The political capital will have to come from us, as citizens. We can’t expect to vote in November and then check out, and leave the politicians to go to war with the entire health care industry with no backing from the public. That’s more or less what happened both times in the past.

You’re the one who said it was unachievable, not me. I don’t have an explanation for why you think it’s an “impenetrable hurdle”; I personally don’t think that it is. We just have to elect enough lawmakers who believe in it to get it done. Not EASY, sure, but not impossible either if enough people care.

Whenever someone cites a random blog or a Twitter comment as the reason they are moving away from feminism, social justice, etc. I’m always skeptical.

That’s the buried lede here. Anti-Vaxxers are disgusting, but they aren’t the main barrier to vaccinations. It’s not enough to persuade parents that they should vaccinate their kids, you also have to make sure that they can afford it too. In the 1990s, when Australians were vaccinating their kids, we were ripping…

That’s a great point. If he gets on the court, I REALLY wouldn’t want to be a member of his “enemies list”. Regardless of what you think about the allegations and his denials, it’s clear that he is very, very angry about this entire thing. He’s unable to conceal his fury now, when he can in theory be held accountable…

That’s an interesting point and I think that you’re right. It’s interesting — the reason why his nomination has been delayed is the need to investigate he claims. If he conceded that they might true, it wouldn’t be GOOD but it would lift the dispute over who to believe. The debate about whether being a drunk abuser in…

It might be both. It’s probably been bought up by people looking for dirt on Kavanaugh, and some people probably have listed it for crazy prices in hopes of cashing in.

My theory is that Brett and Bart were once the same person, and to free himself from his darker nature, Brett used forbidden magic to separate out his alcoholism, rage, and venality into a separate person, a new entity that could bear the burden of their past deplorable deeds. Unfortunately, the “good” Brett ended up…

I’m sure every single of her dolls chose to work with autistic children. Not one of them wanted to do something else with their existence. She likely has the signed release forms on hand. 

Wasn’t there an episode where Bender had to go to robot hell after cavorting with robot hookers?

#fightfor15

He was also her brother, so maybe she should have.

It’s easier to blame the other woman than to admit that the guy is a loser and is not gonna change. Hera and Zeus all over again.

I think the investigation is actually specifically going to focus on Mark Judge and the allegations that have already been reported, at least based on what Jeff Flake and Amy Klobuchar, etc. were saying earlier. Judge already announced that he was going to cooperate with the FBI’s probe.

I honestly think they did. Regardless of whether or not you see Flake as a good person, he clearly wants to see himself as one and to a large extent that’s what really makes a difference in these knife’s edge decisions. Ultimately, we are who we pretend to be, and hearing those women may be at least part of what Flake…

I wouldn’t be surprised, though again based on the book I actually suspect he sees any executive branch position as a step down from where he is. As a Senator he wields a ton of influence and authority independently of Trump, and can in theory keep going even if Trump implodes or if their relationship collapses over…

I hadn’t realized that she had told him about her father before he said that. It’s good that he apologized, but it says something about him that he thought it was appropriate to 1.) answer a question with another question and to 2.) take such a personal shot at his questioner in the middle of a confirmation hearing.

Good point, I hadn’t realized that. Yeah, that’s even more pressure to cozy up to Trump even if it mean abandoning his principles. 

Another irony — anyone who cheats their workers out of a reasonable wage is by definition lacking in character. Does it make sense for people who have poor character to try to teach anyone else?

Too much power is as corrosive as not enough power. If you’ve never, ever had to be accountable for anything serious, it’s hard to suddenly learn when you’re in middle aged. If Kav had been caught and punished, even mildly, for some of this shit when he was HS or college, he might have grown up to a better person.