Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

This has so much WTF written all over it that it is hard to comprehend.

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

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

No offense, but this thread hasn’t been about you for quite a while.

Why is it so hard for them to condemn hate?

… pundit janitors mopping up after the GOP

Authoritarian republicans are opposed to freedom for the rest of us.

Impressively dumb. Congratulations.

Accused of treason; bitches about the ratings. I am in awe.

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

Republicans are the party of chaos and catastrophe.

“Can i answer the question? No you can not!”

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

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

I’d like to think you all would remain faithful to me if i ever tried to have some of you killed.

Today’s GOP: why go just far enough when too far is right there?

Schmidt just says fuck it, opens a tea shop.

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

Usually wrong but never in doubt

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

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147Comments

  1. 1.

    germy

    This is bad news for republicans. The ebola crisis would have been a great topic for them in an election season.

  3. 3.

    Cheryl Rofer

    Good news here: Some of the native grasses I planted last year are doing well, and Zooey likes to munch them when he goes outside. He has a pot of grass inside, but free-range natural grass is {chef’s kiss}

  5. 5.

    Amir Khalid

    My good news: Bianca just puked a moment ago while chilling under my bed. It’s going to be a real fun job to clean it up. Yay.

  6. 6.

    Wjs

    Trump cured ebola, then he’s gonna cure cancer in kids and, if we give him a 3rd term, measles, mumps and erectile disfunction.

  7. 7.

    Jager

    “Shit, find another scary-sounding disease as fast as you can!”

    “Why?”

    “They found a cure for Ebola and we need something for the election.”

    …overheard at a “conservative think tank”

  9. 9.

    Gravenstone

    A couple of years ago I and several of my colleagues worked on a novel antiviral that was evaluated against Ebola (among other diseases). It had efficacy in very limited screening, but clearly lost out to these new antibody based treatments. In the end, a win against a horrible disease. And we’ll see if the compound we worked with finds use against any other viral diseases that are currently challenging to treat effectively.

  10. 10.

    Martin

    Protip:

    If you contract Ebola, sneak onto the first plane headed for the Congo because that shit will cost you your life savings here in the US.

    Today is day one of The International Dota championship. Excited be I. $33M prize pool, so the winners will take home about $3M each. 55 million viewers last year, which puts it behind the Superbowl but well ahead of the Final Four.

  11. 11.

    chris

    @Cheryl Rofer: The boys Bert and Steve taking a breather during our postprandial stroll last night. They also graze together and it’s funny to watch them both carefully selecting the grass they eat. I’ve no idea what distinguishes one grass stalk from another but they do.

  12. 12.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    Curmudgeon alert!

    Two minor things bugging me this week:
    1. Went to see “Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood”. No spoilers, but Tarentino decided to visit 1969 Hollywood during the time the Manson family was around and they figure in the plot. That’s not what’s bugging me. What’s bugging me is that he depicted Bruce Lee as a loudmouth braggart who is incapable of winning a fight with a “real” fighter, Brad Pitt’s stuntman character.

    2. Everything in central Philly is under construction. You can not walk, bike or drive in a straight line anywhere. One major route under construction is the block where I park my car. There are signs everywhere that the road is closed, that the only access is to the building I park at. More signs every day. Big orange ones, big digital ones saying “No access” and “Road Closed”. And yet there is a steady stream of idiots who drive past the sign, get to the barriers, go “whoopsy” and then have to do a U-turn in the construction zone and find their way out again. I have a wait in a line of half a dozen of these bozos every single time I enter or leave the garage.

    About Tarantino: this doesn’t rise to the level of rants, but I said to my wife that it looked like the 60s as envisioned by someone who had never seen the 60s. Looked him up and he was born in 1963. It took me three on screen encounters with this one group of “hippies” to realize that they were intended to represent “hippies”. No flowers, no beads, no head bands, no peace signs, no bell bottoms. He could have consulted any high-school yearbook or magazine of the era.

  13. 13.

    Fleeting Expletive

    Thank you for this thread. It’s my birthday today–being 72 is better than the alternative. I’m okay for an oldster–the thread this morning with “So sorry, Scotland” had me laughing and crying at the same time. “We’re comprehensively fucked” indeed. I got dark chocolate and a bag of Sumatran coffee for my birthday, and some crazy socks!

