Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

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

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

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

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

A democracy can’t function when people can’t distinguish facts from lies.

Putting aside our relentless self-interest because the moral imperative is crystal clear.

The words do not have to be perfect.

The arc of history bends toward the same old fuckery.

But frankly mr. cole, I’ll be happier when you get back to telling us to go fuck ourselves.

The willow is too close to the house.

If you are still in the GOP, you are an extremist.

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

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

Republicans are radicals, not conservatives.

Second rate reporter says what?

They love authoritarianism, but only when they get to be the authoritarians.

You don’t get to peddle hatred on saturday and offer condolences on sunday.

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

Good lord, these people are nuts.

“What are Republicans afraid of?” Everything.

It may be funny to you motherfucker, but it’s not funny to me.

When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.

Russian mouthpiece, go fuck yourself.

And we’re all out of bubblegum.

You are here: Home / Healthcare / Tuesday Morning Open Thread: Everything All At Once

Tuesday Morning Open Thread: Everything All At Once

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Probably not the best place for this, *but* so many of us are in this demographic…

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Reader Interactions

129Comments

  1. 1.

    Baud

    Only Richard Nixon and Donald Trump, in the modern era, believed that prosecution decisions should be made in the Oval Office.”

    And Twitter!

  6. 6.

    zhena gogolia

    @Baud: I made the mistake of watching that Chuck Todd interview with HRC yesterday. “botched Afghanistan withdrawal” and she didn’t push back on it. “Dem handwringing” and she didn’t push back on it.

  9. 9.

    NotMax

    Anyone watching the Ken Burns Benjamin Franklin program on PBS?

    In other video variety, Netflix notes.

    Has no pretenses of being anything other than a wry and understated little romp: All Hail. Kudos for the set dressers (storm wranglers?).

    Animation fans might care to check out Thermæ Romæ Novæ, “a time travel bathhouse comedy.”

    ;)

    Also too, if you’re comfortable with the mood shifting prevalent in Korean dramas and looking for a thoroughly suspenseful espionage thriller, still time to catch the original season of Iris before it waves bye-bye to Netflix on May 1st. (N.B.: First episode necessary for set-up but far from indicative of the path the show will tread.)

  10. 10.

    Ohio Mom

    Not surprised that cataract surgery lowers the risk of dementia. You need to have good information coming into your brain so your brain can process it accurately. You get cut off from a lot when you can’t figure out what’s happening in your environment.

    Now someone study the things Medicare doesn’t pay for: glasses, and the exam to determine the eyeglass prescription, and hearing aids. I’m guessing also the exam to determine whatever you need to know to get hearing aids and maintain them (can you tell I know nothing about hearing aids — yet)

    Throw in dental too. Pain and being limited in what you can eat can’t be good for brain health either.

  11. 11.

    debbie

    I hope a camera’s trained on the Russian ambassador’s face during the UN Security Council meeting.

  12. 12.

    debbie

    @Ohio Mom:

    I remember my mother marveling over all the colors she could see when I brought her home after double cataract surgery. I never saw that it made her sharper, only happier, which isn’t a bad thing.

  13. 13.

    satby

    @Ohio Mom: Actually, assuming you’ve met your deductible for the year, Medicare does cover eye exams that monitor optical effects of medical conditions, which most older people have: diabetes, cancer treatment, high blood pressure, eye conditions requiring surgery like cataracts. It doesn’t cover uncomplicated non-medical eye exams, true; but after age 65 almost every American has some condition that can make an eye exam fall under medical care. We bill Medicare all the time, non-coverage is usually because the deductible hasn’t been met.

  14. 14.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    I’ve read that uncorrected hearing loss is connected to dementia too.

    My cataracts have gotten much worse in the last year. I have an appointment with my eye doc in May to talk about getting them removed.

  15. 15.

    satby

    @Baud: That, and he’s a troll. She probably wanted to stay on topic of what SHE wanted to talk about, not get derailed in a pointless side discussion.

  17. 17.

    John S.

    @gene108:

    You can’t appeal to people’s emotion with a well-reasoned argument. If they “feel” strongly about a topic, facts are not going to persuade them.

