Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

My right to basic bodily autonomy is not on the table. that’s the new deal.

Tick tock motherfuckers!

I didn’t have alien invasion on my 2023 BINGO card.

Cole is on a roll !

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

Let’s not be the monsters we hate.

If you thought you’d already seen people saying the stupidest things possible on the internet, prepare yourselves.

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

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

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

Republicans firmly believe having an abortion is a very personal, very private decision between a woman and J.D. Vance.

People are weird.

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

T R E 4 5 O N

Republicans choose power over democracy, every day.

ha ha ha! Nice try weird people.

Let’s delete this post and never speak of this again.

If marriage is the equivalent of selling yourself into slavery, women with self respect should reject the offer.

I did not have this on my fuck 2022 bingo card.

Chutkan laughs. Lauro sits back down.

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

if you can’t see it, then you are useless in the fight to stop it.

Dear Washington Post, you are the darkness now.

Donald Jessica Trump found guilty as fuck – May 30, 2024!

You are here: Home / Gun Issues / Gun nuts / Open Thread: Soldiering On

Open Thread: Soldiering On

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Heartbreaking Washington Post piece on Gabby Gifford’s new crusade:

… Since the school massacre in Newtown, Conn., Giffords has emerged as the country’s most famous victim advocate, the face of a renewed effort across the country to legislate gun control. It is impossible to be near Giffords and not be reminded of her injuries.

But she has lost neither her sharp political instinct nor her determination to deliver her message. When asked during her visit to Capitol Hill if she might be more powerful in her new role, her answer was swift and firm.

“Yes,” she said. “Impact.”

Yet the question is whether the former congresswoman can change the seemingly in­trac­table opposition on Capitol Hill to new restrictions on assault weapons, high-capacity magazines and loopholes in background checks. The sides in the debate have long been chosen, and few members of Congress will cross the powerful gun lobby to support the kinds of changes that Giffords advocates.

In short, in her new role, will Gabby Giffords have an impact?

If not, it won’t be for lack of trying. She and Kelly have embarked on a full-scale campaign to try to reduce gun violence. They have created an advocacy group, Americans for Responsible Solutions, raised a considerable chunk of money and brought their message to Washington, where Giffords was once regarded as a rising political star.

Their partnership works like this: Kelly does most of the talking. Giffords sits or stands beside him, animated and smiling, offering a word here and there. It is not what Giffords says in her new role as much as what she cannot say. Her message is mostly silent, a reminder that no one, even a member of Congress, is immune from the random violence that can transform — or end — a life.

“Gabby has particular insight into the issue, being a former member of Congress, a victim of gun violence, a gun owner and a strong supporter of the Second Amendment,” Kelly, a former astronaut and space shuttle commander, said. “I think folks want to hear what she has to say about this.”…

Every good marriage is a partnership, and I sincerely hope mine will never be tested to this degree.
***********

Apart from being grateful for our obscurity, what’s on the agenda for the evening?

Reader Interactions

118Comments

  1. 1.

    Corner Stone

    Apart from being grateful for our obscurity, what’s on the agenda for the evening?

    Just grateful for a new thread. The couple before were some real stinkers.

  3. 3.

    BGinCHI

    St Louis ribs in the crock pot. Dirty rice. Spinach salad.

    My reward for grading papers for most of the day.

  4. 4.

    different-church-lady

    It’s February in Eastern Massachusetts and I intend to spend the next twelve weeks inside until March finally gets here.

  6. 6.

    different-church-lady

    @BGinCHI: If you do not share your dirty rice recipe I will hunt you down.

    Are you making the rice in the crock with the ribs?

  8. 8.

    PsiFighter37

    It’s awfully sad, mainly because had this not happened, I have little doubt she would be Arizona’s junior senator right now and a legitimate presidential contender down the road.

  12. 12.

    BGinCHI

    @different-church-lady: I don’t cook via recipe.

