Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

“The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.”

Let there be snark.

If America since Jan 2025 hasn’t broken your heart, you haven’t loved her enough.

And now I have baud making fun of me. this day can’t get worse.

There are more Russians standing up to Putin than Republicans.

Tick tock motherfuckers!

Speaker Mike Johnson is a vile traitor to the House and the Constitution.

Every one of the “Roberts Six” lied to get on the court.

“What are Republicans afraid of?” Everything.

You cannot love your country only when you win.

Come on, media. you have one job. start doing it.

Not all heroes wear capes.

Disappointing to see gov. newsom with his finger to the wind.

Oh FFS you might as well trust a 6-year-old with a flamethrower.

This country desperately needs a functioning fourth estate.

The revolution will be supervised.

When I decide to be condescending, you won’t have to dream up a fantasy about it.

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

The current Supreme Court is a dangerous, rogue court.

If you are still in the gop, you are either an extremist yourself, or in bed with those who are.

Not rolling over. fuck you, make me.

This blog will pay for itself.

Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.

You are here: Home / Politics / GOP Death Cult / Thursday Morning Open Thread: The GOP Death Cult Doubles Down In Its War On Women

Thursday Morning Open Thread: The GOP Death Cult Doubles Down In Its War On Women

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Thursday Morning Open Thread 10

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164Comments

  2. 2.

    New Deal democrat

    Sorry, but the statement by the anti-abortion leader does *not* mean she has adjusted her view of “pro-life” even one iota. She does not condemn the 6 week limits, but *only* any laws that allow abortions after 15 weeks as “focusing on the extremes” first.

    Let’s see what the conservative Evangelicals and Catholics do to any GOPer who actually calls for a rolling back, even in the tiniest parts, of any post-Dobbs Red State enactments.

  3. 3.

    Freemark

    Personally I think the ad should go further showing how it’s illegal even to transport your daughter out of state to get an abortion.

  5. 5.

    OzarkHillbilly

    As the dad of a teen girl, this ad cuts to the bone.

    As the grandfather of a teen girl and 4 more who someday will be, I would be sorely tempted to beat that GOP pol to death on the spot.

  6. 6.

    BellyCat

    Pro Lie Movement FTW!
    (credit: Betty Cracker)

    One can imagine a clever written version of this with the “f” crossed out.

  10. 10.

    Betty Cracker

    Hats off to every journalist who said the pro-life movement would turn on Trump instead of just adjusting their definition of pro-life, way to not get it after 8 years.

    The tweeter is correct that GOP cultists will move the goal posts to support the cult leader. But folks like Dannenfelser (forced-birth proponent who runs SBA “Pro-Life” America) are also trying to mitigate the damage of being exposed as extremists who tank elections for Repubs. Damage mitigation involves lying, as usual.

  11. 11.

    Kay

    They’re all such liars. Susan B Anthony does nothing at all to “serve mothers in need”. None of the anti abortion groups do. They pay Right wing lawyers and lobbyists generous salaries. That’s what they do.

    Democrats and liberals, OTOH, served tens of millions of “mothers in need” (along with children) with the Democrats three health care programs. There’s no question on who serves more mothers and children in need- it isn’t close. Republicans serve “none” and Democrats serve at least 50 million.

    Obamacare alone has served more children than the entire GOP and anti abortion movement has. Just since 2010.

  12. 12.

    Betty Cracker

    @Kay:

    They’re all such liars.

    QFT. As with Trump, you have to start with the assumption that they’re lying about everything.

  13. 13.

    BellyCat

    And for the males who view women as objects to be conquered and can’t think beyond closing time at the bar, wait until they collectively begin to come to terms with 18 years of child support for their beer-goggling escapades.

    I’m surprised that the very real, long lasting consequence to insta-fatherhood — literally FAFO — is almost never mentioned. Dobbs, while horrific for women, doesn’t solely impact women.

  14. 14.

    Kay

    @Betty Cracker:

    Dannenfelser told the New Yorker last year that blue states would gut their own abortion laws after Dobbs because public opinion would force them to. That was her confident prediction. Now, faced with actual public opinion instead of Right wing fantasies about how everyone agrees with them, she’s lobbying for national laws.

    Liar. Can’t be trusted with womens health. She’ll kill us.

  15. 15.

    Balconesfault

    I still feel that every Republican who calls for a 15 week abortion ban should be asked … “Are you agreeing that a 14 week fetus isn’t a ‘baby’ then?”

  16. 16.

    Betty Cracker

    @Balconesfault: We gotta keep in mind that the 15-week ban isn’t a compromise — it’s an attack on existing blue state laws that allow abortion past 15 weeks. They have no intention of making red states allow abortion up to 15 weeks. It’s another misdirection, i.e., lie.

  17. 17.

    John S.

    @BellyCat:

    The male cohort that supports these draconian measures don’t give a shit about responsibility. It’s always the mother’s fault for spreading her legs.

    They’ll be the first ones to abandon those women and children and not think twice about never being actively involved or paying a cent for their own biological children. I strongly suspect that most “deadbeat dads” skew heavily conservative.

    The only real consequences (immediate and long-term) for insta-parenthood fall to the mother. The fathers can simply choose to walk away.

  18. 18.

    Kay

    Here’s an interview with Dannenfelser from last year (competent interviewer, so he nails her down on a lot) where she confidently predicts how great things will be post Dobbs and also brags how anti abortion groups have it all mapped out and how their agenda will be popular.

