Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

Black Jesus loves a paper trail.

They don’t have outfits that big. nor codpieces that small.

They want us to be overwhelmed and exhausted. Focus. Resist. Oppose.

Compromise? There is no middle ground between a firefighter and an arsonist.

This chaos was totally avoidable.

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

Sometimes the world just tells you your cat is here.

New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

Hell hath no fury like a farmer bankrupted.

There are more Russians standing up to Putin than Republicans.

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

Speaker Mike Johnson is a vile traitor to the House and the Constitution.

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

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires Republicans to act in good faith.

“Until such time as the world ends, we will act as though it intends to spin on.”

There are some who say that there are too many strawmen arguments on this blog.

The republican caucus is covering themselves with something, and it is not glory.

Incompetence, fear, or corruption? why not all three?

The arc of history bends toward the same old fuckery.

Good lord, these people are nuts.

One of our two political parties is a cult whose leader admires Vladimir Putin.

The only way through is to slog through the muck one step at at time.

Authoritarian republicans are opposed to freedom for the rest of us.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Wednesday Morning Open Thread: Spring Equinox

Wednesday Morning Open Thread: Spring Equinox

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Yes, well akshually the Equinox was at 11:06pm EDT last night, but most of you reading this would’ve been in bed by then.

Reader Interactions

110Comments

  6. 6.

    Ken

    Good morning, all.

    The time-lapse of Notre Dame is interesting, and impresses me with how the original work was done back in the 13th century without industrial cranes and steel scaffolding.

  9. 9.

    Soprano2

    @Ken: When I went to Chartres Cathedral in college, they told us the final cathedral (there were two built previously on the same site) took 75 years to build. The grandchildren and great-grandchildren of the original builders finished it. It is amazing to think of them building that without the modern tools we have now.

  12. 12.

    Ken

    @Sanjeevs: Varadkar is stepping down as Irish Taoiseach

    Sending me off on one of my tangents… Anyone else ever read a sentence and think it looks like a cryptic crossword clue, or perhaps a pangram?

  15. 15.

    Soprano2

    HAHAHAHAHAHA……

    If Trump doesn’t pony up the $500 million or so he needs to set aside, pending his appeal of last month’s order against him for ill-gotten gains on his properties, Judge Arthur Engoron says the judgment may be enforced, and New York Attorney General Letitia James can start seizing Trump’s properties and selling them to pay down what he owes.

    Trump’s lawyers, for their part, say the ruling is unprecedented and underwriters don’t write checks that big — even to billionaires. But if we take Trump’s lawyers at their word, that is a damning admission of a potentially serious financial dilemma for a leader who spent his career building the Trump brand as one of a savvy real estate mogul with extensive access to capital.

    What could happen to Trump’s properties?

    James has made it clear she won’t hesitate to go after Trump’s properties if he doesn’t come up with the cash.

    “If he does not have funds to pay off the judgment, then we will seek judgment enforcement mechanisms in court, and we will ask the judge to seize his assets,” she told ABC News last month.

    Legal experts said Monday they didn’t expect much leniency from the court.
    “I think to treat Trump differently here undercuts the entire judgment, which is that no one is above the law, including a former president,” said Temidayo Aganga-Williams, a partner at law firm Selendy Gay. “To allow him to not have to put up the entire bond would basically say that he’s not on the hook the way anyone else would be.”

    I hope she starts with Trump Tower.

  16. 16.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    Has this been posted? The Texas immigration law is halted again.

    From The Guardian via Kos.

    SCOTUS greenlit Greg Abbott’s law but in effect kicked it down to the 5th circuit appeals court which  froze SB4.  The 5th circuit ruled 2-1 to halt SB4 from taking effect. A reprieve from the large scale chaos and cruelty the Abbott administration and the MAGA lumpen were gleefully expecting while thumbing their nose against Biden. The appeals court will now hear arguments.

  17. 17.

    Soprano2

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: Someone has some common sense, but the fact that the Clerical 6 were going to allow it to take effect is worrying. Immigration is a federal responsibility, having each state be able to have their own immigration laws would be chaos. Surely they cannot think that’s a good idea?

  19. 19.

    BellyCat

    Definitely looking forward to brighter days ahead, in all the ways!

