Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Find someone who loves you the way trump and maga love traitors.

You passed on an opportunity to be offended? What are you even doing here?

Sadly, media malpractice has become standard practice.

I’m more christian than these people and i’m an atheist.

The current Supreme Court is a dangerous, rogue court.

“Facilitate” is an active verb, not a weasel word.

It is possible to do the right thing without the promise of a cookie.

Hi god, it’s us. Thanks a heap, you’re having a great week and it’s only Thursday!

So very ready.

He really is that stupid.

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

Text STOP to opt out of updates on war plans.

Impressively dumb. Congratulations.

If America since Jan 2025 hasn’t broken your heart, you haven’t loved her enough.

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

With all due respect and assumptions of good faith, please fuck off into the sun.

Beware of advice from anyone for whom Democrats are “they” and not “we.”

Only Democrats have agency, apparently.

Let’s not be the monsters we hate.

Baby steps, because the Republican Party is full of angry babies.

Anne Laurie is a fucking hero in so many ways. ~ Betty Cracker

I am pretty sure these ‘journalists’ were not always such a bootlicking sycophants.

We will not go quietly into the night; we will not vanish without a fight.

Republicans do not trust women.

You are here: Home / Elections / Election 2020 / Wednesday Morning Open Thread: Joe Biden for President, ASAP

Wednesday Morning Open Thread: Joe Biden for President, ASAP

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  2. 2.

    SFAW

    But his lack of e-mails! But he stutters! But he doesn’t threaten his political enemies! But he doesn’t try to kill people in states where governors don’t kiss his ass!

    And you libtards want to reward THOSE behaviors? Instead, shouldn’t you vote for a strong, manly-man, stable-geniusy, brave Murderer-in-Chief?

  3. 3.

    NotMax

    Morning tuneage.

    While I maintain a deep and abiding distaste for the show, this group pulls off a distanced rendition of one number with panache.

  4. 4.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    Two of my stupid children are all-in on rose twitter’s “Joe Biden is a rapist” thing.

  11. 11.

    Barbara

    Seeing Trump day after day completely unmoved at the level of death and suffering is bad. Seeing him fixated on his own needs and wants, and especially, his desire to resume rallies at the same time is enraging. When my husband starts any response with “what else can you expect”? I get even more amped up. We should never accept this as normal. We have a RIGHT to expect better.

  14. 14.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Barbara: I don’t think anyone around these parts has accepted anything from the Soviet shitpile mobster conman as “normal.”

    By the way, you can take a mental break from the madness.  I know it might seem like giving in, but we all need a break from the shitshow every now and then.

    We’ll be here. :)

    ETA – see Ozark at #12.  I’m not even going to touch that trash link.  Not worth my time.  Preserving sanity.

  15. 15.

    Geminid

    A good cartoon might show, from above and behind, a heavyset man with funny hair hunched over a desk eating something, with a couple empty Big Mac cartons in front of him. And on the corner of the desk a sign with an arrow pointing away: “The Buck Stops There.”

  16. 16.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @mrmoshpotato:

    My other stupid child is pretty normal, and is using this life break to hone crafting skills and mushroom/wild vegetable foraging knowledge.

  18. 18.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @OzarkHillbilly:

     

    There isn’t – it’s weaponized “me too”, all victims must be believed and all accusations are credible.

  19. 19.

    WereBear

    The thing I find difficult to understand is how slowly some people’s minds seem to be moving. Even in the midst of an emergency.

    Not that I don’t notice it. Mr WereBear was in despair over the slow acceptance of Joe Biden, and and said, “Give it time,” and so it is. People have to give up, as I have, their favorite, mourn, absorb the new options, etc.

    But this certainly explains why the military trains “act don’t think” in so many of their personnel, because what is there to think about that doesn’t take about five seconds?

  20. 20.

    oldster

    We all know that there are a million ways to attack trump: for his racism, his corruption, his sexual assaults, and so on.

    But one line of attack that I hope Biden will employ says simply,

    “You know, you’re just not very good at your job.”

    I think that this would resonate with a lot of people right now. Even some maggots, or former maggots.

  22. 22.

    Barbara

    @mrmoshpotato: Yes, I am mostly lurking these days. My point was how easy it is to slip into normalizing sociopathic behavior even when you know it isn’t normal.

  24. 24.

    Betty Cracker

    @Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: One technique that seems to dent my young radicals’ purity armor is to out-flank them on cynicism. Maybe it depends on the personality, but as idealistic as they are, it seems to embarrass the youngs to be thought naive. “Of course we have to vote for shitty, compromised men. What do you think this is, Fairy Gumdrop Land?”

  25. 25.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    I’d like to think that “I volunteer you as tribute” as a rallying cry for conservatism would also serve as the epitaph on its grave, but that is overly wishful thinking, isn’t it?

  26. 26.

    zhena gogolia

    @Betty Cracker:

    Joe Biden is not a shitty, compromised man. He’s a dedicated public servant, two-term successful Vice President who was trusted by the greatest president of my lifetime, Barack Obama.

  27. 27.

    zhena gogolia

    I’m not going to participate in badmouthing THE ONLY PERSON WHO STANDS BETWEEN US AND THE APOCALYPSE this time.

