Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

One way or another, he’s a liar.

We will not go back.

Let’s not be the monsters we hate.

T R E 4 5 O N

My right to basic bodily autonomy is not on the table. that’s the new deal.

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

Dear media: perhaps we ought to let Donald Trump speak for himself!

I might just take the rest of the day off and do even more nothing than usual.

I like political parties that aren’t owned by foreign adversaries.

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. keep building.

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

“The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.”

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

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

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

Many life forms that would benefit from greater intelligence, sadly, do not have it.

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

This fight is for everything.

Giving in to doom is how authoritarians win.

The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.

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

When we show up, we win.

… gradually, and then suddenly.

The current Supreme Court is a dangerous, rogue court.

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

Tuesday Night Open Thread

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I had completely forgotten how much it rains here during the spring and I have felt damp for the past 48 hours. Desert life changed me. I am also just completely exhausted- I am not a young man any more and a three day road trip takes it out of me.

I feel like I owe you all a bunch of political posts, but all I want to do is curl up under a blanket and read and watch the new season of Daredevil (I am two episodes in). It’s really good and Vincent D’Onofrio is sooooooo good. And then I have Andor and the Wheel of Time and about a dozen other shows I didn’t even bother to try to get Joelle to watch.

Reader Interactions

64Comments

  2. 2.

    Old Dan and Little Ann

    I’m 4 episodes into Andor.  I’m not one to complain about anything Star Wars related so I like it just fine.

  4. 4.

    Baud

    I feel like I owe you all a bunch of political posts

    What’s there to talk about? There’s bread, and then there’s circuses.

  5. 5.

    TF79

    I never got around to reading the books, but Wheel of Time has been pretty great. Stupid, sexy Forsaken…

  8. 8.

    zhena gogolia

    I’m about to finish Wolf Hall. Really don’t want to see Mark lose his head. He’s so brilliant.

  9. 9.

    Kirk

    @Baud:

    What’s there to talk about? There’s bread, and then there’s circuses.

    And then there’s the bread you get at the circus.

  10. 10.

    Joe Falco

    I’ve watched Season 1 of the Wheel of Time, having read all of the books beforehand. The decisions that were made to write the TV version the way it was just bewilder me. I still want to watch Season 2, but I have to keep telling myself that this is just a version of the story. It’s not the version I grew up reading and loved, but it is a version.

    Let the Dragon ride again on the winds of time.

  11. 11.

    lowtechcyclist

    My ebike arrived, some assembly required. Took care of that this afternoon and took a first brief ride once the battery charged up. So far, so good.

  12. 12.

    Jerry

    Man, just stay away from politics until you recover from the road trip. Unfortunately, all this bullshit will still be here when you are ready.

  13. 13.

    Jerry

    We’re two episodes in the new Netflix documentary ‘Turning Point: the Vietnam War’ and it’s really good as expected. Their series on the Cold War was fantastic and I cannot recommend it highly enough. I’ll check out their 9/11 series after the Vietnam War one.

  16. 16.

    hitchhiker

    @zhena gogolia: I put off watching the last episode because I didn’t want to see it, either. Henry was such a mad fucker, and it was hard to see Rylance’s world coming apart.

    And, I looked it up:  just as now, very few people in that timeline got what they had coming. Some of the worst assholes lived in comfort to old age, and some of the righteous were punished.

  18. 18.

    MagdaInBlack

    @Baud: Heard Hal Sparks refer to RFKjr as “The Great Gonzo” (Muppet show) and do the voice……..and while I know it’s wrong to laugh at someones medical issue, I’m ok with being wrong.

  19. 19.

    No One of Consequence

    @Joe Falco: I must inquire, having read the series until the initial author’s passing: With the visual medium of the screen, obviating the need for so much descriptive prose about clothing and dress of the characters, hangers’ on, extras, set pieces, etc. Did they have enough material (sic) left for a second season?

    (enjoyed the books, but the endless clothing descriptions fuggin’ WORE on me…)

    -NOoC

  20. 20.

    Harrison Wesley

    This is the way the world ends

    This is the way the world ends

    This is the way the world ends

    Not with a bang, but with Netflix.

  21. 21.

    What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?

    Is anyone else seeing these ads for Trump’s energy policy or steel jobs or are they just airing here in the DC area to boost his fragile ego? I might have to write all my streaming services to tell them I’m cancelling if I see one more fucking add for that jackass. If that means I only watch Netflix so be it.

  22. 22.

