For the record, my family knows how to do laundry. I do the laundry because I’m a control freak and I like it done the way I like it done, but friends? That’s going to change. I’m done washing those goddamn towels.
You wouldn’t think laundry would be a high-skill job, but with all the fast-fashion items out there in weird fabrics, and my mania to reduce dry-cleaning bills, it can get a little complicated. Cold-water wash, low-temperature dry — ah, it’s a muddle.
But towels are uncomplicated. Wash, dry, fold, bing-bam-boom.
That was Thursday.
So much good linkage today, let’s just get to it.
This story is basically a shortened, condensed version of the Michael Kruse Politico piece on Jeb Bush and the Terri Schiavo case, spiced up with some obvious point of view. Still, worth reading. I’d forgotten how awful that skirmish in the culture wars was, but you shouldn’t. It also led me to this obviously sympathetic, 10-year-old profile of Michael Schiavo’s new woman, but hey — life is complicated.
How complicated? CLOWNS, THAT’S HOW COMPLICATED.
Finally, Ta’Nehisi Coates’ remembrance of David Carr brought me to tears. We should always have a mentor like this is our lives, but few of us are that lucky.
Oliver Sacks is on his way out. Another sad story.
Have a great weekend, all.
Sherri said on February 20, 2015 at 2:02 am
No one can say that Oliver Sacks hasn’t lived life to the fullest. I love this picture which is going to be the cover image of his new memoir due out soon: http://boingboing.net/2015/02/13/oliver-sacks-on-a-motorcycle-i.html
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Dorothy said on February 20, 2015 at 6:38 am
Dexter I’m so glad your pup is on the mend!
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coozledad said on February 20, 2015 at 7:35 am
The Jebbiad shows American fundamentalism has nothing to do with faith. It’s the wrecking bar of a classical tyranny.
Generally religionists will use logic, if only as a dodge. That’s disappeared from the coalition of Southern Baptists, Charismatics and militant Catholics that fall under that snake banner. If you believe sentience begins in the womb, or can occur in the case of the irreversible brain damage Terri Schiavo suffered, then you can not eat meat. If you do you’re a liar and a hypocrite.
Unlike Terri, or a blastocyst, or a member of the goddamn Bush family, a chicken can count.
http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2010/01/15/Study-Chickens-can-count/66941263593389/
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alex said on February 20, 2015 at 8:48 am
Off topic, but some great schadenfreude for a Friday! He’s more likely to get a raise than a six-month suspension. He doesn’t have to worry about defending his honor. After all, his network is not in the real news business so his made-up war stories don’t count.
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alex said on February 20, 2015 at 8:49 am
Oh, fudge. Here’s the link again.
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coozledad said on February 20, 2015 at 8:51 am
alex: This is good too. Especially contrasted with the Coates piece above:
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2015/02/tea-party-news-network-website-staff-quits-after-report-on-despicable-practices/
Eating their own.
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Joe K said on February 20, 2015 at 9:02 am
Just a quick update, sitting in Caro Mich just north east of Saginaw, it’s -27.
Baby that’s cold.
Pilot Joe
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Connie said on February 20, 2015 at 10:44 am
JoeK, I have friends in Caro and get there a couple of times a year. You must be bored.
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adrianne said on February 20, 2015 at 11:10 am
OK, linkmeisters, best rejoinder to Rudy Giuliani’s idiotic “Obama doesn’t love America” rant comes from a New York Daily News reporter who’s investigated Rudy’s many shady dealings. Here’s what Rudy talks about when he talks about love: http://www.nydailynews.com/wayne-barrett-rudy-giuliani-love-article-1.2122253
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brian stouder said on February 20, 2015 at 12:23 pm
Adrianne – that link makes for a thread winner, I say!
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beb said on February 20, 2015 at 12:33 pm
What’s sad about the Giuliani comment was that neither Scott Walker, who was there, nor Job Bush who is looking for someway to set himself up as the adult in the party made any effort to disavowal themselves from Giuliani’s absurd comments.
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adrianne said on February 20, 2015 at 12:36 pm
And Rudy, rather than walking back his comments, became even more offensive by talking about Obama’s white mother and white grandparents (translation: He’s not REALLY America’s first black president). I’m dumbstruck by this idiot, really. He had one good moment, right after 9/11, but it’s been downhill from there.
