Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires.

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

There are some who say that there are too many strawmen arguments on this blog.

There are more Russians standing up to Putin than Republicans.

Fight for a just cause, love your fellow man, live a good life.

Mediocre white men think RFK Jr’s pathetic midlife crisis is inspirational. The bar is set so low for them, it’s subterranean.

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

Usually wrong but never in doubt

… pundit janitors mopping up after the gop

This country desperately needs a functioning fourth estate.

I like political parties that aren’t owned by foreign adversaries.

If you voted for Trump, you don’t get to speak about ethics, morals, or rule of law.

Peak wingnut was a lie.

Let the trolls come, and then ignore them. that’s the worst thing you can do to a troll.

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

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

These are not very smart people, and things got out of hand.

Fight them, without becoming them!

“Just close your eyes and kiss the girl and go where the tilt-a-whirl takes you.” ~OzarkHillbilly

Everybody saw this coming.

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

Roe is not about choice. It is about freedom.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires Republicans to act in good faith.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Open Thread

Reader Interactions

38Comments

  3. 3.

    roshan

    Did everyone here read this?

    The Kill Team
    __
    While the officers of 3rd Platoon peeled off to talk to a village elder inside a compound, two soldiers walked away from the unit until they reached the far edge of the village. There, in a nearby poppy field, they began looking for someone to kill. “The general consensus was, if we are going to do something that fucking crazy, no one wanted anybody around to witness it,” one of the men later told Army investigators.
    __
    The poppy plants were still low to the ground at that time of year. The two soldiers, Cpl. Jeremy Morlock and Pfc. Andrew Holmes, saw a young farmer who was working by himself among the spiky shoots. Off in the distance, a few other soldiers stood sentry. But the farmer was the only Afghan in sight. With no one around to witness, the timing was right. And just like that, they picked him for execution.
    __
    He was a smooth-faced kid, about 15 years old. Not much younger than they were: Morlock was 21, Holmes was 19. His name, they would later learn, was Gul Mudin, a common name in Afghanistan. He was wearing a little cap and a Western-style green jacket. He held nothing in his hand that could be interpreted as a weapon, not even a shovel. The expression on his face was welcoming. “He was not a threat,” Morlock later confessed.

  5. 5.

    R-Jud

    There are few things more uplifting than spending your day talking about tumors.

    I imagine having one sucks pretty bad.

  9. 9.

    Genine

    John,

    I’m sorry your friend is going through such a time but it’s good that you’re there for hir.

    Sending positive energy to you and your friend!

  10. 10.

    RSA

    My sympathies, John. I spent a lot of time in the waiting room of an out-patient cancer clinic last year (six days a week for a month or so) and wrote a blog post about some of the conversations I had. It’s a little microcosm of life.

  11. 11.

    merrinc

    I hope your neighbor is going to the cancer center at the university hospital. Against my most strenuous objections, my mother went to Fairmont General and I’ve got serious doubts about her oncologist’s competency.

  16. 16.

    suzanne

    otolaryngologists

    I like mine. My OBGYN referred me to him because he is the “ENT to the stars”. Apparently he’s the doctor on call for musicians who are on tour here, and his office is filled with autographed photos. I have joked that I’m two degrees of separation from Bono and Eddie Vedder via the dude who sticks his fingers up our noses.

    Best of luck to your friend, John. It’s a good thing you’re doing. Your reward shall be in Heaven, if it exists.

  17. 17.

    Rosalita

    On the upside John it’s not you getting medical treatment this year — you’ve stayed injury free.

    Seriously tho, good thoughts for your friend and to you for being there for them. It’s your friends that get you through.

  22. 22.

    kindness

    How come I can’t correct my entry? I click Edit and it’s telling me I don’t have permission to Edit my post even though I have 3 minutes left.

    The R is for Republican, not what ever circle r means.

  24. 24.

    jcgrim

    John, you are a good man. Anyone who volunteers to spend an exhausting day in doctor’s offices and hospitals talking about someone else’s tumor has a place in heaven. (Whatever heaven means)

    Your friend will never forget.

  25. 25.

    moe99

    As someone whose life was upended completely in Sept. 2009, with a lung cancer diagnosis, I can appreciate your help for your neighbor very much. You are a good guy. I have two friends who are good guys like you and I am unutterably grateful to them for all the trips they’ve taken with me.

  26. 26.

    Tsulagi

    Been there, got the T-shirt. Suck it up. Dad had the added joys like emptying mom’s surgical drains at home, rubbing on creams in areas where skin had peeled off due to radiation, taking mom to intravenous chemo sessions at a hospital, and more.

    However I assume you’re doing this for your neighbor, not you. If s/he doesn’t have family to do this, you’re earning good karma. Nice of you.

  27. 27.

    Joe Beese

    @Cacti:

    how many love bombs of humanitarianism are we dropping on Libya today?

    We’ve got a coalition, bitches! Nothing can stand in our way!

  28. 28.

    TuiMel

    @R-Jud:

    I imagine having one sucks pretty bad.

    I can attest to that. Mastectomy three weeks ago today. Chemo starts Thursday.

  29. 29.

    Nutella

    Since this is an open thread:

    How about that David Weigel crying for poor, poor Andrew Brietbart, hounded from the front page of HuffPo by those awful liberals?

    No mention of Brietbart publishing doctored videos except in a quote from the evil Van Jones. Just Brietbart as noble victim of a vicious left-wing conspiracy.

  30. 30.

    mazareth

    Good on you John for helping out your neighbor. Friends and family were a huge part of me getting through my thyroid cancer surgery and recovery. Two years ago today I was meeting with a nuclear medicine Dr to get my big blue pill of radioactive iodine.

    You’re right that “tumor” and associated words are rarely part of any kind of uplifting conversation.

    I hope your neighbor pulls through whatever they have to go through in the next few months.

  32. 32.

    fraught

    Must remember if I ever get cancer: go for treatment alone.
    No matter how kind anyone who might go with you seems to be on the outside, he’s grumbling ans miserable on the inside.
    Even though it’s not his CANCER.

  36. 36.

    And Another Thing...

    @fraught: Sorry to disagree, but any kind of medical treatment that is at all serious (ie. worse than an uncomplicated broken leg) should not be done alone. It’s very stressful for the victim/patient, and most people won’t hear/process/remember what the doc/technician says. There really can be a physiological reason for this. People/family members who partner are truly guardian angels. It’s not unusual for the partner to have prevented a medical error. Medicine is dangerous territory – travel in pairs.

    John once again demonstrates that he really is a softie.

  38. 38.

    Violet

    @fraught:
    I think it’s gallows humor. John is a really good guy for helping his neighbor. Good for you, John. Your neighbor is lucky to have you.

Comments are closed.