Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

American History and Black History Cannot Be Separated

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

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

They think we are photo bombing their nice little lives.

Authoritarian republicans are opposed to freedom for the rest of us.

Republicans do not pay their debts.

Schmidt just says fuck it, opens a tea shop.

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

Hi god, it’s us. Thanks a heap, you’re having a great week and it’s only Thursday!

A last alliance of elves and men. also pet photos.

No one could have predicted…

You don’t get rid of your umbrella while it’s still raining.

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

The republican caucus is already covering themselves with something, and it’s not glory.

Conservatism: there are some people the law protects but does not bind and others who the law binds but does not protect.

No Justins, No Peace

I didn’t have alien invasion on my 2023 BINGO card.

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

Good lord, these people are nuts.

Usually wrong but never in doubt

Jesus, Mary, & Joseph how is that election even close?

Too often we hand the biggest microphones to the cynics and the critics who delight in declaring failure.

The words do not have to be perfect.

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Tuesday Morning Open Thread: Democratic Pride

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Tuesday Morning Open Thread 6

(Mike Luckovich via GoComics.com)

Tuesday Morning Open Thread 5

Horse-race media touts: To the fainting couches!!!! (Once again, the headline is incorrect):

… The first lady, speaking to a small group of Democrats in an apartment on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, said she was surprised to see a headline before her flight landed that described a majority of Republicans in a poll saying they were still planning to vote for Trump, who is set to appear in a Florida court on Tuesday…

She started a three-day fundraising swing Monday in New York City before flying later that night to California. She is scheduled to hold events in San Francisco and Los Angeles, with most of her time to be spent raking in money at four political events, including two in California’s Bay Area, to benefit the president’s campaign, the Democratic National Committee and Democratic state party committees.

Biden will also join Gabrielle Giffords at a separate event in Los Angeles to mark 30 years of anti-gun violence work by the Giffords Law Center, a nonprofit led by the former congresswoman. Giffords was shot in the head in 2011 during a constituent event in her Arizona district…

“We know what’s in store with the MAGA Republicans. We just know it, right? We know because we’ve lived it. We’ve seen it,” she said. “We know what it’s like to see U.S. policy tweeted out in late-night tweet-storms.”

She did not name Trump but referred to his habits of blasting off posts on Twitter that announced policies, insulted foreign leaders and nations and even fired staffers…

“If you’re criticizing the first lady, that can backfire,” Heye said.

Earlier this year, Jill Biden told The Associated Press in an interview that her husband has more he would like to get done for the American people.

“He says he’s not done,” she said. “He’s not finished what he’s started. And that’s what’s important.”…

Here’s to the fine Midwestern tradition of ‘Minding your own business‘… not trying to police other peoples’ choices, in books or in health care:

Reader Interactions

219Comments

  2. 2.

    Baud

    Blue states are an inspiration.  Such a contrast to ehat red states are focusing on. There’s a lesson there somewhere.

  4. 4.

    Kristine

    I voted for him reluctantly because damn another billionaire, but Pritzker has turned out to be a pretty good governor. And by pretty good, I mean easily in the Top 3.

  6. 6.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Something to put a smile on your face this AM:

    Donald Trump is expected to be represented at his first court appearance to face federal criminal charges for retaining national security materials and obstruction of justice by two of his existing lawyers, after struggling to recruit a local Florida lawyer willing to join his legal defense team.

    The lawyers making an appearance with Trump on Tuesday will be the top former federal prosecutor Todd Blanche and the former Florida solicitor general Chris Kise, according to people familiar with the matter. Trump’s co-defendant, his valet Walt Nauta, will be represented by Stanley Woodward.

    Trump and his legal team spent the afternoon before his arraignment interviewing potential lawyers but the interviews did not result in any joining the team in time for Trump’s initial court appearance scheduled for 3pm ET on Tuesday after several attorneys declined to take him as a client.

    Trump has also seemingly been unable to find a specialist national security lawyer, eligible to possess a security clearance, to help him navigate the Espionage Act charges.

    The last-minute scramble to find a veteran trial lawyer was a familiar process for Trump, who has had difficulty hiring and keeping lawyers to defend him in the numerous federal and state criminal cases that have dogged him through his presidency and after he left the White House.

    After interviewing a slate of potential lawyers at his Trump Doral resort, the former president settled on having Kise appearing as the local counsel admitted to the southern district of Florida as a one-off, with Blanche being sponsored by him to appear pro hac vice, one of the people said.

