Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

I did not have this on my fuck 2022 bingo card.

Republicans want to make it harder to vote and easier for them to cheat.

Bark louder, little dog.

The line between political reporting and fan fiction continues to blur.

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

Boeing: repeatedly making the case for high speed rail.

Republican speaker of the house Mike Johnson is the bland and smiling face of evil.

“The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.”

Is it negotiation when the other party actually wants to shoot the hostage?

Impressively dumb. Congratulations.

Republicans are the party of chaos and catastrophe.

Good lord, these people are nuts.

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

Wake up. Grow up. Get in the fight.

Bogus polls are all they’ve got left. Let’s bury these fuckers at the polls a year from now.

I like you, you’re my kind of trouble.

Live so that if you miss a day of work people aren’t hoping you’re dead.

The arc of the moral universe doesn’t bend itself. it’s up to us.

Republicans firmly believe having an abortion is a very personal, very private decision between a woman and J.D. Vance.

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

I’m more Christian than these people and I’m an atheist.

I didn’t have alien invasion on my 2023 BINGO card.

Another missed opportunity for Jamie Dimon to just shut the fuck up.

Republican also-rans: four mules fighting over a turnip.

You are here: Home / Politics / Domestic Politics / Happy Fourth (Open Thread)

Happy Fourth (Open Thread)

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I don’t much feel like celebrating, seeing as how a malignant narcissist who was sleazed into office by a murderous foreign autocrat is running the country into the ground.

Let’s talk about this gecko instead:

It showed up in my sink at 4 AM yesterday. Geckos eat bugs, so they are welcome in our home.

But it soon became clear the critter was stuck in the sink. I’ve seen them crawl across ceilings, but the sides of my deep sink were too much for this one.

I propped a spatula in the sink to make a bridge for the creature, but it did not use it. After an hour or so, I trapped it in a glass and released it outside.

What are y’all up to today?

Reader Interactions

131Comments

  1. 1.

    debbie

    Staying inside and scanning hundreds of old family photos before my 16-year-old Mac finally gives up the ghost.

  3. 3.

    Mustang Bobby

    Your gecko’s kin was in my shower the other day. I relocated him/her gently to the great outdoors because I was afraid of starvation or dehydration.

  4. 4.

    evodevo

    Hey! Just pick it up …they aren’t venomous or anything ..just don’t squeeze them, cup them.

  6. 6.

    Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.)

    Geckos are the best. I love geckos. They’re everywhere in Honduras. And they even chirp! Sadly, we don’t have them here in Virginia.

  7. 7.

    Patricia Kayden

    Betty, you’re so much smarter than me. When I saw a lizard in my kitchen sink, I panicked and called a wild life guy who charged me $150 to remove it for me. Hubby laughed and said that the guy probably kept it as a pet. Oh well.

  8. 8.

    Cermet

    I was going to convert my attic fan to solar power but discovered I didn’t have the correct inverter (need a 24 vDC to 120 vAC.) So, ordered one and hopefully it arrives Friday so I can install the solar panels then on the roof and use that instead of more CO2 gas methods. Also, I’ll add a wall outlet to it (the 120) so I have an emergency power source to charge a phone when power is out long term .
    I guess I’ll just replace some bike cables, then repair its tires and see if the bike still works. Finally, set up a work desk for my daughter so she can study for the Physics GRE’s; I remember them and ugh, they were difficult and no fun.

    My other daughter has a Gecko as a pet! Rather cute animals to say the least.

  9. 9.

    MattF

    Not a lot. Too hot. Rereading ‘Uprooted’. I bought the ebook (cheap, for some reason, at the Apple ebook store), and can read it on both my computer and my phone. Considering getting a Kindle account, once I’ve figured out how to transfer from Kindle format to epub. Gives me an additional reason to want an iPad.

    Will go on a grocery run, tomorrow.

  11. 11.

    Kristine

    It’s my birthday. The big 6-0. Having a hard time wrapping my mind around that simple fact.

    Home from a morning walk with friends through the local state park. My town has a fireworks display I can see from the deck. I enjoy the light show, even though I’ll have my hands full keeping Gaby calm. Other than that, since it’s going to be another hot, humid Midwest summer day, I will be staying home in the cool.

  12. 12.