    Yesterday, the medical “match” system was mentioned up by Kay. I learned a little more last night about geriatricians from my partner: Only 50% of the 7,500 match positions available this year were filled.

    My partner finds geriatric medical work extremely fulfilling; however, there are two factors which discourage many from working in this area. The first is that it is one of the two lowest paying specialty areas (with the other being infectious diseases, curiously). The second is that most medical reimbursement models are driven by increasingly brief interaction times. Proper geriatric care often cannot be performed in small windows of time due to things like hearing loss, cognitive challenges, and co-morbidities/maintenance medications.

    Unsurprisingly, American candidates who do not get their desired match area often sit it out and attempt again, while foreign work visas focus on this area to take advantage of this gap.

    Net result is that the geriatric Match number, when filled, supplies only 1/3 of needed doctors in this area. Only 1/2 of the match was filled this year and many of these parties (unsure of percentage but possibly more than half) were not trained under the American medical education system, not specifically for geriatrics, and are not native English speakers.

    While people over the age of 65 can and do see their general practitioner, if a medical event involves a hospital, a geriatrician will be involved in their care in varying capacities.

    Why the AARP is not raising this issue loudly and lobbying for improvements is beyond comprehension. 

  21. 21.

    Josie

    @Soprano2: They are living in such a small bubble that they have no idea of the nightmare such a law would be for citizens of Mexican descent–40% or more of Texas’ population. It would be devastating.

  23. 23.

    Salty Sam .

    @Josie: They are living in such a small bubble that they have no idea of the nightmare such a law would be for citizens of Mexican descent–40% or more of Texas’ population. It would be devastating.

    One could imagine it as a “bloodbath”…

  24. 24.

    mali muso

    @NotMax: Me and the kiddo are taking a mommy-daughter Spring break trip to Paris next week.  I wonder if she would be up for waiting in line to try this.

  25. 25.

    Chief Oshkosh

    @Soprano2:

    …, having each state be able to have their own immigration laws would be chaos. Surely they cannot think that’s a good idea?

    It’s a good thing when the POTUS is a Democrat and it’s an election year.

    I wonder if Biden will push for fundamental changes in his second term. Maybe we will see changes to the USSC make-up. Of course, nearly all of that depends on what kind of Congress he has to deal with.

  26. 26.

    dmsilev

    @Soprano2:

    Legal experts said Monday they didn’t expect much leniency from the court.

    I’m sure the court will take into account how cooperative, polite, and well-behaved Trump and his legal team were during the proceedings….

  27. 27.

    Suzanne

    @Soprano2:

    I hope she starts with Trump Tower. 

    Trump really is in a potential world of hurt here. The value of corporate real estate is in the crapper…. due in part to his terrible management of the pandemic. LAWL it’s so hilarious.

  28. 28.

    Chief Oshkosh

    @BellyCat:

    Why the AARP is not raising this issue loudly and lobbying for improvements is beyond comprehension.

    I have never been able to figure out what AARP is all about. Does anyone here know?

  29. 29.

    Suzanne

    Totally O/T: my last day at my current office is Friday. I agreed to stay an extra week in order to help push through an addendum to our drawings. (First day at new place is Monday.)

    One of my current coworkers, who I have always thought is just T H E. W O R S T, made a snide comment meant to embarrass/chide me — in front of others — and I could not be more thrilled that I never have to see him again.

    The thing he tried to say I didn’t do…. was not in my responsibilities, BTW. AND it turned out to not be needed anyway, so he ended up wasting time.

  30. 30.

    Ken

    @Soprano2: I hope she starts with Trump Tower.

    “The property was sold for $42.5 million. Unfortunately after settling the five mortgages on it, only $82,350.75 remained, insufficient to cover even a day’s interest, so Mr. Trump is even further in the hole.

    “Also, three of the mortgage-holders were unaware of the existence of the other mortgages, so my office will be opening a new financial fraud case against Mr. Trump.”

  33. 33.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Soprano2:

    I hope she starts with Trump Tower.

    I hope she starts with Mar-A-Lago and he has to move out.  Sell his golf courses.  He has a huge amount of self-esteem wrapped up in his golf courses.  I figure Mar-A-Lago is also his least leveraged property because he didn’t want to lose it, so it makes sense to sell it first.

