Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

The revolution will be supervised.

T R E 4 5 O N

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires republicans to act in good faith.

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

Presidents are not kings, and Plaintiff is not President.

It may be funny to you motherfucker, but it’s not funny to me.

Battle won, war still ongoing.

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

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

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

Give the craziest people you know everything they want and hope they don’t ask for more? Great plan.

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

Optimism opens the door to great things.

A Senator Walker would be an insult to the state and the nation.

Just because you believe it, that doesn’t make it true.

fuckem (in honor of the late great efgoldman)

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

The GOP couldn’t organize an orgy in a whorehouse with a fist full of 50s.

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

You cannot shame the shameless.

An almost top 10,000 blog!

Second rate reporter says what?

Meanwhile over at truth Social, the former president is busy confessing to crimes.

Prediction: the GOP will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.

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Reader Interactions

154Comments

  1. 1.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Oh no, Alain. I am so terribly sorry. Sending you comforting thoughts and white light to your beautiful mother. {{{{{hugs to you}}}}}

  7. 7.

    CarolDuhart2

    Condolences. I don’t have words that are good enough. May we, and friends and relatives, surround you with love and comfort.

  9. 9.

    DCrefugee

    Alain, please know of my deepest condolences…

    It’s said that we never really become adults until our parents are gone. I for one could do without that distinction…

  12. 12.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    So sorry for your loss. Please take comfort in what you can.

  17. 17.

    Comrade Nimrod Humperdink

    I’m sorry for your loss Alain. Take care of yourself and yours right now.

  19. 19.

    Alain the site fixer

    Thanks everyone. She was my idol and hero, my everything. She was supposed to come home from hospital yesterday but didn’t make it through the night. I was up late getting her hospital bed, etc. ready and Slept through the notification call. So 24hours ago, I was groggily doing final prep for her return home and the phone rang, never good. She was worn out and miserable. Cancer is shit. Must begin the first day without her. I’ll be around and will restart this feature when I can, but for now I can barely breathe.

  25. 25.

    Immanentize

    I’m so sorry, Alain. I will always remember your mother in that fabulous picture of her with the mountain(s) in the background. Young, stylin, and happy.

  28. 28.

    Sam Dobermann

    Hold on to the good memories especially when the nights of sorrow are long. Know that so many care about you and wish you well.

  30. 30.

    Mary G

    Fuck cancer. She was a beautiful woman and I know you’re heartbroken. That picture of her with the newborn Alain shines with love. Take care of yourself as best you can.

  31. 31.

    pat

    So sorry for your loss. It’s never easy to lose someone, even after a long battle with a terrible disease.

  32. 32.

    debbie

    I’m so, so sorry to see this. Take care of yourself and take whatever time you feel you need.

  33. 33.

    Elizabelle

    Alain, I am so sorry. She is beyond pain now; you will miss her terribly, and she would have loved to spend more time with you, but she is past being sick.

    Too soon gone. We are here for you. My best to you, your wife, and your family. You’re in our hearts.

  39. 39.

    TS

    A mother’s love is unconditional – and forever – that you both cared for each other is a precious memory. So very sorry for your loss.

  40. 40.

    Betty Cracker

    Oh, sweetie, I’m so sorry. It was clear from what you shared with us here that you and your mom loved each other very much. She knew you loved her and that you were looking out for her, and trust me, there’s no greater comfort and gift for a mother than that.

    Give yourself plenty of time. I lost my mom to a bad heart valve three years ago, and at first, the pain of her loss seemed unbearable. I’d wake up in the middle of the night in a panic at the enormity of it. I measured the progress of my healing by how soon remembering the loss waylaid me with despair each morning when I woke up and at random points throughout the day.

    But eventually, I promise, it does get more bearable. You don’t ever “get over it” — how could you? But you learn to integrate the loss into your life and move forward, because there’s really no other choice. And when you do, you can remember her with joy and love instead of sadness.

    Wishing much strength and courage to you, my friend. My deepest condolences.

  42. 42.

    Anne Laurie

    I am so sorry, Alain. Take all the time you need, and remember that there are many, many people you’ll never meet in person who are thinking of you and of your mother.

