Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Optimism opens the door to great things.

Of course you can have champagne before noon. That’s why orange juice was invented.

Biden: Oh no. We’ve upset Big Pharma again.

The lights are all blinking red.

This really is a full service blog.

Accountability, motherfuckers.

The gop is a fucking disgrace.

It’s a new day. Light all those Biden polls of young people on fire and throw away the ashes.

President Biden is doing good where he can, and getting it done.

Republican obstruction dressed up as bipartisanship. Again.

Boeing: repeatedly making the case for high speed rail.

It could be worse. Vance could have said “post-menopausal sows.” Waiting for that audiotape to surface.

It is possible to do the right thing without the promise of a cookie.

Tick tock motherfuckers!

Motown is Joe-Town!

The US Supreme Court is on the ballot in november.

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

This isn’t Democrats spending madly. This is government catching up.

Fight them, without becoming them!

I am pretty sure Katy Tur wasn’t always such a bootlicking sycophant.

There is one struggling party in US right now, and it’s not the Democrats.

Sadly, media malpractice has become standard practice.

“Cheese and Kraken paired together for the appetizer trial.”

He really is that stupid.

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

Tuesday Afternoon Open Thread

by | 241 Comments

This post is in: ,

What’s everybody up to today?

I thought about watching the hearings in GA today, but decided against it.

The judge is apparently not expected to rule today.

Also apparently, the former guy is having a meltdown about the hearings.

I am including this tweet, because what day isn’t made better by getting to watch this Nancy SMASH clap clip.

What is Nancy SMASH up to these days, other than forcing Ruben Gallego to challenge Sinema for the AZ senate seat?

Open thread.

 

Reader Interactions

241Comments

  2. 2.

    trollhattan

    California is SUNNY. That whole rain-like-you-mean-it thing was so very off-brand. One benefit, our electricity grid is presently 56% renewables. Charge that EV with a clear conscience.

  3. 3.

    Other MJS

    After the most recent mass shooting (there’s a phrase I could do without), I searched for commentary on the 2nd amendment and found this (from the end of the article, preceded by a discussion of how clumsy the original language was):

    It’s a shame that the founding fathers didn’t have a better copy editor. They might have written:

    The right of the people to keep and bear arms, as part of a well-regulated militia for the protection of a free state, shall not be infringed.

    In this construction, the scope of the right is made more clear.

    If the founders had meant to guarantee a right to bear arms without restriction they could simply have written:

    “The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”

    And, sadly, this is where we live now.

    Not that this will move the zealots, but it’s hard to imagine how this could be better expressed.

  9. 9.

    dr. luba

    German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has decided to send Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine and allow other countries such as Poland to do so while the United States may supply Abrams tanks, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.
    A government spokesperson, the foreign ministry and the defence ministry declined to comment.
    The decision concerns at least one company of Leopard 2 A6 tanks that will be provided out of Bundeswehr stocks, said Spiegel magazine, which first reported the news.

    Link

  10. 10.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Other MJS: They would just do what they do now:

    The right of the people to keep and bear arms, as part of a well-regulated militia for the protection of a free state, shall not be infringed.

    They don’t care what the constitution says, they know what it really means. Like how the 2nd Amendment’s real purpose is to over throw any govt they don’t like never mind that whole Article III, Section 3.

  13. 13.

    cain

    busy day – lots of work these days. I’m glad I didn’t get laid off in all the layoffs that is happening at tech companies.

    My wife’s school system has been taken over by MAGA and now they are all in on the whole banning of social science curriculum and “woke” stuff. The damn school system is majority non-white. They managed to get a BiPOC school superintendent and he’s apparently a supporter of maga people. The school board is rather pissed given that a number of them are BiPOC women.

    So it comes down to this – even in DEI, you can’t trust men of any race. Fuck em.

  15. 15.

    Sister Golden Bear

    @Amir Khalid: Yes, Elon has been stiffing a variety of landlords and other vendors — including the law firm that helped with the Twitter deals.

    Obviously paying your bills is for little people. Although refusing to pay your lawyer is never a good idea.

  16. 16.

    JPL

    The hearing was fascinating, and the report will be available but I’m not sure when.   Fani Willis is asking it to be held until the appropriate time.

    Here is a youtube link that will allow you to listen to the hearing.   The Judge needs to be cloned.  link

  20. 20.

    JoyceH

    @dr. luba: Today it struck me – isn’t ‘Leopard’ a weird name for a tank? Seems like ‘Rhino’ would be more appropriate. Leopards are so lithe and slinky, and climb trees.  Rhinos just clomp along and  you’d better get out of their way.

  21. 21.

    Fake Irishman

    @JoyceH:

    It comes from a long German tradition of naming tanks after large cats. (Panther, Tiger, Leopard).

    It’s kind of like Apple operating systems…..

  23. 23.

    Doc Sardonic

    @JoyceH: For reasons known only to Germans it follows their naming conventions for tanks. The main battle tanks in WWll were the Tiger and Panther.

  24. 24.

    JoyceH

    @Fake Irishman: ​
     

    Americans have tended to name tanks after generals (Abrams, Patton, Pershing, Sherman, Grant etc)

    PLEASE tell me that there are no Confederates on the list!

  25. 25.

    Butch

    So I’m getting ready to go see brother in law who is now in hospice care. Lots of mixed emotions.

  27. 27.

    piratedan

    @cain: what bothers the crap outta me is that apparently Google is laying off staff at the behest of Hedge Fund Managers who want Google to be more profitable (or at least that’s what I have been interpreting after reading).

    At this point, if I was on a jury and the case was about a laid off employee going in and shooting hedge fund managers, I would have a hard time voting to convict.

    having a hard time trying to decide what added value hedge fund managers bring to society.