    FAFO he did.

  14. 14.

    Amir Khalid

    I have seen somewhere that Walt Nauta’s full first name is Waltine. Waltine?

  15. 15.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Baud: They are probably worried about losing their security clearances when trump inevitably gabs about some classified shit during a FOX or OAN interview. I can’t say as I blame them.

  16. 16.

    Ken

    @OzarkHillbilly: I wonder what the main sticking point is now — that he never pays, or that ten minutes after you’ve carefully instructed him on his behavior he’ll be on national TV confessing to new crimes and calling for mobs to kill the judge and prosecutor.

  20. 20.

    danielx

    @Baud:

    Also about getting paid.

    Edit: also per an attorney friend – then there’s that whole bit about keeping your mouth shut, which TFG is unable to do.

  22. 22.

    MomSense

    @Baud:

    Trump giving an address cracked me up.  You are too generous in describing the inevitable tossed rage salad with persecution crumbles and grievance dressing.

  23. 23.

    satby

    @Baud: @Kristine: Didn’t live in IL then so couldn’t vote for him, but I had met him working in IT on the account of his family’s business and I knew he was a very nice, “regular” guy from that, so I would have voted for him without hesitation. He delivered the commencement address at Northwestern University this weekend, and  it really sums up the man I met VERY occasionally at work. Worth watching.

  25. 25.

    evodevo

    @mrmoshpotato:  Yeah…I know…or that margarine ad from the Seventies…the cartoon confused me, ’cause it looks more like Trumpy than anything else…

  27. 27.

    NotMax

    Overheard après arraignment.

    “Y’know, a chandelier or two would really dress that courtroom up. It’s so drab.”
    //

  29. 29.

    NotMax

    Will Dolt 45 shuffle into the courtroom to the strains of “Hail to the Chief’ blaring from his phone?
    //

  35. 35.

    NotMax

    Wondering how much the Doral is overcharging the Secret Service for rooms while Dolt 45 is there?

  37. 37.

    eclare

    @Ken:

    One attorney refused to represent TFG because he said his wife would divorce him and his kids would never talk to him again.

  40. 40.

    Geminid

    @Kristine: Governor Pritzger also attracted talented people. Rep. Nikki Budzinski (IL-Water Girl) worked for the first Pritzger campaign and played a key role in his administration. President Biden’s Deputy Campaign Manager, Quentin Fulks, also served on Pritzger’s campaign. Last year Fulks managed Raphael Warnock’s successful reelection campaign, managing a budget of over $170 million at age 34. We’ll be seeing a lot from Ms. Budzinski and Mr. Fulks in coming years.

  41. 41.

    MomSense

    I am having a good laugh at McCarthy saying the bathroom door locks.  Holy hell he really is that dumb. I don’t know how bathroom doors work in his world, but in mine they only lock from the inside.

  43. 43.

    NotMax

    @MomSense

    Years ago Mom described what it would be if a delicatessen named a sandwich after him, thusly:

    Open-faced tongue on white bread with Russian dressing and a midget gherkin on the side.

  46. 46.

    Betty Cracker

    I usually resent every second that Trump spends in Florida because he and his filthy ilk further despoil this fallen paradise. However, I do get some small satisfaction from the feds compelling him to drag his fat orange ass to Miami in June. It’ll be hot and humid as fuck, and even though the only exposure he’ll have to the weather will be scuttling from air-conditioned limo to air-conditioned building, he’s suffering the indignities of off-season Florida while his fellow grifting parasites are in more salubrious climates.

  48. 48.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    Even if they used a broom closet that you CAN lock, are these people pretending not to know there are legal requirements on the storage of classified material, and “locked wooden door” is not it? Even for Confidential material, the lowest level of classification, you have to have a frickin’ safe.

  49. 49.

    Ken

    @MomSense: Yes, and I’ve yet to see a locking bathroom door that actually required a key to open. My parents had one that could be opened with a thin-bladed screwdriver (or a steak knife in a pinch), which was handy when one of us kids locked ourselves in.

  58. 58.

    NotMax

    Early TCM alert caution. This Saturday at 1:15 a.m. Eastern time.

    There’s clever kitsch, there’s fun kitsch, there’s mediocre kitsch, there’s dreadful kitsch, there’s abysmal kitsch and then there’s The Apple. A 90 minute trainwreck.

  62. 62.

    NotMax

    Whoopsie. Fix.

