Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

They are not red states to be hated; they are voter suppression states to be fixed.

If you are still in the gop, you are either an extremist yourself, or in bed with those who are.

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

This must be what justice looks like, not vengeful, just peaceful exuberance.

The “burn-it-down” people are good with that until they become part of the kindling.

A tremendous foreign policy asset… to all of our adversaries.

“In this country American means white. everybody else has to hyphenate.”

Not rolling over. fuck you, make me.

New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

Republicans: “Abortion is murder but you can take a bus to get one.” Easy peasy.

Donald Trump found guilty as fuck – May 30, 2024!

Why is it so hard for them to condemn hate?

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

Let me file that under fuck it.

Everything is totally normal and fine!!!

Second rate reporter says what?

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

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

Museums are not America’s attic for its racist shit.

He seems like a smart guy, but JFC, what a dick!

The unpunished coup was a training exercise.

The real work of an opposition party is to oppose.

Their shamelessness is their super power.

Optimism opens the door to great things.

You are here: Home / John Cole Presents "Stories from the Road" / Sunday Night Open Thread

Reader Interactions

74Comments

  1. 1.

    Mike in NC

    Looking forward to more stories about Fat Bastard’s new line of shabby footwear. The late night comedians will have a ball over the next couple of days.

  2. 2.

    Nancy

    I can’t snark, so I have to be sincere. I am glad that you’ve made it this far in the relationship adventure.

  3. 3.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    You sound domesticated… I mean sedate. :)

    Cats are bored to death with all of the rain so they have decided that I’m the person to bother all day. I’ve unleashed eight more plastic springs and they are already lost…lol!

    If I got a dollar for every “mrrrrrrr?” today TFG would be jealous of me. C’mon spring!

  5. 5.

    trollhattan

    Sneaked in a 25-mi bike ride before the next storm arrives. Unofficial 70 degrees, which is nuts for February. Windy as hell now.

    Also, fvck Donald Trump and his acolytes. Thankyaverrmuch.

  6. 6.

    Alison Rose

    I was reminded of one of my favorite songs from back in my club days, but the only version I could find in the iTunes store was a remix that was album-only, so I had to screen-record the video on my phone, use an online converter to strip the audio to a separate file, and import it to Apple Music myself. Worth it. As one of the top comments notes: “They just don’t write good songs about parthenogenesis like they used to…”

  7. 7.

    Scout211

    We’ve got more rain and wind here. My neighbor helped me find someone to replace the pieces of siding that were blown off the house in one of the last big blows (sheesh, there have been so many this winter).  Now I have to find someone to replace the handful of roof shingles that blew off.  Strange California weather these past few years.

    Per current CDC guidelines, this is our first day of freedom after isolating for the past 5 days with the first bout of COVID for the both of us.  It feels anticlimactic but I guess it was a relief.

    Have a nice night, all.

  10. 10.

    TBone

    @Alison Rose: reminds me of a friend who went Mother’s Day card shopping for his ex-wife.  He came back with a disappointed look on his face and said “They didn’t have a section for Nemesis.”

  12. 12.

    Jeffro

    Did y’all know that Uncle Joe is already America’s 14-best president ever?  (mostly by virtue of kicking its worst president out of office)

    LOLOLOL

    Mr. Biden may owe his place in the top third in part to Mr. Trump. Although he has claims to a historical legacy by managing the end of the Covid pandemic*; rebuilding the nation’s roads, bridges and other infrastructure**; and leading an international coalition against Russian aggression***, Mr. Biden’s signature accomplishment, according to the historians, was evicting Mr. Trump from the Oval Office.
    “Biden’s most important achievements may be that he rescued the presidency from Trump, resumed a more traditional style of presidential leadership and is gearing up to keep the office out of his predecessor’s hands this fall,” wrote Justin Vaughn and Brandon Rottinghaus, the college professors who conducted the survey and announced the results in The Los Angeles Times.

    *

    **

    *** all of these are things that, obviously, Orangemandias was unable and unwilling to do

    GO JOE!

  13. 13.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    @Anoniminous:

    I about shit when I saw buds forming on our raspberry bushes yesterday. Freaking mid-February! We still have dahlia greenery that never died off last fall. Also have some green strawberries in the patch pretty much all fall and winter.

    I also saw a few bumblebees out and about two days ago. They’re supposed to be extinct in Oregon (I read somewhere) but we still get them around here.

  14. 14.

    p.a.

    Do you know Galileo thermometers aren’t filled with water?  I did not.  Until one broke and spilled on my living room carpet.  They can be filled with either a) ethanol, or b) kerosene.  Guess which mine was filled with?

    Thank FSM for Febreeze.

  16. 16.

    prostratedragon

    60 years a grifter: montage of tfg’s history of hawking named products. Whatever your estimafe of the collective intelligence (integrity, what-have-you) of his supporters, this will lower it.

