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You are here: Home / Balloon Juice / Commentary / Proud To Be A Democrat! / Tuesday Morning Open Thread: V-Day

Tuesday Morning Open Thread: V-Day

by Anne Laurie|  February 14, 20238:29 am| 159 Comments

This post is in: Proud To Be A Democrat!, Something Good Open Thread

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From Fort Drum to the White House — these valentines were made with the loving hands of our country's military children. 💕 pic.twitter.com/zkhMjRRezD

— Jill Biden (@FLOTUS) February 14, 2023

This Valentine’s Day, I hope you reach out to each other with open hearts and helping hands. 💕 pic.twitter.com/jCUeHqmoXf

— Jill Biden (@FLOTUS) February 14, 2023

And if you’re not feeling the hearts & candy emotions, well, maybe this will be more your style?

For $5, a Pennsylvania zoo will let you name a cricket after your ex. The zoo films the insects being eaten by animals and posts the video to social media pic.twitter.com/tsYhMAOm1r

— Reuters (@Reuters) February 14, 2023

According to the BBC, the San Antonio has actually branched out to serving plant-forward ex-romantics — you can also name a head of lettuce or a carrot after the one who scorched you. (Warning — the linked video contains a *lot* more close-up cockroach content.)

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Reader Interactions

159Comments

  1. 1.

    Baud

    February 14, 2023 at 8:32 am

    contains a *lot* more close-up cockroach content.)

    Nominated!

  2. 2.

    OzarkHillbilly

    February 14, 2023 at 8:33 am

    For $5, a Pennsylvania zoo will let you name a cricket after your ex. The zoo films the insects being eaten by animals and posts the video to social media

    HA! If I had the money I’d buy dozens in honor of my ex. My wife would do the same for her ex.

  3. 3.

    JPL

    February 14, 2023 at 8:39 am

    Jill really enjoys her role as first lady, unlike the former one.   I think the zoo should advertise that you can buy a cockroach cricket for trump and his family.

  4. 4.

    BenCisco 🇺🇸🎖️🖥️♦️

    February 14, 2023 at 8:40 am

    Good morning jackals! Popping in to say HELLO!

    Haven’t been around as much; nothing says FUN like a merger in the banking sector.

    (And by “fun” I mean…)

    I’m at a point where coffee isn’t working – anyone got any jumper cables?

  5. 5.

    Jeffro

    February 14, 2023 at 8:42 am

    The cricket thing = BRUTAL.  Also, LOLOLOLOL

    Since it is Valentine’s Day, I’m playing “Love” by The Cult* at full blast.  ;)

    Have a happy one, peeps

    ETA: did anyone else catch “She Sells Sanctuary” as bumper music early on in the Super Bowl this year?  My heart skipped a beat!

  6. 6.

    NotMax

    February 14, 2023 at 8:43 am

    February 14th.

    1) Share the love.
    2) Raise a glass to Tony Franciosa and Jack Soo.
    3) Avoid parking garages.
    ;)

  7. 7.

    OzarkHillbilly

    February 14, 2023 at 8:44 am

    I made my wife eat her words on V-day one year. When we first got together I told her, “I don’t do V-day, I don’t do B-days, I don’t do X-mas…” etc etc and that if those things were important to her she should just move on to a more appreciative possibility. She later told me that no man had ever been so honest and after that she was not about to let me go.

    Years later a few days before V-day she had a conversation with a co-worker who asked, “What’s your hubby gonna do for you for V-day?” My wife replied, “Not a damned thing.” and then made the mistake of telling me. The dye was set. I went to the local florist and had a single rose sent to her. And a healthy heap of crow to eat.

  8. 8.

    NotMax

    February 14, 2023 at 8:46 am

    Ol’ man fumble fingers strikes again. Fix.

    February 14th.

    1) Share the love.
    2) Raise a glass to Tony Franciosa and Jack Soo.
    3) Avoid parking garages.
    ;)

  9. 9.

    Paul in KY

    February 14, 2023 at 8:46 am

    @BenCisco 🇺🇸🎖️🖥️♦️: Glad to hear from you. Hope your merger or foreclosing goes well :-)

  10. 10.

    Betty Cracker

    February 14, 2023 at 8:47 am

    From The Tampa Bay Times:

    CHARLESTON, S.C. — Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor and United Nations ambassador, announced her candidacy for president on Tuesday, becoming the first major challenger to former President Donald Trump for the 2024 Republican nomination.

    The announcement, delivered in a video, marks an about-face for the ex-Trump Cabinet official, who said two years ago that she wouldn’t challenge her former boss for the White House in 2024. But she changed her mind in recent months, citing, among other things, the country’s economic troubles and the need for “generational change,” a nod to the 76-year-old Trump’s age.

    “You should know this about me. I don’t put up with bullies. And when you kick back, it hurts them more if you’re wearing heels,” Haley said. “I’m Nikki Haley and I’m running for president.”

    I would have considered Haley a formidable opponent before Trump turned her into a “dignity wraith,” as Josh Marshall calls them.

  11. 11.

    BenCisco 🇺🇸🎖️🖥️♦️

    February 14, 2023 at 8:52 am

    @Betty Cracker:

    “You should know this about me. I don’t put up with bullies.”

    Anymore?

  12. 12.

    Amir Khalid

    February 14, 2023 at 8:52 am

    A song for Valentine’s Day: All That Heaven Will Allow, Bruce and The E Street Band.

  13. 13.

    NotMax

    February 14, 2023 at 8:53 am

    @Betty Cracker

    File immediately in the Going Nowhere Fast cabinet. Do not pass Go, do not collect 200 million dollars.
    //

  14. 14.

