Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Insiders who complain to politico: please report to the white house office of shut the fuck up.

75% of people clapping liked the show!

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

The snowflake in chief appeared visibly frustrated when questioned by a reporter about egg prices.

DeSantis transforming Florida into 1930s Germany with gators and theme parks.

Never give a known liar the benefit of the doubt.

You cannot love your country only when you win.

JFC, are there no editors left at that goddamn rag?

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

Republicans: The threats are dire, but my tickets are non-refundable!

You know it’s bad when the Project 2025 people have to create training videos on “How To Be Normal”.

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

Following reporting rules is only for the little people, apparently.

A norm that restrains only one side really is not a norm – it is a trap.

Republican also-rans: four mules fighting over a turnip.

“Until such time as the world ends, we will act as though it intends to spin on.”

We can show the world that autocracy can be defeated.

Donald Trump found guilty as fuck – May 30, 2024!

Hey hey, RFK, how many kids did you kill today?

Their shamelessness is their super power.

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

When do we start airlifting the women and children out of Texas?

Many life forms that would benefit from greater intelligence, sadly, do not have it.

Historically it was a little unusual for the president to be an incoherent babbling moron.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Wednesday Afternoon Open Thread

Wednesday Afternoon Open Thread

by | 261 Comments

This post is in: ,

A bit of levity for this afternoon.

Truth.

Enjoy the work.  Ha!

Yes, this is a PARODY twitter account.

I won’t link to it, but did you guys see that Trump apparently called Mar-a-Lago the “Southern White House” on his twitter-replacement site?  I think an Oh. My. God. is called for.

Talk about whatever you want.

Open thread.

Reader Interactions

261Comments

  1. 1.

    Tagula

    I have not posted here in years, but I will now to say that TFG tried to pull that BS when he was in charge. He made many references to the “Southern White House”, but no one was buying it…

  2. 2.

    Gin & Tonic

    Talk about whatever? OK, but I’ll be brief, as I have to spend the rest of my afternoon looking out my windows for flying pigs. Henry Kissinger is not only still alive, he actually seems to have had a correct thought about Ukraine:

    Kissinger says..”that NATO membership for Ukraine would be an “appropriate outcome.” “The idea of a neutral Ukraine under these conditions is no longer meaningful.”

    Only NATO prevents Russia from wagging wars, so even Kissinger is able to connect dots. https://t.co/b4PZkpyGvG
    — Sławomir Dębski (@SlawomirDebski) January 18, 2023

  7. 7.

    Ken B

    Am I the only person that gets a similar vibe when seeing pictures of Santos and Sinema?

    There seems. to be something half-formed about both of them.

    And there’s a fundamental unseriousness about them. Like a little kid in a parent’s clothes yelling “Look at ME!”

     

    (Edited for clarity and to insert a comment that the Internet gods ate).

  9. 9.

    Ohio Mom

    My first response is always, “Is Kissinger still alive?” But of course he is, I would have heard about it if he wasn’t. Google tells me he’s 99, will be 100 in May.

  16. 16.

    Gin & Tonic

    In other news, it looks like NYS Governor Hochul’s nomination of an anti-choice judge to head the NYS Court of Appeals has gone down in flames. What an own goal for her.

  20. 20.

    zhena gogolia

    @Gin & Tonic: Wow.

    Yes, it has to be in NATO. How else can a repetition be prevented?

    All that Mearsheimer BS has to be just ignored. I’ve been hearing for years from political-science types how we “provoked” Russia by expanding NATO. I would always say, but those countries themselves wanted to be in NATO. Don’t they get a say?

  27. 27.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @Tagula: ​That reference should always in polite company be amended to read Southron All-White House Of Ill Repute…though I kinda doubt ladies of “easy virtue” would generally be much amused…

  30. 30.

    Yutsano

    @zhena gogolia: ​ I mean…Russia scared Sweden off their normal neutrality kick. That’s gonna have repercussions. Not to mention yes Finland could repeat the Winter War but without any resources to back them up it might not go as well as last time. It’s also clear any “security guarantees” promised by Russia last about as long as Uncle Vladdy’s next whim. NATO is their best solution to these problems.

  31. 31.

    Gin & Tonic

    @JPL: “Pro-Kissinger” may not be the correct term, let’s say the foreign-policy “realist” wing. I think there’s a straight line from the Committee on the Present Danger, Jeane Kirkpatrick and the neo-cons like Wolfowitz, through to McCain, Romney, and on to some people still in the party. George Will has a column in today’s WaPo about the need for Germany to supply tanks, and I believe there’s a majority of Senate R’s, at least, who are still in favor of arming Ukraine. I like to believe that the howler monkeys in the House are still a minority on this issue.

  37. 37.

    MisterForkbeard

    @Gin & Tonic: Did she withdraw it? The last I saw, she was invoking MLK to make specious comments about ‘not judging’ her judge appointments.

  38. 38.

    Ohio Mom

    @zhena gogolia: No, De Santis’s boots were (slip-on) white rubber wellies (covering the whole calf), Sinema’s are like the leather lace-up hiking boots that end just above the ankle you see in the LLBean catalog, except they are spotless bright white.

    I was going to say, I’ve never seen anything like them, I can’t begin to guess where she does her shopping but I also can’t imagine where she got that vest thingie, unless she made it herself from sheep skins from the IKEA rug department.

  39. 39.

    TriassicSands

    This year, let’s quote his words less and live by them more.

    But, but, but his words — the content of their character and not the color of their skin — are the Republican’s go-to excuse for their racism. Not much, if anything, the Republicans say offends me more than their misuse and abuse of the words of MLK.

  40. 40.

    HumboldtBlue

    I am more than a bit excited. The new stove (electric cuz I’m not some snooty college-educated coastal elite — I just live here and am in no way elite, although I am ridiculously handsome — who revels in destroying the environment with a snooty gas stove) is installed and ready for use, and I can’t wait. The old one finally fizzled out, and now I’ll have an oven that heats and bakes properly. Think I’m gonna make a blueberry pie.

    @Gin & Tonic:

    I was wondering if you had seen that, I caught that earlier this morning.

    If anyone needs another cool Photo of Joe Biden, here he is with Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors.

  42. 42.

    Uncle Cosmo

    Open thread, so –
    IMO as the Day of Reckoning approaches for the Debt Ceiling, folks might want to pay attention to what the Global Oligarchs are doing (if anything) to protect their Money Bins from the consequences of a default. I have long maintained that the GOs consider Vova TeenyWeenie one of their own who’s doing their vile Lord Mammon’s work by scheming to destroy liberal democracies everywhere, and if VTW chooses to order his traitorus Rethuglican minions to try & crash the planetary economy to avoid (or avenge) his looming defeat in Ukraine, the GOs would, I’d spoze, get a headsup far enough in advance to start parking their ill-gotten loot somewhere fairly safe. Y’think mebbe?​

  47. 47.

