Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Let’s bury these fuckers at the polls 2 years from now.

This has so much WTF written all over it that it is hard to comprehend.

He really is that stupid.

Let’s not be the monsters we hate.

This country desperately needs a functioning fourth estate.

Sometimes the world just tells you your cat is here.

Prediction: the gop will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.

Republicans in disarray!

Good lord, these people are nuts.

They are not red states to be hated; they are voter suppression states to be fixed.

We are aware of all internet traditions.

’Where will you hide, Roberts, the laws all being flat?’

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

Not all heroes wear capes.

Of course you can have champagne before noon. That’s why orange juice was invented.

Teach a man to fish, and he’ll sit in a boat all day drinking beer.

Shut up, hissy kitty!

Boeing: repeatedly making the case for high speed rail.

If you cannot answer whether trump lost the 2020 election, you are unfit for office.

I swear, each month of 2025 will have its own history degree.

You are so fucked. Still, I wish you the best of luck.

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

Let there be snark.

Too often we hand the biggest microphones to the cynics and the critics who delight in declaring failure.

You are here: Home / Politics / domestic terrorists / Nancy Smash Open Thread: There Will Be Further Investigation

Nancy Smash Open Thread: There Will Be Further Investigation

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… “To protect our security, our next step will be to establish an outside, independent 9/11-type Commission to ‘investigate and report on the facts and causes relating to the January 6, 2021 domestic terrorist attack upon the United States Capitol Complex,'” Pelosi wrote…

A commission of this nature would be established by a statute, passed by both chambers and signed into law by the President. The commission members would not be elected leaders and would be outside the government.

In a separate letter to House Democrats earlier this month, Pelosi wrote that it is “clear that we will need to establish a 9/11-type Commission to examine and report upon the facts, causes and security relating to the terrorist mob attack on January 6.”…

In mid-January, Pelosi announced that retired Lt. General Russel Honoré will lead a review of the “security infrastructure” of Capitol Hill in the wake of the attack.

“For the past few weeks, General Honoré has been assessing our security needs by reviewing what happened on January 6 and how we must ensure that it does not happen again,” Pelosi wrote in her letter on Monday…

Earlier this month, Pelosi told reporters as she left a news conference that a 9/11-style commission to investigate the insurrection would look “different” than the one formed following the September 11, 2001, terror attack — and would have a greater emphasis on diversity.

“Different from 9/11. What were there, nine people? All white, one woman. It will look different,” she said at the time…

The Disloyal Opposition:

Reader Interactions

281Comments

  1. 1.

    J R in WV

    FRist ??

    Hurray!!! Lt. General Russel Honoré — who took over NOLA recovery after Katrina — will do a great job leading any investigation of the insurrection, how it was organized, who organized it, who paid for it, why they thought they could get away with it, all that!

  3. 3.

    Miss Bianca

    House Republicans “demand” answers from Nancy Pelosi on Capitol security? Well, it’s like my momma always said: “Some people have more nerve than sense.”

  7. 7.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    SIETE

    I also support a commission to look into the events of 1/6. We may be getting our Truth and Reconciliation Commission, in a sense, after all

  10. 10.

    Ruckus

    @Miss Bianca:

    I believe they think nerve is much more important than sense, that’s why they are full of nerve (or full of something) and have sold all their sense for $1.95. (Who ever bought their sense for $1.95 had already sold theirs.)

  11. 11.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @Miss Bianca:

    It’s just as outrageous as them acting scandalized that they have to go through metal detectors before entering House chambers. Everyone has to, Democrats and Republicans. What makes them so special?

  12. 12.

    Baud

    @Ruckus:

    They’re looking for some error or possibility of error on Pelosi’s part so they can pretend that washes away their sedition.

  13. 13.

    Chetan Murthy

    I continue to wait for Attorney General Garland to start the massive number of investigations we need into all the many forms of crminality of the last four years.  Sure, Congressional hearings and investigations are fine.  But they rarely result in the sort of prosecutions that actually deter malefactors.  And let’s be realistic: they won’t result in new *laws* that deter those malefactors, b/c those guys have half the Senate.

    We need prosecutions, and I’m getting fed up waiting for all those state AGs who supposedly have jurisdiction to get off their asses.

  15. 15.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    @Baud: But McConnell doesn’t have to explain why he left the Senate unprepared. Apparently Pelosi suffers from the same tragic flaw Hillary has.

  16. 16.

    Burnspbesq

    As long as nobody sees this commission as a substitute for grand juries, I guess I’m OK with it.

    But these people need to do hard time.

  18. 18.

    Roger Moore

    I agree that the Congressional leaders need to be interviewed on this.  I think it says something about the Republicans that they see an interview as a threat rather than a basic part of due diligence.

