So… I have two sisters. One of my sisters is religious and subscribes to all the right-wing propaganda. My other sister prides herself on voting in every election, but she pays no attention to current events because she says there’s nothing she can do about any of it, anyway.
A few minutes ago, my religious right-wing sister wrote about Afghanistan in the 3-way long-running text between sisters.
“Praying also for those Americans still stuck in Afghanistan after our rapid withdrawal. Many have been killed and there have been beheadings. Much evil. [other sister’s name], I wasn’t sure if you have heard about that. Lots of love to both of you.” Followed by two heat emojis.
Low information sister had heard nothing about Afghanistan, so she was upset at the news.
I texted back:
And got the big heart emoji in return. WTF?
I am done letting the lies stand.
Scuffletuffle
Why wonder when I already know the answer is 42?
trollhattan
California’s Caldor Fire continues its relentless march, has now crossed three different state highways and is approaching a second ski resort. Nevada has issued its first evacuation order.
Incident map here and the satellite video at this link is boggling.
Juju
My head hurts.
Scout211
@trollhattan:
And extensive damage to Sierra-at-Tahoe ski resort and the southern edge is approaching Kirkwood ski resort, but so far they have kept it away from Heavenly. The article at the link shows the structures damaged or destroyed at Sierra-at-Tahoe.
sfgate.com/california-wildfires/article/Caldor-Fire-threatens-Heavenly-ski-resort-as-16427441.php
germy
Scout211
Another look at the Caldor fire from space:
space.com/caldor-fire-satellite-images-gallery
The Caldor fire has already reached #16 in the list of the largest fires in California history.
We had a large fire in my county in 2015 (the Butte Fire) with hundreds of properties lost and several lives lost. At the time, it was in the top five of largest fires in California history. Just 6 years later and that fire is not even in the top 20.
Ken B
@germy: They need to add Kevin McCarthy to that list.
germy
@Ken B:
He probably turns up a lot in their phone records.
Splitting Image
Somebody seems to have set up an abortion snitch line to harass women in Texas (and pocket the money for suing the target under the new law). Betty Bowers has been helpfully reporting suspicious behaviour and urging her Twitter followers to do the same.
twitter.com/BettyBowers/status/1433103212106629125
It’s a light-hearted note on a difficult day. Don’t anybody go reporting The Lord for causing miscarriages. Betty’s already on top of that. :)
Geminid
@germy: I expect those Representatives’ staff members will also be included in the records requests. Some of the staff were probably in up to their elbows. Hopefully prosecutors have also been looking at them.
JAFD
Greetings from New Jersey, where chilly rain falls (anyone from the drought-stricken areas is welcome to some – bring your own bucket). Seems a harbinger of winter, so was thinking of cold months entertainment…
Ergo, Questions for yon jackals: First, ISTR, week or two ago, was a thread giving mention to the newsletters / patreons / substakes / etc that jackals enjoyed, recommended, or thought worth subscribing to. If anyone can point me to it, would be most grateful.
Second, last year we had a set of threads, with links in the right-hand column, of recommendations for movies / books / TV shows / etc. Meant to take notes of these. Seem to have gone away. Darn. If anyone can send me the links…
As some of you may know, the U of Chicago Press has a free downloadable Ebook from their output every month, September’s is Andrew Balmford’s Wild Hope: On the Front Lines of Conservation Success. If interested, sign up for monthly announcements at
signup.e2ma.net/signup/1878393/14050467
Stay healthy and hydrated, and have a happy Labor Day !
WaterGirl
@JAFD:
I just put them back for you. At least some of them! I figured out the you can save inactive widgets, so it was easy to put them back up, but I had probably winnowed the list down before I discovered that.
Is that the list you were looking for?
Ella in New Mexico
Not believing SCOTUS would overlook all the egregious over-reach of this law even though they love themselves some forced childbirth I went to bed last night expecting a stay. Well, I was wrong.
This morning I went to the thread below in hopes folks had some ideas and insights better than my own sense of outrage that the bad guys win all the time lately and that there are at least a few crumbs of hope because, G-damn it there HAS to be some way we can blow this TX precedent out of the water legally.
I gave up.
Just hoping a couple of nights of sleeping on it will inspire some excellent legal minds
Old School
I’d be fed up too, but you might want to black out your sister’s name.
(Although I assume she doesn’t frequent this site.)
Rob
You go, WaterGirl!
E.
Watergirl, you probably know this but the big heart means “We are family but I am not listening to a thing you say because then I will have to respond to it, and that will be hard because you will start demanding evidence so here is a big pink heart. Love ya!”
WaterGirl
I accidentally scheduled this for the wrong time (incorrect translation to military time) so it looks like it went up at 4-something instead of when I intended it to go up. I fixed it, but now most of you probably can’t find the post. What a day.
Baud
Good for you, WG.
MomSense
Good for you!
moops
I would have started out with asking why this text message of dubious veracity needed to be sent to her two sisters.
If I got such a text from my Republican sister I’d go straight to motive and make her say it.
WaterGirl
@Old School: Good catch! I saw the big red heart and saw red, and never even noticed the same. Fixed now.
bbleh
When I’ve seen that kind of response, it has meant “you poor overwrought wrong-thinking dear, I will pray for you.” And in any case, I think it means, quite clearly, that there is no point using facts in such an exchange, unless there is a third party who might pay attention to them.
Sorry ‘bout that…
ETA @E.: yeah that
WaterGirl
@E.: No, I wasn’t really sure what that meant, but I’m sure you’re right.
“Blah blah blah blah blah but I still love you.”
Another Scott
News out of the DoJ today on redistricting:
The guidance (14 page .pdf):
Seems pretty broad, but the devil’s obviously in the details.
We’re not doomed, but we have to keep fighting.
Forward!!
Cheers,
Scott.
Mai Naem mobile
@germy: not Kevin McCarthy?
Baud
Maybe you should start sending daily prayers of thanks for Biden to your sisters. The best defense is a good offense. Flood the zone!
WaterGirl
@moops:
Do say more. This is your face stuff is not my style, but if she is going to share propaganda with the other sister, I’m not gonna let any lies stand.
So perhaps you might need to walk me through some of the finer points.
