Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

We still have time to mess this up!

“Jesus paying for the sins of everyone is an insult to those who paid for their own sins.”

Why is it so hard for them to condemn hate?

I was promised a recession.

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

Today’s GOP: why go just far enough when too far is right there?

rich, arrogant assholes who equate luck with genius

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

Historically it was a little unusual for the president to be an incoherent babbling moron.

Putting aside our relentless self-interest because the moral imperative is crystal clear.

Too often we confuse noise with substance. too often we confuse setbacks with defeat.

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

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

They’re not red states to be hated; they are voter suppression states to be fixed.

“Squeaker” McCarthy

Roe isn’t about choice, it’s about freedom.

Battle won, war still ongoing.

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

The republican caucus is already covering themselves with something, and it’s not glory.

Insiders who complain to politico: please report to the white house office of shut the fuck up.

I’d like to think you all would remain faithful to me if i ever tried to have some of you killed.

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

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Labor Day

Labor Day

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Hope you all have a good one. Had planned to bbq with friends, but it is raining with not a ray of sunshine in sight, so I think it is going to be a solid day of lying on the couch with the dog on my lap, reading, and maybe some chinese delivery.

Sounds like a pretty good back-up plan, doesn’t it?

Reader Interactions

68Comments

  2. 2.

    MR Bill

    The kids all have work or plans, me and the boyfriend will cook out quietly, pick the last of the blueberries, and chill before a stiff work week.
    Y’all have good one ’cause I’m going to.

  3. 3.

    Violet

    Will probably spend the day lifting boxes. Oh, the joys of moving. Bleh. If it’s not too hot later, might go for a walk. Otherwise will be working.

    What is this holiday of which you speak?

  4. 4.

    Max

    What I wouldn’t give for some rain. This time of the year in the Bay Area is like the seventh inning stretch. No rain since April, and none expected until late October.

    The Bay Bridge was supposed to reopen tomorrow morning, but they found a crack in some steel and it may not reopen until Weds. This means my south I-880 commute from Oakland is going to be horrible tomorrow.

    Traffic in the Bay Area might be the worst in the country. Sorry Atlanta.

  5. 5.

    dmsilev

    Sadly, I’m at work. It’s a beautiful day outside, and I’m roughly 40 feet underground tending to some expensive and recalcitrant equipment that gets cranky if it’s not tended to daily.

    Sigh.

    Hopefully, the necessary tending will be done in a couple of hours, and then I plan to leave and see what restaurants are open today for lunch.

    -dms

  6. 6.

    General Winfield Stuck

    Rained all day yesterday, which was a good thing. Today perfect with pristine air and sky, and cooler. Should get some T Storms this evening, but no complaints. Will a photography day mostly of Hummingbirds as they will be leaving soon for Central America.

    No politics, but might watch Obama speak to AFLCIO this afternoon. Have a good LD peoples.

  7. 7.

    geg6

    Even though it rained all morning, it has stopped here and will most likely be an overcast, 70s-ish day. Still heading to oldest sister’s place in the country. Huge acreage and a pool if it decides to warm up. If not, they still have outdoor space to just hang around. And for the menfolk and odd female like me, the BIL’s body shop just down the road for goofing off in a manly setting. The menu is roasted chicken finished and warmed up on the grill with bbq sauce, potato salad, cucumbers and onions in sour cream, fresh corn, fruit and green salads, and strawberry and pineapple frozen custard. One sister will be bringing her new boyfriend who she says is a Gooper. He is innocent of the nest of liberals into which he will be stepping. She may regret this. But it would come out at some point. Not a wingnut in the bunch. Makes me proud of my family, I must say.

  9. 9.

    donovong

    Vote for Bitsy!

    No rain in sight here in upper SC, but we need it bad. We are back to drought status. Sigh…

  10. 10.

    NobodySpecial

    Just got home from work. It’s going to be in the upper 70’s and sunny. I work tonight as well, though. Erk.

  11. 11.

    jeffreyw

    Looks like a decent day today, maybe a shower or two later, the grass has pretty much quit growing (Yay!) but I’ll be mowing at least one more time.