  18. 18.

    OzarkHillbilly

    How far-right figures like Ammon Bundy cause chaos in US politics

    But Bundy has adapted to new times in US politics as the Republican party has lurched right under the influence of Donald Trump, and far-right militia groups like the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers have dominated headlines, including after the January 6 assault on the Capitol. Bundy, however, has attracted far less attention as he built up a state-by-state-level, cell-like network that can host dinners to create a sense of community but also produce on-demand protesters.

    Bundy’s People’s Rights Network aims to form a coalition of militia members, anti-vaxxers, conspiracy theorists, preppers and other far-right travelers. Its size eclipses most far-right groups put together. And many experts see it as a real threat to democracy.

    “They’ve repeatedly shown an ability to mobilize large number of armed far-right activists to threaten, harass, and intimidate public officials,” said Devin Bernhardt, director of the Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights, a non-profit that monitors the far right.

    While 2021 saw a retreat for many of the national far-right groups as they came under intense scrutiny from law enforcement, People’s Rights Network grew last year by 53%. Today it has 33,000 members across 38 states, according to a report from the Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights.

    If you aren’t worried, you aren’t paying attention.

  19. 19.

    NotMax

    @OzarkHillbilly

    Never ceases to amaze how many of these people apparently either don’t have a steady job or can spontaneously take extended leave of one.

  21. 21.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Capitol attack rioter gets 3.5 years in prison for illegal possession of guns

    For years, Fisher established a prolific online presence, the authorities said. Under the alias Brad Holiday, Fisher posted photos of himself with firearms on Facebook and YouTube. In one, Fisher posed in front of a flag that said “Don’t tread on Trump. Keep America great” while grinning and holding a pistol.

    “Can’t wait to bring a liberal back to this freedom palace,” he wrote as his caption. Behind him was a rifle and a shotgun.

    Fisher was also a self-declared dating coach who sold a $150 package of misogynistic supposed tips and tricks for men to pick up women, called “Attraction Accelerator”, the New York Times reported. “How to use online dating to build abundance of women! Never feel that you can’t get women again…with online dating you’ll ALWAYS be getting laid,” his website said.

    In a video posted online, Fisher said, “Is Satanism a good thing? Should we conjure demons to get our goals met like the Left does?”

    He added: “Are women trustworthy in 2020? You tell me. I’ll tell you, No.”

    Just a peach of a guy.

  22. 22.

    Baud

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Is Satanism a good thing? Should we conjure demons to get our goals met like the Left does?”

     

    Our goals are met? We need to consider changing our demon supplier.

  23. 23.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Baud: A thing I have noticed is that some of the loudest, most hard core Libertarians have govt jobs.

  24. 24.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Ohio Mom:

    Now someone study the things Medicare doesn’t pay for: glasses, and the exam to determine the eyeglass prescription, and hearing aids. I’m guessing also the exam to determine whatever you need to know to get hearing aids and maintain them (can you tell I know nothing about hearing aids — yet)

    Throw in dental too. Pain and being limited in what you can eat can’t be good for brain health either.

    Well, we tried to pass that last year.  Can’t remember which bill it was in, but it was one of the things that 50 GOPers + Manchinema killed.  Fuck the lot of ’em with rusty farm implements.

  28. 28.

    Percysowner

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: I have an appointment in June with a surgeon to see if my cataracts are big enough to remove. I’m hoping they are, because I would like to see better and one eye can’t be corrected enough for good vision.

  37. 37.

    sab

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: In my family cataract surgery and dementia has been kind of a chicken v egg thing. Those with incipient dementia have been much more resistant to admitting that cataracts are a looming problem. Then things go down hill.

    My dad in his eighties was very resistant to cataract surgery. Now in his late nineties he is nearly blind, but his dementia has advanced to the point where he could not possibly handle the post-operative care period. Mom had cataract surgery in her sixties (long time smoker) so her vision was pretty good to the end.

    Hearing aids are similar. If you wait too long, your brain won’t be able to process the restored sound. Dad was resistant on that too, and now he is hopelessly deaf.

