Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

All your base are belong to Tunch.

Schmidt just says fuck it, opens a tea shop.

Is it negotiation when the other party actually wants to shoot the hostage?

Anyone who bans teaching American history has no right to shape America’s future.

Something needs to be done about our bogus SCOTUS.

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

A sufficient plurality of insane, greedy people can tank any democratic system ever devised, apparently.

I was promised a recession.

Accused of treason; bitches about the ratings. I am in awe.

Russian mouthpiece, go fuck yourself.

Eh, that’s media spin. biden’s health is fine and he’s doing a good job.

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

Republicans are the party of chaos and catastrophe.

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

Being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace.

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

No one could have predicted…

Motto for the House: Flip 5 and lose none.

And now I have baud making fun of me. this day can’t get worse.

When do we start airlifting the women and children out of Texas?

I’m pretty sure there’s only one Jack Smith.

Consistently wrong since 2002

I’ve spoken to my cat about this, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.

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Reader Interactions

215Comments

  2. 2.

    Joel

    Crossposted from the other thread, and again, apropos of nothing:


    McMegan’s lede:

    Obama’s Threat to Insurance Companies

    Taking away insurers’ anti-trust exemptions would infringe on freedom of the press (White House/flickr)

    No, I didn’t click through.

    My FF team is 1-5 and suck hard but at least the Patriots are coming back around.

  7. 7.

    Demo Woman

    Vote for Bitsy. I almost left a comment on the lower post but decided not to. The folks down there are not happy campers.

    John, Did you notice that Country Fair at Media Matters picked up Doug’s question to the Post today?

  9. 9.

    Common Sense

    Anyone else see the irony in the most contrarian blog on the ‘Tubes claiming their undying hatred of contrarianism?

    In the interests of keeping things happy, (while conveniently telling no lies), I love contrarians and I love this blog. Full disclosure, I also loved Freakonomics. Basically I like being challenged and forced to defend my beliefs.

  10. 10.

    IndyLib

    My Broncs are on Monday Night Football tonight. I figure they’ve got a 50/50 chance of not getting their asses handed to them tonight in San Diego.

  14. 14.

    Guster

    My son just called me into his room after I put him to bed, to ask what animal eats bats. He told me he plans to dream about that tonight.

  16. 16.

    smiley

    Everybody already knows this but Balloon Boy’s parents might see jail time and/or maybe a huge fine. If that’s not happy news, I don’t know what is. Plus, my youngest niece got married to a future medical professional slave, formerly called MD, this past weekend. I can only imagine that they will suffer in the hell of poverty under Obamacare. That is not good news.

  17. 17.

    robertdsc

    I bought a 17 inch aluminum G4 PowerBook this morning. 1.67Ghz, 1.5 GB of RAM, 80 GB hard drive. $500.

    Can we haz Tunch, plz?

  18. 18.

    ellaesther

    Unable to find the mental moxie to post about all the sorrow and dread and misery that I see around me, I posted today about my grandmother, who was, I am told, a flapper. Don’t know if that counts as happy, but it’s not depressing!

    And then there are these happy things that I dug around for the other day, for much the same reason: Good stuff: Boosting morale.

    I’m gonna go out and find actual news that is actually good, and bring it back here!

    I have a mission! BBL!

  19. 19.

    arguingwithsignposts

    This is reserved for only happy news. Period.

    Oh, sure. You say that now. Where are your credenzas, cole!?!? The … helicopters … are … not … joking.

    On topic: there are some beautiful leaves turning these days. I love this time of year.

  22. 22.

    ricky

    President Obama addressed Texas A&M University late last week. On Saturday the Aggies were beaten 62-14 by Kansas State. Today, someone sent the following clip to me.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xovu8-egWFo

    Governor Rick Perry is a former Yell Leader at Texas A&M, a position reserved for men at this public intitution which was among the last to admit women.

    This is, for non-Texans, happy news. For most Texans, too.

