Happy Liberation Day, fellow Americans. Elon Musk spent more than $20 million for his candidate to lose a Wisconsin Supreme Court race, and all he got was this stupid hat:
On, Wisconsin!
So that was nice to wake up to today, as was the lack of physical misery. I finally got around to getting my second shingles vaccine Monday, and it kicked my ass hard. (Keep in mind this description comes from a total wimp where physical discomfort is concerned, which doesn’t bode well for a cheery old age.) It was roughly 24 hours of low-fever no-fun, and as I lay in bed, whimpering, I wondered what it would be like if I was a Wisconsin voter in the election-security era Republicans want to return to — i.e. only in-person voting, only on Election Day. I might have chosen to sleep through the day. Or what if the weather had been like it is today, a driving, cold rain that’s threatening to flood roads and make even a quick scuttle to the garage miserable? Ditto. This is but one reason I’ve come to loathe Republicans.
But we have at least some limited good news to enjoy today – the narrowing of the margins in the Florida races, the blowout in Wisconsin. Maybe it’ll light a little flame in the national party. Maybe they’ll decide it’s better to fight than to roll over and play dead. We can hope, anyway.
So, Wednesday. The rain pushed me to look at Saturday’s march weather, and it’s not good, but I don’t want to be dissuaded. Somehow, walking in a cold rain means more than coming out on a perfect spring day. And as we say at this latitude, there’s no bad weather, just the wrong clothing.
As I’m still a little tapped, here’s some bloggage to consider:
Another banger by Roy, this one on JD Vance, as he considers what, exactly, about Vance attracted Trump’s eye:
I know Tubby likes to have stone bastards around him, but he also likes to keep people close that he can smack around. Fortunately for him, some of his freakshow inner circle can fulfill both functions — like I’ve said, this is the last respectable job any of them will ever have, and they know it. And he’s also got a couple of fuckfaces he can definitely treat like shit whenever he wants: one’s “Little Marco” Rubio and the other is Vance. Trump sends them out specifically to step on their own dicks, which they always do, and he not only gets the pure joy of that spectacle but also a chance to send the world a message: That he’s the kind of guy that can and will do that to people, so everybody better watch out. He can’t really do that to Miller or Musk, but he sure as hell can do it to these clowns whenever he likes.
Exactly right. The Greenland trip was a fiasco, concluding with VP ChubbyCheeks essentially threatening military action to a (for now) ally, while standing on its soil, the sort of diplomatic…you can’t even call it a “misstep” or “faux pas,” it’s such a dick move. Tubby isn’t going to live forever, and none of these guys have what it takes to keep the movement together. Vance will end up going back to blood, I suspect — drinking from a shoulder-supported jug with “XXX” on the front and yelling at his TV.
I can hear sounds from the back yard even through this downpour, and sure enough, it’s what I’m calling the motorcycle gang — the flocks of starlings, grackles and red-winged blackbirds that come through every spring. The latter are notorious for defending their nests, to the point that some local parks have to restrict movement near where they’ve chosen to do so. It’s pretty funny; every year some runner or child gets dive-bombed, leading to an outcry on social media, where stupid causes go to nest. I just watched one perambulate through the yard, making his shrieky call and flexing his epaulets with every one. Must be mating season.
OK, then. Enjoy the day, no matter what it’s doing outdoors, and remember: Wisconsin is lighting our path.
Deborah said on April 2, 2025 at 11:15 am
Damn, I see that rain is predicted for Chicago on Saturday too, 85% chance. I guess I’m going to have to get my sign weatherproofed somehow. Maybe I’ll just go without one. I could spray paint my message on an umbrella. Or get a pitchfork for the occasion.
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susan said on April 2, 2025 at 11:32 am
Deborah, pitchforks are weather-proof. The edges won’t curl, and the paint won’t run. Also, you will enjoy the reactions.
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Deborah said on April 2, 2025 at 11:39 am
I see that Mallory McMorrow has entered the senate race in MI. I’ll be sending her $$$.
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Pam H said on April 2, 2025 at 12:09 pm
Amy Acton is the only Democrat running for the Governor’s seat in Ohio (so far at least). T sent the Swamie because he doesn’t really trust Ohio. The Swamie has already started his campaign. Amy Acton was interviewed on TV on Sunday and while I like her a lot, I was underwhelmed and fairly certain that she’ll get trounced. So it looks like the Ohio Democratic party isn’t even going to Try. Ms. Acton worked with Gov. DeWine during the pandy as his public health expert (which is likely why T doesn’t trust Ohio). She did a great job, but quit a little early to go home due to vicious threats against her family. I just wish the Dems could find someone a little more charismatic and kickass. So proud of Wisconsin for not falling for the shenanigans. Ohio failed that test.
