2024: California Senate (Feinstein's seat)

[Dr. Ken]

Schiff is running

[bob]

The governor names someone to fill in until the next election.

Then there's a special election for the remainder of the term.

My dark horse candidate for whom Newsom would nominate:

► Show Spoiler

Newsom.

[somerset]

Feinstein returns to Senate in a wheelchair, offers new details of lingering illness

https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/05/10/ ... gaseonurim
(gift link)

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a hopeful sign for Democrats, Sen. Dianne Feinstein returned to the Senate in a wheelchair Wednesday after a months-long absence due to a lingering bout of shingles that has affected her vision and balance, looking frail but happy and planning to follow her doctor’s advice to work a reduced schedule.

Feinstein, the Senate’s oldest sitting member at 89, said in her first statement since her Tuesday flight back to the Capitol that she’s “prepared to resume my duties in the Senate” and is “grateful for all the well-wishers over the past couple of months and for the excellent care that I received from my medical team in San Francisco.”



Her return to action will be key on Thursday, when the Judiciary Committee will again consider nominees to the federal bench, including three — Charnelle Bjelkengren, S. Kato Crews and Marian F. Gaston — who have not advanced due to Republican opposition. Feinstein’s vote could provide the majority to move them out of committee to the Senate floor.



In her most detailed comments yet on her affliction, Feinstein said she is experiencing vision and balance impairments, and that at times she may require the use of a wheelchair to travel around the Capitol.

I'm not a doctor, but I'm not buying shingles.

[raison de arizona]

JFC RETIRE ALREADY. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE.

[Kendra]

Not to be contrary, but a MUCH younger coworker came down with a bad case of shingles earlier this year. It was bad, she looked bad, and despite the trooper she is about coming to work no matter what, she would go a week or more without coming in to work she was so miserable. The scars were horrible and took a long time to heal.

[Phoenix520]

The governor names someone to fill in until the next election.

Then there's a special election for the remainder of the term.

My dark horse candidate for whom Newsom would nominate:

► Show Spoiler

Newsom.

What would you think if he nominated Phil Angelides?

[p0rtia]

I think I heard somewhere that even if DF resigned, and a replacement was appointed, they would still have to get through a Senate filibuster to seat someone on the Juciary Comm. IOW, they can't get it done. Only hope is to stick with DiFi.

[keith]

Feinstein returns to Senate in a wheelchair, offers new details of lingering illness

https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/05/10/ ... gaseonurim
(gift link)

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a hopeful sign for Democrats, Sen. Dianne Feinstein returned to the Senate in a wheelchair Wednesday after a months-long absence due to a lingering bout of shingles that has affected her vision and balance, looking frail but happy and planning to follow her doctor’s advice to work a reduced schedule.

Feinstein, the Senate’s oldest sitting member at 89, said in her first statement since her Tuesday flight back to the Capitol that she’s “prepared to resume my duties in the Senate” and is “grateful for all the well-wishers over the past couple of months and for the excellent care that I received from my medical team in San Francisco.”



Her return to action will be key on Thursday, when the Judiciary Committee will again consider nominees to the federal bench, including three — Charnelle Bjelkengren, S. Kato Crews and Marian F. Gaston — who have not advanced due to Republican opposition. Feinstein’s vote could provide the majority to move them out of committee to the Senate floor.



In her most detailed comments yet on her affliction, Feinstein said she is experiencing vision and balance impairments, and that at times she may require the use of a wheelchair to travel around the Capitol.

I'm not a doctor, but I'm not buying shingles.

Its been a year, but SWMBO still gets shooting pains behind her eyes. She is on some kind of eye drops to reduce watering and protect against infection.

It didn't affect her ears fortunately, because she has always had vague dizziness if she spun too fast. I have no doubt that she would have needed a wheelchair occaisionally if the shingles had attacked her ears.

[somerset]

Not to be contrary, but a MUCH younger coworker came down with a bad case of shingles earlier this year. It was bad, she looked bad, and despite the trooper she is about coming to work no matter what, she would go a week or more without coming in to work she was so miserable. The scars were horrible and took a long time to heal.

From the photos, she reminds me of stroke patients I've seen. Maybe shingles has the same effect?

[bob]

What would you think if he nominated Phil Angelides?

I'm agnostic about who Newsom might nominate, but whoever is tapped will have a leg up on the election(s) to retain the seat. And the Senate sure is nice place from which to launch a presidential campaign.

* * *

I think I heard somewhere that even if DF resigned, and a replacement was appointed, they would still have to get through a Senate filibuster to seat someone on the Juciary Comm. IOW, they can't get it done. Only hope is to stick with DiFi.

