Feared I was going to miss today’s blog. I was reading the New York Times’ long, long, suuuuper loooong tick-tock on the post-election madness leading up to the Capitol riot. Tick-tock is journalism slang for a story that’s told chronologically. It’s also a table-setter, which is slang for a story that lays the table for the meal to come — in this case, impeachment.
I got through the thing — it must have been a million words — and while I’m not sorry I did, it also revived some anger that was starting to fade. For all the talk of how the night of the inauguration was the return to normalcy, it was only step one. Trauma doesn’t just go away like poof, you have to heal, and that takes time. So while the doomscrolling has eased somewhat, along with the midnight anxiety, we’re still pretty fucking far from OK, as Marcellus Wallace would say. And reading that thing took me all the way back:
The week (after the election) was coming to a particularly demoralizing close: In Arizona, the Trump lawyers were preparing to withdraw their main lawsuit as the state tally showed Joseph R. Biden Jr. leading by more than 10,000 votes, against the 191 ballots they had identified for challenge.
As he met with colleagues to discuss strategy, the president’s deputy campaign manager, Justin Clark, was urgently summoned to the Oval Office. Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudolph W. Giuliani, was on speaker phone, pressing the president to file a federal suit in Georgia and sharing a conspiracy theory gaining traction in conservative media — that Dominion Systems voting machines had transformed thousands of Trump votes into Biden votes.
Mr. Clark warned that the suit Mr. Giuliani had in mind would be dismissed on procedural grounds. And a state audit was barreling toward a conclusion that the Dominion machines had operated without interference or foul play.
Mr. Giuliani called Mr. Clark a liar, according to people with direct knowledge of the exchange. Mr. Clark called Mr. Giuliani something much worse. And with that, the election-law experts were sidelined in favor of the former New York City mayor, the man who once again was telling the president what he wanted to hear.
This fucking moron. An Axios story is far shorter, but just as alarming, in describing a meeting Dec. 18 that went on for hours. Hours! And it wasn’t a pleasant one:
Flynn went berserk. The former three-star general, whom Trump had fired as his first national security adviser after he was caught lying to the FBI (and later pardoned), stood up and turned from the Resolute Desk to face Herschmann.
“You’re quitting! You’re a quitter! You’re not fighting!” he exploded at the senior adviser. Flynn then turned to the president, and implored: “Sir, we need fighters.”
Herschmann ignored Flynn at first and continued to probe Powell’s pitch with questions about the underlying evidence. “All you do is promise, but never deliver,” he said to her sharply.
Flynn was ranting, seemingly infuriated about anyone challenging Powell, who had represented him in his recent legal battles.
Finally Herschmann had enough. “Why the fuck do you keep standing up and screaming at me?” he shot back at Flynn. “If you want to come over here, come over here. If not, sit your ass down.” Flynn sat back down.
And he’s going to be acquitted, again. A just God would make a chicken nugget stick sideways in his windpipe and let the devil take him, but he’ll probably live to be 92. I can’t stand it.
Serenity now!
Anyway, it’s been a pretty good week so far. Got some work done today, closed my rings, lived another day. I hope you do, too. The hell with that groundhog — we gotta live through this.
Happy Wednesday.
Deborah said on February 2, 2021 at 10:28 pm
This country will be experiencing PTSD for quite a while after the four years we lived through, especially after those last 77 days. Seeing that detailed step by step in that NYT article was damning.
We watched the movie “O Brother Where Art Thou” tonight, very entertaining, had not seen it before. Night before last we watched “Some Like it Hot”, which was quite funny, it has been years since I saw it, and it has held up. Last night we watched a two part interview by Dick Cavet with the director of Some Like it Hot, cigar puffing Billy Wilder and that was excellent too. Tomorrow, I think it’s going to be “Double Indemnity”, another Wilder film.
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Dexter Friend said on February 3, 2021 at 2:18 am
Deborah, watch “The Dig” if you have Netflix. Ralph Fiennes is the lead actor, with Lily James and Carey Mulligan starring brilliantly. This is based on a true story, has a lot of familiar English actors, and is a top notch work.
“And he’s going to be acquitted, again.” I know, I know, he moaned in despair, he being me. It is distressing, but no way are those repuggs going to convict. Maxine Waters was on with Rachel and I believe it was she who said Trump should face pre-meditated murder charges for the death of Officer Sicknick. I am tight with tears, but when the urn of Officer Sicknick was marched into the Capitol and placed on the funeral bier a wave of sorrow and hate and disgust and sadness got me and a tear rolled down my cheek. I mean, I ain’t no cop lover, but this was just an awful death. Sicknick was beaten to death with a fucking lead pipe.
