Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

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

Petty moves from a petty man.

It is possible to do the right thing without the promise of a cookie.

Never give a known liar the benefit of the doubt.

Teach a man to fish, and he’ll sit in a boat all day drinking beer.

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

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

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

I might just take the rest of the day off and do even more nothing than usual.

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

After dobbs, women are no longer free.

Peak wingnut was a lie.

Just because you believe it, that does not make it true.

The unpunished coup was a training exercise.

Republicans do not trust women.

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

Jack Smith: “Why did you start campaigning in the middle of my investigation?!”

Since we are repeating ourselves, let me just say fuck that.

Quote tweet friends, screenshot enemies.

It’s the corruption, stupid.

It’s a good piece. click on over. but then come back!!

White supremacy is terrorism.

In after Baud. Damn.

You passed on an opportunity to be offended? What are you even doing here?

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Reader Interactions

78Comments

  2. 2.

    Yutsano

    Dishes are washed, laundry is done, it’s 85 degrees outside, and my raspberry bushes just yielded their very first fruit. I’m now debating what to cook for dinner or even if I want to cook. That decision may come after naptime, which will most likely be soon.

  3. 3.

    MattR

    Took Ellie to the kennel today since I am flying out Monday morning. I keep expecting her to race into the kitchen when I go to grab a snack. It is quite a strange change but thankfully it is quite temporary.

  4. 4.

    Restrung

    I know… I need some free radical scavengers from How life works.

    eta: or Tom Petty

  5. 5.

    Brien Jackson

    So my little league team won 2 playoff games today, to make 5 straight wins and get us into the championship game. We played flawless defense (for 8 year olds) and absolutely pounded the bats both games.

    Strangely enough, the wife of one of my assistants who chewed me out 2 weeks ago, accused me of being a terrible coach who didn’t know what he was doing and wasn’t “invested” enough, and claimed that the kids on our team were better at the beginning of the year then now because I’m such a horrible no-good coach had nothing to say to me today. Except to argue with me about telling the second baseman to get the 2nd out of an inning at first instead of throwing the ball to 2nd in our first game.

    I fucking hate people.

  6. 6.

    tatertot

    Tunch has found a way to compromise your personal energy cells, for his own evil purposes. (Or could they be porpoises?)

  7. 7.

    Ross Hershberger

    I’m all dragged out today. Yesterday I hit the wall around 6:00 pm and haven’t recovered. It’s 80 and humid here. I took a nap, did 30 minutes of yard work and took another nap. We could use a breeze or a cool night to take the mugginess out of the air.

  9. 9.

    demkat620

    Evening all.

    Its about 80 here. Italian Chicken tenders, green beans, and southwest style potatoes.

    My big Saturday meal.

    How y’all doin?

  10. 10.

    Betsy

    I’ve been in a bitchy mood because I’ve had awful hives for the last 6 weeks, the source of which remains a mystery. Prednisone made them go away, but as soon as I went off it, they came back. I’ve seen both an allergist and a rheumatologist (based on an abnormal test result) and both have been like, “Eh, I have no idea. More blood tests!” So I now have to wait 10 days for the results of the most recent batch. At which point I’m guessing they’ll still not have any fucking clue what’s causing them.

    I guess I should be grateful that I have insurance that will cover all this. But the painful itchiness/itchy pain makes it hard to have a good attitude about anything.

  11. 11.

    frankdawg

    here is a big surprise:
    The right wing corporatist “Americans for Job Security” spent a couple of million dollars helping Blanche Lincoln defeat Bill Halter. They’re not going to help her against this November because she is running against a Republican. Same with the Chamber of Congress.

  12. 12.

    dmsilev

    Long day, especially for a weekend. I’m deep in the throes of house-hunting (well, condo-hunting), and after much angst, wailing, gnashing of teeth, etc., etc., I think I’m just about ready to decide on a place. Now the real fun, dealing with banks, attorneys, etc., etc., begins…

    dms

  13. 13.

