Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

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

Let’s delete this post and never speak of this again.

Celebrate the fucking wins.

Disagreements are healthy; personal attacks are not.

… gradually, and then suddenly.

When do we start airlifting the women and children out of Texas?

Tide comes in. Tide goes out. You can’t explain that.

Why is it so hard for them to condemn hate?

The willow is too close to the house.

The arc of the moral universe does not bend itself. it is up to us to bend it.

This must be what justice looks like, not vengeful, just peaceful exuberance.

If a good thing happens for a bad reason, it’s still a good thing.

Within six months Twitter will be fully self-driving.

Do we throw up our hands or do we roll up our sleeves? (hint, door #2)

It’s the corruption, stupid.

’Where will you hide, Roberts, the laws all being flat?’

Tick tock motherfuckers!

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

Not so fun when the rabbit gets the gun, is it?

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

Usually wrong but never in doubt

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

I really should read my own blog.

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

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Saturday Stinkeye Special Open Thread

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Midday over here on the Island. I finally officially close on my house this coming Tuesday, so I am off to the local version of Home Depot to get some new paint for the front door, as a little symbol of my transition from tenant to owner. The door is currently red; I’m thinking a golden yellow would be nice (my house is brick).

I was in the vicinity of the not-Home Depot yesterday, and had a classic Other People’s Cats moment when I cut through a back street to avoid some construction:

Saturday Stinkeye Special Open Thread

“Keep moving and mind your business, lady ape,” is what tabby there is obviously saying. Sound advice in any situation, really.

Open thread, with a preference for hearing about weekend plans. (I’m writing up my podcast episode on Herodotus and meeting a friend for Thai).

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Personal News: Valley of the Shadow

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NOTE: Gonna leave this post pinned at the top for a bit so different “shifts” see it and no repetition is necessary. In the interim, thank you all from the bottom of my heart. I am and will continue reading every comment with laughter and tears and appreciation. I’ll have more to say about that later. But new content will be under this post as it’s published, and you should scroll down and read it and discuss the events of the day. After all, that’s why we’re here. :-)

I’ve been meaning to post a health update but approached the task with trepidation because I wasn’t sure how to start — it’s a lot. Since I tend toward annoying flippancy in fraught situations, let’s go with a good news/bad news format.

The good news is I’m likely to live long enough to vote AGAINST Trump (and whichever horrifying toady he horks up as running mate) and to vote FOR Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, reproductive freedom for Florida women and recreational pot for adults.

The bad news is maybe not because I’ve recently been diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer. The median survival time for people with my diagnosis is less than two years.

Bummer!

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Wednesday Afternoon Open Thread

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Cup of CREAMED coffee

In the morning thread, I complained a lot about having to drink black coffee because I ran out of half-and-half and milk, and many agreed it was a tragic situation. I ransacked my well-stocked hurricane-country pantry in a fruitless search for canned milk, sweetened condensed milk or any plausible dairy-like product.

I even checked the freezer for ice cream. The only dairy I could find in the house was cheese, and that obviously wouldn’t do. So I choked down two cups of vile black coffee.

It delivered caffeine adequately, I guess. But I still didn’t feel right. So a while ago, I went downstairs to our enclosed game room (it’s a stilt house) to see if there was an RC cola in the downstairs fridge, aka, the beer fridge. There was. And there was also half a pint of heavy whipping cream!

Fuuuuck! I’d forgotten all about that!

I’d stashed it there more than a week ago when my sister and I returned from our aunt’s birthday party with a cooler containing several craft beers (our rural relations won’t touch the stuff), plus the leftover heavy whipping cream I’d brought along to make a pie topping at the party.

I flew back upstairs lickety split, brewed some coffee and am now enjoying a properly creamed (overly, even) hot beverage. And all is right with the world.

Open thread!

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Open Thread and Two Small Things You Can Do Today

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File this under things I never thought I would see:
Alexander Vindman writing the words Motherfucking traitors.

Take a minute to call your representative and tell them what you think of the traitors in the House?  When you call, I strongly recommend not using the word motherfucking, in any of its forms.  And maybe call that motherfucking traitor, Scalise, too.

Zoom With Four Directions Set for Thursday at 7 pm ET 1
Make calls for the Democratic candidate who could replace the lying sack of shit, Santos.

Flip NY-3 – Tom Suozzi leads in the early polls and will win if we give Tom the resources and volunteers he needs. The election is Feb. 13th and early in person voting has begin so please take an action to help Tom today! If you want to learn more watch my recent interview from last week, and take an action here:

Donate – Learn More – Get Updates – Canvass – Make Calls

IF Tom Suozzi wins, the R margin gets significantly smaller than it will be if he LOSES.

Is there a way to call the White House with feedback, as we can for senators and representatives?

Zoom With Four Directions Set for Thursday at 7 pm ET 1

Also, people have been asking about charities to support Ukraine, so I just want to remind you that the Ukraine thermometer is still in the sidebar.  The two organizations in the thermometer are World Central Kitchen and Razom for Ukraine – you can choose to donate to just one of them, or both of them.

Remember: it’s not hopeless, and we’re not helpless.

Open thread.