    Just one lie after another. Nothing she says has come to pass. The arrogance is incredible. The assumption was women wouldn’t object at all. They have so little respect for women the idea that there would be any kind of political pushback from voters wasn’t considered at all.

  20. 20.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @John S.: I strongly suspect that most “deadbeat dads” skew heavily conservative.

    My wife’s deadbeat Ex skewed heavily alcoholic.

  22. 22.

    Scout211

    Both of those ads are very good. Hadley is a brave young woman.  The Tuberville look-a-like was a smart casting choice in the first ad.

    A few days ago I posted a recent poll by The 19th that showed a majority of Americans do not trust politicians to make medical decisions for them. That was both Rs and Ds.  Both of these ads focus on that and also hit hard on the issue of “protecting our children” by giving parents a choice in their children’s medical decisions.*

    I approve of both of those ads.

    *not just parental decisions on what scary books are in their schools.

    ETA: added text for clarity.

  23. 23.

    Soprano2

    @Freemark: They did one of those in MO already, when the state legislature was talking about passing a law like that. They should do more of them.

  24. 24.

    Shalimar

    @Betty Cracker: Dannenfelser sounds like a type of bondage that can get you arrested in Germany.  I wonder if she gets promoted in the party of punishment just because of her name.

  25. 25.

    Soprano2

    @Kay: What kills me about those groups is how they promote the idea that they’ll give mother some diapers and other baby stuff as helping young mothers in need. Ok, what about the next 17 years of the child’s life, what are you doing for that? The truth is, they oppose pretty much any measure that actually helps people with children.

  27. 27.

    Freemark

    @Omnes Omnibus: That wouldn’t be hard to do though. In time of the ad or money. And it’s not everything. It’s like saying this car has ‘heated seats’ or this car comes with ‘heated seats and special leather upholstery’.  They’re trying to show how extreme the GOP is and many people to whom abortion is not their top priority consider the laws making transport illegal worse. Not a giant demo, mostly younger men, from my experience discussing this with college kids. But still not nothing.

  28. 28.

    eversor

    @Betty Cracker:

    I’m pretty sure the pro-life movement knows they are still going to get what they want.  If the GOP loses it’s Christian base it’s done for.

    I wonder how much of this is mostly to fool the donors.  Peter Thiel was anti-abortion when he thought that was the path to his libertarian utopia.  When that blew up in his face he stated that the GOP needs to back off abortion.

    The GOP is more and more pulling the wool over the donors eyes and giving the base what it wants.

  29. 29.

    H.E.Wolf

    @BellyCat: And for the males who view women as objects to be conquered and can’t think beyond closing time at the bar, wait until they collectively begin to come to terms with 18 years of child support for their beer-goggling escapades. ​

     

    “Homicide (frequently by partner) is a leading cause of death in pregnant women in the US. Women in the US are more likely to be murdered during pregnancy or soon after childbirth than to die from the three leading obstetric causes of maternal death (high blood pressure disorders, hemorrhage, or sepsis).” – 2021 article, from a journal for health professionals.
    https://www.bmj.com/company/newsroom/homicide-is-a-leading-cause-of-death-in-pregnant-women-in-the-us/

  30. 30.

    H.E.Wolf

    For me, the salient point is “See you in Roevember”.

    Democratic candidates are beating Republicans at the ballot box in the majority of local and state elections since Dobbs.

    Harking back to yesterday’s “Fired up and ready to go” post: there are a lot of small, concrete, effective GOTV actions we personally can take. Let’s take ’em.

  31. 31.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Freemark: It may not be hard to do, but I don’t know that it should do it.  The ad packs a punch, and it hits its one idea hard.  If it were to start adding more ideas, it could diminish its impact.

  33. 33.

    Jeffro

    Today’s WaPo headline article: “trump, who paved the way for ROE repeal, faces blowback from the right”

    We all know his cultists will move the goalposts, but DeSantis and others will pound away on this for the next six months.  It’s up to us to make sure the normies get a good glimpse of the fighting.

  37. 37.

    schrodingers_cat

    OT: Question for Balloon Juicers who are homeowners.

    Does the $2000 estimate to put in more lights in the kitchen and living room (this involves one big ceiling light and a fan sound good to you guys? I am too busy to get another quote right now. And we do need the lights as it is getting darker this time of the year.

    (8  new lights, 2 on a dimmer, replace existing boobs lamps in the two hallways) this is just labor we have to buy the lights. (I have bought some of them, but not all)

  38. 38.

    Geminid

    @Freemark: Perhaps a better way would be to produce two or three ads highlighting different aspects of the issue, and run them in rotation. Costs of production need not be too tight a constraint; the Beshear ad we saw couldn’t been very costly to produce.

  40. 40.

    Geminid

    @schrodingers_cat: My knowledge of renovations and their cost is only general. I would look at free standing lighting units though, and weigh their costs and utility against units mounted in the ceiling. There is a very wide selection of types and models to choose from.

  41. 41.

    CaseyL

    From what I hear, the only difference between Rupert and Lachlan is that Lachlan is a true believer in RW/Trumpist filth, rather than a merely mercenary peddler of it.

  42. 42.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    If the GOP’s war on women goes anything like their war on drugs, before long we’ll have more women than we know what to do with.

  44. 44.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Geminid: The mounted in the ceiling units are only for the kitchen (6 in all) everything else is a fixture that hangs from the ceiling.

