Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Boeing: repeatedly making the case for high speed rail.

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

JFC, are there no editors left at that goddamn rag?

Insiders who complain to politico: please report to the white house office of shut the fuck up.

Rupert, come get your orange boy, you petrified old dinosaur turd.

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

Something needs to be done about our bogus SCOTUS.

Let’s not be the monsters we hate.

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

Fear or fury? The choice is ours.

Republicans seem to think life begins at the candlelight dinner the night before.

It’s a good piece. click on over. but then come back!!

When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.

No one could have predicted…

One lie, alone, tears the fabric of reality.

This chaos was totally avoidable.

Books are my comfort food!

Republican also-rans: four mules fighting over a turnip.

I desperately hope that, yet again, i am wrong.

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

The rest of the comments were smacking Boebert like she was a piñata.

Celebrate the fucking wins.

One way or another, he’s a liar.

Republicans firmly believe having an abortion is a very personal, very private decision between a woman and J.D. Vance.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Wednesday Barely Afternoon Open Thread

Wednesday Barely Afternoon Open Thread

by | 196 Comments

This post is in: 

I’m playing catch-up for clients this week so I don’t have anything to share related to current events, but it looks like we can use any open thread.

I went to the farmer’s market, came home, started a load of laundry, and washed my breakfast dishes and silverware.  Sat down to work at the computer, started typing, and without really noticing, I apparently kept wiping my left hand on my pants or shirt.  Then I consciously notice the stickiness so I started to get up to wash my hands, and I see blood on my keyboard, blood smeared all over the left side of my shirt, blood on the left side of my pants.

Super bummed about the capris because I had just found them yesterday when I was starting to organize my closet room!  I love them and I hadn’t seen them for at least a couple of summers, maybe more!

Anyway I had apparently cut my finger on… something?

Anyway, that’s all I can type one-handed.

Open thread!

Update: Okay, I’ll add this as a mood lifter, because I saw it just now and laughed out loud.

Reader Interactions

196Comments

  1. 1.

    Jeffro

    Sorry to hear about the finger (and Capris!) WG

    I will be productive for you.  Just as soon as I get back from lunch.  =)

  4. 4.

    ArchTeryx

    Oh God. Finger wounds bleed like crazy. I hope you got treatment for it – they often need to be glued back together in an Urgent Care or ER to get them to stop bleeding.

  6. 6.

    TBone

    Ice water can remove blood stains from most fabrics.  Must be icy.  Hope you heal quickly!

  8. 8.

    Maxim

    Pretty sure there is something (?) that is effective for getting blood out of clothing … google says soak in cold water, apply detergent to the stain, scrub, rinse, launder. Other suggestions include enzymatic cleaners and hydrogen peroxide.

  9. 9.

    WaterGirl

    Capris now in the sink, running ice cold water over them for a few minutes.  I did sorry right away with the enzyme stuff I use for cat puke on r=the carpet,  Blood stains were still bright read when i went back to look, but some are fading i the icy water.  Thanks for the tips.

  10. 10.

    WaterGirl

    @ArchTeryx: I have it wrapped in paper towels, thumb and finger applying pressure.  Not taking to off yet, but not seeing new blood in the outside of the paper towel.

    I can’t pop the capris in the washer, because I had just started a load of laundry.

  13. 13.

    Torrey

    I’m sorry about your finger.
    There are a number of ways to remove blood from fabric, so I wouldn’t give up on those capris just yet. (I speak from experience.) Here’s one quick list. I’ve used Zout, meat tenderizer and hydrogen peroxide successfully, but be aware that peroxide can bleach fabric. I’ve also used regular laundry detergent, although the site I linked points out that there are detergents specifically advertised for stain removal.

  14. 14.

    WaterGirl

    @Jackie: Can I just add the oxy to the washer or do i have to scrub?  Still only one handed.

    This does mean that I get to eat the double chocolate muffin now, that I had bought for tomorrow, right?

  15. 15.

    raven

    I just came from the cardiologist for my asymptomatic afib. They are going to shock my heart in three weeks because they want me to take this really expensive Xarelto!

  17. 17.

    brendancalling

    You wanna talk about cuts and blood? I’m working for a buddy of mine this summer, demolishing a bathroom. Tile tub surround, new tile cemented over old tile on the floor, w/ 2”-3” of heavy concrete underneath. I have cuts on my fingers, a deep gash on my wrist, and a bunch of scratches. Still better than teaching.

    On that topic, my gal and I are very nervous about the election and working on plan B. For me, this means getting certified to teach English abroad. A buddy of mine does this, and it’s worked well for him. He’s lived in a bunch of cool places.

    Finally, we scored a nice interview at the Progress Pondcast w/ PA state rep Joe a Hohenstein. Gotta schedule the session, but it’ll be a good one!

  18. 18.

    TaMara

    Anyway I had apparently cut my finger on… something?

    I did that one time with a toe – and after seeing a blood trail checked every damn critters’ feet before thinking to look at my own foot. LOL

  19. 19.

    ArchTeryx

    @WaterGirl: Good. It must have been a shallow cut then, like a paper cut. Those still bleed a LOT, but they are easier to plug up with a clot, so putting pressure on it is exactly the right thing to do.

    Everyone’s talking about your clothes but nobody is talking about your keyboard. What kind of keyboard was it? I use a custom model myself (ASUS Azoth) so if I got blood on it, I could disassemble it, clean the blood off the metal holder plate, replace any contaminated switches and wash the keycaps. But if it’s a one-piece keyboard it might have to be replaced. 😐

  22. 22.

    Spanky

    @raven: Gah! I know it’s a fairly standard procedure now, but the thought of it is enough to get my heart racing.  My best to you.

  24. 24.

    Doctor Science

    WG — very long-time reader, rare commenter here. How do I contact you re: becoming a 4D-WI Angel? Or you can contact me via the email w/this comment.

  25. 25.

    Spanky

    Re: the Jack Smith tweet, I spent the morning planting oak seedlings, then picked a bunch of wineberries and ate ’em with homemade ice cream a friend brought along. A good day so far.

    Don’t fuck it up, Balloon Juice!

  26. 26.

    catclub

    Wait, now another frontpager is becoming JCole-like?
    That started like his recent posts. Were you mowing?

  27. 27.

    raven

    @Spanky: This is probably dumb but I’ve been sober for 30 years and the only buzz I’ve gotten in that time is when I get a colonoscopy! Apparently this is the same drug so the hell with it, light me up!

  28. 28.

    UncleEbeneezer

    The political press was like, “LOL, KHIVE is for Biden.” I have a personal response, mixed w/ an objective one. Both boil down to: you don’t understand KHIVE. I’m not responding to the political press right now, but I’ll make some points, here.

    The political press does not understand KHIVE, which has never been more obvious than their “shock” at KHIVE standing by Biden. No one who understands KHIVE would be shocked by this. The basis of KHIVE is solidarity. If you don’t “get” this, you shouldn’t report on KHIVE.

    KHIVE started as an effort to provide truth about a Black woman–VP Kamala Harris–against voluminous inaccurate anti-Harris attacks. I have seen many members say this is b/c they saw what happened to HRC. Many prominent KHIVERs are Black &/or gay. It’s a coalition.

    And it’s not just a coalition that has always had harmony. Members of KHIVE argue w/ one another. Additionally KHIVE & Buttigieg supporters weren’t perfectly aligned in the 2019 primary, which is to be expected. What is unique is what happened next.

    KHIVE & Buttigieg fans, instead of splintering into groups that rage against each other, came together. Allyships were created everywhere. This is one of the more inspiring stories to arise from our frequently messy democracy.

