Sometimes I feel bad about calling the First Lady a sex worker. (Or an old whore, depending on my mood.) First, because sex work is work, as we feminists say. Second, because I believe she’s retired from sex work, and maybe that should be acknowledged. And finally, because the current non-occupant of the now-demolished East Wing isn’t much of a First Lady this term, why quibble about what she did to get the job?
First, maybe we might address the question: Was she a sex worker at one time? (And I know we’ve talked about this before. I’m not obsessed. OK, maybe a little.) Not in the stand-on-a-corner-in-skimpy-clothing sense, no. But everything we know about her history as an immigrant, about what she did when she came to New York, the people she associated with, etc. suggests a form of…polite sex work, you might say. She was a “model,” a job description applied to many pretty girls whose photo will never appear in a magazine or catalog, or walk a runway. But she would make herself available for events requiring a certain number of hot women in attendance — parties, openings, nightclubs, etc. — and would be happy to catch the eye of the rich men in attendance. I suspect that is exactly why she came to the U.S., in fact: To find a wealthy man who might marry her and allow her to not only never see the rough side of Slovenia again, but to maybe get her parents out, too.
And that’s exactly what happened. Is that sex work? Probably millions of women consider potential life partners with eyes that cold. I think FLOTUS herself answered that best of all, when asked if she’d be married to her husband if he wasn’t rich: “Would he be married to me if I weren’t beautiful?” A transactional woman.
Her empty, loveless marriage suggests they both got what they wanted from it. After all, this is a woman who wouldn’t move into the White House until her prenup was recast to her satisfaction. At this point, she doesn’t need to have sex with anyone. She has a child and a wedding ring; she will never go quietly, unless it’s with suitcases stuffed with cash.
But I get salty when I hear the most repulsive of the MAGA crowd go on about the warm, elegant, refined Michelle Obama, calling her “Big Mike” because she used to be a MAN, doncha know? They photoshopped dicks onto her dresses and say her husband is gay, then complain that no one will put Melania on the cover of Vogue. “That old whore?” I reply.
This is counterproductive, I know. It won’t bring people together, join hands across the chasm of our differences, etc. But it seems the only response.
What else is going on today? There were some demonstrations in Dearborn yesterday. One was initially organized by a fringe candidate for governor — go ahead, guess which party!!! — protesting SHARIA LAW, etc. He called it off after claiming to have a change of heart about our Muslim neighbors. but the ball he started rolling didn’t stop. This guy appeared to be behind the wingnuts:
At about 6 p.m., there was a growing crowd confronting Jake Lang, a rightwing activist from Florida who organized one of three rallies Tuesday. Police then brought up several metal barriers around Lang and his supporters, keeping them separated from the crowd, who yelled back at Lang at times.
Here’s the gubernatorial candidate:
Another gathering was led by Anthony Hudson, a Republican candidate for governor who initially was planning an anti-sharia rally, but had a change of heart after spending four days last week in Dearborn and Dearborn Heights, visiting mosques and Muslim leaders. Hudson told the Free Press in an interview his rally was to promote unity, but also to tell Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud to be more respective of Christians and their concerns. Hammoud faced criticism earlier this year for berating a Christian minister, but later said the city welcomes all.
Note the misuse of “respective” by the reporter. The word he was trying for is “respectful,” but unfortunately, all the copy editors were purged in some previous round of cuts, apparently.
Listen to this douchebag, though:
Hudson said he visited the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn, Dearborn Community Center, the Islamic Institute of America in Dearborn Heights and the Islamic House of Wisdom in Dearborn Heights, where he met with Imam Mohammad Elahi, a prominent Islamic and interfaith leader in Michigan. He also visited Eternal Light, a nonprofit in Dearborn Heights, and a food bank.
“We’re proving the point that we didn’t see sharia law in Dearborn,” Hudson said. “We didn’t see women getting assaulted or disrespected. We saw women business owners that were yelling at men, telling them what to do. We saw young women walking at night to go to the bars and they weren’t being harassed. We saw the gentlemen’s clubs, which is against sharia law. We saw the liquor stores, which is against it. We just saw so many things that were against sharia law that I made the determination that during my trip, my four days, there was no sharia law.”
