Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

It’s all just conspiracy shit beamed down from the mothership.

How any woman could possibly vote for this smug smarmy piece of misogynistic crap is beyond understanding.

Live so that if you miss a day of work people aren’t hoping you’re dead.

Why is it so hard for them to condemn hate?

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

We’re watching the self-immolation of the leading world power on a level unprecedented in human history.

American history and black history cannot be separated.

Tide comes in. Tide goes out. You can’t explain that.

When I was faster i was always behind.

We can show the world that autocracy can be defeated.

Our messy unity will be our strength.

Never give a known liar the benefit of the doubt.

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

We still have time to mess this up!

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

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

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires.

If rights aren’t universal, they are privilege, not rights.

We know you aren’t a Democrat but since you seem confused let me help you.

There are consequences to being an arrogant, sullen prick.

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

“Alexa, change the president.”

Republicans choose power over democracy, every day.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Saturday Morning Open Thread

Saturday Morning Open Thread

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Oh my dog, looka this precious baybeeeeee!!!!

When I was a kid, there was a nearby roadside attraction that had a hippo, among other animals on display. I remember seeing a zookeeper deposit a bushel or so of lettuce into its mouth. I also saw the hippo turn its south end toward the crowd, start swinging its tail rapidly back and forth and spray poop everywhere. Pretty sure it was on purpose. Smart critters, hippos.

Open thread!

H/T:Jezebel

Reader Interactions

63Comments

  2. 2.

    Felonius Monk

    turn its south end toward the crowd, start swinging its tail rapidly back and forth and spray poop everywhere.

    Looks and sounds a lot like Little Marco the Rubiot.

  6. 6.

    the Conster, la Citoyenne

    I hate zoos. I know some do good work in the service of species preservation, but ugh.

  8. 8.

    Germy

    Speaking of species preservation, I saw on the news yesterday some scientists are trying to clone an extinct cave lion. Found some remains with DNA.

  9. 9.

    feebog

    I also saw the hippo turn its south end toward the crowd, start swinging its tail rapidly back and forth and spray poop everywhere.

    Don’t give Donald Trump any ideas.

  10. 10.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    they do say they’re the most dangerous animals in Africa…. maybe he was just adapting his defenses

    @the Conster, la Citoyenne: Yeah, I wandered into a zoo in Europe once (Berlin?), I hadn’t been in one since I was a kid, and I was surprised at how depressing I found it.

  12. 12.

    PaulW

    Need to spend today writing writing and more writing. The Florida Writers Association’s annual anthology has an April deadline, I’d like to get this done with enough time to have someone beta read it.

  13. 13.

    slag

    @shortribs: “Zootopia is still in the concept stage, but Ingels says the idea is to include only social animals that like to live in groups.”

    I read this and, after seeing the picture, I immediately thought it was a people zoo. Like an Ikea store.

  14. 14.

    M31

    Some friends who lived in Tanzania told me that hippos were by far the most dangerous animals there.

    If you get between them and the water, they panic and run for it, and they are so huge they don’t even notice that they’ve trampled you.

  16. 16.

    Kilgore Trout

    Working as plate umpire for my first High School baseball scrimmage of the season at 10 out here in soggy WA – jamborees next weekend and then the season kicks off Monday the 14th – it’s the most wonderful time of the year ;-)

    Baseball *and* a Republican Party civil war, what more can I ask for? Good to see Rachel “go there” last night calling the Trump movement what it is: fascism.

  18. 18.

    the Conster, la Citoyenne

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    The Bronx Zoo was a pleasant surprise, but generally they’re pretty awful. An old friend of mine designs zoo enclosures and he’s a wonderful sensitive soul who assures me that he and his colleagues are doing great things. Unfortunately so many municipalities have budget struggles and simply don’t have the money to prioritize zoo enclosure redesign, so these poor animals just are consigned to their captivity until they die.

  19. 19.

    nutella

    I also saw the hippo turn its south end toward the crowd, start swinging its tail rapidly back and forth and spray poop everywhere. Pretty sure it was on purpose.

    I’ve seen hippos in the wild (in Tanzania) and that’s what they do. Usually they’re standing in a lake so they can splash the sh*t long distances.

  22. 22.

    Ben

    Jim Webb now saying he won’t vote for Hillary. The party is going o have a rough time with the Reagan Democrats this year especially against Trump and the increasingly anti-white tone of the party.

  24. 24.

    WaterGirl

    @the Conster, la Citoyenne: I love the Wild Africa part of Binder Park Zoo in Battle Creek (near Kalamazoo MI):

    Wild Africa
    The Wild Africa Exhibit at Binder Park Zoo is a permanent exhibit featuring giraffes, zebras, ostriches, stork, and antelope. This award winning exhibit allows the animals to roam, cage free, in an 18-acre (7.3 ha), savanna-like setting, very similar to how they might be viewed in the wild. To get a closer view, there is a one way, 0.8-mile (1.3 km) loop that begins and ends in a small African themed village, selling souvenirs and food and beverages. The trail itself is themed to resemble a trail inside an African National Park complete with a ranger station and fake poachers. Along the trail there is an opportunity to feed giraffes at the Twiga Overlook. Park visitors view the giraffes from a raised platform that places them at eye level with the animals. Leaves of romaine lettuce that are available for purchase can be placed in the palm of your hand where the giraffes will retrieve them with their 18-inch (460 mm) tongues. Other species are included in savanna settings, a walk-through aviary, and other small exhibits. Some of which include African wild dogs, colobus monkeys, black mangabeys, and a forest farm featuring several African domestic animals.

