A wee bit of excitement this weekend, which beb referred to in the comments: Deadline Detroit was the first to break the story of Mellissa C*aron*’s action-packed past. The story broke our servers (several times), too, and the in-house record for traffic – more than 500K uniques. And the gossip from others in the community suggests there is far more out there, but for now I think that’s enough from her.
This transition is seeming like one of those dreams where you’re trying to run, but your feet won’t move. And now Rudy’s got the Bug. Still sucking all the oxygen from the room, these people. It gets hard to breathe.
Maybe Rudy will find it hard to breathe, soon enough. When I think of all the saliva and various other agents spraying from his yap during his time in Michigan, I get…well, I’d get angry, but the GOP-dominated state legislature has had quite its share of cases, too, and they don’t seem to bothered. One who tested positive was asked why he wasn’t quarantined or wearing a mask. He replied that he had no symptoms, so he didn’t need to.
Ah, enough of this. I’m tired of complaining about it, and sick of being made to think about it all the time.
Remember Black Lassie from a few weeks back? Here he is, runnin’ the streets again:
My friend took that with a lens he borrowed from me — a 50mm 1.4 Nikon AI. I always thought it was terribly underrated, and one of my faves.
Also, I discovered Hulu has all seasons of the old “Prime Suspect” — remember that? Helen Mirren at her best? I watched the first season, which was really just two two-hour pieces. Parts of it seem dated now, but it does feature young Ralph Fiennes in a small part, so that was fun. And Tom Wilkinson as a needy househusband.
What else? I drove through Belle Isle in search of the Piet Oudolf Garden. Found it, although there’s not much to see now, obviously. It’s all planted, and spring should be interesting there. I did watch the Polsteam ship Isadora pass down the river:
It’s headed for Montreal. Of course I waited until the stern passed, so I could check out the lifeboat:
If you’ve seen “Captain Phillips,” you know it’s the orange mini-submarine-looking thing pointing down at that ominous angle. I expect by the time it’s released, it would be much closer to the waterline. Amazing to think that the entire crew of that big ol’ ship can fit in there.
OK, then. Time to start the week? It is. Hope yours goes well.
LAMary said on December 6, 2020 at 8:06 pm
Just saw that Biden is nominating Xavier Becerra for HHS. He’s the current CA Attorney General but before that he was my congressman. He’s brilliant.
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Sherri said on December 6, 2020 at 8:31 pm
My only disappointment about that, LAMary, was that I was hoping to see him in the Senate.
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LAMary said on December 6, 2020 at 8:47 pm
Me too. I thought he’d be appointed to replace Kamala Harris, but he’s fought a good fight over ACA during the trump administration and HHS administers ACA. His skills won’t be wasted.
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Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on December 6, 2020 at 9:13 pm
FYI, for the many Ohio University alums that haunt this page:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10158943220084679
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Mark P said on December 6, 2020 at 9:45 pm
The devil came down to Georgia, and his minions laid poison ivy leaves in his path. Rudy showed up maskless in a cloud of smoke, farts and virions for a hearing at the Capital building, hopefully filled with Republicans. Then Old Scratch himself appeared with his flying monkeys in Valdosta, where he held his normal pity party for his congregation of half-wits.
Ho-hum. Just another day in the soap opera known as America.
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susan said on December 7, 2020 at 1:20 am
Mark P, that is a beautiful paragraph.
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Dexter Friend said on December 7, 2020 at 1:28 am
Helen Mirren was pretty darn good in “The Good Liar”, with Ian McKellen. Prime, no extra rental fee. I had thought she was so much older than her 75 years. Other movies’ make-up fooled me.
I habitually watch NBC Evening News at 6:30 PM. Every night it gets worse. Every day, every night. Hospitals spilling over, morgues packed with corpses, no more reefer trucks available for temporary storage. What’s next? India style cremations in which the body is doused and flamed and set to burn along the riverways, on wooden rafts?
