Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

“The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.”

You don’t get to peddle hatred on saturday and offer condolences on sunday.

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

You passed on an opportunity to be offended? What are you even doing here?

President Musk and Trump are both poorly raised, coddled 8 year old boys.

Republicans are the party of chaos and catastrophe.

Jesus watching the most hateful people claiming to be his followers

Michigan is a great lesson for Dems everywhere: when you have power…use it!

Narcissists are always shocked to discover other people have agency.

Do not shrug your shoulders and accept the normalization of untruths.

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

I did not have this on my fuck 2025 bingo card.

Giving up is unforgivable.

Shut up, hissy kitty!

They want us to be overwhelmed and exhausted. Focus. Resist. Oppose.

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

You cannot love your country only when you win.

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

Of course you can have champagne before noon. That’s why orange juice was invented.

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

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

Let’s bury these fuckers at the polls 2 years from now.

The line between political reporting and fan fiction continues to blur.

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

You are here: Home / Politics / Domestic Politics / Tuesday Afternoon Open Thread

Tuesday Afternoon Open Thread

by | 145 Comments

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Happiness is a warm dog…or better yet, a circle of adorable pups:

Random stuff:

A “Ready for Hillary” group in Florida sent me an email inviting me to sign up as a field operative at an upcoming gay pride event. I take this as a good sign because it shows they’re planning a ground game by purchasing Democratic Party / Obama for America / left-leaning cause email lists. Seems simple, but I think the Obama people were the only ones who made that effort until now.

I’m happy and relieved because I just completed a Herculean task for work, one of those seemingly endless projects where things get increasingly complicated and more stuff gets piled on and changes are made, etc., until you start to think you will never get done. And then you are. Whew!

In my opinion, few things can make a house smell better than the preparation of homemade pesto sauce. My house smells like Casa di Pesto now, another reason life doesn’t totally suck.

What does your house smell like?

Reader Interactions

145Comments

  1. 1.

    Roger Moore

    I don’t know what my house smells like now, since I’m at work, but this morning it smelled like fresh baked bread, another wonderful smell for a house to have.

  5. 5.

    Brendan in NC

    As a single male living in a one bedroom condo; I’ll only say that as long as the weather lets me open my windows, it’s all good!

  7. 7.

    beth

    Are those dead puppies? Victims of white genocide????? OMG IT’S TRUE AND IT’S HAPPENING!!!

  9. 9.

    Kay (not the front-pager)

    “What does your house smell like?” French onion soup. Which I made Saturday. Which was 4 days ago, in case you’re counting. Will winter ever be over so I can open windows?

  10. 10.

    ruemara

    My house smells… like forlorn cat, since I am at work and roommate kitteh is bored all by herself since the roomie is afk now. Maybe a workman fixing something, but not her hooman.

  12. 12.

    geg6

    OMG, that is my zen moment for today.

    I have no idea what my house smells like since I’m at work. But I’m thinking it will smell like roasted rosemary chicken breasts with rice and roasted mushrooms and carrots later. And all I have to do is stop for a nice white on the way home.

    In shocking news (to me), my John bought some raspberries at the local Giant Eagle the other day because they were 2 for 1. We usually don’t buy them because the fresh ones we get from our bushes make the ones from the grocery store just too sad to eat. But these ones were absolutely fantastic! I made some salted caramel brownies the other day and we had them with vanilla ice cream and the raspberries for dessert last night. They were to die for.

  13. 13.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    My house smells like whatever one of those wax tarts melty thingys I have going for the day. I put a Mackintosh Apple one in the other day and it was just heavenly. Other than that it smells like Boxer farts, and I am sure that Betty can relate to that.

  14. 14.

    donnah

    Mine smells like onion teriyaki chicken, which I cooked in my electric pressure cooker last night. It was delicious!

  15. 15.

    justawriter

    GILES: Six puppies you say? All arranged in a circle. That sounds … let me check my books … Oh my God, they’re going to open the HELLMOUTH!

  16. 16.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    @geg6:

    When my late step-dad had an allotment the first thing I would do when I went home on leave from the Navy was go down there and stuff my face full with the raspberries from his crop. I have several canes out back but I don’t think they get enough sun to produce very many fruits, but the fruit they do produce is just the best.

  18. 18.

