Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

“The defense has a certain level of trust in defendant that the government does not.”

I really should read my own blog.

Only Democrats have agency, apparently.

The lights are all blinking red.

You are either for trump or for democracy. Pick one.

A tremendous foreign policy asset… to all of our adversaries.

Let there be snark.

So very ready.

Giving in to doom is how authoritarians win.

A norm that restrains only one side really is not a norm – it is a trap.

If rights aren’t universal, they are privilege, not rights.

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

The rest of the comments were smacking Boebert like she was a piñata.

Hey hey, RFK, how many kids did you kill today?

When I decide to be condescending, you won’t have to dream up a fantasy about it.

Text STOP to opt out of updates on war plans.

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. keep building.

You know it’s bad when the Project 2025 people have to create training videos on “How To Be Normal”.

He really is that stupid.

“Just close your eyes and kiss the girl and go where the tilt-a-whirl takes you.” ~OzarkHillbilly

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

Balloon Juice, where there is always someone who will say you’re doing it wrong.

Shut up, hissy kitty!

Donald Trump found guilty as fuck – May 30, 2024!

You are here: Home / Economics / C.R.E.A.M. / Always Be Grifting Open Thread: #TrumpSharpies Are the New MAGA Hats

Always Be Grifting Open Thread: #TrumpSharpies Are the New MAGA Hats

by | 139 Comments

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Which happens first?

(a) Trump discovers Parscale is ripping off HIS campaign, noisily fires him; or
(b) Trump decides Parscale is getting too much attention from HIS media, ditto.


 
Fellow Repubs, of course, have already stolen the concept…

Reader Interactions

139Comments

  1. 1.

    Chyron HR

    It’s so bemusing
    Will they cancel the parade?
    We marched in Charlottesville
    Now they say we were never even saved
    We must hashtag be brave

  2. 2.

    wasabi gasp

    I discovered an ingenious loophole when I wrote “Don’t Pie” on my marker with ANOTHER marker. How’s likin’ them apples. I go eat paste now.

  3. 3.

    Wag

    I thank Joe Walsh for offering himself up as a sacrifice to allow us to see without blinders on just who amongst the GOP will blindly Trump off any cliff.

  4. 4.

    ThresherK

    Aspirin, cellophane, vanilla: All once trademarks.

    Sharpie is a trademark. Of course it is easier to say “sharpie” than “permanent felt-tip marker” (sorry, Flair), and the recongition factor is off the charts.

    Have we heard from the Sharpie people on this? Are they at least saying “We can’t stop Trump from doing this, but we’re not cheering about it”?

  5. 5.

    PsiFighter37

    So stupid.

    On a separate note, I have a question for parents with experience…the past 24 hours with our little girl have been really difficult. She has shown great difficulty in getting to sleep after eating, and her feeding schedule is all over the place – last night, she was eating too much, while this morning, she ate way too little. She is also having trouble falling asleep; she is basically up for more than an hour every time, which, in my understanding, is way too long for a kiddo less than 1 week old. Any thoughts or advice on what to do? We decided to let her cry it out a little after the last feeding (which neither my wife or I really like), but she soothed herself and was asleep in 15 minutes.

    Mainly asking because she was much better the first couple of days home, but the last 24 hours have involved both my wife and I holding her a total of 6+ hours so she could fall asleep (including a 2-5 AM stretch), and that was simply brutal.

  6. 6.

    My Side of Town

    I doubt libs feel owned. I don’t. But it’s pretty clear to me the cons are owned, though they probably don’t feel owned either.

  7. 7.

    MattF

    The ‘Don’t Lie’ sharpie reminds me… Remember when Jimmy Carter promised that he’d never lie to the American people? He was mocked for that, but turns out (again) to have been wiser than we realized.

  9. 9.

    Brachiator

    80 percent of the Trump reelection campaign’s staff is assigned to the Owning The Libs Department, and they are working day and night to make sure the libs are properly owned

    I don’t know. Seems to me that Trump’s staff is tasked with coming up with new ways to fleece the suckers. That grift ain’t gonna work itself.

  11. 11.

    MomSense

    @PsiFighter37:

    I got a co-sleeper that attached to the bed so i could nurse and then keep the baby next to me until the next time. I nursed on demand which was pretty much all day and night the first couple weeks. It was definitely brutal.

