Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

The rest of the comments were smacking Boebert like she was a piñata.

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

Stand up, dammit!

It’s easy to sit in safety and prescribe what other people should be doing.

This is dead girl, live boy, a goat, two wetsuits and a dildo territory.  oh, and pink furry handcuffs.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires republicans to act in good faith.

Putting aside our relentless self-interest because the moral imperative is crystal clear.

The republican ‘Pastor’ of the House is an odious authoritarian little creep.

“A king is only a king if we bow down.” – Rev. William Barber

Humiliatingly small and eclipsed by the derision of millions.

Fundamental belief of white supremacy: white people are presumed innocent, minorities are presumed guilty.

There are consequences to being an arrogant, sullen prick.

Let there be snark.

White supremacy is terrorism.

It’s the corruption, stupid.

If rights aren’t universal, they are privilege, not rights.

You don’t get to peddle hatred on saturday and offer condolences on sunday.

We can show the world that autocracy can be defeated.

I am pretty sure these ‘journalists’ were not always such a bootlicking sycophants.

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

Marge, god is saying you’re stupid.

Dear Washington Post, you are the darkness now.

Republicans choose power over democracy, every day.

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

You are here: Home / Politics / Biden Administration in Action / Thursday Morning Open Thread: May the 4th…

Thursday Morning Open Thread: May the 4th…

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… Be with you, to those who observe.

… Fans have long campaigned for her to receive a Walk of Fame star. The honor comes on May the Fourth, essentially an official holiday for Star Wars fans that’s a play on a line that Fisher said often in the films, “May the Force be with you.”

Devotees worldwide celebrate with a variety of tributes, while retailers hold special sales on Star Wars merchandise.

The induction ceremony will be held at 11:30 a.m. Pacific and livestreamed by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.

Fisher will be given the 2,754th star on the Walk of Fame. Ford received his star in 2003 and Hamill was honored in 2018.

Walk of Fame stars are given to performers who are nominated and a $75,000 fee is now required to create the star and maintain it.

Speaking of popular: Big personal thanks to Major Major Major Major, whose invite has allowed me to join BlueSky, kinda, which is more than I ever did for twitter. I’ve already figured out how to follow people (even had a couple optimists follow me), and how to block / mute spam accounts. It’ll be a while before I’m contributing anything useful — one-finger phone typing and a non-wifi connection that logs me out at unpredictable intervals will keep me from getting completely distracted and losing my focus here. But I’m hoping that by the time twitter completely implodes, assuming it does, there will be a bsky.desktop where I can download embeds to replace my current posting habits.

(Or maybe the horse will talk: Twitter just realized it was dumb to cut off automated public service tweets.)

Reader Interactions

209Comments

  5. 5.

    Jerzy Russian

    Regarding that last item, DougJ should sue the NYT for copyright theft, plagiarism, etc.  They are stealing his stuff right out in the open.

  7. 7.

    Scout211

    @Suzanne: sorry, I deleted it because I just saw that it was covered in the downstairs thread. I thought I got it removed in time.  And now more confusion.

    To now try to clear up my oops, story in Pro Publica about Clarence Thomas receiving more undisclosed gifts from his “dear friend” Harlan Crow.

  8. 8.

    Jerzy Russian

    @Scout211:

     

    It is not clear why he reported that payment but not Crow’s.

    Because he is corrupt? Just spitballing here…

  12. 12.

    lowtechcyclist

    When did “May the Fourth be with you” become a thing, anyway?  I’m pretty sure I’ve only heard it in the current century, even though the first Star Wars movie came out in 1977.

    This date still mostly reminds this geezer of earlier events.

  13. 13.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @Baud:

    How, dare you, I say, how dare you impugn muh honuh!

    Harlan Crow’s response. It was all for the disadvantaged children, you see.

    ProPublica sent Crow a detailed list of questions and his office responded with a statement that did not dispute the facts presented in this story.

    “Harlan Crow has long been passionate about the importance of quality education and giving back to those less fortunate, especially at-risk youth,” the statement said. “It’s disappointing that those with partisan political interests would try to turn helping at-risk youth with tuition assistance into something nefarious or political.”

  14. 14.

    Soprano2

    Happy May the Fourth, everyone!

    My husband’s visit with the new gerontologist was yesterday. Finally, someone listened to the things I’ve been concerned about all this time! He had their social worker give my husband that test – the one that TFG brags about passing. He took it last fall at his GP’s office; that doc said it only showed mild memory problems, nothing to be concerned about. This time, the doc says he scored 18, which means there is definitely a problem. Rather than being devastated, I was relieved. (I’m pushing “devastated” back for now, it’s not helpful.) Finally, he’s going to get a neuropsych exam and a CT or MRI scan, so we can know what kind of problem we’ll be dealing with. I’ve been mourning the loss of the future I thought we were going to have for at least a year, because I knew this was the most probable outcome. My husband just thinks I’m a worrier who wants something to worry about. I don’t think he yet realizes the gravity of his situation. I always knew it was a possibility that we would have to deal with something like this, because his father had a type of dementia, but he was in his 80’s before he started having problems; hubby is 76, and this has been developing for at least 2 years. Hubby has diabetes, which I think is the cause of his problem – I think he has vascular dementia. I guess the tests will tell us for sure what’s going on. At least then we’ll have a diagnosis, so if I need help I can get it. It’s not like you can just call a neurologist and say “I want a brain scan”!

  16. 16.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Baud:

    In a world where the Rethugs had any shame at all, they’d join the Dems in kicking Thomas’ corrupt ass off the Court.

    DRAIN THE SWAMP!!!!

  17. 17.

    Jerzy Russian

    @Baud:   To be fair to Thomas, who among us hasn’t had our kid’s private school tuition paid for by a billionaire?

  18. 18.

    lowtechcyclist

    @O. Felix Culpa:

    Harlan Crow’s response. It was all for the disadvantaged children, you see.

    I earn less than Thomas does. I wonder if he’ll pay my son’s college tuition?

  19. 19.

    John S.

    @Baud:

    Nothing to see here. Just a good friend paying over $100k in tuition for his buddy’s adopted kid to attend private school. Move along!

  20. 20.

    oldgold

    WaPo:

    Thomas  gained legal custody of Martin and became his legal guardian around January 1998,” Kaplan, Elliott and Mierjeski write, citing court records.

