This afternoon:
Tomorrow, @NASA astronauts @AstroBehnken and @Astro_Doug will fly from their home base at @NASA_Johnson to @NASAKennedy aboard an agency Gulfstream aircraft. ✈️?
Tune in to NASA TV at 4 p.m. ET on May 20 for the crew arrival news conference: https://t.co/w152mMNVra pic.twitter.com/bsxWTHFIHE
— NASA Commercial Crew (@Commercial_Crew) May 19, 2020
Speaking of space cases…
He didn't press them to fight the virus.
He didn't press them to create jobs.
He didn't press them to get people health care.No, Donald Trump went to Capitol Hill to urge the Senate GOP to work on settling his 2016 campaign grievances. https://t.co/ZnCWc6nkkN
— Ronald Klain (@RonaldKlain) May 20, 2020
Today is a reminder that the correlation between press mentions and prez polling was negative in 2016. The more Trump gets mentioned in the press the worse it likely is for his 2020 re-election chances. https://t.co/oDYwVgFhsb
— (((Harry Enten))) (@ForecasterEnten) May 18, 2020
.@JoeBiden says more expensive food is worth it if there are more safety regulations for meat plants. "No worker’s life is worth me getting a cheaper hamburger!" Biden told Yahoo News.
— Bo Erickson CBS (@BoKnowsNews) May 19, 2020
I mean, no? I'm not going to be furious at the president all the time if Biden is president because the policies will actually be substantially different. https://t.co/bS9RmA3TB7
— Tentin Quarantino (@agraybee) May 20, 2020
Let’s see, the guy who was part of the rescue from inept Republican rule the last time or the inept ruler who crashed it again? This is a puzzler. https://t.co/APs7hLnvvl
— Schooley (@Rschooley) May 17, 2020
debbie
How silly has Lindsey Graham become?
Baud
I actually agree with Lindsey Graham. Oh joyous bipartisanship!
debbie
@Baud:
You just didn’t wait long enough to hear him answer his own question. //
Baud
@debbie: Right. My comment was based on the information in the text of the tweet. I have no interest in hearing Graham’s voice.
NotMax
re: NASA
Can’t help but be suspicious about the why of it. We don’t know – it could be something in his personal life totally unrelated to the job – but one doesn’t normally duck out of such a high profile position after only a few months.
Baud
Plus, we not furious at Trump simply because of his policies. His character, incompetence, rhetoric, and corruption are a big part of it.
satby
Not that there’s a particular topic to go off of but this happened yesterday. My youngest sister sent me a surprise that had me verklempt a bit. Turns out my mom had bought a necklace for me and told my sister she was saving it for my “big birthday”. Mickey knew I was already 61, and she said this was when mom was still with it, so she assumed my mom had meant my 65th birthday. So Mickey has saved it for me for four years and through three house moves so that she could send it to me as my mom planned. 4 years after her death, mom had one final gift for me.? So in spite of the pandemic, it was a great birthday!
Baud
@satby: That’s so sweet. I’m glad you were able to have a good day. And that your sister didn’t lose the necklace like I would have.
NotMax
Switching gears to something far less politically ornery.
Seeking something, anything with which to fill the relentless march of empty hours stuck at home? Practice, practice, practice until it’s perfected could fill the bill.
Although it might well take a toll on the crockery.
:)
satby
@Baud: Rump’s character, incompetence, rhetoric, and corruption are a key reason for his policies. But I’m not picky, I hate him for all of the above, plus for breathing.
SFAW
I started to write a comment about wishing “moronavirus” on all the Rethug officeholders, and most of their enablers, with the concomitant symptoms and results. But then realized what I was wishing for.
I don’t know if I hate all those motherfuckers more for what they do and have done, or for what they’ve turned me into. I mean, I’ve always been an asshole, but not a (virtually) murderous one.
OzarkHillbilly
@satby: ?
debbie
@satby:
Oh, how sweet is that? What a great mom!
(ETA: And sister too)
Immanentize
@satby: Wow. What an amazing Sister. And Mom. And you! Surprises can be good — happy b-day again!??
satby
@Baud: It was sweet. I really didn’t have the heart to tell my sister (because she never accepted my mother’s cognitive decline until years after it started) that my mom probably had purchased it intending to give it to me on my 60th birthday. And since my sister doesn’t read this blog, she’ll never know I’m fairly sure of that. It’s a beautiful gift by both of them.
Jeffro
What, is he-man trumpov going to lift the blessed economy on his manly shoulders and carry it up a mountain? Lindsey baby, come ON.
rikyrah
@satby:
Oh satby ?????
Just dust, here.
Yeah…dust???
rikyrah
Good Morning, Everyone ???
Baud
I didn’t want to give this story a click, but this came across my feed.
Baud
@rikyrah: Good morning.
rikyrah
@Baud:
You are right, Baud
satby
@rikyrah: @OzarkHillbilly: @debbie: @Immanentize: INORITE? Thanks
mrmoshpotato
@satby: Remembering about it after 4 years, 3 house moves, 2 turtle doves and a partridge in a pear treeeee.
Impressive.
rikyrah
@Baud:
Lauer should just sit down ??
NotMax
@satby
Aw, that’s heartwarming. We need a new category for just such feel good accounts: panecdotes.
rikyrah
@NotMax:
And you are right to be suspicious.
This group doesn’t do this unless someone is about to.uncover.serious wrongdoing. Plain wrongdoing, they would stay , and just shrug the shoulders.??
satby
@SFAW: a lot of us are somewhat appalled by the rage and hate the entire vicious Republican party and their figurehead have awakened in us.
debbie
@satby:
I always wanted sisters! I’ve got three brothers and those idiots would never, ever be that kind of thoughtful. ?
rikyrah
This Pastor is not? having ?it?
