Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

“When somebody takes the time to draw up a playbook, they’re gonna use it.”

When you’re a Republican, they let you do it.

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

… gradually, and then suddenly.

The republican speaker is a slippery little devil.

The poor and middle-class pay taxes, the rich pay accountants, the wealthy pay politicians.

Lick the third rail, it tastes like chocolate!

Petty moves from a petty man.

We are aware of all internet traditions.

New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

Fear or fury? The choice is ours.

It is not hopeless, and we are not helpless.

Museums are not America’s attic for its racist shit.

He seems like a smart guy, but JFC, what a dick!

When you’re in more danger from the IDF than from Russian shelling, that’s really bad.

They think we are photo bombing their nice little lives.

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

Tick tock motherfuckers!

The gop is a fucking disgrace.

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

Text STOP to opt out of updates on war plans.

There are more Russians standing up to Putin than Republicans.

The “burn-it-down” people are good with that until they become part of the kindling.

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

You are here: Home / Healthcare / Sunday Morning Open Thread: Celebrate the Good Things

Sunday Morning Open Thread: Celebrate the Good Things

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I’m *quite* sure the late Sir Terry Pratchett would approve this message!

Mike Luckovich, still a master of his craft…
Sunday Morning Open Thread 1

(Mike Luckovich via GoComics.com)

Reader Interactions

169Comments

  2. 2.

    OzarkHillbilly

    When I saw the “You might get wet” sign, my first thought went to golden showers.

  8. 8.

    Suzanne

    I am curious to know how often the orangutans actually press that button.

    I will also note that when I typed “orangutan” on my tablet, a very cute emoji appeared as an option. I did t even know that existed. It’s not even 8:15 am, and I’ve already learned something new today,

  14. 14.

    narya

    Reducing/eliminating HIV transmission is huge, and very exciting. One of the big sources of support in the US–the Ryan White Care Act–basically had to be reconfigured by HRSA/HIV AIDS Bureau. A part of the Act (originally Title IV, now Part D) is for “women, infants, children, and youth,” and at this point there are very few infants born w/ HIV.

  16. 16.

    CapnMubbers

    I posted on a dead thread how to read Twitter without joining. Repeating to reach more people: when the blocking window appears, click on either choice; click the “X” in the next window and read on.

  21. 21.

    Anyway

    Luckovich is spot-on. Might get through to the most “I’m so non-partisan and indie”  voter out there.

  26. 26.

    kalakal

    Is anyone else getting the phenomenon where posts show up several hours late

    eg. If I look at my feed this post doesn’t appear. I’m able to read it because if I look at a previous post and go to the bottom where it shows latest comments there are some for this post and I can follow the links.

    After a few hours the post shows up, been happening for a couple of days now

  36. 36.

    zhena gogolia

    @CapnMubbers: Thank you so much! I repeated this last night but couldn’t remember who recommended it. I feel so DUH that I never tried it before!!!

  37. 37.

    Baud

    @satby:

    The cost to be a decent person is $0.00.

     

    I’m pretty sure a surfboard and a big ass tractor aren’t free.

  43. 43.

    satby

    @mali muso: I opened my Twitter account in 2010, don’t even remember why. Never used it or tweeted until the dark days of 2016 when it came in handy to tell a certain illicit occupant of the WH to go fuck himself. Made me feel better even though it didn’t matter. Now I’m there more than here; so much great content and voices I otherwise wouldn’t have heard. Plus, former denizens of this shebeen.

  44. 44.

    RepubAnon

    @Spanky: From Terry Prachetts’ Guards! Guards!

    There were a couple of dull “tings” as the bars gave up and broke free. The ape flung them aside and reached into the gaping hole. Then the longest arm of the Law grabbed the astonished Vimes under his shoulders and pulled him through in one movement.

  45. 45.

    eclare

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym:   Orangs are clever.  I heard of some, I think at a zoo in TX, who were rewarded with a treat when they brought candy wrappers, potato chip bags, etc. that had been thrown into their yard to the keeper to dispose of.

    They got one treat per wrapper.  They quickly learned to tear the wrapper into two pieces.

  46. 46.

    satby

    I’m now celebrating being called off to work today! A coworker who lost a lot of days due to illness is better and needs hours so asked me if she could work for me today. HELL YES!

  50. 50.

    Ben Cisco

    On the road, visiting Mama Cisco in her very red county. Coming through the county seat, I saw that the old courthouse grounds are decorated in honor of the upcoming rodeo.

    Included was a truck with a sign proclaiming “TRUMP IS A CRIMINAL!!”

    Needless to say, I was shocked that 1) it was there, 2) and not on fire.

    Hope springs eternal…

  53. 53.

    germy shoemangler

    @eclare:

    Reminds me of the dog who was rewarded with treats and love after rescuing a child from drowning.