  28. 28.

    dmsilev

    @JoyceH: Unfortunately there are. WWII saw the Stuart and the Lee tanks.

    ETA: Skimming Wikipedia’s list, those seem to be the only two. All the others are either Union generals (Sherman, Grant, Sheridan) or are named after post-war generals (Pershing, Patton, Abrams, etc.)

  31. 31.

    Geminid

    @JoyceH: During  the Second World War the US produced 20,000 Stuart light tanks, named after the Confederate cavalry general. It was a big Lend Lease item used by the British from Burma to North Africa. British tankers nicknamed them “Honeys” because they rode so smoothly.

    Stuarts could not stand up to the heavier tanks the Germans had in France, and saw service there mainly for reconnaissance, where their speed enabled fast getawys.

  32. 32.

    mrmoshpotato

    @twbrandt (formerly tom): WTF?

    First, “Dr” Oz is mentioned, so I want an antipasto salad.

    Then, taco-loving dragons are mentioned so…

    And now German pastries!

    Mmmmmmm

    Oh, and clam chowder was mentioned too!

  34. 34.

    TheOtherHank

    And let’s not forget the M-36 Jackson (not strictly a tank, but rather a tank destroyer).

  35. 35.

    The Moar You Know

    So it comes down to this – even in DEI, you can’t trust men of any race. Fuck em

    @cain: not just men.  We got fucked but good on our school board last year by a MAGA black female superintendent.

    She was backed by a contingent of conservative Chinese folks (CFER, look ’em up) who want an all-Chinese charter, none of those underachieving white kids allowed.

    My school board is a fucking dystopian race war, all against all.  It’s really been something to watch.  We regained a bare controlling majority of seats this last cycle, but that’s just making the crazies try harder.  Can’t wait until my wife retires and we can just forget about this shit.

  36. 36.

    CaseyL

    Sigh.  Internet issues, which have been constant over the past week.  I have TMobile home internet, which up to one week ago I would have sung praises for to the highest heaven.

    But that was a week ago.

    Now I’ve gone through three gateways (TMobile’s name for its modem), have had to restart my computer and/or reset the gateway innumerable times, and it still goes out on me at unpredictable intervals, for unpredictable durations, and I have to go through the whole restart/reset circus again.

    Customer service has been great – except for the part about explaining what’s wrong.  Is it the towers? Are their gateways all crap?  What??

  38. 38.

    Geminid

    Illinois 13th CD Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski will join colleagues at a White House reception Joe Biden is giving for new members of Congress this evening. I’m guessing Ms. Budzinski has been there before; the job she left to run for Congres was chief of staff for the OMB director.

    Budzinski’s first job out of the University of Illinois-Champagne was as a young political director for a national union headquartered in DC. Before that she interned for Richard Gephardt and Richard Durbin.

  40. 40.

    Redshift

    @piratedan: Yeah, I found this interesting/infuriating, about the spate of layoffs being as much about “social contagion” as anything else. (With bonus material about how harmful layoffs are to workers and how little they save a company.)

  42. 42.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @JoyceH: Naming tanks was inflicted on the US Army by the British.  In the US Army it’s a M3 light tank, in the British Army it’s a Stuart MkI. Even more confusing the US M3 Medium Tank was the Grant or the Lee tank in British Service, depending on the turret type.

  43. 43.

    Honus

    Is the “perfect” phone call a Manhattan thing or TFG thing?  Because I’ve never heard it used by any but TFG.

  44. 44.

    Brachiator

    The Oscar nominations are out. The only nominated film I have seen is Top Gun Maverick, which has some impressive visuals, but mostly is a nostalgic nod to the original. Very carefully crafted to touch familiar bases.

    Disney probably should have done something like this with the Star Wars trilogy continuation. Nostalgia and manipulation would have kept more fans happy.

  45. 45.

    Fake Irishman

    @JoyceH:

    in WWII yes, but not since.

    (Stuart was a light tank, and Lee/Grant were variations of a single US tank used respectively by the Brits and the Americans)

  47. 47.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Honus: definitely TFG. One of those words that sound strange and creepy when he uses them, like “beautiful” and “love”, because he doesn’t really understand them

  48. 48.

    Fake Irishman

    @Fake Irishman:

    And I see everyone has beaten me to it. I’m sure John Cole would be amused that this open thread has devolved into a discussion of tanks, given his service branch and combat experience.

  50. 50.

    Soprano2

    @The Moar You Know: Stuff like this makes me SMH. They act like there’s only so much quality education avaliable, and they think their kids should get all of it! Having the backing of a black female superintendent…..🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

  51. 51.

    Kent

    My college student daughter texted me this morning about some “furry” hacker from Switzerland who hacked the entire US no-fly list and made it public.

    Anyone know what that is about?  Did it get buried with all the other news today?   I haven’t had the time to go looking.

  52. 52.

    The Thin Black Duke

    @Brachiator: Thing is, Top Gun: Maverick is just more of the same, only bigger and louder. In the Star Wars universe, the most interesting movies and tv shows are the ones that ignore George Lucas’ fossilized tropes and explore the roads not taken. Case in point: Andor.

  55. 55.

    Hitchhiker

    Last night after a long day looking after the 1 yr old grandboy, I put the CNN series about Rudy Guiliani on my laptop. Some interesting moments captured on video, going back to his prosecutor days. I’d forgotten that his presidential campaign strategy in 2007 was to skip everything before the FL primary, which worked out badly for him. I wonder what would have happened if he’d gone to IA and NH and taken on Huckabee and McCain there.

  66. 66.

    Geminid

    @Fake Irishman: Tanks are a big topic these days. People have been debating tanks for days on the Ukraine threads and now they’re clanking onto the open threads. Smoothbore guns or rifled? Tungsten rounds or uranium? You decide, whether you want to or not.