  19. 19.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    @Baud: Maybe, but it was Claire McCaskill who originally brought up my question and you’d think she’d have some knowledge.

  20. 20.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @Baud:

    You’re absolutely correct. However, Republicans were in control of the Senate at the time. Even ignoring their roles in ratcheting up the anger that led to violence through their lies about the election, what’s their excuse?

  22. 22.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Baud: Not really.  There are committees in both Houses that appoint a Board, which oversees the USCP.  Any responsibility that Pelosi has, is equally shared with Yertle, at a minimum.

  25. 25.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @Baud:

    Actually, I don’t think that’s true. From the US Capitol Police website:

    The United States Capitol Police (USCP) is overseen by the Capitol Police Board and has Congressional oversight by appropriations and authorizing committees from the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate.

  27. 27.

    Gin & Tonic

    Spent the day driving to help bury an old, old friend who did not survive Covid. I am emotionally drained.

  29. 29.

    Millard Filmore

    @Benw:

     

    You can’t investigate, we already acquitted! WAH

    A perfect excuse for Republicans to vote against establishing the commission.

  31. 31.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    @Anne Laurie: If only one could stitch on a…  Y chromosome, when required.

    Republicans never pass up a chance to blame the victim but when it’s a female it’s even easier for them. “She was asking for it.”

  32. 32.

    Mike in NC

    Any Republican senator or congressperson found to have assisted the mob will need to lose their seat. Rudy Giuliani must be disbarred for inciting the rioters. Trump Jr should land in jail.

  37. 37.

    WaterGirl

    Zoom is starting in 27 minutes.  (doors open already)

    If anyone wants to attend but haven’t written yet for the zoom link, I am still checking email.

  38. 38.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    Speaking of Claire McCaskill, she’s been a kickass political commentator on MSNBC now that she’s letting her dirty hippie flag fly. And I love when MSNBC teams up Rachel Maddow, Joy Reid and Nicole Wallace. Really must-see TV. No idea why they have Brian Williams around who seems entirely too focused on hearing himself use words.

  43. 43.

    germy

    Ron Johnson on WISN radio: "The fact of the matter is this didn’t seem like an armed insurrection to me." https://t.co/CjL7S62mP0— Jessie Opoien (@jessieopie) February 15, 2021

    The first line of the Officer Eugene Goodman Congressional Gold Medal Act, which passed this week by unanimous consent, which means no Senator objected to the bill, is literally: "On January 6, 2021, the United States Capitol Building was attacked by armed insurrectionists." https://t.co/rD3yTPBeqI— Liz Hempowicz (@lizhempowicz) February 15, 2021

  44. 44.

    Ivan X

    “…passed by both chambers…”

    Is that actually possible? I guess you only have to peel off three R Senators, though who knows how many of the original 7 want to get this behind them, now that they’ve exercised their act of “courage” against someone who is easy to loathe.

  48. 48.

    germy

    At least six people providing security for Roger Stone participated in the Capitol attack, our new Visual Investigation shows. Here's how the guards (all Oath Keepers) went from guarding Trump's longtime confidant to standing inside the Capitol on Jan. 6: https://t.co/h2IU3jwxcE

    — Christiaan Triebert (@trbrtc) February 14, 2021

  50. 50.

    Mary G

    Coryn of Texas is  blocking Deb Haaland for Interior Secretary. His state can’t handle its own energy business and he has the nerve to toady to his oil & gas donors.

    Like Scott says,

    Grrr.

  54. 54.

    LurkerNoLonger

    House Speaker Pelosi announces plans for a “9/11-type commission” to look in to the January 6 attack on the Capitol.

    *Palpatine laugh* Gooood. Gooood.

  55. 55.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @Roger Moore:

    Oh I get it’s because they’re privileged assholes who think the rules don’t apply to them. But framing it the way I did correctly makes them look unreasonable and the privileged assholes they are

  58. 58.

    dm

    I hope this is the start of many commissions, really.  The last four years have shown the need for a lot of changes to how things are done in government with the reliance on norms, a sense of decency, a sense of shame to keep things on the rails.

  66. 66.

    Baud

    @Ken: Maybe.

     

    @chopper: There’s this one commenter who annoys me so much with her indefatigable energy.  I’ll call her AguaChica to protect her identity.

  72. 72.

    WaterGirl

    @Baud: Sometimes people remember the Zoom at the last minute and say so in a thread, so I am half participating in both places.

    I’m not the biggest zoomer ever, so I do a lot more listening than talking.

  86. 86.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    Incidentally, friends in Texas were on Facebook talking about how there is a Blizzard Truther movement movement now on with the Texas Wingnuts. Apparently cold weather is a Liberal conspiracy.

