On this week’s Curmudgeon’s Corner Sam, Ivan, Jenn, and Brandy meet in person after the Seattle meetup to discuss how people suck, including the people in the college admissions scandal, and the people running for President, and many others. Basically, people suck. Plus a little on travel, and the Seattle meetup itself. And a movie review. Even a bit on circumcision​. A packed show. If you missed the meetup, listening to the show is the next best thing.
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Show Details:
Recorded 2019-03-21 Length this week – 2:06:01
(0:01:12-0:27:39) But First
Agenda
Seattle Meetup
Space Needle
Ivan’s Flight
Ivan on Seattle
Sam Movie: How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
(0:28:18-1:02:52) People Who Suck
Plant Killers
Tucker Carlson
Rep Omar Poster Maker
Christchurch Terrorist
Chelsea Clinton Accoster
Donald Trump
(1:03:32-1:29:23) College Admissions Scandal
What was done
Income inequality
The social status of schools
Grade inflation
Gifted children crashing
Helicopter parents
(1:30:43-2:05:41) Election 2020
20/20
Andrew Yang
Biden and Sanders
Beto O’Rourke
Kirsten Gillibrand
Donald Trump
The Curmudgeon’s Corner theme music is generously provided by Ray Lynch.
01:06:34 Retweeted @varadmehta00:45:24 You know how all the Democratic presidential candidates except Joe Biden already have underwater approval ratings? They’ll be lucky if they don’t get any worse. @B_M_Finnigan crunched the numbers. https://t.co/U3EjHF575m
10:16:15 Retweeted @paul_haine07:54:31 I hope whoever bought those ВЈ20,000 gold Apple watches are still happy with their purchase
15:37:53 Retweeted @LarrySabato14:08:04 Trump’s main ally (ironically) for the duration of the D contest is the news media. They are nitpicking D front runners to death while elevating niche candidates— before eventually tearing them down too. Not to worry: After the вЂ20 election they’ll have lots of apology seminars.
21:46:49 Reading – Flawed analysis, failed oversight: How Boeing, FAA certified the suspect 737 MAX flight control system | The Seattle Times https://t.co/FPd9b7HoeZ
22:27:19 Retweeted @swin2422:22:37 “In conversations on Air Force One and in the White House, Trump has acted out scenes of self-driving cars veering out of control and crashing into walls. He’s said he doesn’t think autonomous vehicles make sense, according to four sources…” https://t.co/IIyqwpf0Ky
05:34:46 Retweeted @KhaledBeydoun02:39:16 I don’t know the terrorist’s name. Nor do I care to know it.Im keen on knowing the names, remembering the stories and celebrating the lives of the victims.
05:46:41 Retweeted @alexblagg2019-03-15 17:13:47 The PewDiePie issue is complicated because on the one hand he’s emboldening white nationalist mass murderers, but on the other hand he’s awful and offers humanity nothing of value
06:12:13 Retweeted @ferrisjabr2019-03-15 17:56:44 32,000 yrs ago an Arctic ground squirrel cached some fruit in its burrow, which was later sealed by sediment & frozen. In the 2000s scientists unearthed the fruit & cultivated its tissue. It grew into this: a Pleistocene ancestor of the narrow-leafed campion (Silene stenophylla) https://t.co/gbfmFbDb2t
06:24:34 Retweeted @shannonrwatts04:11:34 New Zealand bans semiautomatic rifles less than 24 hours after the Christchurch mass shooting. Imagine: elected officials putting public safety over gun manufacturers’ profits.Americans deserve better than lawmakers who are letting gun lobbyists write our nation’s gun laws. https://t.co/TinWP7PSfM
15:16:10 Retweeted @sannewman14:48:31 Kudos to that student activist for helping America change the subject from white nationalist terrorism to “Is it OK to be rude to Chelsea Clinton?” You saw what America needed and you leapt into the breach.
16:34:19 Retweeted @AOC16:18:59 If you want to know what subconscious bias looks like, it’s a headline saying “AOC is underwater with every group EXCEPT women, nonwhites, and 18-34 year olds.”So older, conservative white men are considered “everyone” and everyone else is discounted as an exception.
16:46:24 Retweeted @jkarsh16:43:41 Since it’s been like 24 hours, here’s a comprehensive list of every Republican who condemned Trump for his bigoted remarks about an “invasion” coming over the southern border yesterday:/end of list
22:12:28 Retweeted @John_Hudson21:34:49 Fox News asks Pompeo where climate change ranks on his list of top threats to the United States. He says it doesn’t break his top 5. His list is:
1. China
2. Pakistan
3. North Korea
…”I think I’m at five already”… https://t.co/npv7J48dqK
01:07:25 Retweeted @Popehat2019-03-14 23:27:19 Okay. So ….. that happened.I just got a call from Michael Avenatti. The caller ID showed a number that I Googled and traced to him. And it sounded like him. So, like 95% sure.