  34. 34.

    Soprano2

    @BellyCat: I feel fortunate, my husband’s doc, who is a geriatric doctor, has a home visit program. They are coming to our house next Wednesday to see my husband because he has only left the house once since he came home from the hospital, and it took extreme measures to get him to that doctor to get the stents that were put in during his hospital visit removed. Getting him moved from a GP to a geriatric doc was, IMHO, a key to him finally being diagnosed with vascular dementia. His regular GP seemed indifferent to the fact that I had concerns about my husband’s memory, and went solely on the fact that my husband’s result on the test TFG made famous showed only “mild memory loss”. He didn’t dig further into what was going on, which to me was almost malpractice. If he had talked to me he probably would have recommended the neuropsych eval in October of 2022.

  35. 35.

    Chief Oshkosh

    @mali muso: Ah Paris. My favorite town to be a tourist in. I’m envious.  If I may suggest, try one of the boulangeries on Ile Saint-Louis. Many feel that ISL and IdC are 100% tourists, but that hasn’t been my experience.

  37. 37.

    Soprano2

    @Josie: It’s even worse than that – imagine that each state has different laws about immigrants and immigration. There is no way that would work out well for anyone.

  38. 38.

    Soprano2

    @Suzanne: I think one thing we’ll find out if she does start seizing properties is that he’s leveraged to the hilt, which is why he can’t come up with the funds. I wonder if there will be any consequences to him saying under oath that he had over $400 million cash in the bank when it’s obvious that he has nowhere near that much in liquid assets. The thing is, most people with the kind of wealth he claims to have would have investments that could be used to secure the bond.

  39. 39.

    JWR

    @Chief Oshkosh:

    I wonder if Biden will push for fundamental changes in his second term.

    I wonder if all the crap that’s gone on will be enough to break through Biden’s “traditionalist” armor and convince himself to just let ‘er rip! 15 seats for SCOTUS! Codify Roe! [insert your favorite government programs here]

  40. 40.

    Melancholy Jaques

    @Soprano2:

    Immigration is a federal responsibility, having each state be able to have their own immigration laws would be chaos. Surely they cannot think that’s a good idea?

    Causing enough chaos to get Republicans elected surely seems like a good idea to them.

  41. 41.

    Chief Oshkosh

    @Soprano2: I’m so sorry that you and your husband have been suffering additionally because of the foibles and failures of the US healthcare system. It is very frustrating. We went through this with my mother; almost exactly as you have described for your husband. In the before times, I worked with some frequency in France, and though FAR from perfect, their healthcare system certainly appears to be much better for patients

     

    ETA: We didn’t ever find an in-home physician. I’m glad you were able to.

  42. 42.

    mali muso

    @Chief Oshkosh: Yeah, I’m excited to share my love of the city of lights with my little one.  The only concrete plans we have at the moment is a visit to the Louvre (she’s only 7, but she does like art, so we will brave the crowds for at least a few hours) and one day at Disney.  Other than that, my plans are to take her on lots of wanders around the city, stop in as many patisseries and boulangeries that we want and play in lots of gardens and green spaces, weather permitting.

  43. 43.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    @Frankensteinbeck:

    I hope she starts with Mar-A-Lago and he has to move out.

    Precisely.  It’s clear he see it as his “defining property”, not NYC despite his origins there.  Even if she can’t seize it (I don’t know the nuances of how this process works), I’m sure somewhere in the process she can fuck with his ownership/access.

    It’s pretty clear that these actions are having the intended effect in terms of showing him for the farce and bullshit artist that he is by highlighting his lack of money.

  44. 44.

    Soprano2

    @Frankensteinbeck: That would be funny, but I’m not sure how easy it would be for her to take a property that isn’t in New York. I have no idea how it would actually work.

    Also, I agree about the golf courses, there might actually be a market for them.

  45. 45.

    Ken

    @Frankensteinbeck: I figure Mar-A-Lago is also his least leveraged property because he didn’t want to lose it, so it makes sense to sell it first.

    I wonder if doing the opposite — deliberately seizing the most-encumbered properties first, to maximize the number that have to be sold — would fall under the “cruel and unusual punishments” clause

    @Soprano2: Also, I agree about the golf courses, there might actually be a market for them.