Afer living here all these years, I notice the wingnut panic over Dearborn runs in cycles. They all seem to take their cues from one another, because they have so few original ideas, and the wheel has turned again. The other day I looked up M*ll*ssa C*ron*, the fameball from the 2020 election cycle, and even she was posting “content” from Dearborn during the call to prayer, barking, “How would you like to listen to this five times a day?” And I considered that nearly all the people within earshot are Muslim themselves, and Melly herself lives in goddamn Macomb County, so what’s her damage? It’s just Dearborn’s turn, I guess.
God help us if they discover Hamtramck. OK, then. Time to find a grindstone and press my nose to it. Happy Wednesday, all.
Julie Robinson said on November 19, 2025 at 12:29 pm
One of our dear Florida legislators, who voted for “Christian” schools to receive state education money, is now *shocked* that a mosque is sponsoring its own school, and also receiving state money. It seems he failed to think about the consequences of his votes. Sharia law is being bandied about too, without any evidence of it being taught.
Is anyone else watching the latest Ken Burns snorefest, I mean, reverent and thorough (12 hours!) examination of the American revolution? The other olds in this house have great enthusiam, but I’m just not a fan. He follows his typical pattern: old-timey music on a spare violin or two, pan and scan of illustrations, talking heads, even Peter Coyote as narrator. What a relief that we’re going to a concert tonight.
I am prepared for being voted off the island on this one.
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alex said on November 19, 2025 at 12:31 pm
As part of the settlement of the bogus lawsuit against CBS, the new conglomerate owner is about to release a documentary about that uninteresting woman (with said uninteresting woman serving as executive producer) and people are bitching about the cover of Vogue?
So I was hoping that since the courts blocked the Texas mid-decade gerrymander that started it all, maybe the redistricting fever would break, but here in Hoosierland the guv hasn’t given up and he and Cankles are continuing to berate the defectors in our legislature as RINOs and demand that they return to work immediately to obliterate the two last Dem districts in the state, thereby creating “fair maps.” (The guv keeps repeating the words “fair maps” in all of his public pronouncements, much to my irritation.) He held a rally yesterday in the statehouse rotunda that attracted only a few dozen nuts and kooks and the whole thing looked pathetic on the evening news.
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nancy said on November 19, 2025 at 2:28 pm
Whenever I feel sorry for Melania, I remember her appearance on “The View,” demanding Obama’s birth certificate. Then I go back to “that ol’ ho’.”
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Mark P said on November 19, 2025 at 3:27 pm
When I was a little boy, one of the great thrills on a Sunday morning was to help ring the big, old church bell. And later they played church hymns on loud speakers in the bell tower. Even at that age I wondered how the neighbors felt about that.
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Peter said on November 19, 2025 at 5:07 pm
Julie, I can sympathize with your opinion – the Civil War series was groundbreaking and beautiful, but how many times are they going back to that well? I realize that if any subject matter had to rely on drawings and old music, it’s the Revolutionary War, but to me watching it is like watching a season 25 Simpsons episode.
And speaking of going back to the well too often – I went to the Patti Smith concert last night. The show was great, but looking at the artist and the audience I couldn’t help but think:
Patti Smith is old.
Her band is old.
Her kids are old (for kids – they’re both close to 40).
The audience is old.
I’m old.
And other observations:
– If they had a free Metamucil or prune juice tasting booth the line would be out the door.
– My biggest fear is that someone taped this show and in ten years they’ll run it on PBS pledge drives instead of Lawrence Welk.
– It wasn’t loud. At all. I sat +/- 50 feet from the speakers and my ears were not ringing at all. My seat mate’s ears were ringing, but then again he has tinnitus.
