Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

Anyone who bans teaching American history has no right to shape America’s future.

Roe isn’t about choice, it’s about freedom.

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

The GOP couldn’t organize an orgy in a whorehouse with a fist full of 50s.

The GOP is a fucking disgrace.

Hot air and ill-informed banter

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

Republican obstruction dressed up as bipartisanship. Again.

Seems like a complicated subject, have you tried yelling at it?

Innocent people don’t delay justice.

They’re not red states to be hated; they are voter suppression states to be fixed.

You can’t love your country only when you win.

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

The words do not have to be perfect.

When your entire life is steeped in white supremacy, equality feels like discrimination.

… pundit janitors mopping up after the GOP

Spilling the end game before they can coat it in frankl luntz-approved dogwhistles.

Insiders who complain to politico: please report to the white house office of shut the fuck up.

“What are Republicans afraid of?” Everything.

That’s my take and I am available for criticism at this time.

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

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

Accountability, motherfuckers.

You are here: Home / Pet Blogging / Dog Blogging / Friday Afternoon Open Thread

Friday Afternoon Open Thread

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Here’s the exact moment yesterday when Badger realized we were at the vet’s office instead of Grandma’s house:

Poor guy. It was a “well puppy” visit to establish him with a new vet (due to our recent move) and to get a new supply of heart worm / flea / tick meds calibrated to his weight. He got a thermometer up the poop-chute, but that was the worst of it.

Open thread!

Reader Interactions

151Comments

  1. 1.

    Humdog

    Has he been “fixed” yet? It looks like he already knows not to trust the doctors. Thanks for this thread, Betty.

    How is Daisy doing?

  3. 3.

    trollhattan

    Heh, grumpy little man is grumpy. I can see why you were smitten by the breed, they have that same “Yes, I’m concerned why aren’t you concerned?” look that boxers have.

  4. 4.

    Punchy

    In our house, the dog’s poop-chute doubles as her mid-afternoon snack supplier. It’s a behavior I simply dont understand, nor want to.

    Hope that didn’t ruin anyone’s lunch. If it did, our dog can squat and supply you with another one.

  6. 6.

    dexwood

    I had that same look on my face when I parked in front of a urologist’s office two months ago.

  7. 7.

    Betty Cracker

    @Humdog: Daisy is doing fine for an old girl. She’s slowed down a lot but is as sharp as ever and doesn’t let the young punk push her around.

  8. 8.

    Gelfling 545

    Flora loves going to the vet. They give her peanut butter on a spoon to lick and she never notices anything else happening. To her vet=peanut butter. I think she completely forgot about being spayed. Pugs aren’t precisely the intellectuals of their species.

  10. 10.

    Yutsano

    Oh dat look. Fortunately for you puppehs are very forgiving.

    I’m trying to avoid the existential crisis thing. Mostly trying to decide if I can live off $1000 less per month than normal. Hell at this point I’ll take the paying back unemployment when that happens. Keeping head above water is most important.

  13. 13.

    JanieM

    @Punchy: If you really don’t want to know, stop here. But I thought this was interesting.

    IIRC, according to Ben Kilham in Among the Bears, a wonderful book about raising orphaned bear cubs in New Hampshire, bears are thought to eat poop to diversify and strengthen their gut bacteria. I’m not sure how eating your own would accomplish that, but maybe an animal in the wild has more options than a house pet, and a house pet still has the habit even if not the opportunity. The dogs I used to walk sometimes for the neighbor loved to roll in it. Yeesh.

  15. 15.

    chris

    That’s the same look I got from Milo today when I went to let him out for a pee break. His people are away for the day so I’m on duty. The only problem is that Milo does not like the cold and it’s -5C today. So rush out, pee 10 feet from the door and rush back in all the while giving me the how-could-you look.

    Here’s Milo from warmer times with my size 11 boot for scale. His parents say that he’s 120 pounds of pure muscle. Not my place to disagree.

  16. 16.

    Droppy

    He got a thermometer up the poop-chute, but that was the worst of it.

    Would that were true for all of us ….