    Here you go:

    olive oil, onion, garlic, fire-roasted tomatoes, black beans, smoked paprika (or chili powder if you’d rather), rice

    ETA: some red pepper and a little green pepper too.

    All in a heavy pot so that you can burn the onion a little.

    This is the vegetarian version. If you want meat in it use sausage and chicken livers.

    I think dirty rice should just be rice with stuff you like in it. Country people food.

  15. 15.

    Corner Stone

    @different-church-lady: Honestly? And I’m being semi-honest for at least once. I’ve been saving every penny I earn for the last three+ years so I can move to a position of having FU Money.

    But I’m exhausted by some of the soap operas here.

  16. 16.

    BGinCHI

    @different-church-lady: No. Do the onions first and then start adding the rest once you’ve got them where you want them.

    I don’t usually add liquid (tomatoes take care of that), but you could add a bit of water if it starts to stick. You don’t want it to get runny. It ain’t gumbo.

  17. 17.

    eemom

    I’ve had to work all fucking weekend and I’m sick and it’s too fucking cold and I have to go to fucking Dallas this week on business and I hate everything.

  19. 19.

    BGinCHI

    @eemom: Dallas sucks ass, but at least they have BBQ.

    And maybe it will be warm.

    And maybe you’ll run over Jerry Jones in your rental.

  20. 20.

    Corner Stone

    @eemom: Dallas may be the worst shithole on the NA continent. I wouldn’t wish Dallas on Fred Thompson during his stint as DA in Law&Order.
    Of course, I wouldn’t actually wish you on Dallas…but I’m sure it’ll recover eventually.

    ETA, Oh! Oh! I forgot I had blanked all memory of South Beach Miami from my mind. That place!

  23. 23.

    different-church-lady

    @Corner Stone:

    But I’m exhausted by some of the soap operas here.

    Honestly? (And now I’m being semi-honest for at least once, or at least taking my tongue out of my cheek.) I was just amusing myself with the ongoing idea that it’s absurd to get too attached to the “quality” of anything that happens here. It’s an obscure online hangout that happens to talk about politics.

    Which is completely the opposite of the attitude I take towards Daily Kos, for example. When there’s a stinker over there it actually means something, or so I feel for some reason. It’s like they have some kind of credibility as a storage tank of liberal thinking, and thus an obligation to take it seriously and not lay turds on a regular basis. (Which they do with alarming frequency nowadays, so often that I’m beginning to think turds have become one of the products they think the public wants.)

    Any rate, nothing personal, all in good fun.

  24. 24.

    gbear

    My new hobby has been checking the adoption center website to see if the cat that I had to take back last weekend has found a new home yet. They had 18 cats on their website at the beginning of the weekend and by saturday night they were down to 5. Unfortunately Edward was still one of them. Now they’re back up to 8 cats again, and one of the new ones looks just like a baby version of my 12 year old tort Halley. I’m on kind of a guilt and sadness roller coaster this weekend…

  26. 26.

    nalbar

    The article says Giffords was the victim of ‘random violence’. This is flat out not true. She was the victim, and primary target of, an assassination attempt. To describe it any differently is to rewrite history, and to indirectly dismiss what happened to her as some sort of accident or being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

    .

  29. 29.

    Corner Stone

    @Mike E: I look around. I see a lot of new faces.
    Which means a lot of you have been breakin’ the first two rules of Fight Club.

    Ok, that’s a paraphrase.

  30. 30.

    JPL

    Downton Abbey’s Season finale is tonight and nbc has a drinking game.

    When Carson gives Mrs. Hughes a meaningful look, have a swig.
    When Lord Grantham acts like a oblivious dinosaur of a patriarch, take a teeny-tiny sip. (Just be careful — you don’t want to get too tipsy on this one alone!)
    When the Dowager Countess gives someone the side eye, take a sip. When anyone mentions the dearly departed Sybil or even Sybil Jr., have a swig (and maybe pour a little out in honor of the former). When it looks like all hope is lost — whether Downton is in danger, love can’t conquer all, or someone’s at death’s door — enjoy a hearty gulp.
    When the Dowager Countess makes you laugh out loud with one of her signature zingers, finish your glass!

    link

  31. 31.

