2:00PM Water Cooler 1/30/2020

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234 comments

1. dcblogger January 30, 2020 at 2:19 pm

   I went to the Poor People Campaign march last night and met an old friend from Virginia. He told me that the Bernie campaign is repeating the mistakes of 2016, putting all their funds in the early states and not opening any offices in Super Tuesday states except California. Warren, by contrast, has offices in all Super Tuesday states, Therefore it is feasible that if she can come in second in Iowa and NH she can become the stop Bernie candidate and use her superior ground campaign to win. My friend was part of a group for Progressive Democrats of America who asked Bernie, in early 2014, to run for President. So he is one of the original Bernie People and I wish Bernie listened to him or people like him.
   1. deplorado January 30, 2020 at 2:24 pm

      Thank you, and if you can, please tweet this to the Bernie campaign. People need to see it.
   2. Lambert Strether Post authorJanuary 30, 2020 at 2:35 pm

      Here is the list of Super Tuesday states.
   3. Grant January 30, 2020 at 2:47 pm

      I think that the logic is that if Bernie wins the first two that momentum could carry him forward. Hard to imagine Warren not winning will help her in any way. If Bernie loses the first two, the media onslaught will be intense and they are gunning for him as is. I don’t know what else he could do, since his calculus is radically different than anyone else. Besides, does Warren also not have the largest paid staff in Iowa, and didn’t she already see a dip in funding before she started to slide further downward? Remember that when her campaign began, she transferred a ton of money from previous campaigns and focused more than anyone else on Iowa. So, in addition to what I said above, if she still loses and finishes in anything other than second, that is a lot of money and resources for nothing. Biden too has not been great on grassroots fundraising and if he loses the first two states, he will likely be entirely kept afloat by right wing PACS and dark money. To me, the person that could emerge as the biggest beneficiary after Bernie if he wins Iowa and NH is Bloomberg, since he has tons of his own money, lots of media support and he could benefit a bit as Biden potentially goes down. I think Warren’s path forward is already bleak. If she doesn’t win the first two, and she already burnt a bridge with many on the left, she has litttle chance in the general election, and she wasn’t a great candidate to begin with. Maybe she thinks she can have some way to get the nomination, I don’t see it. But, even if she does, her candidacy in the general election is highly problematic for many reasons. The woman with a plan has basically devolved into 2016 Clinton and there is a lot about her past she will have a tough time defending.
      1. Jeff W January 30, 2020 at 4:34 pm

         Hard to imagine Warren not winning will help her in any way.

         Agreed. And there’s “not winning” and “not winning.”

         The RealClearPolitics moving average of Iowa polls as of Thursday showed Elizabeth Warren at 14.6%. If Warren fails to meet the 15% viability threshold within individual precincts—which, given her hovering right around that percentage,could happen—that definitely does not help her moving forward.
      2. OpenThePodBayDoorsHAL January 30, 2020 at 7:48 pm

         Maybe it’s all just a show until we all collapse in a heap and admit the reality that a billionaire can simply *purchase* the highest office in our democratic republic

         RIP America we hardly knew ye

         (I’m still in favor of raging raging against the dying of the light)
      3. Lambert Strether Post authorJanuary 31, 2020 at 3:38 am

         >To me, the person that could emerge as the biggest beneficiary after Bernie if he wins Iowa and NH is Bloomberg, since he has tons of his own money, lots of media support and he could benefit a bit as Biden potentially goes down.

         Bloomberg does need to win an election. Florida?
   4. Knifecatcher January 30, 2020 at 4:02 pm

      They just opened an office in Denver. On the other hand Sirota is based here so that might not be representative of the other Super Tuesday states.
      1. Tvc15 January 30, 2020 at 4:41 pm

         I was a regular listener to Sirota’s Denver radio show he had approximately 10 years ago. The same am station on Fridays carried Thom Hartman’s “Brunch with Bernie” where he answered callers questions and used to talk about exactly the same policies he campaigns on today plus cutting the military budget! Wonder how the corporate dems would feel about that ;)
2. jo6pac January 30, 2020 at 2:20 pm

   The border wall has a small problem

   https://www.yahoo.com/news/newly-built-chunk-trumps-border-042833736.html

   built by Lockheed?
   1. Monty January 30, 2020 at 2:40 pm

      Bowing?
   2. Lambert Strether Post authorJanuary 31, 2020 at 3:40 am

      From the story:

      Agent Carlos Pitones of the Customs and Border Protection sector in El Centro, California, told CNN that the wall was newly installed and had been set in concrete that had not yet hardened.

      Regardless, that would seem to be the sort of thing a competent contractor would avoid.
3. BoyDownTheLane January 30, 2020 at 2:22 pm

   In the future, when and if I fly commercial, I am booking the seat on the wing.
   1. BobW January 30, 2020 at 3:40 pm

      Sit behind the jet engine exhaust nozzle, the heat kills the virus.
   2. Wukchumni January 30, 2020 at 3:50 pm

      It’s a bit chilly out on the wing, i’d advise getting a full body fur outfit and while you’re out there, fool around with the engines a bit, that’ll give a passenger or 2 on board quite the consternation, and take their mind off of being infected en route.
      1. The Rev Kev January 30, 2020 at 6:06 pm

         Wasn’t that the basis of the Twilight Zone episode “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet”?

         https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nightmare_at_20,000_Feet
         1. Darius January 30, 2020 at 11:29 pm

            Something’s on the wing! Something’s on the wing! Spock! Bones! Scotty!
      2. ambrit January 30, 2020 at 6:43 pm

         And the inflight movie will be “Gremlins From the Kremlin.” (Starring Bugs Bunny.) Shatner has agreed to do an Esperanto version.
         1. Chris Smith January 30, 2020 at 9:11 pm

            An “Incubus” reference. It was the most exciting movie ever featuring people running back and forth from the barn.
4. WobblyTelomeres January 30, 2020 at 2:25 pm

   Re: internal monologues

   Man, I would love to ask Coltrane. Bill Evans? Not so much (listening to “Conversations with Myself” at the moment so I kinda know the answer already).
   1. Harold January 30, 2020 at 4:21 pm

      I have music going. Doesn’t everyone?

      ‘Heard melodies are sweet but those unheard are sweeter therefore ye soft pipes play on …”

      Also poetry, also conversations.
      1. Reify99 January 30, 2020 at 5:20 pm

         Music, faster and more complex than I can write it down.
      2. Tom Bradford January 30, 2020 at 7:55 pm

         As a would-be playwright I can have many voices in my head representing my characters. I can often ‘give them their heads’ in the situations I put them in, when they can respond with responses, ideas and lines of dialogue that surprise me and which I feel ‘I’ could never have come up with on their behalf.

         I’m no believer in divine anything let alone inspiration, yet Mahler wrote his entire immense 8th Symphony in less than three months, and reported, “It was like a sudden vision. The whole thing was immediately before my eyes and I only had to write it down as if were being dictated to me.”
      3. Mark Alexander January 30, 2020 at 9:45 pm

         I have a musical soundtrack going pretty much all of my waking hours, and often when I’m dreaming. It usually consists of the last thing I was listening to or playing on the piano, and it’s repeated over and over until I hear or play something different. The repetition is OK; it usually focuses on a particularly nice clip from the piece. Yesterday it was Debussy’s “Hommage à Rameau” (1905); today it’s “Visions of Angels” by Genesis (1970).

         I often joke that I don’t need to carry a music player because of this feature of my brain.
      4. Yves Smith January 31, 2020 at 12:15 am

         Never music. But I don’t listen to music during my day either. I have to confess to being mystified by what most people do, which is do things with earbuds and presumable music or podcasts going. I find it keeps me from concentrating on pretty much anything, including driving.
      5. kareninca January 31, 2020 at 4:11 am

         Ugh, music. That would be awful.
      6. Amfortas the hippie January 31, 2020 at 5:47 am

         constantly.
         in great detail.
         and from myriad genres and eras…often from some unknowable source—ie: nothing in my current day to day explains why i woke up yesterday with this playing in my head:
         https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykwqXuMPsoc
         (thanks, boys!)
         or this, today:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vf42IP__ipw

         the latter is problematic, because i can’t whistle a duet(i am quite a virtuoso whistler, having learned somehow before i could talk, but not that good)…and whistling is how i get it out of my head if i cannot play it out loud somehow.
         sometimes, it’s annoying…either because of the selection(narwhales? really?) or the “volume” in my head…most of the time, i think it’s cool, and marvel at what sometimes bubbles up from somewhere deep in my mind, which i then hafta go search for on youtube in order to push the mental “next” button.
         1. Amfortas the hippie January 31, 2020 at 5:59 am

            continued reading comments…and wow.
            it offers some consolation that it ain’t just me.
            the mental conversations i have are for the most part intentional(unlike the music, which i can’t control)…usually involving various contemporary and historical personae having imagined discourse with the little vulcan in my head that is the essential Me.
            everyone from Kay Baily Hutchinson to my paternal great great grandfather to Zizek to Charlemagne.
            of course, i’ve spent most of my life among the less educated lower classes(can’t really talk about most of the things that interest me without it quickly becoming a college lecture…usually unwanted,lol), and never really watched that much tv until my disability(12 years ago)…so this sort of exercise began as entertainment…like my own PBS.
            I’ve described all this to the boys, and encouraged them to try it, and we have had some pretty neat conversations about metacognition while taking dirt roads to the dump, etc
            1. Late Introvert January 31, 2020 at 5:55 pm

               It ain’t just you. I’ve always talked to myself, out loud and internally, and I have music (my own and others) playing in the background the whole time. I’m listening to Tool very loud right now in order to get some peace of mind.
   2. Robert Hahl January 30, 2020 at 4:45 pm

      If you can’t hear it you can’t play it.