  25. 25.

    arguingwithsignposts

    @ricky:

    yeah, i can’t stand the aggies either. perry is a jackass, and the aggies gave us phil gramm as well, so they’re not batting very well.

  26. 26.

    Something Fabulous

    Here’s some: we had a fundraiser for our animal rescue out here in LA last night and it was a big success! Waiting to hear the numbers, but many attended, and donated, and signed up to be new volunteers as well! Based in that good news, I’m going downstairs and donating some of my (small, puny) remaining funds to the rescue doggie link. Cross-country rescue support: [what is it you young people say?] FTW!

  27. 27.

    YellowJournalism

    My oldest just learned how to say “please”, “thank you” and “you’re welcome” consistently. He is now more polite than most adults.

  28. 28.

    M.B.

    We just had the most beautiful rainstorm here in San Francisco, and now suddenly the skies are blue.

  29. 29.

    Roger Moore

    This is reserved for only happy news.

    The Angels have taken the lead in the bottom of the 7th. I don’t know what could be happier than that, except maybe Beck and Limbaugh getting caught in a gay tryst.

  30. 30.

    Keith G

    Beautiful day in Houston. I walked around my near downtown neighborhood enoying the Halloween (and Dia de Los Muertos) themed yard art.

    October in my adopted city more the makes up for spending July and August wishing you were dead.

    And tonight, this transplanted Buckeye will be working to perfect my carne asada.

  31. 31.

    smiley

    @Guster:

    My son just called me into his room after I put him to bed, to ask what animal eats bats.

    that’s really cute. Did you tell him that people do? That’s some dream fodder for him right there.

    I wish I could plan my dreams. They’d all be about, um, the NFL draft! /Mel Kiper

  33. 33.

    IndyLib

    @jeffreyw:
    I know I’ve said this before, but your Brittanys are gorgeous, every time you post a link to a pic of them I miss my Springers. I love my rescue Blue Tick, but she’s my husband’s baby and I miss how affectionate my Springers were.

    What part of the country are you in? It’s beautiful.

  34. 34.

    Starfish

    It wasn’t raining in Baltimore for the first time in many days.

    I made it to the gym today.

  35. 35.

    ricky

    @arguingwithsignposts:

    Texas A&M has the only library which serves students in both its human and animal medical sciences programs.

    With pluck, you can get a degree there in Poultry Science.

    A&M seems to have given up burning its students at the stake in honor of football, though it’s coaching staff burns plenty of money.

    Happy. Happy, Happy.

    A final note, the Aggie Yell leaders uniforms are indistiguishable from those worn by those who attend another Texas state instituion dominated by men.

  36. 36.

    DougL (frmrly: Conservatively Liberal)

    NOAA said that it was supposed to be 59 degrees today with a 90% chance of rain. It’s currently 71 at the house (in the shade) and the sun has been shining all day. NOAA is pretty shitty predicting the weather on the Oregon coast.

    So I am taking the T-tops off of the Mustang and picking the wife up from work to go for a short ride. l8r!

    Gotta test the new front suspension before I rip into the rear.

  41. 41.

    Max

    I am heading to DC this weekend for a job interview. I am gainfully employed in the Bay Area, but am looking at options to bring me closer to friends and family.

    DC seems like the place to be right now.

  49. 49.

    General Winfield Stuck

    @Max:

    DC seems like the place to be right now.

    I like the zoo too. But wouldn’t want to live there.

  50. 50.

    jeffreyw

    @IndyLib:

    Thank you. We’re in Southern Illinois. Some scenery, nothing really awesome like tall mountains or white water rivers. The woods are nice this time of year.

  55. 55.

    Laura W

    BITSY finally got her youtube video!
    Should’ve done it weeks ago. The woman holding her is Sylvia, her new Mom. (Who posts here upon occasion to thank the loyal Juicers who have been supporting her since week 6.) The other woman is Evelyn Bridges who rescued Bitsy (and my Annie) and thousands of other animals over her 50-year, 100% labor of love, animal rescue career. Any and all monies Bitsy might win go to fund her new non-profit rescue group, sorely needed in our area.

