Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires republicans to act in good faith.

Pelosi: “He either is stupid, or he thinks the rest of us are.” Why not both?

Compromise? There is no middle ground between a firefighter and an arsonist.

Let there be snark.

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

The arc of history bends toward the same old fuckery.

The gop is a fucking disgrace.

Can we lighten up on the doomsday scenarios?

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

Republicans are the party of chaos and catastrophe.

Even though I know this is a bad idea, I’m off to do it anyway!

If you still can’t see these things even now, maybe politics isn’t your forte and you should stop writing about it.

Republicans firmly believe having an abortion is a very personal, very private decision between a woman and J.D. Vance.

I’m more Christian than these people and I’m an atheist.

Michigan is a great lesson for Dems everywhere: when you have power…use it!

“Until such time as the world ends, we will act as though it intends to spin on.”

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

There is no compromise when it comes to body autonomy. You either have it or you don’t.

… pundit janitors mopping up after the gop

I did not have this on my fuck 2024 bingo card.

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

Since we are repeating ourselves, let me just say fuck that.

T R E 4 5 O N

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

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Reader Interactions

235Comments

  6. 6.

    JCJ

    Many years ago the Seattle Seahawks had a linebacker of whom a teammate said “I would rather sandpaper a bobcat’s butt in a phone booth than get tackled by him”

  8. 8.

    Oklahomo

    I’ve been trying to catch our local bobcat for 10 years. I have everything else from coyotes to woodchucks to deer chasing skunks, but never the bobcat. We’ve seen him 3 times walking up the driving in broad daylight, but as soon as a camera goes up he vanishes.

  13. 13.

    RandomMonster

    We lost a kitty to one of those (or possibly to a mountain lion). Even though all of our cats were scrappy mountain-raised kitties, we decided the rest of them had to become indoor cats after that.

  17. 17.

    Oklahomo

    Have you ever set your trail cam to take video?  Every so often I will do that, and the best thing I’ve captured to date was a doe pushing a squirrel away from the deer corn…and he jumped up and nipped her, sending all the deer running.

  18. 18.

    Yarrow

    @WaterGirl: Biden is on all the networks. Even the legacy networks have preempted programming to show him speaking on his Covid plans.

    Edit: Wow, he’s so comforting. An adult is in charge. Well, will be.

  20. 20.

    Aleta

    How wonderful.  She’s a beauty isn’t she.  Your camera resolution is so good.

    One winter  we had a bobcat in our neighborhood.  She’d moved closer  after a nearby woods had been cleared for housing so the winter snow accumulation there was no longer good for her hunting.  She had a few chicken dinners at the neighbor’s and one morning I found her tracks outside our barn.  Perhaps the mice living near the compost pile brought her.

    What brand of  trail cam do you have ?  I’ve been wanting to get one  for my vacant lot where a fox travels along the edge of the river ice every winter and other wild animals leave tracks.  I’d love to hear any other tips you have for setting a camera up and using it.

  21. 21.

    Yarrow

    His group will advise on plans based on science and “keep compassion, empathy and care for every American at its core.” Such a relief I want to cry.

  22. 22.

    laura

    The last time I saw a bobcat in the wild was a few years ago just below the visitor parking lot at Old Folsom Prison. It had giant mitts!

  23. 23.

    trollhattan

    @John Cole:

    :-) good one.

    Steve, where your tail at?

    We have zero bobcats in the metroplex but at the house get a mix of squirrels, rats, possums, skunks and raccoons. And a few years back they darted a mountain lion less than two miles away, so you just never know….

  24. 24.

    The Moar You Know

    Want some respite?  here’s some respite.

    We are going to beat COVID.  For real.   This is unbelievably good news.

    As to the kitty, my mother’s got one out at their property in the desert.  They’re thrilled as the have a gopher problem.  Between the bobcat and the newly arrived fox, they may not have one for long.

  26. 26.

    Yarrow

    Biden says everyone should wear a mask. Most potent weapon against the virus. Doesn’t matter who you voted for. We can save live if everyone would wear a mask. Not Democratic or Republican lives – American lives. Wear a mask. Do it for yourself. Do it for your neighbor. A mask isn’t a political statement. It is a good way to pull the nation together. Wearing a mask isn’t to take something away from you; it’s to give something back to you – a normal life.

