Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

The words do not have to be perfect.

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

The willow is too close to the house.

This blog will pay for itself.

The fundamental promise of conservatism all over the world is a return to an idealized past that never existed.

We are aware of all internet traditions.

How can republicans represent us when they don’t trust women?

Trump’s legal defense is going to be a dumpster fire inside a clown car on a derailing train.

After dobbs, women are no longer free.

Shut up, hissy kitty!

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

Their freedom requires your slavery.

Never give a known liar the benefit of the doubt.

When you’re a Republican, they let you do it.

People are complicated. Love is not.

I conferred with the team and they all agree – still not tired of winning!

Boeing: repeatedly making the case for high speed rail.

We still have time to mess this up!

“But what about the lurkers?”

I know this must be bad for Joe Biden, I just don’t know how.

When you’re in more danger from the IDF than from Russian shelling, that’s really bad.

It’s the corruption, stupid.

People are weird.

Motto for the House: Flip 5 and lose none.

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Mid-Morning Open Thread

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The Good:

I love stories like this:

With the help of his professor, Gary Urton, a scholar of Pre-Columbian studies, Medrano interpreted a set of six khipus, knotted cords used for record keeping in the Inca Empire. By matching the khipus to a colonial-era Spanish census document, Medrano and Urton uncovered the meaning of the cords in greater detail than ever before. Their findings could contribute to a better understanding of daily life in the Andean civilization.

The Bad:

Using taxpayer dollars, the Environmental Protection Agency has hired a cutting-edge Republican PR firm that specializes in digging up opposition research to help Administrator Scott Pruitt’s office track and shape press coverage of the agency.

According to federal contracting records, earlier this month Pruitt’s office inked a no-bid $120,000 contract with Definers Corp., a Virginia-based public relations firm founded by Matt Rhoades, who managed Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign.

Pretty much par for the course, I know: when reality offends you, make your own. But on our dime and to the end of wrecking the environmental infrastructure on which we all depend.

And, by popular (aka Schrodinger’s Cat) demand…

The Tikka:

Open thread, y’all.

Reader Interactions

62Comments

  4. 4.

    Jeffro

    Hey check it out, Charlie Pierce is going after ZEGS with a bat. A Negan-style bat, that is…

    Paul Ryan Leaving Congress Is Overdue:

    Ring and run, you wretched cur.

    In what passes for a genuine scoop, Tim Alberta and Rachael Cade broke the news in Politico on Thursday that Paul Ryan, the zombie-eyed granny starver from the state of Wisconsin, may well be hanging them up at the end of the 2018 midterms. Of course, Ryan—and various People Who Are Familiar With His Thinking—has a number of deeply pious, and unquestionably phony, reasons for his departure.

    On a personal level, going home at the end of next year would allow Ryan, who turns 48 next month, to keep promises to family; his three children are in or entering their teenage years, and Ryan, whose father died at 55, wants desperately to live at home with them full time before they begin flying the nest.

    Isn’t that just too fcking sweet for words? Of course, young Paul Ryan had Social Security survivor’s benefits to live on when his pappy kicked and, once again, you’re welcome, dickhead. And I’m sure that his own children have excellent health care in his magnificent Georgian Revival home back in Janesville. I tell you, I’m almost as moved as I was when Ryan washed some clean pots and pans at that soup kitchen, or those several times when he dropped by impoverished neighborhoods in order to have his picture taken there.

    Also, I’m sure that the fact that, in 2018, all indications are that his party will be facing a bloodbath in the midterm elections, and that the abomination of a tax bill that is his crowning achievement will be one of the party’s larger millstones, have absolutely nothing to do with the fact that Paul Ryan’s giant, if remarkably delicate, intellect suddenly can no longer handle the hurly-burly of everyday politics. Good god, this man could not be a bigger fake if he were made of papier-mâché.

    This may be my favorite passage in the Politico account.

