Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Historically it was a little unusual for the president to be an incoherent babbling moron.

Jesus watching the most hateful people claiming to be his followers

This has so much WTF written all over it that it is hard to comprehend.

Accountability, motherfuckers.

Never give a known liar the benefit of the doubt.

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

I’ve spoken to my cat about this, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.

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

This really is a full service blog.

But frankly mr. cole, I’ll be happier when you get back to telling us to go fuck ourselves.

People are weird.

It’s all just conspiracy shit beamed down from the mothership.

When I was faster i was always behind.

“Loving your country does not mean lying about its history.”

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

Anne Laurie is a fucking hero in so many ways. ~ Betty Cracker

I desperately hope that, yet again, i am wrong.

The unpunished coup was a training exercise.

One lie, alone, tears the fabric of reality.

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

Republicans choose power over democracy, every day.

Democracy cannot function without a free press.

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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Saturday Evening Open Thread

Saturday Evening Open Thread

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This post is in: 

Either everyone is on strike, or they all have more of a weekend life than I do!  Looks like Anne Laurie hasn’t reported for the night shift yet, so you get one more post from me.

Any big news today?

My eyes got very big yesterday when I read what Chris Kise said to Judge Engoron in court yesterday.  I knew he was poking at the judge about his law clear, but holy shit, he got so snippy.  Like the girls from Beverly Hills 90210 snippy.  I am trying to find the quote again,  and when I do I will add it to the thread.

Also, I love that Mark Meadows is being sued by his publisher for publishing a book of lies and making the publisher look bad.  They are asking for all the money they paid Meadows to be returned and a million or two in damages.

What’s everybody up to?

Open thread!

Reader Interactions

172Comments

  2. 2.

    karen marie

    It surprises me a little bit that the publisher is looking to sue because everyone involved had to have known that much of what Meadows claimed in the book was complete bullshit.

    Maybe they can just recategorize it officially as fiction and call it a day.

  5. 5.

    WaterGirl

    @karen marie:

    It surprises me a little bit that the publisher is looking to sue because everyone involved had to have known that much of what Meadows claimed in the book was complete bullshit.

    Yes, but this is a clear statement (if not believable) that they would never knowingly publish a book filled with lies.  So this particular PR campaign for the publisher won’t even cost them anything, and they might net 3 or 4 million from it!

  8. 8.

    karen marie

    @WaterGirl:

    @MattF:

    I get so fucking angry that somehow I never managed to get a job that I could fuck up to the point of costing my employer millions but either never get fired or get fired and go on to a job that managed to pay even more with a greater lack of responsibility.

  9. 9.

    coin operated

    My eyes got very big yesterday when I read what Chris Kise said to Judge Engoron in court yesterday.  I knew he was poking at the judge about his law clear, but holy shit, he got so snippy.

    The legal eagles I pay attention to here, on LGF, and shitter, say that Mr. Kise is going to go thru some things when this is all over.

  10. 10.

    Alison Rose

    I got a nice email from Newsom’s office today. Subject line: Ten FACTS to keep handy when Republicans attack.

    Alison –

    👷🏻 Seven times more jobs have been created during the Biden Administration than the last three Republican presidents combined. Yes, that is true.

    🛠️47 million out of 49 million jobs created since Ronald Reagan left office were created by Democrats.

    👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 California has some of the strongest gun laws in the country and as a result has a 43% lower gun death rate than the rest of the U.S. according to data from the CDC.

    💰Middle class families in California pay LESS in taxes than in states like Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas.

    👨‍❤️‍👨Support for same-sex marriage is now at a record 71% high.

    📚 They do ban books in Florida.

    💙Blue states have longer life expectancy, higher minimum wage and lower gun death rates.

    ⚡The Biden Administration has overseen the highest margin of net energy export in American history.

    😡Republicans across the country are fanning the flames of culture wars to distract from the fact that on health, wealth, and economic outcomes they are failing.

    🗳️When Democrats go on OFFENSE, we WIN.

  11. 11.

    WaterGirl

    So who’s on team “Chris Kise is too smart to have intentionally been this snippy with the judge” and who’s on team “Chris Kise has no shame; he’s the pip who got in the mud with Trump and he’s just going with it”.

  12. 12.

    hitchhiker

    Listening to the last couple of chapters in the Romney biography. I’ve been all over the place with this book… some revealing bits that aren’t meant to be revealing, some infuriating bullshit, some information I didn’t have before.