  17. 17.

    Ken

    @rikyrah: Ambiguous. Did you mean,

    “My good news is that a judge ruled the State of Georgia has to stop using hackable voting machines”

    or

    “Dammit the State of Georgia really needs to stop using hackable voting machines”

    ?

  19. 19.

    NotMax

    @Jager

    “Let’s see what else is in the folder. Hm. Swine flu, bird flu, mad cow disease…. Nuthin’ with a foreign-sounding name so far. Hey, how about killer bees invading from Mexico and Central America? We haven’t used that for quite a while.”

  21. 21.

    Joe Falco

    Tentatively Good news: I got an email today my AICP certification exam application has been submitted for review. I should know in a month and a half whether I’ll be approved to take the exam.

  23. 23.

    chris

    @Amir Khalid: Well, at least you know about it ;-) My cats like to wait until I’m out or sleeping and they are endlessly inventive in finding new spots to barf in. As an added bonus Steve likes to leave the odd dead creature under the bunk in case I get hungry at night.

  24. 24.

    Jeffro

    @germy: Was just going to say the same thing…they’ve already used up the blessed caravan, MS-13, sex traffickers, Mexican rapists, Ebola, people from “shithole” countries, the Mayor of London…

    …I mean there’s literally nothing left to scare old white folks with, is there?

    I mean, other than trumpov crashing the global economy, but obviously they can’t use THAT…

  25. 25.

    Jeffro

    @patrick II: I can see her trying to make that argument, too, despite the fact that (just spitballin’ here) even anti-vax idiots would probably opt for autism over Ebola. But hey, let them make that choice ;)

  26. 26.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @chris: Somebody is leaving dead mice in the backyard which Sammy the Beagle loves to find and chomp on. As our cat lives indoors, she’s not a suspect.

    Also, Sammy only eats grass when something is upsetting his stomach, and then it makes him throw up almost immediately. And in the past he’s mistaken hunger for that feeling, so I’ve learned to get a little food in him before going outside if his tummy is making noises.

  29. 29.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Jager: They’ll just bring back the disappearing-reappearing caravan! They’re now 10000 miles away! Booga booga!

  30. 30.

    TomatoQueen

    @delk: Congratulations. Please omit no detail, however sordid, as I hope to have this done someday, on both sides. Speaking of which, are you going for a two-fer? Any pain, stiffness? what does it feel like to have a big ol’ hunk o’ space age material instead of your hip? Are you mobile? What about after-care? Are the drugs nice or did they make you get up first? Anterior incision? I am so glad for you.

  31. 31.

    trollhattan

    @Jager:
    Luckily, with antivaxxers aplenty measles can do in a pinch. Plague and smallpox are in the green room if needed.

  32. 32.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    Oh shoot, here I am grumbling because I saw the words “Open Thread” but missed the words “Good News”.

    Um… our 2-year-old grandson was recently tested and found to be free of the allergies which were so extreme when he was a baby that he had to be hospitalized all day just from the initial allergy testing.

    And the aforementioned Sammy (see #26) is about to finish the first month of his heartworm treatment. Four more days of twice-a-day meds then a “rest” for 30 days before the really scary part. If I didn’t know he had heartworm, I couldn’t tell it from looking at him, he’s ridiculously active and cheerful.

  34. 34.

    trollhattan

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym:
    That’s huge. I was similarly hospitalized for allergies as an infant and battle them yet, today. They’re much more clever with building tolerance now and can successfully reverse many. Apparently your grandson is under the right care. What a life-changer that is.

  35. 35.

    Dog Mom

    One bit of good news – my beagle Dottie, got a skin tag removed from the corner of her eyelid on Tuesday am. It was a tiny but irritating mass rubbing on her eye. She had a rough time shaking off the anesthesia, but is feeling much better today – still wearing her donut collar though – glad to have the procedure done.

  37. 37.

    trollhattan

    @delk:
    Whoh, new body bits! Good wishes for returning to the soccer pitch, or whatever it’s been keeping you from doing.

  38. 38.

    chris

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: Steve is a mighty hunter and retriever. He also brings me live birds, frogs and, on two occasions, live flying squirrels. That was fun.