  69. 69.

    MomSense

    Just want everyone to know I don’t have any classified documents at my house – even in the boxes under the eaves I never unpacked after my move.

  71. 71.

    lowtechcyclist

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    Someone please tell me I’m not the only one who first read that as “Budweiser.”

    Been familiar with the term ever since Tom Lehrer’s “MLF Lullaby” (“all hail the Wehrmacht, I mean the Bundeswehr”) so I haven’t misread it once.

  72. 72.

    coin operated

    @CaseyL:

    I have TMobile home internet, which up to one week ago I would have sung praises for to the highest heaven.

    Got the Verizon version last month.  It’s been rock solid so far and I hope it stays that way…

  75. 75.

    Steeplejack

    To answer the post’s top question, I am sitting almost alone in my favorite Mexican restaurant (La Unión, Arlington) and finishing a margarita after lunch and catching up on Balloon Juice. Got what I think is a great haircut earlier. Never can tell for sure until I take a shower at home and do my usual minimal grooming. Tomorrow will tell.

    Going to the grocery for a few things after I leave here, and then it’s back to the bunker for the evening.

  77. 77.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Paul in KY: I’ll trust the Ukrainians to destroy tanks rather that leave them to be captured.  They seem to take things like that seriously.

  79. 79.

    The Lodger

    @rikyrah:Cockroaches, lice, and bed bugs are my only friends at night.

    So Android, how is that different from the rest of your life?

  80. 80.

    Brachiator

    @CaseyL:

    Sigh.  Internet issues, which have been constant over the past week.  I have TMobile home internet, which up to one week ago I would have sung praises for to the highest heaven.

    I wonder what the issue might be? I’ve had the TMobile home internet for nearly a year and it has been fairly dependable.

  83. 83.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Steeplejack:

    I am sitting almost alone in my favorite Mexican restaurant (La Unión, Arlington)

    I’ll have to check that out sometime. My wife and I don’t get across the river much anymore, but when we did, we frequented Taqueria Poblano in Del Ray.  Which is still a pretty good restaurant, but I think I’m ready to try something different when I get the chance.

  85. 85.

    Geminid

    @Paul in KY: They were stop gaps. The British needed tanks with more powerful guns but the Sherman was not yet in production. We could produce a lot of Grants quickly. Instead of a 75mm gun in a turret, the Grant mounted one on the tank body front in a “sponson.”

    The British used them in North Africa where they actually outgunned the German tanks of 1942. We stopped producing Grants once we could turn out Shermans. U.S. factories turned out over 80,000 Shermans.

  86. 86.

    topclimber

    @The Thin Black Duke: I just saw TGM with my son and we weren’t sure we could even give it a 2 out of 4. I get that Hollywood will always back movies that feature their dwindling number of stars, but Top Gun is no Top 10.

    I agree on your Star Wars point, too. I was kind of getting into the Mandolorian before they ended a season with Luke rides to the rescue, because who else could it possibly be? They can still get fat on the canon fodder, so I guess Star Wars post the original Trilogy will continue to suck.

  87. 87.

    trollhattan

    @Scout211: discovered it on an unsecured internet server belonging to an airline.

    What, not in Biden’s coat pocket? Who can NYT interview, now?

  88. 88.

    Brachiator

    @The Thin Black Duke:

    Thing is, Top Gun: Maverick is just more of the same, only bigger and louder. In the Star Wars universe, the most interesting movies and tv shows are the ones that ignore George Lucas’ fossilized tropes and explore the roads not taken. Case in point: Andor.

    MILD SPOILERS.

    Maverick focuses on the Tom Cruise character. Star Wars fans really wanted to see a mature all powerful Luke and the other original characters. OK, mainly Luke. They should have done this once they got all the original cast to participate.

    But I agree that Andor is a thing of beauty and wonder. It has also generated some very thoughtful commentary and video essays on YouTube. And yet there are still a bunch of fans who want empty nostalgia and Jedi battles and nothing else.

  91. 91.

    Mike in NC

    Drove down to Charleston SC on Sunday because my wife had surgery scheduled for Monday AM at the Medical University. It didn’t happen until sometime past noon, but we were told it went very well. She was discharged and we got caught up in crazy rush hour traffic and didn’t get home until pretty late at night.

    I noticed the building next to MUSC Health was named the “James W. Colbert Education Center and Library”, who I imagine was related to the city’s favorite son Stephen Colbert.

  92. 92.

    Mag

    @Fake Irishman:

    It comes from a long German tradition of naming tanks after large cats. (Panther, Tiger, Leopard).

    @Fake Irishman:

    I’m sure John Cole would be amused that this open thread has devolved into a discussion of tanks, given his service branch and combat experience.

    Announcement of new Tunch class tanks imminent‽

  93. 93.

    Geminid

    @Brachiator: I’m like that about familiar plots and characters. A couple years ago I started reading a Martha Grimes novel titled Cold Flat Junction, set in 1960s Pennsylvania. “Waah! No Richard Jury, no witty conversations at the pub,” I whined, and set it aside.

    I picked the novel up again recently and found it was actually pretty good.

  95. 95.

    WaterGirl

    @mrmoshpotato: That reminds me of an old joke, and I can only remember the punchline, not the joke itself.

    Some overheard conversation, with sexual connotations, that was overheard, and the punchline is “blow is only a figure of speech.”

  96. 96.

    frosty

    What am I up to? Just boarded the Autotrain on the way to Key West. Very weird to head south without towing a trailer.

    Now to check the comments and see what everyone else is up to.

  98. 98.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @lowtechcyclist: After almost a week of tummy troubles from visiting Mexico, I’m finally back to eating some tacos today.  I gotta say, small sample size but…the tacos in Mexico weren’t noticeably superior to what we can get here in Los Angeles.  We had tacos almost every day and out of all those attempts there was really only one place that really impressed us.

