Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Tick tock motherfuckers!

Infrastructure week. at last.

Not all heroes wear capes.

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

Happy indictment week to all who celebrate!

Just because you believe it, that doesn’t make it true.

The next time the wall street journal editorial board speaks the truth will be the first.

We cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation.

The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.

Republicans don’t want a speaker to lead them; they want a hostage.

They’re not red states to be hated; they are voter suppression states to be fixed.

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

Speaking of republicans, is there a way for a political party to declare intellectual bankruptcy?

I’ve spoken to my cat about this, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

Within six months Twitter will be fully self-driving.

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

Let there be snark.

The words do not have to be perfect.

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

He really is that stupid.

When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.

Their freedom requires your slavery.

Balloon Juice has never been a refuge for the linguistically delicate.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / News Odds & Ends Open Thread

News Odds & Ends Open Thread

by | 151 Comments

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Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen made a surprise visit to Ukraine today. From Reuters:

Yellen met with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and other key government officials just days into the war’s second year, repeating U.S. assurances delivered by President Joe Biden a week ago in Kyiv.

“America will stand with Ukraine as long as it takes,” Yellen, flanked by sandbags at the cabinet ministers’ office, told Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.

In a private meeting with Zelenskiy late in the afternoon, the Treasury said she commended him “for his leadership and resolve in the face of Russia’s illegal and unprovoked war.”

Yellen is an underappreciated figure, IMO. What an upgrade from the grotesque supervillain Trump appointed to the role!

Speaking of supervillains, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the bill the supine wingnut supermajority statehouse passed at his request to put DeSantis cronies in charge of the special district Disney World used to control, according to The Tampa Bay Times.

Appointees include a Moms for Liberty kook who’s married to the state Republican Party chair, a local Federalist Society chapter president and an evangelical grifter whose main shtick is insisting that the U.S. is a Christian nation.  What could possibly go wrong?

Speaking of maladjusted kooks, the insurrectionist known as Sedition Panda because he wore a panda costume while storming the Capitol has finally been busted. NBC News:

WASHINGTON — The FBI has arrested a Donald Trump supporter who allegedly stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 while wearing the head of a panda costume.

Jesse James Rumson was arrested in Florida on Monday, according to court records, and charged with multiple offenses including assaulting, resisting or impeding an officer and engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds.

I didn’t know about Sedition Panda until I read the news of his arrest. Shocker that he was picked up in Florida! Maybe DeSantis will appoint him to the Reedy Creek Improvement District board.

Open thread!

Reader Interactions

151Comments

  3. 3.

    Baud

    Despite all the posturing, to my knowledge, Disney’s interests haven’t yet been materially harmed.  But I wonder how long that will last.

  4. 4.

    Snarki, child of Loki

    So the new MAGAt group to run the Magic Kingdom district includes Goofy, Dumbo, Grumpy, and a few other intellectual dwarves?

  6. 6.

    Anonymous At Work

    @Baud: And how many billions will Florida Republicans cost Disney before Disney takes a stand?  Will it be in time or will DeathSantis change state law to pick members of their BoD?

  8. 8.

    guachi

    Someone shot and killed our dog Cheery, a little Brussels Griffon. :(

    We took her to the vet and she died scared and hurt, whimpering the entire time in the car. The vets couldn’t stabilize her and her heart stopped.

    She was always a happy dog who only wanted to sit next to you and lick your face.

    Humans are a**holes. I’ll miss you, Cheery.

  9. 9.

    Betty Cracker

    @Baud: From what I understand, that’s correct. It’s mostly posturing, and WDW seems content to be the punching bag as long as their bottom line isn’t harmed.

  10. 10.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Baud: IANAL, and the guy behind this twitter account is a playwright, but I found this interesting, and even more interesting if it should come to pass. I’ve gleaned from reading about (okay, skimming around about) this that the returning CEO, Iger, is a ruthless, mean SOB, so maybe Little Boots has met his match

    Richard M. Nixon @dick_nixon2h

    The law actually lets Disney keep its tax breaks. Disney’s strategy is to wait for DeSantis to run for president, sue, and very likely win. (thread)

  12. 12.

