Thursday Afternoon Fill in Links

by | Nov 7, 2024 | Cocktails, Daily Links, I Am Lame | 221 comments

Nope, not the links you were expecting, but perhaps the ones you need.

The return of violent rhetoric.

I’ve been laughing at all the postmortems as to how we failed Kamala Harris.

Australia’s long national nightmare to end?

Even in orbit we can’t get away from freaking selfies.

I know too many people who are like this.

Yes, it’s Thursday. Doesn’t mean you don’t need a cocktail recipe, in deference to this being a weekday, you can optionally make this alcohol free.

Spiced Apple Cider

  • 4 cups fresh apple cider
  • 1 cinnamon (cassia) stick
  • 1/2 teaspoon allspice berries
  • 6 whole cloves
  • 1 star anise pod
  • Strip of zest from one orange (I’m talking something with heft, not just shreds)
  • 4 ounces bourbon, calvados, or apple jack

If you have muslin bags or the like, I would recommend putting everything but the liquids into them so you can easily remove the bits at the end. You’re going to be putting the cider into a pot with the spices (if you want to go full easy mode, pick up some mulling spices), bring it to a simmer, lower the heat until it’s just below simmering, and leave it there for 30-60 minutes. If you don’t want to deal with that, you could always use a crock pot for this. After that, remove the heat, add the liquor (if you wish), give it a quick stir, and put it into mugs. You can garnish with an orange slice and a cassia stick if you would like.

Go forth and comment people.

About The Author

Nephilium

Nephilium

Nephilium is a geek of multiple types living in the vast suburban forests of Cleveland.

221 Comments

    • R.J.

      They live in another universe.

      • Homple

        If it were up to me, every one of the people in that video would be given a short-handled hoe and set to work weeding North Dakota sugar beet fields.

      • R.J.

        If only ZARDOZ was real.

    • JaimeRoberto (carnitas/spicy salsa)

      These are supposedly intelligent and informed people. Unbelievable.

    • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

      Weren’t something like 60-70% of Americans in favor of deportation?

      Look, if you don’t like the consequences of something, maybe don’t do it, or at least stop doing it, when you find out how unpopular it is.

    • robodruid

      Justification of N+1 assassination attempts?

  1. Aloysious

    mmmm… spiced apple cider. I just can only drink a little bit at a time.

    • R.J.

      Does sound delicious. I can’t drink very much anymore either.

  2. R.J.

    “ Leandra Medine — founder of the now-defunct fashion blog Man Repeller…”

    What surprised me is she had a husband. So what did he think of her blog?

    • Drake

      She looks like a guy I knew in Junior High. Big Kiss fan so he grew his hair out like Paul Stanley.

    • Aloysious

      So what did he think of her blog?

      He probably just closed his eyes and kept simping.

  3. kinnath

    Not cider. Spike apple juice.

    • Nephilium

      We generally get the fresh pressed cider from one of our local apple farms.

      • kinnath

        I reject the notion that unfermented apple juice is cider.

      • Nephilium

        kinnath:

        Big Apple disagrees. 🙂

      • Name's BEAM. *James* BEAM.

        kinnath: I, being of Norman extraction, utterly agree with you. Mousseux is heavenly.

  4. Tundra

    It’s kind of the perfect day for spiked cider.

    Also, excellent musical selections Neph.

    In gratitude, I offer you the fabulous Justine Bateman critiquing the lib chicks’ freakout videos:

    https://x.com/JustineBateman

    • Nephilium

      I don’t have an X account, so it would be wasted on me. Enjoy the music without any guilt though.

      • Tundra

        I had been off X since lent. Had to come back this week for the fun. No ragrets

    • Drake

      I’ve had my emotional low points in life. Never once did it occur to me to record them and share with the world.

      • R C Dean

        That’s what astounds me – that people rush out to record it and go to the effort to upload it.

      • Lord Humungus

        I prefer a life of quiet desperation…

      • Tundra

        I just get drunk and play Russian Roulette. Very cathartic.

      • Nephilium

        Tundra:

        Hopefully this version.

        (I got to play test it with the developer back in the day).

      • Muzzled Woodchipper

        Any they wonder why people laugh at their “pain.”

        It’s because we know it’s 100% performative. Craving attention. The only rational response is to point and laugh.