    Early TCM alert caution. This Saturday at 1:15 a.m. Eastern time.

    There’s clever kitsch, there’s fun kitsch, there’s mediocre kitsch, there’s dreadful kitsch, there’s abysmal kitsch and then there’s The Apple. A 90 minute trainwreck.

  63. 63.

    H.E.Wolf

    @Baud: ​
     I think of them as “blue-governed” and “red-governed” states – and you’re so right, there’s a sharp contrast.

    Hooray for the upholders of Midwestern liberalism!

  66. 66.

    NotMax

    Ivanka and Jared are right in the neighborhood. Any bets we won’t see hide nor carefully coiffed hair of either of them today?

  68. 68.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @rikyrah: A case I heard about several years ago that still haunts me, a husband pleaded with doctors to look at his wife, that something was going wrong, he was told “frankly your wife is not a priority for me right now”, and a few hours later she was dead from hemorrhaging.

  70. 70.

    satby

    @Kristine: I will continue to point out that those “hires” weren’t “low quality” for what they were chosen to do, which was undermine and destabilize the departments and organizations they were hired to oversee. More than two years later the damage is still being repaired.

  72. 72.

    snoey

    @Soprano2: That came up when people were talking about his real estate legal issues. NYC lawyers had 2 Trump rules – 100% retainer in front and always have 2 lawyers in the room with him so he wouldn’t lie so much about what they told him.

  74. 74.

    Soprano2

    @Ken: My mom had a piece of wire with masking tape wrapped around the end to unlock the bathroom door in case we locked ourselves in.

  78. 78.

    JPL

    trump cares about two things, and that’s himself and $$$$$$.  Why did he have nuclear secrets?   Early on congress prevented him from turning over nuclear secrets to the Saudis.   Was this a way for him to pay them back?

  80. 80.

    Scout211

    I don’t know if this has been posted yet, but a few days ago Garth Brooks announced that he will be serving all brands of beer in his new bar and honky tonk opening soon in Nashville. He reiterated that when that prompted the usual backlash from the haters. Link

    Celebrities have such a huge voice these days.  It’s good to hear from someone like Brooks, who is willing to speak out against hate even if it angers his fan base.

    Country music star Garth Brooks addressed critics Monday after he said his bar would serve Bud Light and made other comments, and he again said he wants customers to show tolerance.

    . . .

    People upset with Brooks’ remarks vented online and said they would burn their merchandise.

    Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., took exception to Brooks’ remarks, interpreting them as insulting.
     
    Brooks addressed the controversy Monday on his livestream “Inside Studio G,” acknowledging that there had been a “quite a little bit of a stir” since the Billboard event.
     
    “Everybody’s got their opinions. But inclusiveness is always going to be me,” Brooks said. “I think diversity is the answer to the problems that are here and the answer to the problems that are coming. So I love diversity. All inclusive, so all are welcome. I understand that might not be other people’s opinions, but that’s OK, man.”

    . . .

    So, here’s the deal, man, if you want to come to Friends in Low Places, come in. But come in with love, come in with tolerance, patience. Come in with an open mind, and it’s cool,” Brooks said.
     
    “And if you’re one of those people that just can’t do that, I get it,” he said. “If you ever are one of those people that want to try, come.”

  84. 84.

    eclare

    @Scout211:

    It is good to see.  Nashville is a young, booming city, much more so than Memphis.  While his stance may piss off people in other areas that buy his music, I think most locals who would go to his bar would agree.

  85. 85.

    prostratedragon

    @Baud:  Saw that. Just devastating, and too likely to have been avoidable. I remembered her from Athens.

  87. 87.

    David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch

    @NotMax: Ivanka recently changed her name.  She now goes by Ivanka Kushner, no longer Ivanka Trump.

  93. 93.

    Steeplejack

    Question for the techno-weenies: useful life of a cable modem?

    (Full disclosure: I have to leave in a while to go to a dentist’s appointment, but I’ll be back in a couple of hours.)

    Yesterday I was getting multiple lags while streaming Cox on my Chromebook (which I haven’t experienced before). Ran Google’s speed test on that, my phone and my computer, and I got 20-25 Mbps on all of them. Whut?! Did a hard reboot of cable modem, router and computer, no improvement. Broke down and contacted Cox this morning via Internet. Mostly useless interaction with a chatbot, then I asked for and got an allegedly live person. They did some tests, reset the modem from their end, and now I’ve got 155 Mbps on my computer, which is back to normal for me. Somewhat lower on the phone and Chromebook, but also normal, I think. (I hardly ever check those.)