    As the deciding votes were cast—recorded in green on the black digital scoreboard suspended above the floor—the speaker of the House, Paul Ryan, threw his head back and slammed his hands together. Soon he was engulfed in a sea of dark suits, every Republican lawmaker wanting to slap him on the shoulder and be a part of his moment. His moment. Thirteen million Americans lose their health care.

    Paul Ryan, threw his head back and slammed his hands together.
    His moment. Eighty-percent of the benefits going to the top one-percent.

    Paul Ryan, threw his head back and slammed his hands together.
    His moment. Millions of dollars shoved upwards to people who already have billions of dollars. A deficit entering the orbit of Mercury.

    Paul Ryan, threw his head back and slammed his hands together.
    His moment.

    Of course, as the piece points out, Ryan may have bigger problems completing the second part of his granny-starving exacta: shredding what’s left of the social safety net.

    Reveling in the afterglow, Ryan remarked to several colleagues how this day had proven they could accomplish difficult things—and that next year, they should set their sights on an even tougher challenge: entitlement reform. The speaker has since gone public with this aspiration, suggesting that 2018 should be the year Washington finally tackles what he sees as the systemic problems with Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

    Bear in mind: the “difficult thing” that Ryan accomplished was getting the true lunatics in his caucus to support a tax plan that is the foundation stone of a permanent corporate oligarchy, for which he and all the rest of his pack of vandals will be richly rewarded by the donor class. His biggest job as Speaker was keeping Louie Gohmert and Steve King from running amuck in their underwear. And “what he sees as being systemic problems” with Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are that those programs exist at all.

    Of course, he tried to do all of this while managing an existential crisis that would have embarrassed the writer’s room of Days of Our Lives.

    Ryan nearly walked away from Congress once before. It was November 2012, after Mitt Romney’s loss to Barack Obama, and the would-be vice president found himself despondent and homesick. Ryan told his wife, Janna, that he was considering retirement.

    Wait a minute. He was running for a job that would have kept him in Washington for eight years—and that would’ve made him the frontrunner for the top job that would’ve kept him there for eight more—but only after he and Mitt Romney lost did he decide that Janesville and his 13 rooms were a’callin’ him home? That dog sleeps on the porch. There are those of us who recall that Ryan was such a flop on the national stage that Joe Biden laughed at him in a debate, and that he couldn’t even carry his home precinct for the ticket.

    RYAN WAS SUCH A FLOP ON THE NATIONAL STAGE THAT JOE BIDEN LAUGHED AT HIM IN A DEBATE.

  6. 6.

    cintibud

    Love that pic – should make a meme out of it – “IT cat – Did you check if it was plugged in first?”

  7. 7.

    Villago Delenda Est

    Pruitt cannot die a slow enough, painful enough death to make up for the damage he’s doing to the country.

  8. 8.

    ChrisS

    $120k isn’t much, about ~1,200 hours or half a year for a lower level researcher.

    It’s not something the EPA should be spending money on, especially no-bid, but that’s not going to pay for much opposition research.

  12. 12.

    Miss Bianca

    @Jeffro: y’know, I’m not as much of a Pierce fangirl these days as I used to be, but when he nails the righteous wrath/biting scorn thing, he *nails* it.

  14. 14.

    Mike in NC

    Simply cannot see a lifelong parasite like Paul Ryan walking away from his cushy gig in Washington until he achieves his dream of punishing lazy Americans by taking away their Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.

  15. 15.

    Brachiator

    On Tuesday, I taught a tax update class to a gathering of tax professionals. During the class itself, I tried to stay neutral when discussing the proposed tax bill, but during the breaks, I could talk more openly when asked about. When I got home a neighbor, whose son is a graduate student, got to talking to me about the bill as well.

    My overall conclusion is that the bill is cruel. If corporations are people, the new law goes out of its way to protect and nurture them. Every possible tax break, credit and deduction has been maximized for the benefit of business and wealthy individuals.

    Today’s NYT has a story about how lobbyists furiously worked at the last minute (and opened up their checkbooks) to get more breaks into the law. And lawmakers were very receptive, and recognize that various industries deserve extra help to grow up and succeed in life.

