Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

The Giant Orange Man Baby is having a bad day.

With all due respect and assumptions of good faith, please fuck off into the sun.

We will not go back.

Historically it was a little unusual for the president to be an incoherent babbling moron.

We are aware of all internet traditions.

Insiders who complain to politico: please report to the white house office of shut the fuck up.

You are so fucked. Still, I wish you the best of luck.

Our messy unity will be our strength.

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

The fight for our country is always worth it. ~Kamala Harris

“But what about the lurkers?”

The willow is too close to the house.

SCOTUS: It’s not “bribery” unless it comes from the Bribery region of France. Otherwise, it’s merely “sparkling malfeasance”.

He wakes up lying, and he lies all day.

This fight is for everything.

“A king is only a king if we bow down.” – Rev. William Barber

Not rolling over. fuck you, make me.

Quote tweet friends, screenshot enemies.

GOP baffled that ‘we don’t care if you die’ is not a winning slogan.

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

Giving in to doom is how authoritarians win.

If you don’t believe freedom is for everybody, then the thing you love isn’t freedom, it is privilege.

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

This really is a full service blog.

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Reader Interactions

93Comments

  1. 1.

    Long Tooth

    {also posted on another thread]: Thad Cochran “joked” about his youthful flirtation with bestiality earlier this afternoon. I’m serious.

    Staff Aide: “Jeezuz, you can’t publicly call your opponent a pig fucker”.

    Lyndon Johnson: “No, and I don’t have to. I just have to make him deny it”. That’s a paraphrase.

    Cochran yesterday or today also claimed ignorance of Cantor’s upset on Tuesday. He claimed he wasn’t kidding.

    He’s either suffering a dementia and is seriously ill, or he’s been paid to take a dive.

  2. 2.

    Mnemosyne

    My birthday is on Sunday, but it feels extra-weird this year because it’s one of the years it falls on Father’s Day — which also happened the day I was born — and only the second one after my father died last January. So I’m not really feeling the birthday vibe.

  3. 3.

    Villago Delenda Est

    Today’s exercise in wankery by Brooks is just more evidence that the human race will be greatly improved, in the aggregate, the day Brooks’ broken body is found in an alley.

  4. 4.

    Villago Delenda Est

    Oh, Noisemax, where would we be without you?

    McCain: Iraq Conflict Poses ‘Existential Threat’

    “Existential Threat” to whom, or what? The sub-sewer reputation of warmongering asswipes, like John “Auger In!” McCain?

  6. 6.

    Violet

    @Mnemosyne: Happy Birthday a bit early. Maybe celebrate a bit later or something? I do that a lot–celebrate my birthday when it’s convenient, not necessarily on the day itself.

  7. 7.

    Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)

    Plans for the evening? Recovering from my second 35 mile ride of the season and then seeing whether it is too late to do something useful and/or fun.

  8. 8.

    WaterGirl

    @Mnemosyne: That’s a tough one. You just have to slug slog on through it and get to the other side.

    I remember the early years after my dad died. I saw this billboard for father’s day gifts: “Everybody has a Dad!” No. No they don’t. Cavalier and insensitive, it really pissed me off.

  9. 9.

    chopper

    I love that column. so full of derp.

    “Oakeshott lived and died, in 1990”

    Wow, that was one fucking smart fucking baby.

  12. 12.

    MomSense

    Just unpacked the veggies from this week’s CSA. Best looking broccoli I’ve ever seen. Nibbling on some raw while I make dinner.

    Also had some purple kohlrabi in the bag. Not sure what I’m going to do with it yet, but it is certainly beautiful.

  15. 15.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    @Mnemosyne: The first Father’s Day after my dad died was the day of my college graduation. I can always remember the date, it’s on the diploma hanging on my wall.

    On the agenda for the afternoon/evening: finish putting the fabric on the fence and fix the ice dispenser in the fridge.

