Good things are happening in the world right now. Decent people are having babies, the ultimate act of optimism about the future. The days are getting longer (in our hemisphere, anyway), and spring will arrive one of these days. Who knows, maybe right at this very instant karma is coming for Stephen Miller, Donald Trump, Elon Musk and the rest of the democracy wrecking crew. You never know. Cancer could be metastasizing, a blood vessel wearing thin, a lethal dose of fentanyl making it way to someone’s coke or ketamine stash. We’re all going to die someday, and maybe one of those assholes will die first, hopefully in front of cameras.
But it’s hard to be optimistic. This I grant you. One of Michigan’s Democratic senators announced his retirement Tuesday. This isn’t good.
Today I opened the newspaper and learned it’s sponsoring a serious event in a few days:
Sponsored by The Detroit News, the program, “Lessons from History, Hope for Tomorrow: A Courageous Conversation,” is scheduled to be moderated by Gary Miles, editor and publisher of The News. Panelists are center CEO Rabbi Eli Mayerfeld; Nolan Finley, editorial page editor of The News; and his partner in the Great Lakes Civility Project, Stephen Henderson of Bridge Detroit.
The center referenced is the Zekelman Holocaust Center in Farmington Hills. The center, and the above-mentioned individuals, want to “divert America from that dangerous path,” because “incivility can quickly lead to hatred, and hatred to dehumanization.” Jews know this well. And yet, as I texted friends after reading this…well, it was something uncivil. Take my word for it.
Civility. Are you fucking kidding me.
The two partners in the Great Lakes Civility Project are, or used to be, the editors of their respective newspaper’s editorial pages. Finley still has his job, but Henderson left his a while back, and now works for my old employer. Both are lavishly paid and both still do this increasingly anachronistic work afforded only a lucky few anymore — having opinions, and sitting on panels to discuss these opinions in front of audiences. They’re friends, of course, because they have more in common than the fact one is a conservative and the other a liberal. As someone whose name I forget coined a phrase in a piece I also forget, they are fellow People of the Green Room. Game recognize game.
Not to beat up on those two. If someone offers you an honorarium, you take it. God knows where we’ll be in another year or two. Or six months. But I guffawed when I clicked through to the ticket site and learned it’s restricted to members of the Holocaust Center and Detroit News subscribers. I can imagine what the crowd will look like.
Here’s the question I’d ask, if I somehow were immobilized with a tranquilizer dart and forced to sit in the audience at this event: Why is it always us who extend the hand of brotherhood across the chasm of division? Have you ever seen a right-wing outfit – a church, a policy shop, anything – fretting about our uncivil world? And don’t tell me Nolan Finley constitutes “the other side.” Like I said, besides his fat ‘n’ happy career perch, he’s enough of a never-Trumper to be despised by many MAGA types. Which means this earnest event will have zero effect other than to fill the gray heads filing out afterward with endorphins.
It’s times like this I remember another quote whose source I forget, about an infamous Jewish gangster: “If more Jews were like Meyer Lansky, there wouldn’t have been a Holocaust.” Maybe we need a new hashtag: #BeLikeMeyer. No, that would be wrong. That would be uncivil. Meanwhile, here’s the winning team, as featured in the current issue of New York magazine:
This set’s most visible political stance is a reaction to what it sees as the left’s puritanical obsessions with policing language and talking about identity. A joke about Puerto Ricans or eugenics or sleeping with Nick Fuentes could throw a pack of smokers outside Butterworth’s into a gigglefest. Recounting her time at one of the balls, a woman tells me she jumped the velvet rope into a VIP section “like a little Mexican.” Then she lets out a cackle. This is the posture that has attracted newcomers to the cause. “Six months into Biden being president, I was like, I can’t fucking do this anymore,” says a 19-year-old New Yorker who once quite literally had blue hair and attends Marymount Manhattan, which he describes as “75 percent women and 23 percent trannies.” He had supported Biden, but “I hate watching the things I say. I took a much farther horseshoe around this time.” Later, a former Bernie supporter (who looked like the most Bernie-supporting person one could imagine with long, curly hair and a plaid shirt) told me the same: He wanted the freedom to say “faggot” and “retarded.”
They want to say faggot and retarded. And once they get comfortable, you know the other slur with double-Gs in the middle will come back from its long stretch in the wilderness. And maybe then the “19-year-old New Yorker” will feel brave enough to use his real name. (This I doubt.)
Of course, all those people can use those words now. I certainly hear them plenty. They just don’t want to get their ass kicked for saying them. Which makes them cowards, as well as uncivil.