    Kay

    I’m staining a fence. It’s a long fence, it’s hot as hell, and I worked too long on it yesterday, got horribly dehydrated so couldn’t bring myself to go the fireworks last night. I don’t have that much left to do though.

  13. 13.

    dp

    I’m breaking in Firefox after my laptop fell from the table and Chrome decided to go AWOL. Happy Fourth to all.

  15. 15.

    O. Felix Culpa

    Watering my thirsty plants (we’re in serious drought) and trying to remember to hydrate myself. Repotting rampant tomatoes. Maybe even reading a book when afternoon heat strikes. Or taking a nap. Or both.

  16. 16.

    Catherine D.

    My dog died during the night, so it’s a pretty sucky day. At least I’m crying at home and not at work.

  17. 17.

    MattF

    @dp: I tried Chome and it worked pretty well– until I discovered that it wanted to take over my password management. No sirree, sir, not going to happen.

  18. 18.

    geg6

    Gonna lay in my sister’s pool with a bunch of my DFH family. We’re grilling with an all American menu based around the humble hotdog and every fixing for them you can imagine, along with potato salad and corn on the cob. Various chips and dips from my cousin and her wife. And my blackberry custard pie and blueberry and blackberry galette. We consider ourselves the true patriots and will drink toasts to the Declaration and gear up for the big fight this fall. Every one of us will be hitting the streets then.

  20. 20.

    germy

    I think they’re getting nervous:

    Happy Independence Day my fellow Americans! I hope you all have a good 4th. And remember….a Hilary supporter celebrating the 4th of July is like an atheist celebrating Christmas! ??

  25. 25.

    Kay

    @germy:

    Mean spirited and nasty, like every day. Trump has the magical ability to make everyone worse then they otherwise would have been. When people go to work for him you can watch it in real time. I didn’t think it was possible to make Alan Dershowitz worse but he somehow managed it.

  29. 29.

    MattF

    @Schlemazel: I have 1password, but mostly I use the OS X keychain, since that’s got all my certs as well. My main problem is with fetching financial data from a dozen different accounts inside the financial program I use without really being clear how the various account passwords are managed inside the program. Seems to work, though, so I’m not complaing very much.

  33. 33.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Susan Collins on MSNBC jabbering about her independent credentials, named the least partisan senator five years in a row by something called the Lugar Center at Georgetown University! It’s at once infuriating and hilarious and pathetic, and confirms to me how much of her silly dithering is about polishing her reputation among people who give a fuck about things like the Lugar Center.

    Though she may be getting several ears-full at Fourth parades around Maine today. I will still bet all my quatloos that she will vote however The Sneering Turtle tells her to.

  34. 34.

    waratah

    Breaking in a new infared grill. I have not used beer when pre cooking bratwurst, does anyone have any suggestions on what beer to cook to add flavor?

  37. 37.

    Barbara

    Braving the heat to go to Smithsonian folklife festival. We went kayaking earlier this week on Antietam Creek and visited parts of the battlefield, which, if you didn’t know, resulted in the highest loss of American soldiers on a single day in our entire history before or since.

  38. 38.

    Anotherlurker

    I will be binge watching Shakesperian sit-com, “Upstart Crow”.
    Since I have been seriously under the weather for a month now and July 4th is one of my least favorite holidays, I feel the need to indulge in a smart, well executed television series.

  40. 40.

    mad citizen

    RIchard Lugar was our longtime senator who was primaried out by a ridiculous Tea Partier, who lost to Sen. Joe Donnelly, who is running for the seat this year. Anyway, Lugar had this reputation as this bipartisan, thinking Republican, foreign policy expert, etc. Yet what I thought about all during the W years was, is Lugar ever going to say anything publicly about how badly this dude is screwing up our country? The answer was No, party before country every day. Thanks for that Dick!

    Sorry for the political injection–back to the second civil war!

  42. 42.

    L85NJGT

    The Glorious Fourth!

    @germy:
    Who wouldn’t celebrate the fall of Vicksburg and Lee’s humiliating defeat at Gettysburg?