    I deworm the critters twice a year and they still eat grass so… I dunno.

  42. 42.

    Chyron HR

    Tune in tomorrow, when the leader of the free world will say*: “Zombie plague is bad, but must contain to Shithole countrys! Why will Tipsy Nancy not build WALL?”

    *Tweet.

  45. 45.

    NotMax

    Posted in a moribund thread in error; repeating here.

    Suddenly occurred to me we haven’t been graced with the presence of Bella Q (a/k/a alternative fax) for a while. Don’t follow every thread though, so perhaps mistaken?

  46. 46.

    ??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym:

    What’s bugging me is that he depicted Bruce Lee as a loudmouth braggart who is incapable of winning a fight with a “real” fighter, Brad Pitt’s stuntman character.

    Yeah. It’s even worse because the Pitt character was never even real. Lee’s daughter didn’t particularly like his portrayal either from an article I read.

  50. 50.

    geg6

    My good news is that there is a plan in place to have Lovey visit her brother. Should be an adventure.

  54. 54.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Jager:

    Backed up with a presentation by Dr. Jenny McCarthy, a graduate of the Hugh Hefner School of Medicine

    Why do they always apologize for the Cracker Jack crumbs on the diplomas?

  57. 57.

    different-church-lady

    Nope, ain’t goin’ with the theme…

    Joe Walsh (yes, that Joe Walsh) has an op-ed in today’s FYNYT (reading the physical thing, so no link). Premise is “true conservative should primary Trump”. The bit that jumped out at me (emphasis mine):

    Since leaving Congress in 2013, I’ve been the host of my own conservative talk raido show several hours a day, five days a week. The only time a majority of my conservative audience noticeably broke with the president was when he signed the omnibus spending bill in 2017 that ballooned the deficit.

    They are absolutely fine with the racism and xenophobia.

    Trump is the symptom, 40% of the population is the disease.

  58. 58.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: Re point 2, same sort of thing is happening in Baltimore – on a quick early afternoon swing yesterday to the H&S Bakery outlet store near Broadway Market, the pharmacy & my local branch of the Pratt to collect a couple of interlibrary loans, I ran into no less than 5 road closures, 1-lane streets & traffic jams. FWIW

  63. 63.

    Uncle Cosmo

    3 years today since Unc’s nephew/godson Skyler moved on to the next plane of existence. Sometimes it feels as if a hundred years have passed; sometimes it feels like yesterday.

    And tomorrow will be four years for Mom, who was eight years into dementia’s long goodbye & on her way to 103.

  66. 66.

    StringOnAStick

    Today’s good news: I’m headed up to the mountains to see the doctor who replaced my knees today, for the 6 week post-surgery exam for knee #2. I never had much swelling with either surgery after the first 2 weeks and my PT continues to be amazed by how little I’ve exhibited, so I’ve got that going for me. I’ll start skiing again by January, though very carefully.

  68. 68.

    catclub

    @Fleeting Expletive:

    It’s my birthday today–being 72 is better than the alternative.

    But just like a thermos that keeps hot thing hot and cold things cold. But how do you know?

  73. 73.

    Cermet

    @The Thin Black Duke: And mathematics is its language. [me]

    In fact, there are two cures – one isn’t that effective but almost (9%.) And don’t forget the extremely effective vaccine (which, if someone does get ill (rarely but in massive exposure, that can occur) further improves survival.)

  74. 74.

    Gin & Tonic

    @??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??: On the other hand, a couple of years ago somebody opened a “Montreal smoked meat” joint in Brooklyn. I think you could have heard the laughter all the way back up on St. Laurent. I don’t know if they’re still in business.

  75. 75.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @Uncle Cosmo: Yeah, my complaint is less about the construction and more about the idiots who sail past the “No Outlet” and “Road Closed” signs and then have to turn around, blocking my access to the garage which is the only thing actually open on the street.

  76. 76.

    Immanentize

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym:

    the 60s as envisioned by someone who had never seen the 60s.

    I think it was Neil Young (?) who said that the song Horse with No Name by America was written about an acid trip by someone who had never been on one.

  78. 78.

