Yikes!
Earlier today I saw that M4 and Cole were both putting posts together, so I just focused on work and ignored Balloon Juice.
Here’s an open thread because it looks like we can use one! I don’t even have a fun photo to post.
Okay, here’s a last-minute snap of Henry. Not a great photo, but it’s something! You can see the kitties heading into the kitchen because they think it’s dinner time.
Open thread!
SiubhanDuinne
Well, now, this seems significant!!
(What, an FBI
agentinformant lied about the Bidens?!?! Say it ain’t so!)Edit: Sorry, not an agent. An informant. My mistake.
WaterGirl
@SiubhanDuinne: Wowser!
Jackie
FBI informant charged with lying about Hunter:
Comer and Jordan have a sad.
stinger
Any photo of Henry makes up for a LOT. Not that you have anything to make up for, WaterGirl.
Jackie
LOL Looks like we all want to discuss the same subject!
mrmoshpotato
Signal sent! Signal received!
The Kropenhagen Interpretation
I recently saw a Youtube video by Leeja Miller (real life attorney) about how to engage people across political divides.
When I go canvassing, I often find myself intimidated or not knowing how to approach people who are initially confrontational. There were some useful suggestions here and I was hoping some of you might be interested.
To those concerned about…extreme political differences, she does a whole section on deciding whether to engage and setting realistic goals for such conversations. This also exposed me to a new idea, deep canvassing. Overall a great watch.
prostratedragon
Not great?! It’s Henry!
Josie
Now why would a person make up stuff like that about Biden and his son? Could it possibly be that someone in the opposing party paid him to say those things? Hmmm…..
ETA: Of course, that could just be my suspicious mind at work.
Joy in FL
I love the photo of Henry. There is no not-great photo of him : ) And seeing the cats heading into the kitchen is an perfect detail.
WaterGirl
@stinger: Henry looks so serious in this photo!
Or perhaps indignant – the kitties were already in the kitchen waiting to be fed, and I was still sitting here with computer on my lap.
The way it works at my house is that the kitties get Henry riled up and then he makes his sad little noises and then everyone gets what they want.
The Kropenhagen Interpretation
@Josie: It would be irresponsible not to speculate…
Jackie
Oh jeez, can you imagine??? Apparently (at this time) even citizen what’s his name realizes this wouldn’t be a good idea:
WaterGirl
Can the lies Republicans tell in the chamber be indictable? I know, the stupid speech and debate clause prohibits that. But I do wonder what impact this indictment might have on the Biden impeachment which is certainly a gleam on a lot of Republican lies.
And the liar indicted by the special counsel to investigate Hunter Biden? So many special counsels! It’s almost like they aren’t special anymore. (Except Jack Smith, of course!)
Scout211
Reposted from downstairs:
More from CNN
Alison Rose
Today is one year since my Dad died, and it’s hard to wrap my head around that. It’s not that it “feels like yesterday”, like people say sometimes, but it still feels like it was just a few months ago. I miss him so much. And over the past year, I’ve had four friends who have lost a parent. I guess I’m at the age where that’s going to start happening more frequently. Sigh. Immortality would suck but so does the alternative.
Jackie
@WaterGirl: Henry’s doing the begging; the cats anticipate he’ll be successful and are getting to the front of the line 😂
Miki
Oh Henry. 😁
Can’t help sending Henry a loving pic from the gene pool.
WaterGirl
@Jackie:
I love that!
Scout211
And more from NBC
Jay
@Alison Rose:
((((((Alison Rose))))))
zhena gogolia
@WaterGirl: You think Henry is a little focused on you?
Scout211
I’m so sorry. ❤️❤️❤️
Jay
@Scout211:
Gee, who could had thunk it.
WaterGirl
@Miki: Beautiful! Those look like afghan ears?
sab
It is winter, despite what the whistlepig predicted.
Where is that dog’s fur?
Another Scott
@Scout211:
Marcy isn’t impressed with the indictment, indicating they left a lot of stuff out.
FWIW.
Cheers,
Scott.
Jackie
@Alison Rose: {🫶🏻}
It will be six years the 24th of this month for my dad. I miss him still; it’s amazing how often he visits me in my dreams. Still offering mostly good advice 😊
WaterGirl
@zhena gogolia: A little. :-)
WaterGirl
@Scout211: Is it just me? Or does it seem kind of noteworthy that his handler told him 21 times that he had to tell the truth!??!!!
