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!
zhena gogolia
Mick Mulvaney is asking for a list of programs that can be cut if the shutdown lasts into March.
noname
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.
NotMax
“Who knew the senator had so many constituents with Indian accents?”
:)
Adam L Silverman
@zhena gogolia: I’m amazed he has to ask. I figured he’d have them tattooed on his body somewhere.
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.
Mnemosyne
@Adam L Silverman:
He wants to cut everything, so he would end up with a full-body tattoo. ?
Keith P.
Post the proof. It would make for a good headline
chopper
@Keith P.:
i’ll bet they keep referring to the wall without the ‘the’. like ‘we need wall’.
Searcher
@chopper: Wall to keep out moose and squirrel?
Salty Sam
Trump answering reporters questions re: Pelosi’s refusal to convene a Joint Session of Congress for the SOTU :
“Her name was McGill, and she called herself Lil, but everyone knew her as Nancy”!
I am SO lovin’ me some Nancy SMASH!
banditqueen
@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.
Miss Bianca
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?
Enhanced Voting Techniques
Trump really has to pay for the Flash Mob of hate now? Heck of a job Donny ROLF
Doug R
@The Moar You Know:
Debt ceiling is unconstitutional.
The Dangerman
@chopper:
Mongo like Wall; Wall been good to Mongo.
Ohio Mom
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.
West of the Cascades
@zhena gogolia:
All of them, Katie.
tobie
Neither Marco Rubio nor Rick Scott are answering their phone. Left messages for both.
kindness
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.
debbie
@Salty Sam:
I’d love her response to be, “Well, President Trump, or as I like to call him, Eric Cartman,…”
Timurid
It’s still Infrastructure Week. And also, Mass Shooting Week.
Mike in NC
So Stephen Miller will be a busy little bee tomorrow, making all those bogus phone calls.
piratedan
@zhena gogolia: maybe we can eliminate his position, because he’s certainly not essential to THIS administration….
joel hanes
@Mnemosyne:
a full-body tattoo
Kafka, “In The Penal Colony”
joel hanes
@Salty Sam:
or Nancy, as I call her
Melanie Haber
Susan Underhill
Betty-Jo Bialaski
AM in NC
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.
trollhattan
@Searcher:
“We needink now is WALL for Fearless Leader! WALL made from upsidasium.”
MomSense
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).
dmsilev
@The Dangerman:
Mongo just brick in Wall of life.
Renie
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.
debbie
@Ohio Mom:
I just emailed Portman, for the little good that it will do.
God help him if i get one of his stupid accomplishment emails.
karen marie
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).
MisterForkbeard
@Renie:
To be fair, we’ve had one since 2017 but it’s just getting increasingly obvious.
Immanentize
@Miss Bianca: They already passed — and Trump has signed — back pay for federal workers. Like over a week ago. Did he mean federal contractors?
chris
@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
Ruckus
@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.
Jay
@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.
Jeffro
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
Vidya Pradhan
Called Dianne Feinstein and left a message at her SF office.. Washington office does not take messages, apparently.
chris
Meanwhile, in Davos…
Carolina Dave
@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.
Immanentize
@Jeffro:
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?
MisterForkbeard
@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
Mary G
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.
Jeffro
@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.
debbie
@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
catclub
@Doug R:
You know that $1TR coin that libs talked about Obama minting? I bet trump does it.
Timurid
@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.
Scott
@chris: Glad you mention this. I prefer this method since I’m much more comfortable written than verbal Very easy to use.
Jeffro
@Jeffro: Geez, how did I manage to misspell “Capitol”?
Cap'n Phealy
We rise WHEN?
hitchhiker
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.
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.
SiubhanDuinne
Jesus, he’s harsh.
Jay
@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.
Martin
@catclub: $1T coin? Fuck that. Trump already has a solution!
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!
lollipopguild
@dmsilev: “Mongo just pawn in game of life” Like all of us.
cain
@Suzanne:
I missed something, what is this that nothing can be done about – being miserable or something more nefarious?
Jeffro
@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.
Amir Khalid
@lollipopguild:
I can’t believe nobody went for the obvious: “All in all, Mongo just another brick in Wall.”
chris
@Scott: You’re welcome. CW is that MoCs pay attention to letters and faxes much more than phone calls.
Ohio Mom
@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.
randy khan
@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).
raven
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!
chris
@randy khan: I’ll ask, WTF is wrong with 4% of Democrats?
Mnemosyne
@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!
Burnspbesq
@Doug R:
That’s not a widely shared view among people who get paid to think about Con Law.
Jay
@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.
Yarrow
@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.
Suzanne
@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.