    People, not so much, especially the working poor. It’s true that some people will pay lower taxes or no taxes at all. But that is all they get, and only grudgingly. Business gets all manner of refundable credits, carrybacks and carryforwards. With some skill, some wealthy people may never pay taxes again for the rest of their lives.

    But provisions such as an enhanced earned income credit, especially for the single working poor or any other measures that might help lift people out of poverty are nowhere to be seen. Poor people deserve their station in life, but the government has been too hard on the wealthy, and has unfairly taken too much of their money to throw at ungrateful wretches and sick children.

    The wealthy deserve everything they have earned. They rest of us deserve nothing but a slap on the ass by the invisible hand of the free market.

    No wonder the GOP want to go after Medicare and Social Security next. Surely there is something more the government can do to help the rich? It’s all part of the new prosperity gospel of the plutocrats.

  16. 16.

    MomSense

    My mailbox is frozen shut. That’s not something that happens very often. My car windows won’t roll down. I’m thinking the universe wants me to hibernate.

    Oh and fuck Paul Ryan.

  17. 17.

    kindness

    The really horrible thing about the Trump Regime I fear is that at some point some people are going to start shooting people because they feel powerless & stepped all over. I fear our side doing this. I fear it because that is the excuse the fascists need to crack open Trumplenacht. I hope it doesn’t go there. I fear it will.

  18. 18.

    gene108

    After seeing Star Wars: The Last Jedi last night, I wanted to read user reviews of the film. It seems to me half of the negative user reviews center around the fact the cast is ethnically diverse, men are relegated to secondary roles, and it had a capitalism is bad political theme.

    Basially the user reviews seemed like a Redditt sub forum dedicated to the grievances of white men.

    You can grouse about the handling of Luke, but I think his character development is what makes the movie so challenging to see as a viewer.

  21. 21.

    Betty Cracker

    @Brachiator: I don’t for one minute believe Rubio, Lee, et al, won’t cave and vote for this horrible bill; they are spineless, donor-captured wretches. But I called the craven worm Rubio’s office this morning all the same for the reasons you outlined, and I encourage everyone else to call their so-called representatives. It’s an awful bill, and we should do everything we legally can to oppose it, whatever the odds of its passage.

  22. 22.

    MJS

    @Brachiator: Here’s hoping that the lower paid staff at Walter Reed, who will be hurt by this bill, “take care” of Senator McCain this weekend. Perhaps he needs another pillow right now.

  25. 25.

    Miss Bianca

    @gene108: OK, peoples who are more up on the new Star Wars canon than I am: I saw “The Force Awakens” (which I liked, y’all, so if haters gonna hate, well too bad!), and I know there’s this new one, but what am I missing in between? Wasn’t there one that came out last year? Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi fans!

  27. 27.

    Mel

    Tikka is a gorgeous kitty! I love the white whiskers and eyebrows against that beautiful ebony fur!

    Is that a slightly battle-scarred right ear, or simply proof of Tikka’s royal elfin heritage peeking through?

    That expression is what we used to call “the LOOK” when I was a kid. It allowed an adult to instantly freeze a school room full of half-feral farm kids into calm good behavior without a single word or gesture. Some could do “the LOOK”. Most, heavens help them, could not.

    After the initial, “What a beautiful kitty!!”, I felt a sudden urge to run for my seat and make sure that my shoes were tied and my pencils sharpened. Tikka has strong magic!

  28. 28.

    gene108

    @Miss Bianca:

    The one that came out last year “Rogue One” takes place just before Star Wars Ep IV, i.e. the orignal Star Wars released in 1977.

    This takes place after “The Force Awakens”.

  30. 30.