It was . . . . wow.
/1
02:18:26 Retweeted @tommyxtopher02:17:18 Wait, does Trump think he actually vetoed the resolution by tweeting “VETO!”?
02:43:00 Unless you are law enforcement in New Zealand directly working this case, there is zero reason to watch the shooter’s livestream or go anywhere near it. No need to tweet links to it either. Please. https://t.co/1Mbi4xMgL9
02:48:42 Retweeted @Sophiemcneill02:40:51 The #Christchurch shooter clearly wanted that horrific footage shared. Don’t do it. Don’t watch it. It is a nightmare. Hearts are with New Zealand & muslim friends. What a horrible day. Numb. @Twitter take down his account ASAP.
02:54:57 Retweeted @NoraReed02:41:21 yet another reminder for yet another mass shooting: you don’t need to expose yourself to horrific violence on video and/or in images, and you don’t actually need to read the manifesto of the monster who did it. take care of yourselves.
12:58:12 Retweeted @GoodwinVianna04:32:37 While you’re still horrified by the mosque shooting, I’m going to share something I don’t normally share. Because tomorrow, it won’t be so fresh, and that feeling you have right now, where even a small, kindhearted country like NZ isn’t safe won’t be filling your heart the 1/
14:26:44 Special Council “still not done with Rick Gates because he is actively cooperating with several ongoing investigations”. Clearly almost done, wrapping up any day.
16:24:02 Retweeted @AOC14:45:20 All of these are terrorist incidents.We have a responsibility to understand how white supremacy + online radicalization works, because it is impacting our entire society.
President Trump defunded Federal programs designed to fight the spread of white supremacist hate groups. https://t.co/7WgC65f5Fp
16:40:57 Retweeted @kathleen_belew12:34:46 Thread: The New Zealand shooting appears to be the work of a white power activist. The video and manifesto, although not yet verified or released by authorities, are definitively white power materials (1) #newzealand#Christchurch
17:07:05 Retweeted @byHeatherLong16:17:32 Kiwi friend reminds me: New Zealand is a small country. There were only 35 murders last year, meaning the horrific shooting last night took more lives in minutes than all of 2018.What happened in #Christchurch was “like five 9/11s for New Zealand”
18:53:56 Retweeted @matthewchampion15:20:41 according to the most recent census (2013) there are 46,000 Muslims in New Zealand. while we don’t know the identities of the 49 people killed in the Christchurch attack let this sink in: New Zealand has lost 1 in 1,000 people from it’s entire Muslim community. truly devastating
19:05:14 Retweeted @WonkVJ18:54:12 From Pompeo. This is Trump level incoherence and misinformation. It doesn’t even make sense. I mean literally, he’s just streaming random words together. Are we supposed to believe Trump and Kim met and agreed to a tough sanctions regime on NK? Why does he get away w/ this? https://t.co/7fkPAt9ucS
19:30:39 Retweeted @pbump19:24:10 Perhaps you read the Reuters report about Beto and hacking and were a bit befuddled. Allow me to explain how the pre-internet worked. https://t.co/RWSChew3So
21:12:26 Retweeted @_SJPeace_19:45:40 Waseem Daraghmeh, a Muslim barber who immigrated from Jordan 5 years ago for a better life in New Zealand. He and one of his daughters were shot multiple times in today’s terror attack in #NewZealand.He & his beautiful daughter are in critical condition. Please pray for them. https://t.co/rUs7qtGfKJ
22:39:20 Retweeted @natsecHeather22:03:44 Anyone got an example of a functioning democracy doing something similar? The list of countries that have barred ICC investigators is… not a club you want to belong to. https://t.co/m5gabaemRA
00:52:41 Retweeted @walterdellinger2019-03-13 21:59:01 In more than half a century in law, I have never before seen a lawyer rebuked in court for a false statement then go outside before cameras and repeat the same lie. What is he thinking?
01:08:55 Retweeted @jdawsey100:38:31 Senior White House official says tonight they expect about 10-12 GOP defections on national emergency vote. Trump is trying to wrangle votes but not having as much luck as he’d like. Veto coming.
02:34:33 Retweeted @ForecasterEnten01:36:34 This election has Silent Generation candidates, Baby Boomer candidates, Gen X candidates, and Millennial candidates. If we can get Jimmy Carter to run for another term, we can bring in the Greatest Generation.