    BenCisco 🇺🇸🎖️🖥️♦️

    February 14, 2023 at 8:53 am

    @Paul in KY: So far so good. Little nerve-wracking being on the “little fish” end of it, but I’m surviving.

  15. 15.

    Ken

    February 14, 2023 at 8:57 am

    @Jeffro: As a professional pundit, I pearl-clutch that this is the start of a slippery slope that will end with zoos feeding the actual exes to the carnivores.

    Mind you, it would guarantee zoo funding forever, and there would likely be enough excess cash to buy Kansas and turn it into a wildlife preserve.

  16. 16.

    OzarkHillbilly

    February 14, 2023 at 8:57 am

    @Amir Khalid: I get “Video unavailable”.  :-(

  17. 17.

    James E Powell

    February 14, 2023 at 8:57 am

    Valentine’s Day in a middle school is almost as chaotic as Halloween. There won’t be a lot of academic learning today.

  18. 18.

    OzarkHillbilly

    February 14, 2023 at 8:59 am

    @Ken: this is the start of a slippery slope that will end with zoos feeding the actual exes to the carnivores.

    Hmmmm… From your keyboard to the zookeepers eyes.

  19. 19.

    catclub

    February 14, 2023 at 8:59 am

    @NotMax: ​

    @OzarkHillbilly: ​
     

    The dye was set.

    I always heard that as “the die was cast”
    But your dye being set works too.

  20. 20.

    eclare

    February 14, 2023 at 9:02 am

    @Ken:   At the zoo here, the lead herpetologist named the enormous retic python after his ex-wife.  I would have taken that as a compliment!  It was gorgeous.

  21. 21.

    Amir Khalid

    February 14, 2023 at 9:02 am

    @Betty Cracker:

    I don’t fancy her chances, either. Not just because she’s an Indian-American candidate trying to appeal to a nearly all-white party base, but because I don’t see what distinguishes her politically  from any rival not named Trump.

  22. 22.

    Baud

    February 14, 2023 at 9:03 am

    @Betty Cracker:

    And when you kick back, it hurts them more if you’re wearing heels,

     
    So what’s her position on drag queens?

  23. 23.

    zhena gogolia

    February 14, 2023 at 9:03 am

    So nice to have human beings in the White House.

  24. 24.

    eclare

    February 14, 2023 at 9:05 am

    @zhena gogolia:   Isn’t it?  I am still amazed at how much Joe smiles.

  25. 25.

    Amir Khalid

    February 14, 2023 at 9:05 am

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Huh? It’s from Bruce’s official channel. Try this link.

  26. 26.

    What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?

    February 14, 2023 at 9:05 am

    @Jeffro: Yes I heard it. Did a double take.

  27. 27.

    Baud

    February 14, 2023 at 9:05 am

    @Amir Khalid:

    Haley is running for Veep.

  28. 28.

    Ken

    February 14, 2023 at 9:06 am

    @OzarkHillbilly: See, this is what I feared. Public demand for a service, capitalism intrudes its ugly tentacled head, and next thing you know the kids are laughing at the poor soul who’s being eaten by the meerkat colony.

  29. 29.

    zhena gogolia

    February 14, 2023 at 9:06 am

    @Baud: I just hate that kind of bullshit “girl power” rhetoric.

    How about wearing normal flat shoes so you can walk?

  30. 30.

    Baud

    February 14, 2023 at 9:08 am

    @zhena gogolia:

    She appropriated the heel thing from our side.  It had it’s place at one time, I guess, but it’s a little dated IMHO.

  31. 31.

    Josie

    February 14, 2023 at 9:09 am

    “I don’t put up with bullies. And when you kick back, it hurts them more if you’re wearing heels.”

    There is something vaguely offensive to me about this, but I can’t exactly say why. It seems almost misogynistic.

  32. 32.

    Ten Bears

    February 14, 2023 at 9:12 am

    Which ex? All … uhmmm, three of them?

  33. 33.

    Amir Khalid

    February 14, 2023 at 9:16 am

    @Baud:

    TFG went with a running mate, Mike Pence, who never ran for President himself. That she is running for President might just mark her as a touch too ambitious for the future nominee’s taste.

  34. 34.

    OzarkHillbilly

    February 14, 2023 at 9:17 am

    @Amir Khalid: I found one that works: All That Heaven Will Allow (Live at Sovereign Bank Arena , Trenton, NJ

  35. 35.

    Geminid

    February 14, 2023 at 9:19 am

    Politico reported this morning the Mike Pence intends to contest the subpoena from Special Prosecutor Jack Smith’s office. Sources “close to” Pence cited constitutional arguments that require this course, but I suspect it has more to do with Pence’s forlorn presidential hopes.

  36. 36.

    OzarkHillbilly

    February 14, 2023 at 9:20 am

    @catclub: Yeah, the “die was cast,” is what my enfeebled brain was trying to come up with but all I could dredge up was the “die was set” and I knew that wasn’t right. Who knows, maybe I’ve heard it both ways.

    I’se so cornfused…

  37. 37.

    Josie

    February 14, 2023 at 9:23 am

    @OzarkHillbilly: ​
     It is, after all, still early in the morning (at least in my time zone).

  38. 38.

    OzarkHillbilly

    February 14, 2023 at 9:24 am

    @Amir Khalid: That one works. I also found this 11:34 live version.

  39. 39.

    Raoul Paste

    February 14, 2023 at 9:26 am

    @JPL: “I think the zoo should advertise that you can buy a cricket for Trump…”

    Well, he  IS an ex-president

  40. 40.

    stacib

    February 14, 2023 at 9:26 am

    @BenCisco 🇺🇸🎖️🖥️♦️: I’m on leave from work taking care of my 91-year-old contrarian mother who has signs of dementia, and the first floor bathroom ceiling fell in last night from a leak, so now I need a plumber / contractor.  Want to trade?  :-)

  41. 41.