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Deborah said on April 2, 2025 at 12:17 pm
Susan, we have a pitchfork in Santa Fe, we got it to stir the compost pile but I’m afraid the cops in Chicago would have a shit fit if I turned up at Daly Plaza with one on Saturday. Also what would I do with it in a highrise in the city? I guess I could give it to building maintenance.
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susan said on April 2, 2025 at 1:27 pm
Hmmm, Deborah, cops in Chicago might be more of an issue than here. They do have a certain “reputation,” that’s for sure. One of my brothers feels the same way you do, though, when I told him about my “sign.” That carrying a pitchfork at a static rally might be a problem, is not something I had ever considered. As I noted before, people carry f’ing visible GUNS strapped to their asses.
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Julie Robinson said on April 2, 2025 at 1:36 pm
Reactions to the shingles vaccination have been decently bad among my crowd. It didn’t send me to bed, but there was some pain. Not as much pain as actual shingles, which I witnessed when Dennis had them while still in his 20’s.
Orlando is having the kind of day we dream of during hotter than hell summers, sunny and dare I say it, 83°. I just picked a huge bowl of Everglades tomatoes and even bigger bowl of salad greens. My Facebook memories reminded me it was snowing on this day in 2016.
Roy has nailed it.
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Sherri said on April 2, 2025 at 1:48 pm
Given the Seattle PD reaction to umbrellas, I’m not sure I’d carry a pitchfork to a Seattle protest.
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Alan Stamm said on April 2, 2025 at 1:53 pm
“flexing his epaulets” works well, Wordsmith.
And like Deborah, I also tossed announcement day shekels to the very deserving Mallory McMorrow. Proud to be in her district and encouraged by her trajectory.
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Mark P said on April 2, 2025 at 2:02 pm
If you decide to go with a pitchfork, someone needs to carry a tiki torch. Do you think the MAGAts and other Nazis would get the irony?
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David C said on April 2, 2025 at 2:10 pm
The shingles vaccination is the only one that ever caused me to miss work. The first shot did anyway. The second went better.
Cheetolini made a big deal if the voter ID amendment passing, but it’s meaningless. We’ve had it for most of the time I’ve been here.
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Dexter Friend said on April 2, 2025 at 2:57 pm
I had a fine time in Findlay at my great-granddaughter’s 9th birthday party at a restaurant. My entrée was spaghetti & baseball sized meatballs. Take home box, please.
Great news as I grasp the situation anyway:
Mallory McMorrow runs for US Senate as Michigan race gets its first big name candidate.
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Jakash said on April 2, 2025 at 2:58 pm
Yes, it’s very nice to have a bit of good news from Wisconsin for a change. Plus, I managed to catch about ten minutes right at the end of Cory Booker’s marathon speech, after having watched a video of the beginning. Encouraging!
The headline at the top of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel website right now, which accompanies a cheesehead photo similar to the one here, says “Elon Musk says he ‘expected to lose’ Wisconsin Supreme Court race.” Oh, good idea to crassly drop $20 million into a state you have nothing to do with, then, dipshit.
Making oneself look like a fool wearing a faux cheese triangle: $20 million. Demonstrating that you think votes in America should go to the highest bidder: Priceless.
I’ll take a backseat to few when it comes to being “a total wimp where physical discomfort is concerned,” and I also took quite a hit from the second shingles vaccine. “Roughly 24 hours of low-fever no-fun” sounds about right. I’ve haven’t done all that well with the 9 Covid shots I’ve had, either, but that one was significantly worse.
I will say that the last one of the Covid bunch was Novavax and I’m among those who found the side effects much more bearable from that one. Will probably try to get that version again.
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Mark P said on April 2, 2025 at 3:35 pm
Is it the first or second shingles shot that’s causing problems. We got three shots at the same time, Covid, flu, and shingles, two in one arm and one in the other. I had no problems other than a sore arm for a couple of days.
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Jakash said on April 2, 2025 at 4:21 pm
For me (and the Proprietress, evidently), it was the second shingles shot, Mark.
Meanwhile, this seems apropos for today’s post:
https://bsky.app/profile/nickknudsenus.bsky.social/post/3llsf5y6j6c2r
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nancy said on April 2, 2025 at 4:34 pm
First shot was an abnormally sore arm (for a solid week) but no other symptoms. The second was the ass-kicker.