    Violet

    I take this as a good sign because it shows they’re planning a ground game by purchasing Democratic Party / Obama for America / left-leaning cause email lists

    Speaking of buying email lists, I heard on the radio that as part of the Radio Shack bankruptcy proceedings, their email lists could be up for auction. Here’s an article on it:

    More than 13 million e-mail addresses and 65 million customers’ names and addresses are included in the RadioShack auctions that began this week, Bloomberg reports. The data trove could also include information about shoppers’ buying behavior.

  19. 19.

    Mustang Bobby

    For a while the house smelled like what it smells like when you download some brownware, but then I opened the patio door and the windows on the opposite side of the house and now it smells like South Florida suburbia: a hint of mowed lawn and effluence from the canal.

    When the house gets full of cooking odors that don’t age well, like fish or onions, I put a saucepan on the stove, fill it half-way up with equal parts water and white vinegar, add a layer of cinnamon, and simmer. Instant pot-pourri.

  20. 20.

    mai naem mobile

    Listening to MSNBC. They said Cruz man is going to sign up for O-care because wife is taking unpaid leave from GSachs. Why do I get a feeling this is some sort of set up for something? Isn’t this what COBRA is for? Is COBRA still in existence? Isn’t this a life change deal that lets you enroll in the Federal Healthcare system out of open enrollment?

  24. 24.

    gbear

    What does your house smell like?

    Kitty litter dust. Petco generic clumping litter is the pits. I tried it for a couple of months but just switched to another brand.

  25. 25.

    Bystander

    The house smells like freshly sawn lumber. We’re having the laundry room fixed up and finishing a powder room in the basement. Plus a farty Frenchie. He’s on antibiotics and I think it’s making him gassy. Or there’s been too much Cruz on TV and he’s reacting to that.

  26. 26.

    Kropadope

    So, it seems like the press is ripping on David Cameron, who is up for reelection as prime minister in six weeks, for stating that he is not thinking about a third term as PM if his party wins and can form a government this time. This seems to me to be terribly unfair. Why doubt a person’s commitment to the office he holds when he’s stating he will complete the term he is campaigning for? Also, do they think he should undertake the next prospective term with reelection in mind the whole time? Seems pretty silly.

    I don’t consume a lot of British media, but my impression was always that they were better than this. Or is the perpetual horserace virus infecting them also? Surely they can’t want a politician’s ambition to be Prime Minister for life.

  28. 28.

    the Conster

    I get the sense that even the media morons think Cruz’s Run is a joke. He has a face for radio, and a voice for newspapers, and every day in the spotlight is a chance to really grok his creepy FAIL.

  29. 29.

    Mike E

    @donnah: Recipe, or it didn’t happen/was store bought!

    My apartment smells…the same. Nothing cooking since my 3 batches of chicken soup got me through a head cold; red beans have been put up in my freezer; but, I’m going on a grocery run later so maybe this all will change, aroma-wise.

    I did my usual phone calls for solar energy today, and talked to an enthusiastic lady who would call her state rep to push for a bill’s passage…she then asked me to help her cause: stop a “forced vaccination” bill from advancing–after the Disneyland disaster–because she had to use alternative means to “cure” her child’s autistic reaction to said vaccines. Ugh. I politely thanked her and got off the phone, but, wow…olive leaves? Cure for viruses? Hadn’t heard about that one.

    Tonight’s Frontline is on parents’ concerns about vaccine safety, and I will tune in out of curiosity about what tack they’ll take on the subject. Olive leaves?! wtf

  30. 30.

    Amir Khalid

    The more I read about the planned six-episode run of The X-Files, the more I worry. I don’t want my favourite TV show ever to get messed up. I wonder how they’re going to get Mulder and Scully back on the X-Files. The characters have a whole new life now, and Scully made it very clear in the second movie that she didn’t ever want to go back to the old days. They should tidy up the conspiracy thing, fans who need it should get some closure on Mulder and Scully’s son, M and S should get to live happily ever after.

  31. 31.

    MomSense

    My house smells like laundry detergent as middle son is continuing with off to college preparations.

    Also too my puppy looked so cute all snuggled up with her boy in bed last night so I let her stay awhile. When I went back in 10 minutes later I heard faint scratching sounds. She ate the wall next to the bed. She was pretty well into the dry wall when I caught her.
    I’m a veteran mom. WTH was I thinking to let it be “too quiet” for 10 whole minutes?

  34. 34.

    Germy Shoemangler

    @Amir Khalid: What I was taught as a child watching popeye cartoons:

    1. The world is a dangerous place full of violent bullies

    2. Women are fickle and not to be trusted

    3. Happiness can only be obtained by consuming a leafy green substance

    I’ve overcome #2, but #1 and #3 persist in my consciousness.

