Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Republicans seem to think life begins at the candlelight dinner the night before.

Their freedom requires your slavery.

Let’s delete this post and never speak of this again.

Battle won, war still ongoing.

Republicans don’t want a speaker to lead them; they want a hostage.

This has so much WTF written all over it that it is hard to comprehend.

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

… pundit janitors mopping up after the GOP

Not so fun when the rabbit gets the gun, is it?

A democracy can’t function when people can’t distinguish facts from lies.

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

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

We cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation.

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

Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

Usually wrong but never in doubt

if you can’t see it, then you are useless in the fight to stop it.

The GOP is a fucking disgrace.

When do we start airlifting the women and children out of Texas?

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

Too often we hand the biggest microphones to the cynics and the critics who delight in declaring failure.

Fuck the extremist election deniers. What’s money for if not for keeping them out of office?

You are here: Home / Nature & Respite / Birdwatching / Wednesday Morning Open Thread

Wednesday Morning Open Thread

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Here is what I believe may be a juvenile Great Blue Heron wading near the riverbank. It is approximately the size of an ibis. If I’m wrong on this bird ID, please set me straight in comments.

The mister and I both have the day off, and rather than doing responsible things like painting or caulking, we’re going to have fun. First, we’ll have breakfast at a delightful mom-and-pop diner we recently discovered. Who knows, maybe some NYT reporter on a post-election Deploraville safari will buttonhole us for our views on Trump — and boy, will he or she get a goddamned earful if so!

Then, we’re going shopping for Thanksgiving side dish supplies, hardware odds and ends, etc. Shopping together is an activity that strains the bonds of our partnership since we have radically different philosophies on how to approach it. (This isn’t the fun part, BTW.) We’ve mostly avoided joint shopping trips during our two decades-plus marriage. But since we now live in a literal howling wilderness, trips to town for supplies require time and planning, so we’re learning to reconcile our shopping styles perforce.

Then, we’re going to come home, pack a picnic lunch in a cooler, and go explore the river in a jon boat. That’s the fun part. I hope to return with more waterfowl and wildlife photos, which I may share if y’all behave.

Open thread!

Reader Interactions

176Comments

  3. 3.

    NobodySpecial

    Good morning.

    I’ll be spending my day doing laundry and taking care of my poor cat, who got neutered yesterday. Then work. Joy.

  4. 4.

    Raven

    In other great news my primary called this afternoon and asked how my double vision was. I told her it was fine and seemed to have resolved and she said, “oh good, I was wondering because the report from the nuero says you had a mini-stroke”! So I was told right after the MRI that there was no sign of tumor or stroke and now i get this. I missed my follow-up with the neuro so I have to call them this morning and see when I can get more info. Damn.

  6. 6.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Oh we’ll behave Betty. Mind you, I’m not saying how we’ll behave. Have fun.

    My own day will be full of prep for the Traditional Thanksgiving Wkend Backpacking Chili and Cornbread Feast in Iron County this wkend, and making bread for tomorrow’s pigfest with our daughter.

  10. 10.

    Raven

    @Steve in the ATL: My vision is fine and I’m jacked for the game rain or not. I was at the beach when the neuro texted me to confirm my appointment and I simply forgot what day it was when I got back. I am a bit surprised they didn’t call to tell me but I’ll sort it today. My primary put me on statins and low-dose aspirin so I got that goin for me!

  12. 12.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Raven: A thought: Do you suffer from migraines?

    My wife had a preliminary diagnoses of a TIA when she had an episode of numbness on one side of her body. The CAT scan she got in the ER that night showed spots in her brain. The follow up MRI was muddier, that and her life long history of migraines convinced the nuero that the migraines were the real cause of the episode.

  13. 13.

    Patricia Kayden

    Sounds like a fun day, Betty. Looking forward to seeing your photos. Hubby and I are driving from Maryland to Orlando today. Not looking forward to the long drive but it will be good to get away from the cold weather.

  17. 17.

    Raven

    @Betty Cracker: Facebook keep sending “what you were doing” pictures of us at the beach! It’s killing me. I am going to FT Meyers in a couple of weeks and I think we’re going to book a fishing trip in 1000 islands.

  20. 20.

    Betty Cracker

    @Raven: 10K Islands is probably the best fishing in the state, IMO. Pretty much any kind of fishing you want to do is available.

    @Jim Vandewalker: That’s a possibility. I wish the light had been better when I spotted it, but it was overcast and rainy, and the bird was sticking to the shade. Hard to make the colors out in those conditions.

  25. 25.

    satby

    @rikyrah: Good morning ?!

    I have the market today and then a verification visit to a home hosting an exchange student (it’s required by the State Department, so a big deal to finish). And I’m staying home Thanksgiving, so I bought one of the 47¢ /lb turkeys to cook mostly so I can make soup later. So that’s thawing out. Looking forward to two hopefully quiet days.