    Betty Cracker

    @guachi: The fuck?!? Was she in your yard when this happened? Goddamn it, I don’t know where you live, but I’m willing to join a posse to hunt down the no-good motherfucker who did this. They should die in a fire.

  21. 21.

    Anonymous At Work

    @Baud: Not if Disney agrees to it.  “That’s a nice little multi-billion dollar playland, youse guys built.  It’d be a shame if youse didn’t hire some made men to help your union avoid labor problems, Mr. Disney Corporation.”

    I’ve read the rumor of waiting for DeathSantis to run for President, then sue and win.  Whomever got Disney to agree to that strategy needs to answer this question: Do you hope DeathSantis gains more power by becoming President and seeking revenge for your attempt to humiliate him or do you hope that DeathSantis returns to a Florida where you’ve humiliated him and he has 2-3 years with nothing to do but exact revenge?

  23. 23.

    CaseyL

    @guachi: Oh, my god. That’s awful.  I am so, so sorry.

    Can we help in any way?

    Is there any hope of catching the thing that did this?

  35. 35.

    Gravenstone

    @guachi: As horrible and frightening as that is, I have to ask if you and your family are safe? Please involve the police if at all possible.

  37. 37.

    waspuppet

    Shocker that he was picked up in Florida!

    It actually is. Not that he’s from Florida, but that he was actually arrested there. I’d love to know how many people hid him, and how many of them are nominally in law enforcement.

    Also, I’m terribly sorry, guachi.

  38. 38.

    Anotherlurker

    @guachi: Oh my fucking god! Why would anyone do this?

    I am so sorry for your loss. Cherry sound like a wonderful pup.

    It is hard enough when they die of natural causes but when they are murdered, the tragedy has to be multiplied many times.

    Cherish her memory.

  39. 39.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @guachi:

    Oh, guachi, that’s terrible. I’m more sorry than I can say, and I hope the fucker who shot Cheery will get whatever the maximum penalty is. And soon.

  40. 40.

    Tom Levenson

    @guachi: Adding to the chorus. How utterly wretched. I’m so sorry. And I hope the guy (assumption, there) who did it suffers a slow and horribly painful end, the process to begin immediately.

  43. 43.

    Manyakitty

    @guachi: OMG I’m so sorry. Horrendous. That poor baby. 💔

    ETA: also, what Betty C. and Tom L. said.

    Big group of snarling jackals stand ready for you.

  44. 44.

    delphinium

    @Betty Cracker: Any thoughts on how these types of things (taking over colleges/businesses and then paying his cronies to fill positions) and the book bannings will play out with those folks who moved to FL from other countries and didn’t want to vote for those”Socialist” Dems? Just wondering if they (like our MAGA brethren) are ok with authoritarian moves/corruption as long as it is people on their side; or if this will turn off some of them who can see where DeSantis and FL is heading.

  45. 45.

    dybevick

    Reedy Creek Improvement District is more about development issues: who can dig what holes and and move water where and increase traffic flows. It was granted because the Disney property covers such large areas of several counties, whose purview this would usually be, that no rational organic plan for DW could be worked by getting the approval of three or four county boards for each action. The same county boards would likely be staffed by some number of the same kind of loons meatball just appointed.

    So if my understanding is correct this has little affect on business or operations (maybe more so in bonds and financing though) but may slow down or alter any new construction plans. And my impression is that really new greenfield possibilities are pretty much built out, or at least not going so fast as they used to.

    So not so much swamp filling maybe and some yapping at meetings, but I can’t see the unofficial gay day stuff and general attendance being affected.

  48. 48.

    The Moar You Know

    @guachi: I got nothing, nothing at all.  I have a dog.  It would be the end of my world if something like that happened to him.  I am sorry and that doesn’t remotely cover it.

  51. 51.

