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You are here: Home / Climate Change / How about that weather? / Thursday Morning Open Thread: Cold, Cold Prospects

Thursday Morning Open Thread: Cold, Cold Prospects

by Anne Laurie|  January 4, 20184:36 am| 54 Comments

This post is in: How about that weather?, Open Threads, Republican Venality, Russiagate

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(Non Sequitur via GoComics.com)
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(Arlo & Janis via GoComics.com)
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Apart from cursing what we can’t control, what’s on the agenda for the day?

***********

(Tim Eagan via GoComics.com)
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Previous Post: « Open Thread: Local Races, Utah Edition — High & (Very, Very) Low
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Reader Interactions

54Comments

  1. 1.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    January 4, 2018 at 4:46 am

    Trump did not enjoy his own inauguration. He was angry that A-level stars had snubbed the event, disgruntled with the accommodations at Blair House, and visibly fighting with his wife, who seemed on the verge of tears.

    No wonder she doesn’t want to live with him.

  2. 2.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    January 4, 2018 at 4:50 am

    a presidential couple had maintained separate rooms. In the first days, he ordered two television screens in addition to the one already there, and a lock on the door, precipitating a brief standoff with the Secret Service, who insisted they have access to the room. He ­reprimanded the housekeeping staff for picking up his shirt from the floor: “If my shirt is on the floor, it’s because I want it on the floor.” Then he imposed a set of new rules: Nobody touch anything, especially not his toothbrush. (He had a longtime fear of being poisoned, one reason why he liked to eat at McDonald’s — nobody knew he was coming and the food was safely premade.) Also, he would let housekeeping know when he wanted his sheets done, and he would strip his own bed.

    If he was not having his 6:30 dinner with Steve Bannon, then, more to his liking, he was in bed by that time with a cheeseburger, watching his three screens and making phone calls

    Lawrence O’Donnell says the reason he wont let anyone touch his sheets is because he doesn’t want anyone to know he’s incontinent.

  3. 3.

    Major Major Major Major

    January 4, 2018 at 4:54 am

    Off to Sintra for the day!

    @David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch: Jesus Christ what is that from

  4. 4.

    rikyrah

    January 4, 2018 at 5:00 am

    Good Morning, Everyone ???

  5. 5.

    rikyrah

    January 4, 2018 at 5:01 am

    The poor White House staff, having to deal with Dolt45, after having 44 and Forever FLOTUS ? for 8 years.

  6. 6.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    January 4, 2018 at 5:04 am

    @David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch:
    @David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch: What a fucking freak show.

  7. 7.

    OzarkHillbilly

    January 4, 2018 at 5:06 am

    My Freude is thoroughly shadened.

  8. 8.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    January 4, 2018 at 5:07 am

    Trump’s staff reportedly believed him to be semi-literate

    “He didn’t process information in any conventional sense. He didn’t read. He didn’t really even skim. Some believed that for all practical purposes he was no more than semiliterate.”

    Former Deputy Chief of Staff Katie Walsh reportedly said working with Trump in those instances was “like trying to figure out what a child wants.”

    Priebus had his own reservations: He had come out of his first long meeting with Trump thinking it had been a disconcertingly weird experience. Trump talked nonstop and constantly repeated himself.

    “Here’s the deal,” a close Trump associate told Priebus. “In an hour meeting with him, you’re going to hear 54 minutes of stories, and they’re going to be the same stories over and over again.

    The constant repeating of the same stories tells me he’s not semi-illiterate, rather he’s in significant cognitive decline.

    Dementia is not a specific disease. It’s an overall term that describes a wide range of symptoms associated with a decline in memory or other thinking skills severe enough to reduce a person’s ability to perform everyday activities.

  9. 9.

    hellslittlestangel

    January 4, 2018 at 5:07 am

    @David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch: … he doesn’t want anyone to know he’s incontinent.

    Then he really ought to stop wearing that taking-a-shit expression on his face.

