Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

This blog will pay for itself.

Baby steps, because the Republican Party is full of angry babies.

Let the trolls come, and then ignore them. that’s the worst thing you can do to a troll.

Everyone is in a bubble, but some bubbles model reality far better than others!

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

Republicans don’t trust women.

rich, arrogant assholes who equate luck with genius

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

In my day, never was longer.

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

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

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

Speaker Mike Johnson is a vile traitor to the House and the Constitution.

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

Jack be nimble, jack be quick, hurry up and indict this prick.

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

“Loving your country does not mean lying about it’s history.”

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

Their freedom requires your slavery.

Chutkan laughs. Lauro sits back down.

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

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

The gop is a fucking disgrace.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Thanksgiving Blessings Open Thread: Family. Food. Flips…

Thanksgiving Blessings Open Thread: Family. Food. Flips…

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… Mr. Flynn’s lawyers had been sharing information with Mr. Trump’s lawyers about the investigation by the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, who is examining whether anyone around Mr. Trump was involved in Russian efforts to undermine Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.

That agreement has been terminated, the four people said. Defense lawyers frequently share information during investigations, but they must stop when doing so would pose a conflict of interest. It is unethical for lawyers to work together when one client is cooperating with prosecutors and another is still under investigation.

The notification alone does not prove that Mr. Flynn is cooperating with Mr. Mueller. Some lawyers withdraw from information-sharing arrangements as soon as they begin negotiating with prosecutors. And such negotiations sometimes fall apart.

Still, the notification led Mr. Trump’s lawyers to believe that Mr. Flynn — who, along with his son, is seen as having significant criminal exposure — has, at the least, begun discussions with Mr. Mueller about cooperating.

Lawyers for Mr. Flynn and Mr. Trump declined to comment…

Reader Interactions

153Comments

  1. 1.

    Trentrunner

    I’m thankful that Trump’s (and his horrible kids’) Thanksgivings were collectively ruined by the Flynn NYTimes story.

  2. 2.

    lollipopguild

    Do we get to see Paul Ryan washing dishes that were already clean? Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

  3. 3.

    sukabi

    @Trentrunner: me too, but the massive ‘füçk you’ (regressive, punitive executive orders or appointments) that Drumpf will likely issue in the days to come will ruin many more lives…

  4. 4.

    GregB

    One can imagine Mueller sitting Flynn down and showing some clips and tweets from Trump indicating how mendacious, craven and self centered he is.

    Then saying: You really believe this man will stand behind you?

  5. 5.

    debbie

    @Trentrunner:

    He’s already very busy distracting:

    ObamaCare premiums are going up, up, up, just as I have been predicting for two years. ObamaCare is OWNED by the Democrats, and it is a disaster. But do not worry. Even though the Dems want to Obstruct, we will Repeal & Replace right after Tax Cuts!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 23, 2017

  6. 6.

    HeleninEire

    Just loaded up “The Big Short” Been ignoring it for 5 years. Gonna make me cry. I’m an accountant. I know this shit, but I didn’t know that.

    Bye. See ya in 2 hours.

  13. 13.

    Cermet

    The walls are closing in on the ornage fart’s cloud’s family – Flynn knows that by flipping he can save his son but not himself; however, I known he will not go down alone. That is a happy thanksgiving after all.

  15. 15.

    BBA

    @Bruuuuce: Here we see my other problem with punching Nazis: not only does practicing politics through street violence undermine democratic norms, it also leaves the Nazis alive.

  17. 17.

    LosGatosCA

    @lollipopguild:

    The fake turkey that Bush II served on plates that Ryan didn’t need to clean.

    Swallowed whole by the family values voters who support sexual predators and pedophiles.

    That’s how everyone knows Republicans are the authentic people.

  18. 18.

    rikyrah

    The Caucasian’s Guide to Thanksgiving, Part 2: The Menu
    Michael Harriot
    Yesterday 10:08am

    Welcome back, white people! (I bet you’ve never heard anyone say that before.) After learning about the guest list for Black Thanksgiving, you might be wondering why Black Thanksgiving is so different from wypipo Thanksgiving.