    Mai Naem mobile

    @guachi: I am so sorry. I don’t understand why anybody would need to do that. A Brussels griffon is a small dog. I don’t see how a griffon is going to get anywhere attacking a person.. You need to get the cops involved. Whoever did this has probably done crap like this before and will do it again.

  53. 53.

    Wanderer

    @guachi: I am so sorry for your loss.  It is incomprehensible how people behave.  Our first dog was shot by a bee bee pellet through her back leg.  She survived but recovery was long and difficult for all of us. I am so sorry 😢

  54. 54.

    Ken

    @guachi: I am terribly sorry to read this.  My deepest condolences.  Hold fast to the good memories.  I am just sad and grieve for you.

  56. 56.

    hotshoe

    I appreciate fed govt folks reiterating that we stand with Ukraine.

    But …

    I am unhappy with the phrasing “as long as it takes” — that just continues the burden of Ukrainian people having to fight perhaps for years, for another decade, because we (and rest of NATO/EU govts) are unwilling to give them enough supplies to send Russia packing this year.

    I don’t know what the answer is.

    I’m pretty sure the answer is not “well we can’t give you tanks but we can give you soviet-caliber ammunition for your old tanks, oh now we can give you modern tanks but we can’t give you fighter jets, oh now we can let your pilots train on the modern fighter jets we would give you if we could …

    Who does this incrementalism serve?

  57. 57.

    Mike in NC

    Our friends moved out of Tampa yesterday, on the way to the mountains of North Carolina. Among their complaints was that it was virtually impossible to get a traffic light installed at the entrance to their community until several people were first killed or badly injured. We’re hoping for a dedicated traffic signal for our development as the population is set to dramatically increase in the next few years.

  58. 58.

    Alison Rose

    @Mai Naem mobile: I would bet the dog didn’t do anything in any way threatening or dangerous. Someone who would do something like this would do it if the dog walked on their lawn or something. It’s not anywhere near as awful, but one of my cats when I was little nearly had an eye knocked out when our asshole neighbor (an adult man) threw a rock at her because she was walking along the fence between our yards.

    Also, another reason to involve police is that someone who would commit such a heinous act as this is likely also a danger to humans, certainly to children.

  60. 60.

    Anonymous At Work

    @dybevick: New construction, repairs, upscaling (or not) for increased usage, requirements for new roads to deal with traffic, not getting new roads to deal with traffic, I think it includes changes to fire and police coverage, etc.

    Basically, everything a mayor and city council would do except for a “county without a city in it”, only this time for a city without a county or a city council/mayor.

  62. 62.

    Betty Cracker

    @delphinium: The same people fell hard for Trump’s “strongman” shtick, so I assume they’ll keep right on being fine with DeSantis’s corrupt and autocratic rule too.

  63. 63.

    Tony Jay

    @guachi:

    Can’t imagine how hurt/angry/lost you must be feeling. Absolute vermin, with apologies to actual vermin.

    You ever find out who did it, I’ve got a blunt butter-knife and no problem with experimentation.

  64. 64.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    @guachi:

    Oh wow, how horrible! I hope you can find out who the monster is who did this to her. My condolences to you and your family.

  65. 65.

    Soprano2

    @guachi: Oh I am so, so sorry. Why are people such assholes? That’s so terrible. We adopted a dog who we found had been shot with BB’s, but that was several years after we adopted her; it happened because she was running around in the country, she probably got on someone’s property. We just had them removed, nothing like what happened to your poor Cheery.

  66. 66.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    @Betty Cracker:

    If there’s a Hell I hope it has a section dedicated to animal abusers and murderers.

    An eternity with dogs taking turns chewing on his privates would be a good start.

  68. 68.

    guachi

    @Betty Cracker:

    We live in rural-ish West Michigan. Cheery was in the yard playing and ran to the neighbors (my wife’s aunt) after being shot and we took her to the hospital.

    We don’t know who did it and don’t really have any ideas.

    I keep meaning to send pics in for the pet calendar every year. I will try to remember to send one of Cheery so her cute little face can brighten everyone’s day.

  69. 69.

