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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Fetterman is better, man.

Fetterman is better, man.

by | 91 Comments

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Senator John Fetterman was on Stephen Colbert’s show last night, and it’s wonderful to see how well he’s progressing since the stroke and subsequent treatment for depression. He looks strong, and his sharpness and wit are evident as he regains his communication skills.

It’s also heartwarming to see Fetterman embrace a new role as an advocate for people with disabilities and mental health issues. Dog knows this country needs education on both topics.

Fetterman: “I never thought about captioning before I had the stroke, and now I realize I have to be an advocate for anyone with a disability to have the kind of technology that allows them to fully participate in society.”

He and Colbert joked about the wingnut conspiracy theory that Dems replaced the real Fetterman with a body double (as if there are plenty of hulking bald dudes who would be willing to drop into that role). Fetterman said, “The better I get, the sadder Fox News becomes.”

While discussing the recent Senate dress code kerfluffle, Colbert presented a tuxedo t-shirt to Fetterman, but it looked way too small. At the end of the interview, Fetterman gave Colbert a black Carhartt hoodie. It might have been one of Fetterman’s own hoodies because it was huge. Colbert tried it on over his suit coat and noted he could use it for a tent.

Open thread!

Reader Interactions

91Comments

  2. 2.

    Sean

    My wife and I are considering PA as a potential place to move. Fetterman as my senator is definitely a pro on the list.

  3. 3.

    HumboldtBlue

    Fetterman is from Pennsylvania.

    Philadelphia is in Pennsylvania.

    The Phillies play in Philadelphia.

    Last night, the Phillies defeated the woeful Atlanta Braves, 10-2.

    Tonight they’re gonna send the Braves home on their red carpet with a chorus of “atta boys” in their ears for their hubris and cockiness.

    GO PHILLIES, CHOP THEM UP!

  4. 4.

    Barbara

    @HumboldtBlue: On the one hand, it’s kind of funny to see all of the 100+ game winners sent packing.  On the other hand, I kind of wanted to see some of them face off against each other.

  6. 6.

    HumboldtBlue

    @Barbara: ​

    The Dodgers have been a 100+ win team five of the past six years, and four times have been knocked out by a lower seed. Tonight could make it two straight for the 100+ win Barves, and you love to see it.​ 

    @Baud: ​ 

    It does.

  7. 7.

    Alison Rose

    I watched the longer video earlier and it was so touching. What a wonderful man.

    Also, Colbert looked adorable in that giant hoodie. Reminds me of when I was in my mid-20s and living with a boyfriend who was 6’2″ to my 5’0″ and I would sometimes borrow his sweatshirts and looked like a little kid wearing her parent’s clothes.

  8. 8.

    Betty Cracker

    @HumboldtBlue: Well, Georgia has two good senators too, and it’s entirely possible the Braves will kick the Phillies’ ass tonight. Hubris and cockiness!

  9. 9.

    Cameron

    It’s a nice fantasy to imagine Fetterman here in FL instead of our current senators.  It would be tremendously amusing to see him standing beside Governor Pudding Cowboy.

  10. 10.

    geg6

    I love and am so proud of my junior senator!  Stayed up to watch him last night.  Colbert in the giant hoodie was adorable.

  11. 11.

    Professor Bigfoot

    This is wonderful news to hear, and it seems the big fella is really on the side of the angels.

    I regret even more that I didn’t trust him last year (shotgun incident) and so didn’t donate to his campaign; but did put money into that absolute idiot, that fool, that boob Tim Ryan who proceeded to lose to a dilettante.

    Here’s to the big guy, and I won’t be making that mistake next time he’s up.

  12. 12.

    eclare

    Maxwell Frost was on Colbert two nights ago:

    https://www.google.com/search?q=maxwell+frost+on+colbert&oq=maxwell+frost+on+colbert&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIKCAEQABiGAxiKBTIKCAIQABiGAxiKBdIBCDczNDFqMGo3qAIAsAIA&client=ms-android-verizon&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:a6bcda29,vid:ky1JyJVpzzA,st:0

    https://www.google.com/search?q=maxwell+frost+on+colbert&oq=maxwell+frost+on+colbert&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIKCAEQABiGAxiKBTIKCAIQABiGAxiKBdIBCDczNDFqMGo3qAIAsAIA&client=ms-android-verizon&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:803563a0,vid:1Iimsn-lx68,st:0

    Good to see Democrats getting on some tv shows!

