Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Within six months Twitter will be fully self-driving.

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

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

If you voted for Trump, you don’t get to speak about ethics, morals, or rule of law.

Black Jesus loves a paper trail.

Let’s delete this post and never speak of this again.

Only Democrats have agency, apparently.

Trump should be leading, not lying.

It is not hopeless, and we are not helpless.

Petty moves from a petty man.

The real work of an opposition party is to hold the people in power accountable.

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

Lick the third rail, it tastes like chocolate!

Not all heroes wear capes.

People identifying as christian while ignoring christ and his teachings is a strange thing indeed.

Polls are now a reliable indicator of what corporate Republicans want us to think.

The current Supreme Court is a dangerous, rogue court.

Is it negotiation when the other party actually wants to shoot the hostage?

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

The fundamental promise of conservatism all over the world is a return to an idealized past that never existed.

New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

Dear media: perhaps we ought to let Donald Trump speak for himself!

The desire to stay informed is directly at odds with the need to not be constantly enraged.

You are here: Home / Politics / Biden Administration in Action / TGIFriday Morning Open Thread: A Treat Well-Earned

TGIFriday Morning Open Thread: A Treat Well-Earned

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(Black & whites are the best shakes, IMO, even if that drives the haterz crazier. It seems to have been a popular move with North Carolina media, though.)

I’d have given a lesser finger in return for this, back when I was young & poor…

Reader Interactions

197Comments

  3. 3.

    lowtechcyclist

    Good morning, y’all!  Snow day here in Calvert County, the schools are closed, so I don’t have to drag the kiddo out of bed. There will be sledding later. 🙂

  4. 4.

    NotMax

    Musical moment as we ease into another weekend.

    Oo la la.

    Hoodathunk such a quintessentially British number would survive translation so well?

  5. 5.

    TBone

    I don’t remember what I was watching last night but I saw a commercial for this and I still have an upset stomach.  WTF Suckabee, isn’t your daughter enough of a punishment?

    “The Kids Guide to President Trump is unbiased and will help your kids learn everything there is to know, from his election in 2016 and his greatest accomplishments as president. As an added bonus, we’re giving you unlimited access to the “Great Again: Restoring Faith In America” streaming video and digital workbook from Learn Our History!”

    https://thekidsguide.com/trump-president/

  6. 6.

    EarthWindFire

    Note to RNC Research, Biden treats himself to a milkshake isn’t the flex you think it is. But, hey, thanks for the assist in communicating just how normal he is.

  7. 7.

    Trivia Man

    Fantastic

    Ive been confident itwas about timing – enact a program (infrastructure!) let it get going (results instead of vaporware!)  then call out by name those voting for and against.

    Still might not work (media is hardly a fair reporting source) but it is actual progress. With proof.

  8. 8.

    Jerry

    Heh. “suburbs of Raleigh.” Listen Jack, the entire Triangle area is now just one giant suburban scrawl, Raleigh and Durham included. From Zebulon to Chapel Hill and from Wake Forest to Fuquay-Varina, just one giant suburban area. We’re like Detroit Metro without the Detroit.

    And Cook Out is a good choice for a milkshake. Here’s the new state flag of North Carolina.

  11. 11.

    OzarkHillbilly

    To the surprise of absolutely no one any where,

    A new report claims “resounding evidence” shows that high corporate profits are a main driver of ongoing inflation, and companies continue to keep prices high even as their inflationary costs drop.

    The report, compiled by the progressive Groundwork Collaborative thinktank, found corporate profits accounted for about 53% of inflation during last year’s second and third quarters. Profits drove just 11% of price growth in the 40 years prior to the pandemic, according to the report.

    Prices for consumers rose by 3.4% over the past year, but input costs for producers increased by just 1%, according to the authors’ calculations which were based on data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis and National Income and Products Accounts.

    “Costs have come down substantially, and while corporations were quick to pass on their increased costs to consumers, they are surprisingly less quick to pass on their savings to consumers,” Liz Pancotti, a Groundwork strategic advisor and paper co-author, told the Guardian.

  12. 12.

    NeenerNeener

    Last week my brother took me to some drive-thru hamburger place in Lynchburg called Cook Out. I don’t know if it’s part of the same chain as the one in NC, but the milkshake really was awesome.

  14. 14.

    Jeffro

    That piece that was linked to in the late-night thread was really good.

    It just needed quote marks around “evangelicalism” and “evangelicals”…

    Mr. Trump himself has become a model for embracing evangelicalism as an identity, not a religious practice. In 2020, he announced he no longer identified as a Presbyterian but as a “nondenominational Christian,” a tradition closely associated with evangelicalism.

    He is rarely seen in church, but a poll this fall by HarrisX for The Deseret News found that more than half of Republicans see Mr. Trump as a “person of faith.” That’s more than any other 2024 Republican presidential candidate and substantially more than President Biden, a lifelong Catholic who attends Mass frequently.