  18. 18.

    satby

    In pet news here at casa de cray-cray, my oldest girl dog Rosie seems to have finally been diagnosed correctly (with Cushings). She’s always had itchy, irritated, mangey looking skin and has gone through lots of topical and oral meds, but this new vet gave her a different one and it was like turning off a light switch. Her itching just stopped completely, in less than four hours, after years of struggle with it. I’m so happy for her!
    The cat, who I thought had an eye infection had a sinus infection instead, so he’s on antibiotics too. Doing better. Both go back for a follow-up on Monday, but now we’re all devoted to this new vet!

  20. 20.

    RAVEN

    I’d never heard of Diminution in Value but I guess we may get some dough since our $33k car’s value just dropped by being hit.

  21. 21.

    rikyrah

    How Kamala Harris, a Tweet and a Pink and Green ‘Screech’ Proves We Need More Black Journalists

    Michael Harriot
    Yesterday 5:20pm

    Just below the reported Lord and Savior Jesus Christ; immediately after the quiet white kid in class wearing the trenchcoat who doodles swastikas in the margins of his Social Studies book; ranks the third-place winner of people you don’t want mad at you:

    Black women.

    So it is with extreme sorrow that we bring you the story of Chelsea Janes, the reporter who managed to inadvertently place herself in the crosshairs of the sisters of Alpha Kappa Alpha, Inc. while simultaneously proving that news outlets need more black journalists.

    Janes, a reporter who knows more stuff about baseball than most people ever will, recently left the Washington Post’s sports beat covering the Washington Nationals to join the paper’s political coverage team. If you’re wondering how a sportswriter made the move to political coverage, need I remind you that her resumé contains Chelsea and Jane which, in the pantheon of Caucasian monikers, is only bested by the whitest name of all time: Tiffany Amber Thiessen.

    Anyway, on Wednesday, Janes covered a Washington, D.C., book event for Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.). The event at D.C.’s Politics and Prose was extremely crowded as the rumored presidential hopeful hocked her new book, The Truth We Hold. Aside from the fact that the book is being reported as a “soft launch” for Harris’ expected 2020 White House bid, many of the attendees were reportedly AKAs from Howard University, the historically black college where Harris pledged as an undergraduate.

    For the white people joining us, I’m sure that last sentence might have you bewildered. Let me explain:

    The “Divine Nine” black sorority and fraternity culture, especially at HBCUs, is a whole different world that most of you don’t know about. While their memberships vary and number in the hundreds of thousands, they each have their own distinct personalities, traditions and culture.

    And unlike white sororities and fraternities, joining a black Greek-letter organization is not just a college activity, you belong for life. You get recognition, the mutual respect of members, powerful connections, lifelong affiliations and great parties.

    It’s kinda like white privilege, but with much cooler jackets.

    ……………………

    So, with her lack of knowledge about this, when Chelseaboots heard the AKAs doing their trademark “skee-wee” at the Kamala Harris event, I’m sure she thought the venue was being overrun by very vocal mice or the high-pitched squeals were just a test of the Emergency Black Broadcast System. Janes, having no idea what was going on, tweeted this:

    …………….

    Now, I can guarantee you that our white readers saw the above-mentioned tweet and thought it was innocuous, which, to be fair, it kinda is. Janes’ tweet has no malice or ill intent.

    Meanwhile, many of our black readers saw the same thing and thought: “Oh shit! No she didn’t!” Now we are alone, white people, because—knowing what this meant—our melanated constituency has probably left this article and dashed over to Twitter to see the social media molly-whopping that was undoubtedly about to happen.

    Don’t worry, I’ll show you the three steps of dragging:

    Step 1. The Official Notice: One must issue a formal notice of the dragging along with an explanation of what they did wrong.
    Step 2. The dragging commences: Now this is gonna hurt you more than it hurts me … But it’s still gonna hurt.
    Step 3. The explanation: After all butt-whippings, black parents sit down and explain why they exacted such harsh measures. Black Twitter explained to Chelsea why she was so harshly booted. I even joined in:

  22. 22.

    CaseyL

    I love the suddenly half-mast ears. No one can look reproachful like a dog. When cats try it, they either look pole-axed (my Oscar is good at that) or medium-grade pissed.

