Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Imperialist aggressors must be defeated, or the whole world loses.

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

Republicans are radicals, not conservatives.

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

The next time the wall street journal editorial board speaks the truth will be the first.

“woke” is the new caravan.

And now I have baud making fun of me. this day can’t get worse.

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. let’s win this.

Within six months Twitter will be fully self-driving.

After roe, women are no longer free.

And we’re all out of bubblegum.

An almost top 10,000 blog!

Bark louder, little dog.

Everybody saw this coming.

He really is that stupid.

Speaking of republicans, is there a way for a political party to declare intellectual bankruptcy?

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

Fuck the extremist election deniers. What’s money for if not for keeping them out of office?

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

if you can’t see it, then you are useless in the fight to stop it.

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

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Open Thread: DNC, Puppehs and Checking In

Open Thread: DNC, Puppehs and Checking In

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I just thought this was a great tweet after Michelle’s speech. The Lincoln Project game is strong.

So my brain is oatmeal. I want to talk more about Covid-19 and medical emergencies, more about prepping your voting strategy…and tell you that I somehow made the HOTTEST Green Chili last night. But all that will have to wait until words begin to form again in my overworked brain.

Here are two sweet photos for you. Bixby and Scout spent most of the days last week with my niece. They have been awesome around my mom, but my dad was using a walker when he came home and I didn’t want to risk a 160 lbs of over-enthusiastic Dane bumping him.

 

Open Thread: Tweet of the Night 2

Scout patiently waiting for me to come back.

Open Thread: Tweet of the Night

Bixby sleeping in the dog bed – the dog bed for the 6 lb dachshund-terrier mix. LOL

My dad is doing amazing. Traded the walker for the cane three days after he got home. His aphasia is rapidly improving and when I spoke with him on the phone yesterday he was clear as a bell. I can’t even tell you how lucky we got with all of this. Our biggest job right now is keeping him from overdoing it and my biggest worry these days for both parents is Covid. Which, believe it or not, is actually a relief.

Last nights’ DNC really brightened my mood. I felt hopeful for the first time in…well…4 years… It was well done, engaging, and was the best of us. Hope that continues for the remainder. My soul could use the respite. I’m going to do my best to ignore the disease-in-chief for the week and focus on real leaders.

How’s everyone else doing?

Open thread

ETA: This. Heart. Tears.

Reader Interactions

53Comments

  4. 4.

    CaseyL

    Great news about your Dad!

    The pups look a little down that they’re not home.  It makes sense, mind you – but be prepared for a riotous reunion when they can come back.  Talk about getting bowled over!

  8. 8.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    Not only were the speeches wonderful, and the videos wonderful, and the interviews with ordinary Americans wonderful, it was a technological marvel. Just a brilliant use of staging and social distancing and locations and a mix of live and recorded video, that really made me feel like I was there getting the very best of what a Democratic convention could be.

    I’m almost curious enough about the contrast the Republicans will give us next week, not just in messaging but in use of the technology, to watch some of it. But only almost. I’m not going to subject myself to that.

    I said something to my wife about the technology gap and how we had all the good people. She said they could hire competent people too. That’s true, but somehow they don’t. They go for the incompetent grifters, every time.

  9. 9.

    Mel

    Oh, TaMara, that is such good news about your Dad!!

    Thanks for sharing the photos. They are such beautiful pups.

  12. 12.

    Madame Bupkis

    Great news about your Dad, TaMara!  That video! I’m laughing and crying and feeling joyful.  I’ll be watching it a few more times.

  13. 13.

    Gin & Tonic

    I had a ripe tomato on the vine that I was holding out picking until my son came home. He came home last night, but it rained yesterday morning and night, so I’d probably waited a day too long and the skin cracked. But he took it off this morning, and it’s 501 grams. Not bad.

  15. 15.

    Frankensteinbeck

    Well, it looks like the Senate intelligence report on Russian involvement in 2016 is out, and it lays out expressly and in detail that the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia, and Russia directly influenced the campaign for its own ends.  And much, much more.

  16. 16.

    WereBear

    The big dog on the little dog bed made me LOL. Great news about your Dad!

    I crash early these days, so I’m going to watch the convention later on. I understand Amazon Prime is offering access to the whole thing.

  17. 17.

    laura

    First off – just simply wonderful news about your dad and his rapid rate of recovery. Your post and travel plans – just heart in throat and fears for your safety on the road, this is about as good as good news gets and I hope you can savor it.

    Your poochies look like they are anxious to have the tribe reunited and are doing their best to hold onto hope that their alpha returns soon.