    ………….

    Macaroni

    Macaroni is the Beyoncé of the Thanksgiving dishes; it’s the headliner. I know that some white people build their Thanksgiving dinners around mashed potatoes, which is the second-whitest thing I’ve ever heard (Louis C.K.’s polite request is currently atop the charts). Mashed potatoes require no skill at all. The entire recipe is literally in the name. You just mash potatoes. That’s it.

    Conversely, macaroni is a big fucking deal. The person who makes the macaroni at Black Thanksgiving requires a majority vote by the aunts, two-thirds of the uncles and still must go through a cousin confirmation hearing. In fact, my aunt Phyllis, our family’s designated maker of dressing and macaroni, suffers from Lou Gehrig’s disease, and we have already selected our cousin Tasha to serve as an apprentice under her tutelage as Aunt Phyllis’ immediate successor.

    At some blended Black Thanksgivings, there may be more than one macaroni-maker. In these cases, you will often hear family members inquire as to who made the macaroni. The easiest way to identify a superior crafter of macaroni and cheese (see what I did there) is to listen when people ask the question because there is no tact or subtlety in macaroni-related areas at Black Thanksgiving. People will ask loudly: “Which one of these macaronis is Aunt Phyllis’?”

    http://www.theroot.com/the-caucasians-guide-to-thanksgiving-part-2-the-menu-1820676919

  21. 21.

    Bruuuuce

    @debbie: I doubt it. Isn’t that more or less right-wing SOP?

    @BBA: Personally, I’d call the ban a good start, and an example to follow. But first we need to replace the Toddler-in-Chief and the rest of his crime family, and put adults back in charge.

  25. 25.

    Villago Delenda Est

    I hope everyone is enjoying a happy Thanksgiving with family and friends and very few discussions of politics; I survived dinner with my conspiracy loving sister who was chatting away about some Kennedy Assassination conspiracy conclave that was on the radio last night. I tried to keep it down to “Jerome Corsi is a fraud” as my only admonition.

  26. 26.

    Suzanne

    We just ate. We said what we were thankful for. Multiple mentions of Robert Mueller. That was the only politics discussion today. It was nice.

  28. 28.

    Uncle Ebeneezer

    Anyone else watching Godless? It is REALLY good. Absolutely stunning cinematography, great acting performances, lots of bad-ass women characters, Black cowboys (Buffalo Soldiers), and some other elements that aren’t usually present in Westerns. I highly recommend it if you are looking for a good binge watch.

  29. 29.

    Emma

    Our restaurant meal was amazing and we have already committed to the same place for next year. Very good wine of the moderately priced variety and excellent food. Crowded but excellent service. And it cost us about the same as the ingredients for a home-cooked meal. Very happy and full.

  32. 32.

    No Drought No More

    Jared needs some witnesses to disappear, that much is obvious. I wonder: does he have the stones to engineer the massacre of Donnie the Douche Jr. at a Long Island toll booth? I can’t quite get a bead on the guy, other than he’s an utter fool. Which, of course, is no impediment to murder (indeed, quite the contrary). But he also looks like a guy who was never once in a fight as a kid. On the other hand, I’m confident that Donnie the D Jr. is capable of such an attempt on Jared’s life (and for the same reason, too). But Jr. would show up at the wrong toll booth, shoot the wrong person, and then brag about it to everyone at the White House, in person and by e-mail.

  33. 33.

    Felonius Monk

    Happy Thanksgiving to all you jackals and jackalettes. We are now at home after a nice, but rather pedestrian dinner at a restaurant about 30 miles north of here. At least no one was talking politics.

    All of you who are traveling – Be safe.

  34. 34.

    Mnemosyne

    Just got back from a fancy-pants Thanksgiving meal at the Firefly Bistro in Studio City, which was delish. Now we’re watching the MST3K Turkey Day marathon via streaming.

  35. 35.