  87. 87.

    satby

    So, blizzard conditions here now (ho-hum) and there’s nothing better than sitting snug in front of a pretend roaring electric fireplace and having a nice bowl of Hudson’s ice cream. Toasted Coconut and Dark Chocolate Almond, to be specific. Nummmm!

  91. 91.

    WaterGirl

    @satby: I had toasted coconut ice cream in South Haven, MI in the summer of 2019 and it was the best cream I have ever had.

    I did not know you could buy toasted coconut ice cream at a grocery store.

  93. 93.

    J R in WV

    @Gin & Tonic:

    Spent the day driving to help bury an old, old friend who did not survive Covid. I am emotionally drained.

    I’m so sorry for your loss… We have been so lucky to have not lost close people to this Trump Plague. Most of our friends are rural, hiding out up lour hollows and on our ridges. So far, anyway.

    Take care, G&T, watch out for yourself, and keep in touch!!

  100. 100.

    L85NJGT

    FYI:

    The electricity grid was designed to be in high demand during the summer, when Texans crank their air conditioning at home. But some of the energy sources that power the grid during the summer are offline during the winter. So when Texans stayed home during the storm on Sunday and demanded record amounts of electricity, the state’s energy system could not keep up.
    Some of the energy sources powering the grid were knocked out by the inclement weather, most of which were facilities run by gas, coal or nuclear energy.
    “Most of the plants that went offline during evening and morning today were fueled by one of those sources,” said Dan Woodfin, senior director of system operations at ERCOT.

  103. 103.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @WaterGirl: I think she said in her first briefing there wouldn’t be briefings on weekends or holidays, the followed up with “I’m not a monster”.

    ETA: “I’m not a monster” probably sounded better than “I’m not a masochist”.

  106. 106.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Jay: I know. These are people who are directly experiencing this and claiming it’s fake news. Something about Alex Jones.

  107. 107.

    WaterGirl

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: I heard the “I am not a monster” comment at the time, but I didn’t catch the “holiday” part.

    At the University, we always had to work on President’s Day.  But I guess the Federal government would count President’s Day as a holiday.

    thanks

  111. 111.

    WaterGirl

    @satby: Looks like they sell Hudsonville at one of my grocery stores here, but no toasted coconut.  Looks like they sell toasted coconut in Kalamazoo where my sister lives, though.

  113. 113.

    John S.

    @WaterGirl: The best ice cream I’ve ever had was Murphy’s Ice Cream in Killarney, Ireland. I don’t what the hell they do to it, but it’s amazing. They claim it’s because they only use milk from Kerry cows.

  114. 114.

    Quinerly

    GA Bar investigating Lin Wood. He has now doxed the officials asking QAnon supporters to find dirt/info on them. (he has 800,000 followers on social media “Telegram.”) Wood has published addresses, info about officials. Plus, Joe Biden is not actually in the WH. It’s all fake. It’s essentially a movie set in an undisclosed location. And Wood is now representing Sidney Powell in the suit Dominion filed against her.

    You simply can’t make this shit up. Laughable except he is trying to get  members of the Disciplinary Board of the State Bar of Georgia killed.

    https://www.vice.com/en/article/7k9jd9/lin-wood-doxed-georgia-officials-to-hundreds-of-thousands-of-qanon-supporters

  120. 120.

    topclimber

    @Burnspbesq: That may be a dodge for bad actors: I can’t testify to the commission because there is a criminal investigation going on…a glorified version of taking the Fifth.

  123. 123.

    Dan B

    @WaterGirl: Wow!  My aunts had a “cottage” in the dunes near Covert, MI.  We went to South Haven to fish at the pier every visit, which was almost every year because we lived closer to the “cottage” .  My aunts lived in Bogota, Colorado Springs, Nagoya, Vicenza, etc.  We were probably in South Haven before the ice cream you describe.

  125. 125.

    satby

    @John S.: Irish milk and butter is richer because it’s almost exclusively grass fed. A local farmer here sells raw milk from his grass fed dairy cows and when I used to buy it, it was incredibly good. I only quit buying it because he wasn’t a masker.

  126. 126.

    Sloane Ranger

    I don’t know if anyone has picked up on this but CNN has reported that Adam Kitzinger? has received a letter from a cousin calling him an embarrassment to the family and accusing him of betraying Christ by joining the Army of Satan. All because he voted to impeach Trump. I’m gobsmacked, totally gobsmacked.

  133. 133.

    Dan B

    @WaterGirl: We went to a fantastic old fashioned amusement park in Benton Harbor.  Doubt it’s there anymore.  The four story double wooden slide would violate OSHA rules on a logarithmic scale.

  134. 134.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    I’ve been thinking about this since the other day and I thought I’d put it towards the commentariat and front pagers to see it if gets any support:

    What do you all think about doing an open thread dedicated towards commenters giving accounts about how the pandemic has affected them? I think it could be very cathartic, especially for those that have lost loved ones to the virus

  140. 140.