    ...now I try to be amused

    @Tagula:

    He made many references to the “Southern White House”, but no one was buying it…

    How ’bout Avignon?

  51. 51.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Geminid:

    Hochul said she’d sue to win a floor vote on LaSalle,

    Good lord. I don’t know the law, but what possible upside does she see to this?

    Reminds me of nothing so much as trump wanting to sue Congress to stop his first impeachment

  52. 52.

    Amir Khalid

    @Ohio Mom:

    What’s with Sinema’s weird clothes? Whatever happened to serious, no-nonsense pantsuits like Hillary Clinton and Dana Scully used to wear?

  56. 56.

    Rocks

    @Gin & Tonic: As one who believes in having to answer for our actions here in the next life, it will be interesting to see what he faces for all those young Chileans thrown out of helicopters to their deaths in the Pacific Ocean as a result of his Chilean coup.

  58. 58.

    What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?

    There already is a “Winter White House” in Key West that was used by Truman and Ike and maybe Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon (IDK how long it was in use). I went through it – they do tours now. It’s a pretty modest house for a POTUS but that was mid-century America, when we taxed the rich heavily. Also note that what made it the Winter White House was that it was available to the CURRENT President, no matter who that was. So if MaL is really a “White House” then Biden should in theory be able to kick the current resident out and stay there this winter if he so desires. Otherwise it doesn’t qualify as a WH.

  61. 61.

    MisterForkbeard

    @What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?: That was my thought as well – if Mar A Lago is “The Winter White House” then it needs to be government owned.

    If Trump wants to gift it to the Feds, I’d be willing to let him call it that. And then Biden can turn it into a home for trans kids that are being victimized by rightwing policies and thrown out by their parents. Or just burn it down, that’d be cool too.

  64. 64.

    Scout211

    Open thread?

    Yesterday I asked an older couple if they needed help. They were in a car, stopped in front of our property just sitting. I thought they were lost because that often happens on our little area. We have 3 different roads but they all end in dead ends so people drive down the roads, then get confused.

    The older man told me that they were with the Red Cross assessing properties for storm damage and flooding. He said he was from Kentucky.

    In the last big storm (on Monday), San Joaquin and Calaveras counties were particularly hard hit so I guess it was legit. But our area got through it fine, except most of us don’t have internet because many of the rural line-of-sight services have damaged equipment due to the winds and/or lightning.

    Tonight is another storm (THE LAST ONE!!!!) but they are promising it is fast moving and won’t have as much moisture in it. But there still will be rain and snow down to the lower elevations.

    Then we have the next week free of rain. Yay!

    POTUS is coming to California tomorrow.  👏

    The end.

  66. 66.

    Bruce K in ATH-GR

    @WaterGirl: Well, the man’s older than dirt and has probably caused more human misery than any human being in history who couldn’t give direct orders to an army. I suppose by the law of averages, he had to get something right eventually.

  68. 68.

    Brachiator

    @Gravenstone:

    Manchin is there too. There’s a pic of the two high fiving at maintaining the Senate filibuster (reportedly).

    Are they guests of some participant?

  70. 70.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @MisterForkbeard:

    If Trump wants to gift it to the Feds, I’d be willing to let him call it that.

    Mrs Merriweather Post did just that. I think between necessary renovations and security, the Feds decided it wasn’t worth it and gave it back to her famil

    ETA: From the Mar-A-Lago wiki page

    Mar-a-Lago was built for businesswoman and socialite Marjorie Merriweather Post, former owner of General Foods Corporation, between the years 1924 to 1927. At the time of her death in 1973, Post bequeathed the property to the National Park Service, hoping it could be used for state visits or as a Winter White House, but because the costs of maintaining the property exceeded the funds provided by Post, and because it was difficult to secure the facility (as it is located in the flight path of Palm Beach Airport), the property was returned to the Post Foundation by an act of Congress in 1981.[4]

  74. 74.

    Betty Cracker

    Since I never get to participate in the TV-focused threads, maybe someone will wanna talk about that here? I’ll go first:

    We recently watched “The English,” a six-part series on Amazon Prime featuring Emily Blunt and Chaske Spencer. It’s a Western set in the 1875-1890 period. There’s some disturbing violence, and it’s sad, so maybe don’t watch it if you’re depressed, but it’s riveting and well done.

    I was thrilled to read that the BBC is doing a third and final season of “Happy Valley,” a Sally Wainwright-authored police procedural set in Yorkshire that features the wonderful Sarah Lancashire, Siobhan Finneran and James Norton. Episodes are already dropping in the UK and season 3 will be available to stream in the US in a couple of months, or so I read. The first two seasons are available for streaming in the US already, and it’s highly bingeable.

    I recently learned HBO comedy “Hacks,” which stars the incomparable Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder, was renewed for a third season, much to my surprise and delight. (Surprise because the end of season two seemed like a series finale and delight because it’s hilarious.) The first two seasons are already available for streaming, and the third should drop this spring.

  77. 77.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Geminid: So it was a vote in the Judiciary Committee, and it only went down by 10-9, so you’re right, this may not be over. The “no recommendation” were votes to advance the nomination out of committee.

  80. 80.

    MisterForkbeard

    @The Lodger: Honestly, tearing down most of it and leaving Trump’s private residence as a historical artifact would be pretty satisfying.

    “In this office, the Trump kept stolen top secret documents and showed them to visiting foreign dignitaries who may have bribed him for that purpose! He was also attacked by a Bald Eagle in a particularly notable campaign ad.”

  81. 81.

    Brachiator

    I was listening to an interview with a reporter about China’s declining population. Somewhere along the way it became clear that the host doing the interview thought it a bad thing that China might soon outpace the US in terms of economic activity and GDP. The host was not happy about this, and started asking what the US needed to do to “contain” China.

    In short, the US must always be Number One and China must be our enemy. Real Orwellian stuff.

  83. 83.

    trollhattan

    Considering protesting too hard can get you publicly hanged in Iran, I do not know how they explain away this travesty. Oh, wait, she’s a girl.

    A man who beheaded his 17-year-old wife has been sentenced to eight years in prison in Iran, the judiciary says.

    Images of Sajjad Heydari carrying Mona’s severed head in Ahvaz after the so-called “honour killing” last year caused widespread outrage. A judiciary spokesman said the leniency of the sentence was due to Mona’s parents having “pardoned” him for the murder rather than seeking retribution.

    Her father previously said that he had not given his consent for the killing.

    Mona had been married to her husband since the age of 12 and had given birth to their son when she was only 14.

    Local media reported that she had fled to Turkey after allegedly being subjected to domestic violence by her husband, who had refused her requests for a divorce. She had returned to Iran a few days before her murder last February because she had reportedly received assurances from her family that she would be safe.

    Judiciary spokesman Massoud Setayeshi told reporters on Wednesday that Sajjad Heydari had been sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison for murder and an additional eight months for assault.

