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You are here: Home / Politics / America / Better Call Your Senators!!!!

Better Call Your Senators!!!!

by Adam L Silverman|  January 23, 20194:41 pm| 146 Comments

This post is in: America, Domestic Politics, Election 2016, Election 2018, Election 2020, Foreign Affairs, Open Threads, Politics, Popular Culture, Post-racial America, All Too Normal

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RED ALERT! I talked with a few sources on Capitol Hill and am hearing Trump folks are paying to barrage offices with pro-wall calls ahead of Thursday's vote. These calls are BS but can make it seem like there's public support for the wall. Here are three ways we can combat this:

— Ezra Levin (@ezralevin) January 23, 2019

When you call, make sure the staffer verifies you are resident of the senator's state. Ask for the staffer's name and request a written response on the senator's position – this forces the staffer to actually record your message. Be friendly/polite but firm on your position.

— Ezra Levin (@ezralevin) January 23, 2019

You know what to do!!!!

Open thread!

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Previous Post: « Speaker Pelosi Clarifies that the President Will Not Deliver the State of the Union Unless the Government Reopens
Next Post: Global Warming – The Message Is Getting Through »

Reader Interactions

146Comments

  1. 1.

    zhena gogolia

    January 23, 2019 at 4:46 pm

    Mick Mulvaney is asking for a list of programs that can be cut if the shutdown lasts into March.

  2. 2.

    noname

    January 23, 2019 at 4:50 pm

    Just faxed my execrable senator susie-q. Also mentioned that Pelosi is what a real leader looks like, as opposed to the spineless mealy mouth that has been representing Maine for over two decades. Will follow up with a call tomorrow.

  3. 3.

    NotMax

    January 23, 2019 at 4:53 pm

    Trump folks are paying to barrage offices with pro-wall calls

    “Who knew the senator had so many constituents with Indian accents?”

    :)

  4. 4.

    Adam L Silverman

    January 23, 2019 at 4:54 pm

    @zhena gogolia: I’m amazed he has to ask. I figured he’d have them tattooed on his body somewhere.

  5. 5.

    The Moar You Know

    January 23, 2019 at 4:59 pm

    Mick Mulvaney is asking for a list of programs that can be cut if the shutdown lasts into March.

    If it lasts until the debt ceiling is hit in March I suspect the answer is “all of them” but I am not sure of that. We’ve never gone into default before.

  6. 6.

    Mnemosyne

    January 23, 2019 at 5:01 pm

    @Adam L Silverman:

    He wants to cut everything, so he would end up with a full-body tattoo. ?

  7. 7.

    Keith P.

    January 23, 2019 at 5:03 pm

    Trump folks are paying to barrage offices with pro-wall calls

    Post the proof. It would make for a good headline

  8. 8.

    chopper

    January 23, 2019 at 5:09 pm

    @Keith P.:

    i’ll bet they keep referring to the wall without the ‘the’. like ‘we need wall’.

  9. 9.

    Searcher

    January 23, 2019 at 5:12 pm

    @chopper: Wall to keep out moose and squirrel?

  10. 10.

    Salty Sam

    January 23, 2019 at 5:15 pm

    Trump answering reporters questions re: Pelosi’s refusal to convene a Joint Session of Congress for the SOTU :

    We’re supposed to be doing it and now Nancy Pelosi, or Nancy, as I call her,

    “Her name was McGill, and she called herself Lil, but everyone knew her as Nancy”!

    I am SO lovin’ me some Nancy SMASH!

  11. 11.

    banditqueen

    January 23, 2019 at 5:22 pm

    @Salty Sam: Hi Salty Sam, or as I call you, Sam, our Prez Dump, or Individual 1 as I call him, is still new at all of this. He’s still learning about prezniting, still learning about demeaning, insulting names to dominate people, but he’s on his way, he calls her Nancy to own the libs. Now potty-poot he call Sir, so he’s learning.

  12. 12.

    Miss Bianca

    January 23, 2019 at 5:28 pm

    Done. According to the junior staffer I talked to at Sen. Gardner’s office, his priority is “getting the government opened”, so I did stress “no wall”. Apparently he’s also planning to put forward legislation about back pay for the federal workers? Anyone savvier than I am want to weigh in on this?

  13. 13.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    January 23, 2019 at 5:29 pm

    Trump really has to pay for the Flash Mob of hate now? Heck of a job Donny ROLF

  14. 14.

    Doug R

    January 23, 2019 at 5:31 pm

    @The Moar You Know:

    If it lasts until the debt ceiling is hit in March I suspect the answer is “all of them” but I am not sure of that. We’ve never gone into default before.

    Debt ceiling is unconstitutional.

  15. 15.

    The Dangerman

    January 23, 2019 at 5:36 pm

    @chopper:

    …without the ‘the’. like ‘we need wall’

    Mongo like Wall; Wall been good to Mongo.

  16. 16.

    Ohio Mom

    January 23, 2019 at 5:38 pm

    I called today and I will call tomorrow.

    When I first started binge phoning, back in the save-the-ACA days, I enjoyed the challenge of engaging the interns.

    Nowadays I find it a discouraging chore, to have to list the ways in which whatever it is that Portman is supporting is wrong, and all the ways in which what I rather he be doing is right.

    One of my schticks today was the people who won’t be eating if the government doesn’t start up soon because they depend on SNAP. That includes many, many adults with disabilities.

    I explain that were my son a little older, he could be facing doing without eating. I want the interns to know this is personal, to make it concrete for them.