    Shalimar

    @debbie: Iirc, yes. The check bounced and the money was required before the event could proceed, so the money was hurriedly wired in time. Complete incompetence, but they did pay so Spencer could get heckled by a mostly protest crowd.

  37. 37.

    Mnemosyne

    @Dr. Bloor:

    I did like that they made a very clear point that the people who got screwed were the regular people, like the family that was renting a house in a better school district and got evicted when the overextended landlords went bankrupt.

  39. 39.

    jl

    Happy Thanksgiving.

    I looked through the posts and thanks for post on the multiple first Thanksgivings in the US.
    The one in Florida in 1565 will come in particularly handy for late shoppers. Can always find some cans of garbanzo beans and something that can be passed off as salt pork.. even some cans of spam if all else fails. Thanksgiving feast cooking anxiety? Resolved!

  40. 40.

    Repatriated

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: Haven’t been there recently. Looked them up to see if they’d maintained the inprovements after the somewhat shaky launch (they seem to have). And now…

    They. Have. A. Tiki. Bar.

    Why was I not informed of this?

    Need to go back just to see that.

  43. 43.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @Repatriated: I’ve not been inside since they reopened(I don’t think I’ve actually ever been to that location, I’ve been to others back in the day), but I’ve got some pics of the outside and they’re restoring it nicely.

  45. 45.

    Repatriated

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: I’ve been there a few times, from shortly after it opened (a spectacle with adequate food) and after the revamp by a chef experienced in running a Vegas buffet (much better dining experience, still a spectacle).

    Looks like the tiki bar went in at the end of last year.

  46. 46.

    seaboogie

    @rikyrah: This member of the wypipo tribe learned so much about macaroni and cheese in the AA community this year, and I did do a seriously Caucasian version of m and c: Amy’s “Light and Lean” as a main dish, not a side.

    Spending the day alone, save for dog-sitting and walking, but my canine sitting charge is a big, beautiful black female of the poodle persuasion, so that’s something, I guess. Rikyrah – did you see the Thanksgiving episode of Master of None that won an Emmy? It’s really good.

  49. 49.

    MattF

    Somewhat to our surprise, T-day dinner was excellent. The turkey recipes from two different “traditions” didn’t really meld, but last minute compromises saved the gravy, and the oven turned out to be just big enough. Good for us.

  51. 51.

    raven

    @debbie: Yea, last week the vet put him on a heavier antibiotic after she didn’t like the swelling and fluid on the wound. We did lab work on it and with the drugs it’s doing nicely. The scabs have come off and there is just a little open wound so I’m going to keep him out of the water until at least Saturday. He wants to play so badly and even without this problem we have got to be careful he doesn’t over do it. When we sat down to eat I just said I hope we’re all here again next year.

  53. 53.

    geg6

    Great food with great family and friends. Everyone cursed Trump and was thankful for Bobby Three-Sticks. My irritation levels were off the charts due to the whole quitting smoking thing but no one irritated me much so I didn’t blow up or anything. However, my John did drag me out to his car where I must have left a half a cigarette at some point this week and told me to get a few puffs off the stale butt or he was going to have to do something drastic because I was snapping at innocent people too much. So not as successful as I’d hoped but less than the pack I usually injest. Hopefully, I’ll do better tomorrow.

  55. 55.

    JMG

    Dinner was fabulous, thanks mostly to my son and his girlfriend. I made the turkey and stuffing, they did the rest, except Alice made a nice root vegetable casserole with a cheese sauce. We may not even get to the pies. I am stuffed beyond words.

  57. 57.

    raven

    @realbtl: The weather is great since the first day of 35 mph winds and 50 degrees. Unfortunately the 70 degrees and north wind have flattened the gulf and it’s the worst fishing (or catching) I’ve ever seen here. I’m going out on a boat in the morning but they have limited so many species that I don’t have high hopes. If I were to nail a King I’d be really happy.

  59. 59.

    CaseyL

    Just back from dinner at the diner. Only average quality food, but lots of it (I brought home leftovers). The company was excellent, though.

