Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

She burned that motherfucker down, and I am so here for it. Thank you, Caroline Kennedy.

At some point, the ability to learn is a factor of character, not IQ.

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

It is possible to do the right thing without the promise of a cookie.

Every decision we make has lots of baggage with it, known or unknown.

How any woman could possibly vote for this smug smarmy piece of misogynistic crap is beyond understanding.

If ‘weird’ was the finish line, they ran through the tape and kept running.

All hail the time of the bunny!

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

Seems like a complicated subject, have you tried yelling at it?

Come on, media. you have one job. start doing it.

Oppose, oppose, oppose. do not congratulate. this is not business as usual.

Celebrate the fucking wins.

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

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

Hi god, it’s us. Thanks a heap, you’re having a great week and it’s only Thursday!

Do we throw up our hands or do we roll up our sleeves? (hint, door #2)

Do not shrug your shoulders and accept the normalization of untruths.

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

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

One of our two political parties is a cult whose leader admires Vladimir Putin.

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

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Reader Interactions

137Comments

  1. 1.

    trizzlor

    Nominee:

    "$75,000,000.00 for a program to end smoking which, if successful will bankrupt the State Children’s Health Program Democrats are about to pass (SCHIP) that is paid for by cigarette taxes"

    — Reason #3 to oppose the stimulus, according to FredomWorks (via Malkin).

  2. 2.

    srv

    Annual? That’s way too long. Will be forgotten like Civility Thursday, Friday Beer Review, Troll ppGaz on the 13th, and all your other intertube traditions.

    I resubmit my suggestion for the Pete Sessions Taliban of the Week Award.

  3. 3.

    Dreggas

    actually I have to agree with the comment on the smoking program thing. That’s one of the reasons I still shake my head over the S-CHIP bill. They’re paying for it by taxing a small portion of the electorate and every time they do this more people quit but it leaves less funding for these programs. Same shit happened here in California, we had prop 86 which would have raised taxes on cigs to pay for healthcare but a large part of it would have gone to fill the funding hole in the last health care proposal which was funded by a….tax on cigarettes.

  4. 4.

    trizzlor

    @Dreggas

    I see what you’re saying, but I thought the principle for these programs is that lower smoking also lowers health-care costs and the whole thing winds down like an ouroboros. Not to mention that less taxable sales is a particularly craven reason to cut anti-smoking programs.

  5. 5.

    John O

    Nice day, John.

    I have an old friend who’s economically doctrinaire GOP, and I torture him with your work via e-mail.

    Thanks for the pet pics. Can’t go wrong with me there.

    Regards. Have a good weekend.

  6. 6.

    robertdsc

    Every time I see Steeler shit here in LA, I think of our esteemed host. Damned Stiller fans.

  7. 7.

    Comrade Dread

    Limbaugh and Malkin are too easy a target.

    My nominee for the week:

    "Insurgency, we understand perhaps a little bit more because of the Taliban. And that is that they went about systematically understanding how to disrupt and change a person’s entire processes. And these Taliban — I’m not trying to say the Republican Party is the Taliban. No, that’s not what we’re saying. I’m saying an example of how you go about [sic] is to change a person from their messaging to their operations to their frontline message. And we need to understand that insurgency may be required when the other side, the House leadership, does not follow the same commands, which we entered the game with,"

    – Pete Sessions (R-TX), chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee.

  8. 8.

    Reverend Dennis

    I see what you’re saying, but I thought the principle for these programs is that lower smoking also lowers health-care costs and the whole thing winds down like an ouroboros.

    Then enact a fast food tax. These days I see a hell of a lot more overweight people (Including a startling number of children) than I do smokers.

  9. 9.

    John O

    There’s a pretty good case to make that smokers are macro-economically good for Us. Though thinking about it just depresses me.

    We die faster and younger.