      • JaimeRoberto (carnitas/spicy salsa)

        But how else do you get people to look at you?

    • KK, Plump & Unfiltered

      Justine Bateman is a revelation – just found her X account this week! Go Mallory!

      (two friends of mine – both from completely different circles – are friends with the dude who played her terminally hot mulleted boyfriend)

      • rhywun

        Rawr.

        This is the same Justine Bateman?? Wow.

      • Tundra

        Yes. My love for her goes back a long way.

        Just discovered her account today.

  5. Certified Public Asshat

    I believed that Vice President Kamala Harris would trounce the former president last night. She said and did all of the right things. She tapped perhaps the world’s most genuine sports dad to be her running mate. She was on the side of goodness and normalcy, and Democrats, myself among them, assumed that Trump’s open calls to end democracy would turn off all freedom-loving Americans. I wanted to believe that. I had to believe that, because it appealed to my own better nature and because who wants final confirmation that they live among monsters? So I went into Election Day full of excitement, rather than dread. This wasn’t 2016. Everyone knew Trump’s deal and everyone, women especially, had suffered immensely under his previous administration. Surely that would be enough, I figured. Anyone who thought otherwise was just a doomer trying to s—t in the punchbowl. But they were trying to warn me, and I was too blinded by imaginary good vibes to heed them. Now I feel stupid, because I should. I also feel depressed, because I should.

    I agree you should feel stupid.

    • Tundra

      She tapped perhaps the world’s most genuine sports dad to be her running mate.

      Phrasing!

      • R.J.

        I think she meant “spurts”

      • db

        She might have farmed that job out to Big Mike, tbh.

      • JaimeRoberto (carnitas/spicy salsa)

        Don’t worry. He’s the world’s most genuine gay sports dad.

      • Suthenboy

        Yeah? He does have a strong Sandusky vibe alright.

      • Bobarian LMD

        I had heard that he likes to play the ponies.

      • Homple

        One look at that guy told me, “Don’t let him anywhere near my grandsons”.

    • juris imprudent

      had suffered immensely under his previous administration

      I we sure we just didn’t witness peak ‘tard?

      • R.J.

        Based on the crap I am hearing about and seeing, not at all. People’s out of control rants are going to get them fired. The next month will be crazy.

      • Tundra

        I agree with RJ. I feel like the ‘tard are just getting warmed up.

      • Bobarian LMD

        There is no peak, it is an asymptote.

    • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

      “just a doomer trying to s—t in the punchbowl”

      I’m putting that on my business cards.

    • Fourscore

      “Now I feel stupid, because I should.”

      Maybe it’s more that a feeling.

      • Bobarian LMD

        “Now I feel am stupid, because I should always have been.”

        Fixed.

  6. rhywun

    Are We Just Ignoring How Russia Openly Helped Trump on Election Night?

    LOL.

    Are we just ignoring how Russia openly stated its preference for Harris over Trump?

    • Tonio

      Why yes, yes they are. Because they love cherry picking.

      • Muzzled Woodchipper

        Honestly, it’s probably fine. I think we have some pretty strong evidence that TMITE doesn’t really have much sway, try as they might. 2 of the last 3 haven’t gone their way, and the 2020 probably wouldn’t have without aggressive fortification.

        Their Trump = Hitler message didn’t resonate with anyone outside of true believers, and I don’t expect them to act in a manner that will be conducive with regaining trust of anyone outside of the bubble.

      • Sean

        It’s a good thing our enemies are so fucking dumb.

      • Suthenboy

        I am pretty confident that the MSM has finally destroyed themselves. They have no credibility left. It is overdue.

  7. R.J.

    I think my two favorite hot takes are of course Frum at the Atlantic, and the SFGate article. Lordy.
    Beyond that there appears to be no end to lefty racist comments on Facebook about black men and Latinos.

    • Drake

      Also enormous amounts of smug – “educated” people and states vote our way! Retarded, racists, rapists vote the other way!

    • Tonio

      I couldn’t make it past the first paragraph of the SFG article.

      • rhywun

        *reads one paragraph*

        Wow. Self-reflection is not that person’s strong point.

      • Nephilium

        Always remember, ever one of those authors thinks they’re better than you.