    He explained that the verdict was in line with Iranian law, under which intentional murder is punishable by death unless the family of the victim forgives the killer.

    Mona’s brother-in-law was given a 45-month sentence for complicity in the murder, he said. The gruesome killing prompted fresh demands in Iran for a law aimed at preventing domestic violence and protecting victims.

    Married at 12, mother at 14, beheaded at 17. Murderer-rapist gets a whopping eight years? Checks out.

  84. 84.

    Roger Moore

    @Gin & Tonic: ​
     

    The “no recommendation” were votes to advance the nomination out of committee.

    The “no recommendation” votes may be in favor of moving it out of committee, but they aren’t an endorsement, either. My guess is those people are likely to vote against the nomination if it somehow makes it to the floor.

  86. 86.

    Gravenstone

    @Brachiator: US must always be Number One and China someone must be our enemy

    Used to be the USSR in the role, now it’s China. In a few decades, maybe India takes the hot seat.

  87. 87.

    delphinium

    @CaseyL: Yes, it is really strange. Two other judges in the running had exceptional ratings too from the Bar Association and Dems had already indicated they would happily nominate either of them. As commenter Geminid indicated in a thread yesterday, LaSalle would be the first Hispanic judge on this court if nomination went thru. However, from what I have read, not all Hispanics (since they aren’t a monolith) were behind his nomination. So yes, it seems hinky to me that she continues to push for him eventhough it is not who Dems, Labor, nor the other demographics who voted for her want.

  88. 88.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    Since it’s an open thread, anybody wanna talk stoves?

    My wife is taking the warnings about gas stoves very seriously. I’m pretty sure we’re going to end up with an induction stove.

    Anybody have any experience?

  89. 89.

    zhena gogolia

    @Betty Cracker: I love Hacks. Couldn’t get through the trailer for The English. Love Norton and Finneran but can’t stomach Happy Valley.

    I’ve reverted to old-ish movies I haven’t seen — Becoming Jane and Hail, Caesar.

    And I adored Burn After Reading, even though it gets violent.

  92. 92.

    Obvious Russian Troll

    @Gin & Tonic:

    Kissinger may have been evil, but he was a realist and an opponent of the USSR until it fell apart. The only people who are think a Russian victory helps the US are getting paid by Russia or have fallen for their propaganda.

    (I wanted to work a D&D joke in there about Kissinger being lawful evil, but it just doesn’t work. The “lawful” portion isn’t accurate enough.)

  93. 93.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @Betty Cracker: We LOVED The English!  Chaske Spencer was really excellent (and very easy on the eyes, according to my wife).  The cinematography was also absolutely stunning.  I would put the series up there with Godless, towards the top of my list of recent Westerns.

    We recently started The Investigation, which is a really riveting crime series set in Denmark.  All the mood and vibes of the best, Scandinavian  crime shows (like The Bridge).  Every episode ends with a cliffhanger and we’ve been obsessively bingeing it.  It also features some really good actors from Borgen and Game of Thrones.

  94. 94.

    Geminid

    @BenCisco 🇺🇸🎖️🖥️♦️: Hochul claims that her nominee is entitled to a floor vote no matter what the committee says. I’m not sure if she’ll go through with her lawsuit, much less win. I expect she’s got of plenty of people advising her to cut her losses now and nominate someone else.

    I read an article in Politico Saturday that said Hochul sent a list of seven candidates to Senate leaders. They told her that LaSalle was the only one they could not guarantee votes for, but she chose him anyway.

    @TomWatson has been commenting on this nomination. He’s anti-LaSalle but I think he is objective. And this is the big political story in New York, so this will be all over City and state news sites.

  95. 95.

    Ohio Mom

    @Amir Khalid: I have a vague memory of the outfit Sinema was wearkng when she was sworn in. I don’t remember if it was dress or a top and skirt combo, but the dark skirt was a below-the-knee aline with a off-kilter print of a giant flower (something like a pink Shasta daisy).

    It was work appropriate but also fun and fashion forward at the same time. I naively thought, “I don’t know who this is but it will be fun to watch her fashions over the next six years.”

    I stand corrected.

  96. 96.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @delphinium:

    However, from what I have read, not all Hispanics (since they aren’t a monolith) were behind his nomination.

    Dem politics in NYC/S will make your head spin, at least it does mine, but I think put all her chips on the support of Hispanic pols in the city– a lot of whom are older and more conservative, but people Jerry Nadler and Ritchie Torres supported the nomination at first– and if she backs out now she’ll be in worse shape than if she had not nominated LaSalle in the first place.

    This aspect hasn’t gotten a lot of attention (and the wording will give you an idea of the linked author’s sympathies

    I asked Andrea-Stewart-Cousins, the State Senate majority leader, why her members aren’t even pretending to give LaSalle a fair hearing. “The views of the conference were set long before Mr. LaSalle’s nomination came up, and I think people are just reiterating, frankly, what they said before,” she told me, referring to an August 30 letter in which senators called for a chief judge who had never worked as a prosecutor. As Stewart-Cousins put it, “They weren’t looking for another prosecutor, and they were looking for someone that was more in line with the values of the majority of the Senate.”

  98. 98.

    C Stars

    @Betty Cracker:

    The English doesn’t sound like my cup of tea, but Happy Valley does. I’ll have to check that out.

    We are making our way through season 2 of Hacks right now. It’s an interesting look at both the standup comedy circuit and Hollywood. In addition to being funny and having Jean Smart, who makes the show.

    Just finished season two of White Lotus. Such a heady mix of stressful and entertaining.

    I’m also really enjoying Our Flag Means Death. Goofy escapism, but also pretty and full of fun characters.

    I am hearing good things about Fleishman Is In Trouble. When I watched the preview it just looked so insufferably bougie. I dunno, any opinion from the jackals?

  100. 100.

    narya

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: Only with single burners (I have one I purchased when redoing the kitchen, and I used one in pastry school). That said, I did get used to it reasonably quickly; it’s like any stove in that you learn where to set the heat for the thing you want to do. I already have stainless pans, so I didn’t have to buy new ones.

    One downside for me, were I to switch: I pay for electricity in my condo unit, but the association pays for gas. Given the amount that I cook and bake, I expect it would increase my electric bill.

  101. 101.

    Joe Falco

    There’s only one place I would consider the “Southern White House”, and it’s in Warm Springs, GA.

  103. 103.

    C Stars

    @Ohio Mom: I liked her style at first as well–pantsuits shouldn’t be a requirement. But pretty early on it started to seem a little odd with Sinema’s wardrobe. A little too attention-grabbing. And that weird shiny boots/backpack outfit she was wearing for her curtsy “no” vote against raising the minimum wage…that was when I realized her personal style was actually in the service of evil.

  105. 105.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    ISTR Reagan’s horse property in So Cal (up above Malibu, was it?) was called the “western White House”. Did they ever go that far with the Lazy Potemkin “ranch”, where the only livestock was a pair of Scotties?