  17. 17.

    VFX Lurker

    @p.a.:

    Do you know Galileo thermometers aren’t filled with water?  I did not.  Until one broke and spilled on my living room carpet.  They can be filled with either a) ethanol, or b) kerosene.  Guess which mine was filled with?

    Thank FSM for Febreeze.

    I do now. Yikes.

  18. 18.

    citizen dave

    @prostratedragon: Hey that’s in my fair city!  Has a side ever made it to 200 before?  Could be the night.  I saw a LOT of the pregame and this 10 minutes on the potential all-star player strike minutes before the game in 1964 is really cool: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sv-aUquLWYo

    Lots of those guys still around to tell the tale 60 years later (including local legend Oscar Robertson).  Astonishing that although it was the first NBA All Star game live on tv, no video record exists.  Thanks ABC tv (then trying to become the third network)

     

    Players in that era had to buy their own shoes.

  20. 20.

    CaseyL

    @p.a.: Oh, yikes.  I have one of those, too.

    Fortunately, I keep it on a bookshelf (of seldom re-read books), so it’s – probably, hopefully – safe.

    Yikes.

  21. 21.

    Harrison Wesley

    Only posting this because it’s an open thread.  Not sure what set me off, but something reminded me of Larry Coryell’s comment in an interview that he was jealous of Jimi Hendrix “because he thought of all my ideas first.”  I thought that was kind of a cool statement.  And I love both of them, even though I’m no guitarist.

    https://youtu.be/lopZka6rJZA?si=hhex97Ct6kHmY2ek

  22. 22.

    prostratedragon

    @citizen dave:  East up to 160 as quarter 3 ends. I’d say there’s a good chance for 200, unless West decides to make an issue of it. Kind of entertaining, but sure glad most games aren’t like this.

  23. 23.

    prostratedragon

    @citizen dave:  That was a great featurette. Hope it turns up on streaming somewhere

    Eta: an injury meant getting cut, and the player might be on their own for treatment rehab. Now, players get treatment and might be carried for over a year or two with major injuries.

  24. 24.

    laura

    @trollhattan: It’s been unsettlingly warm all day and the wind is picking up speed and the clouds rolled in so quickly. Spouse squoze a ride in this morning too figuring he could  bank more miles before the next wave of weather/traffic.

  25. 25.

    Jackie

    It snowed early this morning, switched to a cold rain and briefly reached a high of 42. Then next Sat it’s forecast to hit 60! This seesawing of cold/unseasonal warm/back to winter/back to spring is unsettling! And makes it impossible to climatize.

  26. 26.

    Chris T.

    @p.a.: Most thermometers aren’t (filled with water), because it behaves poorly as a measurement tool and—significantly—because it expands when it freezes, which would break the thermometer.  Depending on the desired range of measurement, the freeze thing may be less of an issue, but it’s always a consideration.

    An ethanol/water mix (a kind of antifreeze) works fairly well for measurements down to about -20°C; for even colder environments, it’s typical to use fancier mixtures. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_thermometer for details.

  28. 28.

    prostratedragon

    @Jackie:  They never are, but the long range shooting seems featured as never before. I think more injuries and stress damage comes on defense.

    Annnnd we now have a team over 200! Three 3s from hometown hero Halliburton.

  30. 30.

    Steeplejack

    @NotMax:

    ABC expanded from a radio network to include television in 1948.

    And took a hell of a long time to make much headway. Neither of the places I lived in the ’60s had an ABC affiliate (Champaign, IL, market, 1960-64, San Antonio, TX, market, 1964-67).

  31. 31.

    Kayla Rudbek

    @trollhattan: Mr. Rudbek and I did a tandem ride today that was 34 miles by his Garmin watch, although I only recorded 25 miles thanks to forgetting to turn the ride clock back on after we stopped to buy Girl Scout cookies. I saw some blooms already during the ride – they looked like very delicate crocuses or purple snowdrops, and then some sort of weedy ground cover that was blooming blue and white. I was feeling very chilled when we got home, though, as the high was in the upper 40s. At least we made it to Barnes and Noble so I could pick up the most recent edition of Piecework magazine, and flip through The Knitter (UK knitting magazine).

  32. 32.

    glc

    @Harrison Wesley:

    Robert Merton:

    “Anticipatory plagiarism occurs when someone steals your original idea and publishes it a hundred years before you were born.”

    Pierre Bayard:

    “Once the notion of anticipatory plagiarism is accepted, it is plausible that the entirety of our conception of literary history—as it is taught in schools and universities and presented in textbooks—will have to be modified. ”

    As far as I can see, Bayard does not cite Merton. I don’t know what to make of that. Maybe my text-search is faulty.