  26. 26.

    Mustang Bobby

    Working today, then going up to some friends’ place for the food and perhaps watch the Lions get their usual Thanksgiving whuppin’ — many’s the year I shivered in Tiger Stadium watching this debacle and then going home to more turkey — and then blissful time off. I hope everyone has a good time, and Raven, I hope for a speedy and uneventful recovery.

    Oh, yes, I do agree with Betty: it’s a young heron.

  29. 29.

    OzarkHillbilly

    A federal judge in Detroit on Tuesday declared unconstitutional a US law banning female genital mutilation, and also dismissed several charges against two doctors and others in the first US criminal case of its kind.

    US district judge Bernard Friedman said Congress lacked authority under the commerce clause to adopt the 1996 law, and that the power to outlaw female genital mutilation, or FGM, belonged to individual states.

    “As despicable as this practice may be, it is essentially a criminal assault,” Friedman wrote. “FGM is not part of a larger market and it has no demonstrated effect on interstate commerce. The commerce clause does not permit Congress to regulate a crime of this nature.”

    Gina Balaya, a spokeswoman for US Attorney Matthew Schneider in Detroit, said that prosecutor’s office would review the decision before deciding whether to appeal. The decision removed the main charges against Jumana Nagarwala, a doctor who performed the procedure on nine girls from Michigan, Illinois and Minnesota at another doctor’s clinic in the Detroit suburb of Livonia.

    IANAL, but holding that the interstate Commerce clause does not apply here (probably) because all the FGM occurred in a single location when some of the victims were transported across state lines for the procedure strikes me as rather silly. Hopefully the prosecutors will appeal.

    For the record, he is a Reagan appointee who took Senior status in 2009.

  31. 31.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @satby: I tried to make turkey soup from a carcass once and it. was. horrible. Not sure why but I’ve never tried it again.

  32. 32.

    gene108

    Got the surgical staples, from my kidney transplant, removed on Monday and I have been cleared to drive. Feels good.

    Raven, hope you get your MRI results straightened out with your neurologist soon.

  34. 34.

    satby

    @OzarkHillbilly: I make sure that if the bird was stuffed I break down the carcass and clean out any bits of stuffing. Other than that I can’t think why it wouldn’t work for you.

    Unless the leftovers were getting old? I strip the meat off the next day and start the soup then.

  39. 39.

    trnc

    Who knows, maybe some NYT reporter on a post-election Deploraville safari will buttonhole us for our views on Trump — and boy, will he or she get a goddamned earful if so!

    You’ll just be that much more frustrated when the story is written and you find that your comments were 86’d in favor of some MAGA hat wearing moron.

  43. 43.

    Elizabelle

    This bird is lucky it’s not on the menu.

    Happy Thanksgiving Eve, jackals. Betty: you have some good plans for the day.

  44. 44.

    The Midnight Lurker

    Happy Thanksgiving, juicers! Instead of spending quality time with my family this holiday, I get to fly out to still-smoldering Malibu on Thanksgiving Day! Yeah, me!

    Stay clear of the Romaine. Caesar salad. Ides of March. There’s a joke in there somewhere. You find it. I have to pack a bag. Toodles.

  45. 45.

    Cheryl from Maryland

    @OzarkHillbilly: 27 States, now including Michigan this year, have banned female genital mutilation. MIssouri is one of them. . The main trouble with federal/state laws is that a significant amount of this cruel practice either happens at home by family or during “vacations” abroad. So this isn’t just a legal problem, it is a public health education issue.

  46. 46.

    geg6

    Can I just say how much I dislike Casey Hunt? She hasn’t even spoken yet and I’m reaching for the remote. And, just for contrast, I sat through Jon Podhoritz.

  47. 47.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Baud: WHEN IS RAPE A FEDERAL CRIME?

    You can be charged with a federal rape crime if there is evidence you:

    Crossed state lines in commission of the offense ….

    These girls were brought across state lines to be mutilated. Also seems analogous to the Mann Act (transporting women for the purpose of prostitution across state lines).

  48. 48.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @satby: I did it the day after too. I did NOT clean out the cavity of stuffing but I doubt that would be the issue as I quite often stuff my chickens and use them as they are afterwards to make broth and it always turns out fine. It really surprised me when it did that. Maybe I should just go ahead and try it again.

  49. 49.

    NotMax

    You two taking stamina pills?

    Heck I live 20-some miles from town, with mostly decent roads to and from. After

    going shopping for Thanksgiving side dish supplies, hardware odds and ends, etc.

    would come “brave traffic home in order to collapse in a heap for several hours.”

  50. 50.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Aleta: Heh. I know all too well what is *inside a buzzard* so that is a mistake I would never make.

