinge, and if any party needs a rebrand right now, it is the SNP
If you can't play the man when you're dealing with [Tucker Carlson], when can you?
Never, that's the whole point of ad hominem being a logical fallacy.
So, I should equally believe something if I'm told it by, say, Martin Lewis, David Attenborough, Tom Hanks, Boris Johnson, Tucker Carlson, Donald Trump or Vladimir Putin?
Not what I said, but you're clever enough to realise that.
But this isn't about an ad hominem attack. It's about whether we should trust something that comes from Tucker Carlson. You want to. I don't.
An ad hominem attack on Driver is what I'd recommend after 4 hours of this. It's the only way sometimes.
Ah, the bully is back.
"Bully!" - Theodore Roosevelt
Who was notably chosen as William McKinley's 2nd VP running mate, after the 1st died in office during first term.
Picked partly to bolster WMcK's electoral chances in pivotal New York State, but even more at urging of NY GOP leader Tom Platt aka "the Easy Boss". Who wanted to kick Teddy, then Governor of NY State, out of Albany were he was messing with the Republican power structure & status quo.
Idea was to send TR to the presumed political nullity, obscurity & oblivion of the vice presidency.
Which it did . . .until that fateful, fatal day in Buffalo . . .
"The veteran star, 76, also told Alastair Campbell he believes a united federation would be the best way for the United Kingdom to operate in future, claiming that currently it is not a union of equals."
On the other hand, he does have a good point on the name. "National" always has a faintly unpleasant tinge, and if any party needs a rebrand right now, it is the SNP
Brian Cox looks great for 76! Played keyboards in D:Ream of course (of Things Can Only Get Better fame).
Tucker Carlson may be the most evil man in the world, or whatever, but he is also really good at what he does. Polemics
That is one reason why he is so loathed - and feared. He's highly capable
Odd way to spend your life - doing 'highly capable polemics'.
Can't he learn an instrument or something?
On the contrary it seems the urge to do it is inescapable - see how many people might start out as partisan but still credible and even accomplished commentators, but they get a bit taken with pleasing people and the limelight, and next thing you know they are just spewing idiotic cliches on topics about which they know nothing to please one section of an audience, in some pursuit of polemical fame.
Yep. Loads of that.
But a 'polemicist' for me will have body of work, books, articles, speeches, in the old days a pamphlet or two.
Carlson just mouths off on Fox News. If he's a 'highly capable polemicist', so is Richard Madeley.
2) Butthurt, he alleges vote rigging and runs as an independent;
3) DeSantis quits as Governor of Florida to focus on being nominee;
4) Biden selects Whitmer, Ossoff or Buttigieg as his VP;
5) Biden wins in an absolute landslide, due to the split vote, consigning both Trump and DeSantis to the outer darkness;
6) Biden then retires for undisclosed health reasons, leaving a capable President in charge;
7) A sane Republican nominee - Haley, perhaps? - emerges in 2028 and wins easily.
4 and 6 are not essential, but they would be optimal.
I think point 4 - maybe not necessarily one of those, but a VP who is sensible, competent and doesn't drive away swing voters - is actually essential. If Biden does that he's going to win by a landslide that even the paranoid would see couldn't be overturned.
The problem is, the VP role is occupied by someone who doesn't necessarily fulfil any of those three requirements. And who was the last POTUS to jettison their VP before their re-election bid?
Ford, and before that, Roosevelt (twice, although on the first occasion the Veep had opposed him at the convention).
I have to say with all due respect to Biden I still think it was a real error by Obama not to bring forward a younger VP in 2012. Clinton would never have bothered to stand in that case and Trump would never happened.
1. Gerald Ford's Vice President, Nelson Rockefeller, being the only VP in US history who was NOT elected on ticket with POTUS, but instead was appointed after Spiro Agnew resigned. So outside usual parameters of vice presidential re-nomination.
2. Franklin Roosevelt's first Vice President, John Nance Garner, did NOT oppose FDR at 1940 Democratic National Convention, which he did not even attend. Instead, he'd already broken with Roosevelt (in private but only semi-publically) long before, over course of New Deal in general, and court-packing AND third-term in particular.
The former Roosevelt loyalist who DID oppose FDR at 1940 DNC, as declared candidate to replace him, was his former campaign manager and cabinet secretary as US Postmaster General, James Farley.
3. Last time an incumbent POTUS ended up with a new VP running mate, replacing his old, elected-in-normal-way Veep, was FDR, when Henry Wallace got dumped (with Roosevelt's connivance) for Harry Truman.
1944 being a special case, because > wide-spread concern among Roosevelt's inner circle and other top Democrats re: his deteriorating health as WWII was about to reach it's crescendo, and prospect that his (next) VP might well end up becoming his successor before their term was up…
So not entirely unadjacent to the situation the Democrats find themselves in now.
I agree with you that replacing Harris is pretty unlikely - and even if a vacancy were to arise on the SC (again unlikely), elevating Harris, just to free up the VP slot, would look very odd, and do nothing for her credibility as a justice on the court.
Keep on coloring me skeptical. HOWEVER, the VEEP > SCOTUS route is perhaps an very outside possibility.
BUT question whether KP's current status as President of Senate would help OR hurt her chances of confirmation as Justice?
PLUS fact that, if she DID move to the Court, then her place as next-in-line in presidential succession would be taken by . . . wait for it . . . Kevin McCarthy. Unless and until POTUS nominated and US Senate confirmed an appointed Veep.
If a Vice President resigns in office, then both the House and Senate must approve the replacement.
I stand corrected - first time for everything!
Incidentally I've checked and Garner was a candidate at the 1940 Democratic Convention, although he came third.