  35. 35.

    Kropadope

    @the Conster:

    He has a face for radio, and a voice for newspapers, and every day in the spotlight is a chance to really grok his creepy FAIL.

    As awful as it seems I have seen him described as…handsome. /shudder I forget which dain-bramaged celebrity MSM personality said this.

    As far as his voice, that won’t matter to his audience as long as they get the words they want.

  38. 38.

    ruemara

    @JoyceH: grats! I read the last one, it was fun. I wish I could pull myself together enough to finish one of my books.

    I’m editing footage of the office dog ‘hiding’ Easter eggs. You guys have no idea how adorable this is. He’s got bunny ears on.

  39. 39.

    Mike E

    @Amir Khalid: It is what it is, I guess ;-)

    Also: any consumers of The Good Wife? Apart from the occasional Castle, this plus Elementary keeps me busy…The Walking Dead is finishing this season with a 90 min episode on Sunday.

  40. 40.

    Amir Khalid

    @Amir Khalid:
    Oh yes, as a longtime X-Files fan there’s another thing I’d like cleared up: What happened to Mulder’s porn collection when he got together with Scully?

  41. 41.

    Summer

    My house smells like neglect because I came to work today. But it’s worth going home to the sad sad smell because this guy came to my classroom and talked to the students about songwriting. Gabriel Kahane is amazing and I give you this song, especially for Blade Runner fans. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxvhENzuwU0

  43. 43.

    Karen in GA

    My house smells a little bit like sawdust, oddly enough. Ripped up a lot of the carpet, exposing the wood subfloor underneath, and at times it kind of smells like the new house it was when we bought it in 1999. (Pre-war construction, don’tcha know.)

  44. 44.

    MazeDancer

    House smells like cream. Varieties of “can I save this cream if I throw sugar and eggs at it?”

    FYI, you cannot make mozzarella out of cream. Well, maybe someone can. But since this was only my third ever batch of mozzarella, that someone is not me. Curds did not form. I’m sure this is a laugh riot for experienced cheese makers.

    So what to do with a lot of cream with a bit of citric acid and rennet in it? Trying custards of all kinds. Smells good. Not so sure if it’ll work. But worth a shot.

    Will get raw milk tomorrow. Almost fool-proof to make mozzarella with that. (knock wood.)

  45. 45.

    WaterGirl

    @Gin & Tonic: When I saw your nym on another thread this afternoon, I knew I’d made a mental note to tell you something, but I had no idea what it was.

    Cat puke!

    I use CitraSPOT – made with real valencia oranges so the smell is genuine, not fake orange-y and it has enzymes that gobble up any organic residue like puke or pee, etc. If you don’t have some, run right out and get it. I get mine at the health food store, and I included an amazon link below so you can see exactly what you’re looking for.

    My little pup puked 4 times on the bed earlier this week. I wiped up everything I could, got the CitraSPOT, sprayed the spots, blotted them off, and CitraSPOT did the rest. No more puke, no more puke smell.

    CitraSPOT

    I do not get money for endorsing this product, but I am never without it.

  46. 46.

    max

    My house already smells like Italian sausage cooked in wine, it’s about to also smell like sage and garlic and cream.

    max
    [‘For sausage and cream over fettucini.’]

  47. 47.

    trollhattan

    This is gonna make a few wingnut noggins expand at an uncontrolled rate.

    Every eligible Californian would be automatically registered to vote under legislation Secretary of State Alex Padilla is exploring.

    “If government knows who’s here, who’s 18, who’s a citizen, why go through hoops?” Padilla said in an interview. “Let’s just register folks automatically.”

    The proposal follows Oregon’s new, first-in-the-nation policy sending ballots to every citizen who has made contact with the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles. Padilla was elected to his post last year after a campaign in which he vowed to expand California’s often-miniscule voter participation rates. In addition to the many voters who stay home on Election Day, Padilla’s office estimated that nearly 7 million people eligible to vote have not signed up to do so.

    Since federal law already requires Department of Motor Vehicles offices to give customers the option of registering, Padilla said, it would be logical to make the registration automatic. Other state agencies that retain information showing eligibility could potentially perform the same function, he said, and the law would ideally allow people to opt out.

    “I think most Californians ought to participate and would love to participate,” Padilla said. “Let’s get them on the rolls automatically and put all the resources and energy we’ve put into voter registration into voter education.”

