Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Oppose, oppose, oppose. do not congratulate. this is not business as usual.

When I decide to be condescending, you won’t have to dream up a fantasy about it.

“Alexa, change the president.”

We still have time to mess this up!

We are aware of all internet traditions.

“woke” is the new caravan.

If you thought you’d already seen people saying the stupidest things possible on the internet, prepare yourselves.

People are complicated. Love is not.

Give the craziest people you know everything they want and hope they don’t ask for more? Great plan.

If you still can’t see these things even now, maybe politics isn’t your forte and you should stop writing about it.

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

The desire to stay informed is directly at odds with the need to not be constantly enraged.

If America since Jan 2025 hasn’t broken your heart, you haven’t loved her enough.

Everybody saw this coming.

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

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

If you’re gonna whine, it’s time to resign!

You are so fucked. Still, I wish you the best of luck.

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

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

You don’t get to peddle hatred on saturday and offer condolences on sunday.

Good lord, these people are nuts.

You are here: Home / Politics / Domestic Politics / “How ‘Bout Them Gators?” (Open Thread)

“How ‘Bout Them Gators?” (Open Thread)

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There’s a post at LGM that describes how our openly fascist government is/plans to harass perceived enemies, i.e., all of us. It’s worth your time.

definitely, people need to read it and then yell their heads off at their Trump supporting relatives

[image or embed]

— Dean Baker (@deanbaker13.bsky.social) August 23, 2025 at 10:03 AM

I’m having lunch with some Trump-voting relatives next week. I will yell at them for supporting a fascist dictatorship.

Afterward, we may discuss the Florida Gators and how much the upcoming season depends on the health of QB DJ Lagway. It’s admittedly a weird way to live.

***

Speaking of Lagway, last November, my sister and I were at The Swamp to watch the Gators kick the shit out of Mississippi. An Ole Miss fan nearby yelled “Fagway,” and my sister turned and said, “R-e-a-l-l-y?” in the most acid tone a human being has ever uttered and deployed the Stink-Eye of Doom as only she can.

That dude shut the fuck up and didn’t utter a peep the rest of the game. Not even to summon a concessions vendor!

Sis will be with me at lunch next week. I hope she doesn’t have to give our relatives the Stink-Eye of Doom, but dammit, she will if she has to.

***

It’s raining for the second day in a row, and that’s okay with me. We need it, and rain keeps the heat at bay.

I’ve been watching hummingbirds fly between raindrops and observing the waterfowl as they hunt for prey in the storms. Earlier, I saw a Great Egret steal a fish from a Great Blue Heron, who honked indignantly in its pterodactyl language. That was cool.

In between all that, I am making pot roast. What are y’all up to?

Open thread.

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    77Comments

    2. 2.

      trollhattan

      Have a 5-day backpack planned and the forecast is for rain/sun/thunderstorms on days 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

      What is “rain”?

      Reply
    4. 4.

      MattF

      MoDo thinks Trump’s views on slavery have earned a public spanking:

      I raised my hand. The nun called on me.She was telling my grade-school class at Nativity — 7-year-olds in green uniforms — about the pitiless epoch of slavery.
      I thought I had an important counterintuitive point to make — even though it would be another decade before I knew what “counterintuitive” meant.
      “One thing,” I piped up, “is that we got all these really great people in our country.”

      Although Washington has always been very segregated, my family lived in an integrated neighborhood and my two best friends were Black sisters named Deborah and Peaches. I was about to tell the nun about them when she crooked her finger and beckoned me to the front of the room.
      When I got there, she roughly pulled me over her lap, yanked my pinafore up and spanked me hard — delivering many whacks. The other students gawked.

      I got the message: There was no silver lining to slavery. There is nothing positive to say. Ever. Under any circumstances.

      Reply
    6. 6.

      dmsilev

      Hummingbirds are, pound for pound, bigger assholes than geese and would be competitive against MAGA types. Maybe we should be trying to unleash flocks of them against the redhats.

      Reply
    7. 7.

      trollhattan

      Be Best.

      CNN: “The first lady is rarely seen publicly. She did not accompany her husband when he delivered her letter to President Vladimir Putin during last week’s summit in Anchorage, nor was she present at the White House days later when he hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other European leaders. She’s made public appearances just 19 days so far this term, compared to 40 at this point during the previous. Her East Wing staff this time around is a fraction of her first-term team and that of her predecessors.”