    Sloane Ranger

    @Baud:

     

    According to one headline, the letter says this

    You Have Lost the Respect of Lou Dobbs…

    Gosh, well Kitzinger only has one option now and it involves a library and a loaded pistol. How else is he to save the family honour and reputation?

    Seriously, WTF?

  141. 141.

    Brachiator

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):

    What do you all think about doing an open thread dedicated towards commenters giving accounts about how the pandemic has affected them? I think it could be very cathartic, especially for those that have lost loved ones to the virus

    I think that this has happened before, fairly recently in a John Cole post.

    It’s a good idea.

     

     

  144. 144.

    David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch

    To bad Robert Caro is too old to write a “Master of the Senate House” type biography on Nancy Smash

  149. 149.

    Martin

    @debbie: Please don’t demean Fat Boy like that. It only destroyed one city and killed 100,000 people. Individual-1 somehow managed to do worse.

  152. 152.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    I was notified on FB that the kid climbed Mt. Lee today.  She posted a nice pic of the back of the Hollywood Sign and said she hiked over from the Observatory(almost a 9 mile r/t hike).

  155. 155.

    David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch

    about two weeks ago Washington had their yearly “National Prayer Breakfast”. It was done on zoom and Biden, Obama, Dubya, Clinton, Carter ALL made separate appearances. There was one person who couldn’t be bothered and didn’t even respond to the invitation.​

  156. 156.

    Roger Moore

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques:

    Incidentally, friends in Texas were on Facebook talking about how there is a Blizzard Truther movement movement now on with the Texas Wingnuts. Apparently cold weather is a Liberal conspiracy.

    I encourage them to stage a pro-Trump boat parade to show the liberals they aren’t going to fall for their blizzard conspiracy.

  159. 159.

    Martin

    @Sloane Ranger:

    I don’t know if anyone has picked up on this but CNN has reported that Adam Kitzinger? has received a letter from a cousin calling him an embarrassment to the family and accusing him of betraying Christ by joining the Army of Satan. All because he voted to impeach Trump. I’m gobsmacked, totally gobsmacked.

    Yeah, Trumpism isn’t at all a fascist movement. Nosiree.

  162. 162.

    David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques: ​
     

    Apparently cold weather is a Liberal conspiracy.

    Old news

    As Hurricane Sandy blasts the eastern seaboard just over a week before Election Day, a number of conspiracy theorists have decided President Barack Obama engineered the mega-storm to secure his re-election.

    InfoWars.com, TheIntelHub.com, and ConsfearacyNewz all posted stories over the last several days alleging that the The High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program, or HAARP, helped the president engineer Sandy.

    HAARP, a research program managed by the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy, studies and conducts experiments relating to the ionosphere, or upper atmosphere. As NASA explains on its web site, the ionosphere is important because it often reflects radio waves and scatters GPS signals, leading to “a big impact on communications and navigation” on Earth.

    Because of this, conspiracy theorists have blamed HAARP for a number of natural events over the years, saying the government uses the Alaska-based program to manipulate the weather with the help of electromagnetic waves.

  164. 164.

    grandmaBear

    Just found out an old friend, a former college housemate, died of COVID last month in Africa. He was a virologist and longtime AIDS researcher. Truly nice guy too. Such a waste.

  167. 167.

    Jeffro

    @Quinerly: that’s a lot of trouble for Lin to go to, instead of just saying, “well…I guess I was wrong on a few things this past year…”

  169. 169.

    Delk

    @WaterGirl: I have/had a friend with a beachfront cottage. He’s a Log Cabinet Republican. I quit talking to him when I saw the McCain/Palin bumper sticker.

  173. 173.

    JMG

    Just raining here on the Cape, but apparently ice is becoming a problem in Boston. We had black bean soup and cheese and leftover vegetarian chili for dinner. Good storm food. All board members in Texas, Arkansas, etc., stay safe. I worry for you. Wish I could airlift my snowblower.

  174. 174.

    Geminid

    @Sloane Ranger: I’ll be interesred in Kinsinger’s primary  next year. My guess is that he’ll win renominstion, especially if he has more than one opponent. Another impeacher, Tom Rice (SC-7), is probably a goner, though. South Carolina Republicans seem even more conservative than the Illinois type.

  175. 175.

    CarolPW

    @Martin: Little boy and fat man, you have conflated the two. Those were so horrific that the comparison on first thought seems really offensive, except on second thought the loss of life to covid is also horrific and at a scale hard to grasp.

    The losses are so individual and dispersed among the population, the fears so immediate and familial, and the whole thing so claustrophobic the only thing that has adequately depicted the extent for me are the photos of the vast number of new graves being dug.

  179. 179.