  16. 16.

    piratedan

    @Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name): spouse is planning a moonlight hike in nearby Sabino Canyon (about a mile away) for co-workers and friends. Moonrise is supposed to be spectacular and when framed across the mountainous silhouette, should be ample opportunity for pics. The weather is a plus as it should still be in the low 90’s to mid 80’s here, so folks will be thirsty when they return.

    sabinocanyon.com/

  18. 18.

    Suffern ACE

    I got one of those corporate thank you awards from a department head for doing something, but I’m not certain what it is. Bully for me. I selected the steam cleaner as my award gift. I’m not sure when I got old.

  19. 19.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @David Koch: He was following the advice of that other beacon of conservatism, Burke, who said that while war is “sublime”, it’s only sublime from a distance. Being up close and personal, as in putting your hand into the goo that was your buddy’s face, ruins the effect.

  21. 21.

    srv

    I tell you that the Front Pagers and commenters at Balloon-Juice are now involved in an Oakeshottian enterprise. They are muddling through, devising shambolic, ad hoc comments to fit the concrete realities, and that we’ll learn through bumbling experience. In the building of free blogs, every day feels like a mess, but every year is a step forward.

  23. 23.

    David Koch

    Newsmax headlines: “McCain: Iraq Conflict Poses ‘Existential Threat'”

    He really is dumb. He really thinks we haven’t heard that one before.

  24. 24.

    SFAW

    Reading that drivel from Brooks made me think that Pinch had a Mad Libs Column Generator installed at the Times around 2000, just for Brooksie.

    This afternoon, while running some errands, I was listening to All Things Considered, with Katrina vanden Heuvel (subbing for EJ Dionne) and Brooksie. After hearing Katrina note that, yes, Bush and Cheney are the proximate causes for Iraq being as fucked up as it is; I started hearing Brooksie vomit out his talking points. It’s amazing how quickly one can go from listening quietly, to yelling “FUCK YOU, YOU LYING MOTHERFUCKING ASSHOLE” and variations thereof. Only took me about 20 picoseconds.

    It gave me new respect for Katrina, that she resisted the urge to strangle the shit out of that stupid motherfucker where he sat. Of course, they were probably in different studios, but even so.

  25. 25.

    HinTN

    “Those were the days my friend
    We thought they’d never end
    We’d sing and dance forever and a day
    We’d live the life we choose
    We’d fight and never lose
    For we were young and sure to have our way
    La la la la…”

  26. 26.

    Mnemosyne

    @Violet:

    Thanks — we’re celebrating a day early, partly because I don’t want to deal with waiters brightly saying, “Are you here for Father’s Day?” No, we’re not, and fuck you. (It’s not the waiter’s fault, so I don’t want to take my mood out on them.)

    @WaterGirl:

    G and I both lost our dads within 6 months of each other. Plus my ex-sister-in-law’s father died and my current sister-in-law’s mother died. Have I mentioned lately that 2013 really, really sucked for my family?

    @Major Major Major Major (formerly J.Ty):

    I was once invited to a gay Tupperware party but had to cancel at the last minute because my brother’s cat bit me and I ended up in the ER. (All true!) I was very disappointed that I missed it, because a Tupperware party hosted by a drag queen is not something you get invited to every day, even in Los Angeles.

  27. 27.

    Poopyman

    @Mnemosyne: Happy early birthday from me as well, although I’m sure you’ll hear it again Sunday. Some birthdays get marked by other anniversaries. This will persist and become the new normal. Sometimes the new normal sucks, but the pain will slowly subside.

    I suck at online birthday greetings

  28. 28.

    David Koch

    George Bush was seized by this sense of mission, and has remained true to it. Happily, he is alive to see this day. I doubt he will bang bongo drums or light up cigars for the cameras, a la Bill Clinton. But I’m sure he must feel some quiet satisfaction that he, more than anyone else on earth, is responsible for liberating the Iraqi people and destroying the most murderous regime of our age.