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L.A. Artist Runs Postal Service for the Dead (Open Thread)

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Artist Janelle Ketcher runs a service called Postal Service for the Dead. In it, she maintains a post office box where people can send letters to their deceased loved ones. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

This is an open thread, so talk about whatever you want, but I thought this story was too good not to share.

A few excerpts from a charming L.A.Times article about a very special artist.

Postal Service for the Dead, started by artist Janelle Ketcher, provides the living with a way to physically send letters to those who have exited this realm. The letters are stored, and if so desired, shared with the public. Senders indicate on the back of envelopes if they’d like for the notes to remain sealed or not — leaving them blank means do not open, a heart signifies read but don’t share and a star indicates share. Postal Service for the Dead also functions as a community archive for those who have lost someone, that nation that transcends borders and dimensions, whose language is grief.

Inspired by projects like the wind phone, a disconnected payphone in a garden in Ōtsuchi, Japan, where people can call the deceased, Ketcher decided to just do it herself. She opened a box at a post office in Lincoln Heights and launched an Instagram account. In the year since, dozens of people have sent letters, coming from the West Coast, the Carolinas, Florida, France and beyond.

They include postcards, handwritten notes and homemade collages. There are sweet, nostalgic remembrances, memories of times had and updates on lives lived, but also letters that render the anger, confusion and despair that can accompany the death of a person close to us.

“One big thing with grief,” Ketcher says, “is that even within a family or community unit, everyone could be grieving in a super different way.”

The archive includes letters to family, friends, pets and those who are not physically gone but who are lost in other ways. Most of the letters sent via Postal Service for the Dead have been marked for sharing. Only one letter, sent in an envelope the color of terracotta, was left blank, meaning it will remain sealed and unread.

Writing letters to the dead is a longstanding practice — “A lot of people burn their letters, and that can be really helpful as well,” Ketcher says — but being able to actually send them somewhere holds a mysterious power.

And there’s something appropriate about the Postal Service for the Dead being in Los Angeles. The city’s mythology, a brightly lighted dreamscape with a dark underbelly, makes it the perfect portal between worlds.

Ketcher knows that not everyone believes in an afterlife and that the letters may not be received by their intended recipients.

“I’m just a keeper,” Ketcher says of the letters. “But I do think you can continue a conversation, you can continue a connection, through storytelling.” The artist pauses, and adds, “If you receive a letter from someone you love, there is a bit of magic in that.”

Totally open thread.

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Odds & Ends Open Thread

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The kids are alright!  I hope Gloria Johnson wins the seat.

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In case you haven’t seen this ad yet, it’s really powerful.

Biden cancels $37 million dollars of student loans for former students of the “University of Phoenix”  (CNN)

The Biden administration is canceling nearly $37 million of federal student loan debt for more than 1,200 borrowers who attended the University of Phoenix because it found that the for-profit school misled students about job prospects.

Taking a narrower approach to student debt forgiveness, the Biden administration has continued to cancel some borrowers’ debts under existing programs after the Supreme Court blocked its broad student loan forgiveness program that promised to forgive up to $20,000 for low- and middle-income borrowers.

Similar to Wednesday’s announcement about the University of Phoenix, the Department of Education canceled $72 million in federal student loan debt in August for more than 2,300 borrowers who attended the for-profit Ashford University in California.

Altogether, the administration has canceled more than $117 billion of the nearly $1.7 trillion of outstanding federal student loan debt since 2021.

National Voter Registration Day!  Taylor Swift urged her 232 million followers on Instagram to register to vote at Vote.org – that should leave a mark!

Totally open thread.

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Friday Open Thread (+ Heads Up)

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I started to schedule this open thread for 2 pm, but then changed it to 11 am in the hopes that we will have some Grand Jury / Special Counsel / Indictment news this afternoon.  I will gladly take any of the three today, or all of them!

edit: Then I moved it back because other posts were up!

A quick heads up on a couple of things.

First, soccer.  This is really an open thread with a couple of PSAs, so jump right past this if you’re not interested in soccer.

Blue Guitarist let me know that the Women’s World Cup starts in less than a week.  Putting up a post for each match is a ton of work – all hail Anne Laurie for having done that for the soccer peeps for the other World Cup – but those threads don’t get a ton of action, so with lots of work and little reward, that’s not happening again.

I’m willing to try an experiment for the Women’s World Cup.

I made three soccer posts, one for each of the soccer groups (whatever they are called).  All three posts are linked in the sidebar, and each post has the schedule for that particular set.  So at the very least, you’ll have easy access to the schedule!  If you want a designated place to talk soccer for the World Cup, the 3 posts are there, or you can obviously talk soccer in any open thread.  Even though the posts won’t be on the front page, any comments will show up in recent comments, so if you comment, I imagine you’ll soon have company in the thread.

It’s an experiment, and the results may well show that there’s not enough soccer interest to do this again, but that’s what experiments are for, to be able to see the results!

Second, OzarkHillbilly.

As you know, Ozark’s family had a terrible loss, with Ozark’s brother Dave recently taking his own life. We can’t do anything tangible to help Ozark with the terrible and unexpected loss of a loved one, but there are logistical and financial issues that Dave’s wife, Renee, is having to deal with as she loses not only her husband, but also her home.  We approached Ozark to ask if we could help in some way.

So this is a heads up that we’ll put up a small GoFundMe this weekend to see if we can help, even a little bit.

Totally open thread.

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