    David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch

    @WaterGirl: Sadly he wasn’t on video.  He sent a letter which was read out loud.

    I tried to find video of Carter last month because I was concerned about his absence and the only one I could find was from October (video).  I hope winter isn’t being too hard on them.

  186. 186.

    J R in WV

    @dexwood:

    @Gin & Tonic:  Strength and peace. We’ve lost two family members to covid in the last three weeks.

    So sorry for your loss. We’re fortunate to live in a rural area where, so far, it has been easy to maintain our distance from people willing and anxious to spread the virus to others. 

    Stay strong, safe, keep your distance, wear masks, and keep in touch!

  187. 187.

    Kattails

    this took so long to write out the thread’s probably dead but WTF:

    Ice cream: we have a great local dairy, stuff comes in bottles so it’s not super-processed. Tastes so much fresher, and the half and half will spoil you for butterfat content.  For those who have a Kitchenaid, you can get an ice cream attachment that works well, keep it in the deep freezer until needed.

    I made a coconut ice cream once, came out really well. 2 c. milk, 2 c. cream, 2 c. coconut milk (not lite), bring all to a simmer and steep 1 c. toasted coconut for 10 minutes.  (toast extra for the top, you’re going to strain this out.) Temper 8 egg yolks in a bit of the hot liquid, whisk all together with 1 1/2c. sugar ( I think I used some brown sugar) pinch of salt. Cook gently to about 170º, or just until the custard thickens, don’t scramble the eggs. Strain it and chill over an ice bath or overnight in the fridge.  Your teaspoon of vanilla and maybe dash of coconut extract and 2T. of dark rum goes in after it’s all cool. The alcohol keeps the homemade ice cream from freezing too hard. I do not like very sweet things and this had a good coconut flavor without being cloying.

    If one were so inclined, Maida Heatter’s Rum Mocha Chocolate sauce: melt 1/4 # butter, add 1 c. sugar, 1/3 c. strained cocoa, 2 T. dark  rum or other (orange or Amaretto are nice), 1 c. cream, pinch salt, bit of instant coffee, simmer 5 minutes. Off the heat stir in a teaspoon vanilla.  toast some almonds to top it all off & you have a giant Mounds bar.   That makes over 2 c. sauce BTW and keeps for a long time in the fridge.

    My other fantasy ice creams might be linzer cookie, almond shortbread type cookie mix ins with raspberry swirl; and caramel bourbon pecan.

  192. 192.

    Patricia Kayden

    David Perdue couldn't beat Senator Jon Ossoff so he's just filed paperwork to run against Senator Warnock. Ain't that a bish.— And The Tweet Goes On (@lacadri34) February 16, 2021

  194. 194.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Kattails: Have you ever tried kulfi? It is Indian ice-cream made with 100% cream. Mango and fig versions are to die for

    Fresh blueberry ice-cream at the farm store at UMaine is another ice-cream that is out of this world.

  195. 195.

    JMG

    Best ice cream I ever had was in the press box of the Michigan State football stadium, a product of the campus dairy farm. Many state u’s have one (UConn’s makes great milkshakes) and most have a dairy stand. If you’re near a school like that, check it out.

  199. 199.

    Kattails

    @grandmaBear: @Gin & Tonic: @SiubhanDuinne: To all of you, I am so sorry for your losses. I also had a long time friend have to be taken off life support just a few days ago, although not due to COVID.  Her husband (at the same time) barely make it through  a horrific reaction to a surgery.  Another good friend’s brother hospitalized with a major blood infection. The inability to visit, to help people, to get physically close, is so demoralizing for everyone. Take care of yourselves.

  203. 203.

    Kattails

    @schrodingers_cat: I have not! mango would be up my alley.  I will have to look for it locally, there’s so much more available nowadays even in the boonies. Of course I could make homemade with whatever level of butterfat content I wanted…. except for that pesky waistline thing.  I haven’t been making desserts for the last year because I have to eat the whole batch of whatever all by myself.

  205. 205.

    topclimber

    @Geminid: I don’t know Rice’s district, but perhaps if Dems can’t win it they would be better off backing him as an independent should he lose his primary. I also depends on whether SC has a sore loser law.  It would seem out of character for the state, not to foster (white) sore losers about damn near everything.

  207. 207.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Kattails: There are kulfi hacks that start with mascarpone or ricotta cheese. But the old school way is start with heavy cream and sugar and then reduce it on a low flame. It is indulgent so a little goes a long way.

  208. 208.

    laura

    Sending a shout out to Kayla Rudbek and hoping she’s home comfortably. Wishing you all the best.

  212. 212.

    Brachiator

    @J R in WV:

    Hurray!!! Lt. General Russel Honoré — who took over NOLA recovery after Katrina — will do a great job leading any investigation of the insurrection, how it was organized, who organized it, who paid for it, why they thought they could get away with it, all that!