    It probably doesn’t work, they are probably on the high-functioning sociopath spectrum, else they wouldn’t be Republicans. But it does remind me of my worries and the sorrows the Republicans are sowing.

  17. 17.

    West of the Cascades

    January 23, 2019 at 5:38 pm

    @zhena gogolia:

    Mick Mulvaney is asking for a list of programs that can be cut if the shutdown lasts into March.

    All of them, Katie.

  18. 18.

    tobie

    January 23, 2019 at 5:39 pm

    Neither Marco Rubio nor Rick Scott are answering their phone. Left messages for both.

  19. 19.

    kindness

    January 23, 2019 at 5:39 pm

    I remember when Republicans weren’t insane. Yea, I’m old. Seeing that Republicans are doing what their paymasters have told them to do, I wonder how no functioning government helps the nuts doling out the pay? One would think that eventually a shut down government would roll down to their doorstop too.

  20. 20.

    debbie

    January 23, 2019 at 5:41 pm

    @Salty Sam:

    I’d love her response to be, “Well, President Trump, or as I like to call him, Eric Cartman,…”

  21. 21.

    Timurid

    January 23, 2019 at 5:41 pm

    It’s still Infrastructure Week. And also, Mass Shooting Week.

  22. 22.

    Mike in NC

    January 23, 2019 at 5:47 pm

    So Stephen Miller will be a busy little bee tomorrow, making all those bogus phone calls.

  23. 23.

    piratedan

    January 23, 2019 at 5:51 pm

    @zhena gogolia: maybe we can eliminate his position, because he’s certainly not essential to THIS administration….

  24. 24.

    joel hanes

    January 23, 2019 at 5:54 pm

    @Mnemosyne:

    a full-body tattoo

    Kafka, “In The Penal Colony”

  25. 25.

    joel hanes

    January 23, 2019 at 5:55 pm

    @Salty Sam:

    or Nancy, as I call her

    Melanie Haber
    Susan Underhill
    Betty-Jo Bialaski

  26. 26.

    AM in NC

    January 23, 2019 at 5:56 pm

    I have been calling my two senators, Tillis (spit) and Burr (spit) pretty much daily about this. I mostly have to leave messages, but let them know I expect them to reopen the government now, with no funding for this vanity project. And also that I know exactly who is to blame for this fuckery.

  27. 27.

    trollhattan

    January 23, 2019 at 5:56 pm

    @Searcher:
    “We needink now is WALL for Fearless Leader! WALL made from upsidasium.”

  28. 28.

    MomSense

    January 23, 2019 at 5:56 pm

    I’m in. If you are not a phone person you can text the word RESIST to 504-09 to send an email or fax to your senators ( and all the rest of your elected representatives).

  29. 29.

    dmsilev

    January 23, 2019 at 6:01 pm

    @The Dangerman:

    Mongo like Wall; Wall been good to Mongo.

    Mongo just brick in Wall of life.

  30. 30.

    Renie

    January 23, 2019 at 6:06 pm

    Now MIchael Cohen says he will not testify due to the threats against his family made by the President of the U.S. We now have a mobster president.

  31. 31.

    debbie

    January 23, 2019 at 6:06 pm

    @Ohio Mom:

    I just emailed Portman, for the little good that it will do.

    Senator Portman, I am asking you to put your country before your party and before your president. I am asking you to support reopening the government now, before any
    negotiations begin on the issues that caused the shutdown. I am asking you to think about the 800,000 federal workers who have families and obligations and who are now at risk for financial ruin, which will at some point affect the national economy.

    Even riskier is empowering this president to demand shutdowns on a whim whenever he doesn’t get his way. Is this how you want the country to be run, by a man who has loudly proclaimed he would be fine if the shutdown lasted for years and who has stated as fact that shutdowns are fine because all federal workers are Democrats? Can you seriously stand behind this man in this? Is supporting the president’s ego worth the risk to so many people?

    Please don’t send me another email touting your achievements because they are pointless and vapid in light of what’s going on now. Please, just do the right thing.

    God help him if i get one of his stupid accomplishment emails.

  32. 32.

    karen marie

    January 23, 2019 at 6:08 pm

    I was not polite. The person from my rep’s office (that fuckwit David Schweikert) didn’t ask for my address, and I was definitely not polite. That shit wipe McSally still has no one answering her phone, so I left a message – also less than polite. I am irritated beyond everything living in this godforsaken shithole, represented by these … GRRRRRR.

    I also called Sinema’s office. The phone person there did ask for my zip code, was very nice and delighted to receive my call. I was polite.

    Grrrrr.

    Thank you for the nudge to call (again).

  33. 33.

    MisterForkbeard

    January 23, 2019 at 6:08 pm

    @Renie:

    We now have a mobster president.

    To be fair, we’ve had one since 2017 but it’s just getting increasingly obvious.

  34. 34.

    Immanentize

    January 23, 2019 at 6:11 pm

    @Miss Bianca: They already passed — and Trump has signed — back pay for federal workers. Like over a week ago. Did he mean federal contractors?

  35. 35.

    chris

    January 23, 2019 at 6:12 pm

    @MomSense: Thanks for jogging my memory. Anyone can fax their senator/rep/gov from this free site. Let the avalanche begin!

    https://faxzero.com/fax_senate.php

  36. 36.

    Ruckus

    January 23, 2019 at 6:13 pm

    @kindness:
    They think, well they have things rolling around in there, that everything will be better with no government. They have no real understanding of what government does or at least is supposed to do. Other than arrest, starve, steal from POC.

  37. 37.