I still can laugh at The Simpsons and Family Guy new episodes, but even that’s fading, the joy.
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Jim said on December 7, 2020 at 5:05 am
Mellissa needs to go onto Jeanine`s show – they could both get smashed from drinking out of the bottles .
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Anonymous said on December 7, 2020 at 9:58 am
Anonymous here because I regularly comment under my full name. I wanted to share our experiences with Covid 19.
My husband, the ultimate good samaritan, took soup to someone who was feeling sick. They were both wearing masks, but had a lengthy conversation. Cue the dreaded phone call: he had Covid.
We arranged for a test with our county board of health, which went smoothly. He was the first test of the day, got there early, and was home 10 minutes later. We were able to do all the registration online.
In the meantime, we’ve been staying apart and both wearing masks full time. He’s been sleeping in the guest room and wiping down everything he touches. We’ve even been eating separately. Only one bathroom, so again, wiping everything down and never being in there at the same time.
I have been a mess. I’m terrified of Covid and of passing it along to the other person in our pod, my mom. So she and I wore masks when I went over there and also kept our distance.
This was the first time I’d had to wear a mask for more than three hours, and I have new respect for those wearing them all day. I was miserable for the whole week, and found myself snapping at every little thing, feeling anger toward him. This lasted for a week.
Last night we got the text: negative. I woke up this morning with a completely different attitude: positive. I rejoice and am thankful, and am going to tell him next time he needs to drop the soup off outside the door and have the conversation on the phone.
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Jeff Borden said on December 7, 2020 at 10:11 am
More Michigan madness. . .terrorizing the Secretary of State and her 4-year-old son while they were decorating the house for Christmas. I hate these fucking people.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/12/6/2000352/-Armed-protestors-target-Michigan-SOS-and-her-four-year-old-son-at-her-home-Saturday-night
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Deborah said on December 7, 2020 at 11:01 am
Dorothy, I responded to your comment in the last thread but didn’t realize (probably because of my vision issues) it wasn’t in this new post and thread so I’ve copied it here:
Dorothy, I’m glad to hear you had a similar experience with the book. I blamed the narrator of the audiobook, but I guess maybe there was more to it. Google said Connie Schultz was the narrator but not the version I listened to. I found the overall story interesting but it was a bit of a slog getting through it.
I signed up for Audible Plus special offer of $4.95 a month for 6 months but it turns out most of the books I want to listen to aren’t available on it. So I guess I’m going to have to bite the bullet and change it to Audible premium for $14 something a month.
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Julie Robinson said on December 7, 2020 at 11:11 am
Deborah, your library probably has a great selection of audiobooks that you can download right from home. You may be able to get a card in New Mexico too, since you own property. I have cards from here and Orlando and can always find something to listen to. There are a few Audible exclusives that I’m missing, but such is life.
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Peter said on December 7, 2020 at 11:24 am
Here’s a side of the election that amuses me to no end – remember when the Trumpistas were complaining that Biden was only ahead by a few million votes (a.k.a. illegal alien votes) and therefore the election wasn’t legitimate?
Well, they’re STILL counting votes, and a couple of days ago Biden’s lead passed the SEVEN MILLION mark.
I do hope they can pass that info on to Rudy before he slips into a coma. Hate to have him miss that tidbit.
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Charlotte said on December 7, 2020 at 12:32 pm
Ooh Nancy! Can’t wait to see what the Oudlof garden looks like in the spring. There was a terrific YouTube video of the volunteers planting all the bulbs, and one of the plantsmen is a guy named Roy Dibik from Lake Geneva (https://northwindperennialfarm.com/landscape/roy-diblik/). His YouTube videos make me homesick, especially the accent!
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beb said on December 7, 2020 at 1:09 pm
My God, today is Pearl Harbor National Remembrance Day and all I’m seeing in the news is that a bunch of armed goons surrounded the MI secretary of State’s private home. The police need to start arresting these farters. Except they’d probably find half the force among the harassers.