  28. 28.

    Roger Moore

    @RandomMonster:

    Even though all of our cats were scrappy mountain-raised kitties, we decided the rest of them had to become indoor cats after that.

    The key thing to remember is that the bobcats and mountain lions are also scrappy, mountain-raised kitties, but they’re much bigger than your house cats.

  29. 29.

    Aleta

    That’s a beautiful dry wall in the way back of the photo.  Is it standing from many years ago, or did you or a neighbor build it, or conserve it?

  31. 31.

    Yarrow

    And at the end a shout out and thank you to healthcare workers. I know they’re so exhausted. I hope it helps that the incoming president sees and appreciates them.

  32. 32.

    Faithful Lurker

    I was reading BJ comments one day last week, looked out the window to see what I think was a bobcat crossing our yard to check out the neighbor’s chickens. It had darker fur than the one above and a pretty long tail. I think it’s a young one. We have no stray cats or dogs around here. Our cat is very cautious. She hasn’t wanted out for a couple of days, I think there’s somebody scary lurking in the brush.

  33. 33.

    JPL

    There was a bobcat that would soak up the sun in my neighbors’ back yard last spring.    It has moved on since then.   I’ve seen deer, coyote, bobcats and fox.   The fox are disappearing though because coyotes have to eat.

  35. 35.

    JPL

    @Yarrow: Maybe Biden could plan PSA’s with someone who has direct experience with Covid.   Maybe another one with pictures of those who died.

  38. 38.

    swiftfox

    @Oklahomo: Make aluminum foil balls, I/2 inch to an inch in diameter. Attach the balls to string and tie it to a small branch up to a foot off the ground.  They are attracted to them. (Tip from a Wildlife Services employee from about 24 yrs ago; he worked in Texas.)

  39. 39.

    Aleta

    @Aleta:   OK, I see it’s a CORE Trail Camera by Bushnell.  If you don’t mind, which model do you have?    Are there certain features you recommend (or never use) wrt choosing one?

  41. 41.

    jeffreyw

    I bought one just like Cheryl’s to try for better resolution pics that could take more cropping without going all pixelated.  It didn’t work as we had hoped at the bird feeder so we moved it out next to the drive.  Worked wonderfully here.

  42. 42.

    Roger Moore

    @Mathguy: 

    The scriptwriters should be fired, this isn’t realistic at all:

    POLITICO: Man featured at Giuliani press conference is a convicted sex offender.

    Being part of Trump’s orbit means being OK with accused sex offenders. It’s not too hard to believe they’d let a convict in.

  43. 43.

    burnspbesq

    Coyotes are a problem all across OC. Except at my ex’s house. Two Great Pyrenees and two Tibetan Mastiffs pretty much ensure that nothing is coming over the wall into the back yard.

  44. 44.

    Gin & Tonic

    I keep thinking I should set up one of those trail cams, because I know we have fishers around here but I’ve never actually seen one.

  46. 46.

    Kent

    @Roger Moore: he key thing to remember is that the bobcats and mountain lions are also scrappy, mountain-raised kitties, but they’re much bigger than your house cats.

    And no doubt hungrier.

  51. 51.

    Oklahomo

    @swiftfox: I’ll have to try that!  We had a housecat slip out and decide to play hide and seek with us in the woods.  She found a bobcat marking spot and rolled in it.  You could smell her at 20 paces when she came back.  Into the sink she went.

  53. 53.

    Aleta

    @Gin & Tonic:  A friend of mine in a wildlife job used to say, “If you see a fisher that’s not one.”    But back then they stayed far from civilization.  No more so.

  56. 56.

    Cheryl Rofer

    @Aleta: Mine is a Bushnell CoreCam with no-glo infrared flash for nighttime.

    I’ve been setting it up in various places around the yard. The birdbath is always good for birds, and the place where I have it now seems to be a major pathway through the yard for larger mammals. I’ve used a tripod and strapped it to various trees and posts around the yard. Right now it’s on a post for the railing along the front steps.

  57. 57.

    RandomMonster

    @Roger Moore:

    The key thing to remember is that the bobcats and mountain lions are also scrappy, mountain-raised kitties, but they’re much bigger than your house cats.