Chetan Murthy
WG, I guess the best outcome possible here, is that your [epithet for not very reflective] sister realizes she’d better never again spout her bullshit at you. Which is a win for your equanimity. It’s always hard being this confrontational with relatives, and certainly not something that everybody can or should do. But for sure, never having to hear or read RWNJ bafflegab from one’s own kin, is a blessing.
SiubhanDuinne
@Ken B:
Also, Josh Hawley. And Ted Cruz, just because.
lifeinthebonusround
Ah, WaterGirl — our locus of control is about the size of a hula hoop around our waist. No bigger.
RaflW
@Splitting Image: Less lightheartedly, I wonder how long before some well resourced Texas conservative flies out of state for a ‘spa weekend’ and gets sued?
Plenty of anti-gay pastors and other god-botherers eventually get caught in flagrante delicto. This related scandal may well happen for their pious wives and congregants.
WaterGirl
@Baud: That’s tempting. Religious sister had no time for concern about babies in cages, because when I brought that up at the time, the answer was millions of babies being murdered by abortions. But suddenly she really cares about all these Americans in Afghanistan.
West of the Rockies
It seems we’re all performing calculations as to cost/benefit since Trump…
Anti-vax, pro-Trump, Fox-viewer, Dittohead, pro-NRA…they all factor into the equation.
It’s vaguely akin to the Wingers who’d rather die of Covid than admit they were wrong. I’d rather not hear from a sister who is a self-congratulating, infuriating RWNJ than put up with all of that to maintain what’s been a threadbare relationship for 35 years.
Tony Gerace
Well, the big heart emoji makes everything fine. I’m thankful that both of my sisters are at least asbresistant to right wing propaganda as I am. (My right wing cousin I can deal with)
matt the somewhat reasonable
the heart means she believes her propaganda, not you.
Baud
@WaterGirl:
If she responds, just text her a big heart.
Dorothy A. Winsor
I see Texas has established a hotline where people can leave anonymous tips about abortion providers. I fervently hope it’s flooded with the names of every lawmaker who voted for it and every lobbyist who campaigned for it
ETA: Also Ted Cruz, just because
moops
Likely her motive is “Your Biden is a reckless monster so you can stop thinking I’m bad for loving Trump since you are even worse/dumber/mislead etc.”
It is meant to take you down a peg. She didn’t send the text to President Biden. She sent it to you and your sister. Probably to lower your standing with your less-attentive sister, by proxy.
WaterGirl
@matt the somewhat reasonable: Maybe I’ll start going with something like “I would expect a smart person like you to be more discerning than to believe lies and propaganda from people who have an axe to grind.”
David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch
How ’bout those Dolphins, eh! (link)
Omnes Omnibus
@Baud: This might be the place for the poo emoji.*
*I have one brother and he is a solid Dem, so I might not have the specifics of this right.
piratedan
kind of makes me wonder if all of this over-the-top fever dream in your wildest dreams legislation that is emanating from the GOP is a case where they realize that the hammer is actually going to fall.
By that I mean that the Jan 6th Commission is going to issue some serious findings, linking 45, members of Congress, members of influential media and financial and religious organizations with evidence of an attempted coup and that the new DOJ that is place, will actually issue warrants for the arrests of these people.
Maybe that’s simply a pipe dream… maybe a misguided feelings but I believe that the Biden Administration’s DOJ will pursue this not out of partisan vindictiveness but because actual laws were broken… things like treason, conspiracy to commit a crime, election fraud, perjury, financial shenanigans, tax fraud, hate crimes, etc etc etc.
and now that the Media has had their opportunity to rough up 46 (unjustly) in the eyes of the nation (and have their own hypocrisy called to attention), they get to gleefully swing back to covering all of the GOP perfidy of which there is a multitude of, as they can go to those sources that may not have been arrested yet as we watch a virtual evacuation of responsibility take place.
WaterGirl
@Omnes Omnibus: Is there “you lie” emoji?
Ksmiami
@Ella in New Mexico: I mean if the law is null and void, can’t we just infect these nimrods with Covid…?
WaterGirl
@piratedan: That’s a happy thought.
VeniceRiley
@Splitting Image: She’s married to a friend of mine. Great couple.
JPL
@WaterGirl: Rather than axe to grind, you might mention that they are making money by lying.
Or just do a bigger heart but say bless your in front of it.
Old Dan and Little Ann
I just checked the website that rhymes with sox snooze. Texas is mentioned in the 20th link. Lots of scrolling to get there. And headline is complaining about MSNBC host comparing abortion law to slavery and saying there is a bounty on women’s heads.
Omnes Omnibus
@WaterGirl: Fuck if I know. Emojis are not really my things.
Chetan Murthy
WG, another thing I thought I’d share: I have a relative who …. has in the past felt free to share their opinion regarding how schools here in SF suck, and how they feel they ought to be able to deprive them of their taxes, they’re so mad, etc. Without getting into the specifics of why they’re wrong, I once let loose on them about this bullshit, and said I didn’t want to hear another *word* of this RWNJ propaganda. They were pretty hurt, saying they were a liberal, would never think of voting for Trump, etc [this was all during the pandemic, so pretty recent].
But it worked: I’ve never heard a *whisper* of that shit again. I’ll take the win.
Splitting Image
@RaflW:
I’m assuming that virtually every forced-birther Republican has either paid for an abortion or had one. They rely on other people to mind their own business.
Naming and shaming is going to be a big part of the resistance going forward, I think. Not that any of them have any shame.
David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch
Biden’s polices under fire after Canada slams US (photo)
WaterGirl
@JPL:
Much better! thank you
gwangung
You could say you’re praying for HER to be freed from the spirits of deception and iniquity. (Examining her fruits and all that).
Another Scott
@WaterGirl:
emojipedia.org/lying-face/
? Lying Face
HTH!!
Cheers,
Scott.
Omnes Omnibus
@Ella in New Mexico:
Report Ted Cruz for giving someone a ride to an abortion clinic. You’ll feel a tiny bit better.
Yarrow
@WaterGirl: Your text is too long. When you’re explaining you’re losing. Agree with Baud – time to go on offense. Your sister is flooding the zone with her propaganda. You might as well add in some truth for your poor uninformed sister.
VeniceRiley
I’m sorry, Watergirl. I have 2 Trumpy sisters in Ohio, one true Dem in Utah, 1 druggie loser sister, and a mildly Trumpy brother here in socal. It’s enough to make me want to snatch myself bald.