Here’s one more thing, a glimpse from a subculture, or a sub-sub-subculture, I have no real knowledge of. The setup: There’s a local club in town, deep in the black east side of Detroit, that mostly hosts rock acts. It always seems to be teetering on the edge of some sort of collapse and its glory days are well behind it, but it stays open, somehow. Apparently over the past weekend, they were hosting a seven-band metal show, put on by an independent promoter, which means the venue was just there to be the roof and bar. The promoter handled everything else. The first band went on, and surprise! They’re Nazis! The house manager did the right thing, and shut down the show during the second band’s set. Here’s a newspaper story about it, based on social-media postings.
The Reddit thread is more instructive. A snippet:
I know who the dudes are who put this show on. They are in fact Nazis. Half the crowd was probably Latino and this is common in the NSBM(nationalist socialist black metal) scene and yes I know that makes no sense but it’s a thing.
The promoter is himself Latino! MAKE THIS MAKE SENSE. Because I can’t.
David C said on January 29, 2025 at 5:58 am
Sherri asked in the last post if they were deliberately trying to provoke a Reichstag fire moment. I wouldn’t be surprised. With Hegseth as SecDef, who will do any damn thing tRump tells him to do, they’ll try to do something to unleash the military on the citizens. If we’re lucky, the generals, who are a hell of a lot smarter than either of them, tell them to fuck off.
A tRump +21 state senate district in Iowa went blue yesterday. Maybe there’s hope.
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Jeff Gill said on January 29, 2025 at 7:30 am
Braxton Bragg was not only a racist, slaveowner, & court-martialed in the U.S. Army before the Civil War, he is widely considered the worst general on EITHER side in the conflict.
Pete Hegseth has as a top priority to change the name of Fort Liberty back to Fort Bragg. Because heritage, you know.
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Jeff Borden said on January 29, 2025 at 9:30 am
I’ve heard Lumpy wax poetic over “the great” Robert E. Lee, who was a terrible strategist as well as being a terrible man. He spent the post Civil War years doing everything possible to prevent black Southerners from gaining any ground. The mindset of tRump and the MAGA minions isn’t much different. Why else do they want to return to the 1950s?
All of this chaos was foretold. Informed voters knew about Project 2025 and that tRump, as usual, was lying about his ties to it. But the morons gleaning their information from social media and Fox never heard about it. They were too busy frothing at the mouth over transgenders, over critical race theory, over “those people” getting too uppity. And now they’re feeling the bite of the whip on things they didn’t expect. Not MY Medicaid. Not MY disability payments. Not MY Meals on Wheels.
It’s difficult to muster sympathy for them as memories of the hatefests where they cheered loudly for mass deportations remains fresh. I’m all outta fucks to give. Let them sleep in the bed they made.
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Jason T. said on January 29, 2025 at 9:42 am
Almost 20 years ago, the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh went through an ugly and bitter schism, with a splinter group — led by someone who had declared himself “archbishop” (spoiler alert: we Episcopalians don’t have archbishops) — dividing off to form their own denomination, icky gays and queers need not apply.
The new Episcopal bishop decided to have a series of listening and dialogue sessions with small groups of the remaining faithful. He asked people to classify themselves as liberal, moderate or conservative, so that the groups could be balanced and reflect a wide variety of opinions.
Needless to say, only one or two conservatives, at most, registered. Everyone else was liberal.
But both sides are to blame, the media tells me. The left needs to start listening more. Etc., etc., etc.
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Mssr. Coffee said on January 29, 2025 at 9:43 am
“We’re all going to die someday, and maybe one of those assholes will die first, hopefully in front of cameras.”
The hate, it is strong with this one.
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Joe Kobiela said on January 29, 2025 at 10:02 am
@5, it’s called “Deranged Trump Syndrome “
Pilot Joe
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Mark P said on January 29, 2025 at 10:32 am
I (and lots of others) have been saying for years that Trump is a pathological liar. These dumb-as-hammers MAGAts have denied it, but I think down deep, they understood. That’s why they didn’t believe Trump would actually do what he said he would do. They ignored the fact that being a liar, and known as a liar, lets a person like Trump tell a horrible truth that nobody will believe he means.
For as long as they have existed, MAGAts have rejoiced in the pain of others. Now I will rejoice at their pain as Trump does what he promised to do. Unfortunately, Trump is an equal-opportunity destroyer, but at least I can watch as the MAGAts burn with the rest of us.
It is objectively true that the world would be a better place without Trump and his wannabe Nazi supporters.