  13. 13.

    opiejeanne

    @Baud: in 2002 the Oakland As were wowing everyone with an incredible winning streak, and they even made a movie about it and all of the ins and outs of putting together a team out of has-beens, and never-weres, and rookies no one else wanted, when there was NO MONEY available. It really was an amazing feat, and even though the streak didn’t last, they went to the playoffs as the #1 team of the AL West.

    I don’t think the winners of the WS were even mentioned in the movie, a wild card team from Anaheim.

  16. 16.

    Damned as Random

    I love Fetterman. A kind heart and quick wit are an underrated combo. And esp rare among the egotists in politics. I grew up 2 miles from Braddock and it was depressed before the rest of the Steel Valley declined in the ’70’s. Trump and Gym Jordan and Josh Hawley and the other tough guys wouldn’t have lasted a week there. Fetterman saw it as a place to do good. He and Tammy Duckworth are the true heros in this Senate

  17. 17.

    trollhattan

    Hate self-checkout? I do. Obvious money-saving move not necessarily saving money.

    Self-checkout may not be the money-saving “revolution” some retailers were hoping for.

    More than 30 years after the introduction of self-checkout and its promises of labor-cost savings, the tech has become ubiquitous in stores across the US. Now, retailers including Costco, Walmart, and Kroger are rethinking some of their self-checkout strategies. Some are finding they still need employees to combat theft, assist with purchases, review IDs, and check receipts.

    Costco, for example, has started asking staff to check membership cards in the self-checkout lanes, as well as assist with scanning items. The company said the move would help crack down on shoppers improperly sharing memberships at self-checkout registers. Costco relies on membership fees for most of its profit.

    Walmart said last week it was pulling self-checkout from at least three stores in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and replacing the lanes with traditional staffed registers. The company didn’t elaborate on reasons for the change and said it had no plans for “widespread” removal of self-checkout.

    Walmart started rolling out a hybrid approach to self-checkout in 2020. The redesigned checkout zones replaced traditional lanes with a staffed corral of kiosks where shoppers could opt to scan and pay on their own or have a worker do it for them.

    A press release touted the redesign’s human touch.

    “In this new layout, you get greeted from the entranceway and helped all the way through the whole process,” a store manager said in a release. “We will go to any register, and we will help you in any fashion you want, whether it’s checking out one item or all the items. Any questions you have, we’re right there for you.”

    https://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-costco-kroger-facing-self-checkout-reckoning-2023-10?utm_medium=email&utm_source=pocket_hits&utm_campaign=POCKET_HITS-EN-DAILY-RECS-2023_10_12&sponsored=0&position=2&category=what_else_were_reading&scheduled_corpus_item_id=1de81f0d-3c85-4d19-97d2-8ef670a01c7a&url=https://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-costco-kroger-facing-self-checkout-reckoning-2023-10

    You want me to self-check? First I want the paycheck, you can mail it to the house or direct-deposit, your choice.

  18. 18.

    wenchacha

    An FYI for this Open Thread: Earlier in the week I was wondering when and where I could find the Novavax. And tomorrow I am scheduled to get it at Costco!

    I’ve never been. Will the greeter tell me “I love you”?

  20. 20.

    opiejeanne

    @Professor Bigfoot: I am so very glad he is doing so well now, and that he got help for the depression. I’m still in physical therapy for surgery on my wrist in July, and when I hit a big nasty wall of depression at about 5-6 weeks after, my PT told me that this is pretty common after an event that takes a long time to heal.

  22. 22.

    opiejeanne

    @wenchacha: nope, but they will ask to look at your membership card, or ask why you’re there. I think the pharmacy is open to everyone, regardless of membership.

  23. 23.

    Raoul Paste

    It’s great to hear some good news for a change.   Fetterman deserves all the accolades.

  24. 24.

    David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch

    @HumboldtBlue: Dodgers had no pitching.

    With all those resources (fan base, money, stadium, weather), the Dodgers have only won one World Series in a 162 game season since Sandy Koufax retired in 1966.

  26. 26.

    opiejeanne

    @Kay: Oh good. I was wondering where you were. Two friends from HS have been traveling in Europe for the past 3 weeks, and they’ve just missed each other a few times. They also missed the bedbugs; hope you did too.

