Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

That’s my take and I am available for criticism at this time.

When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.

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

Republicans don’t want a speaker to lead them; they want a hostage.

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

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

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

Consistently wrong since 2002

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

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

A Senator Walker would be an insult to the state and the nation.

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

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

Their freedom requires your slavery.

Prediction: the GOP will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.

Whatever happens next week, the fight doesn’t end.

Something needs to be done about our bogus SCOTUS.

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

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

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

Americans barely caring about Afghanistan is so last month.

Republicans are the party of chaos and catastrophe.

Why is it so hard for them to condemn hate?

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

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91Comments

  4. 4.

    arguingwithsignposts

    OT, but I just downloaded Ommwriter, which is a writing program (now available in beta on the Mac) that provides a “tranquil” environment for writing. If you’re into that kind of stuff, check it out.

    A wise man once said “We are all at the mercy of our wild monkey minds. Incessantly swinging from branch to branch.” With multiple windows and applications all vying for our attention, we have sadly adapted our working habits to that of the computer and not the other way around.
    __
    Ommwriter is a humble attempt to recapture what technology has snatched away from us today: our capacity to concentrate.

  7. 7.

    Andy K

    GO, PACK, GO!

    Sorry, John. Unfortunately I’ve got to root against the Stillers once every four years.

  12. 12.

    beltane

    Is that Lily? She looks big and mighty in that picture. Snow will do that to a dog; it brings out their inner wolf.

  13. 13.

    beltane

    @Demo Woman: Yes, let’s keep bringing it up. Huffington Post had nude pictures of Lily Cole last week, but I didn’t want to cause offense by posting the link.

  14. 14.

    Max

    @JenJen: I had to stop following him after he screamed at Debbie Wasserman Schultz on tv last week.

    He’s a cretin and his delivery ruins any good points he might be making.

  15. 15.

    JenJen

    @Max: And MSNBC is giving his time slot to Savannah Guthrie and Chuck Todd’s new show, which I guess will be called “Chuvannah.” Heh.

    I’m so nervous about Bengals-Chargers later that I can’t think straight.

  16. 16.

    licensed to kill time

    Wow, Lily looks Hulkified in that pic. She also looks like she’s figuring out a strategery for navigating through the snow – must be exhausting for her little legs. John, you should get her a little sled! No antlers though.

  18. 18.

    Shell

    Do you think this is Miss Lily’s first encounter with snow? She looks so serious and concentrated.

  19. 19.

    Andy K

    @JenJen:

    I’m so nervous about Bengals-Chargers later that I can’t think straight.

    You should be. The Chargers have been flying under the radar this year. They’re very, very good. There’s a case to be made for Phillip Rivers as the MVP of the league this year.

  23. 23.

    Andy K

    @Morbo:

    Saints lost badly to those bums.

    The Saints have problems against 3-4 defenses. Could be interesting if they meet the Packers in the divisional round of the playoffs.

  25. 25.

    JenJen

    @Andy K: Well, I don’t know how much a 1st place team on an 8 win streak with a 10-3 record is the same as “flying under the radar,” but yeah, they’re good, and I’m nervous.

  26. 26.

    licensed to kill time

    @arguingwithsignposts:

    She’s probably looking for the warm spot. Give her another one – if you have a heating pad, fix that up for the Smudgelet. I had a kitteh that would perch on top of our portable radiator style heater all night long.

  27. 27.

    Brachiator

    @smiley:

    Did you know that Lily Cole is a Playboy model?

    Huh?

    Lily Cole is an English model and actress. She posed for the cover of the October 2008 issue of French Playboy, but this is not the same thing as being a “Playboy model.” The cover shot, by the way, was inspired by the cover photo on a controversial French record album, Histoire de Melody Nelson.

  28. 28.

