Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

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

Today’s GOP: why go just far enough when too far is right there?

… among the most cringeworthy communications in the history of the alphabet!

It’s time for the GOP to dust off that post-2012 autopsy, completely ignore it, and light the party on fire again.

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

Let’s finish the job.

Prediction: the GOP will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.

And now I have baud making fun of me. this day can’t get worse.

Do not shrug your shoulders and accept the normalization of untruths.

Stamping your little feets and demanding that they see how important you are? Not working anymore.

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

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

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

If you’re pissed about Biden’s speech, he was talking about you.

Republican obstruction dressed up as bipartisanship. Again.

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

This fight is for everything.

But frankly mr. cole, I’ll be happier when you get back to telling us to go fuck ourselves.

Every one of the “Roberts Six” lied to get on the court.

Black Jesus loves a paper trail.

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

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

You are here: Home / Economics / C.R.E.A.M. / Trump Crime Cartel Open Thread: “I AM NOT A CROOK”

Trump Crime Cartel Open Thread: “I AM NOT A CROOK”

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I figured it was intended to be more like The Apartment, only for murders instead of extramarital assignations. Which is a whole different can of worms, but hey — foreigners! Watcha gonna do?

… BuzzFeed News first reported in May on the secret dealings of Cohen and his business associate Felix Sater with political and business figures in Moscow.

The two men worked furiously behind the scenes into the summer of 2016 to get the Moscow deal finished — despite public claims that the development was canned in January, before Trump won the Republican nomination. Sater told BuzzFeed News today that he and Cohen thought giving the Trump Tower’s most luxurious apartment, a $50 million penthouse, to Putin would entice other wealthy buyers to purchase their own. “In Russia, the oligarchs would bend over backwards to live in the same building as Vladimir Putin,” Sater told BuzzFeed News. “My idea was to give a $50 million penthouse to Putin and charge $250 million more for the rest of the units. All the oligarchs would line up to live in the same building as Putin.” A second source confirmed the plan.

Sater, a brash real estate promoter who pleaded guilty to racketeering in 1998 and became a longtime asset to US law enforcement and intelligence agencies, had worked with the Trump Organization on deals in the past and said he came up with the idea. Cohen, Sater recalled, said, “Great idea.”…

Another sidebar: Trump and his minions knew Sater had ratted out prior partners to the FBI, but they trusted him into their deals anyway. Did Donny Dollhands actually believe he was smart enough not to get caught the same way, or was he just that desperate for anyone who might help him make some ready cash?


… “As a member of the committee, I would strongly urge us to bring in everybody associated with this deal and figure out what was offered, who it was offered to, and who knew about it,” Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro, a Democratic member of the committee, told BuzzFeed News on Thursday.

Castro also said he believed the plan could have violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. “If this was an attempt to speed up the project or secure the project and make sure it got done, it could amount to bribery for an official of a foreign government and anyone who was part of that could be in violation of this federal statute,” he said.

California Rep. Eric Swalwell, another Democrat on the committee, said he wants it to investigate the plan as well. “Now we’re in a position where we can look at third-party communication records, third-party travel logs, third-party bank records, to see what was really going on in the background, and to further probe what the candidate’s knowledge was of the prospective deal and Moscow and the offer by the Russians to help him,” he said.

“We’re way beyond bribery,” he added. “If a candidate for president is offering a foreign adversary a $50 million gift while that adversary through his own backchannels is offering support of the campaign, that’s betrayal at the highest level; that’s conspiracy.

“Bribery would be the least of Donald Trump’s worries.”

Reader Interactions

187Comments

  1. 1.

    TenguPhule

    Lindsay Beyerstein
    @beyerstein
    · 2h
    Replying to @beyerstein
    Building politics are vicious even when nobody’s an ex-KGB jiujitsu champ with a vast secret network of killers at his disposal.

    So you’re saying he’s building superintendent material then?

  3. 3.

    clay

    Would having Vladimir Putin in your building really be a selling point? He, uh, kills people.

    I have to assume that Putin wouldn’t shit where he eats.