  27. 27.

    artem1s

    Open Thread: For those who are in the CLE area, and want to support sustainable and local growers, Coit Road Market has a Coit Road Market GoFundMe open. Or you can donate directly to Coit Road Market.
    FROM DIRECTOR, KEVIN
    The Coit Road Farmers Market needs your help. A couple of years ago we received a $25,000 grant to design a storm water collection system to mitigate runoff from our huge parking lot and roof areas. We succeeded in receiving $250,000 to implement phase one of the plan. This not only collects runoff that currently costs us $150 a month runoff fees but it also collects water that will be used on the farm and also improves the appearance of the fence line and parking along Woodworth Road. The challenge came when we began the search for a contractor to address the portion of the parking lot that will drain to the permeable pavers. That part of the lot, that is our responsibility, needs more work that previously predicted. So in order for this plan to be completed on time by the end of November of this year we need to come up with an additional $25,000 immediately to complete these repairs so the project can proceed and the grant money along with the years of work leading up to receiving that money won’t be lost. Please help!

  29. 29.

    Betty Cracker

    Remember when Putin launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and Trump praised him as “very smart”? He said the same of Hezbollah yesterday, and according to The Hill, Joe Biden responded on Twitter by saying “the right time to praise the terrorists who seek to destroy [Israel] is never.”

  30. 30.

    David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch

    @Kay:  Wow.   When you get a chance, please upload an “On the Road” post.

  31. 31.

    prostratedragon

    @trollhattan:  Yaaay! With you on disliking the machines and the companies’ extracting free labor with them (while avoiding those pesky folks who might want a union).

  32. 32.

    jonas

    @trollhattan: I admit, I do self-checkout occasionally when I have just one or two items and don’t need to bag everything, etc. There’s rarely a line.

    But how anyone thought this wouldn’t simply be a huge invitation for scamming and shoplifting is beyond me. TikTok is absolutely full of people showing off how they pull off scams in the self checkout aisle (usually by pasting a bar code for a less expensive item over a more expensive one).

  34. 34.

    wjca

    @David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch: With all those resources (fan base, money, stadium, weather), the Dodgers have only won one World Series in a 162 game season since Sandy Koufax retired in 1966.

    Money is only useful if you spend it on the right things.  Maybe the Dodgers should ditch some of their wildly overpaid outfielders and replace them with some better pitchers.

  35. 35.

    Baud

    @Betty Cracker:

    Go Joe!

    Have any of Trump’s primary opponents stood up to him about that?

    Do they even exist anymore? A million things going on right now and they have nothing to say to the media?

  42. 42.

    Kay

    @opiejeanne:

    Ugh, bedbugs, I hope I missed them. The word in Milan was they were “in Paris” but of course if they’re there they’re all over. If Denmark had bedbugs Danes would never admit it :)

  45. 45.

    raven

    Asshole Bryce Harper staring down Braves’ shortstop Orlando Arcia after each of his two home runs during Game 3 of the NLDS is garnering all the attention, but that wasn’t the only thing the Philadelphia superstar did while rounding the bases on Wednesday night.

    Harper made a throat-slashing gesture before stomping on home plate after both of his dingers, and Atlanta’s announcers took exception.

    Given the fact that Hamas terrorists are murdering and beheading Jews in Israel at the moment, the Braves’ announcers didn’t believe Harper’s celebrations were in good taste, to put it mildly.

    “Again, he gave the throat-slashing sign, which given today’s climate around the world I’m not sure that’s quite what anybody wants to see,” Joe Simpson said after his second long ball in the fifth inning.

  47. 47.

    WaterGirl

    @eclare: Hey eclare, when you share a google search rather than a link, it doesn’t work for a lot of computers. (mine included.)

    So for people to see them, it’s better to share the actual links.

  51. 51.

    Barbara

    @raven: But mimicking chopping your opponents in the head with a tomahawk is not a problem at all.  Sports announcers are well advised to avoid making impromptu commentary on current events.

  52. 52.

    eclare

    @WaterGirl:

    Oh sorry!  I’ll remember that.  If you Google Maxwell Frost on Colbert you’ll get the videos.  He is impressive and should be around a long time.

  53. 53.

    raven

    1999

    The NFL has cracked down on the throat-slash gesture, threatening fines and penalties for an increasingly popular taunt that the league said depicted “an unacceptable act of violence.”

    The NFL has cracked down on the throat-slash gesture, threatening fines and penalties for an increasingly popular taunt that the league said depicted “an unacceptable act of violence.”

    A letter on Tuesday was sent to all 31 teams to ban the gesture, in which a player draws his finger across his throat after making a big play on an opponent. Sometimes, it is aimed at opposing fans.