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Jeff Gill said on November 19, 2025 at 7:25 pm
“A mighty wind’s a-blowing, it’s kicking up the sand…”
As to “The American Revolution,” I’m watching it while scrolling in Xwitter, where the MAGA wing is triggered time & time again by Burns repeatedly implying or even asserting that in 1770s North America there were women, indigenous nations, and even free people of color, let along a few folk who were enslaved. Ken keeps poking those sore points for Christian Nationalists pretty consistently, plus he does not edit or elide some of GW or TJ’s more challenging statements… which infuriates the Trump fans. It’s fun to watch them bluster about the shameful tactics PBS uses, like telling the truth.
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Jeff Gill said on November 19, 2025 at 7:58 pm
Sample: https://x.com/adamkjohnston/status/1990986003293536716
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Suzanne said on November 19, 2025 at 10:22 pm
We have been watching The American Revolution. I am learning some things, but I don’t think it’s as good as his others. Tonight’s episode seemed to get bogged down in battle strategies.
I find it interesting how many indigenous people fought with both sides. I can also see how this knowledge would set off the MAGA crowd. And the Christian Nationalists must be apoplectic at the bit about many of the founders being deists who believed there is some sort of god out there but that he doesn’t really intervene with the world’s affairs and all religions point the same direction.
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alex said on November 20, 2025 at 8:53 am
I fell asleep during the first night of The American Revolution and then came to — twice — to see the program repeating on our local PBS station. If my body’s telling me it’s bad, it must be bad.
I read somewhere recently that LBGTQ+ advocates are slamming Burns for downplaying and erasing the roles of gay people in history, in this instance Baron Von Steuben, the Prussian military officer who professionalized the Continental Army and was crucial to winning the war. The only reference to his sexuality is a line about “familiarities with boys” which makes him sound like a pedophile.
On a lighter note, here’s a “fluff piece” (gift article) for everyone’s enjoyment before my WaPo subscription expires, never to be renewed: https://wapo.st/4idK5uI
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basset said on November 20, 2025 at 9:23 am
I have to agree with Peter, the Ken Burns stuff was great at the start (has it really been 35 years?) but it just repeats itself now. Not to say that the current series isn’t interesting, but I have fallen asleep in the middle of it a few times.
Meanwhile… went into an Academy Sports in Nashville yesterday wearing a T-shirt which read “Shoot Guns/Drink Beer/Pet Dogs,” thirtysomething camo wearing guy came up to me and said “That’s the coolest shirt I have ever seen!” Don’t know if I’d go that far, it does describe a pretty good day though.
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scott said on November 20, 2025 at 10:11 am
the sharia law dustup could have dropped straight out of Carl Hiaasen’s latest novel, Fever Beach.
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nancy said on November 20, 2025 at 11:25 am
Patti Smith is one of two women who, whenever I see photos of them, I yell BRUSH YOUR DAMN HAIR, GIRL. The other one is Keri Russell in “The Diplomat,” which I’m running out of steam to finish.
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Deborah said on November 20, 2025 at 12:45 pm
Nancy, I’m so with you on the old ho. I still think she has the look of a dominatrix, seriously.
I could use some good vibes. I had a CT scan Tuesday to find out what in the heck is going on with what we thought were kidney stones, if it is they are taking their sweet time to pass, it’s been 2 months. But now I’m scared to find out it’s not kidney stones actually, because then we have to find out what it is, that worries me. Unfortunately I’m out of my anxiety meds and my levels are through the roof right now.
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Minnie Fleming said on November 20, 2025 at 4:35 pm
I REALLY DON’T CARE DO U?
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Jakash said on November 20, 2025 at 4:58 pm
Speaking only for myself, and, as somebody who has not yet pulled the trigger on the American Revolution (which we certainly plan to do before long), I can’t say that my falling asleep watching something these days is necessarily related to the quality of the program! 😉
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Julie Robinson said on November 20, 2025 at 5:53 pm
Deborah, I’m sending you all the good vibes I have for positive, easy to be dealt with results. I would have needed the anxiety meds for the CT scan by itself.