  28. 28.

    raven

    @OzarkHillbilly: I managed to do pretty decent a pretty decent scarf joint with my circular saw and rip fence. When I put them in what should I do at the joint, screw, glue, nail???

  30. 30.

    Tony Jay

    I wish that the Scottish Nationalists and the Liberal Democrats hadn’t made their catastrophic decision to abandon the hitherto successful strategy of making Bozo Johnson own the stalled Brexit process and give him the December Election he so craved. I get why they did it. The SNP preferred the political advantages of running against a Little Englander Tory Government to the trickier tap-dance of supporting a Labour Government or being part of a Coalition, while the Lib-Dems had a politically incompetent leader who mistook Media adulation for her extremist anti-Labour stance as electoral viability, but in hindsight they chose a short term partisan gain for very long term national pain.

    Just imagine, the UK could be three months into a humiliating (for Bozo) Brexit extension and still have the prospect of a General Election in which the utter failure of Tory ideology to deal with the C-19 pandemic would have been so fresh in people’s minds that the Media would have had a much harder job pretending that the lying health-care privatisers were the rational grown-ups while the progressives who wanted to invest in the NHS were deluded radicals.

    Breaks my heart.

  32. 32.

    debbie

    @zhena gogolia:

    I wish my stomach were stronger and that I could watch him more. I am convinced the way he does his jazz hands thing is a tell on the degree of the lie he’s spouting, but I can’t bring myself to start taking notes.

  36. 36.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @raven: Glue, Off the top of my head is Liquid Nails, but I have to think there is something better used by boat builders so do some research. And then let me know what you use so I don’t have to do the research myself if I ever have such a project.   :-)

  39. 39.

    rikyrah

    @Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes:

    Do they really think that Michelle Obama didn’t have Biden vetted within an inch of his life before he was announced as Obama’s running mate???

    Are you kidding me?

    That both his rivals in 2008 and 2012 wouldn’t have hesitated to use it against Obama.

     

    Purse Your Lips and ask them why McCain and Romney didn’t bring this up. She has been shopping this story for that long.?

  40. 40.

    mrmoshpotato

    @oldster:

    But one line of attack that I hope Biden will employ says simply,

    “You know, you’re just not very good at your job.”

    What job?  Being a Soviet shitpile mobster conman owned by foreign enemies?  Causing chaos?

    Pretty damn good at both, the traitorous bastard is.

    His “job” is not President of the United States.

  45. 45.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Barbara: Understood.  It can erode your sense of “normal.” Especially when it’s a firehose of shit on full blast.

  46. 46.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Police in Canada have updated the death toll of the country’s worst mass shooting to 22, as more victims from the gun rampage in Nova Scotia were publicly identified.

    The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) had previously warned the death toll would increase as investigators combed through several homes intentionally set ablaze by the gunman in a 12-hour rampage that started late on Saturday in the town of Portapique. On Tuesday, 16 separate crime scenes were being examined across the province.

    Portraits of those killed if you aren’t already depressed enough.

  54. 54.

    Baud

    @mrmoshpotato:

    I understand the idea, but I’m with Zhena. Escalating the cynicism game is a long term loser for us. Cynicism promotes Republicanism IMHO.  It does not work for a party that depends on cooperation and solidarity among diverse groups of people to get things done.  Better to let some voters go than to chase them down the rabbit hole.

  59. 59.

    raven

    @Spanky: k. So I fit the two sheets in, pull the top one and apply the glue? Obviously I’m not worried about how it will look since it’s used for haulin compost and such.

  63. 63.

    Baud

    NYT take on Biden.

    Is Biden Gaining Older Voters, and Losing Young Ones?

    NYT > Top Stories / by Nate Cohn / 2h

    Even modest differences could prove crucial in an election that begins with numbers and coalitions very similar to those in 2016

    I didn’t read the article but I assume it’s garbage.

  65. 65.

    Geminid

    @raven: one epoxy glue-up in the open air won’t hurt you, and they probably changed the formulation after so many boatbuilders who used epoxy in the 70’s and 80’s got brain and other cancers. But a friend of mine was an excellent furniture builder; he built many of the painted mahogany benches and gates that can be seen in the gardens behind the U.Va. Lawn. When he started his business in 1977 he ruled out kitchen cabinets because the adhesives were toxic, but he used epoxy for all outside furniture, and he used a lot. When Gorilla Glue came along in the 90’s David checked it out and switched. Several years later he died at age 57 with multiple cancers of the kind often seen in boatbuilders.

  68. 68.

    Spanky

    @raven: Sounds like a plan! BTW, my reasoning for Liquid Nails over epoxy is that epoxy does not stick to waxy surfaces, which PT lumber is  in my experience. Plus, LN is designed to stick even with flexing and movement, and some epoxies are and some aren’t.

  72. 72.

    Tony Jay

    @rikyrah:

    There are receipts. Lots of them. The place is littered with them. But we’re cursed with a bought and paid for Media that operates under standing orders best summarised as “I’m very sorry, Sir, but we’re not currently honouring receipts for those particular goods and services”

    Fuckem.

  75. 75.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Raven: (Actually drinking Liquid Nails is not recommended.  G. Heileman Brewing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin*)

    *I don’t know.  I just starting reading what I was writing in the Old Style voice.

