kidzdoc is living the highlife in 2016, part 4

    

Texaco by Patrick Chamoiseau
How to Be Drawn by Terrance Hayes
The Weight of Shadows: A Memoir of Immigration & Displacement by José Orduña
When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

Completed books: (TBR = book acquired prior to 1/1/15)

January:
1. My Struggle: Book One by Karl Ove Knausgaard (TBR) (review)
2. Walking Prey: How America's Youth Are Vulnerable to Sex Slavery by Holly Austin Smith (review)
3. Ru by Kim Thúy (review)
4. Fifth Business by Robertson Davies (TBR) (review)
5. Bodies of Light by Sarah Moss (review)

February:
6. Stokely: A Life by Peniel E. Joseph (TBR)
7. Literary Lapses by Stephen Leacock

Books purchased or acquired in 2016 (purchased books in bold):

January:
1. Ottolenghi: The Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi (4 Jan, gift book from brother)
2. The Sea by Blai Bonet (4 Jan, gift book from brother)
3. Walking Prey: How America's Youth Are Vulnerable to Sex Slavery by Holly Austin Smith (6 Jan, Amazon Kindle e-book)
4. Ludwika: A Polish Woman's Struggle To Survive In Nazi Germany by Christoph Fischer (20 Jan, Amazon Kindle free e-book)
5. Snowball in a Blizzard: A Physician's Notes on Uncertainty in Medicine (23 Jan, gift from MichiganTrumpet)

2016 Reading Globally Themes and possible reads from my TBR collection:

First quarter: Writers from the Caribbean



Alejo Carpentier, The Lost Steps
Patrick Chamoiseau, Solibo Magnificent; Texaco
Edwidge Danticat, Claire of the Sea Light; The Farming of Bones; Krik? Krak!
Frantz Fanon, Black Skin, White Masks; The Wretched of the Earth
Frankétienne, Ripe to Burst
Marlon James, The Book of Night Women
Linton Kwesi Johnson, Selected Poems
Oonya Kempadoo, All Decent Animals
George Lamming, The Emigrants
Earl Lovelace, Is Just a Movie; Salt
E. A. Markham, The Three Suitors of Fred Belair
Paule Marshall, The Fisher King
Shiva Naipaul, Fireflies; North of South
V.S. Naipaul, The Enigma of Arrival; The Loss of El Dorado; India: A Wounded Civilization;
The Writer and the World: Essays
Orlando Patterson, The Cultural Matrix: Understanding Black Youth; The Ordeal of Integration
Caryl Phillips, The European Tribe; The Lost Child; The Nature of Blood
Claudia Rankine, Don't Let Me Be Lonely: An American Lyric
Monique Roffey, Archipelago
Simone Schwarz-Bart, The Bridge of Beyond
Lyonel Trouillot, Children of Heroes
Derek Walcott, Omeros

Second quarter: Writers at Risk

Third quarter: Soviet and Post Soviet Writers

Fourth quarter: Dictators, Dictatorships and Other Forms of Tyranny

2015 Booker Prize longlist:

Did You Ever Have a Family by Bill Clegg
The Green Road by Anne Enright
A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James
The Moor's Account by Laila Lalami
Satin Island by Tom McCarthy
The Fishermen by Chigozie Obioma
The Illuminations by Andrew O'Hagan
Lila by Marilynne Robinson
Sleeping on Jupiter by Anuradha Roy
The Year of the Runaways by Sunjeev Sahota
The Chimes by Anna Smaill
A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

2016 Booker Prize longlist:

2015 Wellcome Book Prize shortlist:

The Iceberg by Marion Coutts
Do No Harm by Henry Marsh
Bodies of Light by Sarah Moss
The Incredible Unlikeliness of Being by Alice Roberts
My Age of Anxiety by Scott Stossel
All My Puny Sorrows by Miriam Toews

2016 Wellcome Book Prize shortlist:

Books about Medicine and Public Health:



1. Walking Prey: How America's Youth Are Vulnerable to Sex Slavery by Holly Austin Smith

Literature from the African diaspora:

Nonfiction from the African diaspora:

Poetry from the African diaspora:

Planned reads for the ABC (AmBritCan) Challenge:

Am=American Authors Challenge/Pulitzer Prize Challenge (A, P)
Brit=British Authors Challenge (B)
Can=Canadian Authors Challenge (C)



Planned reads:

January:
Anne Tyler, A Spool of Blue Thread (A)
Robertson Davies, Fifth Business (the first novel in The Deptford Trilogy) (C)
Kim Thúy, Ru (C)

February:
Stephen Leacock, Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town (C)
Tracy Smith, Life on Mars: Poems (P)

March:
Ali Smith, How to Be Both (B)
Paul Harding, Tinkers (P)

April:
Margaret Atwood, The Blind Assassin (C)
Michael Crummey, Galore (C)
Hanif Kureishi, The Black Album (B)

May:
Emily St. John Mandel, Station Eleven (C)
Robert A. Caro, Master of the Senate (P)

June:
Sinclair Lewis, Arrowsmith (P)

July:
David Levering Lewis, W.E.B. DuBois: Biography of a Race, 1868-1919 (P)
H.G. Wells, The Time Machine (B)

August:
Joyce Carol Oates, Black Girl/White Girl (A)
Ian McEwan, Amsterdam (B)

September:
Doris Lessing, Martha Quest (B)
Miriam Toews, All My Puny Sorrows (C)

October:
Michael Chabon, Telegraph Avenue (A)
Lawrence Hill, Someone Knows My Name (C)
Caroline Elkins, Imperial Reckoning: The Untold Story of Britain's Gulag in Kenya (P)

November:
Michael Ondaatje, In the Skin of a Lion (C)
Rebecca West, The Return of the Soldier (B)

December:
Alice Munro, The View from Castle Rock (C)
Rawi Hage, De Niro's Game (C)
Caryl Phillips, The Lost Child (B)

Happy Monday and happy first day of February, everyone! As most of you know, February is Black History Month in the US, and that combined with the Reading Globally's first quarter theme on Caribbean literature means that I'll focus primarily on literature and nonfiction from the African diaspora this month. I'll revisit my listed of planned reads that I posted last week, and come up with a more Afrocentric one, in fitting with these themes. I'll continue to read the books that I'm currently working on, Stokely: A Life, Texaco, and How to Be Drawn, but I'll choose some different books for this month. The autobiography African Rhythms by the jazz pianist Randy Weston, who was influential in introducing African highlife music to the US, is staring out at me, so I'll add it to the list of planned reads, especially since it is a TBR book that I've been meaning to get to for awhile. I'll also start posting some information and links to highlife and other African music this month, as I failed to do that in January.

I'm still adjusting to a normal sleep pattern after my night/day/night shifts over the previous two weeks, so my reading concentration fell off this weekend. I slept much better last night and this morning, though, so hopefully I can get back in the reading groove this week.

Planned reads for February:

African Rhythms: The Autobiography of Randy Weston by Randy Weston
And After Many Days by Jowhor Ile
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
The Incredible Unlikeliness of Being by Alice Roberts
Life on Mars: Poems by Tracy K. Smith
Ready to Burst by Frankétienne
Sleeping on Jupiter by Anuradha Roy
Stokely: A Life by Peniel E. Joseph
Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town by Stephen Leacock
Texaco by Patrick Chamoiseau

Hmm...an accidental extra message. What can I put here? Ah...how about a painting by Jacob Lawrence?



This is The Shoemaker, from 1945. From the Metropolitan Museum of Art (http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/488213):

The Shoemaker was among the first works Lawrence painted after returning from military service in World War II in early December 1945. Resuming one of his most enduring themes, these pictures from late 1945-46 focus on workers in Harlem and show the range of occupations open to African Americans at the time, from teachers and office assistants to barbers, seamstresses, and steelworkers. Although Lawrence's art was never overtly political, his subjects highlighted social issues, often with pathos and humor. Here, he contrasts the enormous body of the cobbler with his cramped quarters and the delicate shoes and tacks that occupy his attention.

Congrats on the new thread! My current read is The Black Calhouns picked up at the ALA Conference. A memoir about a particularly interesting family and their involvement in the American experience from the Civil War to Civil Rights. The author is Lena Horne's daughter.

I think it is coming out this month -- Just in time for Black History Month!

Happy new thread and Black History Month, Darryl. I think I'll try to finally get to Brown Girl Dreaming this month. It's been sitting on top of the stack next to my bed long enough.

I love the thread topper. From your last thread, I love the Sarah Moss comments; I'm going to look for something by her.

>12 michigantrumpet: Thanks, Marianne. I just read a description of The Black Calhouns on Amazon, and it sounds very interesting. I've added it to my Amazon wish list, and I look forward to your comments about it.

>13 BLBera: Thanks, Beth. I loved Brown Girl Dreaming, so I think you'll be in for a treat.

I'll review Bodies of Light shortly. You probably won't find that book in US bookstores, as it hasn't been published here yet, even though it's been out in the UK for just over two years. I bought my copy at the Blackwell's bookshop within the Wellcome Collection in London last June, after it was chosen for the Wellcome Book Prize shortlist. Hopefully her other books are more readily available here.

I am going to try one of the recipes from Ottolenghi The Cookbook on Friday- page 123- Roast chicken with saffron,hazelnuts and honey.
will report

Hey Darryl! Happy Black History Month and New Thread Day, Happy February! Hope the high life has been treating you well!
That's quite an interesting painting, The Shoemaker. I appreciate the explanation. Extremely informative!

Congrats on the new thread, Darryl. Debbi and I loved Brown Girl Dreaming, too. Nice Jacob Lawrence painting up there. He has such a strong style.

I ended up liking the later poems in Neon Vernacular, after not connecting much with Yusef Komunyakaa's earlier ones in that book. His poems involving the Viet Nam war are particularly striking. Next up is Natural Birth by Toi Derricotte, who you had mentioned. (You were right, DIL and son know her at Pitt). Should fit with Black History month.

>15 torontoc: That roast chicken recipe does look good, Cyrel. I particularly like seeing the large color photos of the dishes in Ottolenghi: The Cookbook. I'll have to find out where to get rose water, though; hopefully Whole Foods Market will sell it if Publix, my preferred local supermarket, doesn't. Please let us know how you like this recipe.

>16 Carmenere: Thanks, Lynda!

>17 jnwelch: Thanks, Joe. I'm a fan of Lawrence's works, and I enjoyed the Great Migration exhibition I saw at MoMA last year.

I'm glad that you enjoyed some of the poems in Neon Vernacular. I'll have to get to the Yusef Komunyakaa books I already own, particularly Pleasure Dome: New and Collected Poems, as it includes a dozen poems from Neon Vernacular.

I liked Natural Birth, as I rated it 4½ stars. I hope that you enjoy it as well.

Happy New Thread, Darryl.

>18 kidzdoc: I hope Pleasure Dome includes some of his war poems from Neon Vernacular. I'm going to try to review Neon Vernacular tomorrow, and quote a couple.

New thread! Love the art and the reading plans. I really enjoyed Sleeping on Jupiter, hope that it works for you.

>19 PaulCranswick: Thanks, Paul.

>20 jnwelch: I quickly skimmed through the poems from Neon Vernacular in Pleasure Dome, Joe, and none of them seem to be about war. The poems included in my book from that one are "Fog Galleon", "At the Screen Door", "Moonshine", "Salt", "Changes; or Reveries at a Window...", "Work", "Praising Dark Places", "A Good Memory", "Birds on a Powerline", "Fever", "Little Man Around the House", and "Songs for My Father".

>21 charl08: Hi, Charlotte! I do want to read Sleeping on Jupiter this month, both because it was longlisted for last year's Booker Prize and because it won the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature, one of my favorite literary awards, last month.

Happy new thread, and happy February.

>17 jnwelch: >18 kidzdoc: I went to a poetry event several years ago, at the South Bank, in which Yusef Komunyakaa participated. I had the chance of a word with him as he was seated in front of me for a while, he signed my book.

>23 Caroline_McElwee: Thanks, Caroline. Nice that you were able to meet Yusef Komunyakaa in London.

>22 kidzdoc: I'll check and get back to you, Darryl.

>23 Caroline_McElwee: Very cool, Caroline. How was he in person?

>25 jnwelch: I just read that Neon Vernacular won the 1994 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, Joe.

>26 kidzdoc: Yes - as you can imagine, they feature that on the cover. :-)

P.S. for "Poetry", that is.

>27 jnwelch: Yep. I should have known that would be the case, unless you purchased your copy before it won the Pulitzer Prize.

>28 kidzdoc: Nope; I'm a latecomer to his poetry. Thank goodness the second half of the collection, which was written later in time, was (for me) much better than the first. Plus that bodes well for following his writing going forward. It can be the opposite with a lot of poets.

>29 jnwelch: I'll have to check to see if the poems in Pleasure Dome are in chronological order. After a section of nearly 20 new poems the others are organized under the title of the book they came from. The book has over 430 pages' worth of poems, so it will likely take me two or three months to finish it.

>30 kidzdoc: Wow. Neon Vernacular was no shortie at 188 pp., but Pleasure Dome must be much more comprehensive.

Hi Darryl. Just skulking around all the threads and all the posts. Don't seem to be keeping up with all that's going on. But like you, I am getting reading done, and the books I read so far this year have given me much pleasure.

Happy New Thread, Darryl. I see you have your usual ambitious plans for the new month.

>11 kidzdoc: I love 'The Shoemaker'. What a strong picture. Happy New Thread, Darryl. I'm miles behind. It will be better from the 13th of February when my ski holiday starts.

>31 jnwelch: Definitely, Joe. It contains excerpts from 10 of his previous books, along with the new poems and 25 early uncollected ones.

>32 weird_O: Good to see you, Bill! My reading output wasn't great last month, but it never is between November and February, when I work a much more concentrated schedule than I do in the other eight months of the year.

>33 ronincats: Thanks, Roni. 10 books may be overly ambitious, and I'll be surprised if I get to all of them this month.

>34 Ameise1: Thanks, Barbara! The Shoemaker is one of my favorite Jacob Lawrence paintings, so I'm glad that you like it as well.

Darryl, your review of Walking Prey: How America's Youth Are Vulnerable to Sex Slavery by Holly Austin Smith is outstanding! Thumbs up #8 from me.

>36 Whisper1: Thanks, Linda. Wow...I didn't realize it had so many thumbs!

Happy new thread!

>38 banjo123: Thanks, Rhonda!

>13 BLBera: *raises hand* Another fan for Brown Girl Dreaming!

>14 kidzdoc: Thanks Darryl. I'm enjoying The Black Calhouns so far. I think it would have particular resonance for you, being based in a substantial part in Atlanta.

>40 michigantrumpet: I did notice that The Black Calhouns was partly set in Atlanta, which piqued my interest that much more, Marianne.

>36 Whisper1: yes, I agree. A great review. And I'm glad that for the author, ar least, a semblance of a good life was retrieved from her tough start.

>25 jnwelch: He was very warm Joe. I can't lay my hand on my volume at the moment, but I asked him to sign on the page of a favourite poem (I know, like asking him to choose between babies), but when it turns up I'll let you know which poem he chose.

I get accused of asking tricky things, but writers complain of always being asked the same questions! William Styron said he felt like I'd pushed him in the lake with no water wings. I asked him who he thought was the burgeoning Styron for our time. Eventually he answered, Jonathan Franzen.

>43 Caroline_McElwee: That would be great, Caroline, thanks. Glad to hear he was very warm. Nothing worse than having a treasured writer turn out to be cold and snooty.

>12 michigantrumpet: - Many year ago, I read another book by Horne's daughter, THE HORNES: AN AMERICAN FAMILY by Gail Lumet Buckley, and really enjoyed it. I'll have to make a note of this new one.

>42 LovingLit: Thanks, Megan. I agree with you about the author, as she is to be respected and admired for making her very pain filled story a public one, and help others learn how to help the victims and survivors of child trafficking.

>43 Caroline_McElwee: Ha! Well done on flummoxing a famous author, Charlotte.

>44 jnwelch: Right, Joe. I've mentioned previously that I was surprised and taken aback by Caryl Phillips icy cold response to a simple question I asked him after I saw him speak in conversation with the Jamaican dub poet Linton Kwesi Johnson at Foyles Bookshop several years ago, particularly after he gave thoughtful replies to my questions about his book Foreigners: Three English Lives, as I was one of the few audience members who had already read it. LKJ, on the other hand, was a hoot.

>45 jessibud2: I'll have to keep an eye out for that book, Shelley. Thanks for mentioning it.

>11 kidzdoc: Thanks for sharing the picture of Jacob Lawrence's painting, googled him and saw some very engaging paintings.

>47 FAMeulstee: You're quite welcome, Anita.

I'm kind of glad you accidentally had an extra reserved post, Darryl, because I love that Jacob Lawrence painting. I saw an exhibition of his art a few years ago at SAM (I think it was SAM) and it was wonderful.

I'm just starting to read Sacred Hunger and I think it's going to be magnetic.
And I also plan to read And After Many Days this month.