    I’m glad that many, though sadly not all, members of the U.S. and British armed forces can see this day, and know that their sacrifices have paid off so handsomely.

    I’m glad that the much maligned hawks are around to watch the images of Saddam’s statue falling and the torture chambers emptying. Paul Wolfowitz, Scooter Libby, Dick Cheney, and Donald Rumsfeld deserve their share of the glory.

    ~ David Brooks Apr 9, 2003

  29. 29.

    Poopyman

    I was laid off 15 months ago and I just turned down a job offer. The offer was for a salary less than the offer at my last job from back in 1999. This one is for a government contract and requires 20 years relevant experience. The government forced the company to drop their rates. If the Federal Government is going to participate in devaluing labor, I’m not going to play along.

  30. 30.

    Felinious Wench

    Merging databases and drinking scotch. What?

    Wench, +1, which is not enough to deal with data type mismatches this early.

  31. 31.

    Baud

    @David Koch:

    I doubt he will bang bongo drums or light up cigars for the cameras, a la Bill Clinton.

    Would have been less offensive than the aircraft carrier stunt.

  32. 32.

    MomSense

    @Mnemosyne:

    Happy early birthday! You can celebrate any time and for as long as you like–take a whole week or a month!

    My best friend’s birthday is on the same day her mom died so I understand how tough this is.

    She takes a little quiet time to be with her mom on her birthday–and then she can enjoy the rest of the day. I’m not sure what she does in her time with her mom because it is just for them–but it is meaningful for her.

  33. 33.

    Poopyman

    @Felinious Wench: Are you my wife? Because I think she’s downstairs doing exactly that.

    I would too, if I had to deal with fucking databases, only less merge and more scotch.

  35. 35.

    Corner Stone

    @Poopyman:

    If the Federal Government is going to participate in devaluing labor, I’m not going to play along.

    We just need to tighten our belts a bit more, that’s all.

  36. 36.

    David Koch

    Now that the war in Iraq is over, we’ll find out how many people around the world are capable of facing unpleasant facts.

    The Bush haters will grow more vociferous as their numbers shrink. Even progress in Iraq will not dampen their anger, because as many people have noted, hatred of Bush and his corporate cronies is all that is left of their leftism. And this hatred is tribal, not ideological. And so they will still have their rallies, their alternative weeklies, and their Gore Vidal polemics. They will still have a huge influence over the Democratic party, perhaps even determining its next presidential nominee. But they will seem increasingly unattractive to most moderate and even many normally Democratic voters who never really adopted outrage as their dominant public emotion.

    ~ David Brooks, Apr 28, 2003

  37. 37.

    SFAW

    @David Koch:

    the most murderous regime of our age.

    If one restricts the definition of that enough, I’m sure it could be true. But in the world as it is, not so much.

    I don’t want the asteroid or giant meteorite, just one large enough to take out Brooksie. And another one for Limbaugh. And another one for the Koch brothers. And one for Cheney.

    I’d keep going, but I have work and Stanley Cup tonight. Better make sure I do the work first, in case I need to start drinking early on in the game.

  38. 38.

    Felinious Wench

    @Morzer: In honor of this thread, this database shall be registered with the moniker of “Oakeshott.” My team has learned just to accept.

  39. 39.

    Felinious Wench

    @Poopyman: Your wife and I need to compare how many times we’ve been the only women in the room at work. :)

    This one is nasty. It will be a late night.

  41. 41.

    David Koch

    I watched and listened to the punditry on President Bush’s speech on the USS Lincoln.

    These people were gone nearly a year. And they did it to defend the country. They did it to liberate the people of Iraq, so that 25 million Iraqis would be emancipated from a sadistic regime, the greatest victory for human rights since the defeat of the Soviet Union.

    But this was first an American event, a recognition of the noble deed this country is accomplishing.

    David Brooks fucking that chicken on May 2, 2003

  42. 42.