    One of these days I should try to cook a turkey my own self, because I do love turkey, any time of year.

  60. 60.

    Ohio Mom

    @geg6: Good for you, quitting. It’s very hard and very important. Keep us posted, we are all pulling for you.

    Just back from a low-keyed afternoon at my cousins’, a two hour drive so very doable. You know how people talk about being around kids and seeing things like Christmas through the kid’s eyes? Today (though not for the first time), I saw my autistic kid through my relatives’ eyes. They aren’t an overly kind bunch and ouch!

    And no gravy :-(

  62. 62.

    David Anderson

    Taking a break now as three type A in-laws who are also disorganized OCD types finished arguing about scheduling every minute for tomorrow while forgetting that multiple members of the group need nap time or they don’t function past sun down.

    Tequila will be involved

  63. 63.

    Aimai

    Very good food ifi do say si myself. Everyone is watching a movie. Im too tired and sm passing out but we have a guest. So this is bad.

  64. 64.

    Steve in the ATL

    Successfully completed dinner with my wife’s born again aunt and cousins and their born again children. Could have been much worse if my wife and I weren’t saving the bacon of their husband/dad/grandfather who is in a South American prison and getting one of the kids into Georgia Tech. Good times!

    Also helped that I brought and drank my own wine. And knowing that they are fundamentalists, I wisely brought my own corkscrew.

  65. 65.

    NotMax

    Thankful that am separated from family by 6000 miles.

    @rikyrah

    Bullpuckey. While anyone can mash potatoes and call it finished, making truly great mashed potatoes needs both skill and finesse.

  68. 68.

    raven

    @Steve in the ATL: There’s some uproar coming about SEC Championship tix. They put out this appeal asking people to up their Hartman contribution and then almost no one got tickets.

    One other thing I’m grateful for
    … is not buying into the offer that if I just tossed a few more 2017 dollars into the Hartman Fund, I’d hit that sweet 20,000-point threshold that would allow me to buy SECCG tickets from the school.

    Oh, you did? Sorry about that.

    I don’t know if you read this blog but the dude is an 83 UGA Law School grad and, for my money, it’s the best dawgblog going.

  70. 70.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @Steve in the ATL: Heh. I actually thought of that as I wrote it.

    This picture is interesting, not because it’s a great shot(it’s not). It’s a shot of Saddleback in Orange County taken from Markham saddle(low point between Mt. Markham and Mt. Lowe). There’s another mountain to the left and more distant than Saddleback, I think it Palomar Mountain. That’s 95 miles from where I shot the picture.

  75. 75.

    Trentrunner

    For everyone who gave Franken the benefit of the doubt:

    “I’ve met tens of thousands of people and taken thousands of photographs, often in crowded and chaotic situations. I’m a warm person; I hug people. I’ve learned from recent stories that in some of those encounters, I crossed a line for some women — and I know that any number is too many.

    Some women have found my greetings or embraces for a hug or photo inappropriate, and I respect their feelings about that. I’ve thought a lot in recent days about how that could happen, and recognize that I need to be much more careful and sensitive in these situations.

    I feel terribly that I’ve made some women feel badly and for that I am so sorry, and I want to make sure that never happens again.

    And let me say again to Minnesotans that I’m sorry for putting them through this and I’m committed to regaining their trust.”

    I hope you have enough room for a final helping of STFU after telling me Gropegate was a right-wing ratfuck job.

    He did this. He is apologizing for it. He should now RESIGN.

  76. 76.

    Travels with Charley

    Delurking to say that my thanksgiving will be with the Spawn tomorrow (they were with their dad today). So I spent all day cooking various dishes…and cleaning said dishes…..over and over and over…on the bright side, prep tomorrow should be pretty stress free. We are all liberals, so I look forward to a joyous celebration of thanks! Because we will ban all mention of trump, so as not to ruin the event!
    Also, am so grateful for this odd community of jackals which has become such an important part of my life. Thanks to all of you, and I hope a joyous holiday season is possible for all.