    *inside a buzzard* -many cavers have had the sorry experience of unexpectedly confronting a buzzard fledgling or 2 when investigating holes high up in bluff lines. Their first line of defense is to puke on you and if you think it smelled pretty bad before they ate it, it’s far worse the 2nd time around.

  56. 56.

    satby

    I don’t mind winter weather normally, but it’s 29° out. Microfleece ready for working at the barely heated market today. The ground has already started to freeze from the cold snap we’ve had, but Sunday should get into the high 40s after a period of above freezing and rain, so I will have one chance to get those last daffodils bulbs in the ground.
    And I better get a lightbox, because I think I’ve developed SAD in my old(er) age. I don’t want to do anything. Ugh.

  57. 57.

    NotMax

    @Satby

    True story.

    Back in the days when a group of us, all in our 20s, were living semi-communal style* off in the woods of PA, one of the young women decided to impress us with a turkey dinner.

    Turned out she hadn’t a clue there were parts packed in plastic bags inside the cavity of the bird. A different kind of taste thrill and kitchen aroma, that’s fer sure.

    *No, not that kind of commune.

    We also had access to some (very tasty) pre-stuffed chicken breasts, frozen, which came in individual tiny foil pans and were wrapped in foil. Meant to be thawed and then cooked in an oven, the same young lady for some reason decided to cook them as a treat. How? She deep fried them, foil and all. Even the dogs turned up their noses at ’em.

    Then there was her stab at venison stew – with fur still on the meat.

  65. 65.

    A Ghost To Most

    @rikyrah: Excellent news. @OzarkHillbilly: It improves the quality of the stock significantly. We also roast onions, carrots, and celery at the same time. Put them in the pot to make the stock, then discard with the carcass, and add fresh veggies after.

  69. 69.

    Butch

    Out for a walk with one of my nephews, he pointed to some marks in the mud and told me they were “herring tracks.” He was hurt when I asked what kind of herring would leave tracks in the mud, and in an injured tone told me “grampa said there were great blue herrings here.”

  70. 70.

    polyorchnid octopunch

    @Raven: If you come up to the Thousand Islands and happen through Kingston, give me a head’s up and I’ll show you where all the good bars and bands are.

  76. 76.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @OzarkHillbilly: Fortunately I’m married to the Goddess of Soup. So I toss the carcass into a big pot of water with some minimal additions, like a bit of garlic and an onion or two. I call this an Offering to the Soup Goddess. And she will eventually wander into the kitchen and bless the soup with her magic, turning it into something wonderful.

    I don’t have any idea what she does. It’s different every time.

  77. 77.

    Thoughtful David

    @Rob:
    Yup, Tricolored Heron. You can see the white on the bottom of the neck, and the long straight bill. Would also be the right size. I think it’s an adult, though.

  79. 79.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: Before I was married I had a totally different experience with soup. I knew in theory that people made soup from chicken carcasses, etc. And I knew in theory that a little flour thickened it to make it more hearty.

    But I never succeeded in making anything but tasteless dishwater (no flour) or wallpaper paste (flour).

  80. 80.

    tobie

    @rikyrah: Having South Korea, instead of Russia, at the head of Interpol is one global disaster averted. Thanks for the update.

    Betty Cracker, “Deploraville safari” is priceless. Copyright it. It describes what the press has done since Nov 2016 to a tee. The only interview I ever read of a Hillary voter is your interview of yourself. That’s it. For the mainstream media, we do not exist–not even after the midterms.

  82. 82.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    We’re going to Florida for a few days in January. We visit Mr DAW’s sister, who lives in a development called Rotunda, near Ft Myers. We fly to a small airport in Punta Gorda. We will not be fishing however, because…it’s fishing.

  83. 83.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Michelle Obama’s Becoming sold almost nine copies per second on its first day on sale in North America to become the fastest-selling book of the year so far, while in the UK, the memoir is close to the top of the book charts.

    Published last Tuesday, the former first lady’s autobiography has been warmly greeted by both the media and the public. The New York Times called it a “polished pearl of a memoir”, the Guardian said that it was “dignified” with a “refreshing level of honesty”. On Amazon.com, more than 200 user reviews gave it five stars.

    With a first print run of 1.8m copies in the US and Canada, publisher Penguin Random House has already ordered an additional 800,000 hardbacks of Becoming. On Monday, the company said that the memoir had sold more than 725,000 copies in its first 24 hours on sale, making it the biggest single-day seller of the year. Chief executive Madeline McIntosh called the response “extraordinary”.

    I wonder how “Art of the Deal” sales compare?

  84. 84.

    Immanentize

    @Baud: @OzarkHillbilly:
    Finally, something I can comment on intelligently with experience!

    First female genital mutilation is horrible and has been a basis for seeking assylum in this country for years. It should be a crime everywhere as the victim is usually a kid who is subjected to the practice by parents or other community members.