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David C said on February 3, 2021 at 6:07 am
Trump will get what’s coming to him. It won’t be quick and it won’t be clean but it will come. I see no inclination from the Biden Administration to turn the page. In this case, thank heaven for white privilege. The Obama Administration couldn’t do it because Fox would have made Obama into Idi Amin II and the rest would follow along – tepidly but they would have followed. I may be setting myself up for a huge disappointment but for now it keeps me going.
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LarrytheRed said on February 3, 2021 at 8:19 am
This is really starting to bug me. Prosecute this FORMER president, for God’s sake. Inciting a seditious riot is a crime, no?
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Deborah said on February 3, 2021 at 8:19 am
The House impeachment managers legal brief is very well written in my opinion. Meanwhile the Trump lawyer’s legal brief starts out with a typo. I would be interested in what you journos herewith think of both documents as exercises in conveying legal intent. Alex, I believe you have experience in legal brief writing, yes?
Actually, LarrytheRed, As I understand it in the House legal brief they aren’t charging the reason for impeachment as a criminal offense, but as a constitutional offense. Am I wrong? The criminal end of it would be taken up by a different branch of government, again as I understand it.
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alex said on February 3, 2021 at 9:42 am
Deborah, I haven’t read the briefs themselves, only the reporting about them. If Trump’s brief is as poorly argued as has been described, I guess it should be unsurprising if it’s also poorly written.
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Icarus said on February 3, 2021 at 10:27 am
seems like a circular argument or at least a good internet meme.
GOP Congressperson: we cannot impeach a former president.
us: but you said he actually won the election?
GOP Congressperson: That’s right.
us: so then he is still President…great we can impeach him now.
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susan said on February 3, 2021 at 10:39 am
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is breathtaking. Here she recounts the trauma she went through that first WEEK in January, but on January 6th in particular. It was more horrifying than you may have thought. **ALL** these ƒü¢ker$ need to pay, big time. Especially Fat Orange Mussolini.
But none of them will. Gas-lighting, indeed.
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Jeff Borden said on February 3, 2021 at 11:28 am
My admiration for AOC grows weekly. She’s smart as a whip and I love her background as a bartender. Congress needs a helluva lot more working people who’ve had to scuffle to make rent and student loan payments. We’re overloaded with with financially secure lawyers and professional politicians. It’s also quite entertaining to see how easily she triggers white male conservatives in Congress and on Faux News.
As the second impeachment trial unfolds and we confront the likelihood of tRump once again escaping any kind of responsibility for his actions, perhaps we should look at the potential long game. . .with the emphasis on potential. The vast majority of Republican senators will be on the record –again– standing with tRump. If his hypnotic hold over the party loosens over the next two years and if Biden is able to lead a strong economic recovery while handling the coronavirus response, perhaps the links to tRump will become marks of shame rather than points of pride when these spineless sycophants seek reelection. It’s probably a naive hope, but I’m going with it.
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basset said on February 3, 2021 at 11:56 am
Just got an email from a friend in San Antonio who said he was driving along listening to the radio when along came a commercial for furniture polish… which mentioned that the company “joins you in the fight against socialism.”
Maybe socialists don’t polish their furniture enough, I know we don’t…
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David C said on February 3, 2021 at 1:15 pm
I don’t think this impeachment trial is going down the rabbit hole like the last one. The Dems are going to call witnesses. Miss Lindsey has said they’ll call witnesses too and Dems are saying “Oh yes, please”. The Dems will have serious lawyers and former prosecutors and managers. The Rs will have baboons. In the end, the chances are pretty slim for a conviction but pretty damned good to make tRump and all the Rs look like idiots.
I think a furniture polish joining in the fight against socialism means there’s no actual polish in the bottle.
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Suzanne said on February 3, 2021 at 1:38 pm
Icarus @7 that is perfect!
I am so tired of the hypocrisy of Republicans. McConnell whining that the Dems are being mean for doing exactly what he always does is rich. I also hope before this is over, we get to see drunk Lady G once again.
That the sitting president can incite a mob to terrorize the sitting Congress and hunt down the VP for execution and the VPs own party yawns and says “Whatever” is disturbing. That Pence has not already changed party affiliation shines a bright light on his character, doesn’t it? The Dems need to get tough here. Very tough.
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Deborah said on February 3, 2021 at 1:52 pm
Alex, I didn’t read the whole thing either it’s 80 pages long, I skimmed it and then read what others I respect had summarized. When Trump’s lawyers, wrote theirs, they were sloppy but then they know it doesn’t matter one iota to those they feel are the real jury, his base. Then there’s the pretend jury, the Senate Republicans who don’t care either how sloppy it is.
