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Come on, man.

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I wonder if trump will be tried as an adult.

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

In my day, never was longer.

Biden: Oh no. We’ve upset Big Pharma again.

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

… pundit janitors mopping up after the gop

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

Compromise? There is no middle ground between a firefighter and an arsonist.

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You are here: Home / Nature & Respite / Birdwatching / Monday Evening Open Thread

Monday Evening Open Thread

by Betty Cracker|  December 3, 20186:52 pm| 173 Comments

This post is in: Birdwatching, Open Threads

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I just realized (with maximum horror!) that it’s December, so the holidays are almost upon us. I’m not ready!

Here’s a pretty Green Heron to look at:

Saw this amazing creature perched on a hazard marker right outside the channel. I don’t know about y’all, but the sight of such a lovely bird calms me down a bit.

Open thread!

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Previous Post: « Witness tamper much?
Next Post: Open Thread: Catering to ‘Fox Nation’ Snowflakes’ Sensibilities… »

Reader Interactions

173Comments

  1. 1.

    Elizabelle

    December 3, 2018 at 6:55 pm

    Advent Calendar territory. I’m just into it for the chocolate.

  2. 2.

    TenguPhule

    December 3, 2018 at 6:58 pm

    CIA Director Gina Haspel to brief key senators behind closed doors about Khashoggi killing

    CIA Director Gina Haspel on Tuesday will brief a key group of senators behind closed doors on the details of the agency’s assessment that the Saudi crown prince probably ordered the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, just days before the Senate is expected to begin debating a resolution to withdraw support for the Saudi military campaign in Yemen.

    The briefing will be just for Senate leaders and the heads of national security committees seen as having an interest in Saudi policy regarding Yemen and the intelligence surrounding Khashoggi’s killing, according to multiple people familiar with plans.

    Bipartisan leaders from the Foreign Relations Committee, the Armed Services Committee, the Intelligence Committee and the Appropriations subcommittees that fund the State and Defense departments are expected to be included.

    Sadly, I predict this will not succeed in persuading enough Republicans to get this to the floor, let alone pass it.

    Because the Republicans, for all their talk, do not care.

  3. 3.

    trollhattan

    December 3, 2018 at 7:00 pm

    Paul Sherwin has died and far, far too soon.

    He’s half of the Phil-and-Paul soundtrack for every cycling grand tour and no broadcast will ever be the same without him. I’ll still watch and hopefully Phil will find a suitable sidekick, but nobody can fill those shoes.

  4. 4.

    rattlemullet

    December 3, 2018 at 7:01 pm

    Great photo, must be the inner ornithologist in you. Living near the wild is a good thing! Long time reader. Thank you for all you do!

  5. 5.

    dmsilev

    December 3, 2018 at 7:01 pm

    A couple of herons have decided to move in to the campus I work at. Makes sense for them, we have ponds that are stocked with goldfish (rather fewer now than a week or so ago…), and hey, they’re classier than the normal ducks and squirrels. The pond filled with turtles is still people’s favorite though.

  6. 6.

    Major Major Major Major

    December 3, 2018 at 7:05 pm

    Man, I am tired. Frustrating day at work to boot. At least it’s relatively warm.

  7. 7.

    Kay

    December 3, 2018 at 7:06 pm

    I got everyone done except my problematic middle boy. He needs..everything for his big falling-down house so I thought I’d start with an electric kettle because he drinks tea. Then he just needs a table and chair to sit and drink it. And a front door that closes all the way. I was overwhelmed by his needs but I did manage to focus long enough to buy the kettle.

    He needs to get wedding gifts, really, but for that he’d have to get married. See? It’s like falling down a hole.

  8. 8.

    RAVEN

    December 3, 2018 at 7:06 pm

    I’m packed and ready to hit the Everglades. I read a fishing report and saw that snook season ended so we’ll go for the “sport” aspect. Maybe some reds will cooperate.

  9. 9.

    Chacal Charles Calthrop

    December 3, 2018 at 7:07 pm

    Thanks for the lovely bird. I just survived a root canal, so I’m home now (after leaving work early for the dental appointment) & feeling sorry for myself. I still think you should be willing to kayak those waters.

  10. 10.

    Yarrow

    December 3, 2018 at 7:09 pm

    @trollhattan: I saw that yesterday. So sad. He was only 62. Tour de France coverage won’t be the same. RIP.

  11. 11.

    Juju

    December 3, 2018 at 7:10 pm

    I guess I should start my cookies.

  12. 12.

    TheOtherHank

    December 3, 2018 at 7:12 pm

    Years ago I was rowing the lead boat on a rafting trip down the Middle Fork of the American in the Sierra foothills. I floated up on a green heron that spooked and flew down stream a couple hundred yards. I floated up to it and it spooked again. This repeated for a couple miles before it finally worked up the gumption to fly back upstream past the boats in my trip.

  13. 13.

    Yarrow

    December 3, 2018 at 7:14 pm

    Beautiful photo, Betty. Thanks for sharing.

  14. 14.

    Yarrow

    December 3, 2018 at 7:15 pm

    Has there been any update on the Balloon Juice fundraiser? When John asked when to have it people replied the Sunday after Thanksgiving. That has come and gone. Was there an update I missed?

  15. 15.

    delk

    December 3, 2018 at 7:16 pm

    I saw a cardinal in a neighbor’s front yard today. As I slowed down to look closer, I saw two more.

  16. 16.

    FlyingToaster

    December 3, 2018 at 7:16 pm

    We’re already on day 3 of the Advent Calendars (1 chocolate; 3 LEGO). And day 2 of Hanukkah.

    In the annals of dumb-ass ideas, the teachers in WarriorGirl’s class want someone to come and make Latkes for them. At school. Which involves frying in hot oil. With 16 asshole children (Trust me, my daughter is one of them), at least one of whom will get burned by said hot oil. Even worse, I’m the logical candidate for this, since I’m the nominal stay-at-home parent who also knows how to make Latkes. Holy fuck this is such a bad idea…

  17. 17.

    TenguPhule

    December 3, 2018 at 7:17 pm

    @FlyingToaster:

    Even worse, I’m the logical candidate for this

    I wasn’t aware Latkes were fried in toasters, live and learn. //

  18. 18.

    Major Major Major Major

    December 3, 2018 at 7:18 pm

    @Yarrow: I haven’t heard anything but I’m a bit out of the loop.

  19. 19.

    TenguPhule

    December 3, 2018 at 7:19 pm

    Trump will attend but not speak at this week’s funeral service for former President George Bush, seemingly a compromise intended to respect tradition while avoiding an awkward moment given the animosity between Trump and the Bush family

    Oh wow. Train crash meets Sharknado meets Mad Max at Thunderdome.

    There is no way Trump doesn’t say anything at the funeral.

  20. 20.

    Platonaileit

    December 3, 2018 at 7:20 pm

    This is priceless. This imbecile made a typo that created a link. Click on it and see what opens. ?

    Whoever did this, I will hoist several mugs of good Finnish microbrews this evening in your honour. ??

    https://t.co/sM0iPTnprq— Mike Prevost ?? (@MikePrevost3) December 3, 2018

  21. 21.

    Major Major Major Major

    December 3, 2018 at 7:20 pm

    @TenguPhule: apparently you can cook them in anything, you just can’t call them hashbrowns.

  22. 22.