    In an age where we pit our identities against each other through our allegiances to politicians: KHIVE & Buttigieg supporters, after a fiery primary, came together. They then began–not thoughtlessly, but after debate–to organize around Joe Biden. They haven’t stopped.

    But this inspiring story, which occurs in truly ugly times, does not stop there. This coalition was, in fact, the strongest coalition to come out in support of Jews during rising antisemitism. I wrote about this here.

    KHIVE stood up for Jews in a way that white gentiles were scared to do. That’s a story. And it’s a story that intersects w/ the story of their coalition w/ Buttigieg supporters, as well as their support for Joe Biden. KHIVE is about the truth. KHIVE is about solidarity.

    Reporters look at KHIVE & say, “Oh, it’s just KHIVE.” They don’t know KHIVE. If they wanted a good socio-political story, they would see the solidarity & truth at the heart of the movement. They would see intersections w/ Civil Rights movements everywhere. You stand up for people

    This is a simple truth, to me, as an observer: When no one else was doing it, KHIVE stood up against antisemitism. If you can’t see how that type of solidarity reflects on them as a movement, as well as their movement’s ties to history, you’re not gonna see the truth.

    Here is where, for me, the personal blends w/ the objective truth. For me, personally, this story has been inspiring. But, even if it hadn’t been, I would still see the truth: KHIVE is interested in facts & coalitions. They are also interested in standing up against injustice.

    KHIVE, in the great tradition of American Civil Rights groups, is enlivened by solidarity: You don’t throw good people under the bus for no reason. You don’t give in to bigotry. You stand up for Truth. You stand up to Justice. That’s KHIVE.

    You don’t have to endorse every action of KHIVE to see this. You look for the patterns. The merging w/ Buttigieg supporters. The calling out of antisemitism. And, now, the support for the unfairly attacked President Joe Biden. That’s KHIVE.

    The political press is right now commenting on being shocked KHIVE supports Biden. That’s bc they misunderstand & disrespect this group. They are not qualified to give political commentary if they don’t understand that truth & solidarity have always been at the heart of it.

    The (white) American political press does not see KHIVE for what it is. They don’t have to be personally inspired, like I am. But, to be objective, they do have to be well-researched & informed. They think KHIVE is blind allegiance to Harris; it’s so fucking far from that.

    KHIVE is, again, allegiance to solidarity + facts, in equal order. They fact-checked on Harris & years later they stopped antisemites in their tracks. Now they’re standing up for an unfairly maligned President in Joe Biden. Don’t talk about them if you can’t see this pattern.

  32. 32.

    evodevo

    @raven: Have they tried Amiodarone on you yet (provided there aren’t contraindications – it’s one of those liver toxic meds).  Has worked for two weeks on my recalcitrant afib, that I’ve had for years (gotten REALLY bad in the last 6 months, after being only intermittent for years).  I’ve had to try it because they won’t do my knee replacement in 2 weeks if I’m in afib.  Be aware there are a lot of drug interactions with it, so read up.

  33. 33.

    WaterGirl

    Okay, capris are in the washer with foxy-clean.  they looked pretty good when they came out of the icy water, but they were wet so it was kind of hard to tell.

    *and the double-chocolate muffin was really fresh, so probably =better today than it would have been tomorrow!

    **foxy-clean was an autocorrect, but fun so I left it.

  36. 36.

    raven

    @evodevo: The doc, who I really liked, wants to do the shock first. He asked me what I thought and I said, “I believe in western medicine  and I’ll do what you recommend”! He feels the meds route is #2

     

    eta. I’m on a number of meds so maybe that’s it.

  38. 38.

    evodevo

    @raven:  Yeah…it has a LOT of interactions.  I had to go off my toenail fungus stuff because they don’t get along.  Also, I have to be careful taking Tylenol – don’t want to screw up my liver. I don’t think it gets along with BP meds either.  We’ll see…

  40. 40.

    WaterGirl

    I sprayed both the top I was wearing and the capris with the enzyme stuff, but only did the ice water bath with the capris.  They are both in the wash with the foxy-oxy. :-)  So we will have our own little experiment re: the icy water.

    Thanks for all the tips!  I will report back on the results.

  42. 42.

    ArchTeryx

    @WaterGirl: I’m a furry. Believe me, whatever your brain came up with isn’t half as bad as what I’ve seen from that fandom. We’re unfairly maligned by the media, but man, some people make it really hard not to malign them.

  43. 43.

    JML

    Always remember that the biggest reason the media constantly beats the “Biden Is Old” drum is…they got nothing else.

    Seriously, what else do you go after Joe Biden for? Hunter? he’s a dad who loves his son, even when said son is an addict and fuckup. That doesn’t play and makes them sound cruel stupid, and inhuman.

    They could try and hammer him on the Afghanistan withdrawal, but they tried that one and no one cared that their overseas trips and chance to wear camo and pretend they were in danger were cancelled. The fact that it was also built on a lie keeps the foundation crumbling on that one.

    I mean what else is there for them to trash Biden on that doesn’t throw them under the bus with him?

    he’s been a very successful president, the economy is good, and he’s done it the face of GOP psychosis and unheard of intransigence (it’s literally worse than the Obama years, which were really bad).

    the only thing they have on him is he’s old.

  44. 44.

    jonas

    Since it’s an open thread I’ll continue with my occasional series on retail bankruptcies that are inevitably tied to private equity. Today’s featured Chapter 11 filing: Bob’s Stores, a well-known New England discount sportswear chain. Here’s CNN Business:

    Bob’s started in 1954 in Connecticut, when it was originally called “Bob’s Surplus.” It was acquired by Marshalls and T.J.Maxx’s parent company TJX in 2003 and was later sold to private equity firms five years later. In 2022, Bob’s Stores was sold to GoDigital Media Group.
    Bob’s joins a growing number of retail bankruptcies in 2024, spurred from a slowdown in consumer spending and rising inflation.

    Right. Inflation. This writer really drilled down into the story.
    Yahoo Finance  at least points out that the real problem was the mountain of debt the poor company was carrying, but still, like the business journalism pros that they are, buries the lede again close to the very bottom of their article:

    Over the years, some sports retailers have faded into the sunset, such as Sport Chalet, MC Sports, and Sports Authority. Modell’s Sporting Goods was acquired by private equity firm Retail Ecommerce Ventures after its bankruptcy filing, and is now an online operation.

    Hmmm. I *wonder* if there’s a connection between these things?

  47. 47.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @UncleEbeneezer: I will only add that this tracks with the Khive people I know in real life.  They put coalitions ahead of their personal feelings about a candidate.  I’ve seen them totally get behind candidates who are more Conservative or more Progressive than they’d like, for the greater good.  Candidates they have strong disagreements with on policing, housing, etc.  And I have no doubt that if Bernie, Warren or AOC were in Biden’s position, they would be standing with them, not bashing or demanding they step down.  Of course Khive (like any group) has people who go overboard and act shitty towards others, especially online.  But as a group, I respect them and think they are a great model for the greater Dem Coalition.

    And they are definitely one of the only groups whose members have been willing to condemn Anti-Semitism AND Hamas, AND Israel’s oppression of Palestinians.

  48. 48.

    Baud

    @UncleEbeneezer:

    Of course Khive (like any group) has people who go overboard and act shitty towards others, especially online

     
    Thankfully, that would be never happen here.

  49. 49.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    Everybody get ready for Terror Boom Bomb Time!

