Nobody is saying Trump is “just fine,” we’re saying Biden is not a compelling alternative.

If Trump is an existential threat that requires every possible effort be expended against him, sticking with grampy (as bets are placed whether he’ll reach the election or the reaper) is gross negligence and really undermines the argument.

😘

Mr T knows his balls.

That caption is 🤌

My kid is in high school, and they communicate about emergencies through text, email, and automated calls. There are lots of jobs, especially low-paying ones, that will not let you check your phone during your shift, and they’re certainly not going to be okay with you leaving early to go pick up your kid. If the choice is “leave to pick up kid (who you know is safe with teachers), get fired,” versus “leave kid (who you know is safe with teachers), keep job,” it’s pretty simple math.

“ran out of medication” me sneaks up on “functional and medicated” me

I’m a simple lady; I recognize the vague outlines of a joke, so I upvote.

Have you tried doing a video call with the dog to see how she reacts?

My husband had to be away from home for a month a couple years ago, and our dogs (and I!!) missed him terribly. When we would video chat, one of the dogs loved it, he recognized my husband on the screen and was so happy to hear and see him! The other dog did not understand what was happening and was kinda bummed to hear him but not see or smell him.

If your dog watches TV and does other things to indicate she sees what’s on the screen, knows it’s not in the room, and isn’t bothered by that, I think it’s worth a try!

Clean towel, foil potato, can’t lose?

In the US, in the weeks leading up to the new school year starting late August/early September, many retailers will offer discounts on school supplies - paper, pencils and pens, backpacks, etc - to attract customers. Many clothing retailers market it to students as a great time for a wardrobe refresh or to reinvent your look entirely and offer discounts. Same deal with electronics, especially since higher math courses tend to have required calculators. Some states - including Ohio, where I live - offer a sales tax holiday on a weekend during this season to help with the expense involved.

It’s wicked expensive with just one kid, I can’t imagine having several.

I think the physical and psychological distress that tend to result from Vogon poetry would be problematic for the celebrational mood I’m hoping to achieve, but there will definitely be gorgeous sandwiches crafted by the loving hands of an artisan of intergalactic renown.

I’ve never seen a recipe for Pan-Galactic Gargle Blasters that appealed to me, but I’m hoping to get that sorted as well.

They also only got the Supreme Court to agree to their extremely sketchy August date for the election along party lines.

Really rich, lovely quote from the article linked:

In fact, the Ohio Legislature explicitly banned August elections (except in very limited circumstances) in its omnibus election law that was enacted earlier this year. Ironically, the Legislature did so at the behest of LaRose who stated that “August special elections generate chronically low turnout because voters aren’t expecting an election to occur. This is bad news for the civic health of our state.”

It’s fucking gross. My husband and I went in person to the Board of Elections to vote early, and we were heartened to see the steady trickle of people coming in mid-morning on a weekday.

I’m turning 42 next summer and have been thinking about hosting a Towel Party; this image is going to be very helpful.

How will anyone know I exist if they can’t hear (or read) my bitching?!?

conservative apologist

Isn’t he just a conservative? I know he likes to pretend that Trump gave him serious distaste for some of the more extreme parts of modern conservatism, but - considering the blood on Frum’s hands - I’m not buying it. Am I getting him confused with a different Bush speech writer or perhaps a different Iraq war cheerleader?

Those ears! 😍 I wonder what it’s like to be able to hear mouse farts and bird burps?

There’s something tricksy about their faces, like maybe they’re the kinda guys who might try to hide extra rows of razor-sharp teeth behind the cute front ones. Big chaotic neutral energy!

Can you even imagine how anyone involved felt?!? The exultation and relief of the researchers when they not only didn’t accidentally kill their patient but fixed him, the mind-blowing reality that he can move again as it sinks into the patient’s brain… !!! I cry about every overwhelming emotion, good or bad, and I don’t think I’d be able to stop crying for weeks.

I call this “following from the front,” and some dogs and humans seem to love it, too.

I have an irrational fear that someone is going to do this to me whenever I have to park the cart to go use the bathroom - what if one small object is removed while I’m peeing, and I don’t even notice until I get all the way home?!

The total opposite of this happened once, and it was genuinely one of the weirdest experiences of my life. I was in the grocery store looking at packaged meats, and another lady comes up and parks her cart next to mine to look at them too. She starts making some choices, loading her arms up, but I’m not really paying attention because I’m comparing prices and thinking over my own selections… Until suddenly she starts putting the meat that she has chosen on top of my groceries, in my cart - that looked nothing like her empty cart, which she then grabbed the handle on and pushed away while I stood there watching, absolutely bewildered by what had just happened.

I did not buy the meats she had chosen for me, and I live in both fear and hope that our paths might someday cross again.