WaterGirl
@Omnes Omnibus: I basically use two emojis: ?♀️ and ?.
Chetan Murthy
@Splitting Image: I fear the mechanism for *detecting* that a woman has had an abortion is going to involve invasive examinations. I’m 100% down with outing PoC who betray us all to the Nazis. I tenuously support outing LGBTQ [let’s be honest: it’s gay men] who are traitors to the cause. But I don’t think many people could support naming and shaming, when the result is invasive examinations of women’s bodies.
I sure couldn’t.
UncleEbeneezer
This sounds like the old couple in the hot tub at our hotel last weekend. When the wife said “I’m just so concerned about those troops in Afghanistan” I knew we were gonna have problems. The husband started rambling about Democrats wanting to abolish the police and how Global Warming is just a natural cycle etc. I pushed back for a few minutes but we eventually just stood up and left.
trollhattan
@WaterGirl: Mooselim babbies at that!
Your family, it is very diverse. Aren’t families fun?
Cameron
@germy: Combined intellect of this murderers’ row wouldn’t fill a thimble.
JPL
This is OT, but why horse dewormer, when heartworm medicine is pretty easy to get. You just need a yearly blood test?
WaterGirl
@gwangung:
ooh, i like that one. I have no idea what examine her fruits means, but I’m guessing that it’s related to religion so surely she would know.
Lots of useful gems on this thread.
Another Scott
@WaterGirl: It seems to me that emojis cause more problems than they solve. Either they’re too small and look like smudges, or they’re gigantic and take up 10% of the screen. :-/
Good luck!
Cheers,
Scott.
WaterGirl
@Omnes Omnibus: Will no one think of Matt Gaetz driving all those under age girls to the clinic when they are aborting his babies?
pajaro
@WaterGirl:
Where in the Bible does it say that fetus’s are babies. who are the religious authorities who said they were, from the time of Jesus until 1900. Did they forget? Did it not come up?
(Interestingly enough, it did in Jewish law. In Jewish law, if the fetus endangers the life/health of the mother, abortion is permissible. Preservation of human life is an ultimate value, and the fetus is not regarded as a human in utero. ).
but what do those people know about what’s in the “old testament” (sarc)
Yarrow
@WaterGirl: “Sadly, [Fox News Sister] has has fallen for some lies. Here is the truth, [Uninformed Sister]: ……” Followed by something where you say you’re thankful for Democrats for doing X, Y or Z. It’s a propaganda war in text. Might as well fight fire with fire. You can always Big Red Heart your Fox News Sister.
sab
@Old Dan and Little Ann: Watched Nicole Wallace on MSNBC today and the coverage was all about abortion, and no mention of the miscarriage monitoring aspect. Disappointing.
trollhattan
@Dorothy A. Winsor:
Googling “list of gun and ammo stores in texas” right now. There can’t be more than twelve, thirteen thousand of those, right?
Few years ago the local paper researched how many “federal firearm sales licenses” there are in our metroplex and my lord, there were a LOT. Takeaway: most guns are sold in private transactions.
gene108
@piratedan:
I’m not holding my breath about any substantive legal action taken against members of Congress and their staff in connection to January 6, 2021.
One lesson I learned from the Bush & Co. years is lying, spreading disinformation and misinformation, manipulating evidence, and poorly thought out harmful actions are not illegal. They make us mad, but that’s about it.
Unless someone literally said “we’re going to storm the Capitol and taking Congress hostage!!! Yeeee-haaa!!!*”, I doubt there’s enough evidence to even go trial.
* Without the Yeee-haaa, I don’t think the other part of the statement can be prosecuted
debbie
Yeah, families just suck.
WaterGirl
@Yarrow: I love Big Red Heart as a verb!
debbie
@germy:
Aren’t they a-scared of MTG’s threats? ?
WaterGirl
@gene108: That’s when I get pissed off when I’m listening to PopeHat’s podcast. “Well, it is most certainly wrong, and it may be immoral, but it’s not illegal.”
Chetan Murthy
It seems like it’s time to fight fire with fire. Blue States should make it a felony to be a plaintiff, attorney, or judge, in such a lawsuit (accusing a woman of having an illegal-in-Texas[1] abortion). Punishable by five years minimum hard time, and doubling with each of multiple offenses. The kind of people who can afford to file these lawsuits, and esp. the lawyers and judges, are the kind who like to travel to and thru Blue States. They ain’t gonna spend their entire lives livin’ in a shithole state.
SCOTUS will rule it’s unconstitutional. At which point, Blue States should just go right ahead and keep on enforcing it. Open defiance of a lawless court.
[1] coming to a Red State near you, ugh.
FelonyGovt
Good for you, Water Girl!
I have no RWNJ relatives that I know of, but years ago a work colleague would send me crank emails with the Fox News outrage du jour. I finally wrote back and told him that I do not agree with this material and stop sending it. Surprisingly he did.
surfk9
@Scout211:
My MIL lived in Mt Ranch during that fire. Her house survived most of her neighbors houses did not. She had to move because it depressed her that her neighbors had suffered so much.
WaterGirl
@germy: I want to know what that list means.
Is that information THEY ARE ASKING FOR, or INFORMATION THEY ARE GOING TO GET?
Chetan Murthy
@sab:
As I’m sure you’re aware (since you mentioned this) young women have been imprisoned for having miscarriages in Central American countries where abortion is illegal. How do you prove it was a miscarriage and not an abortion? Ugh.
JMG
@gene108: There are very specific and stern federal laws related to the attack on the Capitol. The Republican Congresspeople whose records were subpoenaed sure are acting like they think they may have violated some of them.
gene108
@David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch:
Why is that an upset? Canada can’t slam Biden without proof.
The Canadian and US women’s ice hockey teams have one of the most heated rivalries in sports.
Media’s just blaming Biden without context.
Omnes Omnibus
@WaterGirl: It’s okay. Saying that is a great way to get people on this blog to yell at you.
Steeplejack
@Ken B:
Kevin McCarthy, you say?
