Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

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

Just because you believe it, that does not make it true.

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

Museums are not America’s attic for its racist shit.

I am pretty sure these ‘journalists’ were not always such a bootlicking sycophants.

Innocent people do not delay justice.

America is going up in flames. The NYTimes fawns over MAGA celebrities. No longer a real newspaper.

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

Someone should tell Republicans that violence is the last refuge of the incompetent, or possibly the first.

My right to basic bodily autonomy is not on the table. that’s the new deal.

Trumpflation is an intolerable hardship for every American, and it’s Trump’s fault.

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

Washington Post Catch and Kill, not noticeably better than the Enquirer’s.

This blog will pay for itself.

Let there be snark.

She burned that motherfucker down, and I am so here for it. Thank you, Caroline Kennedy.

Not loving this new fraud based economy.

fuckem (in honor of the late great efgoldman)

“Can i answer the question? No you can not!”

Everything is totally normal and fine!!!

The poor and middle-class pay taxes, the rich pay accountants, the wealthy pay politicians.

If you cannot answer whether trump lost the 2020 election, you are unfit for office.

You cannot shame the shameless.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Sunday Morning Vaguely-Garden-Related Open Thread

Sunday Morning Vaguely-Garden-Related Open Thread

by | 159 Comments

This post is in: ,

(B.C. via GoComics.com)
.

Sometimes you’re the bronto, sometimes you’re the squirrel…

Every flora / fauna news story I’ve clicked on recently has been depressing, and now it’s raining again. Given this is New England, I should be glad it’s not snow, but at least a decent snowstorm would cover up the wet leaves I haven’t gotten around to raking yet!

Reader Interactions

159Comments

  1. 1.

    Cermet

    That is why I got a mower with a catch bag; I don’t mow the grass toward’s autumn end (towards it leafy end, that is), wait for the leaves to fall heavy and then mow it. A lot easier than raking. Touch up is a breeze as well.

    However, did get the snow blower out – changed its oil, filled the tank and tested the beast. Ditto with the stand-by generator. This snow season will be extra bad thanks to AGW – that warming far too often translates to be more snow and wetter. heavier snow at that.

  5. 5.

    satby

    Today is going to be warmer and wet, it rained most of yesterday too. The extent of my tidying up the yard will consist of clearing off the patio table and belatedly covering it up. Leaves are a sodden lost cause, they’re just going to stay in place until spring. Overnight tonight the temps are going back down and the next few days will be colder than normal again.
    Spring cleanup will be a real bear next year. But the bulbs I planted only a week (?) ago should be getting a nice start with all the moisture.

  7. 7.

    NotMax

    @oatler.

    Speaking of comic strips, November 24 marked 100 years since the first appearance of Gasoline Alley. Not in nearly as many papers as in its heyday, but still going.

  8. 8.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    It’s finally warm enough here to melt the snow we got last weekend. That was still sticking to the sides of the trees–the sides, not just the limbs–as late as Thursday.

  9. 9.

    tobie

    Good morning, folks! I’d mention this bit of gossip in the thread below on Giuliani’s cancelled bash in honor of himself but I think the thread is dead, so I’ll ask here if there have been any follow-up on reports that Dershowitz used the services of some of his client’s Jeffrey Epstein’s underage prostitutes.

    In other news, it looks like Trump’s meeting with Xi went nowhere. As far as I can tell, the only take is that the US won’t raise tariffs on Chinese products from 10% to 25% in the next 90 days while talks continue. Anyone else have a read on the ‘negotiations’?

  10. 10.

    geg6

    Going up to 60F today! And some sun! It’s been so wet, even with the cold, that I feel like a frozen mushroom. Gotta get out in it today.

  11. 11.

    Raven

    @NotMax: Sargent Connie Rodd was created by Will Eisner and started as the secondary character of PS: The Preventive Maintenance Monthly. Connie was seemingly a femme fatale straight out of one of her creator Will Eisner’s Spirit comics. She not only kept the Army’s wheels rolling, she did all the paperwork as well, she did seem to do a lot of lecturing however. This was due to her primary role of being the literal pin up girl for preventative maintenance. https://comicvine.gamespot.com/sgt-connie-rodd/4005-62316/

  14. 14.

    satby

    @Raven: that should be fun!

    It was balmy enough (at 45°!) that I sat out on the porch with my coffee for a couple of minutes. It’s being able to just sit outside that I miss in winter.

  15. 15.