TS (the original)
@randy khan: from your link
“He said Mexico will pay” seems to be what the deplorables are hearing from Nancy Pelosi – she has all the right words.
Elizabelle
@raven: Yikes.
Yarrow
@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.
Yarrow
@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?
debbie
@raven:
Fucking cars. Glad Lil Bit is okay.
Burnspbesq
@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.”
Suzanne
@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.
raven
@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.
Suzanne
@raven: Jesus Hussein Christ. That sucks. I’m sorry.
debbie
@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?
SiubhanDuinne
@raven:
Oh, raven, what a saga! I’m so sorry for all the hassle, expense, and worry!
Mr Stagger Lee
@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
Suzanne
@Yarrow: The nosebleeds put me at higher risk for staph/MRSA, not to mention any other type of infection, so it’s a problem.
bemused
@debbie:
I was thinking humidifier or mister would help if the air in house is very dry.
SiubhanDuinne
@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!
raven
@Suzanne: And it’s a mini-problem compared to yours, get better!
Suzanne
@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.
debbie
@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.
Yarrow
@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?
Jim, Foolish Literalist
If anything, Dems aren’t hitting this hard enough
chris
@raven: Jesus that’s awful. Hope the pup will be OK.
Miss Bianca
@Immanentize: God, I hope so, because that confused me.
raven
@Yarrow: “Dad, why did you dump gas on me”?
PenandKey
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.
Catherine D.
@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!
tobie
@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.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Don’t know where Marshall is getting this, but…. BWA HA HA HA HA
he really does not get the whole “co-equal branch” thing, or just how bad his polling is
Suzanne
@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”.
Yarrow
@raven: No it’s, “Dad, why did the truck dump gas on both of us?” She knows you wouldn’t hurt her!
Suzanne
@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.
Yarrow
@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.
MomSense
@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.
Jeffro
@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.
debbie
@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.
Ohio Mom
@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.
WaterGirl
@debbie: The first announcement was the best. If memory serves, it was “I’m all knocked up like a cheerleader.” :-)
bemused
@Suzanne:
I didn’t realize that. That’s miserable and I hope you get some relief soon.
debbie
@WaterGirl:
Ha, sorry I missed that!
chris
@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.
spudgun
@raven: Oh no, poor Lil Bit!! Extra scritches and treats are in order…poor boo.
debbie
@Ohio Mom:
Google says: This and This.
WaterGirl
@raven: Oh geez, raven, that’s awful. All of it. Your poor sweet pup. You must be beside yourself.
Ohio Mom
@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.
WaterGirl
Just received this from the Southern Poverty Law Center:
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.
Keith P.
@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.
Suzanne
@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.
Salty Sam
@joel hanes:
Rocky Rococco at your cervix!
Another Scott
@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.
Suzanne
@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.
Immanentize
@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.
joel hanes
@Salty Sam:
That’s nothing but a two-bit ring from a crackerback jox.
Xecky Gilchrist
Done. Thank you for this!
joel hanes
@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
Suzanne
@joel hanes: Dude. There’s a Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale. It’s 61 degrees here. Just sayin’.
chopper
@Burnspbesq:
if you owe a hundred billion, you own the government.
ruemara
@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.
chopper
@Suzanne:
oh jesus fuck, why?? was it on a dare? please tell me you got paid at the end.
joel hanes
@Suzanne:
Ah. You didn’t use the definite article, and I didn’t notice.
Suzanne
@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.
CaseyL
@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.
Suzanne
@joel hanes: Scottsdale has Mayo Clinic and Mayo Hospital.
Waynski
@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.
JR
@Suzanne: a well known vasoconstrictor, actually used to treat nosebleeds.
MisterForkbeard
@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. :(
Skepticat
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.
Emma
@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.
MisterForkbeard
@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.
Steeplejack
@debbie:
That’s a great message you sent!
Another Scott
@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.
Waynski
@Suzanne:
Trust me. Really. That will make things a 1,000 times worse. I know it’s gallows humor, but don’t do that.
debbie
@Steeplejack:
Thanks! It’s a variation of my daily raging at NPR on my shower radio.
emrys
@Another Scott: azelestine is great for my sinuses, but i have found ipratropium bromide better for opening the nasal passages.
Yutsano
@CaseyL: I sent AL another e-mail about it. We’ll see if she posts about it again tonight.
dman
@NotMax:
1 Russian Ruble equals
0.015 United States Dollar
pretty good value
Suzanne
@Another Scott: Tried it. It works OK. Doc said not while pregnant, though. And that’s what’s hard. AaaahhhhHHHHHHHHHH.
a thousand flouncing lurkers (was fidelio)
@raven: I’m glad neither you nor Lil Bit ended up in flames or blinded, and I hope everyone’s nerves recover soon.