  43. 43.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @MattF: also kinda weird how Murkowskii is always mentioned as something of an afterthought, but she’s not the preening spotlight hunter Collins is. Everyone kind of accepts that she’d vote to burn flags and outlaw ice cream if it meant authorizing the scraping of the last natural resource out of the Alaskan soil. Also weird that no one is talking about Dean Heller in NV, Blue-ishly purple state where IIRC the R Gov Sandoval is one of the last of the pro-choice Republicans.

  44. 44.

    SenyorDave

    @germy: @germy: Happy Independence Day my fellow Americans! I hope you all have a good 4th. And remember….a Hilary supporter celebrating the 4th of July is like an atheist celebrating Christmas!

    Is this a Trump tweet? Because if it is, even considering the source, its more classless than possible.

  49. 49.

    Elizabelle

    @MattF: I am hoping we can bring enough pressure onto the “moderates” that they do indeed delay any hearings until after the midterms.

    We should not capitulate at the outset. These are not the usual times, so we should not go by the usual precedents.

  51. 51.

    sdhays

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: I think it’s possible she might vote against, as long as it doesn’t prevent the nominee being approved. Heitkampf, Donnelly, and Manchin will probably provide her cover.

  52. 52.

    The Moar You Know

    I have flown a flag outside my home on all the major flag days since I first bought a home, but not since the end of 2016, and I flat out refuse to until that fucking debauched traitorous animal is removed from the White House. Preferably in chains. Don’t really care how, but he goes before I’m willing to consider acting like a “proud American” again. Because I am not.

    I might add that I had no problem doing this under Bush. My stance is not about party.

  53. 53.

    opiejeanne

    @schrodingers_cat: There are some things I will not touch but I used to pick up lizards and horned lizards, aka horny toads, when I was a kid. We’d keep them for a few hours and let them go. They were a standard backyard creature in the 1950s in Southern California but they’ve pretty much disappeared as more and more houses ate up the open land. I don’t think my kids have ever seen one.
    Horned Lizard

  56. 56.

    MattF

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: @Elizabelle: I had dinner with an old friend, a middle-of-the-road Democrat. She worked at a high-level staff position in the House during the Clinton years. The subject ot McConnell came up, and I bobbled a bit, saying he was evil, but not irrational– and she just waved that away. “He’s a snake”, she said. And then suggested that McConnell is merely waiting to put the knife into Trump.

  59. 59.

    opiejeanne

    @The Moar You Know: If I had a flagpole my flag would have flown at half mast on November 9th, 2016 and on the day the EC finished its vote. Today I’d be flying it upside down, but all I have is a flag-themed wreath and I intend to drape it in black ribbons.

  60. 60.

    Yarrow

    Happy 4th of July, everyone. I don’t feel like celebrating either. Did help rescue some wildlife yesterday so that was nice.

  61. 61.

    B.B.A.

    “How is it that we hear the loudest yelps for liberty among the drivers of negroes?” – Samuel Johnson, 1775

    I’m on team America Was Never Great and this July 4th my hope is that someday we’ll tear down the statues of the vile slaver and rapist who wrote the Declaration of Independence, so that only his words may remain. Rededicate the memorial to the south of the Tidal Basin to “the memory of a great man.” Or to Sally Hemings.

    I know these views aren’t popular but I have never courted popularity.

  62. 62.

    Shell

    Another blistering day here too, so not much outside exertion planned. After all the crazy-ass rain weve had here in Maryland, it feels weird to be hoping for a thunderstorm.
    *****
    And, sigh, its the first 4th of July when I dont have to worry about comforting my critter, Katie.

  63. 63.

    Jager

    @opiejeanne:

    We’ve got more lizards of all kinds this year, most we’ve seen since we moved into this house 3 years ago. Anze the Dog pays no attention to them anymore. Squirrels on the other hand enrage him.

  64. 64.

    waratah

    @L85NJGT: thanks but my daughter was doing the shopping and called to tell me she had found a mixed flavor six pack of Shiner Bock.

  65. 65.

    efgoldman

    My daughter won the office lottery for a BBQ and fireworks viewing on the roof of her office on I St NW, so that’s where my kids will be.
    Me? Hunkered down in my a/c cave. There are displays all around us (last nite, too) fairly close, but getting outside to watch them isn’t worth the hassle.
    We got no geckos.

  66. 66.

    Calouste

    @germy: The celebration of Christmas is about 10% religious and 90% pagan/secular. No reason for an atheist not to participate.