    Soprano2

    @guachi: Someone shot her while she was in your yard?!!!! OMG, what kind of horrible person does something like that?!!!!!! A long time ago my husband caught a kid with a BB gun pointing it into the fence at our dogs. He told the kid he was going to open the gate and let the dogs out – we had two German Shepherd mixes at the time. The punk whined about how he was going to go tell his mommy, and hubby said fine, I’ll tell her you were shooting your BB gun at people’s dogs, at which point the punk ran off and was never seen near our yard again.

  70. 70.

    Jeffro

    If you’re nuts enough to storm the Capitol with ANY part of a panda costume on, you…um…you should have to host Scott Adams at your house for a month and listen to him all day long.

    That seems fair, right

    Philip Bump at the Post does a really, really nice job on how white grievance feeds the Republican Noise Machine, even when said grievances have to be ginned up out of thin air

  71. 71.

    trollhattan

    @guachi: Oh god, I’m horrified at this. So sorry you lost your beloved Cheery, and the cause makes it a hundred times worse. You now know you live near this monster.

  73. 73.

    Elizabelle

    @guachi: is your vet mandated to report the shooting?  That is animal cruelty, and the shooter should be apprehended and punished.  I know your family is probably gutted, but maybe let a TV station know.

    Again, so sad for your family’s loss.

  74. 74.

    Jeffro

    @Jeffro:Adams himself has at times predicted his own “cancellation,” his ostracization for making controversial or repugnant claims. This is itself a common tactic on the right, people amplifying their supposed anti-left credentials by suggesting their views are unacceptably politically incorrect. Often, the controversy fails to materialize or, at least, to reach the scale that Adams achieved over the past week. But it’s the thought that counts.

  75. 75.

    Jackie

    @guachi: I am so sorry for your loss! And, pissed!
    BettyCracker, how much room do you have in your vehicle? I want to be part of the posse.

    In other news, the NYT’s finally has an article out I approve of 100%! I won’t link, but here’s a hint:

    “DeSantis’ charisma-challenged book shredded in scathing New York Times review”

  77. 77.

    Elizabelle

    @Jeffro: I was just reading that.

    I knew that Rasmussen was problematic, but I did not know that they were now just doing polls for Clickbait, and for any crazy ass group that comes down the pike.

    I am not surprised that 21% of poll Respondents had no idea what to say about such a lunatic question.

  78. 78.

    Jeffro

    @Jeffro:

    Rasmussen didn’t ask if people thought it was okay to be White. They asked if people agreed with the statement, “It’s okay to be White.”

    Why is this important? Consider another, even more loaded question: Do you agree with the statement “all lives matter”? No one cognizant of American politics in the last decade would not recognize that statement for what it is. It’s not a comment about whether lives matter; it’s a rebuttal to the activist phrase “Black lives matter.” It’s not about all lives, it’s about the Black Lives Matter movement

    “It’s okay to be White” involves a similarly loaded, if less broadly recognized, context. After the phrase first emerged from 4chan, a site on which trolling is celebrated, Carlson defended it, characteristically suggesting that the racial division was being fomented by those who understood the troll as a troll.

    “It’s a sort of rhetorical judo flip that works by willfully misinterpreting critiques of structural white supremacy or racism as an attack on the mere fact of being caucasian,” writer Julian Sanchez observed on Twitter. “And then stage 2 of the judo flip — which is the real point of the whole maneuver — is that when someone who understands what’s going on takes exception, the troll gets to gasp in horror to anyone who doesn’t get what’s up ‘Oh, so you think it’s NOT OK to be white?’ ”

  79. 79.

    delphinium

    @Betty Cracker: Bummer : ( . Was hoping this might be an issue that FL Dems could campaign on to peel away some voters; in particular the money being flushed to cronies rather than the state and the decline in educational options.

    I’m in NY, and after the last election we have our own issues here to deal with as well

  81. 81.

    dexwood

    @guachi:  I am so sad for you and Cheery. 