    The Wild Africa Exhibit is located away from the main zoo exhibits at the west end, accessible by a free zebra-patterned tram, or a 0.5-mile (0.80 km) walking path.

    Edit: yeah, okay, the fake ranger station etc isn’t what draws me there. It’s the ability to see the animals in the wild that makes it such a better place to be than, say, Brookfield Zoo, which I loved as a child but always depresses me as an adult.

  25. 25.

    Betty Cracker

    @the Conster, la Citoyenne: I also find zoos depressing. The only exceptions are facilities that rehab animals for return to the wild (or keep them if they are unable to fend for themselves due to injury). There are a few places like that around here for manatees, dolphins, sea birds, etc.

  26. 26.

    Botsplainer, Cryptofascist Tool of the Oppressor Class

    Went to the flooring store to get sample book for laminate floor + basic carpet idea. Now I’m getting a mani-pedi because my feet are gross.

  27. 27.

    Gin & Tonic

    Chilly evening here in London. Hoping this bowl of ramen warms me up. It’s a bit surprising, but so far this is striking me as a more international city even than NYC.

  28. 28.

    Docg

    My new Trump prediction: Trump expects obedience AND wants to spend a lot of money. As soon as he secures the Republican nomination, he will move on Republicans who don’t want the government to do or spend anything.

    The Freedom Caucus (Tea Partiers) Congress critters are going to get gutted by Trump! Karma can be a bitch!

  31. 31.

    MattF

    Yeah, I saw the hippos at the National Zoo some years ago– one did the tail-pinwheel thing, and the people next to me promptly backed off. Smarter than me!

  33. 33.

    James E Powell

    @Ben:

    And when was the last time any of the Reagan Democrats actually voted for a Democrat?

  34. 34.

    Roger Moore

    @Ben:

    The party is going o have a rough time with the Reagan Democrats this year especially against Trump and the increasingly anti-white tone of the party.

    Your concern is duly noted. The idea that there is still a substantial pool of “Reagan Democrats” who might just vote for the Democrats again if only the Dems were willing to pander to them is one of the dumbest ideas in politics.

  36. 36.

    Gindy51

    Adorable and I love how the camera clicks went nuts but everyone was so respectful and quiet. Far cry from the shit that would have happened here, that’s for sure.

  38. 38.

    slag

    @Roger Moore: And the “increasingly anti-white tone of the party” in which the two potential nominees both happen to be white. I wonder what the concern troll assumes to be the percentage in that. Maybe Hillary and Bernie are our token white friends?

  39. 39.

    James E Powell

    My usually insatiable appetite for political discussion, argument, etc., during the campaign years is increasingly satiable. I don’t enjoy talking about the Republicans – they’re all horrible people with horrible policy ideas. I don’t enjoy arguing Hillary or Bernie – I will vote for B but will shed no tears if he loses. So I’m left with nothing much to say. [That noise is the cheering of my friends and family.]

    So, anyway, I was just thinking, the leading lights of the Democratic Party seem a little – with respect – older. I was wondering, who are the next Democrats who will go national? Kirsten Gillibrand? Sherrod Brown? I can’t think of anyone else. Do we have anyone in the South who might lead La Résurgence?

  41. 41.

    ThresherK (GPad)

    At Mohegan Sun ArenA with Spousal ThresherK, watching women’s hoops tourney. Tulane /Memphis finish up, the UConn/ East Carolina game next.

    Love the nickname Lady Pirates. USF Lady Bulls are still alive too.

  43. 43.

    Betty Cracker

    @James E Powell: I don’t think Brown wants to be president, but Gillibrand might. Having a hard time coming up with a Southern Democrat with national stature, sadly.

  44. 44.

    Brachiator

    Cute photo. In the wild, hippos are incredibly dangerous. They have capsized small boats.

    And I guess that larger wild animal parks are a compromise over zoos, but even here you don’t really reproduce the range of an animal’s natural habitat. Locally, I don’t like the LA Zoo. The San Diego zoo and animal park seems nicer.

  45. 45.

    Brachiator

    @James E Powell:

    So, anyway, I was just thinking, the leading lights of the Democratic Party seem a little – with respect – older. I was wondering, who are the next Democrats who will go national?

    Also, is the near monopoly that the Republicans have over House districts impeding the rise of a new generation of Democrats?

  47. 47.