    NotMax

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    Ugh. Unless allowed time for cold fermentation overnight, then the shaped risen dough having the heck quick boiled out of it in water before baking, it’s not a bagel, it’s a dinner roll with a hole in the middle.

  79. 79.

    Immanentize

    My good news is that my son, the Immp, has graduated from clear liquids to other liquids to thick liquids (think baby food, smoothies and purees). If he can get to 1000 calories per day, he can have his feeding tube removed next week!

  80. 80.

    Immanentize

    I like Montreal bagels and smoked meat (Schwartz’s, mmmm). But I still like NY style bagels and pastrami better. But that’s what makes a horse race!

  81. 81.

    Barbara

    @Immanentize: If he can add peanut butter to the smoothie and blend it really well he should be able to get to 1000 calories right quick! Great news!

  85. 85.

    Immanentize

    @NotMax: Yes. Hard-ish on the outside, chewy in the middle. It’s hard to find great fresh boiled/baked bagels in Boston. Bagelsaurus is probably the best in the area IMO.

  87. 87.

    Mary G

    Iowa Starting Line poll, with changes from their May poll:

    Warren 28% (+16)
    Biden 17% (-7)
    Sanders 18% (-7)

    Good news indeed!

  88. 88.

    Immanentize

    @Barbara: We have that on the list! But because no stomach, it is hard for him to take in much fat at once (so far). So mostly protein drinks and soups with milk. But the banana/peanut butter/protein powder/milk smoothie is all lined up….

  93. 93.

    geg6

    @Mary G:

    Whoa! That’s a huge leap for Warren. I get it though. After months of going back and forth, she is my current top candidate.

  94. 94.

    NotMax

    @Immanentize

    Surprisingly, the bagels made on site at Costco are quite passable, with real close to the expected sponginess on the inside one got from the old shops which did bagels, bialys and nothing else.

  96. 96.

    Ohio Mom

    @Immanentize: Wondeful! Have to say though, 1,000 calories a day doesn’t sound to me like enough for a growing and still healing young man. Well, the doctors know what they are doing.

    My good news is that the long-awaited basement clean-out has commenced. Boy is there a lot of mouse poop in the corners.

  99. 99.

    NotMax

    @Ohio Mom

    After you win the lottery, hire a contractor to make the basement round and thus confuse the bejeebers out of the mice.

    ;)

  101. 101.

    LuciaMia

    Sold a cartoon to a magazine whose title I just love, “Philosophy Now!” (magazine, not the cartoon)

  106. 106.

    trollhattan

    @Mary G: @geg6:
    Yuge, if sustainable.

    Honestly not surprised that Iowans might take to Warren; she’s their type insofar as speaking their language. Recall a few months back her “talking ag” to I presume a group of farmers asking, “Why aren’t you allowed to work on and maintain your own equipment?” Evidently, the big, expen$ive advanced harvesters and such require proprietary computer interfaces to do anything meaningful with them.

  108. 108.

    LuciaMia

    Congrats!! And a great title, indeed.

    I know. Kinda sounds like a Japanese action anime

  109. 109.

    The Lodger

    @Immanentize: Have the doctors cleared the Immp for spices and other ingredients to make the pureed food more palatable or is he facing a few weeks of Gerber Flavor Adventures? Also, I’m assuming the 1000 cal/day is by mouth only and he’s also getting some IV calories for now, because I can’t imagine him growing on 1000 calories. I was taking in 175 percent of that on a strict weight loss program and I am not a large person.

  116. 116.

    MisterForkbeard

    Good news for me: Yesterday’s ominous conversation with a VP “This important project of yours seems like it’s lost focus, are you getting the support you need?” WASN’T a veiled or ominous conversation but has resulted in the project actually getting the support it needs from other groups in my company. Yay!

    It has a chance of success now. Always glad when my leaders are actually involved and know what they’re doing.

  117. 117.

    debit

    @Dog Mom: Yes! I happen to know that, say, a medium Culver’s Concrete Chocolate Malt is 1500 calories, which is why I can never have one again. But for Young Immp, it’s a good thing.

  119. 119.

    J R in WV

    @Joe Falco:

    I got an email today my AICP certification exam application has been submitted for review. I should know in a month and a half whether I’ll be approved to take the exam.