    “We’ll be using the land to put up low-income housing” would definitely be cruel, but I don’t think a decision by the buyer would fall under the constitutional prohibitions.

  47. 47.

    Soprano2

    @Suzanne: I had a co-worker like that who was a supervisor. My current boss (a woman) was actually told by our previous superintendent not to talk directly to him, but instead to relay anything she wanted him to know through the superintendent! This was because she went directly to him and he was rude to her (he was rude to any woman who questioned or challenged him, ask me how well I got along with him LOL). I could not BELIEVE they did this to my current boss, it was outrageous. The boss should have made him apologize to her. I’m so glad that asshole is gone, as is almost everyone else.

  48. 48.

    Geminid

    @Soprano2: Bedminster Country Club in New Jersey is likely worth a lot. That’s one of the properties Trump really wants to hang on to, I think.

    There’s a Trump Winery ten miles south of Charlottesville that will probably go quickly. It won’t yield much money though, maybe $30 million. I used to live in the neighborhood and look forward to driving over and seeing his stinking sign gone.

  49. 49.

    Kosh III

    Spring!
    I guess Old Man Winter wanted to remind us:  Yesterday morning it was 23f and barely hit 50 all day with a cold sharp wind.
    Happily we are pushing 70 today and the lawn needs to be mowed–again.
    Sadly, I expect summer to arrive early again and stay longer even though Trump “says” Climate Change is a Chinese hoke.

  50. 50.

    Yarrow

    Spring. Ugh. Sure, it’s pretty but it just means Summer Is Coming. Fucking summer. Hate it.

  51. 51.

    Chief Oshkosh

    @mali muso: Again, if I may (sorry to be a know-it-all), I suggest purchasing tickets/making reservations (or even better, a museum city pass that gets you in just about everywhere and saves a lot of money if you plan to visit several over a week or so) online in advance. This allows you to skip lines such as those at the Louvre. I haven’t stood in a real line in Paris in over decade. Rick Steves has videos that covers some of this.

    Also, FWIW, I’ve found that younger people are “awed” (and then bored) by the Louvre, but enjoy Musee l’Orangerie and Musee d’Orsay more. I guess maybe they are more accessible.

  52. 52.

    CaseyL

    Seattle had a lovely first taste of Spring over the last few days, but now we’re back to our usual chilly, rainy weather.

    Last night I went to Carkeek Park to check out the Salmon Fry Release. The park’s Watershed Community runs a salmon preservation program, and the release of baby salmon is an Event.  Thousands of tiny silvery fish babies are released from their nursery tank to swim Piper’s Creek to Puget Sound and , hopefully, return next year to spawn.

    It’s considerably more complicated than I make it out to be.  For one thing, the project nurtures and releases chum salmon, rather than coho, because the creek from tank to Sound is too short for coho babies to get a good enough “sniff” and imprint on it as their natal waterway.  Chum pick up their imprinting a lot quicker.

    It was interesting and fun.  A lot of families brought their kids to “help,” and get excited about preserving salmon runs.

    Afterwards, as it was getting dark, I hoofed it over to one of the park’s wetland areas where a family of beaver have set up shop.  A big area of the wetlands has been cordoned off around the lodge – to keep people from disturbing the beaver, and also because the lodge has diverted the creek, created pools, and flooded the nearby trails.  This is exciting to me, because beavers are known as extraordinary Engineers and Restorers of Wetlands. I don’t know if this particular group came here on their own or (more likely) were introduced to Carkeek in one of the many beaver restoration projects going on around the country.

    A really sweet way to spend an evening!

  53. 53.

    Chief Oshkosh

    @Geminid: There’s a Trump hotel in Honolulu, too. Hell, he has properties everywhere. Probably all of them mortgaged to the hilt.

    I like the idea of selling off the high-profile ones first, but if some of the others have multiple mortgages without mutual disclosures, situations that would lead to more prosecutions (as suggested by another poster in this thread), then BRANG IT!

    Ah…such thoughts are like the rush caused by the caffeine from the third cup hitting the bloodstream. It is a good morning.

  54. 54.