    Maude

    @gbear:
    If it didn’t work out, it’s okay. Don’t feel guilty. You gave it a try. Edward will be okay too.
    Don’t torment yourself. Leave that to me.

  33. 33.

    ruemara

    I got my fed tax return and I am seriously contemplating attending a career fair end of April. Now that I’m looking at the expense of travel and a hostel… I wonder if I’m not just wasting the money. I know snobnobbing is good for entering the industry, but I wonder if it’s not already too late for me and if it’s not just better to save up for a last hurrah to see people I like and have an end to it. I wish it was just angst, but I’m truly torn about what to do.

  37. 37.

    Corner Stone

    @different-church-lady: Ah, I don’t give a shit about any of you. That’s pretty obvious.
    The exhausting part comes from where I tell myself to not say anything to the person who was living with the other person for a long time and that person died but the whole time they were together the person hated the other person and it was fucking obvious from every decision that was made while alive that the disrespect was palpable and obvious and now those disrespectful decisions are still manifest and there’s no doubt in my mind whatsoever that someone who was being disrespected will be somewhere else before the living example of disrespectful decisions is removed because that’s the nature of the disrespected person and it’s just fucking wacky to not just look in the god damn mirror one morning.

  38. 38.

    Svensker

    @Corner Stone: But at least South Beach is pretty. Gorgeous beach, some cool old buildings, nice palms. Dallas is just a horror. Unless you’re really into Dr.Pepper.

  39. 39.

    scav

    @Corner Stone: well, sincere good luck with the cash flow, but I gotta admit, I won’t be hiring you to ghost-write my instruction manual for a reasonable calm response. (No fear, doesn’t pay well.)

    and WTF. didn’t have to retype my login.

  43. 43.

    Anne Laurie

    @efgoldman:

    So, where’s the big weekend rebuild, already?

    With any luck, MisterMix has convince the Blogmaster that first you test the rebuild, then you make the switch.

    Yeah, I know that’s against all established local tradition, but a girl can dream…

  44. 44.

    NotMax

    @raven

    Not complaining. The rain is needed, both for the flora and for the reservoirs that supply water to those of us upcountry.

  48. 48.

    different-church-lady

    @Corner Stone: Ah. I deal with that by simply not being able to remember who has ever said what, and kinda reading posts without really taking in the names involved. That way I can’t ever let it get personal on a on-going basis, even by accident.

  49. 49.

    BGinCHI

    You know, now that I think about it, Rodney Dangerfield got just about the right amount of respect.

  51. 51.

    Maude

    OT
    McCain made a serious accusation against Obama on MTP. I paraphrase, he said Obama is deliberately covering up what happened at Bengazi. He can’t waltz away from that. That’s enough. He need to provide proof.

  52. 52.

    Shortstop

    @Corner Stone:

    Ah, I don’t give a shit about any of you. That’s pretty obvious

    Is it? Yours is always such an earnest carelessness. You never seem to have any fun, even as you’re trying so hard to give the impression that you’re constantly amused. It can be painful to watch.

    Perhaps I’m wrong and you’re having a ball and just need some good probiotics, though.

    @BGinCHI: Brother, please. It’s BEEF barbecue.

  53. 53.

    Yutsano

    @Svensker: I never made it to South Beach, but all I remember of Miami is it’s very pink. And flat. Ridiculously flat.

    @Maude: Old man still yelling at cloud. I bet The Village just walks on by that.

  60. 60.

    raven

    Cat On a Hot Tin Roof is on one channel and Roots is on another. Burl Ives seems to play the same character in both.

  61. 61.

    22over7

    @eemom:

    I am so sorry. I hate Dallas. Can’t you stay in Fort Worth?

    Anyway, how about a cup of tea with a shot of whiskey? Or forget the tea. And a hot bath. You’ll sleep better.

