Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

They were going to turn on one another at some point. It was inevitable.

Today in our ongoing national embarrassment…

There is no right way to do the wrong thing.

Fight them, without becoming them!

Take hopelessness and turn it into resilience.

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

Wake up. Grow up. Get in the fight.

With all due respect and assumptions of good faith, please fuck off into the sun.

This country desperately needs a functioning fourth estate.

Our messy unity will be our strength.

Only Democrats have agency, apparently.

“But what about the lurkers?”

American history and black history cannot be separated.

Donald Trump found guilty as fuck – May 30, 2024!

Since we are repeating ourselves, let me just say fuck that.

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

This must be what justice looks like, not vengeful, just peaceful exuberance.

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

I did not have this on my fuck 2025 bingo card.

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

SCOTUS: It’s not “bribery” unless it comes from the Bribery region of France. Otherwise, it’s merely “sparkling malfeasance”.

In after Baud. Damn.

A norm that restrains only one side really is not a norm – it is a trap.

Tide comes in. Tide goes out. You can’t explain that.

You are here: Home / Politics / Wednesday Evening Open Thread

Wednesday Evening Open Thread

by | 169 Comments

This post is in: ,

Looks like we could use one!

How about a couple of conversation starters?

Not quite sure exactly what preceded this, but I like her in your face message.

What kind of people enter government so they can destroy it?

Open thread.

Reader Interactions

169Comments

  3. 3.

    Major Major Major Major

    Open thread… let’s see… tomorrow is Momo’s birthday! The big one-nothing. At least, according to her paperwork. I’ll go ahead and write up a whole post about it for y’all :)

    And, I could use some gardening pointers. What overnight low do you consider to be too close to the frost point to risk it? We have a low of 39 on Saturday, but I’d like to give the peppers as much time to ripen as I can before I transplant them…

  6. 6.

    Anoniminous

    If The Squad showed up on the floor of the House waving pool noodles I would marry them and have their babies.

  7. 7.

    Alison Rose

    AOC’s prior tweet was RTing Andrew Yang saying:

    Why did Dems vote along party lines to oust Kevin McCarthy? Not because they thought it was good for the country but because that’s what they were told to do.

    His tweet includes a clip of him on CNN claiming there was diversity of thought as to how to proceed in the Democratic caucus but they were told to vote to against McCarthy. What proof of this does he have? None whatsoever.

    AOC said:

    Yes, because strengthening someone who voted to overturn the election, held the entire US economy hostage, launched a baseless impeachment inquiry without a vote, and refuses to honor his word is what is in the best interest of this country. Do some of you hear yourselves?

    So I think her next tweet was just continuing this train of thought where Dems were “supposed” to help poor lil Kev keep his job.

  9. 9.

    Suzanne

    I want to note that the student loan repayment system is all messed up right now. I submitted my application about three weeks ago for the new SAVE program (through the U.S. Department of Education), and I went to make my first payment under that plan, and it still isn’t processed with my loan servicer (Nelnet). We’re still waiting on Mr, Suzanne’s application for PSLF. This is gonna be a slog.

    Whatever. It’s fine.

  12. 12.

    Lyrebird

    “What kind of people enter government so they can destroy it?” – WG, above

    WaterGirl, I share your dismay. I also think you’ve been around the political block… who was it, Grover Norquist with the grisly bathtub image? Don’t all his fans and acolytes fit this bill?

    I guess Reagan just tried to destroy select bits of the government, like the ones giving poor people a chance to go up and not down, without trying to completely wreck the whole country. See also DeVos’ appointer, etc.

  14. 14.

    Mousebumples

    I’m watching what might be the last Brewers game of the year, and possibly the last game Craig Counsell manages (he elected to go into this season as a lame duck and will be a managerial free agent).

    Putting in my angel match for Virginia shortly, if anyone wants to play Watch The Thermometer…

  15. 15.

    japa21

    @Mousebumples: So am I.  Looked so promising, then all went to hell in a handbasket, both last night and tonight.  If CC leaves and retires, I can be good with that.  If he goes to another team, different story.

  16. 16.