    But, yeah, it seems a complete misread of the Russian environment to try to bribe Putin this way… and merely to sell condos! That seems penny ante.

  5. 5.

    trollhattan

    So weird, wanting to hi-five Bloody Bill Kristol for a zinger but credit where it’s due, and all that.

  7. 7.

    Roger Moore

    He owns plenty of houses, but he never owned a president before.

    He never owned the US president before, but he clearly owned the president of Ukraine.

  9. 9.

    Timurid

    …and yet another eerily quiet Friday.
    It may be time to retire the “Friday News Dump” trope. This is about the eight or ninth time in a row that after a busy early week everyone started shouting “this Friday is gonna be LIT.” And then got drowned out by the crickets.

  10. 10.

    TenguPhule

    The new Starbucks juniper latte tastes like one too many gin and tonics

    Juniper latte. We are constantly reminded that we are trapped in the worst possible timeline.

    I know that Starbucks’s new juniper latte is supposed to be a holiday drink, conjuring up images of snow-dusted boughs and the crisp, herbal scent of pine. But you know what juniper is really intended for? Gin, delicious gin.

    Therefore, the debut of this beverage — available in coffee shops nationwide for a limited time — raised a lot of questions. Like: What does juniper taste like? Does the flavor of gin go with coffee? Does the flavor of gin go with steamed milk? Will this drink taste like a mouthful of pine needles? Can I just … put gin in my coffee?

    Coffee mixes very well with certain boozy flavors (I see you, disgruntled office worker with your thermos full of — *wink* — cold brew). They tend to be brown liqueurs: Bailey’s, amaretto, Frangelico, Kahlua. You can do an espresso martini with vodka if you’re feeling the whole ’90s comeback lately. Gin, with its herbaceous and complex flavor, does not tend to make the list of alcohol that pairs well with coffee.

  11. 11.

    TenguPhule

    @Timurid:

    …and yet another eerily quiet Friday.

    Uh, have you been paying attention at all?

    Its been a News Dump Friday of Trumpian proportions.

  13. 13.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    Conspiring to bribe Putin with $50,000.000 dollars is a felony violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act

  15. 15.

    Miss Bianca

    @rikyrah: This is their fucking go-to move every time. It’s like they don’t even try to hide the fact that they’re sociopathic fascists any more. I remember when Michigan Republicans were a bit more circumspect and at least pretended to give a shit about governing in good faith.

  16. 16.

    TenguPhule

    @Timurid:

    1. Pentagon announcing that the 6,000 troops deployed at the border are remaining.

    2. US judge rules against Trump administration in suit over policing grants to ‘sanctuary cities’

    3. Dallas police officer who shot man in his own apartment indicted

    4. North Carolina elections board delays certification of congressional election again

    5. Trump administration approves seismic tests that could harm thousands of Atlantic dolphins and whales

  19. 19.

    Tony Jay

    That photograph is frigging awful.

    “Remind me, Donald. How tall are you?”

    Trump sighs and hunches down.

    “Not too tall, Boss”

    “That’s what I thought”

  20. 20.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    Drumpf says his Moscow deal was well known which contradicts his son’s testimony to Congress and means daddy just helped secure perjury charges against Junior.

    Bozos.

  22. 22.

    debbie

    Am I the only one who’s concerned about all the Dem telegraphing what they’re going to do in the next session? Isn’t this providing time for the GOP to strategize against them?

  23. 23.

    TenguPhule

    @debbie:

    Isn’t this providing time for the GOP to strategize against them?

    They’re gonna do that anyway. At least this way the base knows what’s coming and we get some press attention about it.

  24. 24.

    bobbo

    Trump has the vocabulary of a fourth grader. How do you “lightly” look at a building? He also used “lightly” to describe how he was pro-Iraq War on Howard Stern’s show.

  25. 25.

    tobie

    Regarding the real estate deal in Moscow, I thought the quid pro quo was something like the following:
    Vlad: Donnie, Donnie, I will let you build your Trump Tower and help you defeat the Hildebeast and become President, if you promise to repeal the Magnitsky Act, turn a blind eye to me re-annexing Ukraine, taking Syria, etc.
    Donnie: Sure thing, boss. Can I have another Diet Coke?

