Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

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

We still have time to mess this up!

Fuck the extremist election deniers. What’s money for if not for keeping them out of office?

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

Every day Vance writes another chapter in the book called “Worst VP Pick Ever”.

Stamping your little feets and demanding that they see how important you are? Not working anymore.

This really is a full service blog.

That’s my take and I am available for criticism at this time.

I’m pretty sure there’s only one Jack Smith.

I know this must be bad for Joe Biden, I just don’t know how.

I was confident that someone would point it out and thought why not me.

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

I really should read my own blog.

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

Happy indictment week to all who celebrate!

“Why isn’t this Snickers bar only a nickel?”

Can we lighten up on the doomsday scenarios?

People really shouldn’t expect the government to help after they watched the GOP drown it in a bathtub.

When you’re a Republican, they let you do it.

Republican speaker of the house Mike Johnson is the bland and smiling face of evil.

‘Museums aren’t America’s attic for its racist shit.’

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

Bad news for Ron DeSantis is great news for America.

Bad people in a position to do bad things will do bad things because they are bad people. End of story.

You are here: Home / John Cole Presents "This Fucking Old House" / Thanksgiving Open Thread

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114Comments

  7. 7.

    Layer8Problem

    Not too much.  I myself am too bleedin’ logy at the moment and anyway I’m in the field with my balky Android.  The laptop that’s my Zooming platform is one state over to the right.

  8. 8.

    danielx

    Courtesy of the ghouls at LGM:

    @realDonaldTrump

    Happy Thanksgiving to ALL, including the Racist & Incompetent Attorney General of New York State, Letitia “Peekaboo” James, who has let Murder & Violent Crime FLOURISH, & Businesses FLEE; the Radical Left Trump Hating Judge, a “Psycho,” Arthur Engoron, who Criminally Defrauded the State of New York, & ME, by purposely Valuing my Assets at a “tiny” Fraction of what they are really worth in order to convict me of Fraud before even a Trial, or seeing any PROOF, & used his Politically Biased & Corrupt Campaign Finance Violator, Chief Clerk Alison Greenfield, to sit by his side on the “Bench” & tell him what to do; & Crooked Joe Biden, who has WEAPONIZED his Department of Injustice against his Political Opponent, & allowed our Country to go to HELL; & all of the other Radical Left Lunatics, Communists, Fascists, Marxists, Democrats, & RINOS, who are seriously looking to DESTROY OUR COUNTRY. Have no fear, however, we will WIN the Presidential Election of 2024, & MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!

    Nov 23, 2023, 12:03 AM

  9. 9.

    MagdaInBlack

    @danielx: I saw that earlier and all I can do is laugh at the miserable orange lunatic. So needy. So scared. So alone on Thanksgiving.

  13. 13.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    Happy Thanksgiving to all and I hope everyone survives! I’ve spent the last two days caring for my wife after she had a bad fall in the shower. Nothing broken but some serious bruising and a week off from work (at the least). The doc was able to take her in right away and check her injuries out. Ibuprofen, oxycodone and taking it real easy to heal up. Luckily she had made Thanksgiving dinner on Monday so we’re stocked up on eats for at least another day…lol!

    She scared the shit out of me as this happened at 5:30 am as she was getting ready for work. I had to help her into a comfortable position and covering her with a blanket, doing a quick evaluation while calming her and then getting ibuprofen and 5 mg. of the good stuff from the emergency stash. I gave her a bit to get sorted out and then moved her to the bed to wait until the doc’s office opened. He prescribed the same painkiller at the same dosage. She’s now cut back to 2.5 mg. of oxy every six hours and that’s holding her well with the ibuprofen.

    Luckily she fell in just about the least damaging way and I’ve since replaced all of the traction stuff in the shower. I probably went overboard a bit but she’s worth it!

    Happy Turkey Day all and stay healthy!

  14. 14.

    JPL

    @danielx: He’s a sick, sick man who could win reelection.   Far right leaders are winning all over including in the Netherlands.

    Sorry to be such a downer but it’s possible.