    The Dangerman

    December 3, 2018 at 7:20 pm

    @trollhattan:

    Paul Sherwin has died and far, far too soon.

    Damn, way too young. I ran into him and another commentator (Bob Roll?) at a wine bar after a Tour of California event. Both completely nice guys, class acts.

  23. 23.

    OzarkHillbilly

    December 3, 2018 at 7:21 pm

    And some people actually complain about Jonathon Franzen’s “obsession” with birds. I know I m never so excited as when I espy the flash of a warbler on our ridge top homestead. If people don’t get it, maybe they should just skip it?

    After all, aren’t writers supposed to write about what they are passionate about?

  24. 24.

    ??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??

    December 3, 2018 at 7:22 pm

    @TenguPhule:
    “Thousand points of light? What the hell was that about, anyway, am I right”?

  25. 25.

    RAVEN

    December 3, 2018 at 7:22 pm

    @FlyingToaster: What about those closed fryer thingys?

  26. 26.

    Steeplejack

    December 3, 2018 at 7:23 pm

    @trollhattan:

    Bummer about Paul Sherwen. One of the highlights of my summer routine was having the Tour de France on as TV wallpaper with him and Phil Liggett commenting on the proceedings. He will be missed.

  27. 27.

    ??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??

    December 3, 2018 at 7:23 pm

    @Yarrow:
    Does this have anything to do with the calendar?

  28. 28.

    TenguPhule

    December 3, 2018 at 7:23 pm

    @Kay:

    He needs..everything for his big falling-down house so I thought I’d start with an electric kettle because he drinks tea. Then he just needs a table and chair to sit and drink it. And a front door that closes all the way.

    Does he even have a mug and tea leaves at this point? //

  29. 29.

    Platonaileit

    December 3, 2018 at 7:23 pm

    @TenguPhule: The shrubs. The totus. They deserve each other.

  30. 30.

    Gelfling 545

    December 3, 2018 at 7:24 pm

    Tomorrow is fruitcake day. I like the stuff – at least my recipe which includes dates, dried apricots, dried cherries and cranberries. And brandy and Grand Marnier. Also the egg whites are whipped and folded in before baking which lightens the cake a bit.

  31. 31.

    Cheryl Rofer

    December 3, 2018 at 7:26 pm

    @OzarkHillbilly: What Franzen writes about is Jonathan Franzen’s delicate sensitivities in watching birds, and his bird count. That’s much less interesting than writing about birds, or even about birding.

  32. 32.

    danielx

    December 3, 2018 at 7:26 pm

    C’mon Betty, you know you’re looking forward to the annual drunken aunties cookie baking debauchery.

  33. 33.

    Gelfling 545

    December 3, 2018 at 7:29 pm

    @TenguPhule: Right. When has he ever kept his trap shut? Never, that’s when.

  34. 34.

    Humdog

    December 3, 2018 at 7:29 pm

    @Kay: I was just reminiscing about picking up a bookcase someone left out on the street to have that sort of furniture when starting out. Church tag sales or end of semester moving sales were also helpful. And older family members having “extra” pieces I could use. I really don’t think it bothers them at that age, but I bet it would drive mothers to distraction. Maybe you could buy yourself a new table set and ask him to take your old one off your hands?

  35. 35.

    Yarrow

    December 3, 2018 at 7:29 pm

    @??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??: The fundraiser is for the site redo.

    @TenguPhule: I wonder who if anyone will play the Meghan McCain role and throw lots of shade.

  36. 36.

    TenguPhule

    December 3, 2018 at 7:31 pm

    @Gelfling 545:

    Tomorrow is fruitcake day.

    Is that Papadopoulos or Giuliani?

  37. 37.

    Ruckus

    December 3, 2018 at 7:32 pm

    @trollhattan:
    No one should even try to fill his shoes. He brought a style to the show that was his. Someone needs to come along and try and be even half as good. That will be enough.

  38. 38.

    TenguPhule

    December 3, 2018 at 7:32 pm

    @Yarrow: I’m not hopeful there, none of the attendees will be quick on their feet when it comes to thinking.

  39. 39.

    Kelly

    December 3, 2018 at 7:33 pm

    We’ve had a couple green herons hanging out at our swimming hole the last few summers. Don’t know if they’re a pair. They keep their distance from one another and we’ve never seen chicks. They vanish before my eyes when they nestle into the boulders.

  40. 40.

    jeffreyw

    December 3, 2018 at 7:33 pm

    I believe that is what we caught a couple of years ago, perched in a sycamore tree. Here it is walking about in a drainage ditch that bounds my backyard.

  41. 41.

    Platonaileit

    December 3, 2018 at 7:37 pm

    "The fact that Mueller is planning a public filing about Manafort suggests he may no longer feel the need to withhold information about his case in order to bring additional indictments against others." https://t.co/MuSS3mGp72— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) December 3, 2018

    tick tock, motherfuckers?

  42. 42.

    West of the Rockies

    December 3, 2018 at 7:38 pm

    @TenguPhule:

    Well, Papa Bush did almost get captured, and Clump prefers fly-boys who don’t get captured, mmmkay? Also, I’m sure he’d point out that GHWB was a low-energy loser, but that’s alright, he loves him anyway.

  43. 43.

    Keith P

    December 3, 2018 at 7:38 pm

    @TenguPhule: “Get me out of here” is my guess

  44. 44.

    TenguPhule

    December 3, 2018 at 7:39 pm

    Ex-Marine admits he lured Seth Rich conspiracy theorist Jack Burkman to a hotel parking garage, then shot him

    Burkman told The Washington Post in March that he hired Doherty, a onetime Marine, to investigate the death of Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich. Burkman, a Republican lobbyist, has enmeshed himself in a conspiracy theory that Rich was killed for handing Democratic emails over to WikiLeaks. Law enforcement has deemed the homicide a botched street robbery, and Rich’s family has repeatedly sued right-wing news outlets for falsely reporting otherwise.

    Doherty was supposed to build a psychological profile of Rich’s possible killer, but Burkman said in March that he and Doherty quickly came to loggerheads over control of the project. Burkman fired Doherty in July 2017.

    In court, Eastman described the plot Doherty executed months later and how police tracked him down. Doherty sent Burkman emails pretending to have information “detrimental to the FBI.” Burkman paid Doherty $15,000 and arranged to pick up the documentation from under a traffic cone at the Key Bridge Marriott in Arlington on March 13.

    When Burkman leaned over to get the documents, Eastman said, Doherty shot him twice in the buttocks with a rifle. Burkman fled up a parking ramp, carrying the traffic cone and his dog, Jack Jr. Doherty admitted he then ran down his former employer from behind the wheel of a black SUV.

    Burkman suffered a broken arm, and two bullets remain lodged in his buttocks, Eastman said. His dachshund was not harmed.

  45. 45.

    FlyingToaster

    December 3, 2018 at 7:39 pm

    @RAVEN: I don’t own such a device as a closed fryer. I’m not willing to buy one. The school doesn’t own one. And they’re not going to buy one.

    I own a relatively deep cast-iron pan that I usually use for latkes, and I’d take it and a hot plate, but 5th graders and hot oil seem like a genuinely terrible combination.

  46. 46.

    Platonaileit

    December 3, 2018 at 7:40 pm

    BREAKING: In what appears to be retaliation on GM's closing of plants, the WH says that they will end subsidies for electric cars & other renewable energy sources in 2020 or 2021

    In case you were wondering subsidies for coal & oil will remain, because, you know, they're morons!