The Democrats seem to be purposely piling on to the Republicans all of this at once, the impeachment trial, Taylor Green’s removal from committees, and the $1.9T Covid recovery package, so that the R’s are sent into a spiral that splits out the Trumpers and makes it impossible for either faction to win elections separately. Of course that won’t stop the R’s from trying everything they can to suppress the voting of Democrats.
I had another visit to the ophthalmologist this morning to measure my right eye for the surgery on Tuesday. I have to go through the Covid test again this weekend and then my surgery is at 8am this time so I have to be there at 6:30, not looking forward to the timing but I’m anxious to have it done and over with. I have to get a new pair of sunglasses, my old ones are prescription that isn’t needed anymore and the new brightness of my vision is pretty blinding with white, clean snow all over the place. Contending with foggy sunglasses while mask wearing is a little annoying but it’s important to endure that little bit of inconvenience for the main virus curtailing benefits.
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Brandon said on February 3, 2021 at 2:59 pm
[H]e’ll probably live to be 92.
“I told the president that if he had a healthier diet over the last 20 years, he might live to be 200 years old.”–Ronny Jackson
His mother lived to the age of 88, and his father, to the age of 93, so Trump’s life expectancy would be around that.
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Dorothy said on February 3, 2021 at 3:27 pm
Not to be contradictory, Brandon, but with the idea of giving many of us some hope: my husband’s grandmother lived into her late 80’s, but she outlived two of her daughters. One of them was my mother-in-law who died from heart issues at the age of 57, and the other was twin to my m-i-l who, sadly, died at 36 when she suffered a cerebral hemorrhage right after having her gall bladder out.
As Nancy suggested, let’s get the chicken nuggets on the menu ASAP!
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LAMary said on February 3, 2021 at 3:39 pm
My mother lived to 50 and my dad to 60. I never expected to make it to 68 but here I am. One brother died at 42, but he had a chronic condition his whole life. Another brother made it to 79. The other two are alive and sort of well. One survived cancer but is still dealing with a lot of other health issues. The other wouldn’t tell me if he was sick I have no idea how he is. Those two brothers are 76 and 78. So who knows. Two brothers had type 2 diabetes, two had cancer, two had high cholesterol issues. I’ve got none of those things. Worst thing I have is sciatica which flares up from time to time. Not deadly but fucking painful. The Pope cancelled lots of appearances during the holidays because of sciatica. This is the first time I recall having anything other than species with a pope.
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David C said on February 3, 2021 at 3:42 pm
Studies are all over the place on the effect of genetics on longevity but one statistic that’s really strange to me is that identical twins die on average about ten years apart accidents excepted. I’d guess genetics are a factor but a minor one. Eating nothing but hamburders and KFC will override.
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Julie Robinson said on February 3, 2021 at 4:29 pm
Randy Rainbow has already done a parody for Majorie Taylor Greene: https://youtu.be/jQ8ldD9wKmY. Waywayway NSFW.
My mother is 88, and her father died at 84. I’ve lived longer than three of my grandparents, my father, and my sister. Like Mary I’ve avoided the diabetes and heart disease that took them all out, but who ever knows.
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LAMary said on February 3, 2021 at 4:39 pm
Both of my grandmothers made it to their mid eighties and neither of them had what you would call a healthy diet. One was fond of meat grease on stale bread sandwiches, cheap fatty cuts of meat that when roasted created lots of grease. She would drink that from a coffee cup. Honest. I saw it. Her diet seemed to consist almost entirely of greasy stuff and day old bread but she did like kale so the greasy roast meat (she called it mouse, making even less appetizing) had kale floating in it.
My other grandmother worked with her husband at their candy and ice cream store. They made wonderful chocolates, I understand. Her cooking leaned toward overcooked root vegetables, overcooked meat, overcooked fish. All vegetables and things like noodles or rice were served with lots of butter.
She was a better baker than cook. Her pies, made with lard, and her applesauce cake were excellent.
Both of these women lived long lives but both had dementia for the last few years. The cake making one had sort of happy dementia. The other one had grim dementia, complaining about anything. This is the Dutch Reform grandmother, btw. Grim was her default mood.
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Sherri said on February 3, 2021 at 5:04 pm
One of my grandparents died in his mid-70s of pancreatic cancer, the other grandparents all died in their early 80s. But my parents are healthier in their early 80s than any of my grandparents were.