    PsiFighter37

    I bought myself until Monday to make a decision to go to this new role or not at work. It’s very strange what the dynamics are – the head of my group (2 levels up) and my direct boss are supporters. The head is making a HUGE deal out of it, which makes me think that there must be some ancillary reason he really wants to do this, while I think my direct supervisor is more supporting him than anything (I think).

    The guy who I would be replacing (he is leaving to go back to Europe) doesn’t have a strong opinion but basically thinks the role would be better filled by someone more junior. The guy who would be my boss doesn’t even really care (he already says he has no preference in my decision and has other people asking him about it). A couple of my long-term work buddies both think it’s a terrible idea.

    In the end, it really just seems like the head of our group is grasping at straws in really wanting me there. My current position – I am very happy in it, I do what I LIKE (which is important), and I have a very, VERY clear path to upward mobility and at least a management role (which is the only way I get promoted hereon out). This new role has ZERO opportunity for management and requires me to work with people I have never worked with and do things I have never done and have very little familiarity with.

    The decision should be simple, except that my superiors are the ones who think I should do it the most, and I feel like I am a lame duck / sitting duck if I don’t.

    What do the wise Juicers think? To me, except for that last tidbit, it is a slam-dunk GFY I tell the head of our group…

  44. 44.

    geg6

    Bobo needs to just suck on it and die. And take Friedman of the Plains (h/t the great Charlie Pierce) with him.

    For me tonight? Hanging with my guy and my pups. Ordering some lovely wood-oven pizza from a great local place, drinking a bottle of red blend (Once Upon a Vine, delish and economical) and probably watching a Modern Family marathon until Real Time at 10.

    Tomorrow night, I’m taking my older niece to see the Backstreet Boys. I know, I know. But she’s now 21 and I took her to her first concert back when she was 9 and it was the BSB. When I heard they were coming to First Niagara Pavillion this summer, I called her and asked if she wanted to have a nostalgia night out. She laughed and said she was just typing a text to me to see if I would consider taking her as an early birthday present. Great minds! I love being the cool aunt!

  45. 45.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @David Koch:

    Paul Wolfowitz, Scooter Libby, Dick Cheney, and Donald Rumsfeld deserve their share of the glory.

    In this case, “glory” must be defined as to share a lamppost to hang from along Pennsylvania Avenue.

  46. 46.

    David Koch

    THE AMERICAN COMMENTARIAT is gravely concerned. Over the past week, George W. Bush has shown a disturbing tendency not to waffle when it comes to Iraq. There has been an appalling clarity and coherence to his position. There has been a reckless tendency not to be murky, hesitant, or evasive. Naturally, questions are being raised about President Bush’s leadership skills.

    The U.S. press is filled with psychologizing. And two explanations have reemerged.

    First, Bush is stupid. Intellectually incurious, he is unable to adapt to events.

    Secondly, he is a religious nut. He sees the world as a simple battle of good versus evil. His faith cannot admit shades of gray.

    The problem with the explanations is that they have nothing to do with reality.

    But those who actually have to lead and protect, and actually have to build one step on another, have to bring some questions to a close. Bush gave Saddam time to disarm. Saddam did not.

    ~ Warmongering, coward, Neo-Con, chickehawk David Brooks on Mar 7, 2003

  47. 47.

    jl

    Unfair to Brooks. To wit:
    Nor open carry nor stand-your-ground for Oakeshott? Whither the second amendment?

  49. 49.

    David Koch

    We’re going to war after a long debate and in a moment of sober judgment. President Bush and the majority of the American people have decided that the risks inherent in not going to war to depose Saddam Hussein exceed the risks of going to war.

    The debate is over. The case has gone to the jury, and the jury is history. Events will soon reveal who was right, Bush or Chirac.

    ~ The judgement of history indicting and convicting David Brooks on Mar 17, 2003

  50. 50.

    jl

    @David Koch: Brooks forgot ‘incompetent’.

