Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

I really should read my own blog.

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

Republicans want to make it harder to vote and easier for them to cheat.

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

I’d try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

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

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

They love authoritarianism, but only when they get to be the authoritarians.

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

The GOP is a fucking disgrace.

Only Democrats have agency, apparently.

I conferred with the team and they all agree – still not tired of winning!

Today’s GOP: why go just far enough when too far is right there?

He really is that stupid.

Impressively dumb. Congratulations.

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

Thanks for reminding me that Van Jones needs to be slapped.

Their freedom requires your slavery.

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

“Jesus paying for the sins of everyone is an insult to those who paid for their own sins.”

Black Jesus loves a paper trail.

A democracy can’t function when people can’t distinguish facts from lies.

New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

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

You are here: Home / Open Threads / I Like To Think Of This As The Universe Expressing An Opinion About Today’s Incarnation Of The Party Of Lincoln

I Like To Think Of This As The Universe Expressing An Opinion About Today’s Incarnation Of The Party Of Lincoln

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On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.

From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.

Submit Your Photos

I mean, this picture sure seems to make a cosmic viewpoint clear:

Keyhole_Nebula_-_Hubble_1999 crop

You may consider this an open thread.

Image:  NASA, The Hubble Heritage Team (AURA/STScI) – Space Telescope Science Institute, Keyhole Nebula, crop of the feature known as “God’s Birdie,” 1999.

Reader Interactions

98Comments

  7. 7.

    katie5

    Listened to Steve Kornacki subbing for Maddow last night. I think he’s gunning for Chuck Todd’s job. Kornacki: “I’m quoting Rand Paul here. Shouldn’t we be more concerned about the spread of Ebola in the US?” That and the smarmy way he treats politics makes me think he’ll be doing Face the Nation one day.

  12. 12.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Violet:

    Woah! As you know, this crew has pretty big shoulders (and surprisingly often, good advice). Speak up if you need to vent, sob, gripe, or carry on like a two-year-old.

    In the meantime, here are some {{{{{{{hugs}}}}}}}.

  13. 13.

    raven

    @Violet: Remember when I was going to get my shoulder operated on? If you hadn’t questioned it I would have had unnecessary and debilitating surgery. Just a small reason to hang in there, we need you.

  14. 14.

    MomSense

    @Violet:

    Sending you big hugs, Violet. We all really value you here. Besides you have to stay here at Balloon-Juice since you are my health guru!! You and Mnemosyne gave me some good advice about my cholesterol and that it could be my thyroid. It was my thyroid but I wouldn’t have known which tests to ask for to get a diagnosis without your help.

  16. 16.

    jayboat

    @Violet:
    We all have those moments, and when they come around it’s good to have moments of Gilbert Gottfried (see link above) to remind us that life is but a joke. 8-]

  18. 18.

    MomSense

    @Violet:

    I’m so sorry, Violet. Is there anything we can do to help?? You are such a kind and helpful presence here so please do let us know how we can support you. I wish I could send you some pro-biotics for the soul!!

  19. 19.

    Violet

    @MomSense: Glad it was helpful. There are plenty who know about thyroid so I’m sure someone else can help.

    @jayboat: Since life is a joke, what is the point? Why be here?

  21. 21.

    burnspbesq

    Just downloaded con-law rockstar Erwin Chemerinsky’s new book, “The Case Against the Supreme Court,” for weekend reading. Erwin was Judge Nelson’s last hire as Dean of USC Law, before Reagan nominated her for the Ninth Circuit, and she hit a five-run home run.

  23. 23.

    MomSense

    @Violet:

    I’m sure someone else can help.

    Nope. Part of why you are so trusted is because it is so clear that you are a kind and good person. I don’t usually take advice from people on the internet!

    I don’t know what is happening in your life right now and can understand why you don’t want to share it here. Just please find a helper you trust. You are important to us and we care about you. I care about you.

  24. 24.

    skerry

    @Violet: Talk to somebody. Call a hotline if you don’t have anyone in your life. Talk to us here.

    I’ve been there. I still have “suicidal ideation” from time to time.

    Is there something in particular that’s going on right now? Or is this something that you’ve been considering for a while?

    Hang in there. You are valued.

  25. 25.

    lamh36

    Good morning.

    So I’m listening to Tom Joyner Morning Show they were talking about the guy in Ebola in DFW and how the guy went to ER at Presby D and based on his symptoms at the ER and sent him home with antibodies, even though he told them about his recent travels to West Africa. They speculated that it might have to do with his insurance, ya know whether he had it or not and/or what kind? And then i got to thinking hmmm i wonder too. I used to work at the big public hospital in DFW. Public hospitals wouldn’t turn anyone away even before the ACA. Ive also worked for a private hospital and i know what these private hospitals do.