    Just played an extremely irritating chapter about the new friends Mitt was making with Democrats in the first year of the Biden administration, including Manchin and Sinema. Sinema and Romney bonded over being pariahs in their own parties, so fun! He was hated for calling out Trump’s corruption and lunacy. She was hated for refusing to help get a Voting Rights Act passed. Same/same, pinky swear, we’re such contrary bitches!

    It made me want to punch her in that smug face all over again.

  14. 14.

    wjca

    My eyes got very big yesterday when I read what Chris Kise said to Judge Engoron in court yesterday.  I knew he was poking at the judge about his law clear, but holy shit, he got so snippy.

    IANAL, but isn’t Rule #1 for any courtroom attorney: “Don’t piss off the judge!”?

    I realize he may be under some kind of orders from his client, which require him to do really dumb stuff.  But that whole exchange seems just surreal.

  15. 15.

    WaterGirl

    @coin operated: Like going to go thru some things like get kicked out of his own law firm?  Or going to go thru some things like he won’t be able to get legitimate clients anymore because he has destroyed his reputation?  Or something else?

  20. 20.

    karen marie

    @WaterGirl:   That’s for sure.

    I’m transcribing a criminal trial for sexual abuse of children.

    The sergeant on the stand works in the detective bureau investigating crimes against children and he cannot define “prepubescent.”  I’m SCREAMING.

    I really don’ t know how human beings have made it this far.

  21. 21.

    Sally

    @karen marie: Me too! I often used to think about people above me in the organisation – I could do that job that badly (I think), and be paid that much for it. I might even smile (occasionally) while doing it …

  25. 25.

    coin operated

    @WaterGirl: Fair questions…

    What I’ve read is that Kise is going to have some career-jeopardizing sanctions coming his way. He’s not licensed to practice law in NY…had to petition the court to be allowed on the case…and it shows.  Clerks in NY have a lot more responsibility than other jurisdictions, and his ignorance is gonna cost him plenty.

    I’ll try to pull up some references…

  27. 27.

    karen marie

    @WaterGirl: Who is Harry Litman and why is he making excuses for Kise’s bad behavior and poor judgment?

    Update:  Oh, he’s a member of the Club.  Just helping out a fellow Club member.

    Whether you’re Left or Right doesn’t matter when a member of the Club is under attack.

  29. 29.

    WaterGirl

    @karen marie: I actually like Harry Litman a lot, and I usually respect his judgment.

    I think it has to be that Harry Litman thinks what Kise said was so egregious that he cannot possibly conceive of the fact that any formerly-respected attorney would actually say that knowingly and deliberately.

  30. 30.

    jackmac

    It was a lovely fall afternoon here in the fringe Chicago suburbs with a high around 60 degrees. So I moved my flowers (mostly geraninums) from protection in the garage out to bask in the sunshine. A little water and rays seemed to perk them up. I know this is borrowed time for summer flowers, but I’m delighted to have the extra days.

    On a side note, if I were still active as a sportswriter (my former career) I’d likely have worked at Wrigley Field this afternoon as Northwestern hosted Iowa in the Friendly Confines on a perfect college football afternoon. Wrigley looked awesome and the ivy on the outfield walls appear to have adopted multi-colored hues that you don’t see during the baseball season.

  34. 34.

    WaterGirl

    @karen marie: So you’re thinking it’s like all those “respectable” people who vouched for the Rapey I like beer Supreme Court justice?

    Or all those “respectable” people who told us that Billy Barr believed in the rule of law and wouldn’t be so bad?

  35. 35.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    I’m in New York. Not much to report, my wife is in a conference so I’m kicking around doing stuff that wouldn’t interest her. Transit Museum yesterday, Natural History today.

    Wednesday we did a very cool thing which I mentioned here: Saw Neil Gaiman on stage hosting a reading of Ray Bradbury short stories. Apparently this was meant to happen in 2020 as a Bradbury centennial but, well…

  36. 36.

    WaterGirl

    @jackmac:

    I know this is borrowed time for summer flowers, but I’m delighted to have the extra few days.

    I did something similar by covering a bunch of my plants with sheets for the first frost, and it bought them a good 2-3 weeks.  It’s hard to let them go at the end of the season.

