Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

One way or another, he’s a liar.

It’s the corruption, stupid.

The gop is a fucking disgrace.

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

Trump should be leading, not lying.

I’m starting to think Jesus may have made a mistake saving people with no questions asked.

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

Every reporter and pundit should have to declare if they ever vacationed with a billionaire.

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

Seems like a complicated subject, have you tried yelling at it?

There are some who say that there are too many strawmen arguments on this blog.

I’d hate to be the candidate who lost to this guy.

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

The willow is too close to the house.

Black Jesus loves a paper trail.

Republicans cannot even be trusted with their own money.

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

This country desperately needs a functioning fourth estate.

Let there be snark.

Petty moves from a petty man.

Let me file that under fuck it.

There are times when telling just part of the truth is effectively a lie.

The lights are all blinking red.

Do we throw up our hands or do we roll up our sleeves? (hint, door #2)

You are here: Home / Nature & Respite / Birdwatching / Saturday Open Thread

Saturday Open Thread

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Here’s a photo I took a couple of days ago of two Pileated Woodpeckers. I see them around here a lot, put I’ve never seen a pair in the same frame until this week:

Saturday Open Thread

The male is higher on the branch, with the missus trailing behind. Not much difference in appearance between the genders with this species, but the male has a red “mustache” stripe on his face.

Just saw a promising poll in the NYT:

By overwhelming margins, voters in Pennsylvania and Florida were repelled by President Trump’s conduct in the first general election debate, according to New York Times/Siena College surveys, as Joseph R. Biden Jr. maintained a lead in the two largest battleground states.

Over all, Mr. Biden led by seven percentage points, 49 percent to 42 percent, among likely voters in Pennsylvania. He led by a similar margin, 47-42, among likely voters in Florida.

This is a post-debate but pre-COVID diagnosis poll. Polls don’t mean much, of course, but I’ll take good news where I find it these days. Open thread!

Reader Interactions

170Comments

  4. 4.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    Wonder if any Bedminster donors have put in a stop payment on  their checks or reversals on credit cards?

     

    ?

  5. 5.

    Old Dan and Little Ann

    If I had a dollar for every peck i heard from a Goddamn woodpecker on my house I would have more money.

  7. 7.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Grace Segers @Grace_Segers ·14m
    Another thing that requires clarification: Conley said Trump was 72 hours into diagnosis. That means he would have been diagnosed mid-Wednesday – before he appeared at a fundraiser in Bedminster that evening.

  8. 8.

    Bodacious

    Prep team rona watch – 4 down, 5 to go:

    Trump/KConway Christie/Hicks (Positives)…..

    present, but not positive (yet) Jared, Mark Meadows, Kay-Lie MacEnany, Jason Miller, Alyssa Farah

  9. 9.

    PaulWartenberg

    Over all, Mr. Biden led by seven percentage points, 49 percent to 42 percent, among likely voters in Pennsylvania. He led by a similar margin, 47-42, among likely voters in Florida.

     

    I am enjoying, however real it is, the idea of Florida flipping Blue this 2020. Now we gotta get the vote out and make sure the state GOP doesn’t shut the whole thing down.

  11. 11.

    Chetan Murthy

    BC,

    Thank you for that lovely shot!  Woody and Mrs. Woddy!  Ha!  I can see where the inspiration came from, for the cartoon!

  12. 12.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Steven Portnoy @stevenportnoy ·12m
    JUST IN: A source familiar with the president’s condition tells reporters: “The president’s vitals over the last 24 hours were very concerning and the next 48 hours will be critical in terms of his care. We’re still not on a clear path to a full recovery.”

    this was released “on background” after Doc Happy-Talk made a cloud of obfuscation and then ran away.

  15. 15.

    piratedan

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: the dude is like Casanova Frankenstein, he gives nary a fuck if he kills his own supporters….

    and since the disease bakes at different levels for different folks, do not be shocked when more shoes drop. We should also keep an eye on what McConnell and Barr are doing because those two will see this as a “distraction” that allows them to implement more of their agendas… just sayin’, while piously telling everyone else what they “should” be doing, these two will be henhouse raiding non-stop.

