Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Anyone who bans teaching American history has no right to shape America’s future.

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

The most dangerous place for a black man in America is in a white man’s imagination.

Let’s finish the job.

“Cheese and Kraken paired together for the appetizer trial.”

Impressively dumb. Congratulations.

I really should read my own blog.

We are aware of all internet traditions.

Authoritarian republicans are opposed to freedom for the rest of us.

Balloon Juice has never been a refuge for the linguistically delicate.

JFC, are there no editors left at that goddamn rag?

“And when the Committee says to “report your income,” that could mean anything!

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

Republicans are the party of chaos and catastrophe.

Republicans don’t want a speaker to lead them; they want a hostage.

The revolution will be supervised.

The arc of history bends toward the same old fuckery.

… among the most cringeworthy communications in the history of the alphabet!

Putting aside our relentless self-interest because the moral imperative is crystal clear.

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

When do the post office & the dmv weigh in on the wuhan virus?

An almost top 10,000 blog!

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

Seems like a complicated subject, have you tried yelling at it?

You are here: Home / Politics / Domestic Politics / What I’m Missing

Reader Interactions

214Comments

  2. 2.

    dmsilev

    Another round of house (well, condo) hunting. Looking is fun, but actually making a decision will be kind of frightening ($$$…). A few decent options so far, and another several possibilities on tap for the afternoon.

  3. 3.

    redshirt

    “Neighbor” just stopped by in a dump truck and dropped a load of large gravel for our road. Big deal.

    He owns a quarry, which fascinates me.

  4. 4.

    Iowa Old Lady

    Reading George R. R. Martin’s new book. B&n suckered me into buying by sending me a 20% off coupon, on top of the 30% they were already discounting, and my 10% member discount.

  5. 5.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    I made the tactical error of beginning The English Spy. As a result I will do little else for the remainder of the calendar day, beyond tossing in a load of laundry and making a chicken and penne casserole for Mr. Q.

  8. 8.

    Suzanne

    Continuing Operation Un-Shit My House, and I will probably do a hair mask soon. I am trying to grow my hair long, after having bobbed it to chin-length, Louise Brooks-style. We shall see how long it gets before I give the hell up.

    Is there any chance of doing photo comments, like at Gawker? I want to show y’all some of my recent work.

  11. 11.

    Germy Shoemangler

    The ants seem to be gone.

    They were all over the place this summer. They owned our house. I sprayed, inside and out. But they kept coming back. Caulked every little entryway I could find. Ant traps. Sprayed some more. They kept coming. They were in the dishwasher, on the windows, in the recycling bin, in the living room… even in the tub. I wanted to find the lair of the queen and destroy it and her. But she was too well hidden. And her army kept coming.

    Now they seem to be gone.

    It reminds me of how War Of The Worlds ended. The humans fight with everything they’ve got, but nothing works. And then the invaders die when they’re good and ready.

    I guess it just got too cold for them.

  12. 12.

    JPL

    Falcons have this game wrapped up, or so it appears. After Tech’s win, anything can happen in football.

  15. 15.

    geg6

    Just finished vacuuming and washing all the floors and finishing up laundry. Gonna shower eventually as I have to shop for dinner, which nether John or I even thought about until just now. Plus, as always happens when they play at Arrowhead, the Stillers shit the bed.

  16. 16.

    Betty Cracker

    @redshirt: Sounds like you live in a John Irving novel.

    @Suzanne: That’s a question for Cole, but if you email them to me, I can post them at some point in the future.

  17. 17.

    khead

    I’m cursing the Falcons for spending pretty much the ENTIRE 4TH QUARTER on the Tennessee side of the field while scoring ZERO points and also cursing the Jets for giving up the late TD.

  18. 18.

    WaterGirl

    Beautiful photo, Betty Cracker!

    That looks like the “pink grass” I planted last spring as a boring green grass, which has been absolutely lovely this fall. I had high hopes for it, but the pink grass has definitely been my happy surprise of the growing season.

  19. 19.

    PurpleGirl

    Planning a visit to the kitten/cat rescuer in CT in November. She recently bought a house and friends are throwing her a house warming. I’ll be going there a few days early and will get a chance to play with the kittehs and older cats. I’ll see if there are pieces of cat furniture which need fixing and do some sewing, etc.

  20. 20.

    redshirt

    @Iowa Old Lady: Ah, looked it up. A collection of previously published stories.

    I was going to be outraged if he was writing new material while sitting on the new GoT book.

    Has anything ever existed like this before in fiction? A TV show outrunning its still active source material?

  21. 21.

    geg6

    Hey, anybody read Jane Smiley’s latest, the trilogy? Am thinking of making that my project over my winter vacation. Would love to hear from someone who isn’t an msm book reviewer. Her “Moo” is one of my favorite books of all time.

  24. 24.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    @geg6: I have not, but Horse Heaven is a delightful book, so I vote go for it. Says the woman who’s hesitant to go back to the book she started, suspecting it will be difficult to put down.

  26. 26.

    Another Holocene Human

    Nobody mentioned on BJ that Chris Christie got kicked out of an Amtrak quiet car for shouting in his phone. The story is on Gawker and I laughed so hard.

  30. 30.

    geg6

    @a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q):

    I love “Moo” because it rings so true (after all these years, is she still with the Iowa program?). As someone who works at a large public land grant university that started out as an ag school and still has a top ag program (it’s the most well endowed academic college, too), I recognize every character and situation.

  31. 31.