    That was exactly my point.

    You don’t want to see what the big cats are capable of.

  58. 58.

    Searcher

    @Oklahomo: Back in February the big news around here was that someone got a picture of a gen-u-ine mountain lion on their game camera.

    The year before I saw what looked suspiciously like very large cat prints in the snow, but discounted it because everyone said we didn’t have any mountain lions around here.

  61. 61.

    Cheryl Rofer

    @Aleta: The neighbor’s workers built it. A few years back, it got pulled down in the middle of one night. Wasn’t clear how it happened. The neighbor was convinced that it was a human trying to burglarize his house, but I think he was being a little paranoid. If it happens again when I’ve got the camera in this position, we may know!

    The cats love that wall because many lizards and chipmunks live in it.

  63. 63.

    CaseyL

    @jeffreyw: Love the One Deer A-Leaping!

    But when the photo opens, it’s right  under the site banner, “What’s For Dinner Solutions at Home,” which is kind of funny.  “What’s for dinner?  This!”

  64. 64.

    Oklahomo

    @Searcher: It’s oh-so easy not to get pictures of what you know is there.  We’ve had bad drought followed by floods followed by drought, so there have been weird shifts.  But: I’ve had a trail cam on my deer feeder for years.  Never caught a coyote on cam even though we hear them all the time.  Never caught a woodchuck until this year.  Now I catch as many skunks, raccoons, and squirrels as I do deer.  And of course, the Canadian geese.

  70. 70.

    Ken

    @Oklahomo: We’ve seen him 3 times walking up the driving in broad daylight, but as soon as a camera goes up he vanishes.

    That’s not a bobcat, it’s a vampire. Or maybe a Mi-Go.

    Seriously, I’ve had the same experience with herons. They don’t seem to mind me looking at them, but if I start to pull out my phone they fly off. I expect they’ve had bad experiences with apes throwing things.

  71. 71.

    LuciaMia

    I see Don Jr. is bitching about the ‘timing’ of the Pfizer announcement. Oh well, he can add that to his list of grievances which he will no doubt be mumbling about for years to come.

    ******

    Trump hinting he might run in 2024?  Shit , thats like the Ghosts of Christmas Past and Future rolled into one.

  72. 72.

    PJ

    @RandomMonster: I read an article (in I think Salon or Slate) about 20 years ago about a man who was attacked by a mountain lion in BC.  It jumped him from behind and clamped its mouth around the back of his neck.  He fortunately remembered something about dogs, where if you pull down on the lower jaw they will probably let go, and this trick worked with the lion, only now he had to wrestle the lion until another guy could get a clear shot at the animal.  (I’ve abbreviated the story.)

    The lion was very hungry.  When they cut it open, it had a porcupine in its stomach.

    Needless to say, not something you want to experience firsthand.

  75. 75.

    Ken

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: Pfizer does have that mega-million-dollar contract with the US government to provide the vaccine, so it’s not like they’ll be out of pocket.  The good thing is they’re being clear this won’t be a matter of whether you, or your insurance, can afford it.

    So all that’s left is making the prioritized list.  Here, I’ll get us started:

    1. Me
  78. 78.

    Immanentize

    @Ken: It’s funny but when I heard the Pfizer news this morning, my first thought was I wonder who is spending all they have to get in front of the line.  My guess was Megachurch leaders.

  81. 81.

    gene108

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    Pfizer says that vaccine will be free to American citizens.

    I hope they mean anyone living in the USA. There are many non-citizen immigrants, like students, GC holders, etc. that also need the vaccine.

  82. 82.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Immanentize: Well, let’s just say that Trump tweeted that he has fired Esper. Your guess is as good as mine as to whether there was actually a binding personnel action.

  83. 83.

    Feathers

    @Miss Bianca: FYI – The Shows Must Go On, Andrew Lloyd Weber’s pandemic YouTube channel, is running Shakespeare for November. Started with Simon Callow’s one man show, Will include Fiona Shaw as Richard II, Patrick Stewart as Macbeth, and a sonnet show.

  85. 85.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Immanentize:

    It’s funny but when I heard the Pfizer news this morning, my first thought was I wonder who is spending all they have to get in front of the line.  My guess was Megachurch leaders. 