    This is seriously the last week for Bitsy…Week 12. She was #3 last week! The #2 dog, Rufus, seems to have about 200 more daily voters than Bits and is at this moment only 300 votes ahead of her. If everyone here who has voted so loyally and tolerated the surely annoying pleadings and beggings for so many weeks could enlist just one or two more non-voting friends to vote daily, or post it on your blogs of Facebook pages — just for this last week — it would make a world of difference to rescue efforts here in Western NC.

    And thanks for being so patient, supportive and enthusiastic for so long. It could happen. You never know!

  59. 59.

    Elizabelle

    Yankees just tied it.

    C’mon rally monkey. But must admit, some Yankees fans are happy about now.

  62. 62.

    ricky

    @General Winfield Stuck:

    And despite enjoying the same degree of deadness, both
    still contribute to today’s modern world. Mussolini through his intellectual offspring in America’s liberal movement, and Franco through his fine canned pasta products.

  63. 63.

    IndyLib

    @jeffreyw:
    I thought the area seemed sort of familiar, I’m one state to the north of you.
    I’d love to have some rural property here in S. Wisconsin, but the Navy owns us for at least a few more years and houses in the boonies don’t make for great rentals.

  64. 64.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    Enough with this happy comment thread bullshit. I want a Something/Someone Near And Dear To Me Died/Is Dying/Is Very Sick And Needs The Thoughts/Prayers/Sympathy/Mojo of Pseudonymous Strangers On The Internet Thread.

  66. 66.

    mr. whipple

    “When ya stop all that squeezin and get busy ya kin sell a lotta TP.”

    I have learned if I let them squeeze, they like the softness, and offering to wipe their asses can close the sale.

  70. 70.

    Elizabelle

    Max: good luck with your job interview in DC.

    Hope you are a bicyclist. Some fabulous cycling along the Potomac and around the monuments and neighborhoods.

  73. 73.

    ellaesther

    Oh oh oh! The medical marijuana thing! That’s good news!

    And I got a coupon for a free movie ticket and free popcorn! (not quite the same level of “good,” I’ll admit, but I’m trying here!).

  74. 74.

    Mnemosyne

    The kitten is getting spayed today and will probably spend most of the evening sleeping off the anesthetic. Since she put yet another scar on my leg this morning by running at me full-tilt and then jumping up to hang on, this is definitely Good News.

  75. 75.

    Mnemosyne

    @Mnemosyne:

    Though I can’t really blame her for being all pissy this morning since we had to remove all food at 10 o’clock last night and no breakfast today, either. All three of the cats were very upset at having no food, though at least the two adults got breakfast after I left for the vet.

  78. 78.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @freelancer

    That is some beautiful, powerful writing in your review. I have wanted to se WTWTA anyhow. Now, it’s. A must.

  81. 81.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Weird, sorry for typos. I have lost the ability to read what I’m typing on the comments screen. Happens now and then and I. Don’t know why.

  82. 82.

    Dreggas

    Over the weekend I got a nice new computer desk, re-arranged my bed room and got a killer Logitech 2.1 speaker system with good positional audio. Oh and it’s nice and cool here in Orange County today.

  83. 83.

    Max

    @ellaesther: Not to seem like I’m stalking, but I noticed and enjoyed your comments over on TNC’s site RE: Precious.

    The trailer shows a life very opposite my own and for that reason, I almost feel like its my responsibility to see the movie.

  84. 84.

    J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford

    My happy news: I ran an errand after work which took me off my normal work-to-home route and I found $100 (five $20s) on the ground.

  85. 85.

    WyldPiratd

    ricky@64

    I’ve owned two Brittanys in my life and hope to have another one sometime in the future. They definitely have a “bounce of the walls” motor in them unless they have something or someone to occupy them.

  87. 87.