    My kitchen gets little light.  We have been making do with floor lamps for the living room and it is impossible work there at night.

  45. 45.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Geminid: Exactly.  I am a veteran of too many protests and marches that ended up with a diluted message because too many participants wanted to add their issue of choice to the signage and speakers.  And don’t get me started on the giant puppets.*

    *Although I like the giant rat that comes to picket lines.

  46. 46.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @schrodingers_cat: Assuming they have to run new wire and install new boxes, it does not sound too high to me. If they are just replacing existing fixtures, the price should be in the hundreds.

    Keeping in mind that this is coming from a Misery carpenter and Mass prices are likely higher.

  48. 48.

    RaflW

    @Scout211: “a recent poll by The 19th that showed a majority of Americans do not trust politicians to make medical decisions for them” cuts both ways, alas. We’ve seen a weakening of public acceptance of vaccines. Not just Covid, but the already blooming school-age anti-vax crowd got a significant boost in these years of suspicion of public health.

    That said, there is tons of room to maneuver in the “politicians make medical decisions” space for Dems. Abortion. Family planning. Gender care. The GOP is just Hunger Games + Handmaids Tale now, and that is a hellscape we can pretty easily paint, and offer a good alternative to.

  51. 51.

    artem1s

    I’m glad that the pushback has finally arrived. Women (feminazis) have been pointing the slippery slope since the right decided to attack Roe to turn out the Talibagelist vote. But you know, shrill! So here’s the next shrill prediction – Expect Hobby Lobby and other conservation employers decide they should be able to fire anyone they suspect of getting reproductive care they don’t approve of or aiding and abetting women seeking abortions (and eventually contraception). once criminal charges start happening in bigger numbers the next step will be to try to keep women who have had abortions from holding certain jobs and running for certain offices or being Supreme Court Justices. Maybe even voting. The question won’t be ‘do you support choice’ it will be ‘have you ever exercised your right to choose’. They will absolutely go there because voter suppression via keeping women away from the ballot box and out of legislatures is the only way they can continue to win state wide and federal elections.

  53. 53.

    Kay

    @Soprano2:

    The women also have to accept religious and political indoctrination to get the “free” diapers. Fuck that. I’d rather dig ditches then accept anything “free” from these controlling, manipulative people. They don’t give anyone anything. It’s always about how great and charitable they are.

    We have a lady here who started a genuinely free diaper program. She uses coupons and takes donations to buy diapers. I donate. She gives them away at Job and Family Services locations- where women go to get WIC, food stamps, etc. So she’s not full of shit, like the anti abortion frauds. She doesn’t force them to accept religious/political indoctrination to get a pack of Pampers because she’s not an authoritarian control freak.

  54. 54.

    Yarrow

    @schrodingers_cat:  Will this work involve rewiring, cutting/patching the ceiling, re-painting ceiling, installing new switches, etc.? Or is it just replacing lights? If it’s just replacing lights, that estimate seems a bit high to me, especially since you’re buying the lights, but I’m not a great judge. If it involves any of the other stuff it could be a good estimate.

  55. 55.

    balconesfault

    @Betty Cracker: The point isn’t to settle on 15 weeks as some sort of “compromise”.

    The point of asking if a 14 week old fetus isn’t a “baby” is to force them to either fully embrace the language of the forced birthers … or to reject that language.

    If a 14 week old fetus is a “baby”, then a 15 week ban is still codifying “infanticide”.

    If they want to say a 14 week old fetus is different from a 15 week old “baby” … let’s force them, every day, to try to explain that position.  Which if you don’t accept the evasions and doubletalk, just makes them look like opportunistic idiots.

  58. 58.

    Geminid

    @schrodingers_cat: There are better and brighter floor lamps to be had now, and some can be extended higher. They might put out 90% of the better light obtained by ceiling mounted fixtures.

    But I must confess my bias here: I don’t like bright overhead lighting. And while I have nothing against carpenters and electricians, they charge a lot of money (with good reason).

  59. 59.

    Layer8Problem

    @Omnes Omnibus:  “Although I like the giant rat that comes to picket lines.”

    Would that be the Giant Rat of Madison, a story for which the world is not yet prepared?

  61. 61.

    Yarrow

    @schrodingers_cat:  I’d say it’s a good price. But make sure you know if it includes all the work, like patching holes, repainting, etc. Especially if you’re pressed for time you don’t want to have to either do that sort of work yourself or bring in someone else later to do it.

  62. 62.

    RaflW

    @schrodingers_cat: How many hours is the electrician estimating? Are they fishing wire all around the ceiling and making new circuits, or just using existing wiring?

    It seems a tad high, but (edited as @56 explains the scope of the work) I don’t know where you are, how old your house is, etc.

    I think the questions for you are: Is this what you’re willing to spend? Does the company have a good local reputation (and BBB and all that), and warranty their work, and did you get a good ‘vibe’ from the person who bid the job

    eta: Also what Yarrow said about full-service since it sounds like efficiency of the job is important!

  63. 63.

    balconesfault

    @Omnes Omnibus: ” I am a veteran of too many protests and marches that ended up with a diluted message because too many participants wanted to add their issue of choice to the signage and speakers. ”

    And of course, if anyone breaks anything … that’s immediately ALL that the protest and march was about, was breaking things. 

  64. 64.

    Mai Naem mobile >44

    @schrodingers_cat: i think it’s a little high for just the labor but depends on the amount of electrical work needed. I don’t know if you’re a Costco member but they have some decent deals on fans and lighting(good brands) when they’re on their monthly deals list.