    • Suthenboy

      On the teevee just now: finally one of them figured it out. It’s about time. Clearly they just weren’t woke enough.

    • Lord Humungus

      Back in my early political days I used to read Frum. And Jonah Goldberg. WTF happened to these hucksters?

      • Sensei

        TDS.

      • Bobarian LMD

        When you stare into the Neo-Con, the Neo-Con stares into you.

      • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

        Top. Men.

    • juris imprudent

      In PA they are waiting on Cambria County, which favors McCormick but had system fails. Not enough votes to tip it even if it broke hard the other way.

      • db

        Exactly.

      • db

        And Cambria is currently breaking nearly 70/30 for McCormick

    • Drake

      NV not NC – fuck you spell fixer.

      AZ somehow has a different number of votes for the Senate versus President.

      • db

        Sometimes people leave ballots blank for shit they don’t care about. Not me. I write my own name, or sometimes that of an enemy, in, depending on how thankless or dangerous the job might be.

  8. rhywun

    OMG that Nation article…. “we lost because our party sucks but we still have time to mimic Trump’s economic policies oh but by the way we must rEsIsT hIm!!”

    Their brains really are broken and it’s glorious.

    • R.J.

      Yep. When you are out in public, people like that are in line with you at the store, frothing at the mouth in the park, etc…

  9. db

    Spiced Apple Cider

    Don’t mind if I do!

  10. Muzzled Woodchipper

    From The Nation Post-Requiem:

    They need to realize that, for anti-system Americans, a promised return to bipartisan comity is just ancien régime restoration. They need to become the party that aspires to be more than caretakers of a broken system but rather is willing to embrace radical policies to change that status quo.

    We didn’t prog hard enough.

    • R.J.

      A lot of the less crazy democrats left the party already and brought their ideas to Trump. Who embraced them, as he is basically an old-school democrat at heart. That left Kamala nowhere to go except further left, or to copy Trump’s homework.

    • R C Dean

      “a promised return to bipartisan comity is just ancien régime restoration.”

      True.

      “embrace radical policies to change that status quo”

      Don’t mind if I do, but I suspect we are thinking of different radical policies.

      • Bobarian LMD

        Radical policies, you say?

        Let’s start by repealing the NFAs. And eradicating any executive department with the word “department” or “agency” in the name.

      • Muzzled Woodchipper

        No, no, no….

        By radical they mean tax us harder, back the Quiltbag+ agenda harder, and calling for abortion on demand up to birth (and maybe even after, you know, because a woman should choose whether she wants to be a mother).

        It’ll be the same shitty ideas, only harder.

  11. The Late P Brooks

    I’m gonna go ahead and say it. Just whining, not blaming. Not a fan of the new front page format. I think Nephilium said it was basically forced by wordpress.

    What’s going to happen to our favorite gif?

    • Muzzled Woodchipper

      Surely at least one of the thousands and thousands of WP themes don’t force this sort of abomination.

      • R.J.

        It’s kind of nice. Probably confuses the heck out of our minders.

    • Tonio

      Apparently the previous format didn’t work on phones and/or tablets. I very rarely access the site from my phone but understand that some people read us during their commutes.

      • R.J.

        It was fine, even on the old iPhone SE. The new site is also fine. We are just a bunch of grumpy old farts.

      • R.J.

        I even used to write entire movie posts on the iPhone SE.

      • Nephilium

        RJ:

        I know on my phone (Firefox/Android) the few times I tried to access the site remotely, the layout would be crushed into about a 10 pixel width for text, each character being a new line. I would have to go landscape to even be able to read it.

        While I dislike change for change’s sake, my understanding is that this was necessary to keep moving forward with other improvements as well.

      • R.J.

        The “Glibertarian Site Mind Implant” and “STEVE SMITH Site-Activated Anal Buzzer” will not be possible without this important evolution!

      • Bobarian LMD

        “STEVE SMITH Site-Activated Anal Buzzer”

        HELPFUL INSTALLER STANDING BY.

  12. ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

    From the looks of things, and I know it could change (but I doubt it) that the D’s will not have internalized the lessons by ’28. And, further, Newsome just shot himself in the foot outside CA with the Resist bullshit.

    Oh, and has anyone seen the Old Man Con Candy? I know a jew and his wallet are hard to part, but he was rather bullish on Kamalamdingdong and had laid some bets out there.