      Hal Galper’s Master Class – The Illusion of An Instrument
      https://youtu.be/y_7DgCrziI8

      AUDIATION – play what you hear
      https://youtu.be/KMqOOokv4TM
   3. Jeremy Grimm January 30, 2020 at 7:54 pm

      I cannot imagine how there could be people who somehow do not have a running internal conversation. Only some form of exercise stops the flow in my head. Music — I sometimes ‘hear’ that too but it does not replace the flow of internal conversation.

      [I do not wish to stop the flow — but it would be very nice if there were more Wisdom I might glean from it.]
      1. Jeremy Grimm January 30, 2020 at 8:47 pm

         Strange — no one has mentioned Julian Jaynes theories yet.
      2. Laughingsong January 30, 2020 at 10:39 pm

         Most of the time I have just music with occasional monologue. The music is kind of like a radio, songs come and go depending on whatever called it to mind like a phrase or a series of sounds. Sometimes I got music and voices that are so intense I call it the cocktail party. I can almost hear the ice in tumblers.
      3. kareninca January 31, 2020 at 4:10 am

         A running internal conversation would be hell for me.

         For the most part, I only have thoughts when I decide to have thoughts.
5. Tim January 30, 2020 at 2:30 pm

   Regarding the Solar Telescope, it is profound to me that in this modern age of all of our understanding of physics, that the singular thing that gives us all life is the sun, and we still don’t fully understand how it actually works.

   There must be some cognitive bias at work, ignoring something that always works. I guess that will change with the next Carrington Event. It’ll be the ultimate black swan and a true test of our dependency on technology.
   1. Jeremy Grimm January 30, 2020 at 7:59 pm

      I looked at the image of the sun and wondered whether there may be secrets we might understand to enable fusion reactor technology.
   2. turtle January 30, 2020 at 8:18 pm

      Do watch the video from the telescope. It’s incredible. Each of those cells is about the size of Texas, all roiling in seconds. Hard to imagine the scale.

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fE33HCoYHU
6. Toshiro_Mifune January 30, 2020 at 2:30 pm

   Today I Learned That Not Everyone Has An Internal Monologue And It Has Ruined My Day

   Wait…. there are people who don’t?

   I don’t. Readers?

   I am nonplussed.

   I should add its not just a voice but sounds, smells, colors as well. Mainly a voice but the others too.
   1. funemployed January 30, 2020 at 3:16 pm

      Usually it’s a monologue, but frequently, it’s more like a dialogue – with a first person voice, and another that addresses that voice in the second person, which I call my homunculus.

      I identify a bit more strongly with the first person voice, but the homunculus is definitely the wiser and more reflective. When wrestling with a difficult intellectual or moral puzzle, the two will sometimes engage in long-running and vigorous argumentation (sometimes with pauses of days or longer at a time between responses). In these discussions, the homunculus tends toward the role of Socratic instructor, while the first person is more assertive and creative, although neither is fully restricted to those roles, and there’s no hierarchical aspect to the relationship.

      I figured out as a kid that, while I found these conversations easier to have out loud, doing so in public was frowned upon. Honestly though, I always assumed everyone thought this way, but just had an easier time doing it silently.

      Now that I think about it, this might be why, even though I’m a bear of little brain in most regards, there are certain types of problem solving processes I’ve always found intuitive. So intuitive, in fact, that I feel like a deer in headlights when asked to teach others how to do them. Probably the best example being that I am an exceptional teacher, particularly using Socratic and inquiry based methods…until you ask me to teach others to use those methods. Then I’m like “uhhh, so, ummm, you just, kinda, do it?”
      1. funemployed January 30, 2020 at 3:41 pm

         This also might partly explain why when I first learned the word “homunculus,” then got all excited and ran around telling anyone who would listen “Dude, there’s a word for the little dude inside of you that talks to you!”, I got a lot of funny looks.
         1. Toshiro_Mifune January 30, 2020 at 4:03 pm

            Usually it’s a monologue, but frequently, it’s more like a dialogue
            Yes. For me it can be a dialogue with myself, an old friend/colleague/historical figure/occasional cat.
            I first learned about the homunculus in the 1st edition Monster Manual circa `80.
            1. ambrit January 30, 2020 at 6:49 pm

               I learned about homunculi while studying alchemy.
               I always thought that the title, “Majestic 12” referred to the four fold nature of Hermes Tresmegisthus.
               “As above, so below.”
            2. Oregoncharles January 31, 2020 at 12:01 am

               I was still having mental arguments with my father for years after he died. A bit eerie. Not so much anymore, 15 years later.
   2. a different chris January 30, 2020 at 3:20 pm

      When we were mid-teenagers my best friend and I were sitting outside on the front steps. The neighborhood “mentally retarded” kid, which is what we called them then and we did not mean it in a disparaging way at all* went by, discussing with himself whatever it was that was on his very different but very interesting mind.

      My friend laughed quietly, and said “the only difference between him and me is that I don’t do that out-loud”. I cracked up and confirmed the same.

      *in fact we plain and simply liked him, although you really couldn’t converse with him much, but when you did make the effort you would discover that he also had what we now call “autistic” abilities. For instance he could tell you pretty much every car made by the Big Three back then, listing them without hesitation or even slight pauses. Stuff like that.
   3. DJG January 30, 2020 at 4:06 pm

      mifune-san: I don’t. I had to head over to read the article after Lambert Strether admitted not having an internal monologue either.

      I am nearing the end of Iain McGilchrist’s book, The Master and His Emissary. In it, McGilchrist posits that the right-brained person synthesizes more, looks more at the whole. I am very much left-eyed, which means right-brained.

      The left brain is more verbal and analytical–concerned with processes.

      I wonder if we are talking about those who are left-brained (wow, all that talking going on in there–how do you peeps stand it?) and those of us who are right-brained, serenely trying to draw the cosmos inward.
      1. Jeremy Grimm January 30, 2020 at 8:07 pm

         Would you perhaps inform one of the brain researchers of you condition? It would be very interesting to find such a pronounced and profound difference between those who are right-handed and those who are left-handed.

         Chomsky has even argued that this internal conversation is characteristic of Humankind and a strong argument for the primacy of language as a tool of thought rather than communication.
      2. Lambert Strether Post authorJanuary 31, 2020 at 3:47 am

         > mifune-san: I don’t. I had to head over to read the article after Lambert Strether admitted not having an internal monologue either.

         It wasn’t an “admission.” I just don’t. The whole thing reminds me of prayer. I have no ability in that regard either. Makes no sense to me. And that apparently I’m an outlier… Good heavens, how did I not know this? (It’s like James Joyce’ Ulysses is not a work of fiction. I always regarded the internal monologue as a literary device, not a personal characteristic that most people have.

         It’s odd that there aren’t courses (as with lucid dreaming) in how to use this extraordinarily pervasive computation resource.
   4. katenka January 30, 2020 at 4:21 pm

      I experience thoughts in a number of different ways, but probably the most common is similar to what you describe — a bit of words with a lot of associations attached to them (I don’t do sounds/smells/colors as much as you seem to, and maybe I am a bit lighter on the words, but at any rate the general idea is I think the same!). But I definitely have no-words modes and, occasionally, almost-all-words modes as well.
   5. Jokerstein January 30, 2020 at 4:38 pm

      This is a fascinating aspect of “Darkness at Noon” by Arthur Koestler (which everyone should read, BTW).

      He asserts that there is no internal monologue, but that it is a dialogue, with an invisible and silent partner.

      From: https://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-arts-and-culture/books/258118/arthur-koestler-darkness-at-noon

      In isolation Rubashov mediates on the conversations that we have with ourselves, realizing that these lonely monologues are not in fact monologues, but are actually dialogues that we have with some other silent version of ourselves. We address this other half using the first person singular I instead of you to “creep into his confidence and to fathom his intentions.” It is as if the act of a mind unwinding itself and letting down its guard is actually a form of self-betrayal. We are never less alone and never more in danger than when we are with ourselves.
      1. zagonostra January 30, 2020 at 5:38 pm

         Koestler is one of my favorite authors especially especially some of his non-fiction books like Janus and The Act of Creation.

         But here I think the under-appreciated American social psychologist George Herbert Mead comes closest to explaining, as opposed to describing, the conversation we have with our “self’s” when he analyze the “I” and the “Me” in his book (put together from his student’s lecture notes) Mind,Self, and Society.
         1. Jeremy Grimm January 30, 2020 at 8:12 pm

            I too was fascinated — though challenged — by what I read of Kostler. I read Ghost in the Machine but now you and Jokerstein motivates me to dust off my copy of Janus and seek out a copy of The Act of Creation, and Darkness at Noon. Thank you! I need all the motivation I can get to make the best use of my years of retirement.
            1. Roland January 31, 2020 at 1:27 am

               His autobiography, The Invisible Writing, is also very interesting. It covers his career in the Comintern, travels in the USSR, visits to Horthy’s Hungary, imprisonment in Spain, and exile in England, besides the usual Bohemian craziness of struggling artists.
   6. Jane January 30, 2020 at 5:17 pm

      I am totally jealous! How I would love to turn off my inner dialogue. My inner voice is never quiet: dialogues, monologues, running commentary, sensations, sounds, smells, visuals. I have often wondered if I’m borderline schizo. There are people who never experience this? Lucky #$*&$%’s.
      1. Jeremy Grimm January 30, 2020 at 8:15 pm

         I treasure my internal dialogues, monologues, running commentary, sensations, sounds, smells, visuals. They don’t help me sleep but when I can sleep while they run I have found answers waiting for me in my morning dream-sleep.
   7. Ranger Rick January 30, 2020 at 5:20 pm

      This was the origin of the “NPC” meme, by the way — the initial gut reaction of the people with internal monologues was that people without them were unthinking, uncritical robots.

