Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

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

Books are my comfort food!

It’s not hopeless, and we’re not helpless.

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

đŸŽ¶ Those boots were made for mockin’ đŸŽ”

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

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

… pundit janitors mopping up after the gop

Jesus, Mary, & Joseph how is that election even close?

Hi god, it’s us. Thanks a heap, you’re having a great week and it’s only Thursday!

The republican caucus is covering themselves with something, and it’s not glory.

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

Beware of advice from anyone for whom Democrats are “they” and not “we.”

Speaking of republicans, is there a way for a political party to declare intellectual bankruptcy?

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

This blog will pay for itself.

Republicans are the party of chaos and catastrophe.

Giving up is unforgivable.

She burned that motherfucker down, and I am so here for it. Thank you, Caroline Kennedy.

Good lord, these people are nuts.

Since we are repeating ourselves, let me just say fuck that.

We will not go quietly into the night; we will not vanish without a fight.

These days, even the boring Republicans are nuts.

The media handbook says “controversial” is the most negative description that can be used for a Republican.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Mid-Saturday Afternoon Open Thread

Mid-Saturday Afternoon Open Thread

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p1060213-copy

It’s actually lunch time here and I’m taking a break from gardening to grab a bite to eat. My roses are still doing their best to decorate my yard. Which is a good thing because I needed to take photos of colors for the spring, when I’m planning on relocating most to the front yard, away from big Dane feet.

p1060201-copy

Which brings me to my question. Anyone have recommendations for gloves that can stand up to thorns? I have raspberries and roses to relocate. So far my wounds are many. Although, it’s difficult today to tell which ones are from Great Dane puppy and which ones are from the attack of the killer flowers.

Off to make a taco salad.

Open thread.

Reader Interactions

104Comments

  1. 1.

    japa21

    Still having new blooms on our roses NW of Chicago. Normally by now they are all pretty much heading into dormancy.

  2. 2.

    Ruckus

    I have some rather thick leather welding gloves that have gauntlets of about 5 inches. Not positive but I think a rose thorn would have a pretty difficult time of penetrating them. Welding spatters don’t. Of course the dexterity is a bit lacking and they aren’t very stylish.

  3. 3.

    Keith P.

    Off to make a taco salad.

    Make sure to tweet a pic of you eating it with a thumbs-up so we know you like (the) Hispanics.

  8. 8.

    hovercraft

    @RK:
    Whoever thought it was a good idea to stage an attempt at a second Gettysburg Address, obviously had never seen or heard Trump speak before. I mean what the hell?

  10. 10.

    BBA

    Just to be clear:

    AT&T is buying Time Warner. Confusingly, of the many companies in the megaconglomerate that is Time Warner, none are actually called Time Warner. The one that was, Time Warner Cable, was sold off years ago and is now owned by Charter/Spectrum.

    Warner Bros, HBO, CNN, DC Comics, etc., are all being bought by AT&T. The cable company isn’t. (Oddly enough, neither is Time magazine, which is also independent now.)

  15. 15.

    Gelfling 545

    I’ve done fine with anything advertised as “rose gloves”‘ usually leather hand coverage with a long leather or fabric gauntlet effect. I have one pair from Target and another from a local plant nursery. They are also useful for handling fractious cats. My sister has been known to use her husband’s motorcycle gloves – for both roses and cats.

  18. 18.

    ChiGail

    Bionic Gardening gloves. They make extra long ones for rose gardeners. I have the shorter model for trying to extirpate scouring rush from my prairie remnant and these have held up thru three summers. Unfortunately, so has the scouring rush. Anyone have non-chemical suggestions?

  19. 19.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @SiubhanDuinne: @Mnemosyne: Don Giovanni… Brian Beutler used what he called “the Commendatore scene” (sp? I’m only vaguely familiar with it) to compare Obama and the Trump supporting Republicans the other day on twitter. SPOILER ALERT! ! ! Obama gave them a chance to repent, they refused, and saw those terrifying visions of hell. I’m not an opera guy, but the video clip he linked to was pretty impressive.

  20. 20.

    germy

    Preliminary analysis has found that a white substance that prompted the evacuation of Hillary Clinton’s campaign headquarters in Brooklyn, New York, was not harmful, police said on Saturday.

    The substance arrived through the mail at Clinton’s campaign office in Manhattan, and was transported to the headquarters in Brooklyn Heights, police said.

    they can’t even wait until after the election.