WaterGirl
@Omnes Omnibus: Maybe you should do what PopeHat does on his podcast and say “I know people won’t like hearing this, but I’m just the messenger.”
satby
Both of those women are grown ass adults. One chooses to believe right wing Talibangelical bullshit, the other chooses to ignore her obligation to be an informed citizen. I like a rollicking good battle as much as anyone (ok, probably more) but arguing with this is a waste of time. Neither is persuadable, because they’ve chosen not to be. And you aren’t considered a reliable source, or the low info sister would have asked you. In situations like this I move directly into mockery and blocking. But FAAAAMILY!!!! Nah, they’re family just by random chance of sperm and egg meeting. You have a whole new family here.
Omnes Omnibus
@WaterGirl: Like that would work here.
pajaro
@WaterGirl:
Sorry if my previous post (#68) seemed unhinged. I really get annoyed with “religious” people (your sister) who use the term “babies” to describe a fetus.
WaterGirl
@pajaro: I loved your comment. Not unhinged at all!
chopper
it’s amazing how many RWers all of a sudden care a whole lot about the people in afghanistan.
NotMax
@JAFD
Trouble with streaming recommendations from that far back is they go stale as content migrates, So don’t be surprised if there’s a lot no longer currently available (or no longer available on the particular streaming service in the original recommendation).
JPL
@WaterGirl: I’m not a lawyer, but in the past that is information they have been able to attain.
Now that harrassing those who have had to make difficult decisions about family planning is legal, who the fk knows.
gene108
@WaterGirl:
@JMG:
I’m a pessimist about powerful people doing wrong doing being held accountable.
I just haven’t seen enough of it to think this time will be different.
WaterGirl
@satby: I suspect that low information sister would say “well, K says this and WG says that”, throws up her hands and shrugs.
“I mean what am I supposed to do? Google it and find out what’s true? Nah, I couldn’t do anything about it anyway, so it doesn’t matter.”
satby
@WaterGirl: exactly my point. Cut ’em loose and send cards at Christmas. Stay in touch with the sane niece. Life is short.
NotMax
Flame on!
;)
Steeplejack
@Baud:
“Bless your ?.”
West of the Rockies
@WaterGirl: ?
OzarkHillbilly
That was awful polite of you.
eta: seriously.
JPL
@OzarkHillbilly: How is your son doing?
Baud
@satby:
Juice is thicker than blood.
Steeplejack
@WaterGirl:
Ask her what her sources are. You can even do it sort of politely. “Gee, I hadn’t seen that. Where is it from?” And then you can Snopes the hell out of her.
That’s what I used to do to my RWNJ brother, using “reply all” in email, until he wised up and started limiting distribution to the true believers.
Lyrebird
@WaterGirl: Yeah, I like JPL’s edit… Not that my advice has any bearing, but I would err on the side of keeping in contact over telling you how you really feel, but only if it doesn’t make you miserable. Families vary. Luckily my conservative and fundie-leaning cousins hate the orange menace.
The ones who have apparently forgotten how we got here, in boats mostly by chain migration, don’t speak to us more than a few times a decade.
Scout211
@surfk9:
Yes, I talked with several people that felt that way. Plus, most of the homes in the Mountain Ranch and Jesus Maria areas were homes built in heavily forested areas that after the fire looked like one giant
hellscapemoonscape. So that would also have also been very depressing for your MIL.Steeplejack
@WaterGirl:
?
WaterGirl
@Steeplejack: That’s a good idea.
PsiFighter37
Since it’s an open thread – I did the inevitable, given how fucking tight my new parking spot is, and I scraped my Highlander Hybrid on the left side around the wheel. Would one suggest getting this fixed ASAP, or just letting it be? Not super keen on spending lots of dough fixing what is an aesthetic issue (mostly – I plan on keeping this car for a long, long time), but curious what more experienced car owners think.
WaterGirl
I just added this as a rotating tag:
When do we start airlifting the women and children out of Texas?
Betsy
@Chetan Murthy: I’m with that, WaterGirl. You did the right thing by refusing to let baloney go unchallenged. And I think actually your sister did the right thing in her way by sending you a heart. I think she’s saying she loves you — and she won’t say this, but she *knows* now that you won’t let her put the baloney fire hose on you and your other sister.
You *could* reply something like, “Love you too, sis ?”
This would set a precedent for a future of “I will lovingly challenge you every time you pull this shit.”
WaterGirl
@PsiFighter37: Is your parking spot protected from the elements, or out in the weather?
NotMax
@West of the Rockies
Alternatively, ??.
;)
SiubhanDuinne
@WaterGirl:
I just realized that your description of your sisters could be word-for-word the description of my brothers. Just change the pronouns. That’s it.
Scout211
@PsiFighter37:
Will touch-up paint fix it?
Added: We always purchase the touch-up paint for our vehicles since many dings and scrapes are just paint. But if it also has a dent, maybe get it fixed.
Geminid
@gene108: Some of the staff members may have been reckless enough to get caught in indictable actions. Prosecutors apparently have flipped some mid-level insurrection organizers, and prosecutors are trying to flip more. They might follow the trail to Congressional offices. The insurrectionists seem to have had inside knowledge of office placement that was not available to the general public, and staffers may have supplied it. As radical as Gosar and Gohmert are, I’m guessing some of their staff are even more extreme, or at least not as careful.
satby
@Steeplejack: They don’t believe Snopes is a reliable source, because reality has a liberal bias.
VeniceRiley
@PsiFighter37: Perhaps it can be buffed out?
WaterGirl
Religious sister just wrote again to that all 3 of us care about other people.
I wrote back “Absolutely.” Followed by a version of what was worked out above… there’s a difference between basing your beliefs on facts and basing them on propaganda that is being pushed by people who are profiting from the lies they are telling. Followed by my saying she is smart so I would expect her to be more discerning about sources of information and what she believes.
Then I big red hearted her.
She wrote back to say she agrees, but we just don’t agree on which news sources.
I wrote back and asked for her source for the Americans are being killed and beheaded now in Afghanistan.
She replied “many, many”.
I replied “send me 5”
As the world turns, these are the days of our lives…
I
trollhattan
@PsiFighter37:
Do you live in snow country where they salt the roads and/or near the coast? If the scrape is down to metal than consider having it fixed to fend off rust. (If it’s a plastic panel, hey, all good!)