      I think that the monologue is still happening (current models of human consciousness presuppose an executive function in the brain), just not in an audible form. Clearly, people without the internal monologue are not mentally impaired in any way, and can formulate and express ideas, plans and concepts without an internal conversation.
   8. Ruminator January 30, 2020 at 6:15 pm

      I’m curious to know if those without internal monologues sleep better. My thoughts literally keep me up some nights. Also, just mental health in general. Like, I have some pretty intense anxiety and if I wasn’t calculating all the bad things and then ruminating over all that could happen would my anxiety be better? I’m so curious about this now.
      1. turtle January 30, 2020 at 8:28 pm

         I’ve heard that meditation is supposed to help reduce the “chatter” in our minds and consequently reduce anxiety, improve focus, etc. Perhaps give it a try?
         1. Whoamolly January 30, 2020 at 8:44 pm

            Regular meditation —same place same time each day—will reduce the chatter. Eventually as the chatter dies down you lose your sense of time. 5 minutes meditation feels subjectively about 30 seconds.

            The same thing happens all the time in everyday life. Reading a good book, becoming engrossed in a hobby and time disappears and chatter stops.

            I believe it’s a function of concentration.
         2. CanCyn January 31, 2020 at 5:29 am

            Meditation doesn’t reduce or stop our internal dialogue, it allows us not to notice it so much. The focus and concentration of meditation is about just noticing that dialogue and our thoughts without judgement or emotional reaction. The idea is to live in the here and now and not worry or think so much about past or future – which is often what our minds are doing.
            I think those people who say they don’t have an internal dialogue are just better at being in the moment.
      2. Fiery Hunt January 30, 2020 at 11:09 pm

         Nope. No internal dialogue (but lots of screaming monkeys!) and no better sleep.
   9. Whoamolly January 30, 2020 at 8:38 pm

      Pretty sure the voice in my head has Tourette’s Syndrome.
   10. faensen January 31, 2020 at 3:07 am

       I see pictures, the whole situation in one image. Then it gets very frustrating serialising and compacting them down to words using the 14 bit/s bandwidth or something that is available for speech / writing.
       1. kareninca January 31, 2020 at 4:39 am

          Check out the search Monty posted below.

          Which leads to the following link: https://www.reddit.com/r/autism/comments/67jt8n/what_is_your_internal_monologue_like/

          From it (a post from someone with autism):

          “Their explanation was basically that most neurotypical people have more word-based internal monologues, where thoughts tend to be expressed in a more verbal and linear way. So like for me, most of my internal thoughts take place in a sort of conceptual/imagery-laden haze, where I have to actively decide to pick something out of it and make it clearer if I want to think about it more. And if I want it to be in words, I pretty much always have to think about it in the context of explaining it to someone or writing it down. My therapist says that for neurotypical people, thinking in words comes naturally.
          I think the biggest thing it’s helped me understand is why I have so much trouble with the question “what are you thinking?” Because I always have to stop thinking, process the question, try to remember what I was thinking about, and then interpret those thoughts into words. And I guess NT people tend to already have the words.”

          That matches my experience. I have no idea if it really is characteristic of autism.
7. WheresOurTeddy January 30, 2020 at 2:31 pm

   Love Me I’m a Liberal with updated lyrics from Ron Placone

   Highlight @ 2:25:

   Now I vote for the Democratic Party
   Cuz they have the Better Deal
   And I have lots of love for the Clintons
   Always have and I always will

   And we need to believe all women
   Unless it’s about Biden or Bill…
8. Siona Ibn Fuad al-Seyefa Atreides January 30, 2020 at 2:32 pm

   I don’t know if this has been forwarded to you yet, but some are impressive. (From Wikimedia Commons) Imagination becomes reality in the winners of the 2019 Wiki Loves Earth photo contest:
   https://wikimediafoundation.org/news/2019/12/02/imagination-becomes-reality-in-the-winners-of-the-2019-wiki-loves-earth-photo-contest/
9. Monty January 30, 2020 at 2:34 pm

   One of the symptoms of Autism is supposedly, “No Internal Monologue”.

   Thanks for the interesting article!
   1. Off The Street January 30, 2020 at 2:45 pm

      And a further reference from Psychology Today

      People experience life differently, who coulda node? ;)
   2. kareninca January 31, 2020 at 4:30 am

      Thanks for the link. I guess.
10. Carey January 30, 2020 at 2:35 pm

    Re Internal monologue: oh hell yes! Someone give me an off switch for it, thanks.

    Re Boeing: all bad news, yet the stock’s still at $320.

    great country or what
    1. notabanktoadie January 30, 2020 at 3:33 pm

       Someone give me an off switch for it, thanks. Carey

       This works for me:

       The Lord knows the thoughts of man – that they are vain Psalm 94:11

       Another is:

       In all labor there is profit but mere talk leads to poverty Proverbs 14:23.

       Anyway, you asked and you’re welcome. :)
       1. Kevin P Chapple January 30, 2020 at 4:40 pm

          Well said, Well quoted
       2. Tom Bradford January 30, 2020 at 8:12 pm

          There are a great many unfortunate people who believe their inner conversations are ‘with’ God. Unfortunate because you can’t argue with God, can you.
          1. tegnost January 30, 2020 at 9:41 pm

             Yes you can, I do it all the time. Fight the power.
             1. Fiery Hunt January 30, 2020 at 11:11 pm

                You and me both, brother!
             2. hoki haya January 30, 2020 at 11:24 pm

                “I hold a beast, an angel, and a madman in me, and my enquiry is as to their working, and my problem is their subjugation and victory, downthrow and upheaval, and my effort is their self-expression.’
                — dylan thomas

                “try’n-a-be normal is drivin me crazy/try’n-a-be crazy is drivin me normal”
                –anonymous streetpreacher

                “there is no ‘crazy’, man, only degrees of uncomfortability with yourself”
                –(somewhere me, or my homonculi)

                (for some reason, it also occurs to me that one of the greatest aspects of attaining deep love/true friendship with another (whether it lasts or not, nor what lengths of silences are endured) is in sharing all the dimensions of oneanother’s inner worlds: the humor, the fear, the unforeseen profundities inside mundanities, etc…intimacy. yep, lifelong romantic realist out here/in there…greetings from the birds of this ararat dawn to all your inner everywhere songs)
          2. richard January 30, 2020 at 11:33 pm

             I am of the Phillip Pullman mindset
             god=institutional negligent evil
             in that context arguing with her/him/it is as good a plan as any
          3. Amfortas the hippie January 31, 2020 at 6:15 am

             sure you can. in fact, that’s the whole basis of Judaism, as i understand it: “Israel” literally means “wrestling/arguing with God”.
             the one Rabbi i know confirms this, and i think it’s cool as all get-out.
11. Mark Gisleson January 30, 2020 at 2:39 pm

    I don’t have ‘voices’ in my head, but I do have thoughts that run independently of what I’m focusing on.

    A friend tricked me into taking niacin once. The independent thoughts went away and my brain grew much more calm. I then learned this meant I had some form of schizophrenia.

    I stopped taking niacin. I like all those extra thoughts cuz they’re all coming from me and some parts of my brain are definitely smarter than others.
    1. Dan January 30, 2020 at 3:27 pm

       I don’t have ‘voices’ in my head, but I do have thoughts that run independently of what I’m focusing on.

       This perfectly describes how I am much of the time, though I’ve never been able to describe it as succinctly as this. Just curious, how much niacin were you taking? Prescription or over-the-counter?
12. Carey January 30, 2020 at 2:39 pm

    Got the Thomas Paine Reader a few days ago, just now starting into Agrarian Justice.
    Given the way the political situation’s shaping™ up, he’s going to be timely reading.
    If anyone has a suggestion for a better entry point, though, I’m all ears (never read him, gack).
13. urblintz January 30, 2020 at 2:40 pm

    This comment is not meant to suggest support on my part for Donald Trump. I strongly believe there are any number of principled reasons to impeach and remove, none of which are contained in the articles sent to the Senate.

    But… John Bolton? What’s the big deal? Hasn’t he been utterly discredited any number of times during his sordid career. Why would anyone believe him? Does putting his version of events into a book make that version factual? And do the Democrats actually believe that faith in John Bolton is anything but ridiculous?
    1. Off The Street January 30, 2020 at 3:03 pm

       Bolton is the latest placeholder for Any stick to beat a politician.