  37. 37.

    mvr

    @WaterGirl: Trump is paying him so he was trying to please the boss.  They’ve already basically lost that case, if I understand the state of play. So what was there to lose. (Along perhaps with the thought that pissing the judge off to the point he’d make a reversible mistake was a good Hail Mary strategy.)

  47. 47.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    @Maxim: I don’t know whether the publishers have an obligation to factcheck. But Meadows’ contract probably has language that says he hasn’t included anything that’s going to get them sued, and if they are sued, he has to cover the costs.

  49. 49.

    Ruckus

    @karen marie:

    I worked and then owned a business that worked to very small tolerances making custom tools that others used to manufacture things. I could name things that most everyone on here would recognize that were the end products from the tools that we made.

    Screwing up was a very, very, very unwelcome event because the tools that we made could cost high 5 figures or low 6 figures, back in a time when that was real money…..

  51. 51.

    surfk9

    @JPL: ​
      People still question my judgement about my first wife. Sometimes you do some stupid shit when you are young

  52. 52.

    Ruckus

    @Alison Rose:

    That Newsom guy doesn’t fuck around much does he?

    Folks didn’t seem to be too sure of him when he first ran but at least a few of them have warmed up, given who he is and what he gets done.

  53. 53.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Alison Rose: @Ruckus:

    Middle class families in California pay LESS in taxes than in states like Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas.

    Kevin Drum brought receipts on this a while back: sure,  if you’re *rich* you can move to TX and pay less tax.  But for most Americans, they’ll  pay less tax in CA.

  55. 55.

    karen marie

    @WaterGirl:   I don’t know whether Carlin said it or not – certainly sounds like something he’d say – but I’ve been listening to Driftglass say it for going on 20 years, so I’m giving it to him.

  56. 56.

    Ruckus

    @WaterGirl:

    We are doing it wrong.

    No, we are not.

    It’s the rich bastards that are willing to pay others to be shit for a few extra bucks and/or the power.

  57. 57.

    Craig

    I read this on Wonkette yesterday. Article about a Democrat running for Congress in Arkansas. His ads, his approach, and good advice for Dems running in Red areas of the country. Worth a look

  60. 60.

    Ohio Mom

    @trollhattan: Wow. I fast forwarded until I saw Guilfoyle and it’s hard to believe it’s the same person. Her entire presentation, her gestures, the tone of her voice, all different.

    If anyone wants to see what she used to be like, start around the three minute mark.

    That’s one for a psychologist, how does someone change so much? Your personality is supposed to be stable once you reach young adulthood.

  62. 62.

    Alison Rose

    @JPL: Oh for Pete’s sake. Okay, I’ve explained this before but here: They got married in 2001, which is, and this is true, 22 years ago. They split up in early 2005. I think the statute of limitations has run out on lambasting him for this, especially since he’s been married to his wonderful wife Jennifer for 15 years. Plus, Guilfoyle was a VERY different person back then, almost unrecognizable from who she is today. If you look up an interview they did together (with Charlie Rose, lol), she is nothing at all like the kookaburra she is now. She was a conservative, yes, but a moderate and sane one. She obviously went through some changes, as well as a swimming pool’s worth of cocaine, since then.

    Can we PLEASE stop acting like a brief long-ago marriage is some sort of permanent strike against his character and decency for the rest of his life? She wasn’t a terrorist or something. As I said before and has been immortalized as a rotating tag: I’m sure you banged some questionable people yourself. We all have. I trust that we are all allowed to grow past such things.

    ETA also see trollhattan’s comment and thank you trollhattan

  63. 63.

    Jeffro

    Peeps, I have to #humblebrag just a bit…I managed to run into HAKEEM “THE DREAM” JEFFRIES at the football game today!

    (pinch me, I’m still in shock!)

    He is the nicest person and was so gracious as I momentarily kept him from his game snacks!

  66. 66.

    H.E.Wolf

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: ​[NYC] Transit Museum yesterday, Natural History today.

     The Museum of Natural History is where I disobeyed my parents at a young age (5-ish? 6-ish?) and went running ahead in the corridors, only to turn a corner and be terrified by the giant Woolly Mammoth. (Not the Mammoth’s fault; but the curators have something to answer for.)

    That’s what they call an indelible memory….

  67. 67.

    Jeffro

    @Alison Rose: I’m sure you banged some questionable people yourself. We all have. I trust that we are all allowed to grow past such things.

    Is this whole quote a rotating tag?  For real?  That’s awesome!