    Anyway, the Cox minion asked me how old my cable modem is. It’s a Motorola MB7621, purchased in December 2019. Minion said the useful life of modems is two or three years and I should consider upgrading. And whaddya know—Cox has a plan where I can get their Panoramic Wifi Gateway combo modem/​router for a mere $14 a month! How ’bout that? Yeah, do not want.

    I looked on the Wirecutter and saw that the MB7621 is still their favorite modem. Later today I will burrow into the modem, do any firmware upgrades available, etc. (Ditto for the router, which is the same age as the modem.) But the question was raised of whether modems just get old. 😸 Doesn’t seem logical to me, but I’m throwing it out there.

    I’ll be back later . . .

  94. 94.

    Old School

    Now some Republican state is going to prohibit the outlawing of book bans.

    My guess is Florida.

  95. 95.

    James E Powell

    @Geminid:

    I was pretty impressed with Rep Nikki Budzinski when I first learned about her. She may, as we say, have a future. It’s childish, I know, but I like the sound of President Nikki Budzinski.

  98. 98.

    TS

    @MomSense:

    I am having a good laugh at McCarthy saying the bathroom door locks.

    Why do they have to support him?  The party gave up on Nixon but they just keep supporting trump. Weirdest politics I have seen in my lifetime.

  103. 103.

    prostratedragon

    For your consideration:

    It’s Tuesday, June 13 at the Miami federal courthouse. The former President of the United States is set to be arraigned on federal criminal charges at 3 p.m.The chickens have come home to roost (literally). pic.twitter.com/FNzKQH7rz2— Anna Bower (@AnnaBower) June 13, 2023

  107. 107.

    Kristine

    @rikyrah: I was thinking more of the primary.

    In the general, no question–Pritzker. After seeing the jobs Bloomberg and Rauner did in elected office I just didn’t expect much. I’ve seldom been so happy to have been wrong.

  109. 109.

    Soprano2

    @TS: It makes perfect sense if you think of him not as a political figure, but as a cult leader.

  110. 110.

    Kristine

    @satby: I get how they weaponized it. But then there are the folks they hire to work for them–thinking staffers, campaign pros, lawyers–who often turn out to be really bad at their jobs.

  112. 112.

    TS

    @Baud:

    Trump is a Christ-like figure to the GOP base.

    That is quite some Christ they worship. I could understand the following for JFK & also for President Obama – but this one is way beyond me.

  118. 118.

    Jeffro

    Newsom and Whitmer are CLEARLY planning on being ‘in the mix’ as of January 21, 2025.  Good!  They’re excellent representatives of a Democratic Party that is taking no BS and wants to get. things. done.

    (As is, I hope it goes without saying, our awesome VP!)

    Meanwhile on the GQP side, Robert Costa is reporting that many big R donors are hoping they can recruit a late entrant/savior should when trumpov goes down for the count under the weight of his many indictments.  RC says Kemp and Youngkin are the names he keeps hearing.  I don’t think the trump rump of the GQP will rally behind either of those guys, and trump himself would be more than happy to sabotage any R who plans on leaving trump’s “legacy” behind, so while both Kemp and Youngkin stress me out as opponents (especially Kemp), I think the GQP’s goose is cooked this cycle.

  119. 119.

    narya

    @MomSense: You win the internet today! And it’s still early.

    Add me to the Pritzker train–I was impressed w/ his performance at the beginning of the pandemic, in particular. From VERY afar, he seems like one of those people who took his wealth & privilege and is trying to do something good with it, rather than merely trying to increase the size of his pile. I also think he has a sister who’s transgender–or a relative, anyway.

  120. 120.

    Kristine

    @Steeplejack: Maybe the processors or other parts that handle transmission can age out? They still work, but they can’t handle newer website builds etc because there’s just so much electronic gunk attached these days. I finally had to give up my iPhone 7 a few months ago because the old processor couldn’t handle apps and current websites and kept crashing.

    And this is a total guess on  my part because it’s all black box magic to me.

  121. 121.

    OzarkHillbilly

    I was asleep in a not good position and woke up about 2 AM with my right hand fully asleep, rolled over and went back to sleep. It is now 8:16 and my thumb is still numb. I have never had it take anywhere near this long to recover before. It’s starting to piss me off.

  122. 122.