    Big pot of ham n beans simmering on the stove, gonna make some corn bread to go with later. Anyone with a killer corn bread recipe?

  12. 12.

    Keith G

    Seems to be a great day in central Houston. Chicken breasts and shrimp are marinating for a later grilling. Will get in a round of early fall house cleaning so I can be free when the weather really gets enjoyable.

    In the mean time, two adorable kitties want me to play.

  14. 14.

    Keith G

    And John, when the blog Mistress gets back at it, what can be done about moderation? My completely innocuous comment #12 – 10:47 is being moderated. ????.

    What are the rules? Was it that I mentioned a part of a chicken? WTF?

  15. 15.

    DecidedFenceSitter

    Spent the entire weekend working on the house (relaying flooring) so today I’m having a few friends over for the BSG boardgame. :) Maybe grill up some ribeyes later.

  16. 16.

    Comrade Mary

    Chicken boobies. Chicken rack. Chicken tatas. Chicken gazongas. Chicken hooters. Chicken vast tracts of land. Chicken teats.

    A picture of Tunch would distract me from this nonsense. Just sayin’.

  17. 17.

    Bob In Pacifica

    Daughter and her beau will be taking me to the Giants game in downtown SF. I’m going to see if the weak-hitting Jints can score minus runs. The most frustrating team to watch. Absolutely great pitching with a batting order that sucks bigtime.

    Anyway, I’ll get to see the ballpark, get too much sun and spend some time with my little college girl and her boyfriend. I won’t get drunk on nine-dollar beers or stuffed on the food there.

    Then I can concentrate on the upcoming NFL season.

  18. 18.

    Demo Woman

    Don’t forget to vote for little Bitsy.
    I plan on doing some yard work and then watch some tennis.
    Oudin is from the Atlanta area and I’d her to win another match or two.

  19. 19.

    PurpleGirl

    It’s sunny and mild here (NYC) so far. I’m spending time on my terrace and reading BJ… Had planned to go to the movies but “9” doesn’t start until Wednesday. Hoping a friend can come over later for tea time or dinner and some chat and crafting time. I also am packing things to have my place ready for the workmen putting in new windows on Friday. Doing every thing a little at a time so I can still enjoy the beautiful day.

    Short rant: Looking at on-line cable TV schedule I don’t find documentaries about Labor Day history. WTF. History Channel is doing a Gangland marathon, A&E is doing Criminal Minds, etc. PBS is doing its regular weekday lineup. I want some shows on the labor movement, working history, etc. How about the show on the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire. There is material out there, how about showing it. End of rant.

  20. 20.

    Keith

    Considering this an open thread, does anyone know when the hell Sully is coming back to his own blog? I just assumed he was on vacation for a week or two, but I would swear he’s had guest bloggers for the last month (and it seems like it’s becoming a pattern…less and less Sully and more and more Patrick Appel/Conor Friedsof(sp))

  23. 23.

    SIA aka ScreamingInAtlanta

    Mild day in hot ‘Lanta with clouds starting to clear. I’m sitting on screened porch watching the cats watch the birds and deciding what I’m going to do today. In about four hours I will figure that out.

  24. 24.

    JHF

    I think it is going to be a solid day of lying on the couch with the dog on my lap, reading, and maybe some chinese delivery.

    I think you’ve achieved temporary enlightenment (the only kind, of course). West Virginia in the rain… sounds nice. We don’t *do* the rain thing here much. Sometimes I miss it.

  25. 25.

    Max

    As someone in the retail (real estate) profession… I encourage all of the Juicers to go out and shop. Great deals this Labor Day. Let’s get those retail sales up. My property is down roughly 11% over PY. There’s still time to make up some ground.

    Spend Spend Spend.

  26. 26.

    Steeplejack

    Just voted for Bitsy, pushed the total up to 136. (And I realized I don’t know–is Bitsy male or female?)

    Monday is usually the second day of my weekend, so it doesn’t feel like a holiday today. It’s cloudy and in the low 70s, so it looks like a good day for puttering around and taking it easy. Maybe try to whittle away at the huge backlog of movies on the DVR. And I’ll probably finish reading Terry Pratchett’s The Color of Magic.