    NotMax

    Rub a dub dub, four germs in a … module.

    Cleaning a toilet in space is no more fun than cleaning one on Earth, but it can lead to more interesting surprises. Case in point: NASA scientists have discovered four previously unknown strains of antibiotic-resistant bacteria lurking in the loos aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
    [snip]
    Using a computer analysis, the authors predicted a 79 percent chance that the newfound strains of space bacteria could evolve to cause disease in humans arriving on future missions. However, scientists won’t understand the bacteria’s true potential until they can study it in a living body in space.… Source

  16. 16.

    Gvg

    It’s raining here for the next several days. Chilly, rainy, gloomy but we need the rain and the shopping crowds are smaller because of it. However next stage is more internet shopping. Toy buying is a pain with Toys r us gone and sorry Walmart and Amazon aren’t really good substitutes. The surviving independents seem to have compensated by either being educational or aimed at adult collectors. Not what I need for 9&10 year old nephews.

  18. 18.

    MomSense

    @tobie:

    I thought this came out about Dershowitz and Prince Andrew several years ago and well before the 2016 elections. I thought there was some kind of legal proceeding involving Dershowitz.

    I figured the Epstein matter plus the trump models and some other stories about trafficking of minor children were behind the Republican promoted conspiracy theories about the pizza place. The GOP desperately wanted people to look elsewhere.

  19. 19.

    NotMax

    Mowing is overdue. Had planned on getting to it on Friday but was feeling punk all day and skipped it. Rained Saturday, supposed to rain again today.

    If need it on Monday, there’s a machete hanging in landlady’s garage.

  20. 20.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @NotMax:

    I loved Gasoline Alley as a kid! On the farm where I lived every summer, there was a calf that was “mine,” and I named him Skeezix after my favorite character in the strip. And I remember thinking that “Nina Clock” was just the cleverest, punniest name ever!

  22. 22.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @geg6:

    Going up to 60F today!

    We’re forecast for a high of 70° — which, even in Atlanta, seems a bit warm for December! Not that I’m complaining, mind you.

  23. 23.

    tobie

    @MomSense: Interesting. I hadn’t put two and two together and thought of Pizzagate as a diversion tactic. The reason Jeffrey Epstein is in the news again is because the Miami Herald had a huge expose four days ago about the number of girls–almost all were underage girls–he trafficked and how then AG Acosta offered Epstein a plea deal that amounted to little more than a slap on the wrist. Dershowitz was Epstein’s lawyer.

  24. 24.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    Well, the 70-year-old oak in our yard is down. Now I’m reading articles on how to turn stumps into planters. Seems like a lot of work, just drilling and chiseling, but straightforward.

    The comics discussion reminds me it’s been months since I read the Comics Curnudgeon blog. I highly recommend his take on the comics to you jackals.

  26. 26.

    Lapassionara

    Good morning, everyone.

    I was occupied with other stuff yesterday and missed all the college football games. Looks like the Evil Empire will be in the top four, but that Georgia gave them a good game. Sigh.

  28. 28.

    Schlemazel

    We got 2-3 inches of the white stuff last night, the big fluffy kind So this AM I live in a Currier and Ives.

    ANyone have experience with Mus musculus? We have lived here for 23 years & every fall I have had to put out traps. Normally I will get 2-3 mice early and then nothing. I do go around most summers and look for entry points to plug but did not manage that this year. I am still catching them and have hit a new record 17! (as a comparison old record was 4). Maybe there is some new gateway or the vermin or maybe this was a wildly successful breeding season but I’m wondering if anyone has a guess as to what might make such a huge difference.

  29. 29.

    Lapassionara

    @tobie: and was also “serviced” by one of Epstein’s sex slaves, if her allegations are true. So why would any network ask this POS to comment on anything until we know whether the allegations are true?

  34. 34.

    Schlemazel

    @Raven:
    WAIT! You have a vintage fire truck too? Details, please!

    I was an on call for several years and I tried very hard to get our folks to pitch in on buying & restoring one as a parade unit but only the motorheads were even mildly interested. This was no a social organization. I even had plans for a 8-man hand pump cart and was in the process of ordering the parts when I got the jb in FL and the move put all of that off. 30 years later I guess it might not happen now, don’t have the workspace I did then

  36. 36.

    Schlemazel

    Good news this AM!
    Kid Schlock got the boot as Grand Marshall of the NAshville Christmas parade, which is just OK BUT
    James Shaw Jr., the Nashville guy who wrestled the gun from a shooter at a Waffle House in April, was appointed as his replacement!