    Moar folks voting? That would be bad, m’kay.

  52. 52.

    Shana

    My house smells like freshly baked cake with strawberry filling between the layers and vanilla buttercream frosting. My younger daughter is home on Spring Break and loves to bake. Heavenly on both fronts. I may even take a lactaid and have some tonight after we go out to our favorite italian restaurant for dinner. Life is good. Also new medicine to deal with hot flashes seems to be working so I’m actually getting some sleep and am not miserable during the day.

  54. 54.

    Betty Cracker

    @Mike E: I watched a season and a half of “The Good Wife” but never really got into it for some reason. “Elementary” I really like. Hell, any Sherlock permutation from Basil Rathbone to Robert Downey Jr. to Benedryl Pumpkinpatch to Lucy Lui works for me.

    I need to catch up on Sunday’s episode of “The Walking Dead,” but that’s another show that’s in danger of getting kicked off my must-see TV list. I thought the first few seasons were awesome, but lately it’s starting to seem as mindless as a garden-variety slasher flick. I’m not sure if it’s me or them. That said, will definitely finish up this season.

  57. 57.

    Redshift

    @mai naem mobile: I would imagine that if it’s fully implemented, Obamacare would eliminate most use of COBRA, because, speaking from experience, COBRA sucks. Also, isn’t COBRA limited to 18 months? It’s longer than that from now to 2017.

    Even so, they should be able to get his Senate coverage, since he’ll still be in the Senate. IIRC, the dickish GOP legislators required congressional staff to use the markets, but not themselves. Also, I don’t think he’s even allowed to use the Ocare marketplaces if he has employer coverage. Weird.

  58. 58.

    burnspbesq

    Dogs. House smells like dogs. Dogs who need a trip to the groomer.

    Despite my encouragement to go exploring in Europe, the kid is coming home for spring break, so from Sunday the house will smell like Axe. I strongly prefer the dirty dog smell.

  59. 59.

    JPL

    TPM has a story about a true GA patriot. The park where the guy left a bomb is about three miles from my house and I’ve spent a lot of time there.
    link
    What a jackass. Up until yesterday he had freedom to harm himself as well as others. Today not so much. I hope he didn’t leave behind a family of patriots.

  60. 60.

    the Conster

    @Kropadope:

    Omg no. What can be said about his looks? He’s got greasy hair, thin lips, dead eyes, a smirk and no shoulders you can land a 747 on. He’s just not a good looking guy by any normal measure.

  61. 61.

    WaterGirl

    @Mike E: I take olive leaf when I feel like I might be getting sick, and it really does seem to help my immune system. There were 13 of us together at christmas, from 4 different states, and I was the only person who didn’t get sick.

    I am not, however, suggesting giving olive leaf to your child instead of a vaccination!

  62. 62.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Kropadope: Just do like we do and keep the house cold

    Once the inside of the house gets below 32F, you start to develop other, more serious problems. No matter how cold you like to be, here in New England forgoing the occasional purchase of heating oil in winter is not really a viable option.

  63. 63.

    WaterGirl

    @Amir Khalid: Amir, if it doesn’t go well, just do what I did with the series finale of LOST.

    The last 15 or 20 minutes of that show? Didn’t happen.

  64. 64.

    mai naem mobile

    @MazeDancer: i don’t know if it will work but look up yogurt cheese. It may not technically be yogurt cheese but it sounds like you could get a decent facsimile of it. You can look up srikhand (sp?) Essentially yogurt cheese but its got a little slivered almonds, a little fruit -cut grapes,cardamom, pistachios and saffron if you have it.

  69. 69.

    trollhattan

    @Redshift:
    COBRA does, indeed suck and since Obamacare eliminated denial base on preexisting conditions I have a hard time imagining why one would use it, unless they had something going on and wanted to keep the same doctors without interruption.

    Would COBRA apply for somebody on leave, but not separating? Not that I particularly care about this multimillionaire, mind.

  70. 70.

    Mike E

    @Betty Cracker: I s’pose any show has to fight entropy, and any of these shows have had their moments where a wet paper bag was enough to slow ’em down…Elementary seems to have hit their stride lately; ‘Wife suffers from “ripped out of today’s headlines” syndrome but can be exhilarating at times; Dead lost me, pulled me back in, but is now skirting the manufactured cliffhanger territory. My youngest sis hit her limit a couple of seasons ago, knows it’ll end in tears anyway so why bother…parts are really hard to watch (no pun intended).

    eta some clarity

  71. 71.