    My spouse, who was happy to get cataract surgery, is completely resistant to hearing testing, and he is already pretty deaf. When he finally admits there is a problem it will be too late to fix it.

  39. 39.

    JMG

    I had cataracts removed from both eyes in 2018 and regard it as one of the best decisions I have ever made regarding my health. Mind you, my eye doctor made it pretty clear that I’d probably lose my ability to drive at night if I didn’t.

  40. 40.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @satby: Yeah, I’m not going to second-guess HRC’s handling of troll Todd. She’s a pro and knows what matters.

  41. 41.

    NotMax

    Took the new vehicle out for a spin on Monday for the first time since bringing it home two weeks ago. Errands at two different banks and the post office; maybe 2 mile round trip.

    No exaggeration, dream machine. So quiet, smooth and responsive.

  43. 43.

    Anyway

    @satby:

    Yes. I watched the link that was posted her on BJ – when CT said Dem handwringing – she said that’s what we Dems do, we do it before every election. I think she addressed it ok. Re Afghanistan she said “to some extent” something like that. She  had Biden’s and Blinken’s backs and underscored the villainy of Russian govt actions.

    The interview was fine.

  45. 45.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    Am I allowed to believe this? I hate to get my hopes up.

    Nate Silver just reported that Democrats are INCHES away from expanding their Senate majority from coast to coast.– We're WINNING by 1 in Ohio– We're WINNING by 4 in Wisconsin– We're WINNING by 7 in New Hampshire– We're WINNING by 9 in Arizona— Kat Pea (@kkmbol2) April 4, 2022

  46. 46.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @NotMax: So glad you’re happy with your new toy truck! We’re looking at plug-in hybrids. Living in the rural Southwest, distances are too great to rely on a pure EV, although that may change in the not-too-distant future, I hope. We haven’t decided on a make/model yet. The local dealerships don’t have many–which is to say, they don’t have any–on the lot, so we may have to wait awhile.

  47. 47.

    NotMax

    @sab

    I understand that Netflix is going to be instituting an option for dialogue enhanced audio (similar but not identical to what the well-reviewed Zvox soundbar provides) in the very near future.

  49. 49.

    satby

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:  Medicare will also pay (once) for basic glasses if needed after cataract surgery. But a lot of people don’t need them, since they can get lens implants that bring them back to 20/20-ish vision*

    *I’m jealous, actually; because my Fuchs Dystrophy will require a version of corneal replacement that they won’t do unless I have cataract surgery first, because it would undo the effects of the corneal one. And I’m a good decade away from cataracts bad enough to remove.

  51. 51.

    Betty Cracker

    @zhena gogolia: Clinton said hand-wringing is in Democrats’ DNA, and she’s not wrong, IMO. I think Republicans haven’t had that problem for years because they’ve distilled their party’s essence down to a rank, toxic, homogeneous substance, whereas a fractious and diverse coalition like the Dems will inevitably experience some hand-wringing, IMO.

  52. 52.

    Baud

    @Betty Cracker:

    Plus, as much as they hate it, Republicans benefit from Dem governance just like the rest of the country.  Losing isn’t existential to them, despite what they tell themselves.

  53. 53.

    Steeplejack

    Check out Chuck Grassley’s expression at about 0:30 in that video above. When the voter confronting him says that he’s the leader of the Senate because he’s the oldest and has been there for 50 years, Grassley gets a goofy grin on his face totally inappropriate to the situation except for “Aren’t I great?” Ugh. Clueless old fucktard.

  54. 54.

    rikyrah

     

    No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen (@NoLieWithBTC) tweeted at 9:32 PM on Mon, Apr 04, 2022:
    NEW: Tennessee Republicans are advancing a bill that creates a separate, privileged class of marriage for heterosexual couples, acting as a loophole to the Supreme Court’s legalization of gay marriage. The bill would also legalize child marriage by eliminating age requirements.
    (https://twitter.com/NoLieWithBTC/status/1511169835308363778?t=37dZMqwSnLOTXgiQ6-amtw&s=03)

  56. 56.