    Sometimes it is not enough that a bad guy suffer sometimes a good guy gets rewarded at the same time

  38. 38.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @Schlemazel: Given Shaw’s non-whiteness and how other situations like that have played out, I guess we can consider ourselves lucky the cops didn’t shoot Shaw and give the gun back to the shooter.

  39. 39.

    debbie

    @tobie:

    In regard to the latest “deal” with China, I’m wondering if farmers will have to return the subsidies Trump bestowed upon them to shut them up? Or will they serve as bribes for 2020?

    This, combined with the Nothing New NAFTA, has been a real laugh fest.

  40. 40.

    Matt McIrvin

    @NotMax: It’s interesting to look at those early strips and realize that 100 years ago, Gasoline Alley was the equivalent of a specialized geek comic, focusing on cars and the men who tinkered with them. Today it’d be a webcomic about video gamers.

  41. 41.

    satby

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: when I had a huge old growth oak taken down in Chicago I did this. The stump was 2 feet high, so I dug out enough of the spongy wood to make a deep enough depression in it to add soil and plant some annuals. It got deeper every year, so I could plant more and larger plants. It’s pretty much gone now but it was a nice yard feature for several years.

  43. 43.

    Gelfling 545

    Much as I love gardening and am pretty decent at it, my track record with indoor plants is abysmal. Yesterday I invested 5 bucks in a frosty fern. According to my research the plant basically wants to be left alone in not too bright light. Maybe I can do this.

  44. 44.

    Mike in DC

    @debbie: I guess my question vis a vis China is, what the hell is our “ask”? Which trade practices specifically do we think are unfair and want ended or changed? Is this reasonable?

  45. 45.

    Tenar Arha

    @Lapassionara: @tobie: Every time I read a new expose on one more of these men who acted as nexus of corruption & exploitation, I think about how the media ignored these stories in 2015 and 2016 to take another whack at Clinton & I’m ready to flip tables.

    Everything they’ve been able to dig up & verify since then, mostly was already there. The groupthink was so strong that Clinton would win, that [you had one job! gifs forever]

    The NYT has never fully reckoned with their fault in engineering ?’s win. And they’re so obviously obliviously stupid, they let MoDo take another whack at Clinton, of all people, 2 years later on the Op-Ed page yesterday. So we got Dershowitz-palooza last summer, when they could have investigated him. And no freaking editorial yesterday about him at all. Not a breath.

  47. 47.

    tobie

    @debbie: China has said nothing about buying US agricultural products yet. This is the White House’s spin. They’re desperate for a “win” and yet everyone know that China has them over a barrel.

    @Lapassionara: @Tenar Arha: It is amazing the Derpowitz is still invited on TV given these allegations. If I recall correctly, one of Epstein’s victims wanted to make a statement on the eve of the election that she had been forced to have sex with Trump but then never came forward. I can’t say I blame her: she had every right to fear retaliation. But it’s one of the umpteen things the press never bothered to investigate.

  48. 48.

    Full Metal Wingnut

    Spousal unit and I adopted a pug/chihuahua mix. About 2 years old. Very sweet girl but still a little skittish. She’s got that dopey pug look too.

  49. 49.

    debbie

    @Mike in DC:

    Trump’s asks have never been specific and have never been anything more than demands to make things fair, whatever that might mean. I used to think this was because he didn’t have a clue what was needed, but maybe it’s actually to set it up so that he can’t be said to have failed.

  50. 50.

    Ken

    @Mike in DC:

    Is this reasonable?

    Yes, so it’s the furthest thing from Trump’s mind.

    As far as I can tell, he’s angry about the balance-of-trade deficit, which arises because we export soybeans and import high-end consumer electronics (go figure). So his response is to increase tariffs, and now US consumers pay more for the electronics and the Chinese are buying soybeans elsewhere.

    Such examples of international negotiation don’t come along often, which is fortunate or the US would have gone bankrupt decades ago.

  52. 52.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    @Tenar Arha: I keep wondering what this crap show tells us about people. Are the Rs in power a particularly corrupt group? Or would we find this in any group under equal scrutiny? I’m inclined to the former, but it scares me.

  54. 54.