MattF
Note that another notorious claim has turned out to be hot air. All that ballot-stuffing in Georgia? Zero actual evidence. Not even hot air— nothing.
SiubhanDuinne
@Alison Rose: In a couple of days, it will be 28 years since my own dad died. I’m older now than he was when he passed — that’s the thing that’s hard for me to wrap my brain around!
I miss him every day, still. Not in a focused, yearning way now, but just a hundred little moments — hearing an unexpected snatch of music we both loved, or coming up with a killer Scrabble move, or opening a fresh jar of horseradish and inhaling deeply, as he always did. Things like that. I expect and hope it will be the same for you.
Hugs.
The Kropenhagen Interpretation
@WaterGirl: How irresponsible of the handler, when clearly 22 warnings were necessary. Hope they don’t get him off on entrapment…
Geminid
Axios reporter Barak Ravid a couple hours ago:
Laura Rozen reposted Haaretz reporter Alon Pinkas on the prospective ceasefire:
The Arab countries would be Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. I expect they and the US want a ceasefire sooner, but no later than March 10.
Alison Rose
@Jackie: Dad was in my dreams a couple nights ago. He was showing me how to put something together, though I have no idea what it is…some bit of machinery that my brain came up with, LOL. But it was kind of nice. He was explaining each step, in the exact way he always did :)
Scout211
@Another Scott: I’m not surprised that this may not be that newsworthy in the legal sense.
I’m just happy that it is splashed all over the news right now and the media is all over it, causing some problems for the Republican leadership who lapped up the manufactured “evidence.”
If they even have the capacity to be embarrassed by this, that is.
TBone
@Alison Rose: 🌹
Bill Arnold
This re India is … not bad:
India’s Supreme Court scraps Electoral Bonds in setback to Modi’s BJP (Krishn Kaushik, Arpan Chaturvedi and Kripa Jayaram, February 15, 2024)
Less pay-to-play now allowed by law.
The Kropenhagen Interpretation
Surprising considering the undue credulity the media usually extends Republicans. Usually it survives the facts coming out.
Jackie
@Alison Rose: ♥️
FastEdD
@Alison Rose: I hear you-I know how it hurts. My Dad passed on April 1st-April Fools Day. Everyone around me is laughing and playing jokes on each other. I think of my old man and I can’t laugh at all.
Miki
@Alison Rose: Continued condolences, dear.
Cry if You Want To
NotMax
FYI. Leapfrogging over the usual suspects.
Barbara
@SiubhanDuinne: My dad died 29 years ago on Tuesday, the day before Valentines Day. He was a difficult person, but it was sad and disorienting and I’m sorry my children never really knew him. Hugs to all suffering such an immediate loss.
comrade scotts agenda of rage
@Alison Rose:
That’s great. Sure, it reminds you that he’s gone but I always interpreted something like this as a visit from beyond. Okay, I don’t believe in “the beyond” but hopefully you get my drift.
Cherish such visits while they last.
jackmac
@Alison Rose: My mom died 60 years ago and my dad passed away three years later. Even now at age 69 not a day goes by without a thought or two about them. At this stage, I wish they had been around for both the mundane and milestones of life, to know that their son turned out okay despite tumult caused by their deaths and — most importantly — to meet and dote on their (now adult) grandchildren.
Bill Arnold
@Jackie:
Also, David Weiss is “Political party Republican” and served as “Acting U.S. Attorney for Delaware again during the administration of Donald Trump”
(wikipedia: David C. Weiss)
comrade scotts agenda of rage
@jackmac:
It just got really dusty in here. Something in my eyes…
Jackie
AMAZING! Citizen what’s his name has already responded to Jack Smith’s response to the SC!
Here’s the official response (pdf)
https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/24429175/23a745-reply.pdf
Redshift
@Jackie:
Comer maybe, Jordan is probably already telling OAN that he’s a political prisoner who was arrested to keep him from telling what he knows!
Miki
@WaterGirl: Bwahaha! Not afghan – poodle ears!