  12. 12.

    namekarB

    Order Now! Trumps Greatest Lies that Drive Liberals Crazy, the box set edition. Order now and get a 2nd box set FREE!

  14. 14.

    sukabi

    @PsiFighter37: breast milk or formula?

    If breast milk is she getting enough? Also your wife’s diet may be affecting if she’s getting gassy.

    If formula, she may have an intolerance to the type.

  18. 18.

    Jeffro

    @MattF: remember when he had to put his blessed peanut farm into a blind trust, to avoid any appearance of impropriety??

    ??????????

  20. 20.

    Raven

    @PsiFighter37: Not unusual for an infant that age to feeding times to be all over, she is trying to adjust and figure out what’s what. No question it is hard for parents but hang in there.

    (From my bride who spent 25+ years as a breastfeed night advocate for the health department)

  21. 21.

    Darrin Ziliak (formerly glocksman)

    Can someone let the admins know that the site error reporting email isn’t working?

    550 5.1.1 [email protected] User unknown

    The Submit Pictures for On the Road link isn’t working either, which is the error I was trying to report.

    Thanks.

  22. 22.

    skerry

    @PsiFighter37: My experience: One of my daughters was lactose intolerant. It took a few weeks to figure this out. Meanwhile, she didn’t sleep well, had gas, and cried from what was probably belly cramping. I was nursing and while humans don’t naturally produce lactose in our milk, it is passed through if the mother is drinking cow’s milk.

    So I eliminated all dairy and lactose and the baby’s behaviors all changed. Almost overnight. She’s still lactose intolerant and the only one in the family.

    ETA:Also, most formulas contain lactose. They do sell lactose-free formula.

  23. 23.

    Mary G

    This is good:

    YESSSSSSSS!! I’ve been asking for this! The House will be abandoning its much-maligned 5-minute alternating partisan question format, in favor of the same hearing format as Watergate: having top counsel conduct the inquiries. t.co/RXRauUpq4V— Mueller, She Wrote Podcast (@MuellerSheWrote) September 8, 2019

  24. 24.

    Ohio Mom

    @PsiFighter37: I wish I could give you specific advice but my memory is 22 years old and very foggy. The earliest weeks are a slog and a marathon. Newborns are very disorganized.

    Think how confusing the world must be to them. So many new sensations, so much light and noise and changes in temperature, just for starters. Then there are all those new internal sensations. Eventually they settle into a routine of sorts but it takes a while.

    You can always call your pediatrician. That’s what they are there for. I’d wait for office hours though.

  25. 25.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Darrin Ziliak (formerly glocksman):

    the site error reporting email isn’t working

    It was stabbed by a watermelon.

    (Seriously, hope Cole’s hand is okay.)

    (And is Adam all right? I feel as though he hasn’t posted much recently, despite several news items that would normally whet his appetite.)

  28. 28.

    Mary G

    Alain posted that the On the Road link would be down for a couple of weeks while the new site is being tested/installed and he would only be posting things already submitted for a while.

  29. 29.

    joel hanes

    @PsiFighter37:

    Warmth, security, soothing noise, and gentle vibration.

    My sister had a similar problem with one of hers, but noticed that whenever the kid was in the car seat, she fell asleep.
    So for a couple desperate weeks, they resorted to driving slowly around town at all hours.

    Then they hit on putting the car seat on top of the running clothes dryer.
    That worked until they could get the kid on a regular schedule.

  31. 31.

    Mary G

    @SiubhanDuinne: He was talking about possibly being deployed, so maybe he got the job and for security reasons can’t discuss it. Or else he’s blown a gasket about the Taliban allegedly coming to Camp David and is composing a long piece on it and having to stop constantly to keep his blood pressure down. Or he had a bad sinusitis attack.

  32. 32.

    mrmoshpotato

    Deadbeat dad Joe Walsh is grifting off the grifters. Where do I need to be for safety when the black hole that is the GOP collapses in on itself?

    Also, will there be refreshments? I’m ready to root for injuries, but a giant soft pretzel and a drink would help.

  36. 36.