  58. 58.

    RaflW

    Musk probably took Xitter over the line. Hope the EU hits ‘em hard (but EU, so may be wet noodle lashings):

    The European Commission is investigating X’s handling of illegal content related to the Israel-Gaza war, marking the most significant action the bloc has taken to date under a new law governing social media companies.

    Thierry Breton, a European commissioner, announced Thursday that the European Union had sent a request for information to X, which was formerly called Twitter. The request is the first step in an investigation into the company’s compliance with the Digital Services Act, and it comes after Breton pressed X owner Elon Musk this week on whether the platform was being used to disseminate “illegal content & disinformation” related to the Hamas attacks against Israel.

    “The #DSA is here to protect both freedom of expression & our democracies — including in times of crisis,” Breton wrote.

    [WaPo, on my iPad so links are a pain]

  61. 61.

    smith

    @Baud: Self checkout is stupid.

    Reflects the stupidity of our genius businessmen, who can only think of employees as a cost.

  63. 63.

    Betty Cracker

    Gold Bar Bob Menendez, the missus and an accomplice were indicted again (NYT gift link):

    Manhattan federal prosecutors filed the fresh charge against Mr. Menendez and his wife, Nadine Menendez, as well as a third defendant, Wael Hana, accusing them of conspiring to have the senator act as a foreign agent without registering with the Justice Department. The prosecutors have asked a judge to seize the Menendezes’ residence in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., as well as a Mercedes-Benz convertible that the government says was given to them as a bribe.

    The charge cuts to the heart of Mr. Menendez’s Senate oath to “bear true faith and allegiance” to the United States and is certain to intensify pressure for him to resign from office. It accuses him of violating an explicit prohibition on public officials serving as agents of foreign powers and appears to be the first time a sitting senator has been charged under the World War II-era Foreign Agents Registration Act.

    Shameless prick.

  64. 64.

    jonas

    @wjca: Maybe the Dodgers should ditch some of their wildly overpaid outfielders and replace them with some better pitchers.

    That’s pretty much what Bill Plashke wrote in the Times this morning as he wept into his 3rd glass of bourbon. Expecting an injury-prone Kershaw to carry the whole bullpen was criminally negligent.

  65. 65.

    jonas

    @Betty Cracker:  It accuses him of violating an explicit prohibition on public officials serving as agents of foreign powers and appears to be the first time a sitting senator has been charged under the World War II-era Foreign Agents Registration Act.

    Difference is, Democrats are outraged by this and want him dafuq outta there. He could actually run for reelection on this as a Republican. Even with Santos, there are a couple of vulnerable NY Republicans pushing for his expulsion, but the party leadership is just shrugging its shoulders and dodging reporters over the whole thing.

  67. 67.

    Barbara

    @raven: And here I was thinking that not having to listen to all that obnoxious “war crying” on the part of Atlanta fans was a pretty good reason for hoping the Braves don’t make it through.

  68. 68.

    catclub

    @wjca: Maybe the Dodgers should ditch some of their wildly overpaid outfielders and replace them with some better pitchers.

     

    You seem to think the goal is winning the World Series. Maybe it is the fan base and the money, and getting some city to build them a stadium.

  69. 69.

    Chief Oshkosh

    @Betty Cracker: Having been a Braves fan since the Dale Murphy days, I say “here here!”

    But, I’ve been a Phillies fan since…forever. So…

    I win either way!

  72. 72.

    MomSense

    @trollhattan:

    If you want me to self checkout don’t ask to check my receipt against the items in my cart.  That ship sailed when you outsourced your cashier position to the customer.

  73. 73.

    wjca

    @catclub: You seem to think the goal is winning the World Series. Maybe it is the fan base and the money, and getting some city to build them a stadium.

    The goal of the team (or any other team) is to win the World Series.  As for what the goal of the owner(s) is?  Well, that is a different question.  See, for a horrible example of a mismatch, the Oakland Athletics.

  78. 78.

    Geminid

    @raven: I was reading about the “Grey Wolf” sign used by the Turkish ultra-nationalists. It’s banned in Austria and (I think) France.

    Someone makes a Grey Wolf sign by sticking their index and pinkie fingers up in the air like ears and bringing the middle and ring fingers togethe with the thumb to form a wolf head.. It seems to have spread from the Turkish right to Middle Eastern and European rightwingers, which I guess is why Austria banned it.