I would not be surprised if that's the correct reading of the rules.

[Suranis]

Not to be contrary, but a MUCH younger coworker came down with a bad case of shingles earlier this year. It was bad, she looked bad, and despite the trooper she is about coming to work no matter what, she would go a week or more without coming in to work she was so miserable. The scars were horrible and took a long time to heal.

From the photos, she reminds me of stroke patients I've seen. Maybe shingles has the same effect?

Not really. The effect is intense pain, and a blister filled rash. It's bloody horrible. My sister has had it 3 times as she is has an immunodeficiency condition. She has had Covid 3 times as well.

But does it cause mobility problems and paralysis similar to a stroke? Not that I have ever heard of.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-con ... c-20353054

Shingles symptoms usually affect only a small section on one side of your body. These symptoms may include:

Pain, burning or tingling
Sensitivity to touch
A red rash that begins a few days after the pain
Fluid-filled blisters that break open and crust over
Itching

Some people also experience:

Fever
Headache
Sensitivity to light
Fatigue

[somerset]

Not to be contrary, but a MUCH younger coworker came down with a bad case of shingles earlier this year. It was bad, she looked bad, and despite the trooper she is about coming to work no matter what, she would go a week or more without coming in to work she was so miserable. The scars were horrible and took a long time to heal.

From the photos, she reminds me of stroke patients I've seen. Maybe shingles has the same effect?

Not really. The effect is intense pain, and a blister filled rash. It's bloody horrible. My sister has had it 3 times as she is has an immunodeficiency condition. She has had Covid 3 times as well.

But does it cause mobility problems and paralysis similar to a stroke? Not that I have ever heard of.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-con ... c-20353054

Shingles symptoms usually affect only a small section on one side of your body. These symptoms may include:

Pain, burning or tingling
Sensitivity to touch
A red rash that begins a few days after the pain
Fluid-filled blisters that break open and crust over
Itching

Some people also experience:

Fever
Headache
Sensitivity to light
Fatigue

Somebody at Reddit mentioned Ramsay Hunt syndrome as a side effect of shingles. The appearance is similar to a stroke:

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-con ... yndrome%20(herpes%20zoster,loss%20in%20the%20affected%20ear

[keith]

If the shingles attacks nerves related to the ear, it could affect balance, and thus mobility.

[Slim Cognito]

All I know is people suffer various degrees of shingles, from painfully annoying to Jeez, just kill me now. I don't know DiFi's health situation pre shingles but I bet it would kick 89 yo butt bigly.

I also heard Romney say that they would not allow DiFi to be replaced because they have to stop liberal agenda judges.

[MsDaisy 2]

All I know is people suffer various degrees of shingles, from painfully annoying to Jeez, just kill me now.

Shingles.png (110.77 KiB) Viewed 1119 times

I had the just kill me now version of shingles. This was my right hip and it went down almost to my knee. They gave me pain pills but I can't take that kind of stuff, messes my system up. I used Capzasin ointment, it burned like hell rubbing it in but the burn masked the pain and I could actually sit down.

[AndyinPA]

There is a vaccine, Shingrex (I think). It's heavily advertised, at least around here. I had the original vaccine, still need to get the new one, a two-shot vaccine. Also, if you catch it in the first few days, it can be treated. My husband got it. He told me about it and showed it to me on his back, and I recognized it immediately. He called his doctor, and they gave him an antiviral prescription for it. He still had a few uncomfortable weeks, but it was much less painful than before the antiviral.

In addition to balance issues if near the ear, it can cause blindness near the eye.

[neonzx]

RETIRE. Enjoy the remainder of the golden years. Damn. Step aside. What is she clinging to?

[RVInit]

RETIRE. Enjoy the remainder of the golden years. Damn. Step aside. What is she clinging to?

I was thinking the exact same. Except now that I know that Republicans had Democrats by the short hair (what's new, seems like this keeps happening over and over and over again).

In general, I think if Congress critters and Supreme Court justices have the funds (come on, of course they do) to retire at normal retirement age, then fucking RETIRE!!! Democrats have already been screwed enough by old geezers that simply hold on to power way beyond their due date and risk their place being taken over by a right wing nut job. Which has happened already in some cases. She should have retired LONG ago. I appreciate their service, but there is MUCH they can do from the sidelines while allowing younger people to get inside, get some experience, and keep moving us toward that oh-so-elusive perfect union. LOL, I know, I know.

[Frater I*I]

old geezers that simply hold on to power way beyond their due date and risk their place being taken over by a right wing nut job. Which has happened already in some cases.