I'm also glad you mentioned that Bodies of Light has not yet been published for consumption in the US; I was getting frustrated trying to find it. I think I will start with another of her works as my impression is that you respect her work on a broad scale. Is there one in particular that you would recommend as a starting place?

>49 EBT1002: Thanks, Ellen. I've seen at least two of Jacob Lawrence's exhibitions in the recent past, at MoMA last year, and at Emory University's Carlos Museum in 2014; both were excellent.

I look forward to your comments about Sacred Hunger. I don't own it yet, but since it's a Booker Prize winner I do want to read it in the next couple of years.

I'll probably read And After Many Days in the latter half of this month.

Bodies of Light is the only book I've read by Sarah Moss so far, and I don't yet own anything else by her. Several of the British LTers, including Luci, Caroline, Heather and Claire, do own more than one book by her, so they may be better ones to field that question.

Ack...I'm supposed to be reviewing Bodies of Light today, but I'm also engrossed in the excellent Stokely Carmichael biography at the moment.

All it takes is a busy weekend to get way behind on your thread(s)! You are already 50 messages into this one.

>51 thornton37814: Crazy, isn't it, Lori? I love all the visitors, though!

Happy New Thread, Darryl. Love the Lawrence painting. I was not familiar with that artist. Thanks!

>53 msf59: You're welcome, Mark!

First day of a new thread and already it is at 55 posts - no wonder I am having a hard time keeping up. Happy new thread, Darryl. (Could someone slow this merry-go-round down?!!)

>55 Familyhistorian: Thanks, Meg. I don't think I've ever had so much activity on a new thread before!

Breaking news: Martin O'Malley has just announced that he is suspending his presidential campaign. Uh...has anyone ever heard of him before, and if so do you know if he was running as a Democrat or as a Republican? My answers to those questions were "no" before I looked at CNN's web site a minute ago.

It appears that Ted Cruz has won the Iowa caucus for the Republicans, and Hillary Clinton is barely leading Bernie Sanders on the Democratic side.

I wish O'Malley had gotten more traction. He's a smart guy.

>57 katiekrug: I stand partially corrected. After reading his Wikipedia bio and seeing his photo I realized that I had heard of him, as he was the Governor of Maryland in the past decade. However, I didn't realize that he was running for the presidency. I agree with you; I wish he had been given more attention in the media (or maybe he was covered, and I wasn't the one paying attention to him).

Apparently Hillary Clinton eked out a narrow win in yesterday's Iowa Democratic primary, gaining 49.9% of the vote to 49.5% for Bernie Sanders (and 0.6% for Martin O'Malley), according to the NYT, with 99% of the precincts counted. Clinton was favored by women, older voters (40 and above), higher income voters (those making $50,000 or more per year), and the most educated voters (those with undergraduate and postgraduate degrees), according to entrance polls. Those who were most concerned about electability favored Clinton, whereas those who valued trustworthiness tended to go for Sanders.

I'm still undecided who to vote for. If I can be convinced that Sanders is electable, and by choosing him as the Democratic standard bearer we wouldn't hand the election to Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio or (gasp) Donald Trump, then I would vote for him. I would also be concerned that we would be more likely to face four more years of complete gridlock in Washington, although with the polarization between the two major parties that may happen whoever is elected, Democrat or Republican. I like what I've heard from Sanders, but I think Hilary has a much better chance to win the Presidential election, being a woman and being more of a moderate. The Georgia primary is on Super Tuesday, March 1st, so I have another three weeks or so to make up my mind, and see how the candidates do in the other primaries between now and then.

I really wish that Elizabeth Warren had thrown her hat into the ring. I would have voted for her excitedly and unreservedly. I hope that she does decide to run in 2020, especially if the Democrats lose this year's presidential election.

Happy new thread, Darryl!

Book #5: Bodies of Light by Sarah Moss

  

My rating:

This superb novel is set in Victorian Manchester, and is centered on Alethea (Ally) Moberley, the first child of Alfred, a successful but eccentric painter and interior designer, and Elizabeth, a devoutly religious and strict Quaker who is completely invested in the well being of poor women within and outside of England, and to ensuring that Ally and her sister May stay on a very narrow and righteous path and devote their lives to the downtrodden.

In the 1860s and 1870s women were only just beginning to be accepted, begrudgingly, into colleges and professions that were previously denied to them. Girton College, the first for women at Cambridge, opened in 1869, which was followed by Newnham College in 1872, although Bedford College for Women at the University of London had preceded Girton College by 20 years. Formal medical education was denied to women, as Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, the first woman licensed to practice medicine in 1865 and the first to be accepted to the British Medical Association in 1873, remained the only female member of the BMA for nearly two decades, after the organization voted against allowing any other women to gain admittance. Those women who did attempt to gain entry to male only bastions, including medicine, were greeted with hostility and derision, or were simply ignored.

In 1864, the Contagious Diseases Act was passed by Parliament, which was initially created to limit the spread of sexually transmitted infections to soldiers. Policemen in ports and army towns searched for women who were known prostitutes, and any others who were suspected of soliciting sexual favors from clients. Any woman who was walking alone could be taken into custody, even if she was married or had a legitimate reason to be out in public. Those accused of solicitation were arrested and taken to police stations, where they were strapped onto tables and forced to undergo painful and humiliating pelvic examinations with a metal speculum by male officers. Thousands of women were taken into police custody under the Contagious Disease Act; those who were found to be infected were transferred to Lock hospitals for treatment of venereal diseases, where they could be held for up to a year, and those who were uninfected were released. Some of the innocent women were so badly traumatized that they committed suicide shortly afterward, and undoubtedly many others were infected by the use of contaminated specula, thus contributing to the spread of the disease. For single men and soldiers, having sex with prostitutes was considered to be a necessary evil, and they were frequently released by police with little more than a warning. In later years, the Contagious Diseases Act was employed in larger cities and towns, to limit the spread of disease amongst the general public.

Elizabeth Moberley, like many independent women in the Victorian Era, was horrified by this Act, and because of this and the woeful health services available to women, she single mindedly determined that Ally would become a physician, and devote her life to women's health. The repressed but strong willed Ally agreed with her mother's decision, although she didn't have much choice in the matter, and the latter half of the book describes her pursuit of a medical career, and how she overcame numerous obstacles in the clinics and difficulties at home to achieve that goal.

Bodies of Light starts with the marriage of Alfred and Elizabeth, their difficult but successful marriage of opposites, Ally's birth and the profoundly negative affect her infancy and early childhood had on Elizabeth, Ally's largely unhappy childhood spent under the hard thumb of her inflexible mother, and her relationship with her far more carefree younger sister May. This was a wonderfully written and captivating story, with vividly portrayed central characters, and I was emotionally invested in Ally and cheered her on throughout the book. My only minor critiques are that I wished that it was a longer novel, with fuller descriptions of her medical education and the challenges she faced along the way, and it ended too abruptly for me, although it could be that I wasn't ready to leave Ally behind at the conclusion of the novel.

I look forward to reading Signs for Lost Children, which was published last year and picks up where Bodies of Light left off. I'm very surprised that this book wasn't chosen for last year's Bailey's Women's Prize for Fiction, as it would have been a fabulous choice for the longlist, at least.

My RL book group is reading Cold Earth by Sarah Moss for our first meeting at the end of the month. I haven't started it yet, but I have high hopes. Bodies of Light sounds really good!

>59 scaifea: Thanks, Amber!

>61 katiekrug: Bodies of Light was very good, Katie. It's a shame that it hasn't been published in the US yet, although you can currently order the paperback version of it from The Book Depository for $9.31 (£6.52) with free shipping, which is less than the £7.99 cover price.

>61 katiekrug: I really enjoyed Cold earth but it has the most annoying and self-centred narrator for the first half of the book!

>58 kidzdoc: This is a year where I feel that we as voters, no matter which party we prefer, don't have good candidates from which to choose.

>63 Sakerfalcon: Yikes! I'll have to keep that in mind if I choose to read Cold Earth, Claire.

>64 thornton37814: I agree, at least on the Democratic side, Lori. I'm not the least bit excited about Hillary Clinton, and Bernie Sanders is probably a bit too idealistic for me; I like his ideas, in practice, but the chance of nearly any of them being implemented by a Republican majority House or Senate is close to zero.

It will be particularly interesting if Michael Bloomberg enters the race. Given a choice between Bloomberg and Hillary Clinton I would be very tempted to go with him, although I think I would ultimately choose her.

>56 kidzdoc: Before he was Governor of Maryland, O'Malley was on the Baltimore city council and then the mayor of Baltimore. He also was/is the lead singer and guitarist for O'Malley's March, a Celtic rock band. I moved to Maryland during O'Malley's tenure on the city council and observed him over about 20 years. I think his presidential race, though sincere, is also his positioning for some other role in national government. He is quite popular here in Maryland.

>66 catarina1: Nice. I had heard good things about him as the governor of Maryland, but I had forgotten his name, or that he was running to be the Democratic nominee for the presidency. I hope that he is selected for a role in a Clinton or Sanders cabinet.

Woo, Bodies of Light does sound good, Darryl. Nice review. Thumb from me, and onto the WL it goes.

>68 jnwelch: Thanks, Joe. Fliss and Rachael both loved Bodies of Light, and since our tastes in books are quite similar I thought that I would enjoy it. Rachael just told me on Facebook that Signs for Lost Children wasn't as good, though; Fliss hasn't read it yet.

Great comments on Bodies of Light. It definitely goes on my list.

Darryl, this popped up in my FB feed, and I thought it would be of interest to you. There are some great-looking books on there and my WL has just exploded :)

http://lithub.com/25-new-books-by-african-writers-you-should-read/

The Curious Case of Dassoukine’s Trousers (no touchstone yet) is published by Deep Vellum Press, which is a tiny publisher here in Dallas that has gotten a lot of buzz lately.

Bodies of Light sounds wonderful! A great review, Darryl!

>70 BLBera: Thanks, Beth. Please see my message in >62 kidzdoc: about its present unavailability in the US.

>71 katiekrug: Ooh...resolve is weakening...TBR plans are in serious danger...

Thanks, Katie! Fortunately I already own The Book of Memory, And After Many Days, The Lights of Pointe-Noire, and Blackass, but nearly all of the others are very appealing. Wow...a lot of those titles are probably going to end up in my library this year, including The Curious Case of Dassoukine's Trousers. Let's see...I've read three books by Leila Aboulela, namely Coloured Lights, Lyrics Alley and The Translator, but none has earned more than 3½ stars from me, so I'm inclined to pass on The Kindness of Enemies unless it receives glowing reviews. I'm a fan of Tahar Ben Jelloun, as I own five of his books and read three of them, so The Happy Marriage will probably be a must buy. I own two books by Zakes Mda but haven't read either one yet, so I may pass on Rachel's Blue for the moment. I've heard of but don't own anything by Boubacar Boris Diop, so Kaveena may be a good book to start with. Ladivine by Marie NDiaye is an almost certain purchase, as I've read two of her books. I'm unfamiliar with all of the other writers, so I'll have to learn more about them.

The Tanzanian author Abdulrazak Gurnah, who is one of my favorite authors, is one of the judges for the upcoming Booker Prize, so I would expect that at least one or two books by African authors will be chosen for the longlist. The Man Booker International Prize has now taken the place of the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize and will release a similar longlist of 12 or 13 translated novels next month, so books like The Lights of Pointe-Noire and Ladivine might be among those selected. (Oh, that reminds me; I had meant to mention that in the Booker Prize group).

Thanks again, Katie!

>72 LauraBrook: Thanks, Laura!

>60 kidzdoc: Excellent review, my friend. Oh, the horrors inflicted upon women with the imprimatur of the medical profession.

Affixing my thumb's up!

>73 kidzdoc: Enjoyed reading all your comments. Fingers crossed for an interesting and varied Booker list.

Your comments on the Sarah Moss book reminded me of reading studies about the first women med students in Manchester. Something along the lines of the young women students being made to eat their lunch in the room usually used for keeping the kit for the biology experiments. Heaven forbid they ate their lunch with the men...

Thanks for the Bodies of Light review, Daryl. It goes on my "must read" list

>74 michigantrumpet: Thanks, Marianne! Without going into unnecessary detail I'll just say that I was shocked when I first saw a metal speculum as a second year medical student, which looked to me like a medieval torture device. My initial opinion of it hasn't changed over the years.

>75 charl08: Thanks, Charlotte. I'm looking forward to both Booker Prize longlists, although I don't know if I can read all 24-26 books by the end of the year, especially since the Wellcome Book Prize shortlist will be announced in March, along with the Man Booker International Prize longlist. I suspect that I'll be bringing back a lot of books from the UK when I return to the US at the end of next month.

Heaven forbid they ate their lunch with the men...

...or examined male patients. All of the patients that Abby Moberley cared for in her medical education in Bodies of Light were women. Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, the first female physician in England, initially had a hard time attracting new patients, who didn't want to be examined by a woman, until the 1865-66 cholera epidemic that hit London especially hard. Sick and panicked people lost their inhibition about seeing a female physician during that crisis, and her practice grew as a result.

I would like to read more about Elizabeth Garrett Anderson and the early female pioneers in the US and UK, so I'll be on the lookout for books about them and mention them here. If anyone knows of any books I'd greatly appreciate hearing about them.

>76 tangledthread: You're welcome!

>1 kidzdoc: - I know that not *everyone*'s name can be on that banner header but I'm surprised not to see Jackie Robinson's included. I read his memoir a few years ago, I Never Had it Made. Not the most literary of books but what a life! And what a man.

(sorry, just noticing this now!)

>78 jessibud2: I purchased the Kindle version of I Never Had it Made a year or two ago, but I haven't read it yet. Thanks for the reminder; I'll move it a bit higher on my TBR list.

I agree with you; Jackie Robinson was certainly one of the pioneers of equal rights for African Americans, and his name certain deserves to be on that banner, although I wouldn't remove any of the ones that are listed on it.

> For sure, all those on the banner are deserving of mention. But I thought that if Hank Aaron is there, certainly Robinson should be, too.

>80 jessibud2: Oh. I didn't notice Hank Aaron's name there; good pick up, Shelley. There's room between Muhammad Ali and Barack Obama for Jackie Robinson, though.

>81 kidzdoc: - I read Aaron's autobiography, too, many years ago. I forget the title just now but I remember enjoying the book. :-)

Great review of Bodies of Light!

>82 jessibud2: Was it I Had a Hammer: The Hank Aaron Story? I think I read a book about him when I was in elementary school in the early 1970s, but I don't remember the name of it and I don't own it anymore.

One of my favorite sports memories was watching him hit his 715th home run as a Brave against the Los Angeles Dodgers' pitcher Al Downing at Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta in April, 1974, to break Babe Ruth's record for the most home runs hit in a career. The game was broadcast on national television, and I and my parents celebrated his accomplishment along with most of the rest of the nation. He had received racist death threats as he approached Babe's record, and I remember that my parents and I gasped when the two young white men caught up to him as was rounding the bases, as we thought that they were going to assault him and keep him from completing his home run trot. Fortunately they were local fans who only wanted to congratulate him; you can see them at the end of this short video clip:

>83 banjo123: Thanks, Rhonda!

>84 kidzdoc: I loved Hank Aaron, and I remember watching that record-breaking home run! I don't remember now if I watched it live or saw it on the news later. I suspect my parents were watching the game and I did see it live.

>84 kidzdoc: - Yes, that was it! I knew it had *hammer* in its title but I couldn't think of the whole title.

>60 kidzdoc: Oh bah, like I need a BB.

>86 cbl_tn: I liked Hank Aaron, but at that time I was a bigger fan of Willie Mays, who returned to New York to play for the Mets in the early 1970s after he starred for the New York Giants in the 1950s before the team moved to San Francisco, and Roberto Clemente of the Pittsburgh Pirates, who tragically died in 1973 or 1974 when the badly overloaded plane carrying relief supplies to earthquake victims in Nicaragua crashed soon after take off.

>87 jessibud2: Cool. I don't think I read that book in thre 1970s, but it's possible that I could have.

>88 qebo: Ha! At least Bodies of Light isn't available in the US, so it will be harder (though not impossible) to obtain, Katherine.

>89 kidzdoc: Hmm, I can get a resale edition via Amazon, but I guess not the e-book which is what I prefer for fiction. A small obstacle to instant gratification.

>90 qebo: Good old Amazon comes to the rescue again...

I don't understand why Bodies of Light hasn't been published in the US yet. It would seem to have a wide appeal to readers on this side of the ocean.

>77 kidzdoc: Me too. I read Carol Dyhouse on British students' experience, but a bio of such a pioneering woman would be good to find.

>92 charl08: I did find one book this morning, Pioneer Work in Opening the Medical Profession to Women by Elizabeth Blackwell, who is the first woman to graduate from a US medical school, in 1849 from Geneva College in New York State. This book was published in 1895, so it's available for free from Project Gutenberg and as a Kindle e-book. I downloaded it this morning, and I'll probably read it during the spring.

>93 kidzdoc: Darryl, I've been reading a bit about Elizabeth Blackwell's trips to Paris to learn some of her medical skills (about four pages dedicated to her) in The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris*. I'm about two thirds through this fascinating tome, that covers the precursors to the 20c American visitors. Artists, writers and medical students especially. Many fascinating people I hadn't heard of, and a few I had.