  43. 43.

    ArchTeryx

    From someone who lost his father to a sudden heart attack, I truly feel for you, Alan. Things will get better…and for now, just know a lot of us are pulling for you from the peanut gallery. *hugs*

  46. 46.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    You have my deepest condolences, Alain. Both my wife and I lost our Moms to sudden deaths and the shock knocks you flat. Take care of your self and remember that she will live on in your memories.

  47. 47.

    JPL

    @Alain the site fixer: Please don’t worry about the site, just know that we all want you to take the time to heal. I’m so sorry, and I recognize the days ahead are going to be difficult for you. Hugs.

  51. 51.

    Nora

    I’m so sorry. It’s really hard to lose your mother, even after a long illness, even when you know at least she’s not suffering anymore. Take care of yourself.

  52. 52.

    Aleta

    Alain, I’m so sorry. A huge loss. I thought I was somewhat prepared, but it turned out, not for how an entire world left. After a long time the pain and disorientation slowly relocated. I Still try to assuage it by doing many small things in her memory.

  54. 54.

    JMG

    My deepest condolences. My parents both died in the last four years, each well over 90, with long full happy lives, and the pain’s there every time I stop to look at it. Memories of joy are the best defense.

  58. 58.

    Another Scott

    Sincere condolences to you, Alain. Remember all the wonderful times you had with her. Hang in there. We’ll be here when you are ready.

    Best wishes,
    Scott.

  59. 59.

    low-tech cyclist

    My wife lost her mom in September, so we know what you’re going through. Our thoughts go out to you, Alain.

  63. 63.

    Cermet

    I am so terribly sorry for your extreme loss; as everyone here – please accept my condolences as well.

  64. 64.

    sherparick

    Alain, I know everyone in this community has you in your thoughts and prayers. All we can offer is our consolations for the what is inconsolable. Lost my Mom seven years ago, lost my Dad 40 years ago, and not a a day goes by when I don’t miss them. Take care of yourself man.

  67. 67.

    JWR

    Alain,

    I’m so sorry. Having very recently lost one of my favorite uncles, (aw, heck, they’re all special to me), I hope my empathy reaches you, and gives you at least a little bit of comfort. Peace out. :-(

  68. 68.

    MomSense

    Oh, Alain I’m so sorry. Please accept my condolences and know that I am thinking of you. {{{{{{Alain}}}}}}

  70. 70.

    mattH

    I am so sorry. Please take care of yourself. Everyone who is telling you it becomes bearable. Take all the time you need.

  72. 72.

    Ohio Mom

    I am so, so sorry. I hope you find some comfort in knowing you did all you could to look out for her, to make her comfortable, and to let her know how much you loved and admired her. There is nothing you could have or should have done that you didn’t. You were a wonderful son, and that had to mean everything to her.

    I remember when my mom died, thirty years ago! When I realized that just about everyone has their mother wrested from them, it seemed like an awfully dirty trick life plays on us.

  77. 77.

    Tazj

    I’m so sorry for your loss. My condolences to you and your family. From your posts we all could tell how much you loved your mom.

  79. 79.

    debit

    Alain, I am so so sorry. Words seem so meaningless at times like these, but please know I’m thinking of you, your mom, and your family.

  81. 81.

    laura

    Please accept my condolences on the loss of your beautiful mother. Time will dull the sharp, rough points of loss enough to bear the living without her. The end of great suffering is as good a place for solace to take root.
    You, her beloved boy, was gift to the future. Your a good and gentle man because you were a loved and wanted child.
    Blessings of peace and grace.

  82. 82.

    satby

    Deepest condolences Alain. The bond between a mother and her child is deep and abiding, and the greatest gift a mother can have is a loving and devoted child. You gave each other that devotion, she felt your love. She’s out of pain now, and yours will get less sharp as time passes. It never goes away, but it becomes bearable. So sorry.

  83. 83.

    J R in WV

    Alain,

    So sorry. It’s so hard to type well when you can’t see your screen clearly. I lost my mom in 1997, and my dad in 2004 (on election day!) both to COPD. But they are both still with me, every day, and that’s the encouragement I can offer. Your mom raised you, and who you are is partly based upon her.

