Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

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

Let us savor the impending downfall of lawless scoundrels who richly deserve the trouble barreling their way.

Second rate reporter says what?

Let’s not be the monsters we hate.

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. let’s win this.

I’d hate to be the candidate who lost to this guy.

Battle won, war still ongoing.

The words do not have to be perfect.

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

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

We still have time to mess this up!

You can’t attract Republican voters. You can only out organize them.

Happy indictment week to all who celebrate!

The arc of history bends toward the same old fuckery.

It may be funny to you motherfucker, but it’s not funny to me.

Give the craziest people you know everything they want and hope they don’t ask for more? Great plan.

Their freedom requires your slavery.

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

Bark louder, little dog.

Not so fun when the rabbit gets the gun, is it?

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

Authoritarian republicans are opposed to freedom for the rest of us.

I know this must be bad for Joe Biden, I just don’t know how.

It’s easy to sit in safety and prescribe what other people should be doing.

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Wednesday Night Open Thread

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Day two and a half of a cold that started a couple days ago when I foolishly slept with my windows open and the temperature dropped 40 degrees and I woke up freezing at 6 am. No fever, but a sinus headache and a sore throat- the sinuses are so clogged my neti pot hanged itself in the towel closet. Love it when the weather changes.

Here is a picture for you, though:

hotkitty

I’m going to go swill green death Nyquil and watch four hours of NCIS, because that is about what I can handle while smacked up on Nyquil.

Reader Interactions

116Comments

  2. 2.

    BR

    This post at TPM about the attempt to delegitimize the president is well worth reading:

    For months we’ve had a great time laughing and ridiculing the GOP as they’ve spewed one ridiculous outrage after another at Obama. We’ve treated each successive charge as more absurd and laughable than the last, responding only with derisive sarcasm. We howled with laughter at teabaggers after the stimulus only to have them brandish guns and become players at townhalls. We rolled our eyes at Palin’s Death Panels, only to have month long national discussion over whether Obama wants to kill grandma and now veterans. Now we’re going to discuss whether it’s “appropriate” for the President to speak to schoolchildren? Really?

    Enough is enough. Images of Obama as Hitler are now commonplace and, seemingly, unremarkable. It has become customary and usual for senior GOP officials to make outrageous, disparaging ad hominem remarks about the President. The crazy is becoming mainstream. Obama is in a real, tangible way now being delegitimized as a person and a leader.

    So my question is, when is the White House, the Democratic infrastructure and the progressive press/blogosphere going to stop laughing and start pushing back on this? Clearly, laughter and ridicule is not a sufficient response and is not working.

  3. 3.

    Alan

    I changed from the Neti pot to a Waterpik with special nasal nozzle I picked up on Ebay–more water with greater force seems to really do the job.

    For your viewing pleasure, this patriotic video from a guy running for the recently vacated state senate seat in my area due to the death of Jim King, RIP. I can’t wait to vote for the Democrat, if one runs.

  5. 5.

    Michael D.

    Day two and a half of a cold that started a couple days ago when I foolishly slept with my windows open and the temperature dropped 40 degrees and I woke up freezing at 6 am

    Whatever. He slept with a f—ing pig.

  10. 10.

    ellaesther

    Because we’re friends, I’m going to tell you all to go watch this time-lapse video at boing-boing. Someone finally figured out a way to do time-lapse that is cool for reasons beyond the mere fact of it being time-lapse!

    http://www.boingboing.net/2009/09/01/one-year-walkbeard-g.html

    (Though John, you might want to wait until you’re feeling better! If I felt as you have described yourself as feeling, this video would make me clutch my head. Feel better, good man!)

  11. 11.

    Michael D.

    A healthcare bill without a public option is a pretty much useless bill. Healthcare should be publicly funded. Full stop.

    But I know BJers. They know that if something is not politically viable, then they will excuse Obama for not including it or acting on it until it is.

  13. 13.