  70. 70.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    I think Meadow’s publisher should lose the suit since it’s well known that anything a Republican says is a lie. Also, All Seasons Publishing? Did they get the idea for their name from Rudy’s fav landscaping service?

    My world is doing well today as I turned the power back on to our old Mustang after an extensive charging system upgrade. No magic smoke escaped! I fired it up and both alternators (yes, both) output is at 14.5 volts even under full load.

    /Snoopy happy dance!

    Next is my winter project; new rear end gears to go with the 5 speed I put in it.

  73. 73.

    JPL

    @zhena gogolia: Same.   I can’t wait until he’s the leader of the house again.  I hope it’s soon.  Surely there are sane republicans who want to see the change in leadership.

    🤣

  74. 74.

    grumbles

    I find Kise a little interesting. Not so much him, exactly, as the role he fills.

    He was hired to play the serious bigshot knows-how-to-play-the-game lawyer while the Fox bait played for the cameras. But that apparently has not worked out, and I think it is interesting to ask why. I suspect part of it is just proximity to Don’s corrosive juices. Sit near the fumes long enough, you’re going to rot, too.

    But I think part of it is that they’ve given up. The strategy is coronation or bust.  I’m starting to suspect a more professional coup attempt may be on some peoples’ minds…

  75. 75.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Alison Rose: ​
     

    I got a nice email from Newsom’s office today. Subject line: Ten FACTS to keep handy when Republicans attack.

    He is so running in 2028. But I gotta admit I like his style with the way he’s laying the groundwork.

  76. 76.

    Geminid

    @Jeffro: Wow! My Atlanta friend would envy you. He thinks the world of Hakeem Jeffries.

    I’m glad Mr. Jeffries was able to take in a football game on a nice day like this one. And he got to meet you!

  78. 78.

    danielx

    Also, I love that Mark Meadows is being sued by his publisher for publishing a book of lies and making the publisher look bad. They are asking for all the money they paid Meadows to be returned and a million or two in damages.

    My man Mark has totally lost the thread. If you can’t even get the grifting right….

  79. 79.

    Righteous Hazard

    I have been doing a lot of math work lately, and have kept my head out of reading the news 1) because math is hard, 2) news is distracting and distressing and 3) ‘distracted and distressed’ is bad for my math reasoning . But today I poked my head above water and read some news, and got caught up on the SBF trial and verdict. Having pulled my head out of math world, what I read immediately frustrated me.

    Nearly every single piece on SBF says some variation of he’s “good at math”. I am here to say that I see no evidence of it. Every anecdote I read containing any of his quantitative reasoning or pronouncements about probability show that the dude is full of shit.

    The disciplines of math all have a specialized language. SBF speaks the language of probablility the way that a toddler first speaks the language they learn at home: he jargons words that he heard, but with no meaningful reasoning behind them.

    Would it be that hard for a reporter to call a probability and statistics professor when reporting on SBF’s nutty math claims?

  82. 82.

    lowtechcyclist

    @karen marie: ​
     

    I’m transcribing a criminal trial for sexual abuse of children.

    The sergeant on the stand works in the detective bureau investigating crimes against children and he cannot define “prepubescent.” I’m SCREAMING.

    I think my head just exploded. What the everloving fuck?! How can someone have been working that job for more than a day or two and not know the meaning of ‘prepubescent’?! You’d think that wouldn’t be possible.

  84. 84.

    Chetan Murthy

    @danielx: I’m trying to think it thru (why his publisher is suing him) and the only thing that makes sense is “as payback for him ratting on TFG”.  That is to say, it didn’t matter that it was provable that Meadows’ “statements of fact” in the book were provably false: what mattered was that *Meadows* testified to that effect.  The publisher isn’t punishing him for having lied in the book: they’re punishing him for having testified and ratted-out The Boss.

    After all, such a publisher knows full  well that their business model depends critically on deep-pocketed GrOPer bigwigs/donors.  This is all a part of making sure the barely-jumped-up hoi polloi (and Meadows is surely that) know their place, know to keep schtum.

  85. 85.

    JoyceH

    Sigh. I’ve been cleaning house. My cleaner fired me. Well, actually, she streamlined her client list to reduce her workload (parent with increasing health issues), but amounts to the same. The advantage of a cleaner is not just the cleaning that she does, but the fact that I have to keep things fairly uncluttered so she can do her thing. Once I learned she’d cut me loose, I lost that motivation and stuff got kinda… out of control. So now I’m taking remedial action, and feeling quite disgruntled about it. Place does look some better, though.