    Grifting pastors with raging boners.

  86. 86.

    Immanentize

    @Gin & Tonic: I just read there may be a problem with who he is trying to appoint….  Does not comport with the statutory “acting” line of command.

    ETA

    There’s currently a Senate-confirmed Deputy Secretary of Defense — David Norquist. Under 10 U.S.C. § 132(b), *he* is supposed to become Acting Secretary in the event of a vacancy.Unless Trump fired him, too. pic.twitter.com/sZNlwq0SGG— Steve Vladeck (@steve_vladeck) November 9, 2020

  89. 89.

    Barbara

    @LuciaMia: Seriously, they have no conception about how to play the game.  It’s like they assume a modern day equivalent of droit de seigneur where, having won the White House, they had to right to own everyone who requires executive agency approval to get something done.  I cannot state how much I am looking forward to not having to care about what these people think ever again.

  91. 91.

    Ken

    @Immanentize: My serious prioritized list would start:

    1. (tie) Healthcare workers; vaccine trial participants who got the placebo
    2. Assisted living staff
    3. Grocery store workers
    4. Meat packing plant employees

    As a general rule, if you had to go to work in April, move to the front of the line. People like me who’ve been working from home since March can wait another six months.

    And if you’ve organized a superspreader event, end of the line.

  93. 93.

    RandomMonster

    @PJ: That sounds about right. For smaller animals, they just clamp down on the prey’s head.

    In the Santa Cruz Mountains where we lived, there were reports of mountain lions boldly leaping out and snatching dogs off leashes. A little disturbing living among apex predators.

  96. 96.

    Ken

    @Baud: I think narcissistic personality breakdown has a different progression than the stages of grief.  Is it Hoarse Whisperer or Popehat who has the rundown?

    (Dear lord, another way that Trump’s damaged me – I now read twitter.)

  102. 102.

    whatsername

    @Faithful Lurker:   But if the feline beastie who crossed your yard on the way to the neighbor’s chicken coop had a nice long tail, then it wasn’t a bobcat.  Bobcats have short tails, like a Manx cat. IIUC, that’s what the ‘bob’ in bobcat signifies.

    Maybe you saw Steve!   ;-)

  105. 105.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @WaterGirl:

    He was on MSNBC. Probably other cables, but I didn’t check. It was his announcement about his COVID-19 advisory task force, and a truly eloquent plea for everyone to wear masks. It wasn’t long, and I imagine it will be available later.

  106. 106.

    Steve in the ATL

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    don’t get cocky–you’re still in time out for your “an lawyer” comment last night.  And you thought you’d gotten away with it!

  110. 110.

    Oklahomo

    @mrmoshpotato: We call it social distancing at the deer feeder.  There will be a series of shots where a skunk wanders in, and a large circle starts to form as the deer, raccoons, and/or possums start moving away.  Sometimes you’ll see the younger deer stamping their feet in annoyance, but they still stay away. ETA: The Foot Stomp of Annoyance

  112. 112.

    mrmoshpotato

    @LuciaMia: I’m not sure Dump will live to see 2024 – due to natural (McDonald’s, being obese, dementia) causes – not because of sentenced to death by hanging post-Ametican Nuremberg trials.

  114. 114.

    Spanky

    @Oklahomo:

    There will be a series of shots where a skunk wanders in, and a large circle starts to form as the deer, raccoons, and/or possums start moving away.

    Steve Bannon walks into a bar …

  116. 116.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @mrmoshpotato:

    Likewise. Had mercifully forgotten all about him. Then he had to go test positive for C-19 and remind us all of his miserable grifting existence.

  118. 118.

    Steve in the ATL

    @Baud:

    Is that the bargaining phase?

    I come here for a respite and you bring up one of the core functions of my job? Not cool. In fact, minimum cool (hat tip, BGinCHi and Juliana Hatfield’s “Alright [sic] Yeah”).

     

    @Ken: wow–you totally misspelled “management-side labor lawyers and their spouses and older daughters, but maybe not their younger daughters who are presently in the doghouse even though they spent almost all of Saturday celebrating Biden and mocking trump in the streets of Atlanta”

     

    @SiubhanDuinne: if I can un-hack my Apple account, I have some photos of grain silos from one of my trips to Africa last year.  We are a big tent party so “On the Road” includes air travel, right?