    Parole Officer Burke

    @Michael D.:

    A healthcare bill without a public option is a pretty much useless bill.

    Yes, regulation of the health insurance industry is “useless.” Good to know.

  14. 14.

    Rosali

    Theraflu in Berry infused with menthol and green tea flavors is so good that I’m thinking of serving it at my next party.

  15. 15.

    JK

    A cavalcade of wingnut healthcare proesters spouting all the stupid talking points about Obama they’ve been fed by Hannity, Beck, and Limbaugh
    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/01/protester-holds-up-copy-o_n_274611.html

    Congrats to Doug for his post “If Adolph Hitler flew into today…” https://balloon-juice.com/?p=26312

    The litmus test for Buchanan for judging a person is whether or not they are anti-communist. Hitler was fervently anti-communist, so he’s ok in Buchanan’s book. I guess Buchanan is willing to let Hitler slide for the non-aggression pact with Stalin, because he was a reliable anti-semite.

  18. 18.

    SGEW

    @AhabTRuler: I’ve been out of the loop in the comments here recently (but still voting every day, thanks to Laura’s brilliant ad). How’s Bitsy doin’?

  22. 22.

    SGEW

    @ellaesther: Yeah, I caught that earlier (the bits in the Taklamakan were particularly interesting) – I don’t think I’ve ever seen time lapse done that way.

  24. 24.

    Brachiator

    @Michael D.:

    A healthcare bill without a public option is a pretty much useless bill. Healthcare should be publicly funded. Full stop.

    Why? Not all countries with universal health care provide it by public funding.

  28. 28.

    Demo Woman

    @SGEW: Boo.. I hope everyone sees Laura’s link on the side. It only takes a few seconds to register and Little Bitsy is not only adorable but her master is worthy.

  30. 30.

    joes527

    @Parole Officer Burke: I dunno. Given the way the Dems seem to be getting rolled on the whole thing, is there really any reason to believe that the regulations that it would put in place would be anything more than a fig leaf for the mandates and subsidies that will be pocketed by the insurance companies.

    Health care in this country sux and all, but anyone who can’t imagine a health care reform that would make the bad bits worse, and not really fix anything at all, isn’t imagining hard enough.

    Maybe our man Barack will pop out from behind the scenery at the last minute and it will have all turned out to have been 8th dimensional chess that gets us to better health care.

    And maybe the Dems are just getting rolled.

  31. 31.

    kay

    @Rosali:

    I love Theraflu. It’s a delicious hot beverage. The quantity of powder is sort of alarming, though. It’s like dumping the contents of 75 Tylenols in the bottom of a cup. What is all that powder?

    I use half a packet. I’m afraid I’ll overdose.

  34. 34.

    James K. Polk, Esq.

    “…that is about what I can handle while smacked up on Nyquil.”

    DXM for the motherfuckin’ win.

  35. 35.

    Keith G

    Ah come on John, we are reality based here. A cold is the spawn of a viral infection. Sounds like you have a generic sinusitis. Your sleeping choice dried out your sinus membrane and some waiting bacteria came in to play.

    It still sucks, tho.

  36. 36.

    Parole Officer Burke

    I was just pointing out that even absent a public option, the proposed federal regulation for pre-existing conditions, benefit caps, and coverage stoppage is not necessarily “useless.”

    That is all.

  37. 37.

    Makewi

    Speaking of health care reform, not really great news on the polling front.

    I think BR is right, what is needed is more demonization because the claims coming from currently elected Democratic Party leaders that those opposing the currently proposed health care reform are: a) Nazi’s; b) Astroturfers; c) akin to those who opposed civil rights, is just not strong enough a pushback. If only there was some other group to blame for our current woes besides doctors, insurance companies and old people.

  39. 39.

    kay

    @Makewi:

    It’s moved 3 points since June, Makewi. That’s after wall-to-wall coverage of screaming conservatives, all summer.
    You have solidified your lead among the over-65 set, however, now that you’ve announced there will never, ever be any changes in Medicare, that great conservative social program, that is 17 billion in the red.