  15. 15.

    dmsilev

    @danielx: Schoolteachers will use ‘parse that first sentence’ as punishment for students who act up in 8th grade English class.

    The courts are divided as to whether that rises to the level of cruel and unusual.

  17. 17.

    dmsilev

    @Alison Rose: He reminds me of the Internet classic ‘UN-altered REPRODUCTION and DISSEMINATION of this IMPORTANT Information is ENCOURAGED, ESPECIALLY to COMPUTER BULLETIN BOARDS.’.

    (Robert McElwaine, Usenet kook in the late 80s through the 90s)

  18. 18.

    MagdaInBlack

    @JPL: The latest “Cornfield Resistance” podcast is called “Thinking the Unthinkable’ and is about how to deal with that possibility. I’m taking my time listening because today was not the day for that, for me.

  19. 19.

    TaMara

    For all those cordcutters out there, a bunch of streaming deals, many with commercials, but with the exception of Paramountv+ which was awful with commercials, most of the commercial plans are not abhorrent.  I just did another year of Peacock, the MAX deal, reupped my HULU deal and bought a new, upgraded 4K ROKU stick w/voice activated remote.(which comes with 3 months of AppleTV and MGM)

    List here from CNET

  20. 20.

    Trivia Man

    2 airports down, 1 to go

    Unexpectedly busy at both, nearly all businesses inside were open. I’ve never flown on 🦃 day and I expected much less activity.

  23. 23.

    thalarctosMaritimus

    @Alison Rose:

    I apologize in advance for this, but you did ask.

    Substitute “jig” for “peek”, and you get a very offensive word that should never be used, so of course he goes there all the time.

    I wish I had been unaware of it, but having grown up in Alabama, no such luck, unfortunately.

  29. 29.

    Splitting Image

    @MagdaInBlack:

    I saw that earlier and all I can do is laugh at the miserable orange lunatic. So needy. So scared. So alone on Thanksgiving.

    He’s giving everyone else in the world something to be thankful for: namely that they are not him.

  30. 30.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @JPL:

    No problem! And I don’t want to seem like I’m downplaying or anything. It is concerning that these right-wingers are winning election, but in a lot of cases the economy isn’t that great in these countries, and people vote against the ruling party. I also recall people mentioning right-leaning parties such as the Sweden Democrats are not anti-democracy, so if they fail, the voters will vote them out

    It’s definitely important to remember the unthinkable is a possibility

  33. 33.

    Mr. Bemused Senior

    When I see “have no fear,” I can only think “Smith is here!”

    Trump thinks this stuff wins him votes. Possibly a few but net? I just don’t see it.

  37. 37.

    Ohio Mom

    @satby: What a good idea! I’m going to try to remember that for next year.

    We had Ohio Dad’s extended family over, including his mother, whose presence in my life taught me why people make mother-in-law jokes.

    A pair of cousins will need to be entertained tomorrow and then blessed quiet returns to Ohio Home.

  38. 38.

    schrodingers_cat

    #Panauti (jinx) has been viral on Indian Twitter for almost a week.Since the final of the Cricket World Cup which India lost. Panauti in question is PM Modi.

    Its a thing of beauty

    I think the Orange Ogre is Republican’s Panauti, they have been losing elections since he became their standard bearer (not as many as they should or as many as I would like)

  40. 40.

    Alison Rose

    @schrodingers_cat: We had a gingko tree in our front yard at the house I grew up in, and when it would rain the leaves would end up plastered all over the driveway. That image brings back memories :) Love the coloring.

    (BTW I ended up getting my friend’s kiddo a 48-set of Faber-Castell pencils and she was jazzed.)

  45. 45.

    Origuy

    Sorry I missed the part about SFB using peekaboo as a replacement for something else. I want to hear the judge that lifted his gag order read that out loud from the bench and justify his decision.

  56. 56.

    oldgold

     

    @danielx:

    What in the name of hell were the appellate judges thinking in staying these gag orders pending review? Any sane system would have left the gag orders in place pending review.