  11. 11.

    dr. bloor

    @Dreggas:

    actually I have to agree with the comment on the smoking program thing. That’s one of the reasons I still shake my head over the S-CHIP bill. They’re paying for it by taxing a small portion of the electorate and every time they do this more people quit but it leaves less funding for these programs. Same shit happened here in California, we had prop 86 which would have raised taxes on cigs to pay for healthcare but a large part of it would have gone to fill the funding hole in the last health care proposal which was funded by a….tax on cigarettes.

    We should be so lucky to have S-CHIP funding wiped out by the eradication of nicotine addiction. The public health and financial benefits of doing so would put enough money back into the economy to give every kid in the country a gold-plated bedpan to dump in.

    Not an issue. Although the fact that it was passed on by Malkin should have been a hint.

  12. 12.

    demkat620

    Yeah, that Sessions quote is pretty nigh untoppable.

    And those are some really beautiful pets. Especially that doggeh!

  13. 13.

    LItlebritdifrnt

    Listen I was always told as a child that the best way to preserve something was to either pickle it in alcohol or smoke it (pickled eggs and beef jerky cases in point) in which case I am going to live forever, or if I don’t then there ain’t no way in hell my body is going to decompose cause it will be pickled and smoked up a storm.

    Trying to be serious here, if the entire country gave up drinking and smoking tomorrow the entire economy would collapse (I mean worse than it has already collapsed) without tobacco and alcohol taxes the US government is bankrupt.

  14. 14.

    John O

    #13: LItlebritdifrnt

    Truly funny.

    I’m watching a "bipartisan" dance on the TeeVee that is making me want to have a cigarette in the bad way.

    And then maybe bungee jump without measuring.

  15. 15.

    gbear

    Two questions:

    1. Can the asshole hall of fame include a ‘lifetime achievment’ section for assholedom above and beyond the call of duty? Please.

    2. Isn’t that third picture a food group rather than a pet?

  18. 18.

    El Cid

    Pete Sessions who talks about launching a Taliban-style "insurgency" against the Democrats is yet another Republican tough-talker who has never served his nation in the military.

    (Although he is very proud of being an Eagle Scout.)

  19. 19.

    John O

    I agree with gbear on the lifetime achievement awards.

    The real question is how many you put in at your grand opening to establish the place. What kind of bar do you want to set?

  20. 20.

    demkat620

    Yeah thanks alot there Maine. Susan Collins. What a waste of space. I am really going to hate this Senate. The vulnerable GOP folks that could be rolled are all retiring. God save us from the moderate centrists. They will be the death of us all.

    Mrs. Greenspan just said they aren’t voting until Sunday. Real smart, Harry. Give the repubs two days to rally to the flag and vote against it. Don’t be surprised if this fails on Sunday.

  21. 21.

    John O

    Resolved: Jonah, while prolific, is simply too young to get the L A Award.

    Also Resolved: He seems to be well on track for a first-ballot spot.

    Nobody will take you seriously if you don’t have rules, or at least standards.

  22. 22.

    South of I-10

    I would like to nominate David Vitter for the hall of fame. He is suddenly Mr. Tough Guy Republican who is going to vote against anything the current administration proposes, whether or not he supported it in the past. Ignore all the diapers and hookers y’all, look how right wing I am!

  23. 23.

    gbear

    @John O:

    Yes. If the republicans want to play obstruction games, then Reid and Obama really needs to let them (and the rest of the country) see them in action with an actual fillibuster. Make ’em do it. They’ve been getting away with calling the bluff for too long, and a bit of self-humiliation would do them a world of wake-up.

  26. 26.

    John O

    Resolved: David Vitter has had a couple great years, but is not Hall of Fame material.

    Sorry, I-10. But I’m just proposing a resolution. A stipulation. It’s really just a matter of how you set the bar.

  27. 27.

    John O

    robertdsc,

    I’m with you. Obama will win the Chicken Game because things ain’t gonna get better. As long as he’s making his case as it progresses.

    I’m OK with another month or two of data. :-)

  29. 29.

    Chet

    That’s the very mirror image of my cat. Literally, mirror – his one pink ear is on the other side of his head. Plus that bedspread looks familiar.