  17. 17.

    Baud

    If the Barrett reception caused all this mess, I can only imagine the type of mess his rallies caused.

  19. 19.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    It’s like the Baptism scene in The Godfather, where COVID takes over and assumes leadership of the Corleone family.

  20. 20.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Watching Colbert from last night:

    “It’s not nice to compare trump to Jason from Friday the 13th. Yes they are both large blood smeared monsters but at least Jason wears a mask.”

    The wife and I burst into laughter. The old arthritic Woofmeister manages to get up the stairs to join in.

  21. 21.

    MagdaInBlack

    I remember seeing a Pileated Woodpecker as a child, when we were camping somewhere in Whiteshell Provincial Park, in Manitoba. My mother was very excited. Do they summer up there?

    Eta: The “somewhere” was Big Whiteshell Lake… dug thru the memory banks.

  22. 22.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    j.d. durkin @jiveDurkey· 23m
    whoa — here’s Dr. Brian Garibaldi saying, “About 48 hours ago the President received a special antibody directed against the virus.” 48 hours ago is ~12p Thursday; Trump left for his NJ fundraiser at 1:04pm, and tweeted his diagnosis 12 hours after that.

    this is the dose he got under some kind of ‘compassionate care’ waiver? they said he got that early-ish yesterday, IIRC. This is now two doctors giving a very different timeline than the official one, if there is an official one with these clowns. It looks like either the doctors are adding 24 hours on to the timeline, or the WH has been shaving 24 hours off theirs.

  23. 23.

    A Ghost to Most

    The wife’s PA relatives are still bugfuck crazy, although thankfully not armed to the teeth like mine. I will assume nothing; many will vote for t** just for spite.

  24. 24.

    MattF

    Anonymous source says president’s ‘vital signs are very concerning’. Probably means blood oxygen level.

  25. 25.

    Ohio Mom

    Since this is theoretically an open thread, Anyone have any experience with gum surgery?

    I’m looking at grafts for seven(!) teeth, which comes to over an hour under “conscious sedation.” Already looking into a second opinion, so no need to suggest that.

    Thanks.

  27. 27.

    debbie

    @Baud:

    That poll up top is great, but I’m concerned Trump’s illness will gain him sympathy votes—especially those “undecideds.”

  30. 30.

    Kattails

    Well I’ve been studiously avoiding talking politics with my 91 year old mother who lives in FL, but broached it today and it was worse than I expected. Hunter Biden blah blah, Joe Biden never passed any decent legislation, tried to kill Social Security, Harris would let babies be born and then kill them kind of thing. Refused to talk about it, had her own talking points from which she won’t budge, “we all hear what we want to”.  My sister and I were trying to figure out how to get down there safely and when? But now I don’t think going before the election would be a good idea. shit. She was never a bit part of our lives, our father’s parents raised us, but trying to maintain some contact before she goes.

    I was trying to be a decent person about Trump’s illness but now I well and truly do not give a rat’s ass, all I want is a landslide and him and his miserable lying crew the hell out of our government.

  31. 31.

    Baud

    @debbie:

    Anything can happen.  We can’t control sympathy votes.  They sure weren’t there for Hillary when the propagandists said she was dying in 2016.

  35. 35.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    the next 48 hours will be critical

    Y’know, maybe it’s just me, but this doesn’t seem to be consistent with “we moved him to WRMC out of an abundance of caution”.  It sounds more like he’s really pretty damn ill.  Heh.

  36. 36.

    MagdaInBlack

    @Betty Cracker: I could prob look it up if I weren’t so Saturday lazy =-

    Eta: and I did, yup, they must stay. Cant say I blame them, I prefer the north myself.

  37. 37.

    MattF

    @Baud: People who were going to vote for him anyhow can now cite ‘sympathy’. There are very few people on the margin.

  38. 38.

    cope

    Very accommodating of those birdies to pose so nicely.  The occasional red headed woodpeckers that visit our yard are always deep in one of the dark, brooding live oak trees.  The infrequent picture I manage to get is always very underwhelming…”See that white spot right there?  Just above that dead limb?  That’s it.”.

