I have a sick dog and a full plate, two factors that fill me with a desire to go back to bed, but alas — the long weekend is over, and I can’t say I didn’t enjoy it, although I spent a chunk of it working.
I’m worried about the dog. He stopped eating yesterday and showed other signs of intestinal distress, perhaps a result of licking up some bone meal Alan spread around the plants the last few days, or perhaps due to the fact he’s 17.75 years old and has the customary unknown expiration date. He no longer has the physical reserves to sustain an extended illness. I’m taking him to the vet today, if I can get in. Fingers crossed for Spriggy.
Meanwhile, here’s a funny video, via Roy, via Wonkette:
People sometimes tell me, “I’m not a Republican. I’m a libertarian.” This sounds to me like, “I want to smoke pot with the loose-moraled Democratic girls, but still not pay taxes.” To be a libertarian is to spend your life writing checks you’ll never have to cash and knowing that no matter what happens in the next election your side won’t win, and will only have to spend the next four years having, and expressing, grand opinions about those who did. You ask me, you guys can take a little ridicule.
God, I hope the dog is OK. Here’s hoping. You guys carry the discussion today. A few ideas:
Nice NYMag piece on the ancient roots of Jewish humor in the new Woody Allen movie. (Although why is it, when I hear that Allen likes to start production on a film when his children are out of school — i.e., have an excuse to be elsewhere — that I feel simultaneously relieved and creeped out?)
Also, word is we’ll have a Supreme Court nominee by midmorning. Let it be someone good.
I’ll be in and out, and maybe back by midafternoon, if I’m not at the vet’s.
brian stouder said on May 26, 2009 at 8:59 am
Don’t know what to hope for, regarding Mr SND – other than the best (whatever that turns out to be)
The only thing worse than the damned libertarians are the folks (like at Corrente Wire) who hated President Bush with a passion, and who loved (fill in the blank) in the Democratic primaries (many HRC fans, and more than a few Edwards folks) – and who are now hyper-critical of the usurper of their One True Liberal Faith, Obama-the-snake-oil-salesman.
I think the “writing checks they’ll never have to cash” saying is spot-on
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John said on May 26, 2009 at 9:03 am
Nancy,
The light blue letters on dark blue background is tough for my old eyes. Is anyone else having problems?
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Mindy said on May 26, 2009 at 9:29 am
I hope that the Sprigster gets the first appointment of the day with his preferred vet.
Thumbs down on the dark blue background for my not-so-young eyes as well.
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Dorothy said on May 26, 2009 at 9:29 am
Yes John, it’s the same for me. I have a dark blue background and grey letters. Maybe it’s just a brief change and will be back to normal soon. Crossing fingers for Mr. Spriggy. Gosh you’ve been so blessed to have him so long!! Now I won’t be able to concentrate on anything else on the Internet until we hear back from you and the vet visit.
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brian stouder said on May 26, 2009 at 9:58 am
Well, for the record, nn.c looks just the same as usual, to me….must be the nn.c rewards program, eh? (I have a free pop from Speedway coming, and 30,000 points to expend on something or other, too, come to think of it!)
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Deborah said on May 26, 2009 at 10:16 am
Ditto on the dark blue background, it started earlier in the weekend. Very hard to read.
Good thoughts go to Spriggy.
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Connie said on May 26, 2009 at 10:22 am
Good thoughts to Spriggy. Our old man Shih Tzu made his final trip to the vet two weeks ago today. He made almost three years after his diagnosis of congestive heart failure. I keep looking to see if there is enough water in his bowl.
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moe99 said on May 26, 2009 at 10:40 am
Well, the SCt nominee is Sonia Sotomayor, and predictably the Repubs are using Jeffrey Rosen’s talking points from his earlier article at TNR to trash her. Nothing like anonymous sources, eh?
ps. and best of luck to your puppy. This is the hard part of having a dog.
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Julie Robinson said on May 26, 2009 at 10:41 am
Oh Connie, you just broke my heart. I hope Spriggy is better soon.
NNC’s appearance is the same as always on my browser.
Maybe it’s my age but I got choked up at the Memorial Day parade as never before. Especially when the disabled vets made their way down the street. Our son has several friends in the military and the odds they face are daunting.