    Jason Bylinowski

    My two year old son Corwin figured out what rhyming is last night. He asked me for some cheese out of the fridge. I picked up some, held it out and said “Now, what do we say?”

    He said “Cheese, please……hahahAHAHAHAHAHAH! Cheese please, cheese please! PLEASE! CHEESE!”

    It was very funny even though it was almost 1 a.m. (he refuses to sleep some nights), especially since I remember how hard it was to get my older son to see the significance of things like that. (And if you’ve never done it, explaining exactly why a rhyme is clever is one of those very difficult first-principles type of things, the examination of which pretty much ruins the experience, like explaining a joke or a piece of art.) They are very different people.

  90. 90.

    Violet

    @Laura W:

    That’s a great video! She’s just so close. If there were only 13 weeks in the contest, I think she could take it. Every week it seems that the second place dog from the week before wins the following week. And Little Bitsy was third last week. I’m trying to think of another way to get her some votes.

    She’s truly adorable in that video. Way cuter than her picture. Aww…. Is there any way to get her some more NC press? I wish I knew some folks in Western NC to help get the news out. It sounds like some of the other dogs have entire towns supporting them.

    Go Little Bitsy!

  91. 91.

    Shinobi

    My dog got out of my yard today because the fence gate was opened. But he came running when I called. (That’s only taken 2 years) Hooray!

  93. 93.

    'Niques

    I read on another blog, then checked . . . Amazon has Palin’s book on discount already! Hasn’t even been released yet, and it’s down to $9. Apparently nobody’s buying . . . Made my day!!!

  94. 94.

    freelancer

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    Thanks, SD.

    Most posts on my blogger site have been 5 minute, drive-by posts that are usually composed at work that fit in the vein of “Heh! Look at this!”. Recently, a friend of mine wanted to start collaborating on something creative we could do, and I mentioned setting up a free site as kind of a test run. Something with more substance and thought than what I’ve been doing.

    So far, I’m the only one that’s contributed, but he has a few things in the hopper.

    http://thegreatamericandesert.wordpress.com/

    /blogwhoring

  96. 96.

    Jon H

    Good news: Apple reported record earnings and sales, selling more Macs in the quarter than in any quarter in their history.

    And it’s not even Xmas yet.

    It’s good that some consumers are still spending, especially since I do Mac programming and will have to get a job outside academia sooner or later.

  97. 97.

    Leelee for Obama

    @ellaesther: You know, this made me happy. I have a photo of my parents as my screen saver ( with me at about 1 yo!). Every night when I log off I circle each of them with my cursor and tell him to take her dancing. I hope he does, I hope they can-they loved to dance and it made her so happy!

    There are reasons to want to believe there’s something after here, like heaven.

    And my suffering Daughter’s in-laws make one hope there’s a hell, too! Also.

  99. 99.

    'Niques

    I read on another blog site, then checked . . . Amazon has just discounted Palin’s book . . . not yet released and already down to $9! I guess nobody’s buying. Made my day!

  100. 100.

    Laura W

    @Violet: Well, Evelyn and Sylvia have run their asses off in the last few weeks with press coverage (papers, web sites, radio) but for some perspective: Brevard’s pop is 7000, give or take. The county’s pop is 32,000, give or take. (Many retired folk who are not so fluent in intertubes navigation, let’s say.)

    Ever clicked on John’s site meter and checked the stats? Average visits per day: 30,000. I continue to believe that if Bitsy pulls out a win in week 12 it will be primarily due to online coverage both here and thanks to people who read this blog cross-posting and promoting her within their own networks.

  104. 104.

    Anne Laurie

    @jeffreyw: I love Brittanys, even though they’re more dog than I can cope with. Some famous dog writer (Kurt Unkelbach?) said that Britts were the only breed in reference to which he’d ever needed to use the term “the vapors”, because they are simultaneously so hyper and so responsive. Do your guys do the talking-to-themselves thing, or are they so much of a “pack” that they always have a friend around to help with the conversation?

  105. 105.