    Germy Shoemangler

    I’ve got a melody stuck in my head: Lullaby Of The Leaves

    A haunting song, mostly forgotten nowadays? I stumbled upon it. At one time it was covered by every singer. Melody by Bernice Petkere and lyrics by Joe Young.

  34. 34.

    Peale

    Doing my last test then I’m apparently certified in something. Then going to start outlining a novel. Getting ready for NaNo.

  35. 35.

    rikyrah

    Put on Blast: Mom Reveals Son’s Adopted Immigrant Past After Reading His Racist Facebook Post By Shanieka Stanton | October 21, 2015

    Unfortunately, in today’s society racism is covert and can usually be found in the most surprising places. However, what if you are a parent that has raised your child to emulate the proper values, morals and beliefs that you felt were good, upstanding and sound. This is the dialogue that was created by the Banker (son) and finished superbly by his mother:

    The son posted, “This image here is the ultimate argument why immigrants do not (and never will) have the capacity to hold any decent position in our country.” ‘#Disgusting#Foreigners#’

    The son’s friend followed with, “UR right never will-and never should!!!! Good thing you don’t have any of these at our office”

    The son then says, “Well, there must be a reason why my bank has none of them in our senior management. I mean-would you trust an immigrant with your money?”

    One of his friends apparently enjoyed his statement, “(=))))))))))))))))))” as this was the reply.

    The son undoubtedly feeling very confident then writes, “Regardless of how many years/generations they live here next to us, they are just not capable to learn how civilized and intelligent as normal people be. It seems as if that some features will never leave their species.”

    Another admired comment as the friend replies, “hahahahahaha.”

    ……………………………………….

    The Banker’s (son) mother steps in with the most meaningful comments: “My dearest, hate to break this racist orgy between you and your ‘ingenious’ friends. We’ve never meant to tell you this, and maybe I shouldn’t do it even now, but you have really crossed the line this time. So-you deserve this.”

    I just wanted to tell you that we (your dad and myself) have adopted you 23 years back (when you were 2) from an Armenian family who was at the time living in Sofia, Bulgaria.

    Still, nothing to be ashamed of. You still turned out to be a young successful banker with a great life. Guess those “dirty foreigners” with their “dirty genes” ARE capable of achieving something in their life after all.

    PS-We are still expecting you for lunch on Sunday. I am preparing Spaghetti Bolognese. Hope that’s not too “foreign” for you.”

    http://naturallymoi.com/2015/10/put-on-blast-mom-reveals-sons-adopted-immigrant-past-after-reading-his-racist-facebook-post/#.Vi0tfH6rSM9

  36. 36.

    rikyrah

    SATURDAY, OCT 24, 2015 08:29 AM CDT
    How superdonors are gutting America: Here’s the research that helps explain a political system’s rightward lurch
    There’s been some debate over the role of the largest donors on the political process. Research tells the tale
    SEAN MCELWEE

    How has the rise of big donors affected our policies? Conventional wisdom suggests that it’s pushing our politics to the right. However, in a recent post over at Vox, political scientist Seth Masket, whose work I deeply respect and have read for years, argues that “what’s not happening here is the superdonors skewing American politics rightward.”

    His argument is that so far in the 2016 election, superdonors have tended to be Republican simply because that’s where the interesting contest is — and not as an indication of any larger trend. Here, I have no qualms. However, he links to one of his older posts when he notes that “studies of the ideological leanings of superdonors suggest they come from all across the ideological spectrum.” In that older post, he argues that “the 30 wealthiest donors in the country are actually pretty moderate… Apart from some extremists like George Soros and the Koch brothers, most exist between the party medians.” He concludes that, “The super wealthy are certainly paying a lot of money into the political system these days, but it’s far from clear what they’re getting out of it.”

    There’s quite a bit to get into in these statements, but the core fault is to assume that 1) because big donors appear to vary across the ideological spectrum, their net effect on policy is a wash, and 2) because big donors appear moderate and policy has become increasingly extreme, big donors aren’t influencing policy.

    http://www.salon.com/2015/10/24/how_superdonors_are_gutting_america_heres_the_research_that_helps_explain_a_political_systems_rightward_lurch/?source=newsletter

  37. 37.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    @geg6: I don’t know if she’s still with Iowa. But I love Horse Heaven for the exact same reason. I recognize them all – especially the horses, but the human characters are totally accurate as well.

  38. 38.

    Corner Stone

    @rikyrah: No matter his disgusting comments that was way fucking out of line for his mother to do that to him in that way.
    She should be ashamed of herself.

  39. 39.

    donnah

    I am wrestling with Amazon to post pics and author info for my new book. Yes, I have a new book! It’s about rug hooking, the fine art of creating images in wool. It’s coming up to be available in a week or two and I’m trying to get the info posted. Sadly, the image came out upside down!

    The book is “Creative Techniques for Rug Hooking”. It’s my second book about my art and I hope it sells. Unfortunately, it’s a really small niche market. Anyway, I’m excited and pleased!

  40. 40.

    Debbie

    @geg6:

    I just started the third volume. I’ve enjoyed the series; lots of people to keep track of. I haven’t liked them all, but it’s still a sprawling kind of read.