  79. 79.

    lowtechcyclist

    @trollhattan:

    You want me to self-check? First I want the paycheck, you can mail it to the house or direct-deposit, your choice.

    I love self-check.  I can walk up right to a register, scan everything, and be out of there right away, instead of being in a line behind three other people and only seeing then that the one in the middle has a cart that’s full to the brim.

    Seriously, it really cuts down on my total time in the grocery store.  Less so with Wal-Mart because the local Wal-Marts only have about half as many self-check registers as the big grocery stores around here do, and so you have to wait in line for self-check. It’s still faster overall, but not by nearly as much.

  80. 80.

    lowtechcyclist

    @MomSense:

    If you want me to self checkout don’t ask to check my receipt against the items in my cart.  That ship sailed when you outsourced your cashier position to the customer.

    That used to occasionally happen to me at Wal-Mart before self-check, but not since.  I think they must’ve done away with that position too.

  81. 81.

    piratedan

    @jonas: I am by no means a Dodgers fan, yet, I will note that they did receive an almost imperfect storm of injuries to a good number of their starting arms and had that coupled with some personal lifestyle management issues (assaulting spouses) that not even the vaunted Dodgers farm system could keep up with.

    considering they never used Pepiot outta the pen should raise some questions I would think, but considering how the Dodgers played thru the regular season may have given Roberts faith that there was a reason to save him for Game 4.

  82. 82.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch: ​With all those resources (fan base, money, stadium, weather), the Dodgers have only won one World Series in a 162 game season since Sandy Koufax retired in 1966.

    And they didn’t win the last one he pitched in either, the 1966 World Series versus the Baltimore Orioles in their first WS appearance.**

    The Birds not only won the Series in a four-game sweep, they never trailed in a single game. From the moment Moe Drabowsky came in to relieve Dave McNally with one out in the third inning of Game 1, the O’s demonstrated something the entire National League had failed to recognize for the entire season: The Dodgers were unable to hit a live major-league quality fastball. From that point on, LA was held scoreless – a World-Series-record streak of 33-2/3 consecutive innings of futility that stands to this day.

    Koufax himself lost Game 2 6-0 to future HOF righthander Jim Palmer. It was the last game he ever pitched – a melancholy end to a great career.​

    ** The Orioles were supposedly so overmatched that some wags half-jokingly predicted “Dodgers in 3” – of a best-of-7 series.​

  83. 83.

    What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?

    @Uncle Cosmo: I was, alas, rooting for the Orioles this year. I live in the DC suburb of Takoma Park these day (Jamie Raskin is my rep) but grew up in Michigan, so the Tigers are my first choice team. But the Orioles were a great story this year and they’re nearby so they were the obvious team to root for.

    As for the Tigers…they had a lineup full of guys who apparently couldn’t hit major league pitching either last time they were in the WS in what was it, 2012 when we got swept by the SF Giants? We had a stable full of aces on the mound but couldn’t score any runs. And our bullpen sucked so when we eventually had to put those guys in we lost because the Giants could finally score some runs.

  84. 84.

    Geminid

    @Chief Oshkosh: I’ve been a Braves fan since my family moved to Milwaukee right before they won the World Seroes in 1957. Hammerin’ Hank Aaron! Big Joe Adcock at First, Del Crandal behind the plate, and Spahn and Sain and pray for rain!

    We moved to Lombard, Chicagoland after that and then left that part of the country entirely, but I stayed a Braves fan.

  85. 85.

    sab

    @Sean: I live in NE Ohio and appalled by the political climate. Erie PA (it has a coast on Lake Erie, and I grew up in Florida!) looks a lot more appealing. If anything happens to spouse I am gone.

  86. 86.

    Eolirin

    Lord knows we need more disability advocates in congress, but I can’t help finding myself a little jealous of someone who has a kind of depression that goes away. 

  89. 89.

    JAFD

    @lowtechcyclist: ​

    @lowtechcyclist: ​
     It’s not that I’m in favor of self-checkout as a universal thing. But if I’m dragging a pull-cart a half mile home, or carrying two shoppingbags on the bus, I want to have them packed so heavy stuf is on bottom, crushable stuf on top, breakable stuf well padded. Easier sometimes to do it myself. YMMV

  90. 90.

    JAFD

    @Chief Oshkosh: I’ve been Phillies fan since the ‘Whiz Kids’ of 1950.  Cried for a week straight when the lost the Series to the (feh) Yankees.

    (Note that I was three months old at the time.)

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