  65. 65.

    Corner Stone

    @raven: Hey! So my moms was telling me about her 1967 4 on the floor Pontiac LeMans and how righteous that was.
    I asked her if she had ever had a 1959 Rambler and she got pissed so she told me about the wicked fun the Pontiac was before she had kids.
    I figured you’d remember those cars.

  69. 69.

    Hill Dweller

    @Maude: ThinkProgress has video of Gregory asking McGramps what Obama is supposed to be covering up. McGramps started accusing Gregory of not caring about the four people that died.

    McCain shows all the signs of dementia.

  75. 75.

    gogol's wife

    @JPL:

    I’m so excited about tonight’s Downton Abbey, but sad that it’s the finale, and unhappy that the New York Times gave me a big spoiler, and proud of myself for not letting my husband know about the spoiler.

  79. 79.

    Anne Laurie

    @Corner Stone: One class of people, mostly but not entirely male, believe that one discusses relationship problems because one is looking for a solution, dammit. Another class, mostly but not entirely female, thinks that discussing, re-discussing, and once again discussing those same relationship problems helps the discusant to process.

    Neither side is entirely correct, but since I fail at Girlness fall onto the Solution-Based side of the graph, I learned long ago that sometimes you just chew your tongue & nod. And also, that I was going to have better luck dating men than women. If that option is not open to you, there’s always the ‘learn to chew your tongue’ part. Seriously. Doesn’t matter that living like that would drive you or me to murder-suicide, sometimes your friend just wants you to sit there & nod.

  80. 80.

    eemom

    @22over7:

    I hate Dallas. Can’t you stay in Fort Worth?

    Aren’t they the same thing?

    Actually I’ve never been anywhere in Texas except that airport. I picture it all as a vast desert of crazy people in cowboy hats, with the exception of a place called Austin which is like a little oasis of sanity. This could be an oversimplification on my part, however.

  81. 81.

    Svensker

    @Yutsano:

    but all I remember of Miami is it’s very pink. And flat. Ridiculously flat.

    Yes! Being from the Pac NW, the flatness drove me crazy after a while. Like, dude, where are the mountains? That, and no book stores (not counting the voodoo ones in the Haitian neighborhood).

  86. 86.

    Maude

    @dmsilev:
    The problem is that this went out around the world. I usually don’t care what he says. McCain is a US Senator and this is the level of accusation that was aimed toward Nixon.
    We can make jokes, but this is going to cause trouble for Obama.

  88. 88.

    The Fat Kate Middleton

    @gogol’s wife: I purchased a season ticket for Downton Abbey S3, and watched the finale last week. It’s killing me not to reveal the ending to friends and family. I won’t do it, though … I remember how PO’d I was when a friend told me about Sybil’s death before I had watched that episode.

  89. 89.

    Anya

    @Maude:Outside of the Sunday shows, McCain has no following. No one will be swayed. When he can’t even answer a mildly challenging question from Dancing Dave, do you think he’ll get traction?

  90. 90.

    Maude

    @Anya:
    Yes. This is above and beyond the usual.
    There are a lot of wing nuts that believe this and the show is seen in other countries.
    I don’t like it.
    Something bothers me about this one.

  92. 92.

    22over7

    @eemom:

    I was joking. Dallas and Fort Worth, while right next to each other, are hugely different cities. Dallas is full of stick-up-their-asses Baptists, and you can’t drink without joining a “club” at a restaurant. Ross Perot is from Dallas, and GW Bush lives in Dallas.

    Fort Worth has Mickey Gilley’s club. Enough said.

    But if you have to go to Dallas, you want to stay in Dallas. Driving in Dallas is a nightmare.

    I was, however, not joking about the shot and the hot bath.

  93. 93.

    FlipYrWhig

    @Shortstop:

    do y’all think Corner Stone is genuinely enjoying himself at this blog?