  43. 43.

    rikyrah

    SUNDAY, OCT 25, 2015 04:59 AM CDT
    They really want a theocracy: The GOP candidates who want to make you bow to their lord
    GOP wants Christianity as our official religion. Middle East’s on fire. Theocrats are marching and must be stopped
    JEFFREY TAYLER

    …………………

    A new PPP survey reveals that Republicans are afflicted most, with 44 percent now favoring installing Christianity as the United States’ official religion. (Lest we forget, the GOP’s roster of potential 2016 candidates is stocked with rabid believers, and even faith-faker Donald Trump is courting evangelicals.) A shocking 28 percent of Democrats are also theocratically inclined. Only 53 percent of Republican and Democratic voters combined oppose declaring Jesus jabberwocky our national faith.

    The upshot: almost three out of four adult Americans would, in effect, junk the First Amendment, and with it, our gloriously godless system of governance.

    These statistics should prompt all rationalists to sound the proverbial tocsin with unrelenting fury. The religious-secular divide among Americans is deepening, putting those who value reason, evidence and consensus-based decisions in direct opposition to putrid supernatural gobbledygook’s slackwitted votaries; in other words, to those who hear voices, see visions, and engage in kooky superstitious rituals – prayer, for instance – that would lead to their immediate institutionalization if such symptoms were not classified under the (scandalously) ennobling rubric of “religion.”

    ………………………….

    http://www.salon.com/2015/10/25/they_really_want_a_theocracy_the_gop_candidates_who_want_to_make_you_bow_to_their_lord/?source=newsletter

  46. 46.

    MattF

    Mostly reading. Read Ancillary Mercy, the third and final novel in Ann Leckie’s Imperial Radch trilogy, in the middle of ‘Rhesus Chart’ the latest-but-one novel in Stross’ Laundry series, started ‘I Shall Wear Midnight’, the predecessor to Pratchett’s last Discworld novel. They’re all OK, but none of them is quite as good as I’d hoped.

  47. 47.

    Germy Shoemangler

    @Baud:

    I’m not surprised. Traffic between New Jersey and New York is atrocious. Someone should do something about that.

    He could have had a real legacy with the rail tunnel.

  48. 48.

    geg6

    @Debbie:

    I think she’s such a great writer. People like Franzen seem to get all the press but I hate his books. Smiley writes rings around him. Funny, no pretensions, great characters. And she can really capture whatever world she’s writing about.

  49. 49.

    scav

    @Corner Stone: I don’t know. Family relationships, expectations and parenting styles evolve over a lot of time, and that may entirely have been appropriate.

  51. 51.

    Corner Stone

    @scav:

    and that may entirely have been appropriate.

    Telling your son in a public forum he’s adopted, with all the nonsense going on there? I’d never do that to someone I loved.
    I wonder why he has such anti-immigrant views? Surely they didn’t just appear out of nowhere on FB.

  54. 54.

    rikyrah

    for those who were unclear about Uncle Ben and how the Ben Carson of 2015, in today’s zero-tolerance society, would be firmly entrenched in the SCHOOL-TO-PRISON PIPELINE

    and, why I have no patience for his cooning.

    HE was given chance upon chance to ‘ get his shyt together’ and live up to the ‘ promise’ that Adults around him saw in him. And, he used GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS to fulfill that promise.

    I do not begrudge him that others invested in him, and didn’t give up on him.

    I do not begrudge the patients that he was able to heal during his career, because he lived up to that potential.

    I DO BEGRUDGE him sitting here now, spouting all this right-wing bullshyt about Government Programs when he got EVERYTHING HE HAS BECAUSE OF A GOVERNMENT PROGRAM.

    ……………………………….

    From Meet the Press:

    Transcript via Meet The Press:

    CHUCK TODD: Do you think that people mistaken your soft-spokenness with a lack of energy?DR. BEN CARSON: I think so. I have plenty of energy. But, you know, I am soft-spoken. I do have a tendency to be relaxed. I wasn’t always like that. There was a time when I was, you know, very volatile. But, you know, I changed.

    CHUCK TODD: When was that?

    DR. BEN CARSON: As a teenager. I would go after people with rocks, and bricks, and baseball bats, and hammers. And, of course, many people know the story when I was 14 and I tried to stab someone. And, you know, fortunately, you know, my life has been changed. And I’m a very different person now.

  56. 56.

    JR

    I’m sitting in a campaign office making calls because we have elections here a week from Tuesday. GOTV 4 LIFE!

  59. 59.

    dogwood

    Trying to decide what to cook for tomorrow’s dinner. After I retired and finally got a new kitchen, I started having four of my still friends/ex colleagues over for dinner on Monday’s. I usually know what I want to cook well in advance, but just haven’t been inspired this week. Also think I’ll get back to reading “A Little Life”. Had to but it down for a couple of days because it was kinda breaking my heart.

  60. 60.

    Botsplainer

    In Charlotte, they have an on post bathroom attendant. I’m the only one in here.

    My travelers distress attacked twice on the plane and I make bad noise now.

    Yay me.

  61. 61.

    Patricia Kayden

    @rikyrah: I have zero problem with the Mother confronting her racist son when he was spewing anti-immigrant nonsense to his friends. I do wonder, however, what happened that he felt so comfortable expressing racist views with his friends. How was he raised that he felt that was okay? I’m not blaming his Mother but I do wonder how he developed such anti-immigrant/racist views.

  63. 63.

    scav

    @Corner Stone: You wouldn’t do it in your style of relationships. It’s not your style. Other families are naturally more blunt and open. That’s their style. my father would entirely have called me out / argued publicly if I’d pulled something so out of line with the values I’d been raised by. (Mom’s different, she’d have done something even more deadly with a stiletto afterwards. They had different styles, even within the same unit.).