  26. 26.

    ??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??

    So, this is how the Republican Party Chair of my county replies to the criticism Trump has been getting re: GM closing Lordstown:

    “What’s really disgusting is how Tim Ryan, Sherrod Brown, and Dave Betras use the Lordstown issue as an excuse to criticize President Trump, who has done more to boost American jobs than any president in memory [well, Ronaldus Magnus and the Bushes just got thrown under the bus, right into the memory hole], Munroe said. “Trump has been around for less than two years and has done his part to make the economy stronger [such as?]. Tim Ryan has been around for nearly 20 years, and the Valley continues to lag behind the rest of the country. What has he done? By almost all measure, U.S. jobs, unemployment, personal income are at their best levels ever. This includes some historic numbers for all, including African-Americans, Hispanics, women, and youth.”

    Bolded parts are my comments. The best bit is calling the plant closure the “Lordstown issue”. He’s minimizing the fact that thousands are losing their jobs which will have knock on effects on the wider community. Apparently, Trump can do no wrong and can’t be criticized. That’s the most authoritarian, un-American thing I’ve ever heard in my life.

  30. 30.

    JPL

    @tobie: That could be why trump’s shoulders are slumped. The boss explained to him what happened when you didn’t follow through on your promises.

  33. 33.

    Raoul

    Someone said today to the effect of: The only way that appt would be worth $50M is if there was $48M in cash sitting on the dining room table.

  34. 34.

    tobie

    @JPL: yup. Poor return on investment for Putin, but also, alas, for us. We’re stuck with the turd for 2 more years.

  35. 35.

    Elizabelle

    LOL. Paul Krugman goes there today. K-Thug.

    FTF NY Times: When MAGA Fantasy Meets Rust Belt Reality
    Trump can’t run America by yelling at people. Who knew?

    For what it’s worth, I suspect that in this case Trump wasn’t actually trying to scam voters. My guess is that he genuinely believed that he could bring manufacturing, coal mining and so on roaring back, that others had failed to do so only because they weren’t tough enough.

    You might wonder where his confidence came from, given how little he obviously knows about economics. The answer, probably, is the Dunning-Kruger effect: inept people are often confident in their abilities, because they’re too inept to know how badly they’re doing.

    Krugman embedded this link to a Vox article. If it’s good enough for K-Thug ….

    Vox: Why incompetent people often think they’re actually the best
    There’s a psychological phenomenon behind it: the Dunning-Kruger effect.

  37. 37.

    ??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??

    @rikyrah:
    This is his brilliant, unassailable logic:

    Moulton told BPR that her characterization of Pelosi’s opposition was “offensive” not only to him, but to legislators like Linda Sánchez (D-Calif.) who also called for a change in leadership among House Democrats.

    “It’s offensive because [Sánchez] is in the progressive caucus, she is not to the right of Nancy Pelosi, and it’s also offensive because she’s a woman,” Moulton said.

  38. 38.

    trollhattan

    @David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch:
    It’s not really a cash bribe. A comp $50MM apartment to a developer playah like Trump is a professional sample, like if Pfizer backed a semi to your warehouse dock and unloaded 50MM Zoloft. They’re just building the brand!

  42. 42.

    Yarrow

    @debbie: Agree with the others. The GOP is always going to obstruct. The stronger move is to go on offense, which is what the Dems are doing. I’m so glad to see it.

  43. 43.

    Viva BrisVegas

    Trump and his minions knew Sater had ratted out prior partners to the FBI, but they trusted him into their deals anyway.

    It’s almost like Trump had a backdoor into the NY FBI office and knew he had nothing to worry about there.

    I wonder if that backdoor was called Rudy.

  48. 48.

    Cheryl Rofer

    @debbie: There is no possibility for the Democratic House to get the kind of legislation we want passed by the Senate and signed off on by the President. The strategy has to be to get as much attention as possible for Democratic legislation, pass it in the House, and use that and the fact that Republicans vote against it in the 2020 campaign. That, and blocking all the evil the Senate wants to do.