  40. 40.

    Joel

    John;

    Here’s your answer:

    [b]Pseudoephedrine[/b] (the behind the counter / meth precursor stuff) during the daytime. Awesome vasoconstrictor and the only (safe) one that works for nasal congestion. Just ask for generic Sudafed. Try the 30mg size, not the 120mg extended for starters.

    Key point, do not use phenylepherine. It doesn’t work, it’s crap, and it sucks balls.

    [b]Oxymetazoline[/b] during the night, at least for a few nights. Bar none the best decongestant. However, one that is so effective it can cause rebound rhinitis. Use it sparingly, three nights in a row, max. You might know this as Afrin. Just get the generic stuff again.

    [b]Diphenhydramine[/b] might work for some of your congestion. You know this as Benadryl. Take it at night only (for obvious reasons).

    John, when the non-drugs work, by all means. But now it’s time to step it up to the big leagues.

    Also, ditch the multi-drug formulas like Nyquil. Too much crap you don’t want that treats symptoms you don’t have (plus glycerin, sugar, and other fillers).

  41. 41.

    joes527

    @Parole Officer Burke:

    I was just pointing out that even absent a public option, the proposed federal regulation for pre-existing conditions, benefit caps, and coverage stoppage is not necessarily “useless.”

    So, once the public option is firmly off the table and we have all accepted that, which of these do you think will go into play next? What will we console ourselves with when they are dropped?

    We are a _long_ way from even knowing what will be in the final bill. But if the future resembles the past, then it will be less than even you expect.

  42. 42.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    I am as we speak playing endless youtubes of “God Save the Queen” to Harmony our parakeet, she has got the first two verses down, she just needs to practice the third and fourth.

    Speaking of animals, Lucky, my darling 14 year old lab/something cross is getting very, very, old. He has lost his voice, and when I come home at night whereas before he used to bark his greeting to me, now he sort of has a hoarse squeak, in addition to that one of his eyes is going cloudy. *sigh* I remember sitting in the neighbor’s house holding him as a six week old puppy after he had been given a bad batch of vaccine, and stroking his chest to keep him breathing. He has never had an “accident” in the house but they are becoming more frequent, and he can no longer jump up onto the bed without assistance (an upturned laundry basket), he has lost his appetite completely, and I am trying various new foods to get him to eat. Right now cat food is his favorite thing, but I am afraid that it is not good for him. I am going to try him on Beneful chicken stew tonight. Hopefully he will like that. Why do we do this to ourselves? Oh, never mind, I know.

  46. 46.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    BTW – I made my own boiled peanuts last night. Yum! Yesterday I only bought a pound of green peanuts, tomorrow I will buy two (or more).

  47. 47.

    Kirk Spencer

    If you’re that doped on Nyquil, a short list of suggestions.

    1) eat spice. Eat the hottest capsicum pepper you can stand, AND/OR eat something with plenty of horseradish or wasabi.

    2) Drink chicken broth. Better, drink it warm. Best, drink it as a soup – hot chicken soup has several excellent properties.

    (Combine 1 and 2 – get and drink a lot of hot and sour soup.)

    Once these have drained your sinuses, THEN Neti.

    3) Drink liquids. Liquids will help loosen the mucus which will then drain. (Again if you’re drinking soup, you’re covered.)

    4) Both eucalyptus and peppermint are menthols, and both work. Put them in a steampot (the classic put your head under a towel that’s forming a tent over a boiling pot of water works well but it’s awkward. If you’ve a humidifier that’s better.) Use the menthol you prefer. (I use a bit of peppermint extract every night in my CPAP reservoir and NEVER suffer from stuffage while using it. Off it, sure, but never while on it.)

    These help. They don’t cure, but they help.

  48. 48.