    An increasing number of people in many of the most zealously Trump-supporting parts of Iowa fit a religious profile similar to the former president’s. “Iowa is culturally conservative, non-practicing Christians* at this point,” Mr. Burge said. “That’s exactly Trump’s base.”

    In the farming communities of Calhoun County, for instance, church adherence fell 31 percent from 2010 to 2020 — the steepest decline in the state — even as 80 percent of the population continued to identify in surveys as white Christians. More than 70 percent of the county’s voters cast ballots for Trump in 2020.

    *I’m pretty sure there’s another term for this…and it rhymes with “nite whationalists”

  16. 16.

    Jeffro

    @NeenerNeener: we have one here in Charlottesville, too, and I think I saw signs for a couple more along Rt 29.

    It’s hard to believe that America has room for yet another fast-food chain (and a burger-oriented one at that) but what do I know?

    (Maybe they are replacing BK and Hardees?  Not too many of those anymore)

  17. 17.

    Baud

    Yeah, that RNC research tweet is kind of lame. Like, usually I can figure out what the false attack line is.

  18. 18.

    satby

    That overdraft fee thing is huge and affects the working and middle classes the most obviously. And a really smart move by the administration right now as the SCOTUS is poised to gut the Chevron doctrine that currently guides how the administrative state functions. Imagine the news that overdraft fees have been reduced by the Democratic administration followed a few months later that the Republicans on SCOTUS put them back, plus killed safety regulations on a lot of other things. In an election year. Even low info voters will be affected. Well played, Dark Brandon.

  19. 19.

    TBone

    @NeenerNeener: it was a good excuse to text my brother a favorite meme. The Secret Antifa Plot to Destroy the Republican Party manifesto, a single page with a milkshake ring stain:  1.  Do nothing as the GOP implodes from within. 2. Milkshakes!

  21. 21.

    Baud

    @satby:

    Imagine the news that overdraft fees have been reduced by the Democratic administration followed a few months later that the Republicans on SCOTUS put them back

    I hope so, but I haven’t seen that dynamic with student loans, which followed that pattern.

    ETA: also, won’t be enough time for all that to happen before the election.

  22. 22.

    Jeffro

    @Jeffro: this part was mind-blowing, too:

     

    “Everything else lines up behind partisanship.”
    This is most true among white Americans, who over the course of Mr. Trump’s presidency became more likely to identify as “evangelical,” even as overall rates of church attendance declined. The trend was particularly pronounced among supporters of Mr. Trump: A 2021 Pew Research Center analysis found that white Americans who expressed “warm views” of him were more likely to have begun identifying as evangelical during his presidency than those who did not.

    So…a cult, then.

  23. 23.

    Jeffro

    @NotMax: my first part-time job as a teenager was making sundaes, ice cream sodas, shakes, and malts at a Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlor.

    Malts ROCK.  =)

  25. 25.

    WhatsMyNym

    @TBone: As is always the case with that crowd, you have to read the fine print.

    *Approximately 30 days after you receive your first Kids Guide, we will send you a new Kids Guide, complete with online streaming access of the accompanying video lesson and digital workbook at the Learn Our History member website, or other great educational content from eSpired, around once a month for the low price of $21.90 per set, and a new issue of EverBright Kids monthly magazine for just $6.49 per issue. These items will be automatically billed to your credit or debit card on file, plus sales tax where applicable.

  27. 27.

    Betty Cracker

    Last night while making a big pot of chili, I accidentally added a pile of curry powder when I meant to add cumin. I realized the mistake immediately due to the aroma and scooped out as much of the curry as I could, but of course there was no way to get it all out.

    I was apprehensive about it since my husband isn’t a big curry fan, but he didn’t even notice. I could taste it but thought it was a nice addition.

  33. 33.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Jeffro: ​
     

    we have one here in Charlottesville, too, and I think I saw signs for a couple more along Rt 29.

    My new to-do list:
    1) Lose 10 pounds. Once I’ve done that:
    2) Spend 3 weeks in C’ville to work my way though that list of 40 flavors of milk shake.

  34. 34.

    satby

    @Baud: on both Xitter and Blue Sky there are people posting every day that their student loans have been forgiven under one or the other of the newer loan plans. I assume on Tik Tok, Instagram, and Snap Chat where younger people are it’s probably more but I don’t go on those. I think we here miss a lot because we aren’t on the platforms younger people are on. Edit, and the media rarely covers it.

  35. 35.

    OzarkHillbilly

    An Oklahoma lawmaker is facing backlash for proposing a discriminatory bill that deems people of Hispanic descent as “terrorists”. The Republican state representative JJ Humphrey introduced the bill, HB 3133, which seeks to combat problems in the state, such as drug and human trafficking, and lay out punishments to those who have committed these “acts of terrorism”. The punishment for such a crime would be forfeiting all assets, including any and all property, vehicles and money.

    In addition to “a member of a criminal street gang” and someone who “has been convicted of a gang-related offense”, the bill defines a terrorist as “any person who is of Hispanic descent living within the state of Oklahoma”.