    I don’t think Walker’s Point (the name of that place just said it all about W, IMHO) ever got a “White House” designation, and neither Democrat of recent years had a seasonal second home. Think of that

  107. 107.

    Geminid

    @sdhays: I really don’t know enough about Hochul to judge her political acumen generally. She certainly screwed up on this nomination, though.

     

    @Barbara: I don’t think LaSalle has anything on Hochul. She just dug in her heels and would not climb down out of stubborness (I think). Hochul may have thought she was picking a fight with the three DSA-affilated members of the Democratic caucus. But she ended up fighting with the regular liberals and the state’s labor unions too.

    As the state Ironworkers president put it at an Albany rally: “We were promised a seat at the table. [Now] we’re on the menu. That’s not right.”

  110. 110.

    dc

    I’ve been meaning to post these images for some time. This is the baby quilt I ordered from Quiltingfool for my second grand nephew, who was born on Dec. 27. I asked for cats with a similar design to the Ukraine-Kitty quilt that was raffled here and a square with a kitty similar to my niece’s cat Frank, who is a short-haired grey cat with green eyes. Wonderful work by Quiltingfool, I highly recommend her quilts.

    https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FAbHeWoZuWOPlmNnXSl27MKR3ByRTVC-/view?usp=share_link

    https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FENyvLMns3yhnsVh7FJPuG5HVWOpGb0D/view?usp=share_link

  111. 111.

    NotMax

    @Joe Falco

    The White House has been in the South.for over 200 years.
    ;)

    To their credit, no one in the MSM (AFAIK) attempted calling the structure in Kennebunkport or Hyannisport the Northern White House.

  112. 112.

    delphinium

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: ​
    Yes, Dem NYC/state politics is a mess! But what I don’t understand is that, she was given a list of 7 names by the Commission, and eventhough there were at least 2 (if not more) far better choices, she still chose LaSalle. And guess I disagree that her continuing to drag this out is better than just re-thinking her choice. It makes her look foolish and power hungry. The court already leans conservative and the last thing we need is to seat yet another judge in the same vein, especially given there are better options for NY state.

  113. 113.

    Geminid

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Representatives Nydia Velasquez and Grace Meng also endorsed LaSalle, and Velasquez spoke for him at a rally this weekend.

    But I think the Governor would be better off backing down now than pushing this any further.

  116. 116.

    Chetan Murthy

    @delphinium: This isn’t unique to Iran, nor to Islam.  In India,  this sort of thing used to happen (probably still does) in Hindu families and areas.  A daughter is a womb, and that’s all she is.  So when a womb decides to disobey, decides to take control of her own reproduction, she’s breaking all the laws, and her family also will have a stake in making sure that she’s punished.  B/c you can’t have walking wombs disobeying now, can you ?

    This is a big part of why the most important form of development aid we in the West can provide, is female empowerment, be it via education, reproductive health services, or business support.  Forms of aid that preferentially empower women.  Period.

  117. 117.

    prostratedragon

    @MisterForkbeard:  Kind of what the original owner had in mind, but the operating cost was so high the Florida and Federal governments declined to do so, though it was a national historic site. Mrs. MP thought it could be used for US or visiting heads of state.

  118. 118.

    tobie

    @Betty Cracker: Suspect is also good. (Prime video) The main character is a shrink who, because of his connection to his troubled patients, is often suspected by the police in gruesome crimes. His troubled patients don’t necessarily trust him either.

    I gather the 2022 winter special of The Detectorists is also now available on Acorn if you subscribe to the channel.

  120. 120.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @delphinium:

    And guess I disagree that her continuing to drag this out is better than just re-thinking her choice

    FTR, I’m not advocating for her stubbornness, I’m saying that she’s afraid to piss off a large political block in a region where she would need all the support she can get in a hypothetical reelection. She climbed out on a limb and sawed off the tree behind her.

    After Hochul’s performance on MLK Day, I’m surprised LaSalle hasn’t put the nomination out of its misery on his own.

  122. 122.

    NotMax

    @Betty Cracker

    Grim as it was, liked the unfolding of Happy Valley a lot.

    Pet theory is that the law was laid down that no one who appeared on camera in any capacity, no matter what the circumstance, was permitted to smile.

  123. 123.

    trollhattan

    @delphinium: Guessing a combination of coercion and perhaps something I’ll call Second Dowry? Startling a technologically advanced nation can simultaneously condone/promote primitive savagery.

  124. 124.

    Barbara

    So I am reading the Roger Parloff live tweeting of Proud Boys J6 trial, and the cross of USCP, FBI, MPD and Secret Service personnel is pretty stunning. The angle seems to be that police overreacted and used disproportionate force and that defendants were just exercising their first amendment rights, when they weren’t assisting the police. Example is cross of FBI agent who searched a D’s home and came away with clothing, gaiters, and a big megaphone — attorney asked how those items were evidence of a crime.

    One of the defendants is shown on tape smashing out the rest of a window that had already been broken (evidently to make it safer for people to go through it) and his lawyer got an officer to agree that the window was already broken when whoever it was smashed it.  I mean, that seems like a pretty weak defense to me.

  126. 126.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Geminid:

    Representatives Nydia Velasquez and Grace Meng also endorsed LaSalle, and Velasquez spoke for him at a rally this weekend.

    I knew they endorsed him at first, I didn’t realize Velasquez had publicly done so again. That challenges a lot of the CW on twitter (etc) of “Establishment” vs “Progressives”

  127. 127.

    Renie

    Today’s episode in the pathological liar story on Twitter about Santos being a drag queen back in Brazil

    It’s under the Twitter account of Marisa Kabas “NEW: I just spoke by phone with Eula Rochard, a Brazilian drag queen who was friends with George Santos when he lived near Rio. She said everyone knew him as Anthony (*never* George), or by his drag name, Kitara, and confirms this photo is from a 2008 drag show at Icaraí Beach.“

  128. 128.

    EriktheRed

    …did you guys see that Trump apparently called Mar-a-Lago the “Southern White House” on his twitter-replacement site?  I think an Oh. My. God. is called for.

    Meh. I always thought he’d made this claim years ago.

  129. 129.

    Amir Khalid

    @hilts:

    Wow. That’s the first only fact I’ve learned about Santos/Devolder that doesn’t make me want to pelt him with rotten eggs.

  131. 131.

