23 Years, and Not Yet Murdered

Though if Sharon were to kill me, it would be well justified.

Happy 23rd anniversary, dear.

Posted via mobile.

Midvale School for the Gifted

I was going to Maariv^* at the local Kollel^†, so that I could say Kaddish^‡ for her.

Charlie came with me, because we studied some Gemara^€ before services.

Charlie walked into the study area, and pushed the door open (it swings both ways) despite the large signs taped to it marked "Pull."

I said, "Midvale School for the Gifted," and Charlie gave me a blank look.

I had to remind him that it was a Gary Larson cartoon.

^*Evening services.
^†Community religious study center.
^‡A memorial prayer, it is the 41st anniversary of her death.
^€A companion work of the Mishna, together they constitute the Talmud.

This May Be the Worst Thing That I Have Ever Said

We just had a workplace shooting in Maryland and Delaware yesterday.

3 dead and 6 wounded. Just another day at the office.

My wife and I were discussing this as I was getting ready to go to work, and I said, "My advice is always to shoot the boss, not your co-workers."

Sharon,^* ever the optimist, asked a very wise question, "How about not shooting anyone."

Without thinking, I replied:

This is America, that's not an option.

That was literally the first thought in my head, like some kind of like a Rorschach test.

That may have been the worst thing that I have ever said in my entire life.

I'm not sure if it reflects poorly on me, on our society, on my understanding of our society, or the universe.

^*Love of my life, light of the cosmos, she who must be obeyed, my wife.

Now I'm Cooking with Gas

Literally, we have a gas range.

I've decided to try to make Tahdig with chicken, an Iranian rice dish noted for its crusty bottom.

No formal recipe, I'm just taking notes from a number of recipes online, and playing around.

I'll see how it goes.

At the Laundromat

Our clothes dryer stopped heating last night, and today is laundry day.

So I am waiting for the skin cycle to end.

Dateline NBC is on the TVs here, which I find profoundly uninteresting.

Posted via mobile.

Deep Thought

I think that my car is getting more miles per gallon of gas than my colon.

Light Posting for the Next Few Days

Starting a new job at Tate Access Floors, a manufacturer of raised access floors.

As always, this is likely the last time that I will post about Tate, or my job, because blogging about your workplace is not a good way to stay at that workplace.

In any case, I'll be learning the ropes, and as such will have less time to blog for a while.

An Interesting Take on Pommes Frites

Natalie came across a french fry recipe online.

First, you pickle them in brine before you fry them up.

After a week or so, open the jar and rinse the fries off and then pat dry.

Fry up as you would normal fries, and add salt immediately after cooking is done, and put on paper towels to drain the oil.

Some notes:

• Rinse very thoroughly.
• The fries turn brown much faster than regular fries, well before they are done.  I think that some of the starches are converted to simple  sugars.
• They are a lot like salt and vinegar potato chips.

I rather liked them.

I Need This T-Shirt

This is the Old Fart Action Figure T-shirt.

I believe that this suits me very well.

I've been working on the whole, "Crotchety old fart," thing since I was about 12 years old.

Squee!!!!!

There is a colony of feral cats in our neighborhood.

Today, I saw momcat, a tortoiseshell, and one of her kittens, a ginger tabby, who was nursing at the time.

I watched for a bit while momcat stared daggers at me.

They were likely part of RP's progeny.

Seriously cute.

One of My Coping Mechanisms

The past week was not (and hasn't been for my adult life) a good time for me.

So, today, I decided to do something that I haven't ever done before culinarily, home pickling. 

It gets my head into a better place.

I did the whole megillah, using Ball (mason type) jars, to create a pickle that does not need refrigeration.

It's a canned pickle.

I used Romanesco "Fractal" broccoli, but I am also going to do carrots, green beans, normal broccoli, zucchini, yellow squash, and Brussels sprouts, because I have a sh%$ load of pickling brine left over.

I used pickling spice, bay leaves, chipolte peppers, juniper berries, dill, salt, apple cider vinegar, and garlic in the brine, and in about 1/3 of the jars, I added some sugar for sweet pickles.

Live in Obedient Fear, Citizen

Don Tinfoil Hat


Lyndon Larouche abides

Charlie lost his ID card, he does not have a driver's license, so I took him to the DMV to order a replacement.

On the way in, we noticed these guys with a table with a big sign talking about an FBI conspiracy against Donald trump.

On closer inspection we noticed that their signs referenced LaRouchePAC.com, so seriously crazed conspiracy theorists.

We had about a 20 minute wait at the DMV, so he wanted to think about a potential taunt.

He was concerned that he could not come up with one quickly, because this sort of reaction is analogous to a stand-up comic dealing with a heckler, and because he does stand-up comedy now and again, this troubled him.

I reassured him that that comics frequently prepare in advance to deal with potential hecklers, so we can prepare something for the inevitable wait at the Department of Motor Vehicles.

As we are waiting, he floats out some ideas, and I float out some ideas, including his pointing at his hat, and saying, "Chem Trails."

Charlie wears a blind fold that he made out of duct tape as a hat. He made it for blind folded Rubik's Cube competitions, and it does evoke the whole "tinfoil hat" thing, so the juxtaposition of the hat and, "Chem Trails," is a statement that is both amusing, and unclear: It could be mockery, and it could be a statement that one is a fellow traveler conspiracy nut.

He liked that one, so that is what I was expecting when we left the DMV (He took the hat off for the ID pick, BTW).

Instead, he looked the man in the eye, and said:

Live in Obedient Fear, Citizen!

And then he turned and walked away, giggling as the guy at the table said, "What did you say?".

Of course, this phrase is VERY well known to the reader(s) of this blog.

He needs to work on his delivery, he said it too quickly, and he should have pitched the words lower, because it really works better when said in a stentorian manner, but he worked out what would be the best quick take down.