    That said, I’ve litigated a number of federal criminal law commerce cases. The big one, Lopez, came out of the San Antonio Federal Public Defender’s Office and I worked on that one — holding the feds cannot create a law banning the possession of a firearm in a school zone. The prosecution theory was that all guns move through interstate travel, so the commerce clause (CC) should apply.
    Supreme Court said no. The crime was local and the CC didn’t reach the act which is the thing that defines a crime. This case seems in line with that basic holding….

    Stop here if the minutiae will kill you.
    There are only three ways the feds can create federal crimes in states under the CC–
    If the thing criminally regulated is IN interstate commerce (this is how we get business regulations, drug regulations — starting with heroin which was then entirely from abroad);
    If the act involves interstate transportation, including means and modalities (crossing state or international lines, trains, planes, boats, telephones and all communications) or;
    It involves a use that substantially effects interstate commerce. It’s not enough that something involved in the crime has ties or travelled in interstate commerce; the criminal act must be one that substantially affects interstate commerce. The big case here was Dewey Jones in which the Court said that fire bombing the home of your cousin can’t be a federal crimes if the house was not used as an instrumentality of commerce (being rented, etc.) Just because you got your electric and insurance from interstate agencies. Ginsburg wrote it.

    Someone above mentioned rape IF you travel across state borders. That crime therefore involves interstate transportation — type two above. This is true of the first Lindberg kidnapping statute too. If you notice however, the federal government cannot punish rape or kidnapping alone without that cross border connection.

    In this case, it is meaningless that the girls travelled to the doctor. The feds could criminalize travelling across state lines to be mutilated and punish the child or the parent for taking the child to be so operated on. But the doctor is doing a local act. Not an interstate one.

    So, as horrible as this crime is, I will bet 100 quatloos this stands up on appeal.

  88. 88.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: My mother had that gift, I wish I had it. Instead I have the ability to follow a recipe, which isn’t a total loss.

    My old man grew up one of 10 children during the Depression. They ate a LOT of soup. Grandma would go down to the butcher shop and buy a bone and using whatever veggies she had in the garden would make the most wonderful soup, that and her home made bread was all the meal her children ever needed and was my old man’s favorite meal. Ma, who grew up wealthy, learned at the table of the master. When I was a kid I found it very tiresome, but now as an adult it is my favorite meal too.

    I still haven’t made it to the level of my grandmother or mother but I’m not bad and I keep at it.

  91. 91.

    Immanentize

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:
    I think that buying a Powerball ticket is as likely to bring results as wishing on Mueller. He will act, but these investigations are like sweaters — pull one thread and things start happening. It’s not just that the investigations are complicated and take time, rather they are so interconnected that trying to control/plan for results of thread pulling (indictments) makes investigators very very cautious. Big drug dealing/money laundering investigations take years and they have far fewer strings (because it’s all supposed to be tightly held) than Mueller’s investigation.

  95. 95.

    Just One More Canuck

    @polyorchnid octopunch: Be careful what you wish for – I’m only a couple of hours down the 401 in Markham.

    We were there in June for my daughter’s soccer tournament (they won!) but didn’t get a chance to see much. I went to Queens a million years ago so got to spend a lot of time there then

  96. 96.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Immanentize: By the way, a question I have been meaning to ask about the whole “Assange- copy/paste” fiasco. How sealed can a sealed indictment be if copies of it and the related legal filings are being passed around the Justice Department and/or USDA office for the use of every Justice Department lawyer and his mother’s lawyerly brother to use in cases that have absolutely nothing to do with Assange?

    It just doesn’t smell right to me.

  97. 97.

    tobie

    @Immanentize: Thanks for this! I guess the commerce clause would apply if the doctor traveled across state lines to perform this procedure instead of the girls traveling to her. I wonder if the doctor advertised her services across state lines or accepted payment from bank accounts in different states.

  98. 98.

    Lapassionara

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: I’m still wondering if Mueller has to run indictments by Whittaker for an ok before filing. If so, we may not see any indictments for a while.

    Happy thanksgiving everyone.

  99. 99.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Immanentize:
    While the criminals and traitors involved should be punished, I’m not in a hurry because it was never Mueller’s job to save us. Odds are he cannot prosecute a sitting president in any way useful to removing that president. The only possibility I can think of that would make a big difference is if McConnell was brought up on charges. Removing McConnell would rewrite our political situation dramatically. There hasn’t been even a hint of that, though.

  100. 100.

    Lapassionara

    @OzarkHillbilly: normally, when lawyers make this kind of mistake, they are going to their computer, pulling up a prior pleading, and changing what they need to change. Just because something is under seal at the courthouse does not protect it from the eyes of other lawyers in a particular office. In this case, not everything got changed.