    Edit: And maybe a Fourier style confusion of ‘stupid’ with ‘ignorant’ (not that again?)

  52. 52.

    Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)

    @David Koch:

    Bush gave Saddam time to disarm. Saddam did not.

    Yes, he fucking did and then he let the fucking inspectors in to fucking verify it. Saddam was a first class, copper bottomed, murdering shit, but he wasn’t hiding WMDs when we invaded.

  53. 53.

    SFAW

    @David Koch:

    It’s strange, but I never see Brooksie in his cheerleader outfit any more. Not even the pom-poms. Now why would that be?

  55. 55.

    Tommy

    A dad, father story, since some comments here got me thinking about it.

    When I went to college my father would write me at least a letter a week. Handwritten. Pages and pages. I recall responding back to him. I got the letter back, marked up with a red pen noting my many spelling and grammatical errors.

    I never wrote him another letter.

    The letters never stopped. Went to email a few years ago but even at 44 I know my dad will send me a message every day. I came to know it had to be a labor of love, Intense love!

    I will call him Sunday and let him know I love him right back.

  56. 56.

    SFAW

    @Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name):

    Saddam was a first class, copper bottomed, murdering shit, but he wasn’t hiding WMDs when we invaded.

    That’s because he had given them all to Osama. Delivered them via the high-speed-rail link between Baghdad and Tora Bora (or maybe Abbottabad).

  58. 58.

    Mnemosyne

    @MomSense:

    I just found out that Saturday is Worldwide Knit in Public Day, so now I’m torn — hang out with my loving husband to celebrate my birthday, or hang out with knitters? It’s more of a dilemma than you’d think because we’re going out to brunch that morning, and the WWKIP event ends at 2:00 pm.

  60. 60.

    WaterGirl

    @PsiFighter37: It seems to me that you feel like there’s maybe a missing piece – maybe something they know that you don’t know. It’s hard to make a decision if part of your data for input is a big question mark.

    Have you ever read the book Crucial Conversations: Tools for talking when stakes are high?

    They define crucial conversations as a discussion between two or more people where 1) stakes are high, 2) opinions vary, and 3) emotions run strong.

    They talk in very concrete terms about how to have the honest conversation you need to have. If you haven’t read the book, I suggest you pick it up and read it this weekend, and if you have read the book, I suggest that you give yourself a refresher course.

    =====

    Have you said this to them?

    My current position – I am very happy in it, I do what I LIKE (which is important), and I have a very, VERY clear path to upward mobility and at least a management role (which is the only way I get promoted hereon out). This new role has ZERO opportunity for management and requires me to work with people I have never worked with and do things I have never done and have very little familiarity with.

    Because I think your bosses need to know all of that, and also know (if it’s true) that you really love working for the group/company you work for and that you wouldn’t want your decision here to jeopardize that in any way. Just ask: if I don’t take the new position, would that have any impact on my future here or the likelihood of future promotions.

    I used strikeout for the part that doesn’t seem like it’s a core issue. If the new position had a clear path to upward mobility and/or management possibilities, would you really care that you’d have to work with new people or try something new?

  62. 62.

    Suffern ACE

    Ok. A more important question. Do I mix myself a dark & stormy, a Moscow mule or a caipirinha. I only have 2 limes. I can’t mess this up.

  66. 66.

    Elmo

    @Mnemosyne:

    I know pretty close to how you feel – my Dad actually died on my birthday. Dec 14 2012, which is also the day of the Newtown horror.

    My birthday vibe is kinda fucked for a while.

  68. 68.

    Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)

    @Suffern ACE: Go with it. In honor of the World Cup. I’ll do the dark and stormy since I have neither cachaça nor vodka. If some one else would step up, we can solve this problem without any of the drinks feeling slighted.

  69. 69.

    MomSense

    @Mnemosyne:

    Can you knit at brunch? That is a tough one, Mnem. We could “meet” here and knit virtually when you get back from brunch.