    Gin & Tonic

    @PsiFighter37: Our first-born didn’t sleep for more than two hours at a stretch for the first four months. No advice here, just that shit happens and you have to roll with it. In a couple of decades it’ll get easier.

  37. 37.

    JPL

    @MomSense: That was me. At six months I tried to introduce food and he became allergic to it. At eighteen months, I just gave him a burger. That’s an exaggeration, but was able to introduce food. There’s a new theory that if you have allergies in the family to introduce food earlier.

  39. 39.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Mary G:

    Oh, I missed that he was possibly being deployed. Thanks for that info — I feel better now (though I would still love to see his take on the Taliban Talks).

    Edit: Also thought he might have views on the military staying over at Turnberry and refuelling at Prestwick.

  41. 41.

    JPL

    @Mary G: It works. Sometimes if the parents can just sleep a few hours, the baby senses a more relaxed environment. Now if it’s colic or acid reflex, it’s different.

  43. 43.

    MattF

    @Patricia Kayden: Walsh really tests my resolve to have a positive attitude towards anti-Trump Republicans. I understand that I’m not the target of his efforts, and he’s mostly saying and doing the right things… but his history really is awful.

  45. 45.

    JPL

    I’m so impressed with young parents, because starting from the time they are newborns, fathers are really involved. In the olden days, it was well you need to stay up all night.

  48. 48.

    MisterForkbeard

    @PsiFighter37: Our daughters are two and four, so we’re a few years removed. I can tell you a couple things:

    1) Kiddos wake up or don’t sleep when they’re either uncomfortable or aren’t full. If you’re solely on breast milk, try formula. If you’re already on formula, try something like the Simulac hypoallergenic formulas. In some cases, other ‘normal’ formulas can give your baby gas.

    1.5) Make sure you kiddo is swaddled tightly. Being restrained helps newborns feel like they’re still in the womb and gets them to sleep better. Also beneficial: smelling mom, or slight movement like rocking, walking, or driving.

    2) Call your pediatrician if you’re concerned. They are PERFECTLY happy to get phone calls from new parents.

    3) They’re expensive, but consider a ‘SNOO’ rental: Basically a bed with a built-in swaddle. (happiestbaby.com/products/snoo-rental). We didn’t use one, but I have 2-3 friends who did and their kids went from sleeping problematically to being out like a light.

    Good luck, man! And welcome to the club!

  49. 49.

    Darrin Ziliak (formerly glocksman)

    @Mary G:

    Alain posted that the On the Road link would be down for a couple of weeks while the new site is being tested/installed and he would only be posting things already submitted for a while.

    D-OH! *slaps head*
    I remember seeing that now that you mention it.

    Thank You.

  50. 50.

    Lapassionara

    @PsiFighter37: the first few days are misleading, as infants are groggy from the birth experience. We had a swaying bassinet that soothed our daughter to sleep. But the early weeks are difficult. The good news is that by 4 weeks babies can lengthen their times between feedings.

  52. 52.

    B.B.A.

    I thought the official line from Trumplandia was that nobody sharpied the map, it always looked like that, suck it libtards.

    This “campaign” is suggesting instead that scribbling on the map was a brilliant troll of the media who can’t let the slightest thing go, suck it libtards.

    Must be nice, living in a world where 2+2 is whatever the President says it is. Reality is so much less convenient.

  55. 55.

    satby

    @PsiFighter37: oh sweetie, welcome to parenthood. @Raven is correct, at one week they don’t have a set schedule and can be awake and asleep all around the clock. It takes time, but she’ll settle down, hang in there.
    And @joel hanes: gave you our secret, midnight drives and carseat on the running dryer (stand there and hold it, it can vibrate right off otherwise). Both my sons had colic and were easily upset the first few weeks while their digestive system got going. For the first one people kept telling me to eliminate this food or that while nursing until I apparently was only allowed water, so I quit listening to them. The second one was easier because we knew that colic subsided and we just had to get through those weeks. You’re going to get through them too.

  57. 57.

    satby

    @MomSense: Yep, I did that too. I remember taking a shower so I could have just 15 minutes without a small human attached to me. Holding the baby six hours out of 24 sounds not bad at all (from the perspective of 36 years later).

  58. 58.