My husband has one grandparent who died in her mid-70s and another who died in his mid-90s, and we don’t know about his other biological grandparents because his mother was adopted. But both his parents are gone, his dad in his early 60s due to complications with lupus, his mom in her late 70s with ALS. My husband is the spitting image of the grandfather who lived to his 90s, who remarried and had a second family in his 60s after his first wife died, living long enough to know his grandson, my husband.
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LAMary said on February 3, 2021 at 5:36 pm
Sherri, I have great grandfather like that. When his wife died he married a very young girl and had a slew of kids. So my father had uncles and aunts 20 years younger than he was. They all took after their father in looks so they all resembled my dad and his siblings. It was confusing. One of them owned a restaurant near our house but there was no aknowledgement of being related. Only when I read an article about that place closing did I realize the owner was related to us. The surname was unusual enough to know he had to be a relative.
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Julie Robinson said on February 3, 2021 at 6:47 pm
Both sets of grandparents were farmers and you betcha pies were made with lard. It makes amazingly flaky pastry. My grandmas would have been offended if you asked them to make pie crusts from anything else.
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Deborah said on February 3, 2021 at 7:05 pm
My mother died at 48 of cancer when I was 14, my father by a series of 80 of strokes when I was 40 or there about. I has always astounded me that I outlived the age that my mother died by a lot so far (I’m 70) . One grandmother (my mom’s mom) died of “heart leakage” at 64 and the rest of my grandparents died exactly at 86, even though their deaths were spaced apart in my life. Most of my dad’s siblings lived into their 80s and 90s, I’m hoping I follow my Dad’s side, but you never know. My husband’s mom will be 102 in April but his dad died at 64 of skin cancer.
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Dave said on February 3, 2021 at 7:25 pm
My paternal grandmother died at 59, badly diabetic, she had been fighting diabetes nearly half her life. My paternal grandfather died at 66, he had kidney disease and my aunt told me that the doctors told her that he must have had a strong will to live because they didn’t see how he had stayed alive that long. All three of their children lived much longer, my dad at 85, his brother at 79, and my aunt is still going kind of strong at 95. She doesn’t get around too well but she has her mind.
My maternal grandparents lived much longer, my grandmother to 93 and my grandfather, a lifetime smoker who finally got taken down by lung cancer at 89. My mother lived longer than her three siblings, living to 90 but as I’ve said many times, she disappeared into dementia and her last five years of life were difficult for the rest of us. I have a first cousin who is the oldest grandchild and she’s in as bad or worse condition than my mother, I don’t know if there’s a genetic factor.
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Dexter Friend said on February 3, 2021 at 8:28 pm
A standing ovation…yes, in caucus today Marjorie Taylor Greene, the jerrymandered-elected Georgia Congresswoman from the greater suburban Chattanooga, Tennessee area, was handed the keys to the Republican Party. Greene has been visiting Trump , and has a new visit scheduled shortly to Florida to apparently receive more marching orders from Trump. Liz Cheney however, is being stripped of all committee leadership roles and is now scorned by her party leadership. Why? Why, for truth-telling, that’s why. GOP likes lies, distortions, and crimes.
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David C said on February 3, 2021 at 9:09 pm
I really think this impeachment trial is going to go sideways on the Rs in ways they’re just too damned foolish it understand. It could be total BS or just wishful thinking, but I’m reading the Dems have video of the insurrection that’s pretty brutal. They’re still not going to get 17 of them to vote to convict but they could end up looking bad in a way that won’t be able to be buried for the 2022 elections.
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Bitter Scribe said on February 3, 2021 at 10:13 pm
I don’t know if I’ll even try to read the Times piece. Reading about that riot makes me so furious I actually pace around the room in a rage. It took me several days to read the New Yorker’s account because I kept having to stop and calm myself down.
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Deborah said on February 3, 2021 at 10:27 pm
Somehow I said that my dad had 80 strokes (?) when what meant to say was that he died from a series of strokes at the age of 80. He had minor strokes for a few years before, leading to the big one in the end.
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susan said on February 3, 2021 at 10:50 pm
Deborah, here’s a podcast you might find interesting, although you probably know about all this: Stuccoed in Time. It’s from one of my favorites, which I have referenced here before, 99% Invisible.
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dexter said on February 4, 2021 at 1:22 am
Well, the report I heard was wrong, as Liz Cheney keeps all her leadership roles by a191-65 vote.
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Beobachter said on February 4, 2021 at 3:26 am
Both of my grandfathers died sitting ‘peacefully’ in their living room chairs. (Not at the same time or place!)