    J. Michael Neal

    From the Stupak thread, since this is about sports:

    You missed the most exciting sports event of the day. After Kevin Pietersen ran himself out, the last 25 overs of the England/South Africa test match were nail-biting. When I tuned in this morning, it really looked like the partnership of Petersen and Trott might score enough runs for an England win. Then Petersen committed suicide, and it looked like a draw was inevitable. Then Friedel de Wet, in his test debut, took out Trott, Bell, and Prior in six overs, and Broad fell for a duck right after. Then Morkel caught Swann lbw in the 93rd over, and Graham Onions had to defend his wicket for two of the last three overs to pull out the draw.

    The only thing that would have made it better would have been for Makhaya Ntini to take Onions’ wicket at the end to celebrate his 100th test.

    Also, is there a more English name imaginable than Graham Onions?

    Also, too, this would have been a pretty embarrassing blow out if South Africans had to, you know, actually play for South Africa. Pietersen, Strauss, Trott, and Prior scored almost half of England’s runs.

  32. 32.

    dr. bloor

    @licensed to kill time:

    She’s probably looking for the warm spot. Give her another one – if you have a heating pad, fix that up for the Smudgelet. I had a kitteh that would perch on top of our portable radiator style heater all night long.

    This. Our Lulu was (and still is occasionally) a keyboard fetishist until she discovered the cable teevee box. Can’t get her off it now.

  33. 33.

    Andy K

    @JenJen:

    After the week 6 loss to the Bronco’s, they were 2-3, 2 1/2 games off the divisional lead. They were all but forgotten. In the mean time, they haven’t had a lot of coverage- I think last week’s Cowboys game is the only game that’s gotten CBS’s number one team in the booth, and they haven’t been nationally televised since that loss to Denver.

  35. 35.

    licensed to kill time

    @dr. bloor:

    Yep. Cats are magnetically attracted to anything warm – that’s why you always find them perched on top of the freshly folded/right out of the dryer towels in the laundry room. Heat sponges, they are.

  36. 36.

    Andy K

    @J. Michael Neal:

    Oh, you almost had me there. Test match and ducks? Six over and wickets? Morkel (wasn’t this Steve Urkel’s evil doppelganger?), Friedel de Wet and Graham Onions? Very creative.

  37. 37.

    Andy K

    BTW, the Detroit Lions are still very bad. In fact, even with two more wins than they had in the entire ’08 season, they might actually be worse this year.

  38. 38.

    Brachiator

    @smiley:

    Let’s not get too literal OK? I posted in jest.

    The jest was noted. I tried to go back to add something to my original post, but Edit didn’t work for some reason.

  39. 39.

    JenJen

    @Andy K: I think maybe we have different parameters. Chargers are tough, period. Certainly nobody playing fantasy or pick ’em has found them to be under any radars since late October.

    Bengals are tough too, and good at knocking off big teams, but they don’t travel to the west coast well, and we’ll see how the loss of their teammate effects them emotionally this week. It’s a slightly bigger game for us than it is for the Chargers. They have a lot of good will behind them, but no passing game. I’m nervous… but feeling good anyway.

  40. 40.

    burnspbesq

    @J. Michael Neal:

    Sounds like it was interesting, but it’s hard for me to get truly amped for any cricket other than the Ashes.

    Why am I completely unsurprised that Pietersen did something totally stupid that almost cost his team dearly? Guy is the biggest fuckup of any elite athlete currently playing any sport.

  41. 41.

    AhabTRuler

    @Brachiator: I curious as to what drives the distinction. She may not be a Playboy centre centerfold, but she is a model who is featured in or on Playboy, ergo a Playboy model. That she is also an actress and model is somewhat irrelevant to the reference at hand (and is surely no more or less reputable).

  42. 42.

    J. Michael Neal

    @burnspbesq: Well, sure, the Ashes are special, but one must take advantage of every chance to root against the poms.

    The third West Indies/Australia test was interesting, too, though without the same kind of finish. It had a different feel at the end of each of the first four days. I’m really glad to see that the Windies are assembling a good, young side.

  44. 44.