  99. 99.

    Soprano2

    I’m at home after having an injection treatment on my SI joint. I’ve been trying to make it better for a year without success, so I finally called the pain clinic. Luckily I didn’t have to go through 10 PT visits before getting a treatment. PT is good for a lot of things but in my experience it doesn’t help nerve pain. Also I’m waiting for the 4-10″ of snow we’re supposed to get later tonight.

  100. 100.

    CaseyL

    @Brachiator: I just got off the phone with a wonderful Tech Support rep (honestly, TMobile customer service is aces) and she explained the problem:

    I’m on what they call a “cell edge,” which means I’m almost equidistant between multiple towers, and my modem can’t make up its mind which one it should connect to.  There’s no way to lock my modem onto one of the towers, because the system is designed to automatically go to a backup if something happens to my “preferred” tower.

    So she advised me to move the modem, which I did, a whole 15-ish feet.  She said that should be enough for my modem to keep working with the nearest tower.

    She is also sending me a new SIM card, which (she says) used to be SOP whenever sending out a new modem, but for some reason ($$$) isn’t anymore.

    She also advised, until I get the new SIM, to do a reset every night or morning, just to be sure the modem looks for and connects to the correct tower.

    So we’ll see if this works.

  101. 101.

    Kent

    Has anyone else pointed out that if Cole can learn how to operate an Abrams, when he seems barely able to operate a Subaru, then the the average Ukrainian tanker should be able to figure it out too?

  102. 102.

    Citizen Alan

    @Other MJS: All Republicans secretly love mass shootings. They know they’re mostly not in any of the demographics that are most at risk for them. And every school shooting is followed by a wave of ammosexuals stocking up on ammo, which leaves the gun merchants flush with cash they can use to bribe Republican politicians into prevent any legislation from being passed. Plus, they get the GOP scandal de jeur off the news and increase feelings of helplessness among Dems. Republicans ADORE mass shootings.

  103. 103.

    Steeplejack

    @lowtechcyclist:

    La Unión is on Wilson Boulevard just west of Ballston. Unassuming vibe but good food, and they make a very good margarita, which I have found to be rare in Mexican restaurants around here. I like Los Tíos in Del Rey, but it’s a bit of a drive when La Unión is so close. El Paso Café at Glebe and Pershing is good, but mediocre margs.

  106. 106.

    Kent

    Just wondering what DeSantis is going to do to get his own Special Counsel now that Pence is bouncing him off the front pages.

    The mark of the big boy club is whether you get your own Special Council and DeSantis isn’t going to want to sit at the kiddie table with just a regular common prosecutor.  He’s going to want to be special too.

  107. 107.

    Steeplejack

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    I go in often enough that I’m a “regular,” I guess, but they will always have a place in my heart because in the beginning of the pandemic, when doctors and patients were dropping like flies, my brother went in there after work in his scrubs to get takeout and they comped his whole order.

  108. 108.

    Brachiator

    @CaseyL:

    I just got off the phone with a wonderful Tech Support rep (honestly, TMobile customer service is aces) and she explained the problem.

    Hope everything works out and that the problem has been resolved.

    The TMobile unit was ridiculously easy to set up and has been more reliable than my previous Internet provided. And much faster.

    Not too long ago, Verizon was going door to door with units ready to go. This niche of the market is getting competitive.

    I still get mail from Spectrum and other standard Internet service providers. Not interested.

  111. 111.

    Old School

    @Mike in NC:

    I noticed the building next to MUSC Health was named the “James W. Colbert Education Center and Library”, who I imagine was related to the city’s favorite son Stephen Colbert.

    Yes, James Colbert was Stephen’s father.

  113. 113.

    frosty

    @Geminid: U.S. factories turned out over 80,000 Shermans.

    That must be the reason every museum of any size in the vicinity of Normandy had one out front.

  114. 114.

    Doc Sardonic

    @Kent: He may have to just be satisfied with that Texas DA that seem to have bad case of priapism to get him and Abbott

  115. 115.

    ljt

    @Mike in NC: Yes, it’s his father, who was a vice president at MUSC. One of the best segments ever on The Colbert Report was an interview with Andrew Young on MLK day in 2008. I’ve tried to find a clip, but it doesn’t seem to be available anywhere. Best I could find was this HuffPost article describing the segment. (Andrew Young worked with James Colbert to settle a 1969 hospital workers strike.)

  116. 116.

    Steeplejack

    @frosty:

    Yes, “the bunker” is a synonym for my modest rooms in Threadkill Lane, made more appropriate by the restrictions of pandemic time—which I am finding somewhat hard to throw off.

  117. 117.

    Citizen Alan

    Well, just finished my fourth interview in 2 weeks. This time, a second round interview for a job in Fresno, CA. Right now, my options are (1) Fresno, (2) Houston, TX, (3) SLC, or (4) existential despair.

  119. 119.

    narya

    @WaterGirl: There was an old SNL Weekend Update w/ Chevy Chase and Jane Curtain that had him on the phone at the start saying something like that . . .

    what am I doing today? I took three old devices to an Apple Store for recycling, and then bought myself a new AppleTV AND a new watch–so I did end up getting a watch for my retirement, I just purchased it myself. it’s my first one, so we’ll see how I like it; I mostly want to streamline runs/walks/exercise.

  120. 120.

    David 🌈☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch

    Top Gun was a major disappointment. A far cry from a great aircraft carrier movie such as “Bridges at Toko-Ri” or “Midway (1976)”.

    But the new chapter in “Mission Impossible” comes out this July and it looks incredible (clip)

  121. 121.