    Take care of your wife and yourself. Walk in the country and go to town to a favorite book store. Live life. Be well. Email me if you want to talk. Although there isn’t much to talk about really, the experience is kind of a black hole, an absence.

    I’m so sorry.

  85. 85.

    Barbara

    @Alain the site fixer: I am so sorry. I know you were close, and it came as a shock, even if she had been ill. Many condolences to you and your whole family. You can never spend too much time with people you love.

  93. 93.

    The Very Reverend Crimson Fire of Compassion

    Oh, honey. I’m so sorry for your loss. Holding you and yours in our thoughts and prayers.

  104. 104.

    Drunkenhausfrau

    From Christopher Walken: “Someday you will be faced with the reality of loss. And as life goes on, days rolling into nights, it will become clear that you never really stop missing someone special who’s gone, you just learn to live around the gaping hole of their absence. When you lose someone you can’t imagine living without, your heart breaks wide open, and the bad news is you never completely get over the loss. You will never forget them. However, in a backwards way, this is also the good news. They will live on in the warmth of your broken heart that doesn’t fully heal back up, and you will continue to grow and experience life, even with your wound. It’s like badly breaking an ankle that never heals perfectly, and that still hurts when you dance, but you dance anyway with a slight limp, and this limp just adds to the depth of your performance and the authenticity of your character. The people you lose remain a part of you. Remember them and always cherish the good moments spent with them.”

  105. 105.

    Wolvesvalley

    So very sorry, Alain. Part of the pain is the feeling that you have been cheated out of all the days you thought you were going to have with her. I hope you will find some comfort in remembering the wonderful days you had. Holding you in the light.

  106. 106.

    Gemina13

    I’m so sorry, Alain. Losing one’s mother is like losing your world; the bottom drops out of everything in your life. You will find yourself wondering if this really happened – if your mother is not still where she was, if she won’t come walking through the door one day like none of this happened. You will dream of her, see her, hear her everywhere you go. You are going to get impatient and angry at the people around you, and miss her with a pain that makes the worst thing you ever felt seem like a paper cut.

    But she will be with you always.

    A friend sent me a stanza from, “The Farewell,” by Kahlil Gibran after my mother died. I’d like to share it with you:

    Farewell to you and the youth I have spent with you.
    It was but yesterday we met in a dream.
    You have sung to me in my aloneness, and I of your longings have built a tower in the sky.
    But now our sleep has fled and our dream is over, and it is no longer dawn.
    The noontide is upon us and our half waking has turned to fuller day, and we must part.
    If in the twilight of memory we should meet once more, we shall speak again together and you shall sing to me a deeper song.
    And if our hands should meet in another dream, we shall build another tower in the sky.

  107. 107.

    CindyH

    So very very sorry – coming out of lurking just to express condolences – love the pictures you have shared of her.

  109. 109.

    Baquist

    Alain, deepest condolences and sympathy for your loss. Please take comfort in your memories of her.

  112. 112.

    Bg

    Alain, I know what paltry consolation words are. So sorry. Thank you for all the beauty you bring to us on these pages.

  113. 113.

    Genine

    Alain, I’m so sorry for your loss. My condolences to you and all of your loved ones and may your mother rest in peace.

  114. 114.

    StringOnAStick

    This is such a difficult thing to experience. You are a fine and caring son, and she knows that. Holding you both in the light.

  115. 115.

    beth

    alain, my deepest condolences for your loss. my mother died almost 13 years ago from brain cancer that was responding to treatment. three days before she died, i knew she was dying but there is no way to prepare for the moment it becomes reality instead of something that belongs far in the future.

    we all grieve and move forward in our own way. i hope you are wrapped in the love and comfort of your family, your friends, your community and the memories of the deep bond you and your mother shared as you journey through this new normal of yours.

  116. 116.

    trollhattan

    @Alain the site fixer:
    I am deeply saddened by the news about your mother. Please accept my condolences to you and your family, and hold her memory in your heart forever. Mothers are treasures.

  117. 117.