    RevRick

    @Soprano2: Well, when the Chief Justice cited John C. Calhoun in his decision gutting the Voting Rights Act and asserted the sovereign dignitude of the states, exempting them from the requirement to expand Medicaid through the ACA, you know we have a reactionary court on our hands.

  57. 57.

    DrDaveChemist

    @mali muso:

    If your little one likes art, I strongly recommend the Musée d’Orsay. We had a blast when we visited with our twins who were a little younger than your kiddo.

    There are also great children’s books titled My Little Louvre and My Little Orsay that you can use as guides to some of the most famous works in each museum. Have fun!

    ETA I see that Chief Oshkosh had the same recommendation about Orsay.

  58. 58.

    oldgold

    Key to Trump’s bonding problem is the matter that gave rise to the judgment – financial fraud. That results in the courts being reluctant to loosen the rules for securing the judgment and the insurers from ponying up the bond money.

    in collecting this judgment, NY will initially proceed against his assets that are easily managed and amenable to being quickly made liquid.  You do not want to seize something that results in a long term headache – like Trump Tower.  I once seized a dairy herd. It was an udder mistake.

  60. 60.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    @mali muso: Would she like a ride in a bateau mouche on the Seine? We went at twilight when it was less crowded and the lights were just coming on. We also went to the Eiffel Tower at that time, and there was almost no line. (Both timings were Rick Steves’ recommendations)

  61. 61.

    Brachiator

    Yes, well akshually the Equinox was at 11:06pm EDT last night, but most of you reading this would’ve been in bed by then.

    8:06 pm PDT. We were dancing in the streets.

    Here’s an old Jules Feiffer cartoon. A Dance to Spring (For Liberals).

  62. 62.

    Jackie

    @Soprano2: I hope Letitia James starts with Bedminster for two reasons: Banker boxes moved from MAL to there (and STILL may be there,) AND it’s where TIFG moves to, to get away from the sweltering heat and humidity of southern FL summer months – where it’s too miserable to golf. 😁

    THEN go after Trump Tower!

  65. 65.

    Xavier

    When I was in Europe it seemed like almost every cathedral was surrounded by scaffolding.

  66. 66.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    I’ve only been to Paris once and that was a lifetime ago. We spent our last night hanging out along the Seine right across from Notre Dame drinking beer.

    The highlight was when a homeless guy under the bridge came out to pee into the river right when a tour boat came by. He made sure he was easily visible by a street/river light and in full view of the boat.

    Ah, the broadening experience that is travel!

  67. 67.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Suzanne:

    Totally O/T: my last day at my current office is Friday. I agreed to stay an extra week in order to help push through an addendum to our drawings. (First day at new place is Monday.)

    One of my current coworkers, who I have always thought is just T H E. W O R S T, made a snide comment meant to embarrass/chide me — in front of others — and I could not be more thrilled that I never have to see him again.

    The thing he tried to say I didn’t do…. was not in my responsibilities, BTW. AND it turned out to not be needed anyway, so he ended up wasting time.

    Congrats on getting away from that jerk!

    New employer, or same outfit, different location?

  69. 69.

    mali muso

    @Chief Oshkosh: ​
     No worries! I’ve traveled a lot, but I’m always open to hearing suggestions and tips. I collect them. :) I did go ahead and pre-book the Louvre so we don’t have to worry about lines. If she lasts longer than an hour in there, I’ll be shocked. Will take a look at price comparisons for weekly passes as well.

  70. 70.

    Soprano2

    @Geminid: If it were seized and sold would they have to move Ivana’s grave? I doubt the new owner would want that on their property.

  72. 72.

    oldgold

    @Jackie: No, Bedminster is in NJ. Transferring judgments from one state to another is a huge hassle and would provide Trump’s lawyers a playground for filing procedural objections that would chew up lots of time.

  73. 73.

    Soprano2

    @mali muso: I would recommend to get a Rick Steve’s guide book. I used one when we went to England, and it was invaluable! He has great suggestions for planning your trip.

  75. 75.

    WereBear

    @BellyCat:Why the AARP is not raising this issue loudly and lobbying for improvements is beyond comprehension.

    Unless retired pepole are not really who they are “working” for.

  77. 77.