    Jay

    Homeless Black woman sends 5-year-old to wrong school•5 years prisonWealthy white woman bribes college officials with tens of thousands of dollars•30 days jailThis is what institutional white supremacy in the CJ system looks like. Reprehensible injustice.? pic.twitter.com/fFuiaiOnxF— Qasim Rashid, Esq. (@QasimRashid) September 8, 2019

  59. 59.

    mousebumples

    @PsiFighter37: I’ve got a little one in my house right now (about 2 and a half weeks old), so I totally understand where you’re coming from. I don’t have “answers,” but some resources I’ve been using include:

    1) Dr. Karp’s 5 S’s (Happiest Baby on the Block) – there is a book you can probably get from your local library too.
    2) Zero to Three – Sleep Resources

    From everything I’ve read (and heard) from friends, family, and my baby’s pediatrician, baby’s sleep schedule being unpredictable is (unfortunately) par for the course at this point. I’ve (mostly) been managing her nighttime restlessness since my husband is back to work already (he’s taking his paternity leave when I head back to work after 12 weeks), but I haven’t been afraid to wake him up and ask for help when I need it. However, by letting him (mostly) sleep through the night, I can put him in charge of our daughter while I take a nap every day. (My little one tends to have a period of a few hours every night where she’s wide awake and not willing to settle and go to sleep – even if she’s not hungry, not in need of a diaper change, and not in need of burping.)

    Good luck with your little one! :)

  66. 66.

    Gin & Tonic

    So anyway, it was an almost picture-perfect day here in Southern New England, so I went on a 50+ mile bike ride with my daughter and her husband. Keeping the paceline was challenging at times, but nice to know that the old man didn’t embarrass himself, and is actually feeling pretty good now after a burger and a beer.

  67. 67.

    joel hanes

    @satby:

    carseat on the running dryer (stand there and hold it, it can vibrate right off otherwise)

    bungie cords and nylon straps are your friends

  68. 68.

    dmsilev

    Actual Washington Post headline right now:

    Trump warned Alabama about Dorian. So we sent someone to cover the ‘hurricane.’

    As I’m sure you can imagine, the story is all about blue skies. There was a boating advisory mentioned… to be mindful of a group of manatees.

  71. 71.

    Sab

    @joel hanes: My husband once drove off to work with the occupied carseat still on the roof of his car. It fell off. Baby thought the experience was hilarious. He still loves extreme amusement park rides.

    I am NOT recommending this.

    Carseats are a wonderful friend for exhausted parents.

  72. 72.

    jl

    I don’t know what to make of such nonsense. I guess if they want to ‘own the libs’ by constantly reminding the 73 percent of the population that is sane, that Trump is emotionally ill, and has an emotional intelligence so low it would shame a maladjusted toddler, fine by me. Hope they keep it going to the 2020 general election.

    I guess if/when Trump takes a dump on the Oval Office desk during a press availability, they’ll sell ‘Trump Dump’ paperweights to celebrate the great event? That would be fine by me too.

  73. 73.

    Jeffro

    @JPL:

    I’m so impressed with young parents, because starting from the time they are newborns, fathers are really involved. In the olden days, it was well you need to stay up all night.

    After the first week, my wife and I “divided and conquered” – she had kid duty up ’til midnight (IF there was an issue, most nights she was out by 10pm latest) and anything after that was on me. Worked like a charm, as she always knew that she could just crash at midnight latest and sleep straight until 5-6 a.m.

    But thinking about it, I think it explains a lot of why she doesn’t appear to have aged much, and why I look about 10 years older than I should ;)

  75. 75.

    Ruckus

    @Lapassionara:
    Just a thought. Before birth aren’t they getting nourishment constantly? Seems like it might take time for the entire system to adjust to actual eating/digestion.

  78. 78.

    Jeffro

    PS to the Dem candidates: first one to shorten up “Plastic straws and Sharpies, that’s all the Republicans have to offer you, America” wins. I suspect Warren will figure this out first given that she already had the bit about the GOP wanting us to focus on straws, cheeseburgers, and what not.

    That’s literally it. Bring a plastic straw and a Sharpie to the next debate, 2020 Dems!

  80. 80.

    Sab

    @debbie: Hush your mouth. Also one of the reasons I would never lease. If they mess up my car it’s unsightly but doesn’t cost me anything.