Even simple body work is ghoulishly expensive and you kind of have to gauge how much it will bother you to look at it over the long haul.
gwangung
@WaterGirl: “Ye shall know them by their fruit”, which is an old Gospel verse of telling the Christian from the pretenders.
I grew up a Southern Baptist and spent a year or two with a charismatic sect.
WaterGirl
@SiubhanDuinne: I would say twins separated at birth, except you are so much more literary than I am! Maybe it’s the Oak Park – Berwyn thing, just down the road from one another growing up.
The Dangerman
Watergirl to Pissgirl! I’m right there with you. I’m done with polite, too. Could be the anesthesia wearing off but I’ve got no more Fs to give (there was an early event, not political and before Hospital, where I’m fairly sure I dropped more F bombs in a roughly one minute conversation then ever done before in world history; I have the longest fuse anyone I know but watch out when the fuse burns out entirely).
if I were a woman not wanting a child in Texas or similar, any man wanting some would have to first show me proof of vaccination then show me the vasectomy scar, else it’s gonna be a lonely ol night, Dude.
Back to sleep.
JPL
@The Dangerman: How are you doing besides that?
Jerzy Russian
@The Dangerman:
Harsh, but fair.
WaterGirl
@The Dangerman: Feel better.
Mallard Filmore
@WaterGirl:
There is no such thing as a one-celled human. No brain means no soul. There is no magic.
No brain activity in olds and accident victims already means the soul is gone.
A fertilized egg is a baby? Someday, probably in China, a lab will develop the chemistry to grow a random human cell into a viable baby. Then amputations will have to be illegal since millions of non-dead cells, potential humans, will be killed.
WaterGirl
Does anyone know what NDTV is? That seems to be the source of some of the stories she is reading.
OzarkHillbilly
@JPL: I spent the AM looking for a generator worth buying (Generac! Accept no substitutes) found one and bought it (and a gas can) and then tried to figure out a way to ship it down there to a place he could pick it up from, but Nooooo,ooo… They’re all closed because nobody has any electricity. I was resigned to driving it down there and called in the hopes we might meet up in Mississippi so I could get back at a decent time on Friday, and he says,
“We are probably going to drive up there on Friday if we still have no electricity then.”
Now…
What I wanted to say was, “WHY IN THE FUCK DIDN’T YOU JUST DO THAT BEFORE THE HURRICANE HIT?????”
But instead I said something like, “Ok.”
PsiFighter37
@WaterGirl: Indoors lot. But the nature of a building constructed right before the Great Depression means I have 10 inches total clearance side to side. I got lazy and relied on my newfangled technology sensors instead of leaning out the window like I would have when I was driving in high school nearly 20 years ago.
@Scout211: It’s probably a bit deeper. Honestly, things like this inevitably happen (especially in NYC), but it was just a stupid thing – and my second “incident” within a month after going the first 18-19 years of driving with 2 cumulative bumps, so I am extra pissed / sensitive.
OzarkHillbilly
@satby: Yeah but she grew up with those two.
sab
@OzarkHillbilly: My brother in law down there is worried that they will be having gas shortages soon.
JPL
@OzarkHillbilly: Of course you did. They will be greeted with hugs and food and beverage when they arrive, also.
moops
@WaterGirl: Be much more overt about motives.
“Why are you forwarding misleading right-wing propaganda to me and our sister? You must know I am not that credulous to hear a load like that and not dig up actual facts. Odd this being the first time you’ve texted us about Afghanistan over the last 18 years of the war. So, why?”
brendancalling
@Splitting Image: in Philly there’s a saying, “snitches get stitches.” In Philly it’s often worse than stitches.
I hope the Texas snitches end up in ditches.
OzarkHillbilly
@PsiFighter37: Your car has “character” now. My trucks have always had a lot of character.
Gin & Tonic
@PsiFighter37: You’re in NYC. Lots of salt. If you plan on driving it at any time between October and April, get it fixed, otherwise it will rust and you’ll keep the car for not as long as you wish.
moops
NDTV is a 24/7 cable channel in New Delhi. Not really a left or right outfit, but complete gutter news for people wanting tabloid TV. channels like this exist all over the planet.
Another Scott
@Steeplejack: Ooops.
Double Ooops.
Cheers,
Scott.
Starboard Tack
@PsiFighter37:
If the scratch isn’t through the color coat, you could overspray with clear coat. A one part can would probably be fine. You’d want to dewax the area first and lightly sand the edges of the scratch. I’d also spray the area first with blender,
Mallard Filmore
@UncleEbeneezer:
Global Warming may be a natural cycle, but it’s still gonna raise the ocean level quite a few meters. NO country on earth is ready for that.
zhena gogolia
@Ella in New Mexico:
There were suggestions to support ACLU and Texas Planned Parenthood.
OzarkHillbilly
@Mallard Filmore: If it is, I’d love to see them barbecue a chicken egg.
JPL
@moops: hah Interesting.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
In the spirit of, if necessarily on, topic: Joe Rogan has Covid
I don’t wish death on him, myself. I wish him a nasty case of long Covid.
Oh and he’s taking the horse med because of course he is.
OzarkHillbilly
@sab: So is my son.
@JPL: Big, long, enveloping, all consuming hugs. Followed by a lot of baby snugglings.
NotMax
Throw Momma in the slammer. (WaPo link).
HinTN
@PsiFighter37: If you can live with thr dent just get some Toyota touch up paint to prevent rust.
zhena gogolia
@Gin & Tonic:
Yeah, I tend to get body work stuff right away.
WaterGirl
@moops: I will have to channel you and half the people who commented in this thread.
As for why tonight? She may be feeling triumphant about the Texas abortion ruling but knows she can’t flaunt that in my face. This was probably her side-door jab in place of that.
prostratedragon
Ah, “Cicadas at dusk.”
Sounds almost like an invitation to a duel.
Mallard Filmore
@WaterGirl:
They do not have the information yet, and this is not even an ask. It is a demand that the records be preserved.
What they eventually get will depend on the results of whatever lawsuits try to block it.
Sure Lurkalot
@WaterGirl:
Same as it ever was with my brother, my good friend and her brother. Our brothers would not believe anything that comes from our corrupt sources.
My friend still tries from time to time but I gave up. My occasional chats and texts with my brother are about food, the weather and all the ill advised trips he has planned. I refuse to indulge him any further, to listen to him spout off about Hunter Biden or Obama this and that just gives him practice.
