Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

You cannot shame the shameless.

The real work of an opposition party is to hold the people in power accountable.

Wake up. Grow up. Get in the fight.

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

I have other things to bitch about but those will have to wait.

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires.

Balloon Juice, where there is always someone who will say you’re doing it wrong.

Do not shrug your shoulders and accept the normalization of untruths.

How any woman could possibly vote for this smug smarmy piece of misogynistic crap is beyond understanding.

Disagreements are healthy; personal attacks are not.

These days, even the boring Republicans are nuts.

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

Dumb motherfuckers cannot understand a consequence that most 4 year olds have fully sorted out.

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

Second rate reporter says what?

The low info voters probably won’t even notice or remember by their next lap around the goldfish bowl.

75% of people clapping liked the show!

Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.

Quote tweet friends, screenshot enemies.

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

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

But frankly mr. cole, I’ll be happier when you get back to telling us to go fuck ourselves.

Narcissists are always shocked to discover other people have agency.

We can’t confuse what’s necessary to win elections with the policies that we want to implement when we do.

You are here: Home / Elections 2024 / *Finally* Saturday Morning Open Thread: Be Of Good Cheer!

*Finally* Saturday Morning Open Thread: Be Of Good Cheer!

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Sometime after TaMara’s 11pm post and 5am EDT, there was A Server Incident, which lasted until just before 9am EDT. (Thanks to WaterGirl for notifying the developers so promptly on a Saturday morning.) I’m sure the front-pagers who understand such things will update us all, but I’ll just assume we’re all hoping it won’t happen again… at least until sometime after the inauguration!

Reader Interactions

137Comments

  4. 4.

    HeleninEire

    Yay. I woke up early and when I couldn’t get here I was like, “the Mets aren’t playing until tomorrow, what am I gonna do all day?”

    Good morning everyone.

  7. 7.

    RepubAnon

    As Trump is so far ahead in the polls, the MAGA crowd can just stay home on Election Day – right?

    ;-)

  9. 9.

    tokyocali (formerly tokyo ex-pat)

    This site is my go to when I want to procrastinate. Of course, not loading meant I had to keep refreshing because how else can I not do what I’m supposed to be doing?

  10. 10.

    New Deal democrat

    Via Dan Guild, whose average of reliable polls continues to show Harris with a little under a 4% national lead, the following caution by Adam Carlson (a former pollster):
     nitter.poast.org/admcrlsn/status/1844767513722126559#m

    Since September 30 (last Monday), there have been almost as many Republican-aligned polls released as non-partisan polls — with Democratic-aligned polls basically non-existent:

     – Non-partisan aligned polls: 33
     – Republican-aligned polls: 26
     – Democratic-aligned polls: 1

    Just as in 2022, the GOP is flooding the zone with friendly polls, hoping to drive a narrative of a late surge in Trump and GOP support, energizing their voters and discouraging Democratic voters.

    I do have some worries that Trump is expert at driving coverage to himself via a new outrageous statement every day or two, and he is driving coverage towards his best issue, immigration; while Harris may be playing a sort of “prevent defense,” but the bottom line is, Take Heart, because this narrative of a vibeshift in favor of Trump is driven by this deluge of biased partisan polls.

  12. 12.

    Spanky

    I, like a Very Good Boy, waited expectantly by the door for the blog’s return.

    Now it’s time to go Walkies!

  13. 13.

    Spanky

    I kind of agree with Simon Rosenberg about the emails and texts from the many MANY campaigns saying different variations of “it’s over”. There’s absolutely no reason for that framing, and I make it a point to not give money from those begs.

  14. 14.

    eclare

    @RepubAnon:

    A couple of months ago TCFG said exactly that at one of his rallies.  He told the crowd not to vote.  Worked for us in getting two senators from GA!

  16. 16.

    eclare

    @frosty:

    Scrolling is my go to when I fix my breakfast and feed the pets.  The pets’ breakfast must be supervised or my dog will eat my kitties’ food.  Kitties eat slowly.

  17. 17.

    Spanky

    @stinger: I was wondering if it wasn’t part of a wider dds attack on Democratic fundraising sites. Not that I’m paranoid, or anything.

  19. 19.