       His testimony represents a way to try to preserve the Congressional Grift. Those little Bidens, Pelosis, Kerrys and Romneys ain’t gonna find sinecures all by themselves now, are they! Okay, maybe the Kerry spawn as they have some serious FU money backing them. The others can only look on with envy and try to catch up.
       1. Oregoncharles January 31, 2020 at 12:43 am

          romney comes from great wealth, too. And I gather the Bidens and Pelosis have done quite well, thank you.
    2. ewmayer January 30, 2020 at 3:26 pm

       And about that “In a huge win for the publishers of Bolton’s forthcoming book” bit:

       White House tells Bolton his manuscript contains classified material, cannot be published – Reuters

       Given that the “victim of censorship” here is unindicted war criminal and neocon megacreep Bolton, all I can say is ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.
       1. Jen January 30, 2020 at 8:05 pm

          I love the smell of schadenfreude at pretty much any time of day.
          1. JBird4049 January 30, 2020 at 9:17 pm

             Don’t worry about John “I love the smell of napalm in the morning” Bolton. I don’t think his book was about making money or correcting any records. It is about getting his fix of morning napalm. It’s gonna get accidentally leaked somehow just like how good old Jeff E. suicided himself.
    3. Lee January 30, 2020 at 3:41 pm

       Bolton Pledges To Donate All Proceeds From Book Towards Killing Iranians —The Onion
    4. Tom Doak January 30, 2020 at 5:25 pm

       The line about World War Six was the biggest laugh I have had in a month. Thank you to Lambert for sifting through all of Trump twitter for a diamond.
       1. OpenThePodBayDoorsHAL January 30, 2020 at 8:04 pm

          Like all good jokes it contains truth.

          Truth that Oprah/Whoopi/Joy/Ellen/Rachel and Schiff/Pelosi/Schumer should be forced to confront before assuring us that Bolton is a hero truth-teller, oh he’s such a hero
    5. neighbor7 January 30, 2020 at 6:01 pm

       One shouldn’t consider anything worth
       preserving, just because it’s written down.

       Theodor Adorno
       1. MLTPB January 30, 2020 at 6:10 pm

          In the case of Three Brothers cave paintings, they are worth preserving.
    6. chuck roast January 30, 2020 at 7:32 pm

       It’ll take a silver bullet or a stake through the heart to ki*l some of these clowns. Elliot Abrams was the worst. After Iran/Contra over 100 Reps. demanded his resignation. They even put him under oath for a Congressional hearing – something rarely done. Being the shameless twit that he is, he gladly took the oath. Joe Kennedy walked out anyway an said something to effect “He was moving his lips. He must have been lying.”
    7. hoki haya January 30, 2020 at 11:34 pm

       hey, c’mon, he&SamPower took a photo together at Fenway Park, & she’s a bona fide Democrat, ain’t she? John’s been stumbling across the aisle for years…
14. ewmayer January 30, 2020 at 2:46 pm

    U.S. evacuees from China placed on 72-hour ‘hold’ at California military base for medical evaluation – Reuters

    3 days seems grossly inadequate given the asymptomatic-carriers aspect of the epidemic, but I noted this snip in the article:

    “The U.S. evacuees, who underwent another round of screening on arrival in California, will be given further medical evaluations, including a blood test for exposure to the virus, over the next three days, the officials said.”

    That would seem to imply that there is a reasonably reliable blood test for exposure. has anyone else heard more about this?
    1. Lee January 30, 2020 at 3:49 pm

       According to the Johns Hopkins website with map, there have been 171 reported deaths and 143 recoveries out of 8,235 known cases. With so many unresolved cases and a death rate of nearly 50% of those that have resolved, I don’t find the numbers at all reassuring.

       When I posted the above elsewhere this was one of the responses.

       Very hard to read to much into that. Given the speed at which this is spreading, there are going to be massively more known cases than recoveries for a long time. Depending on what they consider “recovered” and how long the disease takes to run its course, there could easily be a couple of weeks lag between “known” and “recovered”. You wouldn’t really expect more than a couple hundred recovered — even if the vast majority of those sick will recover.

       I guess it makes some sense. But even so…..
    2. katiebird January 30, 2020 at 3:49 pm

       A local hospital (Lawrence, Ks) has a possible patient in a special room. They had a press conference on Tuesday saying they had sent samples to the CDC and expected results back on Friday.That tests didn’t take that long but there is a backlog already. So that seems to fit.
    3. ex-PFC Chuck January 30, 2020 at 3:56 pm

       Just saw an RT Tweet announcing the first US case has been confirmed, in the Chicago area.
       https://www.rt.com/usa/479623-coronavirus-first-transmission-chicago/
    4. Duke of Prunes January 30, 2020 at 5:35 pm

       This has been troubling me since I heard about this “US evacuee” flight: What about all the other commercial flights that are/were still operating between the Wuhan and the rest of the world? That is, the “news” is making a big deal about this one flight and it’s ~200 people. Yet, many other flights are still operating as normal commercial flights (at least earlier in the week… it seems like they’re tapering off now). Is our attention being focused toward this “safe” flight, so we will miss all of the other ones?
       1. MLTPB January 30, 2020 at 6:30 pm

          Wuhan is locked down, I believe and no flights out of there, except those approved by Beijing???

          On the other hand, we have our annual Spring Break coming up…lot of travellers.
       2. VietnamVet January 30, 2020 at 10:21 pm

          Donald Trump appears to have lost his reelection.

          It is guaranteed that any Wuhan Coronavirus carriers who are not quarantined for two weeks or tested to see if free of the virus and released into the American population after being held only 72 hours is risking the infection of others. By not shutting down all flights from China, the American Pandemic is now on him and his pathological advisors who just see more jobs for Americans. There is money to be made with a Wuhan Coronavirus vaccine.

          The government’s primary job is to save as many lives as possible by quarantines, distribution of disease prevention supplies, telecommuting and medical care until an effective medical treatment is available.

          On the top of the pandemic, Donald Trump turned the other cheek twice already in the Middle East. Jimmy Carter lost his reelection in the desert of Iran. George H.W. Bush lost his reelection on Kuwait’s Highway of Death. Both stopped and turned back. But, by not leaving Syria and Iraq and building two new bases on Iran’s borders, Donald Trump risks a nuclear holocaust in a time of pestilence.
          1. MLTPB January 30, 2020 at 11:28 pm

             Per Timeline of the coronavirus at Wikipedia, Papua New guinea bans all travellers from Asisn countries, and shuts down border with Indonesia. That’s one example.

             Do we ban flights not just from China, but from all countries with confirmed or even suspected cases?

             Do we shut down the Canadian border?
             1. Oregoncharles January 31, 2020 at 12:50 am

                When it’s already here – see “first US transmission” just above.

                OTOH, this means that Trump has definitely lost the favor of Heaven – as has Xi, in China. We shall see.
             2. VietnamVet January 31, 2020 at 12:58 am

                Until there is a cure, or the virus mutates to be innocuous to the host, the only defense is avoidance of exposure to the Wuhan Coronavirus. Yes, flights from cities where an epidemic is underway must be cancelled. Screening at the borders is needed. If the virus spreads from infected with no fever or symptoms to others, the quarantine may be futile but it could delay the epidemic until a vaccine is available. Cabin fever and apprehension if your protective gear is working will be the new normal. Today I got to experience what the future will be like as the grocery clerk coughed in her elbow as I checked out. Will it catch it?
          2. fajensen January 31, 2020 at 3:46 am

             Donald Trump appears to have lost his reelection.

             Donald Trump’s unique skill is his inhuman ability to flip *everything* to his advantage.

             The people “running things” today are selected to peak fitness levels above everyone else through some kind of Evil-Darwinian process for their ability to turn every situation, every disaster and every screwup, even their own screwups, into a gain for themselves and a loss for everyone else!

             I think Donald Trump would be quite content to be president even if there never was an election for his second, and permanent, term.

             We should not forget that there would be “votes” in rounding up all the homeless and “illegals” into FEMA camps under some “state of imminent emergency legislation” and it could be argued by some that, “splitting and weakening the nation during a historic crisis by having elections,” would be almost treason. I’d guess that a good deal more than the 7-10% of the population that Erich Fromm argued was needed to “invert” a country would be quite enthusiastic about all this!
15. Gary January 30, 2020 at 2:53 pm

    I have considered “internal monologue” before. For example, I have observed that dogs dream and make decisions, but don’t have words. What is that like and how does that work?
    What of someone like Hellen Keller? She has not voices or words to model her thoughts, yet she was a very thoughtful person. I wonder how it worked for her?
    Anyone care to weigh in on this?
    1. Jeremy Grimm January 30, 2020 at 8:21 pm

       Great question … no ideas here.
    2. Adelle Chattre January 31, 2020 at 1:08 am

       Apparently she had no conscious thoughts before language, more like drives.
16. Eduardo January 30, 2020 at 2:53 pm

    New Coronavirus news:
    First case of person-to-person transmission of Wuhan virus in the US confirmed

    Coronavirus declared global health emergency
    1. MLTPB January 30, 2020 at 3:44 pm

       I think SARS lasted a few months. From Nov 2002 and by June 2003, HK was removed from WHO’s of Affected Areas, per Wiki timeline.

       Will this last longer? Will it affected delegates gathering at the conventions?

       Super Bowl – will people be asked where they have been recently?
       1. Wukchumni January 30, 2020 at 4:30 pm

          I’ve heard the NFL is so concerned with the possibility of it spreading @ this year’s Super Bowl, that a player carrying the ball will be considered down when an opponent rips the flag away from either side of his waist.

          p.s. I like the Niners, and take the points even though you won’t need them.
          1. MLTPB January 30, 2020 at 5:23 pm

             Steam bath and sauna – popular in many places, including Finland, Russia, Iran, Syria.

