Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Every reporter and pundit should have to declare if they ever vacationed with a billionaire.

Conservatism: there are people the law protects but does not bind and others who the law binds but does not protect.

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

Giving in to doom is how we fail to fight for ourselves & one another.

The most dangerous place for a black man in America is in a white man’s imagination.

Dear Washington Post, you are the darkness now.

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

Giving in to doom is how authoritarians win.

Something needs to be done about our bogus SCOTUS.

Sadly, media malpractice has become standard practice.

Black Jesus loves a paper trail.

If rights aren’t universal, they are privilege, not rights.

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

Trump should be leading, not lying.

Mediocre white men think RFK Jr’s pathetic midlife crisis is inspirational. The bar is set so low for them, it’s subterranean.

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

Republicans want to make it harder to vote and easier for them to cheat.

Washington Post Catch and Kill, not noticeably better than the Enquirer’s.

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

We will not go quietly into the night; we will not vanish without a fight.

One lie, alone, tears the fabric of reality.

At some point, the ability to learn is a factor of character, not IQ.

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

DeSantis transforming Florida into 1930s Germany with gators and theme parks.

You are here: Home / Elections 2024 / Monday Morning Open Thread: Looking to Be Another Long Week

Monday Morning Open Thread: Looking to Be Another Long Week

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There will be endless reasons to be cranky, so let’s be aware that we’re all in this together.

(Nota bene: Yglesias sarcasm alert)

Also of note:

Because we no longer have the concept of ‘summer vacation’, some reminders that the first 2024 presidential debate is just ten days away. Per CNN, “Biden and Trump campaigns agreed to mic muting, podiums among rules for upcoming CNN debate”:

… The debate, which will be hosted by CNN’s Jake Tapper and Dana Bash in Atlanta on June 27, will mark the first in-person showdown of the 2024 campaign between President Joe Biden and his predecessor, former President Donald Trump. Both candidates have accepted the network’s invitation and agreed to accept the rules and format of the debate, as outlined in letters sent to the campaigns by the network in May.

The 90-minute debate will include two commercial breaks, according to the network, and campaign staff may not interact with their candidate during that time.

Both candidates agreed to appear at a uniform podium, and their podium positions will be determined by a coin flip.

Microphones will be muted throughout the debate except for the candidate whose turn it is to speak. While no props or pre-written notes will be allowed on the stage, candidates will be given a pen, a pad of paper and a bottle of water.

Some aspects of the debate – including the absence of a studio audience – will be a departure from previous debates. But, as in the past, the moderators “will use all tools at their disposal to enforce timing and ensure a civilized discussion,” according to the network…

(No mention of a shock collar for TFG, but who knows what his handlers are thinking?)

Anyway, if you read the whole thing, apparently Our Very Serious Media has not given up on their dream of boosting RFK Jr (though probably not Jill Stein or Cornel West) onto the debate stage. So ‘silly season’ remains a viable concept!

NYMag has some more on “All the Details on Trump & Biden’s Weirdly Early 2024 Debate”:

… Where can I watch the debate?

The 90-minute debate will air on various CNN properties, and be simulcast on other networks that have yet to be announced. Per the CNN press release:

The CNN Presidential Debate will air live on CNN, CNN International, CNN en Español, CNN Max and stream without a cable login on CNN.com. CNN will make the debate available to simulcast on additional broadcast and cable news networks in the United States.

Why is the debate so early this year?

All previous televised presidential debates took place in late September or October. But the Biden team wanted to remind tuned-out Americans that there’s a presidential election this year, and that it could put Trump back in the White House. Per the New York Times:

The move was meant to jolt Americans to attention sooner than later about their consequential choice in 2024. Mr. Biden’s advisers have long believed that the dawning realization of a Trump-Biden rematch will be a balm for the president’s droopy approval ratings.

The earlier date also gives the two elderly, gaffe-prone candidates more time to recover from any debate missteps…

Finally, in case anyone needs a little mood-booster after that…

Reader Interactions

211Comments

  1. 1.

    Baud

    But the Biden team wanted to remind tuned-out Americans that there’s a presidential election this year, and that it could put Trump back in the White House

    Ok. And why did Trump accept?

    The earlier date also gives the two elderly, gaffe-prone candidates more time to recover from any debate missteps…

    No difference!

  2. 2.

    Matt McIrvin

    How dare Biden disrespect the distressed black-on-black flag with cop stripe and Punisher skull that represents Real America!

  3. 3.

    Baud

    European right underperforms, like MAGA here

    So did Indian right. And hopefully on July 4, we’ll get a boost from UK.

    The propaganda is off the charts, however.

  7. 7.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Baud: I think that most Americans–most *people*, probably– don’t actually want to live in a free society; they want to be king. They want an authoritarian state that enforces their personal preferences about how people should behave. That includes many so-called liberals and leftists; it’s just a matter of what those preferences are. Actually believing in freedom for people you don’t like, figuring out the right balance between that and regulating actually harmful behavior, is hard.

    I’ve been trying to make my peace with this for a while.

  10. 10.

    TBone

    @Baud: 👍 I wonder if this includes expungement, which is crucial.  Without expungement, I don’t see why the pardons are very useful.  I’m on one of my frequent “all sober all the time” breaks, which is a good policy for olds.  Weed isn’t a winning issue because it’s still illegal and weed makes you lazy 😆.  It’s a mixed up, patchwork quilt in the legal dept., plus it’s not cool if you’re a “conservative” (not a crossover, kitchen table issue for a lot of people, IMO).

    Maybe the state makes more money in for profit prison time than it does taxing weed.

  11. 11.

    Baud

    @Matt McIrvin:

    I don’t know about “most” but definitely more than many of us want to acknowledge. And I agree it’s not an attitude that’s confined to the groups we dislike.

  14. 14.

    satby

    @Matt McIrvin: I suspect you’re overanalyzing it. Most people aren’t thinking about authoritarian vs democracy much at all, which is why we’re facing the challenges we are. And most people seek some sense of control over the randomness of life, whether in politics, religion, passion for sports, or hobbies; because not being able to control outcomes in life is deeply frightening. Which makes religion and authoritarian movements attractive. (Hat tip Eric Hoffer)

  15. 15.

    Ken

    @Matt McIrvin: I think that most Americans–most *people*, probably– don’t actually want to live in a free society; they want to be king.

    Or, for “no king but king Jesus” types, head theocrat who tells everyone what king Jesus wants.

  16. 16.

    The Thin Black Duke

    @Matt McIrvin: “John Steinbeck once said that socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires.”

    Ronald Wright, A Short History of Progress

  17. 17.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @satby:

    CNN:

    By age 14, Dorothy Jean Tillman had obtained an associate’s, bachelor’s and master’s degree. Despite the impressive achievements, Tillman remembers turning to her mother and saying, “I think I want to pursue a doctorate degree.”

    Her mother, Jimalita Tillman, was surprised. They were in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic. And Dorothy was a year into launching a science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) camp startup, and she was looking for funding for the organization. She was busy.

    “I was just like, ‘why?’ I thought you were done,” Jimalita told CNN.

    But after Dorothy explained that her mission was to positively impact young people when it came to their mental health, Jimalita understood and lent her support.
    ……………………
    In addition to her school work, Dorothy also devotes her time to running the Dorothy Jeanius STEAM Leadership Institute, which inspires hundreds of underserved young people in Chicago, as well as abroad in countries like Ghana and South Africa, to pursue STEAM careers. The program includes guest speakers and open conversations around each of the five areas of STEAM.
    ……………………..
    After graduating from ASU, Tillman hopes to continue developing her camps and start applying her studies on integrated behavioral health into her work. There is a potential for franchising the camps one day so more kids gain something, she says. She also hopes to work more with kids in Africa.