  21. 21.

    Jeffro

    I am just chilling here at home recuperating nicely from that SLAP-tear surgery yesterday… Knock on wood if everything continues at this pace I’ll actually be back at work on Monday!

    And hey if I can make a GOTV phone calls with one arm in a sling, then come on y’all – let’s really run up the score this time!

  22. 22.

    raven

    @Jeffro: I spent a good deal of time on the SLAP Tear website when I was deciding about my labrum tear. I opted out but I hope you have good results.

  23. 23.

    Mnemosyne

    We had a local spotting of a Black Lives Matter protest — apparently a group showed up at Pasadena Public Library during Art Night last night. They were disappointed that the library let them do their protest without interference, milled around for a bit, and then went home. I’m really not sure what kind of opposition to their message they were expecting from the mixed-race, mixed-age crowd, but everyone listened politely and then moved on with the evening.

    (The case they’re protesting is a recent one where a mentally ill man died after being Tased by Pasadena PD. We really need to get some good studies done about Tasers, because that “non-lethal” weapon seems to kill people pretty goddamned often.)

  28. 28.

    SWMBO

    My public service announcement for the day: Early voting in Florida starts Monday. Betty Cracker and Adam Silverman and Mustang Bobby and the rest. GO VOTE!

    I’m voting after I drop W off at school.

  29. 29.

    wonkie

    YOu don;t need protection just for your hands. I was pru ing roses and got smacked in the face. The thorn pierced my eye. I had, over the next ten years a series of surgeries including a cornea transplant and a retinoplasty. I am legally blind in that eye ahd have to put steriod drops in it daily to keep my transplant from falling off.

    So my suggestions is wear a welding mask.

  31. 31.

    Botsplainer

    Reposted from dead thread:

    Last morning in Beijing – it is almost 3 am, we leave at about 6:30 am.

    It’s been an amazing experience, despite the fact that our guide conned me into eating ox pen!s this past afternoon (I actually liked it). She got me to try cow stomach, grilled tendon (also good) and hot pot chicken heart, among other things. I did skip donkey, turtle, intestines, kidney and liver, to the guide’s great amusement.

    Based on my observations, I really like Beijing, and despise white xenophobes within our own society. From what I could see from the extremely large number of Chinese families and sightseeing groups at the summer palace, Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City, these are proud, happy, funny and prosperous people who really don’t seem to notice westerners as something unique, nor do they appear to give a second glance to the mixed couples I observed. Couples are publicly affectionate across all age groups, women across all age groups are stylish, and the men make an effort to dress nicely as well. A funny part is that women in their 40s and 50s are REALLY into amusing selfies.

    The soldiers marching in the square AREN’T authoritarian automatons – they have a spring in their step, are lively and happy with their peers and the citizenry, and are prone to a lot of whimsical activity, including whistling tunes.

    Even when we went deeply into the countryside, we weren’t stared at or treated any differently from what I saw at a rural gas station.

    Most road signage appears bilingual, using Chinese symbols and American Standard English. A lot of business uses this dual signage as well. I saw a shitload of Fords, Buicks, Cadillacs, Lexuses, Kias, Audis (they like the A6, a lot), VWs, BMWs and Mercedes Benzes, and the highways are first rate, and numbered and lettered with English characters, using similar sign stock to US interstates.

    There are 24,000,000 people in this city, and improbable and clunky as it may be, it works. Our xenophobes and Donald Trump can kiss my fucking ass on JYNA. Our dumbass fundamental case Christards can stand down and shut the fuck up about imposing their filthy bullshit faith on these people, who have it together in so many more ways than any bleating Christian could imagine.

    I’m blown away by this place.

  32. 32.

    Ceci n'est pas mon nym

    Just came back from a wedding of a 99-year-old to an 88-year-old lady. Feeling very nice and mellow and fond of humanity at this moment.

  33. 33.

    Russ

    Going to be humorous over the next 2 weeks, as the inevitable outcome of the election reaches more voters, is the ability of the cable channels ginning up new scandals and controversy to keeps the eyeballs looking their way.

  34. 34.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    I wonder if this is based on them fancy “internal polls’ we always hear so much about

    John Harwood ‏@ JohnJHarwood 5h5 hours ago
    senior GOP Senate strategist: “Trump now tied in Indiana. down 11 in PA and 14 in NH. going down hard”

    I think those last two margins, if they’re even close, would be very, very bad news for Mitch McConnell.