FYI, here is some stand-up from a year ago:

The Joys of Marriage

I was coming home from the chiropractor today with Sharon^* driving, and the song Don't Stand So Close To Me by the Police came on, and she turned up the volume.

I asked her why she liked this song, but hated the Pink Floyd song The Wall, which she hates for what she sees as its anti-teacher message. ("We don't need no education ……… Hey! Teacher, leave them kids alone")

I replied that she just turned up the volume on a song about an affair between a teacher and a student.

She said that she was unaware of this, and then she quickly changed the station.

I then sung:

Her friends are so jealous
You know how bad girls get
Sometimes it's not so easy
To be the teacher's pet

And then she elbowed me.

I am amused.

^*Love of my life, light of the cosmos, she who must be obeyed, my wife.

Crap!

I was driving to pick up the kids from a graduation party, and I got rear ended on the Outer Loop of the Baltimore Beltway.

I could drive home, and the EMTs took a look at me and took vitals, but this is a royal pain in the ass.

The rear bumper and lower rear window (It's a Prius) is trashed, and I was pushed into the truck in front of me.

On the bright side, the car was driveable, and I took it home over local streets.

Right now, I have a sore neck, a headache, and a bruise on my arm, and I am on hold with the insurance company.  (The last one is most painful).

I will need to stay awake for the next few hours just to be safe.

I Should have Posted a Graduation Pix

Here is a picture of him doing the Dab post graduation:



There is a discussion on Imgur where I uploaded the picture, and some of the comments are very funny, if somewhat dismissive of Charlie's lichen growth style beard.

Dude!!!!

Charlie just walked across the stage and got his high school diploma. (Diploma: An extremely unwise thing to call Guido "Knuckles" Loma.)

I feel old.

Thank God for Anti-Lock Brakes

My car is fine.

My underwear, not so much.

I Hate F%$#ing Plants

Note the syntax here.

The "F%$#" is an adjective that modifies "plants", not an adverb that modifies "hate".

When I come out in the morning, the windshield of my car has a thin layer of dust on it.

When I clean it off with the wipers, it turns out to be a yellow powder.

It's a thin layer of pollen, i.e. plant sperm, and it is making my life a living hell right now.

Thankfully Fexofenadine HCl (generic Allegra^®) takes a bit of the edge off.

It's the Start of the Crazy Season

Spent most of today cleaning for Pesach (Passover).

It's a period of high anxiety for Sharon^*, and I am doing my level best to be as supportive as possible.

Light blogging for a while.

BTW, anyone know a good way to split the Red Sea?

Have a Pesach joke:

Once upon a time in a far away land there lived a king who had a Jewish advisor. The king relied so much on the wisdom of his Jewish advisor that one day he decided to elevate him to head advisor. After it was announced, the other advisors objected. After all, it was bad enough just to sit in counsel with a Jew, but to allow one to 'lord it over them,' was just too much to bear. Being a compassionate ruler, the King agreed with them, and ordered the Jew to convert. What could the Jew do? One had to obey the King, and so he did.

As soon as the act was done, the Jew felt great remorse for this terrible decision. As days became weeks, his remorse turned to despondency, and as months passed, his mental depression took its toll on his physical health. He became weaker and weaker. Finally he could stand it no longer. His mind was made up. He burst in on the king and cried, "I was born a Jew and a Jew I must die. Do what you want with me, but I can no longer deny my faith." The King was very surprised. He had no idea that the Jew felt so strongly about it. "Well, if that is how you feel," he said, "then the other advisors will just have to learn to live with it. Your counsel is much too important to me to do without. Go and be a Jew again" he said.

The Jew felt elated. He hurried back home to tell the good news to his family. He felt the strength surge back into his body as he ran. Finally, he burst into the house and called out to his wife. "Rifka, Rifka, we can be Jews again, we can be Jews again." His wife glared back at him angrily and said, "You couldn't wait until after Passover?"

^*Love of my life, light of the cosmos, she who must be obeyed, my wife.

Here is a Transcript of Charlie's AIPAC Texts

Except for the massaging necessary to convert the SMS texts, the only changes are to manually add the single MMS post, scroll down for Bibi's hair dye, which was a picture of the hair disaster, and bowdlerizing some swear words.

There are some exchanges that are a bit confusing, because things get a bit temporally dislocated because of the lag between sending and receiving a message and the time to actually thumb type/Swype a response.

Charlie and I worked to clarify this as much as possible.

I have put it after the break, because it would otherwise it would push everything else off the page.

Click thru, particularly if you are reading this through Facebook.

I think that you will find it amusing:

Charles: Are you going to want my opinion on Mike Pence's speech? 03/26/2017 7:46 PM

Me: Yes 03/26/2017 7:47 PM

Charles: Are you going to watch it from home? 03/26/2017 7:48 PM

Me: God no 03/26/2017 7:48 PM

Charles: Lulz 03/26/2017 7:50 PM

Charles: DC Mayor was here. She said "suport DC statehood". I'm like yeah fam. 03/26/2017 7:56 PM

Me: Why does she want DC to be a steak? I'm thinking it's more of a souffle. 03/26/2017 7:57 PM

Charles: fam 03/26/2017 7:58 PM

Me: Fam? 03/26/2017 7:58 PM

Charles: Bad joke fam 03/26/2017 8:00 PM

Charles: They have Stephen Harper speaking 03/26/2017 9:03 PM

Me: That must be terrifying 03/26/2017 9:04 PM

Charles: Meh. Considering Pence will be here, I'm not afraid yet. 03/26/2017 9:06 PM

Charles: He's mostly talking foreign policy. I.e. not being scary 03/26/2017 9:09 PM