  102. 102.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Lapassionara:

    they are going to their computer, pulling up a prior pleading, and changing what they need to change.

    I understand that. But what you are telling me is that a sealed indictment isn’t.

  103. 103.

    danielx

    Shopping together is an activity that strains the bonds of our partnership since we have radically different philosophies on how to approach it.

    I totally get that. I’m not sure if it’s a gender thing or not, but after decades of observation I have observed that guys* generally have one approach to shopping – there’s something you need (or want), so go to the store, get it, and get out as soon as possible. Women* tend to view shopping more as a form of entertainment – things must be repeatedly tried on, bargains must be sought, things may be bought with the underlying thought there’s at least a 50% chance they’ll be taken back….and so forth and so on. To the unfortunate male dragooned into accompanying a significant other on such occasions, this whole process is an exquisite form of torture.

    *This is not universal, and I hate to generalize. I’m sure there are men out there who enjoy shopping, and I am equally sure there are women who detest the whole shopping deal. Just my experience….

  104. 104.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Amir Khalid: We get this President’s standup comedy performnce every day and it’s gotten a little stale in addition to never being funny to begin with.

  105. 105.

    MomSense

    The plow didn’t come down my street until 10 pm. I spent all afternoon/evening shoveling and helping my neighbors. I’m going to have guns of steel if this is how this winter is going to be. Today I go to work and then shopping and cleaning. Kids will all be home and bringing some trump orphans. This year I will NOT try and keep up with them in wine consumption.

    This time tomorrow I will have a living room full of youngs and a very happy pup. Have fun Jackals!

  106. 106.

    bemused

    I thought maybe the war on christmas idiocy was dying out but a republican relative just sent me a version of Night Before Christmas poem…Twas two months before Christmas…not a Christian was praying nor taking a stand…children were told in schools not to sing about shepherds…it might hurt people’s feelings…share what peace looks like before it’s too late!

    This is a relative I never would have imagined would have gone so far right when we were kids and teens growing up together.

  107. 107.

    Immanentize

    @OzarkHillbilly: I agree. Yes things routinely get copied and pasted, but only Public things (briefs, legal boilerplate, etc. I am very suspicious too. My mind turned toward counter intel operation. Turn up the heat and see who jumps out the pan? As Trump says, we may never know.

  108. 108.

    Immanentize

    @tobie:
    If the Doctor advertised in many states, the CC would apply. But it doesn’t seem there was any evidence of this. Also, did the Doctor take money or anything of value (other than religious order status) for performing these acts?

    For everyone thinking this is a terrible outcome, imagine a federal law outlawing abortion, regardless of what the state decides. We are facing this problem with marijuana right now. Legalized in States, illegal federally.

  111. 111.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Immanentize: OK, thanx. (again) I smelled a rat fuck but obviously can’t begin to say in which direction it is aimed. It occurred to me that someone might have purposely typed his name into the filing just to fuck with A’s head. We may never know.

  112. 112.

    biff murphy

    Grey Heron, see them outside my house daily. looke up herons on google, there must be 30 different types.

  113. 113.

    Immanentize

    @danielx: This was summed up as “women shop, men buy.” In our house it was dependant on item. I shopped for food, my wife shopped for clothes. We each ‘bought’ in our respective’s ‘shop’ zones.

    ETA clarity

  116. 116.

    O. Felix Culpa

    Ms. O and I are heading to Ojo Caliente for a soak in the hot springs. We’re doing an overnight there for the first time. Words cannot express how much we’re looking forward to this after the stresses and strains of election season! Tomorrow we go to a friend’s house for dinner. Unfortunately the event has turned from a small gathering of friends to a cast of thousands, but we’ll enjoy it anyway I’m sure. And if not, there’s a dog at home who MUST be attended to.

  117. 117.

    Immanentize

    @O. Felix Culpa: On my how I love Ojo Caliente! It’s been years since I was last there, but a day of massage and hot arsenic bath soaks ended with me, my wife and friends drinking the big jar of cosmos we brought with us while chilling at the pool. Perfect day. Enjoy!

  118. 118.

    tobie

    @O. Felix Culpa: Enjoy the time at Ojo Client and please report back!! Two years ago I went to Sunrise Springs, which is run by the same group, and absolutely loved it. Pamper yourselves.

  121. 121.

    Raven

    @polyorchnid octopunch: Ah cool! I called and talked to a nurse who told me nothing, the doc isn’t in until Tuesday and she said “maybe what she told you was a preliminary look at the MRI and a closer look showed the mini-stroke”> The doc won’t be in until next week so I said, “oh cool, I can just worry like mad the whole holiday” (I lied)

  122. 122.