    The total amount Crow spent on Martin’s education is unclear, but if Crow “paid for all four years at the two schools, the price tag could have exceeded $150,000, according to public records of tuition rates at the schools,” Kaplan, Elliott and Mierjeski write.

    Thomas didn’t disclose Crow’s tuition payments, even though he did disclose another friend’s $5,000 gift for Martin’s education in 2002.

  22. 22.

    Soprano2

    @O. Felix Culpa: What unadulterated bullshit, as if a Supreme Court justice couldn’t afford to send his grandnephew to private school if he wanted to. Go help real disadvantaged people, you prick.

  23. 23.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @O. Felix Culpa: BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA… gasp…. wheeze… 10,000 unemployed comedians in the world and here he is giving it away for free.

  24. 24.

    Scout211

    @Soprano2: I just had the exact same experience yesterday in a neurologist’s office with Mr. Scout. He’s already had the CT scan but labs and MRI are next.

    I feel you.

  28. 28.

    Betty Cracker

    Techdirt says Twitter is pay-walling the API that used to automatically tweet links to new posts via WordPress. The 3rd party developer that created the API says Twitter now wants a ridiculous amount of money to allow automatic tweets of posts, so I’m guessing the Balloon Juice feed will also stop.

    The Techdirt piece also mentions Musk’s reversal on cutting off automated posting for weather services, public transit, etc., as mentioned in the Ars Technica piece linked up top. The thing is, the original dumb decision underscores that the platform is unreliable because it’s run by a goddamned idiot, and there’s no quick fix for that.

    PS: It’s outrageous that Carrie Fisher is just now getting a Walk of Fame star. I incorrectly assumed she already had one since she’s been an icon for decades. Better late than never, I guess.

  29. 29.

    Frankensteinbeck

    Open thread?  It’s book release day, and the Amazon page for my book is reflecting the information from a previous book, and I’m tearing my hair out about it.

  30. 30.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Hey now, you guys are making much ado about nothing. They’re just friends. Friends whow know just what to give to each other for their birthdays, Xmas, Easter, Memorial Day, Labor Day, MLK Day, President’s Day, Columbus Day, April Fools Day, Cinco de Mayo, St Patty’s Day, Valentine’s Day, 4th of July, Halloween, All Saint’s Day, Thanksgiving…

    Oh yes, especially Thanksgiving, Harlan has so many thanks to give a friend who knows just what he wants for Decision Days. See? No quid pro quo, none at all, just an exchange of presents between like minded friends.

  32. 32.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @lowtechcyclist: @Soprano2: @OzarkHillbilly:

    Inorite? My elder son has a shitload of debt from law school. I bet that nice Mr. Crow would pay off our various offspring’s college expenses if we asked him, given his concern for the children. (I continue to crack myself up.)

  35. 35.

    satby

    @Soprano2:  I think he has vascular dementia.

    I’m so sorry. That’s tough, my mom had that for several years before she died. It tended to improve a bit when she stayed very disciplined taking her medication for HBP, but got worse when she didn’t, so hopefully a strict regime of medications can slow the progression down.

  37. 37.

    Kay

    Thomas has a statement out. He’s really going to say that the gift was to his ward and not to him. That’s really going to be the defense.

  40. 40.

    satby

    @Delk: how was Mr. Thomas’ grandnephew at risk??

    Oh right, he’s black. Wonder if Clarence is ok with the implicit racism in Crow’s statement.

  41. 41.

    SFAW

    @Kay: ​
     
    And he will judiciously ignore that he “remembered” to disclose a (probably) much smaller gift for/to the same kid in 2002.
    Funny thing, memory.

  43. 43.

    SFAW

    @satby:

    Wonder if Clarence is ok with the implicit racism in Crow’s statement.

    I’m sure he would be. After all, it’s all those other darkies who get things they don’t deserve.

    “Affirmative action for me, but not for thee”?

  44. 44.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @SFAW: Considering the fact that the Artificial Idiocy will be created by the Natural Idiocy, which is kinda like 10 to the power 0f 10 to the power of 10 to the power 0f 10 to the power of 10 to the power 0f 10 to the power of 10 to the power 0f 10 to the power of 10 to the power 0f 10 to the power of 10 to the power 0f 10 to the power of 10 to the power 0f 10 to the power of 10 to the power 0f 10 to the power of 10…..

    Thankfully, I’ll be dead.

  45. 45.

    Glidwrith

    Is Twitter functioning right now? I’ve checked Stonekettle and Hoarse Whisperer, neither appear to exist.

  46. 46.

    Kay

    @Baud:

    He says he didn’t have to disclose because the grandnephew is (was) his ward, not his child, but the disclosure statute has an “and” that includes a tax dependent, and I bet he claimed the ward as a tax dependent. I also bet he put him on his government health plan. People sometimes take a legal guardianship of a minor JUST so they can put the child on an employer health plan. So the Thomas’ will have claimed him as a dependent everywhere but the disclosure form.

  47. 47.

    O. Felix Culpa

    Moving up this comment from the late-night luzer thread (thanks, Baud!), in which there is some curiosity about the sudden flow of revelations about Thomas’s financial infelicities expressed. Why now? Who’s behind it?

    I wonder if Ginni’s activities might also play a role in the possible decision to tank Thomas. Not that the powers-that-be/puppeteers disagree with them, but further disclosure is potentially harmful to their cause. The couple may have been just a little too crass in their behavior.

    I have zero facts to support this notion, but it’s irresponsible not to speculate.

  48. 48.

    narya

    @Soprano2: Ohhhh . . . sending you and your husband kind thoughts. I don’t know if you watched “Grace and Frankie” on Netflix but there are some relevant episodes. I’m both glad and sorry that your suspicions were confirmed–mostly sorry, of course (see: the mourning you mentioned), but I hear you about the relief, too.

  51. 51.

    SFAW

    @Glidwrith: ​
     

    Is Twitter functioning right now? I’ve checked Stonekettle and Hoarse Whisperer, neither appear to exist.

    Have you checked NPR’s feed?
    NB: Or whomever Apartheid Clyde gave NPR’s tweeter account to.

  52. 52.

    Kay

    @SFAW:

    Right! I forgot about that. There goes that defense.