    So it’s a matter of getting as much publicity as possible. And if the Republicans want to do evil things in return, write them down, videotape them, and use it for campaign ads.

  50. 50.

    TenguPhule

    @Cheryl Rofer:

    There is no possibility for the Democratic House to get the kind of legislation we want passed by the Senate and signed off on by the President. The strategy has to be to get as much attention as possible for Democratic legislation, pass it in the House, and use that and the fact that Republicans vote against it in the 2020 campaign. That, and blocking all the evil the Senate wants to do.

    Wait, you can’t say that and destroy Elizabelle’s hopes and dreams of a better tomorrow. //

  52. 52.

    Amir Khalid

    @debbie:
    What rikyrah said. Besides, the Democrats have always been upfront about their governing priorities. They are, after all, the party that wants to govern.

  56. 56.

    ??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??

    @ruemara:
    It really makes no sense. So what if Sanchez is a woman? So is AOC! It’s not as if she used misogynistic language or something. Moulton is just throwing shit against the wall hoping it will stick. It’s like he’s out of touch and desperately trying to appeal to certain groups, and failing miserably.

  58. 58.

    Corner Stone

    @dmsilev:

    He’d (Trump) be a natural for HOA code enforcer.

    Strangely, I have yet to meet one who was interested in money. They are hard core martinets.

  59. 59.

    Josie

    @satby:
    I don’t know what keflies are, but eggnog is probably not that sinful, in keto terms. Depends on how much sugar is involved. I say, go for it. ; – )

  60. 60.

    Corner Stone

    @clay:

    I have to assume that Putin wouldn’t shit where he eats.

    Boris Nemtsov is holding on line 1 for you. Or he would be except he dead.

  61. 61.

    Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho

    @TenguPhule: Speaking of juniper, I can tell you that apple cider vinegar is a poor hack for lime juice in a Last Word. I poured heavy so I expect I’ll get very drunk regardless. It’s been a bitch of a week.

  64. 64.

    Kent

    The $50 million condo bribe for Putin is actually classic Trump. He is WAY to venal and much too much of a petty cheap-ass to actually cough up $50 million of his own [hard earned…heh] money for a bribe. Much better to comp Putin a $50 million penthouse in a building that is being built with other people’s money.

    That’s how Trump always runs.

    I doubt they ever expected Putin to actually move into the building. It’s more like the gift bags they get at the Oscars. You just pass it on to someone else

    But of COURSE it was a bribe. Or payment for services rendered. Which is actually the same thing as a bribe if the services were clandestine and illegal.

  65. 65.

    ??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??

    @Ladyraxterinok:
    It’s just so bizarre to me. I know it’s a fallacy to go “it can’t happen here” and American exceptionalism is generally bullshit, but I still have a hard time wrapping my mind around it. That Munroe guy lives in the same area I do and will probably be affected when the plant closes. Trump made promises to the people of this area, bullshit they may be, but he still made them and should be held accountable for failing to keep them.

  68. 68.

    TenguPhule

    @MomSense:

    I just had two molasses cookies and I think that’s all I can manage tonight.

    How does this work? You have molasses cookies that remain uneaten?

  69. 69.

    MomSense

    @Tony Jay:

    Did you happen to see the photos of trump with 6’3” Gavin Newsom? Weird. Maybe units of measurement are different in California.

  76. 76.

    Yarrow

    @MomSense: Garage sale? Ebay? Give away to family? It’s tough to empty a house, let alone in a hurry. You’ve earned whatever you want to eat or drink.

    I had a crazy week and today also included helping a friend who is going through what’s turning out to be a not so nice divorce. Emotionally draining. I am incredibly tired.

  78. 78.

    Roger Moore

    @debbie:

    Isn’t this providing time for the GOP to strategize against them?

    Nothing the Republicans can do can reasonably slow this stuff down in the House, and it has no realistic chance of passing the Senate anyway. This is about trying to get the media to report on the Democratic platform.

