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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Open Thread: Current Mood

Open Thread: Current Mood

by TaMara|  December 29, 20181:05 am| 41 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

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Looks like we need a fresh new thread. This has been a …. challenging week. Hoping the weekend brings some inner peace, at the very least.

Open thread

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Previous Post: « Repub Stupidity Open Thread: Guess *Somebody* Owns Stock in Acme Novelties
Next Post: On the Road and In Your Backyard »

Reader Interactions

41Comments

  1. 1.

    Major Major Major Major

    December 29, 2018 at 1:10 am

    Ah, that new thread smell. I’m also looking forward to the (four-day for me) weekend. Didn’t sleep well the last couple nights for some reason.

  2. 2.

    Yutsano

    December 29, 2018 at 1:31 am

    KITTEH!!!

    The first week of furlough has been interesting. I’m finding that without work I don’t have much need to leave my house. Oh and unemployment is completely sideways right now until a back end situation gets resolved. My only saving grace right now is will I get another round of pay in the pipeline come Monday? It is possible that will happen since the pay period ended right at the shutdown and the pay contractors got it all loaded before things went dark. It happened last time but no guarantees.

    I at least have enough money for rent. NOT MUCH ELSE…but I will at least have that.

  3. 3.

    West of the Rockies

    December 29, 2018 at 1:32 am

    That is a daunting kitty.

    You digging NY in general, 4M?

  4. 4.

    John Revolta

    December 29, 2018 at 1:32 am

    @Major Major Major Major: Did you get to see the Astoria Borealis?

  5. 5.

    plato

    December 29, 2018 at 1:33 am

    Stupidity? Corruption? Take your pick.

    The UK will spend more than £100m chartering extra ferries to ease “severe congestion” at Dover, in the case of a no-deal Brexit.

    Over the last few months, additional ferry contracts were awarded to French, Dutch and British companies.

    The contingency plans allow for almost 4,000 more lorries a week to come and go from other ports, including Plymouth, Poole, and Portsmouth.

    Lib Dem leader Sir Vince Cable called the move “complete madness”.

    “The government has the power to stop “no deal” at any time but instead is spending millions on last minute contracts,” he said.

    “The fact that this money is predominantly going to European companies is nothing short of ironic, reducing Britain to a laughing stock on the global stage.”

    The Department for Transport (DfT) said the awards were “a small but important element” of its no-deal planning.

  6. 6.

    Major Major Major Major

    December 29, 2018 at 1:43 am

    @John Revolta: alas no!

  7. 7.

    MattF

    December 29, 2018 at 1:45 am

    Taking a break from some exceedingly peculiar dreams. The first involved repeated visits to Miami Beach, the second involved Kim Jung Il. Message is unclear.

  8. 8.

    SoupCatcher

    December 29, 2018 at 1:52 am

    @MattF: Ermygawd!

    Kim Jung Il is the platonic ideal of Florida Man. Of course!

    …

    *mind blows*

  9. 9.

    smike

    December 29, 2018 at 1:57 am

    @MattF:

    Taking a break from some exceedingly peculiar dreams. The first involved repeated visits to Miami Beach, the second involved Kim Jung Il. Message is unclear.

    The message is clear: “Quit repeatedly going to Miami Beach to find Kim Jung Il. He ain’t there. Never will be.”

  10. 10.

    Sab

    December 29, 2018 at 2:07 am

    My hyperthyroid cat has been wandering the house with exactly that expression. He has eaten a pound of roast beef slices and a pound of roast turkey slices all by himself in less than a week. It’s kind of scary. He’s due to for his treatment on Jan. 8. We can’t wait.

  11. 11.

    Comrade Colette Collaboratrice

    December 29, 2018 at 2:10 am

    That’s pretty much my new driver’s license pic.

  12. 12.

    ??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??

    December 29, 2018 at 2:16 am

    @Sab:
    Hope your kitty’s treatment goes well before he eats you out of house and home

  13. 13.

    ??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??