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coozledad said on February 20, 2015 at 12:46 pm
Rudy and Billo satisfy the same crowd who want legislation to come from a strand of pasty white guts.
Fascism by the book.
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brian stouder said on February 20, 2015 at 2:28 pm
Imagine if Barack dodged the draft (repeatedly), and had goons and thugs for uncles.
THEN we’d KNOW he wasn’t a real ‘murican, yes?
Adrianne’s link is the link of the day, week, month, and year, so far
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LAMary said on February 20, 2015 at 3:03 pm
Rudy, the ultra devout Catholic on wife number three, who had Bernie Kerik, mob connected sleaze as his police commissioner, loves America like you and I do. Not like that half black guy does. New Yorkers thought Giuliani was a jerk before 9/11. He returned to jerkhood shortly thereafter.
And I’m a control freak about laundry too. This is because I am tall and if my pants or long sleeve shirts go through the dryer on high temperature they no longer fit me. The pants hang to dry.
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Deborah said on February 20, 2015 at 3:26 pm
I hang my jeans too, for the same reason as LAMary.
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brian stouder said on February 20, 2015 at 3:54 pm
Just by-the-by –
this morning, after emerging from the shower and drying off, I hung the damned towel (and it was well hung, if I say so myself)….
and at lunchtime I caught some grief from my lovely wife.
Paraphrasing – she said something like “sure – Nancy Nall says ‘do this’ and you go ‘oh oh oh’ – and get it done!”…
and I said “…and?”
(won’t be doing that again!)
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Scout said on February 20, 2015 at 4:12 pm
brian stouder wins the thread.
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Jolene said on February 20, 2015 at 4:30 pm
But what profiteth it a man if he wins the thread and loseth his happy home? 🙂
By the by, NBC is replaying the SNL 40th anniversary show tonight–with limited commercial interruptions, I heard.
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Jolene said on February 20, 2015 at 4:34 pm
A series of responses to Giuliani’s remarks on Obama’s love (or lack of it) for America: http://www.adweek.com/fishbowldc/8-great-responses-to-rudy-giulianis-obama-remarks/141125?utm_content=post1-title&utm_source=fishbowldc&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=dailynewsletter20150220
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Suzanne said on February 20, 2015 at 4:36 pm
LOL on the Tea Party story. Don’t the writers realize that to a real ‘Murican, writing isn’t a real job. That’s a fake job done by prissy intellectuals who can’t get a Real job. So, no surprise there, or shouldn’t have been.
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alex said on February 20, 2015 at 5:01 pm
The best tweet of them all:
If Giuliani keeps digging any further, he’ll be in the Falkland Islands…
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brian stouder said on February 20, 2015 at 5:12 pm
Jolene – indeed!
And now I know about what they call Pyrrhic victory
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David C. said on February 20, 2015 at 6:24 pm
I think the real 8 best responses will be 7 “fuck you Rudi”s and whatever Ta-Nehisi Coates says.
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Jolene said on February 20, 2015 at 6:51 pm
Another prize for Mr. Coates. Who knew there was a Harriett Beecher Stowe Center? But, of course, there would be.
Coates, by the way, is going to be on This Week, George Stephanopolous’s Sunday morning show.
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devtob said on February 20, 2015 at 7:01 pm
While the majority, back then, believed that Jebbie’s intense intervention in the Schiavo tragedy was wrong, a solid minority, then and now, believe he was a pro-life hero.
And that minority is far more energized and likely to vote for Bush because of Schiavo, in primaries and the general, than the majority will be to vote against him because of Schiavo.
I’m sure there is a majority in states like Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, and even South Dakota and Texas, that is essentially pro-choice, but the organized anti-choice minority votes enough to elect anti-choice legislatures and governors that enact their agenda.
This is not just a problem on this issue — majorities support raising taxes on the rich, gun control, public schools, clean air and water, regulating banksters, etc., but they don’t vote enough to elect enough people who will enact their agendas.
Nothing will change for the better until that happens.
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Connie said on February 20, 2015 at 7:34 pm
Brian, actually you learned from listening to the women commenters how bothered they are by husbands who don’t take care of their towels and you decided to use this knowledge to be a better husband.