    Geminid

    @Soprano2: A new owner might make moving Ivana Trump’s remains a condition of sale. The daughter and son-in-law can handle that, maybe rebury Ivana in her home country.

  78. 78.

    Yarrow

    @Soprano2:  It baffles me how Geriatrics as a medical specialty seems almost unknown. Everyone seems to have heard of Pediatrics and knows you take kids to a pediatrician. Even people without kids know that. But until someone has to do something like care for an older relative they likely haven’t even heard of geriatricians. The regular GP may not even tell someone to switch to a geriatrician but a regular GP certainly wouldn’t say, “Sure, I’ll treat your two year old.” No, they’d say, “You need a pediatrician.”

    @BellyCat:  Agreed it’s something the AARP could start lobbying for. At least it might increase the number of people who’s heard of geriatricians.

  79. 79.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Yarrow:

    Agreed it’s something the AARP could start lobbying for. At least it might increase the number of people who’s heard of geriatricians.

    Hell, they wouldn’t even need to lobby for it in order to expand awareness of it.  They’ve got a fairly large dues-paying membership, and members get a monthly magazine.  They could publish a series of articles on (a) what geriatricians do, including that it’s a bona fide medical specialty, and (b) let their readers know that there’s a huge shortage of them, and why that is.

    With us Boomers ranging in age from 59 to 78, there’s already a need for them and it’s gonna grow fast.

  80. 80.

    Another Scott

    @Ken: +1

    Since the fraud was in NY, starting with NY properties and then moving out would make sense to me.

    TT, Bedminster, his vinyard, MaL, his FL golf course, Chicago, SF, etc.

    TT is probably worth about $10M or so, given the 20% Manhattan commercial vacancy rate, being 40+ years old, being weirdly constructed (concrete rather than steel??), being associated with his name, etc., etc.

    MaL is an old white elephant encumbered by zoning restrictions.  It’s probably worth more torn down, but it’s on the Historic Registry so it’ll be there forever.

    “Gotta catchem all!!”

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  81. 81.

    Ken

    Not coincidentally, electoral-vote.com has some thoughts today on Trump’s legal and financial troubles. They cover many of the points we already have, with perhaps a tad less schadenfreude. Or at least, less blatant schadenfreude.

  82. 82.

    Soprano2

    @Yarrow: I agree, the needs and treatment of people at the end of life are different. I wish I had asked the urologist what would happen if we just didn’t treat my husband’s kidney stones, because his quality of life (and mine if I’m being totally honest) was certainly a lot better before we did that. Is it better to have normal kidney function, or slowly declining kidney function but a better overall quality of life? At the age of 77 when one has dementia this is a valid question to ask. So many people want to deny that we all have to die of something.

  84. 84.

    Jackie

    @Soprano2: Are you an AARP member? Their March Bulletin magazine has a special report covering “The Future of Alzheimer’s,” that may be of interest to you.

  85. 85.

    Yarrow

    @Soprano2:  Yes, dementia makes any medical intervention more challenging. But not just dementia – any existing medical condition should be considered before people just go for “a routine hip replacement” or whatever. There’s often a cost.

    One doctors don’t tell people about up front  is that anesthesia can cause big problems for anyone with memory issues. There’s even a caution for anyone 50 and older about anesthesia (I found it after a family member had a bad experience with anesthesia). But I’ve never even heard of a doctor warning about it.

    I tell everyone I know who’s going for surgery with anesthesia because the change can be terrifying for those who are caring for the patient. Let alone what the patient experiences. And there’s often no warning from the doctors.

  86. 86.

    Ken

    @oldgold: Transferring judgments from one state to another is a huge hassle

    Would that be why Trump’s lawyers tried to slip in a document claiming that most of his corporations were now in Florida? As I recall, the judge rejected it because absolutely none of the paperwork that would be required for such a move had been filed with either state. Apparently there’s this thing called “corporate law….”

  90. 90.

    Ken

    @WereBear: IMO, the AARP primarily works to ensure the continued existence of the AARP and its salaried board positions. (Many advocacy organizations fall into this trap.)

    But then, maybe I’m still bitter because they started sending me their literature when I was 53.

  93. 93.