Don’t call him anymore about when the church will re-open???
mrmoshpotato
@debbie: “Love ya bros, you thoughtless idiots!”
JPL
@satby: What a wonderful story and I’m so pleased that you enjoyed your day.
Baud
Kristine
@satby: that’s lovely ?
Spanky
@satby: Now that’s a sister worth hanging on to.
re the OP: Who is Sema Hernandez, and why should I give one tiny wet fart what she thinks?
mrmoshpotato
@rikyrah:
But they need communion! (And some will need last rites.)
Dark, yes, but most likely true if they reopen.
JPL
@Baud: Those are the same docs that believe abortion causes cancer and vaccines cause autism. We are way down that rabbit hole.
NotMax
@Baud
Politicizing everything. Would be enlightening to track if and by how much their practice’s patient rosters subsequently diminish.
Baud
@Spanky:
It’s an eternal question how tweets get selected for attention. Sometimes, it’s obvious because it’s a viral tweet. But other times the tweet seems to be plucked out of obscurity.
ETA: Comment not limited to AL. Includes all front pagers and commenters.
OzarkHillbilly
So this happened in the suburban STL town I grew up in: Grandmother and son wrongly accused of TV theft sue police over beating I am soooooo proud. Making it all the way to the pages of the Guardian.
From KSDK:
Derek just wouldn’t stop hitting their hands with his face.
I’m a little surprised the Gray’s would shop there. That place is whiter than white. It’s gotten so bad that I’m not welcome there anymore. I’ve spent time in their jail on 2 occasions. Haven’t been back since my father died. These days I tell most folks I grew up in Kirkwood, the neighboring town where I went to school. It’s not near as embarrassing.
The name being French in origin the “s”es are silent, but but when I entered my sarcastic teens I began pronouncing it as “despair”. Yes, I was raised in Despair, Misery.
mrmoshpotato
@Baud:
Must be a suppository!
satby
@debbie: ? one day while both my kids were in their early 20s and while my middle sister was visiting, my younger son reminded his older brother that the next day was “Sweetest Day”, a day we never paid attention to in my house as they were growing up. My sister marveled aloud at how thoughtful my youngest son was and that his gf was lucky because most men wouldn’t be romantic enough to think of getting a gift for that. My son’s answer to his aunt: “remember, I was raised entirely by women” ?
rikyrah
low-tech cyclist
Some random thoughts:
Baud
@low-tech cyclist: Biden has exceeded my expectations.
OzarkHillbilly
@Baud: Just drumming up some business.
NotMax
@rikyrah
Tuesday’s Maddow show contained a segment about that.
Starfish
@Baud: Oh, so Ben Smith is not ax grinding just due to jealousy. He is trying to help a sexual harasser with a door locking button under his desk make a come back. Gross.
rikyrah
Chyron HR
It’s Trump. Trump will continue to be president for the remainder of 2020. But thanks for tipping your hand that you’re going to start blaming Biden for everything as soon as November 4, you demented freaks.
Baud
@rikyrah:
Today show just covered that.
satby
@Baud: maybe we should have had more faith. After all, a pretty smart guy we all respected picked Biden to be his VP. And considering the crazy in this country, I’m sure Obama realized there was a possibility that Biden might have had to finish his term. I honestly feared for Obama’s safety daily.
germy
rikyrah
mrmoshpotato
@Baud: Starbucks guy exceeded my expectations by……(busts out the backhoe, dig dig dig, oh there’s the bar!)….not being a traitorous, kidnapping, Soviet shitpile mobster manbaby.
Baud
@satby:
I feel like I had the correct amount of faith, which was greater than zero but less than complete. I never felt that he would be incapable or horrible as president, even though he was not my first choice in the primary.
Baud
@germy: I want him to fire the Trump IGs. Disagree with this.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@satby:
I saw this on FB. What a lovely thing for your sister to do. I’m kind of verklempt about it too.
EmbraceYourInnerCrone
@satby: Happy bithday! And I am so glad your sister kept track of it through all that.
rikyrah
Betty Cracker
@satby: What a nice thing for your sister to do, even if she was likely wrong on the “special birthday” your mom meant to honor! :)
mrmoshpotato
Friend just sent the Mid-Michigan NOW videos of the Edenville dam break.
“I’m no scientist. But that ain’t good”
germy
@Baud:
Immanentize
@Spanky: @Baud:
Sema Hernandez was a Democratic Party candidate for the Senate seat from Texas. She lost the primary. She is generally aligned, I would say, with the Justice Dems. So, a way bigger player in a big state’s politics than most.
Betty Cracker
@low-tech cyclist: Same. I found the co-authored op-ed with Senator Warren very encouraging, and Biden gets that the pandemic upended everything, which will require…wait for it…big structural change. Now, like FDR said, it’s up to us to make him do it!
low-tech cyclist
@OzarkHillbilly: Good Lord.
I’ve given up on American police. If these incidents were just ‘a few bad apples,’ well, it’s a hell of a lot of bad apples.
And if it’s just some bad apples, where’s the outrage from the rest of the law enforcement community that these guys are giving them a black eye? I certainly haven’t seen any of that. Instead, we see cops having temper tantrums when a mayor or other elected official suggests that one of those ‘bad apples’ might’ve overstepped the bounds, when yet another unarmed black man dies at the hands of the cops.
Not sure how we can make it happen, or even when we’d be in a position to do it, but dammit, there needs to be a housecleaning.
rikyrah
@Baud:
Smith is mad because Farrow wouldn’t touch Tara Reade’s lying azz with a 10 foot pole and give her legitimacy.?