    How did you get a picture of my cat?

  30. 30.

    ScreaminginAtlanta

    I’ll claim Angel. That was the day he refused to get out of bed after watching Boehner, Pence, and the little slimy guy from Virginia on TeeVee. He’s still depressed.

  31. 31.

    John O

    LOL, South, I recently told my boss/old friend that I would seriously consider taking the assault charge for punching John Thain in the nose.

    That is looking to be my best investment opportunity for a while, since I would charge for media coverage.

    In all seriousness, if the circumstances were right, I sure would try to provoke him into hitting me first with my sharp and calm wit.

  33. 33.

    gbear

    Here’s a hastily assembled and not at all researched list of nominations from me. Guys (it’s always guys) who have caused a world of hurt thru ambition or corruption:

    Grover Nordquist
    Dick Cheney
    John Yoo
    Don Rumsfeld
    Tom Delay

  36. 36.

    Zuzu's Petals

    @Dreggas:

    Well I think there’s a credible argument to be made that since the S-CHIP increase is only for 4.5 years (through the 2013 FY), the increase in revenue will offset any loss through fewer sales or fewer smokers.

    (The TFK analysis I linked to is for the 2007 version of the bill, so the FY dates are off, and I think the tax is now something like 62c rather than 61c, but I think most of the basics would apply.)

  40. 40.

    South of I-10

    @John O: Should he somehow be re-elected, we can revisit the issue. I think the whole draft Stormy idea is cute and all, but how about we actually field a candidate who can whip his butt? I know a lot of repubs who are not happy with him and would vote for someone else, but may have some reservations about a porn star. Not that there is anything wrong with that.

  41. 41.

    The Grand Panjandrum

    This whole game of chicken is starting to remind me of when Newt and his gang let the government shut down in 95. That didn’t work out to well for the Republicans then either. Republicans are the anti-government party and cannot win this argument when the country is in the midst of economic hardship. Give enough rope and …

  42. 42.

    Face

    Yahoo news says SimPak passed. I’m sure it’s watered down and contains $1.3 trill in tax cuts for Exxon and pr0n.

  46. 46.

    John Cole

    Anyone watching CNN? Campbell Brown has to be about 14 months pregnant by now. The camera switched from her to Candy Crowley and I barely noticed.

    BTW- I love Candy Crowley’s voice.

  47. 47.

    John O

    Please, JL!

    While his comments, introspection, intelligence, and ability to withstand humiliation all have to be respected, admired even, there is NO WAY A. Card is first-balloter.

    He’s Triple-A wank, tops.

  50. 50.

    The Grand Panjandrum

    BTW has anyone been following Andrew Bacevich discussion of his book Limits of Power at TPM Cafe Book Club? It is quite fascinating and a delightful interlude with everyone running around with their hair on fire over the stimulus package. Some actual intellectual debate over an important topic ("global leadership") is VERY refreshing.

  52. 52.

    John O

    Good call.

    She’s glowing, but I can’t be sure if it isn’t because her gravitational pull is catching light. *shirk/laugh*

    *RUNNING FOR THE HILLS*

  55. 55.

    The Grand Panjandrum

    I failed to mention that he does criticize Obama and it is worthy of a read just to read that criticize. Agree with the criticism or not, it is well thought out and presented in a reasonable tone.

    That’s opposition you can believe in.

  56. 56.

    Laura W

    I thought today was Thursday until 2:00 today. Other than that, I’ve had an amazingly good week. Like, 12-things-new-and-good week. I am maxxed to the gills with political blather and non-stop squabblefests, so I’m going to dwell on the good for one brief moment in time.

    I realized yesterday, standing at my kitchen window, that I am infinitely happier, more content, hopeful and centered than I was a decade ago.
    Being pretty much a chronic malcontent by nature, that floored me.

    The kitty is bittersweet for me every time I pull up this page. Reminds me so much of my beloved Walter.
    Anyway…sometimes it is good to focus on what is right and working for a change.