    Fireworks from a dog’s point of view

    Hello, my name is Birch. I belong to James Lileks, who has the day off. I decided to write his column. On behalf of all of us in the dog community, I beg you to listen: Terror Boom Bomb Time is coming up and we dogs are begging you to stop it.

    We have no idea what’s going on and it scares the heck out of all of us, except for Winnie up the street — he’s like a beer barrel with fur who wouldn’t flinch if a meteor landed next to him. The guy’s so chill his butt smells like ice cream. But the rest of us live in dread and fear, because this is the worst time of the year. And I say that as a dog with no sense of linear time at all, so you know previous July 4ths have left an impression.

    Look at it from our point of view. It’s a nice night. We’re all outside, guests are over, the grill’s working overtime and we all are having a good time. Then, all of a sudden, there’s a sound we can’t explain. Something really big just made a huge boom so loud that we can feel it in our guts. Or, worse, a whoosh and a shriek. Or a lot of short, buzzing sounds like when your mouth is full of bees.

    And none of you humans seem at all bothered. By any of it.

    I’m, like, “Hello? Did you not hear that? Do you not smell that? I know you have bad ears and you couldn’t smell a dead deer if it was a mile in front of you, but I’ve got thick flaps of skin and fur hanging over my ears and I heard it. Every bang, boom and hiss. I’m convinced we’re all in terrible danger. It could be that the world is ending. Let’s find shelter! Now!”

    But you humans just laugh and look at the sky.

    Now, I’m used to you people not understanding threat assessment. Every day the mailman comes to kill us and I’m the only one who recognizes the threat. I do, because that’s my job. So I respond appropriately. And somehow I’m misbehaving, being shushed and get a Dramamine wrapped in cheese — like that’s going to help. Might as well dip a towel in 3.2 beer and let me chew on it for a while.

    When Independence Day rolls around, you think you’re doing me a big favor by putting me in the Thunder Jacket. It’s supposed to give me comfort because it’s tight. If you were terrified because a mob is heading down the street setting everything on fire, would you think “Well, I’d better put on some pants I wore in high school.”
    Are you thinking that a tight jacket reminds us of our mother disciplining us?

    Newsflash, Dr. Doolittle: When I was a puppy my mom didn’t cinch me up in Saran Wrap when I was scared. And then you have the nerve to stand there and laugh at me as I stand immobile, too embarrassed to move.

    I understand that this is how you celebrate your independence from England. I mean, I have no idea what that means, but neither do a third of the morons making the Terror Booms, and they don’t have the excuse of being a dog, but that’s another issue.

    Point is, we dogs lived with this for too long, and this year we finally did something about it.

    You might have noticed that there is no official Minneapolis fireworks this year. Gosh, I wonder how that happened. Not saying we used our influence with city officials. Not saying we didn’t.

    But Minneapolis, for one, is switching to a laser show. A blessedly quiet laser show. No Terror Booms from downtown. And while I know there will still be Bad Sounds, it’s a start.

    It’s the cats’ turn this year. A laser show? Let the cats go nuts for once.

    https://www.startribune.com/fireworks-from-a-dogs-point-of-view/600287085/

  50. 50.

    Bill Arnold

    The Times of India is on it! (Also one or a few other India press outlets. Not much else, as of 10 minutes ago.)
    ‘Before marrying Melania in 2005’: What new documents claim about Trump-Epstein – New documents which were unreleased so far claim that Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein were closer than it was believed. Transcripts show Trump called Epstein many times (TOI World Desk, Jul 3, 2024)

    According to reports the Trump phone messages, now released, were in a file marked ‘Triangle’ which was the code for the Epstein case.
    Before marrying Melania in 2005, Trump was calling Jeffrey Epstein on the regular in 2004.

  51. 51.

    JPL

    Well younger imp just climbed on my lap. Gave me a hug and then peed .   That’s how my day is going

  52. 52.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @JML:

    Always remember that the biggest reason the media constantly beats the “Biden Is Old” drum is…they got nothing else.

    Also, they’ve seen Very Online Progressives hammering this critique for 3+ years so they know there’s a significant appetite/market for it.

  54. 54.

    catfishncod

    I just had a brainstorm.

    The problem isn’t Biden, or Biden being old. The media are making things worse, but they’re not the heart of the problem.

    The problem is that Biden’s debate prep team crapped the bed, and their bosses are trying to avoid responsibility for a major failure.

    Chuck the handlers and let the man be himself. If he has senior moments? Make him a martyr: he’d rather be A25’d for dementia than let the tyrant return. If he really is failing? He can resign January 21st in favor of Kamala.

    Project 2025 matters more than the debate performance, and SCOTUS matters more than Project 2025, and the axis of authoritarians trying to tear the USA down and restore the world of aristocracy matters more than SCOTUS.

    Eyes. On. The. Prize.

  55. 55.

    Villago Delenda Est

    So sad that Ooozy and the Convicted Felon had bad days.  My heart pumps buttermilk for them.

  59. 59.

    Spanky

    @JPL: So, it’s Bodily Fluids On Pants Day at Balloon Juice,  eh? Guess I’d better check my drawers

  60. 60.

    BarcaChicago

    Just got official notice that my volunteer application has been approved to work at the convention here in Chicago. Pretty excited :-))

  61. 61.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @jonas: The business media, like the political media, does the bidding of billionaire parasites.

    The real problem in this country is the billionaires.

  62. 62.

    Nelle

    @WaterGirl: Way, way off topic, but reminded me of our current challenge.  We frequently care for our grandchildren.  The two y.o. grandson loves me to sing “The fox went out one winter’s night, prayed for the moon to give him light.”  So he goes around saying, Fox!  Fox!  Except he can’t quite say the x at the end, so he is actually saying, “Fok!  Fok!”  First, I had to explain that to his parents.  Next week, he starts a new daycare.  At the Presbyterian church.  Fokssss  Foksss, we coach.  No luck on that.  Meanwhile, we are quite charmed that a 2 y.o. has caught the national zeitgeist so accurately.

  64. 64.

    jowriter

    @WaterGirl: Do be careful and consider urgent care.  My daughter wounded her middle finger (such a necessary digit!) using a mandolin for slicing carrots and wound up needing surgery.  She had a great doc and just finished PT.  I hope you’re luckier.  The whole mess took about 3 months to get right, and she’s still got to exercise to improve the finger.  Wishing you a much better outcome and quick healing.

  65. 65.

    Josie

    Loved Jack E. Smith’s tweet.
    My son came in yesterday to see what I was doing on the computer and was happy to see me working on my book. He said he had been afraid I was doom scrolling on politics and would get depressed. So this is one upside of the mess we are in. i am in retreat from it all, and my book is getting written. I had been suffering a bit of writer’s block that has evaporated. I hope everyone can find something to lessen the pain.

  66. 66.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    @jonas:

    Hmmm. I *wonder* if there’s a connection between these things?

    The economic, regulatory capture over the first 20 years of my voting life that has allowed this practice to occur is yet another legacy of Ronald Fucking Reagan that we’ll seemingly never undo.

    Fucking vulture capitalists.

    I’m actually amazed that Guitar Center is still around.  Rmoney’s vulture capitalist firm bought them out and has been trying for years to squeeze them dry and toss them aside but haven’t managed it…yet.

    https://5mag.net/features/guitar-center-bankruptcy-debt/

  67. 67.

    Jackie

    @WaterGirl:

    Can I just add the oxy to the washer or do i have to scrub?  Still only one handed.

    Since you’ve presoaked, I’d say yes. Soak in the oxy for awhile before washing. DON’T put in the dryer! You may have to repeat the soaking. Air dry so if there’s any faint blood residue, it won’t set.