    Elizabelle:  Animal cruelty cases are often very difficult to bring to trial. My son, before job burn out forced him to give it up, investigated animal cruelty cases for the city’s Animal Protection Department. Prosecutors refused to act unless a witness came forward or a confession was obtained. Before leaving the department his last act was to adopt a dog that was a gunshot victim.

  82. 82.

    Mallard Filmore

    @Jeffro:

    “all lives matter”

    You misspelled “White Lives First

     

     

    “It’s okay to be White”

    And then you misspelled “It’s better to be white”

  84. 84.

    frosty

    From downstairs:

    As it has happened in previous Twitter layoffs under Musk, employees reported receiving little to no advance notice of their termination. Several workers found out they’d lost their jobs because they had been blocked from their company email accounts and laptops.

    Not an IT company. Happened to me exactly like this six weeks ago. I called IT, they told me I didn’t have an account, I told my supervisor, he checked around and he called to tell me I’d been “offboarded”. I’m retired, part-time, so not an income-threatening event but still. I asked him if the company had an official termination policy. Reply: “Yes. Absolutely none of it was followed.” He got me a 3-week extension on my account so I could save some personal files and email from the network

    I asked for and got an exit interview which went well. At the end I asked HR if they usually wanted the employee’s computer back. They said yes, so I said well no one has asked for it … are you officially asking for it now? They laughed and said yes. I’ll turn it in next week I guess.

    This is what happens when the company execs get a wild hair about a problem and decide to fix it themselves.

  88. 88.

    frosty

    @guachi:  I’m so sorry, what a horrible thing to happen.
    ETA Ignore my previous comment, I wrote it before I read the others and didn’t delete it in time.​

  90. 90.

    Jeffro

    BREAKING: Murdoch admits that Fox commentators were lying, lying, LYING about the 2020 election being ‘rigged’…but you know, Fox itself wasn’t behind it all

  93. 93.

    J R in WV

    So sorry about your dog, amazing that it was in a suburban yard environment. We live in wooded rural hillside wilderness, and our dogs run free 24/7 — we have never had a dog injured in that fashion.

    But we know all the neighbors, would pull their car out of a ditch any time, they have done the same at some point.

  94. 94.

    Betty Cracker

    @guachi: That’s beyond awful. I’m in for a donation if you want to put up a reward for anyone who can provide info that leads to the monstrous shitbag’s identification and arrest.

  95. 95.

    MisterDancer

    @guachi: Your family — and your wee pup — deserved better than any of this bullshit.

    I am so sorry y’all are going thru this.

  96. 96.

    Mallard Filmore

    @Jeffro: No.  Sorry that I could not find a better thread to make my comment.

    [ETA]
    My brother sent me an email about 6 years ago with “All Lives Matter”.  If I was still communicating with him these things would be included.

  100. 100.

    Betty Cracker

    @Jackie: I read that review, and it was pretty good. I hope DeSantis’s humorlessness, inability to schmooze, wooden affect and churlish snarling doom his candidacy. But Repubs nominated and the electoral college certified as 2016 winner one of the most repellent human beings who’s ever walked the earth, so who knows?

  101. 101.

    Tenar Arha

    @guachi: I don’t know what to say to such terrible news about your dog Cheery. My heart goes out to you hearing of this awful attack & your loss. My condolences.

  102. 102.

    JWR

    @Elizabelle: I think it was NBC, (or maybe CNN?), that referred to Rasmussen as a conservative polling operation, which statement of fact was like a breath of fresh air.

  103. 103.

    Dan B

    @Betty Cracker: I wonder if there will be Gay Days at WDW? Also, there are rumored to be many LGBTQ employees. Will they stay or leave Florida? These folks likely come from the performing arts, a haven for LGBTQ. Will it be difficult for Disney to hire staff?

  104. 104.

    Dan B

    @guachi: Do call the police. People who abuse animals are likely to do the same to people.

     

    So sorry for your loss.  It sounds horribly traumatic.  Can we pitch in for counseling for your family?

  105. 105.