  58. 58.

    John O

    Laura, there’s a lot of that going around.

    If you’ve lived a good life, these are weirdly good times. All of a large group of family and friends talked about it over the holidays. Friends and family, our version of Jesus?

  59. 59.

    J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford

    I’ve been watching Sens. McConnell, McCain, Kyl, Thune and Coburn spew bullshit on CSPAN2 for the last 20 some minutes and it’s making my brain hurt. Now Lindsey Graham is up to put the cherry on top.

    These guys never had any intention of working with the Democrats and nothing short of allowing them total authorship of the bill would change their minds.

  63. 63.

    gbear

    @John O:

    42%. Tax. Cuts.

    Exactly THREE republicans in the House and Senate went along with the stimulus bill. Now it goes to committee. Shut the fucking republicans out of the negotiations and get the bill back to where it needs to be. Make them fillibuster if they don’t like it. Clowntime needs to be over.

  64. 64.

    South of I-10

    @LauraW and JohnO: I hear people say they want to go back to high school and I think they are crazy!! I am so much happier and content now.

  65. 65.

    John O

    Yep, gbear, anything worse than 70-30 is, to me, a humiliation.

    As I’ve said before, I want to ride on some brand new Supertrains when we get out of this mess. Get sick and not worry about losing everything I’ve worked for.

    Silly stuff like that.

  67. 67.

    John O

    Well, South, listen closely, because I would FOR SURE want to go back to H.S. on the condition I know then what I know now. :-)

  68. 68.

    Jerry Medium

    I am really enjoying C-SPAN right now. The slow-motion defeat of the Senate Republicans is quite satisfying. Listening to them somberly conclude that this compromise marks a dark day for America is truly delicious. I highly recommend it.

  69. 69.

    jnfr

    @ScreaminginAtlanta:

    The next four years will have their own disappointments I’m sure, but nothing like the last eight. If you want to depress your kitty, remind him of what things would be like if McCain had won!

  72. 72.

    jnfr

    @gbear:

    Make them fillibuster if they don’t like it. Clowntime needs to be over.

    Ain’t that the truth. I do hope Obama’s learned something here.

  73. 73.

    magisterludi

    watching c-span myself. Mac is up coughing up bi-partisan bullshit. He’s so fucking obvious when he tries to act like a statesman. He drips insincerity.

  76. 76.

    Fulcanelli

    If this bill squeaks by, doesn’t the Senate have to mix it up with the House to get a final version hammered out? It says so here in the Book of Hoyle… I’m procedurally ignorant about part of the process.
    42% Tax cuts? The unemployed must be thrilled. Now about that line item veto…
    Cool hound in the pet pix, who’s is he?

  79. 79.

    Stuck

    @JL:

    When he spoke earlier, I thought his head was going to explode, or he was about to bark up the C word for senator Collins. Accused her and Spector of going behind the GOP caucus’s back to make secret deals with dems. It filled me with relief this nut isn’t in charge of anything more than his denture cream.

  82. 82.

    Samuel

    IMO, he has trouble handling defeat.

    Say what you want about McCain politically–moderate, faux maverick, whatever. But a guy who spent 7 years in the Hanoi Hilton with all the shit he went through–I wouldn’t exactly say he has trouble with defeat.

  85. 85.

    some guy named comrade mattski

    monk? GTFOOH. I prefer to clean poop out of my son’s jammy’s after it leaks out of the diaper!!

    Wait… Too real?

  86. 86.

    Doug H. (Fausto no more)

    @gbear:

    Make them fillibuster if they don’t like it. Clowntime needs to be over.

    OK, they filibuster. Now what?

  87. 87.

    Mike in NC

    Mac is up coughing up bi-partisan bullshit. He’s so fucking obvious when he tries to act like a statesman. He drips insincerity.

    "Wrong Way" McCain is neither statesman nor patriot. Just a greedy bastard with 7 houses, 13 cars, and a rich bitch wife with 100 million bucks. Surely a stimulus package should include some relief to ease his burdens.