    Schlemazel

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:
    Back in the 90s Bartcop used to run bits about a child sex ring being run by some GOP folks that was tied into GHWB’s WHite House. There was some evidence but it all seemed a bit far fetched to me & tinfoil hat territory. Maybe the truth was right there all along. I wish ol Bart were still around because he had gathered a bunch of clues

  56. 56.

    Schlemazel

    http://www.bartcop.com/1514.htm

    Pedophile victim Paul Bonacci–kidnapped and forced into sex slavery between the ages of 6 and 17–told U.S. District Court Judge Warren Urbom in sworn testimony [pp.105, 124-126] on February 5, 1999:
    “Where were the parties?…down in Washington, DC…and that was for sex…There was sex between adult men and other adult men but most of it had to do with young boys and young girls with the older folks…specifically for sex with minors…Also in Washington, DC, there were parties after a party…there were a lot of parties where there would be senators and congressmen who had nothing to do with the sexual stuff. But there were some senators and congressmen who stayed for the [pedophile sex] parties afterwards…on a lot of the trips he took us on he had us, I mean, I met some people that I don’t feel comfortable telling their name because I don’t want to —
    …Q: Are you scared?…Yes…”

    Here is a newspaper account
    http://www.bartcop.com/wtpage1.gif

  58. 58.

    MomSense

    @MomSense:

    I saw that the Miami Herald finally tracked down the victims but what has confused me is that we have known for several years that Dershowitz was caught up in it. He was named in a suit by one of the women several years ago.

  62. 62.

    jeffreyw

    @NotMax:

    However, scientists won’t understand the bacteria’s true potential until they can study it in a living body in space.…

    So.. Eat shit and die! For science!

  64. 64.

    MomSense

    @tobie:

    I borked my reply because I can’t find my glasses. I set them down while trying to find places to store all the stuff from the move and now I can’t find them.

    LGF featured an article 4 years ago maybe about an elected GOP official in the south who adopted two little girls and then apparently they disrupted his household because they were devil children (some horseshit like that) so he gave them to someone else. That person molested them. These people were all part of some “Christian” ministry together.

    There have long been stories that have come out of survivors of some of these “Christian” groups that older me will have sex with teen girls as part of preparing them to be good servant wives. When Roy Moore was revealed, some of these stories surfaced again.

    Anyway, I figured all along that these bizarre pizza ring and other pedophile stories were pushed by GOP operatives and the conspiracy peddlers as a way to head off any attention to massive problems within some “Christian”, Quiverfull, and perverted oligarch circles. Remember those bizarre parties Steve Bannon had at his Florida rental where the drugs melted the bathtubs and other bizarre things? I figured there was probably perversion of all kinds taking place.

  65. 65.

    rikyrah

    @MomSense:
    I hope that the Epstein matter buries Dershowitz.

    On Black blogs, we have believed the ugly for awhile because of this…

    Luther Campbell of 2LiveCrew…. said during the 2016 campaign that he was invited to party with Dolt45 back in the day… BUT HAD TO LEAVE.

    Ever since that story came out… we had to wonder….what could be so wild that the founder of 2LIVECREW had to take a pass ???

  66. 66.

    Mike J

    45F here today and I have to take the boat in for bottom paint. No wind so we can’t even sail her part way. Motoring from Renton to Shilshole, and have the fun of going through the Ballard locks.

    We did come 3rd in our last race of the year yesterday though, so that was good.

  72. 72.

    Bex

    @satby: In Michelle Obama’s book there is a passage that describes a Chicago winter. I can’t quote it all, but it describes the moment when you realize it’s coming to an end and deciding to wash the windows and wipe down the sills. “Maybe you spend the whole day considering new ways to live before finally you fit every window back into its frame and empty your bucket of Pine Sol into the sink. And maybe now your certainty returns, because, yes, truly, it’s spring and once again you’ve made the choice to stay.”

  73. 73.

    gene108

    @trollhattan:

    When your fan base is comprised of potentially violent and heavily armed white men, who fantasize about starting race wars to wipe out minorities, and therefore have no problem threatening people with violence, who may hurt their hero, you have the ability to harass and threaten people into silence.

    The media just brushes this off as the cost of doing business, or something. If you go after right-wingers, you better expect to be threatened with violence and probably have to go into hiding. There’s nothing we can do about it, that’s just the way things are.

    It is a really terrible state of affairs that this violence has been so normalized.

  76. 76.

    Immanentize

    On the Epstein story… If some people were paid off to keep quiet during the campaign, the payer-offer would have been Michael Cohen. The Miami Hearld article could in part be an offshoot of the Cohen cooperation.