      “But Trump is in frequent communication with her husband, often in texts or calls exchanged throughout the day, according to sources familiar with the matter. And much like her husband, the first lady consumes a steady diet of news coverage. By Donald Trump’s account, Melania Trump has provided a healthy dose of skepticism after previous conversations with Putin.”

      One pillow, five minutes. Melanie?

      Reply
    9. 9.

      jnfr

      Loving the Stink Eye of Doom. Some friends and I were talking recently about ways as white people we can respond when relatives say racist shit, and I think we should all add this to our repertoire.

      Reply
    11. 11.

      Citizen Alan

      In between all that, I am making pot roast. What are y’all up to?

      Puttering around the house for most of the day before. I drive up to modesto to see weird al yankovic.

      Reply
    13. 13.

      Melancholy Jaques

      A line from the linked LGM post by Paul Campos:

      But we’re in trouble and I really don’t know what to do about it.

      Same here. Same in a lot of places.

      Reply
    14. 14.

      trollhattan

      @Betty Cracker:

      “Ladies and gentlemen, my client, unfairly accused and denigrated in this courtroom, is a petite and slender supermodel. How is it remotely conceivable she could physically dominate, and I’m quoting from his official medical evaluation, ‘The tallest, strongest, healthiest human specimen to not just occupy the White House, but rather to ever be present in the White House. Six-feet seven inches of sinewy man-beast with the reflexes of a puma and the mental agility of Einstein and Alex Trebek.’

      “The defense rests.”

      Reply
    15. 15.

      Steve LaBonne

      Annual retreat this morning of my church’s board, of which I am a new member. Great group- it was very enjoyable and I’m looking forward to the new church year.

      Reply
    16. 16.

      narya

      So far, roasted some leeks, made a batch of chocolate chip hazelnut cookies, made two pots of beans (two more pots to come later), made two dozen muffins, and am about to bake four loaves of bread. Eventually I need to get to Penzey’s as they are re-running the 25% off everything sale with the Not a Republican code.

      Reply
    19. 19.

      Betty

      Congratulations to your sister on shutting up the bigot. May her stare continue to do the Lord’s work on our behalf.

      Reply
    21. 21.

      trollhattan

      @Gloria DryGarden:

      Planning on hiking into Yosemite at the south boundary and spending a few days in the high country. Evidently we’re steering clear of ridgelines and summits on account of the thunderstorms. “What’s that buzzing sound” an actual quote years ago from my hiking partner, when we had clamored  onto a ridge “for the view.” Unnerving, that.

      It’s monsoon season in the southwest and those fronts push father west from time to time. Guess this will be one.

      But hey, no dust.

      Reply
    23. 23.

      trollhattan

      @Gloria DryGarden:

      Planning on hiking into Yosemite at the south boundary and spending a few days in the high country. Evidently we’re steering clear of ridgelines and summits on account of the thunderstorms. “What’s that buzzing sound” an actual quote years ago from my hiking partner, when we had clamored  onto a ridge “for the view.” Unnerving, that.

      It’s monsoon season in the southwest and those fronts push father west from time to time. Guess this will be one.

      But hey, no dust.

      Reply
    24. 24.

      TheOtherHank

      What are y’all up to?

      I’m planning to make some Dill Pickle Rye bread (from the King Arthur Great Big Book of Bread) and start a batch of focaccia that has an overnight refrigerated rise.

      Then for dinner we’ll either have pastrami and swiss on rye sandwiches or I’ll make a pizza.

      And I have to say the KAGBBoB has inspired me to start up a new sourdough starter. It’s early days, but I think it’ll come to life nicely.

      Reply
    25. 25.

      Doug R

      Is anyone else getting the forever to load here this am

      Edit: I just made a comment that was taking forever to upload, I saw a grammatical error and clicked on the box since it hadn’t uploaded yet and ended up with a WordPress error. Does that mean my comment is lost?

      Reply
    28. 28.

      Another Scott

      @Doug R: I was getting a Cloudflare error on my PC, and then it worked briefly, and then it crapped out again.

      Seems to be working on my phone??

      Best wishes,
      Scott.

      Reply
    31. 31.

      eclare

      Beautiful photo, WaterGirl.

      I am still watching old GBBS episodes.  For me it is chicken soup of tv.  And of course cursing MS.  My second cousin goes to Ole Miss, I assume he now has a VPN and is Albanian.

      Reply
    32. 32.

      E.

      Eight months in and we have a very well-funded secret police, we are building concentration camps inside our borders and deporting people without cause to prisons in foreign countries they have no connection to, we’ve stopped reporting on many economic conditions, we’ve shut down or severely degraded much of our scientific and public health infrastructure including our climate satellites and greenhouse-gas monitoring, homeless people are being rounded up and, for all we know, disappeared, and we’ve committed to not regulating software at all. Our government is harassing and will soon begin arresting its political enemies.