    Demo Woman

    @Litlebritdifrnt: My golden retriever had a stroke when he was 11. A few days after the stroke, I came downstairs to the kitchen where he was sleeping and he was covered in urine. I bathed him, dried him and picked him up to bring him back to the vet to be checked again. At the vet I started sniffing and told the vet, that I had bathed him, well duh, it wasn’t the dog. The dog lived until he was 16.

  49. 49.

    kay

    @Alan:

    The CNN poll has support at 48%. It was 51% in June, and CNN admits that may be margin of error. Support dropped with Republicans and Independents, but rose with Democrats.
    Did you think a 3 month full-out demonization campaign with full free media support would do more damage than “within the margin of error”? I did.
    He’s where he was in June, the opposition has been going full-out for months, the media have moved on from the screamers, and he’s gearing up.
    This could actually work.

  50. 50.

    Makewi

    @kay:

    3 points if you are only looking at the change in favor. The opposed has moved 6 points, picking up 3 from the undecideds and the favors.

    6 out of 10 youths favor the plan, but 6 out of 10 oppose it. For those paying attention in politics, which 6 out of 10 do you suppose elected pols pay more attention to?

    27. From everything you have heard or read so far, do you favor or oppose Barack Obama’s plan to reform
    health care?

    Aug. 28-31 July 31-Aug. 3 June 26-28
    2009 2009 2009
    Favor 48% 50% 51%
    Oppose 51% 45% 45%
    No opinion 2% 5% 4%

  52. 52.

    AhabTRuler

    The latest poll number that CNN was pimping today was that 78% of the country wants some form of reform, divided among those who think congress should accept the current “plan”, change the current plan, or start over.

  53. 53.

    kay

    @Makewi:

    I think the conservative objective was to kill health care reform this summer, and the summer’s over. All you did was solidify your base against it. You also solidified Democrats for it, which is always the flip side of that approach.

    Watching and listening to you guys high five and dance around, I would think you’d have moved the needle more than three points.

    Obama lost senior citizens in both the primary and the general, and he didn’t chase them. If you are the “change” candidate, I think you accept you’re not getting senior citizens. He didn’t.

    Too, I think the Congressional numbers in that poll are probably okay news for Democrats up in 2010, not great news, but I was expecting this massive sea change against reform after all the hype.

    You held him off all summer, but he wasn’t fighting. You didn’t beat him. It’s better than I thought it would be. I bet they’re relieved, not defeated.

  54. 54.

    Makewi

    @AhabTRuler:

    It’s all in how you want to present it, I guess. Here are the numbers that add up to 78%, from their poll.

    30. As you may know, several health care bills have been passed by committees in the U.S. House and
    Senate and they can be brought before Congress for debate and a final vote at any time. Which of
    the following do you think Congress should do:
    Aug. 28-31
    2009
    Continue working on those bills this fall
    and make relatively minor changes
    before passing final legislation 25%
    Continue working on those bills this fall
    but pass final legislation only if major
    changes are made 28%
    Start work on entirely new bills that would
    not be ready until some time next year 25%
    Stop working on any bills that would
    change the country’s health care system 20%
    Other *
    No opinion 2%

    Here’s another interesting one.

    35. Which would make you feel more secure — the current health care system in this country, or the
    health care system proposed by President Obama?
    Aug. 28-31
    2009
    Current health care system 52%
    Obama’s proposed system 44%
    No opinion 4%

    It’s entirely possible that Americans want health care reform, but just don’t want those currently in power to be the ones to reform it. If you are purely partisan, you will read that as a condemnation of Democrats rather than a lack of confidence in a particularly bad group of politicians.

  55. 55.

    kay

    @AhabTRuler:

    I don’t think they killed the support for reform, and that was the objective, and they had to do that this summer, and they went all out.

  56. 56.

    Chad N Freude

    @BR: I read the TPM page and came here to post something about it, found that you had beaten me to it. I think this is beyond appalling. The Chairman of the GOP in Florida characterizes an address by the President as

    a clear attempt at political indoctrination by the Obama administration. … parents should be able to opt-out their kids from the speech.