    I love the idea that a tough and honorable black man is heading up this investigation. Hope it makes the Republicans and their asswipe supporters nervous as hell.

  214. 214.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Kattails:

    Thank you for your condolences. I’m very sorry about your friends. You are right, the enforced distancing and separation makes an already grievous time just that much harder.

  215. 215.

    Kattails

    @WaterGirl: Actually it was the wife who didn’t make it.  He was in the hospital with a blood infection from the surgery, was in and out and finally in the ICU.  The infection affected almost all his organs. He had to be intubated. Dialysis. In the meantime she had a different thing happen, some sort of inflammation that turned to strep that got into her heart that dislodged blood clots that got into her brain. She had long term physical issues, but still.  He came around and had to deal with this, along with her family.  It has been a nightmare.

    However, he is coming around, is in physical therapy, is done with dialysis, but still inpatient.  So lucky that several of us are close enough to coordinate and keep things going at their house, in rotation.

  216. 216.

    Kattails

    @SiubhanDuinne: I caught your heartbreaking story from yesterday but too late for the thread.  The separations and stresses on people… to lose your sister and then nephew in so short a time.  Holding you in my thoughts.

  218. 218.

    jonas

    Haven’t bothered to look, but it’s almost not possible that some GOP slimebag who spent years, and millions of taxpayer dollars, on the Benghazi committee has not already, with nary a shred of self-awareness or irony, slammed Pelosi for “wasting time” with a “politicized hearing process”.

  219. 219.

    Dan B

    @NotMax: Not sure what the reference to Benton Harbor is but it must be good!?!

    Clicked on the link, duh… Good one.

    Benton Harbor became a middle class black majority city (as I recall).  It had been a very dull white middle class town.  Would a black superhero been as dull and annoying?

  222. 222.

    Mary G

    My male housemate took care of a full time client who lived in a four generation household/compound with his wife, their son and his wife, a grandson and his wife, and a toddler great grandson. They went on vacation, the whole family plus my housemate, together to Maui, Oregon, Mexico, and someplace else over the five years he cared for him. He died last fall (of being 98 years old, not Covid), but no one could visit him in the hospital and they were unable to get him released for hospice at home because the hospice nurses were doing Covid care. It was just awful for such a close family and my housemate too for the month he was in the hospital all alone. They had a Zoom funeral too which did not go well.

  224. 224.

    Kent

    Best headline of the day from Slate.  I haven’t read the article but it is pretty much perfect:

    We Worried About Kids and the Internet. We Should Have Been Worried About Adults.

  225. 225.

    Dan B

    @satby: Eden Springs Amusement Park!  Yep.  I’d forgotten the name.  It was fantastic for an 8 to 12 year old with a rotating barrel the cool jocks could do a handstand and rotate 360 degrees.  I believe there was a big vertical barrel that spun around so you were pinned to the wall by centripetal force.  Then the floor dropped out and you were ten feet up.  Girls skirts would get pulled up if they bent their knees – wholesome fun! =<()

    Restoration would be amazing.  OSHA permitting.

  226. 226.

    Dan B

    @brantl: My brother was terrified of the giant slide.  He was finally given a push which twirled him around and sent him backwards down the slide on his square of carpet.  Forward was bad enough.  The cousin (evil girl!@#!). Was terrified he’d get hurt but he came out a brave hero for not screaming all the way down.

  227. 227.

    There go two miscreants

    I have never been to Benton Harbor, but as an older electrical engineer I have fond thoughts of the place; it was the home of Heathkit. I built quite a few (and still have some).

  228. 228.

    WaterGirl

    @Brachiator: @J R in WV:

    The scope of what Honore is doing is much smaller than that.  This is the scope:

    In mid-January, Pelosi announced that retired Lt. General Russel Honoré will lead a review of the “security infrastructure” of Capitol Hill in the wake of the attack.

  230. 230.

    Ruckus

    @germy: 
    I don’t blame their parents. Sure they may not have taught them right from wrong….. I think I see the flaw in my logic.

    But seriously. These are fucking grown ass adults. If I have to accept responsibility for my actions and words, so can they.

  231. 231.

    mrmoshpotato

    Haha

    Warm your Chicago heart on this frozen Monday with this story of a City inspector busting a secret CPD party at a restaurant with basically the old "Candygram!" Landshark bit from Saturday Night Live. https://t.co/g39f1hNoLl— Chicago Bars (@chicagobars) February 15, 2021

    When the investigator asked for access to the kitchen, the manager refused, saying only employees were allowed. The investigator then asked to see the bar’s business licenses, and as the manager opened a case holding the documents, the investigator walked back to the kitchen and found another door and put his ear close.