    Another Scott

    @Scout211: +1

    I never, ever responds via e-mails like that.  If I decide to give, I go to the campaign site or the ActBlue sites directly – never via the screaming, begging e-mail.  I don’t want them thinking that their over-the-top wailing worked.  (I almost never read campaign e-mails anyway, but the “From” might get me to think – oh yeah, I should donate to them because it’s an important race.)

    (I never get campaign texts.  I guard my cell phone number and Google Fi is good about blocking SMS spam.)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  22. 22.

    Baud

    Regarding negative email fundraising, it’ll be interesting to see of, in the last two weeks or so, they start turning positive in order to generate relief and excitement.

    I’m confident the thinking has been that fear raises money. I’m not sure from whom, but I’ve learned to accept that most people aren’t like me.

  23. 23.

    cmorenc

    I also only donate via Act Blue

    – the various D campaigns nationwide are blowing up text-space on my cell phone and i have to spend time 2x/day deleting them so they don’t crowd out visibility of true personal texts from wife, friends & family.  Alas, my cell #escaped to the politisphere many election cycles ago (2008) before i knew better.

  24. 24.

    stinger

    Random thought: When Harris is asked how her policies will differ from Biden’s, I wish she’d include as part of her reply, “I’m not Joe — but we share the same values.” The underlying purpose behind Biden’s policies are what’s important. The details of “how” may change as circumstances change. But the values could/should remain the same, and I think across the two administrations they will.

  25. 25.

    Ramalama

    Anybody hear what the long-Covid now homeless lady thought of Kamala’s answer? Kamala had a good response but I thought it lacked the urgency that the questioner’s experiencing.

  26. 26.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Baud: ​
     

    I send fundraising emails to junk.

    I have an email address that’s only for political and charitable contributions. That way I can ignore it unless there’s some good reason to go there, like forwarding an ActBlue receipt to one of my ‘real’ emails.

  29. 29.

    Scout211

    In the positive news theme of the morning thread, Walz had a good line in his speech:

    Speaking in Warren, Michigan,  Walz accused Trump of allowing U.S. manufacturing jobs to be outsourced during his presidency, saying he’d been “asleep at the wheel.”

    “He awarded $425 billion in federal contracts to companies that offshored federal jobs,” Walz said.

    “Trump’s all talk when it comes to being tough on China,” he went on. “We just found out his Trump-branded Bibles — yeah, they’re printed in China. This dude even outsourced God to China.”

    We discussed this here in comments, but it’s great that Walz and the campaign are pointing this out.

  31. 31.

    stinger

    @Ramalama: I used to feel bad for people like that, with an urgent situation that they present at a town hall. But honestly, *her* problem isn’t going to be solved today no matter how compassionate Harris is, no matter how great her policy proposals may be. Hopefully the lady came to the town hall knowing that. But her question put an important issue front and center. Let’s see how TCFG answers it.

  32. 32.

    narya

    @stinger: Yeah, I agree. I finally watched the Colbert appearance, and I thought she did a lousy job answering his question about “how are you different from Joe?” I think she could improve it by talking about building on what they’ve done together, and also by saying that she faces different challenges than Joe did (e.g., Dobbs). Then circle back to the “same values, different challenges, moving forward” message. I mean, it has ZERO effect on what I’m going to do, I just thought it was kind of a missed opportunity.

  33. 33.

    eclare

    @Scout211:

    Kimmel had a segment during his monologue on Thursday where he highlighted all of TCFG branded stuff that was made in China.  Pretty much all.  I’m shocked!

  34. 34.

    narya

    @Ramalama: The real solution, IMHO, is MUCH better response to SSDI applications. Nearly everyone is denied the first time around, and it apparently often takes a lawyer’s assistance. Meanwhile, the person applying is struggling. The only fix is to throw people at that problem and take a good look at (overhaul) the eligibility process and rules.

  35. 35.

    eclare

    @narya:

    But that question is also near impossible for a VP to answer.  Harris has had Joe’s back every step of the way, that’s her job, even after the debate.  By asking her how she’s different, there is an implicit criticism of what Joe has done.

    Seems unfair.  She’s loyal.  She said that was a reason she picked Walz.

