Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Rupert, come get your orange boy, you petrified old dinosaur turd.

Take hopelessness and turn it into resilience.

Let’s delete this post and never speak of this again.

The media handbook says “controversial” is the most negative description that can be used for a Republican.

When you’re in more danger from the IDF than from Russian shelling, that’s really bad.

When we show up, we win.

The arc of the moral universe does not bend itself. it is up to us to bend it.

They were going to turn on one another at some point. It was inevitable.

There are a lot more evil idiots than evil geniuses.

rich, arrogant assholes who equate luck with genius

Of course you can have champagne before noon. That’s why orange juice was invented.

Anne Laurie is a fucking hero in so many ways. ~ Betty Cracker

I desperately hope that, yet again, i am wrong.

When you’re a Republican, they let you do it.

If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

The current Supreme Court is a dangerous, rogue court.

Jack be nimble, jack be quick, hurry up and indict this prick.

Every reporter and pundit should have to declare if they ever vacationed with a billionaire.

I did not have this on my fuck 2025 bingo card.

How stupid are these people?

People are weird.

Conservatism: there are people the law protects but does not bind and others who the law binds but does not protect.

Everybody saw this coming.

Roe is not about choice. It is about freedom.

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48Comments

  2. 2.

    Dork

    Saw a real, live, wild fox yesterday. I understand that the rural folk here will yawn at this, but for me, a suburbanite, the idea of being 10 feet away from a actual fox was prettty damn cool.

    A lot smaller than I had anticipated. Almost like a large raccoon.

  4. 4.

    Media Browski

    John,

    What’s up with that bizarre reflection on the right of Angel’s pic? Is it just blazing sunlight or is it really an alien PUMA supporter?

    @Dork: I totally feel ya! I’ve just started seeing a fox who lives in my parking lot (he cleans up road kill much better than the condo association), and I’m pretty psyched about it myself. He’s so cute for a little scavenger!

  6. 6.

    MikeJ

    A lot smaller than I had anticipated. Almost like a large raccoon.

    Either you saw a really, really large fox or you’ve never seen an adult raccoon. Around here (the Pacific northwest where you cannot stop things from growing even if you try) raccoons are larger than Tunch. Foxes usually aren’t quite that big.

  7. 7.

    burnspbesq

    The worst day of the year. The day of the all-day conference call to do performance reviews. I’d rather listen to Limbaugh all day.

  8. 8.

    Krista

    Saw a real, live, wild fox yesterday. I understand that the rural folk here will yawn at this, but for me, a suburbanite, the idea of being 10 feet away from a actual fox was prettty damn cool. A lot smaller than I had anticipated. Almost like a large raccoon.

    They are really neat. We have one who hangs around our house (I saw his footprints in the snow right next to my car this morning), and no matter how many times I see him, I still marvel at the sight.

    Craziest thing I once saw here was a fox walking across the yard, followed 10 minutes later by a freaking lynx. I’d never seen one here before, and haven’t seen one since.

  9. 9.

    Punchy

    @Dork: I’ve saw a few foxes last nite as well. All sitting at the bar, drinking their mojitos. Got scared off by a pack of cougars, tho.

  12. 12.

    Mnemosyne

    Eddie is still hiding under the bed, and isn’t eating. I’m starting to get worried.

    I hate to say it, but those are both very bad signs. Get a vet appointment ASAP.

  15. 15.

    Mnemosyne

    I talked to the surgeon, and she said to give it until tomorrow.

    If you’re really worried about the not eating, try some tuna. It’s not going to hurt for him to eat it as a treat occasionally. You can even warm it up in the microwave for 10 seconds or so to get it really warm and stinky. When we had to give our cat Natasha her antibiotics after surgery, we were able to mix the (peach-flavored!) liquid with tuna and she ate it up.

    (I’m assuming Eddie is a cat — hopefully I’m not misremembering. If he’s a dog, try peanut butter.)