  76. 76.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Spanky: The problem with Liquid nails that I see is it gets brittle over time. I would think something with flex would be better. I’m really not sure what it would be tho.

  78. 78.

    rikyrah

    Georgia, Tennessee, Ohio, and South Carolina are reopening. Reporters should look for a spike in cases in those states and also in surrounding states over the next 3-4 weeks. Hold the politicians eager to please Donald accountable for the deaths. t.co/6piRWXQkBB— Marcus H. Johnson (@marcushjohnson) April 22, 2020

  79. 79.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Baud: It’s almost like we are a really bad virus that the victim has now developed  some limited immunity too.

  80. 80.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    @Barbara:

    Yeah, I think I’m resisting normalization of Trump and R insanity, but then I see a clip of “normal,” and I realize I’d forgotten what that felt like.

    That “Lion Sleeps Tonight” parody is brilliant.

  83. 83.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Baud: The stay-at-home orders are because of death.

    I want to slap all of those “Nature is healing” tweeters.  It ignores the horribleness of what’s going on.

  85. 85.

    Baud

    @mrmoshpotato:

    No it doesn’t. None of them that I’ve seen are saying that the virus or the lockdown are a good thing.  It’s no different than when we say that the virus has shown the country the value of universal health care or better worker protections.

  86. 86.

    JPL

    @rikyrah: Restaurants near me can open next week, but several places are going to delay.   An owner of three restaurants stated that his employees are concerned about their safety and he understands that.

  90. 90.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @JPL: 

    So can we assume that this will end free refills and fast food lobby soda fountains?

  91. 91.

    rikyrah

    NEW – State health officials in Wisconsin told ABC News Tuesday that so far 19 people who have either voted in-person or worked at a polling site on election day have tested positive for Covid-19 after 4/9, two days after the spring election.Today marks 2 weeks since election— Kendall Karson (@kendallkarson) April 21, 2020

  92. 92.

    oldster

    @mrmoshpotato:

    Yup. And part of the point of Biden’s starting with that first line of modest attack (“he’s not good at his job”) is to set his proxies up for the second line of harder attack that you took (“so what job is he doing? And who does he work for?”).

  93. 93.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Baud: I see no evidence of that in those tweets.  “Nature is healing.” Well, kumbifuckingya.

    Also, to be pedantic, it’s the shitbag Rethuglican death cult’s horrid response that has shown us the value of universal healthcare and worker protections.  (For the greedy assholes who needed to be shown.) But what’s to be expected when the mob currently runs the Executive branch?

  94. 94.

    germy

    Fox News, which has been calling Nancy Pelosi an out-of-touch elitist for having ice cream in her fridge, apparently thinks middle-class families hire au pairs from overseas. t.co/9g6WweSP2Q

    — Kevin M. Kruse (@KevinMKruse) April 22, 2020

  95. 95.

    Steeplejack

    No easy way to say it: the housecat has died. Her name was Stella. She went into a steep decline last week, and I had to have her put to sleep early Friday morning. I was with her at the end, holding her in my arms, and it went about as well as could be expected.

    I took her in Thursday night (to the 24-hour/emergency vet place) after a couple of days of no appetite, occasional vomiting and general physical shakiness. The plan on Thursday night was to run some blood tests, give her IV fluids and try to get her blood pressure up, with an eye toward more extensive tests and possibly an ultrasound during office hours on Friday. But the night vet called me at 5:00 a.m. to say that her condition had declined and that he didn’t know how long she would last. I had thought—hoped—that she was just dehydrated, but it turned out that she had a mass in her abdomen, probably cancer. I think she was ready to go.

    So I drove to the facility, reviewed her situation with the vet and spent some time with Stella. He said an ultrasound would no doubt confirm the abdominal mass and that she was not a good candidate for surgery. So I decided to let her go. I cradled her in a blanket while the vet gave her two shots through the IV line, one to put her out and the other to finish things. It was peaceful.

    The apartment is empty without her, of course, and I still catch myself going into the little microhabits built up over years: checking the water bowl, looking for her out of the corner of my eye, automatically turning on her heating pad when I sit down at the computer, etc.

    What else to say? She was a good cat. She made it almost to age 20 (in June), and I had her for eight of those years. We had a good run. RIP, Stella.

    ETA: I don’t want to make a big thing out of this, but I have mentioned the housecat quite often, and I couldn’t have her just disappear from the narrative with no explanation. Thank you all for your kind thoughts.

  98. 98.

    Baud

    @mrmoshpotato: Whatever.  I think we should always be observing the world around us, and the shutdown gives us a window into nature that is unprecedented and educational.  I have no problem with it.

  101. 101.

    germy

    A triggered Tucker Carlson criticizes AOC for not supporting the oil industry and responds with “go back to Westchester you entitled moron” pic.twitter.com/KuRvm1MO3i

    — Acyn Torabi (@Acyn) April 22, 2020

    My mom learned English at 23 and sent 2 kids to college scrubbing toilets after my dad died. She raised the youngest woman elected to Congress.

    You should take your classist garbage & realize that the workers YOU rely on to eat are not ‘disappointments’ or unworthy human beings. t.co/H2krsGVFtP

    — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) April 21, 2020

  104. 104.

    germy

    @Steeplejack:  She was fortunate to have a loving human.