  86. 86.

    WaterGirl

    @Jeffro: Unless I’m confusing you with someone else, you’re our best “messaging” guy on Balloon Juice.   You missed your moment to give him your contact info so you can share your ideas!

    Still, exciting to have met him.

  87. 87.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Righteous Hazard: Sure, he went to MIT.   But unlike his co-conspirator Carolyn Ellison, he isn’t named  in the Putnam Exam winners’ list.  Perhaps SBF is a genius, maybe even a  math genius.  But we have no real evidence.  Ellison OTOH, we have evidence.

  88. 88.

    karen marie

    @lowtechcyclist: It’s insane.  A couple months ago, on a murder case, the state’s computer analysis expert did not know the difference between a search engine and a browser.

    I should apologize to the reporters I insulted in my response to Righteous Hazard when I laughed derisively at the idea that they’d consult an expert in statistics to find out whether SBF is “good at math.”

  89. 89.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @WaterGirl: ​
      If Litman was right, Kise would have just apologized to the court. I think he was trying to bate the judge into some appealable error. I also do not have any idea why someone would voluntarily chose to self-immolate in that way.

  90. 90.

    Jeffro

    @zhena gogolia: I am not normally flustered when meeting public figures but I am pretty sure my first couple of sentences were not in recognizable English.  =)

    @Geminid: yes, I’m sure he was glad to get out of DC, and on such a nice day, too!

    @karen marie: he might have…I didn’t lean in too close (and kept my hands open & visible) as he had several Secret Service agents nearby.  I think it’s a safe assumption, though!

  91. 91.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Eunicecycle:

    I believe they advertise themselves as “anti-woke.” So they have gotten what they deserve.

    Which publishing house was this, that published Meadows’ book? I’m gonna guess Regnery, given their self-description of “anti-woke.” And yeah, whoever it was, they’ve had it coming to them.

  92. 92.

    WaterGirl

    @Jeffro: Just this part.

    I’m sure you banged some questionable people yourself.

    But I just added a bit to it.

    I’m sure you banged some questionable people yourself. We’re allowed to grow past that.

  93. 93.

    sab

    @surfk9: I am on my second husband, He is on his third wife. Twenty-two years next week. Finally apparently we each and both learned from experience.

  95. 95.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Jeffro:

    Peeps, I have to #humblebrag just a bit…I managed to run into HAKEEM “THE DREAM” JEFFRIES at the football game today!

    (pinch me, I’m still in shock!)

    He is the nicest person and was so gracious as I momentarily kept him from his game snacks!

    You lucky bum!! I’m so envious!!

  96. 96.

    Ohio Mom

    @WaterGirl: I am trying to imagine what I would say if I ran into Hakeem Jeffries. Probably would stammer out something like “I am such a big fan!” which would be a dumb thing to say but I get star struck.

  98. 98.

    Geminid

    @danielx: Meadows seems adrift. He must rue the day he took the job as Trump’s Chief of Staff. He had a safe seat Housec seat. He might even be Senator now. If Rep. Dan Bishop could win Richard Burr’s Senate seat, Meadows probably would have instead..

    But now Meadows is in the shit. He’ll probably have to plead guilty in Fulton County District Attorney Willis’s case. A friend who has been following that case closely thinks Meadows will have to serve some jail or prison time.

    And next Spring, Meadows will have to spill the beans on Trump in Judge Chutkan’s court in DC. If he doesn’t, Jack Smith will drop the hammer on him.

  99. 99.

    RevRick

    I attended a zoom meeting of the Penn Northeast Conference of the United Church of Christ, and the purpose was to promote the proposed merger of the four Conferences into one Keystone Conference.

    As part of the discussion they showed a clip of the black comedian Michael Jr. interacting with a member of the audience in Winston-Salem. He was a music teacher, and Michael Jr. asked him to sing a few lines of Amazing Grace. Wow! Great voice. Then Michael Jr. asked to sing it, only this time it was to be in response to an uncle getting out of prison. And my how it changed how he sang it! So Michael Jr. explained the first version was about what he sang, but the second was about why he sang it. So, the why that was explained to us was because we would be stronger together.