    Adding: They also gave Natasha this awesome pain patch that worked great to take the edge off for the first 48 hours, so that helped a lot in her recovery.

  16. 16.

    R-Jud

    We get an enormous hedgehog in the garden when it’s warmer outside. He trundles down the lawn to root around my compost heap for worms, stirring up the mulch in the meantime. Very helpful.

    The cats watch him with big eyes from the lavender. They seem to know it would be a bad idea to fuck with him.

  17. 17.

    South of I-10

    @Dork: That is cool. My parents live in the middle of the city I live in and have a pair of red tail hawks that hang out in their backyard. They perch on a wrought iron fence that is pretty close to the house. They are beautiful, but I guess it is a good thing that my parents don’t have any cats. I tried to get a picture last weekend (I was planning to post it here), but I couldn’t get a good shot without scaring them away.

  18. 18.

    J. Michael Neal

    If you’re really worried about the not eating, try some tuna.

    He’s not eating that, either. He will drink some of the water from the can, though. I’m sticking his liquid pain medication in that, hoping to get it into him.

  20. 20.

    demimondian

    We have raccoons which den in the woods near our house, along with foxes, coyotes, and at least one cougar. [For those of you keeping score, yes, I live in suburban Redmond, about eighteen miles from Seattle. You can’t escape the wildlife out here — in fact, I’ve heard that many Microsofties misread “wildlife”, and moved out for the wild life. Man, were they disappointed.]

    The raccoons are huge and vicious little garbage eaters. I’d almost rather face down the cougar — at least it has the sense to be afraid of me, unlike the rats with eyeglasses.

  21. 21.

    R-Jud

    @demimondian:

    The raccoons are huge and vicious little garbage eaters. I’d almost rather face down the cougar—at least it has the sense to be afraid of me, unlike the rats with eyeglasses.

    I actually had a raccoon waddle across my path one evening as I was running up the Chicago Lakefront. It stopped me in my tracks with a look that said "I will cut you." I wouldn’t be surprised if it was a member of the Latin Kings gang and/or an alderman.

  23. 23.

    Krista

    I actually had a raccoon waddle across my path one evening as I was running up the Chicago Lakefront. It stopped me in my tracks with a look that said "I will cut you."

    They are rather stupidly courageous. More than once I’ve had to brake for them on the road, and instead of getting out of the way like a sensible creature, they just sort of blink and look at you, and eventually they might waddle away…in their own good time. They’re not really scared of anything, which can be their downfall considering that fast-moving cars are included on the list of things that don’t frighten them.

  24. 24.

    cleek

    my wife has matching scars on the top and bottom of one of her feet where a neighbor’s pet raccoon bit her, when she was young.

    evil creatures, raccoons.

  25. 25.

    Hyperion

    @demimondian:

    about eighteen miles from Seattle

    i’m in NE seattle and raccoons in/around here are a topic of interest to me.

    this is my first winter with chickens and i am determined to keep them safe. Monday morning after the last two inches of snow, i saw tracks that looked like raccoon. however, the animal did not approach the coop, which seems unlikely for a coon. i find it disturbing that raccoons might be walking through my in-city yard at night. but i *think* my coop and run area are predator proof.

  26. 26.

    demimondian

    @Hyperion: NE Seattle? Up by Lake City, then? Nah, you’re gonna have ‘coons; they’re an endemic pest out here, particularly any place that there is readily available garbage as well as large green spaces, like the ones near the High School.

  27. 27.

    South of I-10

    @cleek: There was a guy I knew (he actually is the stereotypical, lives in the swamp and fishes and traps Cajun guy) who had a pet racoon. He found it when it was a baby – it would hiss if you got near it. Mean little thing. He also had a pet nutria (he calls it a nutra-rat). Why would anyone want a wild animal for a pet?

  28. 28.