    Captain C

    More sad cat news: my 17-year old cat Misty (Kashmir’s sister/littermate) passed away a couple weeks ago. She was going through kidney failure and diabetes (8 years for the latter!) and, around Thanksgiving, started to sneeze and have a runny nose. I took her to the vet on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, and she wound up staying there in an oxygen chamber for 4 days; she also stopped eating during that span. Other than breathing a little better, she wasn’t improving, so I took her home, so that we could have a few last days together before I had her euthanized, barring a miracle (I saw the cat-not-eating-and-trouble-moving-around movie with Kashmir 3 months ago, so I know how it usually ends). Thursday night (the 30th) I took her in my bed for the night, and it’s amazing how a little 10-pound ailing cat can be such an affectionate little bed hog. She cost me 2 hours sleep that night, which I was and am totally fine with. Friday (the 1st) I made the appointment for Saturday, and when I got home from work I pretty much spent the entire evening lying on my couch with Misty on my chest. She was purring softly and a little raggedly at 10:50, when she died in my arms.

    I made a memorial photo album on Facebook which can be seen, even if you don’t have an account, here.

    While doing the search, I found a bunch of Kashmir pics on my computer that I lost track of; they’re the last 50 or so pics in this album.

    As of now, the plan is to be cat-free for a year to two years and do some traveling, and then I’m sure my next pair will find me.

  36. 36.

    blackcatsrule

    @Captain C: So sorry to hear this. I had two kitties pass away this year; the only thing I was grateful for was they both passed at home. Your next furbabies will find you, they always do!

  37. 37.

    Mel

    @Captain C: My heart aches for you. One loss of such a beloved pet is awful enough, but two…

    It’s clear how very much you loved and nurtured your sweet kitties, right up to the last moments; rest assured that they absolutely knew it and loved and adored you just as much right back. I am sure that they felt safe, beloved, and very comforted, knowing that you were there with them, looking out for them and being their best human ever, just like always.

    Sending you hugs.

  38. 38.

    Roger Moore

    @Mike in NC:

    Simply cannot see a lifelong parasite like Paul Ryan walking away from his cushy gig in Washington until he achieves his dream of punishing lazy Americans by taking away their Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.

    It doesn’t necessarily matter what he intends to do; it’s looking as if the voters are going to throw him out if he doesn’t leave on his own. My gut feeling is this is him getting read for his “you can’t fire me; I quit” moment. And I’m sure he has plenty of wingnut welfare lined up for the moment he loses his job.

  40. 40.

    ChrisS

    @Captain C: Sorry for your losses. It’s never easy and the they leave a huge hole in your heart. We lost our oldest in November 2016, our dog in October, and our current oldest cat is on the downhill slope – I will be very happy if she makes to summer so she can lay in the grass once more.

  42. 42.

    Another Scott

    @Betty Cracker: Rubio is on board after “winning”.

    Drum:

    […]

    Taxpayers without income-tax liability will be able to get $1,400 of the $2,000 per-child credit, said Rep. Kristi Noem (R., S.D.), one of the members of the House-Senate negotiating committee. That’s up from $1,100 in the version that passed the Senate.

    Of course, now they have to pay for it, perhaps by having the individual tax cuts expire in 2024 instead of 2025. If that’s what happens, then Rubio will have gotten an extra $300 for six years ($1,800) at the cost of losing the whole thing a year earlier ($1,100). That’s a net gain of $700, or $100 per year. Yippee.

    Rubio’s an empty suit, and a monster like all the rest of them.

    We have to fight them every single day.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  47. 47.

    Major Major Major Major

    @Gravenstone: Ever since we got the pie filter installed natively, I’ve noticed that the people I’ve pied seem to get worse and worse the longer I have them pied. ARBG I’ve had pied for years but occasionally I peek under the hood, and I just wanted to check.

  48. 48.

    The Moar You Know

    She was purring softly and a little raggedly at 10:50, when she died in my arms.

    @Captain C: Your girl went feeling safe, which is the very best thing you can do for a kitty. I am truly sorry. I have lost people, I have lost animals, for some reason, the animals are much harder.

    You did well.