Agree on Patti Smith’s hair although I wonder how many would say the same about mine. It’s curly/wavy and nothing keeps it under control. Many hours and dollars have been spent; it’s gonna do what it wants to do.
Kerri Russell’s hair was supposed to show that her character was so intense about her work that she wouldn’t pay attention to superficial things like clothes, hair and makeup, but I think now she’s VP, right? So she should have people helping her? We haven’t watched the most recent season yet. Prolly gonna need a refresh on the last one.
What a relief to know I’m not alone in my feelings re The American Revolution! Yeah, I’ve dozed off too.
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Brandon said on November 20, 2025 at 8:02 pm
Re: Keri Russell’s hair.
https://www.glam.com/1992798/keri-russell-stunning-hair-transformation/
Russell didn’t become famous until she landed her breakout role in “Felicity” in 1998, and her unique hair became her claim to fame.
At the time, few TV characters were known for their naturally curly locks, and since Russell’s curls had so much personality that they almost deserved their own acting credit, fans were enthralled. Unfortunately, this would lead to immense backlash when an iconic hair moment known as “Felicity’s big chop” happened (we’ll get to that).
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Sherri said on November 20, 2025 at 9:01 pm
Keri Russell’s hair sort of becomes part of the storyline in the latest season, and (spoiler alert) she isn’t the VP.
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Julie Robinson said on November 20, 2025 at 9:47 pm
Oh wow, she isn’t? It’ll get watched eventually, though Mom is lobbying heavily for A Man on the Inside next. She’s got a soft spot for Ted Danson.
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Mark P said on November 20, 2025 at 10:56 pm
We’re watching A Man on the Inside right now. We enjoyed Season 1. Season 2 looks encouraging. Ted Danson’s character is established, and likeable, so he can probably carry the show. But I thought the writing was good in S1.
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ROGirl said on November 21, 2025 at 6:11 am
This was my comment on November 21, 2016:
At what point will he start trying to retaliate against those who don’t obey his wishes? Can he sign executive orders? Will he sic the rabid attack dogs on them? Who will roll over and play along to curry favor? Who will resist?
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Peter said on November 21, 2025 at 6:38 am
Deborah, just noticed your entry, and this may not help your anxiety at all, but I have a family history of kidney stones, and on occasion those guys can wait a LONG time before they decide to descend. Here’s hoping that’s the case and a shock bath will take care of it.
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Dorothy said on November 21, 2025 at 7:00 am
So much to digest in these comments. Let me start with strong support for Deborah as she prepares to handle what’s determined by more medical tests. We’ve about had our fill of testing/surgeries/doctors in our house this year, and the fun will continue. Next surgery for Mike is Tuesday when he has a sliver of his left vocal cord sliced off and then has to be absolutely silent for about a week. Then on New Year’s Eve he’s saying good bye to 2025 and his old left knee when the doctor opens up his leg and puts a new knee in.
We all know what a crude and inconsiderate person That F-Face is but his comment to a reporter, calling her Piggy, was just the latest example of his derangement. Then the Press lady tried to defend him yesterday saying he was just being ‘frank.’ Wouldn’t it have been refreshing if someone among the press asked her this follow up frank question: “So we can all assume there are no mirrors in whatever room he uses for showering?”
Boy I too am glad to hear about many reactions to the latest Ken Burns special. We could barely get through the first one and thought if we re-watch it maybe it’ll engage us more. I think maybe we should just plow onto the second episode.
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Jeff Gill said on November 21, 2025 at 7:33 am
Deborah, our very best to you. These too shall pass.
And Alex, thank you for the most charming story I’m likely to read all week.
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Deborah said on November 21, 2025 at 9:12 am
Thanks for the good vibes but of course I got no word yesterday. But the damndest thing happened, shortly after I wrote that comment the pain stopped and stayed that way the rest of the day. I went to bed very early and woke up at 1am and the pain was back. That was the first time I was not in pain for weeks and weeks. It was amazing and certainly helped relieve some of my anxiety of not knowing.