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JodiP said on April 2, 2025 at 4:46 pm
I was so happy Musk’s effort failed. Hopefully the WI congressional
districts can be un-jerrymandered now.
Although the 2 reps in FL didn’t win, there were huge shifts in Votes for Dems.
I especially loved that Corey Booker beat white supremacist Strom Thurmond’s record. I watched the video where he was told the moment he beat it and it was so emotional! (Strom also did stupid stuff like read from an encyclopedia to fight against the passage of the Civil Rights Act.)
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Sherri said on April 2, 2025 at 4:47 pm
It’s not just Musk destroying the federal government. Trump has fired two members of the TVA board, leaving the board without a quorum and unable to conduct business.
https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/politics/2025/04/01/trump-fires-tva-board-chair-joe-ritch-largest-us-public-utility/82747833007/
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Brandon said on April 2, 2025 at 4:52 pm
flocks of starlings, grackles and red-winged blackbirds
Do cats keep them in check?
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Suzanne said on April 2, 2025 at 5:00 pm
Y’all are making me nervous about the shingles shot. I got the first one which really hurt and before I could get the second, I was in the hospital undergoing cancer treatments. My doctor wants me to get the second one as he doesn’t want me to get shingles and I know the vaccine and the cancer have no connection but my monkey brain is paranoid and keeps telling me “But what if?? Don’t risk it!”
Aaargh!
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David C said on April 2, 2025 at 5:15 pm
I wonder if the first Shringrix shot kicked my butt was because I had the original, not very effective, shingles vaccine before. Everyone else seems to get it worse after the second.
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Colleen Condron said on April 2, 2025 at 5:17 pm
Shingles shots were no biggie for me. I am some kind of freak…I pretty much never have anything worse than a slightly sore arm when I get a vaccine. But the sore arm is probably from the chip implanting itself…..
10 percent tariff on imported goods. What in the actual foxtrot is he trying to accomplish????
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Sherri said on April 2, 2025 at 5:20 pm
Suzanne, get the shot. Shingles is really, really bad. Trust me, you don’t want to get it. It’s incredibly painful, and you can be left with lingering nerve pain for years afterwards. I don’t have pain, but I still get nerve spasms in the area where I had shingles when I’m really tired or stressed.
There’s also shot might knock you for a day or so, but shingles will take you out for a week or more. I was in my 30s, healthy except for being pregnant, and I was in agony.
There’s also some evidence now that the shingles vaccine is protective against dementia.
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Sherri said on April 2, 2025 at 5:22 pm
Canadians, at least from BC, have dramatically stopped crossing the border here in Washington.
https://bsky.app/profile/todmaffin.com/post/3llsgh6zk252h
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Dorothy said on April 2, 2025 at 6:31 pm
I have had the shingles vax but honestly I don’t remember having any reaction to it. I think I got it during the pandemic but then again, it might have been right before it. Most likely a sore arm but unless I’m knocked out by a fever and/or aches and pains, I usually sail through vaccines. Just lucky, I guess.
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Deborah said on April 2, 2025 at 6:44 pm
Had the old shingles shot back awhile ago, no problems. Got the new one, both shots no problems what so ever. LB has had shingles twice both times in the same place on the back of her neck. You do not want to get shingles, trust me.
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Ann said on April 2, 2025 at 6:49 pm
I’d been warned about the shingles vaccine but didn’t have any problem with either shot. But I went to Walgreen’s two weeks ago to get my six month covid booster and asked about the MMR since I’m going to be traveling later this month (NOLA, like everyone else). Turns out I’d had the MMR in 2015 but they talked me into some new pneumonia vaccine. Arm was swollen, hot, and itchy for a full week.
22 inches of new snow here, but we’re still way better off than the folks in the northern lower peninsula. Friends from downstate got caught in the storm here, read the headlines about downstate and held off leaving until yesterday morning. They’ve been stuck waiting for the Mackinac Bridge to open ever since.
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Sherri said on April 2, 2025 at 7:01 pm
A good summary:
https://bsky.app/profile/rodger.bsky.social/post/3llugubollc2d
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Sherri said on April 2, 2025 at 7:30 pm
In announcing his tariffs, Trump put up a big chart that claimed to show what tariffs other countries were levying on the US. The numbers on this chart were nonsense. They weren’t related to any actual tariffs. What they were related to was the trade deficit the US had with that country. They weren’t related calculated by taking the current trade deficit and dividing it by the current value of that country’s exports to the US, and declaring that ratio to be the “tariff”. Trump’s “reciprocal tariff” then takes half that number. So, by Trump’s calculation, the EU charges the US an overall tariff of 39%, so he’s going to charge the EU a tariff of 20%.