  79. 79.

    Schlemazel

    @trollhattan:
    Bloody Bill has shown up in my Twitter feed a lot recently. I make a point of replying tweaking him about all the bad GOP shit he has been ok with in the past. Same for Joe Welch. They can’t be allowed to bury their role in making Dump possible

  83. 83.

    Kraux Pas

    @Roger Moore:

    Nothing the Republicans All Russia People’s Front can do can reasonably slow this stuff down in the House, and it has no realistic chance of passing the Senate anyway. This is about trying to get the media to report on the Democratic platform.

    There, fixt

    @TS (the original):

    He about to become a republican unelectable in Massachuetts? Sure looks like it

    Also fixt

  84. 84.

    Viva BrisVegas

    @ruemara:

    Somehow, I’m not sure if it’s just Rudy. Why were they so pro-Trump in 2015-16?

    Rudy was only the go-between. He probably replaced whoever replaced Roy Cohn in that role.

    A large chunk of the NY FBI office was solidly behind Trump well before he ran for President. Which might go some way to explaining the baffling lack of serious prosecutions against Trump over the past 40 years.

    Even for a supposed NY billionaire, Trump has led a remarkably charmed legal life.

  94. 94.

    MomSense

    @Yarrow:

    One of my good friends recently filed for divorce. She’s coming over on Sunday. I’ve been so busy with this house stuff I haven’t been able to be there for her.

  96. 96.

    Yarrow

    @MomSense: I can’t even go into the craziness of this divorce situation. My friend isn’t the one who wanted it and it’s been hard. There was kind of no option in the end but it’s not easy.

  99. 99.

    MomSense

    Anyone here have experience with sourdough starter? I’ve always wanted to try it. Also, too I forgot to buy yeast at the market.

  100. 100.

    TenguPhule

    @Steve in the ATL:

    I’m enjoying a very fancy wine right now. Made by *checks label* delta airlines!

    We can assume the grapes were tread on by only the whitest of INCELS. //

  102. 102.

    Schlemazel

    @satby:
    I had another HI-larious Dr encounter Tues. But I may finally be on a med that is working. Seems I am getting better but we’ll see

    Long story that is so shlemazel
    Saw Dr at 8 Tues. She called pharmacy with new RX. (First she wanted to give Cipro which we had just discussed I am allergic) Stopped at pharmacy to pick up. Had to wait 15 minutes for them and they tell me the drug is so new it is not on the market! Call office they say they will consult with Dr and call in something else. 3pm not heard so I call office tell them the whole story about the drug etc . Nurse says “RX called in already you want me to call and tell them you are waiting?” I said yes just because. 20 minutes later I get a call from nurse telling me the drug ordered is not for sale yet!!!! I go through the whole story again. She says she has to talk to the Dr! 20 minutes later the pharmacy calls I have a new RX.
    I have never seen such a series of f’ed up medical things since I left Florida

  103. 103.

    TenguPhule

    @MomSense:

    Anyone here have experience with sourdough starter?

    Yes. It takes practice and a warm spot.

    If it smells rotten, it is. Throw it out and start over.

  104. 104.

    Kraux Pas

    @MomSense: I can ask my dad. That is if by sourdough starter you mean you’ve been collecting residue flour from your last several other breads.

    ETA:
    @TenguPhule:

    Yes. It takes practice and a warm spot.

    Tehehehe

  106. 106.

    satby

    @debit: well, she was chipped but the new owner never registered it. And though the humane society let the owner know I had the cat, the person never called me. She was contacted twice. She had adopted the cat in September and grown tired of it and threw it out of the house before Thanksgiving.

    The Humane Society is insisting I return her to them. I feel badly for the poor little thing, she’s very sweet and well behaved. Extremely affectionate. I hope they get a better adoptive home for her next time. I will leave my info so that if it looks like she’s stuck back at the shelter we can maybe pull her to ours. We verify new pet parents better.

  113. 113.