    Definitely an underachiever.

  18. 18.

    Baud

    @satby:

    Yes. This. Perhaps king is the wrong word. People are frightened by rapid change and look for saviors.  Saviorism is the enemy of collective action.

  19. 19.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @satby: because not being able to control outcomes in life is deeply frightening.

    That’s the adventure in life. I always found it kinda invigorating. Except of course for the times I was in court.

  21. 21.

    Baud

    @satby:

    Of course, this fits with my theory that Biden is having a tough time precisely because he represents change at a deeply fundamental level. That makes people apprehensive.

  23. 23.

    TBone

    If you want a guarantee, buy a toaster.  I think Molly Ivins is where that came from but I’m not sure.

  25. 25.

    satby

    @Baud:  The True Believer covered this in the 1950s, after the last time authoritarians nearly destroyed the world. And not just the generation who fought them, but that generations’ children (like me), are aging and dying off. The lessons of history fade, and humankind has to learn them again. But, I believe  the good guys gain a bit of ground each time.

  26. 26.

    satby

    @Baud: Biden merges the progressivism of expanded civil rights with old school Keynesian economics, which is what spurred the great middle class expansion after WWII. He’s transformational in that way. And I think it’s one of the reasons some older voters than me are shifting to Biden; they remember the good old economic days and most of them are generally ok with many of the social changes too. Seniors breaking for Biden helps us.

  28. 28.

    Shalimar

    Microphones will be muted throughout the debate except for the candidate whose turn it is to speak.

    Someone should inform the cast of Morning Joe of this one.  They were talking earlier about how hard it is for the moderators to mute people in addition to everything else they have to do, and I agree as someone who has moderated town halls before it isn’t easy.  But CNN clearly isn’t leaving this up to the moderators.  The default setting is muted, not on.

  29. 29.

    Baud

    @satby: Yep. We’re living in social scientists’ petri dishes. They must be loving everything right now.

     

     

    @satby: Agree. Seniors are the most valuable voters, and especially important to Republicans. I hope we can convert some of them in November.

  30. 30.

    Tony Jay

    How doped-up is Stench going to have to be to avoid a near instant meltdown? The first time Biden responds to one of his meandering lie-canoes with a contempt-laden LOL he’ll lose it.

    I literally can’t believe they’re letting him stand unprotected on a stage with the man who kicked his junk to Jupiter in 2020, but I suppose when you’ve got a fool for a client…

  31. 31.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Shalimar: ​
     

    But CNN clearly isn’t leaving this up to the moderators. The default setting is muted, not on.

    The only thing I’m wondering is how it works if a speaker runs over their allotted time for responding. If they’ve got 3 minutes, do they get automatically muted at 3:01, or do they get to continue until the moderators shut them off?

  32. 32.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Tony Jay:

    I literally can’t believe they’re letting him stand unprotected on a stage with the man who kicked his junk to Jupiter in 2020, but I suppose when you’ve got a fool for a client…

    Just ten more days for them to convince him to pull out!

  35. 35.

    p.a.

    The good economy doesn’t get much play, just coincidentally, while mainstream news* concentrates on whatever price is up this particular week.  Just saw an “inflation sucks” interview with “person on the street” wherein she was complaining about the price of eggs.  Apparently even when prices are not sticky, memories are.☹️

     

    *And I’m not even considering what Murdock world pumps out.

  39. 39.

    Shalimar

    @lowtechcyclist: Automatically muted is the better choice, but I’m really looking forward to a moderator having to shout at Trump to tell him his time is up before they mute him.  I hope it is choice #2.

  41. 41.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Baud: There are so many people in the left who reject him because he’s “done nothing” and seems to them to represent stagnation, though. They won’t be convinced otherwise.

  42. 42.

    Kay

    Amanda Marcotte on the ‘tradwife’ grift on the Right:

    The field of strivers wishing to be America’s next top troll is growing faster than can be maintained by the existing audience of incels, white supremacists and other miscreants radicalized online. Becoming the next big thing means attracting the coin of the authoritarian realm: liberal outrage. Yet as liberals get numb to the constant barrage of fascist provocation, the trolls have no choice but to up the ante. So this is how we get a woman in an apron pretending to cook on TikTok while dropping the most notorious of racial slurs.

    I’ve written previously about the male influencer version of this problem. Content creators like Andrew Tate lure credulous young men in with videos promising exercise and other self-improvement tips, only to steer them ever more towards far-right conspiracy theories and white supremacist rhetoric. Tradwives offer a different spin on the same hustle. These women, who often are not even married, present an eroticized fantasy of female submission. Once viewers are hooked, they get fed ever more fascist ideas. Media Matters did a study documenting this phenomenon which found TikTok’s algorithm pushes “users who interact with ‘tradwife’ content” towards increasing levels of “right-wing conspiracy theory content.” A user might start by watching a pretty blonde in a low-cut shirt stir something unknown in a bowl, but soon they were getting a flood of “medical misinformation and anti-government content, specifically fearmongering about the need to prepare for an impending ‘civil war.’”

  43. 43.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @satby: I second satby’s recommendation of The True Believer by Hoffer. An excellent book that offers still-timely analysis.

  45. 45.

    evodevo

    @Shalimar: Well, Trumpy may have agreed to the rules (or his handlers did), but how do you enforce them..he can still bellow out a rant, even with his mike turned off, and the two of them are not in Cones of Silence, but are on the same soundstage.  I’m curious to know if CNN has figured this out…

    Well, at least The Orange Mad King can no longer attempt to kill him by giving him covid onstage, like he tried to in 2020…

  46. 46.

    lowtechcyclist

    I think it’s great that they’re having this debate so early (assuming TCFG doesn’t find an excuse to withdraw!) because I think a lot of people make up their minds earlier than they used to.

    The old adage – which I think is still true! – is that people don’t really think much about the race until after Labor Day.  The problem is, they get exposed to a lot more stuff during the spring and summer than they did forty years or more ago, and their minds get made up from the accumulated impressions they get way before Labor Day weekend arrives. So having this debate break into people’s thoughts this early in the game is very valuable to our side, IMHO, and will give people a chance to see TCFG for what he is.

  47. 47.

    artem1s

    @Shalimar: ​ 

    They were talking earlier about how hard it is for the moderators to mute people in addition to everything else they have to do

    That the cast of Morning Joe isn’t aware of what the sound engineer does and how a production booth functions is especially depressing. Talking heads are morans.

  48. 48.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @Matt McIrvin:

    There are so many people on the left ….

    Can you put a number to “so many” or is it just the impression one gets from social media? Are they enough to change electoral outcomes in any given state? Are they even real people and not bots?

  49. 49.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Baud:

    If only someone had convinced his dad to do that.

    I remember when people were making that same crack about Nixon’s dad.

  52. 52.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Matt McIrvin:

    There are so many people in the left who reject him

    What’s the denominator?

    Sure, of those people who are ‘in the left’, many reject him.  But how big is that ‘in the left’ group in its entirety?

  53. 53.

    Baud

    @Kay:

    Becoming the next big thing means attracting the coin of the authoritarian realm: liberal outrage. Yet as liberals get numb to the constant barrage of fascist provocation, the trolls have no choice but to up the ante.

     
    Agree with this. The best thing we can do to fight the Nazis is to toughen up yesterday.

  54. 54.

    Baud

    @O. Felix Culpa:

    @lowtechcyclist:

    The answer is always “People in my bubble I choose to follow.”

    And not just when talking about the left either.

    ETA: My time in Balloon Juice has convinced me that Biden is going to get 90% of the vote.

  57. 57.

    3Sice

    Remember when Trump and his handlers tried to kill Joe with COVID?