    Nutella

    Bears arrived in Baltimore last night very soon after the runways were cleared of 21″ of snow. Airport guy said:

    “I’ll be frank,” Wiedefeld said. “If it had been the Pittsburgh Steelers, they’d still be going around and around up in the air, hoping to land. I’m not sure my workers would have worked quite as hard for Pittsburgh to land.”

  47. 47.

    asiangrrlMN

    @AhabTRuler: Awwwww, he looks adorable in his halter in the snow. Love that tail! Such a cutie.

    @arguingwithsignposts: Aw, so cute! I ditto the heat thing. Put a blanket over your lap, and she may be enticed to sleep there instead. It actually looks like that’s what you’ve done.

    Cole, Lily looks beautiful. What a change from when you first brought her home. Kudos to you!

  48. 48.

    Midnight Marauder

    If Josh Cribbs was on a legitimate football team instead of the Cleveland Browns…well, he might not want to kill himself after all that wasted effort of “keeping the Browns in the game.”

    It’s almost like he’s the NFL version of when Kevin Garnett was stuck on the Timberwolves. I hope the kid gets out soon.

    +2

  51. 51.

    Midnight Marauder

    @asiangrrlMN:

    Hey, wait a minute! That—is too depressingly true. Sigh.

    That particular analogy just came to me today after I saw him run back his second kickoff return for a touchdown today. I mean, who would have ever thought that Josh Cribbs, converted former quarterback out of Kent State, would end up being the franchise cornerstone over Notre Dame golden boy, Brady Quinn? He really is the only productive element on that entire team. Tragic.

  53. 53.

    Andy K

    @tamiedjr:

    Well, they didn’t beat the Stillers earlier in the year. And even though the Stillers have regressed since then, the Lions have regressed even more. On a scale of 1 to 10, the Stillers have been a 3.5 in recent weeks, while the Lions have been -5. If the ‘Skins and Browns got another shot against the Lions today, they’d each have another W.

  54. 54.

    Andy K

    @Andy K:

    And a play after the Cards pick Drew Stanton, Warner throws one to Lions’ db Louis Delmas, who returns it 102 yds.

    Cards are a 5, Lions now -3.45.

  55. 55.

    ellaesther

    @arguingwithsignposts: Oh, I’m so happy you went with Smudge! I was lurking on those nym teh kitteh threads, because I knew that someone would surely come up with something better than me — and indeed! I really liked Smudge, and Mohawk. Yay for a cute kitteh!

    And no. There’s no way to keep them off. Welcome to cat ownership.

  56. 56.

    ellaesther

    This picture of Lily reminds me of my most beloved childhood dog, the one we bought when I was 2 1/2 years old (my first memory!) and who lived for nearly 19 years.

    She was a dachshund, and she looooooooooved bounding through the snow, and would get just that precise Lily look on her face! Only, as a dachshund, bounding through even about that much snow made her look like Bailey in the earlier thread…!

    Oh man. I will always miss Schatzi.

  57. 57.

    Brachiator

    @AhabTRuler:

    I curious as to what drives the distinction. She may not be a Playboy centre centerfold, but she is a model who is featured in or on Playboy, ergo a Playboy model.

    I noted in a follow-up post that I had wanted to add comment to continue the playful vein of the Lily Cole post, but had problems with getting back to Edit.

    In the future, everyone will be a Playboy model. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

  58. 58.

    Something Fabulous

    @AhabTRuler: See!? This is why everyone needs TWO kittehs! Flexible as they are; virtually impossible to get at that one spot just behind the ears to the nape of the neck for yourself. Someone else to do it for you?= Bliss.

  65. 65.

    Comrade Mary

    Lily looks awesome. I want to see video of her snorkeling once she works up to that level of snow comfort.

    <a href=”#comment-1493524″>arguingwithsignposts: Little Smudge wants 1) warmth and 2) you and 3) your attention. Can you tuck her down a hoodie or loose sweatshirt? Even better, can you rustle up a sling? Think of it as attachment kitteh parenting.

    Or you can just ask for a rack loan from a friend :-)

  66. 66.