    After our cat passed, I kept seeing him out of the corner of my eye.  This went on for about a month or so.

  108. 108.

    Gin & Tonic

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    but I have to think there is something better used by boat builders

    In my experience, the primary marine adhesives are two-part stuff that raven probably won’t want to deal with: resorcinols and epoxies.

  109. 109.

    mrmoshpotato

    @germy: I seriously don’t see why Fucker isn’t just an idle rich douche.  His family has money out the ears.

    (Please note the “idle.”)

  110. 110.

    Immanentize

    @Steeplejack: Very very sad, Steeplejack.  Please try and recall those excellent times with Stella.  You must have loved yelling her name at the top of your lungs when she was a crazy little kitten.

  112. 112.

    rikyrah

    ????

    The Multnomah County Republican Party passed a resolution Monday chiding Oregon Gov. Brown for ordering business and school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic. The document accuses Brown of prioritizing human life over economic stability.t.co/4KnEpQV29Z— Portland Mercury ? (@portlandmercury) April 21, 2020

  115. 115.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    All of my pets are in roughly the same age band. There’s going to be some dark days in about 10 years.

  116. 116.

    Jeffro

    @Baud: Very exciting to think that by this time next year, America will have its first female VP!

    I have favorites among the folks Biden is looking at, but any of them would be fantastic.

  117. 117.

    germy

    @mrmoshpotato:  I feel the same way when I see drumpf standing uncomfortably next to one of his minions during a press conference.

    If I’d been born with his money, I wouldn’t be standing in some ugly conference room under bright lights wearing a blue suit and red tie (like Popeye’s Wimpy), I’d be relaxing and pursuing hobbies and generally enjoying life.

  118. 118.

    raven

    @OzarkHillbilly: got it. The original boards had big carriage bolts with these weird offset washers that were countersunk. Those boards were solid wood and I’m assuming countersinking into plywood is not good?

  119. 119.

    mrmoshpotato

    @rikyrah: (giant bong hit) Like the economy can go on without us.  We made it, and like if we love it, we should set it free, or something.

  120. 120.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Geminid: Modern marine epoxies are different. When I was building my boat a few years ago, there were no toxic fumes at all (that I’m aware of, anyway.)

  124. 124.

    Jeffro

    @germy: Tucker Carlson calling anyone ‘entitled’ just floors me.

    I think AOC went on to point out he’s a millionaire frozen foods heir (or married to one)…was quite funny.  =)

  125. 125.

    mrmoshpotato

    @germy: Yeah, but Dump wasn’t content with just being rich (back when he actually had money).  He also knew/knows he and his dad (Fred) are scumbags, so he needs power to counter that.

  126. 126.

    Betty Cracker

    @Steeplejack: I’m so sorry. “Microhabits” is a great way to describe those little rituals that go along with living with a pet — or any loved one, really. Microhabits go unnoticed until they become a constant reminder of a loved one’s absence. Rest in piece, Stella.

  127. 127.

    Glidwrith

    Apropos of nothing in particular:

    Moscow Mitch

    He had a twitch

    He couldn’t work for a black man

    Moscow Mitch

    He drove the country into a ditch

    Because he couldn’t stan

  129. 129.

    Amir Khalid

    @germy:

    If Trump had done nothing with the money his daddy gave him but sit on it, he’d be a multibillionaire for realz today.

  130. 130.

    Spanky

    @Steeplejack:I don’t want to make a big thing out of this

    But it IS a big thing. Peace be to you, my friend! You did right by her, and made her last years the best she had. And eased her passing, which is the most loving thing of all.

  131. 131.

    WereBear

    @germy: Supporting my hunch that it’s the “elites” who are behind the agitation over personal care workers being forced back to work.

    They don’t do their own hair and makeup! This is an outrage!

  132. 132.

    Scuffletuffle

    @Steeplejack: I am so very sorry for your loss…what a horrible decision to have to make at an already stressful time. Remember that you gave her the best possible life. Peace.

  137. 137.

    germy

    @Amir Khalid:  That’s what I would have done if I’d inherited that kind of wealth.  Quietly invest it in index funds or something, and then go on to enjoy my life.  Without hurting anyone else.

    He literally went the opposite route.  He had something to prove to his father.  The rest of us suffer for his toxic family dynamics.

  138. 138.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @raven: I would use carriage bolts without the washers, they don’t need them, except for the underside where you want lock washers. I have gotten to the point where I use nylock nuts for most everything but I don’t know how well they would hold up over time in that environment. Than again, you don’t have to worry about road salt so…

    shrug

    ETA, just to be clear, I am talking about the bolts thru the frame members.

  141. 141.

    Elizabelle

    @Steeplejack:   Sorry to hear this.  Stella had a good life with you.  Heated throw at her work station and all.  RIP the housecat.

    I hope another lucky cat is in your future, when you’re ready.

  143. 143.

    Salty Sam

    @Spanky:@raven: Boatbuilding adhesives probably aren’t the best with pt ply. Stick with liquid nails and screws

    Boatbuilder here- agree with Spanky, PT wood doesn’t like epoxy. Resorcinol glue is best, but won’t fill gaps well, so your joint must be better than “OK”.  Titebond works too, I’d use that before Liquid Nails.

