Looks like the only connection is that the author is gay and is comparing how straight dating has become more like gay dating- whether women acknowledge that or not.

Agreed.

Well Schumer said he's support cloture but that he wouldn't whip in favor of it. If he himself and a couple other Senators vote yes on Cloture but it doesn't hit 60 then that could, potentially, be the best position to be going into a shut down. But if Matty and a couple other folks are correct that the shut down, in of itself, plays into Trump and the Muskrats hands it could by a pyric victory.

I got MattY's analysis too and it did give me pause. Seeing one of my favorite socialists and one of my favorite fanatic Republicans both saying he's wrong suggests his analysis has some merit to it so I do feel marginally better.

The continuing resolutions of the past were, by and large, simply a continuation of the status quos. Inviting the GOP to vote for them was an invitation to the GOP to lose nothing. This CR is full of items the GOP loves and the Dems hate. Voting for it is naked surrender to extortion. If Schumer had the spine that God(ess?) gave a jellyfish he'd have whipped a no vote and told the GOP to do what they would in the shutdown, own the results and come back to him when they were ready to offer a typical CR. This is pretty naked surrender to extortion on Schumers part and I haven't read anything from him that suggests he's avoiding anything Trump and the Muskrats wouldn't do anyhow. Looks like near total surrender to me and I have tried earnestly to give Schumer the benefit of the doubt in the past. What's he going to surrender on next?

Was more tongue in cheek than anything. I have a vague feeling like the West Coast liberal zone is somewhat more nimble than the East Coast liberal zone in adapting so it doesn't surprise me that San Fran is moving faster.

After environmental impact reviews, community review, labor mandates and assorted everything bagel requirements probably a million dollars per gate installed.

How do you say "I never thought the leopards would eat my face?!?" in Hebrew? Probably there's like, one, pithy efficient word in Yiddish that covers it.

That strikes me as more an argument for revisiting security theater at airports now that OBL is crab food and Islamic Terror in general is a fear from twenty years ago than it does an argument that America should, somehow, try and build more intracity train services. Who knows, maybe President Musk and his Mango sidekick will defund the TSA next.

Sure, but that all the arguments for long distance passenger rail came generally later and now the boom has dropped on building rail lines. The land is all bought up. Could you imagine trying to buy right of ways in the densely developed, and therefore economically sensible, parts of the country? And that's without even discussing the regulatory obstacles. We can't even get around the enviro and local groups to build power lines, wind and solar plants and adequate housing let along trains.

We also don't have Europe's geography or population density.

I'm willing to hold my fire until they actually vote yes, personally. If they go "no position" right up to the 11th hour and then vote no on cloture; basically a Sen. Collins stunt if they include some footsie; then I will have nothing but nice things to say about 'em.

Heck I imaging the current GOP would declare it bipartisan with one vote.

Obviously you can vote yes for the "Give Dems everything they want bill" or the "Agree that puppies are adorable bill" and anything similar. So long as you make sure you've read the thing.

But on every substantive bill the Dems should assuredly be a wall of no.

Yep, madness.

I'm with Saul and inMD. There should, absolutely, be a wall of No from the Dems right now. If ever the McConnel strategy was justified from the Dems it is absolutely, undeniably justified right fishing now. Until the Muskrats are reined in, normal constitutional order is followed on spending/cutting and, preferably, unless Trump pulls his head from his posterior on tariffs the Dems should be in full opposition mode. The GOP has their trifecta- let them own their policies in full if they can pass them.

Yeah I don't disagree per say but I read him daily and my own imperfect recollection of the events were that he had the MM controlled and it was the prostate cancer that prompted the new round of treatments that walloped his immune system which prompted the infection which ultimately felled him.

Works fine for the shouty left online fringe. In my opinion a lot of our problems source to a lot of our current class of Democratic pols being past their sell by date and/or being unable-unwilling to state and stand up for their principles and instead just outsourcing them to consultants and the groups. Hopefully should be resolvable by the current stint in the wilderness and primaries assuming that Trump doesn't blow the whole system to heck before the next election.

IIRC he whupped the cancer you're thinking about, they found new cancer in his prostate as he was wrapping up the previous cancer, they went after that cancer but the treatment KO'd his immune system and an opportunistic infection nailed him and the docs weren't able to shepherd Drum out of that.

I'm extremely sad about it. Another precious fragment of my beloved Blogosphere washed away in the river.

Agreed that this isn't a big deal yet but the fact that any right wing justices are willing to walk the walk they've been talking for the past 3 decades is better than them all going Alito right off the bat.

Probably because Alito is incoherent and deranged. Yes a single judge can force the government to sent taxpayer dollars overseas... ... If those dollars were first duly appropriated and assigned to the sending organization by the House and then approved by the Senate and then signed off on by a President and even then only if those dollars were unlawfully impounded by a President and his billionaire appointed/not appointed/who knows side kick/co-president.

Likewise, but Chris' comment below remains pertinent; let us hope it's pessimistic and not prescient.

I've watched some "British boy in Germany" videos on youtube so I suspect you're right.

On the Pollyanna side it's good to see that a bare majority of the Supreme Court can be counted on to do the absolute bare constitutional minimum vis a vis Trump and the Muskrats.

On the realist side- holy fish did you read the deranged gabbling from the dissent? Alito basically did just rip the mask off and cackle "you fools, forget textualism and originalism, it was all just a feint, it was just will to power all along mwhahahaha!"

And, also, holy fish a bare minimum of the Supreme court justices required to uphold the law stepped up in the very barest minimal way.