    Soprano2

    @Yarrow: When hubby had the kidney stone removal, I told EVERYONE who was involved about his dementia. Every nurse, the doctor, the anesthesiologist, everyone I could. I have a friend whose mother had this experience, that’s the only way I knew about the problem with anesthesia.  The thing is, I don’t think that’s what caused the advancement, because he was fine for several days after the procedure. I think it was getting sick and being in the hospital that did it (plus he had to have stents replaced, which necessitated more anesthesia.) I also learned that I need to ask the nurse about the meds they’re giving my husband, because I don’t think he was getting all of them when he was in the hospital. He never got long acting insulin!!! Sheesh…..

  94. 94.

    Suzanne

    @lowtechcyclist: New employer, same job title, more $$$$. Three days a week in the office, about 15 minutes away.

    I would be excited about NO MORE DOUCHEBAG, but there seems to always be one.

  95. 95.

    Suzanne

    @Yarrow: SuzMom does not have dementia, but her anesthesia made her mind FUBAR for about 48 hours after her last surgery (she’s 73). She was such a dick that she made a nurse cry and they had the hospitalist call me and ask me to get down there to get her to be nice.

    I know she has the capability of being really mean when under chemical influences (LAWL), and I even told her before she went in for surgery to BE NICE TO EVERYONE.

  96. 96.

    Kay

    I watched Quiet on the Set, which is about how children’s tv in the 1990’s abused child actors. Horrendous for the child actors, but there’s a sub theme about how women writers were treated in that industry that is also horrible. 

    It’s the best examination I’ve ever seen about how women are pulled into attacking other women by abusive men. The male managers on the shows humiliated and sexually harrassed female writers (and paid them less, btw) and they enforced this kind of nasty, coercive peer pressure that said that any woman who complained or defended another woman was a whiny, entitled feminist who couldn’t take a joke. I’ve seen this over and over in my life but have never seen it explained as well as the woman writers they interviewed it explain it. Watch it! Just great work.

  97. 97.

    Jackie

    @Soprano2: Oh good! I immediately thought of you when I received my copy! Hope there’s some good suggestions/guidance for you and your husband!🤞🏻😊

  98. 98.

    sdhays

    @Soprano2: She should seize Truth Social. Supposedly, it’s worth $4 billion or something.

    (“Supposedly” is obviously doing a lot of work in the above sentence.)

  99. 99.

    wjca

    @Chief Oshkosh: I have never been able to figure out what AARP is all about. Does anyone here know?

    Ever bigger benefits for those on Social Security; screw anybody under 50 to get it.  It’s just that simple, and has been since at least the 1980s.

  101. 101.

    Chigail

    @Chief Oshkosh: I agree and I’m an old. Time spent better in those places, to which you can also get advance tickets. And, weather permitting, a ham baguette sandwich bought outside the D’Orsay and eaten looking at the Seine. Delicious and fun.

  104. 104.

    Paul in KY

    @Soprano2: Would be interesting to see how invested he would be in moving the grave. If he really, really wants to move it, I would get a subpoena to have her dug up.

  105. 105.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @Kay: In my single years, I went on a date with a couple women who were writers in Hollywood and one print journalist.  All three were very proud of the fact that they were the type of women who could hang with the guys without making waves.  And they all looked down on the women who would actually speak up about misogyny, harassment, mansplaining etc.  It was a very Anti-Feminist attitude that I assume gets rewarded in those mostly-male spaces.  I was also in a band with several tv writers and I remember the way they would dominate our discussions and rarely give our sax player (the only woman in the band) a chance to speak.  She is a super smart, confident Feminist so she never hesitated to take us all to task when that happened (which really helped me see the problem better and become better in my own behavior at a time when I was just starting to pay more attention to this stuff) but I definitely think there is something about the free-for-all and who-can-be-most-edgy nature of a writers’ room that encourages men to be shitty.  So none of this surprises me much.

  108. 108.

    NotMax

    Oh fudge. Fix.

    @Another Scott

    Am certainly not privy to any inside info but guessing there’s still income producing properties put up by daddy Fred in Queens and Brooklyn still on the books.

  110. 110.

    BellyCat

    @Soprano2: Exactly. My fingers are crossed for you.

     

    @Yarrow: You are 100% right about the effects of anesthesia. Younger people spring back more quickly, but long term effects are deleterious — especially for older folks.

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