    There are people who enjoy a good scrap, talking trash, coming up with clever put-downs, telling everyone to fuck off, telling them that their favorite things are shit, that sort of thing. It’s a kind of pleasure–irascible, cantankerous pleasure. I figure CS for one of those. I’ll take being told to fuck off as validation of the theory.

  95. 95.

    shortstop

    @FlipYrWhig: Could be. I’m not feeling the lightness or joy from CS, though. His stuff is all so plodding and unwitty and the anger is genuine. In contrast, Just Some Fuckhead, who truly does not give a shit, is fucking hilarious.

  96. 96.

    shortstop

    @SiubhanDuinne: I shall stay offline until 1:00 a.m. or so central time…too much work to finish before I can get to the TV. Why, yes, I could be completing that work faster if I didn’t keep stopping to eff off at political, birding and diving blogs.

  99. 99.

    gogol's wife

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    We all got scolded last week for discussing last Sunday night’s episode on Monday afternoon. I thought that as soon as it had been broadcast on national US television, it was fair game, but someone got very annoyed with us, even though we weren’t being particularly spoiler-y.

  100. 100.

    Mr Stagger Lee

    I would like to think that maybe the popularity of shows like Downton Abbey might inspire the networks to return to dramas with good writing, instead of bullshit reality shows.* Hell AMC is starting to become a reality shit hole, despite some good shows like The Walking Dead and Breaking Bad.# Thank God for Netflix, I am watching Homeland the fist season.

    * OK you can stop laughing I know I just asked for a rainbow unicorn.
    PS I am not a fan of DA, but I do recognize, that are good shows still being produced out there, despite the dreck that is coming out.

  101. 101.

    Josie

    @Corner Stone: I had that exact car – my second car – and I loved it. It was really fun to drive. My high school students at the time were very impressed, also.

  102. 102.

    shortstop

    @Mr Stagger Lee: But the writing on DA has gotten just laughably bad. In the first season, the plotlines were a bit fulsome and cheesy, but no one cared, because we knew it was a soap and the dialogue was tight and sharp-elbowed. Now it’s just wonderful costumes and sets lacking the wit and quick pace of the first season, and, with a couple of exceptions like Thomas, the characters have mostly gotten more two-dimensional, not better developed.

    It’s really disappointing because this show so much fun to watch in other respects. And we saw from Gosford Park that JF can absolutely write really smart, quick-moving scripts. I do understand that you construct a TV show for mass consumption differently than you do a Robert Altman film, but the first season of DA proved that you don’t have to dumb down the writing this much to achieve popular appeal.

  103. 103.

    gogol's wife

    @shortstop:

    I never quite get this criticism. The first season had the dead Turk in Mary’s bed, for God’s sake. I recently re-watched Seasons 1 and 2, and I really don’t see the big difference. It’s always been a soap opera with fantastic acting, sets (except for combat scenes), and costumes.

  104. 104.

    shortstop

    @gogol’s wife: Right, and damn them for killing off a perfectly gorgeous Turk in his 20s with no medical explanation. Seriously, though, like I said, the plotlines have been wacky from day one (though never as slow-moving as they are now — I was ready to shiv Bates myself just to finally end that story arc), but the dialogue was far superior in the early days. I rewatched a bit of season one last week and was really struck by how much cleverer and wittier (sometimes, but not always, the same thing) as well as faster-moving the conversations were. It now feels like it’s written for people who are just learning English. Slowly.

    ETA: Nothing will stop me from eagerly watching every episode. I just wish the scripts were better.

  106. 106.

    piratedan

    @PsiFighter37: @#9 – I would have liked her chances against Senator Grumpy or the nonentity that is Jeff Flake. She’s not exactly progressive, but she’s on the right side of the fence on almost all of my issues. Hopin like hell that she’ll continue to improve because it sounds like her mind is still there but the speech faculties aren’t.

  107. 107.

    The Fat Kate Middleton

    @SiubhanDuinne: Good for you. You serve as my role model. Actually, I should probably wait a whole day after airs, just to be kind to my English teacher friends who spend their Sundays grading papers, and watch the rerun the next day.