*a book bullet from Linda (Laytonwoman3rd)!

I am currently listening to an audiobook called The Gilded Hour by Sara Donati. It is about 2 female doctors in New York City in 1883. It is 25 discs long and I am only on disc #6 and wont be allowed to renew it as there are requests for it. The librarian was very kind when I tried to renew it last weekend; she allowed me one extra week. I doubt I will manage to finish it before Saturday but so far, I am enjoying it and if that continues, I will likely just get the book and finish it that way. Here is a blurb I found online: http://www.randomhouse.com.au/books/sara-donati/gilded-hour-9780857982384.aspx

I hope the quality I've found so far continues, and doesn't deteriorate into a *romance* because it seems so far to be a real period piece, evoking the sense, the flavour and the sensibilities of those not very *enlightened* days in the lives of women, medicine, class, and morals of the day. The narrator, Cassandra Campbell, is excellent and is quite wonderful with voices, accents, etc.

>58 kidzdoc: "If I can be convinced that Sanders is electable, and by choosing him as the Democratic standard bearer we wouldn't hand the election to Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio or (gasp) Donald Trump, then I would vote for him."
I am in total agreement.

>84 kidzdoc: I LOVE that video clip! I don't "remember" it but I have seen the video oodles of times and it's such a classic. I've not read his biography (the one with the hammer in the title - heh) but it sounds good and it might be a good one to target for early April with the start of the season.

>96 EBT1002: - Lol! I always read my baseball books in spring (and summer, too, of course). It just feels *right*.

Oh dear, I'm so far behind, Darryl. I try to catch up with threads and hope doing better now. I wish you a lovely day.

Last semester I had the pleasure of reading You Never Heard of Willie Mays? to a group of 5th graders and I had them enthralled. There was one man (white, and obviously the teacher) who was grinning from ear to ear while I read that book out loud. Later he came back and thanked me for reading it. He is a great baseball fan and so he loved the baseball angel but he also thought it was great to read about an important black person who wasn't MLK to the kids from Alabama.

I think it is really sad that so many of the students I see everyday here in Alabama don't know or care about the struggles and fight that so many talented native Alabamians had just to play sports in this country. Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Jim Thorpe (who wasn't black, but was a minority), and don't forget Satchel Paige - possible the greatest baseball player ever. These guys are legends. LEGENDS I SAY! and don't get any credit in the schools here in this state. It is sad. (And don't get me started on the music people from Alabama who get no time in schools either.) I consider these students to be culturally ignorant.

HI Darryl, Thank you for introducing me to the Wellcome Prize. I didn't know about it and it looks like it has some very interesting books currently short listed and past prize winners. I was amazed by All My Puny Sorrows, a full 5 stars for me.

Hi Darryl ( me again!!). I was just telling my 'other' half about you and the Wellcome Prize. He is a recently retired surgeon and we both loved a book and thought you might like it. My husband has found that a few of his physician friends have been very interested in this book and its philosophical approach Being Wrong by Kathryn Schulz.

We also loved our introduction to Dismaland from your thread!

>99 benitastrnad: Speaking of Willie Mays, I was going through the old sports biography section (back when they cataloged biographies separately instead of with the subject area) and noticed we had several bios of him. I was really surprised at how many we had, but then I realized that many were probably donated by a retired faculty member who loved baseball.

Have a good one!

Hi, Darryl! Happy new thread (over 100 posts in).

>11 kidzdoc: I love The Shoemaker. It reminds me of a man who had a tiny shoe making/repair shop in a town near where I grew up. We used to take shoes to him to fix, when soles came loose or heels wore down. I hadn't thought of him in years. The memory brought a smile.

Woo! TGIF!



It's late and I'm pretty sleepy, so I think I'll call it a day and catch up here tomorrow morning. G'night, y'all.

Is that an early version of twerking?

>84 kidzdoc: I remember the Hank Aaron HR quite well. You weren't the only me who gasped at that. Aaron himself received many vile and disgusting threats in the lead up to breaking Babe's record. There was a concern bout someone bringing a gun or some auch to the stadium

What an incredibly brave man.

>105 kidzdoc: *the row in front of me At the Springsteen concert!*

>105 kidzdoc: I bet they could keep doing that all night! Have a great weekend, Darryl.

>105 kidzdoc: Ha, that's great. Happy weekend, Darryl.

Happy Saturday, Darryl! You must be busy at work. I hope you are not to stressed-out.

Happy Saturday, everyone! I'm still a bit fried from this work week; even though I only worked three days they were long and busy ones, and I slept poorly during the days that I was off this week and last. So, I'll use today to catch up on sleep, and I might try one recipe from Ottolenghi: The Cookbook, Portobello mushrooms with pearl barley and preserved lemon, although I don't have preserved lemon (per the recipe it takes five weeks to prepare from scratch).

I spent more time on the threads last week and less time reading, so I plan to reverse that trend this weekend. I'd like to finish Stokely: A Life and How to Be Drawn by tomorrow, and maybe sneak in another short book as well.

>94 Caroline_McElwee: Thanks for mentioning The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris, Caroline. That book is relatively high on my wish list, so I'll plan to read it in the not too distant future.

>95 jessibud2: The Gilded Hour sounds very interesting, Shelley. I look forward to your review once you've finished it.

>96 EBT1002: I am in total agreement.

Since the list of likely Republican candidates for the presidency includes at least two extremely distasteful candidates, Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, I'm becoming progressively more concerned that we may end up with one of those two clowns as president if Bernie Sanders win the Democratic presidential nomination. My mind isn't made up yet, but I'm now leaning toward voting for Hillary Clinton, as we can't afford to have an extreme right wing president and Republican majorities in the House and Senate.

Hmm...maybe I'll read I Never Had it Made, Jackie Robinson's autobiography, to celebrate the opening of baseball season. I also own The Greatest Ballpark Ever: Ebbets Field And the Story of the Brooklyn Dodgers by Bob McGee, which I've been meaning to read as well. Man...what I wouldn't give to have been able to see Dem Bums play in Brooklyn in their glory years in the mid 1950s.



>97 jessibud2: I agree, Shelley. The spring and summer are the proper times of the year to read books about baseball.

>98 Ameise1: Thanks, Barbara! I hope that you're enjoying your weekend so far.

>99 benitastrnad: I think it is really sad that so many of the students I see everyday here in Alabama don't know or care about the struggles and fight that so many talented native Alabamians had just to play sports in this country.

Is it the fault of the students, the teachers and other adults, or both?

>100 mdoris: You're welcome, Mary. The Wellcome Book Prize is a relatively new literary award, as it's only been in existence since 2009. There have been several excellent books chosen for the prize in years past, including Grace Williams Says it Loud, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Angel of Death: The Story of Smallpox, The Emperor of All Maladies, Circulation: William Harvey, A Man in Motion, and The Iceberg, last year's winner, which was also my favorite nonfiction book of 2015. I'm very eager to see which books will be chosen for this year's shortlist, which will be announced on March 14th.

I plan to read All My Puny Sorrows next month, as I'd like to finish last year's shortlist before the new shortlist comes out, so I'm glad that you thought so highly of it. I own most, if not all, of the shortlisted books from years past but I've read less than half of them, so I plan to go back and get to all of them over the next couple of years.

>101 mdoris: Thanks for mentioning Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margin of Error. That looks both very interesting and very relevant to us as physicians, so I've added it to my wish list. I'll also ask one of my work partners if she has read this book, as this would be up her alley as well.

>102 thornton37814: Nice, Lori. I didn't realize that there were so many biographies of Willie Mays. I'd be interested in reading more about him. His catch in Game 1 of the 1954 World Series has to be high on the list of the greatest ones of all time; somehow he was able to determine where Vic Wertz's ball was going to land while it was still in the air, and run to that spot with his back to home plate, unable to see the ball, catch it, and complete a double play on the throw back to the infield. Unbelievable.



>103 DianaNL: The weekend is here! I hope that you're enjoying it, Diana.

>104 tymfos: Thanks, Terri! I'm glad that you liked The Shoemaker.

>105 kidzdoc: that reminded me that 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom' is playing in London at the moment. I saw it at the National in the 80s or early 90s. If it's one of the shows you plan to see in London, put me on the list, hoping the dates work out.

>111 kidzdoc: I'm on the last fifty pages of The Great Journey Darryl, and will finish it today, I've really enjoyed it. I'll certainly be reading other works by McCullough.

>106 benitastrnad: I had to look up twerking, as I don't watch much television and try to avoid the 'cultural contributions' of the too often vulgar members of the Millennial Generation. OMG. I'd have to say that comparing the dancers in >105 kidzdoc: to twerkers is like comparing smoking cigarettes to smoking crack cocaine.

>107 michigantrumpet: I remember that, Marianne. Aaron's pursuit of Babe Ruth's record was one of the major news stories in the early spring of 1974, as most thought that no one would ever hit 714 home runs in a career. It's pretty remarkable to think about it; a player who averaged 35 HR a season would have to play for 21 years to reach that mark!

*the row in front of me At the Springsteen concert!*

Ha! Hopefully there wasn't any twerkers there.

>108 Familyhistorian: Probably so, Meg! Thanks, and I hope that you have a great weekend as well.

>109 Ameise1: Happy weekend, Barbara! Thanks for the photo of the fox in the snow.

>110 msf59: Happy Saturday, Mark! I did have a busy, but short, work week, but I'm in full relaxation mode now.

>114 Caroline_McElwee: Thanks for mentioning Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Caroline! That's one of the few plays by August Wilson that I haven't seen, and it will be on at the National Theatre while I'm in London next month. I'd definitely like to see it, so I'll see who else besides you would like to go.

I'm glad that you've enjoyed The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris. I'll plan to read it in the next year or two. I only own one book by David McCullough, namely 1776, which I bought when I visited the other Caroline (@cameling) in Boston last year. I'll read that first.

>111 kidzdoc: - I made it to the end of disc #6 in The Gilded Hour but had to return it yesterday without being able to renew it again, as there was a request for it. But when I got to the library, the librarian checked and said that the person who had requested it must have found another copy at a different branch so there was no longer a restriction. I was very happy because who wants to wait weeks in the middle of a story? I renewed it for another 3 weeks now and should have no trouble finishing it before then.

The baseball book I am looking forward to reading for my spring bb book, is one I bought last summer about my beloved (now-defunct) Montreal Expos. I grew up in Montreal and can remember skipping school in high school to watch their opening game on tv. We went to games, as well and one of my favourite memories with my dad is listening to the games on the radio outside as we washed the car on Sundays. Anyhow, the book is called Up, Up and Away by Jonah Keri (hmmm, a completely different touchstone is showing up as I type this: Twilight by Stephanie Meyer - this is NOT what I expected! Oh well. It's entirely possible that I am the only one with this book so far on LT...)

Another Jackie Robinson book I have but have not yet read is called First Class Citizenship - The Civil Rights Letters of Jackie Robinson edited by Michael G. Long. Maybe I will get to that one, too, this summer.

>117 jessibud2: Great! I'm glad that you'll be able to finish The Gilded Hour, Shelley. I look forward to your review of it.

Up, Up and Away is owned by 42 LTers, so you're not alone. It has an average rating of 4.31 stars, so it looks like a good one.

I hadn't heard of First Class Citizenship so I'll be eager to get your take on it.

I agree with you, Darryl, on the Clinton/Sanders choice. I'm old enough to recall my idealist days during the campaigns of Bobby Kennedy/Eugene McCarthy/Hubert Humphrey/George McGovern/etc and the results of those races. I think realism needs to out way the idealism. Hilary isn't the ideal candidate but the alternative is much, much worse. And after marching in the streets all those years, I really want to see a woman US President before I die.

>118 kidzdoc: - Ok, Mr. Techie, apparently I need help again. When I first wrote >117 jessibud2:, I copied the title exactly as it is written on the cover of the book and it gave me that Stephanie Meyer touchstone. Clearly wrong. So when I saw that yours clicked through to the correct book, I edited and corrected my info to match yours exactly. But the touchstone (in my post) now leads to a book of that title but by an author called Catherine Ennis and this is also the wrong book. What am I doing wrong? Do I have to add it to my own library first in order to hook up to it? I am easily confused.....

>120 jessibud2: Go to the book on the top www.librarything.com/numbrer there you can take the number and put it between touchstones like: number::title of the book

>121 Ameise1: - Your link gives me a *sorry, your page can't be found* message. Thanks for trying, though. I am still not sure I actually understand what to do there. Anyhow, I'm not going to lose sleep over this. If anyone wants to see the book, just use Darryl's link, lol! ;-)

>119 catarina1: I think realism needs to out way the idealism. Hilary isn't the ideal candidate but the alternative is much, much worse.

Exactly. A far right Republican president, along with a Republican majority House and Senate, would quickly seek to undo everything that President Obama accomplished during his two terms in office, starting with the Affordable Care Act. Even if President Trump or Cruz (or possibly Rubio, although he isn't as scary as the other two) only lasted for one term, the damage to the country and its standing in the world would last for many years after they were booted out of office, and we would have a more unequal and less inclusive society than we have now.

And after marching in the streets all those years, I really want to see a woman US President before I die.

Agreed. I just wish that it was Elizabeth Warren and not Hillary Clinton that would be the first woman president, although I'll be far happier to see Clinton take the oath of office in 2017 than anyone in the Republican Party.

>120 jessibud2: Let's see. If I enter Up, Up and Away the touchstone initially goes to the book of the same title by Catherine Ellis. If I click the "others" link I am shown a variety of books to choose from, and if I scroll down far enough I can see the book by Jonah Keri. If I click on its title then the touchstone is changed to the correct book.

Choosing the correct touchstone is easily the biggest irritation in using LibraryThing, IMO.

>121 Ameise1:, >122 jessibud2: Right, Barbara. Another option to get the correct touchstone is to find the number of the book as assigned by LT, and use that to force LT to recognize the book that you want. For Up, Up and Away, if you enter "up up and away keri" in the Search site bar in the top right hand corner of LT, you immediately come up with the correct book. If you click on the book's title you'll be sent to the book's page on LT. From here you have two options: one would be to click on the "Add to Your books" button, and add the book to your library from there. Another option would be to look at the web site that LT has assigned to the book, in this case http://www.librarything.com/work/14243733. That number (14243733) is the unique one that LT has assigned that book. If you then put that number followed by two colons and the title of the book between two square brackets, e.g. "14243733::Up, Up and Away", but substituting the brackets for the quotation marks, you get Up, Up and Away, which also gives you a link to the correct book. I hope that makes sense.

>105 kidzdoc: Love it!

>113 kidzdoc: Love that footage of Willie Mays' famous catch, too. He was before my time, unfortunately; he is so revered by fans from that time.

You have the two McCulloughs I've read, 1776 and The Greater Journey. I liked them both a lot, and the former so much that I got a big illustrated version as a birthday present. I need to read more of his books at some point.

Hope you're having a good weekend and recovering from that brutal work schedule. I'm taking Debbi out for a birthday dinner tonight at Shaw's Crab House (her pick). We celebrate the real day tomorrow, and we're having a Super Ball gathering, too.

See, now, I'm still the optimist, and I'm backing Bernie. I understand why you have pragmatist leanings, but I can't help but be a little sad about that. This article sums up wonderfully how I feel about the matter:

https://medium.com/@Lookingforrobyn/when-you-ask-me-to-vote-for-hillary-174becdb...

NB: I post this hesitantly, because this is your thread, not mine, and I don't want you to think I'm attacking your views because I'm very much not. If you'd rather I take it down, just say so and I'll erase it. Also, of course I'll vote for Clinton is she gets the nomination, but I'll be sad about it. I don't *need* to see a woman president in my time - I feel that just the fact that one is running without a lot of hullabaloo about her being a woman (which I'm not really seeing) is pretty great progress. To me it is about the best candidate and honestly her stance on some things makes me uncomfortable, whereas I agree with Sanders nearly 100%. If Sanders picks Warren as his running mate that would be a Dream Team. Oh, and I really do think Sanders could beat any of those republican guys.

My current choice is "None of the above." Early voting starts Wednesday. I need to decide soon.

I'm torn about between Sanders and Clinton. I don't really like the idea of voting for Hilary just because I want to see a woman in office, I can wait another several years, that's cool. There are some topics I agree with Bernie more than Hilary, though I think Bernie is less electable (as a socialist). I'm not generally a fan of extreme political leanings, but I my boyfriend's a Tea Partier (hoping that Cruz will win) and that fact tends to push me farther to the left. Funny how loved ones can have such a powerful impact our ideals and values, isn't it?

>123 kidzdoc: - Thanks again, Darryl. I hadn't even realized that there was an *other* option in the touchstones. And once I found it, it took me a minute to realize that I could scroll down further. It worked, for both the Keri and the Robinson books I wanted to link to. So, many thanks. I still don't think I understand how to do that *numbrer* thing but maybe I won't have to now... !