    Betty Cracker

    @Baud: Yep. I don’t doubt their nutty base really does view Democrats as an existential threat, but for people like Ted Cruz, Tom Cotton, etc., having reliable grownups around with fire extinguishers to douse the flames they set is all upside.

  59. 59.

    satby

    @Steeplejack: yeah, I saw that too. And I expected a woman to be the one to call him out, not a late middle-aged white guy. If that display of obvious disrespect and racism turned off Joe Average in Iowa, maybe the Judiciary Dems didn’t handle those hearings all that badly after all.

  60. 60.

    zhena gogolia

    @Betty Cracker: I suppose I was enraged more by his questioning than her answers. I agree, what’s she supposed to do? But the interview wasn’t the warm fuzzy experience I had been led to expect, or I wouldn’t have watched it, since I scrupulously keep Chuck Todd out of my consciousness most of the time.

  62. 62.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @O. Felix Culpa: And isn’t this the same Republican Party that’s all worried about pedophiles? I guess raping little girls is ok if you’re married to them. SMH.

  63. 63.

    OzarkHillbilly

    New York is accustomed to high-profile trials, the details picked over like canapés at a cocktail party. But the trial of Lawrence “Larry” Ray, on federal charges of sex trafficking, extortion and conspiracy has caused revulsion and horror, and raised troubling questions that go far beyond criminal justice. Over the past three weeks, jurors have heard how Ray, 62, spent years psychologically manipulating and abusing college students who were roommates of his own daughter at the prestigious liberal arts college Sarah Lawrence.

    Ray’s methods echo the abuse described in other notorious recent cases such as the Nxivm sex cult and the Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell sex-trafficking cases. It certainly rivals them for allegations of abuse of the victims. The court heard how one graduate, Claudia Drury, was forced to prostitute herself to pay the ex-convict Ray $2.5m in compensation for what prosecutors call their imagined crimes against him.
    ………………………….
    During opening statements, Ray’s defense attorney compared the case to Alice in Wonderland, urging jurors to travel “through the looking-glass” and invited them to view the defendant and the students as a group of “storytellers”.

    The danger for prosecutors in the case, says Murphy, is that the level of alleged abuse is in a sense unbelievable, because it is outside the realm of most people’s experience. “We can get unjust results in cases like this, because the horror of it all makes ordinary jurors who don’t have any understanding so uncomfortable that they have to psychologically distance themselves so it feels OK. They have a tendency to disbelieve, because its so painful to accept the reality. It can be tremendously unfair to victims,” she said.

    I don’t doubt it for a second. Denial is not a river in Egypt.

    In 1995 Ray met Bernie Kerik, an NYPD officer who had risen from being Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s driver to the director of the New York City department of corrections’ investigations division. Ray was best man at Kerik’s wedding, drove Mikhail Gorbachev around town on a trip to New York, and travelled to Kosovo, allegedly to buy US-supplied Stinger missiles back before they fell into Russian hands.

    He became an FBI informant, duping the agency with promises of informing on the mafia in what would turn out to be a cover for his own involvement in mafia-related stock manipulations. In 2015, he worked as a bodyguard for Donald Trump.

    Surprise!

    By then, Ray’s alleged prostitution ring was in operation. “He was mind-screwing these kids to the max,” Kerik said after Ray’s arrest. “He was just a sick dude.”

    During the trial, the US attorney’s office accidentally released an unredacted list of 121 clients from across all walks of life in New York’s social elite, including – allegedly – a retired state judge, a well-known architect, a successful artist and senior financial figures. Soon after, Ray claimed to be ill and was wheeled out of court on a stretcher for the second time since his trial started.

    What do you want to bet trump got some off the books action from his former body guard?

  65. 65.

    sab

    @NotMax: That seems interesting. Great alternative to turning the sound up, because if that is his solution I am going to spend the summer in our bedroom with the cats and the dog and the door shut because we don’t like blaring tv.

  67. 67.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @zhena gogolia: I read it. Basic takeaway: it’s not fair to punish Russians and Russian businesses (e.g. restaurants) in the US for what’s going on in Ukraine. True enough.