OzarkHillbilly
@Gin & Tonic: Sheeeeit, my truck has lots of rust… I mean “character”…. and I’m no where near getting rid of it.
WaterGirl
@moops: thank you for that information.
Steeplejack
@WaterGirl:
Having read the rest of this thread, I’m not sure any prolonged involvement would be worth it. I did it with my brother mainly to get him to shut up (with me), not to convince him or “redeem” him. The success simply was that now he knows not to bring up that bullshit with me, even in person.
I do see his general Facebook posts. I got signed up for notifications when I used to house- and dog-sit for him, never bothered to turn it off. He seems slightly less unhinged after the disastrous Trump regime—he never mentions Trump, at least that I see—and he seems to concentrate on “fact-y” but still bullshit things, e.g., “The deficit! Eek!” And he could be the poster child for “Show us on the doll where Nancy Pelosi touched you.” And he is a major gun nut. Don’t ask me about the time I nearly sat on a Glock hidden under a throw pillow on the couch. ?
Bottom line, you’re not responsible for one sister’s disinformation and the other one’s ignorance. And I don’t think you’re going to be able to change them. So do what you need to do to make your life easier.
MagdaInBlack
@NotMax: Free vaccine, or $200 for a fake card that’ll probably get you fired now. Tough decision, ain’t it? Good lord, these people.
Benw
@WaterGirl: kick ass, WG
JPL
This is awesome
Brazilian viper venom shows promise as drug to combat COVID-19
from the hil
By awesome I mean that MAGA crowd can now hunt snakes for their venom. I think copperheads work also. just sayin
JAFD
Re Ms. WaterGirl’s comment at #12 (some glitch between ‘reply’ button and my browser…)
Yes, what I was thinking of. Many thanks !
Gin & Tonic
Having built and maintained an enterprise telecom system, I’m pissed off (but unsurprised) by some of the RW commentary about the 1/6 committee’s records request. There are two completely separate things: call detail records, and call contents. The first is a record of which number called (or received a call from) which number, for how long, and when. That’s it. Those can be provided in response to a subpoena, or (in a corporate context) reviewed by staff at any time. The actual payload (recording of the call) is a radically different thing. In a corporate context, retrieving that requires very high-level approval; in a public context, it requires a warrant. But some of these RW congresscritters are making it sound like the committee is asking for a recording of their phone call with their wife, and seem to be counting on the public’s inability to distinguish the two things.
Sure Lurkalot
@OzarkHillbilly: The frustration melts away with the thought of GRANDBABY GONNA VISIT, UH HUH.
WaterGirl
@Benw: She sent me screen captures on my phone, and I asked what she googled to get those. She told me and I googled it.
One story from the first page of google results was from 2015. There have apparently been some beheadings of a translator and of afghan army people in the past couple of weeks. Not one mention of a single American in any of the 12 articles I opened and looked at.
I wrote back to say so. I said the Taliban is brutal and that what they are doing is horrible, but that they are not targeting Americans at this time, so it’s not correct to say that they are.
I think I’m done with this conversation with her, but I stood my ground and called her out on her bullshit, so I feel pretty good about it, even that is not my style.
Maybe she’ll think twice before trying her propaganda on the other sister again.
Gin & Tonic
@OzarkHillbilly: Somehow I suspect you and he have different standards on this topic. Just a guess.
Steeplejack
@satby:
Well, that was years ago, before they decertified Snopes. There was something my brother wrote within the last year or two that was so awful that I broke my silence and Snopes’ed him, and his response was: “Snopes? Really?” So, yeah, goalposts moved.
MazeDancer
You tell ’em, WG!!
Outstanding summary of why we support Mr. Biden.
Barbara
@JAFD: Love those threads! I have found several mystery series that I’ve really enjoyed.
A shout out to whoever recommended Adrian McKinty. I literally can’t wait for the end of the book and usually end up reading ahead.
Baud
Texas protest photo via reddit.
Like the featured sign.
i.redd.it/2169nb5yuxk71.jpg
zhena gogolia
@Baud:
Both the ones in the middle are good.
WaterGirl
@JAFD: Oh yay! As NotMax said, some great shows may not be streaming in the same place they were when the comments were made.
But they are likely to be streaming somewhere, so I think they are still useful.
Cermet
@WaterGirl: Ask your sister why in the bible god instructed rabbi’s on how to induce an abortion if the husband even suspect’s the wife’s fetus isn’t his – of course, god’s magic is involved but ‘bible’ so she can’t doubt that. Also, why god had no issue with woman in the bible who were pregnant being executed before they could give birth?
Barbara
@NotMax: I usually search by title and it will be somewhere, but if you want to use a specific platform, that would be frustrating.
WaterGirl
Thanks everybody. This was very cathartic. If you can’t bitch about your siblings to 60,000 of your closest friends, where can you bitch? :-)
P.S. And get very helpful advice!
Fair Economist
Very late here but
GO WATERGIRL GO!
sab
I think it’s very sweet that you three still are trying to get along over these differences.
Martin
Ada just dropped a tornado in NJ. Stay safe everyone.
SiubhanDuinne
@OzarkHillbilly:
You are such a marshmallow.
Chetan Murthy
@SiubhanDuinne: I have a dear, dear friend (who is an *incandescent* anti-Trumpist, anti-GrOPer these days) who still has a lot of conservative beliefs. He’s a university prof, who doesn’t understand the critical importance of labor unions to his continued prosperity and that of his children. At some level, he doesn’t want to have to pay attention to the news (though he does, b/c *Trump*).
I’ve said to him: “Buddy, you may not be interested in current event, but current events is interested in you”, followed by links to the many articles about the demise of university professor as a career.
Again, he’s sufficiently “incandescently anti-Trump/GrOPer” that all of his other conservative-ish viewpoints are … “noise*’.
Barbara
@WaterGirl: Taliban were brutal before we showed up and dollars to donuts your sister didn’t give an FF. I would take the opposite tack and start bombarding her with info on all the groups that are trying to help. “Hey Sis, live your concern. Here are 250 ways you could personally do something. I can’t wait to hear which one you choose.” Yeah, none, cause this isn’t a show of sincere concern. But I bet she drops it.