    Now if that “Christian” had used Easter, the actual most important day in the Church calendar, they might have had a point.

  67. 67.

    Anotherlurker

    @danielx: I’m not trying to sound like a troll, but Yungling is a rabidly anti-union company. The CEO, a Yungling family member, is an asssucking trump toady.
    For Brats, I’d suggest using Michelobe Amber Bock. It is a very drinkable, union made brew, which should complement the links nicely.

  69. 69.

    Felony Govt

    Taking my kid to the airport for her vacation trip to Sweden and Norway. Otherwise mourning the America I thought I knew, and trying to relax.

  71. 71.

    opiejeanne

    @schrodingers_cat: I won’t pick up lizards now but I’d probably still pick up a horned lizard. They have tiny scales on their soft stomachs that feel smooth, like tiny beads packed together. They are gentle except when dispatching crickets.We kids were all fascinated that they would “cry” blood sometimes when caught, only a tiny dot next to their eyes. I only saw it once and never had it explained. The lizards in our yard were “fence lizards” which are still abundant in SoCal and eat mosquitoes, and one called a blue belly that was as fast as lightning. Blue bellies put me off handling lizards forever because of the way they feel, almost oily, although there was a time at summer camp that I caught a big beautiful alligator lizard. I put him in a coffee can to show my counselor and when I took him out he bit me. It didn’t hurt but I was so surprised I dropped him and he ran out the door of the cabin.

    Alligator Lizard

    Western Fence Lizard

  72. 72.

    Steeplejack

    Got back a little while ago from dropping off the Sighthound Hall mob at National (DCA) for a three-week trip to Brazil. Mostly in Fortaleza, the BIL’s hometown (northern coast), with a side trip or two, I think. Bro’ Man, the BIL, two toddlers, nanny (who is being released into the wild upon arrival in Brazil for her own vacation with family in a different part of the country)—and ten 50-pound checked bags!

    It is a cherished tradition for Brazilian ex-pats to bring the prized U.S. consumer goods when returning home. I think two of those bags are stuff the travelers actually need; the rest are filled with swag to be distributed among the huge extended family: clothes to be handed down, recently superseded iPhones, iPads, etc., oddball specific requests—Centrum vitamins, WTF—and other flotsam and jetsam. Even a couple of roasting pans, I think. The rich tapestry of international trade, undisturbed by pesky tariffs and duties.

    To be fair, there are a lot of weird price differences between the countries, so odd things—like, say, a good-quality T-shirt with a prestige logo (e.g., Adidas)—are hotly desired by the young relatives, who never seem to wear that T-shirt but totally did not sell it to someone else at a big markup.

    I got to drive the recently acquired Suburban prairie schooner back to Sighthound Hall—bit of an adventure, but the traffic wasn’t bad at all. It was horrible going into D.C.; all the bridges were backed up.

    So it’s just the housecat and me for a low-key Fourth. “Only” going up to 92° today, with “only” 72% humidity, so that’s a bit of a silver lining. Might hit the deli if I get energized, but I’ve got victuals here if I decide to stay in.

  75. 75.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @waratah: I would use the hoppiest beer, but that’s what I like to drink. If it’s a mixed pack, the one I liked least, but I’d stay away from most fruity flavors, though some of them– cherry or apricot?– might make for an interesting flavor. The Germans do like to put a lot of sweet in their savory, don’t they?

    You probably know this, but the first time I pre-cooked brats in beer I didn’t poke holes in the casings and those things turned into some ugly shapes

  76. 76.

    L85NJGT

    @waratah:

    Any lager or golden ale will do – I just meant cook with cheap wine, and cook with cheap beer. You won’t taste the difference.

  77. 77.

    Kathleen

    @schrodingers_cat: @Patricia Kayden: I live in a high rise and I’ve heard that quite a few units have entertained unwelcome visitors of the rodent persuasion (mice). I’ve not seen any on my floor or in my unit but I’m still feeling unsettled. My point (and there is one!) is that I’m generally terrified of nature and am ruing the impending Apocalypse. I’m with you, Patricia! I would pay $150 to remove a mouse!

  81. 81.

