I’ve often wondered about the effect of this. I had NO black teachers from K-12. I don’t recall any black teachers even being at the school, although we did have a few black administrators (and there were quite a few Hispanic teachers, because South Texas). And I didn’t go to small schools.

Yeah, I think you should. That’s the beauty of having different folks in this with different priorities. I don’t think it’s fair to paint Jeffries as a centrist because he’s not. But for his other concerns, there’s no reason not to make the point. 

But there has to be a narrative other than this to account for the people who are there and fighting against that and the institutional structures that make it so difficult to change. I think it’s particularly true for so many black people that get totally erased with this sentiment. It’s harder to find ways to lift…

Thumbs up to all of this. Having grown up in Texas that people generally think is more conservative than it is, it’s frustrating that progressives will right off the people expressing similar values in environments that are way more hostile. We should be empowering those folks, not shaming them to be smug about…

I prefer Lee, and Jeffries has got his issues, but he is progressive and votes that way. I say that having lived in both candidates’ districts at one point or another.

Jeffries is a mixed bag, which seems about right for the party. I’m not going to spend too much energy worrying about this because he’ll probably be fine, but he’d be wise to show respect to Lee going forward because she’s the real deal. Pelosi is the more frustrating situation here.

For sure. I say this every year, but it’s a really awesome organization worthy of any and all support.

Yeah, pretty much. He’s also farther on criminal justice reform and racial justice issues than your garden variety progressive as well. This analysis is falling really flat for me. Not saying folks can’t be salty, but they gotta have more intellectually honest arguments than this.

Not having a dedicated spot to work to keep that separation is the main reason I hate working from home (although there are others). When I camp out on my couch, I end up playing with my cats and succumbing to a million distractions. And I’m not any better in other people’s home spaces either, although I do focus more…

And have a good communications system with their kitchen and servers. My friend, who has a nut allergy, and I went to a fancy-pants restaurant (one of the best in the world with 3 Michelin stars) and despite telling several staff about her allergy, these fools still put out several desserts with nuts.

This was more than I thought! Go figure.

Me too! That movie endures.

I’m good with that rule. 

So not cool!

Agreed on Ratatouille. And it also appealed to me because it didn’t seem directly kid-focused. I didn’t love Up as much as other folks, but I really loved Coco while also finding it kind of depressing thinking about people who don’t have family connections. My sense of Pixar movies is that there’s always a hint of…

I think this is a good category right here for non-beer appreciators. I have the best luck with sours and Belgian beers. And I’ll do a cider before a beer almost always.

For sure! I think gratitude, happiness, satisfaction, etc. are all wound up in some complex (or maybe overly simple formula). One of the most interesting classes I took in college was called “Psychology of Well-Being” essentially theories on how to be happy. It was fascinating and really helpful to have that exposure…

They’re so random: Ratatouille, Wall-E, Up (sorta--watching with a 2 year old means I haven’t seen it all in one go), and Coco. 

I mentioned this over on io9, but this mess is just joyless. I can’t even really say there’s a cold elegance (which is more of last year’s vibe). It’s just cold and screams, “We are all dead inside. Humanity does not live here.” In other words, a perfect choice for their holiday season.

I have never seen The Lion King—I was in college when it came out and it wasn’t on my radar. I told that to my now grown niece and nephew and they were horrified. I may as well have told them I murdered a bunch of people. Then when I told them I’d only seen one Pixar movie—and it wasn’t Toy Story—(I have now seen a…