  65. 65.

    lowtechcyclist

    @The Kropenhagen Interpretation:

    If the GOP’s war on women goes anything like their war on drugs, before long we’ll have more women than we know what to do with.

    I know what you meant, but IME women are pretty good at deciding what to do with themselves.

  68. 68.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    @RaflW: Reframe the question. Who do you trust more on vaccines, elected leaders or random passersby in the supermarket?

    Anti-vaxxers are simply proponents of universal mandatory exposure therapy. That is to say, they want us all to get sick.

  69. 69.

    balconesfault

    @CaseyL:  From the Guardian article on Fox …
    … but Lachlan just wipes his bottom on him

    Rupert Murdoch’s son, Lachlan Murdoch, is in pole position to take over the empire. According to Wolff, the younger man is no Trump fan either. As reported by the Daily Beast, Wolff writes: “In the run-up to the 2016 election, the bathrooms at the Mandeville house featured toilet paper with Trump’s face, reported visitors with relief and satisfaction. [Lachlan] told people that his wife and children cried when Trump was elected.”

  70. 70.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Mai Naem mobile >44: They will be getting the wiring and the switches  and the recessed lights. The bigger fixtures we have to buy. I got some deals on fans during the Independence day sales.

    ETA: They won’t patch up the dry wall.  We will have to get someone else to do it.

  71. 71.

    Betty Cracker

    @balconesfault: Right, and that hypocrisy is definitely worth exposing. But it’s also critical to be clear that the 15-week federal ban proposal is yet another attack on existing rights. 

  73. 73.

    RaflW

    @The Kropenhagen Interpretation: For 80,000,000 Americans, I think we have our idiotic answer. They’ve gone with the UV light & bleach idiot who featured on a thousand supermarket tabloids for their vaccine ‘news’.

    And for a lot of people, they see the Surgeon General or even county health officials as just as political as a Potus or County Board member. The crisis of trust in public officials isn’t just electeds. The GOP at the national level has been savage about the CDC and NIH. It’s so fucking toxic to our future.

  74. 74.

    BellyCat

    @John S.: While I agree with your perception and assertions, being on the wrong side of paying child support is far more punitive than people think and it rapidly leads to jail time until arrears are paid.

    The irony here is that our privatized prison system is very good at feeding itself.

  75. 75.

    balconesfault

    @schrodingers_cat: “The biggest weapon that RWNJs is the lack of scruples. They think that lying for their cause  is A OK.

    Pharmabro Avivek is a prime example of that.”

    I don’t think Pharmabro Avivek has a “cause”, except for the promotion of the greater good for Pharmabro Avivek.

    Which makes him the perfect Trumpian.

    The Religious Right folks just believe that lying to non-believers is ok, because we’re all going to hell anyway.

  76. 76.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @schrodingers_cat: They won’t patch up the dry wall. We will have to get someone else to do it.

    Trust me, you want to get someone else to do it.

    eta: a good painter can knock it out nicely.

  77. 77.

    narya

    I also want to see women speaking out about a decision to have an abortion because it was just a very bad time for that, and they wanted to be able to support their children, or didn’t want children at all. I get that the way the laws are written, it’s the horrific cases that make the news, but I also don’t want women to have to justify their decisions a thousand different ways to whatever legal entity wants to be in the exam room with her.

  78. 78.

    schrodingers_cat

    @RaflW: I am in MA. House is about 25 years old. This a family owned business in my town. The guy who I spoke with seems honest, had ideas where I could save money etc. He has good reviews and a good rep on NextDoor.

  81. 81.

    MisterDancer

    @balconesfault: … but Lachlan just wipes his bottom on him

    Like others have said, don’t trust any of these fools. They stunt on Trump in private, but keep his people close in public. They worship mammon, and that leads them to do dirt, to harm vulnerable populations and the American Experiment, for money and power.

    Until and unless Lachlan changes Fox into an actual News Org., until and unless he acts to repudiate Rupert? He’s just Rupert 2.0 in how I treat him, and the company his represents.

  82. 82.

    sab

    @Geminid: No more floor lamps!  My husband and I have had this disagreement for years. He hates ceiling lights. He also uses the chair nearest the front wall and the windows in the living room with a lamp on the side table next to him, and I am stuck out in the middle of the room with extension chords for the other lamp that everyone trips over, or I have have to try to read or whatever by the light of his lamp. It just doesn’t work for me.

    He says I need cataract surgery. I can see fine in the rooms with ceiling light fixtures.

  83. 83.

    Geminid

    @schrodingers_cat: Sorry, I can’t. But I suspect that if you look up the subject you’ll find hundreds of options. They can be compared in claimed “lumens” or other specs. There may be independent ratings to be had. You could maybe narrow down the field by searching “lights for architects” or “lights for hobbyists.”

  84. 84.

    BlueGuitarist

    @Layer8Problem:

    How the deuce did you deduce that?

    Eta

    firesign theatre’s Sherlock Holmes parody The Giant Rat of Sumatra;

    some of the other comments evoke their first album, Waiting for the Electrician or someone like him

  86. 86.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    @RaflW: I know plenty of Trump voters who stay up-to-date on their shots. I get the sense most Republicans don’t buy in to the whole Republican program, but the ones who try to present as less ghoulish find another reason to vote R and are generally dismissive of the relevence of the coalition they’re in. For example, I have no problems with gay people or women making their own decisions, I just vote Republican for lower taxes.