    We should protect our children from a presidential speech! This leaves me speechless (a rare occurrence). Obama is going to address a joint session of Congress on health care reform. No doubt a clear attempt at indoctrination of the hapless members of the House and Senate. Obama is going to have press conferences, a clear attempt to indoctrinate the press. This is beyond appalling … oh, wait, I already said that.

    What do you think would be the most pleasant country to emigrate to?

  57. 57.

    Makewi

    @kay:

    You live in this fantasy world in which I represent the GOP. As per the senior citizens, in 2008 he still managed to capture close to half (47 to 51) so it’s not like their votes didn’t count.

  58. 58.

    AhabTRuler

    @kay: Oh, I agree. And I generally believe that when it comes to polling, there are lies, damned lies, and statistics. Here, I am merely referring to the fact that CNN was pimping the 78% figure hard, and this after flogging that the support among independents has dropped below 50%!! in the past couple of days.

  59. 59.

    kay

    @Makewi:

    Oh, I know seniors count. I don’t know that republicans got anything for handing them 17 billion in the Bush prescription drug giveaway, though.

    The most liberal plan is the House plan. It cuts 20 billion from Medicare Advantage, every year, for ten years. If even that plan passes, seniors aren’t going to see any ill-effects. What concrete thing are they going to be voting against? Imaginary death panels?

  60. 60.

    Kirk Spencer

    @kay: One of the big things people seem to forget is that the polls are voters, not congresscritters. Further, they’re an ‘average’ as opposed to being measured by district.

    All the republican voters in the republican districts are counted. It confuses the issue because the Republican representatives and most of the the Republican Senators will vote against the bill, period.

    All that matters is how the individual Democratic congresscritters will vote. We really don’t know what THEIR districts are telling them. We also don’t really know about some other social pressures they’re facing.

    We just know that there will be no cover, and in most cases a Democrat who sinks a Big Deal Issue is not going to face a comfortable election next year.

  64. 64.

    Demo Woman

    @Chad N Freude: What are teaching their children about the office of the Presidency. When my sons were younger, there will Presidents that I agreed with and Presidents that I disagreed with but not once would I disrespect the office.

  66. 66.

    tripletee

    @Makewi:

    It’s entirely possible that Americans want health care reform, but just don’t want those currently in power to be the ones to reform it. If you are purely partisan, you will read that as a condemnation of Democrats rather than a lack of confidence in a particularly bad group of politicians.

    It’s also entirely possible that after all the furor and the competing ideas flying around, people don’t know what to believe. Under those circumstances, it’s not surprising if a majority is more comfortable with the status quo. People are often scared of change, regardless of their politics.

    I don’t think the polls are particularly useful at this point; once the final shape of the eventual bill emerges, they may be more so, but I doubt it. There’s too much chaff in the air for people to actually grasp all of the details unless they’re paying close attention. Which, of course, was the entire point of the interminable circus act we’ve been subjected to for the last month.

  67. 67.

    datacine

    You did not get your cold from being exposed to cold air.
    You got your cold from exposure to a cold virus.
    And what #40 Joel said

  68. 68.

    kay

    @Kirk Spencer:

    I am just pleasantly surprised that the numbers aren’t lower. That was like the summer before a Presidential election, with only one candidate’s position presented.

    There’s majority support for a public option. There just is, and it sticks. They can’t kill it.

  69. 69.

    kay

    @Chad N Freude:

    I’m hoping it turns out like Notre Dame.

    Where “adult” conservatives made complete asses of themselves, and the students and the President were great.

    It’s just small. They should drop it. They won’t, of course.

  70. 70.

    Chad N Freude

    @Mark S.: Which qualifies you to comment on recent history, current events, and politics. (I know, I know, this is about Nordlinger, not Mark S.)

  71. 71.

    Chad N Freude

    @kay: Of course. It will undoubtedly become a new meme: Presidential speeches are propaganda. They are not about goals or policies. They are propaganda.