      It’s not just the MAGA bigots we need to be yelling at, it’s others, too. It’s time to quit pretending.

      Reply
    36. 36.

      narya

      @TheOtherHank: Oh, I have been struggling with the sourdough formulae from that book. My sourdough starter has been brought back from the dead and is lively and lovely, but I have FAILED with the sesame wheat and the pain de capampagne half a dozen times or more. I made a batch of sesame wheat and a batch of birdseed yesterday, and, after 12 hours, they had not come close to doubling in bulk, so I (foolishly) left them on the counter, and early this morning, they were waaaay overproofed. Should have refrigerated them, but it’s supposed to take 7-11 hours, not 15.

      The sesame wheat isn’t as bad as last time, but the dough was still too slack (I cut back on water every single time), so it spread; I’m sure the overproofing didn’t help. The birdseed I do in bread pans, and I think that will be closer to okay, but it is so very frustrating. Apparently I am not the only long-time, experienced baker who has trouble with those formulae. Eventually I’ll figure it out, and I eat the BreadFails anyway, but damn.

      Reply
    37. 37.

      trollhattan

      @eclare: It’s hard not to root for every contestant. They do a great job selecting them and the range of personalities and back stories is always engaging.

      Plus, accents.

      Reply
    40. 40.

      Another Scott

      Meanwhile, How To Train Your Human…

      Moss Wizard
      @[email protected]

      Two years ago I taught my cat to ring a bell for food. In the first year he only rang it at reasonable meal intervals. Then he started a pattern of ringing but not eating, instead jogging to another room. I took the bell away whenever he did that, and he started rattling dishes purposefully—but not eating. It took me a while to figure out that each time he didn’t eat, he went to look at the drawer where we keep the cat dancer/flirt toys. Now I have to get a different bell for playtime! #Caturday

      [ image ]

      ALT – A black and white curly coated cat sits by a hotel desk bell and rings it with his paw, while also staring intently and meowing in a commanding voice.

      Aug 23, 2025, 11:35 AM·

      Smart kitty.

      Similarly HungerForWords.com – on teaching dogs to “talk” with buttons.

      Best wishes,
      Scott.

      Reply
    41. 41.

      TheOtherHank

      @narya: I had a good starter back in 2020 when everyone else was making sourdough. I was determined not to restart a starter, but there are so many recipes in the KAGBBoB that have a sourdough pre-ferment, that I have given in and am getting one going.

      PS – I know it’s the King Arthur Big Book of Bread, but in Chistopher Moore’s A Dirty Job, there’s the Great Big Book of Death and I just can’t help myself.

      Reply
    43. 43.

      narya

      @TheOtherHank: My starter is actually about 15 years old, maybe a little less. It used to be a whole wheat starter, but I’ve moved it to AP flour, and it’s much happier and more active. I also feed it a bit more often–but I’ve also found some great recipes for the discard: crackers, granola, pancakes/waffles, and pizza dough are the ones I use the most. Good luck with yours

      ETA: I keep it in the fridge so I’m not overrun with discard, but there’s still a LOT. That’s what mason jars are for . . .

      Reply
    44. 44.

      Another Scott

      Meanwhile, … Phys.org:

      Belief in conspiracy theories is often initiated by traumatic life events. Job losses or the death of a loved one can trigger anger and suspicion towards public services, authority figures, and experts. This is especially so if people feel that the tragic or destructive events that affected them could have been averted. And these emotions can motivate a search for answers.

      When conspiracy theories claim to explain painful personal circumstances or wider fears over COVID-19, or climate change, people can experience “awakenings”. These are moments of insight during which people come to believe that the causes of their problems lie with secretive groups which control society.

      One person we spoke to described conspiracy theories as enabling him to “access the way the world really works… as if a light was switched on in my head and I could see things clearly.”

      People rarely experience their awakening in isolation. In online group chats, people discover others with similar problems. In public meetings, beliefs in various theories are boosted by interactions where people discuss their suspicions over who is to blame for particular issues. In the process, these groups feed off their common emotions, building an atmosphere of energy and excitement.

      The loss of traditional meeting places such as pubs and high streets, along with high levels of loneliness, may be driving people to look for new forms of connection and meaning.

      The people we spoke to expressed surprise at the social connections they had found through these communities. As one participant put it, “there’s a lot of support out there for people who are doing their own research… there is always someone wanting to hear more, building on the work of others, giving each other support. There’s a real buzz in this community.”