Baud
@germy: That’s better.
@Immanentize: Thanks for the info. Glad she lost the primary. Running for a big seat doesn’t mean that much to me. Any nutjob can file papers to run for any seat.
Sally
@Baud: I agree. I wish Dems would not make these promises. Especially while the administration is full of incompetent mafiosi. Many people need to be sacked. As in, razed.
Baud
@rikyrah: That’s what I assumed. The timing is just too perfect.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@germy:
Biden needs to be careful. Will he not fire the IGs Trump is currently appointing?
low-tech cyclist
Yeppers. Too many of us stood down too soon after Obama was elected. We can’t make that mistake again.
Frankensteinbeck
@Spanky:
I know not this Sena Hernandez, but they are accurately representing the attitudes of Rose Twitter. I see it regularly, and they live in a ‘not a dime’s worth of difference’ fantasy world.
Baud
@Betty Cracker:
I think we are helped this time by the fact that the House has already authored and passed a lot of good legislation. Much of the legwork has been done, so you don’t have to start from scratch.
Ohio Mom
Mean Jean Schmidt (remember her?) is staging a comeback, though instead of Congress, this time the Ohio Statehouse is her goal — she just won the Republican primary for State Representative (took a long time to hand count the mail-in votes).
Schmidt says she’s running because Columbus isn’t helping counties enough, referring to the cuts to the Local Government Fund made by Kasich and continued by the current governor, DeWine.
Even Republicans don’t like Republican policies.
Soprano2
@SFAW: I didn’t know how thoroughly I could hate someone until Donald Trump became president. Every time I think I’m topped out on hatred, he does or says something else and it gets even deeper. It kind of scares me, actually, to know I can hate someone so much.
prostratedragon
@satby: That’s lovely, Happy Birthday!
Betty Cracker
Wanted to share this lovely morning surprise with those of you who don’t do the Twitter:
Dorothy A. Winsor
@satby: That reminds me of lines from one of my favorite novels, Fredrick Backman’s BEARTOWN. The speaker is commenting on how people say Benji gets into so much trouble because his father is gone.
“You may not be an angel, Benjamin, I know that much. But, dear God, you haven’t lacked a role model. All your best qualities come from the fact that you’ve been raised in a house full of women.”
clay
@rikyrah:
I’m no political genius, but publicly threatening to starve a state that is critical to your re-election chances during an election year doesn’t seem like the best strategy. He should be throwing money at them, one would think…
clay
@Betty Cracker: I’m so jealous. Otters are my favorite animal!
Baud
@clay:
The default GOP assumption is that voters will blame Democrats for GOP behavior. It’s not an unreasonable assumption.
mrmoshpotato
Haha
clay
@Baud: I guess, but he’s saying it out loud. I don’t know why he insists on cutting ads for Biden, but more power to him.
danielx
Well, Sema Hernandez, we are going to have to agree to disagree. For one thing, Trump doesn’t have policies. He has impulses. The only policy he has is that whatever the issue is, it’s about him and how he benefits from it.
OzarkHillbilly
@Betty Cracker: Just passing thru!
satby
@Betty Cracker: That makes it all even sweeter to me, and who knows? She may have guessed correctly what my mom wanted.
OzarkHillbilly
@Baud: Yep. We’re just so mean, we made them do it.
satby
@Betty Cracker: Nice!! BTW, how’s the arm doing today?
OzarkHillbilly
@mrmoshpotato: A tale of 2 shitty’s according to We all Need a Helping Hand
satby
Well, you’re a better person than me, because though I’ve always thought he was a decent guy, I had very little faith that he’d be more than a caretaker president while we got over the Rump disease.
Betty Cracker
@satby: Almost completely back to normal! Whew! I’m going to ask about an epi-pen though. You never know, and I am very far from medical attention out here in the swamp.
prostratedragon
@rikyrah:
Wow, sounds a lot like that thing –was it Crimeastan or something?– from 1932 maybe, that I read about in my h.s. world history class.
TS (the original)
@Baud:
There won’t be any left to fire. Trump won’t replace those he fires.
satby
@Betty Cracker: Yeah, I really think that was a signal that you’re getting more sensitive to something you may have barely noticed before. Wasp or spider. And keep fast acting Benedryl on hand too, especially until you get the pen.
germy
open thread?
Question:
What (in your opinions) is the best way to train a … large … puppy not to jump up on everyone she meets?
The owner told me “I heard you’re supposed to ignore them, but that doesn’t work.”
Surely there’s a better way?
kindness
That tweet from Sema is a throwback. I don’t tweet so I’m not on twitter. I read the blowback from around the media though. It had seemed than most the BernieBros got a little smarter and stopped selling outright bullshit, but with Sema and her followers who replied to her, I am disappointed. Those people are truly scum of the earth because they are ostensibly on our side but they really aren’t. They are on the side of shitheadism.
OzarkHillbilly
mrmoshpotato
@OzarkHillbilly: “The big meany Democrats made us vote for a Soviet shitpile mobster manbaby instead of an extremely-qualified woman with a lifetime of service to others!”
WaterGirl
Just catching up on last night’s threads, and I have to say one thing. I ?Sheldon Whitehouse. I first noticed him in the Kavanaugh hearings. His line of questioning was most excellent, and I heard him promise that he was not going to forget about Christine Blasey Ford, or about Kavanaugh.
In case you missed it, this is a link to a 4-minute video posted by Another Scott. None of the blathering we sometimes see from politicians. This is a brilliant 4 minutes of Whitehouse laying bare, step-by-step, the coordinated planning to take over the US Supreme Court. If you haven’t watched it yet, I do not believe you will regret there 4 minutes of your time that it would take to watch this video.