It's not that surprising he didn't bother to attend - nor did Roosevelt.
Unlike James Farley, John Nance Garner was never a declared candidate, or even an undeclared one; the votes that both received were protest votes NOT serious attempts at nomination.
DNC 1940 votes for President at first, and only, roll call; Roosevelt 946.43 Farley 72.9 Garner 61 Tydings 9.5 Hull 5.67 Absent 3.5 Not Voting 1
Note that fractional votes were due to states sending more delegates than allocated, with each splitting a single delegate vote.
Millard Tydings was conservative Democratic US Senator from Maryland; Cordell Hull was FDR's Secretary of State; votes for both were also cast in protest.
No, he declared his candidacy in December 1939. This from the Miller Center at the University of Virginia is a convenient source but I've checked it against several others:
When Roosevelt began to hint at the possibility of a third term, Garner was aghast and declared his own candidacy in December 1939. Although he attracted some support, Garner knew that Roosevelt would take the nomination if he sought it. The increasing instability in Europe assured Roosevelt's nomination and eventual election. Garner did not reconcile with Roosevelt, however, and did not even vote in the 1940 election.
THIRD instance of being corrected for first time! Am I on a roll, or what?
Garner was never an ACTIVE candidate, even less than Farley was, which wasn't much. However, the opposition to 3rd term by FDR's vice president AND campaign manager did speak volumes.
Just NOT enough to persuade equally hard-boiled politicos to go along. Even as Roosevelt refused to formally seek re-nomination, but rather insisted that he be "drafted", just as millions of American men were on verge of being conscripted under Selective Training & Service Act of 1940.
"The veteran star, 76, also told Alastair Campbell he believes a united federation would be the best way for the United Kingdom to operate in future, claiming that currently it is not a union of equals."
On the other hand, he does have a good point on the name. "National" always has a faintly unpleasant tinge, and if any party needs a rebrand right now, it is the SNP
Also: a point Ms Sturgeon herself made, it's not the party name she'd have chosen.
Definitely needed to distance itself from the Conservatives in Scotland during WW2. Who were the ones who got banged up and then not let out once the authorities realised what was happening. Vide Captain Ramsay MP.
"The veteran star, 76, also told Alastair Campbell he believes a united federation would be the best way for the United Kingdom to operate in future, claiming that currently it is not a union of equals."
On the other hand, he does have a good point on the name. "National" always has a faintly unpleasant tinge, and if any party needs a rebrand right now, it is the SNP
So the RNLI also needs a rebrand? hmm.
Oh FFS
I mean it's not a good look in the name of a political PARTY
Evidence:
The British National Party The National Front The Scottish National Party Front Nationale National Socialist German Workers Party
etc etc etc
It's all a bit fash. No one has ever accused the National Theatre of being a bit fash
If you can't play the man when you're dealing with [Tucker Carlson], when can you?
Never, that's the whole point of ad hominem being a logical fallacy.
So, I should equally believe something if I'm told it by, say, Martin Lewis, David Attenborough, Tom Hanks, Boris Johnson, Tucker Carlson, Donald Trump or Vladimir Putin?
Not what I said, but you're clever enough to realise that.
But this isn't about an ad hominem attack. It's about whether we should trust something that comes from Tucker Carlson. You want to. I don't.
An ad hominem attack on Driver is what I'd recommend after 4 hours of this. It's the only way sometimes.
Ah, the bully is back.
Hardly. When you add value - as yesterday on overhead lockers - I'm the first to say so.
"The veteran star, 76, also told Alastair Campbell he believes a united federation would be the best way for the United Kingdom to operate in future, claiming that currently it is not a union of equals."
On the other hand, he does have a good point on the name. "National" always has a faintly unpleasant tinge, and if any party needs a rebrand right now, it is the SNP
So the RNLI also needs a rebrand? hmm.
The RNLI is not a political party. No one is suggesting that “national” be scrubbed from the dictionary but in a political context it has some unpleasant associations.
Tucker Carlson may be the most evil man in the world, or whatever, but he is also really good at what he does. Polemics
That is one reason why he is so loathed - and feared. He's highly capable
Odd way to spend your life - doing 'highly capable polemics'.
Can't he learn an instrument or something?
On the contrary it seems the urge to do it is inescapable - see how many people might start out as partisan but still credible and even accomplished commentators, but they get a bit taken with pleasing people and the limelight, and next thing you know they are just spewing idiotic cliches on topics about which they know nothing to please one section of an audience, in some pursuit of polemical fame.
Yep. Loads of that.
But a 'polemicist' for me will have body of work, books, articles, speeches, in the old days a pamphlet or two.
Carlson just mouths off on Fox News. If he's a 'highly capable polemicist', so is Richard Madeley.
He has the most watched Cable News show on US TV. So, yes, highly capable, by the only metric that actually counts
"The veteran star, 76, also told Alastair Campbell he believes a united federation would be the best way for the United Kingdom to operate in future, claiming that currently it is not a union of equals."
On the other hand, he does have a good point on the name. "National" always has a faintly unpleasant tinge, and if any party needs a rebrand right now, it is the SNP
So the RNLI also needs a rebrand? hmm.
Oh FFS
I mean it's not a good look in the name of a political PARTY
Evidence:
The British National Party The National Front The Scottish National Party Front Nationale National Socialist German Workers Party
etc etc etc
It's all a bit fash. No one has ever accused the National Theatre of being a bit fash
Connor's Wedding" received unanimous critical acclaim, with many calling it the best and most shocking episode of the series, as well as one of the greatest episodes in television history. Shortly after its debut, "Connor's Wedding" achieved a perfect score of 10 out of 10 on IMDb after over 10,000 votes. As of April 2023, it is one of only two episodes with this rating, the other being the Breaking Bad episode "Ozymandias"
Edit - Now up to nearly 16,000 votes.