    The move was met with fierce criticism.

    State senator Michael Brooks, who serves as the senate’s minority caucus vice-chair and founded the Oklahoma Latino legislative caucus, said the move by Humphrey was unsurprising. “To have the law treat people differently based on their race or ethnicity only creates greater divides,” Brooks said. “The bill is fatally flawed, and I don’t know if there’s much of a way to be able to change it.”
    ………………………
    Humphrey apologized but then doubled down. He said: “I apologize for using the word Hispanic, but I was not wrong. Again, these are Hispanic. Reality is they are Hispanic. There’s nothing to be ashamed with.”

    Yeah, but tell us again Nikki, how America has never been a racist country

  36. 36.

    Baud

    @satby:

    Glad to hear it. But people posting doesn’t necessarily mean it’s landing.  But I’ll keep my fingers crossed. 🤞

  37. 37.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Jeffro: ​
     

    Malts ROCK. =)

    They do indeed. Used to be (maybe still is) a drive-up place on the north side of Fredericksburg that had great malted shakes. I’d always stop for one when I was driving between Newport News (I was teaching at Christopher Newport in the late 1980s) and Alexandria where my father lived.

  43. 43.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Jeffro: ​
     

    It just needed quote marks around “evangelicalism” and “evangelicals”…

    I’m fine with them having the label of ‘evangelicals’ without any scare quotes.

    But ‘evangelical Christians‘ needs scare quotes around ‘Christians.’

  44. 44.

    Scout211

    Nice wrap-up of all things positive from POTUS and VPOTUS, AL. What a nice way to start the morning.

    In local news, a new poll in the California Senate primary has Schiff and Garvey gaining, Porter holding steady and Lee slipping.

    An Emerson College Polling/Inside California Politics survey of the California Senate Election finds a quarter of voters (25%) support Democratic Representative Adam Schiff, while 18% support former Los Angeles Dodger, Republican Steve Garvey, 13% support Democratic Representative Katie Porter, 8% support Democratic Representative Barbara Lee. Just under a quarter (24%) of voters remain undecided. Since the Emerson/Inside California Politics November poll, Schiff’s support has grown nine points, from 16% to 25%, Garvey increased eight points from 10% to 18%, Porter’s support remained the same at 13%, and Barbara Lee has lost a percentage point, from 9% to 8%.

    If you click through to view the chart, the undecided vote has changed from 39% in November to 24% this month. The undecideds are finally starting to make their choices.

  45. 45.

    p.a.

    @Betty Cracker: Not curry powder, but I add turmeric to lots of stuff for health reasons.  A tablespoon-ish doesn’t really affect flavor much, and it’s a natural thickener for any pan sauce or stew base.  And I have the counter stains to prove I use it.

  49. 49.

    eclare

    @Scout211:

    Remind me again, in CA’s primaries, it is the top two vote receiving candidates who move to the general, right?  So if these results stand, big if I know, it could be Schiff vs Garvey?

  50. 50.

    artem1s

    I don’t think it’s a coincidence that mainstream church attendance has declined, even while evangelicalism has been on the rise over the last decade or so. Most main stream denominations have embraced diversity and allow POC, LGBTQ and women to be ordained and/or work in leadership roles. IMO Televangelism had a lot to do with it. Why risk going to church on Sunday where you may get admonished from the pulpit and by your peers for your not so secret racism, xenophobia, homophobia, and/or misogyny? With rise of media ‘ministries’ you can sit in your PJ’s and listen to Pat Robertson hate on all the people you want to see burn in hell. Don’t get me started on the ‘God will punish the heathans’ wasteland that AM radio has become out in rural Ohio/US.  And those same televangelists queued up a whole generation of people to accept grifting from the pulpit as normal. Why bother with doing good works when you can send Pat 10 dollars to whitewash your soul. So when religious fascism drifted over into politics that made it easy for people like Karl Rove to grift the dumb rubes out of their small donations and got them to vote for someone like W (who also rarely attended church and was a morally compromised playboy and failed businessman) even while they were sneering at them behind their backs.

  51. 51.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Scout211: ​
     

    In local news, a new poll in the California Senate primary has Schiff and Garvey gaining, Porter and Lee holding steady and Lee slipping.

    FTFY. There’s no way they had a large enough sample for 8% and 9% to be statistically different.

  52. 52.

    Scout211

    @eclare: it is the top two vote receiving candidates who move to the general, right?  So if these results stand, big if I know, it could be Schiff vs Garvey?

    Yes.

  53. 53.

    AxelFoley

    @lowtechcyclist:

    Good morning, y’all!  Snow day here in Calvert County, the schools are closed, so I don’t have to drag the kiddo out of bed. There will be sledding later. 🙂

    I forgot you live in MD. I used to live in St. Mary’s County from 1983 to 1991 (dad was stationed at Pax River and my folks still own our home in Great Mills).