I did get my anxiety medicine it was waiting for me at Walgreens, they hadn’t notified me it was ready. I went there on the off chance it was ready and thankfully it was.
So today I’m waiting anxiously for results, the not knowing is exhausting as many of you know.
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Deborah said on November 21, 2025 at 10:58 am
Hurray, hurray, I got my scan results I do have a kidney stone, it’s small and non-obstructive, 3mm. But I also have a renal sinus cyst or renal cortical cyst, which is in my left kidney, I looked it up and a sinus cyst is composed of fatty tissue usually benign, a cortical cyst is basically scarring which can be caused by stones or other injury to the kidney, or can be caused by multiple UTIs (which I have had throughout my adult life). I have no idea yet what can be done about any of this. They say if necessary the cyst can be removed by laparoscopic surgery. I don’t care what they do as long as the pain stops. I just feel so much better knowing, I can’t tell you.
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Jeff Borden said on November 21, 2025 at 12:53 pm
My cerebral cortex is reeling at a five-time draft dodger and the only person to ever attempt to halt the peaceful transfer of presidential power in the history of this country is calling other elected officials seditious and worthy of hanging. Man, I hate these times and want them over. Soon!
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Sherri said on November 21, 2025 at 1:41 pm
I found out I have several renal cysts, in both kidneys, when I had a kidney biopsy this week. My nephrologist wasn’t concerned about the cysts, said they’re pretty common as you age, and were relevant because she needed to avoid them for the biopsy.
The biopsy is just to rule out anything that can be treated. My kidney bloodwork shows me in chronic kidney disease; some of that can be explained by the amount of muscle mass I have, but not all of it. Likely I have some kidney damage from high blood pressure, which is under control now.
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Suzanne said on November 21, 2025 at 2:22 pm
Great news Deborah!
We have watched all of the Burns Revolutionary War documentary so far. Episodes 2 and 4 were much more engaging than episodes 1 and 3. It gives so much context to what was happening and is enlightening on the fact that both sides could have stopped the carnage but chose not to for various reasons, mostly money. The indigenous people suffered terribly because of the war, more than I ever knew or imagined. It makes me consider that this country’s problem with violence is in our DNA as it seems to have been there from the start.
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Brandon said on November 21, 2025 at 2:56 pm
What the First Lady eats.
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Julie Robinson said on November 21, 2025 at 5:21 pm
Brandon your link was from someone with the highest possible regard for “that ol’ ho”, as Nancy puts it.
Fingers crossed for all the kidneys!
Both my mom and my husband get Repatha injections for high cholesterol, and I’ve been successfully giving them for the last five years. But two of Mom’s injector pens failed, and calling Amgen led to distrust and interrogation that I was the failure. Nope, I’ve a great track record, I’m sure it’s the mechanics of the injector. Yada, yada, yada, much time, finally they tell me to send a note to the doctor since she will have to prescribe them, and they will be faxing her.
More time passes, yesterday I called back and they arranged to have it delivered today. And they did. To her old address in Fort Wayne. Note they told me they didn’t have her name in their system, and asked me the address no fewer than three times.
Narrator: obviously, they DID have her in their system.
I’m about six hours of time into this whole debacle, and now have to wait for them to file an investigation report for reshipping. Why they don’t just have us pick it up at the pharmacy escapes me.
Note also that this drug costs $285 per dose, and she gets it every two weeks. I’ve been doing some investigation, and the faulty injectors are a huge problem.
I got the shipping screwup news five minutes before taking my husband to cardiac rehab, so that’s what I did while waiting for him. FML.
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alex said on November 21, 2025 at 5:40 pm
Julie, I run into the same damned problem with Libre 3 sensors. Every so often I get a defective one and then I have to get on the phone and talk to Filipinas a world away with screaming children in the background they’re obviously reading from scripts and walking me through all of the steps that I’ve already gone through trying to make the failed device work. Eventually I get a replacement device shipped to me with a prepaid container for sending the defective one back, but I’ll get deluged with messages that Abbot Labs hasn’t received back their defective device never mind that I have receipts showing the device was sent.