    — Brian Krassenstein (@krassenstein) December 3, 2018

    Big auto finding out what faceeating leopards party does.

  47. 47.

    Yarrow

    December 3, 2018 at 7:40 pm

    Friday could be interesting.

    The Manafort memo on Friday "will be public," Mueller's office tells me, indicating prosecutors will detail for all to read what prosecutors believe the ex-Trump campaign chair lied about. Should be interesting reading. https://t.co/dDQhgDJlh3— Michael Isikoff (@Isikoff) December 3, 2018

  48. 48.

    Shana

    December 3, 2018 at 7:40 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: I tried something new this year by baking them in the oven. 1/2 cup of oil in a half sheet pan heated for 10 minutes in a 425 oven. Put the latkes in the pan, bake 20 minutes, flip and bake an additional 10-15 minutes. Not any less fatty, but much easier.

  49. 49.

    TenguPhule

    December 3, 2018 at 7:41 pm

    @Platonaileit:

    In what appears to be retaliation on GM’s closing of plants, the WH says that they will end subsidies for electric cars & other renewable energy sources in 2020 or 2021

    Good luck getting that through Congress. //

  50. 50.

    Ruckus

    December 3, 2018 at 7:42 pm

    @The Dangerman:
    I worked the starting area of the first two Tour of California events. As I had not long before left my job in professional sports it was fun to see a different sport put on in a new location and to see what the athletes were like and what everyone had was professionalism. That included the announcers, one of which of course was Paul.

  51. 51.

    FlyingToaster

    December 3, 2018 at 7:43 pm

    @TenguPhule: @Major Major Major Major:

    ?????

  52. 52.

    Gelfling 545

    December 3, 2018 at 7:45 pm

    @TenguPhule: In the words of the Sage of the (formerly) Frozen North: All of them!

  53. 53.

    Ruckus

    December 3, 2018 at 7:45 pm

    @Platonaileit:
    Not only stupid but willing to cut off head to spite nose.

  54. 54.

    John Revolta

    December 3, 2018 at 7:45 pm

    @FlyingToaster: Ask them some questions about insurance. That oughta shut ’em up.

  55. 55.

    Major Major Major Major

    December 3, 2018 at 7:46 pm

    My husband won’t drink tap water from one of the sinks, because it comes out doing that weird opaque-with-tiny-bubbles thing. New York is going great.

  56. 56.

    TenguPhule

    December 3, 2018 at 7:46 pm

    I hope for all our sakes this is just street theatre.

    Nearly four dozen incoming House Democrats told their future leaders Monday that they should prioritize action on health care, immigration, gun control and other topics over investigations into the Trump administration.

    The message was delivered in a letter that 46 freshmen sent to the entire Democratic leadership team, including Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), whom Democrats nominated to become the next speaker and who is seeking to persuade her internal critics to support her in a decisive Jan. 3 floor vote.

    “While we have a duty to exercise oversight over the Executive Branch, particularly when the Administration crosses legal lines or contravenes American values, we must prioritize action on topics such as the cost of healthcare and prescription drugs, our crumbling infrastructure, immigration, gun safety, the environment, and criminal justice reform,” the freshmen wrote. “While we may not always agree on how to approach every issue, we are united in the belief that we have a mandate to debate, draft, and work across the aisle to pass legislation.”

    You folks can’t be this fucking ignorant about the branch of government you’ve just been elected to!

  57. 57.

    FlyingToaster

    December 3, 2018 at 7:47 pm

    @Shana: I don’t think there’s an oven at school. Microwaves in the elementary school’s faculty lounge and the middle school, but I’m not aware of an oven on the premises. Alas. Because that would be infinitely safer than frying anything.

  58. 58.

    TaMara (HFG)

    December 3, 2018 at 7:51 pm

    @TenguPhule: Damn, I want to be horrified by this, but I’m instead amused and thinking about karma, etc. This is what the orange circus peanut’s reign has done to my psyche,

  59. 59.

    FlyingToaster

    December 3, 2018 at 7:51 pm

    @John Revolta: I can just whinge about it here and NEVER EVER REPLY to the e-mail.

    After all, I’m not trying to scare her teachers. They’re nice. They’re excellent. They e-mail me when WG doesn’t turn in her homework (unlike a certain individual from last year).

  60. 60.

    Yarrow

    December 3, 2018 at 7:51 pm

    @FlyingToaster: Just tell them no. It’s not safe and even if no one gets hurt it’ll splash hot oil all over everything. Tell them you’re not going to be responsible for children going to the hospital because of hot oil burns.

  61. 61.

    TaMara (HFG)

    December 3, 2018 at 7:51 pm

    Beautiful photo, Betty C. Now I must finish painting because I won’t allow the tree up until the living room painting is done.

  62. 62.

    Mai Naem mobile

    December 3, 2018 at 7:52 pm

    I wonder if Trumpov will say something really awful about Bush 41 to distract from the Russia story or if he will use the border wall funding issue.

  63. 63.

    SiubhanDuinne

    December 3, 2018 at 7:53 pm

    Odd, the things that pop into one’s head with no (conscious) trigger. For some reason I am remembering a book that was popular in the 1950s (I think) called Fractured French. A few of the choice entries (doing this totally from memory):

    Jeanne d’Arc = the light is out in the bathroom

    Hors de combat = camp followers

    Honoré de Balzac = no hitting below the belt

    It was so successful that the author tried to cash in with other languages (Garbled German, Incomprehensible Italian) but I don’t think they ever caught on the same way.

  64. 64.

    Betty Cracker

    December 3, 2018 at 7:53 pm

    @Kay: This is the most “mom” comment ever — I totally relate! ? Thinking of a single gift makes one contemplate the entire kidult framework. Scary.

    @jeffreyw: That’s a green heron for sure. You have a gift for attracting gorgeous birds!

  65. 65.

    TS (the original)

    December 3, 2018 at 7:54 pm

    @TenguPhule:

    There is no way Trump doesn’t say anything at the funeral.

    He’ll tweet during the service against those past presidents (or their wives) who got the speaking parts.

  66. 66.

    dmsilev

    December 3, 2018 at 7:55 pm

    @Platonaileit: Doing a bit of Googling, it appears that this is Larry Kudlow mouthing off about something which would require an Act of Congress to change.

  67. 67.

    catclub

    December 3, 2018 at 7:55 pm

    @TenguPhule: most likely they will expire and not be renewed, since trump can threaten to veto the renewal.

  68. 68.

    different-church-lady

    December 3, 2018 at 7:56 pm

    DCL: Fuck this shit!
    WORLD: What shit are you talking about?
    DCL: WHAT SHIT HAVE YOU GOT?

    (DCL +0)

  69. 69.

    Betty Cracker

    December 3, 2018 at 7:56 pm

    @danielx: I am. May have to live-blog that again. Trying to up my cookie game this year.

  70. 70.

    Patricia Kayden

    December 3, 2018 at 7:56 pm

    Justin Trudeau sure knows how to get under Trump’s skin. LOL. Every protest sign should call him Donald.

  71. 71.

    Major Major Major Major

    December 3, 2018 at 7:57 pm

    @different-church-lady:

    +0

    Mmhmmm.

  72. 72.