  43. 43.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @amk: Even though Obama won CO twice, and everything I read about it’s population growth indicates more and more Dem friendly voters (granolas and college educated professionals), I’m surprised how strong those polls have been for HRC. The mirror image of Ohio, I suppose

  45. 45.

    WaterGirl

    @wonkie: Holy cow, I am beyond sorry to hear that. I don’t do roses because they are too fussy for me, but I had no idea that they could be so dangerous.

  54. 54.

    amk

    LOLGOP ‏@LOLGOP 3h3 hours ago

    Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address was 272 words. Trump spent almost that long calling assault victims liars.

    0 replies 296 retweets 490 likes

  56. 56.

    gwangung

    @Mnemosyne: Police are poorly trained on tasers, and what little training they get is forgotten. The emphasis is on compliance, as is almost any other facet of police training, and they’re not really concerned if what they do will kill the person they’re coercing.

  59. 59.

    Gindy51

    @WaterGirl: The locust variety of trees, wild form black and honey, not city trees, are very dangerous. The thorns have backward facing microscopic barbs and the tips stay in your skin after you pull yourself off them. Our district forester says cut anything with thorns, but we keep a few black locusts in the deep forest for the flowers for bees (smell divine)

  60. 60.

    NW Phil

    @SWMBO: My ballot is sitting in front of me (Washington state is vote by mail), they were mailed out Wednesday.
    October 31 is the last day for in-person registration for the this election in Washington.

  61. 61.

    amk

    ATLANTA ― For Republicans nervous about an electoral catastrophe next month, Lesley Jones could be a harbinger of doom.

    She’s 41 years old, has a University of Georgia bachelor’s degree, and considers herself a solid Republican. Yet she walked into the Chastain Recreation Center gym in the upscale Buckhead neighborhood this week and cast her presidential ballot for Democrat Hillary Clinton rather than Republican Donald Trump.

    “There’s been nothing. He’s presented me with nothing. And what he has presented me has been so offensive,” Jones said, adding that she actually considered supporting Trump back when he first secured the nomination. But she said the more she heard from him, the more disgusted she became. His recorded boast of being able to sexually assault women because of his celebrity was the last straw. “I’m embarrassed to be a Republican and have this nominee.”

  63. 63.

    Roger Moore

    @Origuy:

    Steel mesh gloves?

    I wonder about some of the high-tech cut-proof polymers, like kevlar or spectra. Of course there’s still the question about whether cut-proof would also be usefully puncture proof.

  66. 66.

    Eric U.

    I’m happy to say that on my bike ride downtown to get coffee, all the usual republican suspects have a conspicuous lack of Trump signs. I’ve heard the frats all have trump signs though, that’s a little disappointing. I went through the frat section of town, but the game is tonight so they are having their parties now and I was too busy dodging drunk kids to look for signs. Got real close to hitting one woman that was talking to a guy one instant and running full speed towards me the next. I have to check with my kids to make sure I taught them to look both ways before running into the street.

  68. 68.

    Chyron HR

    @amk:

    For Republicans nervous about an electoral catastrophe next month, Lesley Jones could be a harbinger of doom.

    Are people STILL bitching about the new Ghostbusters? Jeez.

  70. 70.

    Gvg

    For roses, prune them back quite a bit and if you are going to transplant, see if you can wrap the bush in a thick rug. Tie it up so the canes with their thorns can’t flop around and snag you.

  72. 72.

    Ruckus

    @Botsplainer:
    My ex’s entire family went to China as Dad was dying and wanted to be buried in the mother country. This was nearly 30 yrs ago. After 2 weeks of seeing relatives in the cities and the countryside they were packing to leave. Dad was packing and was asked by his kids why, they thought he was staying. He’d spent 40 yrs in the US working in a hand laundry and raised 4 kids, provided all of them with college degrees and 3 of them were professional folks. He said “Fuck this place, 40 yrs and nothing has changed. I want to go home.” We buried him a yr later. According to all I’ve seen and heard, life in China has changed dramatically in the last 30 yrs but it really wasn’t all that great then.

  74. 74.

    Ruckus

    @Percysowner:
    I was surprised the other day by a long time friend who came right out and stated that tRump is a massive asshole. I didn’t think he’d vote for tRump but didn’t expect anything like the level of hate that he had. Old white guy with no degree. Blue collar for all his life. You are right no goup is monolithic, there are women who say they are voting for tRump. Go figure, it takes all kinds.