  122. 122.

    CaseyL

    @Ken: Word gets around.

    Heck, maybe they do all get sprayed at some point.  Nobody babyproofs the forest.  It might even be a rite of passage.

  125. 125.

    Martin

    Oh, yeah, I had one of those in the tree by my back door. Wasn’t sure what was out there making noise so I go out in my bare feet with a flashlight, standing under the tree poking around with the flashlight while it growls at me.

    Bit later Ms Martin saw it walking along the fence and called me an idiot for standing 5 feet below it when I clearly didn’t know what was up there.

    That was the same day that Kevin Drums cat went missing – he’s three blocks over from me. So, that’s our operating theory.

  126. 126.

    Oklahomo

    @Ken: A skunk in the wild usually carries a cloud of the smell like Pigpen in Charlie Brown.  We can tell if one has been on the porch or in the barn by the lingering aromas.  It doesn’t have to spray for the smell to be eye-watering and nose-burning.

  127. 127.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @germy:

    Wondering whether they will acknowledge his passing tonight. I’m betting they will, if only with an In Memoriam placard at the top of the show.

  130. 130.

    Roger Moore

    @Ken:

    I wonder how the other animals know. They can’t all have been sprayed by a skunk, can they?

    I have never been sprayed by a skunk, but I know to avoid them. It’s entirely possible other animals teach their children to avoid skunks. Learning without needing to experience something yourself is one of the advantages of maternal care.

  132. 132.

    Steve in the ATL

    @Immanentize: and you, sir or madam, are still in time out for indirectly insulting the Beatles the other day and, even more indirectly, possibly insulting Lloyd Cole [no relation] and the Commotions, who ripped off and/or paid homage to said Beatles in “Rattlesnakes”, Cole’s [no relation] greatest song (though “Perfect Skin” comes close).

  134. 134.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Steve in the ATL:

    I wish to hell I could find my 2007 photos of spiderwebs on Magdalen Bridge. Each segment of the bridge boasted a huge, magnificent web, and each was a unique design.

  137. 137.

    Roger Moore

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    Bobcats definitely get down into the upper parts of Pasadena, too.  I saw one about a block from my home.  I’ve also seen a bear, though that was a bit further away, and lots of trash cans that the bears have gone through.  Mountain lions also visit the neighborhood, though they’re stealthier than the bears are.

  138. 138.

    Kay

    Jake Tapper
    @jaketapper
    According to a senior administration official, John McEntee, director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office, is spreading the word throughout the administration that if he hears of anyone looking for another job they will be fired.

    I mean, come on. It’s not the end of the world to get fired. Why don’t any of these people have any self respect?
    No one should hire them because they’re all ridiculously weak people who are incapable of making the simplest decisions without someone telling them what to do. Walk out! You’re free!

  143. 143.

    Barbara

    @Kristine: Donations are what this is about, totally.  I have received numerous hysterical fundraising emails from Republican related organizations over the last week, including many being sent by or on behalf of the Platinum Grifter Club (e.g., Trump Jr., Candace Owens).  They never say what the money will be used for except that I am supposed to “stand” with them in opposing election fraud.  My guess is that if Trump Sr. can’t make the distance, Trump Jr. is totally on board to carry the new family enterprise forward.

  144. 144.

    Steve in the ATL

    @Immanentize:

    you made a comment the other night to the effect that love ISN’T all you need.  While you were correct, I’m still mad at you for liking a Yoko Ono song!  (I’m learning about grudge-holding from my wife with Irish ancestry)

  145. 145.

    WaterGirl

    @SiubhanDuinne: Thanks.  As soon as someone wrote “it’s on all the TV channels” I ran to my computer, pulled up c-span, and there it was.  I was able to watch it LIVE, and go back to the beginning.

  149. 149.

    Roger Moore

    @Kay:

    I mean, come on. It’s not the end of the world to get fired. Why don’t any of these people have any self respect?

    They’re all going to get pink slips in 2 months anyway, so it’s not like getting fired is going to hurt them too much anyway.  What this will really do is to keep around the people who know they’re unemployable and let the ones who can find another job leave.

  151. 151.