  71. 71.

    Hungry Joe

    Agenda for this Friday the Thirteenth evening:

    Lay me on the table, put flowers in my mouth /
    And we can say that we invented a summer lovin’ torture party.

    (Apologies — insincere ones — to The National.)

    (Oh, right, the song: “Lemonworld”)

  72. 72.

    Jay C

    About an hour ago, I was looking out my LR window at the rain pelting down on our New York sidestreet, and saw a very curious thing: a guy came out on our side of the street, crossed over, and went into the highrise across from us. He was wearing sandals, shorts, a polo shirt and carrying a large white surfboard under his arm. Now people carrying surfboards around isn’t that unusual in, say Malibu: on the Upper East Side of Manhattan though, it definitely ranks as one of the odder things I’ve seen…

  73. 73.

    Mnemosyne

    @Elmo:

    Yikes! One of my co-worker’s birthday is on 9/11 — it especially sucked for her because she was a teenager at the time.

    Because we had three other family deaths in 2013, I’m absolutely convinced that my dad was supposed to go that same year, but he stubbornly held out until January 3rd so he wouldn’t mess up everyone’s 2013 taxes. Because that’s how he was. :-)

    @WereBear:

    It also sucks because I lost him to Fox News and it was really hard for us to have a sensible conversation after that. He was a law school graduate and owned his own business, and yet he told me with a straight face that fascism was actually a leftist movement because Mussolini started as a communist. I think you can guess where he heard that from.

  74. 74.

    David Koch

    After 17 years, the United States yesterday resumed diplomatic relations with Iraq.

    President Ronald Reagan met for 35 minutes with Foreign Minister Tariq Aziz.

    The US has been edging toward closer alignment with Iraq.

    In 1982, Iraq as removed from the US terrorist list, a move that allowed it to import non-strategic US goods.

    Since then, the US has extended $1.6 billion in credits and credit guarantees to Iraq so it could buy US agricultural products.

    Nov 27, 1984

  76. 76.

    Mnemosyne

    @MomSense:

    I can’t really knit at brunch, but we may go to Huntington Library afterwards, so I may be able to smuggle some knitting in there. Le sigh. This is what I get for preferring brunch to dinner.

  77. 77.

    BGK

    Getting liquored up and listening to Hoagy Carmichael tunes, thus honing my self-loathing to a knife edge.

    +5

  78. 78.

    MomSense

    @Mnemosyne:

    My aunt worked at Huntington Gardens. She curated several of the gardens there. Maybe you could sit in the camellia garden and knit for a little while?

  80. 80.

    NotMax

    @Suffern ACE

    Somewhere in the nether regions of the liquor larder is a bottle hand-carried from Brazil. The name of the product roughly translates as Whore’s Tears. The family has always employed the (admittedly strange) euphemism ‘Brazilian scotch’ when serving it.

    Perhaps will be motivated to root around and dig it out.

  81. 81.

    PsiFighter37

    @WaterGirl: Agreed that it’s ancillary to the main points, but for me, it is important – the people I work with at the firm are people I have known since they were analysts/junior associates…and now they are much more senior and will go to bat with me – I’ve known and done extremely good work with them for the past ~7 years.

    Otherwise, to me, I feel like a first-year fresh out of undergrad, basically learning how to do everything again. 6+ years out of college and coming up on 30, I do not think it is a smart move from either a professional or personal standpoint. If this had been several years ago, I almost certainly would have had a different response.

  82. 82.

    Mnemosyne

    @PsiFighter37:

    I would definitely try to find out why that senior manager wants to do this, because it’s going to be tough to say no and still remain on the track you are. What does he think you’re going to bring to the new department? How long does he want you there? What does he see as your path forward from there? These are all totally legitimate questions to be asking. If he just wants you to swoop in, be a superhero for a few months, and then go back to your original group, it might be worth it for the brownie points. If it’s supposed to be a permanent change, that could be a problem.