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Conan the Libertarian said on May 26, 2009 at 10:48 am
First of all, Libertarian is capitalized.
Second, the pot-smoking Libertarian you reference would be a Democrat Libertarian ala Bill Mahr (or so he claims. You can’t be a real Libertarian and endorse Ralph Nader, the anti-Libertarian).
The “Republican Libertarian” (actually a Conservative Libertarian, but whatevs) would want to shoot guns with girls of questionable virtue.
I’ve never even touched a joint in my life, but I’ve known plenty of potheads. I’ll take potheads in lieu of drunks any time.
Until the Libertarian movement gets a foothold, we’ll never know if your assertions about their potential leadership foibles are true. Some people just don’t want to be more free. Some do.
I wish you the freedom to make yourself less free on your own terms. Just wish you’d return the favor.
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Colleen said on May 26, 2009 at 11:00 am
Best wishes for the Sprigster. I have a cat about that age, and yeah, every little thing makes you concerned that this might be it….
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mark said on May 26, 2009 at 11:06 am
My prayers are with Spriggy. Dogs are tough and occupy a special place in the heart of God.
nn.c is different for me too. I’m color blind, so it’s nearly impossible to read until I get to the comments, where the contrast is greater. We need federal programs and subsidies for the color blind, sensitivity training to educate about the suffering of the color-deprived, and federal standards for use of color so that I am not victimized like this in the future.
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Sue said on May 26, 2009 at 11:13 am
I’ve seen the toughest people I know reduced to jelly during the “what if” time Nancy is going through. It hits everyone the same way. Best of luck and we’ll all be here waiting for info, whatever it is.
My area is changing over to the “animal emergency room” concept, which means that during off-hours and busy times you either are required or have the strongly-pushed option of going to see an emergency vet, where it will cost you a minimum of $300 to walk in the door, usually (not much of an exaggeration). My feeling on this is that I want my own vet at 3 a.m., especially if I know there’s no hope.
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brian stouder said on May 26, 2009 at 11:14 am
Moe – thanks for the tip; I googled up this article – which actually praises with feint damnation
http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=45d56e6f-f497-4b19-9c63-04e10199a085
If this is the best the opposition has (that she’s not liberal enough!), then this thing is a done deal.
Here’s a section that made me laugh out loud, since I now get the joke (emphasis added by me):
The most consistent concern was that Sotomayor, although an able lawyer, was “not that smart and kind of a bully on the bench,” as one former Second Circuit clerk for another judge put it. “She has an inflated opinion of herself, and is domineering during oral arguments, but her questions aren’t penetrating and don’t get to the heart of the issue.” (During one argument, an elderly judicial colleague is said to have leaned over and said, “Will you please stop talking and let them talk?”)
Aside from the sexism (“domineering”? When was a man with self assurance ever referred to as “domineering”?), when Justice O’Connor spoke at IPFW last month, friend-of-NN.c Mark Giaquinta asked her if oral arguments are very important to any case that comes before them, and she quite simply stated “No.” (which drew a good laugh!) She said ALL the work was done in reading and analyzing the briefs, and that oral arguments really had almost no impact, at all.
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Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on May 26, 2009 at 11:16 am
Deborah, a photo link for you on last thread; St. Francis, bless Spriggy, who has no blog posts or comments for which to repent (those we have hit publish for, and those we have not hit publish for, Amen)!
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nancy said on May 26, 2009 at 11:22 am
Popping in before I’m off to the vet to say J.C.’s been notified we’re having appearance problems on some browsers, but he’s in the U.P., where the wi-fi is pretty spotty. Fingers crossed for everyone.
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mark said on May 26, 2009 at 11:27 am
Sotomayer is a reasonable pick from an avowedly liberal president. She will garner far more republican votes than Roberts and Alito, two equally acceptable picks, tallied from democrats.
And moe and much of the press will talk about the awful, partisan republicans.
It would be interesting to ask Obama why Sotamayer deserves bipartisan support when he could not provide that support for Roberts?
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Catherine said on May 26, 2009 at 11:50 am
Sending good thoughts for a gifted vet and an easy fix for Spriggy.