  72. 72.

    Makewi

    @tripletee:

    It’s just an interesting conversation. Sometimes support for policies has a trajectory and once they start moving in a direction they don’t stop. I expect this is true of health care reform as it was of the Iraq war. The question then becomes, do the Democrats risk their position to do what they think is right as the GOP did, or do they chart a safer course as Clinton did and get some of what they want. At this point, I must guess. My guess is that Obama will try to chart a safer course.

    39. In general, do you think you understand most of the major points in Obama’s health care proposals,
    or are you confused by what you have read or heard about the plan so far?
    Aug. 28-31 June 26-28
    2009 2009
    Understand 59% 51%
    Confused 40% 46%
    No opinion 1% 2%

  73. 73.

    kay

    @Chad N Freude:

    I used to love civic-type school things, because….I was a sappy jerk :)

    I would walk off the bleachers post-lesson and resolve to do better! That would last about twenty minutes.

  74. 74.

    YellowJournalism

    @Chad N Freude: I don’t know why, but I find this outrage at Obama addressing schoolchildren to be more outrageous, more offensive than most of the stuff that’s been thrown at him.

    What gets me is that besides the indoctrination argument, people are screaming about him taking away from instructional time. So what are they doing? They’re pulling their kids from school for the entire day.

  75. 75.

    Chad N Freude

    @Makewi: If by

    to do what they think is right as the GOP did

    you mean that the GOP thought that what would most benefit particular narrow religious, financial, or doctrinal interests at the expense of the middle class, the poor, the members of the military was right, then yeah, they did what they thought was right.

  78. 78.

    Anne Laurie

    @Litlebritdifrnt:

    I am trying various new foods to get him to eat. Right now cat food is his favorite thing, but I am afraid that it is not good for him. I am going to try him on Beneful chicken stew tonight.

    Oh, you have my sympathies, this is the part of the animal-companion thing that I hate most.* Just a warning, the Beneful gave our last fading geriatric the world’s worst bellyache — something in the ‘flavor enhancers’ I think — but Candy was a 5lb. Papillon, so maybe Lucky will have better luck?

    Our vet said cat food has too much protein & is hard on dog’s kidneys, but you can weigh whether Lucky’s kidneys are liable to give out before the rest of his organs (sigh). Plain boiled rice mixed with cooked hamburger and unsalted chicken broth kept Candy interested for a while, and then we went to hand-feeding her mini-meatballs because the extra attention thrilled her so much she’d swallow them just to be polite. Strong stinky cheese is also an appetite-tempter for dogs. By the time she was down to her last couple of weeks, we were doing our best to tempt her with exotic people leftovers — the last things she ever ate were some teriyaki beef strips and a batter-fried shrimp from our favorite Chinese restaurant.

    What does your vet say about Lucky losing his voice? We lost our first beloved dog to throat cancer, which was misdiagnosed as “just the usual tracheal spasms toy dogs are prone to” for months, so I’m paranoid about that.

    * Okay, second-most. ‘Fine on Sunday, dead in the ICU on Thursday’ is my personal worst, please goddess it stays that way.

  79. 79.

    Max

    My suggestion is for everyone to put aside politics and watch “Glee” tonight on Fox. They are rerunning the pilot.

    So good, in a very campy way.

  82. 82.

    freelancer

    @asiangrrlMN:

    Good for you. I’m having a few renaissance moments of my own in this past week.

    For one, I can’t get enough old school detective noir movies, The Big Sleep, The Thin Man, etc. But last night I took a break and watched Miller’s Crossing. That movie gets better every time I see it.

    Ever since DougJ’s GPS post, I can’t stop listening to Bob Dylan.

    and I recently rediscovered that my 360 is a Game Console, not just an Entertainment Hub for Netflix, TV, and movies. So I’ve been addicted to the new Batman game, and I now want a Time Machine to take me to November 11th.