    It’s just gross how they were making 500-600k a year and sort of passing the hat for donations to their lifestyle from various Right wing activists. Jesus. He just took random 5000 dollar donations? Does Ginni like work the phones to fundraise for the “Thomas Lavish Lifestyle” PAC?

  55. 55.

    dmsilev

    @Betty Cracker:

    PS: It’s outrageous that Carrie Fisher is just now getting a Walk of Fame star. I incorrectly assumed she already had one since she’s been an icon for decades. Better late than never, I guess.

    Those stars are expensive. They’re not just given, you have to pay many thousands of dollars for them. So, usually it’s paid for as part of the PR budget for whatever film the actor/etc. is currently involved in. For whatever reason, the various film projects that she acted in didn’t spend the money. I’m rather surprised that Disney didn’t when the sequel trilogy came out; it would have been a tiny drop in the marketing bucket.

    It’s good to see her get the bling, even if she never got to see it for herself.

  56. 56.

    Betty

    @Soprano2: That is,a tough situation. It’s one of the biggest worries we have about aging, either for ourselves or our loved ones. I hope you get helpful answers and the assistance you need to deal with this.

  57. 57.

    SFAW

    @Kay: ​
     

    There goes that defense.

    Kay, Kay, Kay (shakes head sadly) … that statement only applies to persons who are ethical, or have a sense of shame, or ain’t Rethuglicans.
    So he’ll double-down on the BS “defenses.”

  60. 60.

    Kay

    Just a reminder that none of this is new. Scalia was just as corrupt as Thomas and no one in media touched that for Scalia’s whole time on the bench. The only reason we know about Scalia at all is Senator Whitehouse and his obsession with SCOTUS ethics.

    So the far Right wing of the SCOTUS has not acted ethically or policed themselves for a long, long time.

  62. 62.

    Quinerly

    @Baud:

    I must be one. Saw it in the middle of the night while flipping back and forth between here and trying to make a decision on a portable cement mixer. Can’t decide on whether to go really, cheap off brand or the Ryobi at Home Depot.

    It’s cheaper to buy one than chase a rental & deal with timing to get it back & forth.

    This is what my life has come to.

  64. 64.

    Fair Economist

    @Glidwrith:

    Is Twitter functioning right now? I’ve checked Stonekettle and Hoarse Whisperer, neither appear to exist.

    Sounds like it’s functioning like Apartheid Clyde wants it to.

  67. 67.

    Soprano2

    @Scout211: I feel you back. For me it’s been almost two years of slowly coming to realize that many, many things aren’t right. Lots of them are things no one else would even be aware of. My husband spent several hours with his brother a couple of weeks ago, and I guarantee you his brother has no idea anything is different, while if I had time I could tell you at least 15-20 little things that I know are not right with him, and a few big ones. When you hide a GPS in your hubby’s vehicle because you’re tired of feeling panic every time you come home and it’s not there, you  definitely know things are not right!

  69. 69.

    Kay

    There are people who work in public jobs or for non profits who believe they are underpaid and they “would have” made big bucks in the private sector. They spend a lot of time around rich people and they resent that they made the “sacrifice” of public service or non profit, again, under the assumption they would have done really well in the private sector (questionable). I run into this all the time in the law practice- I am told how successful they would have been had they gone the private sector route.

    I think that’s the resentment behind Clarence and Ginni Thomas soliciting and taking all these gifts. They’re watching these Right wing billionaires clean up under Right wing ideology of no taxes and regulation thta people like Clarence Thomas deliver and they think they deserve a piece of that pie.

  70. 70.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Glidwrith: ​ Yeah I didn’t for years, then they they did something (pre-musk) which messed up my feed and somebody somewhere said the answer was to join so I did and the problem went away. I have never signed in I just read the few people I follow (I miss Popehat) and apparently Twitter recognizes my IP address and all is well. For now. Maybe not next week. Probably not the week after.

  71. 71.

    Miss Bianca

    So, I had this great idea, since the public library does the “May the Fourth be with you” celebration: we ‘re finally back showing movies at my theater, why not do the whole original trilogy over the first weekend in May? The library loved it! Even my boss liked the idea!

    But the Mouse said, “No.” They won’t let us show them because we also (occasionally) show first run Disney movies. DISNEY WON’T LET YOU DO BOTH.

    I told my boss screw it, let’s not show first-run Disney movies then – it’s not like we’ll be losing *that* much, rapacious fuckers take 65% of the house anyway – but she doesn’t see it that way.

    So, while I’m all for Disney putting the white shrimp boot into DeSantis’s ass, in all other respects, I am not a fan.

  72. 72.

    Betty Cracker

    @Kay: I saw a clip from this week’s Judicial Committee hearings, and Senator Ossoff was questioning some wingnut hack judge about judges taking trips on private jets. The hack made the most ridiculous comment, something like it would be offensive to decline, so if the judge wanted to maintain the friendship, he’d have to accept. That’s really the best they’ve got. I’ll see if I can find it.

  74. 74.

    Soprano2

    @satby: Thanks, I’m at least glad that now we can figure out what is actually wrong. What I’ve noticed is that he seems better now that his blood sugar is better managed. That’s why I think it’s vascular. I started going to his appointments with his diabetes doc, and now I know so much more and am helping him manage his insulin intake. I wish I’d done this years ago! I carry insulin in my purse so he can easily take it when we go out, I could have been doing this for years!

  75. 75.

    Soprano2

    @satby: Isn’t it amazing, the same man who thinks his Yale degree is only worth $0.10 because of affirmative action was happy to accept help with his ward’s education “because he’s disadvantaged”. *rolleyes

  76. 76.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Quinerly: Never, never, never go cheap with tools. Buy a good one, I mean a really good one, and somebody will be happy to buy it from you at a decent price, when you are done with it.

    One and done thinking always ends up at the 1/2 point of the job and done.

  77. 77.

    SFAW

    @NotMax: ​
     
    I probably woulda listened to it more if Chuy had called it “Boink, Boink Mambo,” instead of “Oink, Oink Mambo.”

  80. 80.

    Betty Cracker

    @Betty Cracker: Here it is.


    PS: I love Ossoff’s speaking style. There’s something old-fashioned about it.

  82. 82.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @Kay:

    Just a reminder that none of this is new. Scalia was just as corrupt as Thomas and no one in media touched that for Scalia’s whole time on the bench.