Me: It's his soulless eyes that are terrifying 03/26/2017 9:10 PM

Charles: Lulz 03/26/2017 9:15 PM

Charles: True, Trudeau's eyes are better. 03/26/2017 9:16 PM

Me: His are so dreamy 03/26/2017 9:16 PM

Charles: Lilian Pinkus's voice sounds like a cross between Sarah Palin and Jennifer Granholm 03/26/2017 9:22 PM

Me: The horror. 03/26/2017 9:22 PM

Charles: HE'S HERE 03/26/2017 9:23 PM

Me: Just think of him as a cartoon villain. He already looks like one. 03/26/2017 9:24 PM

Charles: THE BOND VILLAIN OF THE HOUR 03/26/2017 9:24 PM

Charles: That was Kaine. Pence looks like a Bond villain 03/26/2017 9:24 PM

Me: You are correct, sir. 03/26/2017 9:25 PM

Me: I may use our text exchange on out blog. 03/26/2017 9:25 PM

Charles: K 03/26/2017 9:25 PM

Charles: He's just talking about his previous support for Israel rn. 03/26/2017 9:26 PM

Charles: "From the bottom of my heart, thank you", the bottom of his cold, lifeless heart 03/26/2017 9:27 PM

Me: Lulz 03/26/2017 9:27 PM

Charles: Oh and he condemned the vandalism of cemetaries, which I appreciate 03/26/2017 9:27 PM

Charles: A friend says: "Can he stop sucking Trump's dick?" 03/26/2017 9:28 PM

Me: You are killing your old man here! Need oxygen 03/26/2017 9:28 PM

Charles: He's mostly just talking up trump a saying "hey we support israel" 03/26/2017 9:29 PM

Charles: This is relatively nebulous honestly 03/26/2017 9:30 PM

Charles: Finding as many ways as possible to say he supports Israel 03/26/2017 9:30 PM

Charles: "After decades of simply talking about it", something about the embassy, but I thought he was talking about his own speech. 03/26/2017 9:33 PM

Charles: Besides moving the embassy, nothing really of policy so far beyond "we support israel" 03/26/2017 9:34 PM

Charles: Ok, now talking about increased military spending. That is a policy point. 03/26/2017 9:35 PM

Charles: "This administration has put Iran on notice", also a policy point I guess 03/26/2017 9:37 PM

Charles: Someone held up a Trump sign. Hun, the election is over. 03/26/2017 9:38 PM

Charles: Talking about a visit to dachau now 03/26/2017 9:38 PM

Charles: Also I should have brought a gay pride flag 03/26/2017 9:39 PM

Me: Lol 03/26/2017 9:39 PM

Charles: Ok, he just delivered an excelent line 03/26/2017 9:39 PM

Me: Do tell 03/26/2017 9:40 PM

Charles: He was talking with a holocaust survivor, the survivor was telling the story, and ended by saying, "and then, the Americans came." 03/26/2017 9:40 PM

Charles: Speech just ended 03/26/2017 9:46 PM

Charles: So, the story his, he visited Dachau, met up with a survivor, 03/26/2017 9:47 PM

Charles: The survivor described to him everyone dying around him, one by one, 03/26/2017 9:47 PM

Charles: "And then, the Americans came" 03/26/2017 9:47 PM

Charles: Excellent line, best part of the speech. 03/26/2017 9:48 PM

Me: So, are you done for the evening? 03/26/2017 10:08 PM

Charles: Yup 03/26/2017 10:28 PM

Charles: Bibi dyed his hair 03/27/2017 9:15 AM

Me: Send a picture 03/27/2017 9:15 AM

Charles: 03/27/2017 9:17 AM

Me: Who does he think that he is fooling? 03/27/2017 9:19 AM

Charles: Lulz 03/27/2017 9:20 AM

Charles: Paul Begala is speaking 03/27/2017 9:29 AM

Me: He's not a liberal, he just plays one on TV. 03/27/2017 9:29 AM

Charles: He says he's a lifelong supporter of progressive politics, and he helped Bill Clinton's campaign. One or the other, sir. 03/27/2017 9:31 AM

Me: Lulz 03/27/2017 9:31 AM

Charles: He used the term protip 03/27/2017 9:32 AM

Charles: Oh and then he praised Israel's socialized healthcare, which I very much appreciate. 03/27/2017 9:33 AM

Charles: Can we get some of that socialized medicine over here? 03/27/2017 9:34 AM

Me: What fore protip mean? 03/27/2017 9:35 AM

Charles: He was trying to internet lingo 03/27/2017 9:35 AM

Me: So, what does it mean? 03/27/2017 9:36 AM

Charles: It means "here's a tip from me, I have experience." 03/27/2017 9:40 AM

Charles: They have Chaim Hertzog's son speaking, he's p cool. 03/27/2017 9:54 AM

Charles: Oh, forgot to tell you. Yesterday I asked a question at one of the pannels 03/27/2017 10:09 AM

Me: What was the question? 03/27/2017 10:09 AM

Charles: It was on middle east policy, and I asked the panelists, who were discussing removing Assad how they thought we should deal with the resulting power vacuum. 03/27/2017 10:11 AM

Charles: One of the panelists seemed to understand what I was getting at, the other was more hawkish. 03/27/2017 10:12 AM

Me: You should have said, "Like the disaster in Libya," to clarify. 03/27/2017 10:35 AM

Charles: TRUE 03/27/2017 10:46 AM

Charles: Wany your help with something 03/27/2017 11:27 AM

Charles: *want 03/27/2017 11:28 AM

Me: Proceed 03/27/2017 11:28 AM

Charles: AIPAC is lobbying for sanctions on Iran for non nuclear actions, I.e. Missile tests, syria, hezbola 03/27/2017 11:30 AM

Me: Yes 03/27/2017 11:30 AM

Charles: They say these non nuclear sanctions would not violate the JCPOA 03/27/2017 11:30 AM

Charles: Someone else said the text of the JCPOA specifically precludes such sanctions (the nature of the agreement notwithstanding) 03/27/2017 11:31 AM