    Nicole

    A friend of mine who lives in Port Charlotte and was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer last year just had to have the talk with the doctor no wants to have to have, especially at age 48. The end isn’t immediately imminent, but it’s on the horizon. His wife let us all know Monday, but it’s finally really kicked in for me today. Ugh. His son is 11, just a little older than I was when my mom died from cancer. I’m trying to track down resources for kids dealing with grief in their area, but it’s a frustrating google search from 1000 miles away.

    I’ll say this though, at least there are resources for kids now. Very different from when I went through it.

  82. 82.

    opiejeanne

    @Jager: squirrels enrage one of our cats. She has conniption fits if they’re on the deck, right under her nose on the other side of the French doors. Freedom doors? No lizards here just outside Seattle, but we have a very large garter snake. I didn’t know they got very big but this one was over 3 feet long at the last sighting. He lives beside our driveway and made his first appearance two years ago in mid-July as we were setting up for our youngest’s wedding. My niece was placing solar garden lights (Dollar Store!) and set one down beside his hole and up he came for a look. She shrieked and we all came running. There are no poisonous snakes in Western Washington unless someone has one in a terrarium, but she’s from SoCal where we have rattlers, and doesn’t know much about the wildlife.
    My sister has a large contingent of fence lizards that sun themselves on her patio, and she has imagined a whole soap opera about their lives, but I can’t tell one from another because they all look about the same size when I see multiples.

  84. 84.

    efgoldman

    NPR tweeted this out.
    Apparently they flying monkeys are even dumber than we thought; I can’t see the tweet/replies, but apparently they were in full stupid mode and didn’t recognize the source

  85. 85.

    MattF

    The negative comments about lizards suggest that some people have never been to New Orleans. And probably shouldn’t go there.

  92. 92.

    Kristine

    @Kathleen:

    Happy Birthday, Youngster! When I reached 60 my tolerance for BS plummeted immediately.

    Hoping for the same. I’ve been way too patient for way too long.

  93. 93.

    Kathleen

    @rikyrah: I guess Bernie hadn’t told him about it. (Indulging in gratuitous snark though I appreciate Chris’ reporting on refugees).

  98. 98.

    CaseyL

    @Catherine D.: I’m so sorry! I hope you can spend the day remembering the good times, even as you cry.

    Quiet day here. Will probably do some work on the glass art project, with the timing depending on how hot the day is. I’m like Detritus, the troll cop in Pratchett’s Discworld series: the hotter it gets, the less well my mind works.

  100. 100.

    opiejeanne

    @Calouste: So is Easter, to the point that some of the fundies/evangelicals have tried to reclaim it from the goddess it’s named for by calling it Resurrection Sunday. The Easter bunny, decorated eggs, all of that is pagan; not sure where releasing balloons or fancy new clothes for church on Easter fit in. All of which I’m guilty. I’m a Methodist and don’t much care what you call the day or do to celebrate it, and I haven’t been to church in several years because the local one is full of tea partiers and the minister is afraid of his shadow; never heard such a bland sermon in my life, based on a forgettably bland Bible verse and signifying nothing of importance to anyone. This church is not in the liberal intellectual tradition I’ve been used to all my life, and it annoyed me that they sang the bland new praise hymns and not a single one of the older ones. It was like Wesley who?

  108. 108.

    mainmata

    @Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.): When I was living in Indonesia, the gecko house lizard (there are many, many species of gecko lizards) were in most houses and even office buildings. They are completely harmless and relatively easy to pick up if you need to move them. However, be careful if you find one on the ceiling directly above your head. I had one poop on my head (small dry pellets) and then laugh at me in that distinctive gecko way. I had to laugh too.

    We also had the much larger Tokay lizard, which may only be found in Indonesia. Though also harmless and scarier looking it is easy to catch because it ahs an extremely long tail that you can grab to lift them up at which point they go passive. They are called Tokay geckos because their call sounds exactly like that word.

  112. 112.

    Elizabelle

    WaPost. Max Boot: I left the Republican Party. Now I want Democrats to take over.

    Unlike George Will, he does not feel the need to denigrate the Democratic party. He says not one unkind thing about them. (Actually, they are not mentioned at all, until the penultimate sentence.) Take it away, Max.