    OzarkHillbilly

    February 14, 2023 at 9:27 am

    @Baud: I think it comes from the “Ginger did everything Fred did but backwards and in high heels.”

  42. 42.

    Jeffro

    February 14, 2023 at 9:27 am

    @Betty Cracker: there was a great anti-Haley piece in the NYT yesterday, “Nikki’s Bright Future Is Behind Her Now” or something like that.  Totally spot-on.

  43. 43.

    zhena gogolia

    February 14, 2023 at 9:27 am

    @Baud: it works for Ginger Rogers. Everyone else, back off

  44. 44.

    Betty Cracker

    February 14, 2023 at 9:27 am

    @Amir Khalid: Not to mention that Haley repudiated Trump after 1/6/2021, came crawling back when it was clear the base hadn’t moved on, denounced him again, crawled back again, etc.

    Not that this would necessarily be an obstacle; I think Trump likes it when people who denounced him crawl back to lick his tiny wingtips — their humiliation is more gratifying. But yeah, I don’t see him picking Haley if he wins the nomination.

  45. 45.

    Warblewarble

    February 14, 2023 at 9:28 am

    Jamal Khashoggi . what did Nikki Haley know and when did she know it?

  46. 46.

    WaterGirl

    February 14, 2023 at 9:30 am

    @Baud:

    Haley is running for Veep.

    I agree.

    That makes it particularly smart that she declared first, because then she’s not challenging anyone else who will be declaring – who could potentially choose her as their VP.

  47. 47.

    Jeffro

    February 14, 2023 at 9:31 am

    @What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?: my brother and I texted each other about it within nanoseconds. =)

  48. 48.

    Elizabelle

    February 14, 2023 at 9:32 am

    HVD, jackaltines.

  49. 49.

    Princess

    February 14, 2023 at 9:32 am

    @Amir Khalid: I think Haley is running for VP. She’d be a good choice for just about any GOP candidate.

  50. 50.

    narya

    February 14, 2023 at 9:34 am

    Back in the day, I’d make a batch of heart-shaped sugar cookies of varying sizes, and, before I cut the cookies out, I’d splatter the dough w/ red food coloring (My Bloody Valentine Cookies). I’d also attach very small ones to larger ones w/ good frosting, and squiggle and splatter frosting all over the place. They were always a hit.

    Gonna hear about a possible consulting gig this morning . . . we’ll see what happens!

    Also, in relation to an overnight thread, Elmo’s 15 minute cannot be up too soon for me; I am so over him.

  51. 51.

    Betty Cracker

    February 14, 2023 at 9:35 am

    @Jeffro: Saw that and agree it was spot on. I call her a formerly formidable opponent because it’s not nothing for the daughter of Indian immigrants to be elected governor of a state like South Carolina. After the racist mass shooting at Emanuel AME, Haley stepped up and told fellow Republicans it was time to stop flying the Confederate flag over the capitol building, which I did not believe a SC GOP pol would ever have the guts to do.

    She threw all that away to kiss a malignant narcissist’s ass for power.

  52. 52.

    Soprano2

    February 14, 2023 at 9:36 am

    @zhena gogolia: Yes, it’s nice to see normal people doing normal people things in the White House.

  53. 53.

    lowtechcyclist

    February 14, 2023 at 9:37 am

    @Amir Khalid:

    TFG went with a running mate, Mike Pence, who never ran for President himself. That she is running for President might just mark her as a touch too ambitious for the future nominee’s taste.

    I don’t think Trump’s choice of Pence should be regarded as indicative of anything.  When he was looking for a running mate, most prominent Republicans still regarded TFG as potentially hazardous to their future careers, and made themselves unavailable.  Pence’s career was already headed to the toilet, so he was pretty much the only Republican at that point who’d been a governor or Senator who was available.

  54. 54.

    oldster

    February 14, 2023 at 9:38 am

    An unromantic friend of mine refers to Valentine’s Day as “Half-Price Chocolate Eve.”

  55. 55.

    Qrop Non Sequitur

    February 14, 2023 at 9:40 am

    “You should know this about me. I don’t put up with bullies.

    Quote by former spokeswoman of the world’s top bully

    And when you kick back, it hurts them more if you’re wearing heels,” Haley said.

    Solid line, though.

  56. 56.

    lowtechcyclist

    February 14, 2023 at 9:41 am

    @narya:

    Also, in relation to an overnight thread, Elmo’s 15 minute cannot be up too soon for me; I am so over him.

    This.  Ditto George Santos.  Let me know if either of them is indicted, but otherwise…

  57. 57.

    lowtechcyclist

    February 14, 2023 at 9:44 am

    @Qrop Non Sequitur:

    And when you kick back, it hurts them more if you’re wearing heels,” Haley said.

    Maybe it’s because I’ve never had the experience of wearing high heels, but this makes no sense to me.  When you kick with one foot, the other has to be solidly planted, and ISTM that’s gonna be a challenge in heels.

    Open to correction from those who’ve worn them, of course.

  58. 58.

    Betty Cracker

    February 14, 2023 at 9:47 am

    My husband saw a hummingbird on our honeysuckle vine yesterday evening while watering the garden, which he planted in the belief that we will not get another freeze. (That’s dicey in February.)

    Last year I saw my first hummingbird on March 15th, which was a couple of weeks earlier than I’d ever spotted one before. So, this morning I put the feeders out just in case they’re around.

    I feel kind of silly putting the feeders up so early. But if those poor little critters just flew all the way across the Gulf of Mexico, they need nectar!

  59. 59.