  39. 39.

    CaseyL

    @Kattails:

    I was trying to be a decent person about Trump’s illness but now I well and truly do not give a rat’s ass, all I want is a landslide and him and his miserable lying crew the hell out of our government.

     

    Philosophically, the point of being a decent person is for your own sake, not for anyone else’s. Keep the personal baggage to a minimum.

    I’ve tried to follow that. But the advent of Trumpism ruined it for me, like it has for many others. Hard to stay decent when there are people who glory in how much agony and destruction they can cause.

    So I’m not at all shy about hoping for the worst for Trump, the GOP, and all of their supporters. The absolute worst, for every single one of them.

  40. 40.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @debbie: the conventional wisdom is undecideds break for whoever’s leading in the polls, but Cornel Belcher– Obama’s pollster– said a few days ago that anybody who’s undecided at this point is a trump voter who doesn’t want to admit it to themselves. Maybe after this latest demonstration of stupidity they’ll just stay home.

    Biden may have pulled his ‘negative’ ads, but I’d bet a hundred quatloos that the Lincoln Project will have an ad titled something like “He Knew” as soon as trump is released.

  41. 41.

    WereBear

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: I know what the statistics say. But put me on record (as I did with Mr WereBear this morning) that Trump is deep in the doodoo regarding his chances.

    He’s got so many issues that lead to complications: his age, history of addictions and circulatory issues, overweight and lousy diet, and all that yelling isn’t good for anyone. It raises heart rate, stiffens blood vessels, and increases cortisol, which in turn suppresses the immune system.

    Plus, he’s got to be a horrible patient. Uncooperative, lying, demanding to do things he shouldn’t. That’s not a small thing when things go critical.

    I’m not rooting one way or another. Just assessing the situation from a distance, which is the only way any of us knows his real health status.

  43. 43.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @lamh36:

    Giuliani was in those debate prep meetings with Trump, Hicks, Kellyanne, Christie, etc. I haven’t heard a word about his status or even whether he’s been tested in the last few days.

  46. 46.

    Ken

    @Chetan Murthy: Health status inconsistent, treatments inconsistent, timeline inconsistent.  About the only thing left is location. Probably in an hour someone at the Mayo Clinic will announce that Trump is being treated there.

  47. 47.

    laura

    Since this is an open thread I’m throwing in a reminder for anyone looking for something to do between 2 and 5 PM today:

    https://www.hardlystrictlybluegrass.com

    Great music – amazing artists you may know and love and amazing artists you haven’t heard of till now and will love. Good stuff. The kind that’s been in short supply. It fills the well of my soul and I hope that it does the same for fellow juicers.

  48. 48.

    Bodacious

    @Kattails:  I’m so very sorry for you. Many of us don’t get parents like those in we saw in children’s books. We get the flawed version of that, and it’s painful. Thankfully, we will be valued by OUR actions, and extending an open ear to a blood-relative in these troubling times is an honorable gesture.  I honor the sentiment, but keep you and your sister in the sanest possible place going forward.

  49. 49.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    my experience with the medical profession has been, so far, as a relative of patients, but two doctors being sloppy and inaccurate about time in this way seems… unlikely to me.

    Jonathan Lemire @JonLemire·6m
    A White House official clarifies timeline: Official says Dr Conley meant to say it’s Day 3, not 72 hours in—the diagnosis was made Thursday night. And that Dr. Garibaldi meant to say it’s been two days, not 48 hours, since the Regeneron was administered.

  50. 50.

    There go two miscreants

    @Ohio Mom: I had gum grafts many years ago (I’ve lost track), and they worked out fine. Not that many though — I think three teeth. Still going to the same dentist (although he retired just recently and his son-in-law took over; several other dentists in the practice). Mine were all on the lowers — I have a notable underbite, and I was also scrubbing too much with a manual toothbrush. They have held up for over 22 years*. The grafted tissue came from my upper palate, and it was obviously sore for a while but healed up with no problems.