There really ought to be a law limiting what the out-going president and Congress can do during the period from Election Day to Congressional inauguration day.
I also wonder if Biden ought to sue Trump for defamation for claiming that Biden “stole” the election.
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basset said on December 7, 2020 at 1:21 pm
A Polish ship, registered in Cyprus, carrying no telling what… iron ore? beans? sand? and headed for Montreal at walking speed: https://www.vesselfinder.com/vessels/ISADORA-IMO-9180372-MMSI-212836000
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Margaret said on December 7, 2020 at 1:27 pm
Those Covidiots will never, ever get it because they don’t want to deal with it. Rudy and Co. will get the treatment that Trump did and be fine while the rest of us (peasants) suffer. It’s like something out of Dickens.
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Deborah said on December 7, 2020 at 2:07 pm
Piet Oudolf is one of my favorite landscape designers, love love love his gardens. He designed one of the gardens in Millennium Park in Chicago, he’s got a great website and there’s a good documentary about his work if you want to see some great stuff.
I went to the ophthalmologist this morning and got a special prism lens film to go over the right lens on my glasses (for distance) that corrects my double vision. I’ve got some muscle problem with my left eye that’s causing the double vision. It’s probably a result of the strain I’m putting on my eyes because of my cataracts, so surgery will be scheduled for that as soon as I can, when I get back to Chicago. Covid restrictions will probably delay that but at least I’ll get the ball rolling. The ophthalmologist said I’ll probably have the double vision for a month or two until the muscle weakness heals. It’s such a relief to be able to see better again, I can even drive now with this prism correction.
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Jenine said on December 7, 2020 at 3:08 pm
Thanks for the ship photos, Nancy. I really like the look under the gray sky.
I’m trying to remember to get out and walk during the short hours the sun is in the sky for the next few weeks. Otherwise I just sit on the couch and stew and everything seems Very Stupid.
45 days until Jan 20. I am enjoying seeing the progress on that countdown.
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Joe Kobiela said on December 7, 2020 at 3:17 pm
Bassett,
She’s empty look how high she is riding, she is a bulk carrier usually carries sulfur from what I’ve read about her.
Pilot Joe
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Jakash said on December 7, 2020 at 3:18 pm
Here’s a fine column for this year’s December 7.
“Why do we remember (1941)? Well, 2,400 Americans were killed that day. The death of Americans demands our attention.
Or did.
Now, I’m not so sure.
Monday, Dec. 7, 2020, is a day that will not live in infamy. But maybe it should. Because 2,400 Americans, or more, will die today. About the same number died yesterday and will die tomorrow. And the day after that. And the day after that.”
…
“Even though today’s infamy is far worse. At least the Japanese were a foreign nation we were at odds with (over their expansion across Asia). With COVID, it’s as if America bombed its own fleet, then declared the self-inflicted fiasco a victory.”
https://chicago.suntimes.com/columnists/2020/12/6/22156973/1941-2020-infamy-coronavirus-pandemic-pearl-harbor
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Julie Robinson said on December 7, 2020 at 5:03 pm
I have double vision permanently, it’s just one of the myriad eye issues I have. It wasn’t discovered until sometime in my 30’s and is easily corrected with three prisms. But when I’m really tired I can’t hold the two sides together, and there’s nothing to do but go to bed.
By the way, I blame this for my lifelong lousy aim. Ha!
Seriously, I’m very grateful for the eye care I’ve received and once again am happy to be alive now.
We successfully negotiated our way through the ACA website and chose an insurance plan for next year. Since we’ve always had employer plans where the only choice was take it or leave it, there was quite a learning curve.
Next will be a Medicare supplement for when Dennis turns 65 in March. We are becoming health care wonks.
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Dave said on December 7, 2020 at 5:20 pm
This OU alum only sees, “Sorry, this content isn’t available right now”.
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Jeff Borden said on December 7, 2020 at 5:29 pm
Perhaps you’ve read that tRump and Barr are racing to execute five federal prisoners before they leave in disgrace. Four of the five inmates are –surprise– black. The fifth is a woman considered to be mentally unbalanced.