    Mousebumples

    @japa21: I’m hoping owner Mark Attanasio told him to name his price, and he wants to find his market rate. I can’t imagine CC wants to leave his hometown… But he did win World Series rings with AZ and Miami, so he may not be as sentimental as I am.

  18. 18.

    Jay

    @bk:

    “frist” is an ancient computer/internet tradition dating back to 1943 and the frist ENIAC computer. The thing is, we don’t know who programmed the first Frist on a punch card.

  19. 19.

    Mousebumples

    @Mousebumples: Putting in my angel match for Virginia shortly, if anyone wants to play Watch The Thermometer…

    And I saw a bump in the thermometer! 🤩

  21. 21.

    RSA

    Some Republicans: How could our political opponents refuse to defend a Republican leader against attacks from other Republicans?

    It’s hard to believe anyone is falling for this.

  22. 22.

    trucmat

    So I was talking to my trucker friend today but he was kinda hungover and asked if I could tell him what day it was. I answered “10/4 good buddy”.

    Also in humorous news … did you know new speaker Patrick McHenry is a short man? I know … hilarious right!

    I always know quickly about new short Republican men on the scene because two guys I read, Josh Marshall and Mark Sumner, will immediately ridicule them for their height. Which is awesome and really makes my day. Thanks guys for keeping me informed!

  23. 23.

    frosty

    @Suzanne:  @raven: I’m paying off the kiddos loan for him. His employment qualifies him for PSLF but every time I run the numbers it gets paid off just about at the 10-year mark. So, nice program, but it doesn’t help us. Or looking at it another way, at least the loan wasn’t too high.

  25. 25.

    Ken

    @Jay: The thing is, we don’t know who programmed the first Frist on a punch card.

    Had to have been Herman Hollerith in the 1890 census.

  27. 27.

    Jay

    Con’s out, Dippers in, and we have our first Indigenous Premier, in one of our most racist Provinces.

    Manitoba’s New Democratic Party rode to a resounding victory Tuesday night on the back of long-simmering frustration and anger with the province’s Progressive Conservatives — something the governing party couldn’t shake, even with a new face at the helm.

    The NDP victory also signalled that despite all the noise of the campaign — from escalating PC attack ads in its waning days to a focus on divisive issues, including a vague call for parental rights in schools and a refusal to search a landfill for the remains of two First Nations homicide victims — it was the issues that mattered to voters.

    And the winning party’s choice of health care as the issue to focus on seems to have been a smart one.

    https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/2023-election-analysis-kinew-stefanson-1.6986075

    And the Fed’s are promising funds for the dump search.

  28. 28.

    frosty

    @Jay: That would have been my dad, who worked on ENIAC* and went by the nym “Fristy**”.

    * true

    ** not true

  29. 29.

    mrmoshpotato

    I am not his mom, and my job is not to put pool noodles around hard corners for Republicans.

    I would be fine with AOC bonking them on the head with pool noodles.

  30. 30.

    Jackie

    Interesting developments re Battle of the Speakership:

    Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN) “wants to be the next House Majority Leader, but he’s already facing a formidable obstacle: the wrath of Trump World,” Time reports.

    “Shortly after Emmer announced on Wednesday that he was running for the leadership position, a group of Trump’s Congressional and media allies began plotting to derail his candidacy.”

    And:

    Members of Kevin McCarthy’s staff have been working the phones on behalf of Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan’s run for speaker,” Semafor reports.

    I guess we’re rooting for Tom Emmer? Altho it sounds like he’s a looong shot.

    Of course, I’m hoping for the really really long shot that the few moderate repugs left – the ones in Biden territory – secretly meet with Hakeem Jeffries and promise him their votes and undying loyalty if he’ll help save America!

    And then I wake up…

  38. 38.

    Alison Rose

    @trucmat: I really hate when people mock men, whoever they are, for their height. Height is one of few things about how you look that you have almost no control over, and the control you can have is superficial and minimal. And the whole point is some bullshit attempt to equate height and manliness, which is fucking dumb. A shitty man will be a shitty man no matter how tall he is, and a good man is a good man no matter how short he is.

  39. 39.