Oh, and only because his style kind of reminds me of Katie Porter, laying something out methodically until the situation is clear as day, I have to say that I finally listened to her interview last week where she talks about the “bitches” who mock her minivan and then want to borrow it. I had not idea she was such a swear-er – she said her peeps have to rein her in all the time. I could not love her more.
Immanentize
@Dorothy A. Winsor: They will mostly all still be “acting” at the time of the election. And if Biden wins, I bet he can break that ‘promise’ with impunity, as long as it is explained sufficiently.
Immanentize
@Baud:
Like BAUD! 2020. Or did you even forget to file?
germy
@WaterGirl: Remember when she dressed up as Batwoman?
She has a great sense of humor, along with her competence and intelligence.
and this:
mrmoshpotato
@WaterGirl: And here’s Watergirl with the pizza report.
Baud
@TS (the original): I didn’t realize he wasn’t naming lackeys to the positions. That’s good news.
satby
@germy: two ways: the first is to bump their nose hard enough to be a little uncomfotable with your palm when they jump up on you while saying “Down”.*
*Edit, this replaces the old advice to knee them in the chest when they jump. Less mean and easier for the dog to understand.
The second is to have a long leash on them when people come over, and while keeping your end under your foot, pull up sharply on the leash when the dog goes to jump up on the visitor, while loudly saying “Down” (or sit, whatever command you use). Because the leash runs under your foot, pulling it up at your end pulls the dog down, not away, so they learn the action they’re expected to perform.
And patient persistence. A treat every time the dog responds to his command always is a motivator while learning.
germy
@satby: thank you.
Immanentize
@germy: Aren’t you really asking,”How do you train the owner of a large puppy that jumps up on everyone?”
Baud
@satby: In fairness, the president he was going to be when the primary began os different than the president he will have to be given current conditions.
@Immanentize: Paperwork is an establishment tool to keep the people down.
Baud
@satby: Just like people.
Frankensteinbeck
@Baud:
When people here worry about all the minions Trump is installing in careerist positions, I remember that one of the major problems of the Trump administration is that he prefers to leave as many federal positions as possible empty. Hundreds of important jobs that have deliberately never been filled are a big reason why everything the administration has done has been a clusterfuck.
Baud
@Frankensteinbeck: Yes, I didn’t realize that he wasn’t appointing new IGs (which are not career positions). Between the economic situation and Trump’s departure, I hope decent people start applying for government jobs and Biden is able to
restock the deep statebring back a functioning government.WaterGirl
@Baud: Yeah, if someone credibly accused me of rape, or some other horrible thing, like baby-killing, I would definitely wait until that person seemed vulnerable 2 years later before I would speak up and deny the allegation. //
rikyrah
PST
@satby: I thought, when I read your original post, that the gift might have been intended for your 60th. What a wonderful, sad/happy surprise. It reminded me how lucky my wife and I are that her mother has never lost a beat mentally. Our first venture out into the gradually opening world will be a long drive to visit her for her 96th birthday in a week. Obviously we have to think about the risk to her, but this is a woman who has returned to driving herself to the grocery store to shop, and who can explain to family member who protest exactly what the store has done to make this reasonably safe. So we respect her choices and plan to come see her. At her age it seems perfectly reasonable to take a few risks to enjoy life rather than just await its end.
Miss Bianca
@satby: Awww…happy belated birthday to you!
Betty Cracker
@germy: I’m not a great dog trainer (except on house training; I am great at that!), but here’s how we’ve done it, and ignoring the dog does have a role to play because dogs will keep doing things that bring attention (even negative attention), but the ignoring part is for the guest who’s serving as guinea pig.
The owners can prep the dog by training it on a command — sit and stay — with lots of treats until it becomes second nature. Then, when the guest (or owner) arrives, use that command. It takes a while, but our dogs seem to get it eventually. The thing about dogs (in my experience anyway) is that they WANT to do what you want them to do; you just have to communicate what that is. That can take a while, so you have to be patient.
germy
@Immanentize: Train the owner and the dog will follow.
I have a big scratch on my hand and wrist from the dog’s claws.
I worried about infection all day yesterday.
Beautiful young dog, but she wants to jump up on everyone she meets.
hueyplong
Who is the biggest suck-up to Trump?
a. Mike Pence (lapdogs shake their heads at his servile nature)
b. Jon McNaughton (Tump’s poker-playing dogs Leni Riefenstahl)
c. Susan Collins (the brow-furrowing is just foreplay)
d. Lindsey Graham (the 180 from 2016 gives off a gimp/slavery vibe)
e. Ron DeSantis (killing his own citizens to please his master)
Please don’t show your work unless you think someone not on this list is the actual winner.
Miss Bianca
@Betty Cracker: Wow, what a lovely surprise indeed!
germy
@Betty Cracker:
That’s the challenge. I’m concerned I was encouraging the behavior because I’m always happy to see her, but the jumping up and scratching is a problem.
I’m a cat person. I don’t really like yelling at dogs. I’ll pass the advice on to the owner.
My biggest worry is that this ugly gash on my hand gets infected. I don’t want to deal with a doctor’s office right now.
germy
@hueyplong:
His two adult sons?
I have no work to show.
mrmoshpotato
@rikyrah: This dead horse needs at least one more ass-kicking.
What a fucking manbaby asshole!