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Jason T. said on January 29, 2025 at 10:34 am
I like pie. Only two kinds, I always say: Homemade or store-bought. I think strawberry-rhubarb is my favorite, but I know I’m in the minority on that one. Cream pies are OK, especially coconut. A really good apple or peach pie hits the spot. Trust me, I like cake, too, but I’d almost rather have a birthday pie.
This is my version of the pie filter.
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alex said on January 29, 2025 at 10:35 am
On a bright note, Mayor Pete is considering a run for that Michigan Senate seat.
“Deranged Trump Syndrome.” For once you got something right, Joe. Trump is indeed deranged, and, well… monkey see monkey do.
Me, I’d rather see someone sane and altruistic setting the example and bringing out the best in people and not their worst.
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Sherri said on January 29, 2025 at 11:32 am
One could say the aviator is trying to talk down to us.
Price of groceries come down yet?
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Sherri said on January 29, 2025 at 11:41 am
Why is it that people get the idea that it’s somehow edgy and transgressive and desirable and brave to punch down? The story isn’t The Peasants’ New Clothes, it’s The Emperor’s New Clothes.
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Deborah said on January 29, 2025 at 11:55 am
The Pie Filter. Perfect.
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susan said on January 29, 2025 at 12:02 pm
Posting recipes is useful, too.
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Jeff Borden said on January 29, 2025 at 12:04 pm
Dumb people punch down. And MAGAts are really dumb.
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Joe Kobiela said on January 29, 2025 at 12:23 pm
Sherri,
Got a heck of a deal on Diet Coke yesterday, I would have shopped longer but was afraid I would run into Dorthy and get glared at.
Pilot Joe
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Jason T. said on January 29, 2025 at 12:28 pm
Classic Shoo-Fly Pie
Ingredients & Directions
Liquid:
1/2 tb Soda dissolved in 3/4-cup boiling water
1/2 c Molasses
1 Egg yolk, beaten well
Crumbs:
3/4 c Flour
1/2 ts Cinnamon
1/8 ts Each of nutmeg, ginger, cloves
1/2 c Brown sugar
2 tb Shortening
1/2 ts Salt
Combine dry ingredients with shortening, using hands to work into crumbs.
Line a 9″ pie plate with pastry. Fill with liquid and top with crumbs. Bake in a 400 degree oven until crust starts to brown (about 10 minutes).
Reduce to 325 degrees and bake until firm.
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nancy said on January 29, 2025 at 12:41 pm
I’m thisclose to deploying the Hammer of Loving Correction, as John Scalzi calls it.
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alex said on January 29, 2025 at 12:57 pm
Speaking of loving correction, that’s mallet not hammer, but hey, bang away!
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Icarus said on January 29, 2025 at 1:18 pm
Is Mssr. Coffee Pilot Joe’s sock puppet or just his glory hole partner?
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Scout said on January 29, 2025 at 1:27 pm
DO IT, NANCY. Just do it.
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Deborah said on January 29, 2025 at 1:44 pm
If they’re going to be rude to you Nancy, you have every right. Otherwise you give them a platform. It’s your site, do it.
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Jason T. said on January 29, 2025 at 1:52 pm
So, you would maybe want some cookie recipes instead?
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Dexter Friend said on January 29, 2025 at 2:17 pm
It’s still Golfo de Mexico on GoogleMaps.
Caroline’s words about the cousin will never be forgotten, the part about blended mice and baby chicks fed to falcons.
It was 41F here at noon, nice.
“Say Nothing” on FX/Hulu is the most serious piece of film making regarding The Troubles I have ever seen. Chilling, revealing, unforgettable, 9 parts series. Must see TV for the ages.
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Suzanne said on January 29, 2025 at 2:24 pm
Dexter, yes, Say Nothing is excellent as is the book that it is based on. I remember seeing stories about “The Troubles” in the press and on tv when I was much younger, but did not really grasp what it was about until reading the book.
Highly recommend both book and series.
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Jeff Borden said on January 29, 2025 at 2:44 pm
I kind of enjoy the trolls for their witless attempts at being clever. They’re throwing Nerf balls they think are rocks. And they remind us of the “character” of your average MAGA doofus.
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Deborah said on January 29, 2025 at 2:55 pm
I’ll have to look into that series, Say Nothing. I was in Portadown in Northern Ireland for business in the the late 90s, which was supposed to have been a hotbed for the action then. There’s a carpet manufacturing plant there, Ulster Carpets, where I was art directing the colors of a carpet for a design project. I got a lot of history about the Troubles from people who lived through it, we went to Belfast for dinner one night and got the tour of where it all happened. Fascinating.