    Another Scott

    @Major Major Major Major: I think the “turn on the sprinkler” thing is to protect the plants from frost.  I remember seeing TV reports about orange groves in Florida with giant sprinklers going to try to protect the trees and fruit in a cold-snap.

    E.g. MSU.edu:

    Most sprinkler systems in Michigan are designed to provide about 0.12 to 0.15 inches of water per hour. This volume protects plants to about 22 degrees F with no wind or 24 to 25 degrees F with a light wind. More water is needed to protect at lower temperatures and higher wind speeds (see Table 1).

    HTH!

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  44. 44.

    cain

    Surprised that was all the demands. Impeach Biden wasn’t in there?

    It’s so funny when the media calls the GOP the law and order party. lol.

  45. 45.

    CarolPW

    @trucmat: It’s not that McHenry is short so much as that he is small. It is an unfortunate thing when people conflate the two. I am taller than most women, and the guy I married is shorter than most men (so much shorter than me). But he isn’t and has never been small.

    Marshall and Sumner should make it clear which they mean.

  46. 46.

    Jay

    @Alison Rose:

    There is a thing called “Small Man Syndrome”. Cultural influences, macho culture and size can often create “Great Assholes”.

    eg.  McHenry

  47. 47.

    wjca

    I’m waiting for House Republicans to announce that they are implementing ranked choice voting for the next Speaker.  Waiting  . . . waiting . . . waiting . . .

  48. 48.

    Yarrow

    @Major Major Major Major:  I think you’ll be okay at 39. The coldest time is right before dawn so you could get up early and cover them for an hour or so if you’re worried. Or just cover them for a night.

    Other factors to consider are any microclimate issues, like are they on the south side of a building so they’re more protected, are they exposed to wind (wind is more cooling), how humid or dry it is, are they under or near a tree or shrub (that’s more protection), etc. All of those kinds of things can change what your particular situation is. Also:

    I’d like to give the peppers as much time to ripen as I can before I transplant them…

    You’re transplanting pepper plants with peppers on them? Good luck.

  49. 49.

    Suzanne

    @frosty: PSLF will be great for Mr. Suzanne. However, he got his application and all of the supporting documentation postmarked on literally the last day. He’d had multiple employers in that ten-year period and he had to get records from them all. Total PITA!

    I will note that one ongoing frustration I note in life is that sometimes there are these great benefits and services, and honest people spend a great deal of time and effort jumping through all these hoops…. because we have to make it moderately more difficult for dishonest people to cheat. It sucks. File under Why We Can’t Have Nice Things.

  50. 50.

    Lyrebird

    @trucmat: @Alison Rose: Agreed that the height insults are pathetic, especially coming from front pagers/etc.

    Nancy Pelosi is teeny tiny, and I believe that MVP is not so much taller.  And they kick a__ and take names in the best way.  The current Speaker Pro Tem is a bigot and a liar, why take away from that with crap about his height?  Who gives a rat’s a__?

  51. 51.

    Mousebumples

    @mrmoshpotato: Go D’Backs and go Phillies!

    🥺

    I mean, if recent history holds, should the Dbacks beat the Brewers, they’re going to the World Series…

  53. 53.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Ken: I said nothing about frozen pool noodles.

     

    Thanks for referencing my favorite Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode.

  54. 54.

    wjca

    @Mousebumples: Rumors here are that Kotsay might leave the A’s to coach the Giants.

    Certainly he’s been impressive, showing that a AAA team (which is what they are) can beat major league teams a third of the time.  And keeping his players giving their best, and learning as they went along, thru a horrible season.  He could do great things with an owner who actually knows and cares about baseball.

  56. 56.

    Trucmat

    @Jay: ​
     

    Yes and it’s not small men who like to talk about Napolean or small man syndrome. Almost always it’s a bully who wants to put other men in their place. Bet you’ve seen that happen up close.

  57. 57.

    japa21

    @Mousebumples: It was Arizona the Brewers beat, thanks to Ryan Braun.  Of course, that is also when his UA came back showing he used n on-allowed substances.  I think the D’Backs remember.

  59. 59.