    TenguPhule

    @MomSense:

    I actually got lucky and found 12 cans of her favorite beer. Substance by Bissell Brothers. I feel a little responsible since I married them.

    Bigamy with hops and lager?

    Ooh la la.

  114. 114.

    raven

    @Steve in the ATL: But she’s so sweet! Seven eye meds twice a day for over 10- years increased to thrice this year. Autoimmune meds 3 times a week, tie-back surgery this summer, acl a couple of years ago and hand feeding her in a Bailey Chair. . . priceless!

  115. 115.

    Yarrow

    @raven: I don’t know what the vet told you but for people you’re supposed to take the pill and then wait an hour until you eat.

  118. 118.

    Steve in the ATL

    @Schlemazel: that is ridiculous. Maybe you should have gone to the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville—we had a great and productive week there!

  119. 119.

    Yarrow

    @Schlemazel: Those vinegar drinks are very trendy. I tried a few and didn’t like any of them. Maybe I could take the balsamic one since it’s a sweeter vinegar.

  120. 120.

    raven

    @satby: Actually, like my stroke, it’s probably good to know there is a reason for her being punky. I don’t know how long she’s going to make it but, goddam, she’s a doll.

  125. 125.

    dmsilev

    @MomSense:

    Anyone here have experience with sourdough starter? I’ve always wanted to try it. Also, too I forgot to buy yeast at the market.

    Sure. It’s pretty straightforward, but it’s not fast. Takes several days when starting from scratch, so if you’re planning on baking bread this weekend best go buy some yeast, but other than that not hard. When you’re first growing it, you need to keep it in a warm place and feed probably twice a day (opinions differ, anywhere from one to three daily feedings will work). Once it’s mature, you can keep it in the fridge and feed once every couple of weeks or so, and then take out of the fridge and warm up/feed daily for a day or two prior to baking. Sourdough starters aren’t nearly as active as commercial yeasts, so expect longer rise times. Sometimes much longer; overnight at room temperature is not unusual for a first rise.

  126. 126.

    debit

    @satby: Jesus fucking christ. I’m so glad you listened to your gut and grabbed that sweet little girl. And really, you don’t have an obligation to do anything. You didn’t abandon the cat, and if you think your group is better fit, I say let them place her.

  127. 127.

    satby

    @raven: she is!
    Like my Rosie: brittle epilepsy, autoimmune diseases, and now that she’s almost 14 old age stuff too. But she’s so damn happy to be alive! As long as they’re willing to hang on with some good quality of life we need to help them live it.

  129. 129.

    Schlemazel

    @MomSense: yes, until the last move I had a mother that was going on 20 years old.

    I started mine with dry yeast because I didn’t have faith in just letting it sit out and capture what floated by.

    I kept it in the fridge until I planned on making bread. I would take half out, restock the mother and let them all sit out over night.

    I recently read that you can dry out the mother and store it in ziplocks. I am thinking of trying that

  130. 130.

    Roger Moore

    @MomSense:

    Anyone here have experience with sourdough starter? I’ve always wanted to try it. Also, too I forgot to buy yeast at the market.

    I’m a sourdough baker. When I told my sister that, she said it isn’t a recipe, it’s a lifestyle, and I’m inclined to agree. Baking with sourdough is a much slower, more deliberate process than using packaged yeast. I hate to put it this way, but it’s probably not for the kind of person who wants to try something different because she forgot to buy yeast at the store. Just as an example, it took me more than a week to get my starter going from scratch, and I generally have to start on Friday night if I want to bake Sunday morning.

  132. 132.

    Steve in the ATL

    @raven: oh, we would absolutely do that for any of our dogs too, without hesitation.

    Mayo had its canine companions out this week. I feel sorry for patients who got a visit from the non-golden retrievers, but I’m funny that way. Those dogs are a huge hit.

  135. 135.

    Dev Null

    @MomSense: The Spousal Unit bought live starter from …

    [consults notes]

    … Iowa.

    Very sour-doughy, yum yum.

    Happy to pass along experiences on request.

  137. 137.