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coozledad said on May 26, 2009 at 11:51 am
Personally, I’m waiting to see where Dr. Professor Speaker Newt Gingrich, research fellow in career rehabilitation studies at the Fatty Arbuckle Institute, LLC, and certified massage therapist, comes down on all of this. Shouldn’t Obama be forced to apologize for creating an environment where public pressure on the second wives of bald conservatives to go sleeveless creates a fashion hazard?
http://www.dependablerenegade.com/dependable_renegade/2009/05/but-i-thought-judi-was-the-first-lady-of-the-hamptons.html
Hope that dog’s doing better.
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Jenflex said on May 26, 2009 at 12:00 pm
Good thoughts to Spriggy. We lost our 5 1/2 year old collie this February (birth defect; rare, impossible to diagnose). Because our furry friends don’t live nearly long enough, regardless of what happens please take a look at Dog Heaven by Cynthia Rylant. It’s a great book for kids of all ages…helped our 9 year old mourn along with her 40-something parents, and now gives us something to smile at through the tears that still come from time to time.
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moe99 said on May 26, 2009 at 12:14 pm
Brian, that’s the article the repubs are using to attack her. Many of the assertions made have been debunked by others in the press.
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/05/07/rosen/index.html
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/05/05/tnr/index.html
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beb said on May 26, 2009 at 12:35 pm
For me, on Dial-up NN.C has always loaded in two stages. The first is the dark blue background with grey text that so many are complaining about. Then after a while it refreshed to the normal colors. I’m guessing but something is keeping the page from the last minute refresh, probably the video Nancy embedded. But by clicking the link to the comments all is restored to normal, and we’re mostly here to read the comments.
Best wishes, Nancy, on your dog. Pets are “like” family, they are family.
I’m surprised that Pres. Obama went with Ms. Sotomayor since the knives have really been out for her. But The Prez has been pretty good about doing what he says he’ll do. Which is why Obama is catching flack from some left-wing groups for not doing what he once said he’d do. Warrentless wiretaps was illegal but Bush them, so its disappointing to hear Obama continue to claim the right to do them. Indefinite detention of a person was unconstitutional but Bush did it anyway. It’s profounding disappointing to hear Obama talk about indefinitely detaining some people. It’s Unamierican to detain someone without cause. Bush wanted to turn the trillions of Social Security money over to the banksters on Wall St. He was stopped on that, but its disappointing to hear Obama talk about “reforming” social security which can only be code language for taking away from us pending retirees the benefits we have paid for through excess SS contributions these past 20 years. And so on.
Personally, I’m waiting to see where Dr. Professor Speaker Newt Gingrich, research fellow in career rehabilitation studies at the Fatty Arbuckle Institute, LLC, and certified massage therapist, comes down on all of this. Cooledad, you win the ROTFLMAO award for today.
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nancy said on May 26, 2009 at 1:06 pm
Weird. Now the type thing — the case of the missing white background — is happening…to MEEEEEE.
To all who care: Just back from the vet, and the short version is, the dog’s most likely OK. All systems are functioning, and assuming he can get through the next 24 hours while his guts settle down, he will start getting bland food tomorrow, and an anti-diarrhea drug today. Says doc: “At this age you worry about systems shutting down, but in his case it’s the opposite. His stomach is hypermodal” — i.e., churning. Not from fertilizer, but more likely from ingesting soap while at the groomer’s Saturday. Hmm. We’ll see. Fingers still crossed, but it’s looking much better.
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mark said on May 26, 2009 at 1:14 pm
Great news on the dog. Perhaps a little jasmine rice for his bland diet? A great excuse to purchase a rice cooker, if you don’t already have one.
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Dorothy said on May 26, 2009 at 1:15 pm
Good news on Sprigster! We had a scare over the weekend for my elderly mom (she’ll be 87 on July 7). She had severe leg pain and called the paramedics at 3:00 am on Sunday in Pittsburgh. Turns out she has an attack of sciatica. I’m not familiar with that but I think that’s slightly better than a blood clot. Anyway, I talked to her twice over the weekend and she sounded iffy on Sunday afternoon, but much better this morning. She’s going to see her doctor this week.
Big hug for Spriggy (and you).