  77. 77.

    James E Powell

    Dropped back in on MSNBC – none of the college games are very good – and they are still talking about the election as if there is some question as to who will win.

  78. 78.

    JR in WV

    @Gindy51:

    As a child in the early 1950s I was running hard barefoot and hit a branch from a Locust tree. That night when my dad got home from work, I recall him digging in my foot with tweezers, etc. The next day I was at the doctors, who did more of same. A while later, I was picking bits of tree off the top of my foot.

    Not a big barefoot person to this day 60 years later. Sandals, work boots, anything is better than another thorn.

  79. 79.

    BBA

    @efgoldman: Here in New York, it would take a state constitutional amendment to change our voting system from the current one – registration deadline weeks in advance, no early voting, absentee ballots only for actual absentees. And to amend the constitution you need two consecutive legislatures to pass the law, and then it has to pass a statewide referendum. Only things with extremely broad support among politicians (like legalized gambling) ever get through that process.

  80. 80.

    Ruckus

    @Roger Moore:
    I also use Kevlar mesh gloves for welding very thin materials as you don’t need as much heat, so less heat protection needed. The reason is dexterity is even more important for the thin material stuff. The cut and heat protection is OK for that use but the small sharp jabbing protection is almost nothing. I got burned once when I turned for a noise and hit myself through the mesh with the sharp electrode, which was of course still rather hot after welding 2 pieces of metal together. Less heat but still enough to melt metal. I wouldn’t even suggest them for thorn work.

  82. 82.

    The Golux

    @Eric Swenson:

    Go with welding gloves.

    That’s what I use; left behind from our kids’ gearhead days. We have about fifty Knockout roses whose thorns can be an inch long, and the welding gloves work great. I usually only need to wear one; the other hand holds the Felcos.

  84. 84.

    Ruckus

    @Ben Cisco (onboard the Defiant):
    No two back are exactly the same but I have a ruptured disk (2009) and while the pain was pretty bad at first, mostly now it’s just bothersome occasionally. Time wounds all heels, or something like that. Sleeping on a very flat firm surface helped more than anything else. I can still have a bad day if I lean forward for too long, which occasionally happens at work. But it can get better, a lot better but it takes time. Good luck with the back and with your dad.

  86. 86.

    Roger Moore

    @Mnemosyne:

    The case they’re protesting is a recent one where a mentally ill man died after being Tased by Pasadena PD. We really need to get some good studies done about Tasers, because that “non-lethal” weapon seems to kill people pretty goddamned often.

    It seems clear enough that the police simply aren’t well set up to deal with people who are having mental health crises. We need better police training on how to deal with people who are severely mentally ill and/or non-police crisis teams set up to help them. Too often, the police who are called in to help wind up hurting instead.

    I think this is actually part of a broader problem. The police are one of the few parts of government conservatives have been unwilling to gut. Since problems don’t go away when conservatives destroy the parts of government dedicated to solving them, the few remaining parts (police, schools, fire departments) wind up dealing with ones that look kinda sorta like their filed of expertise. So homeless and mentally ill people look like criminals to conservatives, so the police wind up dealing with them. Poverty is often worst for children, so our schools wind up doubling as dispensers of childhood anti-poverty programs.

  87. 87.

    Ruckus

    @WaterGirl:
    Better than some situations that offer two solutions, both have rather major drawbacks and the outcome is always in question at the end of the day anyway. Back surgery is risky and doesn’t always have a positive effect. They offered me surgery or radiation for my cancer and in the long run I’ve met guys that got the surgery and are still doing radiation anyway. Not exactly a clear cut choice in the beginning but we’ll see which is more realistic in the end.

  88. 88.

    CaseyL

    Got my mail-in ballot yesterday, filled it out and dropped it in the ballot box today. I’m fairly confident Washington will stay blue for the Presidency; somewhat less certain about the Senate (Patty Murray is a terrific Senator, but Eastern Washington is very red); and don’t expect any changes in the House delegation.

    The real suspense here is what happens to the State legislature, where narrow Republican majorities have gotten very little done over the last 2 years. They’ve continually refused to abide by a state Supreme Court decision that public education has to be fully funded, to the point that they’ve been found in contempt and the state may have to look at selling some public resources. (Meanwhile, Microsoft gets a $145 million tax cut.)