    Which again raises the questions: Why Thomas? Why now? Who’s behind the sudden flow of revelations?

  83. 83.

    Kay

    @Betty Cracker:

    I know a minister who feels this way. He has a wealthy congregation and he resents that he and his wife, while comfortable, are not rich and they are surrounded by rich people. He feels he serves rich people but is also their peer and would have been wealthy had he chosen a different path. I can think of two local judges off the top of my head who believe with all their heart that they would have made big bucks as private sector lawyers and are resentful that they didn’t. Of course, when they tell me this I think “well, MAYBE you would have been wildly successful. Maybe not, though.”

  84. 84.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Kay: they think they deserve a piece of that pie.

    Well, they do. After all, that’s why they were put there.

  85. 85.

    SFAW

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Never, never, never go cheap with tools.

    Truth.

    However, I sometimes violate that dictum — if something (not top-shelf) is REALLY inexpensive, I’ll buy two or three or more, and toss them as they break down. [I only do that for stuff I rarely/infrequently use. If I were doing carpentry/woodwork/mechanical work for a living, I’d only get the good stuff.]

  86. 86.

    Soprano2

    @OzarkHillbilly: As Click and Clack famously said, “The stingy man pays the most”. Agree about the tools, hubby always bought the cheapest mowers and they never last more than two years. He thought good ones should still cost less than $100!

  87. 87.

    sdhays

    @Betty Cracker: It’s outrageous that Carrie Fisher is just now getting a Walk of Fame start.

    I also assumed she already had one. Just think, Donald Fucking Trump, a man playing a successful businessman so poorly on a shitty reality TV show that they had to script what he said and who he said it to, got a star before Princess Leia. I can’t really think of any explanation other than rank misogyny.

    Also, I love how “Twitter” discovered that value in the platform comes from content and not “Apartheid Clyde”. I’m pretty sure his employees knew this would end poorly before they switched it on (or is it off?).

  88. 88.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    @Soprano2: I’m sorry. Given that I live in an 0ver-55 building, I see this kind of thing a lot. At the moment, I’m trying to convince Mr DAW that he should see his gerontologist and ask about Parkinson’s

  89. 89.

    Steeplejack

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    It’s not just me, asshole. The broken margin makes it hard(er) for people on phones to comment, and WaterGirl has to come in and fix the comment, among all the other things she does to keep the blog going. So fuck right off with the smug attitude.

    BWAHAHAHAHA is not funnier when you make it many times longer.

  90. 90.

    Delk

    The timing is perfect for a drunk Ginni phone call recording to be released.

  91. 91.

    Soprano2

    @Betty Cracker: Wow, that’s a really shitty friendship if saying “I’m a federal judge, I cannot accept such a lavish gift, but I’m happy to fly there and meet you” will end it.

  93. 93.

    Scout211

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: Congrats!

    In California, after age 70 the written test is required for renewal (every 5 years) but not the behind the wheel test. Did you have to take the written test?

  95. 95.

    Kay

    @O. Felix Culpa:

    They love Clarence Thomas. They don’t want him off the bench. He is as reliable a far Right wing vote as they will get.

    I think it’s just ProPublica uncovered the first story and now anyone with a story will go to ProPublica.

    I think the Court is incredibly complacent about ethics and credibility. They have been shown a ridiculous amount of deference for the last 50 years and they took that for granted- assumed it would last forever.

    I really do blame lawyers. Legal commentators, specifically. They promoted these people as genuises and kissed their asses for access and never did any real reporting. It’s been this insular little club of elite lawyers who are ass kissers surrounding that court like a moat. For YEARS. Well, the moat has been breached.

  96. 96.

    O. Felix Culpa

    OT, but semi-related to Quinerly’s tool question. I’ve been getting bids to get gutters installed on our new old house (built 1950). Most of the companies use aluminum for their seamless gutters and are therefore considerably cheaper–albeit not cheap. One well-rated company uses steel, and is accordingly pricier. Is it worthy paying more for the steel gutters? They’re galvanized inside and powder-coated outside, for what that’s worth.

    Thanks in advance for your shared wisdom.

  98. 98.

    Geminid

    @Quinerly: How much cement do you need to make? Chopping it up in a wheel barrow with a hoe or even a shivel is not that time consuming or tiring. It’s easier to load sand and cement into a wheelbarrow than a mixer, plus you have to wash out a mixer thoroughly every batch.

    And if you are using the mortar for setting stone or paving, you’ll want a fairly stiff mix and that’s easier to make in a wheel barrow than a mixer.

  100. 100.

    Soprano2

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: They gave me information about their monthly support group for caregivers. I’m not sure I’m ready to see my future yet in that way. I saw how it went with my grandfather, but I think that went on a lot longer than this before he finally got an evaluation. I’ve known since December 2021 that something was definitely wrong. That’s when he went to the mall, went out a different entrance than he had come in and decided his vehicle had been stolen, then rather than calling me from a store at the mall DECIDED TO WALK HOME, WHICH IS AT LEAST A 4 MILE WALK – in December, when it’s cold. Talk about poor decision making skills, he never would have done that kind of thing before. It took all this time to get to where we are.

  101. 101.

    Wapiti

    @Soprano2: I expect it to be a relief of sorts; to have your observations confirms, not denied. And these things seem to develop over time, and aren’t noticed until they’re really a problem.

  104. 104.

    NotMax

    Anyone heard from Immanentize? Haven’t seen him ’round these parts for a while.

  105. 105.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Kay:

    Thomas has a statement out. He’s really going to say that the gift was to his ward and not to him. That’s really going to be the defense.

    There ain’t enough LOLs in the world for that.

  107. 107.

    Soprano2

    @Wapiti: Yes, it’s nice to know that I’m not crazy and these things are really a problem. How he decided this winter to sit on the couch under a blanket to keep warm rather than building a fire in our wood furnace, stuff like that. I’m getting a new furnace this year that is either gas or electric (we’re plumbed for gas) because I’m not going to live like that next winter.

  111. 111.

    Soprano2

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: I know, eventually I will contact the person who runs it, but I’m not sure I’m yet ready for a support group where lots of people in my situation talk about their lives. Not yet, anyway. I think I want to wait until he’s had tests and we have an actual diagnosis.

  112. 112.