  85. 85.

    raven

    @Trentrunner: You know what? I stayed out of it last night but you are an annoying motherfucker: “please don’r dominate the rap jack, if you go outing new to say. . . “!

  86. 86.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @Jeffro: Could be, I think I’ve only been to the Du-Pars in my hometown a few times, but I’ve not been to their other locations. I used to go to the Hamlet in Westwood when I was in college and we used to have staff meetings at the one in DTLA. I do miss them as well.

  88. 88.

    geg6

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    Said it before I could. Wellstone was a big hugger/toucher.

    If TR somehow thinks this statement somehow proves him right, he’s got another think coming. Franken absolutely should not resign. The Senate ethics investigation should happen. And the people of MN will decide the fate of Al Franken in the voting booth. TR is an idiot.

  90. 90.

    Another Scott

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: Here in NC there are two big chains – Lowe’s (the home improvement place) and Lowes (the grocery store). They are apparently not related.

    /Pedant

    ;-)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  93. 93.

    Cckids

    @Ohio Mom:

    Today (though not for the first time), I saw my autistic kid through my relatives’ eyes. They aren’t an overly kind bunch and ouch!

    I’m so sorry. Been there, with my oldest. People can be such shits.

  99. 99.

    Jeffro

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: Google tells me that the only one left (after expanding out to Chicago and the DC area, then rolling those back up again) is the (almost) original Sherman Oaks location.

    Ah the ‘Zircles’! Ah the lobster bisque! Ah ‘Those Potatoes’! How am I even close to hungry on Thanksgiving Night??!?

  100. 100.

    Uncle Ebeneezer

    @Repatriated: It’s great! We went there a little before Xmas last year with a couple friends who are OBSESSED WITH Tiki Bars and they thoroughly approved. Great atmosphere, good drinks and like the rest of Cliftons, a lot of kitsch.

  101. 101.

    Mike J

    @geg6: I too had trouble quitting. Use a patch or gum if you’re too irritable though. There are two things you’ve got to beat, the addiction to nicotine and the habit of having something in your hand. I think it’s easier to beat them one at a time, but ymmv.

  105. 105.

    geg6

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    Yep. They were very close. Personally, the women who worked for him in DC and the women from SNL who are standing up to say how great he was as a co-worker and boss carry more weight with me than any of the accusers so far.

  107. 107.

    Mnemosyne

    @geg6:

    Two things:

    1. The addiction part you just have to ride out if you’re going to go cold turkey. Upping your caffeine intake a bit may help you ride it out since they’re both stimulants.

    2. The reason people gain weight after they quit is because nicotine increases your metabolism so you burn more calories. Start increasing your exercise now (and add in some weight training) to counteract it.

    Good luck! My brother in law gave up smoking 10 years ago and he’s in the best shape of his life now.

  110. 110.

    Mnemosyne

    @debbie:

    Yes, but they’ve also scientifically shown that not only does nicotine increase your metabolism, the effect lasts for up to a full year after you quit. So it’s a both/and problem.

  112. 112.

    debbie

    @Mnemosyne:

    Yes, and I battled both the many times I tried to quit. Once I gained 30 pounds in the first (and last) month. When I was finally able to quit, I gained no weight. I can’t explain that.

  113. 113.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @Trentrunner: Go fuck yourself, asshole. He should NOT resign because whiny shitheads like you wanna play holier than thou. BTW, did I say go fuck yourself? Good!

  114. 114.

    BBA

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: I’d be okay with zero tolerance applied equally, but it never is. See, e.g, the presumptive Senator-for-life from Alabama.

    If we could actually throw ALL the bums out, I’d be over the moon.

  117. 117.

    raven

    I think the wide receiver from Ole Miss just caught a TD pass and lifted his leg to the MSU Bulldog crowd!!!!