    Geminid

    @Jackie: I don’t think any Republicans will defect unless and until their caucus is deadlocked for a week or more. Then, it’s possible some might agree to vote for Jeffries.

    Another scenario was floated by Don Bacon (NE) back in January: Republican defectors get Jeffries to agree to throw his caucus behind a retired Republican like Tom Reed. He would be a “caretaker” Speaker who enabled vital legislation to get a floor vote.

    The pool of potential defectors includes members from Biden districts as you suggest, and also members planning to retire. I’d toss in Newhouse (WA) too. He already survived voting to impeach Trump. Valadeo (CA) did also, but he’s already in the Biden-district basket.

  66. 66.

    Alison Rose

    @Lyrebird: Well, the shortness thing isn’t usually used as an insult against women, and I say that as a 5’0″ adult woman. People might make lighthearted jokes or they might infantilize you, but they don’t act like you’re less of a woman because you’re short. But a lot of people do think it makes a man not a “real man” if he’s below a certain height.

  67. 67.

    Jackie

    @Geminid: Newhouse is my 🤮 congressman and our county is deep red MAGA country. He will never vote for Jeffries – that would guarantee being primaried.

  70. 70.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Alison Rose:

    But a lot of people do think it makes a man not a “real man” if he’s below a certain height.

    As a short guy, I can confirm.  Life is easier for tall men, and no amount of bitching will change that fact.

  71. 71.

    frosty

    @steppy: ​Yes, Dad was getting a MS at Penn’s Moore School of Electrical Engineering in the late 40s, when ENIAC was there. He was a user, not a programmer. Although there wasn’t a lot of difference then.

  74. 74.

    Jay

    @Trucmat:

    I am not tall, I am average. Over the years, I have met far more small men using what power they have to be assholes, than giants, in every place I have worked.

    But it’s only applied after the fact that they have proved they are assholes.

    So, basically, you are agreeing with McHenry’s kicking Speaker Emeritus Nancy Pelosi out of her office today and changing the locks, with no notice, when she is away and cannot respond?

  76. 76.

    Geminid

    @Jackie: If you live in his district then you must know that Newhouse has already been primaried from the right, last year because he voted to impeach Trump. Newhouse won, and it wasn’t especially close. How would this be any different?

    But I did not say that Newhouse would vote for Jeffries. He might vote for Tom Reed though. This is why I raise the scenario that Don Bacon floated earlier this year.

  79. 79.

    Trucmat

    @Lyrebird: ​
     

    I should say that I respect both Sumner and Marshall. I’m sure they are decent people but are being assholes regarding male height.

    I emailed Marshall a ways back when he kept referring to DeSantis as “Lil Ron” among other height jabs. He responded by asking if I was serious … well yeah I am serious. I didn’t get a response to my reply to him but I see he lately has been using “Meatball Ron”. I am actually not sure what that one’s about but am glad he moved on.

    Sumner’s diary today spawned a response diary that made the rec list asking to please stop using height as an insult. Both the original and the response diary spawned shit shows in the comments with insults flying.

    To put this in perspective, I know as an aging short white man I do not have it as bad as others who can’t hide their genes. Still, I see it as bigotry that has actual negative consequences and feel I need to call it out.

    … Thanks for the supportive comments btw. Appreciated.

  81. 81.

    Trucmat

    @Jay: ​
    I can’t imagine what Patrick McHenry’s actions have to do with whether making fun of his height is appropriate political commentary or whether it is bigotry.

    Regarding your experience with short men I guess that explains your attitude about whether it is ok to use height as humor and for insults. Short men have been mean to you and you want payback.

  82. 82.

    Geminid

    @Jay: How does differing with you on this question constitute an endorsement of McHenry’s actions towards Nancy Pelosi?

  86. 86.

    Brachiator

    What kind of people enter government so they can destroy it?

    Libertarians, laissez faire economics conservatives and Republican hard liners. Their ideology leads them to believe in a minimal federal government even if it leads to pain and suffering for citizens. Conversely, these people also believe in an intrusive maximal state government, especially governments which oppress women.

  87. 87.

    Jay

    @Trucmat:

    Nice try.