  83. 83.

    WaterGirl

    @PsiFighter37: It sounds like you have made up your mind that you don’t want to take the new position, but you have concerns about what impact that might have at work going forward.

    I’ll still recommend the book this weekend because I think the quality of the conversation you have with them as you convey your decision could have just as much impact going forward as whether you take the position or not. The other good thing about reading that book is that it will likely help with the occasional crucial conversations you might have with your wife. :-)

    Your first paragraph helps me understand your position and it’s perfectly reasonable – I recommend you talk about it in those terms as opposed to the “requires me to work with people I have never worked with and do things I have never done and have very little familiarity with”.

    In any case, all the best with your decision and your conversation with the bosses.

  84. 84.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Jay C: I once encountered a guy in the East Village racking a wooden kayak to the roof of his car. I know a few things about these, so I asked him some questions. Turns out he built it in his apartment and took it out through the window (they are typically about 17-18 feet in length) and was on his way to its maiden voyage. He indicated that his wife was happy to see it leave.

  85. 85.

    Gin & Tonic

    @PsiFighter37: After nearly four decades in the work force, I have found that doing what you like to do (if that opportunity is available to you) outweighs lots of other — maybe all other — factors.

  86. 86.

    PsiFighter37

    @Mnemosyne: His main arguments are that a) I have the technical skills, b) it’s out of my comfort zone, and it will force my to develop, and c) the pay (might) be better.

    a) I am at the level in my career (and what I have done in the past) where grinding through tons of Excel shit and pondering open-ended questions is not that appealing. If I had wanted to do that, my skill set and my past work history would have been much, much different.

    b) This is true, but you do things out of your comfort zone for kicks less when you get older, from a professional standpoint

    c) I think my group head thinks this is the most persuasive argument, and it is, for me, the weakest argument. Getting compensated more when I’m already doing okay doesn’t mean much. Additionally, this is a team where if there are big things to get done, it could go well – but if nothing gets done, a lot of things fall apart internally.

    Both he and my direct have said I can come back in 6-9 months if things don’t turn out well, but I do not want to waste 6-9 months of my career – particularly around a personal event (my wedding) that I have zero interest in adding undue and ultimately wasteful stress on my life. I also think they’re full of shit, because I have seen people ‘leave’ their seats and then find that it’s not there anymore.

    @Gin & Tonic: Absolutely. Unfortunately, I work in finance, where people think that it’s all about the fucking money and cutthroat ambition…and it shouldn’t be. It certainly isn’t for me.

  87. 87.

    Gin & Tonic

    @PsiFighter37: Out of my comfort zone, no problem. I’m in tech now, and stuff changes constantly, which I love. But I’ve turned down more money several times in my career, and no regrets.

  88. 88.

    Long Tooth

    @WaterGirl: Who is Cochran? He has cast votes on god knows how many republican nominees to the Supreme Court. He is a staunch advocate of policing vaginas. As bad as he is, however, his T-Bagger opponent is even worse. I could go on, but will end by saying that I assume he’s been bought off. That is, I don’t believe he’s ill.

  89. 89.

    Long Tooth

    @Long Tooth: People tend to assume the filthy lucre spent on modern campaigns flows to contenders. It’s also true that said lucre also can be employed in the service of dissuading candidates to run for office. Or tank, as the case may be.

  90. 90.

    PhoningItIn

    @Mnemosyne: One of those trifecta birthdays, sounds like. I wish I had something helpful and deep to say, maybe about the “resonance of life,” but all I can really offer are my prayers for your well-being, and suggest a virtual cup of tea. Wild Bavarian Blackberry is the current favorite in my house.

  91. 91.

    PhoningItIn

    @PsiFighter37: You already know what you think, and furthermore, you’re right. Whose life/job/happiness is it?

    Do share the ultimate denouement. It’s always heartening to hear how people manage these dilemmas.

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