    The dog began tossing children into the water so as to “save” them and earn more favors.

  57. 57.

    Ben Cisco

    @eclare:

    @kalakal: It really was. This place is emblematic of the “typical” rural area – dwindling population, dying industry – and it was all of those things when I left here over 40 years ago. To see any sign of a turn against Tangerine Baal (thanks, Betty!) brings pure joy!

  58. 58.

    mali muso

    @satby: ​
     I certainly have enjoyed following the perspectives and voices of those I would not have known otherwise. But I like doing it from a passive distance, not having my own account and jumping into the fray. More power to you for braving it! :)

  59. 59.

    Mike in NC

    They armed the orangutans

    But at least they didn’t put one in the White House. For now. Russian state media keeps threatening to “reinstate” one.

  60. 60.

    Another Scott

    TFG’s been all about cheating on taxes for a long time, as we know. NorthJersey.com (from 2015):

    BEDMINSTER – Donald Trump may not want to spend eternity in New Jersey.

    After Trump National Golf Club went through a lengthy approval process from the township and the state to build a family cemetery that would be the real estate magnate’s final resting place, a representative of the Trump Organization told the municipal Land Use Board last week that Trump may want to be buried in Florida.

    Even if Trump decides to be buried elsewhere, The Trump Organization will go ahead with plans to build a cemetery with graves for club members and veterans, according to Ed Russo, a former township planning board chairman who now works for the Trump Organization.

    “Mr. Trump does not need it yet,” Russo said.

    […]

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  61. 61.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Another Scott: If I had to place a bet, I would’ve thought Mar-A-Loco was more likely to be some kind of memorial to the Beast. All due respect to Mrs Post, but from what I’ve seen it’s kind of a singularly tacky property (and if it weren’t for trump I’d probably think it was quirky and eccentric)

  62. 62.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Another Scott:

    Even if Trump decides to be buried elsewhere, The Trump Organization will go ahead with plans to build a cemetery with graves for club members and veterans,

    the people he’s called suckers and losers?

  63. 63.

    Sister Golden Bear

    I’m glad to see the House vote to protect marriage equality for same-sex couples and interracial couples (the latter being something that I wish would be highlighted more), even if it’s mostly a symbolic gesture, given the filibuster. Make the GQP own voting against both rights.

    That said, and I realize this is not quite in the spirit of the thread, can I just note how demeaning and emotionally draining it is to have others vote on whether you have rights. (Cis het women the hurt you’re feeling as abortion rights are debated, that’s the way LGBTQ+ folks have felt for years, and especially now as our rights are being stripped away. I assume the equivalent is true for BIPOC folks as well, but I won’t presume to speak for them.)

    Anyway, it’s nice to have a win for once.

  64. 64.

    PST

    It just so happens that I will be visiting Toledo next weekend. I hadn’t planned to go to the zoo, in fact, I probably haven’t been there since I was a child, but now I might drop in to see the orangutans. The visit is for my 50th high school reunion, which we are celebrating after 51 years (and even that might prove to be a mistake). I doubt my wife and I would go except my mother-in-law still lives there and we take every opportunity to see her.

  67. 67.

    Baud

    @Sister Golden Bear:

    can I just note how demeaning and emotionally draining it is to have others vote on whether you have rights

     

    While I understand this point, it also occurs to me that right wing religious groups don’t feel this way when they ask Congress and states to pass laws to give them more and more rights. Obviously, for them, the fundamental stuff has long had constitutional protection.

    Anyway, I hope the next Senate is able to settle this issue legislatively once and for all.

  68. 68.

    eclare

    @Sister Golden Bear:   I have insurance through the ACA.  I get to worry about my health care any time there is an election.

    Republicans know they are making people worry endlessly about basic human rights.  They enjoy it.  The cruelty is the point.

  71. 71.

    satby

    @eclare: Republicans know they are making people worry endlessly about basic human rights.  They enjoy it.  The cruelty is the point.

    Absolutely this. And now they get pushback in real time when they lie about it. Though most people aren’t on Twitter, viral slams on Republican chicanery spread beyond it and help push news media away from merely repeating GQP spin.

  77. 77.

    cintibud

    @Ben Cisco:

     

    On the road, visiting Mama Cisco in her very red county. Coming through the county seat, I saw that the old courthouse grounds are decorated in honor of the upcoming rodeo.

    Included was a truck with a sign proclaiming “TRUMP IS A CRIMINAL!!”

    Needless to say, I was shocked that 1) it was there, 2) and not on fire.

    Hope springs eternal…

     

    Good to keep in mind there are good folks in Redneckastan. Back in the mid oughts I was on a kayaking trip in central Tennessee with a Nashville paddling club. Though based in the city there are a lot of Rural and Mountain men types in the group. We were gathered by a river in a pretty remote location when three burly mountain men types with long hair and beards pulled up in a work van that was brightly paint with a mural of the faces of W Bush, Cheney and Rumsfield with the tile “ASSES OF EVIL!” Brought a big grin to my face!