    Further further, I for one am a fan of our new wordpress overlords. Change is good, keeps you on your toes.

    • Lord Humungus

      I should have gotten – ahem – in on that betting action. But I’ll take certain vacuum tubes in payment.

    • rhywun

      the D’s will not have internalized the lessons by ’28

      Not without supernatural levels of self-reflection and a complete rejection of the decades they spent sucking up to overeducated elites.

      • Rat on a train

        The lesson is “We didn’t message our glorious policies well enough. It’s tough to enlighten the peasants.”

  13. The Late P Brooks

    I made it 2 or 3 sentences into that SFgate excrescence.

    The one about the Privileged woman, a few paragraphs. Booooooooooring.

    • Lord Humungus

      STEVE SMITH FOR DEFENSE SECRETARY. AND BY DEFENSE MEAN…

      • Aloysious

        This.

        Transfer the entire department to Cascadia.

    • Tundra

      No way. I want Malice in that spot.

      • R.J.

        He talks so fast the conference would be over in 5 minutes.

      • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

        Mmm… Dueling press secretaries, Malice and Shapiro.

        And should Shapiro get the job, he starts every conversation “when I start running for president”

        Fuck with that Josh dude right out the gate!

  14. OBJ FRANKELSON

    Australia’s long national nightmare to end?

    Did they sign a peace treaty ending their protracted war with the Emu Federation?

    • Sean

    • Sensei

      No way…

      • Ted S.

        Way.

      • R C Dean

        I’d wait for the recount before counting my chickens. And the Dem record in recounts is something like 283 – 2.

      • Tundra

        Whey?

      • kinnath

        Whoa!

      • kinnath

        40K vote lead.

        Not impossible.

      • Bobarian LMD

        Hue.

    • db

      WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!

      • db

        Need a Ric Flair gif here

  15. Suthenboy

    “…to avoid inflaming opinions among those on the political right. ” Why do I suspect that is not true?

    When one of your basic goals is to dispose of merit you get what we are seeing now. Failure and an inability to learn from it. They are just doubling down on the very things that caused their failure. Good.

    No more Raygun? I has a sad. She is the greatest performance comedian in our lifetime. Alex Jones and Andy Kaufman have nuthin on her.
    Absolutely hilarious.

    Sadly, eventually that will happen to a person.

    The rich guilt I dont get. In this moment I am hesitant to criticize because all of us, myself included are human and subject to the same failures and foibles .
    In a recent conversation I expressed my complete puzzlement as to why Pedos are Pedos. The guy I was talking to said very matter of factly “That’s because it never happened to you.”. Just like that I got it…why I dont understand it. No, it never did happen to me. I guess I give off the wrong vibes or something. In hindsight I did run across those types in my youth but they never tried with me.
    I also thought “Oh? Is there something you aren’t telling me? ”

    Sadly this girl realizes she is ignorant but not about what she thinks it is and thus made yet another poor decision. I also note the ad for designer jewelry on that site.

  16. JaimeRoberto (carnitas/spicy salsa)

    I’d like to think that these election results will give Dems a new appreciation for federalism and our system of checks and balances, including checks and balances on democracy itself, but I’m not optimistic.

    • Lord Humungus

      As far as I can tell they want the whole enchilada – power. Of course if you look at the (extreme) left as a religion, it makes sense. Anyone who disagrees can’t be left in peace, they must be converted or, dare I say it, imprisoned or killed.

  17. The Late P Brooks

    While I dislike change for change’s sake, my understanding is that this was necessary to keep moving forward with other improvements as well.

    My ignorance/indifference regarding this kind of stuff is virtually boundless, but it occurred to me that the big text box is going to land right on those two lovely bottoms. A tragedy of epic proportion.

    • R.J.

      The list below will show it without the text box. At least for a few days.

  18. Bobarian LMD
      • Bobarian LMD

        OMG….

        Ded.

    • PutridMeat

      I’d say set-up, but the guys expression doesn’t looked faked. He’s a good actor if it’s a performance.

      Glouriouser – I don’t think I’d appreciated how totally psychologically broken people are in modern society.

      • juris imprudent

        We seem primed for a Jonestown x 1000s.