    • ETA I know it was at least that long ago because I was living in a different house and I’ve been in this one 22 years.
  52. 52.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Don’t know the attribution, but a friend just shared:

    October 1, 2020 will go down in history as the day that liberals began to believe in god and conservatives began to believe in science.

  54. 54.

    AliceBlue

    @Ohio Mom: I had gum grafts on two teeth several years ago, and the procedure was not bad at all.  I wasn’t under sedation, just a local anesthetic.  The real pain in the butt was afterwards–I wasn’t in any pain but for the first 24 hours I could only eat cold soft foods (ice cream, cottage cheese, etc.)  I started eating warm foods the next day, but they still had to be soft.  Mashed potatoes, scrambled eggs, stuff like that

    There was also the gross-tasting antibiotic mouthwash I had to use three times a day.

  56. 56.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @MattF:

    Olivia Nuzzi @Olivianuzzi·17m
    UPDATE: Immediately after the press conference ended and before the anonymous statement was sent out, Mark Meadows briefed reporters without cameras—but he was caught on a feed asking to be off the record.

    So we have the White House chief of staff on camera, anonymously providing contradictory information to reporters right after the president’s doctors briefed the public.

    interesting glimpse behind the curtain, the whole thread is worth reading

  58. 58.

    Zelma

    Just had a pro-Trump parade go by my house.  Probably 25+ vehicles flying huge Trump flags.  They all honked loudly as they went by my house, one of the few with a Biden sign.  I don’t think they are from my town; too many pick-ups and too few BMW SUVs!  I assume they are driving from one end of the county to the other.  As I often remind my friends, Cape May County is below the Mason-Dixon Line.

  59. 59.

    Bodacious

     

     

    @SiubhanDuinne: fixed it. Christie described a round table with a map in the middle. My imagery drifted to a circular firing squad, but that is so inaccurate. Super-spreader-in-Chief was mowing them down in their seats.

    ————————————————–

    Prep team rona watch – 4 down, 5 6 to go:

    Trump/KConway /Christie/Hicks (Positives)…..

    present, but not positive (yet) Jared, Mark Meadows, Kay-Lie MacEnany, Jason Miller, Alyssa Farah, Giuliani (‘results not back yet’)

  60. 60.

    Ohio Mom

    Kattails:
    I am of the opinion that none of us are under any obligation to reconcile with people who hurt us in the past, particularly if such efforts will hurt us again or put us at risk of harm. And that’s before you add in traveling in during a pandemic. Take care of yourself.

    On another note, guess no one here has had bad gum disease, you lucky ducks.

  61. 61.

    mali muso

    @CaseyL: So I’m not at all shy about hoping for the worst for Trump, the GOP, and all of their supporters. The absolute worst, for every single one of them.

    Yeah, same.  They have actively sought to destroy the country and caused untold misery to millions.  I have NFLTG.

  63. 63.

    JPL

    OMG   I leave for a few minutes to do food prep and what is happening.    Is this really the twilight zone that we’re living in?

  65. 65.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Tom Nichols @RadioFreeTom ·11m
    “We meant to say that the President was diagnosed at whatever time is the least political damaging. We’ll leave that for you all to figure out, but whatever time that was, that’s when we knew.”

  68. 68.

    germy

    Paula Reid sounds like she’s just about fed up with all the bullshit.

    “A source familiar” (a common way taxpayer salaried WH officials avoid being identified) gives the press pool a statement that appears to completely contradict what President’s doctor just said when he insisted Mr. Trump is “doing very well.” #covid https://t.co/dupBqITXIq

    — Paula Reid (@PaulaReidCBS) October 3, 2020

  69. 69.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Kattails: Nobody can tell you and your sister what’s right for you.  I don’t know where my male progenitor is buried, which is good, b/c otherwise I might wanna piss on his grave a few dozen times.  Others’ mileage may vary (one hopes that yours does), and if you can find peace, it doesn’t really matter how.  Be well.

  70. 70.

    Fair Economist

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: COVID is usually a very drawn out disease. The typical crisis point is about a week after hospitalization, which was already pretty early for him. If Trump is “very concerning” 3 days after diagnosis he is in very grave danger.