    Baud

    Pete Buttigieg: “Part of what’s frightening to me about this moment is you’ve got a lot of creatures of Washington who haven’t had to be responsive to people in a while being coupled with creatures of enormous wealth who haven’t heard ‘no’ in a long time. And now they’re just feeding off each other”

  23. 23.

    zhena gogolia

    @hitchhiker: I was glad to see Rafe Sadler lived a long life.

    I can’t help seeing him as the little boy in Love Actually! His face has not changed.

  24. 24.

    Ohio Mom

    Another vote for not needing any more political posts. I’m saturated.

    I think I said this before, my current state reminds me of the weeks leading up to my mastectomy. I knew things were bad, didn’t have any idea of what would happen, did a few small things to get ready, and then sorta sleep-walked into it. It was all beyond my control, it was something that was going to happen, I just had to muddle through.

    The things I can do and do now, calling my Congressmen, going to protest rallies, seem so insufficient and ineffective. I am just muddling through. At 70, I hope to see the end of this era but realize I may have to settle for adjusting to it.

  25. 25.

    Joe Falco

    @No One of Consequence: They took out and/or rewrote some significant portions of the first book, perhaps to retell some of those scenes in a future story, but it is very noticeable. It wasn’t all padding that got cut out.

  26. 26.

    No One of Consequence

    @Joe Falco: Right on. Thanks. You and John seem to think it is worthwhile, maybe I should give it a watch.

    -NOoC

  27. 27.

    geg6

    Anyone else watching Paradise on Hulu?  I’m two episodes in and I’m hooked.  Totally got me with the twist.  Stars Sterling K. Brown, Julianne Nicholson and James Marsden.  I’m a big SKB fan and Marsden endeared himself to me with Jury Duty.  Highly recommend so far.

  31. 31.

    schrodingers_cat

    I am playing with my new Swan fountain pens. I have put hot pink ink in a Pink pen. I swatched my new watercolor set.

    In other news India and Pakistan are at war.

  34. 34.

    Marigold

    @Joe Falco: Season 1 was rough, but COVID shut them down in the middle of filming, they lost a main actor, and had to rewrite the ending.

    In Season 2 they were still trying to get the characters where they needed to be, but there were a lot more moments that felt right. And Season 3 knocked my socks off. Just… scenes I’ve been imagining since middle school, and some of the choices they made in Season 1 had payoffs in 3, which kind of retroactively made it better.

  35. 35.

    HopefullyNotcassandra

    Wheel of Time is excellent.  There will be a season 4 too.  Get good sleep.

  37. 37.

    Denali5

    Recommendation: Istanbul Encyclopedia on Netflix. Especially if you have been to Istanbul.

  38. 38.

    Omnes Omnibus

    I am alternating episodes of Shetland with episodes of New Tricks.  It works.

  41. 41.

    NotMax

    Tried watching both Andor and Wheel of Time. Neither pushed my buttons enough to justify continuing.

    As always, YMMV.

  42. 42.

    Another Scott

    Meanwhile, … Washingtonian.com – ICE agents are targeting DC restaurants:

    Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are targeting DC restaurants today in what is shaping up to be one of the city’s most high-profile examples yet of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. Millie’s in Spring Valley, Pupatella in Dupont Circle, Chef Geoff’s in Northwest, Chang Chang downtown, and Ghostburger in Shaw are among the businesses that immigration officials have visited seeking I-9 forms verifying employment eligibility. There are unconfirmed reports of agents at several other DC restaurants as well.

    At Millie’s, which caters to an affluent upper Northwest crowd, eight or nine agents—some in plain clothes, others with uniforms and guns—swarmed the restaurant just as it was opening for lunch. “They all came in all of the public entrances at the same time,” says owner Bo Blair.

    The general manager met the agents, who provided a “notice of inspection” and asked to question employees. The manager said they couldn’t, and they did not push back. They asked for I-9 forms, which the restaurant keeps securely at its corporate office, not at the restaurant.

    “They made it pretty public that they’re coming back to the restaurant on Monday [to collect the forms], which is pretty unnerving to the staff, obviously,” says the group’s CEO Marisa Casey. She says she is asking them not to come back to the restaurants because the documents are not kept there. “We also don’t want them to go back to our restaurants scare everybody.”

    […]

    Grr…

    WTOP.com from March 19:

    D.C. restaurants continue to struggle since the pandemic, with a record 73 restaurants closing in 2024, and a survey of restaurant operators by the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington paints a bleak outlook for 2025.

    More than 200 restaurant owners responded to the survey — nearly half said they saw fewer diners in 2024 and 47% said they saw lower sales.