I just applied a new one yesterday, and as often happens, it struck a capillary and blood was spraying all over the place. This often precedes the device failing prematurely so we’ll see what happens.
On a different note, I just read the funniest story on Facebook, about how a nasty dig at Joan Crawford has been misattributed to Bette Davis for decades, when in fact the quote came from Charles Pierce appearing on the Dick Cavett Show dressed in drag as Bette Davis. Hope this link works:
ON EDIT: Link’s no good; it just vanishes when I paste it in.
Anyway, the gist: La Crawford had recently died and Dick Cavett asks Pierce (Davis) what she has to say about it.
(S)he replies: “Mother taught me to say nothing but good about the dead. So she’s dead… Good.”
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Jeff Gill said on November 21, 2025 at 7:30 pm
Sherri, I’m taking notes, as my bp meds are likely to be increased in a few weeks at my next doctor rondelay. Can’t get below 144/92 on my current dosage.
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Deborah said on November 21, 2025 at 9:23 pm
Sherri, thanks for the info about kidney cysts. I’m pissed at my Dr right now for not giving me more info about all this, plus why did I have to wait 2 months for a CT scan and she hasn’t given me any info about how to alleviate the pain. She wanted me to start having tests for other things and I had to say, can we find out for sure if it’s kidney stones for sure first. All she says is to drink 80 oz of water a day, which I already had been doing. I’ve been drinking a 10 oz glass of water every hour I’m awake. I’m crabby because it’s so exhausting to live with pain day in and day out. I’ve read that it can take a while for stones to pass but a little info a long the way would be helpful and relieve some stress.
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Sherri said on November 21, 2025 at 9:49 pm
My kidney doctor just called and said my kidney biopsy was completely normal. No inflammation, only mild atherosclerosis from HBP, the tissue looked good. The belief now is that it’s my high muscle mass causing the high creatinine number. The concern was that it was not only high but continuing to rise, but I’m also continuing to add muscle mass.
Jeff, I’ve been on 30 mg of Lisinopril, which along with regular exercise keeps my BP around 125/80. My nephrologist says that cardiologists are happy with BPs below 130/80, but nephrologists prefer BPs below 120/80, so she’s going to up me to 40 mg.
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Jeff Gill said on November 22, 2025 at 8:13 am
Well, I’m on 20 mg with irregular exercise (apparently driving I-70 some 25-30 hours a month doesn’t count as exercise, but it sure gets my heart rate up). So I know what’s coming at my Dec. appt.
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alex said on November 22, 2025 at 8:40 am
While they last, another WaPo gift article… a revue of sorts, I guess: https://wapo.st/49AwlIb
So it looks like Empty G is vamoosing Congress. WTF is up with that? Did Cankles threaten to have her rubbed out? Did Fox or Newsmax offer her a prime hosting spot and money too big to pass up? Or is this just another performative stunt in the long line of the many that she is known for? She put out a video and read a script obviously not written by her in which she excoriates the political-industrial complex and rants about it serving billionaires and not we the people.
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Mark P said on November 22, 2025 at 10:00 am
Unfortunately, living in MTG’s district doesn’t give me any insight into her actions. It’s odd that she is resigning rather than simply not running for reelection next year. She has apparently been threatened by some of her own MAGAts. Maybe she thinks these people are serious about their threats. She ought to know what they are capable of. After all, she’s one of them.
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Suzanne said on November 22, 2025 at 10:10 am
We finished watching the Ken Burns documentary. My assessment is that it is worth watching but definitely not his best. It was way too focused on the battlefield and not focused enough on the background, the interpersonal squabbles, the why of it all, the personalities. Washington was front and center throughout but most of the founders were barely mentioned. The battle strategies bored me and that made up so much of the series.
It did, however, highlight that contrary to what the majority of people probably think, the war lasted for years and was brutal and bloody; women routinely raped, people slaughtered, disgusting behavior on both sides. Indigenous people and black people were royally screwed and mostly by the winning side. I am pretty sure that most people that I know believe that after the Declaration of Independence, we were now a country and it was all good. It wasn’t.