    Great!
    But then I mulled it over afterwards.
    So, I emailed the four Conference Ministers (kind of like bishops, but not really) a hand-grenade, telling them that for me their reason only half answered the question why. The Preamble of the Constitution answers the question why. I wanted to know stronger together for what?

  100. 100.

    sab

    @JoyceH: Yikes. My dad’s grandmothers died and then his parents. Family lawyer loaded everything up in a truck and sent it to us. My mother never got over the shock. Too much stuff.

    When my mother died that stuff was still there. Sent what I could to siblings, much stuff still there, and expensive to store.

    My grandaughter just left for Virginia last night. Time to cut the cord. Everything off to Humane Society thrift store tomorrow.

  104. 104.

    lowtechcyclist

    @surfk9: ​
     

    People still question my judgement about my first wife. Sometimes you do some stupid shit when you are young

    Hell, I can’t say I’m impressed with my late dad’s judgment in marrying his first wife, who was my mom.

    Needless to say, I’m glad they married since otherwise I wouldn’t be here, but they really shouldn’t have been together. So yeah.

  105. 105.

    danielx

    @coin operated: ​
     

    …Kise is going to have some career-jeopardizing sanctions coming his way.

    And this is why you ask for $3 million up font and get it. Kise may well be the only individual I have ever heard of who came out to the good in personal dealings with TFG. Everybody else loses money, reputation or both.

  108. 108.

    Alison Rose

    @lowtechcyclist: Very likely, yes. I’m torn because I think he’d be a great president, but I also know he will have a tough time winning swing states. We shall see, though. God only knows what this country will look like in 2028.

  109. 109.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Righteous Hazard: ​
     

    Would it be that hard for a reporter to call a probability and statistics professor when reporting on SBF’s nutty math claims?

    Yes. They’re fucking stenographers, is what they are. Calling an expert in a field would get in the way of their stenography, and they might have to actually think for a moment.

    Good luck with your math work! I got my doctorate in graph theory ages ago. The Tinkertoys of mathematics – something I could handle. :-)

  110. 110.

    WaterGirl

    @Omnes Omnibus: I was hoping you would weigh in.  What you say makes sense.  That called for an abject apology in the moment, as soon as he heard the words come out of his mouth.

    That he did not, that he would throw away his reputation for someone like Trump… It boggles the mind.

  112. 112.

    Geminid

    @WaterGirl: Hakeem Jeffries:

    “Balloon Juice, huh. Then you must know WaterGirl. Tell WaterGirl we need her help on the Farm Bill! Nikki’s been trying to get in touch but WaterGirl won’t answer her emails.”

  113. 113.

    kindness

    Meadows should claim he wrote a pseudo-biography so it’s all legal & good.  Hell, that would work with Judge Cannon.

  115. 115.

    Tehanu

    I had a tiring week so I slept late, fooled around on the internet awhile, then made deviled eggs, which I’d never actually done before, and put them on this great little deviled-egg tray my mom gave me about 50 years ago; it has spaces for the eggs and two salt-&-pepper shakers shaped like chickens in the middle.  And they came out good (Joy of Cooking, pretty reliable).  Now I’m going to see if I can find a birthday present for Hubby Dearest.

  118. 118.

    wjca

    @Craig: Article about a Democrat running for Congress in Arkansas. His ads, his approach, and good advice for Dems running in Red areas of the country.

    Wow, that is impressive.  The question in my mind is, will a bunch of Democrats in nominally hostile territory give this approach a shot next year?  Or will they decide to stick with what is familiar, even if it is known not to work?  At least until he’s shown that this does?

  119. 119.

    HinTN

    @sab: Big Head Todd has a line about that in a song on the first album. Something about stuff going into new boxes in new attics as older generations die and younger generations deal with it. It’s poignant. Good luck with the transition out of that mode

  120. 120.

    Jeffro

    @WaterGirl:

    @Alison Rose:

    I think that might have to be the opening line of my upcoming Netflix stand-up comedy special.

    “Thank you, thank you…you know, looking at this audience, I’m pretty sure…”

    LOL

  121. 121.

    sab

    @WaterGirl: I used to work with an accountant aspiring to do estate tax work. That is wills and trusts. She asked me what “intestate” meant ( it means died with no will.) She had a dictionary on her desk. (!?) She was also our office pedant due to her superior Catholic school  education.

  124. 124.