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Sue said on May 26, 2009 at 1:24 pm
Yay, yay for Sprig. Now get that hamburger on to boil.
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MichaelG said on May 26, 2009 at 2:05 pm
TPM’s take on the Rosen article:
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/05/anatomy-of-the-unsuccessful-sotomayor-whisper-campaign.php?ref=fpblg
It’s great to hear the little guy’s OK. This is the part of having pets that I hate. The Ex has custody of our dogs but I love them still. One of them, little old Jack, is also 17 and is getting infirm. It is good to know that both Jack and Spriggy have such great homes.
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Old Lino Operator said on May 26, 2009 at 2:19 pm
Great news about the dog. Sooner or later you will need some good thoughts. Check out this poem: http://rainbowsbridge.com/Poem.htm
It’s rather sappy, but it fills a need.
If pets don’t go to heaven, I want to go where they go.
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Deborah said on May 26, 2009 at 2:26 pm
Good to hear the little dog is doing better.
Jeff (tmmo), that’s a beautiful photo. My kind of town.
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moe99 said on May 26, 2009 at 2:42 pm
wrt opposing the nomination of John Roberts to the SCt, I rather enjoyed the New Yorker piece about him recently:
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/05/25/090525fa_fact_toobin
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Dexter said on May 26, 2009 at 5:24 pm
always great to hear a happy dog story. I have a 12 year old Lab and a 7 year old JRTerrier. The Lab holds her own. I was so worried about Spriggy.
I mowed the yard. When I came inside for a quart bottle of ice water, I noticed I had a lot of hot coffee left in the pot, so I finished off the last three cups.
Sometimes I take “don’t waste anything” too far. Why I drank that hot coffee after mowing is beyond even my own knowledge. I guess it did make the ice water taste even better. I once went eight years without having to mow, as my wife and kids just always did it. Now we’re empty nesters and my wife hasn’t mowed for twenty years, and mowing is the very worst thing about Spring.
I called my Indiana brother for a Powerball ticket…one solitary dollar ticket…$222 million is up for grabs, and it’s worth a buck just for the dream…I have decided to buy this car after I am confirmed the big winner:
http://i39.tinypic.com/6qa81w.jpg
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Sue said on May 26, 2009 at 5:31 pm
Is that the same Powerball that’s in Wisconsin? If so, step aside, it’s mine.
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Rana said on May 26, 2009 at 6:29 pm
Glad to hear that the dog’s better! 🙂
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Lisa said on May 26, 2009 at 7:11 pm
Nancy, i am sending good thoughts and praying that your dog is ok. I lost my best friend in life, Buddy (our beagle) in Dec. 2007 and MAN, it killed me and my kids and husband. Take care!
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LA Mary said on May 26, 2009 at 7:54 pm
After I lost my first Great Dane, Charlie, I could barely talk about it for months, maybe years, without choking up. Five years ago I lost a cat and two dogs within six months. Edith the cat was 22, hadn’t been sick a day in her life, and she suddenly just shut down. She let us know it was time. Rudy, the replacement Great Dane, had a stroke right in front of me. He was eating, picked up his head and looked at me, and his back legs collapsed. He lost control of his pupils, which were flicking back and forth very rapidly. He was ten, which is a good age for a Dane. His friend, Sarah, a mutt of unknown origins, stopped eating a week later. I took her to the vet and he said she had cancer. She lasted another two weeks.
So my current menagerie is made up of no animals over five. Everyone is very healthy, but it could be horrible around here in about seven years. I’m glad Spriggy is feeling better. He sounds like he plays the role in your household that Charlie did in mine, and Smokey the Lab does now. My other two dogs are dear, but Smokey has taken on the job of my companion. He reads my moods and knows when I need a dog to scratch.
Dorothy… sciatica is ugly but not life threatening. I get bouts of it occasionally, something that my second pregnancy introduced to my life. Hurts like hell and you can barely move.
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4dbirds said on May 26, 2009 at 9:25 pm
So happy to hear the dog is ok. He is so cute. As for the winning powerball ticket, I already bought it.
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alex said on May 26, 2009 at 9:32 pm
Hmmm. My screen is blue now too.
Wonderful news about Spriggy.