    Aardvark Cheeselog

     Jill Biden in her first solo outing of the 2024 campaign said Monday it was “a little shocking” that a sizeable number of Republicans are still thinking of voting for Donald Trump even after his federal indictment, a subject that her husband has tried to avoid speaking about.

    Her husband has avoided speaking about it, but it’s just more evidence of the unspeakable: The Republican Party is a radical subversive criminal Party.

  123. 123.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    Legal Eagle’s video on the indictment against Trump.  No wonder Trump can’t get a lawyer, the indictment has multiple occasion were Trump is showing classified material and admitting he is breaking the law.

    https://youtu.be/7KRceywz-rU

  125. 125.

    James E Powell

    @TS:

    That is quite some Christ they worship. I could understand the following for JFK & also for President Obama – but this one is way beyond me.

    He scorns and infuriates the people they hate. He is the revenge against the world that they are powerless to exact.

  129. 129.

    Geminid

    @James E Powell: I liked Nikki Budzinski’s response to the cheering crowd at her victory rally last year:

       “Thank you, and now let’s get to work.”

    Representative Budzinki has never held elective office before, but if you read her Wikipedia biography you’ll find that she has a ton of practical political experience. When Ms. Budzinski left her job as OMB Chief of Staff to run in the newly drawn 13th CD, Republicans complained that Springfield Democrats had shaped the district with her in mind. They probably were right.

  134. 134.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    Years ago I saw a documentary about Glen Campbell late in his life, suffering from Alzheimer’s, unable to follow the most basic instructions in rehearsal. But when the lights came up and the show started, he was fully THERE.

    I’ve been feeling like TFG is like that. His tweets sound like his brain long ago turned to mush. But he can still grift, and he can still do whatever the hell it is he does at rallies that his cult gets off on.

  135. 135.

    Anyway

    I think they (R voters) hate Ds and everything they (we) stand for and want to deny us any voice in the public sphere.

  137. 137.

    EmbraceYourInnerCrone

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: From the article I read Tori Bowie was probably suffering from eclampsia (formerly know as toxemia of pregnancy)  which is high blood pressure caused by pregnancy and left untreated it can cause swelling of the hands, feet and face, severe headache, disorientation, convulsions, and death.  eclampsia can cause issues before or immediately after birth.

    The treatment is usually to deliver the baby early.   My sister in law suffered from it in both her pregnancies, she later died of a stroke at age 42.   Unfortunately eclampsia symptoms are too often downplayed or ignored and eclampsia can turn very seriously very quickly.

  138. 138.

    catclub

    @prostratedragon: ​
     

    Expect another compilation of his quotes down the line.

    The indictment has wonderful quotes of his about how he will care for secrets and enforce the laws on revealing them.

  139. 139.

    Kristine

    @Geminid:

    Republicans complained that Springfield Democrats had shaped the district with her in mind.

    Because they’ve never even considered doing that ever ever ever.

    I smile.

  140. 140.

    NotMax

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym

    Reminiscent of stories regarding George Burns, about whom it is said was a shriveled shadow of himself backstage. But once he came out in front of the footlights all that instantaneously dropped away.

    ‘Tis almost mystical how performers can hungrily feed off the energy of an audience.

  141. 141.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @NotMax: ​ My calves for yours? Any time. In fact, let’s go whole legs! Than you too can know what it’s like to beg for a bullet at 1 AM!
    Seriously, I have epically horrendous leg cramps, and it’s nearly always both legs at the same time. All too often I spend all night swathed in ice packs. It’s one of the reasons I horde the opiates I get after surgeries.​

  142. 142.

    Danielx

    @Soprano2:

    Or the Keys, where there are chickens all over the place. I damn near jumped out of my skin when a rooster cut loose with cock-a-doodle-do from a tree in a Publix parking lot.

    It turns out chickens can fly, at least short distances. Who knew?

  143. 143.

    Soprano2

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: There is something about music and the brain that’s special. There’s a whole project dedicated to dementia and music. It activates something in the brain. You see the same thing with Tony Bennett.

  146. 146.

    NotMax

    @OzarkHillbilly

    Yeah, leg cramps here too, although not with the frequency you suggest. Nothin’ like taking five or ten minutes to gingerly achieve verticality from being abed.

    Never tried it but Mom swears by swallowing a teaspoon of mustard following leg cramps making their presence known.

  147. 147.