    Roger Moore

    @Barbara:

    My guess is that if Trump Sr. can’t make the distance, Trump Jr. is totally on board to carry the new family enterprise forward.

    What is the second time if the first time was already farce?

  153. 153.

    Steve in the ATL

    @WaterGirl:

    more likely a reference to my crusade against the pretentious and contrary to English language rules construction “an historian”.  SD is quite clever and can be impressively subtle!

  157. 157.

    Steve in the ATL

    @Kay:

    who the hell wouldn’t be looking for a job when they know their current employment will end, emphatically, in two months?

    Well, maybe anyone stupid enough to work for trump in the first place.

  162. 162.

    Roger Moore

    @Steve in the ATL:

    who the hell wouldn’t be looking for a job when they know their current employment will end, emphatically, in two months?

    Who wouldn’t be looking for a job when they know they’ll be fired in 2 months?  Someone who isn’t allowed to admit it.  This is all about maintaining the fiction Trump won the election.  Looking for a job is a tacit admission he didn’t, and that is apparently a firing offense.

  165. 165.

    Ken

    @Immanentize: Didn’t Trump designate his inauguration day with some grandiose title like “National Day of Rejoicing and Gratitude”?  I don’t think Biden will do the same, but maybe we’ll have the spontaneous reaction that Trump failed to create by decree.

  170. 170.

    Miss Bianca

    @zhena gogolia: Oh, Atul Gawande! Really enjoyed (if that’s the word I want) his book on the abysmal state of American end-of-life care.

    Seems like a fine, multi-cultural team of actual medical experts. How Un-American! In other words, how Democratic!

  171. 171.

    Kay

    @Roger Moore:

    I know we’re supposed to feel sorry for them- that’s why it was leaked, because they’re “young” and they need employment without gaps but it’s just more of the same- pretending they have no agency whatsoever.

    1. Stand up 2. walk out

    I don’t know if they can stay in DC or whatever but life is full of uncertainty. Is it really tragic that their boss got fired? It’s not even their fault! They, personally, were not even fired.

    I once got fired while I was employee of the month.

  174. 174.

    Roger Moore

    @Kay:

    I don’t feel sorry for anyone in the Trump administration who needs to look for a job.  They made their bed; now it’s time to lie in it.  I think this is more illustrative of the lengths Trump’s minions are willing to go to preserve his safe space.  What a snowflake.  He lost, and now he needs to get the fuck over it.

  176. 176.

    different-church-lady

    OK, it’s really starting to get on my nerves how often people are late for their own damn Zoom meetings…

  188. 188.

    CaseyL

    To be funded through sales of Men of the Trump Organization calendars.

     

    Where’s that barf emoji when you really need it?

  189. 189.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    Now here’s a twitter account some jackals may want to follow even if they hate twitter: Champ and Major Biden.

     

    ? “Starting in January, the Biden family’s two German shepherds, Champ and Major, will roam the executive residence.” – Yes, at first we’ll mostly be sniffing around and digging in the Rose Garden. Champ has a stash of ? & ? he hid there in 2015. https://t.co/cm4cTt5tU6— Champ & Major Biden ?? (@First_Dogs_USA) November 9, 2020

  203. 203.

    Barbara

    @Roger Moore: Right.  They aren’t even allowed to look for a new job, even if they would be willing to stay until the end of the term, because that would suggest that Trump will no longer be there when the new term begins. They have to risk a gap in their income so that Trump can prolong his toddlerhood for just a little longer.  Okay, they went to work for them when it was obvious what he is like, but ye Gods, what a fucking waste of space he is.  Part of me still can’t believe how so many people cannot see right through him.  It’s delusional.

  204. 204.

    A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)

    @Faithful Lurker: Bobcats don’t have long tails (hence the name bobcat – i.e. the tail is short, that is “bobbed”).  Maybe a young mountain lion?

  205. 205.

    Scout211

    Late to this thread (and maybe already off topic) but I went outside a few weeks ago around 4:30 am when the chickens were squawking in fear.  I went out with a flashlight and was walking toward the coop when my flashlight found a bobcat. It was a shock to me because I had never been that close to a bobcat.  Usually they run away when they spot humans so I’ve seen many, but from a distance.  That bobcat seemed really big 6 feet away.  We had a silent stare down for a few seconds and it eventually ran off.  The chickens went back to sleep.