    FearItself

    Happy news! My ex-sister-in-law (or, as I prefer it, my sister-outlaw) is a National Book Award finalist in poetry. Here is her book.

  107. 107.

    Morbo

    Fucking Yankees, you were behind; you should’ve stayed there. I want to watch House, dammit!

  108. 108.

    Violet

    @Laura W:
    I didn’t realize Brevard’s population was so small. I will do everything I can to encourage people to vote for her this week. Once a day isn’t all that much to ask.

    Go Bitsy! This is her week!

  109. 109.

    Anne Laurie

    @Laura W: Laura W, I was gonna tell you how much I’ve missed you recently, but after that abomination… well, happy talk: That’s a beautiful video Bitsy’s got up, and I hope it makes the winning difference for her!

  111. 111.

    freelancer

    Can we just Nuke South Carolina?

    There is a saying that the Jews who are wealthy got that way not by watching dollars, but instead by taking care of the pennies and the dollars taking care of themselves. By not using earmarks to fund projects for South Carolina and instead using actual bills, DeMint is watching our nation’s pennies and trying to preserve our country’s wealth and our economy’s viability to give all an opportunity to succeed.

    Shorter react in tomorrows news cycle: “But I’ve got tons of Jewish friends!”

    Oh, yeah. Happy. Here you go.

  112. 112.

    ellaesther

    @Max: A) If you’re going to complement me, hey, stalk away! And thank you. It’s something I actually mentally tussle with pretty frequently — what’s the point at which it’s ok to watch out for your own peace of mind? I suppose every life has a different answer.

    @Leelee for Obama: I’m so happy that it did! It surprises me how much I still miss them, all these years later. I wish they could meet my kids. (Sorry to hear about the daughter’s in-laws! They probably have created their own hell, right here on earth).

  113. 113.

    jeffreyw

    @Anne Laurie:

    Not sure what your author was getting at. They’re not what I’d call hyper, though they can sure work up a crazy when egged on. I think the fact that I run them several miles every day keeps them sane, Buddy knows when it’s time for the run, he noses me in the butt and barks.

  124. 124.

    wrb

    Happy news

    Saw Melvin Seals and his current band, Cast of Clowns, a couple of nights ago. These guys are very, very good. It was in a Taco Bell turned hippy restaurant. Apparently someone was a friend of someone in the band and got them to stop. Maybe 70 people came. They put out like it was Madison Square Garden, and just tore the place down. By the end just joyous silly grins from band and audience.

  126. 126.

    Montysano

    North Alabama in October is a fine place to be. We’re dusting off the backpacking gear and getting ready to get outdoors.

    In other good news: I’d heard of Shakira, but saw her for the first time last weekend on SNL. Yikes…

  127. 127.

    asiangrrlMN

    OK. Before I read the whole thread, some thoughts.
    @freelancer: More strong positive vibes for your grandfather.

    @Laura W: Great video of Little Bitsy. Let’s get her over the hump this week!

    @valdivia: Cole said happy news! That’s not happy.

    Ummmmm….er……ah…..I got nothing.

  128. 128.

    HRA

    @FearItself: I entered 108 books for our poetry collection here at the U. I am sure your ex sister-in-law’s book will pass through my hands soon. Congratulations to her.

    No happy news today unless it’s the promise to do the dishes for me from the live-in legal man who dirties most of them.

  129. 129.

    stacie

    Looks like I’ll be doing a couple of interviews with local papers ahead of my November 5 performance at the Asheville NC Poetry Slam.

  130. 130.

    sylvia

    Go Little Bitsy!!!!
    I can’t thank all of you enough that are making the effort and voting for Little Bitsy. We are so close and only need 200 to 300 more people voting per day to get this final week win!
    Thank you , thank you for all your votes – Y’all are the best!
    Sylvia

  132. 132.

    Laura W

    @Just Some Fuckhead: Excellent question, Fuckhead. We can only hope that if he did indeed die, his friends gave him a most excellent funeral.