    I also discovered an OxyClean gel stick I swear by. It removes grease, red sauce, mustard, red wine, and, yes, blood (even dried) and everything I’ve tried it on. I can even wait a few days before washing! It’s miraculous!

    Also too, grass stains and ground in dirt😁

  68. 68.

    BR

    @catfishncod: ​
    Yes, I agree. As long as Biden can maintain the self awareness to say “hey, my voice is a bit hoarse, but the other guy is a loser and liar and cheat” every once in a while and just be out there doing tons of interviews, especially with social media types, that’s great. No more handlers.

  69. 69.

    ArchTeryx

    @comrade scotts agenda of rage: The way I handle animals during Fireworks Season is, if they get scared like that, I spend my time with them in the quietest room in the house, talk soothingly to them, pet them, give them treats to distract them. It lets them know on an instinctive level that the Terror Booms are nothing to be afraid of. That’s especially important with dogs, who follow their “packfather’s” lead. Ridiculing them just makes it worse – they don’t understand at all. But being physically close, soothing them, feeding them their favorite treats? It really helps to ease the terror. Works with cats, rabbits, and birds, too. Just be there for them. It’s not a panacea, but it really reduces the trauma

    I’ve turned my orange cat from terrified to sleeping in my lap during the worst of the Terror Boom time. It isn’t rocket surgery. It works – if you care about your critters.

  70. 70.

    Trollhattan

    @comrade scotts agenda of rage:

    Lileks, that’s a name I’ve not seen in a long time. A very funny early blogger who went awry after 9-11 and I had to quit with prejudice.

    It’s a good and proper piece. Our Dalmatians were utterly terrified by the 4th (and new year, etc.) and we are very fortunate to now have a bird dog who simply does not care. What a difference.

    Knowing how badly some dogs react I have acquired their disdain for fireworks in general, including the neighborhood  kind. Close the doors and windows and crank the hi-fi. It’s going to be a bazillion degrees this year in any case, and wildfires are popping everywhere.

  71. 71.

    gene108

    Rinse the bloodstained parts of the capris in cold water, then directly pour a little laundry detergent on the bloodstain, and rub the detergent into the fabric.

    Add detergent to the washing machine and wash in cold water. Cold water works best to remove bloodstains.

    I have had practice with this when I was on dialysis and it worked every time.

  73. 73.

    Maxim

    @Nelle: The daughter of a friend of mine, at around 2 years of age, pronounced “truck” starting with an F instead of the Tr. “Mommy, look at the big ___!”

    Nice Christian family. Not embarrassing at all. But thankfully her mom did laugh about it.

  74. 74.

    rikyrah

    BrooklynDad_Defiant! (@mmpadellan) posted at 10:56 PM on Tue, Jul 02, 2024:
    Imagine if news outlets like @CNN and @nytimes went after trump with the same kind of breathless fervor that they’ve been going after President Biden with, the polls would be very different.

    It’s almost like they want trump back in office, because that fear cocktail drives up their views and clicks.

    Their shameless bullshit started long before the debate, and continues unabated. Call them out on it.

    They did the SAME shit to Hillary Clinton in 2016, and it’s absolutely sickening. #BoycottCNN
    (https://x.com/mmpadellan/status/1808349070139797584?t=BU46W-cXGK_k3ZTOGhvyjg&s=03)

  76. 76.

    rikyrah

    Lori Granito  (@lorigspeaks) posted at 7:40 AM on Wed, Jul 03, 2024:
    The MSM are not used to this much push back from Democrats (even though Republicans call them enemies of the people). That’s why they’re throwing out words like ‘M.AGA lite’ & ‘gaslighting’ while refusing to cover TFG’s crazy shit & glossing over Project 2025. Keep the pressure! https://t.co/8jv2v2WUqM
    (https://x.com/lorigspeaks/status/1808481054354788575?t=z3HAmadns0Lh6me368Oy3Q&s=03)

  77. 77.

    UncleEbeneezer

    Sweet Jesus, when even Steve Inskeep gets it…

    As a reader I don’t feel the headline matches the lead paragraphs.

    The lead gives me an impression he is saying, I know I have to get the next few days really right.

    The headline gives me an impression he is saying, I am deciding whether to get out.

    Incidentally, this is exactly the sort of honesty, self-awareness and re-calibration that Biden critics were saying was all they really wanted to see, just yesterday.

  78. 78.

    Doc Sardonic

    @raven: They want you to take Xarelto, tell them you will take Warfarin. Pain in the butt because you have to get your levels checked, but there is a home test that they can set up for you. Warfarin is also adjustable, so don’t buy into the you have to limit your diet. Any questions about afib feel free to ask, been dealing with it for 15 years or so.

  82. 82.

    Kay

    Rochester, N.Y.)—This week, Congressman Joe Morelle announced he is introducing a constitutional amendment to reverse the United States Supreme Court’s decision to provide former president Trump with immunity in Trump v. United States. Congressman Morelle serves as the lead Democrat on the Committee on House Administration, which has oversight over federal elections.

    “I am introducing a constitutional amendment to reverse the Supreme Court’s catastrophic decision and ensure no president is above the law. This amendment will do what they failed to do—prioritize our democracy,” said Congressman Joe Morelle. “The Supreme Court decision will cause a seismic shift in the powers of the presidency unless we take immediate action to ensure accountability, integrity, and justice prevail.”

    Bravo. Clap, clap, clap. It doesn’t have to work. It’s about process. It’s about drawing attention to an absolutely obscene power grab by the Republican Party and their judges that 70% of people oppose.
    Do one of these every 2 hours.

  83. 83.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @rikyrah: And Obama, and Kerry, and Gore.  Gore, to me, was the first version of the template.  Though I’m sure people could make good arguments for The Clintons (Bill AND Hillary in the 90’s) too.

  85. 85.

    Doc Sardonic

    @evodevo: Amiodarone is some gnarly shit. If it works, it can be great short term. It also has an interesting side effect, it can potentially turn you into a Smurf, literally turn you blue.

  88. 88.

    Bill Arnold

    @rikyrah:

    Imagine if news outlets like @CNN and @nytimes went after trump with the same kind of breathless fervor that they’ve been going after President Biden with, the polls would be very different.

    They do not attack Trump, because they are literally cowards.
    They are afraid of retribution if Trump wins, and not afraid of retribution if Biden wins.
    Also, most reporting staff fear being fired for criticizing Trump, because most of their bosses are Trump supporters for reasons of greed.

  90. 90.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    @UncleEbeneezer:

    Alien Pod people have taken him over.  It’s the only explanation.

    I’m sure he’ll revert to form in 3…2…1

  92. 92.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @rikyrah: This too!  Anyone who thinks the Media (or Progressives) won’t continue talking shit about Kamala right up until Election Day, hasn’t been paying attention.

  93. 93.

    Kay

    This immunity decision could be a Dobbs. Please, please, please put the smartest and most aggressive congressional Democrats on it and their political staff and come up with a cohesive plan to just pound it.

    We need this. They can execute it perfectly. Hit it out of the park.

  94. 94.

    Chris Johnson

    @rikyrah: I’ve been saying for ages that I thought Trump and Epstein were both working for Russia in different ways, as a kompromat/influence machine.

    Of course that would require that Donald Trump was tied to Epstein, and many other things besides. For instance, one might ask how such an operation might gain influence over major New York City-based institutions, and what that might look like, many years later.

    Also, keep an eye on Rudy Guiliani. I think he had a strangely direct way of getting rid of the Italian Mob, which was to turn the city over to the Russian Mob. But then if that was true you’d expect him to be working with Epstein and Trump, which is surely a lot to ask.