TY grows fab ear hair, but his actual ear leather is a bit short, for whoever cares. Like Henry, he’s a velcro/lover pooch, with a phenomenal temperament.
anitamargarita
@WaterGirl: masterminds!
Alison Rose
@SiubhanDuinne: I was reminiscing about this little breakfast cafe he and I used to go to together all the time, and even that was like…sweet but also made me sniffly.
Alison Rose
@FastEdD: Oh man, that would be difficult. For my mom, I’m just glad he made it through Valentine’s. He was obviously near the end, and I was like…please please let him make it at least until the next day. I didn’t want her to have to deal with the worst day of her life every year being the day everyone is talking about love and partnership and such.
Elizabelle
@The Kropenhagen Interpretation: Thank you. Will give it a watch.
Alison Rose
@jackmac: Wow…I can’t imagine losing a parent so young. That must have been horrible for you <3 <3 <3
NotMax
FYI. Now an ex-X tool.
TBone
I am glad that Fani brought ALL THE FOLDING CHAIRS with her today. On Joy Reid, Katie Phang pointed out that OC are often married couples and/or dating and nobody bats an eyelash. Justice be done!
Ceci n est pas mon nym
@Jackie: Maybe it’s penetrating some dim corner of whatever passes for a brain in his head that it’s going to be painfully obvious how far gone he is if he tries to string three sentences together on national TV, away from the protective bubble of his rallies.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Alison Rose:
Sorry for your loss ❤
sanjeevs
@Another Scott: At least two of the three Special Prosecutors appointed by Garland are corrupt.
Not too hopeful that the third one isn’t buy ‘landing the plane’ too.
Geminid
Oh man, journalist Pekka Kallioniemi(sp?) just put out a 21-tweet “Vatnick Soup” entry for Speaker Mike Johnson. I think Kallioniemi is Finnish, but wherever he comes from Kallioniemi has a nice, sarcastic, and efficient style.
Another Scott
@NotMax: nitter.unixfox.eu still works, with some limitations (videos are slow if they play at all; sometimes one has to take the sub-tweet (or whatever) from twitter.com; etc.)
E.g. https://nitter.unixfox.eu/fritschner
But, yeah, unless someone steps up the future of nitter looks pretty bleak.
Cheers,
Scott.
WaterGirl
@Miki: I haven’t been around many poodles, especially bigger ones. Yours look like maybe the bigger size poodle?
Jackie
@FastEdD: April Fools Day was my Dad’s favorite day of the year. He loved pranking us all. The first April Fools Day after he passed, I parked my car where he’d always parked in his driveway. Hours later the next-door neighbor came over and said I had a flat tire.
It was flatter than a pancake☹️ I called road service and the guy put some air in it; had me back my car up a foot. Felt around, had me move my car forward a bit. Felt around and couldn’t find any reason for the flat. He fully inflated the tire and I drove down to the tire dealership. They tested that tire, then the other three tires (in case blonde haired lady misidentified suspicious tire) and NOTHING. They were perplexed; I wasn’t! I “know Dad flattened the tire letting me know I had parked in HIS SPOT.” I looked to the sky and said “April Fools! Dad, you got me good!” I, and nobody else ever parked in his spot again!😂
anitamargarita
@Jackie: six years on the 26th when my dad died, 2 days short of his and mom’s 60th anniversary. ❤️
Elizabelle
@Alison Rose: Thinking of you. It’s hard to lose a father, especially a good one. At whatever age.
sanjeevs
@Alison Rose: Sorry to hear about what you’re going through. Dealing with loss is the hardest thing.
Miki
@WaterGirl: Actually, Ty is a miniature poodle wash out from a show breeder who didn’t make the cut, but is a spectacular pet – healthy, fabulous temperament (just didn’t want to be a show poodle), pretty as can be.
I started with standard poodles in 1997 and have had miniatures since 2010. Wouldn’t hesitate to live with/love a mix like Henry (who’s got the best part of poodles, if you know what I mean).
Jackie
@Elizabelle: Yes. My Dad lived for 99.6 yrs. I had him for 60 yrs. I was so lucky!
Alison Rose
Thank you to everyone I didn’t @. I was just talking with my mom and I said that I feel blessed that my dad was always so present in our lives, because it means I have a ton of memories of him. And the memories might make me sad, but I’d rather have them and be sad because I miss him, than NOT have those memories and be sad over that.