    Gelfling 545

    December 3, 2018 at 7:59 pm

    @FlyingToaster: I have fried doughnuts with preschoolers and crêpes, beignets and I forget what all with 8th graders who, as we know, are less reliable than preschoolers. I don’t know that I’d ever have attempted latkes. Too much work in the prep. If you do get suckered…er, that is agree to assist in this educational experience, insist that there be other parents or other adults assisting.

  73. 73.

    different-church-lady

    December 3, 2018 at 7:59 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: THERE IS NO WRATH LIKE A SOBER WRATH!!!1!

  74. 74.

    delk

    December 3, 2018 at 8:00 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: buy him a Brita pitcher for Xmas.

  75. 75.

    tobie

    December 3, 2018 at 8:02 pm

    @TenguPhule: Good grief! The grandstanding introduced by AOC has now taken over the whole freshman class. Yes, the Democrats will have to walk and chew gum. Yes, Democrats will present legislation on all sorts of middle class issues that will pass in the House and languish in the Senate unless there is a popular uprising in support of some measures. McConnell, however, will only allow a vote on any of these measures if he can attach poison pills. These whiny newbies more concerned about their reelection than anything else will have to make the tough decision to stick up for their party or to submit to McConnell’s will. I have a bad feeling about all of this. A better strategy for these 46 instead of sending out a public letter would be to have a word with some senior members of the House. Ted Lieu, I’m sure, could give them advice.

  76. 76.

    Platonaileit

    December 3, 2018 at 8:03 pm

    @Patricia Kayden:

    What a fucking moron of an idiot.

    There's more. There were three copies of the new NAFTA deal to sign. During the signing ceremony, President Trump appears to sign in the wrong place on one of them.

    This is the exact moment everyone realized, individually with their reactions, including Prime Minister Trudeau.

    pic.twitter.com/Wd3CEtV73D— Muhammad Lila (@MuhammadLila) December 3, 2018

  77. 77.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    December 3, 2018 at 8:03 pm

    @Patricia Kayden: oh, that’s great, I seem to remember trump putting a bit sneer into calling Trudeau “Justin” after last year’s G20 (I think it was), you can just tell the big baby wants to whine about it right there.

  78. 78.

    Gelfling 545

    December 3, 2018 at 8:04 pm

    @FlyingToaster: Don’tthey have a kitchen for lunches? Our school didn’t have much but we has an oven in the faculty room for kiddie culinary.

  79. 79.

    Baud

    December 3, 2018 at 8:06 pm

    @Platonaileit: That’s like a clip from a movie about an idiot president.

  80. 80.

    Mary G

    December 3, 2018 at 8:08 pm

    If, like me, you are sick of all the slobbering over GHWB, Paul Waldman has a great column in the WaPo Plum Line blog: How George H.W. Bush exploited racism to win the Oval Office:

    And at the time, not only did 40 states have furlough programs, the federal government did, too. Bush never criticized it as vice president, and did virtually nothing about the issue he had made the centerpiece of his campaign once he took the Oval Office.

    Which might be explained by something being said often about Bush right now, that he believed in a separation between campaigning and governing: Your principles should guide how you govern — where the important work is done — but, in a campaign, you do what you’ve got to do. But not only isn’t that any kind of defense of profoundly immoral choices, it isn’t like you can do a “Men In Black”-style mind-wipe on the electorate after the campaign is over. If you’ve spent months encouraging racism, you’ve made the country more racist.

    And that is indeed what Bush did. Even then, Atwater and Ailes were known as ruthless, amoral operators, but when they presented their campaign strategy to Bush, this man of such supposed high character embraced it with vigor. They all knew exactly what they were doing: exploiting, promoting, and encouraging racism as a way to win political office, with the most vulgar and despicable presidential campaign of our lifetimes, at least until Donald Trump came along.

    He ran the CIA. He was not always an old man with a cute habit of wearing stupid socks and a labrador retriever guide dog that guarded his coffin.

  81. 81.

    FlyingToaster

    December 3, 2018 at 8:11 pm

    Well, I’m thinking I may have a solution.

    I could fry the Latkes at home, with WarriorGirl filming snippets of the various processes (grating potatoes, grating onions , straining them in cheesecloth in the sink, and mixing up with eggs and salt & pepper, then frying them in the FREAKING HOT OIL). And bring the class those latkes (and for the girl who can’t have eggs, she can have the applesauce and sour cream w/o the latkes).

    I’m just not willing to take the risk of trying to do this in a school that doesn’t have an actual kitchen.

  82. 82.

    Platonaileit

    December 3, 2018 at 8:12 pm

    @Mary G: Exploiting that poor dog, who clearly wanted to be left alone, for a stupid photo-op is the height of sycophant hagiography. Fuck the shrubs.

  83. 83.

    Chetan Murthy

    December 3, 2018 at 8:14 pm

    [deleted b/c superfluous]

  84. 84.

    cain

    December 3, 2018 at 8:17 pm

    @Platonaileit:

    Big auto finding out what faceeating leopards party does.

    Probably leads to more plants closing and then what would the WH retaliate with then? Perhaps they’ll raise the gas tax!

  85. 85.

    FlyingToaster

    December 3, 2018 at 8:17 pm

    @Gelfling 545: Nope. It’s a converted [redacted*] warehouse. When there are afterschool cooking classes, they wheel in cooking stations that have electric burners.

    To my knowledge, there are: one toaster oven, two fridges and three microwaves. There are no stoves or anything like that. There isn’t a cafeteria, and most kids bring lunch; hot lunches are ordered from [also redacted] down the hill.

    * if I told you what it was converted from, it’d be all too readily identifiable. I use a ‘nym on purpose.

  86. 86.

    John Revolta

    December 3, 2018 at 8:17 pm

    @Platonaileit: Ohmygodohmygodohmygod.

    I’m laughing to keep from crying but it ain’t working so good.

  87. 87.

    Amir Khalid

    December 3, 2018 at 8:17 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne:
    I particularly like this one:

    Honoré de Balzac = no hitting below the belt

  88. 88.

    Mnemosyne

    December 3, 2018 at 8:19 pm

    @Chacal Charles Calthrop:

    I have had way too many root canals (I think it’s five) and it’s super important to have a good endodontist that you trust. I have to drive all the way to Beverly Hills, but my guy is such a big believer in local anesthetic that I end up numb all the way to my eyebrow when he does a lower tooth. Plus when he wanted to have me use a bite blocker during part of the procedure, he described it as a “tooth pillow,” which shows he has good chairside manner. ??

    An ice pack on your face will help with the pain, and I always buy myself a yummy treat because I deserve it after a damn root canal.

  89. 89.

    John Revolta

    December 3, 2018 at 8:19 pm

    @FlyingToaster: I like it. I mean, the insurance angle wasn’t just to scare them off. It’s a legit concern.

  90. 90.

    Yarrow

    December 3, 2018 at 8:24 pm

    @Platonaileit: In the coverage today someone told the story about the dog figuring out how to get treats. Apparently if GHWB would need help at night he’d say he needed help and the service dog Sully was trained to press a button that would set off a buzzer in the medical professional’s room. When that person came in to see what GHWB needed he’d give the dog a treat. Pretty quickly the dog learned to cut out the middle man and would just press the button all by himself because that way he’d get a treat. Smart doggie.

  91. 91.

    MomSense

    December 3, 2018 at 8:24 pm

    @trollhattan:

    I was so upset to hear this news. He was such a class act.