    Course you know who will be blamed…ACA, even though Perry et al refused to expand medicare rolls to increase the number of people with insurance.

  27. 27.

    Karen in GA

    @Violet: Been there. Thought it wasn’t. Found out it actually is, for the most part, even if some of it sucks and other parts bore me to tears.

    I know I can’t change how you’re feeling, but I hope you’ll hold off on making any final determinations here, talk to someone who can help, and give that person a chance. It’s worth a shot. Trust me. You don’t have to enjoy it — just please drag yourself in that general direction for a while and see how it goes.

  32. 32.

    Punchy

    This shit seems to be spreading, and….WOW….where does it end? Do they start editing The Devil’s Work out of math textbooks? Do English textbooks get audited to ensure only Jesus-friendly vocab is taught?

    Peak wingnut has approached school boards in red states. This is going to get much, much worse, IMO.

  33. 33.

    sparrow

    @Mike in NC: Am I being too grumpy if I say the Heritage Team is a group that takes pretty but fairly pointless pictures with a one-of-a-kind resource that would be better used for real science? (Answer: yes. Also get off my lawn.)

  35. 35.

    Amir Khalid

    @sparrow:
    Are you sure that that’s all it does? It seems to me that a picture like this would be very informative to the astronomers who have the tools to work out what they can say about the universe.

  38. 38.

    Tom Levenson

    @Violet: Adding to the chorus: you and your life are valuable to this community, and I’m sure to many others that you touch IRL. That is something “worth” the sometimes very difficult task of living, or so ISTM. If we can help here, we will.

  41. 41.

    skerry

    Wash Post is reporting that DOJ will not press civil rights violation charges against George Zimmerman in the killing of Trayvon Martin. Not good.

  43. 43.

    JPL

    @Punchy: Whitewashing American history has been going on for a long time. Folks my age might remember Lindbergh in a positive light rather than as the anti-Semitic that he was. Don’t get me started on Custer…

  45. 45.

    Mnemosyne

    @Violet:

    You need to call somebody IRL. Like, now. Therapist, helpline, friend, whatever. You’ve been under a lot of stress that you’ve had to handle by yourself and you’re only human.

  47. 47.

    dmsilev

    @Amir Khalid: Yes and no. A pretty picture of that sort is, in and of itself, of little scientific value. The raw data that went into that picture is a different story. Typically, a telescope like Hubble is used to take a series of pictures of the same object, changing the filter in front of the camera for each image. The different filters are used to focus in on specific wavelength ranges, which allow studying things like how much dust vs. how much hydrogen gas there is in a particular nebula. If you take enough pictures in enough wavelength bands, there’s enough information to reconstruct a color image, but it’s almost a side effect.

    I say ‘almost’ because PR is important. Hubble was expensive to build and is expensive to run. Convincing people that it’s worthwhile to build and run something like that takes real work.

  49. 49.

    JPL

    @Karen in GA: When I adopted Mr. Finch, he had been treated for heartworm. The shelter wanted him retested after six months. I brought him to a VCA vet nearby and they waited two days to let me know he was fine. He certainly doesn’t have problems except for those of the behavior kind.

  53. 53.

    JPL

    @Karen in GA: Yes but didn’t tell me that is what they were doing. Finch goes to Alpharetta Animal Hospital now for his shots. I’ve been using that practice for decades but decided to try to the vet closer to me.

  54. 54.

    Citizen_X

    @dmsilev:

    it’s almost a side effect.

    That. If Hubble projects are like any other science, they’ll take thousands of images, in varying wavelengths, and recombine and process the images in multiple ways. Some of the resulting work will be useful or enlightening, much will be redundant, but, almost inevitably, out will pop a few images of staggering beauty. Some of those may even be informative!

  57. 57.

    the Conster

    @schrodinger’s cat:

    The last I heard of him was Mary G saying that he was in a bad way again. That was a few weeks ago, and haven’t heard further, but I’ve been off the grid myself a lot lately. I’m worried.

  58. 58.

    Tenar Darell

    @Violet: You don’t know me, but please go see someone. To me, you sound way too much like Allie Brosch’s descriptions of her depression right now.

    It’s clear this community loves you. Even if you’re cloaked in your nym your compassion has bled through, and I’m sure that also is true in the real world. I’m so sad just reading your comments today. Please go see someone, now.