    M31

    February 14, 2023 at 9:48 am

    @OzarkHillbilly: I’d buy dozens in honor of my ex. My wife would do the same for her ex.

    lol then if your ex and her ex got together it’d be like that old viral picture of a python that ate a huge crocodile and then they both died

  60. 60.

    artem1s

    February 14, 2023 at 9:49 am

    @Betty Cracker: ​
     
    Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor and United Nations ambassador, announced her candidacy for president on Tuesday,

    Wonder how this is going to affect the newly minted ‘first in the nation’ SC primary. SC is an open primary state. So if SC GOPers want to vote for TFG or Nikki they won’t be able to screw around with splitting the Dem candidates’ votes this primary season. Unless the GOP decides the nominee ahead of time like they did in 2020.

  61. 61.

    Betty Cracker

    February 14, 2023 at 9:50 am

    @lowtechcyclist: I suppose you could get a solid plant to deliver a kick if you were wearing chunky heels rather than stilettos, but I don’t see where it would hurt the person you’re assailing more if you were wearing heels because the toe is what strikes the kickee. Give me a pair of Doc Martens any day of the week over heels when it’s ass-kicking time! (Full disclosure: I haven’t worn heels in decades because a) I’m tall, and b) they’re uncomfortable.)

  62. 62.

    M31

    February 14, 2023 at 9:51 am

    @narya: Elmo’s 15 minute cannot be up too soon for me;

     

    omg yes, went on Twitter this morning (where of course it reverts to “FOR YOU” every time) and the “top” tweet was an Elmo one and it was weird and creepy and also stupid and not funny

    some engineer just trying to save their job, lol, all I have to say is keep your resume polished my friend

  63. 63.

    jonas

    February 14, 2023 at 9:52 am

    @Jeffro: That was by former Republican strategist Stuart Stevens lamenting that Halley might have once had a shot at being that unicorn candidate who could unite the right while repudiating Trump, but she (like Pence) has tried to have it both ways and so is DOA. As one of the Wonkette writers was pointing out, however, there is not, and never will be, some viable Republican candidate who can also be an anti-Trump. It’s over. The GOP base is, and always has been, Trump’s (even before they knew Trump). The idea that some Liz Cheney type can come along now and energize enough conservative independents and disaffected Republicans to revive a center-right party that never really existed is a mug’s game. The only way Haley gets any traction is by out-Trumping Trump.

  64. 64.

    Ken

    February 14, 2023 at 9:53 am

    @lowtechcyclist: @Betty Cracker: I think the notion is that the heel-spike will cause a puncture wound, which implies serious high-kick skills.  But if a stab wound is the goal, you’d do better to buy something from the Rosa Klebb line of stylish flats.

  65. 65.

    Warblewarble

    February 14, 2023 at 9:54 am

    Pence was Manaforts choice.

  66. 66.

    BenCisco 🇺🇸🎖️🖥️♦️

    February 14, 2023 at 9:58 am

    @stacib: OUCH! I’m so sorry. That’s a tough haul.

  67. 67.

    OzarkHillbilly

    February 14, 2023 at 10:05 am

    @oldster: I am soooo stealing that.

  68. 68.

    rikyrah

    February 14, 2023 at 10:05 am

    Good Morning Everyone 😊😊😊

  69. 69.

    narya

    February 14, 2023 at 10:06 am

    @Betty Cracker: Yeah, the closest I come to a heel is cowboy boots–THEY are good for kicking, not that I’ve needed to do so. I have worn heels in the past, but I currently do not own a pair, have not owned a pair in decades, and could not be convinced to buy a pair. Another pair of cowboy boots, however . . . but I have 10 pair and don’t go out much, so I cannot convince myself to spend the bucks. (Re: Docs: I have a tie-dye pair AND a turquoise glitter pair, as well as a routine brown pair that is at least 25 years old.)

  70. 70.

    narya

    February 14, 2023 at 10:07 am

    @OzarkHillbilly: There’s a fancy-ass chocolate place near me, and I make a pilgrimage after VD and after Easter. Still expensive AF.

  71. 71.

    OzarkHillbilly

    February 14, 2023 at 10:07 am

    @lowtechcyclist: As one who has first hand experience in wearing high heels I can say unequivocally  that they suck donkey d and should be banned as hazardous to one’s health.

  72. 72.

    Betty Cracker

    February 14, 2023 at 10:12 am

    @narya: Impressive boot collection! ;-)

  73. 73.

    prostratedragon

    February 14, 2023 at 10:12 am

    Hope it’s a pleasant day for all!

     

    Side note: not bugs, but certain other creepy crawlies wig me out rather badly  so I appreciate warnings like the above, and will strive to use them myself as needed.

  74. 74.

    Baud

    February 14, 2023 at 10:12 am

    @rikyrah:

    Good morning.

  75. 75.

    sab

    February 14, 2023 at 10:14 am

    @stacib: Yikes. I took my dad out for a Sunday car ride about five years ago, and when we got back we discovered his bedroom ceiling had fallen onto his bed. Luckily there was a guestroom. But he was totally confused umtil we got it fixed, and that took about a month.

  76. 76.

    BenCisco 🇺🇸🎖️🖥️♦️

    February 14, 2023 at 10:14 am

    @OzarkHillbilly: The 70s were most unkind.

    My ankles have never forgiven me.

  77. 77.

    narya

    February 14, 2023 at 10:14 am

    @Betty Cracker: I love them! And, if they’re good quality and you take care of them, they last for DECADES. They’re also so very comfortable. Much better investment than heels. ;-)

  78. 78.

    Betty Cracker

    February 14, 2023 at 10:15 am

    I had the weirdest dream last night — we had unexpectedly acquired a cat (not gonna happen), and I was trying to convince my husband we should name her “Ekaterina.” LOL!

  79. 79.