  54. 54.

    narya

    @Betty Cracker: My mother once grabbed the cumin instead of the cinnamon for a blueberry pie . . . she had to toss the whole pie. And I once grabbed cumin instead of cinnamon for my cinnamon toast. I am here to tell you that cumin toast is not good.

  55. 55.

    Steeplejack

    Google tells me there’s a Cook Out in Manassas. I might have to check it out the next time I’m out that way (about 25 miles away).

  56. 56.

    Baud

    @eclare:

    I suppose the nice thing about Garvey making it is that Dems shouldn’t have to spend as much money in the general election.

  57. 57.

    satby

    @Baud: There was a rule of thumb used by help desks and retail customer service centers back in my working days: for every person who bothers to write to complain about something you could safely assume 10x that number are also aggravated but don’t bother to write. They tell their friends or family though. Big assumption, but it’s guided businesses for decades. Same ratio applies to customer compliments, with the same word of mouth. I think the news gets out to the people it affects.

  58. 58.

    Mousebumples

    Happy Friday!

    Postcard reminder – postage goes up, I think tomorrow, so think about stopping by your local post office to stock up on stamps, if you haven’t already.

    My post office was sold out already when I went yesterday, but I tried! 😂

  61. 61.

    Chris T.

    MSM Interview with Average Undecided Ohio (or whatever) Voter: “I refuse to vote for Biden because bank fees are too high.”

    Under a new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rule, overdraft fees at large banks will be strictly regulated and capped as low as $3.

    “Uhh… I refuse to vote for Biden because Israel.”

    (Tomorrow: headline about Biden backing Netanyahu into a corner and getting concessions.)

    “Uhh… I refuse to vote for Biden because I didn’t get a pony.”

    (Tomorrow: headline about Biden giving everyone free ponies.)

    “ALRIGHT DAMMIT I ADMIT IT, I’M A DIEHARD TRUMPIE”

    Seriously, what does it take anyway?

  64. 64.

    TBone

    Back when we lived in a cabin in the middle of nowhere we attended a tiny country church to socialize with the tiny community.  It was usually kinda fun. I missed services one Sunday and hubby came home sputtering.  They had a guy in there as a guest pastor passing around a rethuglican voter registration sign-up sheet today!  Good thing I missed it, I’d have stood up and given my own sermon about illegality and paying no taxes.  Never went back, but they still send newsletter to hubby.  During pandemic, they said masks were optional to avoid “the flue.”

  65. 65.

    Scout211

    Added to the California Senate primary news:

    There will be a debate with the top four candidates on January 22nd.

    Democratic Reps. Adam Schiff, Katie Porter and Barbara Lee and Republican Steve Garvey have qualified for the first debate in California’s U.S. Senate race hosted by POLITICO, Fox 11 Los Angeles and the University of Southern California Dornsife Center for the Political Future.

    The debate, from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. PST at the Bovard Auditorium on the University Park Campus, will air live on FOX 11 in Los Angeles, KTVU FOX 2 in the San Francisco Bay Area and be livestreamed on POLITICO.

    In case you are interested in viewing.

  69. 69.

    Betty Cracker

    @evodevo: I learned from the mister (the chili maestro in this house) to add about a teaspoon of cocoa powder to a pot of chili. It definitely adds complexity!

  71. 71.

    catclub

    @Jeffro: evangelicals are the number one group of ‘authoritarian followers’

     

    after reading that book – The Authoritarians  – I see it every time they say the evangelicals ignore anything bad about Trump the dictator.

  73. 73.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Steeplejack:

    Google tells me there’s a Cook Out in Manassas. I might have to check it out the next time I’m out that way (about 25 miles away).

    Manassas, huh? I’m rarely on that side of the Beltway these days, but next time I am, I’ll have to make the excursion out to Manassas then.

  77. 77.

    eclare

    Still looks like I am not getting to Kroger til Monday as we got freezing rain yesterday and we won’t get above freezing til Sunday when the forecast high is only 33.  The food situation is as follows:  still have plenty of human food, but it is not suitable for dogs.  Looks like my cat will continue to get canned tuna, and once my dog is out of oatmeal and Cheerios she will get Triscuits and pudding Snack Packs (not chocolate).

    When I shop on Monday I am adding peanut butter and Saltines to the list, I think from now on I’ll make sure I have these on hand.

  80. 80.

    NotMax

    @eclare

    Normally trek into town for the grocery shopping trip around the 10th of the month. However had so much foodstuffs already in the house put it off until (probably) Monday as well.

  86. 86.

    Geminid

    @lowtechcyclist: I think Manassas is almost halfway to the Green Valley Book Fair from St. Mary’s County. Just sayin’

    There’s probably a Cook Out in Culpepper too. That’s on the more southerly route that avoids the sprawling “DMV.”

  87. 87.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Betty Cracker: ​ It’s an STL diner staple. I can’t get them out here, so if I want one I have to either drive into the city or make my own. The best were at the old Eat Rite, a little hole in the wall diner at Choteau and… 14th Street?