    Ruckus

    @WaterGirl:

    People that believe in SFB likely have a saying, “In for a dime, in for a lifetime sentence. Or at least have to wear a sandwich sign that says “I must be an idiot, I’ve been trumped.”

  125. 125.

    karen marie

    @Tehanu:  Very good that you made the devilled eggs in advance.  They are much better when they have time to chill and firm up.

    Devilled eggs are so delicious.  I make warm devilled egg salad on toast occasionally for breakfast.

  126. 126.

    surfk9

    @lowtechcyclist: ​
      I love my two sons that I had with my first wife. They have turned out just fine. Also: They don’t interact with her because she is so batshit out there

  128. 128.

    zhena gogolia

    @RevRick: There is so much BS floating around the UCC these days. Have they given all the ministers instructions to badmouth the historic buildings? I’m getting sick of it.

  129. 129.

    Captain C

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: Those are my two favorite museums, and both in my girlfriend’s part time. She also recommends Veselka in a he East Village.

    ETA: My faves in NYC; there are a couple elsewhere that are probably n that conversation.

  131. 131.

    Jeffro

    @WaterGirl: Hmm…you’re probably thinking of someone else, but it’s safe to say that the Fro fam will be in touch with his office soon.  Lots of possibilities!  But I had to let the poor guy get to his seat after a few minutes, too.  =)

    @Geminid: ha!

  132. 132.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Ohio Mom:

    I am trying to imagine what I would say if I ran into Hakeem Jeffries. Probably would stammer out something like “I am such a big fan!” which would be a dumb thing to say but I get star struck.

    Same. Very definitely same.  My IQ would temporarily drop by at least 40 points.

  134. 134.

    wjca

    @grumbles: He was hired to play the serious bigshot knows-how-to-play-the-game lawyer while the Fox bait played for the cameras. But that apparently has not worked out, and I think it is interesting to ask why. I suspect part of it is just proximity to Don’s corrosive juices. Sit near the fumes long enough, you’re going to rot, too.

    Short story shorter: everything TIFG touches turns to shit.  Approach at your own risk.

  135. 135.

    lowtechcyclist

    @WaterGirl:

    My head would have exploded. Possibly literally.

    The man standing next to me, his head was exploding.
    I was praying the pieces wouldn’t fall on me.
    -Dylan, “Day of the Locusts”

  136. 136.

    Geminid

    @WaterGirl: I’m not giving Meadows any cookies either. He volunteered for the job and would have been happy if his machinations had succeeded. I’m just struck by how Meadows came to a fork in the road, took what looked like a rewarding path, and walked into quicksand. Meadows willl survive, but he’ll always be thinking, “If only I had….”

  137. 137.

    surfk9

    @lowtechcyclist: ​
      In two weeks I will be going to the CA Democratic convention in Sacramento. I am imagining lots of moments freezing up in total fan-boy fashion.

  139. 139.

    Ruckus

    @lowtechcyclist:

    I worked in professional sports.

    I got over meeting the big boys early on, because as good as they might be at a sport, a number of them were barely human otherwise, as in not worth 2 seconds of my time. And my time is valued in pennies. Per hour.

  140. 140.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Tehanu: ​
     

    And the [deviled eggs] came out good (Joy of Cooking, pretty reliable).

    The Joy of Cooking was the first cookbook I got when I moved into my own place. I still do quiche Lorraine by its recipe.

  145. 145.

    EarthWindFire

    @lowtechcyclist: Hell, I can’t say I’m impressed with my late dad’s judgment in marrying his first wife, who was my mom.

     Feel the same about both my parents. They were babies when they got married (Dad was 20 and Mom was 21) and I was 10 days old when Dad graduated from college.

  146. 146.

    Dan B

    @Craig: Thanks for posting about this Democrat running in Arkansas, a state I know all too well.  The messaging is mine bogglingly great!

  147. 147.

    Barry

    @karen marie: “It surprises me a little bit that the publisher is looking to sue because everyone involved had to have known that much of what Meadows claimed in the book was complete bullshit.”

     

    ‘We are shocked and horrified to learn that he lied to us, and to prove it we are suing them.’

  148. 148.

    mvr

    @Alison Rose: ​
     When Jenny and I got married at the office of civil marriage in Las Vegas decades ago, the official in charge told a story of a man who showed up with two women, married one of them and came back days later asking for a refund. It appeared his spouse and her friend had taken his money and left him behind. Needless to say he didn’t get his filing fee back.