    Punchy

    It rained here like 3 inches in 4 hours or so. May have to jump in a canoe to get to QuikTrip.

  16. 16.

    Svensker

    @Betsy:

    That’s just terrible. Have you tried reducing your diet to very bland and non-allergenic foods? Maybe that will help. You must be just miserable. Sending non-itchy thoughts your way.

  19. 19.

    James in WA

    @Yutsano:

    my raspberry bushes just yielded their very first fruit

    Nice. The deer did a number on mine a couple of months ago, and they are just now recovering.

    On the bright side, I picked up my first CSA share today at the farmer’s market, and am now enjoying an enormous salad of heirloom tomatoes, mustard greens, baby walla wallas, spinach, and lettuce.

  20. 20.

    Montysano

    95 degrees with a 102 heat index here in the Deep South. We had a very cool May, and now we’re having August. Blech….. And then there’s that …. thing in the Gulf, down at the other end of the state.

  21. 21.

    QuaintIrene

    and my raspberry bushes just yielded their very first fruit. I’m now d

    How do you protect them from the marauding birds?

  22. 22.

    arguingwithsignposts

    Since this is an open thread, I’m in the market for a newer car. Anyone have experience with late model Hyundai Sonata’s. I’m test driving one, and I like it so far. Thoughts?

    also, I’ve found a new apartment (yay, me!). Larger, ceiling fans, price is right, and it’s the only apartment on the second floor, so no more loud-ass neighbors!

    Lady Smudge will be pleased with the hardwood floors, also, too.

  23. 23.

    Corner Stone

    @frankdawg:

    The right wing corporatist “Americans for Job Security” spent a couple of million dollars helping Blanche Lincoln defeat Bill Halter. They’re not going to help her against this November because she is running against a Republican. Same with the Chamber of Congress.

    Wait…I’m confused.

  24. 24.

    Yutsano

    @QuaintIrene: Two cats, one that prowls the bushes frequently. That and chickens. Granted the chickens will eat whatever they can reach, but they do keep the bushes remarkably bird-free when I let them loose in the yard.

  26. 26.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    @Keith G: Fuck the others. I’ve decided he’s a mensch despite our acrimonious relationship in the past.

  29. 29.

    jeffreyw

    @Betsy: I broke out in hives a couple of weeks ago, guessing something I ate. Never figured out what it was for sure tho I suspect it was the octopus eaten prior to the outbreak. Ate benedryl by the handful for a week, it finally went away.

    Dinner today.

    Nearly ruined the fish on the grill, but it all ended up good enough. Thanks to the commenter that mentioned the pineapple salsa the other day. That part was very good.

  32. 32.

    Keith G

    Cole, maybe its the rather high intensity o bad news and general human silliness we are witness to. It certainly affects me. There is a lot to get frustrated over and that is an energy drain.

    I am trying to counter this by consuming more comedy. Podcasts like The Bugle, The Now Show, Answer Me this and The Complete Guide to Everything get me through. As an added bonus, I end up laughing quite loud in public and people seem to move out of my way.

  35. 35.

    Oscar Leroy

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/12/obama-faces-rare-defeat-o_n_610024.html

    Congress allowed emergency health care assistance for unemployed workers to expire May 31, and seems unwilling to renew it despite pleas from President Barack Obama. Not three months after lawmakers passed his $1 trillion insurance overhaul, Obama is facing a rare defeat on health care at the hands of his own divided Democrats. Moderates have rebelled against adding billions more to the deficit in a treacherous election year.

    That sure sucks. If Obama is serious about passing items like this, he will work against these kinds of stonewalling, conservative Democrats. Or at least not help them.

    Obama cuts radio ad for Lincoln

    President Obama has cut a radio ad in the Arkansas Senate race for Sen. Blanche Lincoln that begins a run on Monday. It will run in selective markets aimed at Obama surge voters. Lincoln, a moderate senator, is facing a challenge from the left from Lt. Gov. Bill Halter.

    http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2010/04/30/4424072-obama-cuts-radio-ad-for-lincoln

    Have fun living without health care coverage, unemployed people.