Good Sunday morning, everyone! I started to make good progress in Stokely: A Life last night, and with 130 pages to go I should finish it by early afternoon. After I finish I'll start reading either Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town or Literary Lapses by Stephen Leacock, for the Canadian Author Challenge. They are both short works, and are available as free e-book downloads from Amazon or Project Gutenberg.

>125 scaifea: Amber, your views are always welcome here, save for your dislike of mushrooms and quiche ;-).

Thanks for posting a link to that excellent article. It certainly made me pause and reflect on my far from certain decision to vote for Hillary Clinton instead of Bernie Sanders. I did read the article last night, and instead of responding right away, I wanted to think about what its author said, not to try to convince anyone of my choice, but to determine if I still wanted to choose Hillary, at least at this moment.

Even though I "live a fairly comfortable life and don’t feel strong motivation to change it", as she says, I still recognize the profound inequalities that exist in the United States, and I find them troubling and disheartening. The vision for American society that Bernie Sanders espouses is one that resonates deeply in me, and I would be more than willing to pay substantially more in taxes if I knew that the money would go to providing all families with better and more affordable education, housing and health care, the working class with a living minimum wage and adequate benefits, including low cost child care for working mothers, a long overdue investment in the nation's infrastructure, and improved mental health services. I also want to see substantial reforms in the banking and investment industry, the elimination of the power and influence that large corporations and wealthy donors have on the political system, and, for that matter, a reform of the political system itself, from the ground up.

Unfortunately, and sadly, I don't think the American public as a whole is intelligent, sufficiently educated or mature enough at this point in time to vote for their own interests, or to look beyond the simplistic and bombastic rhetoric expelled from the mouths of right wing politicians who only care about most of their constituents during election season. I am utterly amazed that Donald Trump, who is possibly the most racist and sexist politician seeking national office since George Wallace, has the support of any woman with more than two connected neurons, and that a large number of American women continue to support Republican politicians and candidates despite their often hostile views and policies toward women's personal and reproductive rights. I'm equally surprised that so many white lower class voters continue to either support politicians who would deny them a chance at a decent standard of living, and that black lower class voters choose not to cast ballots, especially in the South, when our ancestors laid down their lives to gain that privilege.

The author of the article says, "To vote for her (Clinton) in the primaries, I would need to believe that the establishment on both the right and the left have so thoroughly strangled the political system that it is no longer “reasonable” to even try for reform. I have to be so scared of political opponents gaining power that it is worth it to sacrifice even the hope of being able to get ahead, have a savings cushion, access healthcare, send our kids to college, retire, or just not feel like we’re constantly living on a knife’s edge, all because of fear of a potential future." I think the problem lies less with the establishment and the political system than with Americans as members of what should be, but often isn't, a mature democracy. If we collectively demanded reform in our society and stood behind candidates who vowed to enact measures to accomplish that goal, then the change we seek would happen. Instead, we let ourselves get divided by petty issues such as racism, immigration and taxes, and we are too often and too substantially influenced by talking heads in the media, on the left and on the right. Americans tend to want simple answers to our myriad of problems, and we reward those who promise to "make America great again", as long as someone else bears the responsibility of solving our societal ills.

I see two possible outcomes if Sanders is chosen as the Democratic candidate for the presidency. Assuming that Ted Cruz or Donald Trump wins the Republican nomination, we would have a far right wing president with probable Republican majorities in the House and Senate, and they would assuredly seek to overturn President Obama's accomplishments in office, as I mentioned earlier. If Sanders becomes president, I anticipate that the projected Republican majorities in the House and Senate will unite in opposition against him, and the major societal reforms he wishes to put into place will be rejected decisively, leading to even more gridlock than what we've seen in the past eight years. If Clinton is voted into office, although she would certainly face fierce Republican opposition in Congress, I think she would be far more likely, as a center-left politician, to be able to pass progressive legislation, and to keep the Republicans from undoing the Obama legacy, including the Affordable Care Act.

So, although my mind isn't completely made up, I will likely vote for Hillary Clinton over Bernie Sanders, not because I trust or agree with her more than him, but because the risk of having a national government completely dominated by far right wing politicians is too great, and too dangerous to this country, and the world.

>126 thornton37814: Ooh, thanks for mentioning that, Lori! Early voting in Georgia starts tomorrow, and I'll plan to vote on a weekday that I'm not working, as I usually do.

>127 The_Hibernator: I definitely want to see a woman in the Oval Office in my lifetime, but that has nothing to do with my decision to vote for Clinton. If she held Sanders' views and vice versa I would vote for him instead. Sanders' electability and ability to operate effectively as president are my main concerns, and I'm not yet convinced that he could win the general election or be able to overcome Republican opposition if he is elected.

my boyfriend's a Tea Partier (hoping that Cruz will win)

Wow. There is no way that I could date or would want to be in close proximity to a Tea Party supporter. Then again, a woman who supports the Tea Party probably wouldn't want anything to do with any African Americans, either.

>128 jessibud2: You're welcome, Shelley. I'm glad to be of help.

Thanks for taking the time to write out your thoughts, Darryl. Another big problem, I think, is that people don't turn out to vote in the local and state elections, not realizing that these are immensely important, too - in fact, that's how we can change the gridlock in congress! I, too, and completely befuddled at how any woman could be a republican. Gah.

And I had that same thought at Rachel's boyfriend's political leanings: I could never date a tea partier, but then again, no tea party supporter would want to be with me, either, I suspect. Ha!

>131 scaifea: You're welcome, Amber. I completely agree with you; the votes that we cast for local elections are often far more important than the ones we cast on a statewide or national level. Living in a very conservative state, I know that my vote for US president doesn't matter, as Georgians as a whole will vote for any Republican candidate less extreme than Adolf Hitler (actually Hitler would probably be more electable than Obama, Clinton or Sanders here or in the rest of the Deep South except Florida).

Most of the (white) nurses I know are Republican supporters and voters, even though they are perfectly lovely people who I'm very fond of. We don't talk about politics at work, though, so I don't understand why they would support any Republicans, particularly Donald Trump (who is projected to win Georgia) or Ted Cruz.

Although all Tea Partiers aren't racist, that group seems to be the one that is the most welcoming to them. Even if the hypothetical woman wasn't racist, there is no way in hell that I could look at her and not seethe in anger. Kudos to Rachel for being more open minded than I am.

"I'm in full relaxation mode now." Sounds, idyllic, my friend! Happy Sunday! I am heading into the city to watch the Big Game, with Joe & family. We will hoist one for you!

I am finding this discussion so fascinating. As a Canadian, I am not in a position to do anything about what happens south of my border, but as a person with left-leaning/socialist sensibilities, I am really following this with great interest. In all honesty, I don't really understand how your system works (primaries, etc), and before this year, I had never heard of Sanders. I would also love to see a woman as president but in all honesty, I find Clinton abrasive and off-putting. If I had to make a gut decision, I would prefer Sanders, too, for what he represents. But having just gone through a long, drawn-out election here in Canada this past October, I totally agree with what you so articulately explained, Darryl, about voting the way that would have the most realistic and meaningful outcome. We had almost 10 years of Stephen Harper as our Prime Minister, a cold, right wing secretive leader, a thinly veiled racist. Canadians were just so ready for change. I voted for Justin Trudeau rather than the NDP (socialist) party I am inclined to support, as many did, perhaps more to defeat Harper than for any other reason. But Trudeau is younger, more open, and much more willing to turn our country in a totally different direction. And that is what we needed. Our situation is, in some ways, the opposite of yours. Obama was the change that was desperately needed after too many Bush years. But now, given what is facing you, I find it positively frightening at the possibility and prospect of a swing back to the Republican side, given its current face. The only hope of defeat is a strong Democrat side and I agree that, given what is available, the best option may be to go for who is likely to have the best chance. Split votes help no one.

>133 msf59: Thanks, Mark! I'm admittedly not that interested in the Super Bowl this year, so I probably won't watch much if any of it. I'll salute you and your crew with a late day G&T, though.

>112 kidzdoc: Have you, by chance, read the smallpox book? I have been looking for a good book on the subject but there are several.

>134 jessibud2: In all honesty, I don't really understand how your system works (primaries, etc)

I had started to explain the voting process for the presidency, starting with the elections for the Democratic and Republican nominees. However, when I looked at Wikipedia's page for the Iowa caucuses, which were held on Monday and marked the formal beginning of the race for the presidency, I realized that I didn't understand that state's process, either! I'll have to punt on answering that statement, at least for the moment.

I was very pleased to see Stephen Harper turned out of office, and Justin Trudeau installed as Prime Minister of Canada.

Split votes help no one.

A split vote between Al Gore and Ralph Nader in 2000 certainly helped George W. Bush, who would probably have lost the presidential election that year if Nader hadn't insisted in running a futile, and ultimately damaging campaign to the country as a whole. (Actually Bush did lose the popular vote, and probably lost Florida as well.)

>136 Oberon: I did read Angel of Death, Erik, and I gave it 4½ stars. You can read my review of it here: http://www.librarything.com/review/66239339.

>129 kidzdoc: That's a great post! Not a Clinton fan either (seen from Europe she sounds more conservative than most of our rightwing politicians), but I fear the moment when the last Italian or German journalist will have to realize that "Trump for president" was not a joke and that we'll all have to deal with that man and all his hatred for at least 5 years. I don't want to know what that would mean for the US and the world.

>139 Deern: I don't want to know what that would mean for the US and the world.

The thought of Trump being the leader of the US from a domestic standpoint is distasteful, but realizing that he would also be Commander in Chief is frightening and highly disturbing. Given his talk about what he would do to ISIS, I would be very afraid that he would start a war in the Middle East that would require hundreds of thousands of US soldiers and billions of dollars to finance it. He is simply too unstable and too megalomaniacal to risk putting into office, and if the American public is given the choice between him and Sanders, I don't trust them to elect Bernie. I would only hope that Michael Bloomberg, the former mayor of NYC, would enter the race as a third party candidate, and save the country from itself, by winning the presidency or splitting to vote so that Trump doesn't win.

>129 kidzdoc: Thanks for taking the time to put your thoughts into text, Daryl. You bring up some interesting points.

You might want to check that Angel of Death link in >138 kidzdoc:

>141 tangledthread: Thanks! I've corrected the touchstone in >138 kidzdoc:.

Good morning, Darryl.

Enjoying the political discussion. Kudos to everyone for keeping it civilized.

My views align with yours, no surprise. I do love that Bernie is pushing the discussion in a healthy way - in high contrast to the absurd, fact-ignoring Republican debates. What may be scariest is that so many people in our country apparently buy into the exclusionary, Constitution-insulting rhetoric of Trump and Cruz.

>129 kidzdoc: et al, I signed a petition to get Bernie Sanders on the PA ballot because I was visiting a friend who is an activist advocate, but I'm not sure who I'll actually vote for in the primary. Though by the time of the PA primary, it's typically a done deal, and any vote is either confirmation of the obvious or a token protest. Hillary Clinton is generally more hawkish and establishment than I prefer, but I basically respect her resilience and competence; and an ambitious woman walks a fine line of personal expression. I worry that Bernie Sanders seems to have no interest whatsoever in foreign policy, but I want to keep him in the conversation wrt domestic policy.

Well, I typed up a long message and then lost it, so I'll go for an abridged version.

Darryl, you and I seem to mostly agree on Sanders vs. Clinton, I'll probably end up voting Clinton but we'll see. I have till March 1st to decide.

I, too, am surprised at how few people vote in the local elections, since their votes count more there than in the presidential election.

As for me being open minded, I've only been dating Tim for 9 months, and election year will probably be the make-it-or-break-it year for us. Tim's saving grace is that he's much less passionate on the topic than I am, so he's more willing to back off. He's not outwardly racist - that would be a deal breaker. But he does defend Trump an awful lot. Ouch.

On a side note, I really wish Keith Ellison could run for president. I mean, he COULD, but he's not very electable as a Muslim. However, when my sister was in Federal prison in Texas, we had to write him several times about the grave mishandlings on the prison's part. Every time we wrote, Ellison wrote the prison and fixed the problem. I can't help but support someone who has been so supportive of me and my family. I think it's a tragedy that people like him are unelectable because of their religion.

I tend to think that part of the current intractability in American politics is due to an increased unwillingness to see anything but a caricature on the other side. For example, I'm not a Trump supporter in any way, shape, or form but I also don't believe that every single person who supports him is a xenophobic, racist, hatred-spewing wind bag (though there are most definitely those as well). Most of the population barely tunes into politics, so maybe someone liked his TV show, or heard one thing he said that they liked, and that's what they are basing their opinion on. This speaks to an immense problem with civic engagement in the US, but that's a whole other discussion! I guess my point is that painting great swaths of the populace with the same broad brush ignores all the nuances that actually exist and engenders more ill will and resentment. I think both sides are guilty of it.

I hope Rachel and her bf make it through election season, because if nothing else, there will be two people in the country less likely to think the absolute worst about the other side :)

>145 The_Hibernator: Ellison wrote the prison and fixed the problem.
Impressive.

The portobello mushrooms with pearled barley and (not) preserved lemon is almost ready; the barley has to cook for another 15 minutes or so. I'll post a photo and the recipe shortly.

>144 qebo: Wow...the Pennsylvania primaries aren't until April 26th? I haven't voted in PA since 1996, so I'm way out of the loop. Considering that Super Tuesday is on March 1st, you're right in saying that the PA primaries don't matter that much. That's a shame, since PA is far more diverse and reflective of the country's ethnic makeup than the all but lily white states of Iowa (91%) and New Hampshire (94%).

I would have signed a petition to put Bernie Sanders on the ballot in Georgia as well, as I would have wanted an alternative to Hillary Clinton.

I worry that Bernie Sanders seems to have no interest whatsoever in foreign policy, but I want to keep him in the conversation wrt domestic policy.

I agree completely. If Hillary wins, she would be wise to keep Bernie and those who share his ideas in the Democratic fold.

I thought of something else just now. Bernie Sanders is 74 years old, right? Ronald Reagan (born 1911) was the oldest president ever elected to office in 1980, so if Bernie wins he would be the, um, newest oldest president, at 75. Have we heard anything about his health? He certainly looks to be in good shape, but his age could become an issue in a general campaign.

>145 The_Hibernator: So Minnesota is part of Super Tuesday, then. Does the state allow early voting? Georgians can start casting their ballots tomorrow, although I'll probably wait until next week, as I'll likely be off from work from the 16th through the 19th.

But he does defend Trump an awful lot.

Ouch, indeed. I wish the two of you well, but...ouch. Does he list to your POV, or just spout off about Trump and Cruz?

I've heard good things about Keith Ellison, but I'm not that familiar with him. I'm also fond of Cory Booker, the former mayor of Newark, New Jersey who is now one of the state's two US senators.

It is a shame that Ellison is unelectable at this time, solely because of his faith. This also speaks to the immaturity of the American voting public taken as a whole.

The barley looks to be ready. I'll get to Katie's message in a bit.

>148 kidzdoc: April 26th
Yeah. Frustrating. IIRC there was a push to make it earlier that didn't get far, I don't know why.

Using Superbowl Sunday as the perfect opportunity to try and get caught up with some threads. Happy new thread, Darryl!

Excellent review of Bodies of Light!

Enjoying the political discussion. I tend to forget how long the election process takes in the US. Boggles the mind to think that almost two years can be taken up with campaigning, etc. I thought 11 weeks of campaigning for Canada's last go around at voting was long. I am learning more here than if I tried to follow the news.

>148 kidzdoc: - "It is a shame that Ellison is unelectable at this time, solely because of his faith. This also speaks to the immaturity of the American voting public taken as a whole."

Justin Trudeau's cabinet is the most visibly and equitably diverse Canada has ever seen, for sure. He was very open about doing that deliberately, 50/50 male and female, and representative of Canada's many ethnic peoples. Inevitably, he was questioned on that; his reply, "Because it's 2016" sounded very off-the-cuff at the time, though I am quite sure it was scripted, but speaks volumes, when compared to the previous regimes in our country. To be honest, though, I think it speaks more to our 44-year old forward-thinking Prime Minister, going in an entirely new direction and hoping to make it stick, than it does, necessarily, to the population, as a whole. That will take generations, here, as in the US, but to paraphrase a famous philosopher, the journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.

Deep breaths....

The Portobello Mushrooms With Pearled Barley and Preserved Lemon are ready!



Ingredients:

Pearled barley:
1 tablespoon sunflower oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
3 cups (750 ml) vegetable or chicken stock
heaping 1/2 cup (110 g) pearled barley
1/4 preserved lemon, flesh removed and skin finely chopped
1 3/4 ounce (50 g) feta cheese, crumbled
1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 teaspoons thyme leaves
2 tablespoons purple basil sprouts, radish sprouts, or purple basil leaves, shredded
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

7 tablespoons (100 g) unsalted butter
15 sprigs thyme
6 large portobello mushrooms
3/4 cup (180 ml) dry white wine
1 cup (180 ml) vegetable stock
2 cloves garlic, finely sliced
Coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. First cook the barley. Heat the sunflower oil in a heavy-based saucepan and sauté the onion and garlic until translucent. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Stir in the barley, lower the heat, then cover and simmer for 1 hour, until all the liquid has been absorbed and the barley is tender.

2. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F / 180°C. Take a large baking sheet and grease it heavily with two-thirds of the butter. Scatter the thyme sprigs over it. Stem the mushrooms and place the mushroom caps, stem side up, on top of the thyme. Pour over the wine and stock and scatter the sliced garlic over. Dot each mushroom with a couple of knobs of the remaining butter, then season with salt and pepper. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and place in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, until the mushrooms are tender. Leave them in their cooking juices until you are ready to serve.

3. When the barley is done, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the preserved lemon, feta, parsley, and thyme. Taste and add salt and pepper. To serve, reheat the mushrooms in the oven for a few minutes, if necessary. Place each mushroom, stem side up, on a serving plate. Scoop the barley on top and spoon some of the mushroom cooking juices over. Garnish with the basil sprouts and drizzle over the olive oil.
_______________________________________

I didn't have or make preserved lemon, so I used ¼ of a fresh lemon instead. This was an easy recipe to make, which came from Ottolenghi: The Cookbook, and I thought it was rich but mildly flavored, although the flavors were significantly enhanced by adding sea salt to the pearled barley at the the end. It's a nice main entrée, which would go well with a side salad or green vegetable. It didn't knock my socks off, but I did like it and would make it again.

Hi Darryl, just stopping by to wish you a very happy belated new year, star your thread and to let you know that apart from the book-reviews, I also enjoy the political conversation. It's interesting to see what you all think about your presidential candidates and what they represent, and compare it to how we (I) perceive it over here. Although we are following it quite closely, it's still a bit distant to us, both in distance and in time. And obviously, we are more interested in viewpoints on foreign affairs than internal ones. American election-night is one of those rare nights that I stay up or get up in the middle of the night to see how things are evolving.

In MN they have an absentee ballot that needs to be turned in by January, and that's about it as far as early voting goes.

Does he list to your POV, or just spout off about Trump and Cruz?

Tim is pretty good about listening to my POV - like I said he's much less passionate than I am. He simply doesn't ---
agree with me. Sometimes it's like we're living in a different reality.

Yawn I'm feeling much more rested after a rejuvenating 2½ hour afternoon nap. Catching up...

>146 katiekrug: I tend to think that part of the current intractability in American politics is due to an increased unwillingness to see anything but a caricature on the other side.

Great point, Katie. I'm certainly guilty of viewing Trump supporters as knuckle dragging, mentally deficient, closet KKK robe wearing xenophobes, and I simply cannot envision how any non-lobotomized, non-brainwashed woman who cares at all about her gender could possibly support him. There are many thousands of women who do, though, and not all of them fit the caricature that I and others on the left harshly portray them as.

>147 qebo: Agreed.

>149 qebo: That is frustrating, Katherine. 2016 may be a different year, though, as both the Democratic and Republican races may still be up for grabs by late April.

>150 lkernagh: Hi, Lori! I'm glad that you liked my review of Bodies of Light.

The race for the presidency has become both interminable, and tremendously expensive, with millions if not billions of dollars spent on the election process. I'm glad that the caucuses and primaries have finally started, although we still have another eight months to go before Election Day.

>151 jessibud2: The NYT Sunday Magazine had a great article about Justin Trudeau at the end of last year, which described the diverse make up of his cabinet. Hopefully the cabinet of the new US president will be equally as diverse, although I would be shocked if Donald Trump included any women in positions of importance if he is elected.

>153 Trifolia: Happy New Year, Monica! I'm glad that you'll be joining us in 2016. I remember having conversations with LT friends and strangers about the US presidential when I visited London in 2012, and I'm sure there will be more of the same when I go there next month. I suspect that most Europeans view Trump as an extremely scary character and are bewildered that he would be taken seriously as a presidential candidate, as many (but clearly not enough) of us do in the US.

>154 The_Hibernator: In MN they have an absentee ballot that needs to be turned in by January, and that's about it as far as early voting goes.

Bummer. Early voting here starts at 8:30 am tomorrow in many locations, and lasts until February 19th. I love the convenience of traveling downtown to cast my ballot at my convenience, rather than going with everyone else on Election Day.

Sometimes it's like we're living in a different reality.

Yep. I feel the same way when I hear Trump and those who support him speak. I'm not convinced that we belong to the same species (and, as an African American, many of them would probably say the same about Barack Obama and myself).

Complete outsider viewpoint here, but it baffles me beyond belief, when I look at the numbers/amount of support Trump & co on the Republican right are getting ... even more so when you hear the crazy & vile stuff which is being said.

The fact the U.S could unleash that on the rest of the world .... well ... it does not bear thinking about. Because despite the rising influence of Russia, China etc .... US still ...

Enough said .... Hope you have all had a great weekend

Hi Darryl! I am with you on the presidential contest, though here in Oregon, the primaries comes so late that our votes don't count for much of anything. From what I see, Clinton and Saunders are very close on the issues, and I could vote for either one, but I am happy about the idea of a woman president.

Trump, Cruz and company scare me, too! I am an optimist and don't think, in the end, that the country would vote for Trump.

>156 kidzdoc: I suspect that most Europeans view Trump as an extremely scary character and are bewildered that he would be taken seriously as a presidential candidate. It is an even scarier prospect from here as we share a border with the US.

> 156 I suspect that most Europeans view Trump as an extremely scary character and are bewildered that he would be taken seriously as a presidential candidate, as many (but clearly not enough) of us do in the US.

That's true. On the other hand, we Dutch have our own very scary character in Geert Wilders, and it seems like almost half the country wants to vote for him. We may even consider moving to the US if he succeeds. ;-)

Good morning, everyone! I finished Stokely: A Life just before midnight, and I gave it 4½ stars. I'll review it one day after work this week.

>157 roundballnz: Exactly, Alex. It seems as though the more outlandish things come out of Trump's mouth, the more support he gets. It's like a reality TV show, only much worse.

>158 banjo123: I could easily vote for Sanders as well, and I would if I was convinced that he was electable, and that he would be able to work with Congress effectively. Barring any last minute revelations or changes my mind is made up: I'm voting for Hillary.

I read an interesting article on page 1 of the NYT on the metro ride to work this morning: several of the Old Guard of the women's movement, including Madeline Albright and Gloria Steinem, were calling on younger women to get with the program and support Clinton over Sanders. Gloria Steinem even suggested during an interview with Bill Maher that young women were flocking to Sanders' rallies to meet guys, saying "When you're young, you're thinking: 'Where are the boys? The boys are with Bernie'". Good move, Ms Steinem; comments like that one will certainly encourage women to "grow up" and vote for Hillary.

Female Icons Tell the Young to Get With It

I am an optimist and don't think, in the end, that the country would vote for Trump.

Unfortunately I'm not that optimistic. If the Deep South were its own country, Trump would be president. And, if it ends up being a contest between Trump and Sanders, I think Trump could portray Bernie as too liberal and too radical for the country, which would likely appeal to voters in Middle America more than those on the East and West Coasts. I would like to think that Trump would shoot himself in the foot at some point, and that his support would plummet. However, he continues to make outrageous comments, and his campaign hasn't missed a beat as a result. If it hasn't happened yet, I have no reason to think that it will happen between now and November.

>159 Familyhistorian: Exactly, Meg. It would be nice if Canadians and Europeans could save the US from its own idiocy, since the election here is important outside of our borders as well.

>160 DianaNL: We'll all need a place to move if Trump and Wilders are elected to office. Is there enough room for us Trump dodgers in Canada, Meg?

>161 kidzdoc: Yeah, I wasn't impressed with Steinem's remarks. And unfortunately, feminist icons like Steinem don't "click" with the younger crowd. This is based on a sample size of 2 (my daughters), so I may be making a broad sweeping generalization here, but I agree with you Darryl that's not the way to connect with a younger audience.

>146 katiekrug: "I hope Rachel and her bf make it through election season, because if nothing else, there will be two people in the country less likely to think the absolute worst about the other side :)" That's a very good way to look at it, Katie. I have an "adopted" daughter---one of my own daughter's closest friends since college days---who is married to her political opposite. They've been a couple since high school, and somehow it works. I'm not privy to their personal discussions, of course, but they are both highly intelligent, in rather different ways. It puzzles me, but at the same time it encourages me.

Wow. It's been an unusually quiet work day so far. I could have left just after noon, but I have to stay until 4 pm to help out my partner with any admissions she may get. Hopefully the rest of the week will be like this.

>162 lauralkeet: I'm very disappointed in Albright and Steinem for their views and remarks. If anything, those comments may backfire and hurt Hillary far more than they help.

>163 laytonwoman3rd: Good for your "adopted" daughter in her happy marriage to a political opposite. As long as both sides listen to each other and respect each other's opinions (and, as long as both sides were reasonable and not too far out in left or right field, or off the field altogether) I see no reason why it couldn't work. I could live with a conservative partner, but, as I said, I seriously doubt that I could handle a Tea Partier.

Following the discussion with much interest, right-wing is growing in Europe, and it is scaring me. So does Trump :-(
In voting I personally have never voted for a party that is more likely to get into the government, although people have tried to convince me that it would be better, I always vote as left as possible.
Our system is much different from the USA, at first we are a monarchy, so no presidental elections; second all votes for our "2e Kamer" are lumped nationwide and based on those the different parties get their seats. We have many parties in the "2e Kamer", so parties have to work together in the government.

>155 kidzdoc: I think what adds to the caricature look at both sides is that everybody has his "own" media and there aren't many who watch the other side..

>161 kidzdoc: it is disappointing when such intelligent women make such a hash of a good intention. An element of desperation creeps in, which at this early stage is worrying.

It's certainly true here, that many younger women don't see there's anything still to do regarding gender equality, feminism seems to be more powerful here in the migrant diaspora. Women who have a more recent understanding and experience of constraints that are gender related.

>161 kidzdoc:- Darryl, Toronto has a world-famous Children's hospital, it you are looking north....
I know there was a huge influx of Americans in the Vietnam days. Trump may indeed force a second wave...

I was also rather disappointed with the Steinem and Albright remarks. Sheesh...

>84 kidzdoc: that must have been really scary seeing the fans rush the field and thinking they meant him harm! What a telling reaction too, sadly.
I was really fearful at Barak Obama's inauguration that some evil nutcase was going to attempt to assassinate him. In my head I played it out and it was awful.

>161 kidzdoc: ...I would if I was convinced he was electable...
He's electable if enough people vote for him! Is your statement here more than the notion of 'backing a winner'? I heard that a lot here at our elections, people voting for someone because they thought them to be the one who would get in.
I like the intelligent discussion happening here, much more than the cheap digs that can so easily be thrown about elsewhere.

Many of my friends and people I talk to think Trump is a clown and that in itself is harmless. I guess you can find clowns in every election-campaign all over the world (there are plenty in Belgium, for sure). And that is also harmless, because it's the price for democracy to let the goons have a try (in non-democratic countries, the clowns are ruling anyway). But clowns can only function if they have an audience and that's what worries me: that so many people actually cheer for people like Trump. History tells us that what sets them off is a feeling of discomfort with the way things are currently going and they manage to play those feelings without having to prove anything. So I'm watching this election-race with a lot of interest.
On the gender-issue... I'm always angry if people ask me to vote for someone because he is a man or she is a woman, or young or old or gay or straight or black or white or parent or disabled or member of a sports-team or whatever. I vote for whoever is going to do the best he-she can for as many people as possible without promising impossible things. And that might be a young woman or an old man as long as there are definite signs of integrity.
As for Hillary Clinton, I think she is capable of doing the job, but I wonder if she hasn't been compromised a bit too often to be able to function properly. But is there a better alternative?

>165 FAMeulstee: Anita: YES! Another optimist at heart! I always vote as far left as I can because that's where my notions and morals and conscience lie.

>167 jessibud2: Shelley: Should the unthinkable happen and Trump becomes president, Tomm and I will very seriously look at becoming ex-patriots, although our hearts look toward one of the Nordic countries. Canada's not out of the running, though...

>168 LovingLit: "He's electable if enough people vote for him!" Agreed! My admittedly simple-minded, um, mind, can't really understand voting for someone because you don't think the person you *believe* would be better for the job, the person whose beliefs align more with your own, can win.

(Come on, Darryl...Feel the Bern...)
Ha! I'm just joshing you, friend - I respect your choice and am in no way trying to pressure you to change it. I am, though, loving the discussion!

If you are looking northward, my sister in law works at The Stollery as Pediatrician. It is in Alberta, but I can tell that she loves it there. Like you, she is a hospitalist, but she does more teaching/ training of other pediatricians. She has another degree in teaching M.D's - I am not clear on the details but I know she obtained it in the USA. She loves it so much that she and my brother have settled in Edmonton rather than move back to the much nicer Vancouver area, where I am sure she could get on at Vancouver's Children's Hospital. My brother is an airline pilot, based in Toronto so he just commutes back and forth. They also have 4 young children. I must say that the politics in the USA right now ( and most of the time ) is quite scary. Trump! Crazy!

>164 kidzdoc: If anything, those comments may backfire and hurt Hillary far more than they help.
Now that you mention it Darryl, a friend of mine posted something about Hilary on FB today and then had to fend off comments from someone about what Steinem said. She replied -- more than once -- saying Steinem's remarks have nothing to do with Hillary's beliefs or political platform.

>165 FAMeulstee: right-wing is growing in Europe, and it is scaring me

Same here, Anita. The New York Times (NYT), which I subscribe to and read every day when I'm in Atlanta, covers Europe arguably better than any daily newspaper in the US, and it's not uncommon to read articles about extreme right wing politicians, particularly in Western Europe.

This brings up a question of mine, which I've been meaning to ask for some time. Being the dinosaur that I am, I grew up in an era where nearly all households subscribed to at least one newspaper and not uncommonly two, one for local news (especially for people who live in smaller towns and the suburbs), and another based in the largest nearby city, or a national paper like the NYT or The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), which are delivered to most major metropolitan areas, including Atlanta. I buy the Sunday Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) when I go to Publix, my local supermarket, and I get the NYT delivered to my front door seven days a week. Several people on the floor of my building receive daily or weekly newspapers (AJC, NYT, WSJ) as I do, which I see outside of their front doors, but from what I can tell, the majority don't. So, I ask you:I always vote as left as possible.

That brings up one major difference between the US and most other Western countries: we have only two major parties, and a third party or independent candidate hasn't won the presidency since...um...make that never. A third party candidate has never been elected to the presidency here (I thought that Theodore Roosevelt won as a third party candidate, but apparently he didn't). So, in the modern era (say, post-World War II), American voters' choice have been between the Democrats and Republicans, with the occasional third party candidate serving only as a spoiler, and not a legitimate threat to win the presidency. That could conceivably happen this year, as Michael Bloomberg, the moderate Republican former mayor of New York City (NYC), has hinted that he may enter the race as an independent if if Trump and Sanders are chosen as the Republican and Democratic nominees.

Whoa. I'm super sleepy at the moment. I'll stop back later tonight or sometime tomorrow...

>173 kidzdoc: Hi Darryl! I don't subscribe to the local paper but the primary reason is because we get it in the library where I work. I just read it there.

When I was growing up, my parents subscribed to two daily papers - the SF Examiner and the Palo Alto Times (for local news). I read both. Now I get the NY Times daily and usually read it first thing. I once subscribed to the local daily but found that all that it reported was drug deals, drive-bys, etc. - that was too depressing.

Growing up, we always had the paper delivered to our house and I always read it, if not all, then some sections, even as a kid. When I moved to Toronto, I subscribed to the middle of the road paper, The Toronto Star, for awhile, then cut back to the weekend papers only. But when I bought my house, I stopped subscribing as I found it to just be too much paper, and so much of the weekend papers I just wasn't reading (so much advertising). I pick up copies at my workout gym occasionally, or just read online. I limit myself to one radio newscast in the morning, maybe one mid-day, and watch the evening news on tv. That's truly much more than I need to know, and frankly, more than I can stomach. I do listen to a lot of radio, mainly CBC, which is our national public broadcaster, so I still feel I am fairly well-informed.

And of course, I learn so much here! :-)

right-wing is growing in Europe, and it is scaring me So true and even in the Scandinavian Countries. And yes I subscribe two newspapers, The Vancouver Sun and The Globe and Mail, which is more of an National / International Newspaper. I also subscribe to Canada's weekly News Magazine, McLeans. I really feel that our news here is much less partisan than what is in the USA.

As far as immigrating to other countries, including Canada, it is pretty challenging to get accepted into the Canada. There is a complex points system. I cannot believe that Trump is even a candidate in the USA. It boggles the mind that he has has even gotten this far.

I subscribe to the online edition of the local newspaper, though really most local news of interest flits through one or another neighborhood forum (e.g. Facebook, Nextdoor), and its national news almost nonexistent.

>173 kidzdoc: Yes, the right-wing is definitely growing in Europe and not only in the west. In the eastern part the right-wing is much more radical.

We do have our newspaper 7/7 and I can't be without one. Even on holiday we buy a newspaper.

Well, I try to understand the USA election system. We have a direct democration and everybody who is Swiss can elect whomever he wish. We have 26 parties but mostly there are politicians elected from about 10 parties.

