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You are here: Home / John Cole Presents "This Fucking Old House" / Thursday Night Open Thread

Thursday Night Open Thread

by | 108 Comments

This post is in: 

Some good news:

For those keeping track, he has now managed to push government funding and a potentially devastating dockworker strike until after the election. The old guy just gets shit done.

***

In other news, pissing off West Virginia trumpers is my favorite hobby:

Good Signs Open Thread

You can get your Woke Not Weird car magnet in the store linked above.

Also, don’t forget the Steve Benen book club is coming quick, so make sure you get your book. Read it after you get it, Baud.

***

In personal news, Joelle sends her gratitude for all your kind words.

It has been a month since I fell and re-injured my shoulder, and while my range of motion is almost back, there is significant pain, so I have an appointment with the shoulder surgeon on Tuesday morning. Might end up getting scoped again, because I never dealt with the bone spurs from five years ago and now it feels like my rotator cuff is torn. How do I know this? Because it feels like it did the last time this happened. Fucking bullshit I’m so tired of this crap.

Finally, I got all the rest of the signs delivered, clearing my weekend to work on the yard and house in preparation for Homecoming next week. Joelle arrives on Wednesday night, so I have a solid four days to get shit together. Wish me luck.

Reader Interactions

108Comments

  1. 1.

    SpaceUnit

    Glad the strike is ending.  Idiots in my area were already freaking out and buying up toilet paper.

  2. 2.

    Denali5

    Good to hear that your shoulder is healing. Hope the pain lessens soon. And that Joelle will be there soon! Great news! What is the link for the  Woke magnet again?

  4. 4.

    cain

    Glad to hear Joelle’s coming! After losing her doggo, I’m sure wants lots of cuddles and cocktails. :)

    Glad to hear that the strike is ending, just shows that he’s the real negotiator here. The fact that no other president has been pro-labor probably one of the reasons.

    I think we are going to see some more strikes here. I’m glad for all the striking, I think upper management has been grabbing all the loot while also no near as good as making decisions relative to their compensation.

  7. 7.

    BR

    Anyone watch the Wisconsin Harris rally? How was it? Will we have to endure fake leftist meltdowns about Liz Cheney for the next week because of it?

  11. 11.

    Balconesfault

    If Trump wins, Daggitt better watch his back. I’m sure the orange one is fuming tonight over the longshoreman suddenly pulling the wrecking ball off the October surprise table.

    And from everything I’ve read, there’s probably a heap of ways that the DOJ could make life very very unpleasant for Daggitt, not to mention just turning around and completely crapping on the longshoremen as soon as he gets the opportunity.

    A vindictive Trump is a very bad enemy to empower.

  15. 15.

    Balconesfault

    @David 🐝KHive🐝 Koch:  that’s exactly what I’ve been saying ever since I’ve heard about the settlement.
    Like I explained to my son, you may not think Biden is the smartest man in the room … but there’s a ton of evidence to suggest that he’s the wisest.

    And no, they don’t necessarily go hand in hand.

    One thing that Biden is really good at is letting other people be the heroes in their stories, rather than belly flopping in to try to take credit.

  18. 18.

    Baud

    Via reddit

    Two dozen Wisconsin Republicans, including former lawmakers, other former elected officials and a GOP sitting district attorney, have signed an open letter declaring their support for Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in her campaign for president and condemning the Republican nominee former President Donald Trump.

  31. 31.

    Phein64

    Dear Sir,

    Get the steroid shot in your shoulder!  Do it tomorrow!   I suffered for two years with bone spurs in my Type II sub-acromium process — I’m married to a paloeosteologist and father to a physical therapist — and finally got the shot, the pain was gone in seconds, and it hasn’t come back in 4 years.

    My oldest sister is the director of nocioreceptive studies (look it up) at a major university, and says there is no reason for anyone to suffer chronic pain, not anymore (not since we grew up and moved to different parts of the country).

  33. 33.

    Chet Murthy

    @Phein64: When I went to my ortho for my right shoulder, the first thing he suggested was a steroid shot.  Which I took, but …. it didn’t work.  So we moved on to AC joint decompression (surgery).  But for sure, steroids work often enough that it’s worth trying first.