    In other news, my “new” used computer – which arrived chock full of problems and had to be sent back for repairs – is, they say, now fixed and I should get it back next week. Joy! My current old workhorse can work relatively well for a few hours before going loopdeloop and needing yet another restart. Maybe I’ll take the old one in for repair and keep it as a spare…

  23. 23.

    delk

    We moved a little over a year ago. There is a house on the next block that I walk by and you can see in through their bay window a huge wall mounted tv. It’s huge, hard to miss, and always tuned to Fox News. Doesn’t matter what time of the day, it’s always turned to Fox.

    However, for the last few weeks it has been tuned to CNN and now I wonder if they finally got tired of drinking the Kool-Aid or if the kids came home for the holidays and blocked the station on them.

    I think it was the kids.

  24. 24.

    Brachiator

    Since this is an open thread…

    I don’t generally care much about sports, but I really admired this tribute to Andy Murray, who apparently is retiring early from tennis. From Deadspin

    Andy Murray Was A Real Person Walking Among Gods

    When the words “tactician” or “technician” crop up, the way they do around Andy Murray, who just announced his forthcoming retirement due to chronic hip pain, there’s a whiff of euphemism in the air. Sure, this player is missing that certain oomph, but nevertheless! Even so! Alas! He persisted, and became champion anyway. You might think it’s an odd, oblique form of condescension towards an all-timer made entirely of sinew.

    But in Murray’s case it’s easy enough to understand, once you pan out and notice all the freaks in the background. Roger Federer descended sweatless from a champagne-flavored cloud and will likely float back up on it some day. You go to work and across the office is Rafael Nadal, yoked and indomitable, disfiguring the tennis ball with hell spin. Over at the water cooler is Novak Djokovic, basically bringing the same gameplan as you, only he had the good fortune of getting bitten by a radioactive Gumby figurine early in life. And then there’s Murray, with a well-stocked utility belt and a nice brain, entering the fray totally mortal and a little pissy. But to go at the three greatest ever to do it and come away with three majors (including long-awaited homegrown Wimbledon glory), two gold medals, a year-end finals, a raft of masters, months at the world No. 1—there is no euphemism needed for any of that. There’s just the trophy shelf. Andy Murray rose up and did the shit, while hundreds of other triers left empty-handed…. More

    The full essay is very enjoyable, a nice antidote to the recent and ongoing political craziness.

    ETA: Great expression on Badger’s face.

  25. 25.

    Kelly

    We have the wall clock laying on the floor until 6 month old kitten Phoebe gets bored with it. Yesterday she started using the TV and nearby paintings to climb up to it because SOMETHING IS MOVING UP THERE I MUST HAVE IT.

  26. 26.

    JPL

    @Betty Cracker: Last time the vet tried that with Finch, the dog had a panic attack. The vet ended up sitting on the floor holding him. Then he went through his chart and saw that he was adopted after heart worm treatment at the age 5/6 and looked at me. I sorta smiled and said yeah who does that, and I said Finch let’s go home.
    Now he goes to the vet and because of special notes is spoiled rotten and babied.

  31. 31.

    satby

    I’m surprised that the TSA folks haven’t gone on a strike yet. I think it would take less than 2 days to break the shutdown.
    Wonder if any of the multiple lawsuits filed against the administration will come to anything?

  32. 32.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @tybee:

    i see trump says he won’t declare an emergency.

    Most often, the stuff he floats trial balloons about is the stuff he doesn’t do, and the stuff he announces suddenly while everyone goes WTF is the stuff that at least has 50/50.

  33. 33.

    Brachiator

    @tybee:

    i see trump says he won’t declare an emergency.

    But he’s still demanding money for a Wall. Who knows whether he will change his mind or throw another tantrum.

  34. 34.

    Kelly

    @Miss Bianca: She’s also made off with most of the little oak plugs that hide the screws in the stair handrails. New one are inexpensive but we’ll have to glue them in.

  35. 35.

    Betty Cracker

    @tybee: The whole quote, via The Post:

    “What we’re not looking to do right now is national emergency. I’m not going to do it so fast.”

    He’ll get around to it eventually if the Dems don’t cave, and it sure looks like they won’t. Maybe the idiot is waiting to break the previous longest shutdown record before claiming a bogus emergency.

  36. 36.