  118. 118.

    geg6

    @Mike J:

    This is, by my count, the seventh time I’ve tried. Neither the patch nor gum nor meds nor cold turkey have worked. Nothing has so far. This time I’m trying an electronic nicotine device, or e-cigarette. It definitely keeps the cravings lower key for me and it definitely solves the problem of needing to put something in my mouth and doing something with my hands. But I haven’t gotten the knack of how to control the dosage so I keep either taking in too little, which sends me right into withdrawal, or too much, which makes me cough and gives me a racing heart. I’ll figure it out, but in the meantime, I have a couple of cigarettes left from my last pack that I may need in an emergency. But I think I will easily get through a work day with this little device. And once those last few cigarettes are gone, maybe that’s all I’ll need. I do hope so. Tired of this.

  121. 121.

    SectionH

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: I got to stump Mr S with the Mueller Tunnel. He’s a train/plane/subway/bus/highway – well, basically a transportation infrastructure junkie, but he had to google Mueller Tunnel, HA! So thanks to the rabbit hole effect, now we’re reading about the “poodle-dog bush” which according to Wikipedia grows abundantly on Mt. Lowe, and nearby mountains. FFS, be careful on your hikes!

    Yeah, I always enjoy your photos, and giving you among others more positive feedback is one of my Thanksgiving resolutions. (Srsly, if I have a resolution I mean to keep, I like to start early.)

  122. 122.

    Mnemosyne

    @geg6:

    Interesting technique I saw someone talk about for breaking the habit part: give up one specific cigarette at a time. So if (for example) you always smoke after dinner, cut out that one cigarette until you break the habit of wanting to smoke at that time. Then work your way through the rest of the day one by one. It will take longer, but the habit part is more likely to stick that way.

  124. 124.

    Duane

    @Lee: Does Obama ever take a bad picture? He’s starting to get on my nerves. Just once, close your eyes, a stain on your shirt, something.

  125. 125.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @SectionH: Poodle Dog Bush only grows(and quite abundantly) for about 10 years after an area has burned. I think the Station fire was about 10 years ago. I know what it looks like and keep an eye out for it, but I’ve never seen it.

    ETA: The Station Fire was in 2009.

  126. 126.

    mike in dc

    If Flynn flips, how long will Paulie want to tough it out? Maybe the prospect of getting out while he’s still alive, with some assets remaining, will motivate him to do the right thing. Two major targets cooperating shifts this into mid-game–direct public implication for the POTUS. It greatly reduces the effectiveness of any pardon strategy, and likely also makes it impossible to fire Mueller. It then becomes a matter of time before Bobby Three Sticks issues a formal report implicating Trump in, well, everything.

  127. 127.

    geg6

    @Mnemosyne:

    Upping my caffeine is not an option. Caffeine is a smoking trigger for me. So I will actually need to decrease my caffeine intake. Same for alcohol even though I’m a moderate drinker at most.

    As for exercise and weight gain fears, I will probably extend my walking distance as I’m sure I’ll put on a few pounds. I always have when trying to quit in the past so I expect to this time, too. But I’m pretty good weight-wise and always have been, so I’m pretty sure I’ll be fine. For me, the weight gain always came from substituting sweets in my mouth instead of a cigarette. I hope the e-cig solves that. Gotta say, I’m not totally disappointed in myself that I only smoked a half a cigarette today and otherwise used the e-cig when I had a craving. I’ve felt and done worse in other first days of past quitting attempts.

    We’ll see. I make no promises, having broken many quitting vows, I know better. So I’ll just say that I am motivated and we’ll see how it goes after a somewhat promising start.

  128. 128.

    geg6

    @Mnemosyne:

    That idea intrigues me. That sounds like something that would possibly work on me. Breaking through those must-smoke moments and triggers are the worst thing for me.

    To all sending good thoughts my way, I thank you all. For jackals, you guys are pretty good ones.

  129. 129.

    Mnemosyne

    @geg6:

    It sounds like you may be more successful this time because you’re not expecting to do it perfectly — sneaky perfectionism can really fuck things up.

    Don’t forget to reward yourself frequently (though preferably not with food). That will also help with forming the new habit.

  130. 130.