    And, his lawyers also need to answer for this. You control your client, withdraw or suffer the consequences.

    Continuing to indulge this miscreant and his enabling counsel risks the Republic.

  58. 58.

    Geminid

    @JPL: Wilders’ win was a striking outcome in that he’d been a marginal figure for so long. But one thing I keep in mind sbout the election: Wilders could be said to have won because his party came in first, but it stll won only 25% of the vote and the equivalent number of MPs; in this case 37 out of 150. I think the other parties all got less than 20%, though.

    Wilders will have the first chance to form a government but he could still end up in the opposition. Someone who lives in the Netherlands commented here that it will take a while fot Wilders or anyone else to form a government.

    But immigration is clearly a problematic issue for Dutch Center-Left parties. The previous Dutch government fell a few months ago when the two coalition partners fell out over refugee policy.

  59. 59.

    Nelle

    @schrodingers_cat: I love this.  I’m a big fan of gingko leaves and trees.  There is one in the town that I used to live in that I called the Glory Tree; it was a shimmering yellow for a few days every fall.

  62. 62.

    Salty Sam

    Wife and I spent a lovely afternoon doing Thanksgiving alone together.  We haven’t really done that so much (except for the Covid years ).

    But we just got word that my mom’s BFF is not expected to live through the night. “Aunt” Julie was  huge part of my childhood, and one of the kindest, most gracious and dignified women I’ve known.  I will miss her greatly.
    This time of year has always been hard for me.  Loss upon loss.

  63. 63.

    Another Scott

    @Alison Rose: An old boss of mine was convinced he couldn’t draw until he bought a copy of Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. He was pretty good afterwards.

    I haven’t read it, I think it involves training your brain to look at things differently (e.g. by drawing stuff that’s upside-down). When I was drawing I convinced myself that a technique that worked for me was to look at the shadows and changes in tone rather than trying to duplicate a tree or whatever. Our brains and eyes have all kinds of ways of noticing and understanding things that get short-circuited when we attach words to them and we say “that’s a tree, but my drawing is not a tree, therefore my drawing is bad” it kills our motivation to get better or get enjoyment out of it. Gotta be like Homer and turn off that part of our brains sometimes! ;-)

    Good luck!

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  64. 64.

    RaflW

    @Splitting Image: It shouldn’t, but it surprises me that there’s still “Where’s Melania” stories. I mean, she’s probably got a sealed protective order in place so that she can attempt to live away from his rising bonkersness.

    I have prescious little sympathy for her. She made some ruthless decisions earlier in her life to get access to money and some sort of security. And she’s shown us who she is with things like the notorious “I don’t care” jacket.

    But no one in the press should be even vaguely unsure why she’s in total hiding during her husband’s active disintegration.

  65. 65.

    CaseyL

    Could not do the Zoom; I’ve been cooking on and off all day.  And everything’s coming out pretty good, if may say so (*knock wood*).

    I’m not much of a cook, though that has changed over the past year.  But I’m quite good at following a recipe.

  66. 66.

    Lyrebird

    @Salty Sam: Sorry to hear you are facing yet more loss.  This past week has held several anniversaries,  most of them rotten, so I am walking a similar road.

     

    @Alison Rose: FWIW there are a couple little replies to you from me in the Tofurky thread.  And, sounds like you picked a great gift.

  67. 67.

    Lyrebird

    @schrodingers_cat: ooh, I like how you used the ink over the watercolor, iiuc.

    Thanks very much for your art supply guidance.  My new gel crayons should arrive in the next couple days!

  70. 70.

    Alison Rose

    @Another Scott: Nah, trust me. Not everyone is able to do everything, and there isn’t a book in the world that could give me artistic ability. I don’t know if this is even a thing but I believe it’s due in part to my terrible hand-eye coordination.

  71. 71.

    HumboldtBlue

    Oh, and in some positive news, that cold north wind blew hard today, hard enough to blow Salad home. He showed up as it was getting dark and spent two hours snuggled at my feet. Figgered it would happen at one point.