    Pepperidge Farms remembers.

  58. 58.

    Kay

    Gallup finally asking the right question:

    23% of “pro-choice” voters said they only vote for candidates who share their views on abortion, a major increase from the 17% Gallup had recorded in 2022 and 2023.

    That’s how I think it will play out – the issue increases in importance, so not a huge shift but still a meaningful one.

  59. 59.

    satby

    @O. Felix Culpa: As I recall, a book that Sister Golden Bear also has cited numerous times. I’m glad I’m so old it was required reading when I was in high school.

  60. 60.

    Mousebumples

    Good morning! Postcards to Voters has more addresses for Trisha Calvarese in CO – with a mail date of tomorrow (unless you’re in CO or an adjacent state). Not sure if I’ll have time to write more today, but I wanted to give an FYI if another Juicer had free time.

  62. 62.

    Soprano2

    @Baud: I think most people don’t realize that the European right underperformed, because all the mainstream press made it sound like they gained a lot and are ascendant in Europe.

  64. 64.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @satby: I developed a passionate interest in extremist political movements and what made them tick when I was in junior high, and read as much as I could find about them in our local public library. I stumbled onto The True Believer then. A shout-out to public libraries and librarians!

  65. 65.

    Soprano2

    @Shalimar: I will bet $100 that TCFG will try to talk over Biden even though his mic is muted. I don’t think he can help himself.

  66. 66.

    OzarkHillbilly

    If ever one thinks life is too hard…

    Abandoned, abused and belittled: how Oksana Masters survived a torturous childhood – and became a world-beating athlete

    She was born in Ukraine in 1989, with a range of disabilities caused by radiation from the 1986 Chornobyl nuclear disaster, and spent the first part of her childhood in an orphanage, enduring unimaginable emotional, physical and sexual abuse. When, as an eight-year-old, she was adopted by an American woman, it was finally the start of a happy family life – but it was also challenging to adapt to a new country. Masters underwent multiple operations, including having both her legs amputated.
    ……………………………….
    As a young child, Masters was painfully aware of her abandonment. Other children at the home would get to go to relatives for holidays and birthdays, and some of the carers (to use the term loosely) would taunt her. “Some would say: ‘You’re ugly, you don’t deserve a home, your parents didn’t want you.’ I started realising my birth parents made a conscious decision not to keep me and felt that it was my fault.” Several families tried unsuccessfully to adopt Masters. On the days prospective adoptive parents visited the orphanage in eastern Ukraine, Masters would be carefully dressed, with bows in her hair, and given more food. It became enough, to her, that she wouldn’t be as hungry as usual that day.

    The fear of abandonment has never left, even though her mother, Gay Masters, an academic, sounds incredibly loving and supportive, as does her fiance, fellow Paralympian Aaron Pike. “I bonded to my mom but my fear is she did not bond to me and will choose to leave me. Not just her, but anyone close to me. I have a hard time letting people get close; it was the way I protected myself for so many years.”

    In her 2023 memoir The Hard Parts, Masters writes about the extreme deprivation – the cold, the hunger, the lack of affection – as well as the abuse. She decided to keep a lot of things that happened to her out of the book, “because I just don’t think people would have the stomach for it, and I don’t think they need to know details of everything to understand the big picture”. What she does write about is horrific. She says her best friend, Lainey, was beaten to death in front of her after she tried to take some bread. Until then, Masters realises now, Lainey had been responsible for her survival. “She was my family, she taught me what love is and what safety feels like. I didn’t realise how bad things were until she had gone.” The upstairs of the orphanage, Masters writes, was run as a brothel. She was five when she started to be taken up there.

    Sometimes she would be beaten so badly, it wouldn’t have taken much more to kill her. “All I wanted was to die, but I also wanted a mom; that ounce of hope was there and that’s just what I held on to. Seeing some kids leave and going to families, part of me hoped this would be me too.”
    ……………………….
    When Masters was brought to the US, she had to learn certain feelings. “I didn’t know I was hungry, because I had learned how to suppress those feelings. My mom had to teach me what the word ‘happy’ meant when I told her what these weird feelings were. I just didn’t know how to put a word to it.”

    Her book: The Hard Parts: A Memoir of Courage and Triumph

  67. 67.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Baud: It is a part of the shifting goal posts of many white leftist fringe/libertarians (Many Paulites moved over to BS in 2016). Ds have to do one magical thing before they can count on their support.

    When the Ds do it, the goal post shifts to something else. The one magical thing that Ds can truly do to gain these votes is throw the non-white, non-straight and non-Christian part of the base to the wolves just like Rs have done and become a white grievance party but from the left.

  68. 68.

    Soprano2

    @p.a.: I keep seeing “price rollback” tags and signs in WalMart; when I tell people that, they laugh and don’t believe me. I think most people don’t notice things like that. Also the announcements by companies like Target and Walgreens that they’re rolling back prices on tens of thousands of items.

  70. 70.

    Soprano2

    @Kay: I read that column this morning. She’s great on this stuff; she really has their number, probably because she grew up among them in Texas. I wonder how long it will be until one of them literally embraces Hitler in an effort to get “cancelled”.

  72. 72.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @schrodingers_cat:

    OT: I am trying to teach myself Indian cooking, having recently stumbled on an old Madhur Jaffrey BBC series on cooking in the different regions of India, and becoming fascinated by the variety of techniques and use of spices. Are there any cookbooks you particularly recommend, if you use cookbooks?

    Also, what do you use for grinding spices? Thanks.

  74. 74.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Kay: I’m sorry, fundamental freedoms only gathers 23% of the vote??? America is in for a world of shit.

  75. 75.

    Soprano2

    @Kay: I think that’s why the effort in Florida to get a Democrat to run for every seat is important. Even if most of those candidates lose, there is an abortion issue on the ballot, which will probably increase Democratic turnout, and those Democrats will probably get more votes than they would have two years ago, and that helps build the party. I agree with you, we can’t just give up on Florida. I don’t want to give up on MO, either – Democrats think they might be able to break the supermajority R’s have in the state House this year. Just because things are one way today, that doesn’t mean they have to stay that way forever.

  76. 76.

    TBone

    Kompromat pushback

    House Intelligence Committee Chair Mike Turner (R-OH) dismissed concerns that a Republican member of his committee used drugs while serving two presidents in the White House.

    During a Sunday interview on Face the Nation, CBS host Margaret Brennan asked Turner about reports that Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-TX), a former White House doctor, used alcohol and Ambien while on an overseas trip where he was in charge of caring for a president.

    “These seats could be filled by Republicans with national security backgrounds who don’t have these kind of compromising situations over their heads,” Brennan noted.

    https://crooksandliars.com/2024/06/gop-chair-ronny-jacksons-drug-use

  78. 78.

    Baud

    @Soprano2:

    Just because things are one way today, that doesn’t mean they have to stay that way forever.

     
    QFT

    Better to be defeated than surrender.

  80. 80.

    RevRick

    Once again, J and I are hosting Camp Grandma and Opa for a week with our granddaughter. Usually, we’re able to do a variety of activities outdoors, but with record heat forecast, we’re limiting it to the mornings or evenings. Today, we’re going to the Fish Hatchery, because M loves to feed the trout. The water boils when she tosses in the pellets. We’re also planning on an excursion to the Nature Conservancy. Thursday afternoon, we’re going to the newly built DaVinci Center, with its animatronic dinosaur exhibit, and river otters, and various hands-on science exhibits. Fortunately, our granddaughter has reached the age when she can entertain herself, and J has gathered every imaginable craft item under the sun. If she cons us into playing Mancala or Jenga, I expect J and I will get our asses kicked.