    Suzanne

    @UncleEbeneezer:

    I gotta say, small sample size but…the tacos in Mexico weren’t noticeably superior to what we can get here in Los Angeles.  We had tacos almost every day and out of all those attempts there was really only one place that really impressed us. 

    I had the same thought in both Phoenix and Tucson many times. There’s so much good Mexican food in the US Southwest.

  122. 122.

    Uncle Cosmo

    WG at #95 please note this!

    @mrmoshpotato: ​…it’s physically impossible to suck and blow at the same time.

    Bringing to mind an all-time favorite Playboy cartoon, simply for the mise-en-scene and caption. Picture this:

    A couple is walking down a hotel hallway running from left foreground toward right background, The visible wall of the hallway is lined with doors with transoms, all closed except for the nearest, which is open. The man, close-mouthed, is looking back over his left shoulder and up at the open transom.

    The caption:

    “Suck, Martha, suck – ‘blow’ is just a figure of speech!”

    /rimshot​​
    ​
    ​
    ​
    ​

  123. 123.

    Wapiti

    Re-reading The Peripheral. I read the book before seeing the series, so I’m going back to see the differences. Some of the dialog was used in both. I think the book is a much better story, but it’s told mostly through Flynne Fischer and Wilf Netherton’s viewpoints, so a lot of information is gleaned from what they see and think. Not sure how it could be made into a movie or series.

  125. 125.

    Old School

    @ljt:

    One of the best segments ever on The Colbert Report was an interview with Andrew Young on MLK day in 2008. I’ve tried to find a clip, but it doesn’t seem to be available anywhere.

    Here you go.

  126. 126.

    Scout211

    @Citizen Alan: Fresno isn’t a bad place to land. It’s the largest city in the Central Valley and you can easily drive to the Sierras or the  Central coast. I have family there so I may be biased but the biggest thing it has going for it:  It’s not Bakersfield. 😊 

  131. 131.

    Steeplejack

    @Citizen Alan:

    I’d take Salt Lake City from that menu. You could use some big Western skies, and you’d still have some Mormons around to give you the right-wing ambience you seem to require to stay grounded.

  132. 132.

    Betty Cracker

    @Citizen Alan: I had a job once that required me to spend time in SLC, and I grew to love the place despite going in thinking I would hate it. Such beautiful country all around! The theocracy aspect is weird, but IIRC, you’re from the South, so you know what it’s like to be surrounded by religious fanatics. Also, it was the cleanest damn city I’ve ever seen in my life.

  133. 133.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Nicolle Wallace just said that the Georgia investigation of trump is moving at “lightning speed” compare to the DoJ’s and I’m trying mightily to figure out what standard she is using to arrive at that judgment

  134. 134.

    Almost Retired

    @Suzanne:  When my son was in school in Tucson, I’d drive over there to visit him just for the food!  Even the chain Mexican restaurants were quite good (Macayo’s por ejemplo).

  136. 136.

    Soprano2

    @WaterGirl: Yes, it takes a couple of days. How long it lasts depends. I’ve now had 3, each for a different pain. The doctor also ordered an MRI to see if something has changed in my SI joint from the last time I had a treatment in 2018. My first one was before 2011 because hubby was still working so my mom had to be my driver. They did this one without sedation, which meant no IV (yay!) It didn’t hurt that much.

  137. 137.

    Brachiator

    @Geminid:

    I picked the novel up again recently and found it was actually pretty good.

    Yeah. I know what you mean. Sometimes you can end up pleasantly surprised.

  139. 139.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @Suzanne: I chock it up mainly to the fact that we know where the best Mexican restaurants are locally and know the countless mediocre places to avoid.  Whereas in Mexico we had less of that knowledge and were sometimes restricted by what was open and what was close (when we didn’t wanna drive).  So we ended up hitting several mediocre places.  But yeah, even when it comes to cochinita pibil (one of the staples of the Yucatan), we have TWO places right here in Pasadena (Yuca’s Pasadena and Guisados) that do it just as good as what we had in Merida.  And an LA-chain (King Taco) that does Al Pastor and Carne Asada better than what we had in Mexico.

  140. 140.

    CaseyL

    @Citizen Alan: Of the list, I think I’d go with SLC, for the reasons other commenters have had – though the water issue is going to be a Big Deal there in the not-very-distant future.  However, you’ll have the same problems in Fresno.

    Houston? No thanks.  Utah is nowhere near as bad as Texas for RW madness.

    PS – I’m trying to remember – weren’t you looking for a house in NYC about a year ago?

  141. 141.

    JPL

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Fani said decisions are imminent.   I did listen to the hearing and she expects the case to move outside of Fulton Cty.   The special grand jury heard from 75 witnesses and we don’t know the names of all of them.   Even if released, I assume that there will be a lot of redactions.

  142. 142.

    The Up and Up

    Howdy Water Girl, et al.

    I picked up a ‘script today in Seattle. Then I had a 19 cent hamburger at Dick’s for lunch.

  144. 144.

    Keith P.

    @Citizen Alan: Houston’s got great food going for it.  Other than that, it’s the Gulf Coast, so it’s hot, likes to threaten floods, and has hurricane seasons (but not too many direct hits)

  145. 145.

    Anyway

    OT: should the Mueller investigation have uncovered some aspects of people in the NY FBI office “colluding” with Russia in the run-up to 2016?

  146. 146.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    What’s everybody up to today?

    I think I’d rather have a root canal than experience what I did today which was … uh… a root canal.

    Actually the procedure, starting with the numbing, was fine. It felt no different from getting a filling. And I was really grateful for the numbing. It was a vast improvement over the constant throbbing pain interrupted occasionally by sharper even more intense pain that I’d been experiencing since about last Thursday.

    I decided I was going to do nothing very productive for the rest of the day, and I’m happy to report that I’ve adhered to that plan.