I don't blame Ginsberg, I blame the cult that formed around her over the decades that convinced a woman with pancreatic cancer to cling on to her seat instead of retiring when Obama could have placed her hand picked successor into that seat...

[Suranis]

old geezers that simply hold on to power way beyond their due date and risk their place being taken over by a right wing nut job. Which has happened already in some cases.

I don't blame Ginsberg, I blame the cult that formed around her over the decades that convinced a woman with pancreatic cancer to cling on to her seat instead of retiring when Obama could have placed her hand picked successor into that seat...

That is a very, very good point.

One counterpoint is that The Republicans would likely have blocked two Supreme openings with the brazen ease that they blocked one with thge aid of the media who didn't call out their BS.

[Kendra]

Off Topic

I know we're going off topic, but when I got the Shingrex vaccine, Medicare A&B did not cover it, and trust me it's an expensive vaccine. First shot I was caught off guard and Rite Aid made me pay the full monte. For the booster, I went on Good RX app and got a much better price via other pharmacies - CVS was the lowest price, even topped Costco. Don't know if that's still the case, but if your medical doesn't cover it, shop around.

[raison de arizona]

A Brief, Concerning Conversation with Dianne Feinstein
The senator seems to not remember being absent from the Capitol.

“Oh, you’re an eager one,” Sen. Dianne Feinstein said as the elevator door opened and she saw me on Tuesday afternoon.

The senior California senator had just voted, after returning to the Senate last week after an extended absence following a case of shingles. The 89-year-old Feinstein, whose physical and mental capacity has deteriorated in recent years, and whose ability to continue serving in the Senate has come under question, is working an admittedly “lighter schedule” under doctors’ advice. She has, though, voted both days this week. On Tuesday afternoon, a male staffer escorted her on his arm to vote against a Republican bill to block a District of Columbia policing law. She was on and off the floor in an instant—but on her own two feet.

When the fellow reporter asked her what the response from her colleagues had been like since her return, though, the conversation took an odd turn.

“No, I haven’t been gone,” she said.

Okay.

“You should follow the—I haven’t been gone, I’ve been working.”

When asked whether she meant that she’d been working from home, she turned feisty.

“No, I’ve been here. I’ve been voting,” she said. “Please, you either know or don’t know.”

After deflecting one final question about those, like Rep. Ro Khanna, who’ve called on her to resign, she was wheeled away.

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/202 ... enate.html

[AndyinPA]

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/18/us/p ... Position=4

When she arrived at the Capitol last week after a more than two-month absence recovering from shingles, Senator Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of California, 89, appeared shockingly diminished.

Using a wheelchair, with the left side of her face frozen and one eye nearly shut, she seemed disoriented as an aide steered her through the marble corridors of the Senate, complaining audibly that something was stuck in her eye.

Ms. Feinstein’s frail appearance was a result of several complications after she was hospitalized for shingles in February, some of which she has not publicly disclosed. The shingles spread to her face and neck, causing vision and balance impairments and facial paralysis known as Ramsay Hunt syndrome. The virus also brought on a previously unreported case of encephalitis, a rare but potentially debilitating complication of shingles, according to two people familiar with the senator’s diagnosis who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe it.

Characterized by swelling of the brain, post-shingles encephalitis can leave patients with lasting memory or language problems, sleep disorders, bouts of confusion, mood disorders, headaches and difficulties walking. Older patients tend to have the most trouble recovering. And even before this latest illness, Ms. Feinstein had already suffered substantial memory issues that had raised questions about her mental capacity.

[somerset]

From the same article, here's a good reason for DiFI not to step down early:

But the senator’s condition and the political drama surrounding her fate has drawn so much scrutiny that even the presence of one of her closest friends during her convalescence has drawn speculation. Some have read Ms. Prowda’s involvement as a tacit endorsement by Ms. Pelosi of Ms. Feinstein’s decision to stay on, reasoning that it could give Representative Adam B. Schiff, Democrat of California and Ms. Pelosi’s chosen candidate in the crowded race to replace Ms. Feinstein in 2024, a leg up. Mr. Newsom has committed to appointing a Black woman to the seat should it become vacant.

I very much want Schiff to replace Feinstein, and I have no doubt he can win this seat if he runs on a level playing field. But the incumbent has a serious advantage in any election, and I don't want Newsom to tilt the playing field to someone unknown.

[bob]

Mr. Newsom has committed to appointing a Black woman to the seat should it become vacant.

This is code for Rep. Barbara Lee. Who, at near 77, might not serve past 2031.