  49. 49.

    mad citizen

    @Captain C: Captain C, very sorry for your loss. This year we have lost 2 of our 4 cats, both passing at home at least with us there, next to or holding them. We lost our two most in your face cats, and have left the 18.5 deaf littermate (Lulu) to one that passed, and a 5.5 year old black stray male (Sammy) we picked up in front of our house 5 years ago just before christmas. Never did find his owners, think it might be us. Before him I thought we would be cat free at some point to make travel easier, but our Sammy should be around for a good while. RIP our sweet felines Betty and Twist. Twist was the damndest cat ever, lived in a few homes, and flew from our son’s San Francisco to live out the next 8 years or so with us in Indiana. He got to spend a lot of time outside after apartment life, so it was like heaven to him. Betty was the runt, so small, and only let me hold her, protesting constantly even then.

    I’m glad your’s had a home transition.

  50. 50.

    Aleta

    @Mel: > the LOOK. It allowed an adult to instantly freeze a school room full of half-feral farm kids into calm good behavior without a single word or gesture. Some could do “the LOOK”. Most, heavens help them, could not. <
    I love this. Been there.

  51. 51.

    Aleta

    @Captain C: Your photo album of Misty gives a surprising strong feel of knowing her. What a wonderful beautiful cat. I remember those last days that you documented. Good that you were holding her in warmth.
    Sending sympathy.

  55. 55.

    satby

    In happy kitty news Smokey Joe, the cat I was called to rescue as a starving, frighted kitten from a disgustingly filthy hoarder house where he was abandoned 6 months ago has found his forever home and new family! He was adopted last night, and they sent me a picture of him already stretched out on a bed getting scritches.
    That’s what keeps us going.

  56. 56.

    cckids

    @Captain C: I’m so sorry for your loss. I’ve lost 3 pets in the past 14 months; one was expected (he was 18 with heart and kidney issues), the other two were shocks. It’s hard to adjust to having just one kitty. May your new mates find you in good time.

  57. 57.

    J R in WV

    @Major Major Major Major:

    NO, pretty much always from the first day. You could do your Deep Dive into the database of comments, IP addresses and such, and inform us of the history behind ARBG’s commentary here.

    Or not. Pie is pie. I have to confess, I more use the pie filter as a marker, by opening the comments to see how egregious they are this time, and especially looking at comments others post in reply, which are usually either appropriately hateful or really funny.

    @satby:

    Congratulations on getting that great news. Every little kitty rescued is another slap in the face for the Trumpian overlordship. They hate it that people help each other, imagine helping a despicable no-class pet, for nothing!

    The most revealing thing Trump has ever said was that Pence’s pets were no-class. Projection, totally…

  59. 59.

    J R in WV

    @Captain C:

    I’m sorry for your loss, and glad you had a close time with your elderly kitten. I’m also sorry Facebook must be changing their security rules. I cannot see any Facebook material, as I do not and will not sign up for and use their product. I caught a glimpse of some photos as the sign-in page formatted over the images, and I could tell she was a beautiful little cat…

    We currently have two female dogs, a young lab mix and an older golden mix, and two cats about the same age, both females… they don’t get along very well. They are both cuddlers with us two-legs though, and they seem to be smart enough to know not to go after one another on the bed. They’re both a little bit feral, and are so prickly, we make them wait until we have cat armor in place (thick quilt, etc) before climbing up to lie on us. Much purring then, though.

    When possible, we try to have critters of different ages, but of course that isn’t always possible.

    Take care, best of luck!!

  62. 62.

    Mel

    @Aleta</ Before my very first teaching practicum, I was terrified, so scared that I would mess up, let the kids down, and not be able to be the teacher they deserved.

    I actually begged my great-grandmother to teach me how to do the LOOK. She laughed and said, “Oh, honey. There’s no learning it. You either love those kids enough to stop them from playing the fool and hurting themselves or somebody else, or you don’t. If you do, it’ll just happen.”

    She’s been gone 38 years now, and I miss her everyday. Her LOOK could have stopped a speeding train!!

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