  36. 36.

    demimondian

    Hot and miserable outside today — it’s going to get to at least 77 or so before the temperature starts to drop. Lots of sun, sky a perfect blue.

    It’s days like this which remind me of why I live for the winter.

  38. 38.

    WereBear

    @arguingwithsignposts: Sounds lovely; I hate moving, but love the after-moving. We can’t have one without the other.

    I don’t know about the Southerly natives, but hot ‘n’ humid simply suck out my will to live.

    In addition, I seem to remember our esteemed host went through shoulder surgery, moved house, and tore up all the dandelions in a twelve mile radius in the space of a few months. Ya might want to turn it down a notch there, Sparky.

  39. 39.

    frankdawg

    @gnomedad:

    Freudian! I wish I were that clever! The CofC did dump a lot of money into the Honorable Ms. Lincolns run but now thinks it would be better to support the moron she is running against.

    also too:
    Here’s an example of the tight and perhaps impossible balance Blanche Lincoln has to pull off over the next six months.

    Here’s her telling the main in-state paper that she wasn’t the deciding vote on Health Care Reform ( http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/06/lincoln-i-was-not-the-deciding-vote-on-health-care-reform.php?ref=fpblg ) while she simultaneously has an ad running in which she says she cast “the deciding vote to pass health care reform.”

    and people wonder why some of us “firebaggers” (THATS snark) pulled for the cow to lose. She has done more to elect a Republican than the RSCC.

  40. 40.

    demimondian

    @Incertus (Brian): We have three cats, two of them once having been feral. The two feral ones are the most pathetically attached cat’s I’ve ever had.

    FDDD refers to one of them as “[demi’s] dog” — he lies at the foot of where I sit and work when he’s inside unless he decides to climb up to stand on my shoulder and oversee my work.

  41. 41.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    @arguingwithsignposts:

    Could not recommend Hyundai or Kia more if my life depended on it. They are the most incredibly reliable cars on the planet (in my experience), great gas mileage, fun cars. Go for it. I have driven my used 2000 Kia for 100,000 miles with nary a problem, I have done regular maintenance (oil changes, brake pads, tires, etc) the only actual repairs I have had to do were battery connectors and cv axles at 110,000 miles. DH puts 50K miles a year on his 2008 Hyundai Accent and other than hitting a deer and having a wonky hood, and recently his window regulator went there has been nothing other than regular maintenance. Even my local mechanic tells me that they are the most well built cars out there and that they have single handedly forced the US car makers to match their warranties.

  43. 43.

    Svensker

    @demimondian:

    Hot and miserable outside today—it’s going to get to at least 77 or so before the temperature starts to drop.

    77 is hot and miserable? Where do you live, the North Pole? Or are you talking celsius?

  44. 44.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    @demimondian:

    77? Today here it was 91 felt like 94. UG! And we have not had rain for weeks, I had to get up bright and early and water my containers, the poor things were looking so sad, I was afraid I was going to lose them.

  45. 45.

    Josie

    @Incertus (Brian): i did the exact same thing at the house I used to live in for years. Quite an array of cats padded through our lives, and all got fed and fixed. I am glad to know that others are doing the same. Bless you and your lovely wife.

  46. 46.

    demimondian

    @Svensker: Just outside of Seattle — and, yes, that’s hot and miserable. Our temperatures here rarely get up to eighty in the summer (despite the sixteen hours of sunshine and spectacular views of the mountains.) Conversely, in the winter, it rarely freezes; the average low temperature in January is about forty.

    However, for those of you thinking about moving out here, you really don’t want to. The people are awful and unfriendly, and it rains 24 x 365.25 each year. (With an extra hundredth of a day added on by spin.)

  47. 47.

    CaseyL

    @Litlebritdifrnt:

    Even my local mechanic tells me that they are the most well built cars out there and that they have single handedly forced the US car makers to match their warranties.