    Yutsano

    @satby: @satby:

    I’m surprised that the TSA folks haven’t gone on a strike yet

    Unfortunately, it is illegal for federal workers to strike. But as many have observed, there is no rule that keeps federal workers from calling in sick. So Blue Flu is probably about to become more common the longer this goes.

  37. 37.

    chris

    @Just One More Canuck: My Bert enjoyed the litter box when he was a pup. Sneaky bugger would sneak out of the bedroom after lights out and come back with the foulest breath. I finally caught him in the act and he got his one and only smack on the butt and a long and thunderous dressing down. Fortunately he’s a good dog and it worked.

  38. 38.

    sukabi

    Lol. Betty, that’s a “You Bitch, you’re such a disappointment.” look if I ever saw one.

  39. 39.

    Brachiator

    @Yutsano: I see that the IRS declared tax season open on January 28. Is there a new contingency plan? Will customer service be available?

  40. 40.

    Wyliecoat

    So pissed I had to vent – hubby listened to the FTFNYT’s podcast where the guy interviewed a Trump-supporting, but measured-sounding, sheriff at the border and came away saying “You know there really is a humanitarian crisis at the border and now that Trump doesn’t actually want a “wall” wall, perhaps the Democrats can work with him to reopen the government.”
    FTFNYT for normalizing Trump and his crazy supporters.

  42. 42.

    Jay

    “Rahaf-al-Qunun has left Thailand aboard a Korean Air jetliner en route to asylum in Canada.

    A spokesperson for the UNHCR Canada said they could not talk about her case due to “protection reasons.”

  44. 44.

    germy

    The Financial Times is reporting that Ivanka is being considered as a nominee for World Bank president

  46. 46.

    trollhattan

    @Jay:
    Here’s hoping for her sake the crown prince doesn’t take a personal interest in this. Poor kid.

    Do Canada’s customs folks screen for bone saws?

  47. 47.

    Bill Arnold

    @Betty Cracker:

    Maybe the idiot is waiting to break the previous longest shutdown record before claiming a bogus emergency.

    Maybe that’s his “strategy” – to cause the longest shutdown in American history, plate the Trump Shutdown gold, then declare a “shutdown emergency”.
    He and his team have lost control of the narratives, and they hate it; even Fox is not solid. We all need to keep up the pressure:
    Trump Is Debating the Shutdown on Democrats’ ‘Manufactured’ Terms

    And just for the record, for those of us with memories longer than those of fruit flies (or can spell google.com),
    Democrats need to do their job and make a deal (Marc A. Thiessen January 19, 2018 – [wiki] “an American conservative author, columnist, and political commentator.”)

    This is a manufactured crisis. DACA protections don’t begin expiring until March 5, so there is plenty of time to cut an immigration deal.

  48. 48.

    germy

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: You made some excellent points in your blog. Especially about anxiety being a useful tool sometimes.

    “I love being a writer. What I can’t stand is the paperwork.”
    ― Peter De Vries

    “I write when I’m inspired, and I see to it that I’m inspired at nine o’clock every morning. ”
    ― Peter De Vries

  49. 49.

    eemom

    @Betty Cracker:

    He’ll get around to it eventually if the Dems don’t cave, and it sure looks like they won’t.

    hmm, don’t think so. I see this as a cave on HIS vile part. Why NOT do it now, if ever?

    Of course, that’s assuming he is motivated by some modicum of logic….

  50. 50.

    Ruckus

    @Brachiator:

    or throw another tantrum

    He could change his mind, but I’m going for the obvious answer, whatever is the most useless, toddler like thing he can do, is what he will do.

  51. 51.

    Mnemosyne

    @rikyrah:

    I went to mostly-white University of Southern California, and we had AKAs (though they didn’t have a sorority house) so I at least know who they are. It was a HUGE DEAL to get picked, and the girls who did were well-known to be up-and-comers on campus.
    I might not have recognized the screech, though . ?

  52. 52.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    @germy: Thank you!

    I’ve had computer problems all day, so my current anxiety is about whether it’s going to crap out again. However, Mr DAW seems to have fixed it. The new graphics card seems to have done the trick.

  53. 53.