    Quiltingfool

    @OzarkHillbilly: Very true about buzzard puke! Puke is the buzzard’s main line of defense. Buzzards are not very attractive birds, but I have seen an endearing side to them. Many years ago, I was a seasonal naturalist (park interpreter) for the Mo Dept of Natural Resources. I worked at both HaHa Tonka and Ozark Caverns. One morning at HaHa Tonka, I saw a large group of buzzards milling around the area in front of the latrines – it was early morning and they had just come down from roosting. I watched young buzzards chase each other around, the chaser with a feather in its mouth, and the older birds looked like they were “visiting” while the youngsters played…similar to a scene you might see in front of a church as people leave the services!

  124. 124.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Lapassionara:

    Not sealed from the office of attorneys working on the case. Who have a duty to keep the information confidential.

    To me, that is just inviting stupidity. It’s the old saw that a secret is no longer a secret as soon as you tell someone. Duty or not, people fuck up. The more people who know, the more chances of a fuck up. Sealed should be sealed, from any and all people NOT working on the case. I don’t care how good a Joe ol’ Carl who works at the next desk prosecuting financial fraud is.

  127. 127.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Quiltingfool:

    I saw a large group of buzzards milling around the area in front of the latrines – it was early morning and they had just come down from roosting. I watched young buzzards chase each other around, the chaser with a feather in its mouth, and the older birds looked like they were “visiting” while the youngsters played…similar to a scene you might see in front of a church as people leave the services!

    Hmmmmmm…. Interesting comparison. ;-)

  128. 128.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @Cheryl Rofer: Will do. I’ve gone on day trips several times post-fancy and love it. The place is attractive without going full snooty. We bring our own snacks since the gift store is on the pricey side. The restaurant has upscale farm-to-table aspirations, which sometimes works and sometimes is just ok.

  129. 129.

    Yarrow

    Good morning, everyone.

    Saw a bit of an interview with Zuckerberg on CNN this morning. It didn’t seem like a super hard hitting interview but he could not have been more uncomfortable. He’s well trained with talking points and answers to questions but you can practically see him working to access those answers after the interviewer asked a question.

    Based on how he came across I think he’s in trouble.

  131. 131.

    Miss Bianca

    @O. Felix Culpa: I was just there with my sister for a quickie visit a few weeks ago! The lithium pool is fabulous now – I actually filled my water bottle with some of the lithia water and it helped me *greatly* to get thru’ the last days prior to election day! Enjoy!

  132. 132.

    dnfree

    @OzarkHillbilly: There must have been something wrong with your recipe, or your turkey! Making turkey carcass soup is a two-stage process as I know it. First you put the carcass and veggies like carrots, onions, celery, etc. in a pot and cook them into a good broth. Then you discard EVERYTHING except the broth. You are not re-using the meat on the carcass, or the carrots, or anything else. Just the broth. You put whatever you want in your final soup into the broth, and leftover turkey meat, and cook that, and that’s your soup. It will not be good if you just try to turn the first cooking directly into soup.

  135. 135.

    Betsy

    @Betty Cracker: @Mustang Bobby: One birding tip I learned recently is that juvenile birds are not small versions of the adult. In other words, a “baby” bird reaches full adult size quickly; but may have different plumage for a long period (more than a year, or even two years depending on the species).

    That means if you see a bird that looks like a “small version of a [lavender-tailed whatsit]”, it will be another species altogether rather than a “baby” [lavender-tailed whatsit].

    There are a few cases where birds of the same species vary in size (due to habitat, subspecies, or nutrition – and, in some cases, sex), but big variations in size are not typical for most species.

  137. 137.

    Mnemosyne

    @Immanentize:

    Wait, hang on a second — so if I advertise across state lines that I will commit a crime for you in my home state that is illegal by both state and federal laws, and you come to my state to have me commit the crime, the feds can’t touch me, only the state?

  138. 138.

    Yarrow

    @germy: Yep. He visited random Facebook users’ homes and ate dinner with them. Just happened to be in sort of swing states. Hubris.

  139. 139.

    Mnemosyne

    @danielx:

    My late dad loved shopping in the stores he liked, so he could spend hours wandering around Ace Hardware, Bass Pro, etc. My older brother is the same way if it’s computer stuff. I suspect that most men are that way and just don’t think of shopping for the things they’re interested in as “shopping.” “Shopping” is when their moms used to drag them around town to try on shoes when they wanted to be at home watching cartoons.

  144. 144.

    raven

    @Mnemosyne: My old man took me and the family to get luggage at an Phoenix are outlet mall and when we got there he said “We’re not doing any of that “looking around carp are we”??

  145. 145.

    Martin

    Given my Red Dead Redemption 2 experience, that is indeed a Great Blue Heron. I’ve shot many of them. 3x flight feathers.

  146. 146.

    Yarrow

    @Raven: Yikes. Sorry to hear that. Hope you get better news once you talk to the doctor. Sorry you have to wait to do it.