    Roger Moore

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym:

    I love, love, love my induction range. I was worried about giving up gas when I moved to my current place, but having tried induction I don’t want to go back.  Some major advantages:

    1. Precision.  When I set the heat on my range, it’s a value between 1 and 9 in half steps, plus a low and high setting above and below that range.  That means the heat level is really precisely set.
    2. Reproducibility. Because I’m setting a numerical value, I get exactly the same setting every time. I don’t have to worry that I set the dial just a little bit different this time from what I set last time.
    3. Even heating. The burners are inherently a lot more even than gas, with much less worry about hot spots.  That makes food a lot less likely to burn.
    4. Efficiency. There is little waste heat, which is a way bigger deal than you think. Cooking heats up the pot, not the rest of the room, so it’s much more comfortable to cook in the summer. Also, I don’t worry about burning myself on a pot handle.
    5. Cleaning. Because the stove heats the pot directly, the stove top is cooler than the pot. That means spilled/splattered food doesn’t burn on. Also, the stove top is a flat piece of glass, rather than a burner. That makes it a snap to clean.
    6. Range. My induction range gives me way more power range than any gas stove I’ve used. The full power setting will boil water much faster than on a gas stove, and the lowest power is low enough I can do things like melt chocolate without needing a double boiler. I can even use things on the stove I’d never think of using on a gas stove, like a thin stainless steel bowl.

    The big downside is that you can’t use the full range of pots and pans you can use on a gas stove. If a magnet won’t stick to it, it won’t work.  Also pots need to be in direct contact with the stove top, so you need something with a flat bottom.  Round bottomed pots like traditional woks, and anything that is raised above the surface, like a traditional waffle iron, won’t work, or won’t work well.

  132. 132.

    Barbara

    @Renie: Does this seem authentic?  I mean, I think it’s worse to scam a vet out of funds raised in order to pay for surgery for his service dog, but maybe others would be more disgusted by serving as a drag queen.  Still, it’s the kind of information that might be hard to fully pin down.

  134. 134.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @trollhattan: Funny I felt like Blunt was the weak spot of the whole thing.  Not that she was bad, per se, but I dunno, something about her performance seemed a bit dull to me.  Never got really invested in her character nearly as much as Eli.  Still, very good series.

    Have you watched Godless?  It’s a Soderbergh Western series but has similarly stunning and epic cinematography.

  136. 136.

    Betty Cracker

    @HumboldtBlue: Thanks! I love Oldman in anything, and “Horses” is on my list for an insomnia show since the mister has already watched it. (We have a hard time coordinating joint viewings since our TV time hours don’t overlap much.)

  137. 137.

    Barbara

    @Roger Moore: Does the heat change temperature quickly?  One of the issues with traditional electric stoves is that you can’t really go from high to low fast enough for certain types of cooking needs.  I don’t have a lot of pan loyalty but I would be disappointed if I had to give up my All Clad saucepans.  Love, love, love them.

  139. 139.

    FelonyGovt

    @WaterGirl: She saw the results of that 2024 poll (where she gets 13% of the votes) and is working on her new career, as an influencer. 😛

  140. 140.

    Roger Moore

    @delphinium:

    What the fucking hell is wrong with her parents for pardoning him?

    My bet is someone was pressuring them hard.  Laws like this are terrible at least in part because they naturally put a lot of pressure on the victim’s family to publicly forgive the murderer, especially if the murderer is well connected.  I wouldn’t be surprised if someone were explicitly pushing them to do this and possibly even threatening them with some kind of retribution if they didn’t.

  142. 142.

    Roger Moore

    @Barbara: ​

    The temperature changes are really fast. The biggest wait on mine is that it will pause for a moment after you’ve changed the setting to see if you’re going to keep changing it. It doesn’t completely solve the problem of heat capacity- the pot itself will take time to heat up and cool down- but it’s about as responsive as gas.
    ETA: I treated myself to a set of All-Clad pots when I got my new stove, so yours should work. The magnet test is a good quick check to confirm. If a magnet sticks, you’re good.

  143. 143.

    Geminid

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: There has been a lot of hogwash spread about this nomination. I think the Hochul camp mischaracterized the opposition, and some of the opponents mischaracterized LaSalle’s record.

    @MichaelPaulauski put up a good review of LaSalle’s record yesterday. He thought the “anti-choice” label was unwarranted. Paulauski’s opinion though was that other decisions by LaSalle were disturbing and made him a bad choice to be promoted to the state’s supreme court.

    Tom Watson has done a good job too on his twitter feed, showing how problematic this nomination is on the political level.

  144. 144.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @Roger Moore: I should do the magnet test.

    Our workhorse pots are:

    – a cast iron skillet. That’s fine, I think.
    – an enameled dutch oven. Pretty sure it’s iron.
    – a set of Farberware pots. Don’t know what those are made of. Stainless, aren’t they?​

    But come to think of it, does the oven also use induction heat? So glass casseroles are out?​

  145. 145.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Roger Moore: I’d like to believe it was the family under duress.  But they sold their daughter off at age *twelve*.  B/c that’s never just a “marriage”: it’s always a “transaction” when a barely-pubescent child is married-off.

  147. 147.

    Betty Cracker

    @C Stars: White Lotus 2 is on my list only because someone here told me it has Aubrey Plaza — I love her! Otherwise I’d have skipped it because I didn’t enjoy the 1st season much — not even the excellent Jennifer Coolidge could save it for me! :)

  148. 148.

    Roger Moore

    @WaterGirl: ​
     

    I would say attention whore, but that would be giving whores a bad name.

    I try to avoid using that word because it’s so hard to separate the meaning you want from all the gendered stereotypes about sex workers.

  149. 149.

    Jowriter

    @Ohio Mom: Late to this thread, but I am always here for Balloon Juice fashion criticism.  The fact that that woman is in Davos tells you precisely who her constituents really are. Ugh.

  154. 154.

    jonas

    @trollhattan: ​
      It’s entirely possible the girl’s family was righteously outraged by her killing but was somehow threatened that they’d better “forgive” the murderer or else. If they are poor, and socially marginalized — which I think is pretty clear from the fact that they wanted to marry off their daughter at 12 — they were probably easy to intimidate.

  155. 155.

    Mike in NC

    We toured the Truman Summer White House in Key West a couple of years ago and it was pretty cool. Maintained by the National Park Service. Back then there was no air conditioning! Loved that the gift shop didn’t have a damn thing related to the Orange Oaf, as if he never existed.

    Trump calling his seedy property the “Southern White House” was an obvious scam to do whatever he wanted there and stiff the taxpayer (yet again).

    Wish I could remember where I found a link today that showed Sen. Sinema inside the Capitol wearing a skin-tight silver dress that was extremely creepy. Even Rep. Empty Greene would have found it offensive.

  156. 156.

    Jeffro

    @Amir Khalid:What’s with Sinema’s weird clothes?

    In everything she does, wears, and says, she just positively screams, “LOOK AT MEEEEEEE!!!!1!”

    She is the very definition of…um…something that rhymes with “suspension core

    ETA: trollhattan beat me to it, naturally

  157. 157.

    Roger Moore

    @Chetan Murthy: ​
     

    I’d like to believe it was the family under duress. But they sold their daughter off at age *twelve*.

    Yeah, and the same kind of pressure that made her family forgive the murderer may have made them marry her off to him in the first place. I would think from your previous comments you understand the pressure in this situation doesn’t start with the murder.

  160. 160.