Charles: Can you help me find a source about this? 03/27/2017 11:32 AM

Me: It has a wiki page 03/27/2017 11:32 AM

Charles: It doesn't have it on there 03/27/2017 11:32 AM

Me: It does mention there that Iranian sources say that the extension of sanctions would breach the deal. 03/27/2017 11:35 AM

Charles: Extension of what sanctions? 03/27/2017 11:36 AM

Me: The nuclear sanctions. There is a bulk in congress to do so. 03/27/2017 11:37 AM

Charles: Does that apply to new non-nuclear related sanctions? 03/27/2017 11:38 AM

Charles: So new non nuclear sanctions are fine? 03/27/2017 11:39 AM

Me: I'm looking. 03/27/2017 11:39 AM

Charles: Imo if they don't violate the agreement, I'm for them. 03/27/2017 11:40 AM

Charles: https://www.brookings.edu/research/the-jcpoa-should-be-maintained-and-reinforced-with-a-broad-regional-strategy/ this source claims such sanctions are fine. 03/27/2017 11:42 AM

Me: I an fairly certain that Iran & Russia both believe that new sanctions violate the JCPOA. Look at the EU position. 03/27/2017 11:43 AM

Charles: So it's a matter of dispute then? 03/27/2017 11:44 AM

Me: Yes, but Brookings is VERY hawkish, and not a reliable source. 03/27/2017 11:48 AM

Charles: Ok. I'm having a great deal of trouble finding very many sources. 03/27/2017 11:49 AM

Charles: Do you have a source on the EU position? 03/27/2017 11:50 AM

Me: The EU is trying to keep Trump from monkey wrenching the deal. 03/27/2017 11:51 AM

Me: https://financialtribune.com/articles/national/60708/eu-seeks-to-bolster-iran-nuclear-deal 03/27/2017 11:51 AM

Charles: I get the argument of a slippery slope, but I do think missile testing and Hezbolah funding is worthy of sanctions 03/27/2017 11:53 AM

Me: Iran will never stop finding Hezbollah. Defending the Shia community is something that they would continue even if they became a democracy. 03/27/2017 11:55 AM

Charles: Right but the point is hezbolah's attacks on israel 03/27/2017 11:56 AM

Me: It's like the French defending French culture and language around the world. 03/27/2017 11:57 AM

Charles: ? 03/27/2017 11:57 AM

Me: Iran defending Shiia is like the French position. It is a position held with near unanimity across the political spectrum. 03/27/2017 11:59 AM

Charles: I don't see the equivalence 03/27/2017 11:59 AM

Me: I am saying that this is an existential position of that society 03/27/2017 12:07 PM

Charles: What about the other actions? 03/27/2017 12:11 PM

Me: The missile tests are not a violation of the MTCR, and they have a right to develop such weapons. 03/27/2017 12:13 PM

Charles: Fai6 03/27/2017 12:13 PM

Charles: *fair 03/27/2017 12:14 PM

Me: Also, they have launched civilian satellites as early as 2009. 03/27/2017 12:15 PM

Me: The U.S. position is that any weapons development by governments it deems an adversary are illegal. I call this bullsh%$. 03/27/2017 12:16 PM

Me: Also understand that many of their developments are about deterring the U.S., not threatening Israel. 03/27/2017 12:20 PM

Charles: I see 03/27/2017 12:53 PM

Charles: Btw, look up hr 1221, I find it interesting 03/27/2017 12:54 PM

"Explanation:

H.R 1221 Sets up a fund promoting peaceful coexistence and person to person dialogue between individual Israelis and Palestinians."

Charles: The three lobbying things AIPAC is doing is funding for israel aid, sanctions on iran, and fighting bds 03/27/2017 1:01 PM

Charles: I want to ask if I can lobby for hr 1221 03/27/2017 1:01 PM

Charles: I'd rather lobby for hr 1221 03/27/2017 1:01 PM

Me: Seems like an innocuous bill, but I'm sure that Trump will turn it into something corrupt. 03/27/2017 1:03 PM

Charles: Maybe also the bds thing but mostly hr 1221 03/27/2017 1:04 PM

Me: BTW, it appears that AIPAC funded attacks on J-Street by Islamaphobe nut Frank Gaffney last year. 03/27/2017 1:11 PM

Charles: I'm sorry what. Link? 03/27/2017 1:12 PM

Charles: Seriously I need to hear this 03/27/2017 1:13 PM

Me: http://lobelog.com/did-aipac-help-fund-attack-ad-by-islamophobic-group-on-j-street/ 03/27/2017 1:12 PM

Me: J-street is liberal equivalent of AIPAC 03/27/2017 1:13 PM

Me: SENT LINK 03/27/2017 1:13 PM

Charles: I know about j street 03/27/2017 1:15 PM

Charles: Yes I saw, I'm reading and I'm upset 03/27/2017 1:16 PM

Me: Better to know now 03/27/2017 1:16 PM

Charles: Yes 03/27/2017 1:17 PM

Charles: Geez you are persuasive 03/27/2017 1:18 PM

Charles: Except with your pessimism on hr 1221 03/27/2017 1:18 PM

Me: Never underestimate the ability of conservatives to subvert good intentions. 03/27/2017 1:18 PM

Me: Yeah, I'm a bit of a cynic. 03/27/2017 1:19 PM

Charles: Lulz wait that's depressing 03/27/2017 1:24 PM

Charles: To be clear, I still disagree with your assessment of hezbolah 03/27/2017 1:36 PM

Charles: But I understand why there's probably a perception of needing to do that. 03/27/2017 1:37 PM

Me: I think that Hezbollah is primarily a terrorist organisation with a Shia political party rump. 03/27/2017 1:37 PM

Charles: So basically, the uk view? 03/27/2017 1:38 PM

Me: But Iran will always support them, because it is part of the great game being played between Sunni and Shia for over a millennium. 03/27/2017 1:39 PM