  67. 67.

    Gin & Tonic

    As I posted earlier, I had a fuel oil leak in the basement. The house reeks, the cleanup continues, and there is no end in sight. Oh, and my wife has to go to Europe for two weeks.

    I am probably going to get drunk.

  71. 71.

    Mandalay

    @rikyrah: An interesting article, but its premise is flawed because the deck is deliberately stacked to ensure that nobody knows how the very rich invest in politics and politicians.

    Rich donors can freely donate money to non-profits affiliated to PACs with total anonymity. George Soros and Charles Koch could write out a checks for $50 million to organizations they support and there is no (legal) way to find out where that money came from.

  73. 73.

    Zinsky

    Getting ready to start prep for a colonoscopy tomorrow. Routine, I hope. Will pop the biscodyl laxative shortly, followed by a cascade of 8 oz. shots of foul-tasting swill, that opens the shit faucet for about eight hours straight. I can hardly wait! Woo-hoo!

  74. 74.

    Another Holocene Human

    It’s an Acela (Train 2208), but the timetable says 1000A, not 955A, so who knows.

    Acela is just as quick and similar price to intercity shuttle. If he’s going from city center to city center (Union Station is quite close to everything in Federal Triangle–Dulles and BWI are not, and DCA is a bit of a ride on the Metro–and when you get to NYC you’re in a similar situation w/r/t Manhattan) it makes more sense to take Acela than an airplane. Plus you can scream on your phone the whole way AND get sloshed.

  76. 76.

    Schlemazel

    The bride & I went for a long hike in the National Wetland Wildlife Reserve between the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers. The day started rather cool but the sun came out & it was great hiking weather. We saw 2 deer less than 5 yards away, I got a picture. They seemed unconcerned about us & just kept on feeding as we walked by.

  78. 78.

    Pie Happens (opiejeanne)

    Making chicken tomatillo soup. The instructions are a bit contradictory when it comes to the chicken. No matter, we ignored it resolved the issue by sautéing in bacon grease. Will shred the chicken into the soup 5 minutes before finish.

    Thinking about making an apple galette, using the apples we grew.

  79. 79.

    frosty

    @scav: I think the public call-out is wrong, but for me what is even more wrong is not telling him he was adopted from the beginning. Keeping that fact a secret never works.

  80. 80.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Another Holocene Human: I once took the Acela and some wine marketing group from CA was on board, conducting a wine and cheese tasting. Let’s just say I was glad my wife picked me up at the end of that trip.

  82. 82.

    frosty

    What am I doing today? Just finished patching the broken concrete front steps and hoping it lasts at least through the winter. First time I’ve done any work like this.

  83. 83.

    Pie Happens (opiejeanne)

    @Another Holocene Human: The stuff they gave me might have been Gatorade. I hate Gatorade and have had little contact with it, but this stuff was the right color and tasted like it. They told me the other stuff they used to use tasted worse.

  85. 85.

    frosty

    @Zinsky:

    Getting ready to start prep for a colonoscopy tomorrow.

    Good news! I lost 5 pounds with that routine and managed to keep it off. Consider it a jump-start to a weight-loss program.

    “Opens up the sluices at both ends.” h/t Monty Python

  87. 87.

    Schlemazel

    Tie one on? I’d suggest a @Gin & Tonic:, you can always claim the tonic controls your malaria!

    As I said earlier, you have my great sympathy, that sucks

  90. 90.

    Patricia Kayden

    @MattF: Good point. Although to be honest, I’m not sure if it is routine for adopting parents to inform their adopted children of their status. I know someone who adopted her daughter as a baby and I’m not sure if that is something that is discussed between the two.

  91. 91.

    Schlemazel

    @Zinsky:
    Some folks just know how to live!

    Its one of those things where the prep is worse than the procedure. Like a root canal, the actual work is not as bad as what leads up to it.

  92. 92.

    Corner Stone

    @Schlemazel:

    Tie one on? I’d suggest a @Gin & Tonic:, you can alwys claim the tonic controls your malaria!

    Considering it’s not a summer drink then that sounds about perfect for one who enjoys the disgusting taste of gin.

  93. 93.

    Another Holocene Human

    Okay, internets say you can take dulcolax, miralax, and clear Gatorade as colonoscopy prep. I guess if your doctor approves of it. Seems less risky than all the other methods and less unpleasant.

    (Gatorade has Potassium salts in it which is what gives it its unpleasant taste. Presumably you could make your own with lemonade and Lite Salt, if you’re good at measuring stuff because dehydration sucks and can put you in the hospital. You could also drink Pedialyte instead of Gatorade but I can think of no reason why that shit would taste any better.)

  94. 94.

    Schlemazel

    @Gin & Tonic:
    I love G&T in the summer and it appears to be keeping me malaria symptom free!

    @Corner Stone:
    I used to feel the same way about gin & never drink it any other way. Its the lime & a dash of bitters that make if really good, it refines that pine needle taste.

  96. 96.

    Ruckus

    @rikyrah:
    That’s cold. Very, very good, but cold.
    Mom deserves a standing ovation. From everyone with the possible exception of her little shithead. Who should have to sit there and listen to it for ten minutes. While on live TV.

  97. 97.

    Corner Stone

    @Patricia Kayden: Seems pretty fucking harsh to break it to them for the first time in a public forum while chastising them. I’d tell her to fuck off and never see either one of them again.