    Quiltingfool

    I really enjoy the morning Coffee Klatch here at Balloon Juice!  Thanks to everyone!

    Gotta go to my quilt guild tea.  We are supposed to wear a “fun” item, like a feather boa, or a cute hat or pearls.  I have none of those (damn, wish I had a tiara!).  So, I’m wearing a necklace with a fossil nautilus.  Not pearls, but close?

  113. 113.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @Quiltingfool: That’ll work. I’d share my tiara with you (I keep one around for emergencies), but I suspect you’re too far away.

  114. 114.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @O. Felix Culpa: How long do you plan on living there? If it’s another 100 years, go for it. If not, go with the aluminum. They will be good for at least 40 years. One could say it’s for the added value when you sell the house but the truth is, nobody even looks at the gutters or thinks about them unless they are falling off.

  115. 115.

    Scout211

    @Soprano2: The neuro asked me many questions and gave me lots of advice.

    #1, do you have a durable power of attorney in place right now? If you don’t, see an attorney ASAP.

    The neuro was just great. We had to wait almost a year to get the appointment as a previous referral fell through. The year wait ended up to be a good thing because we both really liked this doctor.  Plus, it gave Mr. Scout a year to accept the need for it.  We have 3 kids and 7 grandkids, so we do feel supported.  That really helps.

  116. 116.

    narya

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: Yeah, I sucked it up to get a real copy of my birth certificate so I can do that this year, too. (I tried last time and they wouldn’t accept the copy I had, and I don’t have a passport.)

  118. 118.

    cain

    @Jerzy Russian: ​
     
    In the same vein.. for people like Trow, Thomas’s kid is disadvantaged given the wealth differential. Just doing that right thing 😉

  119. 119.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Soprano2: ​ They gave me information about their monthly support group for caregivers.

    I did that with Kids in the Middle. It helped a lot. Felt a little strange being the only man in the room but I got over it. I wouldn’t wait. They can help prepare you for things you can’t imagine yet.

  121. 121.

    What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?

    @dmsilev: Still it is weird that it’s just now happening. I mean, she’s done far more acting work since Star Wars than Mark Hamill (he’s done a lot of voice acting for cartoons but as far as appearing on screen Fisher has him beat by a country mile). Plus she wrote a screenplay for a major motion picture starring Meryl Streep and Shirley McClain.

    I mean, just off the top of my head, non Star Wars blockbusters she’s appeared in include The Blues Brothers, When Harry Met Sally, and Austin Powers (the first one as a therapist for Dr. Evil). Granted not super-major roles but still. Also in Hannah and Her Sisters (not exactly a blockbuster but critically acclaimed) and The Burbs.

  122. 122.

    Kay

    @lowtechcyclist:

    Spokesperson says: tortured reading of statute to jam it into ‘lawful” then the usual Right wing whining about how they are persecuted.

    I want to tell Thomas and Alito “you know what? Resign. If this job is such a fucking burden get off the public payroll then you won’t have to disclose shit”. The incessant fucking complaining from these incredibly powerful and privileged people just blows me away.

    One of the things I really like about Joe Biden as a person is he seems grateful. He seems like he cannot believe he got this lucky. It’s rare.

  123. 123.

    Quinerly

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Thanks! I was hoping my off the wall comment would draw you out! My plan worked perfectly.😈

    I like the Ryobi that is on sale at HD.  $389 for 5.0 cubic  ft. Not $ I wanted to spend but I figure with any back and forth on a rental, I am probably at $200.00. Plus, there is a shortage of anything construction in Santa Fe. If we use it for these 2-3 areas and I can sell it for $200 when done, I’m ahead of the game. Portable cement mixers are out of my area of knowledge, though. Harbor Freight has one that they say “compares to it” but I’m leary. Older reviews on it great. Newer reviews not so great.

  126. 126.

    Kay

    Max Kennerly
    @MaxKennerly
    ·2h
    Cartoonish levels of corruption. One nice thing is that, while Justice Thomas continues to obliterate the Supreme Court’s legitimacy, he’s also dragging down an entire generation of conservative law professors who are obliged to defend all this.

    Agree. But remember- they’re really not obliged to defend all this. They’re given tenure for a reason. They could have blown the whistle on Scalia with his SEVENTY lavish vacations with Right wing donors and lobbyists but they never did. It’s not just that court that needs a wake up call- it’s the legal profession.
    They’re just natural ass kissers to the powerful.

  127. 127.

    What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?

    @Quinerly: I have a Ryobi electric mower – my yard is small so a 100 foot cord will reach everywhere so I got the plug in one. It has lasted years and was pretty dirt cheap. I thought about a cordless but here’s what would happen…I would plan to mow the lawn on the weekend and think, at some random time, gee I should plug it in and charge it up. But it would be inconvenient for me to do that right then and there so I would make a mental note to do it later and then forget about it. Then the weekend would arrive and I would realize, I can’t mow the lawn because I never charged that sucker up like I planned to.

  130. 130.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @Kay: @Frankensteinbeck:

    Both plausible answers. I wonder what led the investigators to the private school whistleblower though. Did he come forward on his own? Otherwise it’s an unlikely place to be looking for inappropriate payments.

  131. 131.

    Brachiator

    @What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?:

    Still it is weird that it’s just now happening. I mean, she’s done far more acting work since Star Wars than Mark Hamill (he’s done a lot of voice acting for cartoons but as far as appearing on screen Fisher has him beat by a country mile). Plus she wrote a screenplay for a major motion picture starring Meryl Streep and Shirley McClain.

    Absolutely agree that Carrie Fisher should have received a star before now. But note that the stars are for work in the entertainment industry, not just movies. Singers and TV personalities also have stars. Hamill’s work as a voice actor has often been outstanding.

    Carrie Fisher was also a notable script doctor, brought on to polish or improve screenplays.

  132. 132.

    Miss Bianca

    @Steeplejack: Yeah, because endangering friendships with powerful people is *exactly* the sort of thing district judges should be worrying about.

  134. 134.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Thanks! That’s genuinely helpful. The actuarial charts suggest that I’m not likely to live in this house 100 years, and probably not even 40, so aluminum it is.

    @Quinerly:  Always up to something! We’ve moved to ABQ, by the way. Closer to Ms. O’s work by about 65 minutes each way. Let me know if you’re in town for a Costco run.