    EmbraceYourInnerCrone

    @Amir Khalid: What seriously pisses me off about Nauta is that he was a Navy Senior Chief until September 30 2021, when he retired. Which means he was probably still on active duty while doing some of the box moving for Trump.

  149. 149.

    Soprano2

    @Danielx: In my city they made it legal to have 6 chickens in the city limits, but you aren’t supposed to have roosters. Of course, people ignore this, so sometimes I hear roosters crowing in the morning. Someone who lives across from my workplace had a rooster for several years, even before “city chickens” became legal!

  150. 150.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Danielx: It turns out chickens can fly, at least short distances. Who knew?

    Heh, any one who’s ever raised them. ;-)

    I generally keep my birds in a run, but over the years I’ve had a few escape artists. One I have right now flies to the top of a gate I keep between the runs, and from there to the roof of the coop. Then wanders around in total freedom, until just before I go down to give them their evening scratch when she returns to the run. I had an escapee last year that wandered the woods for months, returning once a day or so only to leave me an egg. She was great. I got eggs and I didn’t even have to feed her.

    Sadly, she did not survive the winter. They need to snuggle up at night when it gets really cold. If a fox didn’t get her, the deep freeze was bound to.

  153. 153.

    Steeplejack

    [. . .] with most of her time to be spent raking in money at four political events [. . .].

    C’mon, man! Have they ever used that phrasing for Trump, Cruz or any other grifting Republican?!

  157. 157.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @narya: My mother swears by a shot of vinegar as a cure for hiccoughs.  I’ve found that a shot of lemon juice serves the same purpose and is more palatable.

  160. 160.

    geg6

    Is TaMara around?  Congratulations to her and her team on winning the championship!

    It’s possible she may miss this due to having celebrated last night, but I hope she reads through and catches up.

  161. 161.

    Geminid

    @Kristine: While she attended the University of Illinois, Nikki Budzinski interned for Rep. Richard Gephardt, Senator Paul Simon, and Planned Parent. After she graduated ~1998, the United Food and Commercial Workers Union hire her as national political director.

    Now, when she’s not in Washington, Ms. Budzinski lives in a house in Springfield with Lulu, her French Bulldog.

  163. 163.

    Bruce K in ATH-GR

    @Steeplejack: Electronic devices that see constant use do see some wear and tear. Sometimes a modem or router or network hub will just go bad. I’ve had at least one instance where my DSL modem/router had to be replaced – which is a pain for me because my modem/router also handles my landline telephone, which can no longer be handled directly from the wall jack because they went full digital on the landlines. Annoying, because I used to prefer to use a router I selected myself, but there’s really not much choice in the matter any more. Still, demanding that you pay a monthly rental fee for a modem when you can just as easily buy the modem outright is not a good practice.

  165. 165.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @NotMax: ​ I’ve dealt with them all my life (nothing like waking up in the total darkness of a cave camp screaming to get one’s team mates up and about) but ever since I went on blood thinners they have been far worse. I suspect a connection

  166. 166.

    JWR

    @Scout211: I have a fun, once-removed Garth Brooks story. A co-worker was camping in a popular area in the desert near Las Vegas, when who pulls up but Garth Brooks and crew, who promptly treated the campers to an acoustic, one-off show. (I’m guessing about the acoustic part.) But here’s where the story got interesting. A few months later, Brooks’ production people were out searching for a house for a new video, and who’s house did they pick but the one occupied by this same co-worker. I forget the name of the song the video was used for. Something about “fire”, dealing with a busted relationship, (aren’t they all?), and it was a big hit. And this told me that Brooks was a pretty cool dude.

  167. 167.

    PST

    @Kristine:

    Pritzker has turned out to be a pretty good governor.

    During the pandemic, my wife used to complain that Gov. Pritzker was acting sensibly but didn’t get nearly as much publicity as Gov. Cuomo or Gov. Newsom, for example. I think that was both deliberate and admirable. I agree that he has done well for someone who has had to cope with the misfortune of being born a billionaire.

  169. 169.

    skerry

    I had thumb joint reconstruction on my right hand last Friday. I’m in a cast for a couple of weeks. I’m still in a lot of pain and it’s very awkward trying to do anything with that hand since I am *very* right-handed. I think I’m going to use all the narcotics I have.

  170. 170.

    Sure Lurkalot

    @Baud:

    Trump is a Christ-like figure to the GOP base.

    Driving through Kansas there was a Trump 2024 decorated trailer parked in a field and then about a football field further, a statue of Jesus, at which I screamed “Trump”!