    Redshift

    @trollhattan:

    Would COBRA apply for somebody on leave, but not separating? Not that I particularly care about this multimillionaire, mind.

    I’m pretty sure it doesn’t, but I’m not absolutely certain.

  72. 72.

    the Conster

    @efgoldman:

    I sold my big colonial in the suburbs and moved into a duplex that I rent. It has gas heat- I pay on average $700/mo. less on heat than I did for oil and propane. That’s real money.

  73. 73.

    WaterGirl

    @MomSense: I’m sorry about the drywall, but don’t be too hard on yourself. You thought they might be snuggling/sleeping.

    Decades ago, all of us home for christmas with our parents… I suddenly realized at dinner that the 2-tear-old and my cocker spaniel puppy had both disappeared and that it was way too quiet. I got up from the table and walked down the long hallway to the living room.

    I start hearing “okay!” pause “okay!” pause “okay!” in a tiny little voice. My 2-year old niece is handing the fannie may chocolates to my puppy, one by one. My puppy knew not to take food until I said “okay”, and my niece obviously understood that.

    Several of the chocolates were gone by the time I knew what was up. At that point, chocolate being poison for dogs was not well known, so I did nothing, though she did have some digestive problems that night. I got lucky, my pup lived to be 16.

    Edit: years later when my other puppy stole chocolates my friend had brought me from Germany, it was a different story. I checked the label – 66% cocoa, and she spent a week in intensive care at the vet school. She lived until 16, too. Cocker spaniels are tough little cookies.

  74. 74.

    Violet

    @Raven:

    I’m sitting outside at the bbq with the dogs waiting for a veg neck Sammie! Collards and pimento baby!

    What’s a veg neck sandwich? That sounds creepy.

    @Betty Cracker: I didn’t get it either. I’ll go with Collards and pimento, even though it’s weird, but everyone has their own tastes. But a neck sandwich? What’s that?

  75. 75.

    trollhattan

    @Kropadope: @the Conster:
    “Handsome” in this context can only mean “not seventy-eight.” Beauty may only run skin deep; well, in this case the ugly has leaked out to the surface layer for an admirable consistency.

  76. 76.

    mai naem mobile

    @Redshift: hes a senator and she worked at GSachs. I’m sure they can afford the full insurance payments. The 18 months isn’t an issue because shes just taking a leave of absence so if he doesn’t fold by this year they sign up for the senate coverage for next year.

  78. 78.

    Violet

    @trollhattan: Ted Cruz and his wife have really similar noses. They’re not attractive noses and it’s weird that they’re so similar. Are they related other than being married?

  80. 80.

    Kate P

    My house? Dog pee. At least the sun porch does. Senior doggie with UTI that doesn’t seem to want to go away. Starting another round of antibiotics today. Time for the steam cleaner.

  81. 81.

    MazeDancer

    @mai naem mobile:

    Thanks. I make yogurt cheese often. Just drain the yogurt through a coffee filter. But this stuff wasn’t thick enough to start. It was basically warm cream.

    Tried a little spongey pudding cakey thing, which seemed to have worked. Well, let’s say it made something edible with enough nuts and apples mixed in it. And ginger. I am not really a baker. (Yes, hidden Cream joke in there.) (Just hidden, not good.)

    And other custardy stuff is in the fridge. If I had an ice cream maker, could have tried that.

    That dish you mentioned sounds delicious.

  83. 83.

    mai naem mobile

    i just think Cruz is setting up something with the signing up with O-care. Im thinking hes going to pick a bronze plan and then talk about how it has a high deductible and it didn’t cover Princess’s ear infection and they had to change doctors because you can’t keep your doctor if you want to! I don’t mean to wish bad on him but it would serve him.right if multiple family members came down with serious illnesses this year and he’ll have to pay out the max deductible.

  85. 85.

    Mnemosyne (iPhone)

    Given that Keaton has recently earned himself the nickname of “Mr. Poops By the Door,” I’m not sure I want to know what the apartment smells like right now.

    Also, too, I had a visitor unexpectedly show up at our office yesterday, so I took her around on a tour. I realized about three-quarters of the way through that I was still carrying the tape gun I’d had in my hand when she walked in. So that happened.

  87. 87.

    Amir Khalid

    @Kropadope:
    Among the Wonkette stories in the box on the right, there’s one about how Ted Cruz lost interest in classic rock after, so he says, their artistic response to 9/11 really let him down. So he switched to country music. When he panders to the base, he doesn’t muck about does he?