  149. 149.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: This is a point Allison Gill has been making.  Both Fani Willis and DOJ/Jack Smith are both supposedly about to make charging decisions based on the same events.  They both took two years because large, complex conspiracy cases, with loads of privilege issues to litigate etc. take time to build.  Both have kept things as quiet as possible to protect their investigations.  But only one is getting constantly shit on.  It makes no sense.  The simplest answer of course is that people have been complaining about Garland since the moment he was sworn in and haven’t stopped since.  The assumption is that he’s corrupt or afraid to indict.  The assumption is that Fani Willis is operating in good faith and really wants to indict.

    All despite the fact that Jack Smith is literally dragging the people closest to Trump into Grand Juries and compelling them to testify. Garland is on record saying he will defer to Smith on charging decisions. Prosecuting Trump is probably Smith’s absolute dream and a career-making case.

  150. 150.

    Kent

    @Keith P.: @Citizen Alan: Houston’s got great food going for it.  Other than that, it’s the Gulf Coast, so it’s hot, likes to threaten floods, and has hurricane seasons (but not too many direct hits

    Houston is also one of the great immigrant cities in this country.  Which explains a lot of the great food.

  151. 151.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @JPL: Yup. I heard all that too. I’m just a little baffled by the rather widespread notion that Fani Willis is a fearless, hard-charging prosecutor who hasn’t indicted anybody yet but might do so, while Merrick Garland is a gutless old hack who hasn’t indicted anybody yet but might do so.

    As a non-lawyer and certified dumb guy, I see two very complicated and difficult to prove cases being handled by prosecutors who seem to see them the same way.

  153. 153.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @Baud: If it lets people keep dumping on Garland and claiming he is uniquely awful, incompetent, too timid, an Insitutionalist, the wrong person for the job, etc. then I think we know the answer is YES!

  154. 154.

    Baud

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    I’m just a little baffled by the rather widespread notion that Fani Willis is a fearless, hard-charging prosecutor who hasn’t indicted anybody yet but might do so, while Merrick Garland is a gutless old hack who hasn’t indicted anybody yet but might do so.

    Willis is an instrument to attack Garland.  Without Garland as a foil, people might well be attacking Willis.

  156. 156.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Trump has gotten hysterical and completely deranged since Jack Smith took over, especially about grand jury testimony. I mean even more than he was. This according to people paying attention to his social media. That tells me that Jack Smith is interviewing the right people and if they’re sharing with Trump what they said, it is making him feel desperate.

  157. 157.

    JPL

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: She has gone after high profile rappers in the area, so that might be why she’s considered fearless

    My understanding is that she would call another grand jury to present the case, so I’m not sure imminent was accurate.

  158. 158.

    Josie

    @Citizen Alan: ​
     Houston is very different from what you hear about Texas. It is extremely diverse and not conservative at all. If you don’t mind big city traffic, it is a fascinating place to live. Lots of varied live entertainment–music, theater, ballet, museums, etc. Lovely parks and a fabulous zoo.

    It is really hot for half the year and mildly cold and sometimes wet for the rest. Some areas flood easily and some do not, so you have to be careful where you choose to live. Abbott and his cronies in the legislature are looking for ways to suppress the votes in Harris County, which gives you a clue to our politics.
    I can answer any questions you might have. WaterGirl can give you my email address.

  159. 159.

    kindness

    The Abrams tanks the US has said they want to send to the Ukraine are the old ones.  Less tech.  Easier to learn.  Still has turbine engines that require aviation kerosene as fuel.  I think it’s a ploy to push Germany to OK transfer of the Leopards from Poland over to Ukraine really.  Apparently the US has several thousand of the old Abrams in storage in deserts around the world.

    Everything, Everywhere, All At Once was a great film if you like trippy stuff.  Very trippy.  I hope it wins some stuff.  I always like Michelle Yeoh in anything she does.  Stephanie Hsu who played her daughter was good too.  Honestly Ke Huy Quan who played the husband was really good in his role.  Hadn’t seen him since his Indiana Jones film.

  161. 161.

    Another Scott

    @Suzanne: I remember being on a business trip to Wichita, KS long, long ago.  The seafood I had one evening was better than the steak I had the night before.

    Restaurant food is weird.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  164. 164.

    UncleEbeneezer

    JustSecurity has a very good, comprehensive list of all the damaging things we know about Trump and how he treated classified documents.  Highlighting the fact that he:

    1.) Was warned about returning them before leaving office
    2.) Purposely took them
    3.) Bragged/showed them off to others
    4.) Lied to NARA about having them
    5.) Was warned by his own attorneys that it was a crime to keep them
    6.) Was warned by his COS…

    Etc., etc.

    It really makes it clear that there are light-years of difference between Trump’s case and that of Biden/Pence.

  167. 167.

    Keith P.

    @Kent: Particularly if you like Asian food (my personal favorite).  There’s old Chinatown (mid-town), “Asiatown” in Bellaire (a staggering restaurant density….truly amazing to see), and the more upscale Katy Asiatown which also kicks much culinary ass.

    Anyone been to Houston and NYC’s Chinatowns who can compare the two?  When I take people to Bellaire, they are never prepared for how many Asian restaurants are down there.

  168. 168.

    Baud

    @UncleEbeneezer:

    It really makes it clear that there are light-years of difference between Trump’s case and that of Biden/Pence, etc.

     

    Pretty sure at this point that there are random pages of classified material accidentally strewn all over the place. Only Trump’s appears purposeful.

  171. 171.

    Jeffro

    @Steeplejack: sounds like a good evening!  We’re having Mexican here, too (well, in a couple hours we will).  It’s a family tradition on our last night in Park City.

    Related: I need to walk and work out more, whew!