  19. The Late P Brooks

    Glorious

    Holy cow. That is awesome. She sounds like she’s going yo have a brain embolism.

  20. The Late P Brooks

    Democracy lies in ruins around us. Our world will never be the same.

    • rhywun

      God willing, the entire staff of WaPo is tossing itself into the Potomac right now.

    • Lord Humungus

      Will that old bat ever die or hell even retire?

      • R.J.

        In my dream, she is swept out by a Trump republican.

      • Tundra

        Joke’s on you. She actually died a decade ago. She’s been running on pure spite and vodka.

      • Fourscore

        “Power’s a helluva a…..”

      • rhywun

        She’s been running on pure spite and vodka.

        Well, that’s good news for me down the road.

    • Homple

      Doubtless there are some world-class bloodshot eyeballs behind those oversized sunglasses.

    • R.J.

      Remember that pic of all the ladies swearing abstinence until their husbands stopped drinking? It was from right around Prohibition. Reminds me of that.

    • Q Continuum

      I’m completely fine with Lululemon Proggie Dogmoms opting out of any reproductive behavior. Hopefully their pussy-whipped men grow a spine and find some real women.

      • rhywun

        It’s amazing they never make the connection.

      • R.J.

        Agree, x10.

      • Muzzled Woodchipper

        My Trump voting wife is quite happy about this. Perhaps it will lessen the pool of crazy for my oldest to stick his dick in once he goes to college.

    • Aloysious

      …is a vow to swear off men

      The Modern Western Woman? Swearing off men?

      No. Please. Don’t. Stop.

      • Social Justice is Neither

        They said nothing about swearing off they/thens or chicks with dicks but overall I’m fine with this cleansing of the gene pool.

      • Muzzled Woodchipper

        In 10 years they’ll be asking why men don’t want them.

    • Ted S.

      4B, or not 4B.

    • Pope Jimbo

      Mrs. Holiness has been giving me the 3B treatment for over 24 years!

      She hasn’t dated any other men, married them or had any kids since 2000!!!!

      I still got that last B thing going for me (just like Fourscore!)

  21. Aloysious

    Post erection day music.

    A little Ministry? Why yes. It’s not pretty.

    • R.J.

      I have some Ministry at 7:00 CST.

      • Aloysious

        RJ, I did not know you were a preacher.

        Spread the word, Brother! (the word is legs)

      • Q Continuum

        “Spread the word, Brother! (the word is legs)”

        A bit early to illuminate the Q light.

        You’ll have to wait until Glibz After Dark for that.

      • Suthenboy

        I never got the impression you were a leg man.

      • Aloysious

        Suthen, I do have the mandatory Glibstache, also known as a flavor saver.

  22. Q Continuum

    “Democracy died in plain sight”

    😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

    Trump wins an outright majority of votes and it’s “democracy dying”. These fucking people are utterly useless.

    • Raven Nation

      What did Trump actually say that got twisted into “he’s going to end democracy on day 1”?

      • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

        “Good morning”

      • Bobarian LMD

        Everything he said got twisted to some form of that.

      • JaimeRoberto (carnitas/spicy salsa)

        I think it was his interview with Hannity. Hannity asked if he planned to become a dictator like the Dems say and Trump joked that for one day he would be a dictator to close the border and drill for energy (if I remember correctly). That joke about being a dictator for one day got twisted into him saying he’ll be a dictator from Day 1.

      • R.J.

        Remember, replace every reference to “democracy” with “bureaucracy” and it all makes sense.

    • Muzzled Woodchipper

      They’re actually quite useful.

      These are the useful idiots we’re always talking about. These idiots are the front line of Democratic voters. Tell them lies over and over about how you’re going to go to a camp/death squad/never have a chance to vote again, while calling all of his followers racist Nazis, and they all fall in line for your cause.

      Refute fucking retarded. Damaged perhaps beyond hope. But they are not useless to those who ruined them.

      • rhywun

        Useful to me too, in terms of stay far away from.

      • Nephilium

        Yep. And there’s a bunch of them out there, emotionally toddlers, broken brains, thinking that literally Hitler is coming for them.

        Assuming 10% are capable of following basic directions, I see an uptick in non-FBI assisted domestic attacks.