             Is it as risky? Does the virus survive in there?
          2. NotTimothyGeithner January 30, 2020 at 6:29 pm

             Why doesn’t the NFL just do what I do when my favorite team doesn’t make it to the last game and accept they simply canceled the season?
       2. Lambert Strether Post authorJanuary 31, 2020 at 3:53 am

          > Super Bowl – will people be asked where they have been recently?

          Not to mention caucuses and precincts.
    2. polecat January 30, 2020 at 7:22 pm

       I just bought eye goggles to match the masks-‘no fog’ ones to boot ! Goggles are red. The masks are yellow. I’m thinking of taking a red sharpie, and doodling biohazard symbols on the masks … then do a test walk through the local Safeway.
       1. Tvc15 January 30, 2020 at 7:33 pm

          Thanks for the mental picture and laugh.
17. flora January 30, 2020 at 2:54 pm

    link for Scam PACs story

    https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-fundraisers-scampacs/
    1. flora January 30, 2020 at 3:23 pm

       adding from the story, tips to avoid getting scammed”

       ”
       How to protect yourself against “scam PACs”

       Some telemarketers who claim to be raising money for causes like homeless veterans and cancer victims work for political action committees (PACs), not charities, and keep much of the money they raise. Some tips for consumers:

       • Listen carefully for the name of the organization. Legitimate charities can be checked on websites such as http://www.guidestar.org.
       • Ask if the donation is tax-deductible. Gifts to actual charities are; donations to PACs, which sometimes sound like charities, are not.
       • Never disclose personal information.
       • Or follow the simplest rule: “Never give to anyone over the phone,” said Margot Saunders, senior counsel for the National Consumer Law Center.”
       1. David J. January 30, 2020 at 4:36 pm

          This is serendipitous timing. Got a call one hour ago from a sketchy outfit called Veteran’s Aid PAC. I did as I always do with phone solicitor’s–just hang up. Then I looked them up. Cheesy 1990’s website; incorporated in Delaware last March. And of course, no identifying info to speak of.

          Don’t know how I got on this particular list; I am a veteran, but have also gotten calls like this from other shady non-veteran related entities.

          It’s a crapified world in which we have to be annoyed by the frequency of spam calls. I shouldn’t have to craft a strategy in which I screen calls or just let them go to voice mail. (I know, first world problems.)
       2. Oh January 30, 2020 at 4:48 pm

          Scams like thesse having been going on for ages. I remember phone calls puporting to be collecting for the “policemen’s ball” or “policemen’s association” about 30 years ago. I usually hung up. DOn’t the policemen get a good salary and benefits?
          1. David J. January 30, 2020 at 5:29 pm

             Agreed. The novel aspect here is that the outfit identified itself as a political action committee and not as a 501(c)(3).
          2. Amfortas the hippie January 31, 2020 at 6:33 am

             the calls i get are usually regarding “your car’s warranty”….i’ve never had a warranty on a car in my life,lol….or braces for arthritis.
             and now the come from my area code and exchange(first 3 numbers)…which is limited to this county, and it’s 4500 folks.
             so i sometimes do reverse lookup on these, and go drive by the address listed, and it’s always an empty lot in town….and out here, i would have known if there were an ankle brace manufacturing facility here.
             surely there’s something the phone companies could do about all this.
       3. Yves Smith January 31, 2020 at 12:22 am

          This is not hard. The last dot point is the answer.

          Tell them you don’t give on the phone, please send their written materials and you’ll consider it.

          Police charities on the phone are always scams and they are great at finding guys who sound like TV cops.
    2. Jeremy Grimm January 30, 2020 at 8:23 pm

       I decided to tell these PACS to send their stuff when they call. If it has postage paid envelopes I’ll send them two pennies taped reverse side up and otherwise add their mailing to my recycle.
18. Seth Miller January 30, 2020 at 2:56 pm

    Re: universal concrete material benefits

    Day 1: cap ATM fees at a dime ($0.10). The Fed has the power to do this.
    1. Tom Doak January 30, 2020 at 5:28 pm

       But will the Fed follow a Presidential directive?
    2. Lambert Strether Post authorJanuary 31, 2020 at 3:55 am

       That’s not a bad idea!
19. PKMKII January 30, 2020 at 2:56 pm

    Was talking with a co-worker about the internal monologue thing (both of us have one). The interesting observation out of it was one non-monologue person in an article saying that instead of a monologue, they think about things as concept maps; instead of hearing an internal voice saying “I need to go to the store and buy some strawberry jam,” their brain sees store, jam, strawberries, purchasing, and needs as interconnected topics. Which makes me think that this isn’t just a personality quirk, but rather points at a larger psychological difference in information processing. Non-monologue thinkers seem to be working things out at a more abstract, platonic level, while the monologue thinkers are processing at the base level of communication, spoken language. For example, the former groups read and processes the words as the symbols themselves, while the later “translates” it into spoken word.
    1. Eduardo January 30, 2020 at 3:10 pm

       I think this wiki article touches on some related concepts: Linguistic relativity

       The hypothesis of linguistic relativity, part of relativism, also known as the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis, or Whorfianism is a principle claiming that the structure of a language affects its speakers’ world view or cognition, and thus people’s perceptions are relative to their spoken language.

       The principle is often defined in one of two versions: the strong hypothesis, which was held by some of the early linguists before World War II,[1] and the weak hypothesis, mostly held by some of the modern linguists.

       I definitely have an internal monologue and think in words. At times.

       But sometimes my thoughts are more …. uh … abstract (?) and I might struggle to reduce them to words. I also think this is normal and would be true of most people but maybe I am wrong?
       1. lyman alpha blob January 30, 2020 at 4:53 pm

          Interesting concept, but what if someone is multilingual?

          My internal thoughts have always been English, but I did spend a summer in Greece and tried to learn the language by speaking to people and making up little songs as a mnemonic device. Eventually my internal monologue was at least partially in Greek, although very simplistic since I was far from fluent. I found that pretty weird. Once I came back to the US the Greek thoughts faded.

          I wonder what the internal monologue is like for someone who is multilingual from a young age?
          1. Wukchumni January 30, 2020 at 4:59 pm

             Imagine you had these rather mad skills from a bilingual standpoint?

             President James Garfield could write in Latin with one hand and Greek in the other hand, simultaneously.
             1. MLTPB January 30, 2020 at 6:16 pm

                I saw in a movie a lady who wrote with one hand the start of a phrase, and with the other hand, the end, simultaneously.

                Like digging a tunnel or building a continental railway, they met eventually in the middle.
          2. a different chris January 30, 2020 at 5:07 pm

             This actually came up in some conversation with an Indian friend! Sample size of one but he thinks in whatever language is dominant around him. Takes a day or so before he notices (if he even notices at all) that he’s switched.
       2. Socal Rhino January 30, 2020 at 5:31 pm

          When I think about math, I think visually.
          1. MLTPB January 30, 2020 at 6:17 pm

             With geometry, I do that too.
       3. Oregoncharles January 31, 2020 at 12:56 am

          The Whorf hypothesis was tested and discarded decades ago, despite being such an intriguing concept.
       4. Amfortas the hippie January 31, 2020 at 6:38 am

          i do math that way…especially things like geometry and trig….like when i built this house. i’d “see” it, and then make the cut, or whatever, and the house grew up out of the ground that way. never did actual math…except to check on how accurate this “method” was, on occasion(answer: pretty darned accurate—and i’ve always hated math)
20. Anon January 30, 2020 at 3:12 pm

    Re: Internal Monologue

    Speaking for myself, I do. As to what the ramifications are in my own life, I have no idea, but as I write this, wasn’t this the thrust of the NPC meme that permeated Twitter a while back?
21. ex-PFC Chuck January 30, 2020 at 3:15 pm

    Re the Kevin Gosztola piece “To rig primary against Bernie, DNC chair Tom Perez nominates regime-change agents, Israel lobbyists, and Wall Street consultants:”
    Has there ever been a more illustrative instance of the Iron Law of Institutions playing out before our eyes in real time?
22. russell1200 January 30, 2020 at 3:17 pm

    All the numbers that would point to a longer term economic shift are flat.

    We finally got through enough of the disastrous lending bubble to have something more like a normal business cycle. Trump’s policies will likely have an add on effect, but down the road.

    We have elevated levels of consumer debt. Whether it is within the bounds of a normal business cycle is debatable. But I don’t see Trump policies being particularly unique there.
23. ChrisAtRU January 30, 2020 at 3:20 pm

    #PunkAdjacentBernie

    I just gotta say … that Shady Bug track … as the kids say … is LIT … ;-)
    1. ChrisAtRU January 30, 2020 at 3:25 pm

       #PunkAdjacentBernie

       Props to Hollow Comet’s “You” as well … ;-) Unleashing the dark, quasi-industrial synths on behalf of the working class!
       1. John January 30, 2020 at 5:31 pm

          What are you talking about?
          1. ChrisAtRU January 30, 2020 at 5:50 pm

             Ummmm … berniesanders.bandcamp.com … ??
    2. Lambert Strether Post authorJanuary 31, 2020 at 4:13 am

       Straight outta St Louis!
24. XXYY January 30, 2020 at 3:22 pm

    “Elizabeth Warren proposes criminal penalties for spreading voting disinformation online”

    One of the interesting things about having Sanders in the race is how his extremely bold and far-reaching proposals (health care for all, free college, $15 minimum wage, green new deal) make other candidates’ ideas seem like really small ball.