    Jay

    January 23, 2019 at 6:14 pm

    @Renie:

    If there is no staff or money for security for SOTU,

    There’s no staff or money for security for Cohen’s travel or testimony.

  38. 38.

    Jeffro

    January 23, 2019 at 6:16 pm

    Time to press McConnell for a vote on the House Dems’ bill

    Time to press the GOP Senate as a whole to prepare to override the president*s veto

    Time to press America’s Titans of Industry to speak up before it’s too late

    Time for workers to strike – hell, call a general strike in solidarity of the unpaid

  39. 39.

    Vidya Pradhan

    January 23, 2019 at 6:19 pm

    Called Dianne Feinstein and left a message at her SF office.. Washington office does not take messages, apparently.

  40. 40.

    chris

    January 23, 2019 at 6:19 pm

    Meanwhile, in Davos…

    Billionaire @MichaelDell on @AOC's 70% marginal tax rate on millionaires:"Name a country where that's worked — ever."Co-panelist and MIT professor Erik Brynjolfsson: "The United States!"#Davos2019 https://t.co/fVgrFI73wO— Mark Elliott (@markmobility) 23 January 2019

  41. 41.

    Carolina Dave

    January 23, 2019 at 6:21 pm

    @AM in NC: Those two worthless pricks. I’ve never reached their offices by phone. Unless you have a direct donor line they couldn’t give a flip less what an average constituent thinks.

  42. 42.

    Immanentize

    January 23, 2019 at 6:25 pm

    @Jeffro:

    call a general strike in solidarity of the unpaid

    I am sorry, but in the United States, this is one of the least likely and most ridiculous ideas around. People need to eat, they need to feed their families, they need gas for their vehicles to get to work and daycare and school. The only way a general strike is ever successful is if it is general, and even the current 60/40 does not reflect at all who would answer the call to strike. Who would? Some union (members) who might then be fired and replaced by current TSA workers? Some academics? Some lefties? Very few working at Walmart can afford to join a general strike. So a general strike is fundamentally an elite idea because the coalition to make it work does not exist.

    So, why do I care? Because this is just the type of (propaganda) effort that will be a primary aspect of the next Russian troll machine. General Strike! General Strike! Bring in the troops. Are people here even committed to the type of civil war that a general strike implies?

    Unless you can point me to past successful general strikes in the US?

  43. 43.

    MisterForkbeard

    January 23, 2019 at 6:26 pm

    @chris: More evidence that most of our truly rich people have no goddamn clue what they’re doing.

    To be fair, I know exactly one super rich person socially. He’s a very smart, but also very ignorant and believes he knows everything and has no prejudices. I’d go with “17 Intelligence, 5 Wisdom” if I had to make a D&D character. :P

  44. 44.

    Mary G

    January 23, 2019 at 6:30 pm

    New low: A new Associated Press poll finds that Trump’s approval rating has skidded down to 34 percent, with 60 percent saying he bears a great deal of blame for the shutdown. So much winning! It’s from the Plum Line in the WaPo. No energy to link.

  45. 45.

    Jeffro

    January 23, 2019 at 6:33 pm

    @Immanentize: I haven’t the faintest idea if it’s ever been tried, or successful. The important thing is to try, to do something that clearly puts us on the side of the affected workers and their families and all the businesses that are getting hurt by toddler trumpov’s tantrum. A national strike day. A national sick-out day. A rally in DC – surround the Captiol. Let’s. Go.

    And as for worrying about what the Russian troll machine will do – you have GOT to be kidding me. They (just like Fox News) work to inflame the country with every pissant little story from Podunk, Anywhere into a National! Outrage! And when they can’t find one, they just make shit up. So who the fuck cares what they’re going to say – they’re going to say it anyway.

  46. 46.

    debbie

    January 23, 2019 at 6:34 pm

    @Mary G:

    Even 538 has dropped below 40% (finally) to 39.5%. Huzzah!

    ETA: Even Fox is polling at 41%/55% (adjusted)!

    ETA Again: Their latest polls are all reporting disapproval at between 52% and 65%.

    https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/?ex_cid=irpromo

  47. 47.

    catclub

    January 23, 2019 at 6:34 pm

    @Doug R:

    Debt ceiling is unconstitutional.

    You know that $1TR coin that libs talked about Obama minting? I bet trump does it.

  48. 48.

    Timurid

    January 23, 2019 at 6:38 pm

    @MisterForkbeard: The self made rich tend to be total space cadets because earning that kind of wealth requires hyper-specialization. After countless hours spent mastering a trade or craft, they know fuckall about anything else. Not all low information voters live in trailers.

  49. 49.

    Scott

    January 23, 2019 at 6:41 pm

    @chris: Glad you mention this. I prefer this method since I’m much more comfortable written than verbal Very easy to use.

  50. 50.

    Jeffro

    January 23, 2019 at 6:41 pm

    @Jeffro: Geez, how did I manage to misspell “Capitol”?

  51. 51.

    Cap'n Phealy

    January 23, 2019 at 6:42 pm

    We rise WHEN?

  52. 52.

    hitchhiker

    January 23, 2019 at 6:42 pm

    Anybody else notice that there aren’t a lot of headlines about the terrorists and human traffickers at the border right now?

    It’s all about the speech, which means Pelosi has shoved trump into the corner where all he can think about is whether or not he gets to be a spectacle on the floor of the House.

    He doesn’t yet understand how little anybody fucking cares whether or not he gets to go on the tv and be cheered. If we want to see that, we can find video of his rallies from last year. We don’t want to see that. We want federal employees to get back on the job and collect their back pay.