WaterGirl
@germy: Did not see her as batwoman! Sorry I missed it.
hueyplong
@germy: It’s difficult to articulate how much joy it gives to realize that those people had slipped my mind. [And that you didn’t show work.]
mrmoshpotato
@hueyplong: What survey-from-Hell is this? :)
Dorothy A. Winsor
Someone retweeted this from Trump. The man has no self-awareness. At all.
trnc
If he clarified that he wouldn’t fire them just for doing their jobs, great. If he stopped with the statement above, that’s a stupid promise.
Also, IGs serve across administrations, right? He needs to fire all the ones DT put in place.
germy
@WaterGirl:
“My own findings” ?? He makes no sense.
But I bet he’s deluded enough to think he can worm his way back onto a network where he can rub his hands together and “take Biden down a peg” during a town hall debate.
Betty Cracker
@germy: Yeah, if you greet the dog while she’s misbehaving, that is encouraging the bad behavior. Victoria Stilwell (“It’s Me or the Dog” lady) trains owners to tell volunteer training guests to cross their arms and turn their back on the dog until it behaves, then greet it when it’s calm. We’ve tried that with some success.
Most of my dogs have been boxers, who are known for their exuberance. They’re hard to train out of behavior like that, but if you keep at it, they’ll understand eventually. Hope your cut heals quickly! Put some antibiotic on it right away! :)
mrmoshpotato
@WaterGirl: Here you go.
Barbara
@Betty Cracker: As a dog trainer explained it to me, when a dog is consistently misbehaving, it is usually responding to signals that the owner doesn’t even realize they are giving. In my experience, the hardest behavior to train a dog out of is barking. Making them sit or lie down on command is probably the first step to dealing with most other inappropriate behaviors, like jumping. The only time I really had to give up with a dog is when it became aggressive for reasons no one seemed to understand, not even the trainer or dog psychologist.
Baud
So apparently there are IG nominees pending.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/17/politics/transportation-department-inspector-general/index.html
germy
@Betty Cracker:
That technique worked on Bill de Blasio. Just ask the head of the NY police union.
The Moar You Know
@germy: Ignoring your pup’s misbehavior is the worst. And about half the people the dog jumps on think it’s cute. Well, you get an 80 pound retriever jumping on your 75-year old mom and the resultant hospital trip ain’t so cute.
Leash correction (look it up, it’s not strangling your dog with a leash, just a little attention-getting pop) will do the trick. Put the dog on leash EVERY TIME before someone comes over. Dog gets ready to jump (you can see them getting ready) you get ready. Dog starts jump, just a little pop and a quiet “no”. Reminds them “hey, I’m here and watching and that’s not ok”. Takes a while, as do all dog trainings.
Get the “Monks of New Skete” books and read up on what it takes to be a good dog parent. It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done, because all I want to do is snuggle the big fucker and feed him snacks, but when you own a dog, you have an obligation to make sure your dog is not an inadvertent danger to the public. Or even annoying.
germy
@trnc:
Maybe I’m naive, but I would hope those IGs DT put into place would resign rather than serve a… democrat administration.
But then again, these people love power.
Frankensteinbeck
@Baud:
The implication in that article is that Trump has been working with ‘acting’ IGs, and presumably intends to keep doing that. So, Biden won’t have to fire those. He just needs to appoint actual IGs.
Citizen Alan
@Soprano2: As I’ve said before, I honestly don’t hate Shitgibbon as much as his supporters. 63 million or so countrymen, and I literally don’t consider them to be functionally human. I honestly don’t think they have souls.
WaterGirl
@mrmoshpotato: Ah, the pizza report.
I’ll start by saying that I’m a pretty good cook. Not fancy, but people like what I make.
Having said that… holy cow, the deep dish pizza last night was NOT GOOD. In fact, I would say this was the second-worst thing I have ever made.
The first being a broccoli casserole I made when I moved out of the dorms. We had only frozen broccoli spears when I was growing up, so I didn’t know to cook the broccoli before I put it in the casserole.
Do you know how long it takes to cook raw broccoli spears in a casserole on a Sunday afternoon? It took 7 hours, I think, and the whole casserole was a disgusting sad-overcooked-green-bean color. I offered some to my cocker spaniel – who ate everything – corn on the cob, including the cob, pineapple, she would even eat lettuce if it had touched taco meat – she turned her nose up and walked way.
Back to the pizza… I ate two pieces, and there were probably 6 or 7 servings left. I started to put it in bags for the fridge, but I ended up putting everything that was left in one bag and walking it right out to the garbage.
There was NOTHING redeeming about it. Flavor? The deep dish crust? No flavor, texture was bad. Nothing like a deep dish crust is supposed to be. The roasted onion / kalamata olive / spicy pepper combo that is PERFECT in my super-skinny flat curst pizza got totally lost with all the bread.
Even the cheese was awful – I always buy really good mozzarella but when laying in supplies for lockdown i got some shredded mozzarella, ugh, texture was bad. I am trying to think of one redeeming thing about it, and I am coming up empty.
Don’t even tell me how yummy your lemon chicken with tarragon was! (Okay, you can tell me.)