  78. 78.

    Elizabelle

    @Bex: That is some excellent writing. You made the choice to stay.

    @Immanentize: Yes. It could be. If so, hope that angle comes out. And wouldn’t you think there are plenty of people in Miami who were appalled at this lack of justice and were ready for the story to get some sunshine again? Thwarted justice in the Sunshine State.

  79. 79.

    rikyrah

    Anyone know what House Committee oversees the Department of Education, and who the new Chair will be?

    They need to investigate this??

    Ben Wikler (@benwikler) Tweeted:
    A friend of mine, encouraged by the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, has been working in public interest jobs for years—and is now suddenly rethinking life plans. Right now, there are 550,000 student borrowers in the program. + who knows how many who’d planned to enroll.

    https://twitter.com/benwikler/status/1064356772146757632?s=17

  81. 81.

    gene108

    @rikyrah:

    I believe the program started under Bush, Jr and they built in a lot of loopholes to avoid having student loans forgiven.

    It really is shitty how they managed this program.

  82. 82.

    Immanentize

    @Elizabelle: Miami is a pretty corrupt place, but child sex rings still rankle.

    And by saying the Herald story might be an off-shoot, I meant that the paper now felt empowered to run the story because of confirmation of actual cover-up.
    This probably came not from Mueller’s team, but the US Attorneys Office for the Southern District of New York. For the Herald, the target really seems to be the former Miami US Attorney, now secretary of labor, Acosta. His personal involvement in the plea negotiations (Herald has the emails!) Really stinks. Dershowitz was the lawyer on the plea negotiations.

  83. 83.

    O. Felix Culpa

    Coming in late, but good morning all! We were at a rare – for us – dinner party last night where we ingested too much food too late – for us – in the evening and slept poorly as a result. Woke up to SNOW! Now have a nice fire in the woodstove, drinking coffee and catching up on Balloon Juice witerati. All very hygge, as long as we don’t think about orange elephants.

  86. 86.

    Elizabelle

    @Bex: Costco did not have Michelle’s book in stock last week. I was wondering if they were sold out. Will go over again and find out.

  87. 87.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    @O. Felix Culpa: That sounds like a lovely morning. The units in my building all used to have gas fireplaces. Our unit actually had two, one in the living room and one in the kitchen. But as each one turns over, they’re removing them, so we have none. I think they were afraid the old folks would set the place on fire.

  89. 89.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Mike in DC:

    Which trade practices specifically do we think are unfair and want ended or changed?

    I have (Celestia help me) listened to Trump talk about this, so I know the answer. Bear in mind, it’s a moronic answer, but it’s an answer. First, there’s the ‘trade deficit.’ Similarly to NATO’s defense budget, when Trump hears about a ‘trade deficit’ he imagines it as America paying China money and getting nothing in return. As long as there is a ‘trade deficit’, he knows America is getting robbed. As for what he thinks is causing it, and what he wants to change to fix it, there are two things. He wants Chinese tariffs on all US goods dropped to zero. All US goods must be sold as freely in China as in America. Also, China must obey America’s copyright laws. If we don’t return the favor, it sucks to be them and that is how it should be because our natural place is to be The Best with everyone catering to us.

    He makes similar complaints that Europe has regulatory standards different from ours, and that offends him and is obviously an attack on the US. Europe has to accept whatever we give them or things are not ‘fair.’

    That’s basically it. Muddy the waters a bit that he wants to be bribed.

    EDIT – @laura:
    Is he still seething with anger that America does not recognize how he was always right about everything?

  91. 91.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    I think they were afraid the old folks would set the place on fire.

    LOL. This oldish folk had some initial challenges getting the fire going, but now it’s comfortably crackling in the background and heating our living/kitchen/dining room area. Ms. O is studying Swedish online in preparation for our June 2019 trip to Scandinavia and I’m thinking about working on my application for a political candidate training program. Perhaps it’s time to make another cup of coffee.

  94. 94.

    Elizabelle

    @tobie: Bobby Scott is wonderful. Congressman out of Richmond, VA area. He was mine for a while, but they are always redrawing the district lines down here. Decent, humane guy.

    Virginia Foxx to Bobby Scott is night to day.