    Betty Cracker

    @Dan B: There’s been distressingly little pushback IMO. This bullshit happening here should draw boycotts and removal of events, etc., but it’s business as usual.

  107. 107.

    Jeffro

    @Mallard Filmore: Ok – got ya and no worries here, thanks!  Sounds like my bro and your bro must be birds of a feather…ugh

    I thought Bump did a more than able job of showing how the RWNJs’ dumb cycle of victimhood works.

  108. 108.

    Jeffro

    @Betty Cracker: American voters’…at least, some significant portion of them…tendency to turn out based on a politician’s affect has been really irritating over the decades (Reagan, Bush II, etc.  maybe even trump)

    If it works for us in 2024 then I’ll gladly shut up about it and insist we keep nominating all these charming (also, HELLO, informed, hard-working, principled – are you listening, Republicans?) Democrats for higher office.

    We’ll just learn to talk about the ‘charming’ part in public and the ‘informed, etc’ part in private.  ;)

  111. 111.

    brendancalling

    Since it’s an open thread. I want to thank @watergirl for having me do a postcard Saturday setlist. It was a lot of fun, and the discourse in comments was great. I hope you enjoyed the music, and to those folks who had band suggestions for me—thank you so much!! I love learning about artists I’d missed.

    i don’t care what anyone says, y’all are alright with me.

  112. 112.

    CarolPW

    @guachi: ​
     That is so ghastly I can’t even imagine being able to deal with it. I am so very sorry, and would be happy to put up a chunk of change for a reward to catch that psychopath.

  113. 113.

    zeecube

    @guachi: Words fail me.  So sorry for your loss.  RIP, Cheery.

    Michigan is a bit far from me, otherwise I’d be tempted to come over with my pitchfork and other sundry rustyblunt instrument  lawn tools I have stored for just the occasional righteous mob search party.  If you set up a gofundme as Betty suggests for an award for the capture of the cretin who did this, let me know.

    Wonder if any neighbors have a door camera that caught the perp on video.

  114. 114.

    Wanderer

    @J R in WV: when our Bonny was shot she was leashed and quietly walking with us. The shot came from an apartment window in the complex we had just moved to.  Her recovery took months.  This was decades ago now but the fear and pain stay with you. I am sad Cheery was not as lucky as Bonny.

  118. 118.

    rikyrah

    @Jeffro:

    BREAKING: Murdoch admits that Fox commentators were lying, lying, LYING about the 2020 election being ‘rigged’…but you know, Fox itself wasn’t behind it all

     

    CUT.THE.CHECK.

  119. 119.

    DarbysMom

    @guachi: Heartsick. I am so saddened and disgusted. I, too, will volunteer for both the vigilante committee and any gofundme that might bring the a-holes to justice.

  121. 121.

    StringOnAStick

    @guachi: I can’t imagine how you and your wife are feeling; I am so sorry.  This is something that should never, ever happen.

  125. 125.

    J R in WV

    @Wanderer: ​
     

    Unbelievable to learn about … so sorry for your trauma and lasting affect. What a great thing to learn about your new complex. Resident psychopath welcome. So sad.

  127. 127.

    Geminid

    @Dan B: I think Youngkin will wait for 2028, and pass on next year’s primary. It’s going to be brutal.

    He may prove me wrong though.

  128. 128.

    Kirk

    @Anonymous At Work: IMO there’s a third thread running in there.

    Disney sues after he’s running, then plays to get all the running candidates to take a position on the issue. Win or lose in the court, the court of public opinion can be painful when running for office.

    And if they lose, DeaSshole only makes decisions about Disneyworld, not DisneyCorp. (Disneyworld, Disneyland, the cruise ships, and all other domestic park-related revenues provided ~$3B of the ~$85B in revenues DisneyCorp earned in 2022. Perspective.)

  129. 129.

    Jackie

    @Dan B: Youngkin exposed his true self once he won his governorship. He can’t run for governor again – at least not back-to-back terms –  but if he could, I doubt Virginia would re-elect him. They were fooled once, but hopefully not again.