  92. 92.

    Jay

    December 3, 2018 at 8:24 pm

    @TenguPhule:
    @tobie:

    The ReThugs ran away from their actual record during the Midterms, while the Insane Clown POSus, most ReThugs and their Media Enabler’s also ran on “don’t vote for Dems, they’ll Impeach Hair Twitler!!!!!!”

    The letter is actually pretty good politics.

    They are pointing out that they are going to get “needed stuff” passed in the House, ( only to die in the Senate), and will once again establish by the actual voting record, that Bipartizan ReThugs went extinct over two decades ago.

    Meanwhile, the House Commitee’s will do all the heavy lifting of investigating and providing the “checks and ballances”.

  93. 93.

    Mary G

    December 3, 2018 at 8:25 pm

    @Platonaileit: Jeet Heer has a Twitter thread up, also saying not so fast:

    3. On several crucial fronts Bush Sr. wasn't the alternative to Trump but one of the important precursors to him: race-baiting (Willie Horton), the willingness to sacrifice LGTBQ people to appease the religious right, the use of pardons to cover-up abuse.— Jeet Heer (@HeerJeet) December 4, 2018

    He is getting slammed in the replies.

    His article at NR The Whitewashing of George H. W. Bush:

    “Perhaps the worst act of Bush’s career came at the end of his presidency when he pardoned a bevy of Iran-Contra defendants—including Caspar Weinberger, Robert McFarlane and Elliott Abrams—to protect himself from further investigation,” David Greenberg notes. “As vice president, Bush had been present at key meetings about the arms-for-hostages deal that would become the Reagan administration’s greatest scandal, but he had never been fully candid about his support for the policy, insisting disingenuously that he had been ‘out of the loop.’ Late in Bush’s presidency, special prosecutor Lawrence Walsh had learned of diaries that Bush had kept, which he hoped to introduce as evidence at Weinberger’s upcoming trial. Bush’s pardons thus shielded himself from any additional investigation.”

    He was as bad as any other Republican, he just didn’t say the bad parts out loud the way Twitler did. Letting him get away with no consequences for Iran/Contra just emboldened them to do more.

  94. 94.

    Steeplejack

    December 3, 2018 at 8:26 pm

    @Platonaileit:

    “That poor dog.”

    Per earlier stories, they’ve had it only for the last few months (since sometime after Barbara died in April), and they’re going to recycle it back to the agency from which they got it.

    Yes, deep emotional bond, for sure.

  95. 95.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    December 3, 2018 at 8:28 pm

    @Mary G: Charlie Pierce on the Hayes show, I’m guessing there will be a bit of pushback to the sanctifyin’. Hang on to your wig and keys, Jennifer Rubin

  96. 96.

    Mnemosyne

    December 3, 2018 at 8:28 pm

    @FlyingToaster:

    If the school has such a thing as a kitchen or home ec room, you should probably make the teachers herd the kids down there for the demo rather than trying to do it in the regular classroom. Having a sturdy, fire-resistant counter between yourself and the kids will go a long way. Plus the fire marshal would probably have an issue with a hot plate and oil inside a classroom that’s not specifically meant for that.

  97. 97.

    Chetan Murthy

    December 3, 2018 at 8:29 pm

    @Jay:

    we are united in the belief that we have a mandate to debate, draft, and work across the aisle to pass legislation.

    If the bolded part is just for optics, then I get it. But if they’re serious, then they’re also insane. Anybody who thinks you can work across the aisle with Yertle needs their head examined.

  98. 98.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    December 3, 2018 at 8:32 pm

    Wow, Rubin just claimed Bush was not involved in Iran-Contra

  99. 99.

    Martin

    December 3, 2018 at 8:33 pm

    Pretty sure we’re closing in on the point that Trump admits that he never wanted to be President – he was just running to help grease a real-estate deal in Russia.

  100. 100.

    joel hanes

    December 3, 2018 at 8:33 pm

    @??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??:

    “Thousand points of light? What the hell was that about?

    It was about providing official cover for the false idea that volunteers and church groups and family can replace government services for the most unfortunate among us, and, QED, => government services are not needed <= and => government services are moral hazards for those they help <=.

    Because Republican.

  101. 101.

    Major Major Major Major

    December 3, 2018 at 8:34 pm

    @Chetan Murthy: I think they still believe there are voters who actually want to see common-sense elbow grease bipartisan problem-solving unicorns.

  102. 102.

    tobie

    December 3, 2018 at 8:35 pm

    @Jay: @Chetan Murthy: The line about “work[ing] across the aisle” struck me, too, as either craven or naive. Craven–if it signaled a willingness to stab the Democratic coalition in the back if it looked like the move could earn them a few brownie points at home, and naive if they think this could work.

    I don’t agree that this letter was virtue-signaling for the folks at home. If that’s what they meant to do, they should have posted pictures of themselves sitting down with healthcare experts to figure out how to lower prescription drug prices. This letter was meant to put the House leadership on notice. Spanberger, Slotkin and others are resorting to extortionist tactics. It’s already tiresome and they haven’t even been sworn in yet.

  103. 103.

    B.B.A.

    December 3, 2018 at 8:36 pm

    I prefer to remember GHWB as a sexual predator (“David Cop-A-Feel”) and for being the only president to vomit on a foreign head of government. Now watch Il Douche outdo him on the latter, as he has many times over on the former.

  104. 104.

    SiubhanDuinne

    December 3, 2018 at 8:41 pm

    @Amir Khalid:

    Yes, even at a relatively tender age I found that one particularly clever.

  105. 105.

    Peale

    December 3, 2018 at 8:42 pm

    Greetings from Bangalore. Although my luggage would like to send it’s greetings from Delhi, which is where it decided to stay. Apparently it liked it there. I’m none too pleased with it’s wanton harlotry, where it apparently will attach itself to any security officer who winks at it.

  106. 106.

    Thoughtful David

    December 3, 2018 at 8:43 pm

    @Elizabelle:
    Lucky you! If you use Zeno’s Advent calendar you can have an infinite amount of chocolate before Christmas!

    Zeno’s Advent calendar

  107. 107.

    piratedan

    December 3, 2018 at 8:44 pm

    @Chetan Murthy: tbh, I wouldn’t be shocked if Nancy P didn’t suggest the letter herself… observing all of the proprieties mind you… offer the branch and if its refused, well then you move on with a clear conscious and start putting motherfuckers in jail. It allows some of the newbies to be seen as people working for the benefit of the people they represent, which is something that we all want, but I gotta believe with Nancy riding herd on folks, she’s got school in session showing people how its done. Playing all the old media favorites, Democrats being the adults in the room, working for bipartisanship when needed, doing the boring shit that the media blithely ignores at every opportunity. She’s lulling the media to sleep, situation normal, the Dems are in charge, we’re boring boring boring…. until the charges are dropped.

  108. 108.

    catclub

    December 3, 2018 at 8:44 pm

    @Thoughtful David: I would think that each chocolate is smaller by half, so the sum of chocolate is finite.

  109. 109.

    Mandalay

    December 3, 2018 at 8:46 pm

    Just when you think things are slowly getting better, some knuckledragging moron shows you the sordid reality of sexism in Western society:

    Luka Modric ended a decade of dominance by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in the Ballon d’Or but the Croatian’s win was overshadowed when the inaugural winner of the women’s award, Ada Hegerberg, was asked to twerk live on stage by the host DJ, Martin Solveig.