  97. 97.

    CaseyL

    Well, in the course of this email discussion I’ve been having with my Aunt, I said, “OK, let’s play this game.  Walk me through what happens…” and went on about tossing Biden/Harris aside in favor of White Savior Gavin Newsom/Somebody-maybe-Harris.

    I said “Here we go sailing into the election having booted the most successful Democratic President since FDR and alienating the two most loyal and important voting blocs in the Democratic Party.  The MSM has all the material it needs for 3 months of endless ‘Democrats in Disarray’ stories.  What could possibly go wrong?”

    As I said to her, I feel like Cassandra and/or Laocoon.

  99. 99.

    Kay

    Media and Republicans thought Dobbs didn’t matter either and only covered it in response to the public – they were slow and wrong.

    Make immunity the same.

  100. 100.

    LanceThruster

    Repeated hydrogen peroxide and cold rinse for the blood stains, and an OxyClean soak later (mix the solution hot but chill before soaking). I’ve salvaged a number of garments this way.

  101. 101.

    Bill Arnold

    @UncleEbeneezer:
    My twitter reply to that:

    Have a cookie!
    Seriously; the NYTimes has regularly been committing this sort of wild mismatch between the headline and the lead for the USA political coverage for at least the past year.
    Sometimes the NYTimes headlines change; see @nyt_diff which often catches the changes.

  103. 103.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @rikyrah: Age is the reason they can’t support Biden.  Palestine would be the reason they can’t support Kamala.  Mark my words if (heaven forbid) Biden ever decides to bail.

  104. 104.

    Jeffro

    @Kay:  It doesn’t have to work. It’s about process. It’s about drawing attention to an absolutely obscene power grab by the Republican Party and their judges that 70% of people oppose.
    Do one of these every 2 hours.

    I like this approach, whether it’s amendments or legislation or just simple performance art (like waving around a mocked-up arrest warrant for Clarence Thomas, for bribery)

    The GOP is utterly corrupt and the vast majority of Americans do NOT agree with their constant tortured twisting of our democracy as they try to hold on to power.

  105. 105.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    @Trollhattan:

    I also remember lileks from the early days of blogging and also bailed on him at some point.  That column is from last year and prompted me to re-look at his material and gave it a pass.  Nothing off-the-rails like his support for the Iraq war but nothing that grabbed me aside from Terror Boom Bomb Time.

    The Terror Booms people bitch about here are the neighborhood kind and the split is predictably between all the newcomers of the last 8-10 years and the remaining long-time residents.

    Of our remaining two cats, the old blind one, who’s always been a timid thing, could care less.  You can run the vacuum next to here while she’s sleeping and she doesn’t care.  She scoffs at Terror Booms.

    The much younger one, aka Satan’s Handmaiden, who is really the only “jerk” cat we’ve ever had over 40+ years of being together and having craptons of cats, is scared shitless of the neighborhood Terror Booms.  She’s scared shitless of thunderstorms too.

  107. 107.

    TBone

    @WaterGirl: DON’T PUT THEM IN THE DRYER.  Any stain that could have been further worked on after washing will set permanently in the heat.

    Let them hang dry and see how effective the first stain removal attempt was – ivory bar soap and ice water together should remove any residual discoloration.  Soak in ice water, rub the bar of soap vigorously into the fabric, and wash the soap out with ice water

    Ice water works to break the protein bonds in blood, and works on most any protein-based stain, especially with a bar of soap.

  109. 109.

    Barbara

    @Doc Sardonic: I am not a doctor, but my mother took Eliquis, and I have spent a lot of time looking at whether she might have been better off with Coumadin.  The bottom line seemed to be that Coumadin is more likely to cause bleeding but the bleeding can be controlled and the dose adjusted.  If you have bleeding with Eliquis or the other drugs in the same class, you are at high risk, and if you stop the drug (which you have to do if you are bleeding) you then become at high risk for stroke.

    I hope I never have to take these drugs.

  111. 111.

    Jackie

    Has this latest Biden ad been posted yet?

    https://youtu.be/O-gY2e4j1jg?si=rXpLEDWoVCtly_2F

    The ad will be part of a seven-figure buy focused on all the major battleground areas, according to a Biden campaign official.

    It will run on networkssuch as ESPN, TNT, Bravo, FX, Freeform and Comedy Central that have younger, diverse audiences and air during highly-watched programming like sporting events and national news.

    https://www.axios.com/2024/07/03/joe-biden-campaign-election-ad-supreme-court-immunity-trump

  114. 114.

    Mr. Bemused Senior

    @Chris Johnson: Also, keep an eye on Rudy Guiliani. I think he had a strangely direct way of getting rid of the Italian Mob, which was to turn the city over to the Russian Mob.

    That certainly was the result. I leave to others speculation about the intent.

  115. 115.

    Jeffro

    @Jeffro: if we had a news media, it might find that it’s important to report that majorities of Americans agree with Biden/Harris on 27 of 28 policies.  Majorities agree with trump on 9 out of those 28.

    YouGov via WaPo

    27 vs 9.  Biden nearly batting 1.000 in terms of giving Americans what they want.

    (Not asked in that same YouGov poll: “Have you heard that Biden doesn’t want or believe in “immunity” even though he’s the sitting president and could – according to SCOTUS – drone-strike his opponent?”)

  116. 116.

    Another Scott

    Finger cuts are annoying. My father told me of a time having to spend an hour or more with the edge of some scissors roughening up the edges of manila folders to prevent papercuts because the PTB decided to save a few cents on cheaper ones… :-/ Heal quickly!

    Meanwhile, …

    Fred Wellman
    @FPWellman
    2h

    I’ve seen a lot of people telling me that this story means they think Biden is weak so they want him in the election. No…you’re missing the goal here. What they are doing is declaring how they will conduct a coordinated lawfare campaign to screw the Democratic nominee.

    First it will be this lawsuit. In close order various Republican AG’s will sue the DNC on behalf of their citizens “who voted in good faith in the Primary for Joe Biden.” Then they will launch coordinated campaigns to split the Democratic coalition. “See how they are treating Kamala?” “Why didn’t they think California’s governor leading the 3rd largest economy in the world should be nominee.” it will be relentless and targeted to get people to stay home. Millions of dark money will go to third party candidates. Suddenly RFK Jr. will miraculously have the resources to get on every ballot…on and on and on.

    They don’t care who is on the ballot. They want us to spend time, money, and anger on each other and on defense so Trump simply strolls into the White House with 45% of the vote.

    The Biden campaign needs to stop nevel gazing and get back in the fight. We all need to stop eating each other alive and remember the real enemy to our democracy is the one’s cheering this on in Florida.

    Jul 3, 2024 · 3:31 PM UTC

    +1 except for the Biden navel gazing. He’s not doing that – he’s out there doing the job and also campaigning nearly every day.

    None of the arguments on the other side are in good faith. We’ve known this ever since they figured they could divide Democrats over abortion in the 1970s. It’s all about them – the minority – figuring out how they can gain and maintain power. Nothing is too radical, nothing is too outrageous, nothing is too ridiculous for them to try.

    Eyes on the prizes.

    (via Angry_Staffer)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  119. 119.

    Chris Johnson

    @rikyrah: Those aren’t lefties. When Russians run a massive propaganda campaign, they manage talking points to try and get what they want, and there are only so many column inches, only so many trolls and troll-echoing targets they can use to convey the intended message. And usually, there are specialized messages for different demographics, because usually the goal is to set different factions against each other to make ’em fight.