  88. 88.

    demimondian

    @Samuel: Yes, he does have trouble dealing with defeat. His having been a POW no more changed that than it made him suitable to be President of the United States.

  90. 90.

    NickM

    I do hope Obama’s learned something here.

    Yes: you cannot negotiate with terrorists. As Pete Sessions implied.

  92. 92.

    Conservatively Liberal

    Don’t forget, Monk tonight.

    Monk? What’s Monk? One of them vapid TeeVee-type de-tek-tiv shows?

    No thanks, I would rather wipe my ass with fiberglass insulation after a bout of the flaming squirts.

  93. 93.

    gbear

    @Doug H. (Fausto no more):

    OK, they filibuster. Now what?

    I suppose it depends how long you think that a nation that’s hemorrhaging jobs is going to put up with a 24-hr a day republican whine-fest. I don’t see it as being a sustainably popular move. Do you?

    Keep in mind that it only takes 51 votes to pass a bill, not 60. The senate presently has 58 votes that are not republican. The bill can be passed the moment a fillibuster fails.

  97. 97.

    demkat620

    So basically, is the GOP plan to make the country so shitty it is too expensive to fix and then what? They all move somewhere else? Like squatters? Was that what Iraq was really all about? Like, America Mark II.
    "We left that shithole America Mark I for the hippies to clean up."
    Cause if that was the plan can somebody tell them that it is done now? We’re in the shitter, Reagan’s dead, president’s black and The "B" Ark, handmade by Golgafrinchans is ready now. Get your gin and tonixx and GTFO! In the new America, it is tax cuts as far as the eye can see!

  99. 99.

    John Cole

    @Laura W: Ok. I just checked out your Walter photo stream, and I have to admit- I am shocked.

    You have some gigantic Cheney balls to make fun of Tunch’s weight. I checked out that keg on legs you call a cat, with his gut spilling over the edge of the shot in every frame, and could not believe that this cat is owned by the person who dedicates their life to ruining Tunch’s self-esteem.

    Now I am not saying Walter is fat, but I did hear that KBR just got a two billion dollar no-bid contract to rebuild his infrastructure.

  100. 100.

    gbear

    Now I am not saying Walter is fat, but I did hear that KBR just got a two billion dollar no-bid contract to rebuild his infrastructure.

    Here’s a photo of a previous successful KBR feline infrastructure project.
    Just make sure you don’t touch the cat when you’re standing barefoot on a wet surface.

  101. 101.

    magisterludi

    I wonder if dems are balking. It’s apparent that the GOP is trying to just muck up the works- either put out a lousy bill guaranteed to not do jackshit for job creation and blame O or kill it entirely and blame O.

    I’m pretty sick of quite a few dem senators, too. Especially the somehow powerful ones from states where prairie dogs outnumber the human population a gazillion to one.

  103. 103.

    Stuck

    OK, they filibuster. Now what?

    Senator Vitter will ensconce himself in Man-Diapers and self immolate on the Senate Floor. Followed by Holy Joe and John Mccain leading a candlelight vigil for a return to Bush era bi-partisanship.

    And tomorrow David Broder will pen an op-ed saying it shouldn’t have happened, if only Ike had intervened.

  104. 104.

    Krista

    Monk my ass. BSG is fucking tense tonight.

    It’s the last season. Methinks every episode is going to be sphincter-clenchingly tense.

    "…my pen pal…" Heh. I love Lampkin. And what a lovely, lovely world it would be if we could just sic Starbuck on the Republicans for an epic ass-whupping.

  106. 106.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    @Laura W:

    I realized yesterday, standing at my kitchen window, that I am infinitely happier, more content, hopeful and centered than I was a decade ago.
    Being pretty much a chronic malcontent by nature, that floored me.

    I bet it’s the videos.

    BTW, what happened to Walter? Did he die in a fire?

  107. 107.