  36. 36.

    narya

    @eclare: Yeah, that’s why I think the key to the answer is “same values, different problems.” And add that the work that Joe and she have done set the stage for solving those new/different problems. It’s not a big criticism on my part, to be clear, but more of a missed opportunity.

  37. 37.

    zhena gogolia

    Harris and Walz are not making any mistakes. They are the absolute best the country has to offer. If people don’t see that, then okay. There used to be lots of good people in Russia too.

  38. 38.

    Another Scott

    @Ramalama: I was struck by how she ended her question with “… and make America great again.”

    All sympathy for her and her situation, and people express things differently, but that ending made me worry that it was a gotcha question.

    It’s criminal that disability is so difficult to get in the USA.  Biden apparently pushed for approval of someone with a similar 3 year story that contacted the White House.  If Congress and H-W push to fix the approval system, that will help lots and lots of people and is the right thing to do.

    But it will never happen with MAGA types in the way…

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  40. 40.

    Baud

    “My policies will be completely different because New York Times reading liberals won’t be distracted by how old I am.”

  41. 41.

    Kay

    I’m helping with a (2 hour!) women’s event in NW OH tomorrow for Issue One ( the gerrymandering amendment)

    Our corrupt sec of state changed the ballot language to make it confusing so this is an attempt to organize GOTV to clarify for voters – Issue One has 65% support but Republicans deliberately changed the ballot language to make it confusing

    I think we’re going to win anyway

  42. 42.

    Kay

    People are complaining about the confusing ballot language – fair redistributing has broad bipartisan support – it’s a 65% issue- so we want to make it clear to people which party is trying to trick them

  45. 45.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Baud:

    Oh, good. I came this close to being productive.

    Oh noes – not on a Saturday!

    I went to the local Farmers’ Market and had some errands I needed to run at WallyWorld, and Lord knows you want to get in and out of WallyWorld early in the day. And by the time I was back, BJ was live again.

  46. 46.

    Eolirin

    @Another Scott: Given that the Republicans are directly responsible for breaking the eligibility and approval process in the first place, back during the Clinton administration, no, no it won’t

    And their efforts were driven by a single person creating a story of widespread fraud that the media bought into and turned into a sensation, but later turned out to be completely fake.

  47. 47.

    Kay

    We had a really nice thing happen here this past week. We have a very active older Dem, Chuck, who is retired IBEW.

    He usually puts up the big 3 by 5 signs on his farmland ( he has a lot of farmland and it faces several state routes). He built metal frames for the signs which we reuse every cycle

    He had a stroke 6 months ago so can’t put them up this year so the IBEW sent helpers out from Toledo to put up the signs. He was really happy he got them up.

  50. 50.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    I have 2600 unread text messages that are all fundraising messages that I haven’t gotten around to deleting. All of “Trump winning! We’re desperate!!” variety.

    Question: how do you find out they left Philly out of their PA sample? Seems to me that wouldn’t be stated explicitly.

  51. 51.

    TBone

    Some days, long Covid fries my brain, some days it fries my body, and some days are better 🎶 than others

    youtu.be/H8ofaO5jkfE

    Some days both brain and body don’t wanna work.  Today is a better day!  Beef stroganoff in crockpot and sunny skies.

    Another Dem canvasser came by and we were thrilled to meet and chat.  She said “You made my day!”

  54. 54.

    RevRick

    @TBone: I take heart in the Morning Call poll of voters in the 7th Congressional District race. It said that despite the district shifting 3% to the right from redistricting, Susan Wild is doing better than she ever has and Kamala is winning by almost as much as Biden did, which statewide would translate to winning Pennsylvania by 3+ percent. That further suggests the Blue Wall is solid.

  55. 55.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @Baud: ​
    I woke up at 5:30 and once I realized by 7 that the servers weren’t going to be duct-taped back together any time soon, I actually was productive.

    Slogging through a poorly-written safety course that my insurance company is offering that’s good for a 10% discount, if not for actually getting any useful information.

    They might want to consider updating it. “If you are on a dial-up connection and you are disconnected…” “If you are connecting via AOL…” “In 2003, the last year for which data is available…”

  56. 56.