    In an hour I go to my orthopedic doctor for my biannual 50,000 mile checkup on the hip replacements. This afternoon, I’ll probably go to the nearby zombie mall to get my daily steps in.

  81. 81.

    Kay

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Well, the pro choice side is 54%. This is the portion of that 54% who will exclude an anti choice candidate from consideration. That’s the leap we have to make – from 54% who will vote yes on a pro choice referendum to tiering it as #1 or 2 in the set of views of an actual politician. I’ll take it.

  82. 82.

    schrodingers_cat

    @O. Felix Culpa: Madhur Jaffrey’s cookbooks are a good starting point.

    An invitation to Indian cooking is a gentle introduction.

    Quick and easy Indian cooking has many time saving versions of the classics with ingredients you already have in your pantry like Dijon mustard, tomato paste etc.

    I use a mortar and pestle or a coffee grinder for grinding spices. I have a dedicated coffee grinder just for spices. Kitchen Aid makes a coffee grinder that I like. I also have an older Braun, which is not made anymore.

    There are many great YT channels too for Indian cooking. Some run by Indian grandmas demonstrating techniques from their kitchens.

  84. 84.

    Kay

    @Soprano2:

    I think the Florida effort was great. If nothing else, even in the reddest district, there are Democrats and they want a candidate. It’s also hard as nails to get people to run because it sucks. It means spending at least a year campaigning every weekend and many weeknights without pay of any kind. The candidate’s whole family sacrifices. It’s why I donate or act as treasurer or whatever instead of running – that and I don’t really want the job.

  85. 85.

    3Sice

    I kinda doubt there is a viable, long term revenue model for online news media, in finding out what a 75 year old actress looks like now.

  86. 86.

    Soprano2

    So, an update on the new dog situation and a plea for help. On Friday I had to tighten her collar because she managed to get the cone off! (I had asked the vet if her collar was too loose, and she assured me the dog wouldn’t be able to get the cone off. Wrong!) I moved my cat’s litter box, food and water up to my bedroom because it’s the one place the dog can’t go; I decided I might have a better chance at integrating the dog if the cat feels safe. I probably should have moved it up there when I first got the dog, but honestly the only time I’ve ever had a problem like this was the 12-year-old dog we adopted who had never been around cats before and thought they were something to chase. Plus, my cat goes outside so keeping him confined in a room for days on end isn’t really practical. I figure he’ll probably go downstairs sometime today. This morning when I came out of the bathroom after getting ready for work I found that hubby had taken the dog’s cone off! I asked him why he did that while I was putting it back on and he asked me why she was wearing it. I had to tell him yet again “Because she cut her paw when she broke the window last Wednesday, and she has to wear it so she won’t chew on the paw and pull the staples out”. I’m at my wits’ end, and thinking I made a terrible mistake getting the dog in the first place. So my question is this – should I keep trying to get the new dog and my cat to get along (last Tuesday they were almost touching noses with no hissing, growling or lunging, I have no idea what happened to change that), or should I cut my losses and take this sweet dog back so she can find a better home? They said she was good with cats, but I don’t think she ever actually lived in a home with a cat. Last Friday I yelled at her because I caught her trying to get under the stove where my cat was lying! I keep telling her no when she does stuff like that, and yesterday I had the cat on the counter and the dog on standing on the floor while I petted them both and continually exchanged their scent with each other. I don’t think I can isolate my cat downstairs for days and days because I don’t have a room where that’s practical, and he will want to go outside after a day or two. All thoughts and ideas are welcome, at this point I’m stymied. I don’t want to give up, but I also don’t want to keep trying in a situation where it’s hopeless.

  87. 87.

    Another Scott

    @OzarkHillbilly:   Oof.  :-(

    Thanks for the pointer.  Here’s hoping that she, and others like her here and around the world, continue to find joy and healing.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  88. 88.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Matt McIrvin:

    I think that most Americans…want an authoritarian state that enforces their personal preferences about how people should behave. That includes many so-called liberals and leftists; it’s just a matter of what those preferences are.

    A big practical difference is that only a very few leftists are sufficiently delusional to think that a left-authoritarian state is even remotely within reach.  Hopefully people on the left can come to see in the next few months that the imminent danger of a right-authoritarian state is quite real, and would be difficult to remove once it’s got its hands on the levers of power.

  89. 89.

    Kay

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Well, I mean, they’re conservatives or at least Right leaning. Anti choice is in the set of conservative beliefs. We’re asking them to take the GOP candidate – the candidate they would ordinarily support- out of consideration based on one issue. It’s a big lift. It’s the opposite of what we ourselves counsel to our own people, right? That one issue shouldn’t mean we don’t vote for someone.

    I think we get a small bump out of them but this thing will be won or lost on adding up small bumps.

  90. 90.

    narya

    @Kay: Sarah Longwell’s focus group results on this are fascinating, too. Most people don’t bring up abortion access as “one of the most important issues”–BUT, if the interviewer brings it up, it is VERY important. I think it’s a stealth issue that we need to be shouting from the rooftops. I suspect t the EMTALA decision is going to “help” in that regard.

  91. 91.

    Soprano2

    @Baud:  Better to be defeated than surrender.

    Yes! Timothy Snyder’s first rule for dealing with authoritarians is “don’t obey in advance”.

  92. 92.

    Ken

    @TBone: That’s Ronny Johnson.

    I suppose this shows the GQP isn’t completely delusional, since they aren’t requiring everyone to call him Johnson, yet. Though it’s more likely they don’t want to draw attention to TCFG’s latest brain fart.

  93. 93.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @schrodingers_cat: Thank you! I’ve been using a mortar and pestle, but was thinking of getting a dedicated coffee grinder for grinding spices. I’ll check out the books you recommended, too. Ooh, and cooking YouTubes from grandmas…just what the doctor ordered!

  95. 95.

    Soprano2

    @Kay: They did that in MO this year too, which is why they think they have a chance to break the supermajority. I think the decline in Democratic power in this state is directly linked to the decline in population in St. Louis and Kansas City. Population is also declining in the rural areas, but that doesn’t matter if the cities are also shrinking.

  96. 96.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Baud: The Indian right is on the backfoot, to use a cricketing term. That doesn’t make them any less dangerous but the tide is turning against them

    ETA: Their base of upper caste Indians (they occupy the same niche as white people do here)  is still largely with them. Although that too is changing in the two biggest states in India. INDIA alliance was able to peel off upper caste votes in both UP and Maharashtra compared to 2019.

  97. 97.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Kay: I don’t know how I’d answer that question. For instance, Joe Biden doesn’t share my views on abortion, I’m far more extremely pro-choice than he is. But he favors the right policy moves.

  98. 98.

    Ken

    @3Sice: I kinda doubt there is a viable, long term revenue model for online news media, in finding out what a 75 year old actress looks like now.

    Long-term, no, though the checkout-stand magazines are limping along on the dwindling demographic that buys “Remembering Katherine Hepburn” special editions.

  100. 100.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @Soprano2:

    I’m so sorry. You have so much stress in your life, would you consider giving the dog back? I know it’s hard (had to do it once myself and ugly cried all the way to the shelter and back) and one doesn’t want to be that person, but sometimes it’s for the best all around. A good shelter understands when an animal is not a good fit. One way to be easy on yourself, perhaps.

  101. 101.

    lowtechcyclist

    @schrodingers_cat:

    The one magical thing that Ds can truly do to gain these votes is throw the non-white, non-straight and non-Christian part of the base to the wolves just like Rs have done and become a white grievance party but from the left.