    Troublesome Carp fka Geeno

    To all the peeps that are anti-zoo, the great and wonderful people of our country (and others) don’t care about things they can’t see. Without zoos – even shitty ones – people stop caring about these animals -> fewer dollars are spent for conservation of these animals -> these animals cease to exist.
    That’s the sad truth. Some of these animals must suffer to fund conservation efforts for the rest.

  48. 48.

    Troublesome Carp fka Geeno

    @James E Powell: Ooh – Kirsten Gilibrand, I’d be all over her!
    Umm, in a completely wholesome way, of course.
    (I’m totally crushing on her, in a political way)

  49. 49.

    FlipYrWhig

    @Betty Cracker: Mark Warner used to come up now and again but he seems like a flashback to a different moment now: pro-business, efficiency, etc. The next white Democrat from the South with national potential will probably be from VA or NC.

  50. 50.

    ThresherK (GPad)

    @Betty Cracker: As a dedicated W hoops fan I know them all. There are Stags, Bulls, Knights, Friars, Gamecocks, Rams, and others aplenty. Plus Wolverines, Trojans, and Cowboys.

    A few exceptions are Ladies of Troy USC, Delaware Blue Hens, Saint Peters Peahens, and Ok la St Cowgirls.

  51. 51.

    FlipYrWhig

    @Brachiator: Maybe it’s more of a problem that the state level has also been logjammed. Attorneys general and so forth haven’t been able to make the leap to governorships. I’m thinking of people like Jack Conway in KY.

  52. 52.

    PurpleGirl

    @Ben: There are no more Reagan Democrats. They’re Republicans now, they’ve been Republicans for 30-odd years now. I don’t think they ever vote for down-ticket Democrats or else we’d have a more Democratic Congress or state legislatures. But using that name means the Villagers can pile on the Democrats and demonize us. Do you any “Reagan Democrats”?

  53. 53.

    Brachiator

    @FlipYrWhig:

    The next white Democrat from the South with national potential will probably be from VA or NC.

    Why limit it to “white Democrat” with national potential?

    Maybe it’s more of a problem that the state level has also been logjammed. Attorneys general and so forth haven’t been able to make the leap to governorships.

    Interesting . In California, we also have term limits, which leads to all kinds of odd jumping of chairs for Democrats, and a few Republicans. But we’ve got Democrats vying for the Senate, and it looks solid that Gavin Newsom will run for governor (even though he is slightly damaged goods).

  54. 54.

    I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet

    @James E Powell: Wendy Davis in Texas is worth keeping an eye on, IMHO. On the XY side, Virginia AG Mark Herring has a good head on his shoulders and deserves to have a bigger national profile.

    I’m sure there are a lot of other great people working in the trenches who would be great on the national stage too.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  56. 56.

    Tom Q

    @FlipYrWhig: I think Tim Kaine is much more likely a prospect — he’s less DLC than Warner, has headed party committees.

    In fact, I know everyone thinks Julian Castro is going to be Hillary’s VP choice, but I wonder if she thinks putting a woman at the head of the ticket is already pushing the envelope for some voters, that a no-white-guys slate might be a bridge too far for 2016. And if she’s looking for a prominent white-guy, Kaine might be a decent choice — even though it would cost the party a Senate seat were he and Hillary to win, Terry McAuliffe would choose the replacement (a situation that doesn’t apply in most states).

  57. 57.

    FlipYrWhig

    @Brachiator: I was limiting to white because I was thinking about where the Bill Clintons and Al Gores had gone: candidates who could get white votes in the South and then add in the Obama coalition everywhere else. I’m not sure a southern black candidate would have a comparable roadmap to victory. YMMV.

  58. 58.

    FlipYrWhig

    @Tom Q: Kaine is a social-justice Catholic as well, IIRC, which might be handy. And I think he speaks Spanish.

  60. 60.

    Felanius Kootea

    @Skepticat: Fascinating read. So Trump is just a symptom of the larger issue: the political rise of authoritarians in the US. I wonder what that looks like on the Drmocratic side (mild or moderate authoritarianism). Can this be fixed? My authoritarian move would be to ban outlets like Fox News but I’m sure it’s too late now. The crazy is in the loose.

  61. 61.

    Betty Cracker

    @FlipYrWhig: Even Peggy Noonan likes Kaine! Honest to dog, I read a column once where she said she couldn’t help but like him because he has “such an American haircut!”

  63. 63.

    Brachiator

    @FlipYrWhig:

    I was limiting to white because I was thinking about where the Bill Clintons and Al Gores had gone: candidates who could get white votes in the South and then add in the Obama coalition everywhere else. I’m not sure a southern black candidate would have a comparable roadmap to victory.

    In the South. With large black populations, sometimes the plurality of Democrats. With increasing Latino populations. And the example of Obama on the national stage appealing to all voters.

    Hell, you even have the example of Bobby Jindal and Nikki Hayley among the Republicans. I don’t see why there could not be Democratic version of these politician.

    Maybe it’s time to rethink the idea of mainly white politicians primarily leading Southern Democrats.

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