    Wait, you have to take an exam to take the REAL exam???

    Seriously, best of luck!

  120. 120.

    debit

    Today’s good news is that my daughter is coming home from her annual trip to the Boundary Waters, which means the cats will calm the fuck down and stop thinking humans are a dwindling resource that must be defended and/or also claimed with fake spraying.

  122. 122.

    Gin & Tonic

    Oh, and today’s good news is that my son is getting married tomorrow. Or maybe that’s tomorrow’s good news delivered today?

  125. 125.

    Barbara

    @Immanentize: I actually ditch the bananas and use canteloupe instead in most smoothies. My favorite is canteloupe plus orange juice, vanilla and Fage Greek yogurt (hands down my favorite Greek yogurt that is widely available). If I think ahead, I cut part or all of the melon and put it in the freezer ahead of time to get an icy smoothie. You can also add fresh or frozen peaches or strawberries or blueberries to this basic mixture.

  127. 127.

    PAM Dirac

    @trollhattan:

    Evidently, the big, expen$ive advanced harvesters and such require proprietary computer interfaces to do anything meaningful with them.

    The problem is that the “require” is mainly due to licensing and copyright restrictions. You may own the machinery but the software to run it is copyrighted and if you fiddle with it to make it do what you want you risk lawsuits and even criminal prosecution. You are forced into paying an authorized repair facility for even the simplest of tweaks. See this for example.

  135. 135.

    satby

    @debit: I just got home and they’re fine. And in happy news, it now seems everyone has decided the litter box is the proper place to poop and pee. Massive upgrade in the air quality of the bathroom, though I can’t wait to rip up the carpet in there.
    My little feral is tolerating occasional pets, but only because I bring food every time. Two need more intensive socializing but one is a sweet little guy who wants belly rubs constantly. They should be going to the kitten whisperer later this week, where the many momma cats will help train the babies.

  138. 138.

    debit

    That’s great, especially the litter box news. I may have accelerated my carpet removal and floor finishing plans because kitten Dani was very attached to an area that forever after was known as her “pee corner.”

  141. 141.

    Matt

    This is going to be “good news” for anybody over *here* that gets Ebola, and for the wingnuts who’ll get to delight in watching Africans bleed to death from every orifice for the crime of being too poor.

  144. 144.

    J R in WV

    @David C:

    Congratulations, David!! Way to go…

    Our good news is all is quiet here in the home hollow. After taking out one 24 inch Sycamore tree in the front and a 4 foot thick beech in the back, with 5 guys with chain saws and multiple winches dragging beech logs down the tiny creek bed, two days of really hard work on the team of tree experts, no one was hurt, mission accomplished.

    A full set of mixed emotions, the tree was a forest giant, older than anyone reading this blog by more than a century. I have a slice I hope to use for an end table, and the butt of the tree is solid, probably weighs a couple of tons, I kind of hope to slice it lengthwise to make a desk top from the slab… I don’t know it that will be possible. It’s really big.

    The tree removal crew had the chipper from hell, ate giant tree’s branches growling a bass that kind of upset my stomach all day. The bigger pieces of beech trunk, they had a timber fork lift, and as they lifted the logs, the back wheels of the lift came off the ground. a little scary to watch, but that’s why we hired well established professionals, with workers comp insurance and all. They were all young husky hard workers who busted ass all day long in 90 degree summer heat. I wish I could have worked with them. They had noise suppressing headsets with microphones to communicate in spite of the incredible noise all that machinery made.

    At least now the beech tree can’t drop the top into the house, which many local trees have dropped in the woods. Beech are famous for dropping their huge tops into the forest floor with no prior notice, just the huge crash when they land, shattering into fragments.

  146. 146.

    laura

    My good news. A minor auto accident led to a drs appointment that led to a mammogram. Called to come back and discovery of a tumor. Biopsy last week. Lab results Monday, surgeon consult yesterday, surgery scheduled for 9/12 for nonmaligniant lipoma. Husband now emotionally stabilized. Much to be grateful for. Heading to Sonoma County tomorrow and returning with a car load of gravenstein apples.

  147. 147.

    Nick D

    @David Anderson,
    I’ve never really participated in discussion on this site. If I have an insurance question, can I ask you? In the comments?

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