  71. 71.

    Catherine D.

    We’ve got pileated woodpeckers around here (Finger Lakes, NY), but they’re pretty shy. There’s half wood/half swamp behind my house, and sometimes I see them around the edges.

    A happy note: according to my daily delivery email from the USPS, my absentee ballot arrives today. I will fill that puppy out with the blue pen I especially bought for it and drop it off at the county court house Monday.

  72. 72.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Wonderful photo, Betty! The pileated ‘peckers are gorgeous, and I’m a sucker for Spanish moss (it’s my favourite arboreal parasite!)

  73. 73.

    germy

    Chris Christie has not exactly gotten a gift basket of thanks. He ran the transition process and when he was done, was fired and his work thrown out. He helped out on debate prep. and had to learn about Covid spread from news reports. He’s tested positive.— John Dickerson (@jdickerson) October 3, 2020

    (cue Muttley laugh)

  74. 74.

    JPL

    So the White House doctor who declared trump thin and healthy gave this briefing and no one from Walter Reed spoke?

  75. 75.

    Salty Sam

    @Kattails: “we all hear what we want to”.

    This drives me NUTS w/ my mom.  Her version is “You can get your news from where ever you want to and I’ll get mine from Fox”.  I’m at a loss to say how we can ever move on if there is not an objective reality that we all share.

    Actually, if Dems would govern as ruthlessly as Repubs whenever they have power, we might get to have nice things. Here’s hoping…

    ETA- I will note that the “debate” finally killed Trump with my mom and step-dad.  Quote from him: “That was BAD. We are done with him.”

  76. 76.

    RandomMonster

    @Betty I envy you! I lived in the woods in California for many years, and I heard more pileated woodpeckers than I ever saw. On rare occasion I’d be lucky to get a glimpse, they’re so elusive.

    Now we had plenty of acorn woodpeckers, who are cute as can be and fed every day from the bird feeders. But I did have to tell them to stop pecking on the house all the time.

  78. 78.

    debbie

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    There was a tease for The New Yorker Radio Hour and some political consultant was saying most Trump voters are staying quiet and the margins (smaller, he seemed to imply) may end up being very surprising.

  79. 79.

    LurkerNoLonger

    What I’ve been wondering since the news broke on Friday, how do his supporters who believe the virus is a hoax reconcile the fact that he now has a virus that they were lead to believe was a hoax? Their brains must be on fire right now.

  81. 81.

    debbie

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Because he’s under the weather? If a voter liked him but his support was weakening because of things like that debate performance, he might cast a pity-vote.

    People are nuts. They do all kinds of things. My grandmother picked horses based on the colors of the riders’ silks. And yet, she had a pretty good record of winning.

  82. 82.

    Fair Economist

    It just occurred to me that if Trump dies Pence becomes President, and won’t be able to break ties in the Senate anymore. Could be very relevant with the Masque of the Red Death stalking the Senate Republican caucus.

  83. 83.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    David Begnaud@DavidBegnaud·6m
    BREAKING: White House doctor now says: Trump began exhibiting ‘clinical indications’ of COVID-19 on Thursday afternoon, earlier than known.

    even for this clown car of an administration, this is head-spinning

  87. 87.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @debbie:

    Trump voters are staying quiet and the margins (smaller, he seemed to imply) may end up being very surprising.

    I definitely think the vote will be close, Republicans will “come home” as the saying went in ’16. But I have a hard time imagining this current fiasco won’t lead a lot of people to join George Will in the “Jesus, I can’t take any more, let’s just vote for Biden and get on with it” camp

  88. 88.

    Steeplejack

    Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) also tested positive, if that hasn’t been mentioned yet. (I’m having trouble keeping up with the torrent of news.)

  92. 92.

    BR

    I think we’re still not grappling with the most important thing: Biden could have been infected at the debate. We won’t know for a week. And worse, it could have been intentional — the WH crew arrived too late for testing at the debate, and they might have known already.

  93. 93.

    Kattails

    @Baud: thanks for that. And she’s old so it’s not like you can figure on years to maybe make up.

