Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

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

Nevertheless, she persisted.

Everybody saw this coming.

Hot air and ill-informed banter

I’m going back to the respite thread.

There will be lawyers.

Let me eat cake. The rest of you could stand to lose some weight, frankly.

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

Wetsuit optional.

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

‘Forty-two’ said Deep Thought, with infinite majesty and calm.

Let there be snark.

I’m only here for the duck photos.

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

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

Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.

It’s not even safe to go out and pick up 2 days worth of poop anymore.

JFC, are there no editors left at that goddamn rag?

Four legs? good! two legs? we’re not so sure…

And we’re all out of bubblegum.

Republican obstruction dressed up as bipartisanship. Again.

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

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Faunasphere

Mid-day Cat Break

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Mid-day Cat Break 1

Mid-day Cat Break

There’s a funny little daily drama that plays out in the house. The video is of Neighbor Cat, Ginger. I believe that is a girl but it could be a boy. Ginger is fascinated by my house as I have 2 cats. Which means he/she gets to pick fights safely from the outside of the window and attack the window until I tell Ging to bugger off. Odo has decided this challenge shall not stand, so he is eternally vigilant by my shoes, so he doesn’t fall off the window sill again (& again) when Ginger attacks the window (again). Hime, as any sensible female would feel, thinks both of these 2 are silly, so she focuses on her obsession with… me. At this point, I’m glad everyone has a hobby, I just wish it involved a space not right next to my computer & my recording mic.

And in other news, trying to organize myself before the big debut movie script table read on Saturday and I’m hoping to get all the pre-panic done today so tomorrow is relatively calm. How’s your day going? Open thread!

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Florida Man Does Something Good!

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Florida Man saves his puppy from a gator!

Don’t even think about messing with this Florida man’s puppy.

Richard Wilbanks, 74, acted swiftly when his 3-month-old pup Gunner was snatched by an alligator in the backyard pond of his home in Estero, near South Florida’s Gulf Coast.

In a stunning video, Wilbanks wrestles the young gator in waist-deep water, bringing it above the surface and prying open its jaws to release the King Charles Cavalier spaniel.

“We were just out walking by the pond,” Wilbanks told CNN, “and it came out of the water like a missile. I never thought an alligator could be that fast. It was so quick.”

Acting on adrenaline or instinct, Wilbanks said he just “automatically jumped into the water.”

He said he sustained some injuries to his hands and went to the doctor for a tetanus shot to be safe.

Gunner had one small puncture wound to his belly, but is doing fine after a trip to the vet, Wilbanks said.

Wilbanks told WINK News that he understands this is the alligator’s home and does not want it removed from the pond. He urged other pet owners to keep their animals away from the water’s edge.

The dramatic encounter was caught on camera thanks to a partnership between the Florida Wildlife Federation and the fSTOP Foundation as part of a campaign called “Sharing the Landscape.” Its mission is to help the community understand and appreciate the wildlife they live near and help reduce conflicts.

Meredith Budd, the regional policy director of the Florida Wildlife Federation, said the cameras typically capture videos of deer or bobcats. It’s not often they catch something like what Wilbanks and Gunner went through.

“We live on a shared landscape,” Budd said. “We don’t just want to tolerate wildlife, but, rather, we want to thrive with wildlife on a shared landscape.”

Louise Wilbanks, Richard’s wife, told WINK the incident has given them a new appreciation for the wildlife near their homes.

“We do need to be aware they are wild animals. They’re not here for our benefit. We’re very lucky to share this space with them,” she said.

Here’s a bit more video with some reporting:

As a native Floridian who grew up on a salt water canal that fed into Tampa Bay, but has also lived in areas of the state with lakes, retention ponds, and cypress swamp and scrub just outside my doors – front and back – one of the things you learn is that gators can be anywhere. And that they’re fast, very, very fast. When I’m out with the dogs near water, even if it is just low lying scrub that has filled up because of rain to form a pond, I keep eyes on the water and my ears focused on any movement in it and along its edges. Day or night!

And Gunner is a very good and very lucky boy!

Open thread!

 

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Floriduh! Man Decides To Investigate the Leopards Eating People’s Faces Party!

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I meant the title to the post literally, not figuratively.

DAVIE, Fla. – A man who paid $150 for a “full-contact experience” with a black leopard says he had to undergo multiple surgeries after he was mauled by the fully-grown animal in an enclosure behind a Davie home.

A picture obtained by Local 10 News shows Dwight Turner’s heavily bandaged head and ear after the savage attack, which detectives from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission say happened behind a home on Earnest Boulevard on Aug. 31.

The man who lives there, identified as Michael Poggi, has a Facebook page saying he runs an animal sanctuary for rare and endangered animals.

I think I’ve identified the problem:

Investigators say Poggi charged the 50-year-old Turner $150 for a “full-contact experience” with his black leopard — to “play with it, rub its belly and take pictures.”

FWC’s report says that once Turner walked inside the enclosure, the leopard attacked.

Imagine that!

The injuries were so severe, the report says the victim’s scalp was “hanging from his head and his right ear was torn in half.”

Authorities say Poggi was charged with allowing full contact with an extremely dangerous animal and was cited for maintaining captive wildlife in an unsafe condition.

Attempts to speak to Poggi at his home have been unsuccessful.

Authorities say he is licensed to have the leopard. They say Poggi admitted to them what he did was illegal.

Yes, in Floriduh! you can get a license for a leopard. Who knew? Floriduh! Man knew…

I would think the lesson here is not to play with, rub the belly of, and take pictures with an actual leopard.

Best wishes for a full recovery for the leopard, who I’m sure was traumatized by all of this stupidity. And also for Mr. Turner.

Open thread!

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So About That Third Party Spoilers Thing… The Libertarian Presidential Candidate And A Possibly Rabid Bat Edition

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What effect might his have on Ms. Jorgenson’s views on the US healthcare system? Well let’s just say kvetching was involved!

There is, as of 11:10 PM EDT, no word on the condition of the bat and whether it has contracted anything serious or life threatening from coming into contact with Ms. Jorgenson.

Open thread!

Obligatory:

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Floriduh! Man Never Takes a Day Off! Even During a Pandemic!

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From WPTV Channel 5 in West Palm Beach:

Florida authorities tracking a stolen car also discovered heroin, cocaine, guns and a baby alligator when they went to make an arrest.

Seminole County Sheriff Dennis Lemma announced details of the bust at a news conference Friday.

He said a deputy ran the plates on a car, learned it was stolen and followed it to a Lake Mary house.

That’s where deputies found the drugs and a baby alligator that was being kept as a pet.

Since it is Floriduh!, I can pretty much guarantee that the baby alligator will be charged and tried as an adult!

Open thread!

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Birb! (Open Thread)

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A little birb told me we’ll be treated to some spectacular bird photos later this week, featuring a photographer who produces images far superior to mine. But in the meantime, I’m sharing this Belted Kingfisher I saw a while ago:

I love these bad-ass little birds for their punk ‘dos, pugnacious attitudes and ratcheting calls. If they think you’re getting too near their young, they’ll swoop on your ass with the fury of 10,000 valkyries.

Let this photo also dispel the notion that Florida doesn’t experience seasonal foliage changes. It’s not as dramatic as it is up north, but there are subtle changes everywhere, and trees in the central to northern part of the state display beautiful fall colors.

Anyhoo, open thread — impeachment hearing thread is downstairs, though that’s up for discussion here too if you like.

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