    “Eat Rite or don’t eat at all!”

  90. 90.

    Patricia Kayden

    @satby: President Biden has taken several actions to help the average American. The problem is Democratic messaging. They have to be more aggressive in tooting their own horn. Let American people know what this administration has done and what Americans will lose if they reelect the Orange Bigot.

  94. 94.

    eclare

    @Steeplejack:

    If I can’t get out til Tuesday, then the dog will get tuna.  I am putting that last because it is the only thing suitable for my cat and is so low cal I would have to give her eight or nine cans a day.

  97. 97.

    Steeplejack

    Got another ≈2" of snow overnight, with more coming down today. Probably won’t melt much, because it’s 29° now and going up only to 33° or so. Then back down to 18° tonight.

    I’ve got food, so I’m set, but as usual when I’m housebound I am lusting for food items I don’t have. 🙄

  98. 98.

    Another Scott

    @OzarkHillbilly: I heard a bit of a hearing on C-SPAN radio yesterday as I was flipping channels where someone was getting all het-up about MS-13.  That was a huge issue in the DC suburbs 5-10-20 years ago.  They were all going to kill us in our beds, you see.

    Yesterday it was part of the Mayorkas impeachment hearings.

    They return to the “weaponize trumped-up fear” chapter in the playbook over and over and over again.  It’s what they do.

    Grr…,
    Scott.

  100. 100.

    WaterGirl

    @Betty Cracker: Your mistake ended better than mine.

    In case you’re wondering, it is not a good idea to accidentally use banking powder instead of cornstarch, for, say a cherry pie.

    Why do they make those cans exactly the same size and shape???

    Bastards!

  101. 101.

    satby

    @Patricia Kayden: I think Democrats message just fine. I also think we assume they don’t because we have a media that suppresses that info under a ratio that promotes the drama of conflict and chaos in the Republican party over boring sensible government. Democrats have leveraged non-traditional media, but so have Republicans and less of the public pays much attention to the traditional news media. My own sons get most of their news from YouTube (😒), as do most of their age cohort. We live in an era of Balkanized media, I don’t think any of us has a good overview of all the information flows.

  103. 103.

    NotMax

    @Steeplejack

    People probably got fatigued by my gong on about the successive days of rain here. Several of those days it came down with such ferocity that (depending on location on the island) it was measured at anywhere from 1 to 3½ inches per hour.

  104. 104.

    sab

    @satby: One of my stepkids got himself into an overdraft situation beck when he was eighteen. They kept tacking on the $25 per day charge and wouldn’t let him close the account to stop it, so it just kept mounting for months. It was nuts. Massive debt from one weekend fuckup.

  109. 109.

    Another Scott

    @Steeplejack: I see the Cook Out signs all the time when I drive to Winston-Salem from NoVA but have never been there.  Similarly with the Biscuitville signs on drives through WV to OH.  They both looked interesting, but the timing was always wrong or whatever.

    There’s another small chain around W-S called Dairi-O that is pretty decent. They go after that 1950s soda shop/lunch counter/drive-thru vibe. They’ve been expanding, also too.

    It’s good that there is still regional eateries, though they seem to get the expansion bug quite often these days.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  110. 110.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Geminid:

    I think Manassas is almost halfway to the Green Valley Book Fair from St. Mary’s County. Just sayin’

    There’s probably a Cook Out in Culpepper too. That’s on the more southetly route that avoids the dreaded sprawling “DMV.”

    I’m in northern Calvert County, and really the easiest way to almost anywhere in Virginia from here starts with Route 4 to the Beltway to the Wilson Bridge.

    Also, I’ve got family and friends scattered around the DC area, so I might find myself over on the western side of the Beltway for other reasons, so I could see adding a side trip to Manassas if I’m already somewhere near I-66 and the Beltway.

  112. 112.

    Steeplejack

    @Geminid:

    Yeah, very cold this weekend, then positively balmy next week here in NoVA—highs in the 40s and approaching 50° at the end of the week.

  113. 113.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @evodevo: I’m a huge mole poblano fan, which is a savory chocolate-based sauce. I think it’s getting more popular, but I’ve been in Mexican restaurants where if you’d order it, they would ask you “you know what that is, right?”

    Edit: I see Satby got there first at #93

  115. 115.

    NotMax

    @Another Scott

    Which are more frequent, South of the Border billboards, ones for Stuckey’s or Claxton fruitcake signs?

    Haven’t driven the interstates down south in a very long time but I’d have rated them a toss-up.

  116. 116.

    satby

    Well, since we’re doing the weather, got a couple more inches from Wednesday to this morning. The prediction of 8-12 inches now is back down to *only* 4-8 inches more arriving over the next 36 hours. Most of that expected Saturday instead of today though, so my return to the market tomorrow is probably off. I went by yesterday to tell them it’s unlikely I’ll be back if it’s bad and virtually no one was there, vendors or customers. Doubt I’ll miss much.