    TBone

    @NotMax: thanks for this great idea ! Going to a pumpkin carving contest/ neighborhood party and will take Mummy pumpkin cookies along! I will substitute premade pie dough (or puff pastry?) for convenience and time saving.  Cutting and arranging the dough might take a while (but that’s the fun part).

  58. 58.

    Nukular Biskits

    Mornin’, y’all!

    FINALLY fully back to feeling human again (although I don’t think I’ll imbibe tonight).

    BEAUTIFUL DAY down here this morning.  May go do some car watching at one of the Cruisin’ the Coast events.

    And absolutely loved that Harris-Walz Detroit ad!

  59. 59.

    Betty Cracker

    Received this delightful postcard for the Yes on 4 campaign! Thanks, anonymous post-carder in Tampa! 😊

    *Finally* Saturday Morning Open Thread: Be Of Good Cheer!

  61. 61.

    Harrison Wesley

    I’m grateful that TBone put up a link referencing Special Deputy Eric Trump.  Now I know who to call if I hear that there’s a furniture sex offender in the neighborhood.

  65. 65.

    Nukular Biskits

    @narya:

    @Ramalama: The real solution, IMHO, is MUCH better response to SSDI applications. Nearly everyone is denied the first time around, and it apparently often takes a lawyer’s assistance. Meanwhile, the person applying is struggling. The only fix is to throw people at that problem and take a good look at (overhaul) the eligibility process and rules.

    There was a good John Oliver segment on this very subject:

    Disability Benefits: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

    ETA:  TBone said same thing at #44.

  66. 66.

    Harrison Wesley

    @Betty Cracker: Governor Pudding Hands seems to be getting a bit stressed, between sending out LEOs to harrass people who signed petitions in favor of the amendment and having the Public Health department’s lawyer threaten legal action against networks running a political commercial also in favor of it.  That gives me some confidence that there’s a lot of support for Amendment 4.

  67. 67.

    different-church-lady

    We are running a daily pysop against ourselves.

    And when we’re not doing that, we’re buying in to the psyops they’re running against us.

  69. 69.

    Betty Cracker

    Power still not restored in my neighborhood, but my dad’s is back on as of yesterday. Gonna schlep over there to shower as soon as I can summon the energy.

  75. 75.

    Harrison Wesley

    @Betty Cracker: I hope you get it back soon.  It was restored in my area last night, and I was a little amused at the reaction of all my second-floor neighbors who preferred sitting on the balcony in the dark socializing to sitting in the dark indoors.  At the first flicker of light, everybody cheered.  Very nice coda to the last few days.

  76. 76.

    Betty Cracker

    @Harrison Wesley: There is majority support according to the polls, but as you know, our amendments require a supermajority. It’s gonna be close. Sucks that Repubs successfully cheated by inserting confusing and misleading language in the “fiscal impact” part. I hope it doesn’t work.

  77. 77.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    My wife is listening to the local Totebagger Radio coverage of Felonious D’s rally here in Aurora (biggest Denver burb and butt of jokes for decades).  Per what folks here have mentioned, he’s talking immigration and nothing else.  I chuckle at how PBS characterizes it as “a false narrative”.

    Of course they found a retired black policeman who attended to quote.

  78. 78.

    Jackie

    Three (so far) democratic governors are threatening TCFG with betraying Americans during the Covid pandemic:

    In a joint statement Friday, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer wrote, “Former President Trump betrayed us.”

    When the three governors sought in the first months of the pandemic to obtain COVID-19 testing kits, ventilators, and N-95 masks, the federal government “abandoned us to fend for ourselves,” the governors added. Trump and the federal government ignored requests for help at a time when the pandemic’s death toll was still unknown and hospitals were beleaguered as they tried to treat patients and protect health care workers, according to the governors. “It was a terrifying time.”

    The governors assert that after Trump rejected their pleas to ramp up domestic production of those supplies under the Defense Production Act, states turned to “price gouging foreign suppliers” and purchased what they needed using state funds.

    “Now we are reading reports that during this unprecedented and historic public health crisis, while Americans were dying and desperate for life saving supplies, former President Trump was personally sending testing kits to Russian President Vladimir Putin,” the governors wrote. “For that, we demand answers.”