    December 29, 2018 at 2:26 am

    @Comrade Colette Collaboratrice:

    But now you have a nice, shiny, federally-compliant, license. Doesn’t that make you feel happy inside? //

    Did you need the long-form birth certificate as part of your necessary documents?

  14. 14.

    Comrade Colette Collaboratrice

    December 29, 2018 at 2:58 am

    @??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??: I needed to show a REAL ID in order to get my REAL ID.

    I was born in the Texas borderlands, and I confirmed my Democratic voter registration on the application for the DL, so I’m pretty sure my citizenship is going to be revoked sooner or later, anyway.

  15. 15.

    Mary G

    December 29, 2018 at 3:08 am

    It’s been cold and windy all day and I feel, like Cole says, like hammered shit. I got nothing useful done except changing the cat litter.

  16. 16.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    December 29, 2018 at 3:14 am

    @Comrade Colette Collaboratrice: I think it’s easier to get a US Passport than a REAL ID driver’s license.

  17. 17.

    Cckids

    December 29, 2018 at 3:19 am

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: No lie told. I had to find my damn marriage license. I hadn’t laid eyes on it in 20+ years.

  18. 18.

    Yutsano

    December 29, 2018 at 3:25 am

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: My latest passport renewal took a week and a half*. If that. There are definitely still parts of the government still functioning.

    *Note: this was in 2016. YMMV.

  19. 19.

    Mnemosyne

    December 29, 2018 at 3:50 am

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    Wasn’t there some Republican legislator in Colorado a few years ago who was unable to get a driver’s license for his daughter because the state refused to accept her US passport as proof of citizenship?

    @Cckids:

    This is why I did not change my name when we got married in 2006. I could already see which direction shit was flowing and that it would end up being way more trouble than it was worth given that my husband didn’t care one way or the other.

  20. 20.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    December 29, 2018 at 3:50 am

    @Yutsano:

    Note: this was in 2016.

    Ah, when the adults were still running the place.

  21. 21.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    December 29, 2018 at 3:52 am

    @Mnemosyne: Madame went though 3 names in about 7 months: name with her ex, my last name after we married, and she changed her first name after she was naturalized.

  22. 22.

    satby

    December 29, 2018 at 4:52 am

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: @Cckids: and it’s all just a voter suppression scam when it comes right down to it. And another way to burden lower income people who end up driving on expired licenses with jail terms and penalties. A huge, ridiculous scam.

  23. 23.

    Betty Cracker

    December 29, 2018 at 4:56 am

    The mister and I have both had Florida driver’s licenses since Ronald Motherfucking Reagan was president, but when we tried to get new ones to reflect our change of address, the DMV demanded all sorts of proof of our existence, marital status and residency. I’m not sure what changed. Prior to that, we were able to renew and make changes online for many years. Anyhoo, two months and $100 later, we’ve finally gathered the necessary documents. I wish folks who blithely dismiss the difficulties of getting a state ID for voting purposes could have this experience.

  24. 24.

    JPL

    December 29, 2018 at 5:00 am

    @satby: Maybe females will consider keeping their maiden name. There is a burden placed on women to keep a paper trail of their name change.

  25. 25.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    December 29, 2018 at 5:20 am

    @satby: I said this last night, if the feds want an ID card, pay for their own.

  26. 26.

    satby

    December 29, 2018 at 5:20 am

    @JPL: I kept my birth name 37 years ago when I got married anyway. Luckily, since that only lasted 10 years anyway.

    @Betty Cracker: Real ID is the change, and as you said, a costly hoop jumping scam. It was infuriating that I had to gather all sorts of additional documents to satisfy the DMV when the first document I produced was my U.S. passport.

  27. 27.

    Betty Cracker

    December 29, 2018 at 5:24 am

    @satby: I thought Real ID was a program in California — didn’t realize it was a thing nationwide! Is it some Homeland Security nonsense?

  28. 28.

    Chris T.

    December 29, 2018 at 5:25 am

    @satby: Clearly, a passport is not proof of anything. On the other hand, an electric bill is completely un-forgeable!

  29. 29.