NO SPOILERS PLEASE!
I really want to save this up so I can binge it later in May
Oh mate.
Seriously. Please don't tell me. I've got friends and fam all raving about it, but I have managed to avoid any actual spoilage!
"The veteran star, 76, also told Alastair Campbell he believes a united federation would be the best way for the United Kingdom to operate in future, claiming that currently it is not a union of equals."
On the other hand, he does have a good point on the name. "National" always has a faintly unpleasant tinge, and if any party needs a rebrand right now, it is the SNP
So the RNLI also needs a rebrand? hmm.
The RNLI is not a political party. No one is suggesting that “national” be scrubbed from the dictionary but in a political context it has some unpleasant associations.
The RNLI live by the sea, and out went old Jock, for…a breath of fresh air….
"The veteran star, 76, also told Alastair Campbell he believes a united federation would be the best way for the United Kingdom to operate in future, claiming that currently it is not a union of equals."
On the other hand, he does have a good point on the name. "National" always has a faintly unpleasant tinge, and if any party needs a rebrand right now, it is the SNP
So the RNLI also needs a rebrand? hmm.
Oh FFS
I mean it's not a good look in the name of a political PARTY
Evidence:
The British National Party The National Front The Scottish National Party Front Nationale National Socialist German Workers Party
etc etc etc
It's all a bit fash. No one has ever accused the National Theatre of being a bit fash
Vide my later comment.
Fair enough. Sturgeon was right. They should change it, and now is the optimum time for a reboot
Connor's Wedding" received unanimous critical acclaim, with many calling it the best and most shocking episode of the series, as well as one of the greatest episodes in television history. Shortly after its debut, "Connor's Wedding" achieved a perfect score of 10 out of 10 on IMDb after over 10,000 votes. As of April 2023, it is one of only two episodes with this rating, the other being the Breaking Bad episode "Ozymandias"
Edit - Now up to nearly 16,000 votes.
NO SPOILERS PLEASE!
I really want to save this up so I can binge it later in May
And ditto for me on Ozark. Just getting going with it.
Connor's Wedding" received unanimous critical acclaim, with many calling it the best and most shocking episode of the series, as well as one of the greatest episodes in television history. Shortly after its debut, "Connor's Wedding" achieved a perfect score of 10 out of 10 on IMDb after over 10,000 votes. As of April 2023, it is one of only two episodes with this rating, the other being the Breaking Bad episode "Ozymandias"
Edit - Now up to nearly 16,000 votes.
NO SPOILERS PLEASE!
I really want to save this up so I can binge it later in May
Oh mate.
Seriously. Please don't tell me. I've got friends and fam all raving about it, but I have managed to avoid any actual spoilage!
He dies halfway through.
He's molested by an AI manifesting itself as a virally mutated pangolin with an unfeasibly long tongue which - but I will leave that bit unspoilt for [edit] Leon.
That's about 7 degrees below the average for the time of year. UGH
It's nice and sunny in Crete. But we're coming home tomorrow night.
Prepare yourself. It's bitter. Like January
Tho it is meant to get warm in about a week. Finally
Ouch. The weather has been crap this year. Maybe that means we're due a good summer?
If only it worked like that!
Easter being a moveable feast plays tricks on us. It’s early this year and the weather has been changeable to say the least. But then April is the month for showers, hinting at an increase in westerlys and increased convection from the stronger sunshine. Give it a week or two and a decent sunny day will see temps into the high teens.
Point of order, Easter is not early this year.
Easter falls on a Sunday between 22 March and 25 April; that's a range of 35 possible days. This year, Easter Sunday fell on the 19th of those 35 days.
Ok, not early, but certainly not as late as it can be.
Connor's Wedding" received unanimous critical acclaim, with many calling it the best and most shocking episode of the series, as well as one of the greatest episodes in television history. Shortly after its debut, "Connor's Wedding" achieved a perfect score of 10 out of 10 on IMDb after over 10,000 votes. As of April 2023, it is one of only two episodes with this rating, the other being the Breaking Bad episode "Ozymandias"
Edit - Now up to nearly 16,000 votes.
NO SPOILERS PLEASE!
I really want to save this up so I can binge it later in May
Oh mate.
Seriously. Please don't tell me. I've got friends and fam all raving about it, but I have managed to avoid any actual spoilage!
He dies halfway through.
He's molested by an AI manifesting itself as a virally mutated pangolin with an unfeasibly long tongue which - but I will leave that bit unspoilt for [edit] Leon.
The real surprise, perhaops most of all [edit] as our village Tory gives stress on saving Ulster as if it is a major plank of Tory doctrine, is the similarity between Tory and Labour voters. Almost MoE by the look of it. It's only the fact that the small differtences are all in the same direction that hints it's not just random sampling [edit] that causes the polarity, such as it is, and there is precious little of it.
"The veteran star, 76, also told Alastair Campbell he believes a united federation would be the best way for the United Kingdom to operate in future, claiming that currently it is not a union of equals."
On the other hand, he does have a good point on the name. "National" always has a faintly unpleasant tinge, and if any party needs a rebrand right now, it is the SNP
What's a name that could be closely linked to the idea of Scotland? How about Alba?
Connor's Wedding" received unanimous critical acclaim, with many calling it the best and most shocking episode of the series, as well as one of the greatest episodes in television history. Shortly after its debut, "Connor's Wedding" achieved a perfect score of 10 out of 10 on IMDb after over 10,000 votes. As of April 2023, it is one of only two episodes with this rating, the other being the Breaking Bad episode "Ozymandias"
Edit - Now up to nearly 16,000 votes.