  120. 120.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Jeffro:

    wow…that is a lot…I could do that for lunch or dinner, but as a breakfast, I would probably need to go back to bed for an hour!

    I don’t think I could manage to eat it *anytime*, that’s just a jumble of too many different things all thrown into one.  Not to mention how much food it is altogether.

    Also, I’ve never grokked the idea of taking something that was already plenty of food, and topping it with a (usually fried) egg.  I remember there was a place on the Corner in C’ville that had something along those lines called a Grillswith, that an acquaintance insisted I try.  Once was more than enough.

  122. 122.

    satby

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: “you know what that is, right?”

    😆😆  last got asked that when I ordered greens in a restaurant where I was the only Caucasian. Yes, I knew what they were; and I love them too. That recipe makes a pretty good mole poblano, try it!

  124. 124.

    Manyakitty

    @sab: they held the mortgage on my house back when they were National City Bank and they were great. PNC took over and I literally considered firebombing their mortgage department to make the world a better place. They stole YEARS of my life. I’ve been free of them for at least 10 years and my hands are shaking from rage as I type this.

  126. 126.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @satby: The ice from earlier in the week is mostly gone from the sidewalks. We’re in the middle of a gentle all-day snowfall which is supposed to leave 3” by the end of the day. Plenty of groceries in stock and a half-done jigsaw puzzle on the DR table so I say, bring it on!

    In fact I have a silly “bring it on” ritual consisting of playing YouTubes of the “Blow, winds!” speech from King Lear. My wife is very tolerant. So far.

  128. 128.

    Soprano2

    I listened to some P.D.Q. Bach on the computer yesterday, and what I discovered is that his works are as much a visual medium as a music one. If you don’t have the visuals of what is happening it’s not as entertaining. You can hear people laughing, but you don’t know why they’re laughing.

  130. 130.

    H.E.Wolf

    @Mousebumples: Postcard reminder – postage goes up, I think tomorrow, so think about stopping by your local post office to stock up on stamps, if you haven’t already.

    My post office was sold out already when I went yesterday, but I tried! 😂

     You may be able to buy postcard stamps online TODAY ONLY at the current price of 51 cents. Choice of sailboats or fish.

    The USPS website has a note that their site may be down on Sat., and the official increase to 53 cents happens on Sun.

    There’s a $2 fee for online purchases. I figure it’s less than the worth of my time standing in line at the P.O. :-)

    https://store.usps.com/store/product/buy-stamps/sailboats-postcard-stamps-S_122504

    https://store.usps.com/store/product/buy-stamps/coral-reefs-postcard-stamps-S_745104

  131. 131.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Jeffro: It really helps to understand all this when you realize that the modern religious right as we know it emerged as the religious wing of segregationism. It was white supremacism that was driving the other stuff. The focus on things like abortion was largely an intentional means of obscuring that.

  132. 132.

    Steeplejack

    @mali muso:

    That’s about 70 miles from me; Fredericksburg is about 50 miles. But the drive to Winchester would definitely be more scenic and relaxed than hurtling down I-95.  Manassas will do fine.

  133. 133.

    Salty Sam .

    @sab: One of my stepkids got himself into an overdraft situation beck when he was eighteen. They kept tacking on the $25 per day charge and wouldn’t let him close the account to stop it, so it just kept mounting for months. It was nuts. Massive debt from one weekend fuckup.

    I had a buddy from work go through that.  He ended up having to go to court, got convicted and sentenced to extra fines on top of the debt, and some ridiculous community service requirements.  Also totally wrecked his credit…

  135. 135.

    satby

    @Matt McIrvin: Yes, and that history is unknown to most people. Busting the segregated “Christian academies” for discrimination was also the source of the deep hatred for Hillary Clinton, even before she married Bill, I think.

  136. 136.

    jonas

    @OzarkHillbilly:  At the grocery store, I’ve noticed that the price difference between the generic store brand of a lot of products vs. the national brands is getting a lot bigger than it used to be. Before the pandemic, the store-brand cream cheese, for example, was maybe 50 cents or $1 cheaper than Kraft Philly. Now it’s like $2 difference. Kraft’s just being a dick. It’s really mostly the prices for national brand processed foods that have gone up and stayed up the past couple of years. Avoid those as much as possible, and your grocery bill probably isn’t so ugly these days.

  137. 137.

    eclare

    @satby:

    I don’t have rice.  I should have prepped better, but I did not anticipate being housebound for a week.  I think pb is the way to go in the future, because it doesn’t need prep.  Some areas in my county currently don’t even have water because of water main breaks.  None.

    I am low on freezer/fridge food because I lost about $100-150 worth of food when I lost power last summer for four days.  So I’ve been hesitant to stock up.

  139. 139.

    Soprano2

    @Jeffro: I’ll have to read that piece later. Does it go into why those people stopped attending church? I suspect it’s because they decided they were hearing too much “woke” Jesus stuff in church and not enough anger and hatred toward the “other”, although you can hear a lot of that in churches too.