    The roses in the window box have tilted to one side…

  133. 133.

    wrb

    Oh yea

    Two goat babies born yesterday.

    They are already practicing their hopping and spinning in my office.

  136. 136.

    RedKitten

    @Montysano:

    In other good news: I’d heard of Shakira, but saw her for the first time last weekend on SNL. Yikes…

    You hadn’t seen her before? I first got an impression of her in this video. My jaw was completely dropped to the ground from about 3:50 to 4:20…that woman can move.

  137. 137.

    MikeJ

    I’d heard of Shakira, but saw her for the first time last weekend on SNL.

    She’s a genuinely good person too. She’s spent huge chunks of cash on building schools for poor kids back home in Colombia. BBC says she spent $4 million of her own money and got another $2 million out of Howard Buffett for one of the schools, and she’s built at least two.

  146. 146.

    General Winfield Stuck

    I’d heard of Shakira, but saw her for the first time last weekend on SNL. Yikes…

    I call her hips. Cause they swivel like Elvis did.

  147. 147.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    I have spoken of my aged doggie Lucky before. We had a wonderful weekend just gone, out with me and my mum, he had all sorts of new things to smell and see, and taste. We walked his old legs off and he has slept the sleep of the righteous since then. I hope to have more weekends like this before he books his ticket to the Rainbow Bridge.

    http://crittersbybritty.blogstream.com/

  148. 148.

    Nutella

    On an evening walk recently I saw someone walking two dogs that looked just like Lily. I almost ran up and said “Hey, your dogs look just like the dog that belongs to my imaginary friend John Cole!” but I didn’t. The resemblance was amazing though.

  150. 150.

    annie

    Happy news. John only has to buy cat food. Tunch and Lily have obviously mastered the art of teamwork. Tunch chews the food, and Lily swallows.

    Tunch looses weight, feels good as the team leader, and Lily gains the weight she needs. And, John drinks less coffee.

    And, hopefully Henry finds the home and love he needs…

  154. 154.

    Steeplejack

    I found a great–and free!–piece of software that very quickly and no-brain-erly normalizes the volume levels on my bazillions of MP3 files: MP3Gain. This has made my semi-smart-phone listening experience so much better.

    Don’t nobody tell me they knew about it all along, because then I will break the happy-news mood here and curse you for not pointing me to it before. I swear I have gone to the Google repeatedly to find something to balance the volume levels of disparate music files, and I found this only Friday. I know Audacity and other programs will do it, but they are big and complicated. MP3Gain is small and unbelievably easy to use.

    That is all.

  157. 157.

    SiubhanDuinne

    geg6, if you’re around, turn on MSNBC. Your boyfriend and mine, Allan Grayson, is gonna be one of Rachel’s guests. Show already underway but I don’t know what time his segment is.

  166. 166.

    MikeJ

    I just rubbed chili powder, cumin, and some garlic on my loin. My pork tenderloin that is. I then lightly dusted with a tad of chocolate.

    Onions are ready to sweat in the pan where I will sear the meat, then I will cover the pan and braise in tomato sauce/coffee. Serve over black beans and rice.

    Pair with: Shiner Bock.

  167. 167.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Elizabelle 9:17 pm

    Thanks for that link. What a thrill for the kids, and what a very cool thing for the POTUS to do. I haz a big glad.

  171. 171.

    RedKitten

    @Litlebritdifrnt: By the way, I forgot to mention the results of Mom’s visit:

    2 mouthfuls of steak on a plate covered in Saran Wrap, a tablespoon of lemon zest in a finger bowl, two bread rolls in their original bag, 1 whole wheat wrap in its original bag and put in the freezer, and a quarter of an onion wrapped (poorly) in Saran Wrap and put in the fruit drawer of the fridge.

  174. 174.

    ellaesther

    @Elizabelle: Oh man that made me happy! Thank you very much for that!

    Also, I am forever asking the friends of my kids (who are 6 and 10) what they’re reading — now I have presidential approval!