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Deborah said on February 20, 2015 at 8:08 pm
So, I had never heard of this guy before, Harris Wittles, who died the other day of a drug overdose, he wrote for Parks and Recreation etc. But somehow today, I have no idea how via the internet, I was led to this podcast with him explaining about his drug life http://www.nerdist.com/pepisode/you-made-it-weird-236-harris-wittels-returns/. After reading all about David Carr and his previous life I found this fascinating too. This guy wasn’t the shining light David Carr was, but listening to him talk about the dark side and at the same time being engaging and funny was eye opening. It’s quite long. What a complex world this is.
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Dexter said on February 21, 2015 at 4:46 am
I am glad NBC ran the SNL 40th again. I was able to watch about 90% of it this time.
It’s almost 5:00 AM now…I got hooked on the British TV series “Happy Valley”, and I have watched a lot of Netflix this past year, and this 6-parter is as compelling as “House of Cards” was. It’s that good. I could not shut the TV off. Wow, it’s a real corker.
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Basset said on February 21, 2015 at 7:32 am
Ran across the 40th last night, still couldn’t watch it. Just wasn’t funny. Presidential impersonations, meh.
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coozledad said on February 21, 2015 at 9:56 am
This impersonation should be required viewing for all American students from 9th grade on. Oklahoma won’t like it, but as Dick Nixon might say, Fuck it. We’re fucking finished with them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5LD5Obl6kU
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MarkH said on February 21, 2015 at 1:24 pm
Basset – Nashville has been very visible in the coverage of the weather woes in the east and southeast. Hope you and the missus are warm and dry.
Have to pretty much agree on SNL40. Much of it didn’t work, i.e. Aykroyd’s bass-o-matic regurgitation. Great to see some of the old clips, though. Like Belushi’s old-man graveyard walk as the last of the original cast left alive.
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Dexter said on February 21, 2015 at 2:45 pm
Dan Aykroyd’s fish blender made me queasy. That never should have aired.
I heard a long interview with Dan yesterday. At age 23, he was on top of the world. He has lived a life so complete it is amazing. Here it is.
http://ronbenningtoninterviews.com/2015/02/20/dan-aykroyd-2/
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Dexter said on February 21, 2015 at 3:26 pm
Best way to anchor yourself on a bumpy NYC subway ride.http://img.aroundme.com/slides/3/7/4/2/1/3/3742135655/b9249c05e1b626b47c4728d9cc6b1c6eed23b0ed.jpeg
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MarkH said on February 21, 2015 at 5:17 pm
Dexter — that was a great interview with Aykroyd. Thanks for sharing.
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beb said on February 21, 2015 at 5:53 pm
A west coast dock strike has ended. Beat’cha didn’t know there was one. (Aside from LAMary). Meanwhile a strike at various oil refineries is still on-going and apparently spreading. At issues are health and safety violations by the companies. It’s nice to know that all the news that’s fit to print does not include labor news.
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Sherri said on February 21, 2015 at 6:20 pm
The dock settlement was front page news here, but we’re west coast, too, and also a major shipping port (Seattle). When I lived in Pittsburgh 25 years ago, the “business” section of the Post Gazette was called “Business and Labor”, and they covered labor news, but that was 25 years ago in what was very much a union town back then.
Meanwhile, the LATimes reports on SoCal Edison using the H1B visa law to fire a bunch of workers: http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-hiltzik-20150222-column.html#page=1
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Deborah said on February 21, 2015 at 9:40 pm
Is there no such thing as shame anymore? Sherri’s link to the LA Times article about Edison firing a bunch of IT people so they can hire cheaper outsourced labor is sickening. How come these corporations get to be big meanies and never seem to pay the price. Isn’t that unpatriotic? Why doesn’t Guilianni (and the rest of them) talk about how these companies don’t love America?
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MarkH said on February 21, 2015 at 10:36 pm
Deborah, (and I mean this in the nicest way possible), you are indeed the flower child of NN.c! 🙂
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brian stouder said on February 21, 2015 at 11:21 pm
MarkH, indeed – Deborah’s plainly stated point is truthfully eloquent and elementary.
It would be nice if someone on the national scene pointed out the plain absurdity of a national figure like the son-of-a-thug former mayor of NYC lambasting President Obama’s patriotism*, while remaining stone silent about the buccaneer business people who think nothing of laying waste to people’s hometowns and their nation – when there’s the prospect of an increased profit for them… people like Willard Romney, the most recent Republican presidential nominee.