    SectionH

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: Sorry for the unnecessary advice, but I haven’t hiked in many years [eta, and never in California], and that was a new one, so I was all “better to say in case he hasn’t heard.”

    I got that it’s an early colonized after fires. It’s fascinating that it gets out-competed, I guess, by other plants moving back in a decade or less. Still, it goes on my list with Giant Hogweed (which I’ve never seen either) as terrifying members of the plant kingdom.

  134. 134.

    Mnemosyne

    @geg6:

    Yeah, I think the idea is that you only have to beat one trigger per day instead of trying to tackle all of them at the same time. And once that one stops being a trigger, you move to the next one until they’re all done.

  136. 136.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @SectionH: Not a problem, I’ve seen poison oak and ivy both in the Verdugos and on my hike up to Echo Mountain. When I started reading up on hiking in the San Gabriels they mentioned Poodle Dog Bush, I’d never heard of it. I learned to recognize and avoid poison oak and ivy in the Boy Scouts*.

    * Ran into a troop today on my hike.

  140. 140.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @mike in dc: IMO (FWIW) the Flynn news plus the Manafort indictment suggest Bobby 3Styx is in the process of taking a long hard look at VPOTUS’s involvement. From Mueller’s POV it does the Republic no damn good to force Twitler out for collusion with Putin if the chump next in line is Russky-dirty as well – he’d want to be in a position to agnew Dense before going after Combover Caligula. As my conceptual bumpersticker puts it:

    IMPEACH PENCE FIRST!

  141. 141.

    NotMax

    @Uncle Cosmo

    Sounds good on paper but two impeachments in succession would not only grind anything else to a halt but also rend the fabric of the country asunder, perhaps irreparably.

  142. 142.

    germy

    That awkward moment when Republicans believe the one woman who accuses Al Franken, but none of the hundreds of women who accused Trump, Ailes, O’Reilly and Roy Moore.— Top Conservative Cat (@TeaPartyCat) November 19, 2017

  143. 143.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @NotMax: So be it. A house divided against itself, half honorable and honest, half despicable, deplorable, and depraved, cannot stand.

  144. 144.

    Mnemosyne

    @germy:

    But Al Franken hugged people in public who did not clearly indicate that they were okay with being hugged, so Both Sides.

  145. 145.

    Jeffro

    @mike in dc:

    It then becomes a matter of time before Bobby Three Sticks issues a formal report implicating Trump in, well, everything.

    Implicating quite a few of them on quite a few charges. Multiple counts of obstruction and money laundering for Trumpov of course, but the rest…whew.

    Nickel bet on 2-3 dozen various charges on 4-5 of the usual suspects (Trump Jr, Page, Kushner, Stone, etc) before mid-January.

    Anyone notice that it seems like Mueller’s not talking much if at all to Kushner? Perhaps he’s the next-to-last target here?

  146. 146.

    mike in dc

    @Uncle Cosmo:
    No need to impeach Pence. The VP can be indicted while in office, unlike the POTUS. If he’s credibly indicted, he has to resign, and Trump would appoint another to take his place…but if Mueller issues a report on Trump before the appointee is approved, an interesting situation will develop.

  148. 148.

    Ohio Mom

    @rikyrah: They can’t help themselves, they don’t mean to be thoughtless. They are clueless about a lot of things. Emotional IQ does not run in my family.

    I think there is still some of that old idea hanging on, that anyone with a diagnosis found in the DSM could “snap out of it” if they just tried harder. Um, no, his social awkwardness *is* his disability.

  149. 149.

    SectionH

    @geg6: First, good luck quitting, and hang in. I kicked a 3 pack a day habit finally, after quitting for 12 months a couple of years earlier and then reverting when I got a new job, stress, etc. That was 30+ yrs ago. (I started a regular habit at 16, and it was well ingrained by the time I was 30, so yeah.)