  76. 76.

    Splitting Image

    @RaflW:

    I have prescious little sympathy for her. She made some ruthless decisions earlier in her life to get access to money and some sort of security. And she’s shown us who she is with things like the notorious “I don’t care” jacket.

    She is a real piece of work, I agree, but I’ll say this for her. It warmed the cockles of my evil little heart whenever she swatted his hand away or sneered at him when his back was turned. In a four-year period with very little to laugh about, Melania provided several moments of pure, malicious pleasure.

    If she can manage to serve divorce papers at a moment that would leave her with some cash and make the orange bastard even poorer than his trials will make him, I won’t begrudge her the money.

  79. 79.

    mrmoshpotato

    @MagdaInBlack:

    The latest “Cornfield Resistance” podcast is called “Thinking the Unthinkable’ and is about how to deal with that possibility. I’m taking my time listening because today was not the day for that, for me. 

    Yeah.  I listened to this week’s The Professional Left podcast last night.

  80. 80.

    strange visitor (from another planet)

    @Nelle: you guys are crazy. pretty or not, those trees stink on ice.

    oh yah. i was supposed to be solo on thanksgiving but i got screwed by a doctor (yet again) and had an appointment bounced.

    no other industry works like medicine. they’re such fucks. i’ve been just ASTONISHED by the levels of incompetence, arrogance and stupidity i’ve encountered in the last few years.

    it’s like, it’s REALLY good they’re doctors, they’ll know how to set their limbs after i get to the limits of my patience.

    lolol…happy thanksgiving tho. really. love this blog. live for the threads

    eta- oh, yah. @Alison Rose: you said on another thread that you’re unable to travel? bc of health reasons

    eta, eta-

    @Another Scott: artists will often work upside-down to check for spatial errors. also, aiming to draw the negative space works well for beginners, too.

  82. 82.

    catclub

    So how many gag orders is Trump under, and how many have been temporarily stayed? It sure looks like he violated all of them with that diatribe. Or should I say DIAtribe?

  86. 86.

    Another Scott

    @Alison Rose:

    Grandma Moses would disagree.

    She began painting in earnest at the age of 78 and is a prominent example of a newly successful art career at an advanced age.

    ;-)

    Seriously, if you have an interest in it, do it. Art doesn’t have to “look like” something.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  87. 87.

    strange visitor (from another planet)

    @Alison Rose:  that sucks! i got jumped by an anti-masker in december of 2020 and was laid up for a while with four broken ribs. totally went stir-crazy. i hope you can keep yourself occupied or entertained by company.

  90. 90.

    Alison Rose

    @Another Scott: Okay, I’m not trying to sound like a jerk, but it’s kind of condescending to insist you know someone’s abilities better than they do. By this rationale, every single person could become an expert at every single skill known to humankind. I assume there are things you are not good at? I have in fact tried to learn, and what I learned was that I do not have any ability to do it. Yes, plenty of people discover a skill late in life. That doesn’t translate to “every other person can also master this skill”. This isn’t about gumption or believing in yourself. I don’t think I’m garbage because I can’t draw, and it’s not like I sit around crying over it. It’s just a fact about me and that’s fine. Just…please don’t insist that someone is wrong about themselves. I know you’re only trying to be helpful, so I’m trying to do the same.

  92. 92.

    strange visitor (from another planet)

    @Another Scott:  thanks.

    yeah, dude came at me from halfway across ocean parkway and tackled me. was my own damn fault tho, i didn’t land right. been in my share of fights in my life but i guess my number came due that time. can’t win ’em all.

    (but maaaan, broken ribs are no fun.)

  93. 93.

    Another Scott

    @Alison Rose: Sorry.

    I was offering some encouragement for your “Honestly considering getting them for myself, …” comment, but I can see that I wasn’t listening.

    I appreciate the pushback.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  95. 95.

    NotMax

    Too early yet to cook the meat for holiday din-din.