  144. 144.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @WereBear: Which always makes me wonder, don’t they know they can get it from their hairdresser who got it from another client just last week?

  145. 145.

    raven

    @OzarkHillbilly: Roger. I managed to remove the old ones and thought maybe just using the carriage bolts would work. One part of the lip on the bed was rotted so I bolted 1′ angle iron over it for support. I used Thompson on the plywood and spar urethane on the edges so now I just have to drag all that stuff back up the hill and see if it flys. Oh yea, used a plane and belt sander on the edges.

  147. 147.

    Miss Bianca

    @rikyrah:

    The document accuses Brown of prioritizing human life over economic stability.

    Uh…yeah.

    Oh, God. I.Can’t.Even. this morning.

  148. 148.

    Joe Falco

    @rikyrah: Yes. Yes, they would. Whatever justifications they have in their head, parents absolutely would send their children back to school in the fall if the pandemic were to continue or worsen. And damn them if they do.

  152. 152.

    satby

    @Baud: I agree. “They’re all corrupt” is the offspring of “both sides”. And it’s part of the erosion of the notion that there’s a common good we all should both aspire to and contribute to. And one of those contributions is by voting, another is by going into public service in the first place. There are a lot of good public servants.

  156. 156.

    WereBear

    @OzarkHillbilly: Which always makes me wonder, don’t they know they can get it from their hairdresser who got it from another client just last week?

    Having researched this in some depth: no.

    Because they are special. And so, they think all kinds of laws do not apply, from civic to biology.

  157. 157.

    David Evans

    @mrmoshpotato: We have not magically replaced all the trucks that carry our food with electric vehicles. The current reduction in pollution is not sustainable. It shows what we can and should do in the long run, but not this year.

  158. 158.

    rikyrah

    Important: Milwaukee, Wisconsin's City Council has unanimously voted to mail every one of the city's 300,000 registered voters an absentee mail ballot application with prepaid return postage. The GOP blocked efforts to do so statewide for April's elections t.co/ym1EBYzsqF— Stephen Wolf (@PoliticsWolf) April 21, 2020

  159. 159.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @rikyrah: I finally watched that. I am now shaking with remembered fear and anger. Anyone who has ever held a child’s hand in such a situation, trying to help him or her with their fears, 24/7, not being able to do much more than give them love because it is all one has to offer knows what I am talking about. I said silent prayers to a god I knew doesn’t exist that the doctors would find the magic elixir that would save his life.

    I’ve never giving voice to that abject terror because there is no room for it. I buried it, but it is still with me, waiting, haunting, merciless.

  160. 160.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @satby: All politicians suffer when held up against a Platonic ideal.  I don’t know if it is the fairy stories we were told about Washington and Lincoln when we were kids, but Americans set expectations far too high for political leaders and then use that politician’s inability to be Kal-El as a reason to justify cynicism.

    I am not looking for perfection in a candidate.  I want a smart, decent person who will their best for the country.  Oddly enough, the Democratic primary had a bunch of those.  One of them won.

  161. 161.

    Geminid

    @Raven: also Gorilla Glue is soap and water cleanup.             I sometimes use epoxy glue for small glue ups. But I kind of wanted to memorialize a good woodworker.

  162. 162.

    WereBear

    @David Evans: We have not magically replaced all the trucks that carry our food with electric vehicles.

     
    For one thing, why not bring back the “milk float” and the vegetable cart and bread delivery?

    Instead of hundreds of vehicles showing up in parking lots, have a few vehicles make deliveries to all those homes.

  165. 165.

    debbie

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    I’m very far from a builder, but Gorilla Glue has never failed me. When I move out of here, the landlord will not be amused by its many applications around here.

  166. 166.

    Geminid

    @Geminid:  Anyone walking in the gardens near the U. VA. Rotunda can see David Tyler’s work. The benches and gates he built are reproductions of work commissioned in the 1920’s, and should last a while.

  167. 167.

    NotMax

    @WereBear

    Single income families no longer the standard they once were. Under ‘normal’ conditions there is no one at home to take delivery anymore.

  171. 171.

    TomatoQueen

    @Steeplejack: Housecat Stella on the Bridge. A long and worthy life, and having done those microhabits, that’s her spirit just brushing against your legs one last time as she goes. RIP.

  174. 174.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @different-church-lady:

    “I volunteer you as tribute. Tough choices have to be made in order to promote God-Emperor Trump and to keep already-comfortable people as comfortable as possible, and if some of you have to die to make that happen, that is a decision that I am willing to make.”

  175. 175.

    schrodingers_cat

    BTW what is with Birx and her god awful scarves. I usually like silk scarves but I just  can’t stand them on her for some reason. Her entire wardrobe, including the hair bugs me.

  184. 184.

    different-church-lady

    @Immanentize:

    I’ve been thinking about you a lot.

    I beg you to re-evaluate your priorities. :-p

    How is the post Covid-not-Covid life going?

    I feel like I’m very close to being back to normal, but then I’ll get a reminder — like being winded after about only 15 minutes of yard work, or breathing fine all day and then suddenly having a 10 minute coughing fit. Yesterday I joked, “My recovery is going so well I’m starting to feel my ordinary aches and pains again!”

  185. 185.