  144. 144.

    mali muso

    @H.E.Wolf: Thanks as always for keeping us posted (pun intended).  Just bought a stack of stamps online to lock in the lower rate and get ready to start writing my postcards!

  145. 145.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    @TBone: “The Kids Guide to President Trump is unbiased and will help your kids learn everything there is to know, from his election in 2016 and his greatest accomplishments as president. As an added bonus, we’re giving you unlimited access to the “Great Again: Restoring Faith In America” streaming video and digital workbook from Learn Our History!”

    To Republicans, “unbiased” means “our bias.”  Color me shocked.

  148. 148.

    Salty Sam .

    @satby: That recipe makes a pretty good mole poblano, try it!

    That does look good-  I appreciate that it’s not one of those mole recipes that tries to make shortcuts (I’m partial to Diane Kennedy’s version).  Good mole takes a lot of time to make, and lots of fussy steps.  It can get tedious.

    I decided to make a LOT of mole to give away as Christmas presents one year.  Burnt up my blender motor at 10:00 pm on Christmas Eve.  Fortunately, Walmart was still open.

  149. 149.

    NotMax

    @@eclare

    No rice? Summarily exiled from the state. ;)

    Had a friend who once worked as a cook on the inter-island ferry.

    He’d slave to prepare fine dining fare for the crew, only to be met with “Where da rice?”

  151. 151.

    jonas

    @eclare: Yeah, it’s looking like it will probably be a Schiff-Garvey race at this point. Garvey’s plan seems to be to avoid talking about politics as much as possible and just run on being a former ballplayer, which of course is hugely relevant for the job of Senator from the country’s most populous state. I don’t think Schiff, if that’s who he ends up facing, will let him get away with that for very long in the general.

  152. 152.

    prostratedragon

    Traffic report:

    A truck loaded with thousands of copies of Roget’s Thesaurus spilled its load leaving New York Witnesses were stunned, startled, aghast, stupefied, confused, shocked, rattled, paralyzed, dazed, bewildered, surprised, dumbfounded, flabbergasted, confounded, astonished, and numbed.

  154. 154.

    eclare

    @Soprano2:

    IIRC Eva Longoria said that her family has been here so long that at various times they were residents of Mexico or the Republic of Texas or Texas.

  155. 155.

    jonas

    @OzarkHillbilly: The “history” book is probably just mostly a screed about how he didn’t really lose in 2020.

    Sheez, anyone who inflicts this shit on their kid should be reported to CPS.

  156. 156.

    Ken

    @eclare: Who doesn’t like milkshakes?

    Republicans, now that Biden likes them. As someone said a few years ago, it’s odd that in the Great Culture War, the Democrats are apparently ending up with football, baseball, beer, and now milkshakes.

  158. 158.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    @Jeffro: He is rarely seen in church, but a poll this fall by HarrisX for The Deseret News found that more than half of Republicans see Mr. Trump as a “person of faith.” That’s more than any other 2024 Republican presidential candidate and substantially more than President Biden, a lifelong Catholic who attends Mass frequently.

    Of all the media coverage imbalances, somehow our blighted MSM has managed to convey the facts here pretty consistently. But who needs facts when you got “faith,” amirite?

    An increasing number of people in many of the most zealously Trump-supporting parts of Iowa fit a religious profile similar to the former president’s. “Iowa is culturally conservative, non-practicing Christians* at this point,” Mr. Burge said. “That’s exactly Trump’s base.”

    I’m a non-practicing Christian myself, though if you were seeking to describe my attitudes, that would provide you little useful information. Seems, as I’ve long suspected, that these people just like the Christian label but don’t want to do the spiritual and moral work.

  159. 159.

    jonas

    @Soprano2: LOL. My mom knew a family from New Mexico growing up and they would tell her stories about white, or sometimes even other Hispanic, people asking “So how long you folks been here?” and they would reply “Oh, about 400 years, give or take. How about you?”

  161. 161.

    Ken

    @TBone: his greatest accomplishments as president

    Fortunately, it’s a children’s book, so they only had to fill 8 pages in very large print.

  163. 163.

    Geminid

    @jonas: One aspect of a Schiff/Harvey general election contest is that Democratic donor money that Porter would have attracted will instead be freed up, and could make its way to other candidates. A silver lining, so to speak.

  164. 164.

    jonas

    @The Kropenhagen Interpretation:  Seems, as I’ve long suspected, that these people just like the Christian label but don’t want to do the spiritual and moral work.

    I forget where I saw it, but a while back there was a story about a pastor somewhere in the Midwest or Bible Belt talking about how some people in his church had approached him to complain about a recent sermon on the Beatitudes because it sounded like a bunch of liberal woke shit.

  166. 166.

    H.E.Wolf

    @Mousebumples: ​

    @mali muso: @H.E.Wolf: Thanks as always for keeping us posted (pun intended). Just bought a stack of stamps online to lock in the lower rate and get ready to start writing my postcards!​

      Hee hee! Good pun. Mousebumples and I are both on the postcard beat today – and with you, we are now a triple threat!​

  168. 168.