    I just got done listening to Sprngsteen’s Into The Fire, his moving prayer for the dead of 9/11.

  88. 88.

    Calouste

    @JPL: Just as the word “Freedom” has been claimed by fascists in America, the word “Patriot” has been claimed by terrorists. Orwell would be spinning in his grave at the thought of how the American right uses Nineteen Eighty-Four as an instruction manual instead of a cautionary tale.

  89. 89.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Amir Khalid: When he panders to the base, he doesn’t muck about does he?

    I can’t quite find the adjective to describe it– grotesque keeps coming to mind, but it’s not enough– but it is a form of pandering that deserves some classification of its own.

  90. 90.

    Tenar Darell

    @trollhattan: This is such a good idea. Of course, I’m pretty sure that would not work in Massachusetts. Citizenship has not been required to get a driver’s license. Plus, once you have the license, there’s nothing on it, or possibly on record, to show if you’re a citizen or not.

    The application itself has a “Motor Votor” section which is opt-in; if you check off “No” you don’t have to finish that section. So, the RMV database isn’t comprehensive enough to actually do automatic voter registration. Basically, we’re not a “RealID” compliant state, which is why this is a problem.

  91. 91.

    trollhattan

    @Violet:
    Maybe dear old dad had them do the traditional Canadian-Cuban exchange of noses when they got hitched?

    She’s a little Stepfordish but not to the Callista level. The little girls are sooo cute–here’s hoping they don’t become campaign props like little Duffel Palin or the Santorum brats.

  95. 95.

    MomSense

    @WaterGirl:

    Oh my goodness. Adorable and terrible all at once. As you learned there is not enough chocolate in the American/milk chocolate candies. My old lab used to love an occasional Oreo cookie.

    Cocker Spaniels are my favorite breed of dog but I am loving my mutt. Right now she is barking at the bicycle so we are trying to give her treats to see if she will mellow out.

  96. 96.

    Calouste

    @Amir Khalid: Well, there is the issue with a fairly large number of classic rock artists that they are either dead or stopped making new music, considering that the term generally describes music made 2-3 decades before 2001. But, like pretty much everything, we shouldn’t expect Cruz to understand that.

  97. 97.

    Mnemosyne (iPhone)

    @JPL:

    Awww, poor guy, the Islamofascists weren’t interested in starting that religious war he’d been promised, so he had to go out and try to start it all on his lonesome. If only the Mooslims had started planting bombs like they were supposed to, he wouldn’t have had to do it on their behalf!

    Seriously, I’m glad he was a fuckup who failed to hurt anyone, but Jaysus.

  98. 98.

    mai naem mobile

    @Violet: you made me look up the Cruz family thank you very much. One of the senate campaign pics have what seems like a lot of extended Cruz family and the nose appears to be a Cruz family thing. Looks like the older kid has inherited the nose. I looked him up the other day. I did not know Teds parents not only divorced after a long marriage but it was a second marriage for both and the mom didn’t have custody from the kids from her first marriage . Thats got to be unusual for the 70s.

  99. 99.

    Kropadope

    @Amir Khalid: Yeah, I was just reading the same thing on Vox. This is, as I expected upon reading the headline, due to the fact that country stars who took a position on the matter by and large lined up behind military intervention in the Middle East.

    I know adherence to my preferred politics is how I choose my music. That’s why I don’t listen to any.

  101. 101.

    Kropadope

    @MomSense:

    Oh my goodness. Adorable and terrible all at once. As you learned there is not enough chocolate in the American/milk chocolate candies. My old lab used to love an occasional Oreo cookie.

    I hear this secondhand through my Dad from someone who works at a local cocoa production plant, but apparently Mars candy (of M&Ms) get their highest percentage cocoa powder. Oreos get the lowest.

  102. 102.

    Kropadope

    @JPL:

    A man who described himself as a “patriot” confessed to placing homemade bombs in a Georgia park to help people realize “that this type of activity could happen anywhere”

    Anywhere with wacko nutjobs awash in some form of national/religious/racial or other somesuch pride to the exclusion of out-groups.

  103. 103.

    WaterGirl

    @MomSense: Henry didn’t like my bicycle on the trainer the first time either, so he went in the crate for the duration of the ride.

    I think he decided he preferred freedom to captivity, so he settled down after that one time.

  104. 104.

    Cliff in NH

    @MomSense:

    Yea, lucky for my mom hersheys syrup doesn’t have much actual chocolate in it. They gave their farm dogs a ice cream with hersheys syrup as a treat for ages apparently.