    Geminid

    @Jowriter: Georgia Governor Brian Kemp was going to make the Davos scene too, promoting his state as a center for electric vehicle production.

    “A Georgia redneck going to Davos” is how he put it it to a Politico reporter. I thought “Yeah, a Georgia real estate developer whose buddies are all feasting on those billion dollar investments foreign companies are making in the Peach State.”

  161. 161.

    jonas

    @Chetan Murthy: It’s not just misogyny at work there — it’s grinding poverty. If some better-off guy offers to take your kid off your hands so you don’t have to educate, house, or feed them any longer, for some desperate people in the world, that’s a deal they take. As I posted above, it’s also probably why the family felt they had to “forgive” her murderer. I’m sure they were scared they would be next if they hadn’t.

  162. 162.

    Ohio Mom

    @prostratedragon: Ultra-rich people donating their unwanted stuff is a bane of museums. They don’t want to insult any would-be donors, even indirectly, so they often end up making room in the storage facility.

  163. 163.

    Jeffro

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: no experience, but we’re about to do the same thing here.

    I checked out the ratings on Consumer Reports and know what I want to get…I just don’t have the time this week or next since we’re heading out for a short vacation.

    Lemme know what you end up getting and how it goes!

  164. 164.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Roger Moore: I have no sympathy for parents who cannot protect their children.  Just to be clear, none of my male progenitor’s children know where he is buried.  For my part, I’m glad, b/c I’d be sorely tempted to lay a deuce on his grave.  My biggest regret is that I never learned to fight as a kid, so I could have given him the righteous beatdown he so sorely deserved.

    Parents who cannot protect their children (who sell off their daughters at age twelve) get my no sympathy in my book.  None whatsoever.

  165. 165.

    NotMax

    While haven’t the first clue about its quality, making note of Hallelujah, a 2022 documentary about Leonard Cohen scheduled to drop on Netflix on the 26th.

    Also soon, Arctic makes the rounds to Netflix on February 1st. Harrowing yet gripping. Mads Mikkelsen is one of those actors always worth watching.

  166. 166.

    Dangerman

    I didn’t know More-a-Larceny was White. I mean, not white in that way if’n you know what I mean. How can something be called the Southern White House if it isn’t white?

  167. 167.

    Kay

    @Betty Cracker:

    I recently learned HBO comedy “Hacks,” which stars the incomparable Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder, was renewed for a third season, much to my surprise and delight. (Surprise because the end of season two seemed like a series finale and delight because it’s hilarious.) The first two seasons are already available for streaming, and the third should drop this spring.

    I tok advice and watched the 1st one and was “oh, no. This is lazy, weird woke millennial versus hard bitten, hard working 60 year old! JFC am I DOOMED to this?” In other words, my hate obsession.
    But I stuck with it thru one more and it’s much more than that. I enjoyed it.

  168. 168.

    karen marie

    @sdhays: But that’s what I don’t understand.  Hochul understands politics well enough to have gotten herself elected governor of New York State – no small feat!  She’s been in politics since 1994, at the local, state and federal levels!

    I have asked and asked and asked but no one has explained why she is so wed to this nomination.

  171. 171.

    karen marie

    @Betty Cracker:  Do you have Hulu?  Have you watched “Harlots”?  OMG, it’s gorgeous, and the writing and acting are terrific.  I’ve been watching season 3 slowly, because I’m so attached to some of the characters it pains me to watch them suffer through trials and tribulations.

  174. 174.

    Brachiator

    @Steeplejack:

    They were on a discussion panel, whatever that means.

    I saw a clip of her speaking. Her comments were incredibly vapid. Worse, she had this smug air of superiority, implying that she and Manchin were so much better than any other member of Congress, and that she singularly understood how best to defend the highest values of the Senate, nay the highest values of democracy itself, perhaps even civilization.

    She was about the most full of shit that it is possible for a poseur to be.

  177. 177.

    Roger Moore

    @Ohio Mom: ​
     

    Ultra-rich people donating their unwanted stuff is a bane of museums.

    I suspect getting wanted stuff from people who lack good taste is almost as much a problem. “I love my stuff, so everyone else will love it too,” is a very common thought pattern.

  181. 181.

    Roger Moore

    @karen marie: ​
     

    I have asked and asked and asked but no one has explained why she is so wed to this nomination.

    Figuring out someone’s motivation is always hard, especially when they’re doing something that doesn’t seem to make sense. My WAG is that she thinks very publicly backing him to the hilt will ingratiate her with his supporters even if he loses, while his opponents will be willing to forgive and forget if they win.

  182. 182.

    C Stars

    @Betty Cracker: Yeah, I cringed my way through season 1. Season 2 is difficult in some of the same ways–characters making inscrutable decisions–but I was able to enjoy the character building and scenery more and felt less stressed out by the psychological power plays than I did in season 1. At the end of season 2 there was a little snippet of interview with Mike White, the writer/director, who said that series 1 was about money and human relationships while season 2 was about how sex drives relationships, and he thought season 3 would be about death/spirituality.

  183. 183.

    Suzanne

    @NotMax:

    Spent the entire evening searching for a little girl named Mary to follow around? 

    No! She refused to wear the hood part of the costume (I made it out of a black hoodie so she would be warm and comfortable)…..but the hood is where Shaun’s face and ears were. So she just looked like a little ball of fuzz walking around demanding candy. LMAO.

  185. 185.

    Steeplejack

    @Brachiator:

    I also saw a photo of her having an intimate moment with Anthony Scaramucci and Paul Ryan. WTF. Is Davos like Burning Man for billionaires and hangers-on?

  189. 189.

    Dan B

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym:  We have two countertop induction units.  They’re great but the way they work is on high and then off.  I believe I read that the stove versions are better so check on that.  They’re also noisy from the fans but stoves may be different.  They’re much easier to clean because nothing burns on.

  190. 190.

    Cheryl from Maryland

    @Betty Cracker:  I really enjoyed “The English.”  Because the 1st episode has Ciaran Hind at his most oleaginous with befitting loud clothes.  And because (I need to tread carefully now to avoid spoilers) the big reveal at the end made total sense considering the 19th C.

  191. 191.

    Steeplejack

    @Geminid:

    I can’t escape the feeling that this whole thing is some sort of post-Cuomo behind-the-scenes machine politics drama that is unintelligible to us normies (and perhaps meant to be). The odd factions, the seemingly misplaced passion, the zany plot twists . . . it has a definite Kremlinology feel to it.

  194. 194.

    C Stars

    @Suzanne: So she just looked like a little ball of fuzz walking around demanding candy.

    That actually sounds very cute. Unlike self-centered sinema, who is the evil/opposite version of cute.

  197. 197.

    Roger Moore

    @Dan B:

    They’re great but the way they work is on high and then off. I believe I read that the stove versions are better so check on that. They’re also noisy from the fans but stoves may be different.