    Warren’s proposal here sounds by comparison like something somebody thought up on the elevator ride up to campaign headquarters. Leaving aside the practical issues, it’s amazing someone thought this tinkering-around-the-edges idea was even worth publicizing.
    1. Wukchumni January 30, 2020 at 3:44 pm

       I could just imagine being in the slammer and meeting my new cellmate who asks what i’m in for, and i’d have to lie and tell him I reused a canceled stamp on a letter. (a federal offense)
       1. temporal January 30, 2020 at 4:32 pm

          When I was younger I thought that no one should vote for Reagan.
          When Warren was younger she thought that Reagan would make a great President.

          Which one of these is voter disinformation?

          What is religious disinformation?
          What is ethical disinformation?
          What is political disinformation?

          In this poorly thought out scheme if “the voter disinformation squad” believes what you think is incorrect you better keep it to yourself and know the rules ahead of time.
       2. inode_buddha January 30, 2020 at 6:33 pm

          Tell them I tore the tags off the mattress
       3. ambrit January 30, 2020 at 7:03 pm

          Tell him I would not eat the dog food. When he looks quizzical, just bark. “Woof! Woof!”
       4. MichaelSF January 30, 2020 at 8:29 pm

          They’ll move away from you on the Group W bench for that.
          1. ambrit January 30, 2020 at 8:40 pm

             In prison, that is the optimal outcome.
          2. ObjectiveFunction January 30, 2020 at 10:53 pm

             …. aaand, Creatin’ a Nuisance.
    2. Jeff W January 30, 2020 at 4:58 pm

       It’s a bad look for Elizabeth Warren—a last-minute “tinkering-around-the-edges idea” reinforces the idea that not only does she lean heavily towards technocratic policy wonkery but also that, as we’ve said all along, her political instincts are just lousy. It’s not only that that the proposal doesn’t address an issue voters are concerned about—it’s like “Why the heck is she talking about that now?”
       1. Lambert Strether Post authorJanuary 31, 2020 at 4:18 am

          > it’s like “Why the heck is she talking about that now?”

          All those plans, and there was never a plan for this, so roll it out — and devote candidate time to it — four days before the Iowa caucus? I’m baffled. As I said, the only people I can imagine this panders to are 2016 Clinton voters who blame (Russian) disinformation for their candidate’s loss in 2016. Seems a little late to be going for them, and in such an odd way.
    3. The Rev Kev January 30, 2020 at 6:24 pm

       I saw a RT article on Warren’s proposal but it contained a hilarious tweet that said-

       “Under your plan, what’s the penalty for spreading disinformation about someone’s ethnicity? Asking for a friend.”
25. neo-realist January 30, 2020 at 3:23 pm

    Re Internal monologue: I was an only kid so internal speaking could not be helped since there was nobody else to talk to, that you wanted to talk to, for the most part. Additionally, if you were angry with a parent, internal monologues were much safer than speaking them to the parent:).
26. Darius January 30, 2020 at 3:30 pm

    Speaking of microbiome, I have a bucket compost system that after a few years of development appears to preserve food scraps in their in-decomposed state. They then practically melt away when I apply them to the ground. It’s like some kind of antibiotic at work.
27. Rick January 30, 2020 at 3:33 pm

    Re Internal monologue – I can turn it on or off. I went to a lecture by a Zen practitioner/author/expert who said nobody can actually still their internal voice during meditation. Since I can fairly easily do that, I didn’t have a lot of respect for this particular authority.

    I find both states useful.
    1. Lee January 30, 2020 at 4:10 pm

       The instruction I received from a similar quarter was simply to observe one’s internal process without intention. It is an interesting practice that without much effort provides a restful, salutary distance from and recognition of certain tediously repetitious habits of mind. Sum ergo cogito. Descartes got it backwards.
    2. MLTPB January 30, 2020 at 4:15 pm

       Stilling the mind.

       I’ve come to believe it’s about accepting yourself, still or not.

       Acceptance…not discriminating.
       1. Lee January 30, 2020 at 4:24 pm

          But then there’s this ; )

          I’m tryin’ to get as far away from myself as I can.
          —Bob Dylan
          1. MLTPB January 30, 2020 at 5:42 pm

             I will go with Popeye here:

             I yam what I yam.
             1. Lee January 30, 2020 at 6:59 pm

                Can’t go wrong with Popeye.
    3. hunkerdown January 30, 2020 at 4:40 pm

       In early elementary school, they said negative numbers didn’t exist. Maybe that expert wasn’t talking to you when making their claim, but to students who were trying too hard to still their internal voice by listening for it. Misdirection is a teaching tool that has its uses, however rare the ethical ones may be.
       1. HotFlash January 31, 2020 at 12:25 am

          And you believed them?
28. Carolinian January 30, 2020 at 3:48 pm

    modern day Crassus

    Love it. Should Bloomberg improbably be elected then true lefties who are Kubrick fans can stand up and declare, “I am Spartacus.”
    1. MLTPB January 30, 2020 at 4:23 pm

       If we want to be more like other countries, nordic for example, we ask if they have primary elections and the caucus type elections like the one in Iowa.

       Searching around, no luck so far. Are there countries that have caucuses (not the other meaning – congressional caucuses for example) to elect candidates?
    2. The Rev Kev January 30, 2020 at 6:33 pm

       I remember what happened to Crassus. His greed did him in when he went after Parthia for its wealth and lost it all in the disastrous Battle of Carrhae. After his death, the Parthians poured molten gold into his mouth as a symbol of his thirst for wealth. This was probably the inspiration for the grisly death of Viserys Targaryen in the first episode of “Game of Thrones”
    3. ambrit January 30, 2020 at 7:07 pm

       Better yet, declare, “We are Spartacists,” and take up arms.
       Die Spartacists: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spartacus_League
    4. Darius January 30, 2020 at 7:54 pm

       Politicians for sale. DC Mayor Muriel Bowser endorsed Bloomberg today. The black misleadership class.
       1. Lambert Strether Post authorJanuary 31, 2020 at 4:20 am

          That’s awful.
29. Carey January 30, 2020 at 4:15 pm

    ‘Rates of breast cancer in Scots men doubles as experts suggest pesticides could be linked to countryside cases’:

    https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/rates-of-breast-cancer-in-scots-men-doubles-as-experts-suggest-pesticides-could-be-linked-to-countryside-cases/
    1. rowlf January 30, 2020 at 9:14 pm

       The US Marine Corps personnel stationed at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina also had high rates of male breast cancer.
30. Wukchumni January 30, 2020 at 4:21 pm

    “Coronavirus could mean more U.S. jobs. Wilbur Ross goes there.” [NBC]. “‘Well, first of all, every American’s heart has to go out to the victims of the coronavirus. So, I don’t want to talk about a victory lap over a very unfortunate, very malignant disease,’ Ross told Fox Business Network on Thursday. ‘But the fact is, it does give businesses yet another thing to consider when they go through their review of their supply chain.”
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    I’m afraid Wilbur has come down with the lack plague, er that would be the U.S. supply chain.
31. allan January 30, 2020 at 4:23 pm

    Barr names new U.S. attorney in DC [AP]

    Attorney General William Barr on Thursday named Timothy Shea, one of his closest advisers, to be the next top prosecutor in the nation’s capital.

    Shea will lead the largest U.S. attorney’s office in the country, which has been historically responsible for some of the most significant and politically sensitive cases the Justice Department brings in the U.S.

    He is a senior counselor to the attorney general and was Barr’s right-hand man …

    As the U.S. attorney in the District of Columbia, Shea would oversee some of the lingering cases from special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, along with a number of politically charged investigations. The office is also generally responsible for handling potential prosecutions if Congress finds a witness in contempt. …

    Well, that’s convenient.
32. Kevin P Chapple January 30, 2020 at 4:52 pm

    Dear Lambert, I am not currently eligible to vote in any primary or similar within USA but am a citizen. In any event, I would be interested in your views with your style or perspective with respect to other candidates perhaps especially Yang regardless of the odds of any one of them prevailing. I saw somewhere an interview with Yang and found some of his views helpful. The content of that interview reminded me of some of the views you and Yves share.
    Thank you profoundly for the link to Nat Geo’s carbon footprint map. This is exactly what we use to assist in stewardship of this great home of ours. It is not a blame game. Rather, this type of analytics helps us focus on the stewardship responsibility we have with respect to this whole home of ours planet Earth. Among other matters, this helps us focus the real changes we need to make personally and professionally to make a positive difference. So, I still represent clients in that very geographic zone and, yes, they have made changes in their behavior to be better stewards.
    Thank you.
    1. hunkerdown January 30, 2020 at 5:04 pm

       I don’t speak in any capacity as a representative of anyone but myself as an occasional member of the commentariat and an avid reader, but this blog’s editorial position is very obviously, firmly, and consistently in opposition to neoliberalism and Chicago School sophistry, and UBI, an irredeemably neoliberal and Chicago-born concept, has been consistently and thoroughly savaged here since 2017 and likely before. See, for example:

       https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2019/05/ubi-without-quality-public-services-is-a-neoliberals-paradise.html
       https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2017/12/sounds-better-guaranteed-basic-income-federal-job-guartantee.html
       https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2017/01/compensating-losers-globalization.html
       1. Kevin P Chapple January 30, 2020 at 7:11 pm