    R-Jud

    @Krista:

    They are rather stupidly courageous. More than once I’ve had to brake for them on the road, and instead of getting out of the way like a sensible creature, they just sort of blink and look at you…

    My sister still lives out in the sticks where we grew up. She says there’s a black bear that keeps trying to have a go at her garbage cans, but can’t, because the raccoons will run it off. They used to maul our family cats– which were burly, semi-feral mouser types– as well.

  29. 29.

    Punchy

    We get an enormous hedgehog in the garden when it’s warmer outside

    I knew the pr0n industry was hurting, but I had no idea Ron Jeremy would be out of a job.

  30. 30.

    demimondian

    @South of I-10: Infants and juveniles of all mammalian species tend to exhibit a set of nuture-seeking behaviors. In almost all of those species, those behaviors evaporate as adulthood approaches. We tend to domesticate only animals which either don’t lose those behaviors (house cats, unique among felines, for instance, retain those behaviors neotenously) or for which pack behavior can replace them (dogs, for instance).

    Someone who picks up a juvenile of a different species, though, inevitably falls prey to our own built-in responses which guarantee that we nurture nurture-seeking animals. (Good thing, too, or our own offspring wouldn’t see their first birthdays.) Such a person has to consciously resist those responses, and remind himself or herself that the animal will outgrow them, or they’ll get sucked in, and try to keep the animal as a pet.

  31. 31.

    Face

    i find it disturbing that raccoons might be walking through my in-city yard at night. but i think my coop and run area are predator proof.

    From my experience as a kid building homemade traps to catch these, I’d doubt that it’s coon-safe. Raccoons are just wicked smart animals. They work as a team at times, seemingly aren’t afraid of anything, and have very dextrous hands/paws. Like giant rats. I bet they’re just casing your joint, planning to bum-rush it later with a group of friends.

  32. 32.

    R-Jud

    @Punchy:

    I knew the pr0n industry was hurting, but I had no idea Ron Jeremy would be out of a job.

    Like I said: the cats won’t go near him.

  33. 33.

    Tattoosydney

    We don’t currently have many Australian native wildlife visitors. Pedro scares off almost everything from our back yard, except the evil Indian Mynahs, who like to sit on the fence and tease him.

    I do, however, have this growing in my backyard. I’m rather proud of it. (Photo gets bigger if you click it)

    It’s Saturday! Hurrah!

  34. 34.

    Betsy

    One of my favorite moments last year was seeing a wild turkey on the lawn in front of my department at a very urban university. No one else was noticing, and I thought I might be imagining things. I went inside and mentioned it to the receptionist, and the entire admin staff ran outside to gawk at it. No one was left to answer the phones, greet visitors, etc. It was awesome. I was not imagining it.

  35. 35.

    steve

    betsy that is a sad story….there so many damn turkeys where i live that it makes it difficult to deer hunt during rifle season…they make a heck of alot of noise in the woods and spoook the deer

  36. 36.

    Ash Can

    Although we’re still within the city limits, we live in a pretty good neighborhood for wildlife — lots of trees and other vegetation, and close to forest preserves. As a result, we’ve sighted foxes and skunks as well as the far more usual opossums and raccoons. Several neighbors have sighted deer and coyotes over the last couple of years too. There are squirrels and rabbits, of course, and the occasional chipmunk and gopher. Mice and bats abound. We have a pretty good variety of birds as well, especially during migratory periods — you never know who’s going to show up at the backyard feeder from one year to the next. The husband gives me the business about the birdseed chuckwagon I maintain in our yard from fall through the winter into spring. What can I say? While I’d happily bust the teeth of any asshole politician, when it comes to animals I’m a complete softie. Gotta make sure the little animals have enough to eat, especially in the winter. And it’s highly entertaining to watch — birds and squirrels during the day, rabbits after sundown, possums and raccoons at night. And then there’s the occasional hawk — the neighborhood raptors are probably very happy I lay out a spread for the seed-eaters and indirectly set up a buffet for them too (whoopsie).