    “Be quiet the inspector is still here,” someone whispered loudly on the other side, according to the report.

    The investigator then knocked on the door and said, “He is gone, open the door.”

    “Someone opened the door and several photos were taken of forty three customers standing side by side without face masks and not practicing social distancing in the banquet room,” the report reads.

  232. 232.

    Brachiator

    @mrmoshpotato:

    Warm your Chicago heart on this frozen Monday with this story of a City inspector busting a secret CPD party at a restaurant with basically the old “Candygram!” Landshark bit from Saturday Night Live

    Wow. Just like Prohibition era speakeasies.

    Except with people dying unnecessarily from a terrible virus.

  234. 234.

    James E Powell

    I like the idea of the commission, but please can we please please please not appoint a Respected Republican Daddy to lead it, please?

  236. 236.

    mrmoshpotato

    @James E Powell: I like the idea of the commission, but please can we please please please not appoint a Respected Republican Daddy to lead it, please?

    Wouldn’t that require exhumation?

  237. 237.

    Mary G

    Senator Toomey’s in trouble:

    Washington County, Pennsylvania, GOP Chair: “We did not send him there to vote his conscience. We did not send him there to ‘do the right thing’ or whatever” https://t.co/YQIsMP1xGm pic.twitter.com/FKgN1hJxFl— J.J. Abbott (@jjabbott) February 16, 2021

    My bold. It’s striking how that one sentence encapsulates the Republican Party, and how the main body has given up on any pretense of caring about the country, or plausible deniability through dog whistles. He just tells the truth.

  238. 238.

    Kayla Rudbek

    @laura: I wound up taking a very long nap after I got home from the ultrasound scan.  The bad news is that they saw a very suspicious area on each breast and a circular lymph node in one armpit. The good news is that these would be small areas as they weren’t detectable by touch.

    So now I get to wait for the biopsy appointment and ponder which breast really did change size (as either getting larger or smaller asymmetrically can be a sign, and I was in between bra sizes anyway such that I have bras of different cup sizes in my regular rotation, which was how I caught this in the first place.)

  241. 241.

    OldDave

    @NotMax: Nice Zoom. Thanks to all who were present!

    I just lurked – first time using zoom; didn’t figure out how to unmute my mike (and didn’t have much to say in any case).  It was fun being able to put faces to names.

    ETA:  The Benton Harbor reference was fun as well – both because I remember the Chickenman radio clips, and because there are multiple Heathkits in my past.

  242. 242.

    Kelly

    @schrodingers_cat:ice-cream made with 100% cream

    Oh My! When I was a teen we had a milk cow. We had a quart or two of fresh cream every day. We talked Mom into mixing up a batch 100% cream ice cream. Just vanila. It finished with tiny flecks of butter throughout. The first couple spoonfuls were heavenly but it was so rich no one could finish a usual bowl full.

  243. 243.

    Jay

    @James E Powell:

    Gen. Honore isn’t a “respected ReThug Daddy”.

    While he respects people who run for office, he declined because “his current opinions” do not align with the ReThugs or the voters in his District.

  245. 245.

    a thousand flouncing lurkers was fidelio

    @Gin & Tonic: I’m so sorry. David Perry, a writer I follow on Twitter, has a thoughtful and personal piece at CNN.com, about the burden of delayed mourning facing us. Hard as it is to lose people, we’re also forced to go without the things that help us bear our losses.
    (I’d link but I keep ending up linked to an old piece of Imani Gandy’s, which is good but not germane to this)

  246. 246.

    StringOnAStick

    I bought a cute little plant last week, it’s a Hoya Kerii, and in a larger plant it would be a string of large, thick heart shaped leaves.  This is a baby so just one leaf.   It’s a slow grower and I saw variegated ones in Etsy if anyone is interested.  It’s in a high window in the shower and it’s fun to look up and see a heart shape sticking up from the pot.

    Sorry, I just tired of politics right now.

  247. 247.

    Enzymer

    @J R in WV:   I hope??
    Honore did a great job post-Katrina, agreed!  But I’m not sure how much that skill set helps in a detective/intelligence operation.

    I’d rather see General(ret’d) Honore’s talents used more effectively in organizing pandemic relief.  Talent >> Need

  250. 250.

    satby

    Just took the dogs out for the last time tonight and we’ve had about 4 inches of powder dry snow fall. Luckily not windy out or the drifts would be big; as it is I’m not sure I’ll be able to get my car out of the alley to the street tomorrow.

    And on that note, g’nite all!

  252. 252.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Brian Williams after a tape plays of Ron Johnson saying the insurrection was mostly people milling about in the Capitol: “We translated from the original Russian”

  253. 253.