    Kay

    February 14, 2023 at 10:16 am

    Alyssa Hadley Dunn
    @AlyssaDunn618
    ·4h
    One of my MSU students was from Sandy Hook. Her first grade teacher was killed. This the second shooting in her own school. She is 21.

    One of the kids was wearing an “Oxford Strong” t shirt in photos, which means he’s probably a survivor of the Oxford MI high school shooting in 2021.

    This is why I get so defensive when middle aged and older people go after Zoomers- they just have a very different life experience than we had – more difficult. It is delusional to pretend that generation is “coddled” yet we somehow have ended up with an entire cottage industry of middle aged people who make a living insisting younger people are snowflakes demand “safe spaces”, all that other bullshit. We have a generation who are VETERANS of school shootings when they’re involved in another one. School wasn’t like that for me.

  80. 80.

    CaseyL

    February 14, 2023 at 10:18 am

    V-Day has never been a “thing” for me. Don’t know why, but even as a dewy youth I wasn’t terribly interested in it.  Might have been an omen; since I’ve been single most of my life – I also wasn’t, as it turns out, terribly interested in “finding someone.”

    My most serious relationship was many, many years ago.  (We parted amicably and were good friends for a long time thereafter.)

    He was a very romantic fellow, but we were never able to celebrate Valentines Day because he was also a  knife-and-sword maker, and there was a huge SCA event every year at this time he had to attend.  (Me, being a more ordinary working stiff, could not take the time off to go.)

  81. 81.

    Delk

    February 14, 2023 at 10:18 am

    I’m planning on having the crappiest Valentines Day ever.  Colonoscopy tomorrow, prep starts today.

  82. 82.

    M31

    February 14, 2023 at 10:21 am

    @Delk:

    most accurate use of “crappiest” I’ve ever seen

  83. 83.

    lowtechcyclist

    February 14, 2023 at 10:21 am

    @Warblewarble:

    Pence was Manaforts choice.

    Who else of note was available and willing to be chosen?

  84. 84.

    Princess

    February 14, 2023 at 10:21 am

    Not sure Haley’s “Get ready for the new generation!” schtick is going to play well with Republicans, who are mostly older than dirt (ie. my age-ish). Sure, they want to use age to beat Biden. But they don’t actually care how old their own leaders are.

  85. 85.

    prostratedragon

    February 14, 2023 at 10:23 am

    @Delk: ​Whoo-hoo!!
    If you’ve never known hatred before, you will when faced with that last pint of prep. Maybe some nice tea with honey while you can?

  86. 86.

    OzarkHillbilly

    February 14, 2023 at 10:24 am

    @BenCisco 🇺🇸🎖️🖥️♦️: I only wore them twice and both times were blessedly brief. I can’t imagine walking around in them all day.

  87. 87.

    Paul in KY

    February 14, 2023 at 10:24 am

    @Amir Khalid: She might be thinking “I was a loyal soldier and served him well. How bad could the things be he would say about me?”

    She will find out.

  88. 88.

    NotMax

    February 14, 2023 at 10:25 am

    @artem1s

    No ineffable reason why the Rs need to follow suit with the Ds on the date for the S. Carolina primary, AFAIK. Also no reason why the election cannot be changed to a closed primary — all it would take is for the legislature to vote to add party affiliation to the voter registration form. Governor McMaster would likely run over his grandmother in the rush to sign it into law.

  89. 89.

    VOR

    February 14, 2023 at 10:26 am

    @Baud: Haley is running for Veep.

    Totally agree. Her campaign also functions as a spoiler to draw away a small number of “anyone but Trump” voters to split the field, allowing TFG to repeat 2016 as his 30% takes all the delegates in the “Winner Take All” GOP primary contests. Watch, Haley will shy away from attacking TFG.

  90. 90.

    Warblewarble

    February 14, 2023 at 10:26 am

    Pence was another hook for the evil jellycats.

  91. 91.

    Paul in KY

    February 14, 2023 at 10:26 am

    @stacib: Sorry to hear that. I do some caring of my very elderly parents (one with dementia, but easygoing) and wow is it a job!

  92. 92.

    Kelly

    February 14, 2023 at 10:28 am

    Polar plunge swim

    https://twitter.com/drewdyck/status/1623454423073824769

  93. 93.

    Jeffro

    February 14, 2023 at 10:30 am

    @jonas: I thought Stevens said something along the lines of, “if she (or any of the other 2016 candidates/party big shots) had acted to thoroughly disown trump when the Access Hollywood tape came out, it might have been different”.  And for what it’s worth – which is not much – he’s correct.  That was the last good opportunity for the GOP to be rid of trumpov at relatively low cost.  “We agree with his positions, but we cannot have an admitted sex offender as our standard-bearer.”

    Hindsight = 20/20, right?  So I don’t give Stevens too much credit here.

    The only way Haley gets any traction is by out-Trumping Trump.

    I’m not sure that’s possible.  The “Out-trumping trumpov” lane is already traffic-jammed with DeSantis, Abbott, Pompeo, and more.

    The only folks who are going to get traction against trump on the GOP side would be:

    • someone who never worked for him (ie, trump can’t cry ‘betrayal’ to his base)
    • someone who wasn’t promoted or hyped by him (also a betrayal)
    • someone who trump doesn’t have blackmail material on
    • someone smart enough to wait until the indictments start dropping, and then successfully, publicly bobs and weaves between “we thank Mr. trump for his service…but the GOP is bigger than any one of us, and we need a leader able to give his full attention to putting America First…we know these charges will prove baseless…but in the meantime, Republican voters need a champion with an unblemished record and a fresh outlook…etc etc etc.”

    I think Abbott, Noem, Youngkin, Scott might fit these requirements.