  108. 108.

    Joe Max

    How long before Rushblo starts ranting about how she’s faking her speech disability to get sympathy, like he did with Michael J. Keaton?

  109. 109.

    Cheryl from Maryland

    The Cowgirl Museum in Fort Worth is very nice. Also the Amon Carter and the Contemporary Art Museum, which is a great place to have a boozy lunch. Dallas, not as good.

  110. 110.

    hitchhiker

    Hmmm. How to say this?

    Because I’m married to someone who used to be nothing but handsome, athletic, and eccentric and is now handsome, seriously disabled, and eccentric, I think I get what the Gabby & spouse team is up to.

    She doesn’t see herself as a heartbreaking figure, and neither does he. She’s trying to live a real life and make a real contribution. Just like she was before, and just like you are today.

    The fact that she’s not articulate or coordinated isn’t tragic, it’s just a fact. I know this because I see two things on a daily basis. One is my main squeeze, working his way through his days with his lifelong sense of humor and determination intact. He can walk with a cane, but he’s slow and ungainly. Sometimes he falls down in public. It can be weird to watch him haul himself out of a chair and lurch across a room. This is not tragic.

    The other is the way people look at him when they think he won’t notice, with pity and sadness. Oh, please, I want to say! This man is worth five of you, and only half of him is functional! Don’t waste your time feeling bad for him; if he’s made peace with this shit, you ought to get over it as well.

    This is what I think when I see Gabby on TV . . . she’s clearly decided to live this out in a way that’s useful and public. It is brave, of course, but only to the extent that being in the public sphere is about looking young, healthy, and attractive at all times. It’s also about refusing to be ashamed of whatever’s wrong with you. I promise you, she’s not thinking about how impaired she appears to be – she’s thinking about the need to get things done.

  111. 111.

    Corner Stone

    @FlipYrWhig: Shortstop’s just mad at me because I told her one time the reason a good shortstop gets paid is based on how well they can turn two.
    It’s pretty clear she’s grinding a personal gear since obviously no one else gives a darn if I’m enjoying myself here or not.

  112. 112.

    Anne Laurie

    @hitchhiker: Thanks for this. In my defense, I wasn’t thinking of Ms. Giffords as “heartbreaking”, just that she (& her husband) are out there working & living their lives, and the Second Amendment absolutists are attacking when they can’t just ignore her.

  114. 114.

    Shortstop

    @Corner Stone: Did you say that? If you say so — it does sound like something you’d offer up.
    You’re the one with the perfect memory…until the blackout stage of every evening, that is.

    Keep telling yourself that I’m the only one here who finds you ineffably sad. You should be glad there are so many of us pitying you; makes a nice break from the so many others who just can’t stand you.

  115. 115.

    hitchhiker

    Anne, I get it. I’m hypersensitive to certain language & I always take the opportunity to let people know what assumptions some of us are unlucky enough to be stuck with.

    It enrages me to see people attack her, but not because she’s disabled — I get mad because the people who would do that have shit for brains and are using her issues to draw attention to themselves. It’s beyond disgusting.

  116. 116.

    Corner Stone

    @Shortstop: Yeah, honeycakes. All those others who have nothing to say all go out of their way to keep trying to make a case no one else here gives a shit about.
    For some reason you seem to be all wrapped around my pole, flapping out there in the wind.
    Can’t say I blame you too much. I am pretty much all man, baby.

  117. 117.

    Shortstop

    @Corner Stone: Your “pole” has permanent whiskey dick.

    And all the pushback you get from people every day, well, it doesn’t exist if you don’t acknowledge it, right? Everybody loves you.
    They’re probably just waiting for the right moment to say it.

  118. 118.

    Paul in KY

    Would like Ms. Giffords to comment on her pre-shot-in-head anti gun control position & maybe admit that she was wrong back then.

Comments are closed.