    @raven: These days the grocery stores themselves are filled with people doing the shopping for other people. Either the store has its own service or they’re outside services. I wonder how long grocery stores will be around.

  147. 147.

    Immanentize

    @Mnemosyne:

    if I advertise across state lines

    If you advertise across state lines, then you are in the interstate business (if it is a business) and can be regulated (i.e. federal crime regulation). In that situation there are a million ways to get someone, wire crimes being the most used.

  148. 148.

    Cheryl Rofer

    @Immanentize: I haven’t been there since most of the “improvements.” Used to be rather old-fashioned northern NM, plain Jane. I liked it. But I know there’s been money put into it and they are also charging more.

  149. 149.

    Martin

    @Mnemosyne:

    My late dad loved shopping in the stores he liked, so he could spend hours wandering around Ace Hardware, Bass Pro, etc. My older brother is the same way if it’s computer stuff. I suspect that most men are that way and just don’t think of shopping for the things they’re interested in as “shopping.” “Shopping” is when their moms used to drag them around town to try on shoes when they wanted to be at home watching cartoons.

    I do that as well. It’s basically inventorying for me – seeing what products are out there, easy to get, etc. so that I have ideas as to how to solve different problems. My wife will come to me with some busted piece of Craiglist furniture and ask if I can fix it, and I can say ‘oh, yeah, I think so, there’s a doo-dad that I can put here or a thingy I can use to do that, etc.

    For me, I’ll need to go and buy some screws or something, and it’ll take me 2 hours because I’m evaluating pretty much everything in the tool and hardware isles. I don’t buy anything, it’s just there in my head for inspiration. My wife thought it was weird until she realized she could throw any kind of rando problem at me and I’d usually come up with some kind of solution for it.

    But it’s very selective. When she was on bed rest and I was doing all of the grocery shopping, it’d take maybe 15 minutes. I had a list, I went down the aisles grabbing the things on the list and ignoring everything else. I’d get home and she’s day ‘oh hey, did they have x?’ and I had no clue. It wasn’t on the list, and even if I tripped over the bin of watermelons, I didn’t record that they had watermelons. It was infuriating to her that I could tell her damn near every product at Ganahl Lumber but couldn’t recall if Trader Joes still had frozen food.

  150. 150.

    polyorchnid octopunch

    @Raven: That’s a :/ for sure. Well, try not to think about it I guess? And like I said, if you make your way up to the Thousand Islands and happen to hit Kingston, give me some notice and we’ll go paint the town.

  152. 152.

    WereBear

    But since we now live in a literal howling wilderness, trips to town for supplies require time and planning, so we’re learning to reconcile our shopping styles perforce.

    Heh. Mr WereBear and I are not the usual gender template: I’m Commando Raid (get in and get out!) while he likes to ponder each aisle in case it contains something we need.

  154. 154.

    Martin

    @Immanentize: Yeah, that’s my understanding as well. Many years ago my mom was in the process of moving to another state and the movers were there unloading the house and packing the truck. They misjudged how long it would take because they had to keep rejiggering the truck to get things to fit and the new owners arrived to move in. It was right before Christmas and it was starting to snow with a blizzard moving in the next day. They were furious my mom wasn’t out yet and that they’d have to wait a few hours while they finished. The new owners threatened to kick them off the property and keep everything still in the house (just some boxes) – I mean, it was their house at that point, after all. The driver of the moving truck stepped in between my mom and the new owner and pulled his ‘interstate commerce’ card. Even went over to his radio and told his dispatcher to call the FBI out to the location because this individual was interfering with his ability to complete the contract (my stepfather’s employer was paying for the move, so they would get pulled into this).

    Pretty much everyone backs down once you call the FBI in.

  155. 155.

    Corner Stone

    I, for one, find very little to be concerned about in this situation:
    Militarytimes.com link
    White House approves use of force, some law enforcement roles for border troops
    “The White House late Tuesday signed a memo allowing troops stationed at the border to engage in some law enforcement roles and use lethal force, if necessary — a move that legal experts have cautioned may run afoul of the Posse Comitatus Act.

    The new “cabinet order” was signed by White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, not President Donald Trump. It allows “Department of Defense military personnel” to “perform those military protective activities that the Secretary of Defense determines are reasonably necessary” to protect border agents, including “a show or use of force (including lethal force, where necessary), crowd control, temporary detention. and cursory search.”

  158. 158.

    Yarrow

    Curiously, Fox News twitter account still silent since November 8. Their cover story about Tucker Carlson being treated badly doesn’t seem likely at this point.

  159. 159.

    trollhattan

    “Juvenile great blue heron” my foot, that’s a delinquent blue heron, probably an MS13 member, part of a caravan invading these United States. Report him to the nearest ICE officer immediately. There’s one in the parking lot right now.

  161. 161.

