Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

đŸŽ¶ Those boots were made for mockin’ đŸŽ”

We will not go back.

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

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

One lie, alone, tears the fabric of reality.

Humiliatingly small and eclipsed by the derision of millions.

This chaos was totally avoidable.

“What are Republicans afraid of?” Everything.

Roe is not about choice. It is about freedom.

I really should read my own blog.

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

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

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

They think we are photo bombing their nice little lives.

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

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

We still have time to mess this up!

Their boy Ron is an empty plastic cup that will never know pudding.

Relentless negativity is not a sign that you are more realistic.

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

’Where will you hide, Roberts, the laws all being flat?’

Not rolling over. fuck you, make me.

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


 gradually, and then suddenly.

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Friday Recipe Exchange: Spicy Pumpkin Cookies with Crumble Topping

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tamara spicy pumpkin cookies

From our Food Goddess, TaMara:

Finally got down to some cooking. I started the week out with Pumpkin Squares (recipe here), a real favorite with everyone, so a big pan goes pretty quickly. Then it was on to a good spicy pumpkin cookie, the featured recipe tonight. The photo shows both a crumble topping and a cream cheese frosting, but since I really preferred the crumble topping, that’s what I included in the recipe. These freeze well, so they can travel to Thanksgiving dinner with family.

I really wanted to make a Pumpkin Bundt Cake this year, so I went searching for recipes and adapted one to use buttermilk, click here, which I thought created a very moist, flavorful cake.

And finally, Pumpkin Cream Pie with a brown sugar whipped cream topping, which I am really enjoying at Thanksgiving instead of the traditional custard pumpkin pie. Pictures and recipe here. I’ll probably make it again this year.

For the pet lovers, Bixby update is here. He’s five months old this week and a wild thing. And as I was writing this, JeffreyW put up some adorable photos of shelter puppies in sweaters, click here. Please keep your squeals to a minimum.

Now it’s your turn. Are you a fan of pumpkin? I know it can be one of those ingredients that inspires a very strong response, either positive or negative. What’s your favorite pumpkin recipe or product this time of year? If not pumpkin, what treat really puts you in a fall mood?

Tonight’s recipe:

Spicy Pumpkin Cookies with Crumble Topping

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Drug Conviction? If Your Dad Is Governor, Don’t Worry About It.

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If only the rest of us could use nepotism to our advantage like this:

Outgoing Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe said on Wednesday that he will pardon his son for a felony drug conviction, local media reported. Beebe … said he would pardon his son Kyle, now 34, for his 2003 felony conviction of marijuana possession with intent to deliver, local broadcaster KATV said. “Kids, when they’re young, do stupid stuff. He was no different,” Beebe told KATV in an interview published online. “If they’ve straightened up, to get their life back on track and have a second chance, so this is no different. It’s different because it’s my son.”

That’s just terrific for Gov. Beebe’s son. People change and grow up, right? Now maybe we can look into the more than 50 percent of inmates who are in overcrowded prisons these days for drug offenses. We’re sure they’d be out in a jiffy if their parents were government officials.

Team Blackness also discussed the KKK’s threat to use “lethal force” against Ferguson “terrorists,” the drunk girl viral video hoax, and the insane statistics on civilian killings by police in Brazil.

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Philae Today

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Here’s the summary from the Guardian:

  • Simulations suggest battery power will last long enough for tonight’s data transmission from Philae between 21:00 and 23:00 GMT.
  • Esa is considering whether to spin Philae’s flywheel (designed to keep the craft upright during flight) to ‘bounce’ the lander into a new position where its solar arrays will get more sunlight to recharge its batteries.
  • 80-90% of the intended science will have been carried out, but there’s some doubt over whether all the data will be uploaded before the lander loses all power.
  • All the lander’s instruments are working well. MUPUS and APXS instruments were used last night and the drill was activated. Esa will know this evening whether drill samples have been taken successfully. There will be more CONSERT radar data tonight, which will be used to try to locate Philae.
  • As the comet reaches its closest approach to the sun next year, there may be enough power from Philae’s solar panels to wake up the lander.
  • 84 images of the comet are being awaited from Rosetta, which will be used to try to locate the lander. There will also be descent and touchdown images relayed from Philae to Rosetta.
  • A manoeuvre command has been sent to Rosetta to keep the Philae landing area in sight over the coming days.