    The statement claims that Trump’s “cozy relationship with Putin has been well documented,” and that the new report shows him “putting a foreign dictator before Americans, threatening our national security in the process.”

    “Former President Trump betrayed us. Americans suffered during the pandemic. 1.2 million Americans died, many because they did not have access to adequate supplies at a critical time,” the governors wrote. “Donald Trump must explain why he put his personal friendship with Putin, a ruthless dictator and war criminal, over the American people.”

    rawstory.com/trump-putin-2669384909/

    Jared Kushner was undoubtedly involved, too 😡

  79. 79.

    Betty Cracker

    @Jackie: I’m glad they’re making a stink about it. Trump putting his idol Putin above Americans is the least surprising thing in the world to anyone who’s been paying attention, but unfortunately that group does not include undecided voters. Also, HA!

    *Finally* Saturday Morning Open Thread: Be Of Good Cheer! 1

  82. 82.

    WaterGirl

    @Spanky:

    I make it a point to not give money from those begs.

    Me, too!

    And I unsubscribe to whatever candidate or organization it is, with a note saying their message reads like it’s from a Republican, and I  won’t give to anyone who is trying to manipulate me with that bullshit.

  84. 84.

    opiejeanne

    @Jackie: Trump and/or Kushner seized those shipments at various airports as they arrived. It happened in Seattle, they grabbed a large shipment of PPE paid for by WA as soon as the plane landed, and I know it happened elsewhere

    It was never made clear what happened to those items but we thought they sold them to the highest bidder, possibly overseas.

  85. 85.

    TaMara

    I just want to say, I received notice my ballot arrives today and I don’t know if I’ve ever been more excited to cast my vote and turn my ballot in.

    (also, really wanted to get it done before I travel later this month..superstitious that way)

  88. 88.

    opiejeanne

    WA sends ballots out 18 days before an upcoming election, so at the end of this coming week. I’m feeling anxious about getting ours even though we’ve never had a problem, but it just seems so late when so many other states sent theirs out weeks ago.

  89. 89.

    Layer8Problem

    @WaterGirl: 

    @Spanky:

    I make it a point to not give money from those begs.

    Me, too!

    And I unsubscribe to whatever candidate or organization it is, with a note saying their message reads like it’s from a Republican . . .

    This. I will now going forward do this.

  90. 90.

    moonbat

    I think Trump is going to all the deep blue areas because he’s trying to provoke Dem protests and possibly some sort of violent action between them and his crazy followers. He needs chaos and division to seem relevant. I hope everyone there ignores him and shows the world just how irrelevant he and his cultists are.

  91. 91.

    Steve LaBonne

    @New Deal democrat: If sounding more like Hitler every day actually drives a surge of support for Trump, we’re finished as a country in any case. Fortunately I believe it will have the opposite effect.

  92. 92.

    HumboldtBlue

    Noodles just had his first experience with the rain and it went well. The noise, the wet, the downspouts were of infinite interest, the flitting of the birds as they used the drizzle to bathe and then slipping away as Noodles begins his stalking, mocking him from the highest branches or from the power lines overhead.

  93. 93.

    Baud

    @Steve LaBonne:

    That’s what I think and hope too. I wish we were less inclined to believe that everything Republicans try will be successful.  Too many things are, but it’s not a given.

  95. 95.

    StringOnAStick

    I’ve never been more excited to receive my ballot; Oregon sends them 20 days before the election.  We got the voter pamphlet earlier this week, and just like for the primary, Trump was not in it because he did not submit a statement.  No doubt the $3,500 fee was why he didn’t, plus the zero chance of him winning here and our small number of electoral votes.  He’s too cheap is the main reason I’m sure.

  97. 97.

    Jackie

    @moonbat: I saw a clip from TCFG’s rally yesterday in Colorado, and he’s revised his “they’re coming for your jobs” to “they’re coming for your Latino (and Black) jobs!” 😡 I really hope undecided voters are on to his very obvious 🐂💩!

  98. 98.

    wjca

    Sometime after TaMara’s 11pm post and 5am EDT, there was A Server Incident, which lasted until just before 9am EDT. (Thanks to WaterGirl for notifying the developers so promptly on a Saturday morning.) I’m sure the front-pagers who understand such things will update us all, but I’ll just assume we’re all hoping it won’t happen again… at least until sometime after the inauguration!