  105. 105.

    Roger Moore

    @MazeDancer:
    You might be able to make cream cheese by adding some kind of starter to the cream and letting it sour until it sets, then draining it the same way you do with yogurt cheese. I do that with half-and-half, and it’s fantastic, especially on homemade bagels. I bought some fancy starter to make it, but my sister says you can use a little bit of cultured buttermilk as a starter.

  106. 106.

    JPL

    @Kropadope: Yup and he lives in a country that allows him to plant bombs. Nothing says love of country, as much as taking away someone else’s freedoms.

  107. 107.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Betty Cracker: I think it also reflects they’re not just cynical toward their own base, but actually contemptuous. And it will work to no small degree. I’m sure the “put a boot in your ass” and “Where were you when the towers fell” guys are eager to play at a Cruz rally.

  108. 108.

    Roger Moore

    @JPL:

    TPM has a story about a true GA patriot.

    I guess the actual Islamic terrorists were failing to deliver, so it became necessary to concoct some in order to scare people about the threat of Islamic terror. If the devil doesn’t exist, it may be expedient to create one.

  109. 109.

    bemused

    I hear anyone proudly & loudly self-identify as a patriot is when I walk quickly in the opposite direction.

  110. 110.

    J R in WV

    Right now our house smells like Orville’s popcorn, which I made for an afternoon snack.

    Later on it will smell like salmon cakes, which I will fry, while I steam cauliflower and broccoli for vegges. And heat croissants for rolls with dinner. Dessert, hmmmm, I dunno about dessert. Maybe sparkling French wine with the dinner? and skip dessert…

    Going to bed early, too. Have a quarterly doctor appointment tomorrow morning with the family doctor. Wish it was with the orthopedic surgeon who did my shoulder replacement, I have a jillion questions… since you only have 2 shoulders, you never get to be an experienced customer for this stuff.

    Then Physical Therapy again on Thursday, oh boy! Politics just can’t hardly keep my attention right now.

  111. 111.

    Mike E

    @WaterGirl: Oh yeah, I don’t miss a show, I record it off the air on my laptop to watch later so that I can head to the neighborhood cineplex and watch The Walking Dead…I’ll be going back to episode 1 to watch the series from the beginning when I get the chance (after April 15th) and marvel at the Scott Bros work all over again.

  112. 112.

    geg6

    @WaterGirl:

    I LOVE The Good Wife, too! Didn’t watch it when it started, but I binge watched the first three seasons one Christmas break a few years ago and was hooked. Love that even the “good guys” aren’t always good. Like real life.

  113. 113.

    WaterGirl

    @geg6: I was surprised by the election outcome, I did not predict that. (trying to be discreet for anyone who is behind in watching)

    I really like that they aren’t afraid to change things up – people changing firms, roles changing, relationships changing, people dying – and yet they always seem to keep everything true to the show.

  114. 114.

    WaterGirl

    @Mike E: I thought for a second that your plan to watch the show from the beginning again meant that The Good Wife is ending. Oh, no! (I thought)

  117. 117.

    JPL

    I just found this on a nytimes twitter feed
    Delusional ——> RT @jeneps: Rick Perry says he’s better than 75 percent likely to win the presidency if he runs

  118. 118.

    MazeDancer

    @Roger Moore: Yay, you for making cream cheese. Am going to attempt cream cheese again soon. My first batch poured right through the cheese cloth. I noticed in time to save a tiny bit to try through the coffee filter. Which was a tasty spoonful.

    My house is a bit cold for cream cheese to set, I think, until Winter is done. It needs to be at least 72, they say. I tried wrapping it up near a heater. Wasn’t fab. The culture is called Mesolitthic. Comes in little packets.

    I took a cheese making course with Alana Chernila who wrote a book called The Homemade Pantry. (Great book). The first chapter has all the recipes for various soft cheeses – and yogurt. (The sample on iBooks gives most of the cheese recipes. But the whole book is outstanding.)

  123. 123.

    chopper

    dunno about the house but the mud room smells like the squirrel the dog managed to catch, horribly butcher and attempt to bring back in the house.

    she was right in the middle of the organs when I walked out and saw. very walking dead.

  124. 124.

    Mnemosyne (iPhone)

    The next time someone whines to me about the death of the American newspaper, I’m going to ask them why it takes TWO GODDAMNED WEEKS for a subscription to the LA Times to be started. We can’t even get the eSubscription yet — we have to wait until the actual physical newspaper starts hitting the driveway, and that takes 2-3 weeks after you place your order online and your card has been charged. WTF?