    Seriously? That’s amazing. I knew Hyundais had gotten as good as if not better than Toyotas, but the last I had heard about Kia was that their warranties had to be good, because they spent half their lives in the shop. Good to know they’ve improved – not that I’m in the market for a car right now.

  48. 48.

    Svensker

    @demimondian:

    Heh. I grew up right next to Seward Park on Lake Washington — I KNOW what the PacNW is like. Joisey was a huge shock and after 20 odd years (very odd!) I still can’t handle 95 degree summers very well. So don’t cry to ME about those 77 degree days with crystal blue skies.

  49. 49.

    Chat Noir

    @Keith G:

    Maybe its the rather high intensity o bad news and general human silliness we are witness to. It certainly affects me. There is a lot to get frustrated over and that is an energy drain.

    I’m right there with you. I wake up in the middle of the night (usually because of a cat or two) and then I can’t get back to sleep because I think of what’s happening in the Gulf. And the general tone of American discourse and what’s happening in our government. I was so hopeful the night Obama was elected and now I feel completely deflated.

  50. 50.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    @arguingwithsignposts:

    Oh lawd didn’t you know that ceiling fans are so “yesterday” (according to all of the shows on HGTV) despite the fact that they are eco friendly, work like a charm, and are brilliant, they just don’t “go” with the granite counter tops, stainless steel appliance, hard wood floors crowd. What are you thinking! (snark) For what it is worth I have ceiling fans all over my house, living room, bedroom, kitchen. I would not be without them.

  51. 51.

    demimondian

    @Svensker: Heh. Tomorrow is the fifteenth anniversary of the day we put the last of the things into the suitcases, poured the kids into the plane, and flew from Dulles to SeaTac. Every time I dream about moving back to the east coast, FDDD reminds me of the summers and the winters, both of which quickly convince me that we’re better off where we are.

  52. 52.

    demimondian

    @Litlebritdifrnt: Feh. We have them everywhere we can put them. I don’t care if they aren’t pretty — they’re quiet, and, in a climate like this one, nearly perfect.

  54. 54.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    @CaseyL:

    I can only state from personal experience. I have owned all sorts of American cars that spent all of their lives in the shop. My Kia has been the best little workhorse that I have ever owned, which includes my Fort Escort that I owned in the UK. My Kia is a darling, that I will never forsake. I could win the lottery tomorrow and I would still be driving it.

  55. 55.

    demimondian

    @Litlebritdifrnt: FWIW, my Ford Escape (Hybrid) has been a total workhorse, and the Saturn SL1 I drove for eleven years before that was almost as wonderful. (The eldest of the demi-offspring now has it off at school, and it’s still a workhorse for him.)

  56. 56.

    frankdawg

    My Dodge Caravan was always reliable for 220,000 miles. Its replacement Chevy Impala has 120k & still going strong. But every lemon I have ever owned was American made & I have never had a problem with my foreign made ones.

    US manufacturers made a decision in the 50s that the way to success was to get people to buy new cars every other year. The build crap & when people stopped buying new that became obvious. I think they do much better now but the reputation is still there.

  57. 57.

    Napoleon

    Sitting hear watching Le Mans on TV (the real race, not the movie).

    Got a fund raising phone call from the DSCC today and I reamed the woman for a few minutes about why should I give to an organization that would give the moneys to corporatist whores like Blanche Lincoln, Max Baucus and Ben Nelson and would be contributing directly to good candidates including ones running against those clowns.

  59. 59.

    JL

    Low energy? Hell, man, it’s the sure and steady tug of death tugging at your sleeves. You’re a gardener, think it through.

  61. 61.

    debit

    Dinner tonight was a broiled T-bone and portabella cap with a couple sliced fresh tomatoes. Yum. Chloe is working on the bone (supervised). The cats all want to see what she has and she practically shrieks, “Mine! Mine!” as she carries it from chair to chair. I wish I had the energy to go to the liquor store. I would love a nice glass of something over ice.

  62. 62.

    Betsy

    @jeffreyw:
    The benedryl did nothing for me except allow me to sleep. That’s one reason they think it might be something weirder than a prolonged allergic reaction.