  78. 78.

    Steeplejack

    @zhena gogolia:

    I think it is a relatively new thing. I have a vague memory of not being able to get past the log-in/​sign-up screen in the past. Make sure nobody at Twitter finds out about this!

  81. 81.

    Bobby Thomson

    Raising the age-old question: Would you rather fight an orangutan with a sword once a year or a carful of chickens every time you start your car?

  85. 85.

    cintibud

    @Ben Cisco: Yeah, I would have loved to talk to them but the group was very large so we split into smaller groups and I did not run into them again. Most of those folks are super friendly despite outward appearances and you have to be somewhat disarming when having an unpopular opinion in the area you live.

  88. 88.

    trollhattan

    @japa21: ​A life well lived. Russell will always be considered among the best of all time and may top the list, an argument nobody will ever settle, because eras.

    So long, Big Dipper, you’ll be missed (even in Sacramento, but that’s a different story entirely).

  93. 93.

    Tony Jay

    @Alison Rose 💙🌻💛:

    Been a game so far. I know I should have wanted it done in the 90 but I’m greedy for quality football.

    Have to say, though, it’s not just the England strips that are startlingly white. Just goes to show that there’s still a lot to be done to encourage more girls from all backgrounds to take up football at the grassroots level.

  95. 95.

    UncleEbeneezer

    Need a good laugh?  Rod and Karen of TheBlackGuyWhoTips podcast discuss the shade that Biden threw at Trump regarding the contrast in their reactions to Covid.  (TW: slang use of n-word)

    Also, the discussion of Garland/DOJ (at 16:21) is also really great.

  97. 97.

    mrmoshpotato

    @WaterGirl:

    By my rules, once you’ve learned one new thing in a day, you are free to go to bed whenever you like. 

    I approve of this rule.

  101. 101.

    UncleEbeneezer

    Mother-In-Law Update: she is slowly getting better.  Doctors think that she will recover to roughly the same mobility/functioning as before this episode of attempted organ-rejection and mini-strokes.  She is just very weak.  Bronchoscopy today, then spontaneous breathing and then hopefully extubation tomorrow.  Ideally my wife hopes to be able to head back home on Tuesday if all goes well.  But we can expect 2-3 more of these sorts of events according to the nurses/doctors.

    Now the bad news: her Dad continues to act like a complete asshole, making everything about him and throwing tantrums every time my wife has to remind him NOT TO LOWER HIS MASK when speaking in the room with our severely immunocompromised Mom.  He just stormed out because my wife is “being domineering” towards her father (who can’t even remember when to take his meds).  It’s such a disgusting display of Old White Men not being able to handle competent women, or a changing world.  Anyways, the whole thing has been incredibly stressful, even just from my second-hand perspective.  She’s fed up with this shit after many years of enduring it and I don’t blame her one bit.  It’s widening an already expanding rift between them, and I have no idea how things are gonna be moving forward.  The fact of the matter is we are spend our $ and time visiting them because we love her Mom (tho I’m not really close with her either) and only put up with her Dad by necessity.  Once her Mom finally goes (which is not far off based on typical stats for lung transplant recipients) I don’t think we will want to have anything to do with him.  As much as I disagree with my own Dad over his anti-THIS-vaccine BS and years of Libertarian bullshit, our relationship is warm and cuddly by comparison.

    Ok, end rant/vent

  105. 105.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Baud: They’re one of the easiest to write narrative pieces out there.  The Villagers are lazy motherfuckers.

  106. 106.

    Old Dan and Little Ann

    @PST: I just read on Twitter 2 minutes ago that the orangutans at that zoo have a button they can push to spray visitors with water.

  110. 110.

    Tony Jay

    Phenomenal time wasting at the end and the England Lionesses win the country’s first international football trophy since 1966!

    Are you watching Southgate? That’s how you win a tournament.

  114. 114.

    Amir Khalid

    @Tony Jay:

    And they hang on to win the women’s Euros, England’s most significant football win over Germany since 1966. And at the same stadium, too.

  116. 116.

    trollhattan

    Further evidence Phil Neville was Not the Guy.

    Sarina Wiegman wins back-to-back EURO titles as head coach of two different teams (Netherlands in 2017, England in 2022).

  119. 119.

    Old Man Shadow

    I love that they’ve turned us humans into a visiting zoo for the orangutans’ amusement.

  121. 121.

    Cameron

    @Baud: I dunno.  I just have a weird feeling that Manchin set it up himself.  Maybe trying for a McCain Maverick Award or some shit.

  122. 122.