Barbara
@germy: I have small, highly excitable dogs, so I don’t worry excessively about this issue — they only come up to knee height even when standing — but if it is when you are home and answering the door, I would start with making sure the dog responds to your command to sit or lie down, which you will tell it to do every time you open the door. You can practice this by having a second person come to the door and you give treats, etc. until you instill the desired behavior. I have never found ignoring undesirable behavior to have much effect, although maybe it works better for dogs that are highly sociable, like goldens. My view has always been to make sure the dog listens to you so that you can substitute a desired for an undesired behavior.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
I have a hunch that he benefits from all the Sleepy Joe crap from the trumpies and the “he’s senile!” screeching from the Berners, then he shows up on TV and sounds pretty much like a normal person. Not an Obama or a Clinton, but remember trying to follow John Kerry through an unscripted response? and I like Kerry, but…
PST
@germy: My approach for a jumping puppy — and mine was big even when young — was to turn and walk away without ceremony, saying over my shoulder, “Sorry, but I have to teach her that the fun ends the second she jumps.” Ignore all protestations, “It’s okay, I don’t mind.” The jumping puppy gets a kick out of meeting people and will quickly get the point. Handling inside visitors is tougher. Gotta mention that we had our first curbside pickup vet appointment this weekend. Bernie usually loves going, but not having us with her must have been strange. When she came out she stood up and put her paws on my shoulders, something I literally can’t remember her ever doing. I forgave her under the circumstances.
germy
@WaterGirl:
Here she is:
Republicans tried desperately to “shame” her for it, but their efforts failed spectacularly.
Barbara
@WaterGirl: I have never understood the appeal of deep dish pizza, even when I had it in one of the primo locations for deep dish pizza in Chicago.
WaterGirl
@germy: Ugh.
Unfairly treated rapists unite!
germy
@The Moar You Know: Thank you for the advice.
It’s not my dog, she was adopted by a family member who lives nearby.
I’ll pass on all the good info I’ve gotten here.
zhena gogolia
@Starfish:
Did you read Ben Smith’s article? I thought it raised some valid points. I’m wary of Ronan Farrow.
WaterGirl
@mrmoshpotato: I not only get to see her as BatWoman, but I get a repeat of my favorite line of all time: “Let me show you IN THIS TEXTBOOK THAT I FUCKING WROTE.”
thanks. I also love that she dressed as BatWoman without regard to her body shape. It’s always the slender, hot girls who dress in costumes like that. Go Katie!
Frankensteinbeck
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Which, let’s face it, is what most of the country craves right now. We’re traumatized by three years of a screaming toddler as president. I think Biden’s “I’m a nice guy” reputation and charisma is going to be overwhelmingly important in this election. In particular, I think the normally non-voting population who absolutely hate Trump will flock to vote for Biden’s promise of stability and decency.
WaterGirl
@germy: Love that!
Aleta
@germy:
Emily Latham’s (Dogmantics) ideas have worked well for us for grown dogs and puppies. Short videos and reading that are free. (Using a clicker is optional–we didn’t.) With puppies she points out other initial training that makes a big difference. (Her advice on teaching Settle was key for us. with an untrained adult. (Worked on our dog too. : ) )
Examples:
Stop jumping up!
What to Train Your Puppy First
Stop unwanted behavior without INTIMIDATION
(Beginning explains why ignoring undesirable behavior and punishment can go wrong.)
PenAndKey
This was my thought too. If they’re just acting he doesn’t even need to fire them. He just needs to give them a smile, a “thank you for your service” letter, and tell them where the door is. The only real need is the door part, but he’d do the rest and then scold anyone who tried to give him grief over it.
As far as I know he’s under no obligation to keep a single person who is serving in an “acting” capacity on in their roll, and since they never received congressional approval for their job it’s not like Congress can tell him he has to keep them.
trnc
I think W was a terrible president in so many ways, but he provided a lot of support to Africa to fight AIDS and he seemed to understand a couple of things late in his 2nd term. On a personal level, he seems like he might have been an OK guy if he hadn’t ever held public office.
DT has no redeeming qualities whatsoever. In fact, the go-to statement of “Well, he has a lovely family” from political opponents is also down the drain because every adult in his family is thoroughly awful.
Aleta
@Aleta: correction: What to Train Your Puppy First (An intro that shows her general approach too.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YF7boyICV7M&list=PLF26FD559887E7EA4&index=1
raven
@germy: The Monks of New Skete recommend you hold them up by their front paws and don’t let them down for a good bit. They no likey
from a review
“What a fantastic book, we have a 6 month old Rottweiler, who has a habit of pawing you n jumping up, we did what the book said n held her paws, ( not to hurt her but to make her slightly uncomfortable, it has worked,”
Betty Cracker
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Yeah, I’ve been thinking for a while that Trump & Co. are making a huge mistake by ratcheting down expectations for Biden. He does tend to ramble sometimes, mispronounces words, etc., but have you seen the ads they’re running? My God. If he shows up and sounds like a normal person — which he generally does — that strategy blows up in their faces.
I thought that evil bastard Rove was pretty damn sly to talk up Gore’s debating skills up during the 2000 campaign before the first debate. All GWB had to do was not publicly soil himself, and the media fell all over itself about him exceeding expectations. The Trump people are doing the exact opposite, which is dumb.
WaterGirl
@Barbara: I grew up in Chicago, so I would kill for good deep dish pizza and good Italian beef.
Luckily, we have a great deep dish pizza place in Champaign – Papa Dels – but no great marks for any of the Italian beef.
germy
@Betty Cracker: Did you see Rove’s latest remarks?
He called Obama’s graduation speech a “drive by shooting” because he was critical of the adults in charge, without mentioning trump’s name once.
Frankensteinbeck
@Betty Cracker:
The comparison in debates is going to be shocking. Trump has lost an enormous amount of ground in his ability to even fake being coherent since 2016. The debates will be a visceral emphasis to the public that they’re choosing between a stupid, gibbering asshole and a nice guy who knows what he’s doing.
For those who say Trump will refuse to debate, I point you to his COVID press conferences and what disasters they’ve been. Trump can’t help himself. He must get in front of the cameras, and he is absolutely convinced that he is a phenomenal public speaker and deal maker. This seems to be one of the only issues he’s actually self-confident about. When he fails, he just gets pissed at the unappreciative people who won’t admit how great he is.