    Chris T.

    December 29, 2018 at 5:26 am

    @Betty Cracker: Yes. It was a Bush-43 thing, with an ever-delayed implementation since it was completely ridiculous. Unfortunately, Trump is also completely ridiculous, so here we are.

  30. 30.

    satby

    December 29, 2018 at 5:28 am

    @Betty Cracker: yes. And after 10/20 will be required even for domestic air travel.
    Though the anti-counterfeiting aspects of the ID don’t need to be tied to all the document requirements. The Republicans saw an easy way to suppress voters by making the initial ID burdensome to get.

  31. 31.

    NotMax

    December 29, 2018 at 5:29 am

    @satby

    Yup. It was certainly challenging, and a royal pain in the keester to renew the driver’s license this past May. At least it’s good for another eight years. FSM alone knows what will have to haul along into the DMV by then.

  32. 32.

    satby

    December 29, 2018 at 5:36 am

    @Chris T.: a passport and a previous drivers license. And bills within 60 days in Indiana, original SS card… I forget what all else. I went back three times, and if I had taken a married name I also would have had to produce my divorce decree though my divorce was in 1992. The third time was because my original utility bills to prove residency had aged over the 60 days (it took me that long to cool off). I hope the Democratic House takes this up as part of their anti-voter suppression efforts.

  33. 33.

    satby

    December 29, 2018 at 5:39 am

    @NotMax: I’m planning on living in a sane state by then.

  34. 34.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    December 29, 2018 at 7:33 am

    @Betty Cracker: Supposedly by Oct 2020, you’ll need a Real ID license in order to fly. It’s possible a passport will do as a substitute but I’m not sure. For all I know, you’ll need it to buy groceries.

  35. 35.

    debbie

    December 29, 2018 at 9:02 am

    I am that kitty.

  36. 36.

    Ken

    December 29, 2018 at 9:04 am

    @MattF:

    Message is unclear.

    I think it means you’re afraid you’ll forget your locker combination and your teeth will fall out.

  37. 37.

    debbie

    December 29, 2018 at 9:04 am

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    It will also make getting into federal buildings much easier, should you have that need.

    I got one last month. No biggie. I had the necessary proof with me, and I carry the same things when I vote. I’m paranoid some dickwad GOP observer will step forward to challenge my identity.

  38. 38.

    Ohio Mom

    December 29, 2018 at 9:42 am

    I’ve gotten next to nothing done this break but hibernating. It turns out I was born to lie in bed and read all day long. I have finally found my calling. Too bad it doesn’t pay.

    I am forgiving myself because driving Ohio Son almost every day of the week to either school or work will start right after New Years. That doesn’t pay either.

  39. 39.

    J R in WV

    December 29, 2018 at 11:00 am

    @Ohio Mom:

    Ohio Son will be working for free???// Zounds, they make them stupid in the schools now!!!! ;-)

    Anyone see the 16-y-o graduating from HS and from Harvard U the same time next month? Amazeballs!

  40. 40.

    FlyingToaster

    December 29, 2018 at 11:06 am

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: Passport will do. In Massachusetts, the RMV notes that if you already use a US passport to fly or enter Federal buildings, you won’t need a RealID. Which is certainly my plan ?.

  41. 41.

    Ruckus

    December 29, 2018 at 12:03 pm

    @Betty Cracker:
    lIt’s a homeland security concept. It’s ID on a national level. They let the states set rules based around the concept so that no one could say, “It’s a National ID.” But everyone should. It does two things. Makes ID an issue that will at some time in the future be required by everyone. And it is stupidly hard to accomplish unless you have your “Papers” in order and of course costs more. What do you think will happen when people without a birth certificate try to get “Real ID” instead of the fake stuff we’ve all been using for decades? Voter suppression. All the poors, minorities, immigrants without 14 types of paperwork will never be able to vote. I wonder who in GWB’s tenure was the asshole who came up with this shit.
    ETA And of course I forgot to add that CA seems to think this is an asinine concept, just another example of better government through actual thought rather than racism and grifting.

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