    I went to the grocery store about eight o’clock last night and found it eerily unpopulated. Kind of nice. It felt relaxing, in a strange way. I took my time and ended up looking at all sorts of things I usually ignore. And I found something that may be the answer to my “occasional one cup of coffee” problem. It’s a Melitta travel mug with a filter cone attachment. You can brew one cup of coffee (up to 16 ounces) with regular coffee, and the little #2 filters don’t seem hideously expensive. Some Amazon reviewers complained about the mug leaking, but that’s not an issue for me. It looks like you could use the cone attachment with almost any cup. (And I think you can buy it separately.) Anyway, I didn’t get it last night because I wanted to check it out, but I think I will pick one up the next time I’m at the store.

    All that said, I bought a nice-looking ribeye steak and a gigantic baking potato that I did not cook last night, so I’m looking forward to a steak dinner tonight. That is all.

  27. 27.

    bedtimeforbonzo

    “so I think it is going to be a solid day of lying on the couch with the dog on my lap, reading”

    John, I take you are not married?

    Whenever I attempt to enjoy such a day, my wife never ends with the guilt trips.

    Singledom, like marriage, has its privileges.

    Anyway, the real household wars start Sunday with the return of the NFL.

    When I was single, I remember it would be nothing to watch the 1 o’clock game, the 4 o’clock and the night game. Now we have to hold negotiations if there are three matchups good enough to demand that kind of viewing.

    My wife has no sense of the importance of football or its timing and pace. I will be watching a 4 o’clock, she will leave at 5 to do an errand, come back at 8, and marvel that the game is still going on, not realizing that another has started.

    Finally, as an Eagles fan, this is heresy, but here’s hoping for a big fantasy year from Eli Manning, a good kid and a good quarterback who deserves better receives.

  28. 28.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @ Max

    Yes, I heard about the bridge yesterday on NPR. My first thought was Thank FSM the engineers discovered the crack in time to avert a horrible disaster. Yes, your commute will be of a level of awfulness to rival or surpass ours in Atlanta for the next few days, and you have my sympathy on that, but it’s a small price to pay given other possible scenarios. I really do worry about “crumbling infrastructure” issues in this country; not to be a Cassandra, but I fear it’s only a matter of time before something collapses that will cause a huge loss of life, not to mention taking forever and $$$ to fix.

  29. 29.

    bedtimeforbonzo

    I mentioned this in a the late Friday open thread, very late into it, but if you see the movie, “Eagle Eye,” on the cables, give it a chance.

    If you liked Will Smith’s “Enemy of the State,” you will probably like this.

    Stars Shia Lebeauf.

  30. 30.

    HRA

    We’ll be going out to price a new refrigerator and hopefully buy one. I found a gift card for Barnes & Noble stuck in my wallet. I’ll be going there as well. I always need new books to read. Once I hit the mall, it will be spend, spend, spend. I’ll happily be taking Max’s advice .

    Leftovers for today. I spent the last 2 days making a lot of food. Barley soup, stuffed peppers, turkey w cranberries sausage, 2 green salads, fresh fruit and lots of veggie dishes. No cooking till they are eaten.

    Cloudy here with forecast of rain. Temp is 73 degrees. Not bad for the Buffalo, NY area.

  33. 33.

    Polish the Guillotines

    Not quite hot as hell yet here in Garamendi country. It will be, though. If it doesn’t get too windy, I might do some grilling.

    I’m just hoping they get the Bay Bridge sorted out in time for the commute tomorrow.

  34. 34.

    asiangrrlMN

    @Svensker: Sorry to hear about your father-in-law, and good luck to your son in college in the s o c i a l i s t country to our north. That video cracked me the hell up. Thanks!

    I am going to my bro’s today to celebrate the middle child’s fifth birthday. The cake is a lie! (But it’s soooo tasty).

  36. 36.

    Yukoner

    @SIA aka ScreaminginAtlanta: Not in Alaska, I live in the Yukon. Did you do a stint in the military and were based in Fairbanks? It sometimes seems that half of the US vehicles (not counting RVs) that pass through are military people either coming or going.