    JenJen

    Seeing as how we’ve whipped up a hornet’s net of smoker activism in here, it seems only appropriate to nominate Jake Tapper for Outstanding Achievement In The Detection of Cigarette Smoke on Clothing And/Or Outerwear.

    Although it was last year so maybe not so much. Still. Tapper oughta get his own category: Outstanding Achievement In Utter Douchebaggery. Call it "The Tapper."

  108. 108.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    John, maybe you could combine the weekly pet pics with the asshole hall of fame and create an asshole pet of the week contest. I nominate my kkkat, who killed again. This time another bird. I thought birds fly south for the winter??

  109. 109.

    Conservatively Liberal

    I thought birds fly south for the winter??

    So did I. We already have birds nesting here on the south Oregon coast and they started arriving in mid-January, just like last year. The small orchard across the street has been being worked over by flocks of hungry birds and for the second year we have had to put our bird feeders out early. We used to put them out in mid-March but not any more I guess. Gotta feed the crowds when they arrive, especially when the pickings are slim.

    Global warming? Pshaw! What nonsense! Things are just getting better!

  111. 111.

    Chuck Butcher

    I guess I missed something last fall, you know, the part where the Republicans won. 42% tax cuts? WTF? Two Republican Senators cost $320 Billion? I’m exactly this (-) close to quitting the Democratic Party. I’m sure they’ll really miss me, but fuck ’em if I’ll put work into this shit.

    I asked the State Party Chair and our newest Senator to explain to me why I should stay in. I get Republicanism and the dubious pleasure of arguing with my own party about a Constitutionally guaranteed right to keep and bear arms. Fuck you weasles is pretty much my attitude right now.

  114. 114.

    Socraticsilence

    My favorite quotes from the comment section at Talk"Left"
    (these are on top of the general sentiment that Hillary Clinton was truly a paragon of the Left):

    "Hillary is way smarter than Obama and she understands how Washington works much better than Obama. She would NEVER have let this happen. She really would have been READY ON DAY ONE!"

    "You tell me.
    We had the absolutely best prepared, hardest working, most knowledgeable candidate we could have prayed for, and we allowed her to be trashed by Claire McCaskill’s children.

    She TOLD you she knew who, and what, the Republicans were…. and are.

    She TOLD you the other guy made speeches….period.

    She TOLD you she’d be ready on Day 1.

    And I’m telling you that Hillary Clinton, weilding the scars that will never heal, would have ripped the Republicans’ intestines out with her bare hands, for all Americans to see, by now. And I can just dream her telling Mitch McConnell, "You wanna filibuster? I got your filibuster RIGHT HERE!

    But she wears pant suits….so you wanna ask that question again?"

    These people will never ever get over the primaries- Its over 13 months since Hillary fell behind in elected delegates, but hey I’m sure if they keep stabbing Obama in the back HRC will take the White House.

  116. 116.

    AnneLaurie

    Andrew Card needs to be on the list, for his dress code comments.

    To reiterate my comment from yesterday: OF COURSE Andy Card is indignant about Obama’s inattention to a "respectful" Oval Office dress code… Andrew Card is a professional coatholder.

    Without coats to be held (and cheeseburgers to be fetched), how will human pilot fish like Andy Card ever achieve their modest dreams of reflected glory?

  119. 119.

    Conservatively Liberal

    Reading over at Calculated Risk and there is a link to a naked capitalism story about how IBM is sending a bunch more jobs overseas and that they are allowing American employees to move over there if they want to keep working for IBM. Now we are shipping Americans overseas to work at the prevailing wages in the country where their jobs were sent. What a fucking brilliant idea!

    Why don’t we get this over with and reduce the minimum wage to $1.00 a day? If we do that then IBM and everyone else will come running back for cheap labor. Imagine the jobs we could entice to return: clothing manufacturing, steel manufacturing, heck, all kinds of good blue collar (and now white collar!) jobs. All we have to do is accept a dollar a day and we can have all the work we want.