    And then every now and then something happens, and it becomes necessary for all the different puppets to shout with one voice.

    That’s when you see who’s who.

  120. 120.

    BlueDWarrior

    I haven’t been partaking of a lot of Cable News since the debate since it was very predictable that 90% of it would be “Biden is an old feeble man, wouldn’t it be just peachy if someone shoved him down the stairs and let someone younger and fresher take over?”

     

    And as many smarter-than-me people have pointed out: 1) unless the new candidate is Kamala Harris they can’t get the Biden campaigns money, and there is even a question if it is her.

    2) Is it really so obvious that a new candidate would change the race that dramatically? Because I can’t see anyone in current National Politics that would suddenly have a sustainable 5 pt lead over Trump in Michigan per se, at least not immediately off the bat.

    3) If it is not clear and apparent that Biden is stepping out of the race because it is his and his decision alone, does his support transfer over by default? A lot of median Democrats specifically picked Biden over everyone else in 2020. It’s a lot of assume you can just run a shell game on the top of the ticket and whole coalition would just accept the shiny new face, whoever that was.

  122. 122.

    rikyrah

    WG,

     

    please go to the doctor.

    Peanut had a spider/bug  bite last week, and remembering what happened to Ozark’s wife, I went into hysterics, forcing her parents to take her to Urgent Care. She’s fine, but, I needed her to be safe, not sorry.

  123. 123.

    Suzanne

    Can I complain about Marie Gluesenkamp Perez for a minute?! God. She was all over my social media, trying to drum up support for the “Preserving Woodworking Traditions and Blocking Government-Mandated Monopolies Act”. Basically, she’s trying to keep table saws cheap and dangerous (even though SawStop said they would unlock their patent).

    You gotta FIGHT! For your RIGHT! To cuuuuuuuuuuut your FINGERS OFF!

  124. 124.

    Doc Sardonic

    @Barbara: The main reason I take Warfarin as opposed to the other drugs is the reversibility of bleeding especially in the case of stroke. In my family genetic pool we have strokes, but they are hemorrhagic strokes as opposed to clot type strokes, so being able to nullify the bleeding is desirable. I also had bleeding issues with Xarelto.

  125. 125.

    Baud

    @rikyrah:

    BREAKING: President Biden says on conference call he is staying in:

    President Biden: “I am running. I am the leader of the Democratic Party. No one is pushing me out. I’ve been knocked down before and counted out my whole life. When you get knocked down you get back up.”

     

    Unnamed sources, however, disagree with Biden and claim Biden is about to drop out. /NYT

  126. 126.

    Eyeroller

    @BR: I suppose he spoke very clearly to them when telling them what to do, and didn’t lose his train of thought.

  129. 129.

    CaseyL

    @Suzanne: ​
     

    She’s also one of the Dems calling for Biden to drop out of the race.

    Sigh. Her district is more Red than Purple. And she beat the incredibly vile Joe Kent. But, yeah, she IS a “ConservaDem.”

  130. 130.

    WaterGirl

    @JPL:  Family lore has it that I did that to my mom.

    I got up in the middle of the night, walked down the hall.  You take a right, it’s the bathroom, you take a left, it’s my Mom’s chair.

    I apparently took a left, pulled down my jammies and sat on her lap to pee before she was able to take it all in.

    There’s a reason god makes puppies and small children so cute.

  131. 131.

    Citizen Alan

    @UncleEbeneezer:

    And I have no doubt that if Bernie, Warren or AOC were in Biden’s position, they would be standing with them, not bashing or demanding they step down.

    If Bernie, Warren, or AOC were in Biden’s position, the KHIVE would be supporting them more strongly than the Leftists, who would turn on their “Socialist Saviors” the second any of them made the slightest concessions to anyone other than Leftists. Had Bernie (God Forbid!) won the primary in 2016, I truly think the majority of his loudest supporters would turn on him if he picked anyone other than an out-and-out Marxist as his VP.

  132. 132.

    Captain C

    @Chris Johnson: Given what Rudy was willing to do in front of a camera on the Borat movie, I would be completely unsurprised to find out he was a very satisfied client of Epstein.

  133. 133.

    BlueDWarrior

    @Baud: I mean, they always bury the damn lede.

    Headline: “Biden officials hold discussions about Biden dropping out!!”

    Body of Article: “The discussions ended quickly with everyone in his circle coming to a consensus that doing so would be opening Pandora’s Box and it’s way too late in the process for that.”

  135. 135.

    BlueDWarrior

    @Citizen Alan: I have the feeling a lot of ‘so-called’ leftists online are really what we’d derisively call Tankies, and would not be above using some kind of mechanism to impose their will on the rest of us in the broad center-left coalition.

    For our own good, you see…

  137. 137.

    WaterGirl

    @Yutsano: Not all our angels are anonymous!

    Also, too, I have noticed that the matches in the comments come faster when the Angel has a name!  But of course, each angel gets to choose.

  138. 138.

    Suzanne

    @CaseyL: Yeah, you’re right. I know. I know. I keep reminding myself that conservadems get counted in our column all the same. Fuck, I have to remind myself that I voted for Sinema. Multiple times! I think about that on occasion and instantly feel like I should shower with bleach and steel wool.

  139. 139.

    Captain C

    @Baud: Personally, if I were to claim my own farts as unnamed sources who told me what to say, I’d get fired from my job.  Apparently, though, it’s industry standard/best practices at the FTFNYT.

    Which is a shame because my own farts tend to be smarter than the crap which FTFNYT reporters and editors are putting on the front page, often under misleading headlines.

  144. 144.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @Citizen Alan: Bernie and AOC have already been accused of being Zionist sell-outs by FreePalestine members.  As for Warren, I’m pretty sure she’d be subjected to “Once a 🐍, always a 🐍”

  145. 145.

    UncleEbeneezer

    Pundits like stuff to happen. Biden stepping down would feel like action; it would be good copy. The media wants dramatic choices and dramatic events. Choosing to stay the course feels boring and insufficiently proactive, especially when the stakes are so high.

    The future is difficult to predict. There’s no guarantee Biden will win this election. But there’s no guarantee Harris or some other Democratic replacement would win either. Sometimes the best thing to do is to follow through. Biden’s the nominee. We’d all be better off accepting that rather than indulging in panic, or in fantasies of easy victories with some perfect candidate to be named later.

  146. 146.

    Suzanne

    @Baud: I’m one of those nanny-state liberals who wants to use Big Government to intrude on WaterGirl’s right to hurt her finger, the way Baby Jeebus intended!

  148. 148.

    Leto

    @Suzanne: as a woodworker and someone who’s seen more dismemberments due to table saw accidents, (including one that involved a dado stack, a missing thumb, and a big toe replacement) she can fuck the right fuck off. Average cost to the hospital for table saw accidents is $30k. You know who the biggest driver of getting this tech out? Insurance companies, because they’re tired of paying for this.

    I’m glad SawStop is sharing the tech. They originally tried to do this, but other companies didn’t want to invest. Much like Sony came to Nintendo with this nifty optical device to add more storage space to Nintendo’s games. Nintendo said no, so hello PlayStation. At this point, I don’t know who doesn’t use a SawStop except the super super old woodworkers who just won’t change. Thats fine. Past that, everyone else has made the switch. The industry has moved on. Literally nobody wants to go back.

  149. 149.

    Geminid

    @CaseyL: I think it was Lloyd Doggett who called for Biden to drop out. Rep. Glusenkamp Perez predicted he’d lose, as did fellow Blue Dog Jared Golden of Maine. I’ve only checked on two other Blue Dogs, Ed Case of Hawaii and Lou Correa of California and neither has commented on the matter.