Someone explain to me how conservatives are pro-life?
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LAMary said on December 7, 2020 at 5:41 pm
So Jeff, you’re saying none of the prisoners to be executed is a white male? I’m shocked. This guy needs to go away. No spending the next 4 years having rallies promoting crazy accusations towards the Democrats. He needs to just go away for the rest of his life and take his twisted spawn with him.
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Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on December 7, 2020 at 5:45 pm
Dave, let me try it this way:
https://knapsack.blogspot.com/2020/12/commencement-day-as-it-were-dec-12-2020.html
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LAMary said on December 7, 2020 at 5:57 pm
I’ve explained the death rate as a daily 9/11 to the clods who say it only kills 1 percent of the people who catch it. I think it’s been said here before: I’d take those odds on lottery tickets.
I am going to get my cataract taken care of after the first of the year. I cancled my Medicare part b because my previous employer provided decent health insurance and offered to do my cataract surgery for just what the insurance paid. No copay. Then I got laid off. So after the first of the year I’ll get back on part b and regain the vision in my right eye. It’s not totally blind. Just seriously cloudy which messes up my depth of field vision and is generally annoying. Try putting on eye makeup when one eye doesn’t work. Not that I need to do that much on lockdown. I wear my glasses and have dim lighting for my zoom meetings.
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Deborah said on December 7, 2020 at 6:02 pm
Hard to believe, when I started reading nn.c Kate was around 8, Jeff tmmo’s son was maybe 7ish? Brian Stouder’s youngest was 4, that was a while ago I guess. Geez, time flies.
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Dave said on December 7, 2020 at 6:19 pm
That works, Jeff. It seems like he just started like maybe a year or so ago. Also, what Deborah said. Congratulations to him.
I was in a UPS store today and there was a man there (much older than me) wearing a Jesus is my Saviour, Trump is my President face mask. I so wanted to say something about Jesus probably didn’t agree with that but what’s the point? I just can’t stand it sometimes.
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beb said on December 7, 2020 at 7:17 pm
Jakash — That editorial really nails it.
Jeff Bordon — among Conservatives it appears that Life begins with conception and Ends with birth!
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Dorothy said on December 7, 2020 at 8:33 pm
Yes Deborah, I saw your comment on the previous entry. I was checking back because I’d made that comment about Connie Schultz’s book and wondered if anyone saw it.
Mary you’re going to be so happy with the results of your cataract surgery. My husband had one fixed about 6 years ago and is so glad he did. His vision improved immediately. He still does not need to wear prescription glasses anymore. He just uses readers. Pretty amazing to have that change so late in life.
The Steelers are now 11-1. What a pathetic showing tonight. I’m so mad. Well, now to go snuggle into bed and get comfy with Barack’s book. I’m on page 235.
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Deborah said on December 7, 2020 at 8:44 pm
Julie, my heart goes out to you, I can’t even imagine having double vision the rest of my life. A few years back when I developed foot drop from a spine issue one of the commenters here said he had permanent foot drop, meanwhile mine was cleared up after having a micro-discectomy (spelling?), I couldn’t imagine having foot drop permanently either. One of these days I’ll probably develop something that can’t be cleared up easily, it’s probably inevitable.
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Suzanne said on December 7, 2020 at 9:33 pm
This Twitter thread is horrificly disheartening
https://twitter.com/mtnmd/status/1336134965688340480?s=21
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Julie Robinson said on December 7, 2020 at 9:34 pm
Thank you Deborah, but the prisms are magic. Like I said, it’s only an issue when I’m super tired.
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A.Riley said on December 8, 2020 at 12:30 am
I guess we’re all getting to that point — I’ve got Cataract #1 scheduled for Wednesday, and I’m *really* looking forward to the result. I’m paying out of pocket for the fancy multifocal lenses, because I want to be free of glasses. Well, readers and sunglasses are fine. What I specifically want to be free of is freakin’ bifocals!!