    Last night, I was so over the convention and didnt plan to watch – the Doug went and tempted me and boy was I wrong – it was intimate, Eva L did a fine job, the zoom really hammered home that trump fucked up 8 ways to Sunday and resulted in almost 200K deaths. The there was Forever FLOTUS who skillfully eviscerated trump and kept moving on to the hard truth – it is on us, each and everyone, to do our part in saving ourselves and our country by turning out to vote in numbers that cannot be ignored or challenged or called into question and left to the tender mercies of the Robert’s Court to determine who leads us.

    So, about that spicy green chile – Hatch?

  18. 18.

    JPL

    So glad he is doing well, and keeps it up.   What a relief that must be for you, and for the pups who now have your attention.

  20. 20.

    Redshift

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym:

    She said they could hire competent people too. That’s true, but somehow they don’t. They go for the incompetent grifters, every time. 

    After reading the Olivia Nuzzi article yesterday, I remarked to Ms. Redshift that I’m hoping Trump’s long-term gift to the GOP is infesting the operational parts with incompetent grifters. They’ve had plenty of grifters for a long time, but that was mostly people fleecing their base while pretending to be working for GOP causes and candidates. I feel like the difference now is the people hired to do the real work inside the party are pocketing the money and telling their equally incompetent bosses that everything is going great.

  25. 25.

    trollhattan

    Bixby pic kills me. “I’m fine.” The essence of dog, right there.

    Great news about dad. Miss mine and have so many unasked questions for him, plus he’d have been so proud of his grandkid. Treasure every hour.

  26. 26.

    Elizabelle

    Great to hear about your dad.  Willpower goes a long way.  Especially glad the aphasia is leaving him.  That can be so isolating and frustrating.

  27. 27.

    Bruuuuce

    @Frankensteinbeck: I haven’t read it, but the link I posted downstairs said that it was more or less the Mueller Report on steroids in its conclusions: no collusion, but definitely interference. I’d be shocked if the Rs on the Committee allowed a report that concluded (even in the fact of evidence) that there was coordination between Putin’s Poodle and his leashholder

  28. 28.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym:

    somehow they don’t. They go for the incompetent grifters, every time.

    A philosophy of hate is stacked towards that.  If you’re not trying to do a good job of governance, you’re going to attract people who aren’t trying to do a good job of carrying out your wishes.  Especially if they’re handling your money.

  29. 29.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    The Scout picture made me go “aww” and the Bixby one made me laugh.

    The Ds’ handling of the convention seems to be drawing wide approval. I think no on knew what to expect and we were pleasantly surprised. If this keep on, the Rs have a hard act to follow. Expectations will have been set, and viewers will be less willing to excuse a crappy  job because of the situation than they otherwise would have been.

  32. 32.

    JPL

    @Frankensteinbeck: Susan Collins and John Cornyn are up for reelection and hopefully this becomes a top campaign issue

    The republicans on the Intelligence committee voted to acquit trump.

  35. 35.

    trollhattan

    California has a power quandary. Today’s forecast peak demand exceeds both the known available supply and the historic peak consumption, a record set in 2006. We were bailed out by imported electricity the last couple days but the entire west is far hotter than average at present, so that may not be enough.

    Our community-owned system is not under Cal ISO and claims to have adequate capacity, so when 110 degrees arrives around we should be okay here but that doesn’t apply to 30+ million others who may face controlled blackouts, like Friday.

  36. 36.

    patrick II

    I don’t think you are going low if you are telling the truth and it has anything to do with how it affects policy or American lives.  Telling lies and especially personal lies that do not affect policy would be going low.

    Going low on Donald is nearly impossible.  For instance, I think Trump is a Fascist, and for candidates up to now, that would be going low.  But he is a man who does not believe in any law and is currently doing his best to destroy democracy in America.  And he is not alone; DeJoy and McConnell and Miller and Bannon all hold the very ideational foundation of our liberal democracy in contempt.  You don’t need to slur them with lies, the truth is enough.

    Like most, I appreciated the Democrat’s online convention, but I thought we aren’t treating the destruction of the post office and the accompanying destruction of the vote and democracy without enough outrage.  Our history, the lives of millions of our ancestors have lived and died by and for those institutions and principles, and yet Trump and this sociopathic billionaire treat our institutions like dead bodies to be stepped over. Literally.

    I suppose you couldn’t have a convention that people would watch if all of the real outrage I feel was thrown at them constantly.  “Come together for Joe” needs it’s place. John Lennon’s masterpiece should find a place before the convention is over.

    But you don’t have to go very high to tell the truth about these guys.

  37. 37.

    NotMax

    Got a bee in the bonnet yesterday and actually whipped up a full from scratch restaurant-type meal last night. First time in at least a month have had anything other than a sandwich or some pasta for dinner. Enough made to last for an additional three days.