    Full-service casual restaurants are least optimistic about their business, with 44% saying they are likely to close in 2025, citing rising costs and tipped wage increases that are outpacing revenue. That is almost double the number of suburban restaurants that expressed concern about staying in business.

    Furthermore, 51% of restaurant operators in the survey expect conditions to worsen this year, a 21% jump from the association’s survey last year.

    […]

    I guess 47 and ICE wants even more restaurants in DC to close…

    Grr…

    Best wishes,
    Scott.

  43. 43.

    Jeffro

    DAREDEVIL is good tv.  I wish they’d done one of the other legendary story arcs from the comics (including, oddly enough, the series’ namesake) but it’s good.

    ANDOR is better!  Thoroughly enjoying it.

    In both cases, I didn’t see the earlier seasons and I still feel like I’m on top of things, so…good job, binge-TV producers!

    (related or maybe not: I’m still thinking about seeing SINNERS at the local Alamo Drafthouse last week.  just extremely well-done movie-making)

  44. 44.

    Jeffro

    @lowtechcyclist: what’d you get?  I’m going shopping for a bike next week…not sure if I want a ‘regular’ (non-E) bike, an e-bike, or both if the prices are right?

  45. 45.

    Jeffro

    @Baud:Part of what’s frightening to me about this moment is you’ve got a lot of creatures of Washington who haven’t had to be responsive to people in a while being coupled with creatures of enormous wealth who haven’t heard ‘no’ in a long time. And now they’re just feeding off each other”

    That’s a remarkably spot-on take.

    Thanks Pete!

  46. 46.

    Sally

    @zhena gogolia: I turned it off as he was heading towards the tower. Couldn’t watch. Fabulous show, acting, cinematography, costumes, everything was marvellous.

  49. 49.

    YY_Sima Qian

    This just showed up among the headlines:

    US and China to launch formal trade talks

    Washington dispatches Treasury secretary Scott Bessent to meet Chinese counterparts in Switzerland this weekend

    The Trump administration’s trade war against China has triggered concerns about global supply chains

    Demetri Sevastopulo and Aime Williams in Washington and Ryan McMorrow in Beijing

    Published 4 HOURS AGO Updated 08:23

    I think the senior Chinese officials are going on a previously scheduled trip to Switzerland, not sure about Bessent.

    I suspect the news reporting is overplaying the significance of the meeting. It is between senior level counterparts, so it is not nothing, & could portent the start of a formal negotiation process (that is likely to be long & tortuous). However, nothing is certain as of this moment.

    Nevertheless, the US equities markets should do well tomorrow

    & then there is this:

    Lei Gong@gonglei89

    Trump is not the primary counterparty for China’s global trade strategy. He is the foil for China’s global trade strategy. The sooner people understand this the more accurately they will be able to gauge how any “talks” will go and set realistic expectations accordingly.

  52. 52.

    YY_Sima Qian

    @prostratedragon: We live in the nuttiest of timelines. There are only 50+K residents in Greenland. Gabbard may be sending more US spies than there are pro-US Greenlanders.

  56. 56.

    Jackie

    @What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?:

    Is anyone else seeing these ads for Trump’s energy policy or steel jobs or are they just airing here in the DC area to boost his fragile ego?m

    I live on the West Coast (WA) and haven’t seen any, albeit I fast forward through commercials.

  58. 58.

    ronno2018

    I can also relate to how tired you feel in the late 50’s and 60’s!

    I am ramping up exercise to counter the tiredness!

    Will it work?  I think not!  :)

  59. 59.

    sab

    @schrodingers_cat: That seems a reasonable amount if you are doing art every day, which it seems you are.

    I only do black, white, gray. With colors you need a lot more pencils.

  61. 61.

    sab

    Well two out of three on local elections.

    Library renewal levy passed. Statewide renewal of infrastructure bonds passed.

    My local city council guy failed, but I was very not sure he was the best candidate. He had an army of youngsters supporting him. I hope they are not too disheartened moving forward. Yes I did vote for him, when the Fraternal Order of Police came out for the other guy.

  63. 63.

    Chris T.

    @sab:

    With colors you need a lot more pencils.

    And you only get five! That’s the new Pencil Allotment, be grateful His Goldness has increased it.

  64. 64.

    Paul in KY

    @hitchhiker: Thomas Cromwell had some very jealous enemies. He also, in hindsight, made some serious tactical errors. Should have gotten married again. That would have stopped all the sniping that he was trying to marry Princess Mary, etc. etc. Should have been more on top of the Anne of Cleves fiasco, also.

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