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Dexter Friend said on December 8, 2020 at 4:00 am
Jeff Borden: Yes, Michigan Sec’y of State had adult armed hooligans screaming they were there and they were not going away, in her yard. She seemed to be calm and unafraid on a phoner; she said she had turned up the TV volume and put kid shows on TV for her 4 year old son. The morons were screaming at her to throw out all votes and declare Trump the winner of all electoral votes to be cast next week. I am not scared of Trump at all; he will soon be gone, then soon , he and his clan of family + sycophants will be sporting orange jumpsuits, if there truly is a God.
The world had a small bump incident as it spun on its axis: The crappy stupid Washington Football Team beat the previously undefeated Pittsburgh Steelers yesterday afternoon.
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alex said on December 8, 2020 at 6:58 am
Here’s all you need to know about the woman in blue breathing Rudy’s poots and giving him the side eye:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/thomas-more-jenna-ellis/2020/12/07/09057432-362d-11eb-b59c-adb7153d10c2_story.html
Wonder if you can get COVID through the back door.
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nancy said on December 8, 2020 at 7:53 am
This is a really good piece about her, too.
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LAMary said on December 8, 2020 at 11:16 am
While I was reading the NYT story about Giuliani’s catchfart I was thinking, “please tell me she did not go to University of Denver Law School…please…please…please.” Yay. She didn’t. Go Pioneers.
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David C said on December 8, 2020 at 11:58 am
Constitutional Traffic Court Lawyer Jenna Ellis, Esq. has the ‘rona. tRump is going to have to bring Sidney Powell back up from the minors.
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alex said on December 8, 2020 at 12:19 pm
And prolly some e-coli too.
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Jeff Borden said on December 8, 2020 at 1:24 pm
Anyone who claims to be serving the lord by working for a bloated narcissist who has dabbled in all seven of the deadly sins and has the deaths of tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of Americans on his hands is most definitely full of shit.
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brian stouder said on December 8, 2020 at 1:35 pm
Amen!
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Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on December 8, 2020 at 3:45 pm
Brother Borden’s theological terminology might be a bit sloppy, but the reasoning holds up: I would agree, Jeff. Dave, I wouldn’t try to engage someone with that particular syllogism on their mask, I guess I’d just be mildly grateful they’re at least wearing the dang thing.
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Jakash said on December 8, 2020 at 5:07 pm
I saw Jenna Ellis on Bill Maher’s show on Nov. 13. The first I’d heard of her. I must say I was almost mesmerized by her presentation. Another relatively attractive, bleached blonde, second-rate character willing and able to eagerly promote whatever fact-free bullshit serves her Champion’s cause. So brazen and unflappable. It’s amazing to me how Trump manages to captivate the likes of her and Kayleigh McEnany — both very solid Christians, don’t you know — as well as so many others evidently created in the same Barbie factory.
Bill Maher, unsurprisingly to the nn.c. readers, performed poorly. He had his talking points, but let her dominate the conversation and was not good at refuting her specific points on the fly. Which he surely should have been prepared to do.
Anyway, it’s been interesting to me to see her become more and more prominent. “Only the best people”: Exhibit 1,592. Her pinned tweet is “I’m going on record now: If they try to cancel Christianity, if they try to force me to apologize or recant my Faith, I will not bend, I will not waver, I will not break. On Christ the solid Rock I stand. And I’m proud to be an American.” Classic Trumpist unjustified whining mixed with false bravado. What a hypocrite.
Another of the cast of characters for whom the quote “The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts” applies in spades.
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David C said on December 8, 2020 at 5:24 pm
Wah, Wah, Wah, Wahhhhhhh…
9-0
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2020/12/08/us/joe-biden-donald-trump#supreme-court-refuses-request-from-pennsylvania-gop-to-overturn-states-election-results
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LAMary said on December 8, 2020 at 8:52 pm
Bill Maher had a thing for Ann Coulter for a while. Eventually she was so full of shit he stopped being cute with her. For all his liberal politics he isn’t contentious with women he finds attractive. Personally, I stopped watching him a long time ago. His attitude towards women was getting on my nerves.