TBone
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XtRTA4u5QkU
SiubhanDuinne
@Geminid:
Is there a link?
jackmac
@Alison Rose: It sucked through early adulthood. I spent a decade in a Catholic institution, had (undiagnosed) ADHD and had family (lots of Polish relatives) that declined to take my brother or I in after my mom passed. And they wondered why I didn’t invite any of them to my wedding! In any event, I’m not bitter nor have many regrets because I’m the sum of my parts and I’m happy with the way things turned out. I have a great family that I love (my wife and I have been married 46 years), we have two wonderful kids and that more than makes up for growing up without a family. I feel like I’m a pretty lucky guy.
Formerly disgruntled in Oregon
@Alison Rose: “If you don’t know heartache, then you don’t know love”
❤️ to you and your dad. I still miss my dad every day.
Sister Golden Bear
@Alison Rose: First anniversaries are hard. Ask me how I know. Hopefully, it’ll get easier for you with time. Hugs, if hugs are OK.
Dangerman
Henry has watched old episodes of The Flying Nun, right?
Sister Golden Bear
@WaterGirl: FWIW, I’m thinking about putting together a post on trans issues — OTOH we have the latest FTFNYT hit piece, OTOH, the largest survey of trans people in the U.S. was recently released. Meanwhile Republicans in Georgia only let anti-trans activists speak during a hearing for yet another trans law.
And in the UK, the PM is facing blowback after making an anti-trans jibe during a session when the mother a trans girl murdered in a high-profile hate crime was present.
Geminid
@SiubhanDuinne: I ran into the Mike Johnson “Vatnick Soup” on Ragnarok Lobster”s Twitter feed, and it’s on Kallioniemi’s Twitter account. I am a lousy linker so I won’t try to, but I won’t be surprised if someone else does because it’s really good. Kallioniemi put it up about 7 hours ago, and I expect it’s gonna go all over because Johnson is becoming notorious.
Elizabelle
@Jackie: Yes. And he had a great daughter!
Sister Golden Bear
@FastEdD:
I hear you. My mother died on my birthday. About 10 minutes before the time I was born. After being in a coma for a week. Obviously it was meaningful to her, but I really wish she hadn’t. But then again, that was kind our relationship in a nutshell.
stinger
@WaterGirl:
LOL I especially love the little blur of a tail-wag on the left!
Old School
@SiubhanDuinne:
Loudon Wainwright III: Older Than My Old Man Now
Jackie
@Elizabelle: Thank you! 🤗
FelonyGovt
Awww, Henry ❤️❤️❤️
Another column echoing our complaints about both-sides-ism and “but Biden’s age” and best of all, she mentions our own Pitchbot!
brantl
@Jackie: I started reading that, and spotted factual errors in under 30 seconds, and I’m not that fast a reader.
zhena gogolia
@Sister Golden Bear: That sounds good.
FelonyGovt
@Alison Rose: Aww, I’m so sorry. Losing a parent is like a gaping wound, isn’t it. May his memory be a blessing. ❤️
Jackie
Sigh… Jon Tester’s GQP challenge just got harder:
Montana seems to genuinely like and respect Tester; I sure hope he prevails for another six years!
Jackie
@brantl: It took you that long? 😁
I didn’t make it all the way through – I’m expecting the teevee legal beagles to sort out the chaff for me!
Chief Oshkosh
@Alison Rose: My dad passed in 2020. I know what you mean.
Sister Golden Bear
@zhena gogolia: Thanks. Hopefully I have the energy to do it — I’m finally out of pain from a pinched nerve in my neck, but I’ve still bursitis and a potential rotor cuff tear. It’s been a rough 2024.
Ishmael
@jackmac: You are a very lucky guy! So hoppy for you and your loving family. 46 years and counting!
Scout211
We Hawkeye sports fans don’t get a lot to cheer about but we do tonight.
Caitlin Clark just broke the all-time NCAA women’s basketball scoring record
She needed 8 points and made the first 8 points for Iowa. 😊
Brachiator
@Alison Rose:
My sympathies to you and others who have had recent losses and reminders of losses.
zhena gogolia
@Sister Golden Bear: Ugh. That’s painful.