  37. 37.

    steve

    we have coyotes too….it is open season year round on them and from jan. 1 to July 1 you can hunt them at nite with use of amber light…only in the fields though not in the woods…i have almost completed my permanent tree stand in the field on the next ridge line across from my house…15 feet tall, with 6×8 covered platform to hunt from…next weekend my son and i are going to spend several nite time hours in it and try to pop one of those critters…

  39. 39.

    J. Michael Neal

    Christ. I just realized that, in addition to the problem of getting the painkillers into Eddie, I’ve been underdosing him. I’m putting them (they’re liquid) into the tuna juice, but I’ve only been using half as much as I’m supposed to.

    I feel awful, and I’m wodnering if this is a part of the problem.

  40. 40.

    Gus

    I understand that the rural folk here will yawn at this, but for me, a suburbanite, the idea of being 10 feet away from a actual fox was prettty damn cool.

    It is pretty rare, but I’ve seen them right in the middle of Minneapolis. Right by the Mississippi, but right in the city.

  41. 41.

    HyperIon

    @Face:

    From my experience as a kid building homemade traps to catch these, I’d doubt that it’s coon-safe. Raccoons are just wicked smart animals.

    but they don’t know the combination to the coop!
    (i’m thinking they aren’t THAT smart.)

    also i used 16 gauge wire, not that worthless chicken wire.
    my chicken homeland is secure.

  42. 42.

    J. Michael Neal

    It is pretty rare, but I’ve seen them right in the middle of Minneapolis. Right by the Mississippi, but right in the city.

    We had one that lived in the brush along the railroad tracks at Taylor and Spring for a couple of years. It’s been a while.

  43. 43.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    I live in the boonies outside of Jacksonville proper on the edge of a swamp so we get lots of critters. There is a family of three possums that come up from the swamp at night climb up the tree by the garage, go over the garage roof, then down the tree in front and feast on the dry cat food which I keep at the door for my cats (they also have an indoor feeder). Routinely I know they are there when the dogs some how sense them and start barking whereas the cats (being cats) sit together and look at them as if to say "WTF is that?" Once the possums have finished eating (and they are very polite they just eat their fill) off they go again in their parade up the tree, across the garage roof, down the tree and back into the swamp. My yard is fenced so I tend not to get alot of furry critters in there but we do have deer, racoons, foxes, rabbits etc., in the swamp area. Squirrels at the birdfeeders of course. Thousands of birdies (the overwintering ones are here right now). Lots of lizards, snakes, skinks, frogs, toads, tree-frogs, tortoises, turtles and gators of course. In the summer bees, butterflies, moths, humming birds and dragonflies. It helps to have a completely "nature friendly" and organic yard of course.

    PS) I just LOVE hedgehogs, I miss them so! "sniff"

  44. 44.

    Mnemosyne

    Christ. I just realized that, in addition to the problem of getting the painkillers into Eddie, I’ve been underdosing him. I’m putting them (they’re liquid) into the tuna juice, but I’ve only been using half as much as I’m supposed to.

    It could definitely be part of the problem. I’m relieved to hear he’s drinking — that’s a good sign. Your surgeon is probably right and not me, the random person on the internet. ;-) You’re probably even getting a little bit of nutrition in him from the tuna water.

    Caring for a very sick pet sucks, and you will spend 90 percent of your time during and after kicking yourself for things you could have done better. It’s pretty much inevitable since the damn things refuse to learn English no matter how long they’ve lived in the US.

  45. 45.

    Mnemosyne

    I should probably say that we lost two cats in two years — cancer and fucking poisoned cat food from China — both of whom required pretty extensive nursing. So I’m not an expert by any means.

  47. 47.

    ScreaminginAtlanta

    @Media Browski: The reflection is a glass doorknob to the right of the mirror. He likes to sit there and check himself out. it’s late in the afternoon and the doorknob is catching the light.

  48. 48.

    ScreaminginAtlanta

    @J. Michael Neal: If it’s a liquid med, have you tried wrapping him in a towel and using a syringe down his throat? That’s the only way we can treat one of our cats.

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