    This, of course, makes them the biggest ghouls of the lot.

  87. 87.

    balconesfault

    @Betty Cracker: “But it’s also critical to be clear that the 15-week federal ban proposal is yet another attack on existing rights. “

    If a casual voter is convinced that a 15 week ban is a “reasonable compromise” between those who want to absolutely ban abortion, and those who want legal post-birth abortions … they’re not going to think about “rights”.  Because clearly a newborn baby has rights that have to be balanced.

    I think the attack has to be focused on the absolute irrationality of any pre-viability ban on abortion, no matter what language the proponents are trying to use.  You beat these politicians by making them either embrace extremist religio-fascist language on stage … which does have its own internal logical consistency … or looking like pandering fools whose only interest is control.

  88. 88.

    Princess

    @New Deal democrat: I believe that’s the point agraybee was making. Journalists thought the pro-lifers would condemn Trump. The rest of us know he’ll say what he wants to get elected and the pro-lifers will wink at it, as they fix here. The point is that journalists are naive.

  90. 90.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    @Princess: The point is that journalists are naive.

    Journalists aren’t naive, they play naive to promote broader broader public naivete.

  91. 91.

    balconesfault

    @The Kropenhagen Interpretation: ” I know plenty of Trump voters who stay up-to-date on their shots. ”

    Yeah – but ask them what they think about the school shutdowns.

    I’ve found folks who seemed totally rationally on things like vaccines … who also seem to have embraced the position that since only 1.1 million Americans died of Covid, rather than 20 million, that proves that Government overreacted and shutdowns were just another example of a bureaucratic power grab.

  92. 92.

    RaflW

    Nothing personal against any Juicers, but: Except in kitchens and maybe bathrooms, ceiling light fixtures are of the Devil. Certainly, nearly ever ‘boob’ light in America should be taken out and shot. If overhead lighting is needed, can lights are okay. But I got stung myself in not paying close enough attention to our kitchen remodel.

    I thought we were getting cans, but we got the new LED ‘disk’ type lights that look like cans but have too much spread and are too glare-y for my liking. And my BF always rams the dimmer up to full when I’m not there (the kitchen is 80% my domain, so I slide it back down as soon as he’s outta there. lol.)

  93. 93.

    Lyrebird

    @Betty Cracker: We gotta keep in mind that the 15-week ban isn’t a compromise — it’s an attack on existing blue state laws that allow abortion past 15 weeks.

    AGREE.  And I don’t think any of the haters have gotten any consequences from the last round of stirring up more hate around late term abortions and care for terminally ill newborns.  iirc there were death threats against the very same nurses who help parents going through THE WORST.  that’s the zombie lie the orange menace is fostering.

  97. 97.

    Frankensteinbeck

    Uh, @agraybee knows that Trump is being absolutely savaged on the right for his ‘make a deal’ comments, right?  No, most of them aren’t moving the goal posts.  They’re turning on him because they only loved him when he was saying what they wanted to hear.

  99. 99.

    Kelly

    A half hour past dawn here in the western Cascade foothills. Brought Mom home from the hospital yesterday. Recurrent C Diff diarrhea is under control. Vancomycin for twice as long this time. Her mind still isn’t right. Gives reasonable short answers to questions. Relatively good energy getting around the house with her walker. It seemed like I woke up every time the furnace kicked in. Kind of on alert I guess. I got up four times, asked her if she need to go to the bathroom. No. She lied.  Got her up for her for her 6 am pill. Very wet. A bit of clean up, change the bed. Start a load in the washer. Her coffee pot sorta moans when it first gets going. An odd feature in a home with a convalescent.

  101. 101.

    RaflW

    @The Kropenhagen Interpretation: If we hit the Pfizer estimate of 28% uptake of the new, autumn Covid annual shot, can we as a country be said to be up-to-date on our shots? The historical average for flu shot is around 51.5% for reference.

    And a couple dozen states have childhood vaccine loopholes that 10s of thousands of parents drive a truck thru. It’s not just Trumpers, either. To my massive chagrin, our niece’s Dem parents are mostly (yet inconsistently!) anti-vax.

    (They all got 2 or 3 Covid shots early in the pandemic. But their teen is basically unprotected from most of the things we’d sure like her to be vax’d against. It’s not our call, tho. Will be interested to see where she goes to college. She may be getting armfuls after she turns 18?)

  103. 103.

    RaflW

    @Kelly: What an odyssey. Glad she’s home, though it sounds like you’ll be busy with a fair bit of care, no one likes extended hospital time.

  105. 105.

    narya

    BTW, thank you to everyone who chimed in about hospice. I ended up bringing it up w/ my mom over the phone the other day (I was going to wait til I was in person, but the timing felt right), and she is not 100% there but was absolutely wanting to see the services I found at the hospital system they use; I sent a link at her request. I pointed out that Jimmy Carter chose this, and I definitely leaned on everything you all said, especially about how most people wait too long. Still a lot of heavy conversations to be had, but I was absolutely bolstered by you all weighing in

    ETA: hospice would be for dad, not her, so some of the conversations are with him, too. Good thing there’s a liquor store w/in walking distance.

  106. 106.

    Geminid

    @schrodingers_cat: I would also say generally about home improvements that if you have a well considered plan and a good contractor, you should get what you want. It sounds like you have both.

  107. 107.