  98. 98.

    MattF

    @Patricia Kayden: In my somewhat limited experience adoptive parents tell children they are adopted early on. In one of the cases, it was obvious since the child was brown skinned and the parents were white– but I think it’s pretty much standard practice nowadays, particularly with the possibility of genetic diseases…

  99. 99.

    Another Holocene Human

    @Corner Stone: I love the smell of Juniper, though I’m meh about it in my alcohol. Then again, the one and only time I had it I felt a little sick from the alcohol. Dunno if I had an allergy attack first but stubbornly had a drink anyway. Yeah, it was probably like that.

  101. 101.

    Emma

    The thing that fascinates me about the racist son story is how people immediately started questioning his upbringing. If you really think sons don’t really develop beliefs on their own which sometimes are diametrically opposed to their parents/social group, you really haven’t been paying much attention.

  102. 102.

    Another Holocene Human

    @MattF: The notion that former adoptee adults have needs and rights seems to be slow in coming, at least in this country.

    And then you have whole “charities” like Catholic Charities that funneled babies ripped from mother’s arms (because they were unwed, you see, that would never do) into the embrace of married couples, some of them childless (how shameful!), some not (a good home!). They advocated and enforced the blind adoption and were empowered by the state to get false birth certificates issued. To this day they refuse to release birth mother information supposedly to respect their wishes but actually to keep people from finding out how many of these birth moms did not actually want to give up their children. It’s a very ugly and very hidden part of our country’s history.

    The biggest scandal in adoption today are fundy families collecting furrin children, some of whom aren’t even orphans but just fallen on hard times (yes, they steal kids), and then trying to rehome them or using them as slave labor when it all gets too difficult for them. Or in some cases, beating them to death. Several countries have now categorically banned adoptions to the USA.

  103. 103.

    Keith G

    @Botsplainer: Yeah. Went through CTL a while back and thought, “What’s the f*ck’s up with a RR attendant?” It’s not like it’s 1950 and I was in Ciro’s in Hollywood.

  104. 104.

    Another Holocene Human

    @Emma: FWIW it sounds like invented for the internet drama to me. (And I’m not the only one, see upthread.)

  105. 105.

    gene108

    I’m taking my first stab at making homemade Cream of Mushroom soup, and I’ve decided to make my own modifications, because (1) I have no use for flour and buying some just to thicken the soup is waste and (2) I’m trying to keep my sodium intake down, so I’m skipping using stock, as store bought stock as a lot of sodium (I have no clue how to make home made vegetable stock, as a vegetarian, which is the only option for me).

    I’m going with 2% milk, skipping water / stock, so hopefully the milk will give it a good consistency.

    I’ll also be making more food to get through the week after this culinary adventure is completed.

  106. 106.

    Yatsuno

    Final evening of a convention in Dallas Texas. Then back to watching the Republicans play games with my job.

  111. 111.

    Ruckus

    @Emma:
    This.
    No one is a clone. We have genes and upbringing.
    After that it’s up to us to learn and live. Some of us get it wrong, some way wrong. And some actually learn and grow. But that takes thought and awareness rather than pure acceptance and that’s a bridge too far for some.
    The kid has an adult job at a bank, he’s not 13. He is coming over for dinner, he doesn’t live at his parents any longer. Maybe his parents have treated him like the adult is supposed to be and he still acts like he’s so not. Better he learns this now or he could be an asshole his entire life. Sometimes life’s lessons are tough, sometimes funny and sometimes they are delivered so on point at least everyone else gets them. Mom did good, son adopted or not.

  114. 114.

    rikyrah

    And, we expected anything less?

    this is who they are. small government until it pertains to the uterus

    Mother JonesVerified account
    ‏@MotherJones
    Texas subpoenas records of Planned Parenthood patients who donated fetal tissue http://mojo.ly/1McRadd

  116. 116.

    MomSense

    Some friends had an early music concert at their house. It was lovely and their ginger tabby decided to spend it on my lap. Was really nice to listen to beautiful music and get a kitteh fix.

  117. 117.

    Corner Stone

    @Emma: I didn’t read the comments on the linked story, was that the pretty consistent commentary over there?

  118. 118.

    Another Holocene Human

    @rikyrah: I loved the comment thread about how it totes could not have been “frat business” to be skulking around a rival frat house and then jump a rival frat brother when he pokes out to see what’s going on.

    Yeah, no such thing as rival frats either, I guess. All that vandalism of frat houses is done by non-frat members, taking a pause from their actual studying for actual courses since they have to get a job not offered by their parents when they graduate–or else–who are just soooo jelly that they have to destroy what they love but can’t have.

    Totes.

    F’real.

  123. 123.

    rikyrah

    But, he says it in Frank Luntz-approved dogwhistles, so somehow, that’s supposed to be more palatable..right?

    Teddy Davis
    ‏@TeddyDavisCNN
    .@JebBush opposes automatic preclearance part of Voting Rights Act. @jaketapper pressed him in #CNNSOTU web extra. http://cnn.it/1jNA74o

  125. 125.

    catclub

    I doubt that he is pandering. Ted Cruz is pandering. Ben Carson is an authentic crackpot. That’s why they love him.

    Just read that somewhere else.

  126. 126.

    Another Holocene Human

    @rikyrah: The RW Christian response to mosques tells you everything about how they feel about their churches and what they intend to do to us.

  127. 127.