*yeah yeah yeah – the son-of-a-thug denied impugning the president’s patriotism, while doubling down on the charge that he simply doesn’t ‘love’ the United States. Honestly, that guy is further down the rabbit hole than even Sarah Palin, when it comes to saying non-sensical things.
Honestly, I think Ms Palin’s ignorance is more palatable than baldie’s, as it seems more genuine, whereas the former NYC night-Mayor’s brand seems much more contrived and purposeful
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Kirk said on February 21, 2015 at 11:58 pm
Beb@36: I get most of my news from what people sneeringly call the mainstream media, and I was quite well-informed about both the dockworkers strike and the oil-refinery strikes.
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basset said on February 22, 2015 at 12:30 am
MarkH, we’re good so far, thanks… the river out back is still a good ten feet below flood stage, and it would need to rise about ten more before it’d be in the house. Power has stayed on, I believe most of the outages in middle Tenn. have been in rural areas.
We have, though, been going in and out through the back door so we can use the handrails on the deck – tore some cartilage in my knee and spent the last couple days on crutches, gotta be careful. Did it in the house, just stood up from a chair and turned the wrong way… so when I’m asked “did you fall on the ice?” my standard reply so far is “not yet.”
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basset said on February 22, 2015 at 12:32 am
and… I thought the Bass-O-Matic was about the only funny sketch I saw in the 40th. Woulda been funnier if it’d been an actual bass, though.
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Dexter said on February 22, 2015 at 1:30 am
My brother is on temporary unpaid lay-off now due to the west coastdock strike…it’s affecting many people…I heard the repercussions will last months.
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coozledad said on February 22, 2015 at 2:42 am
Deborah: Re Giuliani, I’ll just repeat this, since Republicans are beginning to insert a little of their occult worship of Nixon into their latest filthy burst of treasonous splooge.
Giuliani needs to be tied up so people can throw shit at him. 1.Because that’s how his own system of punishments would treat his obscenities, if it could recognize obscenity, and 2. He made unacceptable racist remarks, then 3. in his own defense, called Obama an anti-colonialist, as though that was not only the stated position of modern industrial nations, but a framework through which the world avoids things like the Herero genocide, the concentration camps of the Boer war, and the combination of the two in Nazi Germany.
Rudy’s a fucking fascist. And he’s the Republican party. He isn’t saying anything they don’t coo to each other in their white-trash circle jerks.
Godwin can eat my ass. Rudy’s got that undying Northern Italian hardon for Mussolini and Hitler. You couldn’t beat it out of them with Cuban heels or the 7th Army.
You can’t love the Republican party and love America.
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coozledad said on February 22, 2015 at 9:50 am
I was just looking at a Bush family picture from the sixties with dad and the male offspring and god damn if they don’t don’t look like an evil doppleganger of the Beach Boys (but Mike Love could be in either band, easily). So this:
From the Identical family shirts period
Suck it up, Suck it up
Gonna shut this voting down
It happened down in Fla. With the Spics and Jews
(And the blacks now)
Coming out in droves we were gonna lose
(Oooo rev it up now)
Yeah, my cokehead brother was a running behind
(Oooo what a loser)
He got me on the phone and said “It’s Monkey time”
(Oooo I’m the governor)
Suck it up, Suck it up,
gonna shut the voting down!
Declinin’ numbers bring the Pinkshirts in
(Oooo stop the voting)
with their khaki slacks and their triple chins
(Oooo motorboating)
My Supreme court is a itchin’ to pass
(Oooo stop the voting)
but Daddy’s got his fingers up Scalia’s ass.
(Oooo roota-rotin’)
Gotta be cool now power shift here we go…
And From Tormented Pet Sounds
You may not want to love me
But you’ll never step up above me
My dad knows the guys who killed Kennedy
The best you can hope for is frenemy
Mom only knows what I’d be without her.
If you should ever cross me
I’ll piss on your shoes ‘cause you’ve lost me
The world will not give you a corner
To hide in when I’ve got a boner
Mom only knows what I’d be without her.
……..
Wouldn’t it be nice if we were nicer
Then we wouldn’t have to be so wrong
And wouldn’t it be nice to live in Dubai
In the kind of world where we belong
You know its gonna make us lots more money
If we’re directly over the black honey
Wouldn’t it be nice if we could wake up
In the airconditioned family suite
And after having spent the day with Barbara
She could show our kids her jars of meat.