Steeplejack
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
No mention of a vaccine, of course.
Another Scott
@WaterGirl: From your later replies, it sounds like you’re making some progress. If she brings up abortion again, maybe ask her why Planned Parenthood was nearly universally supported until the 1970s? Why Truman and Eisenhower supported it?
What changed?
The answer, of course, is that a few GOP operatives thought that they could use abortion to defeat Democrats by appealing to Southern Democrats and Catholics.
(Emphasis added.)
It was and continues to be a cynical political ploy that has nothing to do with “babies” – as can be seen by their refusal to fund prenatal care or much of anything else that would make birth and childhood safer. (“Show me your budget and I’ll tell you what you value.” – J. Biden) Whether she personally has always believed abortion is wrong or not doesn’t change the facts. And the fact is, she’s being lied to and being used by people who thought Nixon should stay in power by any means necessary.
Jill Lepore at the NewYorker.
FWIW. Good luck.
Cheers,
Scott.
nclurker
@PsiFighter37: i drive a fifteen year old jeep,battered and rusty.
need 4wd for the winters here.also,my dog car.
so form follows function.
when i go on a road trip,i always rent something nice .
and when i return it,no worrys.
works out pretty well .ymmv.
cheers all
JAFD
@NotMax:
Hello, Not Max!
Well, if content ain’t there, maybe will be elsewhere, or will return.
As Senator Romney said about the Winter Olympics…
“Some days you win,
… and some days you luge”
WaterGirl
@Martin: Ada or Ida?
moops
No problems. Dealing with a right wing sister is not that unique. My sister and I don’t talk, but we can be cordial at family gatherings. I’ve had to coach our older sister on how to respond her and keep your strength.
Kent
@Baud:
Good reminder that there are more Democrats in Texas than any other state but California.
MagdaInBlack
@JPL: I’m sure there are more than a few snake-handlers in the crowd.
zhena gogolia
@WaterGirl:
Ida. We’re supposed to get 5-8 inches tonight.
Fair Economist
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:Wishing death on Joe Rogan is a trolley problem: would you have one person die to save thousands? He’s a major voice, it probably would save thousands.
Long COVID for him would only be just punishment for the hundreds of cases of involuntary manslaughter he’s already committed.
WaterGirl
@zhena gogolia: I was seriously hoping that there weren’t so many storms queued up that we had already made it through I and were back to the letter A again!
Sure Lurkalot
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Last Friday I got together with an old friend I just reconnected with. During our walk, she mentioned she was interested in Ivermectin as a COVID treatment after listening to fucking Joe Rogan.
She’s vaxxed and very careful but now has me wondering about her political leanings and critical thinking skills. I’m actually kind of pissed she brought it up because now I have to wonder whether our past fun times are enough to support a present friendship.
Bill Arnold
@Chetan Murthy:
Could be.
Remember this? The tech has gotten better since 2012.
How Target Figured Out A Teen Girl Was Pregnant Before Her Father Did (2012)
And I’m sure that people with access will be trawling medical records, illegal or not, and monetizing leads through brokers who take a cut.
Texas Republicans are scum. Show
nomercy except when it is not merited.mrmoshpotato
@germy: GOOD!
Starboard Tack
@Bill Arnold:
Chacal Charles Caltrop
@E.: family in a nutshell
mrmoshpotato
@Splitting Image: The writing and her delivery are so damn good!
ETA – thought it was going to be a video! Oops! Point stands.
Another Scott
@Sure Lurkalot: My J read some things about ivermectin a few weeks ago and had just about convinced herself that its promise was being hidden by Big Pharma… Lefties like us can be susceptible too.
:-/
The disinformation is everywhere. You have to work around it and help people who are persuadable to find the truth.
Good luck.
Cheers,
Scott.
nclurker
JPL
@Martin: Extensive damage from a tornado in NJ is unusual, but is that really a sign of climate change. Just asking for an asshol
WaterGirl
@mrmoshpotato: I hadn’t looked at it until I read your comment.
That truly was a thing of beauty.
Cermet
You should spell the states name properly – its TexAss
JPL
@Sure Lurkalot: Just mention that you heard that heartworm medicine was better.
WaterGirl
@mrmoshpotato: I think this would make a perfect Friday evening thread. Put up that entry from Betty Bowers as an example, and ask everybody to write one of their own and put it in the thread.
edit: I want to see what Betty Cracker and Anne Laurie could come up with for their entries.
NotMax
@Steeplejack
Completely different context but am put in mind of the comedian who talked about sending away for every item from the back pages of magazines, crammed in with “Make BIG MONEY stuffing envelopes at home!” small print ads and the like, purported to increase gas mileage in your car.
“I installed them all, drove five miles, and my gas tank overflowed.”
:)
@JAFD
Howdy back atcha. Once again will give a shout out to JustWatch for quickly searching where something may be currently found and whether it is available free along with a service or at an additional price.
debbie
@WaterGirl:
I call bullshit on that “many, many.”
One brother used to email me his thoughts on something. It wasn’t worded the way I know him to speak, so I copied a phrase and pasted it in to Google and found he had plagiarized someone else’s words. I called him out on it again and again, but he kept doing it.
I call this a disease.
Baud
@Another Scott:
“It’s me or the horse.”
Citizen Alan
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
I wish death on them all. My attitude towards antivaxxers is roughly the same as my attitude towards the 911 hijackers, in that I hope they all burn in hell.
mrmoshpotato
@David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch: Did someone say dolphins?
Poptartacus
Lol engaging with your idiot relatives is a waste of time. You can’t save them. Why bother
mrmoshpotato
@prostratedragon:
What?! I couldn’t hear you over all the damn cicadas screaming for sex!
scav
@debbie: Ah, he just failed the Turing Test. Or, start mailing him those little Captcha quizzes before you’ll respond to his screeds.
JAFD
@PsiFighter37:
If the damage isn’t rubbing the tire or affecting anything underneath, and the bare metal is showing, then I’d fix the paint up to prevent rust – sand the area smooth, prime, spray on matching color. Not difficult if you’ve a parking space or driveway within reach of garden hose, or bucket carry …
Been raining hard, high wind, whistling around building, here in Newark. cell phone buzzed with tornado warning a half-hour ago. I’m in pretty sturdy building, keeping alert but not worried.
mrmoshpotato
@MagdaInBlack:
And! – your out-200-smackers dumb ass can still catch a bad case of COVID!