    I think the cycling on and off is pretty common even for ranges.  That seems to be what mine does.  You can also get some noise because the magnetic field is strong enough to set up vibrations in thinner pots, especially if they’re not very full.  I guess I’m just so used to it now I don’t think about it unless someone mentions it.

  201. 201.

    Manyakitty

    @Paul in KY: you’re understating the situation. Glad he made the right mouth noises for a change. Typical how he had to slip in a few jerky comments to ruin it.

  203. 203.

    WaterGirl

    @NotMax: Better than half the time, Google gives bad/wrong information about what’s streaming where.

    It makes sense to ask the person recommending it.  If one person is asking probably dozens more are wondering.  Saves 20 people from searching for the same thing.

  206. 206.

    Steeplejack

    @Barbara:

    All-Clad D3 line is induction-compatible. I think all of their stuff is, except possibly the copper-clad line. But the magnet test is the ultimate arbiter.

  207. 207.

    NotMax

    FYI.

    The financier and anti-Putin activist Bill Browder is skipping the World Economic Forum after 27 years as a regular in a dispute about its expense — though he’s still coming to Davos to make the case for cracking down even harder on Russian assets.

    Browder said the Forum wanted to charge him $250,000, more than triple what he paid in the past. He believes he should be admitted for free, as a human rights activist.

    “Even though the forum was expensive, it cost about $70,000, I continued to pay just so I could show up and challenge the Russians,” he said. Source

    Manchin I can see coughing up an entry fee. Ditto Kushner. Which leads to the question of who is footing the bill for Sinema.

  208. 208.

    Ohio Mom

    @Suzanne: The years I’ve given out candy on Halloween, I can’t tell what a lot of the costumes are supposed to be.

    Sure, I can recognize the princesses and the Nightmare on Elm Streets (note, if you are old enough to think that’s a great costume, you are too old in my view to be Trick-or-Treating). But a lot of the costumes leave me wondering.

    So Spawn the Youngest as a fuzz ball would fit right in my neighborhood.

  209. 209.

    WaterGirl

    @NotMax: I am aware that the link was not too Google.

    But the same thing applies.  The person recommending can say where it’s streaming and saved 20 people from searching.

  212. 212.

    Jeffro

    @Roger Moore:It’s where the rich and powerful get together and publicly talk about how awesome they are.

    Yup.

    It’s International Aspen Institute, or whatever that crap was called back in the Before Times.  For when you’re too big for only pontificating in front of domestic audiences…

  213. 213.

    Manyakitty

    @Betty Cracker: we’re on another rewatch of DS9 and I started Picard over in preparation for season 3.

    Three Pines was great and I hope the next season gets here soon. Not sure if it’s officially renewed, but I read where the writers are already hard at it.

    Reservation Dogs if you missed it.

    The new season of Mrs. Maisel will be here soon. 

    Community stands up to multiple views, as does The Good Place.

    That’s a lot of TV. I need to start reading more. 😃

  214. 214.

    Geminid

    @Steeplejack: I just hope this is over, and that Hochul moves forward with another nominee. LaSalle’s record was distorted and the labels stuck, but that doesn’t make him a good nominee, just not as bad as people were led to believe.

    This has been a lousy start to Hochul’s first full term and she has only herself to blame. I still want her to be a successful governor, though.

  215. 215.

    NotMax

    Ah, so Dolt 45’s plan was to wait out and by any means accelerate the Big Melt, then turn the whole place into a giant golf course. (WaPo link.)

    The coldest and highest parts of the Greenland ice sheet, nearly two miles above sea level in many locations, are warming rapidly and showing changes that are unprecedented in at least a millennium, scientists reported Wednesday. Source

  216. 216.

    Jeffro

    This was a welcome head-fake: I bought an induction range.  Then the power went out.

    (I thought FOR SURE it was going to be some loon describing how, ’cause his power went out, we all must keep burning fossil fuels 4ever)

    Americans have made other supposedly big changes that turned out, in the end, to be quite manageable. Remember the controversy over a switch to low-flow toilets? Or the fight over our inalienable right to a lush, green lawn? Or the hassle of switching to LED lightbulbs? Miraculously, our lives have somehow gone on.

    I still don’t regret switching from gas. Rather than removing heavy metal grates to clean the cooktop, I can spray it and wipe. A pot full of water now boils in minutes, less than half the time it takes on gas because of the more efficient heat transfer. I’m no longer restricted to setting burners on “low” or “medium” because an app on my phone can set them to exactly, say, 118 degrees. The only fumes I have to worry about are from the food I’m cooking. And we only had to get rid of one incompatible pan.

    The growing pains of making changes that are better for the environment may seem expensive or difficult, but we adapt quickly.

     

    YUP

  219. 219.

    Gvg

    @delphinium: my assumption would be they are afraid of him and his family too. His brother helped. Think of the killings here that also included parents and other relatives who were around. Violent murdering people can kill other people they know too.

  220. 220.

    Tony G

    @Gin & Tonic: Huh.  I’m not up on my Kissinger-ology, but isn’t this the exact opposite of what he was saying just a few months ago?  I remember Noam Chomsky (or was it Christopher Hitchens?) saying a few months ago that they agreed with Kissinger that (in effect) Ukraine deserved to be invaded and should surrender immediately.  If I didn’t know better, I would think that Henry Kissinger has no integrity whatsoever.

  221. 221.

    WaterGirl

    @Scout211: Someone really needs to make an ordered list of scandals, based on a scale of how scandalous they are.

    For instance, where does a font change lie, scandal-wise, in comparison to the tan suit?

    Inquiring minds want to know.

  223. 223.

    delphinium

    @Geminid: ​ This is my hope as well. She isn’t doing herself or NY any favors by dragging this out and making such a spectacle. Get over it and move on.

    I just hope this is over, and that Hochul moves forward with another nominee. …This has been a lousy start to Hochul’s first full term and she has only herself to blame. I still want her to be a successful governor, though.

  224. 224.

    Elizabelle

    Reports that New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern has resigned.  Says she is burned out; no more gas in the tank.

    Surprised.  She is one of my heroes.  Just 42, I think.

  225. 225.

    Roger Moore

    @WaterGirl:

    Someone really needs to make an ordered list of scandals, based on a scale of how scandalous they are.

    It’s pretty simple.  Republican scandals are a 1, and Democratic scandals are 11.

  227. 227.

    Elizabelle

    It’s true.  The Guardian:

    New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern has announced her resignation in a shock announcement.
    At the party’s annual caucus meeting on Thursday, Ardern said she “no longer had enough in the tank” to do the job. “It’s time,” she said.

    “I’m leaving, because with such a privileged role comes responsibility. The responsibility to know when you are the right person to lead and also when you are not. I know what this job takes. And I know that I no longer have enough in the tank to do it justice. It’s that simple,” she said.
    Her term as prime minister will conclude no later than 7 February.
    “I am human, politicians are human. We give all that we can for as long as we can. And then it’s time. And for me, it’s time,” she said. Ardern said she had reflected over the summer break on whether she had the energy to continue in the role, and had concluded she did not.
    Ardern became the world’s youngest female head of government when she was elected prime minister in 2017 at age 37. She has led New Zealandthrough the Covid-19 pandemic, and major disasters including the terror attack on two mosques in Christchurch, and the White Island volcanic eruption.