  53. 53.

    Suzanne

    January 23, 2019 at 6:43 pm

    I’m feeling miserable and my doctor essentially said that there is nothing that can be done. I came home and rage-cried and left a blistering message for Senator McSally, a thank-you message for Congressman Stanton, and a somewhat encouraging message for Senator Sinema.

  54. 54.

    SiubhanDuinne

    January 23, 2019 at 6:46 pm

    Nancy Pelosi — or Nancy as I call her …

    Jesus, he’s harsh.

  55. 55.

    Jay

    January 23, 2019 at 6:46 pm

    @Jeffro:

    Most Americans are 1 paycheck away from debt.

    Strikes work only because the striking workers have a Union Strike Fund, and financial and other support from other Unions.

    Unless the Billionaires back a General Strike financially, and somebody organizes essential service coverage from food to water, it’s not going to happen.

    Nobody in The Resistence gets a Soro’s check.

  56. 56.

    Martin

    January 23, 2019 at 6:47 pm

    @catclub: $1T coin? Fuck that. Trump already has a solution!

    And you know debt was always sort of interesting to me. Now we’re in a different situation with a country, but I would borrow knowing that if the economy crashed you could make a deal. And if the economy was good it was good so therefore you can’t lose.

    Yeah, just make a deal! We’ll just refuse to pay the full amount to the people we owe – mostly Medicare and Social Security. Problem solved!

  57. 57.

    lollipopguild

    January 23, 2019 at 6:51 pm

    @dmsilev: “Mongo just pawn in game of life” Like all of us.

  58. 58.

    cain

    January 23, 2019 at 6:54 pm

    @Suzanne:

    I’m feeling miserable and my doctor essentially said that there is nothing that can be done. I came home and rage-cried and left a blistering message for Senator McSally, a thank-you message for Congressman Stanton, and a somewhat encouraging message for Senator Sinema.

    I missed something, what is this that nothing can be done about – being miserable or something more nefarious?

  59. 59.

    Jeffro

    January 23, 2019 at 6:55 pm

    @Jay: Great – then everyone who can strike, does, and everyone who has a sick day, takes it, and everyone who doesn’t, wears blue, or just keeps their middle finger popped all day, or calls Mitch McConnell’s office every hour. Or buys a roll of toilet paper with toddler trumpov’s face on it. Who cares? Ac-tion.

  60. 60.

    Amir Khalid

    January 23, 2019 at 6:56 pm

    @lollipopguild:
    I can’t believe nobody went for the obvious: “All in all, Mongo just another brick in Wall.”

  61. 61.

    chris

    January 23, 2019 at 6:58 pm

    @Scott: You’re welcome. CW is that MoCs pay attention to letters and faxes much more than phone calls.

  62. 62.

    Ohio Mom

    January 23, 2019 at 6:59 pm

    @Suzanne: Go get a second opinion.

    Preferably from the world’s expert in pregnancy-related sinus conditions. I’m not kidding, call him or email him. It’s worth a shot.

  63. 63.

    randy khan

    January 23, 2019 at 6:59 pm

    @Mary G:

    Here’s a link.

    Approaching crazification

    It’s pretty brutal. Among other things, he’s dropping among Republicans, too (down to 77% approval).

  64. 64.

    raven

    January 23, 2019 at 7:02 pm

    I know my disaster stories never have the cache as John’s but I just got through with a doozie. I’ve mentioned that my wife got whacked in our brand new Kia (4000 miles) and it went in for 9 days and $3k worth of work. Because we will be down to our van and my truck I made sure to fill the truck up yesterday. I was walking the pups and when I got home I noticed there was a little gas dripping down the side from the gas cap. I went over to check it and when I turned the cap there was pressure in the system and gas shot out of the filler and covered Lil Bit in fuel. I got her in the basement and bathed her in dawn and then rubbed mineral oil all over her. She has awful eyes and even though she was turned away she got drenched and her head was soaked. We called our vet and the were still there so we drove out to have her checked. They cleaned her up some more and feel that it didn’t do any permanent damage. Did I mention I got my brand new Apple Watch 4 this afternoon and it got soaked too! Everything seems ok but goddamn!

  65. 65.

    chris

    January 23, 2019 at 7:03 pm

    @randy khan: I’ll ask, WTF is wrong with 4% of Democrats?

  66. 66.

    Mnemosyne

    January 23, 2019 at 7:03 pm

    @Suzanne:

    I second what Ohio Mom said: find out who the expert is and email him or her since it sounds like your current docs are being clueless and dismissive. You can’t just not breathe for the next 6 months, FFS!

  67. 67.

    Burnspbesq

    January 23, 2019 at 7:04 pm

    @Doug R:

    Debt ceiling is unconstitutional.

    That’s not a widely shared view among people who get paid to think about Con Law.

  68. 68.

    Jay

    January 23, 2019 at 7:04 pm

    @Jeffro:

    You might not have noticed, but US Courts arn’t friendly to Unions or strike actions, especially 5 of the Supremes. They love sending Union leaders and members to jail, fining Unions millions of dollars, allowing the firing of Union members, for illegal strike actions.

  69. 69.

    Yarrow

    January 23, 2019 at 7:05 pm

    @Suzanne: I’m so sorry you’re struggling and feeling so ill. I know it doesn’t solve anything, but I have had some relief from putting a damp washcloth in the microwave, heating it, and then putting it over my nose and sinus area. I have to do it several times, so it helps if you have someone who can help you with it, but it does seem to open the sinus passages a bit, at least for awhile. If nothing else the heat is soothing.