  152. 152.

    evodevo

    @Trollhattan: The bird dog may have been gun-trained…or just doesn’t pay attention by nature.  They are bred not to shy under fire, so you are lucky this time.

  155. 155.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Jackie: Also too, grass stains and ground in dirt

    Someone has to deal with kids, of the preschool variety!

  156. 156.

    Leto

    @Suzanne:

    The United States experiences tens of thousands of serious table saw injuries each year, with estimates ranging from 30,000 to 65,000. These injuries can result in significant costs to businesses and individuals, including:

    Emergency room visits
    About 40,000 people visit the emergency room each year with table saw injuries

    Amputations
    About 4,000 injuries are amputations, which can be career-ending for some

    Permanent disabilities
    Up to 48% of disabling injuries result in some degree of permanent disability

    Lost income
    When a person is hospitalized, the societal cost per injury can exceed $500,000 when you factor in loss of income

    Pain and suffering
    There is no measure for the pain of the accident, surgeries, and years of physical therapy

    The most common injuries are lacerations, blade contact injuries, and injuries to the fingers and thumbs. Other injuries include blunt trauma from kickback, eye or respiratory injuries from sawdust, and strains and sprains from moving the saw.

    Some factors that may contribute to table saw injuries include: Removing safety mechanisms to assist with cutting certain materials, Lack of formal training, Lengthy and time-consuming instruction manuals, and Decreasing training in schools.

    And here’s a good series from Popular Woodworking, from 2011, on the matter: Table Saw Injury Numbers in Perspective

    I know you know this is asinine, but man, this really ticks me off. GTFO of here with this bullshit.

  157. 157.

    evodevo

    @Doc Sardonic:  Yeah, I read that…which is why I plan to ditch it after the surgery, along with the side effect of messing with your corneas!

  158. 158.

    Suzanne

    @Leto: One of my cousins chopped his fingers off in a table saw accident. He got them reattached. I get it.

    In my line of work, I have worked closely with many contractors, superintendents to journeymen to day laborers. The number of missing fingers is, like, a lot. Double digits of missing digits!

    We all have our most-loathed sections of the coalition, I guess. Mine is absolutely the Republicans-lite. It blows my mind to win power and then act like a complete fucking asshole with it. See also: Sinema, Kyrsten; Manchin, Joe, et al.

  159. 159.

    Hob

    I know this is a pointless type of comment but: wtf, I just happened to take a look at Lawyers Guns & Money— where I’ve mostly sworn off of reading the comments, but the front-pagers can still be informative— and Erik Loomis is writing with a straight face that Biden was literally asleep during the debate, as in unconscious and not awake. This is due to Loomis having read Biden’s recent self-deprecating remark about how he fucked up because he was exhausted and asleep, and taking it as a non-figurative statement by Biden that he actually dozed off. The post isn’t about how Biden looked confused or spoke badly (Loomis has proudly stated that he didn’t watch the debate); it’s about how this new shocking revelation, from Biden himself!!, is the definitive proof that Biden must go. He is now excoriating commenters who question his interpretation, saying that they’re all in denial.

    I agree with whoever said that this has been the most successful ratfucking operation in the history of the world. I don’t mean that all concerns about Biden’s health are fake, but wtf.

  160. 160.

    Jackie

    @Villago Delenda Est: My son – T-ball through high school baseball… and now my tourney soccer goalie playing grandson!😂

    eta: I sure wish Oxyclean had been around in the ‘80s and 90’s!

  161. 161.

    Doc Sardonic

    @Leto: I am an old woodworker, don’t have a SawStop, probably won’t get one either, mainly because my ability to continue woodworking is rapidly going away. The units are also too expensive, to replace what I currently use when I do use a table saw, would cost me somewhere between 2 and 5 grand.

  162. 162.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    @Hob:

    It’s another day ending in ‘y’ and Gloomis is gloomising.

    It is nice to hear some of the remaining commentariat is pushing back. Not gonna change his mind on anything but tossing friction at him and LeMeow from time to time is always worthwhile.

  163. 163.

    artem1s

    @JML: ​ 

    Seriously, what else do you go after Joe Biden for?

    Everything else they’ve tried has failed that’s why they keep coming back and hammering on the age thing. If the debate had been perfect, they would still be beating that narrative. They got nothing else. Every.single.second spent whinging and hand wringing is a second not spent paying attention to 37 indictments and TCFG phone numbers in the Epstein log and the classified info sold to Russia. It doesn’t matter if it’s fleeting. All that matters is the MSM isn’t talking or tweeting or speculating about Project 2025 and the latest crazy shit coming out of TCFG piehold today.

  164. 164.

    Leto

    @Doc Sardonic:

    Oh, I know. That’s what all the old woodworkers like yourself say. Just be prepared for your family, when you pass, to not be able to sell your tablesaw and have a plan in place to take it to the dump. Which idk how much that’ll cost, but another factor to add into end of life planning.

    @Suzanne: my woodworking instructor is Steve Latta, one of the most respected/knowledgeable people in the industry. The amount of stories he told of accidents involving tablesaws is… he just had too many. And I get that contractors want to get things done fast, fast, fast, which is why they disable all the safety features. But you know, I like and need my digits. They precious to me!

  166. 166.

    Hob

    @comrade scotts agenda of rage: I’m very familiar with Loomis’s body of work there. I feel that he’s taken it to another level here— this is beyond just being very negative and overconfident about his judgments, he’s asserting something that 1. is flat-out impossible based on the actual audiovisual evidence and 2. makes no sense as a thing any politician in any universe would’ve said as a literal statement (nor did the person he was talking to take it as such). It’s like if Biden said “I think I killed it at the State of the Union” and Loomis expressed horror that Biden admitted to murdering an unspecified living creature. It is by far the weirdest and stupidest thing I’ve ever seen him write (and again: I’ve been reading him for over a decade).

    For what it’s worth, I think on other subjects he’s a good writer. Lemieux as well. I’m not there to hate-read.

  168. 168.

    rikyrah

    @artem1s:

    Everything else they’ve tried has failed that’s why they keep coming back and hammering on the age thing.

     

    And never forget…the age thing is about his Black Female Vice President.

  170. 170.

    rikyrah

    @Lobo:

    In all honesty,

    I would like the tweets  of the video Alan Lichman calling out those CNN Anchors and the one from the Heritage Foundation douche threatening us, unless we ‘ fall in line’

     

    To me, they are bookends of where we find ourselves with the media, and their complicitness in understating the LITERAL threat to democracy that we are in RIGHT NOW.

  171. 171.

    Lapassionara

    @Hob: I saw that post and immediately closed the site. If I want to read bizarre takes on Biden’s debate performance, I can look and the NYTimes or my own town’s paper, the St. Louis Post Dispatch.

  172. 172.

    Dan B

    @rikyrah: When the broadcasters were being called out it looked as though their discomfort was because they already knew this guy knew the truth, and knew that he saw that they knew the vile game the bosses were playing, and they were playing along with.  They were staying very still.  It was the ‘freeze’ part of fight, flight, or freeze.

  173. 173.

    Jackie

    I scoffed when I saw this headline from the Atlantic:

    Democrats Begin Shift From Anxiety to Action 

    Then just a few minutes ago, this on RawStory:

    Republican Threatens to Hijack Funding for Football Team Unless it Revives Racist Logo

    So it must be truth.. Priorities are resurfacing…

  174. 174.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @Hob: Loomis has always had a big LeftierThanThou streak.  He may skewer even more ridiculous Leftists (like Crooked Timber) but he still shares the same propensity to make sure everyone knows “You’re not the boss of me!” when it comes to the Dem Party.