    Jackie

    @Freemark: Last Fall – probably just before the Nov election – a political ad was running showing a mom and teenage daughter pulled over by a state trooper. He asked them where they were going and accused them of heading for the state line. It showed him using his flashlight to scan over the terrified teenager’s body. It ended there, but the implication was obvious.

    It brought back memories of what it was like for women pre-Roe.

  108. 108.

    Betty Cracker

    @balconesfault: Again, the issue is that the 15-week “compromise” IS A LIE. It erodes access to reproductive healthcare in states like CA, NY, NJ, etc., and it leaves draconian laws in place in states like FL, MS, AL, etc. Low-info voters are buying the misdirection the anti-abortion people are selling with the 15-week ban, i.e., that its a compromise. It’s not, and it’s really important to make that point, IMO.

  110. 110.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Betty Cracker: For it to be a compromise*, the forced birther states would need to adopt it as well.  That ain’t a part of the discussion, so it ain’t a compromise.

    *Not an acceptable one, IMO.

    ETA: My view of an acceptable compromise on this is:  Against abortion?  Don’t have one.

  111. 111.

    Belafon

    @artem1s: Except there were plenty of women who didn’t believe that it would actually happened. Otherwise Democrats would be overperforming for so long Republics would be a permanent minority party.

  112. 112.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    @RaflW: A lot of people are refusing the vaccine, this is true. I’m talking about the specific class of Massachusetts suburban Republican who think they present themselves as responsible because their party doesn’t have enough power to make many significant decisions.

  114. 114.

    Scout211

    @Betty Cracker: Again, the issue is that the 15-week “compromise” IS A LIE.

    Yes.  And once Democrats even engage in the conversation about the number of weeks that patients and doctors are legally allowed to make medical decisions in the patient’s best interest, we have given the anti-abortionist a partial win.  They are definitely looking at all the states who still allow abortions and are trying to find a way to at the very least, limit them and reduce access.

    IMHO, no Democrat should engage in any discussion or argument about the number of weeks that healthcare decisions between a doctor and patient should be legal by authority of non-medical legislators. Do not even engage in that conversation.

  115. 115.

    narya

    @Scout211: IMHO, no Democrat should engage in any discussion or argument about the number of weeks that healthcare decisions between a doctor and patient should be legal by authority of non-medical legislators.

    This times infinity. It makes it sound like we’re willing to negotiate over the number of weeks, when what we’re really talking about is agency.

  116. 116.

    UncleEbeneezer

    HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A former federal prosecutor who helped investigate the origins of the Trump-Russia probe said Wednesday she left the team because of concerns with then-Attorney General William Barr’s public comments about the case and because she strongly disagreed with a draft of an interim report he considered releasing before the election.

    “I simply couldn’t be part of it. So I resigned,” Nora Dannehy told Connecticut state legislators during her confirmation hearing as a nominee to the state Supreme Court. It marked the first time Dannehy has spoken publicly about her sudden resignation from the probe overseen by former special counsel John Durham.

  118. 118.

    emmyelle

    I suppose supporting a “rape and incest exception” is better than supporting no exception, but i have yet to hear how this will work. Of course that is because it is not meant to work, but can we please call them on this bullshit?

    First off, “rape and incest” has to go. If your father or brother or uncle rapes you, it is, simply, rape. Same as if it is the incel next door neighbor, the rush captain of the coolest fraternity, or the stranger who jumps out of the bushes.

    More to the point-how will it be determined which unwanted pregnancies are the result of rape? I guess because, you know, everyone has always believed women who say they have been raped.

  120. 120.

    Central Planning

    @schrodingers_cat: We (contractors) remodeled our kitchen this past winter (and spring, and summer). $2K sounds like it’s in the ballpark. I would highly recommend more than 6 lights if you are putting them in your ceiling. And maybe some under-counter lights if that’s possible. We did both and have so much light that we have everything on dimmers. It is glorious.

  121. 121.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    @narya: The farther out that number, the more likely any decision to terminate a pregnancy wasn’t a preference but a response to a critical emergency.

    We can’t tie the hands of doctors and the pregnant mothers they care for.

  122. 122.

    Mousebumples

    @Kelly: there’s 3 newly approved treatments for recurrent C diff to ask about for after the vancomycin – Vowst, Rebyota and Zinplava). No idea if any are clinically right in this case or if they’re covered. Good luck to you and your mom!

  123. 123.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    ETA: My view of an acceptable compromise on this is:  Against abortion?  Don’t have one.

    That’s a good start. I’d add that if they’re against other people’s abortions, they can reduce the number of abortions by ensuring that there’s comprehensive sex ed in the schools (including teaching boys about consent), and that women and girls from puberty on have access to their preferred method of birth control at no cost.

    “But that’ll turn our little girls into sluts!”

    “Guess there are some things more important to you than fetal lives, then.  Same with us.  Abortions A-OK, then?”

  124. 124.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Central Planning:

    And maybe some under-counter lights if that’s possible.

    You mean under-cabinet (over counter) lights, but YES to that.  Especially early in the morning and late in the evening, I don’t want to be in a room with light blaring every which way, but I want some light where I’m getting my cup of coffee or whatever. Under-cabinet lights are good for this.

    If one isn’t doing a kitchen remodel, under-cabinet LED lights with a cord to plug into an outlet don’t cost much, and we’ve got a couple of those in use.  But when we do the kitchen remodel (probably ~3 years away), we’re going to have them built in.

  126. 126.