      If one believed in conspiracy theories, one could imagine that the GQP wants to destroy American communities, increase unemployment and employment uncertainty, create more trauma, make more people fearful, etc., because they know it makes people less trustful of institutions and their neighbors and helps drive them to online spaces where those fears can be manipulated (for power and profit).

      Hmm…

      More at the link.

      Best wishes,
      Scott.

      Reply
    47. 47.

      Geminid

      There are plenty of bad stories coming out of the Middle East, so I’ll take the good ones when I find them. This one is from Syrian news site Levant24:

          Cyclists Rally in Damascus Promoting Green Practices and Water Conservation

      Over 850 bicyclists took to the streets of Damascus on Friday, August 22, in a citywide event promoting environmental awareness and sustainable practices, marking the largest cycling event yet in the Syrian capital.

      https://share.google/RjXGNYEvcOggn1zD

      Ed. Link works. Levant24 is a good English language source for Syria news.

      Reply
    48. 48.

      Ruckus

      @Doug R:

      I’ve been noticing a few hiccups in the web over the last few days.

      Maybe firing all those federal workers wasn’t such a great idea. Maybe it was, shitforbrains attempting to do anything or something that has shown exactly what he knows – doodly squat.

      Reply
    49. 49.

      Anonymous At Work

      When it rains hard enough in Miami, the ducks look like they are counting the days until they got carnivore and split the city with gators.

      Reply
    50. 50.

      Professor Bigfoot

      “Stink-eye of Doom.”

      Ye gods, I love her! The Bad Ass B-word seems think in your fam, Mrs. Cracker.

      I am finally clearing out my closet— all the clothes I bought to do business in when I weighed 40 pounds more than I do now AND I’m retired (those things are related— I retired and lost weight without trying. Amazing what a loss of stress will do for you)

      Listen, Derek Guy wouldn’t have had too many complaints from how I used to dress, even though I was an even fatter guy than I am now, but not one bit of it fits me anymore. Suits, dress trousers, khakis, dress shirts… all going away.

      I feel a little weird about it, actually. But it’s time.

      Reply
    51. 51.

      SteveinPHX

      I’ve been at my job all morning. Just got to my phone.
      You’re right. Gators need to have a healthy Lagway.
      I have been pretty depressed about USA politics lately. I want a T-shirt that asks “Is he dead yet?”

      Reply
    52. 52.

      Ruckus

      @Professor Bigfoot:

      Retirement can be a tad boring. And that’s not a bad thing, just a thing. It’s not that you have to accept boring, but if you worked like me, a lot of 9-10 hr days, so overtime weekdays and often Saturdays, and into my 70s, so retirement is not only nice but very, very well appreciated. I thought I might get bored. Maybe if I’d retired at mid sixties rather than mid seventies….. Oh well, we’ll never know.

      Reply
    53. 53.

      Betty Cracker

      @Professor Bigfoot: My sister is one of the best people on the planet: a noble soul, kind and generous to a fault. It is hard to piss her off — and extremely unwise! 😂

      PS: Congrats on the weight loss! I’m doing my best to keep off the pounds I lost during my illness, and so far, so good. But the bitch who said “nothing tastes as good as being skinny feels” couldn’t cook worth a shit!

      @SteveinPHX: I also want that t-shirt!

      Reply
    56. 56.

      Ruckus

      @Professor Bigfoot:

      I’m not overweight but I’ve lost some weight as I’ve gotten older, not a lot but some. I think as one ages and is retired the stress eating goes away. In case it’s not clear, stress eating is eating not because it tastes great or even if you are just hungry, but because when you work too many hours or with way too much stress and/or just too many hours that often makes us far more stressed and that can easily make us hungrier. Food is often our answer in these types of stress, an answer to the quest to enjoy life. Even if you enjoy your work and what you accomplish, it’s still work.

      Reply
    57. 57.

      Ruckus

      @Soapdish:

      I don’t speak to them at all.

      Well that doesn’t cure anything but then if they are trumpers, it is possible that non exposure is at least mentally healthy. Possibly quite legally as well.

      Reply
    58. 58.

      Trivia Man

      Big 12 rules!

      Hard to get pumped about a new conference, i thought PAC 12 was fine. Gonna miss bullying USC.

      Reply
    59. 59.