  37. 37.

    bedtimeforbonzo

    A very good football writer, Sports Illustrated Peter King’s predictions for the 2009 football season are here, culminating with his Super Bowl pick of New England beating Chicago, which sounds reasonable.

    I see New England’s top competititon being, Pittsburgh, of course, San Diego and Baltimore.

    I think this every year and then it doesn’t pan out, but the NFC looks stronger than the AFC to me.

    The Giants and Eagles are strong NFC East teams; the Bears, Packers and Vikings make the NFC Central stronger than it has been in years; the Falcons and Panthers are two very good teams in the NFC South — and the Saints can outscore most NBA teams; alas, the NFC West is weak, weak, weak, and I will go out on a limb and say the Arizona Cardinals will not return to the Super Bowl.

    My lasting thought of the offseason and preseason is how, it seems, a pigheaded rookie head coach named Josh McDaniels seems to have crushed the spirit and following of a once proud and perennial contender, the Denver Broncos.

    Mike Shanahan has never looked so good.

  38. 38.

    jeffreyw

    Thanks for the suggestions in last night’s thread, my Texas pal has decided on her dinner menu:

    "decided on food for tonight Tomato Bruschetta, Roasted Grapes and Carrots, Moussaka, Grilled Salmon with Blueberry sauce, Asparagus with Lime and Mint, Cucumber Salad, Curry Rice, and Coconut Ice Cream"

  39. 39.

    Max

    @Yukoner: Where in the Yukon? My father did the length of the MacKenzie river in a canoe 3 times and those trips really made the last years of his life manageable. He wrote a book about it before he passed away.

    As a family, we lived in Ft. Ware, on the Finley River and McLeod Lake in BC.

    Beautiful part of the world, but it always tripped me out during the summer when it was daylight for 20 hours.

  40. 40.

    RedKitten

    Cool and sunny here today. We took Samuel to the Labour Day parade, and he was curled up in the sling the entire time, snoozing. The fire truck sirens, the bagpipes from the marching bands, the horns from the antique cars…nothing woke that kid up.

    He’s great in public. Too bad he’s recently been a complete fussypants at home. (Slept from 11pm ’till 4:30am last night, and then decided that was enough sleep for him, and for us — he didn’t sleep again until we left for the parade at 11:30am.)

  42. 42.

    Yukoner

    @Max: I live at Marsh Lake, about 50km south east of Whitehorse. Doing the entire length of the Mackenzie would be one hell of a trip. I’ve never been on it but have been lucky enough to have canoed a large number of rivers here in the Yukon.
    And now that our youngest is just turning four we are planning at least two week-long river trips for next summer, probably on the Teslin River from Johnson’s Crossing to Carmacks and another on the Yukon from Carmacks to Dawson City. Both will be what are affectionately known as “float and bloats” under the midnight sun.

  43. 43.

    bedtimeforbonzo

    SPOILER ALERT
    ABOUT
    MAD MEN

    SPOLER ALERT
    ABOUT
    MAN MEN

    Last night’s Mad Men broke my heart.

    I haven’t had a grandparent in over 20 years. So I felt the sadness that Sally felt with the sudden passing of Grandpa Gene, and related to her anger when she overheard the adults laughing at the kitchen table and not exactly eulogizing him with an outward show of respect.

    The little girl who palys Sally owns a piece of my heart forever.

    I’ve mentioned how I think January Jones is a stunning beauty. But Betty Draper was more of a monster than usual in not providing a morsel of comfort to Sally, whose hurt was so visible. (Don didn’t exactly step up to the plate, either.)

    Maybe I need a female perspective. But I can’t understand why Betty hates her daughter so much.

  48. 48.

    Yukoner

    @RedKitten: It does my heart good to hear a new parent tell her tales of sleep woes! As everyone tells you, this too will pass and you won’t even remember never being able to get more than 4 hours of sleep at a time. Of course if (when?) you have another (and then another) you will be doing the newborn thing while your 2 year old is waking up with nightmares twice a night and your 4 year old wakes up at 4am with a soaking wet bed. It will will fill you with nostalgia for the rest-filled nights that you have now!