    Oh well eventually the nomination will go to Baud! 20__ and all our problems will vanish like mist when the sun comes out, amirite?

  95. 95.

    PPCLI

    @germy: And ironically, he is treated like crap by Trumpco because of the one good thing he’s ever done in his life. i.e. Send Jared’s dad to the slammer.

  98. 98.

    BR

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Yes, in two ways:

    1. The press needs to be asking the question “Did Trump infect Biden at the debate?” in advance of a possible Biden positive diagnosis. So if that terrible thing happens there’s a framing for it.
    2. Biden’s team needs to be asked “are you testing twice daily?” to prompt them to do it even if only to satisfy the media, so they can catch it early and provide prompt treatment if needed.
  99. 99.

    JPL

    BETHESDA, Md. (AP) — AP source: President Trump was administered supplemental oxygen at the White House on Friday before going to hospital.

  100. 100.

    Original Lee

    Beautiful photo. It made me happy and sad at the same time. We also have a few nesting pairs near us, and I also rarely see them together. The photo makes me sad, though, because it makes me think about Ivory-billed woodpeckers and what the photo would have looked like the with a pair of Lord God birds in the frame instead.

  102. 102.

    Immanentize

    So much commenterizing.  But yesterday, 10k comments back at the end of the John Cole post, Death Panel Truck suggested a Ramone’s song about Ronna Romney McDaniels —

    Look at Ronna, her eyes are re-ed
    she’s not dancing, but covered in swe-eat.
    I tell her that I wish her Lu-uck
    But I’m too mad to give a fu-uck

    Hey! Now!
    Ronna’s got the ‘Rona
    Hey! Now!
    Ronna’s got the ‘Rona
    And I ain’t gonna
    be the one!…
    to help her
     

    Additional versus welcome!

  104. 104.

    Steeplejack

    Side note: These Republican senators on the Judiciary Committee who have tested positive are uniformly saying that they will isolate for 10 days—not the recommended 14—because that would conveniently allow them to be at Barrett’s hearing (if it still happens). ?

  105. 105.

    Ken

    @JPL: Probably some big O2 hits before he walked out to the helicopter.

    It would be irresponsible not to speculate that the delay before he boarded was due a couple of failed attempts to stand up, then they brought the oxygen.

  107. 107.

    Ken

    @MattF: Ah. Possibly explaining why Africa is doing relatively well. That, and most of their governments took it seriously, having had recent experience with other diseases.

  110. 110.

    Ken

    @Steeplejack: Barrett’s hearing (if it still happens)

    Best way to make sure it doesn’t is for a nurse to casually mention to Trump that it looks like he caught covid from Barrett.  Anyone got any connections?

    Of course the plan assumes that he’s conscious and able to communicate.

  117. 117.

    A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)

    @Ohio Mom: My husband had two sessions of gum surgery, where they pulled the gums back so to have more tooth area for major dental reconstruction (i.e. almost every tooth in his mouth). He was sedated but not anesthetized. What I really remember is for several days he could only eat VERY soft food (like overcooked pasta). A banana was too hard. Good luck – it was worth it for us. His new teeth look and work great.

  118. 118.

    JMG

    @debbie: Trump voters don’t seem very quiet to me. I mean, who was this guy? The woods are full of “political consultants” who’re either paid spinners or just frauds.

  119. 119.

    dmsilev

    @JPL: Huh, so the statement yesterday that he didn’t need supplemental oxygen was flat out false? I’m shocked.

  122. 122.

    Geoduck

    @PPCLI:  And ironically, he is treated like crap by Trumpco because of the one good thing he’s ever done in his life. i.e. Send Jared’s dad to the slammer.

    Two things- he graciously accepted help from Obama after the hurricane smacked New Jersey.

    And one more data-point about the Shiatgibbon’s health: since hitting the hospital, he’s posted exactly one atypical-sounding Tweet. Whatever’s going on, he’s not having a good time.

  124. 124.

    trnc

    @BR: The press needs to be asking the question “Did Trump infect Biden at the debate?” in advance of a possible Biden positive diagnosis.