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Julie Robinson said on January 29, 2025 at 3:07 pm
We were a little surprised to see the hatred for England in and around Dublin. My ancestral town had two memorials to lads “brutally murdered” in 1920 and 21. I should read The Troubles, but right now I gotta go lighter.
In the meantime our refrigerator is reading 62° and the repair guy is booked until Monday, my mom’s vertigo is so bad she can’t get out of bed, and my daughter went to a protest. She showed me how she wrote my phone number on her arm. What is that, the text if I’m dead tattoo? We don’t know any attorneys here except the guy that did our wills, maybe that will be our next need.
She wore her clerical collar. She only does that for protests and when she thinks it will help in hospitals.
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nancy said on January 29, 2025 at 3:24 pm
“Say Nothing,” the book, is outstanding. I can’t remember if that’s where I read about the shit-smeared walls of Maze Prison or not, but whatever, that’s an image that stays with you.
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Sherri said on January 29, 2025 at 3:25 pm
I still want to know where it is that Trump sent the military to turn the water from the Pacific Northwest to California. I just want to see the valve!
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Jeff Borden said on January 29, 2025 at 3:46 pm
Sherri,
Lumpy saw the Army Corps of Engineers (which overwhelmingly consists of civilians) were servicing pumps. So, of course, the dotard thought it was the military.
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Peter said on January 29, 2025 at 4:55 pm
Sherri,
I know what you mean – I’d love to see that valve too.
It’s one of the biggest disappointments in my life – I flew to Brazil twice on business, and they were overnight flights, so I never got to see the big red line indicating the equator. I had window seats both times and it was no use.
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Jeff Borden said on January 29, 2025 at 5:06 pm
So much MAGA winning. China reportedly is canceling $690 billion in U.S. imports. America First? Hah. America alone. These morons have no earthly idea of how the global economy functions.
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Sherri said on January 29, 2025 at 5:25 pm
Trump’s been talking about this “very large faucet” since at least last September. He said it was as big as a wall and takes a day to turn it, and since sometimes it is water from the Pacific Northwest he says would be flowing to California, I want to go see it. After all, if the plan is to turn where I live into a desert so that Los Angeles can be “damp”, as he put it, I’d like to see how it happens.
I’m not even looking for the pipelines or the aqueducts, just that faucet.
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Sherri said on January 29, 2025 at 5:30 pm
It’s easy to make fun of the faucet, except that Trump and the GOP are also talking about holding federal disaster funding for the fires hostage unless California changes water policy. It would be helpful if the water policy were based in reality, not imaginary faucets.
I’m not sure why, if you’re going to make up an imaginary faucet, you don’t make up one that can be turned instantly.
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Sherri said on January 29, 2025 at 6:37 pm
Speaking of reality, I’m seeing references to the lab leak theory of Covid as if the recent CIA announcement actually reflected new knowledge or information, which it didn’t. What if reflected was a new director, John Ratcliffe, who is a China hawk. There was no new information or analysis that was done to change the answer from “undecided” to “low probability” other than a new boss.
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Deborah said on January 29, 2025 at 7:28 pm
Trump golf tracking https://trumpgolftrack.com/
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Colleen Condron said on January 29, 2025 at 9:09 pm
I never understood the whole “I have to be so careful about what I say” complaint. I honestly never think about having to alter how I speak in order to be appropriate. Maybe that’s because I don’t have some overwhelming desire to insult groups of people. I think the idea that they want to use pejorative terms is right on. To that I can only say, grow up and be a civilized human.
And regarding deportations….are they sweeping Boston for all of the people here illegally from Ireland? Yeah. Didn’t think so. They don’t even try to hide what they are anymore….
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Sherri said on January 29, 2025 at 11:18 pm
Who knew it was so much cheaper to buy the federal government than it was to buy Twitter? It cost Musk $44 billion to be able to do to Twitter what he’s doing to the federal government for only $277 million to elect Trump.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/01/29/elon-musk-opm-federal-workers-buyout-trump/
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Jeff Gill said on January 30, 2025 at 7:49 am
So now Trump is a professional ATC. Not good.
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JodiP said on January 30, 2025 at 8:54 am
I’ll add my praise to the book Say Nothing.
I listened to it, courtesy of my library.
In addition to recipes, I would like to add an author recommendation: Tom Cox. He is a wildly original writer. I just read 1983, which centers around an 8 year old boy named Benji, his school and his belief that he is an alien. It’s wonderful and weird.
Cox also has a great Substack and I became a paying supporter. I can gift 5 freeonth-long subsc
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