  69. 69.

    Betty Cracker

    @zhena gogolia: Sorry to have “misled” you, if you mean me via the post yesterday. I thought HRC’s comments were interesting and worth hearing, which is why I shared the video. But I certainly didn’t mean to imply that Chuck Todd was anything other than his usual obtuse self or that there was anything warm or fuzzy about a discussion about the war.

  70. 70.

    sab

    @rikyrah: My step-daughter about fifteen years ago was dating her first cousin. He was her mother’s half-sister’s son. I thought that was weird and genetically unhealthy. Looked it up, and it is completely legally okay in Ohio. Still not healthy genetically. Fortunately they broke it off.

  71. 71.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @satby:

    “It seems to me that meeting with authors of the ridiculous number of books being written about my very successful administration, or me, is a total waste of time,” Trump said in that July 2021 statement. “These writers are often bad people who write whatever comes to their mind or fits their agenda. It has nothing to do with facts or reality.”

    Ha!

  72. 72.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @satby: Unfortunately with narcissists, the “truth” is whatever they feel serves them in any given moment. The “truth” of that admission at that time will likely have no relationship to whatever “truth” he spews out today. Or tomorrow. Or the day after.

  73. 73.

    sab

    @satby: We almost excuse Trump for being Trump because of his personality disorder. That means we ignore his really active and intentional lying about everything. He hasn’t deluded himself. He was acitvely lying, and his delusion was that he could get away with it.

  74. 74.

    zhena gogolia

    @Betty Cracker: I didn’t mean you personally. There was a lot of rah-rah in the comments. I don’t know what made me think Chuck Todd wouldn’t be Chuck Todd. He’s so smarmy and kind of condescending to her. ASshole.

  80. 80.

    CaseyL

    @Steeplejack: I took that grin as sheepish acknowledgment of his age.  Grassley has never struck me as someone with a lot of self-awareness.

    Back in 2001 – before the 9/11 attacks – remember when Jim Jeffords got so disgusted with his fellow Republicans in the Senate that he switched parties, giving the Democrats a Senate majority? Other GOP Senators had tried hard to talk him out of it.  One of the arguments they made was that “poor Chuck Grassley” was in line to Chair the Judiciary Committee, and if Jeffords switched he wouldn’t get to do that, and he (Grassley) was in tears about it.  I remember thinking, “What kind of argument is that? Jeffords has serious substantive problems with the GOP running the Senate, and you’re holding a pity party for Grassley??”

  84. 84.

    satby

    @O. Felix Culpa: @sab: agree with “truth” being “whatever works at the moment” for a narcissist like tfg, but the inconsistency of statements and admission undermines any future defense he might try to mount about his sincere belief of voter fraud. Little sticks can add to a bonfire; and I’m rooting for a real roasting.

  85. 85.

    sab

    @satby: Yes! We all drag along like nobody notices, but I think they do if we actually point it out. Dots need to be connected in public, often. The dots are all there, and more are being added weeky.

  90. 90.

    sab

    @debbie: Just bickering with the lawyer. Not me either. Trump lies every time he opens his mouth. So do his kids

    ETA The lawyers have to hide their well-earned cynicism in order to function in the real world.

  92. 92.

    SiubhanDuinne

    So apparently Ivanka is meeting with the J6 Committee later today (don’t know whether in person or virtually).

    TFG must be sick with anxiety about what she’ll spill. He’ll probably have to go hit a few more holes-in-one to distract himself.

  94. 94.

    Ken

    @zhena gogolia: I agree, what’s she supposed to do?

    Leaping across the set and ripping his still-beating heart out of his chest would probably hurt her with some voters. Democrats, I mean; the Republicans would just see it as confirmation of what they already believed.

  95. 95.

    sab

    @SiubhanDuinne: His whole world depends on her being reliable. Her whole world depends on her being daddy’s special child. This could work out well for us, catching her in egregious lies.

  98. 98.

    sab

    @Ken: You are a guy. Women know, from hard personal experience, that attacking obnoxious men isn’t a good idea.