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susan said on November 22, 2025 at 12:47 pm
Alex, Mark P. — AOC has the insight on Empty Green
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Jakash said on November 22, 2025 at 1:14 pm
Thanks for the WaPo articles you’re sharing while you still have a chance, Alex. Today’s offered quite a seamy stroll down Noir Alley. Among the comments, my favorites are the folks applauding Stormy’s succinct evaluation of her encounter with the sleazeball-in-chief: “‘The worst 90 seconds of my life,’ Daniels said.”
I must have missed it when she “lost her defamation lawsuit and appeal against Trump and was ordered to pay him more than $300,000 in legal fees.” How disconcerting. As if he doesn’t defame people almost every day. How do these news companies keep having to pay HIM for minor mistakes, but he can blatantly lie about and disparage people all he wants, yet never be held to account? I realize that while president, his hand-picked toadies on the Supreme Court have declared him above the law, but when he was conducting a years-long campaign saying that Barack Obama was not born in the U.S., and when he called on multiple occasions for the exonerated Central Park 5 to be executed, he was not president.
Susan, so you’re saying that, despite her recent rhetoric, MTG is still simply a Class A grifter like the rest of them? Who’d a thunk it?
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David C said on November 22, 2025 at 1:27 pm
The hell of it is, the companies don’t have to pay him. They would certainly have won in court. They chose to pay him because the billionaires who own them think there’s more money in sucking up to him than there is beating him in court. Best to tax it away from them to take away the temptation.
Cliff Schecter has a good take on MTG.
https://www.blueamp.co/p/godzilla-vs-king-kong-trump-marjorie?r=j0lyx
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Julie Robinson said on November 22, 2025 at 5:35 pm
Well, this sucks. Today’s mail brought a letter saying my mother’s wonderful health insurance has been discontinued. What they’re offering instead costs over $600/month and has no dental, vision, or hearing aid coverage. How can they do this to a 93 year old? I haven’t even gotten our Medicare coverage figured out. OMFG.
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Mark P said on November 22, 2025 at 6:38 pm
Julie, they can do it because they don’t care, and they can. I assume she had a Medicare Advantage plan. Time to go online to look for a better plan, if such a thing exists.
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Julie Robinson said on November 22, 2025 at 8:24 pm
Nope, not advantage, though that’s one of the choices they’re offering. It’s a municipal retiree medigap plan, I guess. The letter came from Benistar, who has been the administrator, and said the city is dropping it.
She never had to pay for a doctor or medicine except the Repatha, which is $20/90 days. And no prior authorizations needed, either. Compared to what we have it was paradise.
We have two weeks to negotiate this. I just don’t understand how they can pull the rug out from under a 93 year old woman. I’m filled with rage and tears and feel sick to my stomach.
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David C said on November 23, 2025 at 5:41 am
That stinks Julie. Long ago, the Supreme Court ruled that a promise of retiree health insurance is a promise only as long as the company, city, etc. decide they feel like honoring it.
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Deborah said on November 23, 2025 at 12:17 pm
I’m fixated on our shitty healthcare system in the US, it’s come to a head for me because of my own medical issue and what’s happening to medicaid (which LB has) and the ACA subsidies disappearing for millions. I’m not having financial issues because of my medical issues (thank god) but I’m having chronic pain daily. I realize my pain pales in comparison to what some people have gone through for years (LB), for me it’s only been 2 months.
You know how it feels when you get a little pebble in your shoe when you’re walking, imagine it feels like that in your urinary tract constantly (excuse my having a pity party). It’s the constancy of the pain that is exhausting.