  63. 63.

    debit

    @Betsy: Betsy, my daughter gets hives from heat and stress. Zyrtec seems to help her, but keeping cool (in all ways) helps the most.

  65. 65.

    Betsy

    @debit:
    Yeah, Zyrtec (on its own and with Zantac) is another thing we tried that had 0 effect. I do, however, put ice cubes on the worst of them (the ones on my palms and soles of my feet), and that helps temporarily. As do baking soda baths.

    It is entirely possible this is stress related, which would suck, because I’m entering the last 6 months of my PhD and going on the humanities academic job market and planning a wedding, so…let us say the stress is unlikely to disappear any time soon, hahahaha.

  69. 69.

    James in WA

    @demimondian: I hear ya. I’m in Bellingham but grew up in Colorado, and nobody back there believes me when I tell them that 75ºF here is pretty miserable. They (and I, back in the day) grew up with plenty of days over 95ºF and we never cared. Still don’t. I go back there now in the height of summer and it feels like relief. On the plus side, I can hop in a boat here and all is well, and I no longer have to live in a frickin’ desert where only weeds and social conservative republicans thrive.

    @Svensker:

    I KNOW what the PacNW is like. Joisey was a huge shock and after 20 odd years (very odd!) I still can’t handle 95 degree summers very well. So don’t cry to ME about those 77 degree days with crystal blue skies.

    So, Svensker, this might be too obvious of a question, but: why the hell did you leave the PacNW for the East when you knew? 95ºF on the east coast must just be sheer torture. My sincere condolences!

    On the other hand, holy cow are my tomatoes growing like crazy now.

  70. 70.

    Jackie

    @Betsy: I’m not going to cheer you up . A good half the time,no matter how hard the search, there is no discernible reason for the damned hives.

    They are high on my list of things to wish on enemies. They won’t kill you so their suffering can go on and on. I can block out modest pain and go about my business but itching is just consuming. “OMG it itches omg don’t scratch” on a loop pushing aside all other thoughts. Good luck, I hope you are in the lucky 50%. I was but still have some flare ups.

  71. 71.

    Steeplejack

    John Cole:

    Not sure what it is, but I’m having some pretty low energy days. Blah.

    Probably still recovering from the aftereffects of the shoulder injury. It takes a while. How’s that going, by the way?

    And the summer heat can take it out of you, until you get used to the hot, humid weather.

  72. 72.

    Steeplejack

    @arguingwithsignposts:

    No personal experience with the Hyundais, but I have an acquaintance who is raving about them, specifically about the hybrid coming out in a few months.

    He is one of those guys who does mega-research and is usually pretty reliable, so if someone handed me a wad of cash and said, “Go buy a car tomorrow,” I might throw down on a Sonata myself. (Although I have recurring lust for a Ford Escape hybrid, for no logical reason that I can fathom.)

  73. 73.

    Steeplejack

    @Incertus (Brian):

    Kudos. You are doing God’s work. I have some friends in Atlanta who are doing the same thing with some ferals that moved into their neighborhood, and I think it’s great.

  75. 75.

    Svensker

    @James in WA:

    So, Svensker, this might be too obvious of a question, but: why the hell did you leave the PacNW for the East when you knew? 95ºF on the east coast must just be sheer torture. My sincere condolences!

    I was kidnapped.

  77. 77.

    cathaireverywhere

    @Betsy:
    don’t know if this will help you, but I had similar problems, which progressed to throat closing. tested positive for rheumatoid arthritis, and had 2 allergists not find anything. Went to a 3rd allergist who did the testing differently and discovered I am allergic to soy, wheat and sulfites. The sulfites give me the hives and throat closing. Ten years later, problem solved. Joint pain is gone and rheumatoid factor is back to normal. Hope this information helps you somehow.

  78. 78.

    cathaireverywhere

    BTW- Benedryl didn’t help either. Because it was a food making me sick, and a food I was having all of the time to boot, the benedryl was of no help.

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