      • EvilSheldon

        I don’t think we’ll see a return to the SDS/Weather Underground/May 13 Communist Organization bombings of the 70’s. For one thing, our current class of broken-brained antisocial personality disorder types doesn’t have the Cuban and Libyan advisors supplying them with raw materials and technical instruction.

        For another, guns are going to be the preferred means of violent revolution rather than bombs. Guns are more readily available, carry less risk to the operators, and you get an automatic agitprop two-fer – kill a bunch of fascists, in such a way that you can readily blame the victims.

        We need to be ready for this.

      • LCDR_Fish

        a LOT more people carrying these days compared to the 70s. Huge changes across the country compared to that period.

    • Nephilium

      I’d like to let all you know that by having those links in my feed, and clicking on them to share, it only makes my feed get more bizarre as time goes on. I could have likely put together a links section of nothing but pieces like that for every word. I tried to pick the ones with the most unhinged pull quote or headline.

      Based on the comments, I would say I was successful.

      • R.J.

        I enjoyed it. I am in a politically mixed household, so I can’t really dance a jig here. This worked!

      • Nephilium

        R.J.:

        The girlfriend is a soft libertarian. But she 100% voted for Trump and was irritated that I skipped voting due to the line.

        She’s been requesting more of the videos and hunting down her own reaction videos. FFS, she wanted to watch the View yesterday to watch them cry.

      • R.J.

        Lucky. The wife was truly sad Kamala lost and thought Kamala was just misunderstood.

      • Suthenboy

        She is not misunderstood. Wife didnt notice when she gave her ‘with one stroke of the pen I could destroy people’ speech?
        I dont misunderstand her at all.

      • R.J.

        I don’t get her disconnect either. And I have tried to show her just how dangerous the current group of democrats are. It’s just wild. She does all the wrong things, like trying to nitpick statements instead of seeing the issue.

      • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

        Like RJ, I am in a mixed household. I know there are others here like that, but, as the wife hasn’t said anything yet other than a look of disappointment Tuesday night, I really don’t know what she thinks. I do think she voted for West though.

        This is for the best, as I like her more than most things, and the feeling is returned. I watched the ’80 election destroy my parents marriage and I do not want that.

      • Muzzled Woodchipper

        Wife is Brazilian. She knows what a woman is. Hated Hillary. Hated Kamala more. Voted Trump in all 3 elections. Abortion is a thing for her, but it doesn’t compare to her pocketbook. She brings home more money, and does most of the bill paying/grocery shopping. She understands quite well that a 50% raise in salary 3 years ago has essentially all been eaten by inflation and that we’re not really much further ahead than with her previous income. That’s stupid. She knows it. She’s also smart enough to know that abortion is no longer a federal issue, and so she couldn’t give a single fuck about the President’s take.

    • Social Justice is Neither

      They are not useless, the apathetic welfare leech that doesn’t vote is useless; these people are evil.

    • Homple

      She looks anorexic.

      • JaimeRoberto (carnitas/spicy salsa)

        Oh Oh Ozempic

      • JaimeRoberto (carnitas/spicy salsa)

        Ozemporexic

    • Suthenboy

      It would be fair to describe me as a big fan. Yeah, that is one way to put it anyway. Smart, courageous, honest….yep, the whole Suthenboy dream package. I actually have that now but were it not for that I would be all in on Megan.

  23. Lord Humungus

    Some random thoughts on the political ads I saw:

    Dems, after the 2022 midterms, apparently thought that J6/Insurrection and Abortion were their -ahem- trump cards for winning the election. I can’t tell you how many “Trump is going to sign a national abortion ban!” ads I saw.

    There were also plenty of “Trump is for tax breaks for billionaires” ads, which apparently scored high with focus groups. The old Scrooge McDuck just bathing in his cash… ::sigh::

    After the abortion and tax thang were Kammala’s nebulous plan to give tax breaks to the middle-class and small business loans to everyone. When was the last time that a Democrat candidate promised tax breaks? It was weird Bizarro-land; apparently it didn’t take given the Dems past history.

    • Raven Nation

      Hah, the Dem running in my district against a R incumbent ran on, money for law enforcement, middle-class tax cuts, and securing the border. Even if he was sincere: (i) how would he get Pelosi, et al on board and (ii) why vote for a Dem who runs on an R platform?