    As long as you people keep demanding reasonable wages for work these companies are going to keep shipping our jobs overseas. Lets pull a fast one on them. If they see that we are willing to work for slave wages then those corporations will smack themselves on the forehead and say Gee, I could have my work done by cheap American labor and they will do it for less than someone in a third world nation. Where do I sign up?!

    It is our demand for reasonable wages to live on that is killing our economy. How dare we demand a small portion of the hard earned profits of our American corporations and lessening the wages of the people who do the real dirty work in a corporation, the board and management? We workers are taking food from the mouths of these poor individuals. Since we are not getting those wages we have forced the banks to give us loans that we can’t repay, allowing us to go on endless shopping sprees that needlessly drove up the prices of goods due to the false demand, thus further endangering our economy. Now those banks are demanding that we pay their bills until they return to profitability.

    Sounds fair to me. In fact, lets just get the whole show over and just give everything to the rich and we can beg for table scraps. What? That is what we’re doing now? Oh, carry on then. Soon everything will be just fine. Trust your corporate masters my fellow citizens, they only want to do what is best for you. If it is good for them then you just know it is going to be good for you.

    Once we learn our place, everything will be good. The corporations are just showing us some ‘tough love’ because they care. Now get out there and start chanting TAX CUTS! TAX CUTS! We want to show our masters that if they are looking out for us then we will look out for them.

  120. 120.

    headpan

    LauraW, your pet pics are soooo sweet. How many animals do you have?

    And, how do you keep your house so, what’s the word – I used to be very familiar with it — oh um, clean!

  122. 122.

    Laura W

    @John Cole: I have admitted numerous times on this blog over the months that I had a Tubbo white cat, that I love Tubbo white cats, and that I think Tunch is adorable. If you read my posts you would know that.
    I have also fessed up to currently owning a black cat, Aretha Annie, that is fat and have posted her photo her with her belly hanging off a table top.

    You surely don’t recall that Walter died of a sudden, unexpected, 100% asymptomatic saddle thrombosis (blood clot blocking all blood flow to the back legs) one Friday morning, dragging himself in from the yard, back legs totally paralyzed. I don’t wish this fate on any person or kitty, let alone you and Tunch. The vet said to me something along the lines of not treating many cats that "big". Ironically, Walter was not a big eater. (Truly.)

    I prefer "wine barrel on legs", if you don’t mind. I accept your apology, and here…happy Saturday morning. Nothing like waking up to see my beloved Walter, RIP, mocked in print.

    I see that I have more questions to answer about Walter here, so if you will handle headpan at #120 for me, I’ll field the rest:

    And, how do you keep your house so, what’s the word – I used to be very familiar with it—oh um, clean!

  124. 124.

    Stuck

    I prefer "wine barrel on legs", if you don’t mind. I accept your apology, and here…happy Saturday morning. Nothing like waking up to see my beloved Walter, RIP, mocked in print.

    And so, little children, this is how the Great Balloon Juice Cat wars began! Teh Horror.

  125. 125.

    JenJen

    @Laura W: Ya know, when I read that comment from JC last night I was gonna post, "Psssssst John, her cat is no longer among the living." But I thought better of it and actually hoped that maybe, just maybe, you wouldn’t see that post.

    Damn.

    I lost my beloved Aussie Shepherd, Stu, a few years ago, much in the way you lost Walter. Very suddenly, he collapsed in the yard, he even let me pick him up, which is something he could never stand before. It was late at night, and he ended up dying in my arms just a few hours later. I found out later he had been bleeding internally. It makes me all emotional just to think about it. :-( One of my most painful memories.

    I’m so sorry about Walter, Laura.

  126. 126.

    Laura W

    @JenJen: Ah, Jen…so sad about Stu! What a heart-wrenching ending. Gak. For at least a year after Walter died I’d replay the last half hour of his life as I was trying to fall asleep. Why? Why do we torture ourselves like that? As if in the replaying we could take it all back and un-do or "un-see" it.

    I’m glad you didn’t give John a clue (take two John, they’re small!). Walter got a gorgeous tribute on BJ’s home page; some of us, myself included, got a lot of laughs; and John groveled.