    Kay

    I’m fretting over the Ohio abortion vote. Misleading ballot language and we’re asking them to vote yes on issue one when we just told them to vote no on issue one – it’s kind of a nightmare. If we do this it will be amazing.

  127. 127.

    cain

    @New Deal democrat: I think if they want to claw back control – they are going to need to create a new conservative more moderate party. Sure they’ll be out of power for a few rounds but eventually MAGA will be driven out and hopefully we can put the radical religionists back inside their cages where they belong.

  128. 128.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Central Planning: We are planning to redo the kitchen next year so for under the cabinet lights I was thinking of getting the led ones that can be stuck under the counters until we do the redo. I don’t think we need wiring for that. We have enough outlets in the kitchen.

  130. 130.

    Kay

    Of course, the anti choicers also told their voters to vote yes and now have to tell them to vote no, so maybe the inattentive vote is a wash :)

  131. 131.

    Miss Bianca

    @Omnes Omnibus: Hey, I *like* giant puppets. So sue me.

    (Still not a fan of clowns, although when you work with a kids’ circus group that’s a stance that’s getting a little…awkward.)

    ETA: Tho’  I maintain the right to my instinctual, visceral fear of clowns, however selectively applied.

  132. 132.

    Miss Bianca

    @RaflW:

    The GOP is just Hunger Games + Handmaids Tale now, and that is a hellscape we can pretty easily paint, and offer a good alternative to.

    I like the way you think.

  134. 134.

    Mousebumples

    @Kay: I’m hoping the pro choice postcarders tracked which addresses received postcards and voted and can prioritize follow ups to those voters.

    @Kelly: hope it helps! (I’m a pharmacist, in case you’re wondering about my random drug related advice)

  135. 135.

    Kathleen

    @New Deal democrat:  I have a Kentucky focus group comprised of a Catholic woman who has 5 daughters and a woman raised as conservative Evangelical who is personally against abortion but has slowly come to support woman’s right to choose.  They do not support Republicans’ position on abortion or anything else for that matter. After my conversations with them, which they initiated, I felt something was shifting.

  136. 136.

    laura

    @Kelly: Unsolicited advice coming in hot: if she doesn’t already have a waterproof mattress cover, get one. Also, waterproof crib mattress pads are great to use across a mattress in “the zone.” Finally, if you think there may be middle of the night incontinence, double sheeting- waterproof pad, fitted sheet, 2nd waterproof pad, fitted sheet, top sheet. The soiled layer gets pulled off and the set below is in place.

    I hope that this is helpful or unnecessary. Caregiving is hard work.

  139. 139.

    Geminid

    @cain: A new party would be a heavy lift. I think a more likely will be for tge radicals to gdt tgrashed for sevaral general election cycles. Might take two in some states might tak four in others. Many of the radicals will grift away- most of them were not very civic-minded to begin with. The Chamber of Commerce/Country Clib wing can co-opt the rest and start rebuilding a dimished party.

    One thing that will keep the Republicans in the game as a party is that they will still retain Senators in 20 states and 170 House seats at worst. They’ll also still control state offices in similar number of states. They won’t have to start from scratch.

  141. 141.

    Kathleen

    @Scout211: I heard a radio ad this morning in support of Issue 1 in Ohio (codify abortion in constitution) that made this very point. We don’t want the state intruding in our medical decisions.

  142. 142.

    wjca

    @Omnes Omnibus: The ad packs a punch, and it hits its one idea hard.  If it were to start adding more ideas, it could diminish its impact.

    And, as we’ve seen over the past couple of decades, it’s enormously effective to take a single, simple message and just repeat it over and over and over again.  Until it becomes part of the collective consciousness.  (“But, her emails!” anyone?)

    Sure, there are lots of other issues that could be targetted.  But it appears to be most effective to pick one of two, rather than go for the shotgun approach.  And pick for what motivates voters, not for what you find the most outrageous.

  144. 144.

    eversor

    @RaflW:

    It’s not that they don’t trust doctors or public health experts.  It’s that they don’t trust doctors and public health experts who don’t agree with them on religion, sex, LGTQ, or gender roles.

    The GOP did not start the anti-vaxx stampede.  The grass roots at the base up stated they weren’t going to trust scientists who believed there were more than two genders, men could turn into women, men could marry men,  killed babies, and didn’t believe in the Bible.

    If a rabid Bible thumper who railed against homosexuality and shouted that abortion is murder, trans is child mutilation, biological sex is gender, women should have more babies told them to take the vaxx they would.

    Everything goes through the lense of Christian Nationalism with them.  If someone agrees with them they will do what they are told.  If someone does not they will throw a fit.

  145. 145.

    rikyrah

    @Betty Cracker:

    @Balconesfault: We gotta keep in mind that the 15-week ban isn’t a compromise — it’s an attack on existing blue state laws that allow abortion past 15 weeks. They have no intention of making red states allow abortion up to 15 weeks. It’s another misdirection, i.e., lie.

    ROE WAS THE COMPROMISE.

     

    period.

  146. 146.

    rikyrah

    @Kay:

    Just one lie after another. Nothing she says has come to pass. The arrogance is incredible. The assumption was women wouldn’t object at all. They have so little respect for women the idea that there would be any kind of political pushback from voters wasn’t considered at all.

     

    That women wouldn’t care about the loss of body autonomy. That we wouldn’t understand what that loss would mean.

  147. 147.