    Fried chicken (breasts) in the air fryer* – mixing in a little parmesan cheese with the panko bread crumbs made a world of difference. Kitchen counter so tiny that barely was able to fit the necessary paraphernalia for the prep; sink doubled as extra counter space.

    *Not an appliance have found much use for. As the only place it fits when not in use is in the living room it, although covered up, has been sitting there mocking me.

  38. 38.

    mrmoshpotato

    Bixby sleeping in the dog bed – the dog bed for the 6 lb dachshund-terrier mix. LOL

    Belly-support is very important for a snooze.

  40. 40.

    mrmoshpotato

    Ok, back to lighter things.  So glad to hear that your dad’s recovery is going well! ?

    What’s the story behind the ?Spice Up Your Life? green chili?

  41. 41.

    MisterForkbeard

    Pet-related: I gave my cats Advantage yesterday because we suspected they might have fleas (and I hadn’t kept up on it the flea meds), and today I combed about 10 living fleas out of her fur. Ugh. It’s prime flea season out there, and we’d been kicking her outside a bit more because she’s been furballing a lot lately.

    Does anyone know how long it’s supposed to take for Advantage to kick in? In the meantime, I’m going to have to do flea-combing twice a day and on the other cat, too.

  42. 42.

    ShadeTail

    Regarding the Lincoln Project, I’d just like to mention that they’re still right-wing GOPers, and they’ll turn on us the instant Trump is sent packing. So definitely let them rampage around attacking the cheeto-colored clown, but don’t give them money or assume they’re more than just allies of convenience.

  45. 45.

    Roger Moore

    @Redshift:

    They’ve had plenty of grifters for a long time, but that was mostly people fleecing their base while pretending to be working for GOP causes and candidates. I feel like the difference now is the people hired to do the real work inside the party are pocketing the money and telling their equally incompetent bosses that everything is going great.

    I think you’re giving them too much credit.  GOP candidates have been running their campaigns as grifts for a good long time.  Think of Ron Paul’s presidential campaigns, for instance, or Christine “not a witch” O’Donnell.  Once they were successful, it was hard to keep other candidates from dipping their hands into the money, too.  And once you let grifting become at all acceptable, it’s very hard to say no to anyone who wants to take their share of the pie.

  46. 46.

    Ruckus

    @trollhattan:

    I’d bet on rolling blackouts, SCE has done some already this season as I understand it. And I’m expecting more. We finally had to turn the AC on at work at 10, everyone was sweating just standing still.

  48. 48.

    SectionH

    @MisterForkbeard: Oh ow, fleas. How soon does Advantage work? Well, ime, with an extraordinarily fluffy cat, sorry to say the answer was it didn’t. It did not spread through her undercoat enough to give a sufficiently large target area for the fleas to bite. What worked for us (mostly – we had 5 indoor/outdoor cats back then, so occasional fleas were inevitable) was Program. That’s a flea treatment given by mouth* which disrupts fleas’ breeding cycles, makes the eggs sterile. We’d treat once a month with Program, and watch them, and flea-comb with a dish of soapy water at hand at the first sign, and once the tiny fiends from hell weren’t hatching in the house, things were ok. There now are treatments which supposedly combine killing and sterilizing, but since we moved to San Diego 10 years ago, we’ve only had indoor cats, so I can’t rec something. Hope Advantage does work for you, or you find something that does PDQ. Good Luck!

    *It’s pretty tasteless and all 5 of our cats ate it in wet catfood or people-tuna.

  50. 50.

    WaterGirl

    @MisterForkbeard: You can get something called CAP-star from your vet.  It kills all live fleas from your pet within an hour or so.

    That’s all it does, but it can give you a big head start at least in killing the ones that are on the pets.  Then you have to use something that keeps on working and works on the flea cycle.

    But it’s a great start.  I suggest you get some today.

  51. 51.

    J R in WV

    @MisterForkbeard:

    Google found this statement

    Advantage II for Cats kills fleas within 12 hours and reinfesting fleas within 2 hours.

    This may be a little optimistic, it does appear to come straight from the manufacturer, but who else would have more accurate data? There was also some verbiage about not moping or sweeping the floor for 2 weeks, so that eggs and larvae around on the floor will get done it by the current dose.

    We treat our dogs with 2 oral “medications” for internal and external parasites, and that appears to control the fleas on the cats as well. We occasionally will comb one if we see it scratching, but it usually turns out to be just an itch, with no bugs involved. Not sure how that works, but glad it does…

  52. 52.

    J R in WV

    TaMara,

    So glad to hear about your Dad’s progress in recovery. Medical care for stroke victims has really vastly improved over the past couple of decades.

    Best wishes for his continued improvement~!!~

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