    Mnemosyne

    I’m so sorry, Alain. Please do NOT feel guilty for not being there. I have heard so many stories from people saying that their loved one only passed when they were out of the room that I’ve come to think that sometimes the dying person decides they need to spare us that final pain. It happened with both my father-in-law and my father, and afterwards it turned out to be quite common since I had at least a dozen people share their similar stories with me.

  118. 118.

    stinger

    Alain, I am so sorry to hear this. You are a good son, moving into her home to be her caregiver. I know that must have meant so much to her. I lost my own mother earlier this year, and my heart goes out to you. Peace to your mother’s final journey, and to you and all her family and friends.

  121. 121.

    Miss Bianca

    Oh, so sorry, Alain. My mother also died on November 2nd – All Souls Day, 1991. Best to you and deepest condolences.

  123. 123.

    dimmsdale

    HI Alain–

    Adding my condolences. I’m so sorry for what you’ve been through, and will still be going through. I remember my own version of that, when my mom died and afterward. I hope it helps that this long string of people is “with” you now (as I am too). Take care and my best wishes to you.

  126. 126.

    Origuy

    Condolences, Alain. Take time to grieve and expect sudden bursts of sadness at odd times for a long time to come. My mom died 15 years ago. My dad and sister still live in the house I grew up in; when I dream about being there, mom is still in the dream.

  127. 127.

    Stardus614

    I wish there was something I could say to make the pain less, but I know there isn’t. I just wanted to say that you have my deepest sympathies.

  129. 129.

    Ann Marie

    Alain, I’m so sorry. My condolences to you and your family. Try to get some rest. Grief is exhausting and you are already exhausted from all the loving care you gave your mother.

  130. 130.

    Damned at Random

    So sorry for your loss. Cancer is an awful burden. Your Mom’s pain is over now and yours will fade with time. Not that anything will help in the short term. Just tough it out and do the necessary and remember a lot of people care for you

  131. 131.

    mai naem mobile

    I am sorry Alain. I know it’s really really hard right now. It will slowly get better. I do think people try to pass when their loved ones aren’t around to make it easier for the loved one so please don’t feel guilty . Take care of yourself and try and remember the good memories you had with your mom.

  134. 134.

    spudgun

    Oh, Alain…so, so very sorry for your loss. You are such a good son and did all you could for your mother. I’m heartbroken for you.

    Please be good to yourself and know that we are here for you.

  135. 135.

    Elie

    My deepest condolences to you on this huge loss… I know how you feel, having been there when I lost my mother and best friend in 4/14. There is no replacing what she meant in my life and the love that I had and have for her. I feel so lucky, and so should you, to have had her love like that and to be able to love ANYONE like that. It is a huge gift.

    You are in my prayers and thoughts. No love is ever lost from the universe — like light it is always there and eternal.

  137. 137.

    LongHairedWeirdo

    My deepest sympathies and sincere condolences.

    I know you said you were destroyed – you’re not. But it’s going to hurt, maybe like nothing you’ve ever known. Emotions can take you everywhere, without your realizing it.

    Be gentle with yourself; forgive yourself if you find that you’ve let emotions trip you up in a way you don’t like.

    Don’t be afraid to talk to anyone who cares, even a *tiny* bit about you. When my mom died, I didn’t want to talk to anyone because I had this odd feeling like “why ruin *their* day too?” but any time I did that to a friend, I robbed myself of a chance to see that they cared, and robbed them of a chance to show they cared. I don’t feel bad about that (see the above, about forgiving yourself if emotions trip a person up), but I realized it would have been better all around if I’d been willing to talk more.

    Let yourself grieve how you need to, so long as you’re caring for yourself. And let other people care for you. People who love you are lost, and don’t know what to do and want to do *something*, and if you let them put together a casserole, or help clean house, or other errands, it gives them that something to do, and it reminds you that you have support, that you are loved, when most people most need to be reminded of that.

    Be well, take care; and let happiness return when it’s able – you’ll need what you can get.

  138. 138.

    amygdala

    My deepest condolences, Alain. I have found your stories about your Mom so touching. Thank you for sharing her with us. She raised a loving, generous, caring son. Please be as kind to yourself in the days and weeks to come as you have always been with all of us.

  143. 143.