    All in all, another great morning at BJ Bar, Brawl and Dead Cat Bashing.

  127. 127.

    JenJen

    @Laura W: Gah, you’re so right. I also replayed Stu’s last moments until I made myself sick with grief. Should I have taken him to the emergency vet? Why did I let him down like that? How did I not know how serious his condition was? Why did I think he’d make it through the night and we’d go to the vet first thing in the morning??

    :-( I hated myself for about three months, then I snapped out of it, found a local Aussie Shepherd Rescue, adopted Rocco, and fell in dog-love again. I like to think Stu wags his tail in approval, at the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm In The Sky.

    I guess you found out the hard way what happens around here when you deign to mock Tunch, though, eh? ;-)

  128. 128.

    Laura W

    @JenJen: My experience parallels yours exactly in the second-guessing "what ifs", as well as "fostering" a cat 3 months later thru a local rescue group that I kept, of course. I am certain that she channels Walter’s spirit 90% of the time as she does things that only he ever did. Spooky.

    I guess you found out the hard way what happens around here when you deign to mock Tunch, though, eh? ;-)

    It has only served to inspire me on to greater mocking heights.

  129. 129.

    Katie

    Laura,

    We lost our fat cat Wilson (23 lbs.) from a femoral embolism last summer, which sounds like pretty much the same thing that got Walter. At least the symptoms sounded the same. Nothing you can do for that and from the first symptom until he was put down was about 40 minutes. Apparently it’s quite a painful condition.

    Our vet had big tears rolling down her cheeks when she came in to talk to us. It’s never a good thing when your vet starts crying in front of you…..

  130. 130.

    Laura W

    @Katie: Katie, I’m so sorry for you. It’s a horrible way for them to go, especially when you are present and watching it all happen, helplessly and frantically. My experience was identical to yours. 30-40 minutes from detection to "putting down". Yes…painful. He didn’t stop screaming from the minute I put him in the carrier till the moment his heart stopped. They had to sedate him twice before euthanizing him. I can honestly say it was the worst, and most devastating loss I’ve ever endured, for many reasons. And my vet, and his people, were amazingly kind, gentle and patient with both of us.

    Anyway…didn’t intend to dwell on it further or belabor it in print, but I appreciate your comment and your loss is far fresher than mine, so I’m sorry.

  131. 131.

    JenJen

    @Katie:

    Our vet had big tears rolling down her cheeks when she came in to talk to us. It’s never a good thing when your vet starts crying in front of you…..

    Oh gawd.

    Just that visual has some tears rolling down my cheek, actually. :-(

    So sorry, Katie.

  132. 132.

    Comrade Mary, Would-Be Minion Of Bad Horse

    I really should have read this thread earlier.

    Oh, God, I didn’t realize Walter died in such pain. How horrible for him and for you, Laura.

    And Katie, I’m so sorry to hear about your Wilson as well. Poor guy never deserved to suffer like that. No cat does.

  133. 133.

    jcricket

    Nothing you can do for that and from the first symptom until he was put down was about 40 minutes. Apparently it’s quite a painful condition.

    Not to hijack this, but my grandfather spent the last 3 months of his life in a hospital, disoriented, angry and in pain as bits of his foot and then leg were amputated (clotting disorder). He eventually passed away.

    A couple years out, my dad took to saying, "He had 89 and 3/4 good years and 1/4 bad year – not so bad in the balance".

    I like that way of looking at it.

  134. 134.

    sammykee

    Has anyone claimed the dog pictured? He/she looks a lot like our rescue mutt–just with different coloring. I’d be interested in any insights as to the breed combo. The vet says that our dog is definitely part bassett hound but the rest is kind of a mystery to us.

  136. 136.

    shortstop

    sammykee, didn’t see your post until just now. She is also a rescue and is reported to be half beagle and half Doberman, if you can believe it. She’s 35 pounds and full grown, although she may fill out a little bit.

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