    Also: the weather here today is unbelievably gorgeous. I had a lovely walk in a park/greenbelt/forest not too far from here. I love hiking, but lately have no appetite for the 90 minute-to-2 hour-each way drives necessary to get to the big state and federal parks.

  89. 89.

    Mnemosyne

    @gwangung:

    It’s a tough case, because the guy was having a violent meltdown and threatening to attack total strangers when the police were called. Police really need to be better trained in how to intervene with the mentally ill, especially in major metro areas like ours.

    Not to mention that we need far, far better options for the mentally ill than letting them sleep on the streets until they become violent enough for the police to arrest them.

  90. 90.

    D58826

    OT BUT goes well with the nice flowers. Last Gallop poll of presidential popularity for incumbent:
    1. ike – 59% favorable
    2.Obama – 57%
    3. Bill – 57%
    4. Reagan – 51%
    5. W – 25%

  91. 91.

    Jay S

    @wonkie: I try and wear safety glasses when dealing with blackberry bushes or roses as well as working in brush or limbs that can snap back. I’ve had a few close calls.
    I have had good luck with both fireplace gloves and Harbor Freight welding gloves for thorns.

  93. 93.

    WaterGirl

    @Ruckus: Maybe that’s what hell is? Having to choose between two things, neither of which is what you want, with no guaranteed outcome and no crystal ball.

    From here, it looks like you hare handling your situation with a lot of grace. You are a special guy and I am hoping for a really good outcome for you. You’ve had some big blows in the past few years, and some good things, too, but it’s long past time for something really big to go your way!

  99. 99.

    JR in WV

    WVU so far tearing TCU up. Looking good so far. Tix for the Symphony at 7:30, so watching the clock.

    Yay!! Touchdown, 31-10 I think now, if it stands.

  101. 101.

    James E Powell

    @raven:

    On your advice I tuned back in. A&M with a 1 point lead forces a three & out, but oh wait, roughing the passer. Stupid & unnecessary penalty. Since then A&M has been playing like the drugs either wore off or finally took hold.

  102. 102.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Mnemosyne:

    Yes, you’re seeing the encore presentation Wednesday night and it will be the identical performance to the one I saw this afternoon.

    The singing is universally fine and in a couple of cases, really spectacular. Traditional production, no high-tech FX such as you’d get in a Robert LePage-directed staging. Even Don G’s demise, though spectacular and satisfying, is pretty old-school pyrotechnics.

    I was glad to see Simon Keenlyside (title role) return to the Met. He was laid low for a few years with, I believe, complications from thyroid surgery, but you’d never have known it today. He sounded wonderful.

    Although it has lots of great music, this isn’t really among my favourite Mozart operas, but it is well worth the price of the ticket (too bad you don’t live in Atlanta — I could have given you a pair of comps). One note of advice: do make sure you are comfortable (IYKWIMAITYD) before the opera starts — the first act is loooooooooooong!!

    I’ll look forward to your review! Enjoy :-)

  103. 103.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Ha! Interesting! (And yes, spoiler alert here as well.)

    I found myself throughout the afternoon thinking how many lines, arias, gestures, and actions in the opera parallel what we’ve heard about Trump, and what he’s said about himself for that matter. And it literally wasn’t until a few minutes ago that I learned that yet another woman (is this No. 11?) has come forward with allegations of nonconsensual behavior. Shades of Leporello’s “Catalogue Aria” in which he lists the numbers and geography of the Don’s conquests to the betrayed and abandoned Donna Elvira.

    In the opera, the first scene — a masked Don G groping and attacking a horrified and panicked Donna Anna — made me very uncomfortable, as I imagine it did most of the women in the audience.

    As for the “Commendatore Scene,” it is the penultimate scene I referred to in my comment to Mnem above. Spoiler, the ghost (or animated stone sculpture) of the Commendatore, Donna Anna’s murdered father, offers Don G a chance to repent. When the Don refuses, the Commendatore consigns him to Hell. It’s a good scene; you can almost smell the brimstone and sulphur :-)

    Someone should write an opera called “Don Trumpianni.”

  104. 104.

    tt crews

    WomansWork has different types of gardening gloves made especially for women. I’ve worn their regular garden gloves for years. I like the ones for digging in the “dirt” with your fingers! Even if you don’t buy the rose gloves (they are pricey) check out their other products. http://www.womanswork.com

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