  171. 171.

    Wapiti

    @NotMax: some of the distance cyclists here swear by pickle juice for cramping. My initial thought is that it’s got some electrolyte benefit.

  173. 173.

    geg6

    @Scout211: ​
     
    RIP. Saw that earlier today and was sad. He was really good in a lot of things. Especially loved him as Berger in Hair though. I always have a soft spot for Hair. Met Gerome Ragni a couple of times through my friend who was his niece. Great guy.

  174. 174.

    Layer8Problem

    @Steeplejack:
    Generally, cable modems die hard, due to capacitor rot or power line zappage. If your hard reboot didn’t fix it and their “reset” did my guess would be they changed the DOCSIS configuration file your modem downloads from them. But hey, there’s always an opportunity to upsell! If the problem shows up repeatedly consider asking them to replace the MB7621 with another MB7621; otherwise, enjoy your regular service and wait until it really dies. If they let you attach your own self-purchased and approved-by-them cable modem and you want to accept the technical management part, I’d go that route.

    Disclaimer: I hate all cable providers equally. I used to support my company’s put-call-center-agents-at-their-homes-to-eliminate-call-centers initiative nationally. I had to deal with them because we were paying for “business-grade” service to the agents’ homes seperately from their residential cable. Cox, Time-Warner, Comcast/Xfinity, Cablevision/Optimum/Altice, CenturyLink (now “Lumen”), what have you, I hate ’em all. If they haven’t disappointed me it’s because they haven’t gotten around to it yet.

  175. 175.

    eclare

    @narya:

    Pickle juice is a poor man’s Gatorade, supposed to be excellent for hydration.  I don’t think that many people still drink it, but it makes sense that poor southerners would discover it.  I heard about it growing up.

  177. 177.

    Betty Cracker

    @EmbraceYourInnerCrone: It’s an extremely dangerous condition — I had it and was put on bedrest for weeks, which sounds good in theory if you’re a lazy slob like me but turned out to be awful in practice. From what I know of the condition from my experience, it’s possible Ms. Bowie had competent medical care but it went awry anyway; that’s definitely a risk. I hope she had good maternity care, but there’s no question the U.S. is a laggard in that regard. As a society, we don’t give much of a shit about women, still less about women of color. It’s shameful.

  180. 180.

    JWR

    @TS:

    The party gave up on Nixon but they just keep supporting trump.

    Actually, at least according to Woodward and Bernstein’s “All The Presidents Men”, the number of R’s clinging to Nixon all the way to the bitter end made it feel like it was never gonna end. They were that eras “La la I can’t hear you” chorus. Leastwise that’s how I remember it in the book.

  186. 186.

    catclub

    @Bruce K in ATH-GR: Still, demanding that you pay a monthly rental fee for a modem when you can just as easily buy the modem outright is not a good practice.

     

    Sounds like its a GREAT practice … for the network provider.

  187. 187.

    geg6

    @NotMax: ​
     
    I get them in my feet. My doctor told me to eat a banana. Apparently, some of these cramping situations are caused by a lack of potassium.

  189. 189.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @NotMax: Reminiscent of stories regarding George Burns, about whom it is said was a shriveled shadow of himself backstage. But once he came out in front of the footlights all that instantaneously dropped away.

    ‘Tis almost mystical how performers can hungrily feed off the energy of an audience.

    I’m skeptical that “feeding off the energy of the audience” really describes what’s happening:

    During the 80s I was a member of a folkdance performing troupe. I was also an arthritic whose problems (shoulders hips spine chest) were usually (but not always) controllable with medication.

    There were gigs when I’d limp into the changing area and struggle to get into my costume, then limp out onto the stage and line up for the opening number – and when the music started and the curtains opened the pain and stiffness simply fell away. And I would be fine – or at least adequate – until the last notes of the finale, when (after the last bow) I’d limp offstage and struggle into my street clothes.

    FTR there was no “audience energy,” as most of our audiences had little to no idea what we were trying to do onstage or how well we did it; our performances were curiosities. (And FWIW I was not a particularly skilled dancer, but adequate as a member of the troupe.)

    I conjecture that (in my case anyway) the specific and intricate, and well-learned understanding of what had to be done amounted to a template that (once the music started) laid itself over and suppressed the  pain and physical problems for the duration – maybe abetted by adrenaline and/or other compounds – and withdrew once the music ended. Think of athletes who seem half-crippled but once the play is in motion bestir themselves to play brilliantly – and then limp off the field.