  176. 176.

    Doc Sardonic

    @Leto: Yeah, table saw disposal is already figured in, it will go when I finish the last project I have in the pipeline. Fortunately, where I live we have bulk item pickup figured in our property taxes so I will just have to make call and get it to the curb.

    It’s a shame they are not, at least not that I am aware of, working on a retrofit for older saws.

  177. 177.

    Suzanne

    @Leto: The other thing that just chaps my ass about this…. I mean, apart from failing to protect workers from their cheap-ass bosses, and costing a huge amount of money in healthcare costs, and lost wages, etc etc etc….. then I have to hear about how we need *more* Dems like this! Aaaarrrggggghhhhh.

    I know. I know. I’m a pragmatist. There are just…. times that that is hard!

  178. 178.

    CCL

    @WaterGirl:   Saliva.  Your own enzymes are great for getting out your own blood. (The secret of dressmakers everywhere.)   Best if done as soon as possible.   Spit on the blood spots, let soak in.  Sometimes I help it along by rubbing it in.  Rinse and if necessary repeat.

    Didn’t read through the whole thread, so apologies if someone else got there first.

  179. 179.

    Leto

    @Doc Sardonic: unfortunately they can’t, not with the with way the arbor and trunnion assemblies are designed. Because the engaging mechanism is a cartridge, those two are designed around the cartridge, and you can’t refit that. It would cost the same as a new table, and they want all the older tables gone. I might have seemed dismissive in my statement, but I’m not. I’m aware of the cost, it’s that I’m also hyper safety focused and pragmatic about this.

    @Suzanne: the next time you’re in Philly, we need to do another get together so we can have a beverage and commiserate about that fact. Charlie Brown: Aaaaarrrrrgggghhhh! indeed.

  180. 180.

    raven

    @Doc Sardonic: Oh thanks, I just got back from my workout. I’m a couple of weeks into the Xarelto so I guess I’ll just stick with that for now. Thanks!

  181. 181.

    Doc Sardonic

    @Leto: Didn’t view your comment as dismissive, so no worries. Best piece of advice I can give to anyone with regard to woodworking is: It is inherently dangerous, wear your protective gear, maintain a healthy respect for your machinery, and last but not least, keep the  blade guards on your saws in working order and well maintained.

    Also if you are looking for a dado set, take a look at CMT’s new Euro approved locked dado

  182. 182.

    Suzanne

    @Leto: Agreed. I changed jobs, tho, so I’m now only in Philly for fun and games!

    It somehow feels good to be pissed about something in the political sphere that is just normal assholery, and not Absolute Existential Dread.

  184. 184.

    Bill Arnold

    @Hob:

    I don’t mean that all concerns about Biden’s health are fake, but wtf.

    In particularly, they are positing, with apparently straight faces, that the Joe Biden of the Howard Stern interview in late April 2024 declined to full-blown dementia in late June 2024, then rebounded hours later.
    That is … not my experience with dementia, having dealt closely with two patients in my own house (one slow Alzheimer’s, one some form of vascular dementia), and also with my mom (vascular, kidney failure, strong opiate pain meds). The decline for all three was over years. (Dad was fine, was articulate and reading NYTimes cover to cover/Sudoku puzzles until two weeks before dying from a very quick cancer.)
    Guessing a bad response to cold medication personally, on top of an old brain. (i.e.Kamala can take over if, during his second term, he and others decide it is necessary.)

  185. 185.

    Doc Sardonic

    @raven: You are welcome. Like I said any questions I will be happy to answer. I’ve had, I think, most of the procedures.

  186. 186.

    Suzanne

    @Bill Arnold: FWIW, I grew up living with my grandparents. Both of them experienced some years of severe health issues prior to their passing, though not dementia. The thing that I really observed with them that stands out is that they had good days and bad days. The bad days became more frequent over the years. On his good days, I would have told you that my grandfather was as sharp as ever, and I am talking about a man who maintained his Army fitness regimen into his seventies, and who read the encyclopedia for fun. (And who hated Alex Trebek with a passion and would watch Jeopardy and shout invective toward the screen.) On his bad days, I was scared to go to school and leave him alone, and I was a teenager, and there wasn’t anyone else.

    I think we all bring our own experiences with seeing aging and decline to this discussion. I am trying to remember that a lot of this issue is poking at some deep wounds for people.

  187. 187.

    Captain C

    @Hob: Loomis has some good posts about labor, his graveyard and music posts can be interesting (though the latter show him to be a real snob about his tastes), but he’s very happy to criticize people for doing the same types of things as he does, and he’s very thin-skinned.

  188. 188.

    Geminid

    @Geminid: Correction: Reps. Lou Correa (CA) and Ed Case (HI) are not Blue Dog Caucus members anymore. They left in January, 2023 along with Mikie Sherril (NJ), Abigail Spanberger (VA), David Scott (GA) and Brad Schneider (IL).

    The 2018 Blue Wave increased the ranks of the Blue Dogs to 25, They were down to 19 after the 2020 election felled freshman like Xochitl Torres Small (NM), Kendra Horn (OK), and a veteran Congressman from Minnesota who’d hung onto his rural district for a decade after it turned Republican in Presidential elections. That may have been because of his seniority on the Agriculture Committee.

    Retirement and electoral losses reduced the Blue Dogs to 13 after the 2022 midterms. Then Case and five others bolted while new Reps. Mary Peltola and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez joined up to bring the kennel back up to 10. The other 8 remaining members include Sanford Bishop (GA), Mike Thompson and Jim Costa of California, Vicente Gonzalez and Henry Cuellar of Texas, Jared Golden (ME), Wiley Nickel (NC), and the ineffable Josh Gottheimer (NJ).

  189. 189.

    JPL

    @rikyrah:  Thanks.   He is such a sleezeball that nothing would surprise me.     Ivanka told him not to bother her friends.

  190. 190.

    Dan B

    @rikyrah: It’s a reminder to me that Kamala’s race doesn’t register with me.  My first, second, third, and beyond, impressions of Kamala is her abundance of delight and her brilliant communication talent.  Beauty and poise are also high on the list.  It’s good to be reminded that there are far too many people who will always see her for superficial characteristics that sprung from their fetid imaginations, not from reality.

  191. 191.

    Ruckus

    @JML:

    As an old fart not all that much younger than Joe I get the concept that they want to write something, anything on him that they think shows they are paying attention and can put him down with it because they want a government that plays to the monied part of our country and Joe is president of the entire country. They are special, just ask them, they deserve attention, just ask them, they want to write about how good a president is taking care of them first, just read their crap. Joe Biden looks at the big picture, he knows they will make money without his help, so he’s less interested in them than in all of us.

  195. 195.

    Ruckus

    @Doc Sardonic:

    I have a small portable table saw and a hand power saw that I use in making cabinets. I’ve made all but one piece of my furniture and I have one last cabinet I have to make to replace that. I have worked wood for decades but most of my life I did machine work in metals for food and rent money. I cut Barbie doll mold cavities over 60 yrs ago and have met the woman who was the model for Barbie. Her husband was one of the founders of Mattel.

  196. 196.

    Ruckus

    @Leto:

    I worked in machine shops for most of my working life so I was around dangerous equipment and tools for 60 yrs. I learned long ago, in a half hard lesson that anything that cuts, moves, welds metal can and will at least do great damage or can kill you if you aren’t paying attention or don’t give a damn. Wood working is about the same level of do not do that, with the exception that metal weighs more than wood and gets real hot when you cut it.

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