    Wow!  Who knew TCFG (or maybe Putin) would be that worried about little old us?

    Note: it’s not paranoia if they really are out to get you.

    EDT  Not quite what @Spanky: said.  But close.

  99. 99.

    HumboldtBlue

    @eclare: ​ 

    He’s doing very well on the harness and leash. He’s also my shadow, and it doesn’t matter what I’m doing. In the kitchen? Noodles at my feet. I haven’t even gone into the bathroom unescorted since June 25, and if I’m in the closet, I am not alone.

    The worst is the kitchen because I have a black rubber kitchen mat, and he’s black on top so he blends right in, more than once he’s tripped me leading to cursing and under the breath muttering.

  103. 103.

    Chief Oshkosh

    @opiejeanne: Yep, it was briefly reported in several locales.

    Sure would be nice to have a complete and open investigation of all of those activities that were paid for by me and my fellow losers (a.k.a. taxpaying citizens).

  105. 105.

    Betty

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: Just finished Dragoncraft.  Along with The Glass Girl, you have created a fascinating world and entertaining read. Now we need to know what happens next! Congratulations, Dorothy.

  107. 107.

    Sister Golden Bear

    @moonbat: None of the reasons are mutually exclusive, but Coachella and Madison Square Garden seem more like ego boosters, especially that latter, since apparently he’s said he’s always wanted to do a rally there. I suspect he’ll be boasting that he drew a greater crowd at Coachella than the music festival (which has had audiences of up to 250,0000).

    Heard he’s also in CA for a fundraiser, and Coachella is adjacent to 41st Congressional district that Dems are trying to flip (very close election last time). Not that Trump gives a shit about other Republicans, but his minions do.

    Awhile back Josh Marshall had a good analysis of how there’s really two parallel campaigns that sometimes intersect—an actual campaign doing campaign things run by the pros who know what they’re doing, and Trump doing whatever he feels like doing.

  108. 108.

    TBone

    @HumboldtBlue: I love your stories very much.

    I am reminded of my late kitty Einstein’s first snow.  She went wild with midair acrobatics catching the flakes.

    If Noodles is allowed to frolic in the snow time, please do get video (I wish I had but I was anti dumbphone back then).

  111. 111.

    opiejeanne

    @Jackie: I’m in King county. Just checked my USPS notification email and it’s not on the list of today’s mail.

    I need some time to study all of the other candidates and stuff so I hope it comes soon.

  116. 116.

    Geminid

    @Jackie: Are you familar with the Northwest Progressive Institute (NPI) and their news site Cascadia News? I ran into them today when I was researching Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp’s race against Joe Kent and found an article titled:

       Still tied in Southwest Washington: NPI’s October poll finds Marie Gluesnkamp and Joe Kent dead even

    NPI’s  poll with 612 respondents showed 46% planned to vote for Perez and 46% favoring Kent, with 8% undecided. Author Anthony Villeneuve noted that the same poll showed VP Harris trailing Trump in the 3rd 45-50 and Senator Cantwell trailing her opponent 45-48.

    He also said that NPI’s October, 2022 poll showed Gluesenkamp Perez trailing Kent by 3 points. She went on to win by 2,629 votes out of 319,759 votes cast.

    NPI and Cascadia News seem to be the brainchild of Villeneuve, who wrote the article on the 3rd CD race. The site covers politics and other local and state news.

  117. 117.

    HumboldtBlue

    @opiejeanne: ​ 

    We don’t get snow on the coast, but I can find snow at elevation within an hour’s drive. Noodles has only been in the car three or four times, and I don’t plan on taking him anywhere. Walks around the neighborhood are good enough.

    We did have an incident on Thursday afternoon. A group of motorcyclists two blocks over all revved their fucking loud-ass engines at once, and Noddles freaked the fuck out. He went WILD, spinning and hissing and leaping and twisting, it was a true freak out before I could get a hold of him and get him back inside. It’s good that the harness is a much tighter fit now that he’s growing, in earlier more mild freak-outs he was able to slip from the harness.

    Once inside, he was pretty sheepish, I think he realized he went a little overboard, but what can ya do. He’s a kitten, reacting as a kitten does.