Happy times together always feature
days where we can skin a furry creature
Wouldn’t it be nice
Maybe if we push and bite and punch and kick it might come true
Baby then there wouldn’t be a single thing we couldn’t do
We could be Putin
And then we’d be happy
Wouldn’t it be nice
You know it seems the more we talk about it
I think we’d better put Jim Baker on it.
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Deborah said on February 22, 2015 at 10:48 am
My favorite line, “with their khaki slacks and their triple chins”
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Deborah said on February 22, 2015 at 10:56 am
Mark H, I don’t think it is flower childish to think that corporations can be patriotic too. During WWII, people sacrificed and did what needed to be done for their country’s effort. We taxpayers bailed out the banks when they were too big to fail. Why is it so one-sided when it comes to them? Why can’t they be decent human beings? At least politicians could be asking them not to be so shameful, instead of kissing their asses.
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MarkH said on February 22, 2015 at 5:17 pm
I am absolutely with you on your questions and sentiments, Deborah, don’t get me wrong. It’s just that the cynicism that pervades our society (nn.c, too) is so impenetrable at times, few even think to challenge or question a wrong in a sincere idealistic way. You’re different, you do.
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Joe K said on February 22, 2015 at 6:47 pm
Anyone remember 35 yrs ago today? U.S.A beat the Russians in the Olympics. What were you doing when you heard? I was working back stage security at a Beach Boy concert at the coliseum. The late great Steve Goodman was the opening act we were watching the tv back stage, Steve went out and told the crowd what had happened, the place went crazy. I remeber the pride, wish we could somehow get that back.
Pilot Joe
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Sherri said on February 22, 2015 at 7:17 pm
If you get a chance next time ESPN shows it, check out Of Miracles and Men. It’s a 2 hour documentary about the Soviet team, from the beginnings right after WWII until the time the Soviet players finally get the chance to come to the NHL without defecting. There are interviews with a number of the Soviet players from the Miracle on Ice game, and Slava Fetisov, probably the best player on ice that day, takes a trip back to Lake Placid with his daughter.
The most amazing hockey I’ve ever watched was from the 1987 Canada Cup, when Team Canada played the Soviets in a three-game final, all three games decided by one goal, two the games in overtime. The Soviets were still at their peak, Team Canada had Gretzky and Lemieux at their peak, and it was the only opportunity at the time to see the very best players in the world play against each other.
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Kirk said on February 22, 2015 at 8:20 pm
ABC showed the Soviet hockey documentary on Saturday afternoon, and I saw it, Great stuff.
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Connie said on February 22, 2015 at 8:51 pm
JoeK, along with my husband and parents I was standing in line at Fricano’s Pizza in Grand Haven MI. The line cheered and the whole place was buzzed.
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Julie Robinson said on February 22, 2015 at 9:22 pm
Not a hockey fan, but I was watching, because dammit, it’s patriotic to watch the Olympics. At least that’s the way I was raised.
When Jeb Bush was governor of Florida I remember my sister complaining a lot about stuff like this. It’s good to see it getting some light. http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/documents-show-the-expensive-tastes-of-jeb-bushs-low-key-wife/2015/02/22/5bb480da-b9f4-11e4-9423-f3d0a1ec335c_story.html?tid=sm_fb
Cooz is 100% correct re Giulani and the Republicans.
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nancy said on February 22, 2015 at 10:17 pm
I will never understand jewelry lust among some women. A few nice pieces, a wedding/engagement ring, some heirlooms, sure. But women who exist to hang gewgaws around their neck? Just not my sisters. I have a very nice citrine necklace that was given to me by a friend, and I wear it rarely, in part because it’s hard to relax when I have it on. All I think is: Broken clasps, chain snatchers, etc.
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Sherri said on February 22, 2015 at 11:08 pm
Speaking of labor news, Boeing, the company for whom our state legislature called a special session to find $9 billion in tax breaks*, once again screws the people who actually do the work in favor of the people who oversee the work: http://www.seattletimes.com/news/boeing-managers-get-annual-bonuses-of-12-to-22-percent/
We haven’t even gotten to the bonuses for the C-level execs yet.
*That’s the same state legislature that has been declared in contempt of court by the state Supreme Court over their failure not to fund education, but to make progress towards a plan to fund education. Yes, I’m bitter about Boeing and the tax breaks, especially since Boeing moved a bunch of jobs out of state before the ink was dry.
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