    New Yorker

    I would just like express a sincere “fuck you” to the New Orleans Saints for finally deciding to lose against Dallas, of all teams. The Giants season is over.

    And yes, I realize losing at home to San Diego, Arizona, and Philadelphia has a lot to do with it, but I’d rather blame New Orleans right now.

  67. 67.

    arguingwithsignposts

    @Comrade Mary: She’s been buried under a blanket over my legs, nestled between by feet most of the past two days, but when she comes out, she’s attracted to the laptop, which can screw with screens and stuff when she types the wrong buttons. I did pull out a heating pad and I’ll see if that works.

    Or you can just ask for a rack loan from a friend :-)

    Unfortunately, that’s a touchy subject at the moment. :(

  68. 68.

    R-Jud

    @arguingwithsignposts:

    I did pull out a heating pad and I’ll see if that works.

    It should. First thing I do every morning when I come downstairs is boil the kettle to a) make coffee and b) fill the hot water bottles, to keep the cats off the wireless network box.

  70. 70.

    arguingwithsignposts

    @asiangrrlMN:

    You can borrow mine if I can figure out how to detach them.

    heh, a pillow exchange program! Like netflix!

    She’s out exploring the rest of the apt. at the moment, including the closet. I’ve got to go out tomorrow and get some toys. I improvised a string today using an old shoestring, but I’ve got nothing else in terms of play things other than a paper bag and every cord she can get her paws on.

    FSM, I’m becoming a catblogger!

    ETA: she’s pretty good with commands. I just told her not to dip into the trash and she listened. she’s reading this post right now. fascinated by the pointer.

  72. 72.

    asiangrrlMN

    @arguingwithsignposts: Now that would be funny (Boobflix).

    Honestly? You don’t need many toys. I bought my boys tons of toys when I first got them, and Raven likes crinkle balls while Shadow likes wand toys. That’s it. They are perfectly happy with crumpled up pieces of paper.

    @Steeplejack: I put the laptop on my pillows (boobs) and the cats sit in my lap. Yeah, it’s harder on my arms, but such is the sacrifice I make.

  73. 73.

    S. cerevisiae

    @K. Grant: Really old Rush. I still have my old vinyl copy of “All The Worlds A Stage”, and have even digitized it along with most of the rest of my collection.

  75. 75.

    Comrade Mary

    If you get OJ or milk jugs (heh!) with those separate cap rings that detach, you will find that almost every cat turns into Wayne Gretzy as they play hockey endlessly with them.

    My cats always liked those little toy mice, and two spontaneously taught themselves to fetch using them. Fergus would leap/crawl up a wardrobe with mesh baskets whenever I tossed the mouse into one of the upper baskets, grab it in his teeth, JUMP down, and returned it to me, patiently waiting for me to throw it again.

  76. 76.

    ellaesther

    @asiangrrlMN: Crumpled up paper! Ah, memories. That was the only thing my cat would play with for any length of time — but that would have lasted for HOURS if I had had the patience.

    How’s it girl? I’m thinking of you these days. I hope some of the snow socked your part of the world!

  77. 77.

    Violet

    Yay! Lily! She really looks like she’s concentrating – is she stalking something? Her tail is so awesome. Just love her! Thanks for the pic.

    Just went for a bike ride on our new bike trail. It’s sort of a rails to trails thing, but some of it they just created. It’s really nice. Weather is fantastic, so it was a treat.

  78. 78.

    Comrade Mary

    Not declawed? EXCELLENT decision! Start trimming her claws every week with a pet shop nail trimmer, or even a regular nail clipper, and she should be pretty placid about the whole thing. Again, I had 4 cats who were trimmed from kittenhood, and every one of them would lay on their backs in my lap and let me trim their claws. They always got a dab of Tonic-Lax (aka Laxitone) as a treat afterwards, which tastes good to them and keeps the hairballs down.

    If you’re concerned about scratching, those slanted cardboard scratching posts seem to be much more successful than those carpet covered things.