    It probably won’t help you, (or it might…) but fwiw, I stopped cold turkey with cigarettes both times. What I did instead was just take a few tokes on a joint whenever the craving hit. Since this was just local grown weak weed, it wasn’t that big an effect. The 1st time I quit I think I was in between the several shit retail jobs I had after getting my Masters (Younger Gen problems aren’t that new!). I relied on the alternate smokes a lot less the 2nd time. Then I had a real job, and I knew I could do it at least for a year. And I was a lot more motivated – I was engaged to a non-smoker, and srsly wanted to kick the habit. Which as I said, was 30 years ago. ;-> But both times, after 4 or 5 days, I wasn’t all that eager to smoke Anything. It kind of combined aversion therapy with some compensation, or vice versa?

    I found that situational things, like wanting a cigarette after a meal, were tougher to handle for longer for a while, but I didn’t have an actual craving for nicotine. Sigh, it’s the only bad habit I’ve managed to break besides (mostly) biting my fingernails.

    Wishing you strength for this – reliving bits of all that long ago, I remember how not-fun it was.

  150. 150.

    (((CassandraLeo)))

    @BBA: You’re assuming that Ryan also isn’t criminally implicated in the Russia ratfucking. That is not a bet I would take at present. The first person in the line of succeession who might be clean is Hatch, who is his own kind of terrible, but also a relic of a less overtly partisan time and not a Randroid.

  151. 151.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @mike in dc: @mike in dc: Um, teach your grandmother to suck eggs, whydoncha. Kindly google “agnew resignation nolo contendere”. But hey, I’ll save you the trouble:

    In 1973 George Beall, the Republican US Attorney for the state of Maryland, had Spiro Agnew, the sitting VPOTUS, dead to rights on multiple charges of bribery & other malfeasance dating to his half-term as Governor of MD & even his prior term as Baltimore County Executive. Recognizing the overriding importance of removing an eminently-convictable felon** from the line of succession to the Presidency, Beall cut a deal allowing Agnew to plead nolo contendere to the charges in exchange for resigning the office.
    ——
    ** &, FWIW, a penny-ante crook – the wonder was not that Agnew was dirtier than Charles Schulz’s Pigpen, it was that the dollar amounts of the bribes were so small.

    This is the background to my use of “agnew” as a verb – which, just FTR, I lived through between bouts of graduate school.

    @(((CassandraLeo))): I presume Mueller is also casting a jaundiced eye on the Zombie-Eyed Granny Killer as well, not to mention Senator Yertle McTurtle, both of whom look to have spent years marinating in the septic tank of Russian oligarch money.

  152. 152.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @geg6: SectionH’s experience related at #149 supra parallels mine – I quit a pack a day habit cold turkey twice, once for 3.5 years, then permanently 25 years ago.

    One thing I discovered is that while nicotine exits the body in 96 hours, the oral fixation & habits associated with that small white tube of dried leaves lasts a lot longer, Some people carry celery or carrot sticks to shove in the mouth when the urge to light up hits, What worked for me was raw spaghetti, broken into toothpick-size pieces & carried around in a baggie, stuck between the lips like a toothpick & worried about as it slowly dissolved.

    Another thing that helped me, paradoxically, is carrying the remnants of a cigarette pack along with matches in my breast pocket. I was concerned that if I leaned too hard on not having cigarettes around, I might “fall off the wagon” if I wound up somewhere where they were readily available, e.g., with friends who still smoked.** Having cancer-sticks with me reminded me that I was choosing not to smoke. And reassured me that if it ever got to the point where I absolutely couldn’t go on without a cigarette, they were right there. (And when I had such moments I’d say to myself, Come on now, you can wait 5 minutes before lighting up. And five minutes later, give it 5 minutes more – until the urge subsided. Not for the faint of heart, I know, but it worked for me.)

    In any case, best of luck with your efforts!

    ** One of the good things about smoking bans for those trying to quit nowadays is that those sorts of situations are far less prevalent & more avoidable.

  153. 153.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @Uncle Cosmo:

    Yeah, when I quit, having that crutch pack around took the anxiety way down. I always knew I could have one if I really needed it. May have had four or five that way, with a bigger time distance between each. The last couple were pretty stale and gross. Didn’t even finish the last.

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