    The problem, just looking at it in straight arithmetical terms, is that non-whites, non-Christians, and people who are either non-straight or too close to non-straights to vote against their interests, are the bulk of the Democratic base.  So for all practical purposes, they can’t even do this very un-magical thing anymore.  Thank goodness.​

  102. 102.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @satby: I think I’m ordering it this AM. It will be a hard read, a very hard read, but one I think anyone can learn something from.

  103. 103.

    Another Scott

    @Soprano2: I’m sorry she’s being uncooperative.

    I can’t tell you what you should do.  All I can do is offer suggestions to try to make the adjustment easier if you decide to keep her.

    Adjustments can take a while.  Remember sab’s stories about her murdercat that took a while to adjust.  Animals are usually able to adjust, but it can take a while.

    Are portable fences an option? Aussies are quite athletic and she might be able to jump over it. :-/

    Do you use Feliway or the like to try to keep the kitties calm?  Apparently there’s something similar for dogs. (I have no experience with it.)

    We’ve often put ankle socks on our pooches feet if they’re injured (torn toenail or too much licking on a pad).  Stretchy gauze can help keep it in place, but you might need some spicy ointment or something on the gauze to prevent licking.

    It’s not easy. :-(

    Hang in there. Best of luck, whatever you decide!

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  104. 104.

    Betty

    The extreme weather has nothing to do with climate change, and saying it does is illegal in Florida. Suffer in silence.

  105. 105.

    Soprano2

    @O. Felix Culpa: I am considering that. I hate to do it, but if she’s not a good fit for us she’s not a good fit. I’ve learned a lot about her that I could tell them that would help them find another home, like that she doesn’t seem to care that much about the other dog we have and she thinks she should go out the front door with us every time we leave. I think her first owner took her for rides in the car with him a lot, because she rides better in the car than any dog I’ve ever had.

  106. 106.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @Soprano2: If you’re anything like me, you might have an overdeveloped sense of responsibility and genuine care for the animal. :-) Giving it back is not an easy thing to do, and yet sometimes necessary. I volunteer in the local city shelter, and the staff appreciate info on an animal that will help them create better matches for potential adopters.

  107. 107.

    Another Scott

    @Matt McIrvin: I’m sure there are lots of people like that, no doubt.

    But I think most Americans don’t like thinking about politics beyond “I’m proud to be an American!  USA, USA!!”  Their lives are full, they don’t want to spend the time or energy to think and worry about yet another thing.  They want government to work and not waste their tax money and treat them well when they need it.  Otherwise, they want it out of the way – “No Nanny State!!1”

    I think this is the Biden-Harris superpower and the underappreciated strength.  Quiet competence, while also stressing “Respect” and “There’s nothing, nothing we can’t do when we work together” and the “USA!  USA!” stuff.  People don’t have to check the “news” 5x a day to figure out if they need to plan to flee the country or sell all their stocks or start hoarding flour and toilet paper.  They know that, while they don’t agree with all (the reporting on) what Biden-Harris is doing, they don’t have to worry about them being incompetent dictators.

    Quiet competence is the enemy of “engagement” and that’s why the MSM hates it so.

    My $0.02.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  108. 108.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @Soprano2: Not taking that bet. I came in to make the same prediction.

    I see it in my mind as this distant shouting voice while Biden is speaking, as if we’re hearing a heckler in the audience. Then we remember there is no audience.

    Or perhaps he’ll try the move he did with Hillary, lumbering around behind Joe while he speaks.

  109. 109.

    Ken

    @Betty: The extreme weather has nothing to do with climate change, and saying it does is illegal in Florida.

    Insurance companies: “Oh, no, we’re not abandoning Florida because of climate change. It’s because they’re too woke.”

  111. 111.

    TBone

    Update on AI, pronatalist, eugenecist movement growing in Silicon Valley.  SBF (oops, FTX trustees) wants his money back. (Looking at you, fElon).  Good reporting.

    https://www.theguardian.com/technology/article/2024/jun/16/sam-bankman-fried-ftx-eugenics-scientific-racism

    The revelations cast new light on so-called “Tescreal” intellectual movements – an umbrella term for a cluster of movements including EA and rationalism that exercise broad influence in Silicon Valley, and have the ear of the likes of Sam Altman, Marc Andreessen and Elon Musk.

    https://www.manifest.is/

    Manifold is a startup that runs Manifund, a prediction market – a forecasting method that was the ostensible topic of the conference.
    Prediction markets are a long-held enthusiasm in the EA and rationalism subcultures, and billed guests included personalities like Scott Siskind, AKA Scott Alexander, founder of Slate Star Codex; misogynistic George Mason University economist Robin Hanson; and Eliezer Yudkowsky, founder of the Machine Intelligence Research Institute (Miri).

  112. 112.

    satby

    @Soprano2: Are you genuinely afraid she and the cat could get into a dangerous fight? I would have assumed she was trying to play when she was looking under the stove, but of course I didn’t see how she was behaving or if it seemed aggressive. I usually just let all the animals sort themselves out within safe parameters, so if you don’t feel safe doing that listen to your gut.

    I think one of the bigger problems is actually your husband’s inability to remember things like the dog’s injury. He’s liable to let the dog out and forget, leaving her outside to escape or suffer in heat without water if he’s alone in the house, or even forget you got her and get frightened by her because all bets are off with dementia. If he’s never alone that’s a bit less of a concern. But you primarily got the dog to be a companion to him and your other dog and it doesn’t sound like that’s happening. You’ve had her just over a week, right? I think things can still work out but long term is this what you really want? Especially if the main reasons you got her don’t apply? Because if you’ve been asking this now for most of the time you’ve had her, I think you’re really just asking for permission to bring her back. Despite all the relentlessly happy talk on rescue threads in this blog, love is not enough; even if the dog itself isn’t troubled. Not all situations call for a new family member, sometimes the most loving thing you can do is realize it’s a bad fit for your current situation and let the dog go to find a better fit. I had to do it with my high energy, destructive foster Dexter, and he’s living his best life with a young, high energy family who adores him. It’s ok to let go.

  113. 113.

    jonas

    @Kay: That’s always where Democrats have been at a disadvantage: a majority of the electorate was always pro-choice and pro-gun control, but also weren’t necessarily single-issue voters, whereas the antis would crawl over broken glass to vote against choice and gun control regardless of anything else. If even just some of those less-committed voters started making reproductive choice a make-or-break issue at the polls, that’s going to be a game-changer.

  114. 114.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    I just remembered the weird dominance move TFG used to do when he was in the White House, where he’d shake the hand of a world leader, then try to yank them off their feet. Think he’ll pull that on the debate stage? I do.

  117. 117.

    Scout211

    @Soprano2: I responded to your post a few days ago but it was very late to that thread. I’d like  to respond to you this morning from the common position that we both have as caretaking partners to spouses with dementia.

    Most of your comments have been from the point of view of your new dog and how to manage and train a rescue dog.  My comment will be from point of view of a partner to a spouse with dementia.  Like your comment today seems to be hinting at, there is so much stress and added responsibilities on your plate these days that it may be time to look at your own stress level and whether adding this new dog was a good decision for you.  It sounds like it’s time to reassess and start taking care of yourself as best you can.

    I’m not saying you should return the dog, I ‘m just saying that it’s time to consider that option.  For you, but also for your husband. Changes in daily routine are very disruptive to people with dementia and cause confusion and distress.  As much as my husband loves dogs and cats, I would not add a new pet to our household because the changes in his daily routine would be much too hard for him to manage.  Even having family (that he loves) to the house causes him confusion. If his daily routine is the same every day, he functions so much better cognitively so we try to keep things consistent and structured the same everyday.

    Like I said in my previous comment, people ask me all the time how he is doing but rarely does anyone ask me how I am doing.  So I am asking you how you are doing?  And I hope you ask yourself that everyday.