    ETA: Here’s Bobby Scott’s bio. “Bobby”, although he’s 71, with a Harvard degree. First African American elected to the House from Virginia since Reconstruction. https://bobbyscott.house.gov/about/biography

  96. 96.

    tobie

    @tobie: I just looked up Robert Scott on Wikipedia. He’s an impressive figure and will, I think, be a thorn in Devos’ side.

    Scott is the first African American Representative from Virginia since Reconstruction. […] Scott has voted progressively in the House of Representatives. He has supported increases in the minimum wage and has worked to eliminate anti-gay bias in the workplace. In 2010, Scott co-sponsored the “Lee-Scott bill” with Barbara Lee to make it easier on individuals who had been on unemployment for 99 weeks without finding work. […] Scott was an outspoken opponent of the Bush administration. He opposed the Patriot Act explaining that officials may abuse the power by promoting anti-terrorist security and develop unfair “racial profiling”. In 2002 Scott voted nay on the Iraq war resolution and did not support any of the Bush Doctrine in reference to the Iraq war.

  100. 100.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @laura: That filth Cheney, the man from haliburton, is on TV again.

    I assume to praise old man Bush? I wonder if whoever is interviewing is thinking about how 2002 was in no small measure the battle between the Poppy and Darth for the soul of Dumbya, and Poppy lost.

    Is Darth echoing the CW that Poppy’s decision to not go to Bagdad was a triumph of realpolitik?

  103. 103.

    germy

    Larry Storch posted on Facebook tonight…

    “Dear friends. We are sad to let you know our beloved Captain, Mr Ken Berry passed away tonight. We just spoke with Jackie Joseph who confirmed the devastating news. We are at a true loss for words. Ken, we hope you know how much you were loved. Goodnight Captain. We miss you already.”

  104. 104.

    gene108

    @satby:

    undead live until you hammer a stake through their hearts.

    He had a heart transplant. May make him immune from stakes through the heart.

  107. 107.

    Schlemazel

    @raven:
    I don’t know what to say, you almost never see a pickup truck that looks like it is used for actual work these days.

  110. 110.

    Brachiator

    @germy: Wow. I didn’t realize that Larry Storch was still alive. And Jackie Joseph. I remember the goofy fun of F Troop, a gaggle of goofy characters with Ken Berry’s hapless decency at the center of everything. Seems like more innocent days (even though I also liked grittier stuff)

    Someone posted a great clip of Ken Berry dancing in the previous thread. And I also remember him from Mama’s Family, the Carol Burnett show spin off. A very talented man. So glad to see that his fans, friends and family remember him so fondly.

  111. 111.

    Elizabelle

    CBS is way out ahead in reporting that Admiral Stearney’s death might be a suicide. Navy Times, NY Times, The Guardian all just saying death at home, no foul play suspected. WaPost just has an AP story, with pronunciation of the admirals’ names provided.

    The whole of CBS’s “scoop” so far:

    Vice Adm. Scott Stearney, who oversaw U.S. naval forces in the Middle East, was found dead Saturday in his residence in Bahrain, officials said. Defense officials told CBS News they are calling it an “apparent suicide.”

    What defense officials? Are they even US officials? I don’t like the anonymous sourcing.

    ETA: Forgot the linky. Voila. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/scott-stearney-us-navy-admiral-found-dead-apparent-suicide-2018-12-01/

  114. 114.

    Elizabelle

    @raven: It looks so much cooler now. The red stripe just makes it. Do you still have the hood ornament?

    You should lend that truck out to bands for their cover art!

  118. 118.

    Cliosfanboy

    @SiubhanDuinne: I was going to remark that I didn’t know G.. still had fans, then I remembered that I am still a huge Prince Valiant fan… Sometimes the old continuity strips are still fun many many years later.. :)

  119. 119.

    debbie

    @Bex:

    That’s how it is here. I’m walking, I suddenly see a snowdrop blooming in the middle of a small, muddied pile of snow, and I come home and start cleaning the windows. There are still cold days to come, but they don’t have the power of bleakness.

  122. 122.

    Baud

    Reuters

    Former FBI Director James Comey has dropped his legal challenge seeking to quash a Republican congressional subpoena and will agree to a closed-door deposition on Dec. 7 about the FBI’s decision making on investigations leading up to the 2016 presidential election, his lawyer told Reuters on Sunday.

    As part of a new agreement with the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee, lawmakers have agreed to release a full transcript of Comey’s testimony within 24 hours, and he in turn is free to make all or part of it available to the public, his lawyer David Kelley said.

  123. 123.