Me: I should note that Hezbollah also does a better job of provisioning services than does the central Lebanese government does. 03/27/2017 1:40 PM

Me: That fact is a major source of their power. 03/27/2017 1:41 PM

Charles: The way a lot of this conflict is framed here, it's like saying shia islam is the problem 03/27/2017 1:45 PM

Charles: With the situation over there, I fear that vew could lead to genocide. 03/27/2017 1:45 PM

Me: Because AIPAC is close with the House of Saud these days. 03/27/2017 1:46 PM

Charles: Yeah I'm glad I've come here, but I prob won't attend again. 03/27/2017 1:56 PM

Me: Why not? You are collecting valuable intelligence. 03/27/2017 1:57 PM

Charles: That's why I'm glad I came. But I'd rather not come again. 03/27/2017 1:58 PM

Me: Also understand the value of developing social connections to assholes. 03/27/2017 1:59 PM

Charles: Outweighed by the fact that they are assholes. Although most of the people are nice. 03/27/2017 2:01 PM

Me: Also, if you want to be politically active, being friendly to jerks is required. 03/27/2017 2:03 PM

Charles: Ugh 03/27/2017 2:06 PM

Me: Welcome to reality 03/27/2017 2:06 PM

Charles: Nikki Haley is about to speak 03/27/2017 4:56 PM

Me: Oh joy 03/27/2017 4:56 PM

Charles: And here she is 03/27/2017 4:57 PM

Charles: The crowd loves her 03/27/2017 4:59 PM

Charles: She's vastly oversimplifying the Iran deal rn 03/27/2017 5:02 PM

Me: Well she is dumb as a post 03/27/2017 5:03 PM

Charles: This is an interview btw 03/27/2017 5:03 PM

Charles: "I wanted to make sure that the United states started leading again" 03/27/2017 5:04 PM

Charles: Most of what she's saying, besides the lran deal, I have no issue with tbh. It's pretty inocuous. 03/27/2017 5:05 PM

Charles: K then 03/27/2017 5:06 PM

Charles: The crowd is eating this up. 03/27/2017 5:06 PM

Charles: "I don't know who it was" who wrote the report calling Israel an apartheid state. You should prob know that hun. 03/27/2017 5:08 PM

Me: Like I Said; dumb as a post. 03/27/2017 5:09 PM

Charles: Like I think she forgot who it was. 03/27/2017 5:10 PM

Charles: But damn if the crowd doesn't love her. 03/27/2017 5:10 PM

Me: And what does this say about the crowd m 03/27/2017 5:11 PM

Charles: I don't like giving ovations to people like her. 03/27/2017 5:14 PM

Me: Re: Ovations 03/27/2017 5:16 PM

Charles: OK PAUL RYAN IS HERE 03/27/2017 5:17 PM

Charles: (1/2) "what happened to that turn table thing from last year? I really liked it. Sometimes it seems like politicians talk in circles, last year with the stage w 03/27/2017 5:19 PM

Charles: (2/2) e actually had that." 03/27/2017 5:19 PM

Charles: "thanks to all the young people here" no prob bro, now can you not try to ruin our healthcare again 03/27/2017 5:20 PM

Me: .lol 03/27/2017 5:20 PM

Charles: He's talking about his trip to israel, talking about the cool stuff. 03/27/2017 5:20 PM

Charles: Universal healthcare was not one of the things he mentioned 03/27/2017 5:21 PM

Charles: And now talking about the strength of the US Israel relationship. I agree with that but I've heard heard it ad nauseum 03/27/2017 5:22 PM

#REF!

Charles: Under no uncertain terms. 03/27/2017 5:22 PM

Charles: Wow, I was wondering when someone would be candid here. 03/27/2017 5:22 PM

Charles: Now onto the iran deal 03/27/2017 5:22 PM

Charles: "an unmitigated disaster" 03/27/2017 5:23 PM

Charles: Cool story bro 03/27/2017 5:23 PM

Me: Dude, you are writing some amazing stuff here. 03/27/2017 5:24 PM

Charles: "I think it is time we rigorously enforce this deal and hold iran accountable when they violate" I thought you didn't like the deal 03/27/2017 5:24 PM

Charles: And calling for more sanctions 03/27/2017 5:24 PM

Charles: Saying Iran is basically wholey responsible for the problems in the middle east (hun no) 03/27/2017 5:26 PM

Charles: Oh snap 03/27/2017 5:27 PM

Me: What did he just say 03/27/2017 5:28 PM

#REF!

Charles: Honey no that is one step removed from all out war. 03/27/2017 5:28 PM

Me: What? 03/27/2017 5:28 PM

Me: If he called for a blockade, that is technically an act of war. 03/27/2017 5:28 PM

Charles: Also talking about stopping iranian airlines from delivering weapons. Hope that doesn't involve shooting another one down? 03/27/2017 5:29 PM

Charles: He proposed putting the iranian revolutionary guard on the list o 03/27/2017 5:30 PM

Charles: of terrorist groups 03/27/2017 5:31 PM

Me: It does, and without a Security Council mandate, it is illegal. 03/27/2017 5:30 PM

Charles: ...oh sh%$ 03/27/2017 5:32 PM

Charles: Ok now he's talking about BDS 03/27/2017 5:32 PM

Charles: Same speil, I've heard it ad nauseum, I agree with it but I'm tired of hearing it 03/27/2017 5:33 PM

Charles: Ok, I don't know if he was proposing a blockade, but he said we needed to work to stop the airlines from delivering weapons 03/27/2017 5:33 PM

Charles: And saying israel shouldn't negotiate with hamas. I understand the sentiment, but it's problematic to peace talks. 03/27/2017 5:33 PM

Charles: Because he just said they should negotiate when the unity government includes hamas 03/27/2017 5:34 PM