    Please think of this from the perspective of your own stress level and how much is already on your plate right now.  Is this too much?

    Because, sadly, for us things will only get worse and we will have more and more on our plates in the future.

    Text added.

  119. 119.

    Soprano2

    Believe it or not, the House actually did something constructive and smart. I have no idea how it happened, but I got this story in one of my industry e-mails. These things are the devil as far as the sewer is concerned. Every time I see a display of them where the package says “flushable” I wish I had a huge sign to put on the display that says “No, they are not flushable, the industry has prevented the government from telling you that under no circumstances should you flush these down the toilet because people love thinking they can flush them away”! You should see what these fibrous things do to a lift station pump.

    Congress wants wipe warnings
    BENJAMIN J. HULAC, WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT | JUNE 14, 2024 | ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT, POLITICS
    Sanitary products are causing problems in waste water systems. House votes to add warning labels

  120. 120.

    Another Scott

    @Soprano2: Oh, one more thing – we almost always give Ellie a treat ( a teenie Greenie) when we leave the house.  It distracts her for a minute or so and it shows that leaving without her is not a bad thing.  Maybe try something like that? (Something to change the dynamics.)

    Good luck!

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  121. 121.

    Soprano2

    @schrodingers_cat: Since last Saturday. I know it takes time, what I’m wondering is if any amount of time will be enough. I will not make my cat live in my bedroom away from everyone else, that’s cruel.

  123. 123.

    Chief Oshkosh

    While no props or pre-written notes will be allowed on the stage, candidates will be given a pen, a pad of paper and a bottle of water.

    This is unfair to Trump. He needs two hands to hold a bottle of water, so how can he take notes? Plus, he can only write with a Sharpie, and they’re giving him a pen. Well, at least we’ll know why he lost when he loses.

  124. 124.

    Soprano2

    @satby: You might be right, that I’m looking for permission to take her back. Truthfully I feel guilty and like I failed her somehow, when the truth is maybe she’s not a good fit for us even though on paper she seemed like the right choice. When you have to fill out a long form that asks you things like “under what circumstances would you consider surrendering the pet” and they make you feel that the true answer is “never”, it’s hard to admit that you made a mistake.

    I don’t think she would hurt my cat, but I don’t want my cat living in constant fear of the dog either. I had a situation like that once before, and I swore I would never do that again.

  125. 125.

    Ken

    @Soprano2: The same House that’s been throwing performative tantrums over every other labelling requirement, from light bulbs to gas stoves? The sewer-industrial complex must have some pretty effective lobbyists.

  126. 126.

    Soprano2

    @Scout211: Part of my rationale for doing it now is that he’s still relatively functional, and he loves dogs, and our current dog is 12 years old. I’m afraid if we lose our current dog in the next couple of years it won’t be possible to get a new dog because of the things you mentioned. Here’s what makes it harder – he seems to like this dog, and I know she likes him because she was sleeping on the floor beside the daybed where he was sleeping when I got up this morning. ETA – I did just think of something. Maybe another reason this wouldn’t be a good fit is because she already lost her previous elderly owner to death. It would be hard on her if it happened again. I don’t know why I didn’t think of that before this very minute.

    As for how I am, a lot more stressed last week that’s certainly true. I knew there would be a period of stress before she settled in, but I certainly never expected that on Day 5 she would break a window and cut her paw, necessitating her wearing a cone on her head for a week and a $250 vet visit! *sigh* I guess I think about his welfare a lot more than my own even though I know it’s important for me to take care of myself.

  128. 128.

    Soprano2

    @Ken: Either that, or several of them had sewage back up into their house because of those demon things.

  129. 129.

    Soprano2

    @Another Scott: That’s actually a good idea for her whether we keep her or not! That going out the front door is unexpected, because most dogs learn at a young age not to do that.

  130. 130.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Soprano2: I don’t know who should do this (state, local) but it should be mandated that there be a trash bin in all toilet stalls.

  132. 132.

    satby

    @Soprano2: “Never” is  never the right answer on those forms, believe it or not. Every single shelter and rescue far prefers that people surrender pets to a safe organization rather than pass them on to other people or abandon them; my org has experienced both. It’s to help you think about circumstances under which  surrender could occur.

    It is hard to think you’ve made a mistake, even as a decades long rescuer 😵‍💫 A dog that was perfect for a before time may not be perfect for us in the now time. It’s no reflection on the dog, especially if you emphasize that it’s your current situation, not the dog’s sweet personality, that causes the return. That’s where you can be a hero for her while taking one for the team, by putting all the blame for the mismatch on you (even if it’s a combo), because you do have valuable info for them on how she is in a home like yours.  You can say you just underestimated how forgetful your husband has become, and how much stress that has been putting on you, and that it’s just not a conducive situation to introduce a new pet into right now. None of that is bad! They’ll be sad for all of you, but happy you did what was best for all of you too, really. Edit: I just saw your realization about her previous owner. That’s true too, and kind of you to think of her feelings in that way.

  137. 137.

    Ohio Mom

    @Soprano2: I think that in your current circumstances — a day job and a business, a husband with a health crisis that will not resolve happily — you need to cut yourself all kinds of slack. And that could very well include letting go of this dog.

    As Another Scott said, it’s a decision only you can make. But your calculus should include what lessens stress in your life. Take care of you, oxygen mask first, etc.

    ETA: I see Scout211 got there first. Great minds, etc.

  139. 139.

    H.E.Wolf

    @Miss Bianca: @Mousebumples: Is this just for the primary? (CO resident here).​

     Full-on special election, to fill the US House seat of a Republican who resigned.

    CO residents, and folks in states adjoining CO, have until Wednesday the 19th to mail postcards for Calvarese.

  140. 140.

    Baud

    @Ken:

    The sewer-industrial complex must have some pretty effective lobbyists.

     

    They’re very good at managing human sewage

  141. 141.

    Chief Oshkosh

    @lowtechcyclist: Right. That’s is the most important aspect of this. I’ve moderated dozens of multi-speaker events, large meetings, etc., many of which by their nature were contentious. There are many challenges, but this isn’t one of them. The speakers/participants are reminded at the outset of the rules (in this case, answers are 3 mins, after which I cut the mic). If it’s not automated, I make damned sure that at the very first opportunity, I manually cut the mic at 3:00. If the speaker is upset, I just ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ and start the timer of the other speaker. Rinse. Repeat. The participants get on board pretty quickly in most cases. A few times a speaker has gotten really upset, but I just don’t engage.  It probably helps that I’m fundamentally uninterested in anything a speakers have to say once they express anger.

  142. 142.

    Belafon

    @Ken:

     

    The same House that’s been throwing performative tantrums over every other labelling requirement, from light bulbs to gas stoves? The sewer-industrial complex must have some pretty effective lobbyists.

    Trump can’t flush papers down the toilet if they’re already clogged.

  144. 144.

    Manyakitty

    @Soprano2: your situation is your new normal, but nothing like your old normal. It is not fair to yourself or anyone else involved to judge based on prior standards. Make the call you need to make. It sounds like you already know the answer.

    Be kind to yourself.

  145. 145.

    Jackie

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym:

    Or perhaps he’ll try the move he did with Hillary, lumbering around behind Joe while he speaks.

    Heh! Uncle Joe will ask TCFG if he’s confused or lost and lead him back to his podium…

  147. 147.

    Citizen Alan

    @Matt McIrvin: This. I figured this out in twenty sixteen when I watched the green party presidential debate for a laugh. 20 minutes in, I wasn’t laughing anymore. Because I realized that all of those people were left-wing fascists who thought the president could completely reorder society with executive orders on the first day in office.

  148. 148.

    smith

    @Citizen Alan: …all of those people were left-wing fascists who thought the president could completely reorder society with executive orders on the first day in office.