          I am well aware of this.
          It is difficult, I think, sometimes with these various “labels”, if you will. For example, I often feel robbed of the ability to have a discussion for this very reason. It is painful.
          Personally, my work in economics sources in Drake School of Business, the Isenberg School (U Mass Amherst), Iowa State University Ames and Unversidad de Heidelberg. Quite a collection over the years. My time at Ames lead to Jungian theory.
          Indeed, economics is a social science unlike physics. The same is true of law and accountancy. The issue is human behavior. I was delighted, for example, in recent days to see the use of the word “philosophy” properly enter into the discussion on this blog. Philosophy is the discussion of human behavior with, I hope, much of the post modern “connotation”, for good or ill, removed. This allows, I hope, for a far better discussion of solutions without so much “emotional noise”, for lack of a better way of expressing this.
          1. chuck roast January 30, 2020 at 7:54 pm

             …you are the archetypal leg-puller.
             1. Carey January 31, 2020 at 12:24 pm

                [claps]
    2. Lambert Strether Post authorJanuary 31, 2020 at 4:22 am

       > Yang

       Stylistically he’s interesting and has grown on the trail. Refreshingly, Yang doesn’t seem to be a corrupt monster. I don’t buy UBI (in fact, oppose it) and I don’t buy his protestations on #MedicareForAll, which is a litmus test for me.
       1. skippy January 31, 2020 at 4:30 am

          Freedom = Markets … not hard to square.
33. Craig H. January 30, 2020 at 5:02 pm

    My internal monologue is shouting that it wants to know more about these Nissan layoffs. Are there Japanese guys in Japan who have devoted 20 years to the Nissan corporation going to get axed? I thought that did not happen there.
34. allan January 30, 2020 at 5:09 pm

    In contrast with Trump legal team, Justice Department lawyer says House can impeach over defied subpoenas [CNN]

    A Justice Department lawyer said Thursday in federal court that the House can impeach a president over ignored subpoenas, a noted contrast to what lawyers for President Donald Trump are arguing at his Senate impeachment trial this week.
    Asked by a federal judge what the House can do to enforce its subpoenas, Justice Department lawyer James Burnham said without hesitation that the House can use its impeachment powers, among other options, like withholding appropriations. …

    The topic came up in a hearing about the 2020 census. The House Oversight Committee sued the Justice Department and Commerce Department in November, asking a judge to enforce its subpoenas for documents. The case revolves around the controversial and ultimately unsuccessful attempt by the Trump administration to add a citizenship question to the census. …

    [Judge] Moss repeatedly pressed Burnham to explain what the House can do if a subpoena is ignored — and if they don’t have many options, the subpoenas are more like voluntary requests. The Justice Department has argued that the House can’t ask the courts to enforce subpoenas. …

    Barr is now just trolling the House. And the judiciary. A little bit of humor before the fall of night.
    1. Yves Smith January 30, 2020 at 5:17 pm

       This isn’t Barr. There are career DoJ staffers who hate Trump. And this was in response to a question, this wan’t part of a filing, as in an argument the government had papered up with supporting citations. Legally this is a nothingburger.
    2. voteforno6 January 30, 2020 at 5:48 pm

       Ultimately, the only institution that has a say in what is and what is not impeachable is the House of Representatives. Everything else is just someone’s opinion.
       1. polecat January 31, 2020 at 2:54 pm

          Everything is just someone ELSE’S opinion.

          fify
    3. Lambert Strether Post authorJanuary 31, 2020 at 4:25 am

       > A Justice Department lawyer said Thursday in federal court that the House can impeach a president over ignored subpoenas,

       Great. Let’s just keep impeaching Trump until we get it right.
35. Wukchumni January 30, 2020 at 5:14 pm

    “Hillary Clinton refuses to be served Tulsi Gabbard’s defamation lawsuit”
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Can’t say I really blame Hillary, Tulsi took a page from Devin Nunes in putting forth an over the top lawsuit for moon ($50 million) money, that had really no merit.
    1. Yves Smith January 30, 2020 at 5:23 pm

       Putting this in Links (someone already sent this). This is ridiculous. Hillary can be served through her attorneys or even via Twitter. This is just a really bad look.
       1. ChrisAtRU January 30, 2020 at 5:51 pm

          ” … or even via Twitter.”

          Ohhhhhh reaalllyyyy? #Wow #ReasonsILoveNC #UmpteenMillion
          1. Kfish January 30, 2020 at 9:12 pm

             Absolutely. I used to have a job filing claims in court to recover child support from men who were … less than enthusiastic about paying it. In Australia you try to serve them personally, then you apply to the court for an order of substituted service. It used to be via classified notices in the paper, these days it’s mostly Facebook. A lot of these guys had pictures of the kid they were refusing to support on their Facebook page, so it was pretty easy to prove you had the right deadbeat.

             (Before the MRAs come for me, please note that the amounts involved were $30 – $100 / month, a lot less than half the cost of keeping the kid alive.)
          2. Yves Smith January 31, 2020 at 12:26 am

             Yes, we would have served PropOrNot on Twitter but we still needed to find where at least one member of that unincorporated association lived or worked so we could establish jurisdiction and venue for a filing (this is critical, you need to tell a judge why you are legitimately in his courtroom). But we couldn’t get past that, so no suit.
             1. Oregoncharles January 31, 2020 at 1:25 am

                they had good reason for maintaining their anonymity.
       2. Lee January 30, 2020 at 7:12 pm

          In olden times, well before twitter, when I served process, I merely had to step up to the person being served and say “you are served.” If they refused to take the proffered document, it was required to merely drop it at their feet and I would then file the requisite proof of service with the court clerk. A properly presented service could be physically avoided by hiding out but not “refused” at a time and point of a proper presentation.
          1. mle detroit January 30, 2020 at 11:23 pm

             In even older times, I remember watching Howard Cosell running Figure 8s around secretaries’ desks at ABC Sports in Manhattan, trying to evade some process server.
          2. Run Forrest Run January 31, 2020 at 3:52 am

             So when Bill Browder is running away avoiding being that is just theatre and he could be in jail if people really wanted it?
       3. polecat January 31, 2020 at 2:58 pm

          Can’t they just lock her up … right along with HER-> SS wafflin Detail ..and throw the subpoena throught the Barrs ?

          How hardtime is that ?
    2. The Rev Kev January 30, 2020 at 6:38 pm

       This is funny this. If, as Yves says, Hillary can be served through her attorneys or even via Twitter then that would be the logical way to go. But by doing it physically and having the US Secret Service stop these papers being served on her, then this just makes her look moronic. Well, mission accomplished.
       1. ambrit January 30, 2020 at 7:13 pm

          This has the smell of political theatre. Who convinced Gabbard to grand stand in this way? There are better ways to “get the message out.” Maybe the ‘adviser’ who convinced Gabbard to follow this path is really a Clinton operative.
          It also falls into the category of press exposure for Clinton. As the old saying in Hollywood goes; “There is no such thing as bad publicity.”
    3. chuckster January 30, 2020 at 6:46 pm

       Tulsi should have wrapped the subpoena in a $100 bill. Hillary couldn’t resist
    4. Daniel January 30, 2020 at 8:09 pm

       Would be interested to know why you think the case is frivolous. I don’t practice defamation/1A law myself, but from a quick scan it definitely seems solid enough to get past a motion to dismiss, and probably to make it to trial. The defense that “Russian asset” doesn’t mean what it sounds like it means isn’t very compelling, legally (judges and juries aren’t robots, so this kind of hairsplitting doesn’t actually work in real cases). Actual malice is always hard to prove but Tulsi’s got some material to work with on that front, too.
       1. Yves Smith January 31, 2020 at 12:36 am

          Defamation cases are just about impossible to win in the US, and even when you do win, you just about never get any monetary awards (don’t ask me why that Gawker case was such an exception). For instance, Harry Shearer won a defamation suit and was awarded $1.

          So the only point is to get into their underwear and embarrass them in discovery. but judges don’t like that at all as the motive for a case.

          Plus I believe Tulsi filed the case in NY. I’m not up on how friendly NY is to anti-SLAPP suits, but if that’s an option for Hillary, she can force Tulsi into what amounts to trying her case 2x, and delaying by years when the original suit gets heard. The general rule of litigation is delay is deadly to plaintiffs: memories fade and evidence disappears.

          With Tulsi a public figure who gets abused in the press all the time, it’s not as if what Hillary said was all that much worse than the smears she’s been getting as a candidate. You run for office, you are asking to be a punching bag. Tell me how she was harmed, exactly? There’s no evidence anyone took Hillary’s bullshit seriously outside her bots, who were already against Tulsi. Hillary I am sure could make a case she believe that Tulsi is an agent (Hillary sees Putin stooges under every bed), which vitiates the “actual malice” claim.
          1. richard January 31, 2020 at 11:01 pm

             I appreciate how you broke this down.
36. urblintz January 30, 2020 at 5:32 pm

    This one left me speechless: https://www.truthdig.com/articles/paul-krugman-america-is-at-risk-of-becoming-a-one-party-autocracy/

    “The real secret of the current economy, as I see it, is deficit spending. The 2019 federal deficit was $300 billion higher than CBO [Congressional Budget Office] projected in 2017, before the Trump tax cuts. That’s a lot of stimulus, after years of austerity imposed by the GOP on Obama. It’s badly designed stimulus, but it’s still a lot of money.”
    1. eg January 30, 2020 at 11:28 pm

       What do you mean, “becoming”?

       Don’t you have this already with your Hobson’s choice between Team Pepsi and Team Coke?
       1. Oregoncharles January 31, 2020 at 1:51 am

          My thought exactly.
    2. Lambert Strether Post authorJanuary 31, 2020 at 4:37 am

       > austerity imposed by the GOP on Obama

       Yeah, you know, when Larry Summers doubled Christina Romer’s stim pack number before sending it on to Obama. Oh, wait….