  35. 35.

    Chief Oshkosh

    @SpaceUnit: Yep, two mooks at one of the places I work took off early yesterday to raid Costco for steaks and t-paper. Wevs. It’s not like we don’t “manufacture” that shit inside our own borders. And I mean STATE borders.

  36. 36.

    Phein64

    @Chet Murthy: Yes, everyone is different, that is fer sure.  But if bone spurs are a cause, a steroid shot is a very cheap first treatment, both in $$ and in side effects.

  40. 40.

    eclare

    @Balconesfault:

    I worked with someone like that.  He could have been the main reason something got done, but to management he would always say ” this never would have gotten done without eclare.”

    One of the greatest persons I’ve worked with.  Sharing and giving credit, it’s so easy!

  41. 41.

    Jackie

    @SpaceUnit: You made me look:

    Glad the strike is ending.  Idiots in my area were already freaking out and buying up toilet paper.

    My brand of TP is made in the USA. Longshoreman strike probably wouldn’t effect me. Plus, since The TP Shortage of 2020, I keep pretty much a year’s supply lol

  44. 44.

    Raven

    @eclare: That pic was a couple of years ago. I’m supposed to go with my  dudes to Murells Inlet, Sc the 19th. We  have 2 inshore trips booked and hopefully my pal who lives in Brevard, NC can make it,

  46. 46.

    eclare

    John, good luck with the shoulder!  Chronic pain is such a drain on your energy, you don’t realize how much til it’s gone.

    Someone mentioned Rosie, is she still there?

  47. 47.

    Jeffro

    somewhat related: My mom reached out via text last week in a (Fox and FB-induced) panic, asking if me and RWNJ bro had stocked up on TP

    So good, strike’s over, crisis averted, we walked her back off of the ledge…EXCEPT…

    …now Fox and Twitter have apparently seized on a snippet of VP Harris’ remarks today about giving out $750/person to hurricane victims.  As if that is all they will receive, while of course we pave the streets of Ukraine with gold, and give every illegal immigrant a Ferrari (and a voting ID!) when they arrive.

    (The $750 is direct, no-questions-asked cash assistance to help them buy emergency groceries, gas, etc.  There’s PLENTY of other aid on the way!)

    But now she has crazy shit up on her FB page about how she JUST. CAN’T. BELIEVE. this is true, that Harris could betray storm victims with such a pittance, etc etc.  Meanwhile, illegals, Ferraris, etc etc.

    It’s already debunked on Newsweek and other places and I sent that to her, but my lord.  We are going to have to do something about our own home-grown North Koreans, people.

  48. 48.

    eclare

    @Raven:

    That sounds nice!  On long ago vacations to Myrtle Beach, my family would always make a few trips to Murrell’s Inlet.

  49. 49.

    Chet Murthy

    @Phein64: For my malady (AC join inflammation) it was also the first (and cheap) treatment also.  Just …. well, I waited 10yr to see a doc, so it didn’t (ahem) take.

  51. 51.

    SW

    About ten years ago I was diagnosed with a tear in my rotator cuff.  They scheduled me for surgery and sent me to physical therapy.  At PT I was asking the therapist about the success rate for the surgery. She referred me to a paper that explained the results of a study that looked at two groups.  One that had rotator cuff surgery followed by extensive physical therapy and another that skipped the surgery and went straight to the PT.  There was no measurable difference in the outcomes for the two groups.  The authors conclusion was that the PT was responsible for the positive outcomes in both groups.  I cancelled the surgery and just did the PT.  Purely anecdotal but it worked for me.

  54. 54.

    eclare

    @Jeffro:

    The mind reels.  You know where they need TP, PT, baby supplies, chainsaws and a shitload of other stuff?  NC!  Don’t hoard it elsewhere!

  57. 57.

    Raven

    @eclare: I read a book about Colombia and they packed all the electrical cables too Bogata wound into loops on huge mule trains.

  58. 58.