    When someone proves that they are an absolute asshole, everything is fair game.

    Do you wear lifts like TIFG or DeathSantis?

  91. 91.

    Cameron

    Hey, some people get twisty about religion, some people get twisty about height…who among us doesn’t have a treasured unreasonable prejudice?

  92. 92.

    Lyrebird

    @Jay: ​
     
    > because he did a press conference today, standing on a box to appear taller.

    Ah, thanks for the context.

    I’m still not a big fan, fwiw, and other than using the color orange in “Orange Menace” I try to avoid commenting on the well known defendant’s appearance.

    One of my parents campaigned for Barney Frank when he was going from the state house to Congress, way back when I was small, so we might have biases there. (He’s not particularly short or tall, but overweight with ill-fitting suits, yes.) One of the smartest, most effective Representatives ever, I think.

  93. 93.

    Jay

    @Alison Rose:

    McHenry is being mocked for being an asshole and standing on a box at a press conference/photo op to try to make himself appear taller.

    We mocked Bobert for her recent “enhancements”, Gym Jordan well, for everything, TIFG for the orange, lifts, suits, combover, tie, speech patterns, and more, Matt Gaetz for having a Thunderbirds Are A Go head,

    So when an asshole shows that they are an asshole, why shouldn’t we mock their bow tie?

    So, where is the line?

  94. 94.

    SFAW

    @frosty:

    Little-known factoid: ENIAC’s original full (i.e., unabbreviated) name was Electronic Algorithmic Integrator And Computer. Not sure why it was changed from “Algorithmic” to “Numerical”; maybe they were anticipating the anti-Muslim hysteria of the 2000s?

  95. 95.

    Alison Rose

    @Jay: Everything is fair game?

    Really? Everything?

    So what if instead of being short, McHenry, or any other GOPer, had a physical disability? What if he had dwarfism? What if he’d had a limb amputated? Is it okay to mock Greg Abbott for using a wheelchair?

    And you said everything, so…if some liberals started using the N word against Tim Scott, that would be okay? If they said Nikki Haley should be sexually assaulted, that would be okay? I’m just trying to determine if you really mean “everything” and if you do, then holy damn, you need to do some fucking work on yourself.

  96. 96.

    CCL

    @Major Major Major Major:

    If I think there’s a chance of light frost or a dip in temperature that is not conducive to healthy plants, I just take some empty pots ( big enough not to crush the plants) and put them over the individual plants.    If the plants are too big or you don’t have empty pots, you could just use plastic garbage bags.

  97. 97.

    Shalimar

    @Jay: The line is where you mock all people who are short, which they can do nothing about.  Standing on a box could be about vanity and trying to appear taller,but it could also be about needing the box to reach the microphone, which isn’t one of his many horrible faults.  McHenry is a terrible person.  You can find dozens of other ways to demonstrate it.

  103. 103.

    Bill

    @Suzanne: mine were forgiven recently under pslf.  Took a long time and lots of paperwork but recommend Mohela for servicer they were fine to work with and better then the previous

  106. 106.

    Alison Rose

    @Jay: Boebert had sacks of jelly shoved into her tits. That is different than just being short. TIFG has an extremely weird obsession with his own looks and obviously cares deeply about pretending he is conventionally handsome, so the jokes about his bronzer and weird hair are not so much about “he is less of a man because he has weird hair” but more “this ignoramus thinks this looks good and it really doesn’t”. With both of them, these things are choices they made and things they did to themselves.

    We did talk about how Matt Gaetz has an odd face, but in a “that’s an odd face” way, not saying “the reason you are bad is because you have an odd face”. There is no deeply ingrained history of claiming a man is less of a man because he has an oddly shaped face. Gaetz could be the hottest bitch to ever walk the Earth, and he would still suck. If all the posts on this blog about him were not about his politics and actions and trafficking teen girls but instead were just like “LOL his face”, I would be annoyed by that.

    A LOT OF men get a lot of shit over being short. Yes, some of them compensate for that by being assholes, but I can guarantee that most of those ones would be assholes anyway. One or two offhand comments like “maybe he should borrow Ron’s boots” might be one thing. But as the original commenter notes, every time some people talk about him, they make fun of his height. Which is not only dumb, it’s fucking boring. We get it. He’s short. He has always been and will always be.

