Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

Shut up, hissy kitty!

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

Republicans seem to think life begins at the candlelight dinner the night before.

You’re just a puppy masquerading as an old coot.

They want us to be overwhelmed and exhausted. Focus. Resist. Oppose.

“Alexa, change the president.”

Republican speaker of the house Mike Johnson is the bland and smiling face of evil.

Humiliatingly small and eclipsed by the derision of millions.

There is no compromise when it comes to body autonomy. You either have it or you do not.

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

If you are still in the gop, you are either an extremist yourself, or in bed with those who are.

Our messy unity will be our strength.

Hey hey, RFK, how many kids did you kill today?

Human rights are not a matter of opinion!

New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

I would try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

The line between political reporting and fan fiction continues to blur.

Too often we hand the biggest microphones to the cynics and the critics who delight in declaring failure.

Republicans: The threats are dire, but my tickets are non-refundable!

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

Everybody saw this coming.

DeSantis transforming Florida into 1930s Germany with gators and theme parks.

This country desperately needs a functioning fourth estate.

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46Comments

  4. 4.

    ScottRock

    Orange, cinnamon, cloves. For a quart of cider, try four slices of orange, one stick, and maybe ten cloves. Throw in cider and boil; serve quickly.

    Try toasting the cinnamon and cloves in a dry pan over medium heat prior to putting them in the cider (you’ll know they’re done when the cloves inflate to twice their size).

  8. 8.

    sj

    Simmer cider w cloves, whole allspice berries and cinnamon sticks. If you’re feeling daring, a couple of slices fresh ginger.

    Serve w a grating of nutmeg and slug of Meyer’s dark rum.

  9. 9.

    John Cole

    @MTmofo: Pitt is the better team, but a home game for WVU with a hostile crowd. I’m locked in my house and not venturing out (other than potty breaks for Lily) until the mayhem ends tomorrow.

  10. 10.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Doesn’t the phrase “Buy request” more appropriately belong in your earlier shopping thread?

  12. 12.

    MikeJ

    Ugh. I’m logey from turkey leftover lunch. Too drowsy to put wheels on bike.

    Last night in the middle of the night, I decided to see if I could lay my hands on the animatronic hamster, thinking 1am would be a time with fewer crazed people and I could get it, if it existed, in relative peace.

    The Toys R Us had been open for over an hour by the time I got there. The line to check out ran completely around the interior perimeter of the store. And they were out of the toy anyway.

    Of course I had made up my own name, zuzu the magic rat, and have for several days been singing the jingle that I made up, which in each iteration adds new special powers to the rat that could fly. Zuzu the dancing rat. Etc.

    My version is now much, much better than the actual product that runs in a wheel and drives a car. Of course it is theoretically possible to get the one that is on commercial offer. This however is not really an issue for muchkins that decide they now want sing, dancing, flying, magic rats.

    So if you would like to disappoint your children, I can, for the price of an animatronic hamster, come over and sing the jingles and tell the funny stories about the magic rat and make them want something that doesn’t exist. Then you can teach them how hard life is.

  13. 13.

    The Bearded Blogger

    HOW DEMOCRATS GAIN SEATS IN 2010, WIN IN 2012 AND BEYOND

    Step one is Barack Obama starts casually mentioning how he is in favor of commonsensical, death-preventing measures, like so:

    “The best thing I ever did was to quit smoking”

    “I guess a large helping of bacon once in a while is okay, but I certainly wouldn’t eat bacon every meal”

    “We liberals care for life, that is why we look both ways before crossing the street, wear seatbelts, and respect speed limits”

    The rest of the process is left to Beck, Rush and the teabaggers, may they rest in peace.

  14. 14.

    IndyLib

    Cooking up a Greek Thanksgiving a day late due to family situation – Dolmades with avegalemono, leg of lamb with garlic inserted in slits cut in the meat, basted in greek olive oil, lemon juice, and greek oregano, lemon rice pilafi, greek potatoes, fassoulakia yahni – greek green beans cooked with tomatoes, onions, lemon juice, sugar, and parsley, and pecan pie and homemade baklava. It will be done in an hour, can’t wait.

    As far as mulled cider, if you use nutmeg, don’t use that ground crap in bottle, use real nutmeg nuts and grate it with a micro-plane grater. The taste isn’t even in the same universe.

  16. 16.

    Mnemosyne

    If you’re lazy like me, you can actually buy mulling spices in teabags. I’m not sure where mine are at the moment, but I think they’re by Twinings.

    It’s 1:30 in the afternoon and I’m still in my pajamas. I love long weekends.

  17. 17.

    Brachiator

    I think I want to mull some cider tomorrow. Any tips or suggestions or advice?

    Isn’t this why God invented the InterTubes?