Charles: Is that proposing a blockade? 03/27/2017 5:34 PM

Me: It's awfully close 03/27/2017 5:34 PM

Charles: And now he's talking the vandalism and bomb threats. 03/27/2017 5:35 PM

Charles: "These attacks on Jewish Americans are vile and they are disgusting." 03/27/2017 5:35 PM

Charles: And summarizing 03/27/2017 5:35 PM

Me: Yeah, but the bomb threats were made by an Israeli. 03/27/2017 5:36 PM

Charles: I want to go back to the hotel 03/27/2017 5:36 PM

Charles: He's done. Bye Mr. Smurfeyes 03/27/2017 5:37 PM

Me: Charlie Pierce calls him the "Zombie eyed granny starver" 03/27/2017 5:38 PM

Charles: And now we have McCarthy and whatshisname 03/27/2017 5:39 PM

Me: Joe McCarthy is dead 03/27/2017 5:39 PM

Charles: The minority whip 03/27/2017 5:39 PM

Charles: It's another interview 03/27/2017 5:39 PM

Charles: Not that McCarthy, Kevin 03/27/2017 5:40 PM

Me: D'oh! 03/27/2017 5:41 PM

Charles: "We'll debate a lot, but we're still friends" 03/27/2017 5:42 PM

Charles: You know, I've heard a lot of politicians say that over the past two days and idk if I believe it 03/27/2017 5:41 PM

Charles: Steny Hoyer is the other guy 03/27/2017 5:42 PM

Charles: They're the cosponsors of the iran sanctions. 03/27/2017 5:42 PM

Me: Hoyer is f%$#ing useless 03/27/2017 5:43 PM

Me: I get the sense that your texting me is preserving a modicum of your sanity. 03/27/2017 5:42 PM

Charles: Dad, why else whould I be texting you at a time like this? 03/27/2017 5:44 PM

Me: Glad that I can be of assistance. 03/27/2017 5:44 PM

Charles: I'm not even paying attention atm 03/27/2017 5:45 PM

Charles: I wanna go home 03/27/2017 5:45 PM

Charles: No other country has spent more (on rockets) without trying to develop a nuclear weapon" 03/27/2017 5:46 PM

Charles: Well I mean yes but alot of that spending was space exploration hun 03/27/2017 5:46 PM

Charles: I wanna go home 03/27/2017 5:46 PM

Me: That which does not kill you makes you stronger. 03/27/2017 5:46 PM

Charles: I don't even care about meeting congresspeople, they suck anyway. 03/27/2017 5:47 PM

Me: Ironic that I am quoting the Nazi's favorite philosopher. 03/27/2017 5:47 PM

Me: In the words of Gold 5, "Stay on target." 03/27/2017 5:48 PM

Me: Of course Gold 5 got shot down. 03/27/2017 5:49 PM

Charles: The person who said the spending thing was mccarthy btw 03/27/2017 5:58 PM

Charles: Here's Grace Nepolitano 03/27/2017 5:59 PM

Me: Is this Janet's kid? 03/27/2017 5:59 PM

Charles: Did you send me the "joe mccarthy is dead" txt twice? 03/27/2017 6:00 PM

Charles: Idk but she's off stage now 03/27/2017 6:00 PM

Me: I don't think so 03/27/2017 6:00 PM

Charles: Our texts are getting mixed up 03/27/2017 6:01 PM

Charles: Gold 5? 03/27/2017 6:02 PM

Me: Star Wars, the original. 03/27/2017 6:03 PM

Charles: You need to be more specific about what you mean 03/27/2017 6:05 PM

Charles: Lior is asking me for origami help. 03/27/2017 6:04 PM

Me: Lior? 03/27/2017 6:04 PM

Charles: One of the shinshinim (israeli student here for a year) on the trip with us. 03/27/2017 6:06 PM

Me: You said that you were helping Lior with orgami.. Who s are they? 03/27/2017 6:06 PM

Charles: Lior is one of the shinshinim 03/27/2017 6:07 PM

Charles: Did you not get the text? 03/27/2017 6:08 PM

Me: What is a shinshinim? 03/27/2017 6:07 PM

Charles: I just said 03/27/2017 6:07 PM

Me: A girl or a guy? 03/27/2017 6:08 PM

Me: Latency issues 03/27/2017 6:08 PM

Charles: She's a high schol graduate here in the us for a year 03/27/2017 6:10 PM

Me: I will try not to squee, but she likes you. 03/27/2017 6:10 PM

Charles: OH IT'S TIM KAINE 03/27/2017 6:06 PM

Charles: PLAY YOUR HARMONICA 03/27/2017 6:06 PM

Charles: Also all Tim Kaine did was introduce a dance program. I am disappoint. 03/27/2017 6:11 PM

Me: If Tim Kaine was dancing, I'm glassy that I didn't see it. 03/27/2017 6:11 PM

Charles: He didn't dance. He just introduced a video about a dance program. 03/27/2017 6:12 PM

Charles: Take me home. Please. 03/27/2017 6:13 PM

Charles: Tell Uncle Steve I wish I was at J-Street too. 03/27/2017 7:03 PM

Me: .ok 03/27/2017 7:04 PM

Charles: So, the iranian revolutionary guard is basically iran's military? 03/27/2017 8:33 PM

Me: It's also a major political force as well as a major economic player in the local economy. 03/27/2017 8:34 PM

Me: It is at best a small portion of Iran's military. 03/27/2017 8:34 PM

Charles: Ok 03/27/2017 8:35 PM

Charles: If it was declared a terrorist group, what do ou think the fallout would be? 03/27/2017 8:35 PM

Me: It would get ugly really fast. 03/27/2017 8:36 PM

Charles: Ugly as in possible war? 03/27/2017 8:52 PM

Me: Ugly as in as in blowing up the nuclear agreement with the EU telling us to go Cheney themselves. It is worse than a Crime. It is a mistake. 03/27/2017 8:55 PM