  228. 228.

    delphinium

    @Gvg: Yes, that is what other commenters thought as well, that there may have been threats against them and/or a pay off to push them to pardon the murderer.

  230. 230.

    Roger Moore

    @Elizabelle:

    I have mixed feelings about this.  On the one hand, she seems like she’s done an incredible job, and I’m sad to see her go.  On the other hand, I’d rather she retire a little too early than a little too late.  The personal cost is bad enough, but it would be terrible for the country if she tried pushing through and then flamed out when presented with another crisis.

  232. 232.

    Craig

    @Betty Cracker: I liked The English a lot. I loved how after while watching the fourth episode I had to reevaluate a whole bunch of things that I’d been allowed to misinterpret. Such beautiful production design, and photography. Incredibly sad, and yet very emotionally satisfying, real seeming relationship between the main characters. Great storytelling.

  237. 237.

    Brachiator

    @Elizabelle:

    New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern has announced her resignation in a shock announcement.

    At the party’s annual caucus meeting on Thursday, Ardern said she “no longer had enough in the tank” to do the job. “It’s time,” she said.

    Wow. I had not followed her career closely, but she seemed to do a great job and dealt with a number of serious challenges during her time in office.

    Wishing her well.

  239. 239.

    Sister Golden Bear

    @Jeffro: I did just get a basic propane Coleman stove for emergencies. Coleman Classic 2-Burner Propane Stove,  currently $30 at Target. It’s a Wirecutter best pick because it’s so simple there’s very little that can go wrong with it. It does lack an igniter (which Wirecutter claims often breaks), so you need matches or lighter to start it.

    The power outages we’ve had from the storms made me realize it was something I should add to the quake/emergency kit. Not gonna cook a 5-course meal on it, but it’s enough to make hot food — and more importantly coffee.

  240. 240.

    Starfish

    Okay, so I wanted to look into the Iranian honor killing some more, and the question I had was “What is qesas?”

    At that link, it explains how retribution works. The family of the victim could have killed this dude OR forgiven him and received blood money.

    The type of family selling off their 12-year old to be married is unimaginably poor.

    My grandmother was married at 14. She basically dressed all her daughters in potato sacks until they all got their Ph.Ds. or M.Ds because what happened to her was NOT going to happen to them.

  243. 243.

    Scout211

    @WaterGirl: Is anything worse than choosing comic sans?

    Maybe this one:   Ugly Gerry font.

    There are a lot of ugly fonts out there, but outside Papyrus, few illustrate a deeper sickness in our society. A new typeface called Ugly Gerry does just that: Its letters are formed from the shapes of grotesquely gerrymandered U.S. districts.

  246. 246.

    Sister Golden Bear

    @WaterGirl: As a former graphic designer, yes there’s far, far worse fonts than Comic Sans. Fortunately they’re not pre-installed on people’s computer.

    Comic Sans sole redeeming feature is that it’s actually quite helpful for dyslexics because the letter shapes are all distinctly unique. E.g. the “b” and “d” characters aren’t simply the reverse of each other, as with most fonts. One these days a typographer should come with an adult version. if they have’t done so already.

  247. 247.

    Kristine

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym:

    My wife is taking the warnings about gas stoves very seriously. I’m pretty sure we’re going to end up with an induction stove.

    Anybody have any experience?

    I’ve only had mine for a few weeks, but I love it. Easy to clean the top part–so far I’ve stuck with either a cleaner made for cooktops or dish soap/water. Not only does it boil water fast, but I’ve noticed more even heating when frying/sautéing. No more patches of char.

    I was advised to skip the self-cleaning oven function and stick with steam clean–oven air passes through a vent that’s located near boards/controllers and the excess heat can lead to issues. Not sure how common it is, but I plan to stick with steam.

    I’m just thrilled to have a full-size oven after years of a 27″ followed by a countertop oven after the 27″ oven fritzed out.

  248. 248.

    Craig

    @C Stars: Hacks is top notch TV. So much going on in a show with such a short runtime.

    I hated season 1 White Lotus, and would have passed on season 2 completely. Couldn’t find anything I felt like watching, so poured a glass of wine and started ep1. I’m not sure why I liked it so much more, maybe they toned down the staff story, or I just didn’t hate all the characters. Binge watched 3 episodes and finished the bottle.

  251. 251.

    WaterGirl

    Sounds like we can all agree on bad fonts.  I bet we would have the great font war of 2023 if we tried to agree on the best fonts.

    I guess we need to ask Anthony Blinken about that. :-)

  252. 252.

    Roger Moore

    @Sister Golden Bear:

    Everyone should try out their emergency kit once in a while.  It gives you a chance to check your stuff to make sure it’s still good, and it also lets you find out important details like needing a camp stove in case the regular stove isn’t working.  This can be an issue even for people who have gas stoves.  After an earthquake, for instance, the gas pipes might be broken so there wouldn’t be any that would reach your house.  I figured out I needed some stuff like silverware and a can opener in mine.

  253. 253.

    GibberJack

    @Ohio Mom: Looks like it was made from an old farted out faux sheepskin seat cover from a junked Pinto.

    Probably still reeks of farts and spilled  Falstaff.

  255. 255.

    Suzanne

    @Craig: I have that Helvetica documentary. I loved it. I bored Mr. Suzanne with it, and he married me anyway.

    Worst font? Times New Roman gets my goat. It’s just everywhere and that’s so sad.

  256. 256.

    Steeplejack

    @Suzanne:

    Times New Roman is everywhere because it is the default in Microsoft Word (or used to be) and nobody ever changes it. And at such a small size!

    It was designed to be readable at a small size in narrow columns on crappy newsprint paper with smudgy ink. There are much better choices now.

  258. 258.

    James E Powell

    @HumboldtBlue:

    Not sure why the gothamist calls it a stunning setback. Key constituents of the Democratic coalition told her not to nominate the guy. After she did anyway, they all said they were not going to vote for him. So who is stunned?

  260. 260.

    dnfree

    @HumboldtBlue: we watched two seasons of Slow Horses and that’s it.  Great acting, terrible cynical plots.  Depressing, to us at least.  We gave up on Yellowstone for the same reason, though, so maybe it’s just us.

  261. 261.

    Math Guy

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: When we bought this house, it came with an induction stove. I’ve cooked with gas and electric before and I’ve got to say that I love the induction stove. Heats things up fast and responds very quickly when you lower or raise the setting. You do have to have magnetic cookware though. We checked our pots and pans with a fridge magnet and most of them passed, which is to say the magnet stuck. Had to replace a small nonstick saucepan, but that was all.

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