Barbara
@germy: Oh gee, Lee Atwater’s heir and successor knows how to send dog whistles.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@trnc: Bush’s silence about trump is another failure to protect this country, and one made out of calculation and clan interest (George P Bush has ambition, and he’s probably not the only one among his cousins) rather than laziness or complacency or arrogance, and I wish some of my new friends among the never-trumpers would notice.
Credit where due, I never would’ve bet Romney would stand up to trump at all, for the sake of President Tagg. And I hate to say that his vote to convict trump would look like a fart in the wind, but….
Omnes Omnibus
@WaterGirl: The calzone I ordered was good.
Cameron
@trnc: Yeah, W’s statement to the country about the pandemic was so superior to anything the swinish oaf has spewed forth, I nearly fell out of my chair when I was listening to it.
germy
Another Scott
@NotMax: https://www.space.com/nasa-human-spaceflight-chief-doug-loverro-resigns.html
(Emphasis added.)
Breaking rules is bad, especially at NASA, especially with regards to human space flight.
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/05/19/nasa-human-spaceflight-director-ousted-268327
One cannot take anything from the Administration at face value, of course. Presumably Congress will try to investigate what happened and why.
Cheers,
Scott.
MagdaInBlack
@WaterGirl:
Many (many) moons ago my SIL worked as a graphic designer for Flying Tomato Brothers…Garcias Pizza, in Champaign. I loved their pizza, but I think they no longer exist?
Betty Cracker
@germy: That’s PURE GOLD! Or maybe black velvet. Anyway, a great analogy.
@Frankensteinbeck: Trump seems to be laying the groundwork for chickening out of the debates by complaining about network unfairness in advance, but you make a good point. Honestly, I won’t be surprised either way, but I agree if he shows up, the contrast will be shocking, and in a good way for Biden.
Omnes Omnibus
@Betty Cracker: If the debates do happen, I am hoping for a moment when Biden just looks at Trump and says, “What the fuck are you even talking about?”
Another Scott
@low-tech cyclist: Agreed. I wanted Warren, and though Joe should have stayed retired. But he’s done well.
+1.
Cheers,
Scott.
Kathleen
@satby: OK I think I’m going to cry. What a sweet story. Glad your birthday was joyful for you.
dopey-o
@germy: the best way to train a puppy not to jump up on everyone they meet is to rap their muzzle. twice was enough to stop an energetic border collie puppy brought home by mistake.
puppy also liked to stick her muzzle in my face when I sat down, paws on the edge of my chair. Blowing hot foul human breath at the dog has discouraged that. Both actions accompanied by a firm “No!” The dog responds even when cautioned from across the room.
Spouse and child don’t engage in this negative reinforcement. Dog still jumps up on them to receive their affection. Consistency might be an issue.
when the wayward puppy hears me rise in the morning she waits to be invited to jump up on the bed and greet me. Sits at my elbow to be scratched and praised.
It takes very little trouble and effort to live with a good dog. I’m sure she wishes the same were true of me.
Frankensteinbeck
@Betty Cracker:
What really cemented my view of Trump on this matter were the letter to Erdogan and the ‘transcript’, and how he reacted to the public’s shock at both. In both cases, he actually thought they made him look great. He was showing off what a great deal maker he is for America! He kept insisting people look at the documents because he could not see how he came off as anything but The Greatest President Ever.
Kathleen
@rikyrah: Exactly. As if there’s any doubt about whose word I should trust. Lauer is despicable.
prostratedragon
@WaterGirl:
My condolences. I’ve had a few such experiences, the most recent being a chili in which the beans never got near soft, while everything else just simmered to mush. Canned or at least precooked beans for me in the future.
MattF
Jen Rubin really has the bit between her teeth on the subject of Stacy Abrams and RW racism. It’s not Trump or even Republicans that Rubin is attacking here, it’s the RW generally.
Betty Cracker
@Omnes Omnibus: I’d also love it if Biden asked Trump why he never renegotiated vibranium mining agreements with Wakanda because you know dumbass would try to bluff his way through it.
zhena gogolia
@Omnes Omnibus:
It’s well within the realm of possibility.
I’m still laughing about “his age group and shall we say his weight group.” Both Pelosi and Biden are capable of mordant wit when the occasion requires.
Kathleen
@Baud: Betty nailed it yesterday by referring to their ilk as a pro virus movement. We (rhetorical) should start beating that drum on social media. And create a cartoon MAGA hat wearing mascot for them. “HI! I’m Covid the MAGA Microbe!” It’s all about the branding. BTW I’m available if you need a Marketing Director for your campaign.
danielx
@germy:
And if there’s anyone who knows about political drive-by shootings, it’s Karl Rove.
SFAW
@Omnes Omnibus:
Which will doubtless be portrayed by the RWMFs as “See? Biden is senile! He doesn’t even understand the BEST words coming being spoke by Dear Leader! Suck it, libtard!!! Har!!”
And Facebook Truth Squad will given Biden’s statement 47 Pinocchios, and Politifact will rate it as “pants on fire.”
[Apropos of nothing: Part of me wishes that Politifact (or whoever it is), instead of giving the Murderer-in-Chief “Pants On Fire” ratings, would instead give him “Adult Diaper Soiled” ratings. Just to piss off that motherfucker. ]
Kathleen
@MattF: She tells it like it is more than anyone else I’ve seen in Mainstream Media. She speaks truth.
SFAW
@Betty Cracker:
Yet another reason I love you. [Figuratively speaking, of course.]