    Tony Jay

    Can’t fault the Germans for getting nippy at the end. We really were time-wasting with almost Germanic effectiveness. But that’s how the top teams do it. You want the ball, come get it. We’ve already done our bit with it.

    I would also like to volunteer to personally comfort Lena Oberdorf should she require a shoulder to cry on. I’m thoughtful that way.

  127. 127.

    raven

    @trollhattan: When he was asked if his five MVP’s were his greatest accomplishment he said “no, my daughter graduating from Harvard was my greatest accomplishment”!

  136. 136.

    Immanentize

    @raven: you mentioned not reading books gifted. Well, it made me get off the pot and finally read “Measureless Peril.” I consider it gifted by you because you recommended it. Really loved it and made me miss my Dad.

    ETA his crossings were luckily boring and cold. No fish anywhere near them (that they knew about).

  138. 138.

    Wapiti

    @UncleEbeneezer: FILs, yeah.

    My FIL loved his daughter, but we’d limit any visit to 4 days, because sure as god made little green apples, on day 5 one or the other of them would slip and say something that deeply offended the other and the rest of a 5+ day visit would be in seething silence.

  145. 145.

    Immanentize

    @raven: admit I teared up a couple of times and that was one. I really also like the details about the “old Navy” guys who ended up having to train tens of thousands for the war. With permanent ranks that no longer existed.

  146. 146.

    raven

    @Immanentize: My old man was in front of the Y in San Diego when they came on the loudspeaker and told sailors to get back to their ships. They went to sea the next day with guys who had been in the Navy one day.

  147. 147.

    trollhattan

    @HumboldtBlue: ​I liked this insight.

    Jonas Eidevall, Arsenal manager on BBC One

    It comes to clearness and communication. I spoke to some of my players before the Euros. Sarina Wiegman had one-to-one talks with each of them – ‘I see you as a starter, I see you as a impact player’.

    They knew before they were coming in what was expected of them. Once I heard that I immediately had a feeling this is going to be a great Euros for England. They won’t waste energy on those conversations when they’re in the tournament.

    The mental side of sports is what separates good and great teams. When you get to a certain level, the athletes are essentially on par.

  148. 148.

    HumboldtBlue

    @trollhattan: ​ 

    The mental side of sports is what separates good and great teams. When you get to a certain level, the athletes are essentially on par.

    Yup, man management and preparation make all the difference.

  149. 149.

    Immanentize

    @raven: what year did he go in?

    I was surprised/not surprised to learn that the navy could only take 10% or so of hopeful enlistees during the depression. But makes sense. 21 bucks a month!

  150. 150.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Baud:

    Yeah 😢

    Sometimes when the greats leave us, I can’t help briefly thinking “I’m not sure I want to live in a world without [Bill Russell/Nichelle Nichols] in it.” Then I think how splendid it was to have them for as long as we did, and I feel better.

  152. 152.

    raven

    @Immanentize: He, his brother and brother-in-law were all in the reserves and on the Crosby well  before the war. The may well have been able to swing him getting because they had been in for at least five years. Those tin -cans were training vessels and often the crew came from a specific city. The Crosby crew was largely from Chicago and the Ward (the ship ofter credited with firing the first shot of the war when they sank a mini-sub off of Pearl the morning of December 7) was from Minneapolis.

  153. 153.

    prostratedragon

    This is all very sad. Happened to have thought of both Russell and Nichols in recent days. It was nice to see him at the playoffs with Oscar Robertson and Kareem.

     

    @A Good Woman:  Last I heard,  it turned out that Dow was in hospice but still hanging in there.

  156. 156.

    Steve in the ATL

    @Immanentize: I hope the odds work in your son’s favor, but 50% of my family members who graduated from Rice were immediately drafted and put on a destroyer in the Pacific to fight the Japanese….

  158. 158.

    raven

    @Steve in the ATL: They kept my uncle at Navy Pier to work on the recruiting effort and people would beg him to get their kid in the navy. When they saw him 6 months later they said “what the hell are you still doing here when my kid is at sea”!

  159. 159.

    PaulB

    One of my favorite Bill Russell stories was about a time when he was doing an advertisement for, I think, one of the phone companies. At the end of the commercial, he was supposed to pick up a basketball, shoot it, and miss, and then say, “I missed, but you won’t with [phone company].”

    He couldn’t do it. They shot take after take and he could not bring himself to miss. He hit every shot in every take. They finally rewrote the commercial, with the ending, “I can’t miss, and neither can you with [phone company].”

  160. 160.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @prostratedragon:

    Bill Russell & Nichelle Nichols both, quite literally, embodied grace & dignity in the face of not just mere adversity, but outright HATRED for their embodied aspirations, & the palpable NEED for them to FAIL, which they BOTH REFUSED TO DO. —Vernon Reid

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