NO SPOILERS PLEASE!
I really want to save this up so I can binge it later in May
Oh mate.
Seriously. Please don't tell me. I've got friends and fam all raving about it, but I have managed to avoid any actual spoilage!
He dies halfway through.
He's molested by an AI manifesting itself as a virally mutated pangolin with an unfeasibly long tongue which - but I will leave that bit unspoilt for [edit] Leon.
That's about 7 degrees below the average for the time of year. UGH
It's nice and sunny in Crete. But we're coming home tomorrow night.
Prepare yourself. It's bitter. Like January
Tho it is meant to get warm in about a week. Finally
Ouch. The weather has been crap this year. Maybe that means we're due a good summer?
Easter was nice but apart from that it has been a windy grey and extremely rainy spring. The forecast for this Friday is 10C and driving cold rain in London. That will be a shock after Crete
However, the medium term forecast is a lot better - starting early next week. At last. Lots of sun and even warm temps. Inshallah
Spring is still in progress, but just looking at March, it was both warmer and (in the east of the UK) drier than normal. And it's wet *now*, but the first weekend of April was lovely, and last week was pretty nice.
Basically, it's been at least as nice as normal for the time of year. Properly nice weather before May is not unknown but is at best a bit sporadic.
I disagree somewhat, from my parochial perspective. March was the gloomiest for 30 years in Wiltshire. It’s not just temperature or rain that matter - the lack of sun was, to be slightly Leonesque, horrific.
March was fecking horrible, as @Cookie has now agreed. That slashing rain, for day after day. Jeeez
Anyway let us look forward. This time next week in London it is meant to be 19C with cloudless skies. YAY
Right now the weather here is such that no sensible person would step outside. Thankfully the house is still intact this time; the really strong gusts have been few and far between.
I’m pleased to be Italy-bound early next week.
I've been indoors most of the day - but all three daughters are on (different) sports camps today. Obscurely proud that in at least two cases they appear to have played on happily all day regardless of the weather. We breed 'em waterproof in the North West. (Cricket, which my oldest did, was less sanguine about the weather, of course.)
The worst of it is in the south, today. One of those days when my house has to hold the front line against incoming wind and rain so that those of you in the villages and towns behind can be sheltered from the worst of it…. It’s not long since I spent £9000 repairing the damage from the storm back in February.
If I point off to somewhere close to the south west/west south west most precisely, there is nothing but ocean between my house and Venezuela.
I wonder if someone in Venezuela is looking out to sea in a north east/east north easterly direction and pondering the fact that there is nothing but ocean between themselves and the Isle of Wight?
The late Isaac Asimov would have agreed with kjh's comments about humor. But I think both Asimov and kjh missed an important qualification: Not everybody can tell every joke, without offending.
For example, Asimov tells this joke in, as I recall, his first joke collection:
A young Jewish man goes to a radio station to interview for a job as an announcer. When he comes back home, his parents ask him whether he got the job.
"No", he says. "Why not?" "Because they are p-p-p-prejudiced", he stutters.
As it happens, when I was teaching in Chicago, a black fellow teacher told me that same joke -- only the young man was black, in his version.
I wouldn't tell either version, not being Jewish, or black.
(Then there are jokes that are better, if the right person is telling them; for example I know a "Martian" joke that I think works best if told by a man to a woman, or a group of women.)
It was from a Jew that I first heard the Auschwitz Watchtower joke. It's probably unwise to tell it if one is not Jewish.
Dennis Taylor loves a good Irish joke. He was asked what his favourite was at a meeting in England. He told this one:
Q) What's black, blue and floats in the Irish Sea?
A) An Englishman who's just told an Irish joke.
I like this Irish joke.
"An Irishman goes on to a building site looking for a job and is told by the foreman that he will have to undertake a brief test. ‘Fine,’ says the Irishman. ‘OK then,’ says the foreman. ‘First up, can you tell me the difference between a joist and a girder?’ ‘That’s easy,’ the Irishman replies. ‘Joyce wrote Ulysses and Goethe wrote Faust.’
Far from being too thick for the job, the Irishman is over-qualified.
The following joke needs a pre-existing stereotype to work: it's hard to see how to do it without one.
Two Irish pilots are coming in to land. They touch down, and almost immediately find themselves ploughing through the grass.
Pilot 1: Man, that was a short runway! Pilot 2: Wide, though, wasn't it?
Now, if we started that with "Two thick pilots are coming into land" it wouldn't work at all.
I had no idea until a few minutes ago that my comments had caused further discussion for which I am flattered. I love the 'joist and girder' joke and the Irish pilots joke. Both made me laugh out loud.
I do agree there are some jokes that can only be told if you are from the group that are the butt of the prejudice, which is a shame, but understandable.
@Sean_F I didn't know the Auschwitz Watchtower joke and had to look it up. Assuming it is the same one it made me laugh also. It wasn't as offensive as I thought it might be. I can imagine Jimmy Carr telling it and I would be happy telling it to some of my friends, but maybe not to people I didn't know well.
That's about 7 degrees below the average for the time of year. UGH
It's nice and sunny in Crete. But we're coming home tomorrow night.
Prepare yourself. It's bitter. Like January
Tho it is meant to get warm in about a week. Finally
Ouch. The weather has been crap this year. Maybe that means we're due a good summer?