  173. 173.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @Josie: Houston also has a large and thriving Vietnamese community.  I believe it’s the second biggest in the US (after OC, CA).  It’s been featured in a couple food documentary series’ that I’ve enjoyed.

  175. 175.

    trollhattan

    @Citizen Alan: Good luck, and a mild hurrah for Fresno potential, only because it’s better than Houston and SLC, even if the SLC scenery is nicer. (But, you’d have SEKI right there, in your backyard.)

    Also, taco truck on every corner.

  176. 176.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @WaterGirl:

    I quit listening to Preet’s podcasts, both the paid and unpaid versions.

    Bharara’s in the Green Lanternist Club? Ironic, given how many internet experts in fin-reg law regularly assure me that he’s as useless a hack as Garland (they don’t know they’re talking about PB, they’re just very sure that “Obama” could and should have put all the banksters in jail) if not worse, then I don’t imagine he spends a lot of time on reading his critics on the internet

  177. 177.

    cckids

    @WaterGirl: It’s an annual promotion by the local burger chain, Dick’s Burgers. Very popular!

    And, of course, the chain’s motto is “Eat a bag of Dicks!”

  178. 178.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @WaterGirl: It all seems to stem from his childish feeling of entitlement, more than anything else.  I swear that seems like the main motivator more than any actual desire to sell them or use them for espionage.  At least based on what we know so far.

  179. 179.

    Kent

    @Keith P.: All I know is that when we visit our foodie friends who live in Houston they always manage to take us to various amazing places hidden away in all kinds of nondescript corners of the city.

  180. 180.

    CaseyL

    @WaterGirl: It’s Dick’s 50th 69th(!) Anniversary, so they’re charging the original price for the ‘burger.  I was mighty tempted, but the thought of the lines dissuaded me.

  181. 181.

    schrodingers_cat

    @UncleEbeneezer: Twitter celebrity goes to people’s heads and nothing makes more popular on Twitter than bashing the United States in general and the Democrats in particular.

    Have you seen those threads from Communists from other countries coming here and doing multi-tweet threads about how everything sucks. Just see how many likes they get

    Of course according to Twitter Communists having to work is capitalism.

  182. 182.

    Gin & Tonic

    What are we up to? It snowed here yesterday, so I went skiing today. Snow conditions were good, weather so-so: very cloudy and strong winds. But hey, I didn’t break anything.

  185. 185.

    JPL

    Rather than talking about the hearing today, the news is covering a single engine plane that made an emergency landing on a freeway.   This is good news for magas.

  187. 187.

    UncleEbeneezer

    The American citizen most likely to own a gun is a white male—but not just any white guy. According to a growing number of scientific studies, the kind of man who stockpiles weapons or applies for a concealed-carry license meets a very specific profile.

    These are men who are anxious about their ability to protect their families, insecure about their place in the job market, and beset by racial fears.

    …

    But Stroud also discovered another motivation: racial anxiety. “A lot of people talked about how important Obama was to get a concealed-carry license: ‘He’s for free health care, he’s for welfare.’ They were asking, ‘Whatever happened to hard work?’” Obama’s presidency, they feared, would empower minorities to threaten their property and families.

    …

    For many conservative men, the gun feels like a force for order in a chaotic world, suggests a study published in December of last year. In a series of three experiments, Steven Shepherd and Aaron C. Kay asked hundreds of liberals and conservatives to imagine holding a handgun—and found that conservatives felt less risk and greater personal control than liberal counterparts.

    This wasn’t about familiarity with real-world guns—gun ownership and experience did not affect results. Instead, conservative attachment to guns was based entirely on ideology and emotions.

  188. 188.

    JPL

    @Baud: Local Atlanta news.   It’s a small plane and after more than a hour they are now towing it.

    Maybe the Fulton Cty DA will get the coverage she deserves soon.

  192. 192.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @mrmoshpotato: Post-op? My instructions say I’m supposed to take 600 mg (3 x 200 mg pills) of “Ibuprofen, Advil or Motrin” every 6 hours for 2 days, “whether or not you are experiencing discomfort’.

    I know you should obey doctor’s orders, but that seems really unnecessary to me considering I’ve never in my life taken more than one Ibuprofen at a time. Not sure I’ve ever even taken two in the same day.​

    And I’m not feeling any significant post-op discomfort. A little tenderness.

  194. 194.

    Suzanne

    @Kent: Houston has always been a cool city (not temperature, more vibe) when I have been there. I have only been to SLC once. It is beautiful. The Great Salt Lake is nothing but a swamp. Both places have the problem of being a blue dot in a red state, so…..I guess you’ll decide on other factors?

    I wouldn’t do Fresno. The best thing about it is that you can leave.

  198. 198.

    Dangerman

    @Citizen Alan: Fresno is a reasonable landing spot. North on the 41 you get Yosemite. South on the 41 is Morro Bay. Jog a little NW and the very best restaurant I’ve ever eaten at is in Mariposa (not kidding but biased given any food after hiking all day in Yosemite is a delight). Used to be called Wagon Wheel. Then Charles Street or similar. Chef retired and/or there was a fire; I’m not sure it’s still there.

  202. 202.

    karen marie

    @Other MJS:  The suggested language is still vague and would not change where we are now.

    “Free state” can mean a lot of things.

    If we’re going to talk about what would have been better, it would have been better to have not included anything about firearms.

    It never occurred to me to wonder who came up with the idea to include it and why.  Did the British prohibit colonists from owning guns?  That wouldn’t seem especially practical.

    I see James Madison is credited with “drafting” the amendments but did he think them up or did someone else suggest the guns?

  204. 204.

    schrodingers_cat

    Going to make naan* in the airfryer to go along with palak paneer and dhaba chicken that I made yesterday.

    Dhabas are no fuss eateries along the highways in north India. They are known for their delicious and spicy food.