    Interesting crockpot cider recipe here:

    Combine cider, sugar, ginger and orange in slow cooker. Tie cinnamon and cloves in a small cheesecloth bag; add to crockpot. Cover and cook on LOW 2 to 4 hours. The entire house will smell great! Remove the bag of spices. In a mug put a shot of brandy, then fill with hot mix from cooker.

    Personally, I would just have the shot of brandy and leave it at that.

  19. 19.

    Mnemosyne

    I think the Trader Joe’s stores closest to our gracious host are in Ohio, but you can also buy pre-made mulled cider from them if you’re feeling really, really lazy (and sometimes I am).

  20. 20.

    JenJen

    @IndyLib:

    fassoulakia yahni – greek green beans cooked with tomatoes, onions, lemon juice, sugar, and parsley

    Mmmmm… I can taste them right now. In my extended Greek family, we knew they were called “yahni” but would always refer to them as “Green Beans Unusual”. :-)

  22. 22.

    Ed in NJ

    As a Rutgers grad first and a Big East fan second, I have to put aside my usual rooting interest in West Virginia and hatred of Pitt. The Big East needs to shut up the naysayers and put two teams in the BCS this year, and to do that, Pitt needs to beat WV and perhaps Cincinnati next week.

    Its sucks, but it is what it is. But with Pitt on the precipice of the BCS, I’m sure WV would love to pay Pitt back for ruining their shot at the NC in ’07.

  23. 23.

    freelancer (itouch)

    Okay,

    I hate the bcs, so here’s what I’m praying for:

    Alabama loses to auburn, but beats Florida in the sec championship.

    Texas loses to Nebraska next week.

    TCU and Cinncinatti play for the national championship.

    I want a complete clusterfuck, and for Obama to say, “I told you so.”

  24. 24.

    burnspbesq

    @Ed in NJ:

    So here’s what needs to happen.

    Pitt has to lose today and then beat Cincy next week.

    Bama has to lose to Auburn today and then beat Florida in the SEC title game.

    OU has to beat OSU.

    Texas has to lose to Nebraska in the Big 12 championship game.

    Georgia Tech has to lose – doesn’t matter whether they lose to the Dawgs or the Tiggers.

    And, voila – TCU vs. Boise State for the National Championship.

  26. 26.

    Shawn

    Mull it and add a dash of The Captain. I was so surprised to find out how good spiced rum and hot cider are. Report your findings! Arrgh!

  27. 27.

    dr. luba

    If you’re really lazy, all you need (in addition to cider) is Captain Morgan and some pumpkin pie spice. Add spices, mull (low heat in crock pot), and then pour in the rum near the end. You don’t want all the alcohol to evaporate. If you want to make it look like you slaved over the cider, toss in a couple of cinnamon sticks.

  28. 28.

    Zuzu's Petals

    No advice on mulling, but for anyone who loves tea, I recommend Da Cha Teas.

    Disclaimer: I know the proprietors. They are incredibly knowledgeable and have fantastic taste.

  30. 30.

    Yutsano

    @burnspbesq: As a BSU Alum, that would bring massive joy to my heart. I can only imagine the party on the Smurf Turf afterwards! Plus I have a friend who’s a fellow alum who’s also fairly well off who would be at that game in a heartbeat.

  31. 31.

    Yutsano

    @burnspbesq: Point of interest: The last team to score for Alabama – Auburn is gonna win it. It’s gonna be one of those kinds of games.

    BTW is anyone else being prompted to download WP after submitting a comment?

  34. 34.

    tinat

    My suggestion? Skip the cider and mull some wine!

    A Beaujolais or even cheap chianti mulls well with all the spices listed above

  38. 38.

    Kirk Spencer

    Sure, John, I’ve a few suggestions for mulling.

    Suggestion one: get a clean quart jar into which you put your choice of mulling spices then fill with cider and put in the refrigerator. The next day fill a mug with the result and microwave it every time you’re thirsty.

    Suggestion two is a hint – the spices don’t matter. Oh, they do, but what you’re doing is enhancing the cider. The masala set — cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, star anise, black peppercorn, and cloves — produces a great taste. (If, and only if, you like ‘hot’ add a bit of cayenne as well.) Pick some spices that enhance the fruitiness while cutting the cloying effect of the syrup.

  42. 42.

    Comrade Darkness

    Interesting article in the Sydney Morning Herald about the human psychology (denial of death) around global warming denial. The phenomenon explains Palinista behavior well too, I think.

    In 1973 the cultural anthropologist Ernest Becker proposed that the fear of death drives us to protect ourselves with ”vital lies” or ”the armour of character”. We defend ourselves from the ultimate terror by engaging in immortality projects, which boost our self-esteem and grant us meaning that extends beyond death.
    …
    More than 300 studies conducted in 15 countries appear to confirm Becker’s thesis. When people are confronted with images or words or questions that remind them of death they respond by shoring up their world view, rejecting people and ideas that threaten it, and increasing their striving for self-esteem.

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