    Hungry Joe

    POSTCARD UPDATE

    Yesterday: Okay, I took a couple days off and kind of lost track. But I did write a few yesterday.

    Today: 13. Now at 32 out of the latest batch of 50, all to Arizona.

    The longer this goes on, the sloppier my bookkeeping becomes. I hope I don’t get audited.

  59. 59.

    SW

    @Phein64: What struck me as funny was that the physical therapy was part of the clinic that does the surgery.  She was kind of sheepish about it at first but then opened up about it as I got to know her.

    She said that they schedule the pre op patients for therapy that is about half of what it takes to fix it.  Then the surgery sets you back to a place that is worse than where you started.  Then the post op therapy builds you back up and then eventually solves the problem for most people.  Maybe she just didn’t like her employer but I got the same basic story from the other therapists I discussed this with.

  60. 60.

    MagdaInBlack

    @Raven: Aw. Thank you. My mother loved mules. She was old enough that when she and my father were first married, they still had mules on the farm

    When I was married our neighbor had 3 mules he grazed on part of our 6 acres. Lovely animals.

  61. 61.

    BR

    Wow the reviews for Liz Cheney — never would have thought I’d see the day. Glad to hear it.

  63. 63.

    CaseyL

    John, you are a stubborn curmudgeon*, so if you don’t get the steroid shot Phein64 suggests, maybe you could hire a couple of kids to help with the heavy housework?

    I mean: you want to be able to hug Joelle when she arrives, right?

    *Hey! It rhymes!

  64. 64.

    Sure Lurkalot

    I’m 3rd in line for Steve Benen’s book so I’m hopeful I will get it in time to read it before the Zoom.

    Good news that the strike has been delayed. It’s amazing how much Republicans are rooting for some bad event to happen. I’ve seen clips of Larry Kudlow on Fox after a new stock market record high is announced and he looks like he was told his dog died.

  68. 68.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Sure Lurkalot:

    Good news that the strike has been delayed. 

    Yes.

    It’s amazing how much Republicans are rooting for some bad event to happen.

    They’re bastards like that.

    I’ve seen clips of Larry Kudlow on Fox after a new stock market record high is announced and he looks like he was told his dog died.

    What a fucking asshole!

  72. 72.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Jeffro: Someone already linked to the bizarre conspiracy claim about how the federal government was going to claim everyone’s flooded land and leave the drowned bodies there to rot. like, what? Why would they even do that except for the evuls?

  78. 78.

    divF

    Whenever I see stories like this about Biden, I think of a paraphrase of Don Marquis on mehitabel the cat: “there’s a dance in the old man left”.

  84. 84.

    Jeffro

    @Matt McIrvin: this is the problem, right?  they can say literally anything they want at this point and 40%+ of the voting public will believe it.  “TRUMP BROUGHT US $35 INSULIN!” is just the tip of the FoxBerg

    Sheer insanity and we need a real news media going full blast to beat it back (even if it’s just a bit).  Also, moar lawsuits please – no matter how small the RWNJ ‘fish’ (commentator, podcaster, outlet, whole network) we need to go after them HARD

  86. 86.

    wjca

    @David 🐝KHive🐝 Koch: No drama O’Biden is so underappreciated.

    No drama.  No preview.  Just “We’re hoping for something soon”, followed very soon by something happening.  Chances are good he was working the phones to both sides.  But he’d never embarrass them by saying so.

    Now if he would just do something under the radar like that for Ukraine…. And soon!

  92. 92.

    Jeffro

    Did anyone else stop for a second today and go, “I wonder what happened with that Laura Loomer being trumpov’s mistress thing?”.  I’ll fess up: I did.  Good ol’ snooze media, on to the next shiny object…

    Also, I tracked down where my mom heard the “Americans are being told by VP Harris that they only get $750 each for disaster relief!” (outrage/Outrage/OUTRAGE).  It was a Laura Ingraham segment, followed up by Jesse “I deflated her tires for a date ’cause I’m a creep” Watters.

    Massive, massive deprogramming needed, USA.

  93. 93.