    When TIFG claimed his weight was 215, I rolled my eyes because it’s obviously not. But I’ve never loved how much some people love to focus on his size, because when you mock a shitty person for being fat, any good person you know who is fat hears you, and you can’t say “Oh it’s okay, I don’t think you’re bad for being fat, only these people over here”. If you think being fat is something worthy of insulting, that means all fat people. If you think being short is something worthy of insulting, that means all short people. There are so many other things to slam them with that are worthy of derision. It’s not like we’re so low on legit attack avenues that we have to go bottom of the barrel here.

  108. 108.

    mrmoshpotato

    @frosty:

    What, no love for the Orioles? 

    It would be great to see the O’s win it all.  I was just focusing on tonight’s games.

  109. 109.

    Jay

    @Alison Rose:

    Gotcha, Now I Understand The Ass Hole Rules,

    no comments on sex or sexuality,

    no comments on height, weight, hair, physical shape, age, (except for Binden, because he’s oooooold)

    no comments on criminality until convicted,

    no comments on cognitive tests, heels, wardrobe,

    no comments about hanging out with Nazi’s,

    no comments on grifting until convicted,

    no comments on their comments,

    no comments on not holding Town Halls, (they might have agoraphobia)

    policy, constituent services and votes only.

  110. 110.

    Trucmat

    @Jay: ​
     

    No I don’t wear lifts. I used to wear hiking boots occasionally to get an extra inch over my sneakers though. Helped when standing next to guys in cowboy boots with their height-enhancing heels. Actually pretty comfortable with my own body but just sick and tired and .. sick and tired and … sick and fucking tired of it. I have a grandson who deals with this shit and I’m sick of it for his sake too.

  113. 113.

    Jay

    @Alison Rose:

    as many people have pointed out over the years, McHenry is a mean, vengeful bastard* and mostly useless in the House.

    *that part hasn’t been proven.

  114. 114.

    HumboldtBlue

    And I’ll mock that angry little Keebler elf all fucking day for being a short, whiny, little punk-ass bitch of a man. Fuck him, fuck his height, fuck his little Keebler elf shoes and his little fucking bow tie. He’s a shit human being, and I’m not gonna spare a fucking decent thought for him, the short, tiny, little fucking traitor.

  117. 117.

    Alison Rose

    @Jay: Oh for the love of God. Are you drunk?

    Fine, let’s go point by point.

    “no comments on sex or sexuality” UM YES CORRECT. We should not be attacking anyone for their gender or sexual orientation. What the fuck?

    “no comments on height, weight, hair, physical shape, age” In general, I do wish we could avoid this kind of thing, but there is a difference, as I said above, in laughing at TIFG’s weird hair versus, for example, mocking a woman who shaved her head because she had alopecia or something.

    “no comments on criminality until convicted” Where the hell is this coming from? No one here has said anything like that.

    “no comments on cognitive tests, heels, wardrobe” Um, one of these things is not like the others. TIFG’s stupid test, sure, because it was obviously made up. Ron’s boots, sure, because they looked silly. Wardrobe in general, fine, make jokes about someone’s ugly tie, that’s hardly a cruel attack

    “no comments about hanging out with Nazis” again where in the fuck are you pulling this out of? How are you equating us saying “don’t attack people for being short” with imagining that this means we can’t call out Nazis?

    “no comments on grifting until convicted” again no one has said anything like this and no one here would

    “no comments on their comments” I ask again, what the fuck?

    “no comments on not holding Town Halls, they might have agoraphobia” I will be kind and assume you either didn’t read my GFM post here or forgot, but I have agoraphobia and it is fucking crippling and my life absolutely sucks because of it, so fuck off with using that example mockingly. If a person couldn’t hold Town Halls due to illness, then yeah, don’t fucking make fun of that

    “policy, constituent services, and votes only” You have come up with all of this out of thin air because we said, hey maybe don’t make so many short jokes.