Easter was nice but apart from that it has been a windy grey and extremely rainy spring. The forecast for this Friday is 10C and driving cold rain in London. That will be a shock after Crete
However, the medium term forecast is a lot better - starting early next week. At last. Lots of sun and even warm temps. Inshallah
Spring is still in progress, but just looking at March, it was both warmer and (in the east of the UK) drier than normal. And it's wet *now*, but the first weekend of April was lovely, and last week was pretty nice.
Basically, it's been at least as nice as normal for the time of year. Properly nice weather before May is not unknown but is at best a bit sporadic.
I disagree somewhat, from my parochial perspective. March was the gloomiest for 30 years in Wiltshire. It’s not just temperature or rain that matter - the lack of sun was, to be slightly Leonesque, horrific.
March was fecking horrible, as @Cookie has now agreed. That slashing rain, for day after day. Jeeez
Anyway let us look forward. This time next week in London it is meant to be 19C with cloudless skies. YAY
Right now the weather here is such that no sensible person would step outside. Thankfully the house is still intact this time; the really strong gusts have been few and far between.
I’m pleased to be Italy-bound early next week.
I've been indoors most of the day - but all three daughters are on (different) sports camps today. Obscurely proud that in at least two cases they appear to have played on happily all day regardless of the weather. We breed 'em waterproof in the North West. (Cricket, which my oldest did, was less sanguine about the weather, of course.)
The worst of it is in the south, today. One of those days when my house has to hold the front line against incoming wind and rain so that those of you in the villages and towns behind can be sheltered from the worst of it…. It’s not long since I spent £9000 repairing the damage from the storm back in February.
If I point off to somewhere close to the south west/west south west most precisely, there is nothing but ocean between my house and Venezuela.
I wonder if someone in Venezuela is looking out to sea in a north east/east north easterly direction and pondering the fact that there is nothing but ocean between themselves and the Isle of Wight?
Well, I've got a sea bean picked up in the Bay of Skaill on Orkney, all the way from the Windies.
That's about 7 degrees below the average for the time of year. UGH
It's nice and sunny in Crete. But we're coming home tomorrow night.
Prepare yourself. It's bitter. Like January
Tho it is meant to get warm in about a week. Finally
Ouch. The weather has been crap this year. Maybe that means we're due a good summer?
Easter was nice but apart from that it has been a windy grey and extremely rainy spring. The forecast for this Friday is 10C and driving cold rain in London. That will be a shock after Crete
However, the medium term forecast is a lot better - starting early next week. At last. Lots of sun and even warm temps. Inshallah
Spring is still in progress, but just looking at March, it was both warmer and (in the east of the UK) drier than normal. And it's wet *now*, but the first weekend of April was lovely, and last week was pretty nice.
Basically, it's been at least as nice as normal for the time of year. Properly nice weather before May is not unknown but is at best a bit sporadic.
I disagree somewhat, from my parochial perspective. March was the gloomiest for 30 years in Wiltshire. It’s not just temperature or rain that matter - the lack of sun was, to be slightly Leonesque, horrific.
March was fecking horrible, as @Cookie has now agreed. That slashing rain, for day after day. Jeeez
Anyway let us look forward. This time next week in London it is meant to be 19C with cloudless skies. YAY
Right now the weather here is such that no sensible person would step outside. Thankfully the house is still intact this time; the really strong gusts have been few and far between.
I’m pleased to be Italy-bound early next week.
I've been indoors most of the day - but all three daughters are on (different) sports camps today. Obscurely proud that in at least two cases they appear to have played on happily all day regardless of the weather. We breed 'em waterproof in the North West. (Cricket, which my oldest did, was less sanguine about the weather, of course.)
The worst of it is in the south, today. One of those days when my house has to hold the front line against incoming wind and rain so that those of you in the villages and towns behind can be sheltered from the worst of it…. It’s not long since I spent £9000 repairing the damage from the storm back in February.
If I point off to somewhere close to the south west/west south west most precisely, there is nothing but ocean between my house and Venezuela.
I wonder if someone in Venezuela is looking out to sea in a north east/east north easterly direction and pondering the fact that there is nothing but ocean between themselves and the Isle of Wight?
It would be even spookier if they thought there was nothing but ocean between them and @IanB2
"The veteran star, 76, also told Alastair Campbell he believes a united federation would be the best way for the United Kingdom to operate in future, claiming that currently it is not a union of equals."
On the other hand, he does have a good point on the name. "National" always has a faintly unpleasant tinge, and if any party needs a rebrand right now, it is the SNP
So the RNLI also needs a rebrand? hmm.
Well, the RILI would be more accurate, seeing as they also operate in Irish waters.
"The veteran star, 76, also told Alastair Campbell he believes a united federation would be the best way for the United Kingdom to operate in future, claiming that currently it is not a union of equals."
On the other hand, he does have a good point on the name. "National" always has a faintly unpleasant tinge, and if any party needs a rebrand right now, it is the SNP
So the RNLI also needs a rebrand? hmm.
Oh FFS
I mean it's not a good look in the name of a political PARTY
Evidence:
The British National Party The National Front The Scottish National Party Front Nationale National Socialist German Workers Party
etc etc etc
It's all a bit fash. No one has ever accused the National Theatre of being a bit fash
National Government of UK, 1931-40. Reason why 1940-45 government was called Coalition.
Though Churchill & Tories DID revive National label for 1945 general election . . .
"The veteran star, 76, also told Alastair Campbell he believes a united federation would be the best way for the United Kingdom to operate in future, claiming that currently it is not a union of equals."
On the other hand, he does have a good point on the name. "National" always has a faintly unpleasant tinge, and if any party needs a rebrand right now, it is the SNP
So the RNLI also needs a rebrand? hmm.
Well, the RILI would be more accurate, seeing as they also operate in Irish waters.