  83. 83.

    dexwood

    Congrat to the parents and their beautiful, new humans.

    What’s next? Official Trump vaping pens?

  84. 84.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    When the farmer and the tow truck can coordinate.

    Oh, the farmer and the tow truck should be friends!
    Yes, the farmer and the tow truck should be friends!
    One man likes his towin’ truck,
    The other doesn’t give a fuck,
    But that’s no reason why they can’t be friends!

    Westvirginny folks should stick together
    Just as if they’re made of Elmer’s Glue,
    Farmer has a field that’s standin’ empty,
    Truck driver tows John’s Subaru!

  85. 85.

    satby

    @Sab: my (now ex) husband insisted that the infant bouncy seat would be fine on the kitchen counter behind him while he did dishes, with his back to the baby. I had just got home from my night shift job an was heading to sleep for a couple of hours. I warned him the baby was starting to move around too much but I was just being an overprotective worrywart. When the kid managed to tip the seat onto the floor while securely strapped inside his face took the brunt of the fall. Nothing broken luckily, but just try explaining your 2 month old baby’s sprained jaw to upset grandparents. I had to feed the baby with a syringe for a week. The ex was lucky he lived to become my ex.

  86. 86.

    Patricia Kayden

    @rikyrah: I don’t get the need to purge voters unless they’ve left the state or died. Otherwise, it’s just getting rid of eligible voters because they haven’t voted in recent elections. There’s no requirement that citizens must vote in every election or even in the last few elections. That shouldn’t be a valid reason to be purged.

  88. 88.

    Baud

    @jl:

    they’ll sell ‘Trump Dump’ paperweights to celebrate the great event?

    That’ll complement our Dump Trump paperweight nicely.

  92. 92.

    Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism

    Quick kitten update before I crash. (Been a long day.)

    These may be the first kitties I’ve ever met who were thoroughly unimpressed with tuna.

    We’ve progressed to brief belleh rubs (Maysie) and face bumps and purrs (Tux). Picking them up still causes them to sing “Don’t fence me in”, though.

    They’ve managed to lose the first two toys we gave them.

    No escape attempts yet. Also no hiding. We’re greeted with “Where’s the food!” when we open the door.

    So things are moving along nicely. Many blessings on Amy for a wonderful job socializing these darlings.

  93. 93.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @JPL:

    It’s a parody (and can be sung to the tune of) “The Farmer and the Colman Should Be Friends” from Oklahoma! by Rodgers and Hammerstein. But yeah, the parody version is original.

    Link to original. It’s fun.

  96. 96.

    cmorenc

    Hard-core MAGAs are too dumb to realize they are “owning” themselves, not the libs, with the sharpie MAGA bling – the libs are ROTFL over the self-inflicted idiocy of the whole sharpie thing.

  98. 98.

    Jay

    @satby:

    My Mom left my 3 month old brother in the pram, with the brake on, at the top of the stairs, with the baby gate closed and locked.

    He somehow managed to get the pram rolling, the baby gate open, and rode it down 2 flights of stairs,

    To wind up with a skull fracture and a concussion, the first of many.

    When we lived in Fredricton, the “first sign of spring”, according to the ER Doctors, was one of us boys showing up with a significant trauma.

  104. 104.

    PsiFighter37

    @sukabi: After some trial/error, we are thinking that part of it may have to do with formula – she had Enfamil at the hospital, but we were using Simalac when we first got home, which she adapted to well. But we ran out, and we had some Enfamil on hand (they somehow knew we were having a kid and mailed us a sample ahead of time), and that is when the trouble started. Now she’s been back on Simalac the past couple of feedings, and on balance, it has gone a lot better. Hopefully that is all, but we’ll see.

    We are breastfeeding as well, but my wife’s milk is on the slower side coming in since the baby was in the NICU and we could not spend as much time with her – so she is probably having more formula on balance relative to milk at this point.

  105. 105.

    Bill Arnold

    @debbie:

    How long until cars are Sharpied because they look like they’re owned by Libtards? //

    Good point. I hope this does not become a thing.
    FWIW sharpie marks can be removed by acetone, and nail polish remover and strong ethyl alcohol (denatured, or 190 proof e.g. everclear, if you happen to have that around; :-) will work. I see notes on the internet suggesting that acetone won’t remove paint but I’d test with a cotton swab on a hidden spot first.