    Jackie

    @EarthWindFire: Lots of anger from the RWNJs for Biden daring to support a local milkshake shop.

    Do we hear the same anger every time TIFG goes to Mickey D, or KFC or a pizza joint?

    ….crickets

  169. 169.

    jonas

    @Geminid: Agreed. They wouldn’t really have disagreed about substantive policy much, so the only way to campaign would have been to get dirty and personal and no one needs that.

  171. 171.

    jonas

    @Jackie:

    Do we hear the same anger every time TIFG goes to Mickey D, or KFC or a pizza joint?

    …or promises to pay for everyone’s meal and then walks out?

  172. 172.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    @jonas: a while back there was a story about a pastor somewhere in the Midwest or Bible Belt talking about how some people in his church had approached him to complain about a recent sermon on the Beatitudes because it sounded like a bunch of liberal woke shit.

    Blessed are who? The meek?!?!?

    Pussies…

  173. 173.

    NotMax

    @Jackie

    “it’s not the same as when i got smacked in the head with a roll of paper towels. Now that’s leadership.”
    //

  174. 174.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Manyakitty: Curry powder is the milder Angloindian version of sambar ( a south Indian veggie stew) spice mix.  It usually contains turmeric, coriander, cumin, fenugreek and many other spices. I am not a fan except in sambar or other South Indian stews.

  175. 175.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    @NotMax: They don’t want a leader. They want a carnival barker to add a showman’s flair as they destroy their enemies.

  178. 178.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    @NotMax: There was a really enjoyable movie papering over his exploitation of his performers.  Great music.

    Can we make the egress a cliff face?

  184. 184.

    Miss Bianca

    @Ken: “Representative Humphrey, what was the Tulsa Massacre, and who carried it out?”

    “Representative Humphrey, which ethnic group was primarily responsible for the murder of Native Americans who happened to live on or own access to Oklahoma oil fields?”

    “Representative Humphrey, given the fact that white people have been responsible for the biggest acts of terror in the history of this state, wouldn’t it make more sense to declare that being of White Anglo-Saxon Protestant descent is enough to consider you a terrorist?”

    Yeah, we could play this game for hours…days…wouldn’t change a damn thing, but it would feel satisfying.

  186. 186.

    Kosh III

    “they are surprisingly less quick to pass on their savings”

    Fixed it!

    they are UNsurprisingly less quick to pass on their savings

  187. 187.

    Kosh III

    Hubby used to add a tad of sugar to his chili, now he used a packet of Equal or similar.

    More snow this morning in Warren Co TN after a night of light rain which promptly froze on top of 5″ of snow.   High was 30 this morning and headed to single digit tonight.

    Wednesday morning at 6am it was -8.

  188. 188.

    Kosh III

    And finally

    Saw a story saying that Jamie Dimon of CitiBank got paid 36 million bucks in 2023.  That’s obscene.

  189. 189.

    lowtechcyclist

    @lowtechcyclist: ​
     

    Good morning, y’all! Snow day here in Calvert County, the schools are closed, so I don’t have to drag the kiddo out of bed. There will be sledding later. 🙂

    There has been sledding, and there will be more after lunch! Went down the hill on one of these things:

    https://www.zipfy.com/

    They say it’s the best sled ever, and I don’t know about that, but it’s pretty damn good.

  190. 190.

    StringOnAStick

    @p.a.: The cleaner known as Formula 409 is the only thing I’ve seen that removed turmeric stains on countertops, and very quickly too..

  192. 192.

    JML

    I think anyone over 40 has an awful overdraft story, unless you were born rich. I had one in college; ATM fee put me over the line for a check, and then the overdraft charges bounced the next 3. (I managed to get the three additional overdraft charges removed, probably because I was a pitiful college student, but it was brutal) Then I had the one where they ran all the withdrawals before the deposit that happened on the same day to cover the checks (and the deposit was in CASH) and overdrafted them all and hit fees on them.

    The horrors of that mess (which was relatively small compared to other horror stories) turned me into an obsessive budgeter who watches their accounts and credit cards like a hawk. Banks made out like bandits on these fees and absolutely hosed working-class people. Another great decision by Team Biden.

  193. 193.

    Ironcity

    @Steeplejack: “Hurtling down I-95” ?   Sir, I have been on I-95.  One does not hurtle except between 10:00pm and 5:30am weekdays.  And never on Fridays or Sundays.

  194. 194.

    trnc

    @OzarkHillbilly: ​
     

    “Costs have come down substantially, and while corporations were quick to pass on their increased costs to consumers, they are surprisingly less quick to pass on their savings to consumers,” Liz Pancotti, a Groundwork strategic advisor and paper co-author, told the Guardian.

    Yes, what a shock. I hope her tongue was planted firmly in her cheek when she said that.

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