Morning Darryl! I am really enjoying the political discussion over here. Smart and civil and yes, a bit frightening.

I have subscribed to the Chicago Tribune for more than 30 years. It's a bit more of a conservative newspaper but well-written and a much better choice than the limp Sun-Times.

I have another good reason not so subscribe to newspapers where I live now: they're delivered by post, so I'd have it in the evening and the Sunday edition on the Monday evening. We have the local paper here in the office, but that's really mainly local news, like "accident with tractor on XYZ farm". I read Spiegel, Frankfurter Allgemeine and sometimes Guardian and La Repubblica online and sometimes buy Die Zeit (weekly) or a Sunday edition in paper form. I don't like the layout of Italian papers, can't even say what it is, but I find them hard to read.

Speaking of Italians... sometimes I wonder if Trump (like some European politicians did) watched Berlusconi and the people's reactions over the years and decided to test how far he can go.
B. was another one who showed no convincing competence and said lots of insulting things - and half the voters loved him for being "one of us", "honest", "credible" and even "furbo" (cunning). He was admired for "getting the girls" and having the infamous "bunga bunga parties", although illegal and even minor prostitutes were involved. And when he was caught for tax fraud, people nodded and said "we would do it as well if we had the opportunity".

>181 Deern: Nathalie, there are some other politicians next to Mr B about whom we always say that they should be sent to a lonly island as Napoleon was sent to. There they could have their own parties without disturbing others. I think Mr T would be a nice member there too.

>173 kidzdoc: I hope you had a good rest Darryl.

We used to have two newspapers, but when we had our financial downfall in 1998 (we lost nearly 70% of our income) we had to cut everything that wasn't absolutely necessary so the papers went out.
When we got a bit more money, we were already used to get our news online, so papers did not return...

We get the Guardian on a Saturday and the Observer on a Sunday. So I've answered yes to your question although strictly speaking we don't subscribe - but we do buy them virtually every weekend. I'll buy a paper in the week as well sometimes if I'm not working, but the weekend ones are essential.

We read a national newspaper, a regional one and another national one only on Saturday. The regional one is about to leave the house, because we don't actually need it.

But this afternoon, I've decided to go for a yearlong subscription of the New York Times international edition. I've wanted it for a long time, but now with the elections in your country, I finally did.

I only subscribe to my hometown paper from Mississippi which arrives a couple of weeks late now. (It used to come within a couple of days until they closed the processing facility in Tupelo, moving operations to Memphis where they seem incapable of getting their act together. The local post office has also told me that they have problems with stuff going through Memphis too. Even though their distribution facility is on this side of the state, anything going through Memphis gets bogged down in the delivery cycle.

I read some of the local papers and occasionally the NYT or WSJ at work. I'm not going to pay for subscriptions when they are shelved right outside my office.

Finding this discussion really interesting. I subscribed via kindle to the Guardian for a while, but found the format frustrating. I also did the same thing with Le Monde, which worked better because of the dictionary look up feature, but I was frustrated with how few books they discussed (at least in that format). I now generally buy the Saturday Guardian (for the book reviews, I barely look through the rest) and have a subscription to their premium service (which lets me do the crossword on my phone!). I also like the London review of books and the TLS, but do get frustrated by their mainly white male authorship.

I don't subscribe to a paper because the San Diego Union Tribune wouldn't know the facts if they hit them in the face and I can't keep up with the NY Times. I do buy a copy from time to time, especially the Sunday NY Times when I'm on vacation. As to the election...oh my!!! Scares me to death.

>188 RebaRelishesReading: LOL! So true!

Darryl, my husband is watch Andrew Zimmern this morning and they are doing Atlanta. He is raving about the Buford Highway Farmers Market--is that somewhere you shop?

Darryl, may I jump back for a moment to the baseball discussion, as a little break from the insanity of politics? A friend of mine and I were having a conversation earlier today about songs, singers, etc. She found this youtube clip of a song from the soundtrack of the movie *42* and it is great. So is the slideshow that goes with it. Enjoy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0dMYEJEOEg&feature=youtu.be

:-)

“No one in this world, so far as I know—and I have researched the records for years, and employed agents to help me—has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people. Nor has anyone ever lost public office thereby.” H.L. Mencken, “Notes on Journalism”, Chicago “Tribune”, Sept. 19, 1926

>173 kidzdoc: Wasn't Michael Bloomberg a Democrat initially who became a Republican and then became independant? He might be a good compromise, but as you stated, no third-party president has ever been elected US-president. And I really don't know anything about the man apart from the fact that he was the mayor of NYC.

"no third-party president has ever been elected US-president" Wouldn't rule him out on that basis. Until recently, no African American had ever been elected US president either. There's a first time for everything, as Roger Miller once sang.

>193 laytonwoman3rd: Does general opnion believe Mr. Bloomberg has a chance? If so, these might become very interesting elections, as if they aren't already!

Part of the issue with third party candidates is that the entire electoral system was built to favor a two party system (e.g. winner take all rules in the electoral college, "first past the post" voting, etc.) , so even just looking at the mechanics of it, it would be hard for a third party candidate to gain the traction needed to win.

Whoa. Lotta catching up to do...

>174 cbl_tn: That makes sense, Carrie. I wouldn't buy the paper during the week if I could read it at work for free, although I'd probably still subscribe to or buy a Sunday paper, if only for the ads and coupons (which frequently cover the cost of the paper, of course).

>175 catarina1: I'm with you, catarina. The daily AJC is basically a waste of time, so I'll only buy it on weekends. Now that I've been taking the metro to and from work on a daily basis I can usually finish the daily NYT on my ride to and from work.

>176 jessibud2: That reminds me...now that I'm taking the metro to and from work on most weekdays I'm not listening to the main news programs on National Public Radio, Morning Edition and All Things Considered. I love NPR's programming and learn a lot as a result, but I don't have time during the work week to listen to NPR and read the NYT on a daily basis.

>177 vancouverdeb: I really feel that our news here is much less partisan than what is in the USA.

I would tend to want to agree with you, Deb, although I am completely unfamiliar with the media in Canada; most Americans who have cable TV in the US can watch BBC World News, I suspect, but I've never seen CBC here, and I've never seen or read a Canadian paper in the US.

As far as immigrating to other countries, including Canada, it is pretty challenging to get accepted into the Canada. There is a complex points system.

I was mostly kidding about defecting to Canada or elsewhere if Trump gets elected. Things would have to get awfully bad here before I would consider doing that.

I cannot believe that Trump is even a candidate in the USA. It boggles the mind that he has has even gotten this far.

Same here. He scored a decisive win in New Hampshire yesterday, and he has a good chance to win South Carolina on February 20th. The big test for all of the candidates, Republican and Democratic, will be on March 1st, Super Tuesday, when primary elections will be conducted in 12 states, including major ones like Georgia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Texas and Virginia. That will make or break several marginal campaigns, such as those of Jeb Bush and possibly Marco Rubio, and we should have a much better idea of which Republican candidates besides Donald Trump and Ted Cruz will be left standing, and if Hillary Clinton can rebound from her poor showing in New Hampshire yesterday. As I mentioned above, early voting began in Georgia on Monday, and unless something changes in the next few days I'll cast an early vote for Clinton next week.

>178 qebo: I hadn't heard of Nextdoor before, so I made a quick search of it. I'm much more interested in national and international news than local news, so I'd much rather read the NYT than the AJC or the free city papers.

>179 Ameise1: We do have our newspaper 7/7 and I can't be without one. Even on holiday we buy a newspaper.

Agreed. The only time I haven't bought a daily paper when I was on holiday was the time I was in Amsterdam, although I did buy The Guardian at least once while I was there. Even when I was in Barcelona I would buy the Castilian version of El País and read it on the Metro.

>180 msf59: Well done, Mark. I've only read The Chicago Tribune a few times, when I visited a classmate from residency who is a pediatrician in Chicago or my best friend from medical school, who lives in Madison, but I liked it when I did.

>181 Deern: I have another good reason not so subscribe to newspapers where I live now: they're delivered by post, so I'd have it in the evening and the Sunday edition on the Monday evening.

Ah. I'd be far less likely to subscribe to a newspaper if that was the case here. I receive the national edition of the NYT on my front door every morning, which arrives at 4-5 am, in time for me to read it on the way to work. Same day delivery of the NYT is available in most major metropolitan areas, including Atlanta, which is the main city in the Deep South, although I wouldn't be surprised if daily delivery wasn't available in some poor neighborhoods and some small towns in the metro.

sometimes I wonder if Trump (like some European politicians did) watched Berlusconi and the people's reactions over the years and decided to test how far he can go.

Wow...good thought, Nathalie. Trump certainly seems to have taken a few pages out of Berlusconi's political notebook, although he isn't nearly as outrageous. Yet.

ETA: It's nearly 10:30 pm, so I'll turn in and finish catching up here tomorrow.

>196 kidzdoc: I was surprised by the vote in New Hampshire. I just hope that sanity will prevail.

>194 Trifolia:, >195 katiekrug: Katie is right, of course----the system is not kind to independents. I have no idea whether Bloomberg could have been a viable candidate for one of the major parties, but switching affiliations doesn't usually work well for people either. He's a bit paternalistic for me, but he isn't bats**t crazy like The Donald.

I almost missed the political flap about women not supporting Hilary Clinton because work has been such a b---h. However, I work with young women all the time and they just don't think the women's movement is important. They live in a dream world where they think they will get paid more than men, or at least equal, and you can't convince them that this battle has yet to be fought. It won't hit them until they get ready to retire and find out that they won't have quite enough unless they count their husband's income.

I am getting ready to retire and because my salary has been lower all along I will retire with less money than many of my less qualified colleagues. It makes me mad when I think about it, but without the support of the courts there is little I can do. The courts aren't going to change until we elect different people, and unfortunately the people I live and work with don't seem likely to vote differently.

Have a happy weekend.

<200 I hear ya' sister. They think everything is just fine and always has been but it hasn't been and it isn't really equal yet!!

Oof. TGIF. Tough week. Too tired to dance. Back here tomorrow. Maybe.

#203
I'm right there with you. It was a nasty week.

Happy Saturday, everyone! I slept for 8-1/2 hours yesterday, so I feel much better now than I did last night, although I was too groggy to go to the supermarket this morning. I'll probably stay inside and read today, and go out and cook tomorrow.

>182 Ameise1: I like that idea, Barbara. I'd also like to see Ted Cruz and Ann Coulter sent on a one way journey to that desolated island.

>183 FAMeulstee: That's understandable, Anita; I would have done the same thing.

>184 SandDune: I agree, Rhian, except that the Saturday NYT is nothing like the Saturday Guardian, as it's about 1/4 to 1/3 the size of the weekday paper. The Sunday NYT is a must read, but the front section of the weekday NYT is very important as well.

>185 DianaNL: Well done, Diana! I only rarely buy the international NYT when I travel to Europe, as I'll usually get the Guardian Monday through Saturday and the Observer on Sunday when I'm in the UK. I'd like to know what you think about the NYT after you start reading it.

>186 thornton37814: That's a shame about the substandard delivery system in Memphis. You would think that a major city with an important airport would have better delivery service than that. I've found it to be excellent and highly reliable here, whether it's the US Postal Service or the non-governmental carriers (UPS, FedEx), etc. BTW, isn't FedEx headquartered in Memphis?

I'm not going to pay for subscriptions when they are shelved right outside my office.

Yep. I wouldn't either.

Cute kid comment of the week: I took care of a 6 year old boy of Ukrainian descent this week. He was born in the US and speaks English fluently, and his mother speaks English decently but not as well, so yesterday afternoon I used our telephone based system to communicate with his mother, with the help of a Russian translator.

Me: I'll call the ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat) doctor to see if he agrees that your son can go home today.

Boy (excitedly): The TNT doctor is coming???

Me: Yes. He blows up buildings. Would you like to meet him?

Boy (even more excitedly): YES YES YES!!!

>187 charl08: I subscribed to the Guardian Review for a couple of years, which is a weekly compilation of articles from the Mon-Sat Guardian and the Sunday Observer that is available in the US on a limited basis. I found that they were piling up unread, though, so I stopped my subscription to it, and to The New Yorker. I do subscribe to The New York Review of Books and The London Review of Books, although I don't read them as faithfully as I'd like to. I like the NYRB considerably better than the LRB, due in part to its greater contributor diversity (don't tell Rachael that I said that).

>188 RebaRelishesReading: The Sunday NYT is a national treasure, IMO, and I feel lost if I can't get it.

>189 ronincats: Sad to say I've never been to the Buford Highway Farmers Market, although that will likely change soon. It's in suburban Atlanta, east of the city, but it wouldn't be hard for me to get to, as I normally take the Buford Highway Connector on the days that I drive to work, and turn off just before it turns into Buford Highway. I may go there as early as this month, depending on what I decide to cook in the near future, and I'll almost certainly go there in the spring, to see what they have. The Buford Highway Corridor has a wealth of shops and restaurants from different countries, and the Farmers Market caters to that internationally rich area.

>190 jessibud2: Thanks, Shelley! I enjoyed that YouTube video.

>136 Oberon: Well argued Darryl but the post made me sad nonetheless. A vote for Hilary merely on the premise that she is the one most likely to keep out the lunatic right wing fringe and not because she is the best candidate. Whilst I agree with the logic isn't it a shame that the one deserving of the progressive vote will not get many of those progressive votes because of fear he would lose to Trump or Cruz. I don't much care for Clinton and certainly don't trust her judgement. I believe that Sanders is an honest, principled and well intentioned man and, if I was american, I would definitely vote for him and hope that my countrymen wanted eagerly enough and in sufficient numbers to make a difference.

Have a great weekend dear chap.

>191 michigantrumpet: Sigh. Sad, but probably true, at least in spirit.

>192 Trifolia: Wasn't Michael Bloomberg a Democrat initially who became a Republican and then became independant?

Yes, that's right, Monica.

He might be a good compromise, but as you stated, no third-party president has ever been elected US-president.

True. However, from what I've read, if Sanders is chosen as the Democratic nominee and either Cruz or Trump is the standard bearer for the Republicans, he would very likely enter the presidential race as an independent candidate. If that happened I would have to give him serious consideration, and I suspect that most moderate Republicans and Democrats would rather see him in office over the others.

BTW, I'll definitely be off from work on Wednesday, and since Friday is the last day that Georgia voters can cast their ballots ahead of Super Tuesday, March 1st, I'll almost certainly go downtown and vote then. I'm working on March 1st, and it will be difficult for me to get to my local polling station before or after my work day. I'm still leaning toward voting for Hillary Clinton, but my mind isn't firmly made up yet. I'll see if I can view this week's Democratic debate online, and do a bit more reading between now and Wednesday.

>193 laytonwoman3rd: Right, Linda. If the scenario I portrayed in the previous message does come about, which is at least moderately likely, I think that Bloomberg would have a good chance at being elected president. If that happened he would be our first Jewish president, of course (and the same would be true if Sanders won).

>194 Trifolia: I haven't seen any specific polls about Bloomberg's chances, but I think that he would be a very viable candidate, and one who would be much more acceptable to the Republican establishment and moderate voters than Sanders, Cruz or Trump.

>195 katiekrug: Good point, Katie. Difficult, yes. Impossible, no.

>198 Familyhistorian: It will be interesting to see what happens in next week's Republican presidential primary, although Super Tuesday will be the true test for all of the candidates. I suspect (and fear) that we'll be left with four viable candidates on March 2nd, Clinton and Sanders on the left, and Cruz and Trump on the right.

>199 laytonwoman3rd: I think that Bloomberg would have been a strong candidate for the Republican nomination in the East and West Coasts, but he would have gotten pummeled in the Midwest and Deep South, as he is Jewish, a Northeasterner, and a social liberal. An independent route, although a difficult one, would be his best chance at getting into the White House, IMO.

>200 benitastrnad: I work with young women all the time and they just don't think the women's movement is important.

I wish there were more younger American women (under 35) in this group, who could respond to that statement! I'd love to read a response from Zoë, who I believe is supporting Sanders (although, as a Canadian living in the US, she can't vote for him). What say you, Katie?

>201 DianaNL: Thanks, Diana!

>202 RebaRelishesReading: I'd certainly agree that gender equality, like racial equality, is far from accomplished in the US. However, I'm not sure that I agree that young women should vote for Clinton primarily because she is a woman, as the societal problems that Sanders raises and the solutions that he proposes are much more applicable to them that a less than trustworthy candidate who has supported and received millions of dollars from large banks and corporations.

>204 benitastrnad: Yep. Monday and Tuesday weren't bad days, but our service exploded on Tuesday night, and Wednesday, Thursday and Friday were busy and hectic days. This also bodes poorly for me having a relatively good week next week. I'm on backup call on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, off on Wednesday, and working Monday, Saturday and Sunday. It originally looked like I would have four days off next week, but if the census increases between now and Tuesday I may only have Wednesday off.