    Botsplainer

    @Keith G:

    And having some poor slob listening to the noise and smelling those smells so he can hand you a paper towel and a mint for a tiny tip feels like bullshit.

  129. 129.

    jl

    Thanks for beautiful Florida coastal pic.

    I will admire it for Cracker while she (inexplicably IMHO) turns her back and watches football.

  132. 132.

    Mnemosyne (tablet)

    @Zinsky:

    If possible, put the prep liquid in the freezer at least 45 minutes before you have to drink it. It’s slightly less disgusting when it’s ice-cold.

    I had to get a colonoscopy last year and the worst part about the prep was boredom.

  133. 133.

    redshirt

    @catclub:

    The Fog” was on TV half hour ago. Too. Also.

    That old movie? Loved it back in the day.

    I’m cool with fog, as I’m usually above it. Mt. Washington to my due west is the real problem.

  135. 135.

    catclub

    @Yatsuno: Starving the IRS of funds is obviously destructive of government, so all too logical. Plus, short term self-interested.

  136. 136.

    Ruckus

    @Botsplainer:
    Not sure if it beats the people asking for handouts on the street. Or the one armed man who stands on a corner not 3 blocks from my place who washes windshields. Has a bucket and a squeegee, stands there with the squeegee raised with his one arm, waiting for someone to hire him for 10 seconds.

  138. 138.

    Another Holocene Human

    @Mnemosyne (tablet): Thanks for the clarification.

    There are some major books on this which I haven’t read. Some time.

    ETA: The Girls Who Went Away. Of course. On the list.

    edit the second: then there was that freaky baby farmer in Victorian England who killed hundreds of babies

  139. 139.

    gogol's wife

    There’s a certain theme to this thread. Maybe we could also discuss cats’ anal glands.

  140. 140.

    Another Holocene Human

    @catclub: It’s one of those acts that gives away the game.

    Plus, the grifting opportunities. You can’t file online at irs.gov (but you can file online for the state) but you can file online through some 3rd party service. Oh, sure, initial file is free, but if you need any additional services you’ll have no choice whatsoever but to pay up.

  143. 143.

    Another Holocene Human

    Justin Trudeau danced with the Canada India Association and broke bread with a Muslim association, breaking the brains of wingnuts everywhere (and proving he can dance better than George W Bush).

    There’s also a Justin Trudeau romance novel (his name anglicized to “Waterhole”, aka trou d’eau, insert groans here).

    Seems a lot more fun than this “crown Paul Ryan” dance we’re sitting through right now.

  147. 147.

    Mnemosyne (tablet)

    My light reading this weekend has been Ron Chernow’s “Alexander Hamilton,” which is the book that Lin-Manuel Miranda based his musical on. I just finished the part where Hamilton’s dumb ass gets ensnared in a blackmail scheme by Maria and James Reynolds, which has the distinction of being the US’s first big sex scandal. And, of course, Jefferson is tsk-tsking about Hamilton’s immorality from the sidelines while secretly schtupping Sally Hemings.

  149. 149.

    J R in WV

    @Corner Stone:

    You are so wrong… that son was being a disgusting racist, reveling in hatred and despicable other-hating.

    I think his Mom did the best thing she could. Smacked him with the truth, he was exactly the person he was fomenting hatred of.

    Hope he goes to Sunday dinner, too. But probably he is too immature for that. Reminds me of the White power Hitler youth guys who turn out to be Jewish from the git-go, born as grandson to concentration camp survivors.

    Surprise, their Nazi tattoos a peculiar match for the gransparents’ registration number tats on their arms.

  151. 151.

    Virginia (fka Abo Gato)

    Sitting in DFW waiting for our flight to Miami. Gonna spend a week at South Beach lounging and being lazy. Looking forward to good food and much chilling.

  155. 155.

    catclub

    @Another Holocene Human:

    You can’t file online at irs.gov (but you can file online for the state) but you can file online through some 3rd party service.

    The reason I still file paper. Not getting a refund ( estimated tax payments are coming every quarter) so no hurry.

  157. 157.

    workworkwork

    Trying to motivate myself to go over a course project document for the class I’m developing. I have a conference call with the instructional designer who put it together and feel that I should probably have something intelligent to say about it.

    It’s a tricky course, though. It’s a business analytics course for IT students. So it’s not a business course, it’s not a database course but it has to involved both business stuff and database stuff. So far it’s the hardest course I’ve ever written.

    I should probably also mention that it’s an online course so that I have no control over what kind of hardware or software students are using, apart from a Web browser. So any hands-on activities I create (and there’s at least one a week) have to take that into account.

  158. 158.

    Schlemazel

    @Mnemosyne (tablet):
    It didn’t hit me right away for some reason but somewhere a little while back it occurred to me that Jefferson freed Sally Hemmings children upon his death but none of his other slaves. He spared his children in other words from the lash but no others. I lost all respect for the man

  162. 162.

    Corner Stone

    @J R in WV:

    Child free.

    Thank goodness. What she allegedly did is fucking monstrous. Telling her child he was adopted just fucking cold turkey in a public forum as a punishment for speech? I’d never speak to her again.

  163. 163.

    Patricia Kayden

    @Corner Stone: Not sure if I would want to associate with a racist so I would think the Mother would be better off without any contact from her adopted son. He doesn’t sound like a nice fellow.

  166. 166.

    Corner Stone

    @Patricia Kayden: They probably both would be better off without contact, as she seems just as despicable as his expressed viewpoints towards immigrants. I’d never do that to my child, no matter what he said or did.