  107. 107.

    MisterForkbeard

    @PsiFighter37: My wife’s milk never completely came in, so we were always on a milk/formula combo. Same deal.

    One of our nurses did warn us against switching formulas – particular if we were switching “style”, like normal to lactose intolerant or hypoallergenic. They get confused, as does their body. The nurses advice was to move to hypoallergenic first, because it tastes weird and if you need to switch to it later then the baby might reject it.

    Glad to hear it’s coming together. E joy your sleep while you can. :)

  108. 108.

    Sab

    @satby: Wow. I am also surprised you survived th ER with a banged up baby.

    My (not ex) husband has a hard time thinking through possible bad consequences until they are imminent. OTOH my dad was a pathologist, so we were raised to think that anything that might kill you probably will.

    It’s not always easy to strike a balance between those points of view.

  110. 110.

    Bill Arnold

    @Patricia Kayden:

    That shouldn’t be a valid reason to be purged.

    That needed a snark tag perhaps.
    An interesting question is why is it legal to invalidly purge thousands of voters from the rolls and criminally illegal to e.g. double vote.

  112. 112.

    Kay

    @PsiFighter37:

    She is also having trouble falling asleep; she is basically up for more than an hour every time, which, in my understanding, is way too long for a kiddo less than 1 week old. Any thoughts or advice on what to do? We decided to let her cry it out a little after the last feeding (which neither my wife or I really like), but she soothed herself and was asleep in 15 minutes.

    Opinions differ, but I really think they need a schedule. Consistency is calming. She’ll figure it out amazingly quickly. You’ll be less chaotic and frazzled too, and that helps her. I think you did it exactly right with 15 minutes. If she’s fed and clean and warm just use that as a guideline time before you intervene. I personally think there’s a window where they can calm themselves and go to sleep and when that closes (because you interrupted it and extended wake time) they get over-tired and frantic and it’s much harder. So give her the 15 minutes.

  114. 114.

    CliosFanBoy

    OK, I’m a married man and we never had kids, so tell me. Does a mother still producing milk interfere with sex play involving the woman’s breasts??

  118. 118.

    --bd

    Let’s see. Multiple things I can hit on here.

    Our family also did the adopt the pair thing with two black cat brothers about 10 years ago. They’ve been incredible, except for the part where they chewed apart the nylon drawstrings on our horizontal blinds all over the house. We now have three or four of them stuck as partially open, due to the shortened cords. I am currently looking at a school display tri-fold board that covers one of the windows. We’ll deal with in when they’re gone, I guess.

    Regarding baby, we had ours on 1998 and 2001. A pack and play next to the bed was very helpful. There were many times when my wife would just lean over, grab the baby, have them latch, get in a feeding, and get them back to bed, all while still half asleep. Also, the swaddling does help. We referred to it as “Baby Burrito” (sung to ” La Cucaracha”). And we had to do this all without streaming services. If the only thing on was an infomercial, we watched it. And we liked it!

  119. 119.

    J R in WV

    @Jay:

    I recently received two boxes of family artifacts, photos, a diary, and many letters my grandma wrote to her family back home in KY. One my wife laughed at pretty hard was when grandma told the folks back home about new grandchild (me) who ran off the porch and fell down. Perhaps My First Concussion~!!~ about a 4 foot fall.

    I don’t recall myself, but I am told that I was riding my new tricycle in the kitchen, hit the screen door, and launched myself off a second story porch, to land in bushes below, also no real harm. About a 12 foot fall, but into bushes. No eyes poked or anything.

    My first real concussion was when a cousin and I were throwing rock into a pool of water. Cousin went up the hill behind us to get more splash, hit me in the head, knocked me cold. Off to the Dr, clamps to close up my wound. I don’t recall a thing as I was knocked cold. Kids are sturdy creatures, at least some of us. I must have a really thick skull. Really thick, just ask wife!