>208 PaulCranswick: I don't disagree with your opinions about Sanders and Clinton, Paul. I like Sanders' ideas far better than Clinton's, but they are useless unless they can be implemented and executed. The chance of a Republican majority Congress enacting a "socialist" agenda proposed by Sanders is slightly less than a snowball's chance in hell, IMO. The American public would have to elect local and state representatives that supported what Sanders wants to accomplish, and that is very unlikely to happen in the short term. I very much want to see the changes that Sanders envisions, but I also recognize that most Americans in the middle of the country don't hold those views, even though most of them would benefit from a more equitable society.

ETA: I should say that my willingness to vote for Clinton next week is slowly eroding. It may be a game time decision on Wednesday, and I'll let you all know who I ultimately choose. As I've said previously, I wish that Elizabeth Warren had decided to run for president this year, as I would have supported her wholeheartedly.

>206 kidzdoc: Love it.
BTW We made it safely to Davos. Lots of skiing, reading and relaxing for the the next 14 days.

>208 PaulCranswick: - As a person who has always been left-leaning, myself, I understand this argument, and personally, on a personality level, I don't really even like Clinton. But , sadly, it seems more and more these days, we seem to be having to vote *against* instead of voting *for*, just to stay in the same place. Here in Canada, I have found myself doing that for the last few elections, too. We are a 3-party nation: Liberal (which would be the equivalent of the US Democrats), Conservative (= to the Republicans) and NDP (New Democratic Party, = to Bernie Sanders). I would very much prefer to vote NDP because their values align much more with my own but in the last few elections, I voted Liberal for no other reason that to try to oust Stephen Harper, our (thankfully now former) Conservative Prime Minister. This last time, it worked. Sometimes, what you don't want, and get, is more important than what you do. I can see that being a viable and strong argument right now in the States. If I were a voting American right now, I would probably vote for Clinton for all the reasons Darryl mentioned. The alternatives are unthinkable.

>206 kidzdoc: You have a great rapport with the kids and a wonderful sense of humour. I won't comment on U.S. politics at the moment, since I feel I've fallen behind. I think I'd tend to vote for Bernie Sanders, but then you have to vote strategically. Even in Canada, we have to hold our noses and just vote for the best of less than desirable lot. But we have never had a Trump! Argh!

>213 jessibud2: Jessie, I was so torn between the NDP and the Liberals, but my primary motivation was to get rid of Harper and his Conservatives. Your comment is spot on. Truthfully I am more aligned with the Liberal Party , but if my local NDP candidate had been a better choice for me to oust Harper, I would have gladly voted NDP. I think I'd vote for Clinton too.

>215 vancouverdeb: To this day, I mourn the loss of Jack Layton. Our future would have been so different had he lived. I am convinced he would have made it to Parliament Hill. I did vote for Justin Trudeau and am not sorry, and I have faith that he will do his best. I hope so, for all of our sakes!

>206 kidzdoc: - Darryl, I was mentioning to Paul in his thread that as a teacher, I used to keep a notebook of funny things kids said. I called it *Kidisms*. It is not where I thought I put it, though, so I am still looking for it. I promised to share a few gems, once I find it

Lordy, what a discussion! Anyone here read a good book lately? Ha ha ha.

I view a Bloomberg run as a gift to The Donald. He'll draw votes from whoever the Democratic nominee is rather than from Chaos. I can't get my head around the idea of any reasonable and rational person aligning himself/herself with a cabal that tolerates, much less supports, the ideology of Trump and Cruz et al.

>210 kidzdoc: - "What say you, Katie?"

First, bless you for thinking I'm under 35! But maybe I'm close enough to still hazard an opinion...

For me, it's not that I think gender equality has been achieved and there aren't still serious issues. But I reject the notion that somehow that means I should vote for a woman just because she's a woman. If I don't vote for Hillary, it does not mean I am rejecting the entire women's movement. Give me a break. What it might mean is that thanks to the women's movement, I have a stake in a whole host of other issues that I think someone else is better equipped to solve.

My other problem with these arguments is that it plays into the whole issue of entitlement that I think dogs Hillary Clinton. She acts insulted that someone would *dare* challenge her for the nomination. That just because she's "paid her dues" and raked in a ton of money and swallowed her pride to work for Obama, she is *owed* something. Ugh.

Sometimes it feels like the original women's libbers are all for smart, opinionated, and independent women as long as we agree with them and do what we're told.

ETA: That said, I have no idea who I'm voting for. Texas has open primaries, so I can vote in either party's contest, and may cast a protest vote against Trump.

>208 PaulCranswick: I didn't mean to suggest young women should vote for Clinton based on gender. I just worry that, while we've come a long way on gender issues, we aren't there yet and young women often don't seem to realize that.

>211 kidzdoc: I agree that Sanders seems like an honest, caring person and I agree with his domestic policies; however, he has little or no foreign policy experience (and doesn't seem to put much of a priority on it) which worries me since I think those are our biggest issues at this point. It's based on that that I plan to vote for Clinton.

>212 Ameise1: Fabulous, Barbara! Enjoy your well deserved vacation, and I look forward to seeing your pictures here and on Facebook.

>213 jessibud2: Sometimes, what you don't want, and get, is more important than what you do.

Exactly, Shelley. At the moment there are significant Republican majorities in the House of Representatives (247 R, 188 D) and the Senate (54 R, 44 D, 2 I (Independents, who are aligned with Democrats)), and I seriously doubt that the Democrats will gain control of either the House or the Senate after the 2016 elections. If an ultra conservative like Cruz or Trump is chosen president then the right wing will control the country, and the damage that they could do could adversely affect this country for decades. That would be vastly worse than having Clinton in office, despite her flaws and her support of the banking industry and large corporations. I'm also hard pressed to envision Sanders as an effective world leader and Commander in Chief, one who would be respected by our allies, and especially our enemies. I can't see him standing up to Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong-un, Benjamin Netanyahu, Bashar al-Assad, Xi Jinping, etc. As you said, the alternatives are unthinkable.

I looked at the latest polling data from Real Clear Politics, which showed that Clinton has a commanding lead over Sanders in Georgia. So, as is often the case, my vote for either candidate probably won't make any difference in the outcome (but I'll still cast a ballot next week anyway).

>214 vancouverdeb: Thanks, Deb. I love interacting with the kids in the hospital, both the patients and their siblings, and seeing them makes tough and stressful days far more enjoyable.

>215 vancouverdeb: All things being equal I would definitely vote for Sanders over Clinton, but it's far more important IMO that we don't hand the presidential election to the far right.

>221 kidzdoc: I am interested to hear that you are as pro-Sanders as you are. Personally, I am a much more staunch Clinton supporter. To me, Saunders is peddling a domestic agenda that is simply unobtainable. I will concede that every candidate has to talk about what they hope to accomplish without regard to Congress but Sanders acts as if there will be no issues in passing his agenda. I am not sure that you could pass his agenda if both houses were democratic as the left would divide internally.

More important to me is the foreign policy. Hillary has that subject locked down. I think that this issue becomes more important given the likely gridlock on the domestic side.

>216 jessibud2: I'm largely unfamiliar with Jack Layton, so I had to look at his Wikipedia page just now. Based on what I read I'm sorry that he died before he could have become Prime Minister.

I've been encouraged by what I've read about Justin Trudeau in the NYT, particularly the profile article that appeared in the Sunday Magazine late last year:

Trudeau's Canada, Again

>217 jessibud2: I look forward to your "Kidisms", Shelley! I keep meaning to write down the ones that I hear, but I keep forgetting to do so.

I can't remember if I posted it here or not, but my favorite comment from a parent, and probably the most hilarious faux pas that I've ever heard, came from a father of a three or four year old girl with chronic asthma and environmental allergies who was about to be discharged from the hospital a few years ago. I remember that he was a bit distant toward me, until he made a comment that went something like this: "Are you going to write a prescription for the medication you recommended for her allergies? It begins with a C: is it Cialis?" (Cialis is a medication for erectile dysfunction. He meant Claritin.) We all laughed and cried like lunatics for several minutes after that, especially when his wife and I made several comments in response to his question ("Honey, get your mind out of the gutter", "Well, I guess I know what you'll be doing as soon as you get home", "Let me talk to the case manager to see if we can get your insurance company to approve Cialis for your daughter", et al.). His wife, who was also asthmatic, was laughing so hard that she developed bronchospasm and had to take several breathing treatments before she was stable enough to leave the hospital, and for a few minutes I thought that we would have to send her to the ER for treatment. I checked on her two or three times before they left, but it didn't help that she burst into laughter each time that she saw me.

>218 weird_O: Lordy, what a discussion! Anyone here read a good book lately?

Read a what???

This is the norm for my threads, Bill! We frequently go off topic, way off topic, including our past discussions about Brussels sprouts, scrapple, music and art.

ETA: I view a Bloomberg run as a gift to The Donald.

Hmm. Given a choice between Trump, Sanders and Bloomberg, I would almost certainly vote for Bloomberg. (This discussion and thinking a bit more about the two Democratic candidates has helped me decide to vote for Clinton next week.) I think he would take away votes from both of the other candidates, and I'm not sure who would be hurt the worse. It may be Sanders, as you allude to, and it's very possible that his run for presidency may hand the election to Trump.

"I'm also hard pressed to envision Sanders as an effective world leader and Commander in Chief, one who would be respected by our allies, and especially our enemies. I can't see him standing up to Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong-un, Benjamin Netanyahu, Bashar al-Assad, Xi Jinping, etc. As you said, the alternatives are unthinkable."

Darryl, that is EXACTLY what I fear from a Trump (or his cohorts) win. I generally don't have a problem with difference of opinion, but I can't see him (or them) presenting a mature, diplomatic, RESPECTFUL face to the world. What I do see is a belligerent, in-your-face, loud persona that most of the rest of the world will not respond well to, I fear.

(This is almost making George Bush look good... ;-))

>219 katiekrug: I honestly thought that you were under 35, Katie!

Great points about Clinton and the women's movement for equality; I agree with you completely. I think she's going to regret using Gloria Steinem and Madeline Albright to belittle and bully young women who support Sanders instead of her.

Texas has open primaries, so I can vote in either party's contest, and may cast a protest vote against Trump.

Thanks for reminding me; I had thought about that as well, and I had meant to mention the same thing, as Georgia also has open primaries. Trump is leading in the polls in the state, followed by Cruz and Rubio, so it's entirely possible (though not likely) that I may cast a ballot for Rubio, Bush or Kasich, as an anti-Trump vote.

>220 RebaRelishesReading: Could it be that young women don't have enough experience in the workplace to understand the gender barriers and salary differentials that still exist?

I agree. Thinking about Sanders' (lack of) international policies and apparent interest in world affairs this morning, especially in comparison to Clinton's experience as Secretary of State, tipped me decisively into Hillary's camp.

>222 Oberon: To me, Saunders is peddling a domestic agenda that is simply unobtainable.

I agree completely, Erik. I'm pro-Sanders in the sense that I agree with his agenda, but I think it's an utter fantasy to think that he can put it into place at this time. And, as you said, Clinton has him beat hands down on foreign policy and experience with world leaders.

>224 jessibud2: I agree, Shelley. I would be embarrassed and mortified to see Cruz or Trump stand alongside the world's other leaders.

This is almost making George Bush look good... ;-))

Ha! Sad, but very true.

>208 PaulCranswick: I want to hug you for that post, Paul.

>219 katiekrug: And I want to high-five you for this one, Katie!

As far as Sanders and foreign policy goes, I get that Clinton may have more experience, but that doesn't help if I don't like her foreign policy, and I don't. And Sanders seems to me to be intelligent enough to seek out smart, experienced FP people who align with his ideals.

>223 kidzdoc: I'm sorry I missed the discussion on Brussels sprouts. I may look that up to see what it was all about, but it can't have been too bad if it's placed before arts and music :-)
Enjoy your weekend, Darryl!

What a discussion. It is a nail biter for sure and hard to sit by and be a bystander to as this contest will affect our country as well. As a country I believe we are happier now that we don't have Harper but I would really have love it if Jack Layton had lived to give him a run for his money! (It has been great that the past few elections I have actually been able to vote for the winning party as I felt that I was hitting my head against the wall since my riding always voted Conservative. They have finally seen the light or maybe it was because the riding boundaries were redrawn.)

>219 katiekrug: That was very nicely put, Katie. And I think being under 35 is a matter of attitude, not years!

>210 kidzdoc: Shelley said that you were looking for me, and so here I am! Your thread generally moves too fast for me to keep up, but I did read through all the discussion now. And I have to say, I found it profoundly depressing for the most part.

Since you were specifically looking for input on young women and gender issues, I'll start by weighing in on that. Yes, women are still at a disadvantage compared to men in numerous ways. But I don't really see that as a defining issue of my life. I'll still be okay even if I'm making slightly less money than I should. So my concern about gender pales in comparison to my concern about health insurance, especially as a Canadian living in the US. The American health insurance system is just awful. My life won't be ruined by making a slightly lower wage as a woman, but it could well be ruined by medical bankruptcy—and I say this as a perfectly healthy person with a two-income household.

For the rest, I'm still surprised by the standard narrative that Hillary is so electable. So many polls have shown Sanders doing better against Republican opponents, and his favorability ratings are much higher, while Republicans tend to have a personal hatred of Hillary Clinton. Turnout is also a major factor that decides elections, and Sanders is the one with the enthusiasm on his side.

When you have people like Gloria "Just in it for the boys" Steinem and Madeleine "Special place in hell" Albright outright insulting young women who don't support Hillary , I don't know why everyone expects those young women to just fall in line on election day. I think Hillary as the Democratic nominee might well hand the election to the Republicans.

You can look at the average polling match-ups on RealClearPolitics:

Clinton beats Trump by 4.7%, Sanders beats Trump by 9.7%
Clinton loses to Cruz by 0.2%, Sanders beats Cruz by 3%
Clinton loses to Rubio by 4.2%, Sanders loses to Rubio by 1%

Etc.

(And I'm not convinced that "go to war with everyone" is good foreign policy either, no matter how experienced she is at doing it.)

>227 scaifea: Good points, Amber. I have no doubt that Sanders would surround himself with a good foreign policy team if he is elected president, and I have every reason to think that he would be a quick learner. I am concerned that he may not be as interested in or committed to foreign policy, though, and, as I mentioned, I'm not sure that he would stand up well to the most belligerent world leaders.

BTW, when is the Democratic primary being held in Wisconsin?

>228 Trifolia: The heated Brussels sprouts discussion concerned the palatability of that precious gift from God. It's probably my favorite vegetable, whereas Bianca and other philistines loathe it, because of its taste. If I remember correctly, Jennifer (@jjmcgaffey) informed us that some people have, or lack, a gene that causes the delicate and nutty sprouts to taste bitter to them. Fortunately that discussion didn't lead to bloodshed and hurt feelings, as the Great Scrapple Debate did.

>229 Familyhistorian: I was elated and inspired by Justin Trudeau's election as prime minister last year. It gave me at least some hope that voters in the US can collectively come to their senses and choose a president that truly speaks to their interests and values diversity, equality and fairness.

>230 _Zoe_: Hi, Zoë! It's great to see you here. I'm glad that Shelley invited you to chime in, as I was just about to do that.

Thanks for your excellent commentary; I knew I could count on you for that. I think the generation and socioeconomic gaps are far more important than the differences between genders and races at this time in American history, and I can understand why younger voters would be more drawn to Sanders than Clinton. The cost of receiving undergraduate degrees from good colleges and universities is obscene compared to what it was in the 1980s; I worked full time and went to college at night, except for my last year at Rutgers (as some of the classes I needed to receive my bachelor's degree in Microbiology were only available during the day), and with a small stipend that my jobs gave me I was able to afford tuition and books with little difficulty, so I had no debt when I was finished. And, thanks to a scholarship I received from Pitt, which paid for one year of my four years of medical school, I only had to borrow about $100 K for my medical education, which I was able to pay off quickly and painlessly after I became an attending physician at Children's. The reforms that Sanders proposes to the banking industry, higher education, and the insurance industry resonate far more with younger Americans and their parents than to me and my generation, and if I was in my 20s or 30s instead of my 50s Sanders would be a much more attractive candidate to me.

You raise an excellent point about turnout. I think that young voters will turn out in far greater numbers if Sanders is chosen as the Democratic nominee, as was the case when Obama was selected as the Democratic standard bearer in 2008. I would hope that women and young people would run away in droves from Cruz or Trump if either is selected as the Republican nominee, but that seems less likely to happen if Clinton is the opponent.

I think I was equally skeptical about Americans voting an African American into office at this time eight years ago, and struggling for some time to choose between him and Clinton. However, there was no way that I could vote against Obama, as an African American. Clinton was far more appealing to me then than she is now, and if I decide to vote for her, it will be a vote to ensure that Cruz or Trump doesn't win, rather than a vote against Sanders.

I agree with you about Clinton's use of Albright and Steinem as attack dogs against women who support Sanders. I was pissed off when I read that story in the NYT earlier this week, and it made me reconsider my support of her. Despite any comments I've made this month, including earlier today, I'm still very torn about who I'll support, but I'll let you all know after I cast my ballot, probably on Wednesday morning. I need to decide this week, as early voting ends in Georgia on Friday.