    “Should I stay or should I go now?” That question, posed by the eminent political philosophers known as The Clash, is one that confronts any Republican with a glimmer of conscience. You used to belong to a conservative party with a white-nationalist fringe. Now it’s a white-nationalist party with a conservative fringe. If you’re part of that fringe, what should you do?

    …. After a lifetime as a Republican, I re-registered as an independent on the day after Donald Trump’s election.

    Explaining my decision, I noted that Trumpkins [how snuggly] “want to transform the GOP into a European-style nationalist party that opposes cuts in entitlement programs, believes in deportation of undocumented immigrants, white identity politics, protectionism and isolationism backed by hyper-macho threats to bomb the living daylights out of anyone who messes with us.” I still hoped then that traditional conservatives might eventually prevail but, I wrote, “I can no longer support a party that doesn’t know what it stands for – and that in fact may stand for positions that I find repugnant.” [Max: one of these issues is not like the others.]

    I am more convinced than ever that I made the right decision. The transformation I feared has taken place. Just look at the reaction to President Trump’s barbarous policy of taking children away from their parents as punishment for the misdemeanor offense of illegally entering the country. While two-thirds of Americans disapproved of this state-sanctioned child abuse, forcing the president to back down, a majority of Republicans approved.

    … The entire Republican platform can now be reduced to three words: Whatever Trump says.

    And yet there are still principled #NeverTrump conservatives such as Tom Nichols and Bill Kristol who are staying in the party. And they have a good case to make. Kristol, for one, balks “at giving up the Republican party to the forces of nativism, vulgar populism, and authoritarianism.” As he notes, “It would be bad for the country if one of our two major parties went in this direction.”

    …. I can’t respect are head-in-the-sand conservatives who continue to support the GOP by pretending that nothing has changed.

    They act, these political ostriches, as if this were still the party of Ronald Reagan and John McCain rather than of Steve Bannon and Stephen Miller — and therefore they cling to the illusion that supporting Republican candidates will advance their avowed views. Wrong. The current GOP still has a few resemblances to the party of old — it still cuts taxes and supports conservative judges. But a vote for the GOP in November is also a vote for egregious obstruction of justice, rampant conflicts of interest, the demonization of minorities, the debasement of political discourse, the alienation of America’s allies, the end of free trade and the appeasement of dictators.

    That is why I join Will and other principled conservatives, both current and former Republicans, in rooting for a Democratic takeover of both houses in November. Like postwar Germany and Japan, the Republican Party must first be destroyed before it can be rebuilt.

  114. 114.

    waratah

    @Steeplejack: we really tried to cut back on our bags for our trip to Italy and Greek islands but still managed to have two checked plus carry on.
    I had lightweight cases so coming back every one used my second one to put bought stuff as I did not fill it.
    I always get an extra bag when I come back for visiting Australia

  115. 115.

    Mel

    @Nicole: So very sorry that your friend and his family are facing this nightmare, and also sorry that you are facing the loss of your friend. It really does kick up the ghosts of one’s childhood when something hits so close to the heart and to past experience.

    Thank you for helping to look out for your friend’s little one. You are so right – there wasn’t a damned thing done support-wise for kids with a seriously or terminally ill parent a few decades ago. Walked that path over 40 years ago as a six year old, and spent over three months not even being allowed to see my mother, as doctors thought it would “be upsetting for a child” to see a very sick parent in the hospital.

    You’re a good friend and a good human being, and your kindness and love will mean the world to your friend and his family.

  117. 117.

    Gelfling 545

    Had the sprinkler going on the back garden as things were looking a bit depleted. I went out to shut iit off just now but my yard was full of reveling birds cooling off in the spray, so I left it on for a bit.

  118. 118.

    smedley the uncertain

    @waratah: Shiner Bock is a pretty good beer at the right price. Save a little bit to baste the cook…

    Cheers

  119. 119.

    Haroldo

    @waratah: The cheapest, nastiest you can find. Add a yellow onion cut in half, skins on. For adventure, maybe a tablespoon of dry mustard. Boil. Keep in juice until you grill ’em.

  123. 123.

    Elizabelle

    @Mel:

    Walked that path over 40 years ago as a six year old, and spent over three months not even being allowed to see my mother, as doctors thought it would “be upsetting for a child” to see a very sick parent in the hospital.