  167. 167.

    Corner Stone

    @Patricia Kayden:

    I would think the Mother would be better off without any contact from her adopted son.

    She clearly doesn’t give fuck one about him so not sure why he’d bother ever speaking to her again.

  168. 168.

    ThresherK

    @Another Holocene Human: I had luck with making the prep liquid as cold as humanly possible, and chasing it with clear, approved liquid.

    (I can’t remember who posted it here but I totally stole that method from someone on this blog.)

  169. 169.

    J R in WV

    @Corner Stone:

    You’re just wrong. I know people who had monstrous parents… think 8 or 9 year old girl with a puppy she loved.

    Mom: “You want to go for a ride with Daddy and Tag?”

    “Oh, yes!” little girl says. Great fun. But the destination was the Pound, where Tag would be put down in 4 days. And Daddy made little girl take the dog in, while he drank the rest of his bottle of cheap whiskey out in the car.

    Now imagine the rest of a childhood with a pair of parents like that, and a big sister who couldn’t be alone with the little girl as a baby, because she bit her toes until they bled.

    So fuck you and your overheated feeling of compassion for a racist piece of shit, who got a chance at learning better from someone close to him.

    It was well done by that mom, who probably heard that racist shit and murmured her opposition to it for quite a while, before she snapped and burst out with the ground truth about that young man’s heritage.

  170. 170.

    Denali

    @Ruckus,

    You alarmed with your reference to one armed man. Think you meant a one-armed man. Thank goodness for hyphens.(sorry, English major here).

  171. 171.

    scav

    @Patricia Kayden: Yeah, the equation of child-rearing means allowing your child to spew any and all crap in public without adult consequences seems a trifle enabling. What would be cruel to a six or ten-year old is different when it’s a man of probable authority with no training wheels on his bicycle.

  172. 172.

    Corner Stone

    @J R in WV: Pathetic. I’ve watched your disgusting tripe in thread after thread and this just caps off my appropriate decision to have no regard for you. You’re nothing, and you know nothing about being a parent.

  174. 174.

    scav

    @Corner Stone: See what I said earlier about differences in styles. You can have whatever style of relationship with your kids you want, but other families are different — which is what I originally said. Your style is not the only, sole and mandatory style.

  178. 178.

    Corner Stone

    “Honey, I have something to tell you, your cohorts and the entire interwebs. Your whole life is a lie. Deal. Hope you enjoy the Sunday lunch punkin!”

  179. 179.

    Corner Stone

    @scav: My “ideal” is that I don’t hurt my child (no matter their age) so callously because of some mistake, or mistaken belief/idea they have/have expressed.
    “Dad, I have something uncomfortable to say. I had too much to drink and wrecked your car.”
    “Hmmm, time to fire up the intertrons and tell the world you were born with ambiguous genitalia, John/Jane.”

  181. 181.

    Corner Stone

    To be clear, there’s nothing wrong with being adopted or being born with ambiguous genitalia, etc. There are ways to deal with things that happened a long time ago and were never under your control. People who love you should consider a few things before being so self-righteous in their power imbalance.

  183. 183.

    scav

    @Corner Stone: Whereas I grew up in a family where at some point, my parents interacted with me as adults to adult and the training wheels were removed. If they would have argued with their friends about it, they did the same to me. And I find the relationship utterly natural. My father didn’t suffer idiots easily. Guess I am unloved, sigh.

  185. 185.

    Corner Stone

    @scav: What about respect for their adult child? Why do you think the public airing of deeply personal info is acceptable in an adult to adult interaction?
    How about mom being an adult. Maybe the public airing of that information should have been on his terms? What if he was gay? Does she have the right to blast that? As punishment?

  187. 187.

    Corner Stone

    @scav: If you’re making the argument that immigrants can’t be part of our country, or can’t be decent citizens, or successful, or etc then as I would with anyone, I would refute that on the argument. I wouldn’t go on public forum and say, “Hey, guess what?” That’s just fucking wrong. Was that how your insufferable father made his arguments? By pulling out the non sequitur trump card to shut you down?
    My guess is, probably not. He probably stuck on immigrants viz immigrants. Your argument is not the same thing as what this woman did.

  188. 188.

    Corner Stone

    I recently blasted a family member on re-upping some bullshit about Reagan. Guess what? I didn’t refute her by telling everyone how she blew my friend that one time when we were all in high school. I blasted Reagan and the myths involved.

  189. 189.

    J R in WV

    @Corner Stone:

    Thanks for the feedback.

    As a person who never had kids, maybe so.

    You obviously have had a hot button touched by this story, fact or fiction. I’m sorry you feel that my comments are “disgusting tripe” because I want to have a positive effect on people reading what I write.

    On the other hand, your criticism seems hollow to me. So somehow, I don’t care about your remarks supporting a racist monster. I hope you find your way to not supporting racism in the future.

  191. 191.

    Cervantes

    @J R in WV:

    “disgusting tripe”

    For one thing, and for what it’s worth, I have no idea where that came from, either.

    For another thing, tripe, when properly cooked, is far from disgusting.

    Have a great evening.

  192. 192.

    scav

    @Corner Stone: My father had some memorable arguements, and made some extremely dodgy attacks when serious roused. Neither he, nor I, expected to be perfect. We just battled it out, and eventally moved on to other things. but hey, whatever, your style is perfect and not to be varied from — You and I, unlike my father, don’t have enough of a relationship for me to continue an arguement in favor of alternative personal relationships over. Lockstep away in contentment.