    They might be fascists, but if they believed that they were also naive children. This president-as-king belief is apparently quite common among low-info people, and is as dangerous as the people trying to make it a reality.

  149. 149.

    kindness

    Mic muting is quaint.  What they’ll need is separate sound proof booths.  We all know when they shut Trump’s mic off he’s just going to shout and get feisty acting like he’s a victim again.

    Doesn’t take Kreskin to see that one.

  150. 150.

    Ironcity

    @evodevo: Who gets to stand by with the taser/ straight jacket/ net/ duct tape?  What would the SS do if TCFG’s minions tried to go after Handsome Joe?   I want the popcorn and wine slushee concession.

  151. 151.

    TBone

    From an article in the NYT today on how domestic cats on farms are becoming infected with bird flu

    On dairy farms, cats were infected after drinking unpasteurized milk, also known as raw milk, which contains very high levels of the virus, from sick cows. More than 80 percent of affected dairy farms had cats on their premises, and more than half of those farms reported sick or dead cats, according to federal data released on Thursday.

  154. 154.

    Ken

    @smith: This president-as-king belief is apparently quite common among low-info people, and is as dangerous as the people trying to make it a reality.

    I will admit to occasionally indulging in a fantasy where Biden wins, and the next day the people pushing the “2025 Project” wake up in dungeon cells, with Mel Smith in his albino makeup hissing “You said this is completely legal”.

  155. 155.

    stacib

    @satby: The “great” part of this story (in addition to the young lady’s accomplishments) is that she’s the granddaughter of Dorothy Tillman – a longtime alderman on the south side of Chicago.  Ald. Tillman was known for her hats which were something to see and her advocacy for her ward.

  156. 156.

    rikyrah

    Jennifer “Trump Convicted Felon” Rubin 🇺🇦🇮🇱 (@JRubinBlogger) posted at 7:52 AM on Sun, Jun 16, 2024:
    The Biden family in these past few weeks have demonstrated qualities such as respect, empathy and decency that have long defined “public virtue.” (Even the term seems quaint these days.) For a time, Republicans insisted that presidents needed to embody those characteristics. No more. Now the MAGA Republicans and their warped cult leader celebrate cruelty, vindictiveness and lust for power.

    This gaping moral divide has been nowhere more evident than in the candidates’ (and their followers’) conduct and rhetoric during these two trials. Now the question has been sharpened: Which candidate should we emulate — and what sort of country do we want to live in?
    wapo.st/3KHadhI
    (https://x.com/JRubinBlogger/status/1802323329174356370?s=02)

  163. 163.

    rikyrah

    Ben Meiselas (@meiselasb) posted at 10:06 AM on Sun, Jun 16, 2024:
    The correct way to report that Donald Trump rented out a Black church (with a history of internal litigation) in Detroit and filled it with white people instead of actual congregants to pull another scam is to simply state the facts of what happened versus Trump’s propaganda.
    (https://x.com/meiselasb/status/1802357088041222373?s=02)

  166. 166.

    Reverse tool order

    @O. Felix Culpa:

    A little more on Indian cooking topics:

    Second using a dedicated coffee grinder for spices. Grind a little uncooked white rice once or twice as needed between spices for dry cleanup, discarding the powder.

    Differences are small, but I think it’s worthwhile to seek out a preferred Basmati rice. I like Lal Quilla and get the 10 lb bags. They have “Special Old Malai” on one side and “Amar Singh Chawal Wala” on the other. Bugs growing in a lot of rices can be a problem, so I put them into the freezer, sealed, for 2-3 days. 

    Supermarket spices are often mediocre, whereas Penzeys Spices is a pretty good source either from nearby stores or shipped. Don’t go overboard on individual quantities, spices are light. Bill Penny is an avowed leftist, by the way.

    Making your own ghee from unsalted butter isn’t hard, just a little tedious. Don’t go too far and char the precipitate but do slowly boil off as much water and skim as much foam as you can. Pour hot ghee thru a fine mesh screen and refrigerate.

    Find a good plain yoghurt. If you can get Brown Cow locally, it’s a pretty good choice.

  167. 167.

    Reverse tool order

    A little more on Indian cooking topics:

    Second using a dedicated coffee grinder for spices. Grind a little uncooked white rice once or twice as needed between spices for dry cleanup, discarding the powder.

    Differences are small, but I think it’s worthwhile to seek out a preferred Basmati rice. I like Lal Quilla and get the 10 lb bags. They have “Special Old Malai” on one side and “Amar Singh Chawal Wala” on the other. Bugs growing in a lot of rices can be a problem, so I put them into the freezer, sealed, for 2-3 days. 

    Supermarket spices are often mediocre, whereas Penzeys Spices is a pretty good source either from nearby stores or shipped. Don’t go overboard on individual quantities, spices are light. Bill Penny is an avowed leftist, by the way.

    Making your own ghee from unsalted butter isn’t hard, just a little tedious. Don’t go too far and char the precipitate but do slowly boil off as much water and skim as much foam as you can. Pour hot ghee thru a fine mesh screen and refrigerate.

    Find a good plain yoghurt. If you can get Brown Cow locally, it’s a pretty good choice.

  168. 168.

    Reverse tool order

    A little more on Indian cooking topics:

    Second using a dedicated coffee grinder for spices. Grind a little uncooked white rice once or twice as needed between spices for dry cleanup, discarding the powder.

    Differences are small, but I think it’s worthwhile to seek out a preferred Basmati rice. I like Lal Quilla and get the 10 lb bags. They have “Special Old Malai” on one side and “Amar Singh Chawal Wala” on the other. Bugs growing in a lot of rices can be a problem, so I put them into the freezer, sealed, for 2-3 days. 

    Supermarket spices are often mediocre, whereas Penzeys Spices is a pretty good source either from nearby stores or shipped. Don’t go overboard on individual quantities, spices are light. Bill Penny is an avowed leftist, by the way.

    Making your own ghee from unsalted butter isn’t hard, just a little tedious. Don’t go too far and char the precipitate but do slowly boil off as much water and skim as much foam as you can. Pour hot ghee thru a fine mesh screen and refrigerate.

    Find a good plain yoghurt. If you can get Brown Cow locally, it’s a pretty good choice.

  170. 170.

    Ken

    @rikyrah: MAGA Pastor Robert Morris confesses to ‘moral failure’ after woman claims he began molesting her at 12

    Some say “moral failure”, others say “felony child sexual abuse and rape”.

  171. 171.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @Reverse tool order: Thank you for the suggestions! I’ve seen Brown Cow in our supermarket and will give it a try. There’s an Indian food market nearby. Unfortunately their spices and rice tend to come in large quantities, but I’ll check the basmati brand you mentioned.

  173. 173.

    Layer8Problem

    On LGM, Loomis did his grave thing and identified Walter Matthau as having appeared in the 1950s TV show Mr. Peepers under the stage name of “Wally Cox”. This is wrong, but I’m trying to see what delicately crafted joke I may have missed there.

  177. 177.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    @Baud: I’m reading a YA novel by Kristin Cashore called There Is a Door in This Darkness, and Cashore does a very interesting and brave thing: She writes frankly about politics. The book is set in the fall of 2020, so deep in the pandemic with the Trump/Biden election fast approaching. Cashore makes her characters think of Trump as monstrous. I admire the hell out of that. Usually publishers don’t like you to do that because of the potential to drive away book buyers.

    ETA: The book came out last week, which I don’t think is a coincidence. I think Cashore is doing her bit for Biden’s re-election

  178. 178.

    Baud

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    Usually publishers don’t like you to do that because of the potential to drive away book buyers.

     

    Reminds me about how corporate media chooses to report the news.