Although Sanders' numbers in the overall vote look better than Clinton's, what's far more important is the vote in the individual states, thanks to our archaic Electoral College system. I'm sure that you're well aware that Al Gore won the popular vote over George W. Bush in 2000, but Bush was elected because he won more Electoral College votes (not counting the shenanigans in Florida). Have you seen any polls based on the Electoral College, on RealClearPolitics or elsewhere? I haven't yet.

>186 thornton37814: FedEx is headquartered in Memphis, and it is much more reliable than USPS.

>232 thornton37814: Ah. I thought so.

>224 jessibud2: You are SO right, I'm afraid.

>231 kidzdoc: Thanks for your comments! I'll be curious to hear how you do decide to vote in the end. It's too bad that the advance voting ends so far before the actual primary, because I'd imagine that the results in Nevada could provide some valuable information about electability.

My understanding about the electoral college is that it comes down to the swing states, so here's what I could find about recent polling in those states:

Colorado
Poll from November 18:
Clinton loses to Rubio by 16%, Sanders loses to Rubio by 13%
Clinton loses to Cruz by 13%, Sanders loses to Cruz by 7%
Clinton loses to Trump by 11%, Sanders loses to Trump by 2%

Florida
Poll from January:
Clinton loses to Trump by 3%, Sanders loses to Trump by 5%
Clinton beats Cruz by 5%, Sanders ties Cruz
Clinton ties Rubio, Sanders loses to Rubio by 5%

Nevada

Ohio

Virginia
Poll from February 3:
Clinton beats Trump by 17%, Sanders beats Trump by 22%
Clinton beats Cruz by 4%, Sanders beats Cruz by 12%
Clinton beats Rubio by 3%, Sanders beats Rubio by 10%

Iowa
Poll from January 10:
Clinton beats Trump by 8%, Sanders beats Trump by 13%
Clinton loses to Cruz by 4%, Sanders beats Cruz by 5%
Clinton loses to Rubio by 5%, Sanders ties Rubio

New Hampshire
Poll from January 20:
Clinton beats Trump by 9%, Sanders beats Trump by 23%
Clinton beats Cruz by 6%, Sanders beats Cruz by 23%
Clinton loses to Rubio by 1%, Sanders beats Rubio by 18%
Clinton ties Kasich, Sanders beats Kasich by 21%

I'll have to look more for Nevada and Ohio polls, but there are 5 of them anyway. Florida is the only one where Clinton is currently polling better than Sanders against the Republican candidates.

>223 kidzdoc: - Darryl, I dropped one kidism on Paul's thread and I will drop another here. I could do an entire thread on them but don't want to hijack anyone else's thread, so one will do for now. As you may know, I taught for many years at a school in Toronto for physically and developmentally disabled kids, a large percentage of them who don't have English as a first language at home. Mostly, the kids I taught were 5,6,7,or 8 years old, functioning at various levels. This particular incident was with one child who was born in Canada and was very verbal. He also had a wicked sense of humour. This was from 2008

At snack time one day, I asked J to please bring me C's lunch bag. It was heavy so I asked him if he could manage (J uses a walker and therefore his hands were not exactly free). He replied, "I'm stwong."

I used my best Russian accent and said, "Strong like bull!"

I noticed that he hooked C's lunch bag onto the edge of the handle of his walker. So I told him he was not only strong but pretty smart, too, to do that!

His response, without missing a beat: "Stwong like bull, smart like cookie!" :-)

(I often tell my students that they are smart cookies)

One other incident with this same *J*. The kids had been playing outside at the sandtable. We called them in to get cleaned up before going to lunch.

Meg (my assistant): "J, brush the sand off your forehead."

J (with a look of shock and horror on his face): Meghan!! I don't have FOUR heads!!!"

ESL (English as a Second Language) meets the *literal-ness* of kids.... ;-)

Breaking news: US Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia has died at the age of 79.

Justice Antonin Scalia, Who Led a Conservative Renaissance on the Supreme Court, Is Dead at 79

Wow. So President Obama will get to select his replacement, which could greatly affect the balance on the Supreme Court. I'm generally not one for dancing on the graves of the deceased, but this is great news, IMO.

>237 kidzdoc: Yeah, not too much information at this stage. Obama will say something gracious before he gets to work. I wonder how this'll play out in an election year.

>237 kidzdoc: I just heard this on PBS news. This will be very interesting, how it plays out, who Obama picks.

Big news! I have faith in Obama's pick.

I know that lots of youth today are apathetic about politics, etc, but I also know lots of zippy young women (and men) who care about politics and sexism. These days, Banjo, jr pays more attention to politics than I do,and she is a great feminist.

Ooof. Whelp, things just got interesting, no? I think it'll be a nail-biter whether Obama will be able to get it done in time. The timing here seems positively West-Wing-esque.

>234 RebaRelishesReading: Ditto.

>235 _Zoe_: Thanks for posting those poll results in swing states, Zoë. You're correct in stating that those swing states are far more important in determining who wins than the popular vote. Trump or Cruz could win 75% of the vote in deep red states like Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana, but it wouldn't matter in the end if either loses states like Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida.

>236 jessibud2: Ha ha! I love those two "kidisms", Shelley. Please keep them coming (on your thread or anyone elses)!

>238 qebo: The president will certainly praise Scalia for his "contributions" to the country (a dubious proposition, at best), but I'll bet that a good number of his advisers are convening now to discuss what steps to take next.

>239 catarina1: Very interesting indeed, catarina. It will certainly affect the current presidential races as well. Ted "Slimeball" Cruz has already chimed in:

"Justice Scalia was an American hero. We owe it to him, & the Nation, for the Senate to ensure that the next President names his replacement."

And, CNN has just reported that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (another Republican) has also said that Scalia's replacement should be postponed until the new president is named, which is simply absurd. Senator Harry Reid, the Democratic Minority Leader, said that his replacement should be named "right away". Wow...it's hard to imagine a news story that could take the lead away from the presidential race, but this is one of them.

So much to comment on.

First, I'm 37 (apparently a very immature 37 ;-) )

Second, high five back to Amber, even though I am nowhere near as big a Sanders supporter as she is.

Third, very interesting points raised about Clinton's foreign policy experience which is great, if you agree with her approach. Much of her approach is very similar to Bush's which, presumably, many of you intensely disliked. So experience isn't everything... And I can see Sanders standing up to the world's bullies - I think sometimes personalities grow to fit the office in some ways.

Thanks to Zoe for fascinating polling information. She's done her research!

I think it's very easy to fall for the media's take which often depends on cut-and-dried dichotomies, e.g. electable/unelectable. The question is a lot more nuanced than that but you have to do some digging. It's like in a history course when you can't just rely on secondary sources - you have to look at some primary sources so you don't become dependent on one author's interpretation. Unfortunately, most people don't have the time and/or inclination to do that so the media has enormous influence.

As for Scalia's death, I don't celebrate the death of anyone, especially a brilliant man who faithfully served his country, even though I disagreed with him a lot. I think it's unseemly to do so, just as it's unseemly how people are now asserting that President Obama shouldn't get to appoint his replacement. I don't think even Scalia would support that kind of thing, being the strict constructionist he was.

>240 banjo123: I do as well, Rhonda. This sets up an epic battle to parallel the presidential election, and it makes that election that much more important if Obama isn't able to get a Supreme Court justice nominated. Those outside of the US may not be aware that there were nine justices before this weekend, with a split between four liberal justices (Kagan, Sotomayor, Breyer and Ginsburg), four conservative justices (Roberts (chief justice), Thomas, Alito and the now deceased Scalia), and a justice nominated by President Reagan who is often in the middle of these two camps (Kennedy). Scalia was about as far right as any of the justices, along with his whipping boy Clarence "Uncle" Thomas, probably the most hated African American by his own people (including me), who traditionally votes practically in lockstep with Scalia. The balance has now been shifted dramatically, which will have a major effect on the decisions handed down in the current Supreme Court session, including vitally important ones on abortion and affirmative action. This is a massive development, and the presidential race, important as it is, will likely play second fiddle for at least a few days until the smoke from this bombshell of a story begins to clear.

I also think that the current generation is very much in tune with this election, and that they are as engaged now as they were in 2008, if not more so. I suspect that there will be significant fallout from Madeline Albright's and Gloria Steinem's despicable comments about young women, and Clinton will lose a good deal of support from young female voters, and others, as a result.

>241 scaifea: The Republican leadership will undoubtedly do everything possible to not give President Obama a chance to nominate a third Supreme Court justice before his term in office ends. He, of course, has every right to do so, and he should be allowed to choose who he sees fit. Any Republican intransigence could backfire on them, though, if the country's moderates view them as being unfairly obstructionist for their own political gain. I think it would be brilliant if Obama chose someone with wide appeal to all voters, a centrist candidate that Republicans would have difficulty opposing on grounds other than blocking the president from choosing him or her.

>206 kidzdoc: I know that guy! Wow. And he's a doctor too? Who knew .....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UveEdT_aG2w

Darryl:

Just skimmed through your thread, but think I got the gist of the political discourse. Hope you don't mind me pipping in.

I too am torn between Sanders and Clinton. In principle, I agree more with Bernie's positions, but I also consider myself a pragmatist and we need to realistically understand the world we currently live in. In my opinion, Hillary is clearly the most qualified of all the current candidates (GOP or DEM) to lead us today. That said, I do not feel nearly as excited about a candidate as I did in 2008 (Obama)

And yet, today's news of Scalia's death makes this election even more important.

BTW, the Wisconsin primary is April 5. As of this

So, I thought I would inject a few articles into the conversation, which I think are worthwhile reads. Why not be an educated voter?

The Case for Hillary | https://medium.com/@zacharyleven/the-case-for-hillary-3564233d524f#.ntl7gxkdg

Opinion: I'm glad Sanders won New Hampshire, but I want Hillary Clinton to be president | http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/feb/09/bernie-sanders-new-hampshir...

Madeleine Albright: My Undiplomatic Moment | http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/13/opinion/madeleine-albright-my-undiplomatic-mom...

Livin’ Bernie Sanders’s Danish Dream | http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/12/opinion/livin-bernie-sanderss-danish-dream.htm...

>244 kidzdoc: Darryl, the NYT just pointed out that Anthony Kennedy was nominated during the last year of the Reagan administration. That should take "a lot of wind out of the Republican's sails". And I'm sure that the Obama team already had a list of possible nominees ready for just this possibility. There are times that I absolutely hate politics but then there are times when I love it.

>247 catarina1:

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/obama-shortlist-new-supreme-court-justi...

>248 alphaorder: Thanks, Nancy. Interesting article and the Zachery Leven one as well.

Fantastic discussion here on politics etc. It is more than a little likely that our group is a little more progressive than would be the median US average, but I do hope that common sense would prevail and that decency, temperance and humanity will be the watchwords of the next Presidential administration - Democratic or Republican. I can understand and sympathise with the arguments towards pragmatism as, from what I have seen, the election of Trump or Cruz would be potentially catastrophic in international terms.

With regard to Erik's comments about Clinton, I would certainly agree that she would be a better alternative than a possible GOP ticket, but a look at her record on foreign policy as Secretary of State does not, in my opinion, give credence to the idea that the world would be safe in her hands - not because she is a militarist (she isn't) but because her exercise of judgement has been shown to be flawed. I would point to Libya, especially Benghazi, and her arrogant handling of state sensitive data through her personal e-mail accounts as casting doubt on the idea that this gives her an advantage over Sanders. Her position that you don't talk to those with different world views without established conditions is restrictive and wrong and the disastrous view that regime change would work in the Middle East has put us all in this fix. She still doesn't see this which is as bizarre as it is wrong-headed.

I am also slightly wary of her seeming feeling of entitlement that simply being a woman gives her the right to claim and shame the feminine/feminist vote especially when Sanders would appear a better safeguard for women's rights. Madeleine Allbright's comments were, to my mind, reprehensible and strike at the heart of what her campaign is all about as is her sponging up so much dosh from Wall Street. It would be wonderful for a lady to become Commander-in-Chief but as a Brit remembering Mrs. Thatcher's Britain, she could do more harm than good for the progress of women in public life.

I am a socialist, though I have flirted with Liberalism when the liberals were more progressive than the socialists and I have to say that there is little in Sanders' agenda that would worry anyone in Europe as the consensus would be with his platform.

On Judge Scalia and despite the fact that US law doesn't really impinge UK & Commonwealth law, he was obviously very conservative in his opinions. That said he appears to have held those views sincerely and served in his position with integrity and vigour. I wouldn't have agreed with many of his decisions undoubtedly but there is a place in the world for a different point of view when it is well argued and faithfully retained. Without an opposing opinion often the majority view becomes lazy and careless. He leaves a wife of 56 years, nine children and tens of grand-kids and I am sure that they are grieving for a loving husband, father and Grandpa. The result of his passing could be to add a more progressive mind to the interpretation of federal law but those celebrations can wait.

On Amber's comments - when we do eventually meet-up, I'll hold you to that hug!

Hi Darryl--it's been pleasure reading all the political viewpoints here. You always have such an interesting thread!! Thank you for that. I wish there was a candidate I WANTED to vote for instead of the one that will do the least damage or the one that can hopefully not be in a stalemate with Congress. I'd write more, but my head isn't up to lots of reading and writing lately. ; )

I just finished Literary Lapses by Stephen Leacock for the Canadian Authors Challenge, which was a collection of short pieces that were probably quite humorous a century ago, but are very outdated today. I'll give it 2-1/2 stars, and review it (and the Stokely Carmichael biography) sometime next week.

The troublesome touchstones aren't working again.

>243 katiekrug: I was certain that you were in your thirties, Katie, but I thought that you were on the other side of 35.

Good point about Clinton's foreign policy experience. She's tough, but also a bit more hawkish than I'm comfortable with. As the day has gone on I've become progressively less comfortable with my far from certain decision to vote for her next week.

Antonin Scalia may have been a brilliant jurist, but I'll only remember him as a man who voted to deny civil rights to minorities and members of the LGBT community, and one who supported big business, the banking industry, and the ability of wealthy donors to have an undue, and IMO un-American, influence on politics. I shall not shed one tear on his passing, and I'm excited at the possibility that President Obama will have the opportunity to choose his replacement.

>245 avidmom: Ha! I wish that little guy was still going to be in the hospital on Monday, so that I could show that video to him.

>246 alphaorder: Thanks for those links, Nancy. I read the latter two in the Op-Ed section of the NYT yesterday and today, and I'll look at the other two tomorrow.

I view myself as a pragmatist as well, and as much as I identify with Sanders' agenda, the chance of his policies being implemented in a Republican dominated House and Senate is essentially zero, unless there is a significant swing to the left in the Congressional races this autumn. And I still worry about Sanders' electability, and the risk of handing the election to Trump or Cruz.

>247 catarina1: I definitely remembered that Anthony Kennedy was nominated by a Republican (although I would have guessed George H.W. Bush rather than Ronald Reagan), as he has been a disappointment to staunch members of that party.

I saw this article from The New Yorker about the president's most likely nominees to the Supreme Court. It was written two years ago, though, when Ruth Bader Ginsburg's health and ability to serve on the court was in question.

The Supreme Court Farm Team

That article described Sri Srinivasan as the "front runner" to be the next Supreme Court nominee under Obama:

Like Sotomayor, Srinivasan has a great (and marketable) American story. The child of immigrants from India, Srinivasan grew up in Lawrence, Kansas, earned a J.D./M.B.A. from Stanford, and clerked for a pair of Republican judges, J. Harvie Wilkinson III and Sandra Day O’Connor. As Obama’s deputy solicitor general, he argued twenty-five cases before the high court and then won confirmation to the D.C. Circuit last year by a vote of 97–0. Even in the malignant political atmosphere of the contemporary Senate, that margin might make him a safe pick for the Supreme Court.

I suspect we'll learn a lot more about him, and the other possible nominees, in the days and weeks to come.

>248 alphaorder: Thanks for that link, Nancy. Interesting that Judge Srinivasan is mentioned as the leading candidate as well.

>249 catarina1: It's approaching 11 pm and my eyes are starting to droop, so I'll read the Zachery Leven article tomorrow.

>250 PaulCranswick: I enjoyed reading your well stated comments, Paul. I'm starting to fade quickly, so I'll plan to comment on them in detail tomorrow (and create a new thread as well).

>251 Berly: I agree, Kim. Both Democratic candidates have significant flaws, IMO, and I have deep reservations about voting for either one. As I mentioned above, I wish that Elizabeth Warren had decided to run for president this year.

I'm off to bed...good night, y'all.

New thread here!

>206 kidzdoc: Love the story!

Great political discussions, Darryl. I would've voted for Hilary back in '08, except Obama wowed me. Not much has changed for me re her, except she now has important experience as Secretary of State. Bernie in a global world is hard for me to imagine working.

Meet you on the new thread.

>255 jnwelch: Thanks, Joe. Regarding Sanders in a global world, I think the same could have been said about Obama in 2008. I have serious concerns about Clinton's integrity and trustworthiness, and after this weekend's discussions here and a conversation with my parents earlier this evening I've decided to vote for Bernie.

>256 kidzdoc: (B.A.G.)