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Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on December 8, 2020 at 11:32 pm
Had to drop this one here for all the Chicago residents, friends, and fans who frequent this hostelry:
https://twitter.com/barrybutler9/status/1336311053265801217/photo/1
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beb said on December 9, 2020 at 1:03 am
To the two Jeffs, I’m a firm believe in “the Lord helps those to help themselves.” or in the vernacular, “meet me half-way.” Why should God protect worshipers from the virus if they won’t at least wear a mask.
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Dexter Friend said on December 9, 2020 at 2:58 am
Bill Maher is generally full of himself, and full of shit. I used to watch his show, then when Bush attacked Iraq, Maher jumped on the patriotic bandwagon, as did Kerry, Hillary, Biden, all of them but for one woman from California. Then, after it suited all of those dems politically, a mass “I was wrong about Iraq, the information was wrong.” Yeah…well, millions of us saw through the yellow cake bullshit and the very specific wrong of destroying a nation that was not responsible for 9-11 whatsoever. The details of why Bush-Cheney attacked Iraq were sickening, like Cheney’s personal supply chain enriching him. Now Bush is treated like a great servant of America, the weaselly ass. Oh well…Trump is taking credit for the vaccine rollout, and saying the incoming Trump administration will take care of us. But yesterday SCOTUS dismissed all the hokum bluntly, figuratively knocking Trump’s entourage down like bowling pins…a strike. SCOTUS, no help.
Oh, and bowling…when The Dude (Jeff Bridges) appeared on Bill Maher’s show, Bridges was making a point and Maher dismissed him mid-sentence, calling him “oh you old hippie, you are high right now…” Bridges just sat there calmly. It was a disgrace on Maher’s point.
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alex said on December 9, 2020 at 8:08 am
I remember thinking it unfair that Maher’s show got yanked from network TV when he scored a bullseye on Bush II with a deadpan joke that was 100 percent truth. He said that calling the 9/11 terrorists “cowards” was just a bunch of feel-good phony baloney because in fact it took some brass balls to do what they did. His show was cancelled immediately.
Since then, however, my opinion of Maher has only diminished. I have a friend who watches him religiously on cable and records the show and tries to make me sit through it and I find it tiresome. He’s become another unfunny provocateur just like Ann Coulter but with a smaller Adam’s apple and his heavy-handedness brings discredit to his politics with which I’m otherwise in agreement.
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nancy said on December 9, 2020 at 8:11 am
Maher is also an anti-vaxer and fond of amplifying dipshit voices like Michael Moore, etc.
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Mark P said on December 9, 2020 at 8:33 am
Ooh, Alex, the Adam’s apple — the burn that burns both ways!
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Suzanne said on December 9, 2020 at 9:55 am
beb @ #49. Yes, indeed! Infections in churches prove that the virus doesn’t know and doesn’t care where you are or what you are doing when it infects you. Some places of worship may be better than an office simply because of the size and the high ceilings help dissipate the droplets from people. But not wearing a mask is silly.
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Heather said on December 9, 2020 at 10:06 am
beb @ 49: not sure why it’s so hard for certain Christians to understand that God created science, too.
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Scout said on December 9, 2020 at 10:13 am
Jeff B @42 – that is poetry worthy of becoming a viral tweet.
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Suzanne said on December 9, 2020 at 10:47 am
Nikki Haley’s sister-in-law has died of COVID.
https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2020-12-08/nikki-haley-says-her-sister-in-law-died-of-covid-19
Do I think this will change her attitude or the attitudes of anti-maskers & COVID deniers? Nope. Not one bit.