  10. 10.

    opiejeanne

    January 4, 2018 at 5:13 am

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: I think my fight with this crud has addled my brains. It was the Melodyland Theater that was sold to an Evangelical church group and became embroiled in several scandals. I must have forgotten that it was located in Anaheim. There was a helicopter purchase involved in the final scandal, a Ponzi scheme pretending to raise money for the church and the Final Harvest (just typing that makes my skin crawl). They were associated with The Assembly of God but also slithered around in the Charismatic Movement. This was not the preacher from Oregon I thought it was.
    The theater was on Harbor, across from Disneyland. It was torn down in 2003, about when we moved to Anaheim, and the Garden Walk complex is built on the site.

  11. 11.

    opiejeanne

    January 4, 2018 at 5:16 am

    @Major Major Major Major: The new book, “Fire and Fury”. There’s a very juicy excerpt on NY Magazine.

    http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/01/michael-wolff-fire-and-fury-book-donald-trump.html

  12. 12.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    January 4, 2018 at 5:17 am

    @opiejeanne: I saw your comment yesterday after I awoke. I had “the cold” early last month and know the feeling.

    ETA: I always read through threads that I’ve commented on even after I go “nite, nite”, first thing after I wake up. Yes, I do sleep.

  13. 13.

    opiejeanne

    January 4, 2018 at 5:26 am

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: Do you sleep? lol. I don’t sleep much because of the terrible coughing. .

  14. 14.

    lgerard

    January 4, 2018 at 5:26 am

    @opiejeanne:

    I was disappointed that there was nothing in that excerpt about my particular bete noire, Stephen Miller.

    At this point is there anyone else associated with the White House who is not on record.calling trump an idiot?

  15. 15.

    MattF

    January 4, 2018 at 5:30 am

    My new HVAC is working, thank FSM. Aaand… when I look out the window, the streets look all… glisteny. I think that’s an omenous sign.

  16. 16.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    January 4, 2018 at 5:31 am

    @opiejeanne: There have been nasty rumors that I don’t sleep, ever. These rumors are untrue, I usually get about 6-8 hours. I had “the cold” the first week of last month and yes would wake up coughing, so would have some more Mucinex. As I said, what worked for me was (Target generic) NyQuil gel caps, Mucinex DM-Max, and hot tea with honey.

  17. 17.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    January 4, 2018 at 5:32 am

    @lgerard: I think the Secretary of State called him a fucking idiot, or was it moron.

  18. 18.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    January 4, 2018 at 5:37 am

    The book is already No. 1 on Amazon’s best sellers list.

  19. 19.

    magurakurin

    January 4, 2018 at 5:37 am

    @Major Major Major Major: lucky you. A beautiful place to be sure.

  20. 20.

    Betty Cracker

    January 4, 2018 at 5:38 am

    It’s 33 degrees here! A brutal chill for those of us who rarely have to wear socks and long pants! I was tempted to invite our poor chickens inside for the night, but they do have a house and bedding, plus they can huddle together for warmth. Still, I feel bad for the critters.

    I’ve so enjoyed the fallout thus far from the “Fire and Fury” book. One dumb retort that I’ve seen repeated by commenters on the left and right goes something like this: “Oh, now y’all find Steve Bannon a credible source?”

    No, slabheads — we’re merely delighted to see someone in Trump’s inner circle confirm what we’ve been saying all along, i.e., Don Jr. and Kushner are treasonous morons who were eager to collude with a hostile foreign power, Ivanka is as dumb as a chunk of masonry, etc.

    It will be fascinating to see how this Trump-Bannon feud affects Breitbart’s alt-right readership, the Mercer wingnut welfare distribution funnel, etc. My guess is Trump is in the stronger position to hang onto his pallid froggy fans, but it’s also entirely possible his newfound hatred for Bannon will drive him into the arms of Mitch McConnell. Rooting for injuries, of course.

  21. 21.

    Major Major Major Major

    January 4, 2018 at 5:42 am

    @opiejeanne: I’m just glad he’s suffering.

  22. 22.

    SFBayAreaGal

    January 4, 2018 at 5:47 am

    Earthquake 4.5 hit Berkeley at 2:40.

  23. 23.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    January 4, 2018 at 5:49 am

    @SFBayAreaGal: 4.5, that’s a pretty good shake.

  24. 24.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    January 4, 2018 at 5:49 am

    @Major Major Major Major: Sintra! – lucky

  25. 25.