    TenguPhule

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    I tried to make turkey soup from a carcass once and it. was. horrible. Not sure why but I’ve never tried it again.

    You’re supposed to boil the carcass and then remove the bones and skim off the scum on top. leaving the scum will ruin the flavor of the soup.

  163. 163.

    jeffreyw

    @raven: No, they don’t have that at my nearest store, the pick-up option is consolidated to one particular store in the next town over. Would add an hour to the trip.

  165. 165.

    TenguPhule

    @dnfree:

    Then you discard EVERYTHING except the broth. You are not re-using the meat on the carcass, or the carrots, or anything else. Just the broth.

    What?! NO!!! The meat from the carcass and the veggies are perfectly edible and tasty. You take out the BONES only.

  168. 168.

    Mary G

    I no longer wish for Mueller to hurry up. I want him to hold off until January, then Dumb and Dumber quit to spend more time with their lawyers, and President Pelosi becomes both the first woman and oldest leader of America for two years, then retires to the huzzahs from 73% of a grateful nation.

    A woman can dream.

  169. 169.

    Mnemosyne

    @Immanentize:

    Okay, my novelist brain can’t let this go, and of course it zooms to the most disgusting worst case possible:

    Let’s say that Person A transports a child from Arizona to Nevada so Person B can film some kiddie smut. Person A and Person B never talk directly to plan this, so there is no email or phone trail. Person B does the filming, editing, etc but is very careful to never lay a finger on the child. Person B creates the film, burns it to a disk that he gives to Person A, and then destroys the original file on his own computer. Person A takes the disk back across the state line and distributes the film on whatever disgusting dark web that shit gets smeared onto.

    When Person A gets caught and rats out Person B, the feds have no power over Person B, correct? Person A did the transportation across state lines of both the child and the smut, while Person B’s crimes were all committed within a single state. Therefore, Person B can only be prosecuted for state crimes (which I’m assuming are pretty severe penalties anyway) but can’t be prosecuted for federal crimes. Correct?

    Also, if you didn’t see the link to the decision by the federal judge in Mississippi that struck down their anti-abortion law in the thread below, go take a look. Most lawyers seem to agree that it is a thing of beauty and a joy forever.

  171. 171.

    Gravenstone

    @Immanentize:

    The feds could criminalize travelling across state lines to be mutilated and punish the child or the parent for taking the child to be so operated on.

    It seems that a regressive federal government could extend the same argument to criminalize abortion for those who must travel from states that have restricted if not outright banned it as well. So yeah, beware unintended consequences.

  172. 172.

    J R in WV

    @Mnemosyne:

    Not a lawyer! But I have read a lot of lawyering in order to implement software based upon law, regulation, and court findings.

    This was succinct, clear, forceful, well written in every way, and makes the constitutional protections crystal to anyone who can read. A great example of legal writing. Succinct and clear are two things many lawyers just cannot do, no matter how important that would be to their case. This guy gets that. He has the gift.

  173. 173.

    Quiltingfool

    @OzarkHillbilly: Went to church in my youth, well, made to go, hated the sermon, rather enjoyed Sunday School. I no longer darken church doors, as religious screed annoys me to no end, and nobody makes me go, ha! Buzzards do have an important role in the environment…and some church folk are good people who do their best to follow the teachings of Jesus. But, there are far too many of the religious persuasion who claim to be Christian (and you wouldn’t know it by their words and deeds, so they have to tell you) and I say those folk are merely “buying a ticket to Heaven.”

  174. 174.

    Michael Cain

    I have long maintained that the true test of the strength of your marriage can be determined by hanging wallpaper together.

  175. 175.

    Immanentize

    @Mnemosyne:
    The maker of the film can be prosecuted by the feds because he knew that the material would be distributed and in fact distributed it himself. This is part of the CC where individual acts are considered in the context of commerce as a whole (there are some famous milk pricing and mud flap cases out there +- don’t bother…). The biggest use of this type of commerce is probably national if it is commerce itself was used to reach small hotel owners who wanted to discriminate against blacks. Their argument was that their personal actions didn’t reach interstate commerce. Supreme Court rejected that saying the business of accommodations in an interstate business regardless of how small your part is in it. Same with pornography. Same with drug dealing.

    I once represented a guy who converted an assault rifle to an automatic (machine gun) but just sold it in the same state to his neighbor. Feds prosecuted and convicted him and the Supremes did not interfere…..

  176. 176.

    Mnemosyne

    @Immanentize:

    Hm. Would Person B be able to argue that he gave the film to Person A for Person A’s personal use and he had no idea, honest, your honor! that it would end up being distributed? Or would the act of giving that single copy to Person A count as distribution all by itself?

    I’m not really going anywhere with this, I’m looking at it more as a “CSI” or “Law & Order” episode or something like that.

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