      Smiling Happy Guy (aka boatboy_srq)

      My last name is….. interesting. Suffice to say that with a slightly crossed eye and a little Reichwing imagination (or whatever passes for imagination among Reichwingnuts), it looks…. suspiciously ethnic, and not in a Conservatist-like way. And I am as WASP as they come.

      Prior to 9/11, there were certain people who performed this particular gymnastic routine in their head to make me one of Those Other People*. On meeting fair-haired and grey-eyed me, I could see on their faces a moment of blank shock – immediately followed by an ear to ear grin and “OH! Hiiiiii!”.

      I never knew whether to be amused or offended.

      Between 9/12 and the introduction of TSA, I had the dubious fortune to travel by air several times. I got the full security treatment each time: enhanced inspection at each security checkpoint, pulled out of like at each gate for additional review, the works. I never knew why, but I suspect the same bias was at work.

      When TSA arrived, all that went away.

      I fear the “Oh! Hiiiiii!” crowd has taken over TSA. I dread travel this year.

      And that’s just regarding this particular situation.

      Reply
    65. 65.

      mrmoshpotato

      @me: Dumbfucks!  Some needs to do the public service of throwing a hardcover dictionary at those fascist motherfuckers!

      Reply
    66. 66.

      WTFGhost

      In between all that, I am making pot roast. What are y’all up to?

      Really? That’s cool, decarboxylation of marijuana (technically, of the THC in marijuana) is the way to make it bioavailable for use in cooking!

      Oh… you don’t mean you’re *roasting* your *pot*.

      Damn.

      It’s like the bumper sticker:
      “CHICKEN POT PIE
      …three of my favorite things!” – and, I just got confused.

      Reply
    69. 69.

      Gloria DryGarden

      @trollhattan: I hope there will be pictures, and a report on what the land feels like. Some places are so sacred some people feel a presence, a certain range of wider awareness.

      I hope to hear some about it; I’ve never been to Yosemite, and can no longer backpack. Anything you share will be a joy…

      Reply
    70. 70.

      WTFGhost

      @Another Scott: By reducing costs for business, you’ll starve workers of both spending money (to have a pleasant night at the pub) and leisure time, and, make them angry and miserable. 

      So far, it’s working, but I think we’re at step 2, “?” before step 3, “PROFIT!”

      The question is, how do you get money out of angry, poor people? The answer is, you steal it, by privatization (charter schools, etc.), but that still leaves everyone more broke and miserable, so then, there’s still less money, and more anger.

       

      @TheOtherHank: I have had *two* grand starters killed by housecleaners.

      The one was particularly epic. She not only emptied out both sourdough bowls, and the discard bowl, she also *scraped the bowls carefully* with a spatula, before putting them into the dishwasher.  A little blob, the size of a dime, and I would have gone in with a quarter teaspoon and a medicine dropper, but *nooooo-oooo*.

      Once the loss was processed, the surprising efficiency of the loss could only be appreciated in a distant, wounded sort of way, “yeah, that was a very quick, clean, efficient destruction of my breadmaking….”

      Reply
    71. 71.

      Jackie

      @mrmoshpotato:

      Hoping the Seahawks get on the board here.

      Can you hear my mandatory It’s only preseason chat from here?  Milroe isn’t impressing me… I assume he’ll sit out the second half.

      Reply
    73. 73.

      They Call Me Noni

      Eldest daughter and I went walking this morning since the weather here is finally conducive to such outdoor activities.  Then we came home and washed and cleaned up her car.  Tonight we’ll be dining on meatloaf, mashed taters, steamed green beans a some good, crusty bread.  Tomorrow morning we’re going walking again and my granddaughter-in-law is joining us and then we plan on re-watching Sinners and having an otherwise lazy day as there will be leftovers.

      I love to cook but I am suffering from whatthehelltofixitis so leftovers are wonderful.

      Reply
    74. 74.

      Smiling Happy Guy (aka boatboy_srq)

      @Betty Cracker: Thanks. Christmas may be more interesting than I had anticipated: assuming I find work in time, spending the holiday with deckhand_srq again.

      Reply
    75. 75.

      Ruckus

      Betty,

      This one line is great (ok the rest was as well, this one just struck me very positively). 

      I hope she doesn’t have to give our relatives the Stink-Eye of Doom, but dammit, she will if she has to.

      Never met her, extremely likely never will but anyone with the Stink-Eye of Doom can be a positive for the world.

      Reply
    76. 76.

      Paul in KY

      I hope my team (UK) is able to beat y’all again. Nothing personal, but the Gators are one of my most disliked teams. Due alot to the massacres we received back when the Ole Ball Coach ran the show.

      Reply

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