Charles: Oh and this is an existing proposal by Trump. 03/27/2017 8:57 PM

Me: Actually, I think that it is more from the congressional hawks than Trump. 03/27/2017 8:58 PM

Charles: Either way it was an existing proposal 03/27/2017 9:03 PM

Me: It's been floating around for some time. 03/27/2017 9:04 PM

Me: I talked with Natalie, and she said that your should exchange numbers with Lior. I agree. 03/27/2017 11:05 PM

Charles: Are you f%$#ing serious. Stop 03/27/2017 11:06 PM

Me: I asked Nat first. 03/27/2017 11:06 PM

Charles: Besides we've all been shipping her with the other person from israel. 03/27/2017 11:09 PM

Me: I'm taking being a texting buddy 03/27/2017 11:09 PM

Me: How you doing otherwise? 03/27/2017 11:07 PM

Me: It's just for texting. 03/27/2017 11:07 PM

Charles: I'm doing fine. Ready to go home tomorrow 03/27/2017 11:07 PM

Me: I tot it was Wednesday 03/27/2017 11:07 PM

Charles: No, I'm home tomorrow afternoon 03/27/2017 11:08 PM

Me: Last night, I went upstairs to shout at you to go to bed. 03/27/2017 11:09 PM

Charles: Lulz 03/27/2017 11:10 PM

Me: Should I do this tonight too? 03/27/2017 11:10 PM

Charles: Go ahead 03/27/2017 11:11 PM

Charles: Mitch McConnel is speaking now 03/28/2017 8:12 AM

Charles: I've never seen this species of turtle up close 03/28/2017 8:13 AM

Charles: "And of course, thanks to all the Kentuckian's here with us" 7 people cheer. 03/28/2017 8:13 AM

Me: Lol 03/28/2017 8:14 AM

Charles: And we begin with the standard Iran deal spiel. 03/28/2017 8:14 AM

Charles: He's talking about obama because potatos 03/28/2017 8:15 AM

Me: Potatoes? 03/28/2017 8:15 AM

Charles: Criticizing trying to close gitmo because screw due process 03/28/2017 8:15 AM

Charles: Potatos as in I don't know 03/28/2017 8:15 AM

Charles: Criticizing leaving Irag and Afganistan because I don't know tbh 03/28/2017 8:16 AM

Me: Tbh? 03/28/2017 8:16 AM

Charles: To be honest 03/28/2017 8:17 AM

Charles: Now talking about shia fighter like shia is equivalent to a terrorist group 03/28/2017 8:17 AM

Charles: "shia proxies" you mean shia muslims? 03/28/2017 8:18 AM

Charles: Iran, blah blah blah 03/28/2017 8:18 AM

Charles: Saying Withdrawing from Iraq caused Al Quada to become Isis (wrong) 03/28/2017 8:19 AM

Charles: Coughed once 03/28/2017 8:19 AM

Charles: Talking about standing with israel. 03/28/2017 8:20 AM

Me: The core of Daesh were Sunni tribesmen trained by Petraeus during the surge. 03/28/2017 8:21 AM

Charles: Oh rlly? 03/28/2017 8:22 AM

Charles: I will say this is much more substantive than the other speeches. So there's that 03/28/2017 8:22 AM

Me: Yes. That's why they could use captured complex military equipment supplied by the U.S. so quickly. We trained them. 03/28/2017 8:23 AM

Charles: Man we are f%$ing dumb 03/28/2017 8:24 AM

Me: We are a blind stupid giant 03/28/2017 8:25 AM

Charles: "We must use all elements, all elements of our power" does that include was becuase I don't like that 03/28/2017 8:25 AM

Charles: OH HE SAID VIS A VIS 03/28/2017 8:25 AM

Charles: You know he's smart when he uses big words 03/28/2017 8:26 AM

Me: Yes, that includes direct military force 03/28/2017 8:26 AM

Charles: Ok he's in no uncertain terms proposing military action. Like direct action 03/28/2017 8:26 AM

Me: Vis is a small word 03/28/2017 8:27 AM

Charles: It's a smart word (sarcasm) 03/28/2017 8:27 AM

Charles: You know, maybe I don't like turtles all that much. 03/28/2017 8:28 AM

Charles: This one's kinda gung ho nuts 03/28/2017 8:28 AM

Me: Your grandmother lived turtles 03/28/2017 8:28 AM

Me: Loved 03/28/2017 8:28 AM

Charles: And he's done 03/28/2017 8:29 AM

Charles: The turtle returns to the shell 03/28/2017 8:30 AM

Me: At one point we had 12 turtles, 3 cats, and 2 iguanas 03/28/2017 8:30 AM

Charles: Chuck Schumer is speaking 03/28/2017 8:31 AM

Me: I can smell the hhypocrisy all the way out here in Baltimore 03/28/2017 8:32 AM

Charles: A woman told him that he was the bravest me#ber of congress because he wore a yarmulka 03/28/2017 8:32 AM

Charles: He said thank you, but this is not a yarmulka 03/28/2017 8:32 AM

Me: He wears a hair piece then? 03/28/2017 8:33 AM

Charles: No, he was pointing to his bald spot 03/28/2017 8:34 AM

Charles: He mentioned his highschool and more people cheered than the number from kentucky 03/28/2017 8:35 AM

Charles: Ok most of this is about how israel is great. I'm down with that, but not much policy 03/28/2017 8:36 AM

Charles: Talk of antisemitism in Europe 03/28/2017 8:38 AM

Charles: And of antisemitic vandalism and neo-nazi violence 03/28/2017 8:39 AM

Charles: And bomb threats 03/28/2017 8:39 AM

Me: How about the antisemitism of the alt right? 03/28/2017 8:39 AM

Charles: "regardless of the culprit's religion or nationality" 03/28/2017 8:40 AM