    Amir Khalid

    I have Big Mofo, my new 100-watt Fender amp, almost perfectly dialed in. I wasn’t planning to name him, but I was commenting here and it just slipped out. I’m wondering what to do with the other, 20-watt amp — Li’l Mofo, now apparently surplus to requirements.

  54. 54.

    John Revolta

    @Brachiator: He’s not gonna change his mind if nobody’s twisting his arm. If McConnell sent him something to sign there’d be a 50/50 chance he’d sign it and be done with it. But Yertle won’t do it. I’m starting to think this is his plan to get rid of Trump. He can see who’s getting the blame for this mess.

  56. 56.

    JPL

    @John Revolta: I think the democrats need to attack McConnell for not bringing bills to the floor. I want on record what senators vote against opening the government. Forget about the orange asshole, go after the guy in the Senate who is stopping progress.

  57. 57.

    Martin

    @Yutsano:

    Unfortunately, it is illegal for federal workers to strike.

    The Fair Labor Standards Act is also a law. You have to pay people for work performed.

  58. 58.

    Jay

    @trollhattan:

    She’ll get a CICS walk through on personal security,
    A new name,
    A Sponsor,
    A University education,

    As long as she cuts all ties to her family in Sawdi Arabia, she’ll be fine, and the Saudi dissident groups here, will help keep her safe.

    If on the other hand, she forgets the danger she is in, well,……

  60. 60.

    catclub

    @JPL:

    Forget about the orange asshole, go after the guy in the Senate who is stopping progress.

    I was thinking the reports on House GOP members voting to open the government (so what? they are not needed)
    is also shiny thing reporting to distract from the Senate.

  61. 61.

    Amir Khalid

    That picture of Badger highlights for me one difference between dogs and cats. Both species know how to look pissed off, but I reckon only dogs have figured out how took reproachful.

  63. 63.

    Amir Khalid

    @Martin:

    The Fair Labor Standards Act is also a law. You have to pay people for work performed.

    And no exemption for the federal government, right?

  64. 64.

    cliosfanboy

    Sitting in vet office now. My poor little girl pooped and peed all over the waiting room. I even let her outside to do her business before we left. :(

  68. 68.

    Kayla Rudbek

    @satby: my dad keeps on quoting 31 U.S.C. 1350, which is the provision of the Anti-Deficiency Act that states that an officer or employee of the US government who violates the Anti-Deficiency Act shall be fined not more than $5K, imprisioned for not more than 2 years, or both. So trying to make the federal workers work without pay could equal jail time for the ordering official. In other words, Saint Ronnie and his enablers should have been fined and jailed for what they did to the air traffic controllers

  70. 70.

    Yutsano

    @Martin: Anyone who is working right now will get paid. That’s part of the allocation that will pass once there’s an actual budget. The up in the air part is whether the furloughed feds will get back pay. Apparently that just passed Congress so it’s up to Drumpf to sign that. But if he vetoes it (always possible but highly unlikely) then unemployment is my only lifeline until I start earning from work again. Which that gap would also screw us feds on furlough over.

  73. 73.

    Gelfling 545

    @Bill Arnold: ah, Theissen. The other day in the comments to his article praising Trump’s Oval Office speech I suggested that he watched it while drunk, if at all, since his views were at odds with reality.

  74. 74.

    Luthe

    @rikyrah: I would love to see that reporter’s reaction to the fine tradition of my (mostly white) college: yelling very loudly in ancient Greek. She’d probably think she was being cursed.

  75. 75.

    tobie

    @Jay: Good for Canada for granting al-Qunun asylum. This is the right thing to do and Canada has done itself proud.

  78. 78.

    Gex

    @Betty Cracker: Yes. The more slowly and methodically you discuss your plans for an upcoming sudden “emergency”, the more convincing!

    Let’s hope the courts actually take his words into account like they did with the Muslim ban (before they suddenly stopped taking them into account, that is.)

  79. 79.

    The Dangerman

    @tybee:

    i see trump says he won’t declare an emergency.

    No surprise.

    Seems to me that only way out of this is a veto proof majority and Trump can claim he tried; neither side is backing down since this is first test of 2020.strength.

  80. 80.

    Baud

    The national news doesn’t seem to be covering this, but de Blasio is apparently doing a bang up job with both reducing crime and reducing mass incarceration in NYC.