    Immanentize

    @raven: Are the several G’s on the truck for the Florida Gators?

    (Ducks and just avoids hammer thrown from Georgia)

  124. 124.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @O. Felix Culpa:

    All very hygge

    My wife just asked me this morning if I’d heard that word. Is it making the rounds lately or something?

    By way of explaining, since it’s apparently one of those untranslatable things, she offered the equally untranslatable German word gemütlich. Which is, incidentally, one of my favorite words in the language.

  131. 131.

    Elizabelle

    @Baud: Well that should be interesting. And a highly sought-after transcript. Which might be way preferable to putting up with the GOP bloviating. (Recall the treatment of Peter Strzok. I would like it cost those blowhards some votes.)

    December 7th, hmmm?

  133. 133.

    trollhattan

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:
    2nd heart. And knowing Cheney, he has #s 3-6 picked out. I wonder if they know?

    Let me guess, “Now that he’s finally dead, I’ll never forgive the first Bush for not letting me take Baghdad.”

  134. 134.

    Ohio Mom

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: Hygge is all the rage in the DIY decorating blogosphere. Everyone is tossing woolen throws and fuzzy pillows around to make things cozy for the winter and posting the photos on Instagram.

    That’s one of my secret lives away from BJ, looking at house porn when I’ve had too much current events and politics.

  136. 136.

    raven

    How can a team with a useless OC and stupid head coach be the number 5 team in the nation? I’ll hang up and listen.

  137. 137.

    Amir Khalid

    The Merseyside derby is on right now, and it’s a tight contest. Everton haven’t won at Liverpool in decades, but they’ve raised their game for this one as they always do. Interesting to see a woman assistant referee.

  138. 138.

    trollhattan

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym:
    I first heard of hygge a couple years ago and later told my Danish friend “Now I finally understand how when I come over there’s always something to drink or eat in my hand within 30 seconds.” Danes are very good hosts.

  139. 139.

    Suzanne

    @Ohio Mom:

    Hygge is all the rage in the DIY decorating blogosphere.

    This has been one of my favorite interior design themes in many years, as I love nothing more than snuggling up with blankets, reading a book, and couch-napping with the dog nearby. It is a theme for homebodies like me.

    I ate some delicious steel-cut oatmeal this morning and feel like I am definitely winning this hygge thing.

  142. 142.

    Aleta

    I think it was Momsense who mentioned the embroidery from a relative’s house she just cleaned out. (I can relate–my mother had so much of it stored at her house, going back to her grandmother, etc.)

    This morning I ran across ran across this: : )

    The Profanity Embroidery Group came about by accident really. I shared an old Rino Piccolo cartoon on my facebook feed. … The cartoon shows a lovely older woman sitting stitching, covering everything with hearts and flowers and ‘Fuck the World’. The catch line is “Mrs Winchester finds a positive outlet for frustrated negative energy”.
    …..
    The response from my friends, and friends of friends, was immediate. …
    Within an hour, we had the name Profanity Embroidery Group, and acronym PEG, and myself and Wendy Robinson had arranged to loiter in one of our wonderful local pubs on the following Tuesday, and see if anyone wanted to turn up and join.

    Much to our amazement, the door kept opening, and women sidled in muttering loudly “is this the Profanity Embroidery Group”. By the end of that first evening, we had a vague plan to make a Quilt of Profanity, and the group was well and truly launched.

    No skills are necessary: we’ve had people join who are excellent at swearing but complete novices at stitching, who are now producing amazing work, and then fortunately (otherwise our Quilt of Profanity would have been a nightmare) we’ve had people join with brilliant stitching abilities, but lacking a profane vocabulary. I’m glad to say they are also coming along fine and their use of swearing has improved immensely.

    from Interview with Annie Taylor of the Profanity Embroidery Group (PEG)

  143. 143.

    Ruckus

    @tobie:
    If he and his friend knew what disgrace was they wouldn’t be screwing under aged girls. They know what illegal is is the reason they hide what they do, not disgrace or shame or any thing other than illegal.

  144. 144.

    raven

    @debbie: I don’t think so. I mean they can drag up some if they want but they were never going to take 2 loss team over a one loss conference champ.

  145. 145.

    C Stars

    Has anyone yet mentioned this very bizarre episode of Dear Tweeter walking right off a stage he was supposed to hang out on to get his photo taken in Argentina? Come to find out that there’s a whole genre of videos of Trump randomly wandering around with no idea where he’s going. I like the collection here, though it’s the daily mail so the pop up ads are pretty bad.