  175. 175.

    RedKitten

    @Keith G: He IS a pretty happy, easygoing kid. Hopefully that trend will continue.

    I’m dreading tonight, however. I put him in his swing at 6pm so that we could eat supper, and he fell asleep in there. And he fell sound asleep — he didn’t even stir when I took him out of the swing and put him in his crib. Normally I put him to bed around 8pm and he wakes up at 4am for a feeding. So now I’m just waiting for it…do I go to bed, hoping that he’ll sleep until at least 2am? Or do I stay up, gambling that he’ll wake up sometime before midnight?

  176. 176.

    General Winfield Stuck

    @MikeJ:

    . My pork tenderloin that is. I then lightly dusted with a tad of chocolate.

    Lordy, I think I’m excited.

    @Elizabelle:

    Low key visit.

    Till the braying Hyenas get a whiff, then it’ll be Chairman O rallies the Kiddie Cadres.

  177. 177.

    South of I-10

    Happy – Little South got her first kindergarten report card today. She made straight A’s, and is well on her way to being a scientist/first girl POTUS.

  182. 182.

    Comrade Darkness

    The weather will be gorgeous the rest of the week, so all that hauling out to cover and uncover the garden beds has paid off in additional greens, nice and spicy too. (I always thought that a hot weather attribute of arugula.)

    In other news we canned this weekend and last for the very first time. Rejuvenating old recipes of our mother’s and grandmother’s. Only one jar out of 13 had to be relegated to the fridge for not sealing down, so we feel pretty adept already.

    A couple of new interesting restaurants opened in our quiet little city.

    Work is getting busy like it always does this time of year. Money is always good.

    That’s about it for the news from Lake Pondscum . . . where the parents haven’t bothered to check their child’s ranking . . . do the children HAVE rankings?

  183. 183.

    Cain

    Anybody see this? This is all kinds of awesome, cuz we’re finally seeing some decent ass regulation on big banks. What’s even better is that there is no fucking way the republicans can oppose it without betraying the whole “states rights!” stuff. From the article:

    The Obama administration and state regulators, however, argued that the best solution to insufficient regulation is to empower more regulators. The administration proposed that the new agency would set a minimum standard, ensuring that residents of every state enjoyed basic protections, but allowing states the ability to go further.
    “Washington doesn’t always know what’s best,” Michael Barr, an assistant secretary in the Treasury Department, said on a conference call Thursday. He said the administration wanted to restore the right of states “to protect their citizens with the rules that they think make sense.”

    That sounds like a Republican talking or rather an old guard conservative.

    cain

  186. 186.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Comrade Darkness

    *in other news we canned this weekend*

    How exactly does one go about canning a weekend?

  187. 187.

    Steeplejack

    @Laura W:

    Thank you.

    This song always makes me happy, although I have no idea what it is about. And it has a bit of a sad edge to it. Like a dash of salt to enhance the sweet.

  190. 190.

    Cain

    @MikeJ:

    She’s a genuinely good person too. She’s spent huge chunks of cash on building schools for poor kids back home in Colombia. BBC says she spent $4 million of her own money and got another $2 million out of Howard Buffett for one of the schools, and she’s built at least two.

    You could tell something about that from the clothes she wore on that video link that was posted. Tasteful, and artfull. You never saw her sexuality so much as her talent. That’s a pretty good trick.
    cain

  197. 197.

    Steeplejack

    @Laura W:

    When I said I didn’t understand what it was about, I didn’t mean metaphorically. I mean I can’t understand what she’s saying. But you know I’m not about the lyrics anyway.

  198. 198.