    It’s an important concept, certainly. Hard to catch, and technically legal.  Isaac Newton is suspected of having done that, a lot. Possibly even to Merton (not unlikely, but I don’t recall).

  33. 33.

    Jackie

    George Santos finally does a good thing. If this is true, we owe him thanks for bringing this to light.

    DeSantis personnel may have also been involved.

    Former GOP lawmaker George Santos took a moment on Sunday to call out a fellow Republican for alleged acts of child grooming, resulting in the individual deleting his social media account.

    Santos, who was ejected from the House for his own moral misdeeds, said the allegations against Ryan Cook are “staggering.” Cook is purportedly running for GOP precinct chair in Nacogdoches County.

    “Let me be very clear. As a gay man I know the difficult task it is to thread the very fine line of upholding conservative values and understanding who I am within the conservative movement,” Santos said on Sunday. “One thing I will say is that I loath pedophiles and will never stay silent when someone is a risk to society.”

    “I pressed him on the issue today and he defended himself by resorting to the TX consent statute. (17 to consent to sexual relations). It is my understanding that is what most predators do to justify their actions towards minors,” Santos wrote. “I served in the house of reps and I got to meet many people among them was a group of dedicated Teen Republicans who at a very young age display a lot of determination and character, it was alarming to me when I saw Ryan followed a great deal of them so I instantly notified one of their leaders to take action to keep the Teen GOP crew safe!”

    Santos then continued: “Let this be known, if Ryan doesn’t refute and prove these allegations to be false then it is my strong belief he should not move forward with his futile campaign to be. Precent leader in TX!”

    Raw Story checked for Cook’s X account, which appears to have been deleted. That finding was echoed by a MAGA account that suggested the candidate “has deactivated his account.”

    “Ryan Cook attempted to groom a 16 year old on X, and more potential victims are starting to come forward,” the MAGA profile added. “Cook worked for the 2022 DeSantis campaign, as well as the Never Back Down PAC. Ron DeSantis must disavow.”

    https://www.rawstory.com/gop-grooming-allegations/

  35. 35.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Jackie: Well, he did promise to make ’em pay for kickin’ him out, right?  In this instance, I can’t root for injuries: gotta root for George to, y’know, expose ’em all.

  41. 41.

    Jackie

    @Chetan Murthy: Absolutely. If his new calling is to root out and expose pedophiles, I salute him.

    ETA: He’s still an embarrassment to the GQP, but gotta give him kudos for this.

  46. 46.

    Brachiator

    I am an infrequent flyer, so I am a little surprised at how crappy the flying experience can be. Plus, I have some leg and knee issues, so I asked for wheelchair assistance to the departure gate. Unfortunately I had to lug one heavy bag to the assistance area, which was a pain. The TSA checkpoint was semi accommodating. I didn’t have to take off my shoes, but still had to stand to get scanned and retrieving my bags was a bit of a pain. After waiting for my flight, I had assistance getting to my seat and a flight attendant made sure my Carry-on got stowed away.

    The plane was an Airbus something and the leg room was appallingly insufficient. I remember when first class was curtained off and seemed special. From what I could see, first class had two seats instead of three and the seats reclined, but leg room didn’t seem much better. And the rest room was so tiny you could barely turn around if you needed to sit.

    The saving grace was that everyone I dealt with was pleasant, helpful and professional. This was a Delta flight. It’s a pain having to deal with mobility issues, but the staff all did a great job in helping me get through the airport with minimal fuss.

  47. 47.

    jonas

    @Brachiator: I had to fly a 737 Max the other day. No door plugs blew off, but man, what a shitty experience and 5 1/2 hours coast-to-coast no less. Stuffed three-across like damn sardines, no legroom — even in “Economy Plus” — and the bathroom would have been a tight squeeze for a 4’8″ ballerina, much less my ample 6 ft + ass.

    Will play closer attention to aircraft type when booking next trip, believe me.

  48. 48.

    wjca

    @Jackie: He’s still an embarrassment to the GQP, but gotta give him kudos for this.

    It has to be pointed out that, given his (utter lack of) honesty previously, his accusations now don’t really deserve any credence at all.  If someone else comes up with evidence, fine.  But until and unless that happens, no.

    Put another way, what he’s saying may be plausible, but it isn’t credible.

  49. 49.

    NotMax

    @Brachiator

    Curiously I have no problem with leg room back in steerage class (5’10½” with a 29 inch inseam measure) so long as the person in the seat in front of me keeps it upright.

  50. 50.

    Jackie

    @jonas: One of the few times being petite comes in handy, and I still request the aisle for that extra centimeter of space.😵‍💫

  51. 51.

    Jackie

    @wjca: The fact the accused deleted his social media after Santos called him out suggests something is amiss…

    ETA I’m NOT A SANTOS SUPPORTER, BUT if he’s correct on this, I applaud him for bringing this out into the open.