We had our book club get together last night at the home of a couple that live on Michigan Ave south of the river. It’s totally walkable for us, a little over a mile but last night was also the Christmas parade down Mich Ave in Chicago. We had to take a circuitous route to get across the river. It was fine walking down Fairbanks (east of Mich Ave) until we got to the river then lots of streets were blocked and more cops than you can imagine told us alternate routes that got us nowhere and traffic was horrible. We came close to getting hit several times when we crossed streets filled with understandably frustrated drivers even though we were at crossing zones with lit walk icons. We ended up walking 5 miles to get to the event. I was extra crabby about it because of my medical issue, not because walking makes it hurt more but because my coping skills are non-existent these days. Walking actually distracts some from my pain. The walking trip was way worse than we imagined, we thought we would have an advantage by not being in a car. Why they scheduled the event on that same night is a mystery.
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Julie Robinson said on November 23, 2025 at 1:41 pm
Deborah, I hear you, our entire family is going through it. I’ve been searching for a better Medicare plan for us, now D is a cardiac patient and is taking a LOT of meds. Our daughter is on ACA and will have to take a lower level of coverage because premiums are going so high. And now this.
I put the problem out to my posse back in Illinois and a friend is connecting us with a retired city attorney and judge. He’s got the expertise we need, though I strongly suspect she’ll be paying a lot more for less coverage. She doesn’t have an online account either. We tried to set one up, but maybe my sister had done that already, and Mom didn’t know the password or answers to security questions. When we called they said they’d send a letter, which never arrived.
She’s 93, she already feels like a huge burden and questions why she’s still alive. This feels like a huge blow to her.
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alex said on November 23, 2025 at 2:28 pm
I went online to healthcare.gov and re-enrolled in a plan similar to the one I’m in that covers the same providers and meds, but I keep getting messages telling me that since I failed to pick a plan that they’re automatically defaulting me to the one I had already chosen. I’m still waiting for a premium notice so that I can see what I’ll be paying for the first ten months of 2025.
In October of next year I can start Medicare. I’ve decided to go through my insurance agent for Part D and Medigap plan G coverage through State Farm, where I already have my home and auto owner’s insurance. I wouldn’t necessarily have chosen this but State Farm was rated as having the best customer satisfaction even though it got lower marks than other carriers for customer service. Go figure. I can sign up for those in July in order to activate them in October.
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Deborah said on November 23, 2025 at 5:43 pm
I just got back from buying cannabis for the first time. I’ve had it before in Santa Fe, LB uses gummies and she’s been the one who buys it so I’ve never bought it myself. She uses it for anxiety and her hip pain. I got something that is more like taffy, I will take half of a 10 MG in the evening for sleep and pain, it’s indica, has CBD and CBC whatever that is. They said it’s good for pain management and helps you sleep, so I’m giving it a try. Trying to sleep is when it feels the worst, can’t sleep on my side now and all I do is stare at the ceiling and think about the pain.
It has gotten to the point that Ibuprofen doesn’t do anything anymore, I’ve been taking it for 2 months every 4 hours or so. I hope this helps.
It’s funny, in Santa Fe there’s a dispensary on just about every corner. Not so much in our part of Chicago.
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alex said on November 23, 2025 at 6:16 pm
And it’s way more expensive in Chicago too, Deborah. If you can get over to Michigan, say to New Buffalo, you’ll find more dispensaries per capita than restaurants and the merch costs next to nothing. I can get a year or more’s worth of stuff there for less than what I used to pay for a week’s supply of shit that wasn’t even half as good.
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Ann said on November 24, 2025 at 9:29 pm
Just dropping by to say I’m so sorry about everyone’s health and insurance woes. It’s not just that coverage is so expensive, it’s that it’s also so inadequate. Not to mention confusing as hell.
I watched the Ken Burns. Lots of battlefield details I didn’t care about but I learned so much I hadn’t known.
For a more condensed look, pick up the November Atlantic. The Burns series tells us that both Washington and Jefferson had slaves who joined the Loyalists, but the Atlantic has a whole article about Henry Washington, who was born in Africa, brought to Virginia on a slave ship, worked at Mt. Vernon, and eventually ended up back in Africa after the British made various efforts to relocate loyalists, including former slaves.
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