    Elections have consequences.

  82. 82.

    trollhattan

    A python story where you feel sorry for the python.

    Snake catchers in Australia have rescued a carpet python which was found covered in hundreds of ticks. The reptile, which was believed to be ill and was coated in the parasites, was lying in a backyard swimming pool on the Gold Coast in Queensland.

    Suppose if I were to encounter my choice of Australian snakes it’s probably going to be the python. Keep the ticks.

  84. 84.

    Cowboy Diva

    Happiness is a warm puppy.

    Look, I know don’t post here very often, but some of you may remember me from years ago when I would post on Slacktivist.

    Both my wife and I are federal employees. While we have a financial cushion we can temporarily rely on, we’ve already applied for unemployment for the cash flow, and are trying to economize.

    As for an emotional cushion…
    We’re both pretty demoralized. Her coworkers are meeting weekly for potlucks and camaraderie, while my coworkers–who are more spread out–are hanging out on FB defending each other from those respective idiot friends/family who post stupid stuff downplaying the shutdown and its effects.

    I do have a favor to ask:
    What are your favorite go-to sites for happy things? What are your favorite comics/movies to make you laugh? We obviously don’t want to punch down, but neither do we want things that make us feel guilty about anything. We get enough of that from being locked out from being able to do the jobs we swore to do.

    Thanks for your help and support; it’s good to know it’s there.

  87. 87.

    Mary G

    @Cowboy Diva: Galaxy Quest is my go-to movie for giggles, even though I’ve seen it many, many times. We are thinking of you and your family and wish that we could stop this idiot from wrecking the country. I had to take weeks and months off at a time when I was working for medical issues, and there is nothing worse than lots of free time, but no ability to enjoy it.

  89. 89.

    Bill Arnold

    @Gelfling 545:

    ah, Theissen.

    TBH, I was a little startled when both Pelosi and Schumer attempted a little narrative shaping (there was at least one other thing which I won’t mention) during their otherwise “American Gothic”-like presentation after the drugged DJT teleprompter reading. (I’m guessing low-dose beta blocker and a mild anti-anxiety med and some old-standby sniffle-inducing forbidden-word-that-starts-with-Adder. Just kidding, sort of. He looked a bit rattled, less confident than usual. )

  90. 90.

    ??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??

    @Kayla Rudbek:

    In other words, Saint Ronnie and his enablers should have been fined and jailed for what they did to the air traffic controllers

    That would be “criminalising politics” according to our GOP betters.

  93. 93.

    Fair Economist

    @Baud:

    The national news doesn’t seem to be covering this, but de Blasio is apparently doing a bang up job with both reducing crime and reducing mass incarceration in NYC.

    The national media is ignoring a Democrat having great success with a problem the Republican pretend they can help with? Unpossible!

  96. 96.

    ??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??

    @Baud:

    Didn’t click

    Good. They’re really super obsessed with AOC, just like the conservatives.

  97. 97.

    Amir Khalid

    In October 1987, the Malaysian newspaper I was working for had its publication licence suspended by the government (for how long, we didn’t know at the time). We spent those five or six months on quarter-pay, which was survivable for a bachelor like me but harder on people with families and house/car payments. Some of us found something to do; I and a few others hung out and played board games. At least we had quarter pay, and we eventually got back pay when the Government gave our publication licence back. But it was scary and depressing while it lasted.

  98. 98.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Yutsano: As I mentioned downstairs, my experience today with TSA was more non-uniformed people than usual working the lines. Managers, I assume. But no inordinate delays.

  99. 99.

    Bill Arnold

    It’s actually proof that Giuliani’s stop & frisk policy is still working fifteen years later. Now that’s momentum.
    Reply

    This is how the American media outlets do both sides: Democrats get the blame, Republicans get the credit. Everyone gets something.

  101. 101.

    TS (the original)

    @JPL:

    go after the guy in the Senate who is stopping progress.

    The man who has been blocking government since 2009 – trump was his dream candidate.

  102. 102.

    J R in WV

    @Cowboy Diva:

    Some of the sites I visit are the Gizmodo/Jalopnic sites, Emptywheel, where Marcy Wheeler covers the Mueller cases in exhaustive detail, cheerful for all my friends. Google news for tech/science stories. This site [B–J] really has a lot of good links to fun sites to visit.