    Almost. It’s time to stop asking questions when they know the answers will be lies.

    They need to SAY what we know 100% without a doubt now – DT and his family went to the debate knowing that any of them might infect other people in the building, including his opponent for the presidency.

  125. 125.

    Kattails

    @Salty Sam: Yes, the lack of objective reality is incredibly frustrating.  I dropped something off at a young (30’s something) neighbor’s house the other day, just a quick hi howareyou at the front door, and something in passing made me say well, things will get better under Biden. To which he replied that he didn’t believe so. The gist was, if only people would listen to each other we wouldn’t have these problems.  I mentioned McConnell holding up 400 bills and he said that was only one man. That this wasn’t even worth talking about.

    Now, grasp the cognitive dissonance here if you can, people don’t listen to each other and they should and I don’t think this is worth discussing. This young man has a wife and baby, the birth was really difficult and a couple of months were spent in a specialty live-in medical facility. For him to blow off things like babies and children being ripped from their parents, untraceable, mothers being involuntarily sterilized, just pisses me off. Fucking entitled white guy. However this was just before the COVID diagnosis, about which I am still skeptical–but he’s hanging out with anti-mask people.

    Mom–in my day, all the immigrants were legal, they waited their turn, now they’re all illegal and Biden would just let everyone in. My choices seem to be to ignore and just get by as best we can, or to do some respectful fact-checking (with Mom). But the young guy– wish I had a printer, I’d put that cartoon of the woman laying on the ground with her smiley-face coffee mug saying to the brown baby in the cage “I’m not sure who to vote for, what do you think?” and mail it. Aggressive, but this isn’t about me.

    Thanks for letting me vent, gang.

  127. 127.

    A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)

    Great shot of the Pileated Woodpeckers! We have some here at our place ( in a canyon outside of Ukiah CA). They are very fond of the grapes from our little vineyard. They remind me of the seagulls in that cartoon who kept saying “mine, mine “. That’s their attitude about the grapes.

  128. 128.

    BR

    @trnc:

    I agree, but we know the press won’t make an assertion like that, so the best is the Cavuto mark approach of a leading (and quite plausible) question.

  130. 130.

    lamh36

    I now believe they knew about the President’s exposure and test results either right before or right after the debate. It all hinges on when they knew Hicks had a positive test. If it was anytime before the debate, they could have tested the Prez by both the 15 min screening (less accurate) and the 50 min more accurate test. All within hours or before arriving to debate Biden

  132. 132.

    Kristine

    I love pileateds. They come around here–NE Illinois–for a short time in the spring. I’ve heard them in IL Beach State Park and the nearby woods. I wonder if their call was the inspiration for Woody Woodpecker’s?

  133. 133.

    beef

    @lamh36:

    We don’t know that Hicks was patient zero.  We only know that her diagnosis was the first we found out about.  All indications are that she and Trump started exhibiting signs on the same day, which suggests that neither gave it to the other.

  134. 134.

    Gvg

    @Original Lee: my childhood has many memories of my father hearing woodpeckers, and running out to check, just in case it was an ivory. He so wanted them not to be extinct.

    There have been reports that a few were seen in Mississippi and Cuba. I haven’t heard more in at least 10 years, but there were reports and discussion of funding for protecting habitat.

  136. 136.

    opiejeanne

    @Betty Cracker:  We have pileated woodpeckers here in Western Washington, and I think they live here year round. Just checked, they are not migratory. Their range is most of the west coast, across a big area of Canada and down the entire eastern seaboard. They don’t seem to be in deserts or the midwest.
    They drum on our roof ridge right over our bedroom in the spring and peck away at the metal roadsigns at our corner. The smaller sapsucker woodpeckers do that too. Recently we’ve acquired a flicker in the neighborhood and we don’t see the sapsuckers as often.

  137. 137.

    opiejeanne

    @Chetan Murthy: They said he’s resting comfortably. I think that sounds ominous, kind of like the idea that there’s no such thing as an innocent cough in a movie.

  141. 141.