    However did decide to add rice as a side dish. Cooked in saffon-lobster broth. Been itching to crack open the jar of Better Than Bouillon lobster flavor.

  96. 96.

    BellyCat

    Funny drawing story. Never took art elective in high school because I couldn’t make my drawings “look like the picture”.

    Had a good drawing professor in college. Overcame my fears as he did lots of weird exercises (drawing without looking at the paper, etc). Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain stuff (great book btw!)

    Was in a bookstore some ten years after graduation. Saw a new edition of my Professor’s book.  Cover looked familiar. REALLY familiar. It was one of my drawings. LOL

    ETA: Finding a way to silence the “inner critic” is crucial for any endeavor — especially when exploring any creative pursuit.

  98. 98.

    Mai Naem mobile

    @Odie Hugh Manatee: shower/bathroom falls are the worst and they scare the shit out of you. I’ve seen bathrooms with high gloss tile in the bathroom and I swear the salesperson if there was one and the installer should have their asses sued. I don’t care how pretty it looks. You’re not going to look pretty when you slip on it. Wishing your wife a speedy uneventful recovery.

  104. 104.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    @satby:

    Thanks! That’s what I told her, that it could have been worse. I don’t think it made her feel any better but the way she fell was almost the least worst and the ummm… “natural extra padding” she has had almost all of her life saved her right hip. One huge bruise though.

    She’s comfortably ensconced on the couch with supplemental pillows, crochet hook in hand or resting while watching TV while I wait on her to keep her there. Not a bad recovery at all, I am sure!

  107. 107.

    Bruce K in ATH-GR

    “Pop in the zoom” – is that what the kids are calling it these days?

    Kidding, kidding.

    Sorry I missed the zoom and related festivities. Family had an expat Thanksgiving with a turkey breast stuffed with fruit, I ate one slice, and when I walked down the hill and got back to my place, I proceeded to experience a genuine full-blown food coma. My mom felt something similar, but attributed it to the wine at dinner, but since I only had about two sips of wine and experienced the same lethargy, the scientific method seems to indicate that it wasn’t the fault of the wine.

    A cousin joined us for dinner and shared the opinion that, to his dismay, he believes Trump will win next year. He’s disheartened by the right-wing surge across Europe. I just have to keep reminding myself that Biden and Harris have already defeated Trump once, and Trump’s situation is worse than it was four years ago.

  108. 108.

    TriassicSands

    @Alison Rose:

    Homebound. That’s no good. Do you have people who can shop for you? I’d be glad to help, if I knew where you live and I lived anywhere near you. But i’m still in the hospital, so I’m no use even to people I live near, though I’m not in the hospital near my home.

    So, completely worthless

    ETA: Sorry i missed the zoom. I was too busy trying to figure out a way to redirect an asteroid to land on Mar-a-Lago at just the right time.

  109. 109.

    Aussie Sheila

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): In a parliamentary system, unless Wilders controls a Parliamentary majority, he can do squat. As I understand the situation he doesn’t. Not a good outcome, to be sure. But not as disastrous as trump winning in 2024.

  110. 110.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    @zhena gogolia:

    Thanks, but it’s my great wife that makes me want to be a good ol’ man. She’s the nicest, sweetest person I have ever known. You can’t stay married for 37 years without a single fight or curse word without someone being an angel that encourages the other to behave…lol! Seeing her hurt really unnerved me but I kept it together and took care of her when she needed me most.

    @Mai Naem mobile:

    Thanks! Our downstairs shower is a fiberglass unit with stickums all over it. They were all there but old and worn in one area, which is where she slipped. I spent the rest of Wednesday pulling up the old ones and putting new ones with better grip.

  111. 111.

    satby

    @NotMax: My last exchange daughters? They loved it, the food (I found a halal turkey), the hanging out with my oldest son and his then partner (now wife), and the general vibe of the day.

  113. 113.

    Princess

    @danielx: I honestly thought this was satire when I first read it. Still, I guess his acolytes will eat it up and the rest of them will figure it’s the price they pay for low taxes and keeping *those* people in their place.

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