  149. 149.

    mvr

    @lowtechcyclist: Still one of my first go-to cookbooks because of the explanations of the general point of doing things that often come before recipes.  I learned from the 70s edition but now have one of the newer ones as well and these days use it most.

  150. 150.

    RevRick

    @zhena gogolia: I am not sure what you are referring to here. I am all in favor of the merger. I just think we need to make clear that it’s so we can be loud and proud UCC.

  151. 151.

    Dan B

    @Ohio Mom: As a gay guy I’d be close to fainting as well.  He is very handsome by being a happy guy, a bright guy, a moral guy, someone who wants to help people and the country.  Swoon!!  Beauty that is deep.

  152. 152.

    Barry

    @WaterGirl: “If I were a high-powered attorney, I would not trash my reputation for a mere 3 million dollars.”

    Especially 3 million Tump dollars.

  154. 154.

    karen marie

    @Geminid: Meadows was a scam artist all by himself.

    Mark and Debra Meadows bought a home on picturesque Lake Keowee for $1.6 million in July [2022], according to records for the property, which was listed on their South Carolina voter registration records.

    …

    Public records indicate Meadows had been registered to vote in Virginia and North Carolina, where he listed a mobile home that he never owned — and may never have visited — weeks before casting an absentee 2020 presidential election ballot in the state. Individual-1, for whom Meadows was serving as chief of staff in Washington at the time, won the battleground state by just over 1 percentage point.

     

    He got away with it too. The state of North Carolina declined to prosecute him. citing “lack of evidence.” I mean …

  155. 155.

    zhena gogolia

    @Steeplejack: No. I go to a UCC church. The ministers keep talking about how we have to get rid of our building. Then what?

    ETA: I thought RevRick was talking about the empty rhetoric of the UCC directorate. I guess I was mistaken.

  156. 156.

    Obvious Russian Troll

    @Chetan Murthy:

    I don’t think it’s as complicated as that–although it may still be a factor. But Meadows acting in any way against Trump is going to kill sales for that book.

    I mean, who is the audience for that book? The people who buy that book who aren’t Trump supporters is a rounding error.

  157. 157.

    catclub

    @Poe Larity: ​
     

    Florida roofing company giving free turkey, AR-15 with roof purchase as part of Thanksgiving special

    “As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly.”

  158. 158.

    catclub

    @karen marie:   Public records indicate Meadows had been registered to vote in Virginia and North Carolina, where he listed a mobile home that he never owned — and may never have visited — weeks before casting an absentee 2020 presidential election ballot in the state.

     

    WHICH state is very unclear in that sentence.

  160. 160.

    karen marie

    @catclub:   I’m familiar with the story, so I know it’s North Carolina.  I think if you read further in those paragraphs, or the linked story, it’s clear.

  162. 162.

    Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony

    Also, I love that Mark Meadows is being sued by his publisher for publishing a book of lies and making the publisher look bad.  They are asking for all the money they paid Meadows to be returned and a million or two in damages.

    The only way to make the lying right-wing propaganda machine painfully unprofitable is to sue it and its content providers to oblivion. Ignoring them, brushing them off, etc only makes them stronger. Hit them right where it hurts the most, their wallets.

  163. 163.

    Torrey

    @Alison Rose: ​
      I admit, I haven’t much cared for Newsom to date. He seems the very image of the slick politician. However, the way he’s been taking the fight to the Republicans, I’m starting to like the cut of his jib.

  165. 165.

    No One You Know

    @RevRick: Awesome,  and that,  too  is the work of the Lord. Episcopalian myself, but would love to hear what response you get.

  167. 167.

    Kayla Rudbek

    Trying to decide what color/finish of new wall plates to get. Oil-rubbed bronze seems like it will hide dirt/bike grease best, but I’m torn between cheaper/plainer designs and more ornate/expensive designs.

  168. 168.

    Bruce K in ATH-GR

    Somehow I managed to completely miss the Kise-to-Engoron thing that is supposed to be getting Kise into Big Trouble. Checked a number of substacks and nothing. Checked Twitter and nothing. Is it just me, or maybe the fact that I’m a third of a world out of sync with most of the jackaltariat? Is there someone who might be willing to link to the reference?

  169. 169.

    sab

    @Soprano2: How sweet. I am really touched by tales of people who finally got it right. Most of us don’t know enough in our twenties to make good choices. Later, many of us have learned.

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