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Deborah said on February 4, 2021 at 4:23 am
Susan, yes that was interesting. Our condo is in one of those central historic districts, called Guadalupe Historic District, named after the cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe a distinctive old church a few blocks away. We picked that location because it’s within walking distance of everything. Our building was built in the 1980s in that style, everything is fake. If you make any improvements it all has to conform and must be approved by the city. Santa Fe has been hit hard by the pandemic, many hotels and restaurants have gone out of business because tourism has come to a screeching halt.
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basset said on February 4, 2021 at 8:22 am
This talk of mortality reminds me of one of Mrs. B’s great-uncles, a farmer in northern Michigan who said when he retired that he’d saved enough to live on for eight years.
Eight years later almost to the day, he was sitting on the side of his bed putting his shoes on and fell over dead.
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Sherri said on February 4, 2021 at 1:17 pm
Monica Hesse on Marjorie Taylor Greene is very good: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/marjorie-taylor-greene-toxic-republican/2021/02/03/bc589dc0-64bd-11eb-8c64-9595888caa15_story.html
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Deborah said on February 4, 2021 at 1:22 pm
My husband and I finally got texts today telling us that we are eligible for the vaccine in Chicago because we are over 65, this has been the case since Jan 25th. But according to the locations they directed us to there are no vaccine appointments available at this time at those places. It’s all very confusing how you maneuver through the website they direct you to. Most of the locations are on the south side of Chicago which is good because the people who live on the south side are the ones who have been the hardest hit with the virus. But these locations are pretty far from where we live, around 10 or 15 miles away in most cases, and will require us to take Lyfts (because we no longer have a car here) to get there. We have the ability to pay for our transportation to the locations which I realize a lot of others do not but it’s frustrating. We would like to get our vaccines at Northwestern’s medical complex which is only a few blocks from us even if we have to pay out of pocket to get it, but navigating through their system to get the info about how to do that is daunting. We’re not trying to jump ahead of anyone else to get the vaccine and we want the people who are more susceptible to the virus to get it before us but getting the correct info is very frustrating. Have any other Chicago folks out there been having similar difficulties?
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Deborah said on February 4, 2021 at 1:44 pm
That was a good Monica Hesse article. I get the difference between a Becky, a Karen and a Marjorie. But why don’t we hear about the Johnnys, the Bobbys and the Harrys? And should those be ending in ys or ies?
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Jim said on February 4, 2021 at 2:15 pm
Sorry Deborah! Indiana opened it to 65 Monday. I signed up easily. Couldn’t get an appointment in Allen County until March 6, but there were many openings in Adams County. Thirty mile drive this morning, less than 25 minutes and out.
Whoo hoo!
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Mark P said on February 4, 2021 at 2:17 pm
The WaPo article is behind a paywall.
I have wondered how differently I would think of MTG if she were a man. I think I would consider a man more dangerous if he believed everything she does. I may be doing both her and human males a disservice.
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Jakash said on February 4, 2021 at 5:51 pm
If you have an NYT click to spare, this article about Mandy Patinkin and Kathryn Grody is a treat. (Well, it’s a treat whether you can read it or not…) 😉 Studded with some fun links, as well.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/03/arts/television/mandy-patinkin-kathryn-grody-videos.html?
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Deborah said on February 4, 2021 at 6:55 pm
Oops, bad judgement on my part again. I’m a sucker for cleaning gizmos and someone I follow on Twitter linked to a cool o’cedar spinning mop. That I thought I couldn’t live without. It came today and the bucket to the system is way too big to store in our tiny place in Chicago. The point of getting it was that previously I had one of those spray mop deals that required disposable pads and connecting, not reusable, plastic bottles of cleaning fluid. My goal was to get rid of excess waste. I’m sure this new system will work just fine, but where to store it here between uses is problematic. If I have to store it down in the storage unit that will make it less convenient and I’ll use it less often. Darn.
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Julie Robinson said on February 4, 2021 at 7:03 pm
Deborah, I don’t have any advice regarding Illinois signups, but I can tell you that no one is allowed to charge you for the vaccine. They are allowed to bill your insurance for the cost of administering it to you. A doctor friend was giving vaccines at a nursing home today and offered to put us on the waiting list in case they had any that were unused at the end of the day. I guess they didn’t, but it should only be a couple more weeks until our age group opens up.
I’ve always loved Mandy Patinkin for his voice and acting, so I follow him on Instagram. He and Kathryn’s son Gideon has been quarantining with them, so started recording and posting them. They are genuine and cranky and hilarious.
Snowing again, hmpf.
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