    Hegerberg, who helped Lyon to the French title and Champions League, scoring in the final, pipped Denmark’s Pernille Harder to the prize but appeared embarrassed when asked by Solveig if she wanted to dance in celebration and “knew how to twerk”.

    To be clear, Hegerberg had just won an award for being the best female soccer player in the world. And on receiving the award she was asked to twerk.

  110. 110.

    RAVEN

    December 3, 2018 at 8:46 pm

    @joel hanes:

    We got a thousand points of light
    For the homeless man
    We got a kinder, gentler,
    Machine gun hand
    We got department stores
    and toilet paper
    Got styrofoam boxes
    for the ozone layer
    Got a man of the people,
    says keep hope alive
    Got fuel to burn,
    got roads to drive.

  111. 111.

    zhena gogolia

    December 3, 2018 at 8:48 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    hahahaha

    How glad I am that we only turn on our TV for TCM. But tonight I’m too tired even to watch Warren William as Philo Vance.

  112. 112.

    Sab

    December 3, 2018 at 8:49 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: “NY tapwater with tiny bubbles thing”. I am in my sixties now, having lived in the South, Midwest and West. I still remember being shocked by the bubbles in the tapwater when we visited my aunt’s parents in Queens when I was six. Her Queens relatives all lived to ripe old age, so probably it’s safe. Glad to hear it still does that.

    Florida water often smells of sulphur. Ohio summer water smells like algae or intense chlorine. Bottled water will not floridate your teeth.
    Las Vegas tapwater leaves mineral rings on your car if you wash with it. I would never drink that.

    Is NY tapwater still free?

  113. 113.

    Thoughtful David

    December 3, 2018 at 8:52 pm

    @catclub:
    Why would you do it that way? Each entry on the calendar should be a whole chocolate. It’s only fair.
    The catch is that you don’t get your second chocolate until Wednesday of next week, but Christmas Eve is great!

  114. 114.

    Shana

    December 3, 2018 at 8:53 pm

    @FlyingToaster: Great solution!

  115. 115.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    December 3, 2018 at 8:54 pm

    @tobie:

    The line about “work[ing] across the aisle” struck me, too, as either craven or naive. Craven–if it signaled a willingness to stab the Democratic coalition in the back if it looked like the move could earn them a few brownie points at home, and naive if they think this could work.

    A lot of new Congresscritters out here ran on “working across the aisle”, so I’d say it’s what that ran on. They will learn that it takes two to tango.

  116. 116.

    Mnemosyne

    December 3, 2018 at 8:55 pm

    @tobie:

    Honestly, I think piratedan is right at #107 above. It’s a PR move to make the Democrats look like the adults in the room who want to get things done. They already know that the Senate won’t pass anything, so they’re going to lay down a bunch of markers spelling out what they want to do. “Working across the aisle” is just one of those shibboleths they have to bow to so the MSM doesn’t freak out.

    I will worry more if those folks try to block the House bill that Nancy Pelosi already announced.

  117. 117.

    Major Major Major Major

    December 3, 2018 at 8:56 pm

    @Sab:

    Is NY tapwater still free?

    Was it ever…?
    (‘Fun’ find while googling: rate schedules back through 1980 http://www.nyc.gov/html/nycwaterboard/html/rate_schedule/index.shtml)

  118. 118.

    delk

    December 3, 2018 at 8:56 pm

    @RAVEN: heh-that song has been ear-worming me the last couple of days.

  119. 119.

    Ohio Mon

    December 3, 2018 at 8:58 pm

    @FlyingToaster: You could bring jelly donuts instead. The My Jewish Learning site has an interesting history of jelly donuts for Hanukkah — a custom that took off in Europe when sugar prices dropped as a result of increased production from slaves working in the Caribbean fields.

    Nowadays, jelly donuts are a more popular Hanukkah treat in Israel than here but I think that makes the story more interesting because it shows that food preferences change and evolve, and that there is no single, unchanging Jewish tradition.

  120. 120.

    Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho

    December 3, 2018 at 8:58 pm

    @Cheryl Rofer: Nothing Jonathan Franzen writes about is interesting, and he can manage to write about bird watching in such a fashion that it’s unpleasant to read. Which, granted, takes talent.

    His great talent is being a Class A asshole.

  121. 121.

    gwangung

    December 3, 2018 at 8:59 pm

    @Mnemosyne: Yeah, I think too many activists have lost touch with the majority of the voters…the voters don’t KNOW it’s kabuki, they aren’t jaded cynical bastards like us…they LIKE to see politicians at least TRY to be leaders and live up to their principles.

  122. 122.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    December 3, 2018 at 9:00 pm

    We went to the Chinese Lantern Festival last night at Fairplex in Pomona. It was nice, but too expensive.

  123. 123.

    sukabi

    December 3, 2018 at 9:02 pm

    @Mai Naem mobile: he won’t say anything about Poppy, but he’ll make a snide remark about “Low energy” Jeb being a loser with an insult about his latina wife…think W has mellowed enough that he won’t take a swing.

  124. 124.

    Sab

    December 3, 2018 at 9:02 pm

    @tobie: Nancy Pelosi raised five of her own energetic children. She is certainly capable of managing a freshman class of congresscritters who want to succeed.

  125. 125.

    Sab

    December 3, 2018 at 9:04 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: Yeah. It used to be in the sixties.

  126. 126.

    Quinerly

    December 3, 2018 at 9:05 pm

    @Steeplejack: here’s a piece from Slate about Sully. Bush had him less than 6 months.
    https://slate.com/human-interest/2018/12/sully-hw-bush-service-dog-george-hw-bush-funeral.html

  127. 127.

    LuciaMia

    December 3, 2018 at 9:05 pm

    That heron looks like an elegant carving

  128. 128.

    debbie

    December 3, 2018 at 9:07 pm

    @Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho:

    Emphatically seconded. Great American Novel, my ass.

  129. 129.

    LuciaMia

    December 3, 2018 at 9:08 pm

    His dachshund was not harmed.

    Phew!

    As for Burkman…damn, wish I could run that fast with two bullets in my ass.

  130. 130.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    December 3, 2018 at 9:11 pm

    Sounds like George Conway’s tweet about witness tampering hit home

    Eric Trump @ EricTrump
    Of all the ugliness in politics, the utter disrespect George Conway shows toward his wife, her career, place of work, and everything she has fought SO hard to achieve, might top them all. KellyannePolls is great person and frankly his actions are horrible.

    and twitter has replied appropriately to a trump talking about the respect men owe their wives

  131. 131.

    Quiltingfool

    December 3, 2018 at 9:12 pm

    @Chacal Charles Calthrop: I hate hate hate root canals; I’ve had three done. And I have no fear of dentists, either. I once fell asleep in the dentist chair as the dentist was filling one of my teeth (I was a little kid). He was a pretty good dentist! Anyway, you have the worst part out of the way, getting a crown will be easy, but expensive.

  132. 132.

    Major Major Major Major

    December 3, 2018 at 9:12 pm

    @Sab: interesting.

    Also apparently it was illegal for waiters in NYC to serve you tap water unless you asked, until 2014.

  133. 133.

    Amir Khalid

    December 3, 2018 at 9:12 pm

    @Peale:
    As much as as I dislike travelling by air, I never had that happen to me: I only ever flew with one piece of carry-on luggage.