    Don’t know if you heard me say it last night, but Hugs for whatever’s been getting you down.

  84. 84.

    BDeevDad

    I actually got an email from my kid’s school district an hour ago stating parent’s have the choice of opting to have their kids leave the classroom during the speech and discussion if the teacher decides to show it. The teacher has until Friday to inform parents.

    Sex Ed, Evolution and now President Obama are the evils are kids can’t hear. Save us FSM.

  87. 87.

    freelancer

    @BDeevDad:

    Throughout my Catholic Grade School upbringing, there was never anything class-content-wise we had to have parents sign a permission slip for or opt out of, except in 7th grade when part of our history class was supplemented with the viewing of Schindler’s List.

    I think this Obama thing will prove a useful tool for educators, help point out the wingnut moms and dads so P/T conferences go smoothly. Like anything else teabagger related, I’m sure everything’s going to go just fine.

    “I’m sorry, Jessica. I can’t teach the facts to you, honey. Your dad is a Freeper.”
    “Mr. Jones, what’s a freezper?”
    “Aw, crap.”

  88. 88.

    Chad N Freude

    @BDeevDad: Could parents protest the school’s action as unpatriotic? Assemble a group to protest outside the principal’s office or the School Board or whatever? Carry signs depicting the principal as Hitler? Carry assault rifles?

  91. 91.

    Crashman06

    @Chad N Freude: Good point, though I’m too much of a cheapskate to get HBO or showtime, at least until the Song of Ice and Fire series is showing. But Netflix has seasons 1 and 2 of Dexter on watch now, and I think USA has Monk online… I think.

  94. 94.

    Thoughtcrime

    @Demo Woman:

    It’s the return of the Lobster Kitty, sans costume. He likes to hog our space heater.

    Gizmo thanks you John for posting another portrait of him, and wishes you a speedy recovery.

  96. 96.

    asiangrrlMN

    @freelancer: Aw, I missed your post last night! That’s sucky. I listened to the links tonight, instead. I really like Faithless’s Killer’s Lullaby, and I ADORE Godspeed You! Black Emperor’s Moya. Thank you for the hugs and the well-wishes. I truly appreciate both.

  97. 97.

    asiangrrlMN

    @JK: Did you see my thank you kiss/slap in the face? I have been listening to Father and Son all day (that’s the thank you kiss part), and I dreamed of Michele Bachmann trying to talk me to death last night (that’s the slap in the face part).

  98. 98.

    SGEW

    @asiangrrlMN:

    I dreamed of Michele Bachmann trying to talk me to death last night . . . .

    You need to pay less attention to politics. Seriously. This can’t be healthy.

    Oh wait, I’ve forgotten . . . you don’t live in her district, do you? If so, your hideous night horrors could be justified, as you may be within the broadcasting radius of her psychic nutjob rays.

  100. 100.

    asiangrrlMN

    @SGEW: It’s because I was looking for depressing songs last night, and JK started talking about Michele Bachmann and her batshitcrazy wingnuttery as the most depressing thing he could think of. So, it’s all JK’s fault.

    And, no. I do not live in her district, thankfully. I would be forced to bang my head methodically against the wall until I scrambled my brain enough to forget the pain.

  101. 101.

    Elie

    Feel better John —

    I personally recommend having a nice hot soacky bath with “Batherapy” bath salts that you can get at any decent drug store. Batherapy has magnesium sulfate which helps relax those sore, virus stiffened muscles and with a little tody, helps the world feel right again…

    Anyway, that is my remedy…

    (A good massage with reflexology also helps to open up all those passages and get the evil spirits out)

  102. 102.

    JK

    @asiangrrlMN:

    I did indeed see your previous posts. I’m grateful that you liked Father and Son. You have my great sympathy for having the Bachmannitor in Congress. Hopefully, Democrats will get their act together this time and vote her crazy ass out of Congress in the mid-term elections.

    Here is a song I put in the same league as Father and Son by Cat Stevens.