  49. 49.

    Yukoner

    @Max: Wow Max, thanks for the link. What a trip for someone like your Dad. I especially liked his discovery that he could not only walk but could run! It’s so sad that many (most, really) people, as they get older limit themselves way more than they need to.

  50. 50.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Anybody else listening to the Prez address the AFL-CIO picnic? He’s being very cute and coy about precisely what he’ll say about HCR in his speech to Congress. But the passion is there and he just said (paraphrasing) “people need to quit saying things that just aren’t true.” I think he’s going to call ALL the Big Lies out on Wednesday.

    Also too, that speech draft to the schoolkids is a thing of beauty. Maybe a tad long and polysyllabic for the very youngest students, but he might end up giving one or two sentences just to them (not in the text). As a parent of two young children, I’m pretty sure he’s figured out how to pitch his messages for maximum impact.

  52. 52.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Sounds like the public option may still be on the table.

    “Fired up! Ready to go!” He is just SO damn good when he’s in campaign mode. And IMO, campaign mode is what’s needed on HCR from here on out.

  53. 53.

    R-Jud

    I planned to spend the day getting ahead with work since all my clients are US based and not expecting anything, but instead I have been lying in bed shivering all day. The Mr. went out to procure some Thai soup to fix the problem. Bleagh.

  54. 54.

    SIA aka ScreaminginAtlanta

    @SiubhanDuinne: I thought so too. Chuck Todd heard the same words I did and “from his reporting” saying I didn’t hear what I just heard. Can’t believe I once liked him. Guess drinking the Village water has shrunk his brain.

  55. 55.

    freelancer

    @R-Jud:

    This is the president I fucking voted for. Passionate without vitriol. Just as long as he does it right, and doesn’t compromise on his compromises. Then I might shift away from DougJ’s “we’re fucked” camp of Mayan despair.

  57. 57.

    SIA aka ScreaminginAtlanta

    @R-Jud: Ruh-roh. Take care of yourself. From http://www.holisticonline.com :
    “At the onset of a flu, drink lindenflower tea with 2 drops of lemon balm oil, thyme tea with honey, rose hip tea or acerola juice. When you start to sweat, quickly go to bed and continue sweating for one hour. Change clothes, rub body dry and try to steep. This therapy often stops the flu before it becomes full blown.”

  60. 60.

    tess

    @Svensker: Thank you for making my day. I’m cleaning my office so it can be a guest room this weekend, and that means moving a lot of stuff related to my recently departed kitty that used to show up with a puddle on the top of her head from drinking from a dripping bathtub I had in college.

    Thanks.

  61. 61.

    Dustin

    Labor Day plans? Hmmm… I had one of those, it was called “go to work while the wife relaxes at home”. Instea, I’m in the ER clinic right now with no plans to go to work.

    But then having a pregnant wife pass out tends to change plans, lol.

  62. 62.

    RedKitten

    @Dustin:
    Yikes! Is she okay, Dustin? Sometimes when you’re pregnant, you do have dizzy spells or even pass out, due to low blood pressure. Keep us posted, ok?

  65. 65.

    Yutsano

    @Yukoner: That story was awesome Yukoner, saw that on CBC the other day. Reminded me of my ex (and possibly future) who’s from Whitehorse. Best part is the kid’s family got to keep the rescue dog. Too cool.

  66. 66.

    Yukoner

    @Yutsano: It is a really great story that could have had a very ugly ending. What I cannot understand though, is how many commenters on it at both the Globe and Mail and CBC took the opportunity to:
    a) bash the parents because their two year old wandered off, and
    b) generally diss the dog.

  68. 68.

    Dustin

    You’ll be happy to know that the wife’s doing better. She still feels crummy, but the fainting was just a spell of dehydration. Still, at 18 weeks pregnant you can’t exactly ignore fainting in the middle of a phone call.

    Ironically enough we learned something today: when pregnant a normal hemoglobin level isn’t “normal”, since the increased blood volume dilutes the blood. So, when there’s not enough liquid in the blood to prevent fainting your lab tests can still come back 100% normal. lol

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