    Anyhow that’s what it seemed like to me. FWIW

  190. 190.

    catclub

    @Betty Cracker: . I hope she had good maternity care, but there’s no question the U.S. is a laggard in that regard.

     

    The US is criminally bad at it compared to other ‘developed’ nations

  197. 197.

    mrmoshpotato

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    They are probably worried about losing their security clearances when trump inevitably gabs about some classified shit during a FOX or OAN interview. 

    @Ken:

    or that ten minutes after you’ve carefully instructed him on his behavior he’ll be on national TV confessing to new crimes and calling for mobs to kill the judge and prosecutor.

    Once more for those in the cheap seats – BUT HER EMAILS!

  198. 198.

    Steeplejack

    @Bruce K in ATH-GR, @Layer8Problem:

    I own the modem (and router). Not paying rent that would buy them in less than a year.

    I’m a mostly retired software guy and thought I was aware of all cable modem traditions, but I had never heard the “dying of old age” one before.

    I’ll look for firmware upgrades and whatnot when I get home. Now celebrating with breakfast at IHOP after the dentist.

  204. 204.

    lowtechcyclist

    @James E Powell:

    [Trump] scorns and infuriates the people they hate.

    But why do they hate people that Christ loves?  There’s the problem right there.

  206. 206.

    Steeplejack

    @Kristine:

    Everything was working, just a lot slower. Seems to be back to normal now. Maybe they flushed the pipe when they did the reset. 😹

  207. 207.

    Soprano2

    @Uncle Cosmo: I swear that there’s something about music that’s almost like magic. I saw a presentation about this movie, “Alive Inside”, and using music with patients who had memory loss. They said it was as if they were completely different people when they listened to familiar music.

  208. 208.

    RaflW

    BTW, f**k Starbucks, and f**k the entire idea of ‘rainbow capitalism’. These corporations have no stomach for fighting against authoritarianism, fascism, or the eliminationist rhetoric of the right wing.

    The whole idea of values-based shopping, corporate DEI, or SRI managed accounts is complete pinkwashing bullshit. Brew your own coffee and send the savings directly to an LGBTQ+ human rights org.

    .

    eta: DEI – Diversity Equity & Inclusion; SRI – Socially Responsible Investing

  211. 211.

    Miss Bianca

    @eclare: I drink pickle juice, too! A friend of mine who used to plant trees for the Forest Service hipped me to that trick for hydration, so when I’m logging myself it’s the first thing I go for in the fridge.

  212. 212.

    StringOnAStick

    @skerry: Demand more narcotics when you need them, and be insistent.  Hands have some of the highest concentrations of nerve endings in our bodies (feet too) and the rules are that only 30 narcotic containing pills can dispensed per prescription, so if you need more, get pushy about it.  Don’t take no for an answer.

    The current fashion of denying narcotics is driven by the same urge as the Failed War on (some) Drugs, leaving people who need them in a bad spot.  A friend had a total knee replacement last year and was sent home with Tramadol and orders not to take too much Tylenol, completely inadequate when they’ve just sawed out large chunks of bone after dislocating the knee first to do the sawing.  This puritan ethic resulted in my pain filled BIL being denied much beyond basic hydrocodone while he was still walking in the last 30 days of his life, suffering horribly.  Yes, some few people become addicted, but many more are denied effective pain management when it is desperately needed.  True addicts will always find a way, regular people end up suffering to stop something that decades of the war on drugs has done little to change and filled our prisons.

  214. 214.

    Ruckus

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    FAFO he did.

    The very, very pointy end of the stick.

    There is so much more in store for his majesty, the king of billionaire stupid. He is a dual holder of the title king, he’s also king of dumbass presidents. At least in our nation’s history there has only been one who really, truly, absolutely, totally deserves that title. He wins hands down.

  216. 216.

    Ruckus

    @skerry:

    I’ve had both hands in navicular casts, which bends the hand backwards at 90 deg. Fortunately not at the same time. I foolishly thought that as I’m ambidextrous that I could write with my off hand. Dispelling that idea took about 10 seconds. That turned out to be 6 weeks of the worst penmanship since first grade.

  217. 217.

    Gretchen

    @StringOnAStick: I couldn’t believe that my daughter was sent home two days after a Csection with nothing but Tylenol. No opiates for getting your abdomen cut open!

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