  130. 130.

    Another Holocene Human

    Lol, I have a friend who was offered a good paying job as a Democratic party operative but chose to keep working for the union instead. Ready for Hilary approached him about six months ago and gave him a t-shirt, I guess thinking his wife would wear it. Well, she wasn’t having it, so, sort of embarrassed, he dumped it on me (lol), I gave it my wife, she was going to give it to her mom, who does like Hilary, but it was too damn small (no room for boobage), so my wife still has it and even though she’s tiny it doesn’t fit her comfortably either (underarms too tight). So this damn tshirt has bounced around several people’s cars in the last several months as nobody knows what to do with it.

    I’ve seen the stickers.

    My car still says Obama.

    Sigh. I’ll walk the ward. But I think RfH is in a bit of a bubble and I hope they don’t crash too hard when they come out of it. That could be bad.

  131. 131.

    Kropadope

    @jl: Lindsey Graham:

    “I said that it’s real, that man has contributed to it in a substantial way,” Graham continued. “But the problem is Al Gore’s turned this thing into religion. You know, climate change is not a religious problem for me, it’s an economic, it is an environmental problem.”

    No, your party has turned opposition to belief in and/or action regarding climate change into a religion. Nice projection, though.

  132. 132.

    jl

    Also, thanks for awesomely cute pupic. Does it remain a little circle of happiness after they all wake up?

    … no, on second thought, don’t answer that.

  134. 134.

    WaterGirl

    @Cervantes: I’m afraid that was WaterGIrl. :-)

    I nearly wrote the same thing on a thread two days ago when someone else (maybe Suzanne?) was apologizing for a typo or autocorrect.

    But there is something I have been wondering about and I’m sure you could answer it.

    Which is correct? Or are they both correct?

    I think I will need to go to the store to pick up ingredients before I can make dinner.

    I think THAT I will need to go to the store to pick up ingredients before I can make dinner.

  136. 136.

    Another Holocene Human

    @mai naem mobile: That is weird, I thought loss of coverage was a qualifying event, which would count for employer or Obamacare. Since he has affordable coverage available through his employer he is NOT eligible for a subsidy.

  138. 138.

    Another Holocene Human

    @Tenar Darell: REAL ID REALLY FUCKING SUCKS.

    They never thought that fucking shit through. Some people don’t have birth certificates. Some people have abusive parents. And getting a dupe is very tricky now because of identity theft. SSA was the weak link now they give you the run around as well. THERE ARE SO MANY US CITIZENS WHO CANNOT MEET REAL ID STANDARDS.

    And the worst fucking thing about it? The worst thing? The courts say you have no RIGHT to your birth certificate. So some family member can seize or destroy that document and you are FUCKED. I know people who had to play (with real dollars) birth certificate roulette trying to GUESS what jurisdiction they were born in. There’s a young lady just recently who has a narcissistic home birth home school mom who escaped to grandma’s house BUT CAN’T GET A JOB because she has no papers, not even an SSN because get this, daddy is cheating on his taxes. And she lives in Texas so the judges are being dicks. (It’s on Youtube, reddit, FreeJinger. The mom called her a liar but the mom sells MLM essential oils and writes on her blog about how she’s the victim of her kids growing up and leaving the nest so I know who I believe.)

    If American citizens had a right to their BC and there was a uniform process to reissue in case of the doctor, you know, being deceased, or record loss by the county or hospital, REAL ID wouldn’t be so fucking burdensome, but those things AREN’T true so it’s an evil way to fuck the poor, fuck the mentally ill, and fuck survivors of abusive homes. Of course there would no longer be such a thing as a truly closed adoption but you know what? Adopted people are people too, why should they have less rights just so adoption agencies can play God? Fuck.

  139. 139.

    Cervantes

    @WaterGirl:

    It’s usually safe to include that sort of “that,” whether it’s needed or not.

    In your example, you can safely omit it. There is no ambiguity either way.

    Here’s an example where you should include it:

    The attorney stated her position would be announced next week.

    Following along without a “that” before “her,” a reader might first infer that the attorney’s position had been stated, whereas it has not been.

  142. 142.

    jake the antisoshul soshulist

    Mine smells like cat urine, at least until we buy new carpet.
    Our cats are now outside fulltime. They aren’t happy, but we had reached our limit.

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