    Also whatever.scalzi.com is a good site for people interested in science fiction and related books and movies and such.

  104. 104.

    ??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??

    @Amir Khalid:

    Malaysian newspaper I was working for had its publication licence suspended by the government (for how long, we didn’t know at the time).

    Was this a state publication?

    I and a few others hung out and played board games.

    Excellent way to spend some time. What kind of board games btw?

  105. 105.

    Another Scott

    The battles never end. Twitter:

    Andy Slavitt Verified account @ASlavitt

    BREAKING: Trump set to try to severely limit Medicaid with block grants.

    Like the border wall, what Congress rejects, Trump decides to go out upside the law and do anyway.

    Trump officials consider allowing Medicaid block grants for states | TheHill

    2:02 PM – 11 Jan 2019

    We have to fight them every single day.

    Have a good weekend, everyone. But while you’re resting, keep fighting.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  106. 106.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Ugh ugh ugh. CNN saying that Tulsi Gabbard has announced as a candidate for POTUS 2020.

  108. 108.

    tobie

    @Another Scott: At this point they’re just throwing out every right-wing idea dreamed up by Grover Norquist and/or Ayn Rand acolytes. In their upside down world, drinking polluted water and breathing polluted air is freedom; cutting food stamps, CHIP and Medicaid protects the sanctity of life; cutting taxes for corporations increases government revenues etc etc etc. It is exhausting and yet we have to fight.

  113. 113.

    Aleta

    It’s so cold that the very woolly dog got to the park, started down the slope to where the best smells are, but then did his subtle course correction. Gradual lean, wide radius, pretend you’re still going forward until you’re pointed back toward home. Pick up speed. Accelerate.

  114. 114.

    john fremont

    Question: As far as the Emergency Powers Act, did George W Bush invoke these powers during the 9/11 attacks?

  116. 116.

    TS (the original)

    @Baud:

    The national news doesn’t seem to be covering this

    Good things can only be done by republican – mayors, governors, presidents

  117. 117.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    and no one cared.

    Best news of the day, really.

    ETA: I’m guessing — would be willing to bet cash money — that she drops out before the first Dem debate.

  118. 118.

    ??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??

    @Amir Khalid:
    So it was poltical shenanigans that led to your newspaper’s license being suspended? If that’s the case, I’m glad that doesn’t happen in the US.

    All of us would much rather have been working.

    No doubt. Sorry if that came across as insensitive.

  121. 121.

    rikyrah

    @Cowboy Diva:
    Animal sites
    Dodo
    Maru the cat

    Always cheer me up

    I love Kevonstage on YouTube. He is funny. His kids are funny. And, even when he tackles serious subjects, he is thoughtful.

    If you like to cook, I enjoy Darius Cooks on YouTube.

    A couple of comedians on YouTube
    PatD Lucky
    The other one is new. A B lack guy whose girlfriend is a puppet. He is hilarious ? don’t know the name of his channel

    She is not a comedian, but I love her
    Evelyn from the internets

  122. 122.

    opiejeanne

    @Cowboy Diva: To add to the suggestions about a cooking show on YouTube, there’s Binging With Babish (should be Bingeing) and Basics With Babish. New stuff every Tuesday, and lots of shows available because he’s been doing this for a couple of years.

  123. 123.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Cowboy Diva:

    First of all, you and your wife are the people I’m holding in my thoughts these days. I hope this can be resolved quickly, so that you and the other 799,998 are fully and fairly compensated and back doing your important work.

    What are your favorite go-to sites for happy things?

    Apart from Balloon Juice, I check in every morning at Wonkette. Five days a week they end their daily Wonkagenda post with a short “Nice Time” video, from a zoo or farm or wildlife documentary. Baby animals galore!

    Also, Digby always does the similar “Friday Night Soother” on (duh) Friday nights.

    Something about penguin chicks or newborn goats or baby pangolins to soothe the troubled human soul.

    HTH.

  124. 124.