  134. 134.

    Ohio Mon

    December 3, 2018 at 9:13 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: We never got a water bill, must have been included in the rent.

    For as long as I can remember, I was told that the secret to New York’s incomparable bagels was that they boiled in New York’s tap water which was the best water, from the Catskills.

    @Kay: I remember the just-starting-out-no-furniture stage, but back then, there was no Ikea or Craig’s list, and no hourly pick-up truck rentals from Lowes. I don’t know about the front door though, that is a bigger challenge. Unlike a drafty window, you can’t tape up a sheet of plastic.

  135. 135.

    debbie

    December 3, 2018 at 9:14 pm

    @RAVEN:

    Hope they’re running for you (or whatever the expression is)!

  136. 136.

    Kay

    December 3, 2018 at 9:15 pm

    @Humdog:

    Maybe you could buy yourself a new table set and ask him to take your old one off your hands?

    I have a ton. I have a big, empty-of-people, furniture filled-house but he won;t even take a table off my hands. He’s prickly – hard to give things to.

    I got him the kettle and tea- I’ll also get a teapot. I don’t drink a lot of tea but there are so many lovely teapots and it’s an excuse to buy one.

  137. 137.

    SiubhanDuinne

    December 3, 2018 at 9:15 pm

    @RAVEN:

    Hey, Raven, you have only four more shopping days!

  138. 138.

    tobie

    December 3, 2018 at 9:16 pm

    @Mnemosyne: Sorry but I just don’t see everything as being a perfectly stage-managed display for the Post to pick up and broadcast to constituents at home. I know this theory was presented regarding AOC and the Sunshine Movement’s protest against Pelosi. I actually did quite a bit of follow-up on that action and everything I read indicated pretty convincingly that the protest wasn’t planned with the leadership. It was meant to pressure (if not embarrass) the leadership. Pelosi managed to make lemon out of lemonades, and I’m sure she’ll do so again. My sense about the latest letter is that it’s s too small to be part of some devilishly clever plot to show folks at home how serious the new members of Congress are about policy. You would choose a bigger venue for that. But the letter is large enough to show how restive the coalition is and how worried new members are about their reelection prospects.

  139. 139.

    RAVEN

    December 3, 2018 at 9:16 pm

    @debbie: That’ll work.

  140. 140.

    RAVEN

    December 3, 2018 at 9:18 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne: He’ll have to get cookies from the boss lady, I’m outa here. (And she’s having a women’s party)

  141. 141.

    JWL

    December 3, 2018 at 9:21 pm

    I scattered so much bird seed in my yard today that one hour later it rained sparrows. And it was calming, and very cool for being so…

  142. 142.

    A Ghost To Most

    December 3, 2018 at 9:21 pm

    @RAVEN:
    I’ve been hoping this period of upheaval will spark a revival of rock n roll.

    All CAPS? Trying to stir up JC?

  143. 143.

    Jay

    December 3, 2018 at 9:21 pm

    @Chetan Murthy:
    @tobie:

    I remember a long long time ago when AOC was a witless Bernie Bro Lefty Prima Donna out to stab Nancy Smash in the back with “plots”

    November 2018, right?

    Funny, ReThug framing sold to MSM Junkies and then directly injected into some Democrat’s eyeballs and between the toes, so that the track marks for shooting up ReThug framing wouldn’t show as well.

    @tobie:
    @Major Major Major Major:

    There is a bunch of low information voters who believe in bipartisanship, that was a big chunk of the New Member’s Election Campaign.

    Personally, I think it was/is just messaging on their part,

    After all, if they really believed in bipartisanship, they would have joined the 5 White Guy’s alliance with the ReThugs, you know the so called “Problem Solvers Caucus”.

    A lot of Democratic Party Members and voters still havn’t reached the conclusion that the ReThugs under Hair Twitler arn’t any different policy wise than they were under President Obama, and the only solution is the death of the ReThug Party.

    Eg. 5 White Guys.

  144. 144.

    Sab

    December 3, 2018 at 9:25 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: I am not a New Yorker. It might be that water was free to tenants but that landlords paid.Something to investigate if you are bored, which may be a few years off.

    I ‘d like to send my regards to your cat, who looks a lot like my cat Shadow. Your guy seems much pleasanter than our girl, who is having a hard time leting go of her inner and outer formerly feral persona. Still, our dogs love her, as do three of our four other cats.

  145. 145.

    Chetan Murthy

    December 3, 2018 at 9:27 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: Say what? Oh c’mon, I lived there 1995-2000, and it was never like that. Now, it -is- true that that was the case in Paris, France in 1991, and heck, it still might be.

  146. 146.

    John Revolta

    December 3, 2018 at 9:32 pm

    @LuciaMia: I dunno but I been told that being shot in the ass can actually make you run pretty damn fast.

  147. 147.

    Major Major Major Major

    December 3, 2018 at 9:33 pm

    @Chetan Murthy: “illegal” doesn’t always mean “enforced.” As I’m sure we all know. https://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/05/nyregion/little-known-regulation-on-tap-water-in-restaurants-is-set-to-fade-away.html

  148. 148.

    tobie

    December 3, 2018 at 9:33 pm

    @Jay: I have no idea what this means:

    Funny, ReThug framing sold to MSM Junkies and then directly injected into some Democrat’s eyeballs and between the toes, so that the track marks for shooting up ReThug framing wouldn’t show as well.

    I’ve been consistent in my criticisms of AOC, and nothing that I’ve seen since she won her primary till now has changed my view of her positions and tactics.

    Personally, I think it was/is just messaging on their part,

    I agree with you here and I’m glad to see you endorsing my point, which was that the newbies are trying to make themselves look good to people at home by very publicly pressuring the leadership and distancing themselves from the caucus. I don’t like the tactic given the political circumstances right now in the US.

  149. 149.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    December 3, 2018 at 9:34 pm

    @Chetan Murthy: I was in Paris last month, and in several restaurants they brought a carafe d’eau before I even asked

  150. 150.

    raven

    December 3, 2018 at 9:35 pm

    @A Ghost To Most: autofill

  151. 151.

    Steeplejack

    December 3, 2018 at 9:35 pm

    @Quinerly:

    Yes, another sploosh in the giant wave of maudlin bullshit surrounding Bush’s death. He was a mediocre president, he dodged a bullet on Iran-Contra, and he laid the groundwork for a lot of the Republican malfeasance that we are contending with now. RIP.

  152. 152.

    Chetan Murthy

    December 3, 2018 at 9:35 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: Quickly scanning, I see that the people interviewed are all running fancy restos. I might have eaten in a fancy resto 2-3 times in 5yr there. Mostly in diners, cuban/dominican places, etc, etc. Always got water served automatically.

  153. 153.

    Major Major Major Major

    December 3, 2018 at 9:37 pm

    @Chetan Murthy: the people interviewed have also all never heard of it except like one.

  154. 154.

    Shana

    December 3, 2018 at 9:38 pm

    @Quinerly: It doesn’t matter how long he had the service dog. They’re trained to work with and bond with their people. Staying with and helping their people is what they’re trained for.

    God knows I have enough reasons to dislike GHW Bush, but he seems to have been a kind person aside from his politics. That he would have bonded with and been kind to his service dog doesn’t surprise me.

  155. 155.

    rikyrah

    December 3, 2018 at 9:38 pm

    @Kay:
    LMAO about..him needing wedding gifts ???
    You’re not slick, Kay.?