  122. 122.

    satby

    @PsiFighter37: if you supplement with formula your wife will continue to produce less milk. The baby nursing to empty is what signals the body to increase milk production. Lactation consultants used to tell new parents not to supplement but the formula industry is pushy. And iron fortified formula causes lots of upsets in young babies, so I would avoid those. Honestly, I donated all the freebie formula and just fed the baby. While my milk caught up to his needs (my firstborn was a baby Godzilla) he just nursed every 45 minutes or so for a day or two. Then we were in synch.

  123. 123.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Aleta:

    I don’t know the backstory, except what I was able to glean from this reporter’s earlier tweets and the comments on his threads, but this sounds seriously fucked up. I take it the US changed visa policy suddenly and without any explanation. Or was it the cruise ships that changed long-standing practice? I’m going to poke around for a more coherent timeline and explanation, but in the meantime if you can fill in the narrative, or point me to a good source, I’d appreciate it.

  125. 125.

    Chyron HR

    @Aleta:

    I hope a Justice and/or Sunshine Democrat is available to explain to the evacuees why it was so important to destroy the Neoliberal Status Quo back in November 2016.

  126. 126.

    Aleta

    @SiubhanDuinne: All I know is from his twitter, where the information starts before people boarded, having being told they had the necessary docs. A passport and a clean police record. Which is (was) all that is required before the storm for people to fly Bahamas to US. (I don’t know is ships had the same policy. This ship (where people had boarded and then were told by loudspeaker announcement that CBP wanted them to get off) is called a ferry. (Cruise ship acting as ferry or always a ferry, I don’t know.) The boat is now 2 hours out; the tweeter is on the boat.

    Meanwhile I hear T is saying he’s saved lives in the Bahamas; and (also on that twitter account) a woman who visited a main hospital says it is without electricity and water, nurses using their phones as flashlights.

  127. 127.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Aleta:

    Thanks, Aleta. That aligns with what I had winkled out from reading his earlier tweets. As is the case almost daily with this maladministration, it is both heartbreaking and rage-inducing.

  128. 128.

    Aleta

    @lurker dean: Yeah my gut says Steven Miller and his gang members might have been busy issuing a new illegal ‘workaround’ policy to CPB, to quiet their racist racing thoughts. But that’s not based on a report, just my anger and reasonable paranoia sprouting from Miller’s past vitae.

    Why leave 130 people (prob more) who had passage out, in a place without enough water and food and medicine for those remaining. Feels like the other Republican messaging by intent to harm and kill.

  129. 129.

    Jay

    @J R in WV:

    I have to laugh, as my Brother bespawned 5 kids that are the same.

    3 girls, 2 boys, hundreds of stitches.

    And as an Uncle, I’m not helping. Showed the girlies years ago how to climb cables.

  130. 130.

    Aleta

    Brian Entin @BrianEntin
    29 minutes ago

    A little more from crew on the ferry. They say they were told it was ok to accept Bahamian evacuees with passport and copy of police record. They boarded boat. Then when they sent manifest to US Customs and Border Patrol — they were told those without visas would not be accepted.

    23 minutes ago
    What is interesting is cruise ship Grand Celebration evacuted more than 1000 Bahamians Friday and they did not require visas — was ok to just have passport and police record. What changed since then?

  131. 131.

    PsiFighter37

    @satby: Interesting. All the advice we have been given – even at the hospital – was to pump out the extra milk after feeding time. I’ll suggest to my wife that perhaps she goes longer; the only issue(?) is that we have zero idea how much our baby is getting. Since she was born on the smaller side (around 6.5 pounds), having a firm metric helps me feel more comfortable that she is getting the nutrition she needs to catch up in size.

  132. 132.

    Original Lee

    @PsiFighter37: It could be a combination of gas from something your wife is eating and gas from swallowing air while nursing. Some kids don’t latch on properly every time, which leads to the second problem. My daughter also proved to be sensitive to chocolate in any quantity eaten by me, garlic, and green peppers. We had to burp her very vigorously after every feeding. She also had a highly variable schedule at first because the gas bubbles were so dependent on both my diet and her latching skills.

  133. 133.

    Fair Economist

    @lurker dean:

    there was a great thread yesterday on how the abaco islands were a haven for american slaves because the bahamas didn’t allow slavery. so sad to see the administration shunning these people.

    Neoconfederates punishing an anti-slavery haven? Not exactly shocking.

