Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

I’d like to think you all would remain faithful to me if i ever tried to have some of you killed.

I’d try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

If marriage is the equivalent of selling yourself into slavery, women with self respect should reject the offer.

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

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

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

We need to vote them all out and restore sane Democratic government.

Republicans do not pay their debts.

I’m sure you banged some questionable people yourself. We’re allowed to grow past that.

Not so fun when the rabbit gets the gun, is it?

I didn’t have alien invasion on my 2023 BINGO card.

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires.

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

This really is a full service blog.

White supremacy is terrorism.

Every one of the “Roberts Six” lied to get on the court.

Tide comes in. Tide goes out. You can’t explain that.

Consistently wrong since 2002

Authoritarian republicans are opposed to freedom for the rest of us.

Their freedom requires your slavery.

Republicans are radicals, not conservatives.

Motown is Joe-Town!

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

Shut up, hissy kitty!

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82Comments

  4. 4.

    JPL

    @JPL: Be best!

    hahhaha    That video might be the best reason to vote dem.   Can you imagine Melania doing something like this.

  9. 9.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @JPL: I can’t remember on which podcast (I listen to too many) I heard someone say the rumor is trump endorsed Dr Oz because Melania’s a big fan

  10. 10.

    jackmac

    Surly bird? It is still quite pretty.

    When my wife and I moved into our far suburban (borderline rural) Chicago home more than 30 years ago, we overplanted with trees and bushes (and learned the hard way to NEVER plant any willow trees).  As a result we’ve been rewarded over the years with a variety of birds visiting and even taking up residence. We have the usuals like robins, cardinals, sparrows, mourning doves, grackles, sea gulls, red-tailed hawks and redwing blackbirds.  But we’ve also had visits by rarer species like an  owl, eagle flyovers from the nearby Fox River, bluejays, hummingbirds, yellowfinches, woodpeckers and — this week — the debut of a Baltimore Oriole. He was too far away for an image but I was able to identify him.  We expect to find a nest or two in coming days. Last year we had baby cardinals, in other years its been robins with their distinctive blue eggs.

  14. 14.

    MomSense

    @JPL:

    That’s awesome.

    Youngest son was in crisis because the gap year program in Greece was canceled last minute (I think it was funded with Russian $$$).  He applied for a college year abroad program with University of Athens and got his acceptance last week plus significant scholarship money. Yay!  He is already trying to figure out how to get some of his guitars there safely.
    We went for a really nice walk today (about 4 miles) and talked about all kinds of things.  It was soooo nice.
    It hit me when we got home that he leaves in August and I will be an empty nester.  I don’t think I am equipped for this.

    There was this parenting “rule” about not being friends with your children and it always seemed absurd to me. Well I get it now but for a different reason.  Two of my best friends have already flown the nest and now my baby is leaving.  Aarrrggghh.

    I don’t like this at all AND I’m really happy for him to start a new adventure.

  20. 20.

    PJ

    @Gin & Tonic:  That’s terrible. I’m sorry.
    I’m not a religious person, but I hope there will be a reckoning in this life for the people who are responsible.

  26. 26.

    JPL

    @MomSense: Bit of advice, no one is really ready for being an empty nester.   Mine left before the era of cell phones, and fortunately had a friend tell me, just because he doesn’t answer his land line, you never ever call the police.

  28. 28.

    MomSense

    @JPL:

    HA!!

    I always hated that book love you forever or whatever it was called and mocked the moms who loved it.  Now I realize there is a fine fine line between helicopter and stalker mom. I need to make sure I stay well away from both.

  32. 32.

    debbie

    @JPL:

    I don’t know if you ever saw that video of Quadaffi being chased and caught by a mob, but that’s the end I want for Putin. Probably too bloodthirsty, but there it is.

  34. 34.

    thruppence

    Taking a couple of days off; checked in to a little place in Estes Park with a kitchenette, fireplace, and in room jacuzzi. Great place for couples, but it is also good to be by myself.

  38. 38.

    UncleEbeneezer

    Started watching Station Eleven over the weekend and it is really good.  Warning though, the premise involves a deadly flu that kills 99% of the world’s population and a group of traveling theater actors, twenty years later.  So the scenes involving the pandemic are a bit triggering and almost too close to home.  But…the show bounces around a bit to later years and other locations etc., so it’s more than just pandemic-peril.  It also has some intrigue and suspense and apparently the finale is really amazing.  Anyways, if anyone is looking for something to watch, it’s very good.

  39. 39.

    Spanky

    @Baud: And reposting my reply from below:

    Exactly! Bookmark this as another example of Hogan’s “moderate” cred being the result of the MD legislature, and absolutely not his governing philosophy.

  44. 44.

    laura

    @Gin & Tonic: Words of condolence seem so inadequate to express my sorrow to you, to your nephew, to his community, to this righteous cause. Wishing you Grace until Peace is possible.

    @MomSense: children need parenting, adult children make great friends and you still get to parent and I wish more children had the security of knowing parental love and support. Hope he finds a way to transport his guitars to bring home to away.

  50. 50.

    Sure Lurkalot

    @Gin & Tonic: So sorry to hear about your nephew’s friend. And angry. Death and destruction all for one evil man’s ego and sick dream of a lost empire.

  53. 53.

    Nelle

    @MazeDancer: I’ve been talking my husband down, seeing how he is 78.  He’s in good shape, a Vietnam combat vet, Naval Academy grad.  I don’t think I’ll show him the Malcolm Nance bit.

    In poorer news, turns out what I thought were my bad allergies of last week were Covid.  So I’m on Day Seven since symptoms first showed.  No big problems, but a bummer (fuller vaxed, two boosters).