  60. 60.

    the Conster

    @Betty Cracker:

    Oh good. You know who else I worry about and haven’t seen in these parts for a long time? Arguingwithsignposts aka AWS, who also had a bad spell that the BJ community helped with one night a few years ago. Things were much better with him, then nothing.

  61. 61.

    Kathleen

    @Violet: {{{{hugs}}}}} I always appreciate your insights. You strike me as a thoughtful, caring, intelligent, articulate person.

  63. 63.

    sparrow

    @Amir Khalid:@schrodinger’s cat: Well, as an astronomer, I can tell you that these pictures don’t really tell you a whole lot we didn’t already know about star-forming regions, etc. BUT, they are pretty, and SC has a good point about inspiration. I don’t really have anything against them except that Hubble is a REALLY over-subscribed resource, and we’ve already taken tons of pretty pictures. You start to hit diminishing returns. But as I said I’m really just being grumpy. Carry on…

  65. 65.

    Another Holocene Human

    So, I got this info off wikipedia, take that with a grain of salt, but apparently some eCig manufacturers, not exactly paragons of virtue, public health, and transparency, are putting diacetyl in their products.

    That’s the stuff that makes sour cream and butter tasty, as well as enhancing (or ruining) some wines and beers. It’s also used in artificial butter flavor but it turns out that, funny story, huffing it causes a catastrophic lung condition sometimes known as “popcorn worker’s lung” and it’s been removed from a lot of microwave popcorn products in the US as a result.

    So it’s being added to some eCig flavors … to be huffed … and to be 2nd hand huffed where vaping is allowed.

    Personally, I don’t care if y’all vape, but do that shit outside. Vaping fumes INCLUDE NICOTINE WHICH IS FUCKING TOXIC. I am allergic to that shit … don’t tell me the bus is well ventilated, it’s not. I had to stop a bus once because some kid decided to apply liquid bandaid, which is like 90% acetone, on the way to class. At least it wasn’t nail polish, cause I kinda sympathized instead of blowing up, but jeezus. No, I can’t breathe. Hell, I’m taking medication every day over this shit. Please stop trying to kill me. Thanks.

    Sorry, didn’t mean to rant at smokers. I’m glad that vaping has been a positive so for many people I know. I just don’t like the whole, “It’s diffs, I can ignore all rules now!” or trying to BS that all the toxic was in the additives or this la la land ecigs don’t have additives a ha ha ha. No.

  66. 66.

    Steeplejack

    @Violet:

    I always feel like I don’t have anything good to say in these situations, but I will say this: I value your presence, Violet, and would miss you if you were gone. Please get some help and find some sustenance.

    I reread that thread from a year ago that Betty Cracker linked. There is a lot of good stuff in there. And it brought up a lot of strong emotions related to things I have been working through.

  67. 67.

    Another Holocene Human

    Nicotine IS the suspect agent in most of the disease processes associated with smoking which means that blowing nicotine containing vapors around in an enclosed environment has only reduced some of the harms, not eliminated them. I will say this, people vaping outside the front door of a bar is far better than the alternative. Plus the little eCigs with the glowing ends look cool. They remind me of the cigarettes in Signal to Noise. Did anyone else read that series because I gave up halfway through? First book was awesome (in my mind), though.

  68. 68.

    the Conster

    @raven:

    Oh good!! Thanks. All accounted for.

    @Violet: I wish I could impress upon you how much it matters to us here that you keep on keeping on. I have no good advice for you – there’s a bunch of people upthread who know more than I do about such things. I spent the day once at Dana Farber in Boston with a friend who was getting cancer treatment. I thought I had problems, then realized I didn’t, really – I did, but nothing like life and death. The sick children and the desperate attempts by their parents to not look terrified snapped me out of it. Maybe that’s just some anodyne bullshit to someone who is really suffering depression, but I’ve never forgotten to remember that day.

  69. 69.

    Iowa Old Lady

    @Violet: I wish words made more of a difference, but they’re all we have to give at the moment. Please stay with us.

  70. 70.

    Another Holocene Human

    @Violet: I don’t know if this has happened to you before, Violet, but that is your brain saying that it’s in the middle of a chemical storm.

    I would recommend cutting out any activities that cause anxiety, but you may want to confide in some people you are really close to that you trust. Tell them to forgive your failings right now but you may just need to lean on them for some social time without warning for the next few weeks. But also you might have to drop out of other plans b/c you are going through some things. If that’s not possible or even if it is I totally recommend kitten cams and puppy cams. If you know anyone who needs dog sitting right now that also works.