    Jackie

    You can’t make this stuff up:

    Far-right Idaho state Sen. Dan Foreman got into a heated argument with a Native American candidate during a forum this week that culminated with him shouting at her to “go back to where you came from,” according to a report.

    Trish Carter-Goodheart, a member of the Nez Perce tribe and candidate for House Seat A, said in a statement that the incident occurred at a “meet the candidates” gathering Tuesday in the northern Idaho town of Kendrick, where voters posed questions to Senate and House candidates in the area. The dispute began when Foreman categorically proclaimed discrimination did not exist in Idaho, reported Boise State Public Radio on Thursday.

    https://www.rawstory.com/dan-foreman/

  94. 94.

    Jackie

     

    Donald Trump’s media company has forced out executives in recent days after internal allegations that its CEO, former Rep. Devin Nunes, is mismanaging the company,” ProPublica reports.

    “Several people involved with Trump Media believe the ousters are retaliation following what they describe as an anonymous ‘whistleblower’ complaint regarding Nunes that went to the company’s board of directors.”

  95. 95.

    Sister Golden Bear

    It won’t help with bone spurs, but I got a PRP injection that fully healed my two rotator cuff tears. to;dr is they draw your blood and then centrifuge it to extract stuff that promotes healing via tissue remodeling. Downsides: 1) it takes longer for pain relief, and in fact can may pain worse during the first couple weeks because it works by inducing inflammation that then triggers healing; 2) it’s use in shoulder is new enough that insurance often won’t cover it.  Mine didn’t, but I’m fortunate enough to be able to dig into savings, and it was worth every penny.

  99. 99.

    wjca

    Finally waded thru all the Propositions on the California ballot.  Usually, I can triage just by reading the Legislative Analyst’s summary, and then looking at who is making the arguments For and Against.  It has long been pretty solid. I do, however, then dig a little deeper, just to be sure.  Especially on any Constitutional amendments.

    This year, it worked less well than usual.  I even (first time ever!) found myself ending on the same side of one issue as the Howard Jarvis Foundation.**  For totally different reasons, of course, but still a shock to the system.  So I went back and double checked.  Still a No.  Sometimes, ya gotta set priorities, not just collect a bunch of semi-random pork barrel pieces together.

    ** “Even a blind pig gets an acorn now and then.”

  101. 101.

    Sister Golden Bear

    @WaterGirl: Unfortunately the store isn’t working for me on by .iOS and Mac OS. Tried with credit card, PayPal and Apple Pay. It goes through the payment screens and then displays “your order is being processed” message… and then nothing. It just stays on the screen. Once I did get an error message than Braintree couldn’t connect. <sad face>

    Same thing happened a few days ago, and I just assumed it was a temporary glitch. But seemingly it’s broken.

  103. 103.

    wjca

    @NotMax: Rs up in arms about using mules and demanding elephants instead?

    Of course.  Using mules instead of donkeys amounts to (whisper it!) birth control.  A party dedicated to banning contraception** obviously can’t countenance that.

    ** I do sometimes wonder why people freaked out by the Great Replacement Theory idiocy aren’t pushing for contraception, free abortions, etc. for all Those People they are worried about replacing them.  I mean, it would be horrible.  But it seems like something they would embrace.

  104. 104.

    MinuteMan

     For those keeping track, he has now managed to push government funding and a potentially devastating dockworker strike until after the election. The old guy just gets shit done.

    No, he is severely diminished and completely incapable—the NYT told me so and the Fishwrap of Record wouldn’t get something like that wrong.

  106. 106.

    satby

    @Balconesfault: One thing that Biden is really good at is letting other people be the heroes in their stories, rather than belly flopping in to try to take credit.

    I just wanted to see that again.  Would be nice if more people were like Joe.

  108. 108.

    Chris T.

    @Phein64: (dead thread, but I’ll add anyway) One potential bad side effect of corticosteroid shot for shoulder issues is that long term use of these can weaken tendons. A single shot for acute issue is fine, though, and if it works, can help let you do the remaining work to prevent (or at least tamp down) future flare-ups.

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