    @Ohio Mom: Also agree with this.

  70. 70.

    Suzanne

    January 23, 2019 at 7:08 pm

    @cain: I am almost 18 weeks knocked up with Spawn #3, which is great. But I am having severe vasomotor rhinitis, which prevents me from breathing normally, sleeping, and my nose is bleeding constantly and it cannot be cauterized, ironically because it is bleeding from so many vessels. My OB sent me to an ENT, and they basically contradicted each other, and apparently there is no safe way to deal with it. So they are both like, “Aw shit, it’ll go away after you deliver!”. ENT said that it is the worst case he has ever seen and that my nose is essentially nothing but scab and scar where mucous membrane should be.

    So I am happy in the macro sense, but having an increasingly difficult time coping, as I get less and less sleep and I ruin more clothes having nosebleeds all over them.

  71. 71.

    TS (the original)

    January 23, 2019 at 7:09 pm

    @randy khan: from your link

    I do support a wall, but not the way he’s handling it,” Rabalais added. “Trump guaranteed everybody that Mexico would pay for the wall. Now he’s holding American workers like me hostage.

    “He said Mexico will pay” seems to be what the deplorables are hearing from Nancy Pelosi – she has all the right words.

  72. 72.

    Elizabelle

    January 23, 2019 at 7:09 pm

    @raven: Yikes.

  73. 73.

    Yarrow

    January 23, 2019 at 7:09 pm

    @raven: Oh, no! That does sound like a Cole story. Maybe you’ll find some mustard hidden somewhere? Glad Lil Bit is okay. That sounds like it could have been serious. Glad the vet was still open and could check her out.

  74. 74.

    Yarrow

    January 23, 2019 at 7:11 pm

    @Suzanne: Jeez, the nosebleeds sound awful and the no sleep sounds worse. Maybe a third opinion just to see if someone agrees with one of the others?

  75. 75.

    debbie

    January 23, 2019 at 7:11 pm

    @raven:

    Fucking cars. Glad Lil Bit is okay.

  76. 76.

    Burnspbesq

    January 23, 2019 at 7:11 pm

    @Martin:

    It worked (after a fashion) (or came close enough to working that someone as dumb as trump could convince himself that it actually worked) for Argentina.

    What’s the old saying? “If you owe a million, the bank owns you. If you owe a billion, you own the bank.”

  77. 77.

    Suzanne

    January 23, 2019 at 7:12 pm

    @Ohio Mom: Don’t worry, I am googling, trying to find out who that is. Because FUCK I will fly to wherever to fix this shit.

  78. 78.

    raven

    January 23, 2019 at 7:12 pm

    @Yarrow: Yea, she seems to be ok but it was really worrying, especially with the awful eye problems she has. She still has a whiff of gas so I’ll give her another bath in a while and then just hope.

  79. 79.

    Suzanne

    January 23, 2019 at 7:14 pm

    @raven: Jesus Hussein Christ. That sucks. I’m sorry.

  80. 80.

    debbie

    January 23, 2019 at 7:14 pm

    @Suzanne:

    I missed the announcement. Congratulations!

    Have you tried the old trick of breathing in steam from a sink filled with hot water with a towel draped over your head? Are you drinking plenty of liquids?

  81. 81.

    SiubhanDuinne

    January 23, 2019 at 7:14 pm

    @raven:

    Oh, raven, what a saga! I’m so sorry for all the hassle, expense, and worry!

  82. 82.

    Mr Stagger Lee

    January 23, 2019 at 7:15 pm

    @randy khan: Yet the GOP 2020 Committee has passed a resolution that Trump will run unopposed, i.e. NO PRIMARY CHALLENGES. Trump Don IL is the peoples choice

  83. 83.

    Suzanne

    January 23, 2019 at 7:15 pm

    @Yarrow: The nosebleeds put me at higher risk for staph/MRSA, not to mention any other type of infection, so it’s a problem.

  84. 84.

    bemused

    January 23, 2019 at 7:15 pm

    @debbie:

    I was thinking humidifier or mister would help if the air in house is very dry.

  85. 85.

    SiubhanDuinne

    January 23, 2019 at 7:16 pm

    @Suzanne:

    I’m so happy for you that another Suze Spawn is on the way, but that breathing (not breathing) thing just sucks. I hope you can get relief soon!

  86. 86.

    raven

    January 23, 2019 at 7:18 pm

    @Suzanne: And it’s a mini-problem compared to yours, get better!

  87. 87.

    Suzanne

    January 23, 2019 at 7:18 pm

    @debbie: Dude, I have tried every first-, second-, and third-line approach. None of the old standbys (saline, steam, neti, essential oils, humidifiers, blah blah blah) help for more than a few minutes, because it is a physiological response to pregnancy hormones, not a histamine response.

    I did neti pot once with straight white vinegar. That was unpleasant.

  88. 88.

    debbie

    January 23, 2019 at 7:18 pm

    @Suzanne:

    I get nosebleeds from what I’m taking for asthma. My ENT saw the scabbing inside my nose and suggested I use a Q-tip to swab Polysporin where it’s scabby. It felt pretty stupid, but it did heal up.

  89. 89.

    Yarrow

    January 23, 2019 at 7:19 pm

    @raven: You take such good care of her. She’s lucky to have you. Keep us posted on how she’s doing.

    @Suzanne: That sounds serious. A second or third opinion seems warranted. Maybe a humidifier would help?

  90. 90.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    January 23, 2019 at 7:20 pm

    @TS (the original): “Trump guaranteed everybody that Mexico would pay for the wall. Now he’s holding American workers like me hostage.