  135. 135.

    Steeplejack

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    Yee-haw. 👍 The parking here in Threadkill Lane is mostly parallel on the street, and I have maintained my expert skills. I have a near-foolproof method, which  is of use to almost nobody.

  136. 136.

    Quinerly

    @Geminid:

    That was my original thought but I am deferring to my construction guy, Miguel. He’s a tightwad like me. We were talking about the easiest and cheapest route. I trust him. My best friend out here considers him like a son, plus she has known him 25 years. If I make it go faster/easier for him, it’s cheaper on his time/hrs for me. He drives from Albuquerque 90 minutes each way. It’s all about making the job go faster.

    Probably a total of  3.5 pallets of flagstones. Each pallet is about 150 sq ft. I’m pretty sure when we are over, he would buy the concrete mixer back from me. He has a regular job with maintenance for Albuquerque schools/Head Start program, but is very much into his tools for side jobs. I just don’t want to be 80 bags into a cheaper machine and it stop. I tend to agree with a commenter….sometimes you can go cheap and be done. Toss the tool. I have done that with paint sprayers when staining wood fences.  Now that I am becoming an “expert” on mixers…lots of junk out there. (I tend to over research any product over $150….can’t help myself)

  137. 137.

    What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?

    @Frankensteinbeck: I never heard about Scalia’s corruption and I follow the news. It didn’t make much of a splash if it was exposed while he was still on the bench. It’s also the case though, that the court is now writing opinions with barely if any basis in law, and that also have the effect of law. That has put a dent in the “these brilliant legal minds must be treated with extreme deference” argument. Like, when it’s Scalia writing a clever but crackpot dissent that’s one thing (or not so clever as the case may be) but when those crackpot dissents become the majority opinion/decision with the force of law, then it starts affecting people’s lives.

    Also, feigning confusion over what is required to be disclosed? I mean…come on. A bog standard GS 11 can figure this out. We’re supposed to believe, though, that it’s all too confusing for one of the “most brilliant legal minds in the firmament” to understand the legal and ethical requirements about what gifts and other perks they should disclose? The excuse they’re using is basically claiming to be too dim to understand this stuff. So that undercuts the “we deserve deference” argument too. I mean, you can’t claim to be one of the most brilliant legal minds in the nation, nay, world, but also claim to find it super duper difficult to figure out what constitutes a legal or ethical lapse on your part.

  142. 142.

    Redshift

    @Kay:

    Agree. But remember- they’re really not obliged to defend all this. They’re given tenure for a reason.

    They’re not obliged to defend it to keep their academic position, but speaking the truth would endanger their position as a “made” member of the conservative elite, which I’m sure is far more lucrative.

    ETA: corruption all the way down…

  144. 144.

    lowtechcyclist

    @O. Felix Culpa:

    Thanks! That’s genuinely helpful. The actuarial charts suggest that I’m not likely to live in this house 100 years, and probably not even 40, so aluminum it is.

    If your gutters are high up or otherwise hard to get to for cleaning, I recommend getting the kind that keep the leaves out.

  145. 145.

    Soprano2

    @Scout211: We did all that stuff when we did our trust – durable power of attorney, living will, everything. It was hard to do some of it, but I’m so glad we did! I understand why they ask, because most people don’t do it until pushed by necessity. That’s kind of what happened with us, when my sister died I inherited a significant amount of money – enough that it necessitated us having a trust. My sister had done a trust, which was such a blessing for me and my mother because it made her complicated estate much easier to resolve (and it still took 8 years do to it!).

  146. 146.

    Brachiator

    @Miss Bianca:

    But the Mouse said, “No.” They won’t let us show them because we also (occasionally) show first run Disney movies. DISNEY WON’T LET YOU DO BOTH.

    Disney currently has The Return of the Jedi playing as a limited release in a number of movie theaters, so they are protecting their property.

    Still, it’s a shame that your library can’t show it.

  148. 148.

    Steeplejack

    @Kay:

    I saw that when Bill Barr came in under Trump for his second stint as attorney general. The gatekeepers completely ignored his atrocious record from the first time and pumped him up as an honorable straight-shooter who would rein in Trump. As if. I remember Benjamin Wittes at Lawfare as a particular example. I think he even issued an “I’m shocked—shocked!” mea culpa later. Way, way later.

  149. 149.

    YY_Sima Qian

    Since this is an Open Thread, May 4th is an important anniversary in Chinese history.

    China under the Beiyang Government had sent hundreds of thousands of laborers to France & the UK during WW I to work in logistics and manufacturing in support of the Allied war effort, in hopes of being on the winning side and recovering the Chinese territories occupied by Imperial Germany. However, during the Paris negotiations the western imperial powers instead sought to give the German colonies to Imperial Japan (who the British thought of as an ally to secure its interests in the Far East).

    The betrayal sparked a huge wave of indignation among the educated class & commoners in China alike, a major nationalist awakening. Students from universities in Beijing (then Peiping) organized protests to pressure the Beiyang Government to refuse to sign on to the peace treaty, a student movement that soon spread to the rest of the country. The protests were suppressed by the Beiyang Government, though the Chinese delegation in Paris eventually bowed to popular sentiments.

    The movement really radicalized a generation of Chinese intellectuals against every perceived source of China’s ills, from the weakness of the Beiyang Government, the parochial selfishness of the warlords, the imperiousness of western powers, the hidebound Confucian tradition (or anything traditionally Chinese, to some of the extremists).

    Both the KMT & the CCP trace their intellectual flowering to the May Fourth Movement, & many of the more radical left wing student leaders & faculty members formed the founding core of the CCP, while Sun Yat-sen was convinced that he needed to lead a “2nd republican revolution” to finally unite China & rid the country of the scourge of warlords, which he did w/ the support of the USSR/Comintern & in collaboration w/ the early CCP, transforming the KMT’s party organization along Leninist lines (the so called 1st KMT-CCP Alliance, the 2nd came during the Anti-Japanese War from 1937 on).

    Some of the darkest long term impact from the May Fourth radicalization can be found during the Cultural Revolution, which anything deemed traditional were targeted for attack & discredit, as the “old” baggage holding China back from advancement.

    The students that protested across China in 1989 saw themselves as the torchbearers of the May Fourth spirit. The date remains a lodestar in Chinese nationalist consciousness.