If there’s US doesn’t have a trade deficit with a country, then the Trump chart just declares that the tariff on the US is 10%, and sets the reciprocal tariff at 10%.
This is so incredibly dumb. This isn’t how tariffs work, this isn’t how trade deficits work, but in Trump’s little brains, trade deficits mean that someone is ripping us off, and that must mean tariff, and we must punish them.
Oh, and Trump only looks at goods, not services when determining trade deficit. The US produces more services than goods, which, yes, can be exported.
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Sherri said on April 2, 2025 at 7:43 pm
Brazil is an example of how stupid the Trump tariffs are. Brazil actually has some high tariffs against the US, compared to US tariffs against Brazil; 18% on US ethanol, for example, vs the US charging 2.5% on Brazilian ethanol. But, because the US runs a trade surplus with Brazil, in Trump tariff thinking, that doesn’t matter, so Brazil just gets the default 10% tariff.
Hope everyone is ready for everything to cost more because Trump doesn’t understand how trade works!
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Jeff Borden said on April 2, 2025 at 7:58 pm
Whatever discomfort comes from the shingles shot, it is far less painful than shingles. Two friends of mine have had it and described the pain as excruciating and exhausting.
The win in Wisconsin is perhaps larger than it might seem at first. America’s Dairyland appeared to be heading into Ohio territory –from moderate swing state to loony tunes red state– when the nefarious Koch Brothers installed a wanker named Scott Walker as governor. He was a union buster all the way as well as a social conservative. They pumped him up so much he even ran in the presidential primary in 2016 before his complete lack of charisma sank his chances. He was aided and abetted by a vicious GA that was so intimidated by the daily protests in the state capitol they passed legislation prohibiting signs and songs in the chambers. And, dear god, Russian asset Ron Johnson was reelected senator despite not having a working brain. The margin of Crawford’s victory in a race where Elmo dropped more than $20-25 million in campaign contributions and gave away $2 million to audience plants at a rally where he wore a cheesehead hat is extremely impressive. Buyers remorse already is setting in among the cult.
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Sherri said on April 2, 2025 at 8:00 pm
Stock up on toilet paper; northern bleached softwood kraft pulp is a key ingredient of toilet paper and is imported from Canada.
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alex said on April 2, 2025 at 9:50 pm
Get ready for some shitty 1-ply. You can probably get reams of newsprint on the cheap these days.
I did the shingles vaxes a couple of years ago with no ill effects. Even if it had been bad it would have been worth it. I’ve known people who got shingles and it’s nothing you ever want to deal with.
One friend who spent his childhood in Puerto Rico never had chickenpox as a kid and never got vaccinated for it. He got chickenpox in adulthood and it kicked his ass bad.
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Sherri said on April 3, 2025 at 12:06 am
While several uninhabited islands were subject to the new Trump tariffs, four countries were not. Meet our new trade allies! Russia, Belarus, North Korea, and Cuba!
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Sherri said on April 3, 2025 at 3:58 am
Not satisfied with trashing the government and the economy, it looks like Trump is saber-rattling for a war in the Middle East. The US has moved 6 B-2 stealth bombers to Diego Garcia, our base in the British Indian Ocean Territory. This is to “encourage” Iran to negotiate on dropping their nuclear weapons program. Of course, Trump tore up the last deal we had with Iran concerning their nuclear weapons program, so they’re not really interested in negotiating with him.
BTW, we slapped a 10% tariff on the BIOT, even though the only inhabitants of the BIOT are the people on the military base we jointly maintain with the UK.
These people seem determined to challenge Stalin and Mao for self-inflicted deaths of their own people.
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Suzanne said on April 3, 2025 at 7:39 am
My shingles shot is scheduled for Friday. Still trying to let my rational brain take over and give me peace that this vaccine will not cause a cancer relapse because my irrational brain is on overdrive these days.
But off to CVS I will go tomorrow even if I have to drag myself kicking and screaming…
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Deborah said on April 3, 2025 at 9:46 am
I don’t know much about the inner machinations of economics but to me this tariff business is more about power. The guy likes attention which he got plenty of yesterday, and he’s going to have lots of people groveling for favors which he loves. He wants tax cuts for his billionaire buddies that seems to be the only economic issue he cares about. But what do I know.
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