    If anything, Dems aren’t hitting this hard enough

  91. 91.

    chris

    January 23, 2019 at 7:20 pm

    @raven: Jesus that’s awful. Hope the pup will be OK.

  92. 92.

    Miss Bianca

    January 23, 2019 at 7:20 pm

    @Immanentize: God, I hope so, because that confused me.

  93. 93.

    raven

    January 23, 2019 at 7:20 pm

    @Yarrow: “Dad, why did you dump gas on me”?

  94. 94.

    PenandKey

    January 23, 2019 at 7:21 pm

    I got one of those text messages telling me to call Ron Kind (D) to back the wall. Dumbest thing ever, and that’s why it didn’t surprise me at all.

  95. 95.

    Catherine D.

    January 23, 2019 at 7:21 pm

    @Suzanne: Eat more spinach if you don’t have a pre-existing clotting problem? And maybe sleep on a wedge to raise your upper body during the night. I’m so sorry!

  96. 96.

    tobie

    January 23, 2019 at 7:22 pm

    @Suzanne: I think I must have missed when you posted news about your pregnancy. Congratulations. So sorry, though, that this welcome development comes with mega sinus troubles. I hope you find a doctor who can help you soon! You shouldn’t have to go through this.

  97. 97.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    January 23, 2019 at 7:22 pm

    Don’t know where Marshall is getting this, but…. BWA HA HA HA HA

    Josh Marshall @ joshtpm
    hahahaha Trump and co had planned on several days of drama as Pelosi was faced with having to formally disinvite Trump or bending to his will. It took her like thirty minutes to shut him down.

    he really does not get the whole “co-equal branch” thing, or just how bad his polling is

  98. 98.

    Suzanne

    January 23, 2019 at 7:23 pm

    @bemused: Nope. Apparently, women have estrogen receptors in the nose, and they engorge the blood vessels in the sinuses and turbinates. It’s not like an allergy or an infection. Humidity feels nice (and I already do it because I have allergies), but it doesn’t do anything to shrink the blood vessels, so nothing drains. Have already taken oral and inhaled steroids, multiple rounds of antibiotics, and every decongestant that is “allowed”.

  99. 99.

    Yarrow

    January 23, 2019 at 7:24 pm

    @raven: No it’s, “Dad, why did the truck dump gas on both of us?” She knows you wouldn’t hurt her!

  100. 100.

    Suzanne

    January 23, 2019 at 7:26 pm

    @debbie: Already have a prescription nose ointment. Helps heal up the old nosebleeds, but does nothing to prevent new ones.

    Anyway, I apparently just have to endure. Martha McSally’s voicemail bore the brunt of my terrible mood.

  101. 101.

    Yarrow

    January 23, 2019 at 7:26 pm

    @Suzanne: Have you tried a wet washcloth in the freezer until it’s mostly frozen and then putting that over your nose/sinus area? It works for someone I know. Only for awhile of of course, but it’s kind of like ice on an injury. It can shrink the blood vessels. It’s not a fix but even some relief might help. One of those gel eye masks in the freezer might help too and would last longer.

  102. 102.

    MomSense

    January 23, 2019 at 7:26 pm

    @Suzanne:

    Please go see a specialist. Does your obstetrician specialize in high risk pregnancies? If not, it might be a good idea to at least get a consult. All three of my pregnancies and deliveries were considered high risk because of my blood disorder. Everything went smoothly – but the level of attention with doctors who specialize in high risk pregnancies is much better.

    Have you ever had nosebleeds before? Severe nosebleeds are one of the symptoms of the blood disorder I have.

    I’m so happy that you are going to have another spawn! At the same time I don’t like hearing that you are having complications. If you don’t like the answers you are getting please go to someone else for a consult.

  103. 103.

    Jeffro

    January 23, 2019 at 7:27 pm

    @Jay: Um what? Sending union leaders to jail and fining unions millions of dollars?? I genuinely must have missed something. Also, I listed some non-strike options for folks who can’t strike.

  104. 104.

    debbie

    January 23, 2019 at 7:27 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    At some point today, I heard he was going to disregard her and show up anyway. Glad she reacted so quickly, calling his bluff. Fat fuck.

  105. 105.

    Ohio Mom

    January 23, 2019 at 7:28 pm

    @Suzanne: Here is an article I found from 2012: Rhinologic issues in pregnancy, Goldstein and Govinderaraj, ncbi.nim.nih.gov

    I wish I knew how to do a link on the phone, hope I’ve given you enough info to find it yourself.

    The article has other studies in the bibliography, and the authors’ emails at Mt. Sinai in NY. Are they world’s experts, probably not but at least they are keeping up with the

    It’s no fun having to do the leg work the doctors should be doing but it falls to many of us.

  106. 106.

    WaterGirl

    January 23, 2019 at 7:29 pm

    @debbie: The first announcement was the best. If memory serves, it was “I’m all knocked up like a cheerleader.” :-)

  107. 107.

    bemused

    January 23, 2019 at 7:29 pm

    @Suzanne:

    I didn’t realize that. That’s miserable and I hope you get some relief soon.

  108. 108.

    debbie

    January 23, 2019 at 7:30 pm

    @WaterGirl:

    Ha, sorry I missed that!

  109. 109.

    chris

    January 23, 2019 at 7:30 pm

    @Suzanne: Congratulations!