    Mary G

    @Kayla Rudbek:

    Waiting is so hard. I am sending you light and hope. I had a lump years ago and the tech wasn’t sufficient to see it, so I had to undergo general anesthesia for the biopsy. It was the first year my company had changed us to mandated managed care and jumping through all the hoops and forms and approvals was terrible. It came out benign but those weeks of waiting to get on with it were excruciating.

  260. 260.

    Ohio Mom

    Kayla Rudbek:
    Ha! I was just about to comment that 80% of breast biopsies come back benign. You are on top of things.

    And of the 20% that don’t, 80% are early stage cancers, as mine was, I think it was seven years ago? Maybe eight? I am losing count.

    Like Mary G, I found the wait for my results excruciating. If this is the case for you, you are entitled to ask your PCP for Ativan or something similar.

    Keep us posted, we are pulling for you.

  261. 261.

    Enzymer

    @Gin & Tonic: To the best of my abilities, I understand.  Take care of your self, but more importantly, empower important people in your life to take care of you, so that you can properly mourn.

  262. 262.

    Sm*t Cl*de

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    This is from just a few weeks ago (not a video).

    The Carter Center reports 27 cases of Guinea Worm from 2020, so looks like Carter will have to stick around for a few more years in order to gain the supreme lifetime achievement of wiping out a hideous disease.

    He’s no older than David Attenborough or Queen Betty, so why not?

  265. 265.

    a thousand flouncing lurkers was fidelio

    @SiubhanDuinne: I’ve given up on the link; I can’t see why it kept going there, as I was copying the link from David’s piece. He posts as lollardfish on Twitter, if you don’t see the piece at the CNN site.

  266. 266.

    Yutsano

    @Kayla Rudbek:  Love and healing light to you dear lady. I’m glad you’re staying on the side of optimism. And should you lose the Bingo game (h/t frosty*) the treatments for cancer and especially breast cancer are so much further advanced than they used to be. I hope you will be well and more importantly stay well.

  267. 267.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    @Just Some Fuckhead:

    Brian Williams has been loosening up and letting his freak flag fly more lately, especially on his solo show. Much more willing to “tell it like it is” and to call out GQP malfeasance.

    Agree about Claire McCaskill and RaJoNic.

  273. 273.

    Ruckus

    @Kayla Rudbek:

    Very best of luck. It can really, really feel like a very, very long haul, from first suspicion, through testing and if necessary, treatment. I know, I’ve been through it. Another one of life’s details that they forgot to list in the brochure. Stay strong, if you need a shoulder…..

  275. 275.

    fuckwit

    After COVID, I think we are all soshalists now.

    “Essential workers” getting paid shit, having shit hours, no health care or benefits (no more than 35 hours a week, fuck you, no benefits for you) and treated like shit: hell maybe we need some soshalism!

    Free healthcare and a well funded (with taxes!) public health system would make clusterfucks like COVID less of a clusterfuck.

    Housing in private hands and at the whims of market is horrible when you lose your job due to COVID or similar.

    Most “jobs” are what David Graeber called “Bullshit Jobs”– totally unessential. We either don’t need them at all and should have UBI for everyone else, and at very least nobody needs to fucking sit in a car for 3 hours a day to go to and from it.

    Basically, all the leftist positions that were laughed at 2 years ago can be understood to be practical and necessary now.

    Even my Republican mom has come over to realize that the way we treat the workers who really matter (Marx was right!) is appalling.  Bernie or bust.

  278. 278.

    karen marie

    @Quinerly: The Trump shitshow isn’t over by a long shot.

    I’m diverting myself with What We Do In the Shadows on Hulu. The funniest show in a long time. Tilda Swinton and Danny Trejo make an appearance but Matt Berry! The whole cast is great but Matt Berry!

  279. 279.

    KrackenJack

    @schrodingers_cat: ​

    They have rose kulfi at some of the local Indian restaurants. Good, but I’d like to try the fig. I made a sugar-free version of David Lebovitz’s chocolate ice cream today. (I’m in one of the snow-free parts of the US. So it’s not as perverse as it sounds.)

  281. 281.

    Chris Johnson

    @Yutsano:

    Yeah, with him till the last three words. Bust Bernie, plenty of replacements out there who can engage with the problem.

    If he gets primaried and I really, seriously believe the rival is not a Putin operative, I’d vote against him. If Liz Warren moved here and ran against him I’d be canvassing for her until my feet fell off :)

     

    edit for the BJ crowd: I can specify. Bernie got used as a Putin idiot, not an operative. He fired one suspicious campaign manager, grumpily backed Hillary, and loves him some Biden (possibly ‘cos he’s got too much sexism in him). Right now there are many leftists (say, Jimmy Dore) who are working way harder for Putin than Bernie ever did. I hope Bernie is bitter about what got done with him, and knows enough about it to be the sworn enemy of the seditionists and fake left.

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