Quite. It does say something for the Irish that the name didn't have to be changed even in the 1920s
"The veteran star, 76, also told Alastair Campbell he believes a united federation would be the best way for the United Kingdom to operate in future, claiming that currently it is not a union of equals."
On the other hand, he does have a good point on the name. "National" always has a faintly unpleasant tinge, and if any party needs a rebrand right now, it is the SNP
So the RNLI also needs a rebrand? hmm.
Well, the RILI would be more accurate, seeing as they also operate in Irish waters.
Quite. It does say something for the Irish that the name didn't have to be changed even in the 1920s
There's a list of bodies in Ireland with "Royal" in the title on wikipedia.
EDIT: You could also argue that Charles is less likely to be the victim of an attempted egging in Ireland than in Britain, so perhaps he will visit again soon.
2) Butthurt, he alleges vote rigging and runs as an independent;
3) DeSantis quits as Governor of Florida to focus on being nominee;
4) Biden selects Whitmer, Ossoff or Buttigieg as his VP;
5) Biden wins in an absolute landslide, due to the split vote, consigning both Trump and DeSantis to the outer darkness;
6) Biden then retires for undisclosed health reasons, leaving a capable President in charge;
7) A sane Republican nominee - Haley, perhaps? - emerges in 2028 and wins easily.
4 and 6 are not essential, but they would be optimal.
There's quite a lot of argument over whether point 2 is realistic in light of "sore loser" laws which either explicitly bar candidates who have lost a partisan primary from standing in the subsequent election or effectively do so by making the registration date the same for independent and partisan candidates.
They don't apply in all states, some states explicitly exclude Presidential elections, and there is argument over validity in others. But there would be real obstacles to Trump getting on the ballot in some key states including Michigan, Texas and Pennsylvania.
Agree it would screw DeSantis, though, regardless of whether those problems meant Trump was ultimately off the ballot in enough states to be effectively unviable.
In 1980, then congressman John Anderson active sought Republican nomination for president, losing to Ronald Reagan; then ran as Independent, coming in third behind Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter.
State "sore loser" laws can NOT legally prevent candidates who lose party nominations from running as independents. AND of very limited utility in keeping such a contender off of the general electeion ballot, even in states with such laws, provided they otherwise qualify.
Note that in 1980 general, Anderson qualified for the ballot in all 50 states plus District of Columbia.
(Personally helped qualify him for ballot in the great Pelican State, where he got whopping 1.7% of popular vote.)
"The veteran star, 76, also told Alastair Campbell he believes a united federation would be the best way for the United Kingdom to operate in future, claiming that currently it is not a union of equals."
On the other hand, he does have a good point on the name. "National" always has a faintly unpleasant tinge, and if any party needs a rebrand right now, it is the SNP
What's a name that could be closely linked to the idea of Scotland? How about Alba?
"The veteran star, 76, also told Alastair Campbell he believes a united federation would be the best way for the United Kingdom to operate in future, claiming that currently it is not a union of equals."
On the other hand, he does have a good point on the name. "National" always has a faintly unpleasant tinge, and if any party needs a rebrand right now, it is the SNP
So the RNLI also needs a rebrand? hmm.
Well, the RILI would be more accurate, seeing as they also operate in Irish waters.
Quite. It does say something for the Irish that the name didn't have to be changed even in the 1920s
There's a list of bodies in Ireland with "Royal" in the title on wikipedia.
EDIT: You could also argue that Charles is less likely to be the victim of an attempted egging in Ireland than in Britain, so perhaps he will visit again soon.
First time I visited Ireland, was shocked to hear people talking about the RDS = Royal Dublin Society.
NOT wistful Anglo-Irish, but Fenian jackeens. They were surprised by my surprise.
That's about 7 degrees below the average for the time of year. UGH
It's nice and sunny in Crete. But we're coming home tomorrow night.
Prepare yourself. It's bitter. Like January
Tho it is meant to get warm in about a week. Finally
Ouch. The weather has been crap this year. Maybe that means we're due a good summer?
Easter was nice but apart from that it has been a windy grey and extremely rainy spring. The forecast for this Friday is 10C and driving cold rain in London. That will be a shock after Crete
However, the medium term forecast is a lot better - starting early next week. At last. Lots of sun and even warm temps. Inshallah
Spring is still in progress, but just looking at March, it was both warmer and (in the east of the UK) drier than normal. And it's wet *now*, but the first weekend of April was lovely, and last week was pretty nice.
Basically, it's been at least as nice as normal for the time of year. Properly nice weather before May is not unknown but is at best a bit sporadic.
I disagree somewhat, from my parochial perspective. March was the gloomiest for 30 years in Wiltshire. It’s not just temperature or rain that matter - the lack of sun was, to be slightly Leonesque, horrific.
March was fecking horrible, as @Cookie has now agreed. That slashing rain, for day after day. Jeeez
Anyway let us look forward. This time next week in London it is meant to be 19C with cloudless skies. YAY
Right now the weather here is such that no sensible person would step outside. Thankfully the house is still intact this time; the really strong gusts have been few and far between.
I’m pleased to be Italy-bound early next week.
I've been indoors most of the day - but all three daughters are on (different) sports camps today. Obscurely proud that in at least two cases they appear to have played on happily all day regardless of the weather. We breed 'em waterproof in the North West. (Cricket, which my oldest did, was less sanguine about the weather, of course.)
The worst of it is in the south, today. One of those days when my house has to hold the front line against incoming wind and rain so that those of you in the villages and towns behind can be sheltered from the worst of it…. It’s not long since I spent £9000 repairing the damage from the storm back in February.