  99. 99.

    satby

    @Steeplejack:  My link was to Raw Story, but I refuse to watch the ass on video unless his voice is replaced by Stephen Colbert’s seven year old tfg reader. So if RS misstated what he said and I promoted that, I apologize.

  100. 100.

    Betty Cracker

    @SiubhanDuinne: According to TPM, Rep. Lofgren described Slenderman as “non-combative” during his interview with the committee. His wife will probably follow suit. It helps that neither can change their facial expressions.

  102. 102.

    sab

    @sab: Frankly, I would be majorly embarrassed about people outside my life looking at me and Dad’s relationship that closely. Kids are supposed to grow up and move on into life.

  104. 104.

    Steeplejack

    @satby:

    No apology necessary. I wasn’t arguing with you, just pointing out that Trump didn’t issue a bombshell admission of defeat, if that’s how Raw Story framed it.

  105. 105.

    zhena gogolia

    The russki is acting just like Jim Jordan.

    ETA: God, I hate Russians. (with a few exceptions)

  108. 108.

    Booger

    @sab: I recently read a piece which examined the genetics of, what…consanguinity?  Apparently first-generation offspring of first cousins are typically fine; by five generations of inbreeding (e.g., european ‘noble lineages’) serious genetic defects are guaranteed and by six, unviability is virtually guaranteed.

    Icky stuff.

  110. 110.

    Kay

    Andrew Sullivan
    @sullydish
    ·22h
    Replying to
    @libsoftiktok
    This is a perfectly sane teacher responding to kids’ questions. It seems increasingly clear that this campaign is now driven by vicious homophobia. Moderates take note.

    Just to be clear, he’s talking about the real world effects of the CRT/anti-gay panic he ethusiastically participated in and promoted, where all gay teachers are now being targeted as pedophiles.

    Ooops! That’s the thing about panics. The instigators can never control them. Pretty soon we’ll be at “satanic ritual abuse” in daycares. The “satanic” language is already creeping in.

  112. 112.

    Citizen Alan

    @sab:  I’m happy to admit that I don’t hate Donald Trump nearly as much as I hate the people who vote for him. He he at least has the excuse of being mentally ill. His followers know exactly what he is and still support him because they think that in his madness hes going to build the type of world they want.

  113. 113.

    ian

    @Booger:

    I had to read similar scientific articles when doing a report on medieval royal families.  Consanguinity is still common in parts of Egypt, India, Afghanistan/Pakistan, and the steppes of Asia.  It seems to work out fine until all of a sudden catastrophe.

    On the other hand- Cleopatra was described as one of the most intelligent people in the ancient world, and she was something like 12 generations into the practice.

  115. 115.

    Steeplejack

    @Kay:

    Jeet Heer on Sullivan:

    1. From the start, this has been a transphobic & homophobic moral panic. Sullivan egged it on at the start for clout & because he thought there was enough plausible deniability to hide its intent. Once that intent is blindingly clear, he’s backtracking.

    2. This is Sullivan’s constant modus operandi: advocate far right positions when they are riding high, back-track and obfuscate on them when there is a backlash, collect points from dunderheaded centrists & liberals for supposedly being willing to learn. Rinse, repeat.

    3. The clearest example was in Iraq War: post-9/11 uber-hawk warning of liberal Fifth Columnist, then when torture regime & insurgency clear Sullivan offered up Prufockian hand-wringing, “This is not what I meant at all.”

    4. Sullivan’s whole schtick only works because centrists & liberals are willing to take him at face value, forgive & forget his extremism, explain things away. They do that because they crave a “reasonable” conservative. It allows them to avoid seeing the right with clarity.

  116. 116.

    Kay

    @germy:

    “Moderates take note”

    Oh, fuck you Andrew. Save yourself from yourself. No “moderate” is coming to the rescue.

    What part of the screaming mobs at school board meetings did these idiots perceive as “moderate”? How did they think this was going to go? It’s true about the “satanism” language too. It’s coming in.
    I expect them to revive all the other oldies but goodies too- “wilding” for teenagers and announcing everyone has a “gang affliation”.
    They allied with people who believe MILLIONS of US children disappear every year! Millions! No one noticed! There’s only about 55 million school age children. I think we’d notice if A MILLION vanished.