    Step the hell away from the keyboard, touch some grass, and try to think about why you are needing to be this exaggerated and this ridiculous in defending your stance.

  118. 118.

    Yarrow

    @Cameron: Markwayne is his name. I can’t really fault people for having a name their parents gave them. I don’t get it but it seems to be his name.

  123. 123.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Yarrow: I wonder if some unofficial reports from the ethics investigation/s will leak some time in the next week

  124. 124.

    Jay

    @mrmoshpotato:

    Not gonna do it. We have our first African Canadian Speaker, and our first Indigenous Premier, in the Province that was Metis and Indigenous majority into the 1940’s.

    Ted’s yours.

    Cancun might offer you a deal.

  126. 126.

    Lyrebird

    @Trucmat: ​
     

    I should hang up my hat for tonight, pardon weak wording:
    Thanks for posting. This stuff will be an issue for one of my kiddos, so I have all the more reason to root for your grandson.

  127. 127.

    Jackie

    Alexandria Petri has a great article up!

    Help Wanted: Speaker needed in the House of Representatives!

    Job requirements: Must be able to count! Other useful skills include herding cats and walking and chewing gum at the same time.

    We are in urgent need of a new speaker for the House of Representatives! Our most recent speaker, Kevin, had to leave unexpectedly, and we are shorthanded with a lot of important business coming up!

    Gift link: https://wapo.st/46D6ASI

     

  128. 128.

    Jay

    One of the world’s most prestigious general science journals, Nature, was the target of a two-year-long sustained and virulent secret attack by a conspiratorial group of extreme Brexit lobbyists with high-level political, commercial and intelligence connections, according to documents and correspondence examined by Computer Weekly and Byline Times.

    The group attempted to have Nature and its staff put under surveillance and investigated by MI5, MI6, the CIA, Mossad, and Japanese and Australian intelligence agencies. They met Cabinet minister Michael Gove and later asked him to arrange phone taps and electronic surveillance. One member of the group led intrusive investigations into the intimate personal life and background circumstances of senior Nature staff the group suspected of “extreme Sinophile views”.

    https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366553435/Top-science-journal-faced-secret-attacks-from-Covid-conspiracy-theory-group

  132. 132.

    wombat probability cloud

    @Major Major Major Major: An old towel or light blanket works well to provide insulation. The soil retains warmth around the nestled plants. We do this with basil and peppers when it gets below 40F because they are more sensitive than most of what we grow.

  133. 133.

    wjca

    @Alison Rose: it was 92 here today. This is “fall” in the Bay Area. Thanks, I hate it.

    But at least it’s supposed to be 25 – 30 degrees cooler next week.  I’m more than ready.

  139. 139.

    cain

    Right wing outlets are having some kind of manic attack about DHS Secretary saying something something about a need to build a border wall.

    I’m pretty sure no sane person would ever want to build some kind of border wall. So, I’m sure it’s been taken out of context and just being blasted all over the place. I haven’t seen anything anywhere else except Washington Times. Even Fox News hasn’t said anything- just Ted Cruz .. well being Ted Cruz.

  141. 141.

    wjca

    @Trucmat: I know as an aging short white man I do not have it as bad as others who can’t hide their genes. Still, I see it as bigotry that has actual negative consequences and feel I need to call it out.

    Not to make light of your experience.  But if you have ever observed a tall person doing contortions trying to get into a “standard” size car, you may get a glimmer of why some of us say “The world is designed for short people.”

  143. 143.

    wjca

    @Lyrebird: other than using the color orange in “Orange Menace” I try to avoid commenting on the well known defendant’s appearance.

    Things like height (or race or gender) aren’t really within the control of the individual.  But orange is a choice.  Nothing wrong with being caustic about someone’s (bad) choices.

  145. 145.

    MisterForkbeard

    @cain: I did see a Twitter link to a fox article. Didn’t follow it because I assumed it was out of context BS.

  150. 150.

    frosty

    @Alison Rose: ​We get it. He’s short. He has always been and will always be.

    Dead thread but … from my perspective he ain’t short. At my last college reunion I listened to a friend wail that because of aging he’s not 6’2″ any more, he’s only 6’0″. My response? “Fuck you, you had it to lose.!”​

  153. 153.