  79. 79.

    asiangrrlMN

    @arguingwithsignposts: No! You made the right decision! Cats need their claws. Don’t cut too close to the bed–there’s a ‘quick’ that will bleed. If you start her now, she should get used to it. I try to do it every other week, but it’s not easy. There are special scissors made especially for nail clipping (big pet stores will have them), and get scratching posts for her–that will help keep them tamed to a certain extent.

    Second Comrade Mary and the treats afterwards bit. I do that, too.

    @ellaesther: No new snow, unfortunately. Things are rough. How are you doing?

  80. 80.

    ellaesther

    @arguingwithsignposts: My sister, a longer-term cat owner than me by far, says that declawing is essentially like cutting your fingers off at the first knuckle…. Um. Not to put too fine a point on it!

    My cat kept her own nails well trimmed until she was too arthritic to do it, so the last couple years, I had the vet do it about every six weeks (when her claws started catching on things and she had to kind of shake free). Mind you, I had a house-call vet, so it wasn’t a huge deal for me — I would just call him and he would show up with the clippers! — but it seems to me to be the kindest option.

    Aside from anything else, if Smudge ever manages to get out (and many do), you want her to have all of her tools at her disposal!

  81. 81.

    ellaesther

    @asiangrrlMN: Hey, great minds and all that…!

    Yep, I figured things might be rough. I’ve had to really sharply limit my internet time lately to get a vast array of RL things done, so I haven’t been visiting my usual places much, but I was kind of putting the dates together and thinking: Hmm…. I’ll bet this is not the happiest time of this year for our asiangrrl.

    I am so glad to see you here though. As I know you would say to me: I’m sending you much white light, and many kind thoughts.

    Oh, and PS: I’m ok! I’m struggling professionally (like half of America), but trying to do so with at least a modicum of grace. Ahem. Some days, shall we say, the grace comes easier than others…!

  84. 84.

    Steeplejack

    @asiangrrlMN:

    You’re a great mom.

    I am recuperating from a trek to the grocery store. It is still crazy out there. Except for the main roads, the snow is still pretty deep everywhere. I actually had trouble getting across the main road because the snowplows had created a thigh-high drift at the curb that I had to bull through.

    But I now have a steak and a gigantic baked potato to look forward to for dinner tonight. And I even splurged and bought a bottle of champagne. (h/t R-Jud)

  86. 86.

    Steeplejack

    @dr. bloor:

    Our Lulu was (and still is occasionally) a keyboard fetishist until she discovered the cable teevee box. Can’t get her off it now.

    I had a cat who was a cable-box aficionado. I would occasionally come home and discover that I had taped two hours of the Humidity Channel instead of the movie I wanted because she would press on the buttons while she slept. This was back in the days of VCR.

  87. 87.

    Steeplejack

    @arguingwithsignposts:

    No! No! No! Never declaw. Never.

    I have always found that if you have something good around for them to work their nails on they will keep them trimmed themselves. For years I had a big sculptural-looking piece of driftwood that they would go to town on. You could even get a piece of firewood and deploy it for her. It needs to be stable, though, so she doesn’t freak herself out if it wobbles while she’s attacking it.

  88. 88.

    Mister Colorful Analogy

    @AhabTRuler:

    I’m sorry, but Henri’s not a kitty. Sure, he looks like one, but his attitude about snow proves that he is something else.

    Hilarious song for the video, BTW. I LOLd.

  89. 89.

    Downpuppy

    Steelers win, but Ben gets sacked 6 times.

    If Roethlisberger is still playing football at 30, not wandering around in a towel, I’ll be amazed.

  90. 90.

    CaseyL

    Inquiring minds need to know: Is this Lily’s first chance to play in the snow? She doesn’t look freaked out, but she does look a bit… focused. Focused as in “I need to think about walking, one paw at a time, and I never had to do that before,” and “Dog, but my belly is cold. Can’t wait to get home and curl up on Dad’s lap.”

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