    The real way out of depression is a boring combo of regular, nutritious meals, consistent sleep schedule (but don’t lie there, insomnial), regular exercise, which basically means walking briskly 30-60mins daily at least 2hrs before bedtime. All of these things are tough because you don’t even want to get out of bed. During my last bad crash I actually didn’t fight it, I let it happen for a week or so, basically treated it like a cold. I did go to work but on my days off I pretty much slept, loved on my cat, and watched soothing videos. I did see a therapist once a week. They’re trained professionals and can kind of correct the disordered thinking. Depression both drives and is driven by disordered thinking.

    If you start thinking it would be easier not to wake up or certain objects start looking scary and take on a new meaning I would call your local crisis hotline. To be honest the counselors, who are typically volunteers, will probably be relieved to talk to a vanilla major depression episode instead of domestic violence/rape survivor/endangered minor and all the other scary, traumatizing stuff they have to process.

  76. 76.

    Another Holocene Human

    @Violet: Life is a joke. Laugh. You don’t feel like laughing right now, and that is because of chemistry, not because of what is going on outside your brain. If you have to deal with enough shit, though, your brain’s coping mechanisms end up here, in the brainstorm. All hands on deck, this is a neurochemical and psychological emergency!

    Depression can be a time of creativity as well. It’s possible that whatever tactics you have been using against adversity in your life are not working at all. Instead of quitting, maybe it’s time to shelf the tactics and think of a different approach. Sometimes we get really frustrated with something not working but feel like we “ought to” persist and these feelings of sadness and withdrawal are our bodies’ way of saying “No. Stop. Just stop.”

    There’s some wisdom there. Listen to it. Something to let go of. To shed.

    IMO sometimes your mind and body are just exhausted and there’s nothing wrong with shutting out the world and sleeping for a week. Our culture tries to shame us for this but we’re the most depressed and anxious people there ever were! And sleep deprived! Bump that, bump the landlord, take care of yourself first.

    Affix your oxygen mask before assisting others.

  77. 77.

    cleek

    i saw some roadsided signs near my house that say “Republaiken” on them.

    Clay Aiken is running for Congress in one of the districts in the area and i thought someone was putting up signs trying to confuse voters about which party Aiken belongs to. but, no. those are actual Aiken signs.

    he’s trying to appeal to rural NC Republicans.

    good luck!

  79. 79.

    Another Holocene Human

    @katie5: I have trouble calling him Steve Kornakky, I keep wanting to call him Kornatski.

    The problem, though, with trying to “correct” ethnic names back is that you can get it wrong. Not only did I have some teachers try to do that they helpfully “fixed” the spelling to match their interpretation … oh well, now that I live in the South everybody tries to turn it into an English surname … sigh.

  81. 81.

    Another Holocene Human

    @cleek: I saw a Thom Tillis sign planted in front of a Wrong Way road sign. It was all over twitter yesterday but google is not my friend right now. Somebody posted it and included his campaign manager “You had one job.”

  84. 84.

    Steeplejack

    @Violet:

    With your background, you might find this book valuable: The Mood Cure, by Julia Ross.

    [. . .] a prescriptive plan designed to relieve a variety of ailments from seasonal disorders, stress, irritability and depression. Ross believes that many of these [. . .] disorders can be relieved through a change in diet and nutritional supplements. Readers are asked to first determine which of four “false moods” they suffer from: a dark cloud, blahs, stress or too much sensitivity. [. . .] Armed with their survey scores, readers can then turn to the appropriate chapter to learn which diets and supplements will be most helpful. Particularly reassuring are the author’s detailed explanations of why she advises a particular strategy. While Ross is an advocate for nutritional supplements, she provides a sound overview for all her recommendations.

  85. 85.

    shortstop

    A couple of days ago, I commented here about three V-22 Ospreys going directly over our building, which is in the usual flight path Marine One takes from O’Hare to near Hyde Park when Obama’s in town. I hadn’t realized that they were associated with Marine One, but figured it out that day.

    So the president’s here today (but using the Gary airport) and we keep looking up from our work to watch Marine One (plus the additional, fake Marine One) go by escorted by an Osprey. In six years of watching Obama’s comings and goings over Chicago, we’ve never seen a big, badass military plane in that entourage. Never.

  86. 86.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    @Violet: I hope you can get to a place where that’s no longer a question. Please share that thought with a physician or a helpline, or both. Thyroid trouble can wreak havoc on your brain, so that it totally seems like life may not be all that and a bag of chips.

    @Another Holocene Human: Please remember that depression is a medical condition, and while regular sleep, exercise and a healthy diet are essential, there may be other required interventions. Sleeping it off as one might a head cold will not always work.