    AlaskaReader

    @Major Major Major Major: To expand on the choice to employ row covers as opposed to covering plants overnight with impermeable bags or pots,  row covers can remain on the plants day and night, where the bags and pots must be twice a day taken off and put back on or they will damage the plants if not removed.

  154. 154.

    Jay

    @Alison Rose:

    BTW, Darrel is my climbing partner. 5′ 2″.

    We have been climbing together for 30 years now. He’s the guy on the other end of the rope that saves me from dying.

    I tease him about his MMA career, (still do), not because of his size, weight or reach, but because he thought spending 6 months studying various martial arts, one month at a time, would work. It didn’t. My first year of Aikido taught me how to fall, and step.

    When I lead climb, I take into account that he doesn’t have the reach, so I mark spots, but then, he has youth, (15 years) so yeah, we tease each other about that as well.

    Nicest guy I know.

    Michael, who I worked with for a decade, 5’4″ Asshole. Couldn’t keep the lights on in his assembly line, too busy blaming others and working on his MBA on Company Time. Learned recently that for the past 12 years, he is responsible for planning for housing for the unhoused in this Province. Which is and has been a shit show. Michael’s okay though. The house he bought at Deer Lake, (wife’s money) has gone from $1.2 million at the time, to $25.8 million. Asshole.

  156. 156.

    WaterGirl

    @Alison Rose:

    Yes, because strengthening someone who voted to overturn the election, held the entire US economy hostage, launched a baseless impeachment inquiry without a vote, and refuses to honor his word is what is in the best interest of this country. Do some of you hear yourselves?

    Wow, that was even better than the one I put up.  Wish I had seen this one!

  157. 157.

    WaterGirl

    @Scout211: Sadly, no.  I tried everything on the list, no go.

    At the moment, I have to use Chrome – which I hate – to view twitter.  sniff sniff

    So I am subjected to all sorts of obnoxious ads, because I keep Chrome without ad blockers only so I can go to it for things that block me because of the ad blockers.

  159. 159.

    WaterGirl

    @raven:  It ebbed for a long time when you were on your mission to end it, but it has bubbled up again.  I cringe, some people think it’s fun.

    It’s gonna be what it’s gonna be.

  160. 160.

    WaterGirl

    @Major Major Major Major: It’s going to be 39 here this weekend, so I am harvesting all my remaining peppers tomorrow. But we are going to continue to have cold nights and highs of 60 degrees.

    So there was no point in leaving them in place, they aren’t going to be doing any growing or ripening. If it’s a big dip and then back to much warmer, you are fine.

  161. 161.

    JAFD

    I try hard not to insult people for things they have no control over – height, skin color, ethnicity (though if you tell me ‘dumb Polack’ jokes I’ll feel free to tell jokes obeut your background.) – or minimal choice – ’twas ‘libertarian Xwitter mockery in recent days “you support public schools but you went to privat school har har” – reply was made “should a choice made by, or for, a person at age 14 govern his opinions for the rest of his life ?”

  163. 163.

    JAFD

    @Yarrow: A few decades ago, I was good friends with a young lady who concluded, at age 23 (?), that her True Name was not Ellen (given to her at Very Young Age) but Elizabeth.  Went thru the whole legal name-change process…

    Was guest at big gathering of her family, in middle of this, with her being addressed by two different names.  Is not easy process, even with maximum good will.

  165. 165.

    Realworldrj

    Lol

    from the New York Times profile of Patrick McHenry two days back: “But over the last 18 years, Mr. McHenry has taken on a more low-profile role in the House, working behind the scenes and earning a reputation among other lawmakers for brainy wonkishness.
    ‘What changed for me was once I slowed down enough to respect the process and to respect the people that I served with in the institution,’ Mr. McHenry told the News & Observer of Raleigh, N.C., in 2017”
    lollll

  168. 168.

    Paul in KY

    @Trucmat: Napoleon was 5’9″, which for his time period was at least average. The small stuff was created by British propaganda & newspapers to get under his skin.

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