    • rhywun

      Yeah, the few Dem ads I saw that weren’t just anti-Trump were blatantly stating positions that nobody believes any Democrat holds. Fail.

  24. Lord Humungus

    Completely OT: EF and I have started watching the Grand Sumo tournaments in Japan. They last 15 days and are held every other month. The next one starts this November 10th. NHK’s channel carries them but apparently don’t keep past bouts available?

    I used to think “fat guys pushing each other around” but now it is: “damn these Rikishi are tough.”

    Highlights from the last match: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykPIQXOZLUc

    • Lord Humungus

      Speaking of Sumo, I’ve been watching Martins Licis, a strongman, who travels around the world doing well, lifting heavy things. Georgia, Pakistan, Japan, etc etc

      Great production and he is so humble and engaging.

      Him doing Sumo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jv__i3IQIT0

      • Gustave Lytton

        Hey, if there wasn’t fixing then the Mongolians and Georgians would take over completely!

      • Pope Jimbo

        I just started watching Sanctuary on Netflix. It is about a struggling sumo wrestler. Not bad, but I’m only two episodes in.

    • Homple

      Wife and I watch the Grand Sumo matches also. Those fat guys are agile and their tricky throw maneuvers are fun to watch. There are many fine points about technique that we still miss, but it’s an entertaining half-hour, fifteen successive evenings, six times a year.

    • Gustave Lytton

      That’s correct. Current basho only. Once it starts, search YouTube for “sumo live”. It’s whack a mole with takedowns but usually is a feed of nhk and abema (both in Japanese). I like abema for the commercials in between bouts.

      Nov basho always excites me because it was the first and only one I’ve seen live. Also end of the year.

    • Pope Jimbo

      My Japanese brother-in-law used to watch sumo with me. We failed to bond over pachinko and sake (I was the problem on both of those), but we could sit around and watch sumo matches have a good time.

      Not my first sportzball thing, but once you get into it there is a lot more to it than you’d think.

      Now I’m a bit sad thinking of Tamura-san (he passed away 5 years ago). A very nice guy who I wish we could have communicated better.

  25. Raven Nation

    From this morning thread, Juris Imprudent: “Why do you think the American voter is consistent or principled?”

    I took a look at those split EC votes today. Nebraska district 2 (the blue dot), voted for the Republican incumbent AND gave Harris their electoral vote.

  26. Ownbestenemy

    I’m holding to the social media freakout screaming posts are 25% performative, 25% content farming and 50% actually broken people

    • Muzzled Woodchipper

      There’s a methodology flaw.

      1 & 3 very likely share the same area of a venn diagram.

  27. EvilSheldon

    I’ve actually done a substantial amount of exhibits work in the National Archives (until recently I held a NARA contractor badge) and I know Colleen Shogan professionally. She is thoroughly competent as an archivist and a historian, and I do not believe for a second that she, nor any of her staff, have modified or removed exhibits to make right-leaning people more comfortable.

    • Sensei

      I’m not surprised.

  28. The Late P Brooks

    Our best- our brightest

    Throughout Wednesday, student organizations, faculty, and House tutors also offered chances to come to terms with the election results.

    Physics professor Jennifer E. Hoffman ’99 wrote in an email to physics students and faculty that her office would be “a space to process the election.”

    “Many in our community are sleep-deprived, again grieving for glass ceilings that weren’t shattered, fearful for the future, or embarrassed to face our international colleagues,” she wrote. “I stress-baked several pans of lemon bars to share.”

    For many College students, Trump’s policy proposals mark a source of despair for the next four years.

    “Long term, I’m very concerned about Trump’s policies and the things that he has endorsed,” Kushner said. “Trump’s attitude towards democracy and the norms that we have in this country are really, really concerning.”

    There is no safe space.

    • JaimeRoberto (carnitas/spicy salsa)

      Obviously not mature enough to be at a place like Harvard.

  29. LCDR_Fish

    Think I mentioned it a couple days ago, but I’m about 2/3 the way through all the “Beat it Out” podcasts on Adam Carolla’s substack now. Really good stuff – he’d get kicked off youtube really quick with most of these. Two-man show with Jay Mohr who’s pretty funny too. Some really epic rants.

    • rhywun

      Jay Mohr

      He’s still around?! I checked him into my hotel once ages ago. Nice guy.