    About 15 years ago I sneezed twice. My nose began to bleed. First visit to the ER 8 hours later they said “Go home, it’ll stop on it’s own.” Second visit my ex went feral and they shipped me to the big city hospital and an ENT with a cautery. The doctor said that over the course of nearly 36 hours I’d lost about half the blood in my body. Get it fixed if you can.

  110. 110.

    spudgun

    January 23, 2019 at 7:31 pm

    @raven: Oh no, poor Lil Bit!! Extra scritches and treats are in order…poor boo.

  111. 111.

    debbie

    January 23, 2019 at 7:32 pm

    @Ohio Mom:

    Google says: This and This.

  112. 112.

    WaterGirl

    January 23, 2019 at 7:34 pm

    @raven: Oh geez, raven, that’s awful. All of it. Your poor sweet pup. You must be beside yourself.

  113. 113.

    Ohio Mom

    January 23, 2019 at 7:35 pm

    @Suzanne: Wow, that is a long list of things you have already tried, and it sounds discouraging that steroids — I usually love steroids — didn’t do the trick.

    On the bright side, you are now “an interesting case.” That should make a specialist somewhere very excited.

  114. 114.

    WaterGirl

    January 23, 2019 at 7:36 pm

    Just received this from the Southern Poverty Law Center:

    With your help, we’ve just filed an incredibly important lawsuit.

    Right now, we’re suing the Trump administration for detaining 10,000 children despite the fact that they have sponsors waiting for them in the U.S. We’re seeking their release, but the Trump administration is purposefully preventing that from happening.

    A whistleblower released internal documents last Thursday that prove the Office of Refugee Resettlement – the agency that’s supposed to help unaccompanied refugee minors seek safe haven in the United States – adopted a policy of sharing sponsors’ personal information with immigration enforcement officials. The intent is to force sponsors into the deportation system and deter future sponsors from coming to the U.S. at all.

    The Trump administration is using these children as bait to get this information. It’s part of the same strategy as the administration’s infamous family separation policy. And they knew it would result in fewer sponsors coming forward and children remaining in custody for longer periods of time.

    We cannot stand idle while this administration attacks civil rights and ignores basic human dignity.

    edit: I was going to try to bold the most critical parts but realized that I would be bolding nearly everything. Evil to the core.

  115. 115.

    Keith P.

    January 23, 2019 at 7:38 pm

    @chris: Been there…bled for a full day from hypertension before an inflatable balloon fixed it. If that failed, the hospital was going to cocaine and lasers, like my own personal strip club.

  116. 116.

    Suzanne

    January 23, 2019 at 7:40 pm

    @Ohio Mom: Already read that paper (but thank you for searching). I am located very close to Mayo Clinic, so I am looking there first, since I can get there easily. My ENT is actually considered to be a bigshot in the field and he was basically like, “Uh, well, shit, sucks to be you. Pregnancy is rough!”.

    @chris: Mine can’t be cauterized because too many vessels are bleeding.

  117. 117.

    Salty Sam

    January 23, 2019 at 7:41 pm

    @joel hanes:
    Rocky Rococco at your cervix!

  118. 118.

    Another Scott

    January 23, 2019 at 7:43 pm

    @MomSense: Thanks for the pointer. I read the FAQ – it looks like a good way to go.

    It looks like Postcard Patriots has some good things coming the end of January, also too.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  119. 119.

    Suzanne

    January 23, 2019 at 7:44 pm

    @MomSense: My sinuses are all fucken FUBAR, and have been for years and I get nosebleeds with some frequency. This is like three times a day, though, GROSS. I went to a high-risk OB with Spawn the Younger.

    I am considering blow.

  120. 120.

    Immanentize

    January 23, 2019 at 7:45 pm

    @Suzanne:
    First of all -+ congrats on spawn #3!! Long may s/he crush!

    Second, almost five months pregnant is tough. I don’t know, of course, because chromosomes, but I did watch it up close.

    Third, my wife had very bad sinus problems in the last trip of her pregnancy. But clearly not as tough as yours. But she couldn’tthrough her nose, which made her mouth and throat dry, coughing, so bad sleep beyond pregnant bad sleep, which led to colds. You know, obviously. And I mean, you know.

    Fourth, my wife was all in on a clean body and a natural childbirth throughout, so no drugs allowed! Which is what I suspect your Docs are saying …. So:

    FWIW, We got into a ritual of warm baths with Aveno menthyl baby bath soap, throat coat tea, Ocean nasal spray like she was a Coke addict, and tons of sympathetic looks and touches. It did not end the problem, but it eased its passing.

    ?.

    ETA Fuck the ruined clothes, they are probably last season’s Comme de Garcon anyway.

    ETA AGAIN. Also too, wasabi. Attacked from the inside, we said.

  121. 121.

    joel hanes

    January 23, 2019 at 7:47 pm

    @Salty Sam:

    That’s nothing but a two-bit ring from a crackerback jox.

  122. 122.

    Xecky Gilchrist

    January 23, 2019 at 7:48 pm

    Done. Thank you for this!

  123. 123.

    joel hanes

    January 23, 2019 at 7:49 pm

    @Suzanne:

    I am located very close to Mayo Clinic

    Minus forty F windchill in the forecast.

    Button up your overcoat
    When the wind blows free
    Take good care of yourself

  124. 124.

    Suzanne

    January 23, 2019 at 7:50 pm

    @joel hanes: Dude. There’s a Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale. It’s 61 degrees here. Just sayin’.

  125. 125.

    chopper

    January 23, 2019 at 7:51 pm

    @Burnspbesq:

    if you owe a hundred billion, you own the government.