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LAMary said on December 9, 2020 at 11:44 am
How many people have to die or get very sick from going unmasked in some crowded gathering before they figure out it’s stupid? If trump is continuing this slo-mo mass murder to please the idiot faction of his base he should be sued for each death. If he’s doing it out of contempt for his fellow man He should be arrested and tossed into prison for the rest of his life. All the crazies you see on social media who are self righteously adamant about not wearing a mask, refusing the vaccine and generally all other preventative measures are listening to the orange clown and his toadies. Angry stupidity is an ugly thing and there’s so much of it around. What the hell has happened to people?
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Sherri said on December 9, 2020 at 12:57 pm
Back in late March/early April, when we were in our first lockdown here, and I was seeing the lack of response from the federal government, I tried to estimate what the most likely scenario in terms of deaths, and what the maximum number would be. What was the number that we wouldn’t exceed, even given the political and social state?
I considered and abandoned 250K, and when I couldn’t convince myself that 500K would suffice, I stopped trying. It was too depressing to think about.
We’re approaching 300K deaths now, with the virus spreading rapidly. It’s amazing that vaccines have been developed so quickly, but it’s hard to have faith that a country that has done such a poor job of the logistics of getting PPE to health care workers, much less the rest of us, will handle the even more complicated logistics of deploying a vaccine.
Things will get better with the new administration, but the new administration is not magic, especially with McConnell doing everything he can to obstruct. Lots more people are going to die.
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Dorothy said on December 9, 2020 at 3:02 pm
Well if you don’t have enough news around you that makes you want to melt into a puddle of tears, read this:
https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/09/us/santa-letters-children-coronavirus-trnd/index.html
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Bob (not Greene) said on December 9, 2020 at 3:52 pm
This article was amazing and depressing and entirely predictable. These people are addicted to killing one another.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/12/09/south-dakota-mitchell-covid-masks/?arc404=true
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Sherri said on December 9, 2020 at 4:43 pm
My father is 82 and has high blood pressure. My mother is 81 and has asthma and atrial fibrillation. Fortunately, so far, they’ve avoided COVID, but not because they’re avoiding people.
They go to church in person, indoors. I hope they wear masks, but I do not ask, because it wouldn’t do any good. They get their own groceries and do all their other errands. They drove two and a half hours to celebrate Thanksgiving with my brother and sister-in-law and my nephews and their partners. My oldest nephew is a dentist, my younger nephew is a physical therapist.
It’s not that they deny the existence of COVID, it’s more that they just don’t seem to see it. They don’t think it’s a hoax, but their experience of it doesn’t seem to match up with the reality of the numbers, so they don’t know what to think. It’s happening to other people, other places, so they sort of feel like there’s a big overreaction.
In so many ways, I live in a different world than the rest of my family.
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Sherri said on December 9, 2020 at 5:02 pm
It’s not just Trump, part the millionth.
Ken Paxton, the Texas AG, has filed suit because he wants to overturn the outcome of the election in PA, WI, GA, and MI. AGs in seventeen states have filed amici briefs to agree with him.
https://twitter.com/bradheath/status/1336763665580765187?s=21
The GOP really doesn’t believe in democracy, or even representative government. They believe they ought to rule, period.
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Bob (not Greene) said on December 9, 2020 at 5:10 pm
I interviewed a local woman who’s an ICU nurse and whose entire life, as a result, has been consumed by COVID. I wanted to write this in part to put a face on this thing for the people around here who still, despite indoor dining and drinking bans, continue to pack bars and restaurants, as well as the local officials who continue to say they don’t have the authority to enforce the governor’s order.
I’m sure it won’t make any difference.
https://www.rblandmark.com/News/Articles/12-8-2020/On-the-front-lines-of-a-pandemic/
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Charlotte said on December 9, 2020 at 5:43 pm
Welp, let’s hope this augers well for 2021 — my cat Betty, who went missing in mid-January, was returned to me today!
She’s so skinny, poor thing. And was miles away, on the other side of the interstate (rumor has it the crazy lady at the end of the alley traps cats and “relocates” them). But who knows? It’s been nearly a year.