  151. 151.

    EmbraceYourInnerCrone

    Random Carrie Fisher facts:

    She did a wonderful one woman show/special  based on her memoir, called Wishful drinking.

    Things I learned from her special, George Lucus apparently convinced 19 year old Carrie when filming the first Star Wars movie that there is no underwear in space, to convince her not to wear a bra under her costume.

    Quick takes from Wishful Drinking

  152. 152.

    Thor Heyerdahl

    What a time to be alive.

    Ars could not immediately reach MTA for comment. Twitter still responds to comment requests with a poop emoji.

  154. 154.

    Redshift

    @O. Felix Culpa: Considering that he’s willing to be quoted in the record, it wouldn’t be surprising if he came forward on his own. They’ve got that big ol’ link in the stories saying “we’re continuing to report on the Supreme Court, if you’ve got anything, get in touch.”

  155. 155.

    Kay

    @Steeplejack:

    It’s gross. I can’t read any of them anymore. Just this kind of smarmy, ingratiating “analysis”. They’re writing for two audiences- their fellow legal elites who they never, ever offend or question and then their public audience.

    About half of law students are groveling, careerist ass kissers, in my experience. Go alongs to get alongs. How legal commentary ended up with ONLY people plucked from that half is really something.

    They should hire someone from, I don’t know, personal injury or consumer class actions or something. The brawler section of the bar :)

  156. 156.

    Quinerly

    @O. Felix Culpa:

    Had no idea that you moved but your gutter question piqued my interest. I know enough to know that’s no house in Galisteo! When did you move? I can’t believe we were so close by locale and never got back together out this way after Cafe Fina. I go thru Galisteo on the way to my friends out in Cerrillos and Madrid…always think about you. It’s such a sweet community.

    I’m in Albuquerque at least once a month. Usually meet my Moriarty friend there for lunch. Let’s coordinate timing.

  158. 158.

    Jeffro

    @Jerzy Russian:Regarding that last item, DougJ should sue the NYT for copyright theft, plagiarism, etc.  They are stealing his stuff right out in the open.

    truth

    The snooze media is going to turn over every last rock…twice…in an effort to find disgruntled Ds, “moderate” Rs, and the almighty blessed ‘independents’ who just can’t bring themselves to vote for democracy  justice  success  working people  Joe Biden.

  159. 159.

    The Up and Up

    For ardent devotees May 4th is the reason to drive to Vader … Washington. The postal clerk there says that individuals stop in for a hand cancel to commemorate.

  160. 160.

    Suzanne

    @EmbraceYourInnerCrone: Carrie Fisher also wrote the forward to Courtney Love’s book “Dirty Blonde”. Apparently they were neighbors and friends.

    That is a teatime I would have loved to attend.

  161. 161.

    Geminid

    @Quinerly: If the mason doing the work is used to a mixer then that’s certainly the way to go. In which case, the better mixer is the one to buy.

    You may want a good brush with a two foot handle for cleaning the mixer.

  162. 162.

    What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?

    @Frankensteinbeck: Also, as I didn’t follow Scalia I’m not entirely sure of this…but Thomas’s graft seems like it’s probably on another level. I mean, maybe Scalia accepted some speaking engagements and such but I’d be surprised if anyone bought him a house for his mom to live in AND bought and tore down the house next door because she didn’t like her neighbors. Or paid for his dependent’s private school education to the 6 figure level. Maybe there was some yachting and private plane flights going on, or not, but Thomas seems to be on a whole other level than his peers when it comes to this stuff.

  163. 163.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Frankensteinbeck: from what I remember of Carrie Fisher, it’s entirely possible she was never interested in a star on the Walk of Fame

    Remember Dr Oz posing with his?

  164. 164.

    Eunicecycle

    @Kay: Also they’ll quickly find out those rich people weren’t such good friends after all!

  165. 165.

    Hoodie

    @O. Felix Culpa: Most of this stuff appears to have been hiding in plain sight.   I imagine that Thomas has been wrapped in a hermetic bubble of wingnut welfare for so long he didn’t even bother to hide things.  I could believe that is the case with Thomas because he’s a fucking idiot in many other respects, but you do wonder why Crow was so open about it.  However, that could be a wrinkle on the Trump Technique for Consequence-Free Criminality, i.e., do all your criming in the open so you can deny there’s any criminal intent.

  166. 166.

    Jeffro

    @Kay:Thomas has a statement out. He’s really going to say that the gift was to his ward and not to him. That’s really going to be the defense.

    “I had nothing to do with this billionaire (who I became ‘friends’ with only after I joined SCOTUS) offering to pay the private school tuition of my ward after also buying my mom’s house and fixing it up and also buying several surrounding properties.

    We discussed it on one of our many friendly friend trips together around the world, just like friends do, and we decided that there was no conflict – just a made-up one, made up by the libs (as usual)”

    I know it’s not quite as animating as protecting reproductive rights, but rebelling against a fully-bought RWNJ Supreme Court can safely be added to the basket of majority-support issues Ds have at their disposal.  Let ’em have it, Dems!!

  167. 167.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Wasn’t one of the charges against Weisselberg that trump was paying his grandkids private school tuition?

    Could Crow be on the hook for gift tax liability, or did he launder this through some kind of foundation? isn’t that what he did with Mother Thomas’s house?

  168. 168.

    JAFD

    The announcers on WQXR this morn have mentioned that today is Bird Appreciation Day – an event begin in 1894 (?) by the school superintendent in Oil City, Pennsylvania,
    So. for ‘stans and watchers of the feathered flying folk,
    have aviary happy day !

    “Egrets …
    … I’ve had a few ….”

  177. 177.

    Quinerly

    @Geminid:

    I’m probably overthinking it. I’m learning a lot out here re logistics and contacts. If I was back in St. Louis, one call and a mixer would appear. SF is pain for construction stuff. So much demand. Not a lot of product. Don’t get me started on my rant regarding treated lumber. Rebar and baling wire are rarer than gold.

    When I saw the off brand mixers for $200 at Lowe’s it was a no brainer. Buy instead of renting at $60 a day. Now I’m into bigger better mixers on sale for $389.

    Weighing options.

  179. 179.

    Steeplejack

    @Kay:

    The brawler section of the bar?! Now I know where you hang out.