  180. 180.

    Bill Arnold

    @Soprano2:

    Also the announcements by companies like Target and Walgreens that they’re rolling back prices on tens of thousands of items.

    Cold reading, they boosted prices in excess of increases in their supply costs, to boost profits immediately post-pandemic-peak, because “everyone was doing it” (all their corporate management friends/acquaintances), and now they’re lowering prices to maintain or increase demand, with a bit of hit to profits.
    Is that your reading too?

  182. 182.

    Villago Delenda Est

    CNN is unrealistically optimistic if they think that they can have a “civilized discourse” with TCFFG/PAB in the room.

  186. 186.

    Reverse tool order

    @O. Felix Culpa: I’ve been using Penney’s spices for something like 40 years. Mail order for most of that time but they opened a store here (Santa Rosa, CA) a few years ago.

    Again, most everything is good and I’ll single out all the imported paprikas, white whole peppercorns, special extra bold black peppercorns, and could keep going on too long.

  189. 189.

    eversor

    As much as I like Joe… what’s this civilians saluting bullshit?

    Done in uniform with a cover only.  Even then, not always!

  192. 192.

    NotMax

    @schrodingers_cat

    Among the multitudinous offerings at Twosleevers are a whole bunch of Indian dishes.

    They also have a cookbook for the Instant Pot dedicated to Indian cuisine. Latest printings should have corrected these boo-boos:

    Indian Instant Pot Twosleevers Cookbook Errata

    Narali Bhat recipe omitted 1.25 cups of water. This was corrected in Kindle version and in reprints.
    Dal Makhani needs 1.5-2 cup of water. This was corrected in Kindle version and in reprints.
    In the print edition, the headnotes and title said Baingan Bharta, but the recipe was for Malai baingan. This was corrected in reprints.
    .

  193. 193.

    wjca

    Both candidates have accepted the network’s invitation and agreed to accept the rules and format of the debate.

    The debate host keeps repeating this.  And every time they do, it makes it just that tiny bit more difficult/awkward for TCFG to back out.  Not impossible, obviously.  But every little bit helps.

  194. 194.

    wjca

    @Matt McIrvin: I think that most Americans–most *people*, probably– don’t actually want to live in a free society; they want to be king. They want an authoritarian state that enforces their personal preferences about how people should behave. That includes many so-called liberals and leftists; it’s just a matter of what those preferences are. Actually believing in freedom for people you don’t like, figuring out the right balance between that and regulating actually harmful behavior, is hard.

    Freedom depends on realizing, however reluctantly, that if someone establishes such a kingdom it won’t be run based on your preferred basis.

    That was true when the country was founded.  It remains true today.  What drives the MAGAts is the belief that their views might actually be mandated.  And, watching the Supreme Court lately, that isn’t as delusional as most of their beluefs.

  195. 195.

    wjca

    @Baud: this fits with my theory that Biden is having a tough time precisely because he represents change at a deeply fundamental level.

    On the other hand, Biden’s superpower is that he looks and sounds (tone, not content) like a safe, steady, unthreatening kind of guy.  Which keeps those who are uncomfortable with change, i.e. most of the population, willing to embrace him when they get in the voting booth.

  196. 196.

    stinger

    People worried about TCFG being muted during a debate must not remember the Dean Scream. Howard Dean, running for president in 2004, was in a room filled with supporters after he’d done better in the Iowa caucuses than expected (third place). The people in the room were cheering continuously and couldn’t actually hear what Dean was saying — he couldn’t even hear himself. So at the climax of his speech — “We’re going to Washington!” — he finished with a “yee-haw!” and an air punch. The media microphone that he was shouting into picked up his words and his “scream” while almost completely muting the audience noise.

    They won’t have any trouble muting the orange gasbag.

  197. 197.

    Miss Bianca

    @eversor: I think that’s another legacy of Zombie St Ronnie. Seems to me he started that “civilian saluting” BS.

  198. 198.

    stinger

    @eversor: ​
     Military regs govern when and how members of the military salute, whether in uniform, under arms, indoor/outdoor, or in civilian dress.

    There are no regulations governing civilians saluting. As a former Army sergeant, long ETSed, I salute whenever I please.

  200. 200.

    Gvg

    @Soprano2: there are always those signs. They don’t usually mean anything. Possibly the price was higher last week.

    You have to look at long term trends on multiple items to know.

    Normally prices don’t go down, they just slow down raising. I think grocery prices were kept too low for years because of competition. Inflation was an excuse to do what they needed to do years ago.

  201. 201.

    Gvg

    @Soprano2: you need baby gates the cat can get through but the dog can’t so the cat has refuge. I usually put the cat food up high when i dog sit. They also sell door straps that hold room doors open about 6 inches so a cat can get through but not most dogs. Also useful for closets with litterboxes.

    High places for cat. Be home more than usual.

  202. 202.

    Captain C

    @Tony Jay:

    How doped-up is Stench going to have to be to avoid a near instant meltdown?

    Keeping him at the right combination of Adderall and sedatives for the hour or two of the debate is going to be a very difficult pharmaceutical needle to thread.  This is even before taking into account Biden jibes which will hit home and possibly cause an eruption.  I wouldn’t be surprised if Biden refers to him as “the convicted felon” and “that felon over there” more than once.

    If I were handling TCFG perhaps implanted web-controlled drug release mechanisms if I was feeling cyberpunk?  (I have no idea if this is technologically possible, also, whatever Dollar Store Dr. Feelgood they got to run the thing may not have the precision or foresight necessary to pull off the feat.)   Of course, the amusement possibilities for hacking such a device during the debate are endless…

  203. 203.

    sab

    @Gvg: The baby gates and straps are a great idea for many households. We would be using them here if the dog wasn’t afraid of the basement. They won’t work in a household with a dementia patient. Her husband can remove them, and they will be dangerous or at least upsetting for him if he can’t remove them.

  204. 204.

    rikyrah

    @Matt McIrvin:

     That includes many so-called liberals and leftists; it’s just a matter of what those preferences are. Actually believing in freedom for people you don’t like, figuring out the right balance between that and regulating actually harmful behavior, is hard.

     

    This makes no sense to me. I never consider freedoms as something that restricts the rights of others. What I consider freedom, as a Black woman, is respecting the lives of others. I’m not taking anyone else’s rights away.

    The right, on the other hand, wants to live as if it’s 1924, which means, as a Black woman, I wouldn’t have any rights.

    So, yeah, if it’s between me and my view of freedom and theirs..I do choose mine. As someone who only has rights because of Amendments to the Constitution, yeah, I’m pretty intolerant of muthaphuckas who want to me to have the same kinds of rights as my grandmother.. who was raised in Jim Crow Mississippi…and, who was a woman that fought for me to have my rights presently.

  205. 205.

    rikyrah

    @Captain C:

    This is even before taking into account Biden jibes which will hit home and possibly cause an eruption.  I wouldn’t be surprised if Biden refers to him as “the convicted felon” and “that felon over there” more than once.

     

    Be petty, Dark Brandon. Be petty.

  207. 207.

    rikyrah

    @Matt McIrvin:

    Came back to say, the level of rage that I feel towards the GOP using laws that were created before I had rights, in trying to take away my rights (the Abortion law in Arizona was done before the ratification of the 13th Amendment. Them bringing under the Comstock Act – 1873, the 13th, 14th, 15th Amendments weren’t even 10 years ratified , and before the ratification of the 19th Amendment)

    can’t even be measured,.

  209. 209.

    ...now I try to be amused

    @rikyrah:

    Be petty, Dark Brandon. Be petty.

    Yes, Dark Brandon, yes. Let your utter contempt for TCFG show, and shoot it straight into my veins.

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