  94. 94.

    eclare

    February 14, 2023 at 10:30 am

    @OzarkHillbilly:   I already sent it to several friends

  95. 95.

    Paul in KY

    February 14, 2023 at 10:30 am

    @lowtechcyclist: I think the ‘kick’ would be more a ‘stomp’ to get that heel point in there. Just surmising, as I’ve never worn high heels (just those platform shoes from circa 1975).

  96. 96.

    Sure Lurkalot

    February 14, 2023 at 10:31 am

    @oldster:

    An unromantic friend of mine refers to Valentine’s Day as “Half-Price Chocolate Eve.”

    You don’t even need to be unromantic to observe that truism. Ditto flowers and many other things.

    I dislike VD greatly and have for decades. Nothing remotely romantic about dining out amid a restaurant of 2-tops placed so tightly that you have a better chance of siding up to the stranger to your left or right as you gaze lovingly across the table.

    Still, I plan to cash in an investment or two for some sea scallops that will no doubt go on sale tomorrow.

  97. 97.

    Paul in KY

    February 14, 2023 at 10:33 am

    @Betty Cracker: That is a good cat name.

  98. 98.

    NotMax

    February 14, 2023 at 10:34 am

    @narya

    If the chocolatier sees his or her shadow at sunrise today does that mean six more weeks of sale prices?
    :)

  99. 99.

    Jeffro

    February 14, 2023 at 10:35 am

    @Kay: yup.  The numbers of students who have been present at a school shooting over the past couple of decades is just staggering.

    The Post just updated their previous article about it: the number now stands at more than 338,000 students.  That is just unbelievable.  338,000 of our kids who have been traumatized forever by experiencing gun violence at their schools.

  100. 100.

    narya

    February 14, 2023 at 10:37 am

    @NotMax: No, because that will start to bleed into the Easter candy-buying! For easter, though give me ALL the Peeps.

  101. 101.

    WaterGirl

    February 14, 2023 at 10:37 am

    @lowtechcyclist: I think she’s imagining the shower scene from psycho only she’s holding the shoe, stabbing someone with the heel as supposed to kicking them when it’s on her foot.

  102. 102.

    BenCisco 🇺🇸🎖️🖥️♦️

    February 14, 2023 at 10:44 am

    @OzarkHillbilly: Platform shoes. BIG mistake. My parents tried to talk me out of it and OF COURSE I ignored them.

    “You big dummy!”

  103. 103.

    NotMax

    February 14, 2023 at 10:46 am

    @narya

    FYI.
    Dr Pepper Is the New Flavor of Peeps Coming to Stores This Easter.

    Also too, fun with Easterstistics.

  104. 104.

    hueyplong

    February 14, 2023 at 10:49 am

    Gotta believe this will be the only day when time is spent dissecting a Nikki H quote.

  105. 105.

    OzarkHillbilly

    February 14, 2023 at 10:49 am

    @Jeffro: we need a leader able to give his full attention to putting America First…

    It never bothered them when trump didn’t.

  106. 106.

    narya

    February 14, 2023 at 10:50 am

    @NotMax: I used to love Dr. Pepper. We didn’t have soda around the house when I was a kid, but when I first got some DP, I loved it. I now have maybe a half of one every 2-3 years, but I bet I’d like those Peeps . . .

  107. 107.

    Steve in the ATL

    February 14, 2023 at 10:52 am

    @catclub:

    “the die was cast”

    Since Omnes isn’t here to mention it, the French version of this idiom is “les jeux sont faits”–literal (yes, I know) translation is “the games are made”.

    Now go impress your friends with your savoir faire!

  108. 108.

    Betty Cracker

    February 14, 2023 at 10:52 am

    @Jeffro: Yep. My guess is tens of millions of American kids have experienced lock-downs and active shooter drills, which can be traumatizing in their own right.

    Add in the horror parents experience when their kid texts them about a lockdown. I’ll never forget the wave of panic that washed over me when my then-high schooler texted from a locked-down classroom. There’s not a more helpless feeling in the fucking world.

  109. 109.

    OzarkHillbilly

    February 14, 2023 at 10:53 am

    @BenCisco 🇺🇸🎖️🖥️♦️: I never wore them. These days I wear wellingtons. Easy on easy off, which is a real selling point at my muddy place.

  110. 110.

    Geminid

    February 14, 2023 at 10:54 am

    @NotMax:

     

    @artem1s: Personally, I think the danger of Republicans crossing over in open primaries to mess with Democrats is overrated. The 2020 primary was a good opportunity, with Sanders being the candidate Republicans clearly wanted to face in November. Hew Hewitt urged Republicans to vote for Sanders every day on his radio show, before both the South Carolina and Virginia primaries, and other Republicans urged this too.

    Afterwards, analysts found no substantial surge of Sanders votes from Republican precincts in either state. Strategic crossover voting is something that is talked about more than is actually done, in my opinion.

  111. 111.

    Omnes Omnibus

    February 14, 2023 at 10:55 am

    What a bunch of fashionistas we have here.  I suppose that with John “Bib-overalls” Cole as a fashion icon, one could expect no [more] [less].

  112. 112.

    OzarkHillbilly

    February 14, 2023 at 10:56 am

    @Betty Cracker: AFAIK my sons never went thru one*. I fear for my granddaughters.

    ETA* lockdown or active shooter

  113. 113.

    mrmoshpotato

    February 14, 2023 at 10:57 am

    @Kay: Christopher Titus on Millennials and Gen Z

  114. 114.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    February 14, 2023 at 10:58 am

    @Steve in the ATL: nobody’s gonna mention that Iacta alea est (all the ways WordPress wants to correct my semester and a half of Latin) is what Julius Caesar, or his ghost writer, said when he crossed the Rubicon?