  52. 52.

    Brachiator

    @NotMax:

    I was in the Comfort Plus section, Aisle seat. The leg room was okay, but not premium. I would sometimes stick my leg into the aisle. I have bad legs and knees, so I suffer if I can’t stretch my legs.

  53. 53.

    ArchTeryx

    @Jackie: The Internet is forever. The Wayback machine will probably provide all the evidence he needs deleted social media account or not.

  54. 54.

    mrmoshpotato

    @p.a.:

    Do you know Galileo thermometers aren’t filled with water? 

    They aren’t filled with thunderbolts and lightning?

  55. 55.

    wjca

    @Jackie: The fact the accused deleted his social media after Santos called him out suggests something is amiss…

    But there are all kinds of stuff on social media which is embarrassing, but not criminal.

    Further digging around might be warranted.  But that’s a far cry from suggesting that Santos has made the first known true statement of his life.

  57. 57.

    Alison Rose

    @Jackie: I haven’t flown in well over a decade and very likely never will again, and I’m only 5′ tall, but I liked having the extra room for two reasons: I just didn’t like having the seat in front of me so close to me, and also it made it easier to shimmy out to use the bathroom.

  58. 58.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    The Gang of Girls that took us hostage and released us for some worthless fiat money and their promise of delicious future cookies have delivered on that deal.

    Now to exert some control and not get diabetes in one day. Damn I hate this part.

  62. 62.

    Bruce K in ATH-GR

    @Brachiator: My experience these days is mostly flying narrow-body Airbuses (A320 series) and 787s. The Airbus is a tight fit, even for my short-of-six-feet stature and unremarkable girth. Granted, it varies from airline to airline, but British Airways has the seats close enough together that I can’t even stand upright, and the only difference in seating I can see in business class is that the middle seats don’t get sold. BA’s 787s (for the London-to-BWI leg) are also problematic in economy seating, but their premium economy has more comfortable seats with a little more width and much better pitch.

    I miss 747s. I’m glad I got to experience flying across the Atlantic from a seat on the upper deck of one – a much more comfortable, cozier experience, like I imagine flying on one of the old Clipper flying boats might have been like, only smoother and less noisy.

  64. 64.

    Chris T.

    @Odie Hugh Manatee: Yet another reason to keep the cats indoors, as if the coyotes and cougars we have here were not enough. Plus, one of the cats is so small she’d make a tasty treat for an eagle.

  65. 65.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    @Chris T.:

    Our cats are day outdoors (afternoon) and are in before sunset. One wanders but stays close to home because he owns the area and he’s built like a tank, and the other two stay around the house or at most are in the neighbors yards on either side. The neighbors love them so that works out nice!

    Our area critters are deer and an occasional raccoon or skunk passing through.

  66. 66.

    Yutsano

    @Bruce K in ATH-GR: ​

    I miss 747s.

    You can still catch them! Lufthansa is your best bet although Korean Air is still using the few 800s they bought. But Lufthansa will be keeping theirs until the next decade so the Queen of the Skies still has a few more years left.

  69. 69.

    Jay

    @Odie Hugh Manatee:

    Here, racoons kill and eat cats.

    Lady Fan became an indoor cat when she dragged home a live rattlesnake, just to show it off.

    Popo was the first ‘Fully supervised” cat, when he leaped off the 4th floor balcony, to kill a sparrow in flight. Aside from his killer instincts, we also learned that the cat with a heart problem, was jumping an 8 foot space, 4 floors up, to eat our neighbor’s pansy’s.

    So, I put up a plexiglass barrier and grew him pansy’s.

    Capra was a lover. He nose booped bumblebees.

    Bitsey, (Lil Bit) was a sloth who ate grass.

    Jellyman, (Mellow) was a killer, once killed a kangaroo mouse 3 seconds after I opened the door.

  70. 70.

    Geminid

    @Yutsano: Reports of Turkish Predsident Erdogan’s arrival in Cairo last week howed Egyptian President al Sissi escorting Erdogan down a wide red carpet with a Turkish 747 on tbe background.

    This was an encouraging scene. In past years, if Erdogan had shown up at the airport Sissi might have sent a taxi. The two Presidents have been barking at each other for much of the past decade, but they were wagging their tails last Wedneday. Egypt and Turkiye are the two biggest Mediterranean nations by population, so it’s good their leaders can get along.

  72. 72.

    evodevo

    @Brachiator: ​
      Just thank your stars you flew Delta…we flew Frontier last year, and will never do THAT again lol. Our seats (economy) had all the comfort of a church hall folding chair, and there was probably a foot of leg room, plus you had to pay $65 apiece for each carryon… I’ll fly Delta from now on, pricey or not…

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