    I Got a Name – Jim Croce
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9x15O3QYPA

  103. 103.

    BDeevDad

    @Chad N Freude: My kid just started the school and the Principal is an African-American woman, so in a word, No. ;-)

    I like freelancer’s thought’s on the subject, as long as the teacher is not a freeper as well.

  104. 104.

    SGEW

    @asiangrrlMN: A depressing songs thread? Sorry I missed it.

    Have you ever heard The Pogues’ version of “The Band Played Waltzing Matilda“?

    Dream of young men being horribly and senselessly slaughtered on a Turkish beach during WWI instead of something truly awful, like Michelle Bachmann.

    . . . wait. That doesn’t sound right.

  105. 105.

    JK

    @SGEW: @asiangrrlMN:

    Michele Bachmann is a cancer, but reading Doug’s previous post “If Adolph Hitler flew into today…” about Pat Buchanan’s column which burnishes his credentials as a Hitler apologist takes my breath away.

    David Shuster was suspended for several weeks for saying that Bill and Hillary Clinton were pimping out Chelsea. Pat Buchanan writes a column to rehabilitate Hitler, no big deal. The execs running MSNBC are a goddamn disgrace.

  106. 106.

    bedtimeforbonzo

    For a moment, I thought someone had stolen my “Tiger.”

    Tiger-striped cats are may favorite.

    But the green eyes of a black cat can be mesmerizing. My black cat, Baby, chubby as all get out, was born without a tail. I believe they call that breed a Minx. It can make keeping her famed cat balance a challenge and I have laughed more than once watching her take a header.

    Baby is at her happiest laying on my stomach. My wife told me she spent half the night on it the other night, which caught me by surprise.

    Tiger chills out on the cheapie pool table we bought several summers ago at Goodwill whenever I come down to the basement den and use the computer.

    There’s a reason horseowners populate their barns with felines: Cats truly have a calming effect.

  110. 110.

    CaliMatt

    the red nyquil is sooooo much better. at least it tastes like fake cherry. what’s the green supposed to taste like? fake lime jello?

    @40: thx for the tips, sounds like you’ve done serious research, i’ll refer back next time i’m congested.

    @JC…not so sure about 47. I wouldn’t take respiratory advice from someone who is mrntholating their CPAP machine. (coming from someone who should, but doesn’t, have a CPAP machine.) FWIW.

  111. 111.

    bellatrys

    Ergh, colds are no fun. Stay away from Vicks – turns out it doesn’t actually help & can do more harm than good by *stimulating* mucus production. I do find that a little lavender oil (the real thing, natch, not those commercial “fragrance oils”) in a humidifier or pan of hot water helps with congestion without burning the sinuses, myself (the same as the rationale behind those old-fashioned lavender-filled sleeping pillows.)

    Hot toddies are good, too.

  112. 112.

    HeartlandLiberal

    My dear, departed mom once found what she knew was a perfect gift for me at a flea market, given I was a grad student in a PhD program in German at the time.

    It was a late 19th German century book, printed in lovely fraktur script .

    While browsing through it, I found a passage carefully explaining to good Germans how to toughen themselves up by sleeping with the windows progressively cracked open a little wider every night over a period of time. Ultimately, you would be sleeping with the window cracked open even in the dead of winter, and be stronger, more vigorous German for the effort. It was such a perfect illustration of a stereotype of a people I have never forgotten it.

  113. 113.

    denisedh

    Wow, heartlandliberal, used to babysit for a German family and they left their bedroom windows open, with the door to the room closed in the dead of winter. I thought they were just strange in that way. I guess they were trying to toughen up.

    JC has a neti pot? Sorry, JC, you were never really a Republican. Neti pots are for hippies.

  114. 114.

    Jeezum Crow

    @CaliMatt:

    Fake Jager.

    But it’s all Nyquil. You just chug it, collapse on the couch, and try not to think about how gross it is that Abby keeps her lunch in the lab fridge.

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