      • LCDR_Fish

        Doing a lot better lately. He’s talked about it on Adam’s normal show before – married, lost a lot of weight, quit drugs, etc.

  30. The Late P Brooks

    Victor E. Flores ’25, co-president of the Harvard College Democrats, said he was afraid for the “countless people” who could be affected by Trump’s policies.

    “There are marginalized communities across the country that are waiting and watching to see what will happen,” he said. “I am certainly disappointed by these results.”

    Try not to be such a Knob, Victor.

    • Tundra

      Awww. Sweet kitty.

      • R.J.

        That is a pretty one.

    • Evan from Evansville

      That’s a biiiiiiig boy. Damn. Uh. Me no want ’round my house.

  31. groat scotum

    The company I work for does birthdays. 3-4 times a month one of the admin staff comes around with a birthday card for everyone to sign. I hate this. I asked for my birthday not to be recognized, which it wasn’t till the former HR lady passed the baton, and I guess I was put back on the list. I’ve been signing chickenscratch for the last year.

    Is it incredibly bitchy if I get a stamp made that simply reads

    HAPPY BIRTHDAY

    GROAT

    ?

    • groat scotum

      What about a custom job with tassels and streamers and party hats, but still, the text reads:

      HAPPY BIRTHDAY

      SIGNED,
      G. SCOTUM

      • Suthenboy

        “…a custom job with tassels and streamers and party hats…”

        Only if it is one of Mex’s body paint soccer girls or one of the ass slap girls.

        Oh…you just mean a card. Never mind then.

  32. Evan from Evansville

    SFGate: “But honestly, what does it matter? My fellow Americans, and they feel so distant right now, watched Trump infect them all with his greasy feels and said, “Thank you, sir, may I have another?” That’s the cold, awful truth I’m left to stew in this morning, and many mornings thereafter.”

    Jesus, kid. Yes. Stew. Stew away and forth. Green Day hilariously nailed it: Brain Stew/ Jaded. <– You right there, bud. Get to a safe place, far away from me. Stop doing everything, anything resembling something.

    *pats head* There, there. There, there.

    • Evan from Evansville

      Predictably, dreadfully written. “…[I] watched Trump infect them with his greasy feels and said, “Thank you….”‘

      What the fuck is is/are “greasy feels,” yo? Uh. Who’s editing, here? If you pay me, I’ll do it for ya. (Well. I might.)

  33. SarumanTheGreat

    “How we failed Kamala Harris”

    Do they realize that the German people failed Hitler too?

    • creech

      Isn’t that exactly what Hitler told Herr Speer when he ordered him to lay waste every valuable factory in Germany?

      • Evan from Evansville

        He WAS elected, dontcha know. Pure democracy!

        He got more than a THIRD of the vote!

  34. Evan from Evansville

    My friend in MN is now a legal clerk of the Family Services Dept (whatever the name) of Todd County, MN. I forget her title and she’s still figuring her colleagues out. They DO have a poster of Ron Swanson but they mostly lean quite Left. She’s only been there two weeks or so. They all jump when a truly deserving person needs their help, but they’re also at the front of the folk who ARE milking the system as much as possible. I’d love for her to write out the worst offenders’ stories, but that ain’t her sort of thing.

    We had a rather interesting conversation last night. It went many places, but she was rather… amiable. More than normal. The conversation did not go there, never has, but she had many curious things to say along with her lovely lilt. She’s on our political and social page. I’ve invited her here, yet to no avail. We talked about hopefully meeting up in northern Ohio when we can manage a vacation in our new careers.

    Exciting things abound for two folk who lived and taught in Korea for a ~decade before coming back only a few months apart. We both love/hate being ‘outsiders,’ kinda strangers in a strange land, Yankees in King O’Biden’s Court, repulsed yet belly-laughing at the inane insanity surrounding us. I don’t know anyone outside of family or work, which with coming money I plan to fix, and she’s in Sauk Centre with her adoptive parents. She detests them and calls it Podunksville. Would be nice to adventure w that Li’l Lady.

  35. creech

    Tonight’s “Law and Order” focused on what OMWC had told us back in Sept.: extra time for allegedly disabled students who need extra accommodation to do tests and such. Murder of a ddean committed because dean turned down a request. Watch yourself, OMWC.