  126. 126.

    ruemara

    January 23, 2019 at 7:53 pm

    @Keith P.: I HAD THAT! And I quote, “I thought the only time I’d have cocaine up my nose was me celebrating in my hot tub post script sale with strippers.” I was out of commission for a week.

    the second time I had laser cauterization. 2x.

  127. 127.

    chopper

    January 23, 2019 at 7:53 pm

    @Suzanne:

    I did neti pot once with straight white vinegar. That was unpleasant.

    oh jesus fuck, why?? was it on a dare? please tell me you got paid at the end.

  128. 128.

    joel hanes

    January 23, 2019 at 7:57 pm

    @Suzanne:

    Ah. You didn’t use the definite article, and I didn’t notice.

  129. 129.

    Suzanne

    January 23, 2019 at 7:58 pm

    @chopper: Not on a dare. I thought that shit up myself. And it wasn’t even a fetish thing.

    I was trying to clean bloody snot out of my nose during the previous pregnancy. It worked, much better than saline. Burned like an absolute motherfucker, though. But when you’re desperate…. bad ideas start seeming, well, not-so-bad.

  130. 130.

    CaseyL

    January 23, 2019 at 7:59 pm

    @raven: OMG! Good quick thinking to start washing LilBit off immediately and take her to professionals for another bath. Poor baby!

    If any Seattle BJers are on this thread: I’m not sure I’ll be able to make it to this weekend’s meetup after all. PAWS, the org I volunteer at, has its Volunteer Appreciation Party the same evening. I told Yutsano that if I can do both, I will. If not, we think we may do a second meetup the next day, even if it’s just me and Yutsano.

  131. 131.

    Suzanne

    January 23, 2019 at 7:59 pm

    @joel hanes: Scottsdale has Mayo Clinic and Mayo Hospital.

  132. 132.

    Waynski

    January 23, 2019 at 8:08 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Disagree. If we harp on the “Mexico will pay for it,” it concedes that a wall is necessary. He wins. Nancy Smash and the rest of the Dems are taking the right stance on this, i.e., yes, we need border security, no, you can’t have your effing wall. If you wanted your wall so damn bad, you should have passed the funding when Ryan was Speaker and you controlled the whole government. Now you don’t. Get over it, you baby.

  133. 133.

    JR

    January 23, 2019 at 8:15 pm

    @Suzanne: a well known vasoconstrictor, actually used to treat nosebleeds.

  134. 134.

    MisterForkbeard

    January 23, 2019 at 8:16 pm

    @Suzanne: This is probably super unhelpful, but my wife recommends Aquaphor. Says it helped her out with a lot of sinus issues during the last kiddo-assembly and she used it liberally.

    We’re sending emotional/electronic hugs your way. Pregnancy is super rough, so you’ve got all the sympathy in the world from us. :(

  135. 135.

    Skepticat

    January 23, 2019 at 8:19 pm

    Susan Collins just came out in support of Trump’s “plan” for a wall. I’ve donated twice to the fund for anyone who runs against her in 2020, and I think it’s time for a third contribution.

  136. 136.

    Emma

    January 23, 2019 at 8:20 pm

    @Suzanne: Congrats! But please, please do not use heat. While very helpful in opening up the sinuses, heat dilates blood vessels. I know from experience, although the underlying problem was different. I leaked constantly for three days because I thought it was my usual sinus fu_ckupness and used heat to clear them.

  137. 137.

    MisterForkbeard

    January 23, 2019 at 8:26 pm

    @Skepticat: Collins is basically the worst. She constantly trolls the country and the media and then votes with conservatives.

    I’m right with you on that opposition fund.

  138. 138.

    Steeplejack

    January 23, 2019 at 8:36 pm

    @debbie:

    That’s a great message you sent!

  139. 139.

    Another Scott

    January 23, 2019 at 8:42 pm

    @Suzanne: I’ve mentioned here before that Azelastine HCl did wonders for me (someone who seemed to be cursed to get multiple sinus infections in the winter). It works almost instantly to reduce the swelling in my sinuses so that they drain properly, etc.

    Pregnancy information from mice studies.

    If nothing else works, it might be worth trying.

    Good luck, and congratulations!!

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  140. 140.

    Waynski

    January 23, 2019 at 8:46 pm

    @Suzanne:

    I am considering blow

    Trust me. Really. That will make things a 1,000 times worse. I know it’s gallows humor, but don’t do that.

  141. 141.

    debbie

    January 23, 2019 at 8:47 pm

    @Steeplejack:

    Thanks! It’s a variation of my daily raging at NPR on my shower radio.

  142. 142.

    emrys

    January 23, 2019 at 8:57 pm

    @Another Scott: azelestine is great for my sinuses, but i have found ipratropium bromide better for opening the nasal passages.

  143. 143.

    Yutsano

    January 23, 2019 at 9:35 pm

    @CaseyL: I sent AL another e-mail about it. We’ll see if she posts about it again tonight.

  144. 144.

    dman

    January 23, 2019 at 9:53 pm

    @NotMax:

    1 Russian Ruble equals
    0.015 United States Dollar
    pretty good value

  145. 145.

    Suzanne

    January 23, 2019 at 9:54 pm

    @Another Scott: Tried it. It works OK. Doc said not while pregnant, though. And that’s what’s hard. AaaahhhhHHHHHHHHHH.

  146. 146.

    a thousand flouncing lurkers (was fidelio)

    January 23, 2019 at 10:10 pm

    @raven: I’m glad neither you nor Lil Bit ended up in flames or blinded, and I hope everyone’s nerves recover soon.

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