    Scout211

    @Kelly: @laura: Finally, if you think there may be middle of the night incontinence, double sheeting- waterproof pad, fitted sheet, 2nd waterproof pad, fitted sheet, top sheet. The soiled layer gets pulled off and the set below is in place.

    Also, there are many different choices out there for incontinence briefs for overnight. That would save all the bedding issues.  That is, if she was willing to wear them, which can be an issue.

  148. 148.

    Freemark

    @Omnes Omnibus: ​
      Understand the point, but it really is about control almost more than abortion. And adding that really shows it so I believe would make it even more effective. And we don’t need to run just one ad, we can do both.

    I also think that the Democratic party should also be running generic ads touting how good the Democrats have been economically for the country. Over and over and over again.

  150. 150.

    Freemark

    @wjca: In this case I don’t agree. Because it is more about control than abortion. Abortion is only part of it. Even this ad is about control more than abortion. This is a good ad but it also isn’t enough. We need to make explicit Republicans want to be in everybody’s bizness not just pregnant women’s.

  152. 152.

    rikyrah

    Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) posted at 9:17 AM on Thu, Sep 21, 2023:
    NEW: Kevin McCarthy denied President Zelensky’s request to deliver a joint address to Congress.

    “My Kevin” also declined the Biden administration’s offer to give the House the same classified briefing about Ukraine the Senate got yesterday.

    Have you no shame,… https://t.co/37VcrmG7jK
    (https://x.com/RpsAgainstTrump/status/1704862332638155230?t=eBe0RbYacPRYOBMc71YzOA&s=03)

  153. 153.

    wjca

    @eversor: It’s not that they don’t trust doctors or public health experts.  It’s that they don’t trust doctors and public health experts who don’t agree with them on religion, sex, LGTQ, or gender roles.

    Definitely true of some.  But I also know anti-vaxxers who are athiest/agnostic.  Otherwise seem like reasonable folks (on issues like sex, LGTQ, or gender roles), but daft on that one point.  (“Mumps, measles, and chicken pis were dying out already.  The vaccines had nothing to do with them ceasing to be a problem.”  Having lived thru that time, I know it’s utterly divorced from reality.  But….)

  154. 154.

    Chief Oshkosh

    @Betty Cracker: Great point. Equally, we should never, ever use the term “pro-life.” They are anti-abortion, forced-birth, god-bothering, assholes. Use one or all of those phrases, IMO, but never “pro-life.”

  156. 156.

    rikyrah

    @emmyelle:

    I suppose supporting a “rape and incest exception” is better than supporting no exception, but i have yet to hear how this will work. Of course that is because it is not meant to work, but can we please call them on this bullshit?

     

    There.are.NO.EXCEPTIONS.

    You can’t find one exception in these Red States.

    Certainly not the 10 year old impregnated by incest.

    Or the 11 year old in Mississippi who was raped and forced to give birth.

    Or the woman in Texas who finally got help after she bled out in the parking lot of the hospital.

     

    Jessica Valenti ( whom everyone should be reading), made this point and it stuck.

    THERE ARE NO EXCEPTIONS.

    YOU can’t find any in these Red States.

  157. 157.

    rikyrah

    @Freemark:

    @wjca: In this case I don’t agree. Because it is more about control than abortion. Abortion is only part of it. Even this ad is about control more than abortion. This is a good ad but it also isn’t enough. We need to make explicit Republicans want to be in everybody’s bizness not just pregnant women’s.

    Birth control

    IVF

    Getting rid of no-fault divorce

    Yes, we need to connect the dots for folks.

  158. 158.

    Central Planning

    @schrodingers_cat: ​
      Our under-cabinet lights are low-voltage and the driver for it is in my basement. The LED bars look easily replaceable and required just drilling small holes between the cabinets for the wiring. They are a game changer, and since they are dimmable they make great nightlights too.

  159. 159.

    wjca

    @Freemark:   it is more about control than abortion. Abortion is only part of it. Even this ad is about control more than abortion. This is a good ad but it also isn’t enough. We need to make explicit Republicans want to be in everybody’s bizness not just pregnant women’s.

    Not arguing that this specific ad, or even necessarily this issue, is the way to go.  Just saying: Pick a couple of issues, a small number, and pound them repeatedly.  Don’t try to cover all of the numerous bad stuff the other side is doing/proposing.  FOCUS, and repetition, is what it takes.

  160. 160.

    OHJo

    @Kelly: More unsolicited but well-meaning thoughts…in 2014-15 my mother had serious, recurrent c-diff infections. After following the insurance protocols to no avail, she was finally approved for fecal transplant to re-colonize the gut bacteria. They have banks of “clean” ready-to-go fecal matter for such cases! Within 2 days she was feeling and acting more like her old self! A couple times it felt like another infection was developing, but the body was able to fight it off w/o help. We are blessed Mom is still with us at 95!

  162. 162.

    Eyeroller

    @wjca: I’m truly baffled how anybody could believe that viruses “die out” without vaccines.  That never happens.  Sometimes a human population can evolve some resistance and/or the virus evolves to a less virulent form, but neither of those is inevitable and it does not mean the virus is “dying out.”  Smallpox would never have “died out” without a few centuries of vaccination.  Rabies isn’t evolving to be less deadly.  I know we all understand that, but what’s wrong with your acquaintances?  Very weird.

  163. 163.

    wjca

    @Eyeroller: I honestly have no idea where these daft ideas come from.  Eyeroll, indeed!  I mean, I know that people are irrational on some issues.  But why this one?  “Is a puzzlement.”

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