If I point off to somewhere close to the south west/west south west most precisely, there is nothing but ocean between my house and Venezuela.
I wonder if someone in Venezuela is looking out to sea in a north east/east north easterly direction and pondering the fact that there is nothing but ocean between themselves and the Isle of Wight?
Well, I've got a sea bean picked up in the Bay of Skaill on Orkney, all the way from the Windies.
"The veteran star, 76, also told Alastair Campbell he believes a united federation would be the best way for the United Kingdom to operate in future, claiming that currently it is not a union of equals."
On the other hand, he does have a good point on the name. "National" always has a faintly unpleasant tinge, and if any party needs a rebrand right now, it is the SNP
It's correct that it's not really a union of equals, with the massive demographic 'advantage' of England. For the most part, this is understandable, but there should be decision-making fora that recognise the equal nationhood of Scotland, Wales, and NI, without reference to population size. In my opinion.
I appreciate that you all seem to be invested around Succession, but I need to point out that we are close to Star Trek Picard series 3 episode 9 of 10. Leaked screenshots of the last episodes are available online and they give away crucial plot points including who the main villain is. If you want links to same please let me know.
2) Butthurt, he alleges vote rigging and runs as an independent;
3) DeSantis quits as Governor of Florida to focus on being nominee;
4) Biden selects Whitmer, Ossoff or Buttigieg as his VP;
5) Biden wins in an absolute landslide, due to the split vote, consigning both Trump and DeSantis to the outer darkness;
6) Biden then retires for undisclosed health reasons, leaving a capable President in charge;
7) A sane Republican nominee - Haley, perhaps? - emerges in 2028 and wins easily.
4 and 6 are not essential, but they would be optimal.
I think point 4 - maybe not necessarily one of those, but a VP who is sensible, competent and doesn't drive away swing voters - is actually essential. If Biden does that he's going to win by a landslide that even the paranoid would see couldn't be overturned.
The problem is, the VP role is occupied by someone who doesn't necessarily fulfil any of those three requirements. And who was the last POTUS to jettison their VP before their re-election bid?
Harris needs to be offloaded elsewhere sooner rather than later. Isn't she a lawyer so the ideal plan would be to send her to the Supreme court (which I'm sure was a rumoured plan).
The idea of sending a mediocre politician to the Supreme Court for political convenience is disturbing.
That's about 7 degrees below the average for the time of year. UGH
It's nice and sunny in Crete. But we're coming home tomorrow night.
Prepare yourself. It's bitter. Like January
Tho it is meant to get warm in about a week. Finally
Ouch. The weather has been crap this year. Maybe that means we're due a good summer?
Easter was nice but apart from that it has been a windy grey and extremely rainy spring. The forecast for this Friday is 10C and driving cold rain in London. That will be a shock after Crete
However, the medium term forecast is a lot better - starting early next week. At last. Lots of sun and even warm temps. Inshallah
Spring is still in progress, but just looking at March, it was both warmer and (in the east of the UK) drier than normal. And it's wet *now*, but the first weekend of April was lovely, and last week was pretty nice.
Basically, it's been at least as nice as normal for the time of year. Properly nice weather before May is not unknown but is at best a bit sporadic.
I disagree somewhat, from my parochial perspective. March was the gloomiest for 30 years in Wiltshire. It’s not just temperature or rain that matter - the lack of sun was, to be slightly Leonesque, horrific.
March was fecking horrible, as @Cookie has now agreed. That slashing rain, for day after day. Jeeez
Anyway let us look forward. This time next week in London it is meant to be 19C with cloudless skies. YAY
Right now the weather here is such that no sensible person would step outside. Thankfully the house is still intact this time; the really strong gusts have been few and far between.
I’m pleased to be Italy-bound early next week.
I've been indoors most of the day - but all three daughters are on (different) sports camps today. Obscurely proud that in at least two cases they appear to have played on happily all day regardless of the weather. We breed 'em waterproof in the North West. (Cricket, which my oldest did, was less sanguine about the weather, of course.)
The worst of it is in the south, today. One of those days when my house has to hold the front line against incoming wind and rain so that those of you in the villages and towns behind can be sheltered from the worst of it…. It’s not long since I spent £9000 repairing the damage from the storm back in February.
If I point off to somewhere close to the south west/west south west most precisely, there is nothing but ocean between my house and Venezuela.
I wonder if someone in Venezuela is looking out to sea in a north east/east north easterly direction and pondering the fact that there is nothing but ocean between themselves and the Isle of Wight?
Along the coastal regions of Venezuela they speak of little else
Comments
So stand corrected for first time, yet again!
And you're correct on next point, though neither Adams nor Jefferson ran against Washington for POTUS.
How would mainland Britons feel if Northern Ireland left the UK?
Upset: 22%
Pleased: 11%
Not bothered either way: 50%
https://twitter.com/YouGov/status/1646114735207731202
Edit - Gerald Ford is of course the only person to have been President and Vice-President without ever having been elected to either office. Nelson Rockefeller was the second Vice President, and to date the last, not to have been elected.
If I point off to somewhere close to the south west/west south west most precisely, there is nothing but ocean between my house and Venezuela.
Unless they were swept off the pier or the beach by a freak wave
Nasty
DNC 1940 votes for President at first, and only, roll call;
Roosevelt 946.43
Farley 72.9
Garner 61
Tydings 9.5
Hull 5.67
Absent 3.5
Not Voting 1
Note that fractional votes were due to states sending more delegates than allocated, with each splitting a single delegate vote.