    Yarrow

    @raven: She’s adorable. She kind of looks like she’s going to slip out the bottom. Bodhi looks like, “What in the world, Lil Bit?” LOL.

    @Schlemazel: This was at a trendy restaurant and it was at least three years ago so maybe they’re past being trendy. I don’t go to places like that anymore. I just got what they were serving. I didn’t add sugar because I don’t like sweet drinks.

  139. 139.

    satby

    @debit: well, we all have to try to work together, though I got into it a bit with the director of the Humane Society when she called. She knows I’m in a different rescue group and acted like I was trying to hijack her cat, but it’s the county, and I live in a different jurisdiction. Still, if one of ours ended up lost and picked up by their animal control, we’d want them to contact us and let us take the animal back in too. So I will give it back, and tell them if they don’t place her soon we can arrange a shelter transfer. The former adopter will not be allowed to have her back and is now blacklisted by three organizations.

  140. 140.

    raven

    @Yarrow: I know, it’s a chore the get her in there just right. Her little arms shake when we put her in but it’s because she’s so excited to eat! Bohdi hangs out to see if anything gets dropped and, because we soak her food, he gets to lick the bowl.

  143. 143.

    Yarrow

    @raven: Awww…that is so sweet. You should take a video of the process. She’s such a doll and Bodhi is a good dog brother.

  145. 145.

    Yarrow

    @Schlemazel: You’re probably right. I was not inspired to try another one so if I ever go back to a trendy place serving them I might do it then.

  150. 150.

    Schlemazel

    @Yarrow:
    eh, it may just be they are not your thing & thats OK too.

    I have raspberry balsamic and chocolate balsamic & those are fun variations to me

  153. 153.

    Tony Jay

    @MomSense:

    I did not, but I’m going to take a wild stab in the dark and guess that The Pustule has managed to shrink somewhat since his awesome, totally legit physical with Dr Feelgood the Serene Marine?

  155. 155.

    debit

    @satby:

    The former adopter will not be allowed to have her back and is now blacklisted by three organizations.

    Good to hear! I harrumph a lot at one of our local rescues that say the chip is going to be registered to them, forever, but I see now that’s its probably for the best. I will keep my fingers crossed that kitty gets adopted soon and has better luck with her new owner.

  156. 156.

    raven

    @Yarrow: You know Raven got cancer right when we got Bohdi 15 years ago and he required a good bit of care while he fought that fight so I guess it sort of eased me right into taking care of this punkin.

  157. 157.

    Yarrow

    @raven: Yeah, I remember you saying that. You’ve got plenty of experience. As your doctor said, if you’d take as good care of yourself as you do of your pups you’d be in good shape!

  158. 158.

    Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho

    @Steve in the ATL and @satby: Hah! I have only awful wine which will go into a sauce for a filet for Mr. Q because 1) he won’t know the difference and 2) I won’t eat it!

    I’m enjoying my hacked cocktail mostly because it’s doing its job. I will get limes for the next one.

  164. 164.

    Yarrow

    @Barbara: I was at a place that was sampling chocolates. One was dark chocolate with raspberry and rosemary. I love chocolate but that was just not good. The person sampling them indicated a lot of people had that reaction.

  165. 165.

    satby

    @debit: I hope they do better next time. She’s been snuggling right in to sleep with me every night since my bedroom is the last isolation room I have, and I just hope she gets someone as loving as she is. And that can’t be me, because my three current cats are already crowded in their own safe space away from Hershey. Who is a very, very good dog except to cats.

  169. 169.

    zhena gogolia

    @raven:

    I’m assuming his cat is hyperthyroid, since that’s what cats commonly get. I’ve had three cats with it, and the medication calms them down and makes them not so ravenous, plus they gain weight. With hypothyroid I’m not sure — probably the opposite!

  170. 170.

    Gin & Tonic

    @raven: She’s hyper, not hypo, so it stabilized her weight. Somehow it didn’t work with her twin sister, who just couldn’t keep the weight on and died a couple of years ago.

  171. 171.