Betty Cracker
@Frankensteinbeck: That childish letter — I’d almost forgotten it! Same dynamic with the “perfect phone call” with the Ukrainian president. He kept shrieking “read the transcript!” Uh, we did, that’s why you’re getting impeached, idiot. He really is stone stupid.
SFAW
@Kathleen:
Thanks for the offer, but I do all my own grocery shopping.
L85NJGT
“President Tweety”
Hoodie
@Frankensteinbeck: Another thing is that many people may be underestimating Biden in a debate with Trump based on the Dem candidate debates. He was on stage with a lot of very good debaters (Harris, Klobuchar, Warren, etc.), and Joe got a little flustered and tongue-tied with them at times because he’s not a formal debater. Formal debaters, however, often have a hard time with bullshit artists like Trump because the formal debater tends to be psychologically limited by the habits associated with formal debate. In contrast, Joe can be particularly effective when dealing with a pure bullshit artists like Rudy, Sarah Palin or Paul Ryan. He can trot out the grandpa-isms like “malarkey” and telling facial expressions, which work because they refuse to even engage with the nonsense.
Kathleen
@Ohio Mom: I can’t stand that woman but I will give her two things. First she’s a hell of a runner ( I can’t eat her dust in races) and I saw her one morning coaching a running group for recovering from alcohol or drug addiction which is sponsored by a local Gospel Mission. She was our of office and it was not a photo OP. I respect her for that. I’ve seen them in various races and they are inspirational.
ryk
@WaterGirl: Papa Dels is still around? It was the best pizza in town when I was at U of I back in the early ‘80s. Still among the best I’ve ever had. I may have to make a road trip to try them again.
WaterGirl
@MagdaInBlack: I worked at Garcia’s in the 80s, when they were in their prime. They still have a small place (not on campus) but I haven’t eaten there in decades because they went downhill, big time.
We all knew one another – I wonder if I would know your SIL?
For their sauce, they went from using 1/2 high-quality crushed tomatoes and 1/2 high-quality tomato puree TO using 1/2 crushed tomatoes and 1/2 purple beet powder mixed with water.
They went from high-quality mozzarella cheese to fake cheese that turned purple-is from the beet powder. Ugh.
But they were great in their prime!
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Omnes Omnibus:
That, of course, will be used as proof that Joe is senile.
WaterGirl
@ryk: Still around! You can also order a partially baked frozen pizza on dry ice and have it delivered to you anywhere. Costs an arm and a leg, though!
Omnes Omnibus
@SFAW: Who cares?
J R in WV
@Betty Cracker:
So this morning while on our first cuppa coffee wife notes today’s date.
Then she says, in a kind of surprised voice “OH! Today’s our anniversary!” and so it is. 49 years ago today we were wed.
Amazed, yet we are still married today! ;-)
That’s an ASCII emoji for those that don’t recall those.
MagdaInBlack
@WaterGirl:
It would have been the early 80’s, so you may have known her. Havent spoken to her in years tho shes still in that area. You may email me at the google address if you wish ☺
Ksmiami
@SFAW: I used to be a nice person- now I want the GOP burnt to the ground
Barbara
@prostratedragon: Regarding precooked beans: What I have read — and experienced — is that beans basically stop getting softer when acid (e..g. tomato sauce) is added to the cooking liquid. You should always precook the beans in order to avoid this problem. I sometimes wonder when I read recipes that say something different whether they have actually tested what they are putting in the book.
J R in WV
@prostratedragon:
I tried to cook dried garbanzo beans once… total failure, took 3 days of simmer/soak to get anywhere close to edible. Way past the day I wanted to make Hummus. Don’t recall what we ate instead of Hummus. Was a long time ago — canned garbanzos are the ticket!
And navy beans are a close second in the uncookable lane!
MisterForkbeard
@trnc: That’s my thought – there shouldn’t be an assumption that Trump (who fires people and puts loyal toadies in their place – ‘loyalty’ to him and the Republican Party is literally their first priority) has any good hires.
Make people interview for their jobs.
James E Powell
@Omnes Omnibus:
I’d like to see a moment where Biden just starts laughing at him, stops for a moment, but then breaks out laughing again.
JPL
@Ksmiami: What seems like decades ago now, but in reality the year before last, I told my son that republicans used to be sane. Recently i told him I was delusional and to forget what I said. They always deserved to be …………. (fill in the blank)
Geeno
@germy: My friend (who raises the best behaved dogs ever) told me to tell them to “SIT!” – if you just say “NO!”, they don’t know what you want them to do – so give them the command so they know what to do. As you keep doing they will come to understand that this is a situation where master wants me to sit, and you won’t have to tell them explicitly anymore.
Steeplejack (phone)
@J R in WV:
Congratulations! ??
zhena gogolia
@J R in WV:
Congratulations!
Origuy
Glad to hear Papa Del’s is still in business. I used to live only a few blocks from there. Garcia’s was are regular stop, Papa’s was for special occasions. One time I stopped in Chicago on my way back from Indiana after Christmas. I decided to try several deep dish places. Lou Malnati’s came out ahead, although Giordano’s was pretty close. Geno’s East wasn’t bad either. I think PIzzaria Uno has been riding on its fame.
satby
@J R in WV: Happy Anniversary to you two lovebirds!
The Lodger
@NotMax: I was gambling in Havana, I took a little risk…
WaterGirl
@Origuy: I prefer Papa Dels to a lot of the deep dish in Chicago. Pizzeria Uno – I haven’t thought of them in a really long time!
sgrAstar
@The Moar You Know: second the recommendation for the Monks of New Skete. Their philosophy is based on respecting your dog; their approach is strict, loving, and effective.
?