Charles: He specifically said far right, so close enough I guess 03/28/2017 8:40 AM

Charles: He's focusing on the combat of antisemitism, I like this 03/28/2017 8:41 AM

Charles: And now on the antisemitism of BDS 03/28/2017 8:43 AM

Charles: I'm enjoying this one tbh 03/28/2017 8:45 AM

Charles: "we must support sanctions against iran's ICBM program" I mean they did launch satelites. 03/28/2017 8:51 AM

Charles: Ok, he's done now. I enjoyed most of that 03/28/2017 8:54 AM

Charles: And now, Nancy Pelosi 03/28/2017 8:54 AM

Charles: "We love you Nancy" someone yelled 03/28/2017 8:55 AM

Me: Gawd 03/28/2017 8:55 AM

Charles: More people from san diego than kentucky, poor turtle 03/28/2017 8:56 AM

Me: Pelosi it's a Baltimore native 03/28/2017 8:56 AM

Charles: I know. 03/28/2017 8:57 AM

Me: Daughter of Tommy Dellisandro 03/28/2017 8:57 AM

Charles: She's naming different places to get cheers 03/28/2017 8:58 AM

Me: Lame 03/28/2017 8:58 AM

Charles: "Anybody here from california" many cheers 03/28/2017 8:59 AM

Charles: "My native state of maryland" ayyy fam 03/28/2017 8:59 AM

Charles: Meh 03/28/2017 8:59 AM

Charles: This speech isn't very engaging. 03/28/2017 8:59 AM

Charles: "Let's here it for my grandchildren" 03/28/2017 9:00 AM

Charles: Talking aboout the power of immigrants, cool. 03/28/2017 9:02 AM

Charles: She h 03/28/2017 9:05 AM

Charles: I'm honestly kinda bored. I agree with much of what she's saying, but the presentation is boring. 03/28/2017 9:06 AM

Me: Welcome to the Democratic party 03/28/2017 9:07 AM

Charles: And she's done 03/28/2017 9:14 AM

Charles: Ugh can we go lobbying yet, I want to see dutch ruppersburger 03/28/2017 9:16 AM

Charles: Should I speak up if I disagree with something? 03/28/2017 11:21 AM

Me: Yes 03/28/2017 11:22 AM

Me: What is the issue 03/28/2017 11:23 AM

Charles: The UN does have resolutions against Iran's ballistic missiles btw 03/28/2017 11:24 AM

Charles: But I still am wary of sanctions atm 03/28/2017 11:25 AM

Me: The U.N. security council, or the general assembly? 03/28/2017 11:26 AM

Charles: Council 03/28/2017 11:26 AM

Me: The people who want immediate sanctions are interested primarily in creating a causus belli 03/28/2017 11:27 AM

Charles: Causus belli? 03/28/2017 11:28 AM

Me: Justification for war 03/28/2017 11:28 AM

Charles: Geez 03/28/2017 11:29 AM

Me: There are elements of the U.S. government who have been trying to get into a shooting war with Iran for decades. 03/28/2017 11:31 AM

Me: SecDef Mattis is one of them. 03/28/2017 11:32 AM

Charles: If I want to speak to someone in my own capacity, how do I do that? 03/28/2017 11:34 AM

Charles: Well I spoke to sarbanes, got nervous and forgot to mention hr1221. But I mentioned the csb to him so hey that was cool. 03/28/2017 11:47 AM

Me: Csb? 03/28/2017 11:48 AM

Charles: Chemical saftety board. Dad ffs I've been on and on about it. 03/28/2017 11:49 AM

Me: I was thinking Israel, Sorry 03/28/2017 11:50 AM

Charles: Well sarbanes seems to be against eliminiating the csb so that's good. 03/28/2017 11:57 AM

Charles: I took the last slice of chocolate cake from the congressional cafeteria 03/28/2017 12:06 PM

Me: Good for you. 03/28/2017 12:06 PM

Me: Short form: Updated U.N. resolution adopted w/JCPOA probably not violated. Language was "shall not" is now "is called upon not to". Euro accept this 03/28/2017 12:49 PM

Me: http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2017/02/03/513229839/did-irans-ballistic-missile-test-violate-a-u-n-resolution 03/28/2017 12:49 PM

Charles: I see. 03/28/2017 12:49 PM

Me: The U.S. is alone in this interpretation of missile tests 03/28/2017 12:50 PM

Charles: I actually already read that link 03/28/2017 12:50 PM

Charles: DUTCH RUPPERSBERGER ASKED ABOUT MY HAT 03/28/2017 1:45 PM

Charles: HOLY WHAT TODAY IS THE STRANGEST DAY 03/28/2017 1:46 PM

Charles: Oh and I did remember to tell him about hr 1221 03/28/2017 1:47 PM

Me: What weirdness happened this time? 03/28/2017 1:51 PM

Charles: He asked about my hat 03/28/2017 1:52 PM

Me: The duct tape blindfold? 03/28/2017 1:53 PM

Me: Who is he? 03/28/2017 1:53 PM

Charles: Dutch Ruppersberger is our representative 03/28/2017 1:54 PM

Me: He will remember your hat, though. 03/28/2017 1:55 PM

Charles: I hope so. Today is a good day. 03/28/2017 1:56 PM

Me: Better than yesterday? 03/28/2017 2:01 PM

Charles: Yes 03/28/2017 2:02 PM

Me: Make any new friends m 03/28/2017 2:02 PM

Charles: Does our rep count? 03/28/2017 2:03 PM

Me: Nope. You are a constituent, not a friend. 03/28/2017 2:03 PM

Me: I was actually wondering about other attendees. 03/28/2017 2:04 PM

Me: Text me when you're headed home. 03/28/2017 2:52 PM

Charles: Ok, will be heading out soon 03/28/2017 2:55 PM