Also, I watched some of the ESA briefing this morning and Matt Taylor was wearing a dark blue hoodie. If he weren’t so pasty white, he could be shot on sight in any Florida gated community, but otherwise there’s nothing controversial about his attire today.

Open thread.

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Pointergate

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We haven’t had a post on this little freakout in Minneapolis, led by apparently right-wing KSTP. For those of you who haven’t been paying attention to this nontroversy, Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges had a staged photo-op at a canvassing event where she and a volunteer were photographed pointing. Some cops, who are pissed at Hodges for remarks about her administration’s quest to improve the reputation of the police force, told the credulous hacks at KSTP that Hodges was really throwing gang signs with the volunteer, who is a black and on probation. KSTP has been backed by the head of the Minneapolis police union, John Delmonico, who has a reputation for reflexively backing cops no matter the circumstance. Despite the protests and social media blowup, the chairman of the company that owns KSTP has said they won’t apologize.

Yesterday, Hodges wrote a scathing reply on her blog, calling out Delmonico by name and indicating she won’t back down either.

Let me be clear on this final point. There is a critical difference between our good officers who have a bad day on the job, and officers, however few, who have a standing habit of mistreatment and poor judgment when relating to the public, particularly people of color. I am as concerned with the negative effects of this conduct on the police department as a whole as I am with its effects on our community. I am convinced that we can change it, even if it takes years.

If the fourth option [Delmonico is fucking with me] is correct, my commitment to this work means that the head of the police union or other detractors will pitch more stories that attempt to defame that work and its leaders to various media outlets. So be it. I know the charge that I have been given by the people of Minneapolis and by my own conscience. I will continue to follow that charge.

This is the problem with unions as a vehicle for reclaiming fair wages for the middle class. When people think of unions, they think of organizations led by the John Delmonicos of the world, which is to say that they think of sclerotic, reactionary institutions committed to the status quo, which will defend the shoddy work of the least of their members. Fair or not, that perception was reinforced in the last two weeks in Minneapolis.

Update: Reading further on this, I see that Police Chief Janeé Harteau was at the event where the non-gang non-signs were not thrown. Harteau is a long-time member of the department who won a discrimination lawsuit, is married to her long-time female partner and has fired 6 officers for misconduct in two years in office. So this little dribble from the puke funnel was a two-fer: Harteau and Hodges.

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Open Enrollment reminders

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Just a couple of quick reminders.

Open enrollment for the health insurance Exchanges (HIX) starts tomorrow morning at midnight.  Open enrollment will run through February 15th.  If you want coverage to start for January 1, 2015, you need to have selected your plan and acknowledged the right of the insurance company to bill you by December 15, 2014.

Open enrollment for Medicare is ongoing right now.  It closes out on December 7th.  Traditionally the busiest day of open enrollment for Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D prescription drugs is the Monday after Thanksgiving. 

Enrollment is always open for CHIP and Medicaid.

Enrollment is open at the discretion of your employer if you are covered through work.

Now onto the reminders for HIX open enrollment.

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Open Thread: Make Your Own #Shirtstorm

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all fired up fabric

Hat tip to Citizen Commissar commentor Morzer for the TPM link:

Rosetta project scientist Matt Taylor happily showed off his tattoo of the Philae lander to the media on Wednesday, as the spacecraft approached what would be the first ever landing on a comet.

But it was Taylor’s colorful shirt adorned with images of scantily clad women, not his tattoo, that ended up drawing the most attention — and not in a positive way…

Turns out a friend made Taylor that shirt, little knowing that he would fail the “time & place” test..

As a fabric collector, I’ve seen plenty of “hunks & hotties” novelty prints — here’s a source for the print in question.
october moon guys fabric
Or you could go with the beefcake selection…
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But, seriously, there’s a ton of astronomical & astronaut-themed prints that won’t get you in trouble, including spacefields with metallic accents or glow-in-the-dark stars (note the little girl astronauts in the retro print):

space collage fabricrocket rascals fabricastronauts fabric
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… and that’s just the big commercial retailers; if you want something really arcane, check out Spoonflower, where you can even design & print your own (trading cards! space otter!) yardage:

space trading card fabric
space otter fabric

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