  88. 88.

    Southern Beale

    Why is it whenever one finds vote fraud it ends up being the Republicans doing fraudulentin’ ?

    Here it’s the Arkansas Republic AG candidate and an ex-Huckabee legal aide who had her voter registration cancelled because she’s registered to vote in multiple locations.

    You’d think a candidate for attorney general and former legal aide to the governor would know you can’t do that ….

  89. 89.

    shortstop

    @shortstop: What the hell do I know about these things? I thought Ospreys’ armament was for more than show, but now see it’s very much incidental to the transport role. Okay, I’ll put this down to the president volunteering to haul very many buttons and t-shirts to the Quinn fundraiser. ;)

  90. 90.

    Josie

    @Violet: I can so relate to this feeling. You must be a member of the sandwich generation. I seem to remember that your parents have had health issues lately and you’ve be wearing yourself out taking care of them with not much help from immediate family in daily chores. Also, you once mentioned that certain meds cause you feelings of depression. Please talk to your family and ask for whatever help you need. Don’t suffer in silence. I have been so grateful for the help and advice you have offered to me several times, and I know that others feel the same way. We’ve never met, but I care about you and hope that things get better for you.

  93. 93.

    StringOnAStick

    My BIL is refusing to go to his radiation therapy appointments on the days when his girlfriend isn’t there to take him (she has a job in another city). The radiation affects hit full force last weekend, and his feet are so blistered that he can only get around by crawling, even though they are using the lowest dose. He refuses to use the hospital’s free van service to get him to his appointments. He says the pain meds don’t help, and refused our offer to hire a home health care aide because he “doesn’t want anyone to hear him screaming in pain”.

    Yesterday we offered to pay his girlfriend her exact same salary to live there and take care of him and his elderly, semi-senile dad, something she has offered to do anyway, but he refused. he says it “wouldn’t be good in the long run” because he doesn’t want her thinking he’s in a committed relationship with her. He doesn’t seem to realize that there isn’t going to be any “long run” if he doesn’t go to his prescribed radiation therapy.

    We really didn’t realize how serious his OCD issues were until we were so involved in moving him and my husband’s father to their new home last spring; maybe it has gotten worse. He is so stressed by the cancer diagnosis in general, and when he is in his doctor’s office he is so stressed out that I doubt he hears or comprehends half of what he’s being told. I suspect he’s not consistently taking his pain meds (because all pain meds, even aspirin is “weakness” in his eyes), and this is why he’s in such pain. Breakthrough pain happens if you aren’t consistent, and it takes even more pain meds to get it back under control; I’m sure he’s been told this, but he didn’t hear it.

    He keeps refusing my husband’s offers to come out to help, to hire someone; something, anything, but no – stubborn refusal all the way. His OCD is such that anything that overwhelms him is responded to by just ignoring it; we’ve seen it time and again in other matters. I guess our next step is to ask him when he wants us to contact hospice, when he wants us to move their dad to assisted living out here near us, and what he wants us to do with the cat he is choosing to leave behind because he won’t treat an easily curable form of cancer. I don’t know how else to get his attention. The doctor isn’t going to come to their house and drag him to therapy.

  95. 95.

    Mnemosyne

    @StringOnAStick:

    Is there any way to get him admitted to the hospital for his treatment even though it’s supposed to be outpatient? He probably would never speak to you again, but at least he’d be alive.

  96. 96.

    Helmut Monotreme

    @Violet: Only you can answer the question of whether life is worth living. But one thing I learned from spending the winter in Antarctica 7,000 miles away from anyone who loved me, is that the midst of depression is the exact wrong time to make serious life choices.

    Stories help. Activity helps. Friends help. A clear head helps. Excercising enough that you sleep as soon as you hit the mattress helps. Good food helps. Fun helps. How long has it been since you went outside and watched a sunrise? How long has it been since you took a walk in the woods? How long has it been since you hugged a puppy? How long has it been since you read your favorite book? Since you watched your favorite movie? Since you listened to your favorite band’s best album all the way through? Since you cooked your favorite meal and shared it with friends?

  98. 98.

    satby

    @Violet: Violet… I hope it helps a bit, reading how much we all love you and having you here in our virtual lives. But please call a crisis line, or your (or your parents, even) doctor and tell them what you’ve told us. Or as a last resort 911, even if it means that you might spend 3 days as the reluctant guest of the local hospital. Because this crisis and the hopeless feeling will pass, as long as you stay around so that it can. All things pass, this will too, but get help if you need to so that you can wave goodbye when it goes.

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