  115. 115.

    mrmoshpotato

    February 14, 2023 at 11:02 am

    @Delk: Well played.

  116. 116.

    Omnes Omnibus

    February 14, 2023 at 11:06 am

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: ​
      We only bring that up on the 10th of January.

  117. 117.

    Betty Cracker

    February 14, 2023 at 11:09 am

    @Geminid: That’s probably right. I vaguely recall Limbaugh urging Repubs to meddle in an open primary, and IIRC, it didn’t go anywhere. Still, so much previously unimaginable crap has come to pass in U.S. politics that I’m reluctant to dismiss any possibility out of hand…

  118. 118.

    mrmoshpotato

    February 14, 2023 at 11:09 am

    @narya: Oh good lord!  Enjoy!

  119. 119.

    Geminid

    February 14, 2023 at 11:17 am

    @Betty Cracker: If Republicans got organized enough they might pull it off. With Sanders running and without a contested Republican primary, 2020 was the perfect year though, and although widely advocated for primaries in South Carolina and Virginia, this tactic did not seem to have much impact at all.

    I don’t think I’ve ever seen a viable candidate Republicans wanted to run against like they wanted to run against Sanders that year.

  120. 120.

    stacib

    February 14, 2023 at 11:24 am

    @Paul in KY: I don’t know , maybe I’m naive, but I never expected taking care of another person would be so hard in every way – physically, mentally and emotionally.  It’s exhausting, but when the doctor’s suggested putting her in a home, that’s a definite no-go, so here I am.  It’s okay, when we’re not arguing, we’re laughing, so…

  121. 121.

    zhena gogolia

    February 14, 2023 at 11:26 am

    @lowtechcyclist: You are absolutely right. If you try to kick somebody hard while wearing heels, you end up on your own ass.

  122. 122.

    Steve in the ATL

    February 14, 2023 at 11:27 am

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: you clearly savoir your faire!

  123. 123.

    Kay

    February 14, 2023 at 11:27 am

    @Jeffro:

    who have been traumatized forever

    I don’t want to put them into a “traumatized forever” box either – I don’t think that helps them at all- but you know, we could show some respect. Unless the bomb actually went off when you were doing your Cold War duck and cover drill you have not had the same school experience as these people.
    This is the same group who missed two years of high school due to a worldwide pandemic and sort of sucked it up and marched on to the next step. They’re pretty tough. Hopefully they’ll address the trauma so it doesn’t dog them their whole lives.

  124. 124.

    rikyrah

    February 14, 2023 at 11:29 am

    How did the Michigan State shooter have a LEGAL firearm after a previous conviction?

  125. 125.

    zhena gogolia

    February 14, 2023 at 11:30 am

    @zhena gogolia: The whole point of high heels is that you’re supposed to stand around and look sexy and not do anything.

  126. 126.

    Brachiator

    February 14, 2023 at 11:32 am

    Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor and United Nations ambassador, announced her candidacy for president on Tuesday, becoming the first major challenger to former President Donald Trump for the 2024 Republican nomination.

    One local radio station gleefully tried to guess what nicknames Trump might come up with for Haley.

    This is stupid. And again, I am amazed at the degree to which media people accept Traitor Trump as a potential presidential candidate, and how they yearn to see him back in action on the campaign trail.

    He should be in jail and disqualified from holding any public office.

  127. 127.

    Paul in KY

    February 14, 2023 at 11:37 am

    @BenCisco 🇺🇸🎖️🖥️♦️: In my defense, I was short.  That’s all I got.

  128. 128.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    February 14, 2023 at 11:38 am

    @zhena gogolia: listening to the O’Bros replay her pre-campaign announcement announcement, and she’s really leaning into the “I wear heels to kick people with” thing.

    they’re talking about Pompeo v Haley as the would-be foreign policy candidates, and I continue to be struck by what a minor figure the ex-SoS is, even in a GOP primary

  129. 129.

    scav

    February 14, 2023 at 11:40 am

    Pish.  If high heels were really so outstandingly effective in a fight, they’d be men’s attire.

  130. 130.

    kalakal

    February 14, 2023 at 11:41 am

    @zhena gogolia: Unless you’re Mrs Peel

  131. 131.

    Cameron

    February 14, 2023 at 11:42 am

    Maybe my memory is off, but I thought initially Chris Christie was supposed to be Trump’s running mate, but Jared scotched that because Christie sent his uncle (?) to jail while he was a prosecutor.  Again, my memory isn’t so great – I woke up this a.m., realized it was V-Day, and tried to remember exactly when and where in the six years I’ve lived here it was that I met LOML.  It took me a minute or two to realize that (a) I knew her from Philadelphia and (b) I first met her in 1998.  Oh, well.  The course of true love is never smooth.

  132. 132.

    Paul in KY

    February 14, 2023 at 11:44 am

    @stacib: I think it’s the stress of seeing a loved one detoriate day by day in front of your eyes. There’s also the actual housekeeping & caring stuff you have to get done. I’m a programmer and intentionally stayed away from jobs like that & now here we are

    You are a mensch for doing it & your loved one appreciates it.

  133. 133.

    kalakal

    February 14, 2023 at 11:46 am

    @Betty Cracker: I was a teenager in the 70s in the UK. We were all 3 to 4 inches taller. Those were platforms not stilettos. Haven’t worn them in years. Don’t know about kicking people in them but we danced a lot

  134. 134.

    Mr. Bemused Senior

    February 14, 2023 at 11:46 am

    @kalakal:  :-)  Kicking backward might be effective.  I seem to recall some show where a high-heeled shoe turned out to be a murder weapon.  Just fiction, of course.

  135. 135.

    J R in WV

    February 14, 2023 at 11:47 am

    .