  117. 117.

    RaflW

    Late to this thread, but Washington Month has a very interesting warning to businesses that have shoveled cash at the GOP to protect their interests. The worm may turn very suddenly for them!

    You can see it in what is arguably the ugliest, most partisan venue on national TV: Tucker Carlson’s nightly Fox News show. While Carlson himself may be irredeemably racist and authoritarian, his rants against corporate monopolies and in defense of economic regulation—ideas he’s picked up from an increasingly influential cadre of “post-liberal” conservative intellectuals—are often indistinguishable from the rhetoric of people like Elizabeth Warren.

  118. 118.

    RaflW

    @Steeplejack: To Jeet’s fourth tweet: I think it’s a weird version of green lanternism, too. If only some sane conservatives would step up and make common cause with the moderate left, everything would be fine again.

    But the world doesn’t work like that! Not these days certainly.

  119. 119.

    Kay

    @Steeplejack:

    I sort of disagree on “why”. I think there’s a group of Democratic centrists who see conservative allies as validation – they’re not really comfortable with liberals so it’s an “it’s ok” sign.

    Trump used this really cleverly the other way with his constant invocations of all the “millions” of Democrats who were supporting him. He knew a lot of his supporters weren’t “Republicans”, they were Trump supporters, so it validated their choice. Both sides, baby. It must be correct.

  120. 120.

    JanieM

    @Kay:

    I think we’d notice if A MILLION vanished.

    These are the same people who didn’t much notice, and certainly didn’t care, that a million people vanished because of covid. Funny to think they care about imaginary vanishments.

  121. 121.

    Kay

    Anthony L. Fisher
    @anthonyLfisher
    ·16h
    Chris Rufo’s QAnon-ing of Disney is a big vindication for those of us who saw him (and James Lindsay, et al) as unhinged, bad-faith culture war maniacs back when they were still being pushed as brave muckrakers by the rational-centrist/politically-tribeless/heterodox brain trust.

    They didn’t recognize Chris Rufo as a bad faith actor. It’s a weird kind of coddled blindless – nothing really threatens them so they don’t recognize a bad actor. They lost a survival skill, through disuse.

  122. 122.

    Soprano2

    @ian: Kind of makes you wonder if she was the product of her mother fooling around with someone outside the family.

  123. 123.

    Soprano2

    @Kay: I just listened to a program on “On Point” about the teacher shortage and what could be done about it. My comment was to quit legislating what they can literally say in the classroom and quit calling them “groomers”, because their jobs are already hard enough. I should have added “quit screaming at them on the sidewalk about masks”. That didn’t seem to get any discussion on the program, although I could have missed it.

  124. 124.

    Soprano2

    @Kay: It’s stunning to me that Rufo literally posted what he was doing, and tens of millions of people, including the press, seem to have been duped by it anyway. Why all of the press didn’t lead every story about the CRT panic with that tweet where Rufo tells us all what they’re doing tells me they like the panic, it creates viewers and clicks for them. They don’t much care who gets hurt by it along the way.

  125. 125.

    Kent

    @Baud:I guess Sinema is a yes on Jackson.

    As much as an obstructionist she is on legislation, I believe she has voted to confirm every one of Biden’s judicial and executive branch appointees.

  126. 126.

    jnfr

    I don’t know about dementia, but cataract surgery really helped my eyesight! I hadn’t realized how dark and yellowed-out my vision had gotten until it was fixed.

  128. 128.

    Gravenstone

    @satby: I went through the treatment regimen for Fuchs in 2020. It’s positively life changing. Unfortunately, my surgeon underestimated the power needed for my replacement lenses, so I still need minor distance correction.

    A word of warning, depending on how advanced your corneal degradation is, the cataract procedure might push them over the edge and leave that eye functionally blind in the interim between that and the graft. Happened to me for both eyes. Made for a fun handful of weeks each time.

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