Millard Tydings was conservative Democratic US Senator from Maryland; Cordell Hull was FDR's Secretary of State; votes for both were also cast in protest.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/brian-cox-snp-change-name-scottish-independence-party-bb55twhz5
Connor's Wedding" received unanimous critical acclaim, with many calling it the best and most shocking episode of the series, as well as one of the greatest episodes in television history. Shortly after its debut, "Connor's Wedding" achieved a perfect score of 10 out of 10 on IMDb after over 10,000 votes. As of April 2023, it is one of only two episodes with this rating, the other being the Breaking Bad episode "Ozymandias"
Edit - Now up to nearly 16,000 votes.
They don't apply in all states, some states explicitly exclude Presidential elections, and there is argument over validity in others. But there would be real obstacles to Trump getting on the ballot in some key states including Michigan, Texas and Pennsylvania.
Agree it would screw DeSantis, though, regardless of whether those problems meant Trump was ultimately off the ballot in enough states to be effectively unviable.
@RNLIBrighton & @HMCoastguard for a body in sea next to ‘Brighton Palace Pier’. Absolutely inconceivable that
@BrightonHoveCC &
@sussex_police allow the Pier to remain open during #StormNoa & Gale Force Winds
#Brighton
https://twitter.com/nakedfloors/status/1646196743539769365?s=20
The footage is quite striking. Certainly quite blowy
When Roosevelt began to hint at the possibility of a third term, Garner was aghast and declared his own candidacy in December 1939. Although he attracted some support, Garner knew that Roosevelt would take the nomination if he sought it. The increasing instability in Europe assured Roosevelt's nomination and eventual election. Garner did not reconcile with Roosevelt, however, and did not even vote in the 1940 election.
https://millercenter.org/president/fdroosevelt/essays/garner-1933-vicepresident
Crazy windy still; thankful that the trees aren't in leaf yet, or there would be even worse branch carnage than there is.
I really want to save this up so I can binge it later in May
Easter falls on a Sunday between 22 March and 25 April; that's a range of 35 possible days. This year, Easter Sunday fell on the 19th of those 35 days.
"The veteran star, 76, also told Alastair Campbell he believes a united federation would be the best way for the United Kingdom to operate in future, claiming that currently it is not a union of equals."
On the other hand, he does have a good point on the name. "National" always has a faintly unpleasant tinge, and if any party needs a rebrand right now, it is the SNP
Furthermore the lifeboats and helicopters from the coastguard also train together extensively to gain the skills of operating together
The volunteer crews are not paid and their dedication is not only to be greatly admired but to be highly respected
I do speak as the father of a sea going crew member hoping to qualify shortly , after two years, as a helm in his first command position
But a 'polemicist' for me will have body of work, books, articles, speeches, in the old days a pamphlet or two.
Carlson just mouths off on Fox News. If he's a 'highly capable polemicist', so is Richard Madeley.
Garner was never an ACTIVE candidate, even less than Farley was, which wasn't much. However, the opposition to 3rd term by FDR's vice president AND campaign manager did speak volumes.
Just NOT enough to persuade equally hard-boiled politicos to go along. Even as Roosevelt refused to formally seek re-nomination, but rather insisted that he be "drafted", just as millions of American men were on verge of being conscripted under Selective Training & Service Act of 1940.
Definitely needed to distance itself from the Conservatives in Scotland during WW2. Who were the ones who got banged up and then not let out once the authorities realised what was happening. Vide Captain Ramsay MP.
I mean it's not a good look in the name of a political PARTY
Evidence:
The British National Party
The National Front
The Scottish National Party
Front Nationale
National Socialist German Workers Party
etc etc etc
It's all a bit fash. No one has ever accused the National Theatre of being a bit fash
Nationalist Express!
and out went old Jock,
for…a breath of fresh air….
Spoiler alert - he dies.
I do agree there are some jokes that can only be told if you are from the group that are the butt of the prejudice, which is a shame, but understandable.
@Sean_F I didn't know the Auschwitz Watchtower joke and had to look it up. Assuming it is the same one it made me laugh also. It wasn't as offensive as I thought it might be. I can imagine Jimmy Carr telling it and I would be happy telling it to some of my friends, but maybe not to people I didn't know well.
https://m.facebook.com/OrkneyBeachcombing/photos/a.559064450770811/1119613278049256/
Fabricant should get some tips
Though Churchill & Tories DID revive National label for 1945 general election . . .
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_organisations_based_in_the_Republic_of_Ireland_with_royal_patronage
EDIT: You could also argue that Charles is less likely to be the victim of an attempted egging in Ireland than in Britain, so perhaps he will visit again soon.
State "sore loser" laws can NOT legally prevent candidates who lose party nominations from running as independents. AND of very limited utility in keeping such a contender off of the general electeion ballot, even in states with such laws, provided they otherwise qualify.
Note that in 1980 general, Anderson qualified for the ballot in all 50 states plus District of Columbia.
(Personally helped qualify him for ballot in the great Pelican State, where he got whopping 1.7% of popular vote.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1980_United_States_presidential_election
NOT wistful Anglo-Irish, but Fenian jackeens. They were surprised by my surprise.
EDIT - Talk about yer Boris tribute! In same league as Bolsonaro's Trump impersonation.
Is his party known as the Diddymen?
Trump sues former attorney Cohen for $500m: report
Donald Trump slapped his former lawyer Michael Cohen with a $500m lawsuit on Wednesday, according to Fox News.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2023/apr/12/tennessee-democrats-biden-ireland-abortion-republicans-politics-live-updates
The product does.
https://twitter.com/ambjohnbolton/status/1646212424750579780
[evil grin]
I get upset whenever any part of the British family, anywhere, decides to leave us for whatever reason.
Clearly I'm in a minority though.
NEW THREAD
😉