  118. 118.

    Geminid

    @Sister Golden Bear: Trump might be doing Kraven McCarthy a favor. Ken Calvert is the CA41 incumbent, and he and McCarhty are probably old allies. McCarthy still seems to have Trump’s confidence.

  120. 120.

    BeautifulPlumage

    @Sister Golden Bear: ​
     Just in the past few days something broke with the stage at the couch fucker’s event & yesterday a sign fell on a teleprompter at the PAB’s nazi rally in Colorado. It would be just terrible, terrible I say, if something heavier fell a few feet over.

  121. 121.

    Timill

    OT: for them as follow post-season baseball, the ALDS game 5 is now at 1pm – it’s in the top of the second now. Apparently there is Incoming Weather later today…

  124. 124.

    Jackie

    @Geminid: No, I’m not. I’m in south central-eastern WA – Newhouse’s blood red district.

    I’ll have to take a look to see if they cover eastern WA politics. Thanks!

  125. 125.

    Geminid

    @Jackie: The Washington 3rd CD race is one of two in the Portland area I’m watching. The other is the Oregon 5th(?) CD runs east from Portland and also changed hands in 2022, Republican Lori Chavez-DeRemer won a close contest against Jaime McLeod-Skinner.

    Mcleod-Skinner beat Democratic incumbent, Kurt Schrader in the primary. This year State Rep. Janelle Bynum* won the Democratic primary and faces Chavez-DeRemer, whom Bynum has beaten twice in state legislative elections.

    The WA03 incumbent, Jaime Herrera Butler came in third in the 2022 primary. The two districts are similar in this respect. They also resemble each other demographically, and are both anchored in Portland suburbs while including exurban/rural areas as well. I see the two as potential bellwethers for Northwestern political trends, besides being important for our House majority.

  128. 128.

    ArchTeryx

    @narya: The SS Disability system is explicitly designed to help as few people as possible. That’s the whole point. It would take a MASSIVE change in culture and possibly law to change that.

    And the right wants to toss what little there is there in the garbage bin. There’d be total resistance to an expansion.

  129. 129.

    Ruckus

    @Baud:

    Oh, good. I came this close to being productive.

    What the hell does productive mean? I’m retired, and while I’m not all that productive any longer (thought that 60 yrs working was enough) my level of productive is getting up in the morning. I think that takes about 98% of my productivity these days.

  130. 130.

    Ruckus

    @ArchTeryx:

    I agree that there is a big hole in the staying alive part of getting old, in age and in health in the US. Some of our concept of this goes back a fair ways and came about because a hell of a lot of people were getting exploited by employers. SS disability is one of those bits and pieces that never really got fixed. I’d be screwed if it wasn’t for the VA.

    We are living longer, maybe not a lot but more of us are and for the most part, the longer we live the more it costs. If you live in a house you own outright you’ve still got medical bills to pay, utilities to pay, food to pay and if you have no transportation or should no longer be driving then often just getting groceries or getting to the doctor can make life a lot harder. One of the reasons I like where I live is that there is a major grocery store 1 mile away, the city has a pickup/drop off transit system for fully over grown adults (seniors….) and there is a bus/transit train system here in LA that fills my needs for a car. Which means I do not have to drive a whole lot any longer. Which means less stress for me and less stress for everyone else on the road……In the last 8 yrs I’ve driven about 18,000 miles. In Los Angeles County. In the last 3 yrs I’ve driven less than 1500. My car is getting sold within the next 8-9 months. Maybe less.

  131. 131.

    Gloria DryGarden

    @wjca: I was on here, successfully, at 130 am mtn time, 330 est,

    and at 2, 4 am est, it wouldn’t load my comment and gave the error message. First I thought it was my device, but it was all devices. Phooey.

  133. 133.

    Gloria DryGarden

    @WaterGirl: good idea.

    plus they’re putting out negative affirmations, which imho, help continue to create the problem. I had to quit giving $ to NOW, and the to NARAL, back in the 80s , because of it.

  137. 137.

    Chris T.

    @Jackie: Probably not alphabetic by county, as we got ours early this week and we’re in Whatcom Co (Bellingham, basically almost Canada up I-5).

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