???♂️!
raven
@JAFD: There is little metal on new cars.
Benw
@WaterGirl: yeah, the Taliban are awful, but I even noticed when I read your OP that “there have been beheadings” is extremely vague passive voice BS. I’m glad you did it and that you feel good about it!
Tony Gerace
@WaterGirl: I have a cousin (who I love) who is a Trumper, but fortunately my two sisters are on the same page as me politically. It must be frustrating.
Bill Arnold
@Steeplejack:
Snopes (almost?) always has supporting links. In a pinch the supporting links can be copy/pasted into a possibly-long list.
(I’ve done this maybe one, wingnuts Love links, but not those sort of links, where if you click on them, they actually are on topic and support the argument.)
mrmoshpotato
@JPL:
I bet you one of the assholes who puts this crap out there has a financial interest.
Follow the money.
WaterGirl
@mrmoshpotato: I want anyone who purchases a fake vaccine card to be prosecuted.
mrmoshpotato
@JAFD:
What tune?
WaterGirl
@Tony Gerace: It is frustrating. And maddening. And sometimes heartbreaking. I used to be close with both sisters. Now I look at religious sister with profound disappointment. I had always thought of her as kind, caring and empathetic.
mrmoshpotato
@WaterGirl: AND the sellers!
frosty
@PsiFighter37: I never worried much about body work. I drove the Sable I inherited from my mom after I had a fender bender for a couple more years without getting it fixed.
Brand new? Yeah, I’d probably at least get an estimate.
Bill Arnold
@Another Scott:
I spent a few hours several days ago skimming most of the recent scientific literature on ivermectin. There is a large pile of speculation, there is some grousing about clinical randomly controlled trials being the standard of evidence, there are multiple dueling metanalyses (with agendas), some meta-meta commentary, some studies with negative results in a few different countries, and maybe 1 mid-sized study in Baghdad that seems on a skim to show interesting results.
It would take a few days to actually read all the papers, but I’m uninterested. There are good vaccines. There are plenty of studies proving the efficacy of masks. We know about the importance of ventilation and air filtering. There is are at least 2 monoclonal antibody treatments available. There are other drugs in the pipeline. (e.g. antibody nasal sprays.)
NotMax
@mrmoshpotato
You really need ask?
;)
Bill Arnold
@JPL:
Your link upthread (thanks for the find!) was broken, so (Not The Onion):
Brazilian viper venom may become tool in fight against COVID, study shows (Leonardo Benassatto, September 1, 2021)
The Truffle
@Juju: Mine too. How to keep your chin up at a time like this? I keep hoping for a positive backlash against these nihilists.
Right now they seem to be killing themselves off, however.
Another Scott
@Bill Arnold: Yup.
IIRC, there was one (1) study that claimed to have good results back months ago when people were trying anything and everything to see if something would work as a treatment. And, of course, the study was bogus and was withdrawn.
But too many people got suckered by the early results (probably by design) and constructed reasons why to believe it in spite of the flaws.
All of us have biases that can get in the way of understanding when something new happens. It’s really hard to fight those biases, but we must.
Thanks.
Cheers,
Scott.
mrmoshpotato
@NotMax: Oh, the wind is a recorder virtuoso, but what about the other instruments?
Odie Hugh Manatee
@Dorothy A. Winsor:
People need to report the Republican party in Texas for being a nonstop abortion. Arrest the party leaders for permitting, maintaining and being an abortion.
Steeplejack (phone)
@Bill Arnold:
No, sorry, any links from fake news are also fake news. QED, libtard.
phdesmond
@Baud:
Nominate “juice is thicker than blood” for whatever one nominates for.
About 327 results on google.
Captain C
@Another Scott:
Wouldn’t they want to sell as much as possible, so long as it’s profitable?
MontyTheClipArtMongoose
@Omnes Omnibus: pretty sure cory chase isn’t childbearing age
Jeffro
I can relate. My mom became an expert in all things Afghanistan about, oh, three weeks ago? Two weeks ago?
Jeffro
@Poptartacus: it’s important to take those shots, though…you never know when the cognitive dissonance might, just MIGHT, break through and peel one of them away from RWNJ madness…
Jeffro
This is where I went with my RWNJ dad and brother after 1/6. After nearly five years of trying to get them to see the downward spiral they were in, supporting trumpov and the increasingly insane, violent turns the GQP was taking. When they made excuses for insurrectionists trying to overthrow our government, that was it.
So now we talk about…the weather, and not much else. Fuck ’em.
Now I am seeing my religious right racist mom follow the same path – everything President Biden does is the world’s worst evil. So she’s ‘unfollowed’ on FB and we avoid talking politics of any kind.
kindness
The polite way to tell your sister what you think WG is to just tell her
Bless Your Heart.
Kent
Tell her that ivermectin was created and sold by BIG PHARMA (Merck) which is the 4th largest Big Pharma company on the planet. Here are the top 5
rikyrah
Good????????
BigJimSlade
@Scuffletuffle: Wait, what was the question? ;-)
burnspbesq
@RaflW:
The Texas Taliban will be setting up shop right next to TSA, checking for fetal heartbeats and using their God-given Second Amendment remedies to prevent any suspected feticiders from boarding.
Law enforcement won’t lift a finger to stop it.
different-church-lady
I estranged myself from my family over less than this.
The day I did was the day I was allowed to start growing up.
evodevo
@WaterGirl:
Good for you…jen Psaki started doing that, and so have I…
evodevo
@OzarkHillbilly:
Yep…the Subaru I used in mail delivery got plenty of “character” from encounters with mailbox doors, etc. Saves me headaches over every little dent, and now I don’t have to worry about some MAGAt keying my car at Walmart on account of the librul bumperstickers on it….I would never notice the damage lol
evodevo
@JPL:
Well, venoms are usually complicated substances with a lot of ingredients that have different effects…wonder which component they are talking about? Pit vipers like copperheads and the brazilian viper have an anticoagulant component, a muscle cell toxin, and a couple of neurotoxins, so you would have to do some sophisticated biochem work to separate these out…but then, MAGAts never were too smart, so expect the incidence of snakebite in rural areas to go way up LOL