    (* taking a short cut and using ready made pizza dough from the grocery store, paneer was also store brought.)

    ETA: Has anyone baked in their air fryer. I am going to attempt making cake.

  206. 206.

    zhena gogolia

    @mrmoshpotato: Yeah, I guess by boring I mean it’s somewhat uncomfortable to have your mouth open for that long. But it’s not painful. And I didn’t find the aftermath too bad either.

    That said, I’d be happy never to have one again!

  208. 208.

    karen marie

    @schrodingers_cat:  Do you make your own paneer?

    I had a neighbor for about a year (sadly, she moved this past July) from Rajasthan who would bring me all kinds of lovely things to eat, including fresh paneer and yogurt she made herself.  She taught me to make simple parathas.  I miss her and her lovely snacks.

  209. 209.

    David 🌈☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch

    Trump drops second legal challenge to New York attorney general
    after sanctions in Hillary Clinton case

    1 hour ago

    If you hit the bully in the face they run home

  215. 215.

    David 🌈☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: ​
    I think what she’s referring to is Giuliani, Lindsey, Eastman, Flynn, et. al have all been dragged to a grand/special jury in Fulton county, which hasn’t happened at the federal level. I realize grand juries are secret, but if they were called into federal proceeding it would leak as these Dump assholes are blabber mouths.

  216. 216.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @Dangerman: Hell, even the food in Curry Village (mediocre at best, and NO CURRY!) tastes amazing after 10-15 miles hiking in Yosemite.

  217. 217.

    kindness

    @Dangerman: Fresno is such an oddity.  It’s a town of over 300,000 people but it doesn’t have the city vibe.  It has a valley town vibe.  It’s equidistant to LA or SF, right smack in the middle.  Close to Kings Canyon National Park which is great.  Valley weather though.  I live in Modesto so I know what that’s like.

  219. 219.

    Sure Lurkalot

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: It’s for swelling and inflammation. I had about the same regimen when I had a tooth pulled. Mine was switch off Advil and Tylenol every 6 for 5 days. It was hard for me too but I think it helped the heal.

    ETA…as many got here before me.

  222. 222.

    lowtechcyclist

    @UncleEbeneezer: ​
     

    Both have kept things as quiet as possible to protect their investigations. But only one is getting constantly shit on. It makes no sense. The simplest answer of course is that people have been complaining about Garland since the moment he was sworn in and haven’t stopped since. The assumption is that he’s corrupt or afraid to indict. The assumption is that Fani Willis is operating in good faith and really wants to indict.

    Since I watch almost no TV and don’t read a newspaper anymore, I’m not exactly a great bellwether of what people know about and what they don’t. But I don’t know that I’d even heard Fani Willis’ name before today, while everybody we run into online knows who Merrick Garland is. And it’s hard to crap on people if you have no idea who they are.

  226. 226.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Steeplejack: ​

    La Unión is on Wilson Boulevard just west of Ballston. Unassuming vibe but good food, and they make a very good margarita, which I have found to be rare in Mexican restaurants around here. I like Los Tíos in Del Rey, but it’s a bit of a drive when La Unión is so close. El Paso Café at Glebe and Pershing is good, but mediocre margs.

    Thanks! I’ve Googled them, and the menu offerings and photos certainly look appealing. Just depends on the next time something takes me up that way.

    @UncleEbeneezer: ​

    After almost a week of tummy troubles from visiting Mexico, I’m finally back to eating some tacos today. I gotta say, small sample size but…the tacos in Mexico weren’t noticeably superior to what we can get here in Los Angeles. We had tacos almost every day and out of all those attempts there was really only one place that really impressed us.

    The basic idea of a taco is pretty straightforward, it depends on what you do with it. Easily the best tacos I’ve ever had were at Jimmy Hula’s, a small chain in central Florida.​

  231. 231.

    Citizen Alan

    @Steeplejack:

    After 53 years surrounded by Southern Baptist, I feel sure I can handle living among mormons.  They may be Culturally conservative, but mormons all still know that they’re on The List.  The one that every white evangelical keeps in their hearts to remind them who they hate the most and in what order they’re going to kill people if they ever get the chance.

  232. 232.

    kalakal

    @Fake Irishman: The British since they started naming tanks settled down to MBT names begin with a C(ruiser)

    eg Comet, Crusader, Chieftan, Centurian

    and light tanks with an S(cout) eg Saladin, Scorpion, Scimitar

    They used to have a class of Infantry support tanks but dropped those

  233. 233.

    Geminid

    @Citizen Alan: LDS Church members were attacked, lynched and driven from the U.S.* by majority mobs. They have  not forgotten this.

     

    *When Mormans first settled Utah it was not yet part of the United States.

    .

  234. 234.

    Geminid

    @kalakal: I think the British also had a Churchill tank for a while. Churchill was a big proponent of armored vehicles, even had the British Navy deploy some improvised armored cars in Belgium before the Germans overwhelmed defenders in 1914.

  236. 236.

    Steeplejack

    @Citizen Alan:

    So you’ll feel right at home!

    I second the Houston food recommendations above, but the two times I went there on extended business trips I hated the humidity (even more than Atlanta, where I lived) and the sprawl (even more than Atlanta).

    Note: I am not anti-Texas. Austin is a great town, and I think San Antonio is underrated (but I haven’t been there in years).

  241. 241.

    kalakal

    @Geminid: yes they did, it was a late WW2 tank. A real oddie was Conqueror. A super heavy 70 ton back up to Centurion it was a pure tank killer. A massive 120mm long range gun with 7 inch armor and really advanced fire control it was designed to obliterate Soviet heavy tanks like the IS-3. It comfortably outranged and outgunned anything the Soviets had. It was a pretty rare beast and wasn’t in service very long. I saw one in a museum, it was huge.

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