  156. 156.

    Chetan Murthy

    December 3, 2018 at 9:39 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Wow, that’s interesting. It was a big thing in Paris in 1991 when I arrived there for my job. To the point that one of the first things we learned in French class was how to ask for “un carafe d’eau” or “l’eau du robinet”, rather than “de l’eau” (I think that’s the right way to say those things — been 25yr since I spoke it daily, so sue me *grin*) B/c if you asked for “de l’eau”, you’d get bottled water and charged for it. Mme. Cisay was quite clear on all of this, for us near-penniless students.

  157. 157.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    December 3, 2018 at 9:46 pm

    @Chetan Murthy:

    so sue me *grin*

    Considering the number of lawyers that comment at this here blog, that could be dangerous.

  158. 158.

    tobie

    December 3, 2018 at 9:49 pm

    @Peale: Your bag will reach you in a day or two. Whenever I’ve checked luggage to India, it’s always arrived late. Mr. tobie and I have a running feud about this. He only travels with carry-on but I find that three weeks of travel requires something larger than a small wheelie. Invariably I end up carrying most of my family’s stuff in checked luggage on the way home.

  159. 159.

    lurker dean

    December 3, 2018 at 9:53 pm

    @trollhattan: Oh no, that sucks. And so young. He and Phil were so great on tdf coverage.

  160. 160.

    Sab

    December 3, 2018 at 9:54 pm

    @rikyrah:Real life horror story. My actual godmother had a son living in Manhatten with his girlfriend. His mother decided that they had been living in sin long enough, so she took out an actual fancy engagement announcement in the New York Times, announcing an engagement that did in fact not exist.

    Fortunately the relationship survived it and they have actually been married for more than twenty years.

  161. 161.

    Jay

    December 3, 2018 at 9:55 pm

    @tobie:

    So, two day’s after the Reveal by the MSM of the AOC/Sunshine Kid’s “plot” framing came out,

    It came out that the “reporter” immediately went to Ryan’s office for their “hot take” about how it was a set up plot/protest against Nancy Smash by AOC, and the Dem’s were in disarray.

    And then the entire MSM ran with it.

    And a bunch of Dem’s mainlined the ReThug framing like it was Afghani black tar, some are still addicted to it.

    If the 46’s letter was a sign that they were “revolting” against Nancy, of morons who believe ReThug’s can be bipartisan, they would have joined with the 5 White Guy’s and the “Problem Maker’s Caucus”.

    It’s like the panic over Nancy Smash dismissing Impeachment. Nancy can count, and the quiet work of the Commitee’s will bit by bit, move the count, by putting all the dirt out in public.

  162. 162.

    Sab

    December 3, 2018 at 9:59 pm

    @Jay: Which Ryan? Paul or Tim?

  163. 163.

    J R in WV

    December 3, 2018 at 10:03 pm

    @Major Major Major Major:

    NYC tap water is superior in every way, it comes from protected reservoirs in the Catskill and Adirondack mountains north of the urban area, through tunnels cut in bedrock running downhill to the city.

    Unless the plumbing in your building is inferior, your drinking water in NY is among the best in the nation. So tell husband to chill, those bubbles will float to the top and then the water will be as crystal clear as it was in the mountains.

  164. 164.

    Ohio Mom

    December 3, 2018 at 10:15 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: I vaguely remember when the “no water unless you ask” rule was put into place. Must not have been raining much in the Catskills back then.

    People got used to it pretty quickly. To this day I’m annoyed when servers put down glasses of water I didn’t ask for and am not going to drink from. But now it’s on behalf of the bussers and dishwashers, don’t want to make extra unnecessary work for them.

  165. 165.

    Ohio Mom

    December 3, 2018 at 10:19 pm

    @J R in WV: Someone ought to declare you an honorary New Yorker for that impassioned and informed defense of New York water. You sound exactly like every adult from my childhood, including my fourth grade teacher who taught us the city’s history.

  166. 166.

    tobie

    December 3, 2018 at 10:24 pm

    @Jay: Sorry, Jay, but others including Ryan Grimm, who is a big fan of AOC, have reported that the protest by the Sunshine Movement and AOC was not coordinated with Pelosi. The Sunshine Movement also made it very clear on their website and in their twitter feed that the point of the sit-in was to tell Pelosi to “step up or step aside.” I looked into the group since I follow climate news and was surprised I hadn’t heard of them before. It turns out they were formed only a year and a half ago and associate themselves with Sanders and other “True Progressives.” Give this theory of an orchestrated display a rest. I don’t care what Paul Ryan had to say about the action. The Sunshine Movement’s website was evidence enough. It’s a good thing that Pelosi is a skilled politician and turned a potentially embarrassing situation for everyone into a win for the environment.

  167. 167.

    zhena gogolia

    December 3, 2018 at 10:31 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Oh, man, I just spent an inappropriate length of time reading that thread. I need a cigarette. And I don’t even smoke.

  168. 168.

    donnah

    December 3, 2018 at 10:36 pm

    @Kay:

    Kay, my oldest son, age 31, just split with his girlfriend. They’d been living together for a year in her house. It’s terribly painful and he today moved into a teeny apartment downtown. I took him to Target so he could get some basics like kitchen towels, a coffee maker, cleaning supplies, sheets, and so on. I bought him the coffee maker and he got the rest, but I know it strained his budget.

    We will have a rough time over the holidays, but we’ll focus on keeping his spirits up as he adjusts to a different way of life. Yes, he’s a grown man, but he’s my kid and I want to be here for him.

  169. 169.

    Dan B

    December 3, 2018 at 11:00 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: NYC tap water used to be some of the best in the country. They secured reservoirs in the Catskills with pristine watersheds and an excellent water main. Street to home sink would be the issue. Aerated taps is often a water conserving method since it looks like more water. I think it’s mandatory in Seattle. All our faucets have narrators. We’ve got pristine watersheds but population growth and drier summers plus less snowfall strain the capacity every October.

    And that bottled water is just filtered tap water, even the “imported”. Scam artists. Ask me for the story. Grrrr!

  170. 170.

    Ken

    December 3, 2018 at 11:02 pm

    @Mandalay:

    And on receiving the award she was asked to twerk [by the host Martin Solveig].

    Did she instead kick a soccer ball into Solveig’s crotch? Preferably without giving him time to adopt that cross-wrist posture used by the defenders for free kicks.

  171. 171.

    Jay

    December 3, 2018 at 11:22 pm

    @Sab:

    Paul.

  172. 172.

    Dan B

    December 3, 2018 at 11:29 pm

    @Dan B: aerators… not narrators….
    autocorrect on new tablet – sneaky!

    I see my Catskills reservoirs and excellent water mains – bedrock tunnels – memories are correct. I won’t drink tap water in CA, especially LA. Duck!

    Good luck with getting hubby over his bubbles = ick!

  173. 173.

    Ruckus

    December 3, 2018 at 11:39 pm

    @Dan B:
    And yet in blind taste tests LA water scores very high. And it’s far, far better than the water in central OH when I lived there. And a lot of bottled water is as you say tap water, a lot of it LA tap water. I used to build the tools that made the bottles that the water was sold in and most of my customers just bottled what came out of the tap. Talk about your scams. The bottles and the delivery are the biggest cost factors, they easily cost more than the water inside.

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