    Major Major Major Major

    January 4, 2018 at 5:52 am

    @Major Major Major Major:

    One dumb retort that I’ve seen repeated by commenters on the left and right goes something like this: “Oh, now y’all find Steve Bannon a credible source?”

    Followed, by the lefties I’m sure, with “I am very intelligent”.

  26. 26.

    frosty

    January 4, 2018 at 5:54 am

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: I caught a cold (still hoping it’s not THE cold) on Monday. after reading everyone’s experience I picked up some Mucinex for the first time ever and took one in the evening to avoid getting my sinuses all packed up.

    At 2:00 AM i felt queasy, made my way to the bathroom and tossed my dinner. I didn’t think it was food poisoning so I looked up Mucinex: “Side effects: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea” Ugh. I tossed out the rest of them.

    Still sniffling but not coughing so it seems like a normal cold.

  27. 27.

    Amir Khalid

    January 4, 2018 at 5:56 am

    @OzarkHillbilly:
    Ahem. You freuen sich that someone is experiencing.

  28. 28.

    Aimai

    January 4, 2018 at 5:58 am

    @Betty Cracker: if Bannon hadn’t said these things about Trump then the two of them wouldn’t be fighting now. And bannons reported comments are interesting enough on their own.

  29. 29.

    mai naem mobile

    January 4, 2018 at 6:00 am

    @Betty Cracker: is Michael Wolff considered a good reporter? The stuff just sounds so freaking crazy. I mean he’s basically confirming the way pretty much every BJ jackal speculated the WH is/was being run and the way Dolt45 acts. I know who Wolff is and I’m not saying his reporting is bad . I just hope he’s not intentionally cherry picking stuff just to confirm the thoughts and fears of Dems and the never Trumpers.

  30. 30.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    January 4, 2018 at 6:00 am

    @frosty: Meds affect everyone differently, but Mucinex DM-Max(what I took) is for coughing. I took it so I could sleep at night.

  31. 31.

    opiejeanne

    January 4, 2018 at 6:02 am

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: The doc prescribed some cough syrup with codeine and it does make me sleepy but it wore off a while ago. I should probably take another dose, since it’s time now.

  32. 32.

    Major Major Major Major

    January 4, 2018 at 6:04 am

    @frosty: mucinex has caused me trouble on an empty stomach before. (Whatever it is I typed for “trouble” tried to autocorrect to “to Igor” which I suppose would have worked too.)

  33. 33.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    January 4, 2018 at 6:07 am

    @opiejeanne: If it’s time, take another dose and get some sleep, that’s the most important part of the cure.

  34. 34.

    frosty

    January 4, 2018 at 6:07 am

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: Aha! No coughing here yet. So far no other issues so I’m going to try to go to work today.

  35. 35.

    Anne Laurie

    January 4, 2018 at 6:11 am

    @mai naem mobile:

    is Michael Wolff considered a good reporter?

    Well, you just gave me an excuse to bump up a scheduled post — see new thread now at the top of the page.

    Shorter: Wolff’s not a “reporter” in any of the usual uses of that word, but he is preeminent as a writer who cruelly skewers the rich moguls he’s fascinated by. Especially NYC moguls! So: he is not the news-bringer we want, but he is very much the ‘tattletale’ Donald Trump deserves.

  36. 36.

    frosty

    January 4, 2018 at 6:11 am

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: Agree on sleep. Two days off staying mostly in bed and being able to nap whenever I needed to has really helped. So time to roll over and try again. Later!

  37. 37.

    opiejeanne

    January 4, 2018 at 6:13 am

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: The Mucinex is working for David. It sort of worked for me but not enough; he’s not as sick as I am and I hope it stays that way. We ran through a bottle of it pretty fast.
    I’ll swear that half of town was in the Urgent Care today. The doc I drew listened to my chest and sent me for an x-ray. I think we were there about 2 hours because they had to have a radiologist off-site analyze my film. By the time I left the wait-time to see a doctor was four+ hours. I’ve never seen it that bad but we get the flu shot every year and rarely get sick these days, since we’re both retired and there are no small children in the family, but I’d trade a cold or two a year for a grandchild. I realized today that I probably can’t get this sick too many more times; I’m 67 and I am starting to feel a bit frail.