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LAMary said on December 9, 2020 at 5:49 pm
Bob, for eleven years my job was hiring nurses. I have a lot of nurse friends. What they say is pretty much the same as what’s in your article. Their frustration with people who won’t take the situation seriously, who won’t wear a mask or keep their distance is overwhelming. And I feel for them. These are good people with strong skills and big hearts. Both those things are being worn out by stupidity and death. My contempt for the people in positions of power who won’t speak up and tell people that president is misleading them and my contempt for the president is beyond digust. It might get them the knuckle dragger vote but it’s murder.
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Dorothy said on December 9, 2020 at 5:59 pm
That’s an early birthday present, right Charlotte?! For some reason your birthday is on my calendar. I think it’s cuz we’re facebook friends. Anyway, I’m really glad for you about Betty’s return.
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nancy said on December 9, 2020 at 6:08 pm
Charlotte, I remember when she disappeared. That is wonderful news. So happy for you.
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Heather said on December 9, 2020 at 6:15 pm
Oh my gosh! Welcome back, Betty! You must be so happy. I’m happy for you both. Do you think she was just out on the street this whole time?
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Dave said on December 9, 2020 at 6:21 pm
I have a friend who lives in Greybull, Big Horn County, Wyoming. He reports that the county health director wanted to enforce a mask mandate so the county commissioners fired him.
Meanwhile, Florida, under the direction of AG Ashley Moody and, I’m sure, this Trump-loving governor we have, has joined the Texas lawsuit. I used to cuss the Indiana representation but I sometimes think that Florida is worse. I’d take Mitch Daniels over DeSantis any day. Pence, OTOH, might be a tossup.
Big welcome home to your cat, Charlotte, don’t you wish she could tell her story.
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Charlotte said on December 9, 2020 at 6:22 pm
She seems to have been Out There all this time? Doesn’t seem like she moved in with anyone else … the woman who brought her back to the shelter said she’d been hanging around her shed, and was even skinnier than she is now, so she’d been feeding her for a while. She’s been sacked out in her old spot on the blanket since I brought her back this afternoon.
So I guess now I have two cats? So far, so good as far as not fighting goes. (And yes Dorothy, birthday tomorrow. One of those big but not round numbers where you’re just happy to be having another birthday.)
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LAMary said on December 9, 2020 at 6:35 pm
Very happy for you and Betty, Charlotte. I see lost cat posters in my neighborhood all the time but seldom a happy ending. Lots of coyotes here.
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David C said on December 9, 2020 at 6:58 pm
We went to the grocery store this afternoon. There’s a hospital across the street and a nurse on her way home after an 18 hour shift gave a guy without one hell. She was very polite but very firm. It was a thing of beauty. He just looked down at his feet. Someone from the store brought him a mask. He put it on and slinked away. It drew quite a crowd. She got a big hand.
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Dorothy said on December 9, 2020 at 7:36 pm
Oh David. I wish someone had filmed that. It’s the kind of thing that really needs to go viral.
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LAMary said on December 9, 2020 at 7:51 pm
Barbara Ferrer is the head of the LA County Dept. of Public Health. She is not a weak or emotional person. Every day she does a report that’s carried on most of the local TV stations. Today she got emotional.
https://ktla.com/news/local-news/l-a-county-health-officials-provide-updates-amid-coronavirus-surge/
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David C said on December 9, 2020 at 7:57 pm
A couple of people were. I hope they post it. Mary was telling her mom about it and said it looked like a mother cracking down on her teen-aged son who is starting to act like his father (her ex). The effect was enhanced because the nurse was easily a six-footer and about 40 years old and they guy was shorter than me probably 5’7″ or 5’8″ and in his early 20s.
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LAMary said on December 9, 2020 at 8:08 pm
Even if that nurse was not taller than the maskless jerk she would have taken him on. Do not piss off a nurse who has been dealing with the results of people ignoring the facts about covid.
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