    Immanentize

    @NotMax: At my middle class house in Medford (built 1910) there was a concrete tube in the back yard, covered by a round brass flip top with a small latch.  Not a cold war bunker for the survival of the family pet!  Rather where the garbage went.  The trash collectors would come twice a week, walk to the back of the house, lift the can out of the hole and cart it away.

    Service like that is now just unaffordable for all but the mega rich.

  188. 188.

    debbie

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    There was some guy around here constantly and loudly protesting DeWine’s shutdown orders. He ended up dying of Covid, and the family has asked people to stop bothering them (I think there were FB posts pointing out the man’s hypocrisy) and respect their solitude.

    I didn’t see the posts and if they were rude or insensitive, then they were wrong. But what an opportunity this family has missed by not coming out and acknowledging that the danger is real, that he was wrong, and that everybody should try to stay safe.

  189. 189.

    different-church-lady

    @Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: I’m not being sanguine, but McElwee addresses that as well:

    You also have far less compelling third-party candidates than you had in 2016. Jill Stein and Gary Johnson were both effective politicians, whether or not you liked them. This time, you’re not seeing that kind of third-party candidate, and I think you’ll see a pretty dramatic decline in third-party voters. Candidate quality matters!

  192. 192.

    Immanentize

    I just got a text — one of good friend’s sister, living in Connecticut, has Covid.  Shit.  Doing OK, at home, but weak.

    I hate the phrase “opening up the economy.” It’s a political slogan. It means nothing. But in reality it means workers are going to be forced to either work or starve and then a lot will die. Can I get the January 2016 time line back, please?

  194. 194.

    Tony Jay

    @mrmoshpotato:

    With all the other complications of modern life who would have suspected primeval genetic memory would be the long sought cause of stress ulcers?

  196. 196.

    trnc

    @SFAW: But he doesn’t threaten his political enemies!

    To reiterate an earlier post, I would really like for Biden to come right out and say, “I will never create a policy designed to hurt a specific group of people, regardless of whom they vote for.” Possibly even more than the usual dem/repub political differences, this would draw a stark contrast between himself and the current occupant who is stealing medical equipment and inciting riots based on party affiliation.

  197. 197.

    Spanky

    I hope he knows how to hold a grudge:

    (WaPo)

    A former federal prosecutor, who quit after the Justice Department undercut the sentencing recommendation for Trump political confidant Roger Stone, has been named special counsel for public corruption for the D.C. attorney general.

    Jonathan I. Kravis will lead efforts to restructure and refocus public corruption work in the office, including recommending potential legislation for effective enforcement tools, D.C. Attorney General Karl A. Racine (D) announced Tuesday.

  198. 198.

    MagdaInBlack

    @Steeplejack:

    I am so very sorry about Stella.

    More sorry than I knew, TomatoQueens comment brought out the tears.

    Take care of yourself, Stella is watching ☺

  199. 199.

    r€nato

    Since Trumptards have been quite vocal that they wish to not only risk catching the C19 by pretending nothing is happening but that they also don’t want any of that socialist universal healthcare that might come in handy when they don’t have any health insurance due to being laid off… I’ve compiled a list of handy retorts for when they inevitably complain about getting what they stridently asked for.

    “Oh, it’s just the flu.”

    “Only the people already on their way out from something else are vulnerable. You were going to die of something sooner or later anyway.”

    “What, you got sick and can’t afford the medical bills? Too bad, you should have gotten a better job with good health insurance.”

    “What, you’re unemployed and can’t afford the rent now? Too bad, you should have saved up a rainy day fund of six months instead of wasting your money on guns and an iPhone and your satellite TV subscription so you can watch Fox News.”

    “YOU ARE FAKE NEWS TRYING TO MAKE THE PRESIDENT LOOK BAD!”

  200. 200.

    laura

    @Steeplejack: I’m sorry that you’ve lost your boon companion and housecat Stella. I’m glad that she had the warmth and comfort of your loving arms till the end.

  202. 202.

    NotMax

    @Immanentize

    Have seen those, with either a brass or zinc lid. Complete with a foot pedal to open them.

    For whatever reason that made me think of an anecdote told me by a friend who was the super for an apartment house in Queens. The garbage collectors (pre-dumpster days) though it was a great joke to stack up the emptied metal cans 8 or 10 high and leave them that way in multiple rows.

    Between mashing them down and the sheer weight of each stack it was a royal pain for him to unstack them.

  203. 203.

    Citizen Alan

    @debbie: I think a lot of people underestimate the seductive danger of these 3rd Party cranks. It took until 2016 for me to finally regret to the point of personal embarrassment my choice to “make a statement” by voting for Nader in a red state where my vote wouldn’t otherwise matter. Every vote for a 3rd party represents someone who (a) has accepted the premise that there’s no difference between the Democrats and the Republicans and (b) is worked up enough about it to actually vote 3rd party. I firmly believe that for every person who was actually motivated to do (b), there were probably 3-5 people who accepted the premise of (a) but didn’t enough to take time off from work and stand in line to make the utterly pointless gesture of voting for a 3rd party candidate who couldn’t possibly win. The real goal of any 3rd party, whether the party members recognize it or not, is to suppress votes among the mainstream party closest to their views.

  204. 204.