    What the hell is going on with this guy?

  147. 147.

    trollhattan

    @C Stars:

    What the hell is going on with this guy?

    When Rocket Man called him “dotard” he (his ghost writers obv) was onto something. Donny’s a savant when it comes to chasing skirt and fleecing people. Everything else, SAD.

  148. 148.

    trollhattan

    @Aleta:

    I’m glad to say they are also coming along fine and their use of swearing has improved immensely.

    Hilarious!

  151. 151.

    Ohio Mom

    @C Stars: Trump on the world stage reminds of when my 20-odd year old niece brought an extremely inappropriate fellow to Thanksgiving one year. Not smart enough for her, ill-mannered and a bit abusive.

    Everyone studiously ignored what was going on, all the while hoping his stay in her life would be short-lived.

    That is how I imagine the rest of the world is dealing with our poor choice for president (yeah, I know, Electoral College, Russian meddling, etc. But Trump is still what our system coughed up).

    Now the story of my neice had a happy ending. We all breathed a sigh of relief when a new beau appeared. He was everything the old one was not, and we were glad when they married.

  152. 152.

    Ruckus

    @C Stars:
    What isn’t wrong with him?
    OK now that that is out of the way….
    I think he has Alzheimers. Others think it’s any number of mental illnesses. We know he’s massively narcissistic. My bet is that it’s quite possible that it is a number of things.
    He is after all a medical marvel of mental health issues.

  153. 153.

    Brachiator

    @germy: RE: Ken Berry:

    Loved this bit from the Wikipedia biography:

    After high school graduation, Berry volunteered for the United States Army, and was assigned to Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

    His first year in the Army was spent in the artillery, where he entered a post talent contest; The winner went on Arlene Francis’ Soldier Parade in New York City. Berry, who always carried his tap shoes with him, worked out a routine and a few hours later won the contest. He headed to New York for his television debut.

    Berry’s second and final year in the army was with Special Services, under Sergeant Leonard Nimoy. As a part of Special Services, he toured Army posts and officers’ clubs entertaining the troops, as well as visiting colleges for recruiting purposes. Soon another talent competition was held, the All Army Talent Competition, looking to find service personnel to appear on Ed Sullivan’s Toast of the Town. Berry placed third in the “Specialty Act” category with the song “There’ll Be Some Changes Made” and returned to New York City and television.

    A clip of Ken Berry as song and dance man, from the 1950s:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQS8iysbBUg

    ETA: Don’t know if it is the system or this new Chromebook that I am trying out, but the Quote/bold/link tool has disappeared.

  154. 154.

    Amir Khalid

    This Merseyside derby has just had the kind of ending they wouldn’t have dared put in Roy Of The Rovers. Out-of-favour Liverpool striker Divock Origi, recently back from a loan spell in the Bundesliga, heads in a rebound off the crossbar in the 96th minute of injury time: 1-0 to the home side. But then Jürgen Klopp ran onto the pitch to celebrate before the match was over, a violation that could get him a caution or maybe even a fine.

  155. 155.

    Downpuppy

    We have one more yard waste collection day, but most towns are done until April. Leaves seem to be falling 2 weeks later, and the DPWs haven’t adapted.
    If you haven’t raked yet, no rush.

  156. 156.

    C Stars

    @Ohio Mom: Whew! I can’t help but conflate the insufficient beau and Donald Trump after reading your comment, so… Heaving a very emphatic sigh of relief for your niece (and family!)

  157. 157.

    Brachiator

    @Ohio Mom:

    Trump on the world stage reminds of when my 20-odd year old niece brought an extremely inappropriate fellow to Thanksgiving one year. Not smart enough for her, ill-mannered and a bit abusive.

    I don’t know if “odd year old” was accidental or intentional, but it is very witty. Glad things worked out for her late on.

  158. 158.

    joel hanes

    @O. Felix Culpa:

    Actually, Cheney’s soul departed this mortal plane decades ago. The Cheney we see now is animated dead flesh, a soulless revenant. Recall if you will that for a period of a year or two in 2010 — 2012, he had no heartbeat. True fact.

  159. 159.

    J R in WV

    Ya’ll are so funny, Profanity Embroidery Group, Old Truck Remodeler pix, Cheney the soulless, Trump the Dimwitted.

    You help me deal with current events resulting in fury!!!

    Thanks.

Comments are closed.