    WaterGirl

    Alain, I’m so very sorry. You gave your mom the best gift you ever could have. Not just your love; you were in this fight with her, which had to have been a great comfort to her every single day.

    I was daddy’s girl, and my grief over the loss of my dad was breathtakingly painful. But it was so simple – love and loss – uncomplicated by regret. You left it all on the field with your mom, Alain. No regrets.

    edit: I stopped to look at the photo agin. Your mom was beautiful.

  146. 146.

    Travels with Charley

    I just wanted to add my deepest condolences. I don’t have any particular wisdom, but I find that the community here has a collective wisdom that is both healing and inspiring. Know that hundreds (if not more) are holding you and your Mother in our thoughts, treasuring you both.

  149. 149.

    Juliet

    I’m so sorry to hear about your mother. Please take all of the comfort you can from those around you. My mother passed away in October six years ago and when I walk at night I look at the stars and imagine her up there smiling away at us.

  150. 150.

    SWMBO

    Peace and comfort to you and your family.
    Also fuck cancer.
    I stole this off Facebook today and shared it with a friend who lost her 6 year old son to brain cancer 7 years ago.
    Copied this from another hurting heart! Could not say it better…..

    There isn’t a handbook on grief, parenting, etc. Maybe so we can’t compare ourselves to anyone else. Who grieves faster, harder, etc.? How long is long enough? Should it be longer for a spouse vs. a child? Everyone is different, no rules apply…. That may be the only rule.

    All of us are winging it and always will because there is no right or wrong. No one just stops grieving, that’s like saying you stopped missing them, thinking of them and so on. Those things hurt, but I’d rather that than forget.

    Friends ask for advice on how I cope. I’m so used to it, I don’t think about it, I just live with it. I kept living. That’s the key.

    A day at a time, some days an hour at a time.

    Sometimes it creeps up as sleeplessness, illness, poor concentration. Other days it’s a tidal wave and your heart, your world, your life, just bottom out. I now know it’s temporary… until the next time. There is always a next time and that’s okay. It means I haven’t forgotten or maybe they’re thinking of me.

    I choose to see the positive. At least they were here. They were mine on some level and at some point there were wonderful and unique connections with each of them. Life is a series of journeys, arrivals and departures. Some stay longer than others, that’s all. Some say the lucky ones get to move on sooner. Personally I think we are luckier for having those people create memories for us to hold onto. I think the only thing we have in common is that sooner or later, we are all leaving. Not gone, just moving on. We will all catch up at some point.

    My grief… Has taught me to love better, step back and watch moments happen, take snapsots with my heart and to be kinder and more compassionate. It reminds me a bad day isn’t a bad life.

    Because of it, I know I am more resilient than most. I can get through anything because I’ve already been through the worst. When someone gives me a hard time, I literally remind myself that I’ve been through worse than this; bring it.

    My grief tells me that if I can still hurt, I can still live and love and that is what they would want for me. It reminds me I am alive and helps me appreciate the happier moments. “They” would want me to take advantage of every moment that they don’t get to. I honor them by living and grieving. Can’t have one without the other. And…. When someone tells me it’s been long enough, I just smile and say, ‘There is no such thing.” And…. there isn’t.

  151. 151.

    Yarrow

    Deepest condolences, Alain. It’s such a difficult loss. Please be gentle with yourself. That photo of the two of you is beautiful and you can feel the love she has for you.

  153. 153.

    kattails

    Dear Alain, You will likely be surprised at how tired you are for longer than you would expect. Grief is exhausting.

    “When on a winter’s night you sit feasting and a single sparrow should fly swiftly into the hall, coming in at one door and instantly fly out through another; In that time in which it is indoors it is indeed not touched by the fury of the winter. But yet the smallest space of calmness being passed almost in a flash, from winter going into winter, it is lost to your eyes. Somewhat like that appears the life of man, but of what follows, or what went before, we are utterly ignorant.”
    The Venerable Bede, 673-735 AD
    I love the layers of meaning in this and it was read beautifully by Sinead Cusack in the BBC tv film Oliver’s Travels, with Alan Bates. Any transcription quirks are mine. (this snippet can be found on youtube Oliver’s travels words of the Bede)

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