    NotMax

    @Immanentize

    Turns out you sure picked a helluva term for a sabbatical, huh?     ;)

    BTW, ever hear anything from the cruise company regarding making good a cash refund?

  208. 208.

    Sab

    @Baud: So three young deer trotting up my street last night. One tiptoeing across a lawn is normal, but a little herd brazenly on the pavement is not.

    I might have to park a dog in my garden at night once I get it going. The mini-rott would like sleeping out. We have a four foot fence that the deer jump right over.

  209. 209.

    debbie

    @Citizen Alan:

    I’ve never not voted and I’ve never voted third party. I won’t vote third party until I see they have a pretty good chance of winning. Until that time, I will keep voting for the Democratic candidate. Sometimes, it comes down to the lesser of two evils, but so be it.

  211. 211.

    debbie

    @Sab:

    You probably also have coyotes. Think twice about leaving that little guy outside. It’s only vegetables.

  216. 216.

    NotMax

    Heh. Found some washable masks on Amazon for a reasonable price. Last week they were 10 for $25.99 plus additional five bucks shipping, today $28.99 with free shipping.

    Was going to order them and then mail half to Mom, but Amazon won’t ship them here so having them sent to her address and will have her ship half of them to me.

  220. 220.

    Geminid

    @different-church-lady:  last time I checked it looked like the Green Party would nominate retired UPS driver Howie Hawkins. They got 2% in 2000 and 2% in 2016; I don’t think they’ll run much under that this year, although they may have trouble getting on the ballot in some states. The Green Party has always seemed creepy to me. When they popped up Virginia in the 90’s I thought the candidates had a certain Lyndon LaRouche feel about them.                                                Gary Johnson, on the other hand, got ~3.6% in 2016, and I think a lot of those voters are up for grabs. I don’t think the Democrats need to go out of their way to win over Libertarians or Republicans or independents, but a some outreach to let them know that they are welcome in the big Democratic tent might be useful. A Wason Center (Bitecofer’s outfit) poll from last November showed Virginia voter self identified as 31% republican, 34% Democrat, and 30% independent. Democratic candidates in many suburban districts know they need independent voters to win and campaign accordingly, and they kick ass.

  222. 222.

    Geminid

    @Geminid: The same Wason Center poll showed ideological self identification as: strong liberal, 7%; liberal, 13%; moderate lean liberal, 23%; moderate lean conservative, 17%; conservative, 21%; and strong conservative, 11%. It seems like Warner, Kaine, Spanberger, Luria et Al are pulling in a lot of “moderate, lean conservative” voters. Not surprising, as the Virginia Republican party is now controlled by religious zealots and tea party cranks.

  224. 224.

    Sab

    @debbie: We do have coyotes. She is quite a bit bigger than they are, and quite loud. Plus neighbor dogs know her. Her step-sister next door is a pit-bull and keeps weird hours because family. I would be amazed if coyotes jumped the fence to go after her with all the surrounding dogs. They live in this neighborhood too and understand the turf

    ETA but thanks for the warning. Good point.

  227. 227.

    Jeffro

    Someone PLEASE post

    1. the tweet-video of Sen Mark Warner making a tuna melt…in the microwave (yuk)
    2. Kamala Harris tweeting at him to call her. now please.

    LOLOLOL

  228. 228.

    Jeffro

    @Geminid: I think we all know most of those “independents” lean pretty far one way or another

    I wonder how much of Virginia turning blue over the past decade or two is due to its large number of college grads/college-town-settlers/young-ish folks?  Everyone looks at NoVA and the Tidewater area, but those college towns are numerous and quite blue, too.

  229. 229.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Jeffro: I didn’t recognize Warner and I wasn’t sure if that was some kind of labored attempt at a quarantine skit

  230. 230.

    Geminid

    @Baud: I know I am. I want to see 7-10 Senate seats flipped and Biden will help. He’s not that dynamic or charismatic, but he is trustworthy.

  232. 232.

    Sab

    Taking my dad’s cat to the cat opthamologist tomorrow. Easy to reschedule, when usually ot takes months.

    Sweet, wonderful cat. He is currently blimd as a bat, living with two dogs and four other cats who think he is an interloper.

    My husband thinks the doctor trip is a waste of time. I agree on the one eye, toxoplasmosis and cataracts. Blind and always will be. I don’t agree on the other eye with glaucoma. Also blind and always will be, but it might also be incredibly painful. We need to fix that. Cats with other cats dare not complain. Our job to read his guarded kittle mind.

  233. 233.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Congrats to the Intercept Bros for creating this horseshit meme

    Igor Bobic @igorbobic
    · 31m
    McConnell’s reaction to the video Pelosi posted of her fridge and her favorite ice cream: “It did not exactly look like someone who was suffering through the pandemic. Let’s put it that way.”

    and they were still flogging it yesterday

  237. 237.

    J R in WV

    @Steeplejack:

    Sad for your loss. With millions ill and thousands dying of the Trump Plague, it is not silly to mourn a boon companion you have lost. I bet you can rescue another kitty asap, and they too will love you and sit on your warm lap, and eventually, they too will want an automatic cat warming station bu the computer.

    Sorry, again, for your loss. Keep in touch! Stay safe…

  238. 238.