    I’m sorry you lost your mom and were denied access to her for so long. It was how people handled things. You all have made some good comments about how the orphaned child feels abandoned.

  124. 124.

    Josie

    @waratah: I use Shiner Bock and it’s delicious. Also good for drinking the rest of the six-pack.

    ETA: smedley beat me to it.

  125. 125.

    Aleta

    Sam Levine @srl 3 Jul 2018

    ‏News: A federal judge said the Trump administration had to disclose more information about its decision to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census as part of an ongoing lawsuit challenging the decision. There’s a small protest outside the courthouse now after the hearing. 

Today was a hearing on motion to dismiss and it’s the day before the 4th of July. The courtroom was packed and there was an overflow room with a lot of people too
.

    * The judge granted 3 parts of discovery: 1) The government has to produce a log of all communications that it’s withholding and why 2) The government has to add more documents to the materials to its explanation 3) the plaintiffs can take 10 fact depositions of DOJ and commerce officials

    * The judge said he will reserve judgement on whether case will be dismissed, but said it was likely to go forward at least in part

    * There was some talk about deposing Kris Kobach and Steve Bannon as part of this lawsuit, but the judge said he didn’t think that was needed right now. Also put off question on whether Wilbur Ross should be deposed for possible briefing at a later date

.

    ‏

    The government argued at today’s meeting that the Secretary of Commerce has vast discretion over how to conduct the commerce. There isn’t a manageable standard for courts to review those decisions, they said, but congress can.

    * 
The plaintiffs said that courts can review the decision to add a citizenship question. They said it should look at whether a decision was related to getting as accurate a count as possible.


    * The government also argued that the plaintiffs hadn’t suffered an injury they could trace to the government’s actions.
    * It’s not the government’s fault if people choose not to respond to the census, DOJ lawyers said.

    * The problem with this standard, the gov’t said, is that one could argue that any demographic question can potentially compromise the accuracy of the census. Asking about race, age, nationality, etc could cause people not to want to respond. Judge also pressed plaintiffs on this

    * 

But NY AG lawyers made a distinction. When the census has added questions in the past it does extensive testing to make sure it’s phrased in such a way to get as good data as possible. Commerce Dep’t didn’t do that with citizenship question.


    Statement by Dept 
Commerce spokesperson:
    “We are disappointed that the court in New York did not defer fact discovery until after a ruling on a motion to dismiss. We are confident that plaintiffs’ case is without merit, that any allegations of bad faith are specious, and that we will prevail in court.”

    Statement by NYS AG:
    “Today marked a major win in our lawsuit to protect the Census, with a federal judge ordering the Trump administration to provide vital information on how the decision to demand citizenship status was made. …
    The federal government has a solemn obligation to ensure a fair and accurate count of all people in this country. By demanding the citizenship status of each resident, the Trump administration is breaking with decades of policy and potentially causing a major undercount that would threaten billions in federal funds and New York’s fair representation in Congress and the Electoral College.”

  127. 127.

    J R in WV

    @Catherine D.:

    Sorry for your loss. We’ve had so many great pups and kitties over the many years (47+ together) and still losing one hurts so much. So we know how you feel, and we regret it with you.

    Take care today, stay frosty as Adam says. And hydrated!!

    Best wishes for the rest of your summer too.

  129. 129.

    Aleta

    @Aleta: More parts of the story here.

    In the end, to honor F.D.C. Willard’s role in helping to break down the barriers keeping felines out of human science careers, the American Physical Society announced on April 1, 2014 that all papers authored by cats would be made “freely available” for the public to read henceforth. They also added that “Not since Schrödinger has there been an opportunity like this for cats in physics.”

  130. 130.

    J R in WV

    @danielx:

    If you can get it, Yuengling is a nice compromise between cheap and good.

    I agree that Yuengling is a pretty good beer, especially their darker brew. BUT Mr. Yuengling the– heir of the family and manager of the company — is an anti-union RWNJ, and when I learned that he spends millions of dollars to break America’s best protection for workers, well, I have had my last taste of that beer. Ever. Tap water first.

    We are a union family here in the hollow!!

    When I see a guy looking at Yuengling who looks like a construction trades kind of guy, I tell him that Mr. Yuengling is even more anti union than Mr. Coors. Sometimes it makes a difference.

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