  130. 130.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Geminid: in the spring of 2016 I reached a point where all outcomes in the R primary all seemed equally unlikely. I’m right back there for the upcoming cycle. I could see DeSantis flaming out or going all the way. trump seems to have lost his fastball, but maybe he’ll get it back.

    My one confident prediction is that Nikki Haley is going nowhere. Given my track record of predicting R nominees, maybe I should get ready for Haley-Hogan bumperstickers.

  132. 132.

    WaterGirl

    @guachi: I keep thinking about you and your sweet girl.  I can barely wrap my head around the awfulness, I can’t even imagine how you can begin to process the horror of it all on top of your sudden loss.

  134. 134.

    Betsy

    Just returned form a pretty essential trip to north central Fla.  Good swimming in springs. Nice time with family and old friends.  Really glad I went.

    Man, the flights coming and going, though.  Transport in this country just sucks.

  135. 135.

    EarthWindFire

    @guachi: WTF kind of piece of shit shoots a dog?!?! One going to jail for a long time I hope.

    This is so horrible. I’m sorry.

  137. 137.

    WendyBinFL

    @guachi: So sorry to hear about your tragic loss of Cheery. Unfathomable, incomprehensible that anyone could shoot a small, sweet dog playing in her own yard. The story of your trip to the vet with her is utterly heartbreaking. May memories of your cherished time with her sustain you as you grieve.

  138. 138.

    prostratedragon

    @Jeffro: ​
    An old one:
    “If you’re white, you’re alright.
    If you’re brown, stick around.
    But as you’re black, get back!”
    I’d ask the questioner if that’s what they.mean.

  139. 139.

    Wanderer

    @J R in WV: Thank you for your kindness.  My heart goes out to gauchi 100%. I wish peace and, as time allows, the beautiful memories of a love gone too soon.

  140. 140.

    satby

    @guachi: guachi, horrible and so traumatic for you all. Poor Cheery knew you loved her, knew you were trying to get her help, right up to the end. Deepest condolences.

    And absolutely file a police report.

  142. 142.

    Geminid

    @Betty Cracker: Youngkin would probably be a stronger general election candidate than DeSantis. Winning the nomination would be his problem. That looks like it will be a divisive fight, even a savage one.

    Youngkin is a calculating guy, and young enough to run in 2028 or even 2032. Virginia’s one term limit for Governors works to his advantage in that he can’t lose a reelection race. He’ll still be held at least partially responsible for Republican fortunes in this fall’s General Assembly elections, though. If Democrats make gains (as seems likely to me), that will be old news by 2028.

    So that’s why I would not run next year if I were in Youngkin’s shoes. But he clearly wants the job, and as Abe Lincoln remarked, once the worm of presidential ambition starts gnawing it gnaws deep. So maybe foungkin’ Youngkin will jump in.

  143. 143.

    TEL

    @guachi: So very sorry to hear about your dog! May the perpetrators rot in purgatory for what they did. I also agree about filing a police report. If they shot your dog in your yard, they just as easily could have shot you. That alone should be enough for the police to open a case file.

  144. 144.

    Noskilz

    @guachi: That’s horrific.

    Sorry to hear you have lost a dear pet in such an awful way.

    Hopefully whoever is responsible is brought to justice.

  145. 145.

    EarthWindFire

    @Dan B: I think Youngkin’s problem is that his margin of victory would be determined by voters who want to see a dark soul.

  146. 146.

    Betsy

    @guachi: I am so sorry!! That is heartbreaking beyond words.  I wish I could do anything to make it not be this way for you and your sweet baby. I hope that person is punished hugely somehow but I know that doesn’t help.

    I am just so sorry.

  149. 149.

    Paul in KY

    @guachi: I am so sorry for her and you. I hope they find out who did this (if intentional). Even if not intentional. The round could have hit anyone.

  151. 151.

    Nettoyeur

    @hotshoe: Ukrainian incremental response has been to start launching drones to bomb Moscow.  You don’t mess with people who know they are in a fight for their lives.

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