  54. 54.

    Mike in NC

    @MazeDancer:  I saw Mr. Nance earlier today broadcasting from Ukraine on MSNBC. Amazing that he’d volunteer to fight Putin. I look forward to reading his reports.

  55. 55.

    Another Scott

    Galeev has a new long thread up. He makes a disturbing argument that there will be no negotiated end to the war, because, among other things, of Russian poetry (and all that entails).

    War of memes: why Z-war won't end with peace

    Some Western analysts unfamiliar with Eastern European cultural context perceive Z-war as an accident. They presume that Russian invasion results from some sort of "misunderstanding" or mistake which can be resolved via negotiations? pic.twitter.com/diHMDIpvu0

    — Kamil Galeev (@kamilkazani) April 18, 2022

    I hope that he’s wrong… :-(

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  57. 57.

    brendancalling

    Driving my kid home to Canada. Been on the road 10 hours. One hour left, stuck at the border due to slow traffic.
    After I drop him off it’s 90 minutes back home. I’m fucking tired. He is behind in school, and spent most of his visit sitting at my dad’s kitchen table trying to prepare for a French oral exam he’s not going to pass.

    So I drove about 24 hours, spent about $200 on gas I can’t afford to spend and instead of lots of time with the relatives and friends (we got some time but not as much) so my kid could do homework in Philly.

    I’ll be glad when he’s in his 20s and growing out of the “selfish and self-absorbed” phase.

  62. 62.

    Dan B

    @Gin & Tonic: So sorry to hear this.  Putin’s horror creeps closer to us.  Hugs to your nephew and you.

    And white hot rage to Putin, his minions. And shame to Germany’s “leaders”.

  63. 63.

    MazeDancer

    @Nelle:

    Malcolm Nance is 61. So, the cut off age may be flexible. But 78 might be iffy. But we don’t want him going and lying about his age.

    @Mike in NC:

    We are likely to get a good book from Mr. Nance about his experiences.

    @Geminid: Thought about his late wife, as well. And how her passing left him free to go.

  67. 67.

    Geminid

    @WaterGirl: There might be a ceasefire some day, but not before Ukraine expels Russian troops from it’s territory (except maybe Crimea).

    Then there might be a settlement whereby Russia agrees to stay out of Ukraine and Ukraine agrees to let Russia keep Crimea. But I don’t think that will happen until Putin is dead.

  69. 69.

    Another Scott

    #Ukraine security expert tells me of a recent convo with an Italian journo.

    Italian: “So, to make peace with #Russia, what will you give them?”

    UA: “what do you mean?”

    Italian: “well, you’ll have to give them territory of course!”

    UA: “hmmm, yes, ok. We’ll give them Lake Cuomo.”

    — David Patrikarakos (@dpatrikarakos) April 18, 2022

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  71. 71.

    Another Scott

    @WaterGirl: All normal wars I’m aware of end with people sitting across from each other at a table and signing a (more or less) binding agreement.

    Galeev’s thesis seems to be that Russia will never accept something like that, any more than we would accept a peace treaty with (say) rats in our cupboards.  So, either VVP and Russia will impose their will or the war will never end.  Any cease fire will be just a pause on their road to making everyone in the former eastern USSR Russian.

    Memes are very powerful things.

    I don’t fully buy the reasoning, but the Russian TV excerpts we see about them apparently applauding genocide are terrifying.

    I really don’t think that we want to stumble into a total war with Russia.  We need to understand what they are thinking (even if it’s insane and evil) while we work to defeat them in Ukraine (and work to end the threat of it happening elsewhere).

    This war could easily expand a lot of Galeev is right, IMHO.

    My $0.02.

    Cheers,

    Scott.

  73. 73.

    WaterGirl

    @Another Scott: I don’t see Russia backing down, and I don’t see Ukraine giving up their territory, their right to be an independent country, or their right to exist.

    Not while Putin lives.  Even then, I think it would be the people of Russia who would have to rise up, and I don’t see that happening, either, unless millions of Russian eyes are opened somehow.

    What, of that, do you disagree with?

  75. 75.

    kalakal

    1. @Gin & Tonic: I’m so sorry to hear that.  I’m sure his sacrifice was not in vain. I hope Putin suffers for the rest of his, hopefully short, existence
  76. 76.

    NotMax

    What’s going on with you guys?

    Scrumptious four hour nap, 10:30 – 2:30.

    Once again being neither a mad dog nor an Englishman pays off.
    ;)

  77. 77.

    Another Scott

    @WaterGirl: Maybe I’m naive – wouldn’t be the first time – but usually war has a way of (eventually) focusing the mind to the reality of the situation, and forces leaders to adjust their aims and tactics.

    There’s a big, big difference between fighting and winning a “special military operation” that was supposed to be over in a week, and fighting a war of attrition for weeks and months in the mud, losing a fleet flagship, and all the rest.  If VVP and his minions, and the Russian people, continue to speak of the same goals, as they’ve been doing, then reality and where they’re living are two very different places.  And I think that’s a recipe for an even greater disaster.

    I don’t know how this ends, either.  Ukraine must and will continue to fight, because Russia and VVP have made it very clear what will happen to them if Russia wins.  The world must support Ukraine because, among other things, if borders can be changed by force then the whole world is at risk.

    But what does defeat of Russia look like, when they cite hundreds of years of history and poetry and propaganda as the foundation of their actions?  It took the total conquest of Japan by the US for them to give up their toxic memes.  Are we going to need the same outcome here?  Are we really prepared for that?

    Cheers,
    Scott.

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