    WereBear

    @Sab:Also blind and always will be, but it might also be incredibly painful. We need to fix that. Cats with other cats dare not complain. Our job to read his guarded kittle mind.

     
    Bless you. I agree.

  239. 239.

    Another Scott

    @Jeffro: The one I saw showed him fighting to squeeze mayo out of some squeeze bottle onto some of the whitest Wonderbread I’ve ever seen.  I couldn’t watch any more…

    Hehe.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  242. 242.

    Geminid

    @Jeffro: Demographic changes account for much of the shift in Virginia politics, but I think the radical conservative take over of the republican party since Fallwell got it going in the 80’s has alienated independents and many former Republicans. I know a few of them. Independents are funny birds; like you say many are reliable voters for one party or another, but don’t want to identify themselves with either. The Wason Center’s poll shows a high number perhaps because Virginia has no party registration (maybe relic from the Byrd Machine days of the 50’s and 60’s). One pollster who studied them observed that the most consistent feature of independents as a group is that a reliable majority disapprove of the party in power whether it is republican or Democrat.

  245. 245.

    A Ghost to Most

    @J R in WV: Seconded. The cat we got after our beloved Polly, and in the wake of Tunch’s passing, has become my forever grateful guard cat.

  246. 246.

    Sab

    @WereBear: Typo, but I love my “kittle mind.” Not even typo. I meant to say little kitty mind, but I apparently I choked on little and kitty in same sentence on cat minds. Their minds are not like ours, but I don’t think they are small. Just often elsewhere.

  247. 247.

    Sab

    @WereBear: You are why I even realized this. Max and I bless you.

    To me one of the worst responsibilities of pet ownership is when you have responsibilities you fail to realize. When your fifteen year old dog died alone of advanced metastatic cancer while you were at work and you didn’t even know she was sick. Because animals in pain don’t complain. They just deal with it. Human spouses do also. All wives know this. Pet owners not so much.

  248. 248.

    Geminid

    @Jeffro:The other day we were yakking about the VA. 5th District congressional race. I heard republican challenger Bob Good the other day on WINA. He says he has the necessary convention votes to take the nomination from Denver Riggleman. Riggleman, however, is suing the party for a primary. I lost track of how many times Good called Riggleman a liar. Then Congressman Riggleman was on yesterday, and I could not keep track of how many times Riggleman called Good a liar. I love a nice red-on-red brawl. I think the Republicans can kiss that seat good-bye.

  250. 250.

    MagdaInBlack

    On the upside and completely OT:

    I just certified for Illinois UI.  What a relief ?

    TY Jeezuz

  251. 251.

    Sab

    @WereBear: I need a cat consult but my computer online setup isn’t up to it. Will contact you when I can. We are okay, but girl cats could be better than okay and we will suffer until they are.

    OT but urgent.

    Specifically cat diffusers are God ‘s gift to cat owners. ? ( Why is there a pear there?) Non-cat diffusers are very very toxic to cats. Feliway is good.  Others are also. Do Not buy a diffuser that isn’t cat approved unless you hate your cat.

    If your roommate hates cats check out her/ his diffusers.

  254. 254.

    Yutsano

    @Geminid: There are four open Senate seats. I want them all. I want Arizona, Montana, Maine, South Carolina, Kentucky, Texas, Oklahoma, Wyoming, all of them. Make the Republicans fight everywhere. And please let Alabama select Tuberville. Jones could carve him like a Thanksgiving tom.

  260. 260.

    Jeffro

    @Another Scott: yeah well, he NUKED it after that  =P

     

     

    @NotMax: or a flat top grill…I would kill to have one of those in my house.  I’d probably never stop cooking if you got me started.

  262. 262.

    Geminid

    @Yutsano: And State Senator Barbara Boullier has a good shot at the Kansas US Senate seat Pat Roberts is retiring from. “A doctor, not a politician, who wants to clean up the mess in Washington,” is how her campaign’s web page described her this winter. Presciently.

  264. 264.

    WaterGirl

    @catatonia: If I call my cats, they don’t necessarily come.

    But if I say “Where’s Miss Willow?” I always get a meow back to tell me where she is, often right in front of me, hidden in plain site, burrowed under a blankie.

  267. 267.

    Steeplejack

    Just a note to say that I came back to read the rest of the comments, all of which I appreciate. Thank you for your love. This place is the best.

  268. 268.

    grandpa john

    @rikyrah: Well at least our repub gov  here in SC didnt drink all the kool aid,Schools will NOT reopen for the rest  of this school year

  269. 269.

    WaterGirl

    I loved hearing the stories over the years – the housecat on her heating pad, the housecat hard at work at her workstation – and asked Steep if he had any pictures he could share with us.

    Here’s Stella, the lucky girl who won the kitty lottery and got a second chance, a new life with Steep, where she was pampered with a heating pad and her own workstation.


    THE HOUSECAT IN SEPTEMBER


    AT THE WORKSTATION

  270. 270.

    Aleta

    @Steeplejack: Hi Steep, I’m so sorry.  The sweetness in her photos is a beautiful thing.  Every mention of ‘the housecat’ brought a spot of peace and calm to a thread.  To me Stella has been a piece of the heart of this place, from your writing. My sincere sympathy for your loss.

    …

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