    Mary Ellen Sandahl

    @Gelfling 545: Have you had several pugs and found them less than bright? We had one, named Albert by my retired-engineer dad. short for Albert Einstein in honor of the smarts he displayed from puppyhood on. We now have a puggle – beagle-pug mix – who looks beagly but has what we regard as pug brains, and plenty of ’em. PUgs were selected from olden times in China as socially smart companions, not hunters, guardians. etc.,

  125. 125.

    B.B.A.

    There’s a new bill in NY state to give us expanded early voting and get rid of our bizarre separate federal and state primaries. Vote-by-mail and same-day registration will take a state constitutional amendment, which can’t happen before 2022 at the very earliest.

    The legislature supports all of the above. The era of “three men in a room” seems to be over.

  128. 128.

    Amir Khalid

    @opiejeanne:

    (should be Bingeing)

    I mentioned that in a comment on one of the guy’s videos, and some moron replied to tell me I didn’t know how to spell.

  129. 129.

    opiejeanne

    @Amir Khalid: Yeah, and the guy, Andrew Rhea has addressed the misspelled word issue. He knows it’s wrong.
    The show is fun but a lot of the stuff he makes I can’t or shouldn’t eat. I get heartburn just looking at it.

  130. 130.

    Steve in the ATL

    @Amir Khalid: I missed this exciting news! Which model? As you may recall, I am a Twin Reverb man. Unrelated, I don’t hear as well as I used to….

  131. 131.

    Gin & Tonic

    @??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??: When I was in high school we’d play cards until they forbade that, so then we played board games, but when they realized we were playing for money they forbade that, too. So we just went out behind the handball court and smoked weed.

  133. 133.

    Amir Khalid

    @Steve in the ATL:
    The Fender Champion 100. Li’l Mofo is a Champion 20. I had also considered the Mustang IV and the Mustang III, and the Mustang GT-100. But the Mustang series are computer-controlled amps, and I didn’t care for the learning curve on the software or the need to regularly update it.

  134. 134.

    Steeplejack

    @Cowboy Diva:

    Paul Bronks on Twitter (@SlenderSherbet) is a reliable source of great animal humor.

    (You don’t have to have a Twitter account. You can just go to the page with your browser and view the entries.)

    ETA: Also, Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle is a very funny comedy that has held up well.

  139. 139.

    Amir Khalid

    @Steve in the ATL:
    I should add that the clean channel on the Champ 100 is voiced like a Twin Reverb. Folks on YouTube say it not only looks like a classic Blackface, but also has the tube-like sound. The drive channel has 16 amp voicings of which half are either Tweed or Blackface amps. The other voicings emulate classic Vox and Marshall amps, a Mesa/Boogie, a Peavey, and a Roland Jazz Chorus. It has 16 built-in effects. My multi effects pedal has dozens more. I think that’s as much as I’ll ever need.

  147. 147.

    Mnemosyne

    @Cowboy Diva:

    If you end up in need of a movie where you can have a good cry but everything is ultimately okay, my go-to is The Descendants, with George Clooney and Shailene Woodley in one of her first roles. There is a tragic accident and a lot of pain from the fallout and revealed secrets, but the family comes out of it stronger and happier.

  148. 148.

    frosty

    @Steve in the ATL:

    I am a Twin Reverb man.

    Too clean. Deluxe Reverb all the way. If it has to be louder, mic it.

    PS What was that you said? I didn’t catch it over the tinnitus.

  149. 149.

    frosty

    @Gin & Tonic:: Well, if not a Dobro, then a metal resonator. I like my Republic Highway 61. The only Chinese one that sounds good, to my ear at least. Be prepared to have some work done on it though.

    ETA Sacrilege, I know, but it sounds damn near as good as my National Style O.

  150. 150.

    Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho

    @Cowboy Diva: It you read twitter, @landpsychology posts very cute animal pictures with sometimes clever captions. I also follow @Snoopy.

  151. 151.

    Jay

    @Cowboy Diva:

    CBC The Debaters,

    – Comic’s debate the crucial issues of the day like Coffee vs. Tea, Flat Earth vs. Globe, Christmas food good vs. Fruitcake.

    CBC’s Laugh Out Loud,

    – stand up showcase hosted by Ali Hassan. Look for the “Snot Walrus” episode or anything Derek Seguin.

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