  136. 136.

    kalakal

    February 14, 2023 at 11:49 am

    @BenCisco 🇺🇸🎖️🖥️♦️: A fellow fashion victim!

  137. 137.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    February 14, 2023 at 11:50 am

    @Cameron:

    but Jared scotched that because Christie sent his uncle (?) to jail while he was a prosecutor

    His father, and IIRC made Papa Kushner do a perp-walk. I forget teh details of the conviction, but IIRC it involved blackmailing his BiL with a sex-tape. There were gossipy stories in 16-17 about JarVanka going out their way to humiliate Christie. It is amazing how much the previous biggest bully on the block was willing to eat shit from the trump family

  138. 138.

    Ken

    February 14, 2023 at 11:50 am

    @zhena gogolia: The whole point of high heels is that you’re supposed to stand around and look sexy and not do anything.

    “Run screaming from the killer” is also a common trope.

  139. 139.

    Paul in KY

    February 14, 2023 at 11:52 am

    @J R in WV: I’m pretty sure she has worn traditional Indian saris at some time in life (and been photographed). He will get ahold of those and make slurs against her.

    Note: If there are no photos, because she refused to wear it, then she’s even more calculating than I thought.

  140. 140.

    lowtechcyclist

    February 14, 2023 at 11:52 am

    @zhena gogolia:

    The whole point of high heels is that you’re supposed to stand around and look sexy and not do anything.

    That’s more or less what I figured.  It’s certainly consistent with my observations.

  141. 141.

    Steve in the ATL

    February 14, 2023 at 11:54 am

    Never mind

  142. 142.

    zhena gogolia

    February 14, 2023 at 11:55 am

    @kalakal: In all the pictures I can find of her, she’s in flats or flat-soled boots.

    ETA: I googled “Emma Peel in heels,” and all I got were Diana Rigg cheesecake shots. Not Emma Peel.

  143. 143.

    Jeffro

    February 14, 2023 at 11:56 am

    @Kay: I’m not saying they’re not functional or not able to go on with their lives.  But that trauma is incredibly real to the survivors and most definitely has a lasting impact.

    As do, to a lesser extent, having to do lock down drills a few times a year every year, from a very early age.

  144. 144.

    Elizabelle

    February 14, 2023 at 11:57 am

    @scav:

    Pish.  If high heels were really so outstandingly effective in a fight, they’d be men’s attire.

    Exactly.

  145. 145.

    NotMax

    February 14, 2023 at 12:04 pm

    @kalakal

    There’s a distinct subset of people who can successfully pull of wearing platform shoes.

    Case in point, Carmen Miranda. In gold, no less.
    :)

  146. 146.

    BenCisco 🇺🇸🎖️🖥️♦️

    February 14, 2023 at 12:05 pm

    @Paul in KY: Same

  147. 147.

    prostratedragon

    February 14, 2023 at 12:13 pm

    @stacib:  I’m gaping at it up there with you. Guess one of us should do something soon.

  148. 148.

    NotMax

    February 14, 2023 at 12:15 pm

    re: some of the above. A video (not me):

    I Wore Height Increasing Shoes For A Week (and this is what happened).
    ;)

  149. 149.

    Ruckus

    February 14, 2023 at 12:26 pm

    @BenCisco 🇺🇸🎖️🖥️♦️:

    anyone got any jumper cables?

    Do we want to know at all where you might attach them?

    One vote NO.

    And, glad to see you here!

  150. 150.

    gwangung

    February 14, 2023 at 12:34 pm

    Valentine’s Day. Bah. Humbug.

  151. 151.

    Baud

    February 14, 2023 at 12:35 pm

    @gwangung:

    💔

  152. 152.

    kalakal

    February 14, 2023 at 12:49 pm

    @zhena gogolia: I was joking but I do seem to recall her wearing boots with medium heels for some fight scenes. I’m getting the same results on google as you

  153. 153.

    NotMax

    February 14, 2023 at 12:55 pm

    @kalakal

    Maybe high heels were the favored footwear of Mr. Peel.
    //

  154. 154.

    Ann Marie

    February 14, 2023 at 2:43 pm

    Very clever of the zoo.  One of our local animal shelters, Morris Animal Refuge, had a promotion recently where, for a $5 donation, they would write the name of your “crappy ex-” on the inside bottom of one of the litter boxes for their cats.  I suggested it to a friend of mine with a very crappy ex, and she considered it.

  155. 155.

    sab

    February 14, 2023 at 4:05 pm

    @mrmoshpotato: Wow.

  156. 156.

    sab

    February 14, 2023 at 4:18 pm

    I went nutz about Valentines Day and last night stayed up late baking spouse a surprise Chocolate Sauerkraut cake because he loves them, and I don’t make cakes.

    Woke up at dawn expecting to just frost the cake. Instead spouse had acquired a GI bug and was violently ill for the next five hours. Then he fell asleep.

    I went ahead with the frosting anyway. Spouse will be appalled when he drags his tender tummy into the kitchen and sees that cake. It turned out well, but he won’t be up to it.

  157. 157.

    TerryC

    February 14, 2023 at 5:17 pm

    ”

    Were high heels invented for war?

    High-heeled shoes were first worn in the 10th century as a way to help the Persian cavalry keep their shoes in their stirrups.”

  158. 158.

    Another Scott

    February 14, 2023 at 10:26 pm

    (Wrong thread.)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  159. 159.

    Anne Laurie

    February 15, 2023 at 1:09 am

    @TerryC: High-heeled shoes were first worn in the 10th century as a way to help the Persian cavalry keep their shoes in their stirrups.

    Yup!  That’s why cowboy boots have such heels, even today.

    (Although that’s not why so many people wear them!)

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