  38. 38.

    Schlemazel

    January 4, 2018 at 6:15 am

    @David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch:
    Oh googie – something else he will be bragging about soon

  39. 39.

    Raven

    January 4, 2018 at 6:16 am

    The sore throat and cough have kicked in and our plane doesn’t leave until 9:30 am out here. I’ve been on the edge the entire time we’ve been here but I think I just powered through given the situation. The National championship tickets came and ,after a day of pondering, when I heard that fucking scumbag was going to the game I put them up for sale at $2000 each. We had a nice day visiting with my buddy. We started up on Palos Verdes watching the whale watchers. Then back to Pasadena for so half price Rose Bowl swag and lunch with my brother. Then back to the San Pedro fish market for ceviche and mariachi music as a huge liner pulled past the Iowa. We get back to the ATL at about 6:30 after a 45 minute layover up from Ozark. I managed to repair both the stovetop and oven for my sis so I’m glad I could do something to help out here.

  40. 40.

    Amir Khalid

    January 4, 2018 at 6:19 am

    @Amir Khalid:

    Ahem. You freuen sich that someone is experiencing.

    … Schade.

  41. 41.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    January 4, 2018 at 6:24 am

    Been struggling with this cough since Thanksgiving. – it never goes completely away. Now I have a little cold on top of it. Yay me.

  42. 42.

    satby

    January 4, 2018 at 6:48 am

    @frosty: try Sudephed Severe Congestion and Cold or the generic equivalent. It helped me.

  43. 43.

    Baud

    January 4, 2018 at 6:49 am

    @rikyrah: Good morning.

  44. 44.

    satby

    January 4, 2018 at 6:51 am

    @rikyrah: Good morning ?! How’s things?
    This side of the lake is expecting 3 inches of snow today, after the 3 inches yesterday, and then 3 more tomorrow. On top of the 6 inches already on the ground. But at least the temperature will be up in the teens.

  45. 45.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    January 4, 2018 at 6:54 am

    @Raven: Sounds like you had a nice day here in the Southland, hope you have a nice flight. The NC game is going to be a zoo with asshole being there, probably a good idea to sell(though I was in the not sell camp before).

  46. 46.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    January 4, 2018 at 6:54 am

    @Baud: Morning.

  47. 47.

    satby

    January 4, 2018 at 6:55 am

    @Raven: sounds like a great trip overall, and the tickets sold should pay for it! Awesome, now safe trip home and get some rest.

  48. 48.

    Baud

    January 4, 2018 at 6:59 am

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: Good morning. How’s it hanging?

  49. 49.

    satby

    January 4, 2018 at 7:09 am

    @Baud: hey you! Keeping warm?

  50. 50.

    Baud

    January 4, 2018 at 7:14 am

    @satby: I’m doing ok. Hope you and the critters are toasty and indoors.

  51. 51.

    satby

    January 4, 2018 at 7:45 am

    @Baud: I just wish it would quit snowing or get warmer. We’re going to think 32° is T-shirt weather.

  52. 52.

    Ken

    January 4, 2018 at 7:48 am

    @mai naem mobile: I’m sure he did cherry-pick, since he knows what sells books. My understanding is that he has a lot of this on tape, so could produce them if anyone claims they were misquoted. (Though you notice, so far no one is claiming that – they’re invoking NDAs and yelling at one another, but not denying the content.)

    BTW I’d love to see full transcripts – I wonder, would this be covered by the FOIA?

  53. 53.

    Robert Sneddon

    January 4, 2018 at 9:41 am

    @Ken: My mind boggles — I can’t imagine a journalist being allowed to wander randomly through the Kremlin waving a tape recorder, or Downing Street or any other major governmental office anywhere else in the world. Did this ever happen on Obama’s watch too, or Clinton or Bush (either of them?) Open government yes, but this is maybe a bit too open…

  54. 54.

    Miss Bianca

    January 4, 2018 at 12:50 pm

    @Betty Cracker: I think “slabhead” has become my new favorite epithet, thanks to you. : )

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