    The end.

  208. 208.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    I was looking at “Vintage Los Angeles Postcards” on Google…as I scrolled down I saw one of Downtown LA with the snowcapped San Gabriels.  I said, “I did one just like that”, it linked to Balloon Juice.

  209. 209.

    mrmoshpotato

    @NotMax:

    Congratulations on finding the missing lynx!

    /cannot believe no one has said that yet

    We were all respectfully leaving it to you.

  210. 210.

    different-church-lady

    Let’s check today’s scorecard:

    BIDEN: Starts seriously addressing pandemic with a panel of scientists

    TRUMP: Fires secretary of defense via Twitter, and infects secretary of HUD.

  215. 215.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    I would love it if Champ and Major would invite Olive and Mabel to the White House for a play date.  Andrew Cotter’s Book about O&M will be released in a few weeks, so maybe a nice North American Book tour?

  217. 217.

    Gin & Tonic

    David Bossie, who was tapped to lead the anti-vote-counting effort when Meadows came down with COVID, has come down with COVID.

    Thoughts and prayers, amirite?

  219. 219.

    JoyceH

    Couple random observations –

    First, has anyone mentioned that David Bossie has also tested positive? He’s the guy who was just named to honcho Trump’s election legal challenges. Does anyone know if he was at that Election Night superspreader speech?

    Also, that guy at the Four Seasons presser who’s a convicted sex offender? He’s also apparently a New Jersey resident, which means he was either lying about being a Philadelphia poll watcher, or he was an illegal poll watcher by virtue of not being a state resident.

  221. 221.

    Roger Moore

    @Gin & Tonic:

    David Bossie, who was tapped to lead the anti-vote-counting effort when Meadows came down with COVID, has come down with COVID.

    Nobody could have foreseen that people around Trump would come down with COVID.  It’s a conspiracy, I tell you.

  222. 222.

    JoyceH

    @Roger Moore:  conspiracies are everywhere! I saw a guy at one of these pro-Trump demos tell a reporter how fishy it was that the mail-in ballots were going so heavily for Biden – after Trump spent months telling his supporters not to vote by mail.

  223. 223.

    bluefoot

    @Ken: I agree.  Pretty much anyone in on the of the essential jobs should be in line for the vaccine first. I would add transit and postal workers, staff at hospitals and doctors’ offices, teachers.

    it’s a small thing, but I noticed Biden’s statement on the Pfizer vaccine acknowledged the “women and men” who worked on the vaccine.  I like that he said women first.

  227. 227.

    Sm*t Cl*de

    @Cheryl Rofer:

    Lynxes have been reported in the Santa Fe area

    I prefer to treat ‘lynx’ as a third-declension noun, like “phalanx” or “larynx”, so the plural is of course “lynges”.

  231. 231.

    Brachiator

    @Roger Moore:

    David Bossie, who was tapped to lead the anti-vote-counting effort when Meadows came down with COVID, has come down with COVID.

    Nobody could have foreseen that people around Trump would come down with COVID.  It’s a conspiracy, I tell you.

    I continue to be amazed at the degree to which people around Trump let themselves be exposed to the Rona. I could understand elitist hypocrisy, pretending to go along with Trump in public, but protecting themselves as much as possible in private. But these supposedly smart, educated people, dutifully fell in line.

    Social scientists will be mining this data for decades.

  233. 233.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    Many moons ago, my wife and I were celebrating our 5th anniversary with a weekend on Lake Coeur d’alene in Idaho. My boss let me take a 27′ Chaparral ski boat out (I was the head mechanic at a dealership at the time) as a gift so we spent a lot of time (and gas) blasting around the lake. At about the midpoint in the lake we were blasting long at about 70 mph when I saw what I thought was a cat in the water. We slowed way down and came back around to find a bobcat paddling across the lake. While I kept our distance, the cat saw a floating platform and changed direction so they could hop aboard our vessel. We scooted out of there and it resumed it’s trip across the lake, emerging on shore, shaking off and trotting into the brush.

    It was pretty damned cool to watch. I have a pic of it somewhere that I’ll have to scan and post some day.

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