    I miss Popehat from Twitter. Haven’t followed him to wherever he ended up. I still read @nycsouthpaw on Twitter.

  180. 180.

    Ken

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    DR MORBIUS: May I draw your attention to these gauges all around here, gentlemen? Their calibrations appear to indicate that they are set in decimal series each division recording
    exactly ten times as many amperes as the one preceding it.

    Ten times ten times ten times ten times ten times ten on and on and on, row after row, gauge after gauge. The number ten raised almost literally to the power of infinity.

  182. 182.

    Geminid

    @Quinerly: On a different topic, are you seeing any new solar and wind power projects? Last time I visited New Mexico Governor Lujan Griffin and Democrats in the legislature had just pushed through a clean power plan. That was 4 years ago, and I’m wondering if there are visible results yet.

  183. 183.

    Quinerly

    @What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?:

    I like Ryobi. I’m usually  Lowe’s chick because of loyalty (my dad was a contractor in NC. Lowe’s started in NC and I can remember it as just a hardware store). Plus, I have a contractors/business acct with Lowe’s so discounts. Lowe’s Kobalt isn’t on sale like HD’s Ryobi, though. Plus, the HD in Albuquerque is easy for Miguel to stop in, pick up if I order on line. Thanks for weighing in!

  184. 184.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

     

    @NotMax:

    Haven’t seen him around either. Speaking of, I haven’t seen Martin in weeks or Kent in about a week

  187. 187.

    Kay

    @Paul in KY:

    Else that 12 year old would have been on the hook for all of it!

    lol
    They didn’t even choose his school. It’s Crow’s school. It’s where he went. Clarence Thomas went to Catholic school.

  189. 189.

    Quinerly

    @Geminid:

    Lots of new solar. A very large project slated to go in not terribly far from me. Lots of NIMBYs weighing in.

  191. 191.

    Elizabelle

    @Kay:  Me too.  Definitely miss Martin.  And Immanetize.

    Also:  have not seen Germy Shoemangler for eons.  Where did he go?  Does anyone know what is up with that?

  195. 195.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Scientists have used a new method for extracting ancient DNA to identify the owner of a 20,000-year-old pendant fashioned from an elk’s canine tooth.

    The method can isolate DNA that was present in skin cells, sweat or other body fluids and was absorbed by certain types of porous material including bones, teeth and tusks when handled by someone thousands of years ago.

    Objects used as tools or for personal adornment – pendants, necklaces, bracelets, rings and the like – can offer insight into past behaviour and culture, though our understanding has been limited by an inability to tie a particular object to a particular person.
    ……………………..
    The researchers who found the pendant, which was determined to be 19,000-25,000 years old, used gloves and face masks when excavating and handling it, avoiding contamination with modern DNA.

    It became the first prehistoric artefact linked by genetic sleuthing to a specific person: a stone age woman closely related to a population of hunter-gatherers known to have lived in a part of Siberia east of the cave site in the foothills of the Altai mountains in Russia.

    Her name was Athlescaylayoo. Or something like that, the inscription is really hard to read.

    just ftr, I made that last bit up.

  196. 196.

    Kay

    @Paul in KY:

    My mother in law paid for boarding school for a year for my middle son because he was a bad student, she had plenty of money and he’s handsome and she just preferred attractive people  but it didn’t “work”. He was just a bad student at an expensive school then. I don’t know if this is true of all private schools but I felt they were kind of bullshitting me to keep him there- told me he was a “leader” in his dorm. I bet he was. He didn’t do any work at all. Leading the fun, maybe!

    He went back to public school, graduated in the middle of his class and is an electrician now and seems to be happy. But he has like 11 super fancy friends.

  199. 199.

    Citizen Alan

    @Betty Cracker: I remember about 6 or 7years ago when the chief bankruptcy judge in north mississippi let it be known that he considered it unethical to accept so much as a $10 whitman sampler from a lawyer at christmas.

  201. 201.

    Citizen Alan

    @O. Felix Culpa: Honestly, I think it is just a blood in the water thing at this point. I mean, it won’t go anywhere because there are at thirty seven Votes to impeach in the senate, and the asshole is so shameless he would never resign under a democratic president. So why shouldn’t the media pounce all over financial scandals that they’ve done about for years and sell  some papers over it?

  202. 202.

    Kay

    @Citizen Alan:

    When the lawyers and law firms bring all the Christmas food into the courthouse they set it all on a bench outside judge’s chambers and we’re all supposed to take it.

    This isn’t hard. The idea that these people cannot figure out what is ethical and what is not is insulting.

    Clarence Thomas and Scalia were…puzzled by the rules. Never got them straight. Please.

  203. 203.

    Citizen Alan

    @What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?:

    The biggest thing I remember about scalia during his lifetime was that he would go on hunting trips with people who had business before the court, but I don’t recall any suggestion they paid for things.  For him. I know he regularly spoke at ole miss every few years when it coincided with his trips to go duck hunting in north mississippi.

  204. 204.

    Geminid

    @Suzanne: Martin fell out with a few commenters one night, over a Harry Potter computer game. He got frustrated and said he was out, see ya’ll in a few weeks.

    I hope Martin comes back too, but I wonder if he will. He’s been transitioning into retired life, and he might decide to turn the page on his participation here

  206. 206.

    Kay

    @Citizen Alan:

    They did. Scalia would have them ask him to the resort or hotel personally and then classify it as “personal” and not list the trips as gifts. Senator Whitehouse laid it out in his open the other day. Whitehouse asked for clarification on it from the judicial conference years ago and in his words “received a blow off letter in response”.

  207. 207.

    JAFD

    @Steeplejack: Still thinking about it.  Have been busy with other projects this past week.

    Thanks to all you jackals for //getting me further confused// enlightening me.

  208. 208.

    Steeplejack

    @JAFD:

    You got some good responses. I’m sure people will be glad to confuse help further when you’re ready to act.

  209. 209.

    SteverinoCT

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: They waived the road test.

    I had to get a Florida license once upon a time, and had to take the road test (on a closed course). I had been driving at that point for about ten years. I failed: there were four stop signs, and I did a “rolling stop” on all. Was able to go back the next day (waiting again in line for a few hours with my driver/car donor) and was a little less casual, and passed. Lesson learned!

Comments are closed.