  134. 134.

    Original Lee

    @PsiFighter37: One way is to weigh her diapers and also keep track of how often she poops. Her soiled/wet diapers should be noticeably heavier than dry ones – at least 4 ounces, IIRC. This is something we had to do when we discovered my daughter was inconsistently latching. A kitchen scale will do for now. We also rented a baby scale, which maybe was a little over the top, but when we could see a definite upward trend in her weight, we felt much better.

  135. 135.

    Gretchen

    @PsiFighter37: It’s not important to know how much the baby is getting, or worrying that they are getting « too much » or « too little ». I think any pumping this early is a bad idea. The only way to get milk production in line with the baby’s needs is to have all milk production done by the baby. Pumping tires out the mother, doesn’t help the baby, and confuses the milk production. And absolutely don’t start formula this early unless advised to do so by the doctor because of milk production problems. Any nutrition the baby gets from formula is going to cut into baby’s nursing, which will feedback into less milk production.
    It’s not a problem that the baby doesn’t go right back to sleep after every feeding. Newborns sleep about 16 hours a day, which means they are awake for 8. Unfortunately, they often decide that the 8 they want to be awake is in the middle of the night, and that’s when you gently urge them to sleep at night and be awake during the daily.
    La Lèche League is a great resource for new parents needing breastfeeding information. They have monthly meetings in most areas, which are also a good way to meet other mothers of newborns. Leaders are available to advise over the phone and are knowledgeable about all the challenges of a newborn. llli.org/breastfeeding-info/is-baby-getting-enough/
    You sound really worried. I hope you can find some support from doctor, family, La Leche, that you’re doing fine and the baby is fine. The first few weeks, months are rough just from a lack of sleep point of view, but it sounds pretty normal. Good luck!

  136. 136.

    Gretchen

    @PsiFighter37: Less than a week old is early to try to impose a schedule. It takes some time for the baby to settle into its new life and figure out what’s what. I was told with my first baby to feed her every four hours. On our first day home, she started crying after two. I tried to doggedly hold out, but realized I was hungry too, even though I’d only eaten 2 hours ago. I threw the schedule out the window and fed us both when we were hungry. Sometimes they were far apart, sometimes, during growth spurts, they were close together. The baby hasn’t read the schedule.
    Then I had premature twins, and they ate every 2 hours around the clock, not always on the same 2 hour schedule.
    If you let the baby lead and tell you when she’s hungry and when she’s tired, she’ll settle into a schedule. But it will probably take a few weeks. Be patient and take it easy on yourselves.

  137. 137.

    Gretchen

    @PsiFighter37: @PsiFighter37: Sorry, I didn’t see that she had been in NICU and had been getting formula. But if she is still only a week old, breastfeeding would still be getting established whatever the circumstances. I guess it depends on which way you want to go, formula or breastfeeding. But if breastfeeding is the way to go, the less formula, the more breastfeeding will get established. If breastfeeding is the way you want to go, your pediatrician may have a lactation consultant on staff who could advise, or just a visit with one of the nurses to reassure you that you’re doing fine.

  138. 138.

    Suzanne

    @PsiFighter37: I pumped out after every feeding for the first six weeks. But I was also trying to build up a surplus for now that I am back to work. We had to supplement with formula for the first week because she was over nine pounds and was losing too much weight.

    Forget the schedule. They just won’t get it for a while and you’ll just be frustrated on top of exhausted. Spawn the Youngest is now ten weeks old (is currently latched on to left boob) and is doing awesome with seven-hour stretches at night. I am convinced that they just can’t do schedules when they’re that little.

  139. 139.

    Aleta

    Brian Entin @BrianEntin

    3 hours ago
    Just got official statement from Customs and Border Protection.

    “CBP was notified of a vessel preparing to embark an unknown number of passengers in Freeport and requested that the operator of the vessel coordinate with U.S. and Bahamian government officials.”
    This ferry I’m on is operated by Balearia — a major company with a regular schedule

    1 hour ago
    Just interviewed @CBPFlorida when we got off ferry in FL. They say they would have accepted and processed the Bahamians, and blame the ferry company Balearia.

    CBP says they tried to coordinate with Balearia but company “made a business decision” to take the evacuees off the boat.

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