14:24:59 Retweeted @LedPast11:00:18 600 DAYS TO GO:
2008 Dem: Clinton led by 12.2 points.
2008 GOP: Giuliani led by 15.3 points.
2012 GOP: Romney led by 8.5 points.
2016 Dem: Clinton led by 53.7 points.
2016 GOP: Walker and Bush were tied. https://t.co/OLynKLRaJh
14:34:37 I’ve said “no white guys please” on Curmudgeon’s Corner for awhile now, and that I just didn’t get the excitement around Beto. But watching this I realized he doesn’t just leave me cold, he actively annoys me in some sort of visceral way. Welcome to the race in any case though. https://t.co/x3UudBUCYw
14:42:52 Retweeted @johngramlich14:17:23 Common question about @pewresearch political surveys: Why are you so focused on Democrats and Republicans? What about independents?38% of Americans say they’re independent, but just 7% are “true independents” who don’t lean to one party or the other.
23:48:49 Retweeted @owillis21:01:39 the whole thing is much longer, but here’s @AOC just absolutely pantsing wilbur ross. he tries to say she’s out of time so he can’t answer why his office broke the law. then @RepCummings says nah son, go ahead and answer and that sends his lawyers into a tizzy and <symbol><symbol><symbol><symbol> https://t.co/eBowM32ANYin reply to owillis
14:38:45 Retweeted @mattyglesias14:17:07 Brendan makes some good points here.All that said, my main point would be this — a lot of people misremember Trump bucking the CW and winning the 2016 nomination as a “polls were wrong” case when actually it was an “sophisticated experts dismissed the polls” case. https://t.co/zsBnFDDBjn
20:36:05 Retweeted @vermontgmg18:10:04 THREAD on the Trump Campaign Crime Wave: With the Manafort sentencing today, it’s worth noting that if the US govt more vigorously prosecuted white collar crime, most of the key figures in the Trump campaign—including Trump and his children—wouldn’t have been around by 2016….
20:42:01 Retweeted @speechboy7120:10:20 Every time I think America has engaged in the most flagrant act of national hari-kari in recent political history … the wind cries BREXIT
02:13:20 Retweeted @KevinMKruse2019-03-05 19:00:50@ThePlumLineGS Seriously, look at the polling on Nixon’s impeachment.A month *into* the famous Ervin Committee hearings, the percentage supporting Nixon’s removal was still down in the teens.
03:11:52 Retweeted @CharlesMBlow01:04:08 I know that there are political calculations that went into Nancy Pelosi’s statement on impeachment, but she is dead wrong on the principle. If not Trump, then nobody, EVER. This what I hate about politics. Stand for something!!!
12:28:23 Retweeted @owillis2019-03-11 20:23:55 i support impeaching trump because im tired of the bastards always getting away with it and i think we should at least try to do the right thing even if it fails
14:46:51 Retweeted @julianzelizer14:31:25@jimsciutto The thing is, given the state of the GOP, it is impossible to imagine real bipartisan support until we see what an impeachment hearing and investigation uncovers. Having bipartisan support as a precondition to start the process, essentially means no process. in reply to jimsciutto
19:36:13 Retweeted @alexisthenedd15:08:39 The elite college admittance system is predicated on the completely legal ways rich people advantage their children via tutors, test prep, activities, sports, legacy, donations, time, and more so it’s extra funny to me when they fumble all that and say “fuck it, let’s crime”
20:07:59 Retweeted @Popehat20:03:49 The takedown of this college scandal is so classic. They flip the top guy and then just ride him around the country making recorded calls for a year.WHEN SOMEONE CALLS AND SAYS “OH HAI REMEMBER THAT FRAUD WE DID LAST YEAR SHALL WE DO IT AGAIN” YOU HANG UP
22:52:38 A year ago I agreed that it would be foolish to start anything impeachment related unless there was a good chance of conviction in the Senate. I am over that. Given what we already know, let alone if there is more, it is a moral duty to pursue it aggressively. Even if it fails. https://t.co/LVV8GxypuR
23:04:56 Retweeted @emptywheel23:04:06 The Mueller Investigation is going to be done [checks calendar] the second week of February but DOJ just ensured it has funding to still be at work roughly a year from now.https://t.co/wWZyEUokA7
23:07:11 Buying everybody out if their NDAs. Not just “the women” but all sorts of people who have worked fir it with him over the decades that have been required to sign these things. One of the billionaires really should do this. https://t.co/5SMe0548TM