       And then there was Obama’s inaugural speech:

       Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. …

       What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility — a recognition on the part of every American that we have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world

       And yet at this moment, a moment that will define a generation, it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all. For as much as government can do, and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies.

       The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works — whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public’s dollars will be held to account, to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day, because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.

       America: In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come.

       It’s been awhile since I read that speech. Obama was a real piece of work. I know when I heard it, I heard “austerity.” And I wasn’t the only one.
37. anonymous January 30, 2020 at 5:44 pm

    The LAT article on caucuses misses the most important change in the IA democratic caucuses, that for the first time there will be a paper trail, with voters filling out presidential preference cards that will be retained in case a recount is needed. The count might also be more accurate, as the campaign representatives and the caucus chair will be able to take their time verifying the paper count before submission; when crowds get restless, as soon as people start breaking away to go home, there is no further checking of a head count. The paper cards also ensure that the voters were checked in, that they didn’t enter through the exit doors.

    Anyone who is seriously interested in the IA caucuses and who will be watching for election fraud should read the rules on the Iowa Democratic Party website. Under “2020 Caucuses” is a link to the DSP (delegate selection plan) that gives the rules and formulas. Under “Action Center”, go to “Get Information About the Caucuses” , or just thecaucuses dot org, where you will find “How to Caucus” and “2020 Caucus Changes”. If you are a casual observer, the LAT is good enough, but if you are watching the numbers, you need to know that the 15% viability threshold only applies to precincts with at least 4 delegates (divide attendees by 6 for viability for precincts with 3 delgates, and viability is 25% if there are only 2 delegates); that viability numbers are rounded up, whereas normal rounding applies for calculation of delegate equivalents; that no viable group can get less than one delegate; that the number of state delegate equivalents for a precinct is determined in advance by the democratic turnout in the last presidential and gubernatorial elections, not the turnout on caucus night; etc. WIth so much attention on the IA caucuses, yet without much reporting on the nitty gritty of the rules, I would not be surprised if we see some initial accusations of fraud made on social media by people who don’t know more than that there is a 15% viability threshold.

    There can be no more muddying of the results than exists with the popular vote and electoral college count in presidential elections. The rules are clear going in, and the delegates will be awarded by those rules. Different candidates will be able to spin the results to their advantage (like HRC and the popular vote), but the more transparency, the better. The release of the raw counts will allow anyone who knows the rules to double check the math, and recount or re-calculation can be done if any irregularities are found. Does anyone claiming to be concerned about interpretation of the IA caucus results with the new raw vote count release think that we should only get the electoral college result, not the popular vote, in presidential elections?
    1. flora January 30, 2020 at 7:25 pm

       Thanks for this.
    2. Lambert Strether Post authorJanuary 31, 2020 at 4:39 am

       > or the first time there will be a paper trail, with voters filling out presidential preference cards that will be retained in case a recount is needed

       Good news, for once!
38. Grant January 30, 2020 at 6:17 pm

    Shaun King’s thread on Biden lying, again, about his involvement in the Civil Rights movement is a must read. He had to apologize about this very lying in 1987, his campaign is telling him to not do it, and he still does it.

    https://mobile.twitter.com/shaunking/status/1222849290785251329
    1. chuckster January 30, 2020 at 6:53 pm

       Who are you going to believe? Shaun King or CornPop?
39. MLTPB January 30, 2020 at 7:04 pm

    In this regard, their capacity to express emotions, intentionally or unintentionally, is crucial for them to successfully navigate their social worlds and to bond with group members

    —-

    From Science Direct above.

    I know of people who idolize Mr Spock and being emotionless and totally logical is the aim.
    1. Kevin P Chapple January 30, 2020 at 7:27 pm

       I am a huge SciFi fan including, if not especially, Star Trek. Dr. Isaac Asimov of Boston University and his Foundation Trilogy or iRobot series is another bit of outstanding work in these areas, in my view.
       If I may, I believe they miss the whole purpose of Mr. Spock. If I recall correctly, Mr. Spock’s struggle is dealing with his emotions or, dare I say, philosophy? Spock’s problem is he was half Vulcan and half human… . The human half via emotion/philosophy was always interfering with the Vulcan half which insisted on “pure mathematical logic” or “binary” thinking.
       Truly great SciFi is literature and film counts. Great literature is replete with “cautionary tales” for all of us. Helping us better understand our reality, our total reality.
    2. Yves Smith January 31, 2020 at 12:39 am

       If you watch Star Trek, Spock is not not emotional. He regularly takes offense, has a well-honed sense of irony, and makes jibes, usually at McCoy. He’s just super reserved and sometimes has to work at that, which is the appeal of his character.
       1. polecat January 31, 2020 at 3:10 pm

          Well, thank the Gods that he didn’t graduate from Starfleet Academy as a babydoc …

          ‘shudders to contemplate the ramifications of such distant upbringing’
40. chuck roast January 30, 2020 at 7:24 pm

    Anecdotal:
    I cruise through Boston’s South Station every month or two on a train/bus connection. The bus station is typically very crowded and there is a lot of Hub-bub. I went through there at mid-day today and…where was everybody? Must have been home counting the hankies and kleenex.
41. Wukchumni January 30, 2020 at 8:16 pm

    Direct the Department of Justice to legalize marijuana at the federal level;
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    When I frequent the local pot shoppe, i’m always amazed at the age spread of the clientele, it ranges from barely legal to octogenarians and everything in between.

    Funny how we’ve gone from where everybody smoked cigarettes, and 420 could land you in jail, to almost the other way around, in fact about a decade ago I was at the Playboy Jazz Festival @ the Hollywood Bowl and watched somebody get arrested for lighting up a Camel in their seat, about 6 seats away from me.
42. Expat2uruguay January 30, 2020 at 8:20 pm

    scientists at the University of Minnesota analyzed the first 99 cases to estimate FR, R0, and other characteristics of the new Coronavirus
    http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2020/01/data-suggest-ncov-more-infectious-1918-flu-what-does-mean
    FR of 11%, R0 of 2.2
    1. Yves Smith January 31, 2020 at 12:43 am

       *Sigh*

       We’ve said before this 11% fatality rate figure is misrepresented.

       11% of those seriously infected, which is estimated at 20% of total cases. 11% x 20% = 2.2%.
43. The Rev Kev January 30, 2020 at 8:23 pm

    This is so good because it is so stupid. ” Republicans are ‘actual demons,’ ‘zombies,’ says New York Times Nobel Prize-winning columnist” . Paul Krugman of course-

    https://www.rt.com/usa/479625-krugman-calls-republicans-demons-zombies/
    1. Lambert Strether Post authorJanuary 31, 2020 at 4:43 am

       To be fair, Krugman is talking about “professional Republicans” — almost wrote “Democrats,” there, oopsie — and not garden-variety voters.

       Still, there seems to be no way for liberal Democrats to pull out of their spiral..
44. RubyDog January 30, 2020 at 8:38 pm

    Though I am not a Mike Bloomberg fan, I gotta give him props for this campaign ad. Nice!

    https://twitter.com/i/status/1222552068231176192
    1. HotFlash January 31, 2020 at 12:41 am

       Hmm. Dogs for Bloomberg? Judging by the canine lip-smacking, it looks to me like Dogs for (probably any) Treat-giving-person. Which is my experience with all dogs.
    2. Yves Smith January 31, 2020 at 12:46 am

       I don’t like this at all. Says the only beings that buy Mike are ones that get treats and can’t talk back and are smaller than him too. Comes off as condescending.

       I am wondering if this dog stuff is to pre-condition people before they get to see how bad he is with babies.
       1. polecat January 31, 2020 at 3:17 pm

          What if it had rabies ?? ….. the candidate, not the dog !
       2. richard January 31, 2020 at 11:05 pm

          lol, or adult human soda drinkers, or 2004 republican convention protesters, or occupy occupiers.
45. Synoia January 30, 2020 at 8:46 pm

    Social ties and susceptibility to the common cold….

    I read this as “Go to your not so crowded local Pub.”

    Pity the US with its dearth of Pubs, and an inability to walk to one’s local. Perhaps the incident starting in 1776 was not so brilliant.
    1. ObjectiveFunction January 30, 2020 at 11:46 pm

       Staying with the Crown worked out pretty well for (Anglophone) Canadians.

       Heavily outnumbered by the (smallpox resistant and militarily effective) Cree, Algonquin and Huron nations, and with sullen lately subjugated French sitting astride the Saint Lawrence (the sole route to Europe), Anglophone settlers in Upper and Lower Canada got damned good value from those taxes and redcoats!

       But it really paid off in 1812 once the loudmouthed and land hungry Republic came up from the south.
       1. HotFlash January 31, 2020 at 12:45 am

          Moved here to Canuckistan in 1969, could you please give me more sources? Thank you, miigwech.
46. m sam January 30, 2020 at 11:59 pm

    I too never realized others had no internal monologue (or dialogue). I can’t say it has ruined my day or anything, but it sure does give me something interesting to talk to myself about.
47. Lil’D January 31, 2020 at 12:35 am

    Inner monologue…
    Sometimes I need to call the rowdy committee to order… the voices don’t follow Robert’s rules
    1. Oregoncharles January 31, 2020 at 2:01 am

       I mostly just tell myself fantasy stories; sometimes over and over, in order to get it right. Had trouble doing this silently, when I was little.

Comments are closed.