  193. 193.

    Ruckus

    @Denali:
    Well he is a one armed man. Armed with a squeegee. He is also a one-armed man. So both ways are true. One just not in the context that we currently think of.

  194. 194.

    Eric U.

    I would feel bad that I hadn’t taught my kids to behave better on facebook. I don’t think I would have disclosed their origins there, but then again, they would have known about their origins.

  195. 195.

    J R in WV

    Well, I’ve been called out before, but it was surprising coming from Corner Stone, who usually seems more grounded.

    I’m glad to see, reading the thread, that I’m not the only person who thought Corner Stone’s instant attack on the mom in the story (which could be fact or fiction) was a lttle over the top.

    When someone is being a racist, when their grandpa was “passing” – that’s a problem that we need to face.

    In this case, it was immigrants. We are all immigrants here, unless we’re enrolled members of a Native tribe, which excludes the guy in the story we’re arguing about completely.

    Folks from Europe, we’re all immigrants, all of us. Folks from Latin America, mostly immigrants, except those from Mexico and points South who’s families spoke languages other than Spanish at home. There are a lot of Mexicans with a lot of Native American heritage, and they should be proud of that.

    But I wonder why Corner Stone had to go off so hard on this story…

    Maybe i hit back a little hard, but that’s something that can happen when an unexpected attack hits you in the side of your face.

    Sorry if I hurt anyone, not what I intended.

  196. 196.

    Corner Stone

    @scav: Not sure what the “lockstep” thing is supposed to mean? I wouldn’t disclose deeply personal info for the first time on the Sally Jesse Raphael Show so I am somehow….something?
    Your argument is garbage because you aren’t talking about what actually happened here. The son made some bad comments and then Mom decided to unilaterally disclose something that she had no business disclosing. As a rebuttal, instead of defeating the poor arguments her son made.
    Not even close to making an argument.

  197. 197.

    gelfling545

    @Patricia Kayden: This is a question we ask ourselves in my family. I have a nephew who definitely was not raised with these racist sentiments yet is an appalling bigot while his younger brother travels the country conducting diversity seminars at colleges & higher ed professional conferences. Same family, same schools, we (his parents included) just cannot fathom it.

  198. 198.

    Corner Stone

    @gelfling545:

    I have a nephew who definitely was not raised with these racist sentiments yet is an appalling bigot

    How has your family addressed this, if in any way?

  199. 199.

    Ruckus

    @J R in WV:
    Agreed
    Truth or fiction.
    Said this above, he’s an adult, 25 yrs old. Apparently has an adult job at a bank. He’s a racist. He speaks on a site most likely using his name, making racist remarks. Mom, most likely having the same last name and probably friend who know he’s her son, seems to have tried to raise someone not biologically her’s to not be a racist. So what are her options? Talk to him in private? Maybe she’s done that, or maybe not, we don’t know. But he’s the one who went public with his hate, not her. He deserves shame for his attitude. She handled it well, even though it may turn out she never gets to speak to him again.

  201. 201.

    dogwood

    @J R in WV:
    Lashing out on social media and Internet comment threads is the new normal for a pretty large segment of the population. I don’t presume to know a thing about this family or the mother/son relationship. She might very well be regretting her behavior, and perhaps the son regrets his as well. What I do know is too many people are increasingly compelled to to show their nastiest face to the world on the Internet. I also know that you are not among that group.

  202. 202.

    Betty Cracker

    The story about the immigrant-bashing young banker sounds like bullshit to me. The dialogue is cartoonishly villainous and too conveniently teed up for the mother to righteously squash. I’m not saying there aren’t people who feel that way, but it just sounds like a made-up story.

    That said, if it is true, I do find the mother’s response pretty horrifying. She lies to the kid his whole life, then bludgeons him with the truth in public to humiliate him? Even a racist prick doesn’t deserve that kind of deception and betrayal by his own parent.

  203. 203.

    Corner Stone

    @Betty Cracker: It’s almost definitely not a real thing. The celebration of how horrible the mother was to her “son” was the aspect I had an issue with.

  205. 205.

    PaulW

    Had dinner with my friend Sherry. It’d been ages since I’d seen her, it was great making sure she was healthy and happy.

  209. 209.

    Nate Dawg

    @Cervantes:

    It’s disgusting tripe because s/he just randomly started comparing this woman to a puppy killing, alcoholic child neglecter. Which was just some non sequitur, misanthropic fantasy which frankly sounded like it came from a very diseased mind.

    My take is that the mother was out of line, and it’s odd that this isn’t a consensus opinion on here. Parents–above all–should have respect for their children. As a stranger I wouldn’t reveal that information in such a way, much less if it were my child!

  210. 210.

    Pie Happens (opiejeanne)

    @Another Holocene Human: Yes. There’s some soup and half the apple galette are left.

    I am going to modify that soup recipe because it is badly written, directions need to be better, and there are better ways to make this same soup that will not drive me nuts next time. It was very good otherwise and the galette was great.

  212. 212.

    redshirt

    It’s always unsettling when Omnes doesn’t answer.

    Like, did I do something wrong before asking the question?
    Or was it the question itself?

  214. 214.

    Cervantes

    @Nate Dawg:

    Thanks. Your explanation focuses on this thread alone, whereas the comment I alluded to spoke about “disgusting tripe in thread after thread.” Which could be there, but, as I said, I’m not sure.

Comments are closed.