    Yarrow

    @raven: Don’t know if it’s the same for dogs, but for people usually their energy improves, they may drop a few pounds, if they were having hair loss that can lessen or stop, nails can get stronger, aches and pains can lessen, sleep can improve, brain fog lifts, cholesterol can drop. Those kinds of things.

  172. 172.

    Steve in the ATL

    @raven: love the hair!

    P@satby: as a matter of fact, there are many good twist off cap wines these days.

    Shit—meant to post that under a fake name!

    @Yarrow: raspberry is, objectively, the best berry and pairs well with chocolate. Rosemary, though? That violates one of the fundamental rules of flavors—never mix chocolate with an herb mentioned in a Simon and Garfunkel song.

  174. 174.

    Schlemazel

    @Barbara:
    There is a craft distillery in Duluth MN. While their brown booze ages they sell 3 different gins, juniper, cedar and spruce. The juniper is drinkable but I wouldn’t do so if I had other options. The other two were as bad as you can imagine

  175. 175.

    Yarrow

    @Steve in the ATL: Go get your thyroid checked!

    @Steve in the ATL: It was disgusting and I love chocolates and even interesting flavor pairings with chocolate. The poor woman handling out samples looked like she’d heard the same complaints over and over again. It was some fancy chocolate brand trying to be different, I guess.

  176. 176.

    A Ghost To Most

    If there were any doubt that Shit Hitler and his minions weren’t the most incompetent traitors ever, including Felix Sater in the conspiracy seals the deal.

  177. 177.

    Schlemazel

    @MomSense:
    I dug up my sourdough starter recipe. 2 cups water, 2 cups flour, a teaspoon of sugar, a packet of yeast. mix the flour sugar and yeast then add the water & stir till mixed. Lightly cover with plastic wrap & leave in a place it will be in the mid-70 degrees. It should bubble up and you can leave it out for a couple days, maybe a week. It should smell like sourdough, if it goes bad it will smell bad.

    I keep it in a covered jar in the fridge. It will not really age in the fridge so I take 2 cups out when I want to make bread and put a cup of flour & a cup of water in the jar and leave it out over night to keep the starte maturing.

  178. 178.

    Gravenstone

    @Schlemazel: Wonder if your doc is getting a little financial incentive to push this new (unavailable) wonder drug? Sorry about the mess and confusion, but great news that what you wound up getting seems to be helping you.

  180. 180.

    A Ghost To Most

    Whoever had “process crime” as the next big GOP catchphrase in the pool, please collect your prize in the lobby.

    C&L

  181. 181.

    Yarrow

    @A Ghost To Most: That is too funny. They actually use the word “crime” in the phrase they are using to downplay the actual crime. “It’s not a serious crime; it’s a process crime” It’s still a crime! They’re admitting these people committed crimes, and somehow that’s supposed to be good. The bar is so low they need to dig a deeper ditch for it.

  182. 182.

    Schlemazel

    @Gravenstone:
    No, I think they are running out of things to try as I come up with new bacteria. They are not experts on drugs & I assume they have a program that they type in the bacteria and it tells them “try one of these”. I have actually seen that at my urologists. I’d like to think they know drugs better but given the millions of them it may be too much to ask

  183. 183.

    SFAW

    @satby:

    They’re a Hungarian or Polish crescent cookie that are a thing in South Bend.

    So they’re kinda like pierogies, only different?

  184. 184.

    satby

    @SFAW: God no, pierogi are more of a dinner dumpling, kieflies are pure dessert. The only pierogi I have had were usually potato or cheese and fried in butter after being boiled first.
    Kieflies are closer to a Viennese crescent cookie.

  185. 185.

    joel hanes

    @Gravenstone:

    Wonder if your doc is getting a little financial incentive

    Have you ever seed pharma sales babes ?

    I was once in the waiting room of a large joint practice when three of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen, turned out in perfectly-tailored womens’ business clothing that, um, accentuated various things just past the point of subtlety, came rolling in with takeout gourmet Chinese lunch for 25 and their drug sample cases, and rolled into the big staff lounge to do their pitch.

    The influence might not be anything so crude as money, is what I’m saying.

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