    Laura W

    @Comrade Jake: Oh Lord. You make me so ashamed to be me.
    OK…I got it!
    I inserted it into the DVD player in the massively elaborate home theater I’ve inherited!
    I hit PLAY and the sound came on, but the images would not play on the big teevee screen!
    Since I had problems with my DTV set up downstairs, I let it ride for two weeks until DTV Guy came out and fixed downstairs. I forced him to help me figure out how to get the home theater thingey to play DVDs!
    He did! I wrote it all down on a post-it. The DVD is in the machine, all ready for me to hit play and put the thingey on Video 6 (or something. I have it in writing, as I said). I’ve just been too morose and depressed to enjoy a love comedy lately. Hate to break my mood and actually feel better, you know.

    Please do not give up on me. I am SO close to actualizing the dream we’ve been discussing for what? Eight months now?

  199. 199.

    Chad N Freude

    @‘Niques: I hate to burst your bubble, but Amazon is in a price war with Wal-Mart for pricing of best sellers. But the happy part is that her book is being bought in bulk by Palinopolistic right-wing organizations to make it look like a best seller. I.e., actual readers are not buying very many copies.

  200. 200.

    Elizabelle

    Mike J: that pork loin sounds awesome. If it turns out great, and if you would like to provide a bit more of a recipe …. all sorts of good things. It will make the black beans shine.

  201. 201.

    Svensker

    @donnah:

    Youtube says it’s “down for maintenance”. Could you post this on another thread tomorrow? I’d love to hear your kid play. That was my dream as a kid, too, but I wasn’t anywhere near good enough, so it stayed a dream. But always happy to see love of music and talent!

  202. 202.

    Steeplejack

    @Svensker:

    These same links will be good tomorrow, or whenever YouTube gets done with its maintenance (which started at 11:00 p.m. EDT).

  203. 203.

    Cheryl from Maryland

    Lamb tagine for dinner, Angels win (so good thing I found the rally monkey), Dancing with the Stars was good tonight, and tomorrow will be warmer in DC.

  204. 204.

    Anne Laurie

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    How exactly does one go about canning a weekend?

    I have certainly had weekends I would like to have canned. Plus more than a couple that I would prefer to have shitcanned…

  207. 207.

    TenguPhule

    How exactly does one go about canning a weekend?

    Step 1: Get really really drunk with beverage of your choice.

    Step 2: ???

    Step 3: Canned!

  208. 208.

    cat48

    I can happily and honestly report that after hearing and reading that “the Public Option is dead!!!!!” 3 months ago, I have not believed the rumors and reports since. No, yesterday’s shows were not proof to me of anything, happily. Same answer they always give.

  210. 210.

    donnah

    Thanks, Svensker. I hope you can go listen to him play. We leave in an hour to go to the Conservatory for a visit. It would be so great if he could get in!

    He’s been playing piano since he was 8 years old. I’m thrilled that he wants to pursue it in college.

  211. 211.

    kay

    @Cain:

    Re-read that article every time you hear someone say they want to open up insurance sales across state lines, to increase competition and lower costs.

    Big lenders and banks over-rode every state law on lending, from usury to limits on ATM fees, and took away the power of state regulators and law enforcement, and they’ll do the same on insurance.

    Once state law was out of the way, they simply stopped enforcing any federal regulations, beginning in 1999.

    That’s how we got here.

  212. 212.

    matoko_chan

    This filled me with pure, unmitigated joy.

    But I do wonder if it’s the Scozzafava campaign that’s in trouble–with a candidate who supports card check, who is unwilling to say she’d oppose a health care bill that raises taxes or includes abortion coverage, and who is so reluctant to answer questions that she has someone with her campaign call the cops when she’s questioned by a reporter who is (if I may say so) polite–if a bit persistent.

    The sane remnant of the GOP leadership tries to appeal to independents, and get’s shiavo’d by the base every time.
    i lurvers it.
    <3

  215. 215.

    deminoz

    i get the weekly ‘happy day’ and think this is a great idea…so would like to introduce a hopeful historical theme for some week in the future — a ‘happy day’ note.

    Vincent Lingiari introduced aboriginal land rights in Australia and won the fight….and there is a song about it…a Happy Song…..http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tHEGo-g3mw

    Perhaps as a theme for the next ‘happy day’ post?

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