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del said on May 26, 2009 at 9:40 pm
Here’s the money quote from moe’s article about Chief Justice Roberts:
The kind of humility that Roberts favors reflects a view that the Court should almost always defer to the existing power relationships in society. In every major case since he became the nation’s seventeenth Chief Justice, Roberts has sided with the prosecution over the defendant, the state over the condemned, the executive branch over the legislative, and the corporate defendant over the individual plaintiff. Even more than Scalia, who has embodied judicial conservatism during a generation of service on the Supreme Court, Roberts has served the interests, and reflected the values, of the contemporary Republican Party.
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basset said on May 26, 2009 at 10:22 pm
great news on the Sprig… he has lots of misbehavin’ to do yet.
gray type on a dark blue background here, Mac with Firefox 3.0.1.
hold on a second while I check… same thing with Safari 3.2.1.
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basset said on May 26, 2009 at 10:56 pm
Now… barely half an hour later… the white background has returned. Must have timed it just right.
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nancy said on May 26, 2009 at 11:01 pm
Yay J.C.! You’d be even more impressed if you saw him building his primitive wi-fi connection in the north woods, using only materials at hand. Every day, he blows me away.
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basset said on May 26, 2009 at 11:28 pm
white background on the responses, still blue on the front page. but we’re gettin’ there.
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Dave said on May 27, 2009 at 12:09 am
Blue background but highlighting it makes it much easier to read.
So glad Spriggy has some life left in him, our 9 1/2 year old Bichon Frise with the enlarged heart has actually had success with the prescriptions, her heart actually shrunk, results the vet tells us only happens about 20% of the time. So, there’s hope we’ll have her around for a good while yet. We’re terribly attached to her.
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Dexter said on May 27, 2009 at 12:30 am
Sciatica. I had a bout with that sum’bitch in 2004. I went to the doc for the dx, and I asked for some pain pills because I was so damn miserable. He refused and said it takes two weeks and it will go away. Exactly 14 days later it was gone. I could not sleep at all, just pass out for a few minutes. I could drive my VW bus, but only shift with intense burning pain. I could not sit in a chair, I could not lie on the floor…I could, however, ride a bicycle. If you are ever around a sciatica patient, show great compassion.
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CrazyCatLady said on May 27, 2009 at 12:50 am
I’m glad your dog Spriggy is ok. I am a ‘crazy cat lady’ for good reason. when I didn’t see my favorite stray cat for 5 days, I was frantic. (I feed the neighborhood strays) I cried and worried and was almost ready to give up on her. Then one day she showed up very thin and kind of weak. I figured she must have gotten locked into a garage or something. I gave her a can of wet food and have tried to fatten her up. So I missed and mourned a cat that isn’t even mine. How crazy is that?? We love our animals.
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4dbirds said on May 27, 2009 at 12:52 am
“I asked for some pain pills because I was so damn miserable. He refused and said it takes two weeks and it will go away.”
Why on earth would he leave you in pain? There are good painkillers out there that cause no problems in the short term.
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PB said on May 27, 2009 at 2:41 am
Now… barely half an hour later… the white background has returned. Must have timed it just right.
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Deborah said on May 27, 2009 at 4:20 am
Why am I awake at 3:17am? It happens a lot these days. I’ve learned to just get up and do stuff, rather than toss and turn. But anyway, the dark blue background is still there on my end. When I go to comments the nnc post has a white background.
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Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on May 27, 2009 at 9:17 am
Why i just can’t hate comments — this story has three comments on it that may or may not be true, but i can certainly say fairly represent general discussion at fast food joints and in break rooms all over the place. If a reporter follows, with discernment and discretion, what people react with, they might be able to write stories that will resonate a bit better with their leadership.
I just don’t know if it’s true what the commenters say, but they aren’t just flamers; my own sense is that they (the first three comments, anyhow, as this may grow and head off after a rabbit or two) have a very good point. At the housing coalition, our sense is that job loss is accelerating, and that new jobs are effectively non-existent, other than those few positions vacated by current holders that the boss decides to fill . . . but most of those aren’t getting filled right now, and won’t ’til fall, even at relatively healthy businesses.
My guess is that the actual unemployment rate around here is much, much closer to 15% than under 10%.
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