    Amir Khalid

    @Geoduck:

    Obama had to work to get Chris Christie to take that hurricane relief money. He arranged for Christie to finally meet his idol, Bruce Springsteen. It did the trick; but because he is a bullying asshole, Christie didn’t manage to stay in Bruce’s good books for very long.

  143. 143.

    Noname

    @Ohio Mom: I don’t have a story because I got a second opinion from a great periodontist and still haven’t needed surgery after 15+ years.  Hope the same for you.

  148. 148.

    trollhattan

    Have occasionally spotted pileated in the Sierra Nevada–they’re flashy and boisterous and draw attention to themselves. The range map doesn’t show them coming down to the Valley, understandable because the remaining riparian woods habitat is scant and scattered. We have other flicker species, but I’m poor at IDing them.

    In the mountains other birds will nest in their large excavations. Was happy a couple summers ago to camp on a lake that had buffleheads nesting in nearby trees, and outside their recorded range. Charming little duckies.

  149. 149.

    JPL

    @different-church-lady: I couldn’t remember if was you or mom sense.

    So I leave for a few more minutes and now the doctor is saying he misspoke    I’m feeling kinda bad for that guy cuz everyone knows he is lying.

  150. 150.

    opiejeanne

    @SiubhanDuinne: I thought Spanish moss was an epiphyte, that they aren’t really a parasite but, like orchids, live on what comes to them from the air and rain.  I could be wrong though.

  154. 154.

    Sab

    @Betty Cracker: We have pileated woodpeckers in metroparks in northern Ohio. I used to think they migrated, because I would only spot them in spring. Park matiralist says nope. They are there year round but I only see them then because no leaf cover yet.

  155. 155.

    opiejeanne

    @trnc: There are some folks on Twitter saying they arrived late on purpose, so there was no time to test.

    I’m rooting for Barr to get it. Yes, I’m a terrible human.

  156. 156.

    lamh36

    @beef: Hope Hicks is the timeline we were given.  As I said, my observations are base on her being the beginning of the timeline.  That is the “easiest” way to think in terms of turnaround time.

    That is why I said my observations were based on HOPE HICKS testing results with the advent event.

    Even taking out her as “patient zero” doesn’t change my general discussion of turnaround times for common COVID testing based on my professional experience with said testing..which was the true point of the threads I created.

  157. 157.

    Ohio Mom

    Noname: 25 years ago a different periodontist told me I needed a bone graft, and a second opinion squelched that and led to me finding a new gum specialist.

    This time, I can see how thin my gums are in places.

  159. 159.

    Noname

    @Ohio Mom: OK in that case I can tell you that the two or three people I know who have had surgery recovered well.  Best of luck to you.

  160. 160.

    WaterGirl

    @beef: We don’t have to know that.  The point Lamh is making is that as soon as Hope Hicks tested positive, they would have tested Trump immediately.

    I think what Lamh said still stands.

  163. 163.

    A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)

    @trollhattan: Buffleheads are SO cute!  We had them on our pond at the old house.  I loved the way they could just sink under the surface and then pop up a ways away.  And their blue beaks! At the present house, no Buffleheads, but we do get Hooded Mergansers in the spring, plus visiting Great Egrets and Great Blue Herons, so there’s that.

  164. 164.

    A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)

    @opiejeanne: Come sit (6 feet way) from me. I SO want Bill Barr to get a bad case of Covid.  If anyone deserves it, it’s him.

    P.S. And you are not a terrible human being.  Barr is.

  165. 165.

    J R in WV

    @MagdaInBlack:

    I remember seeing a Pileated Woodpecker as a child, when we were camping somewhere in Whiteshell Provincial Park, in Manitoba. My mother was very excited. Do they summer up there?

    Our pileated woodpeckers stay here in southern WV year around. Maybe not as likely in Manitoba… Cold up there!

  167. 167.

    Miss Bianca

    @debbie: You really think anyone who wasn’t a die-hard Trumper to begin with is suddenly going to decide, “oh, yeah, the guy who called COVID-19 a ‘hoax’ and is now in the hospital with it in critical condition and might even die from it? YEAH, I’M VOTIN’ FOR HIM!”?

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