Betty
@Geminid: I cannot find Ragnorak Lobster on X or anywhere else. I did find Pekka Kallioniemi and the thread on X.
Jackie
@Jackie: Someone else cares! LOL
Yutsano
I’mma let y’all finish, but J-Rub is out here giving me the hope and such.
(Gift WaPo)
Odie Hugh Manatee
@SiubhanDuinne:
What has me holding my sides while LMAO is that it’s a Russian of whatever sorts that they were trusting. Sole source information from a Russian was good enough for the Party of Reagan, the man who stood up to Russia. They believed a Russian informant! They have such a hard-on for Biden that they stuck their dicks into a Russian who was lying…lol!
The Republican party is looking to our adversaries for information to destroy our government, all in service to Hair Furor and their desire to take the country for themselves.
A Russian informant! LOL!! Fucking morans and we pay them a lot of money for this crap?
Geminid
New York’s redistricting committee approved a new map of Congressional districts today that is similar to the map used for the 2022 midterms. Democrats including Tom Watson (@TomWatson) are critical of it, one calling it an “incumbent-mander.”
The Democrat-controlled State Assembly must still approve the map and can redraw it. New York’s court court of appeals might reject the changes, but Dems are saying it’s worth a try.
Jackie
@Scout211: That’s wonderful! I saw her featured on Way Too Early (MSNBC) just this middle-of-the-night morning!
WaterGirl
@Miki: How funny that your Ty looked so big to me in that photo!
I mean, really, who would want the life of a show dog when they could have a regular life without having to work. :-)
WaterGirl
@Dangerman: I know, his ears crack me up. And to think that some people on BJ aren’t convinced that Henry has ears. I can hardly blame them, though, because they were invisible in a few photos! :-)
WaterGirl
@Sister Golden Bear: I guess hate makes people lose their minds?
If you end up putting something together, send it to me. thanks!
Jackie
@Yutsano: Thanks, Yutsano! Reading it now😊
WaterGirl
@Geminid: I even looked for it and can’t find it. Would you want to send me the link by email?
WaterGirl
@stinger: Good catch! He’s a happy boy, even when he’s indignant because he thinks dinner is late.
Geminid
@Betty: I’m glad you found the post. You might have missed Mr. Lobster’s account if you typed in Ragnorak because he goes by Ragnarok.
Ragnarok Lobster is a funny guy and a good aggregator; he introduced me to Magdi Jacobs, aka Mangy Jay.
WaterGirl
@Jackie: I am shocked! I thought he would delay as long as possible. Maybe his attorneys thought Jack Smith’s filing was so strong they had better get their response in lickety split.
WaterGirl
@Betty: I found Mr. Lobster, but couldn’t find the tweet.
Geminid
@WaterGirl: Can’t I just pull some weeds instead?
Betty said she found it, at comment #97.
Jackie
@Jackie: Great positive article! It was cheerleading all the way – which we all need now and again. This section was my favorite:
Odie Hugh Manatee
@WaterGirl:
Henry’s face says “Please Treats?”, at least that is a cat owner’s interpretation.
Or I just like an excuse to spoil cute critters! One of the two…
Geminid
@WaterGirl: The Pekka Kallioniemi/Mike Johnson/Vatnick Soup post is the 12th down on Lobster’s timeline, right before one by somebody named “Valdivia.”
WaterGirl
@Geminid: Found it, thank you!
Jackie
@WaterGirl: I think someone on his legal staff is a Traitor! and filed w/o his knowledge.
Kidding, but it’s the only plausible explanation I can think of!😵💫
Geminid
@WaterGirl: As we youngs like to say: No problem.
Odie Hugh Manatee
@jackmac:
It sounds like you found your place in the sun and it sounds just fine. My wife and I are mere pikers at 38 years this summer compared to your spouse and yourself.
Happiness isn’t overrated.
Lyrebird
@Sister Golden Bear: Hope shoulders and everything feel (feels?) better soon! Will be glad and mad to see and read your post. Hope that made sense. (Mad about the sht flying around.)
I’m assuming there should be one more “of” in what you said about the UK news, “mother of a trans girl”.
Manyakitty
@Alison Rose: so very sorry. May his memory continue to be a blessing and an inspiration.
Ramona
@Alison Rose: A tight and long (albeit metaphorical) hug to you…