And a happy thanksgiving to you Nathalie, you're the best blogger that TS has! I agree, we should only be wishing happy holidays for people who are nice to us.

I was going to say, "Slog A.M. at 10:35 AM? Looks like somebody's been sleeping in." But seeing that it's going on two hours and there's only one other comment so far--and a sane one at that!--I have to say instead that it looks like the regular Slog commentariat are the ones who are really sleeping in.

My best hypothesis is that most of these commenters are normally posting from their work, more likely as a distraction from their jobs than as part of their jobs, and we're just not seeing them today because it's a holiday.

Anticipated response: "No, you loser @2, it's the fact that the rest of us have lives and are out there spending a Black Friday like any normal person would." And hey, one is welcome to have that hypothesis.

What does the TSA even do?

"...implement security theater against movie-plot threats."

https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2009/11/beyond_security.html

Thank you, Nathalie. For all that you write for us.

Another story about rainbow trout from Seattle Times website today:
"Thousands of fish headed to Thurston County lake lost when truck flips"
https://archive.is/mN91b

Happy Thanksgiving to you, Nathalie.

I’d be thankful if folks like Nathalie stopped linking to zombie twitter (like their compatriots at the Mercury). Maybe the cool kids at TS can make a New Year’s resolution to stop supporting awful people like Musk (given you can avoid linking to the Seattle Times, I know you can stop supporting crypto fascists).

@2; More likely they just couldn’t find it. At least on mobile, the Stranger’s website spent most of Friday displaying Wednesday’s Slog AM as the most recent one. I just assumed the Stranger staff had Thursday and Friday off. Meanwhile, the Wednesday AM has amassed 100 comments with the craziness at its usual blaring volume: Israel! Transgender! Trump! Christianity! 🤣 All the things you’re not supposed to talk about but are secretly dying to! 🤣

@7 - don't Panic
🛴 -- No one's Dying
well Other than the 50,000
Palestinians; 70% women & Children

from the New Republic:
Imperial Infancy

Donald Trump Is a Weakling.
That’s the Problem.

Yes, he’s authoritarian. But the specific danger he poses is the chaos caused by his lack of discipline, not a triumph of the will.

The pithiest summary of Donald Trump’s last presidency was by the comedian John Mulaney. He compared it to a horse being set loose in a hospital.

“No one knows what the horse is gonna do next,” Mulaney said, “least of all the horse. He’s never been in a hospital before!”

The prevailing theory about Trump’s second term is that the horse now knows its way around the hospital. I have my doubts.

Whatever practical knowledge Trump picked up in the first term is outweighed by the accelerating cognitive decline he displayed over the past year.

He was a weak president before, and he may be an even weaker one this time.

--by Timothy Noah; November 26, 2024

oodles, Edifyingly:
https://newrepublic.com/article/188785/donald-trump-weak-second-administration-chaos

(Glad you got to
Sleep In and Hope
you've Recovered from
your Tryptophanic coma Natty!
oh & THNX for all the Schlogg AMs!)

[c u on
Monday!]

Happy TG

ok it's Saturday,
but happy post-Thanksgiving to you
Nathalie, and thanks for all your columns!

@8, People die in a war. Really?

Weird: To read how you tell it, wars are, or should be, immaculate violence that surgically killed only armed combatants, while leaving non-combatants and their infrastructure unscathed as wars are conducted by unambiguous, clear-cut, and un-debated language, effectively mediated by international courts.

“Rebels had seized most of Syria’s largest city, Aleppo, as of Saturday.”

Yikes, Aleppo. Big-time egg on the faces of the Syrian Arab Army! 😁 Well, maybe they can invite Hizbollah back into the country to help them fight. I hear Hizbollah’s not doing much at the moment! 😜

@11 well thank You
meester Magoo
can I get back
to you?

@8: "He was a weak president before, and he may be an even weaker one this time."

So, we'd criticize anyone who'd campaigned for him, right?

@wormmy you've
become pathetic
your trolling
weak. bug-
ger Off &
🛴 too.

“Israel accuses World Central Kitchen worker of role in October 7 attack. The Israeli military said it killed the worker in a strike in Gaza on Saturday.”

lol, ouch!

"What does TSA even do?"

"In the last 20 years, it
has spent nearly $140
billion to 9/11-proof
air travel."

omg!
how many
More 2K Lb.
Bunker Busters
might we've rained
down on Palestinians
in bibi's Keep-outta-Jail
gambit for $144,000,000,000.00?

lots
I'd think.

enough to
put a Smile
on 🛴's face?

Indoubtedly.

How genocide works:

Happy Native American Heritage Month
https://theintercept.com/2024/11/28/army-native-american-heritage-month/

@15: So, a President Trump is a horrible disaster, everyone knew this before his most recent election, and therefore we should certainly NOT criticize everyone who campaigned for him.

Why won't anyone ever take your moral pronouncements seriously?!?

@18: How it should work:

"Despite wide criticism of President-elect Donald Trump’s plans, leaders of Native American tribes across the nation say they’re intrigued by his bold vision for deporting the massive boatloads of immigrants who’ve been terrorizing this land for centuries."

(https://theneedling.com/2024/11/20/tribal-leaders-intrigued-by-talk-of-immigrant-mass-deportations/)

;-)

Say, did The Intercept ever succeed in getting the NYT to retract the story, about Hamas' wanton rape of Israelis on 10/7? As I recall, you were really, really sore about your myth, of Hamas as freedom fighters, getting crushed by reality.

@Wormtongue
@19 ad vomitas

excellent.
not All of your
'Vile Projections'
Are actually all that vile:

"Why
won't anyone
ever take your moral
pronouncements seriously?!?"

sometimes
they're merely
Just your Projections.

so: how's
your Genocide
cum keep-bibi-tf-outta-
prison gambit coming/going?

we Still Bombing the FUCK
outta them Palestinians?
Plus you helped Elect
The Fraudster thru
your Support
thereof.

well
done!

p.s. speaking
of Kshama: most
of Us've Moved On

WHILST you've
Moved Away you
STILL haven't moved On.

perhaps
it's time
you did.

@19 & 20

Logorrhea aka "speech salad"

https://medic-journal.com/speech-symptoms/logorrhea/

Nytimes: Former Defense Minister Accuses Israel of Committing War Crimes in Gaza
Obviously a jew hater, right Trumpus?

@23

well
ain't it
Obvious?

hell
in 🛴's
'world' even
Bernie fucking
Sanders is a fucking

Jew-hating Jew. go figure.

proving
once Again
there's Nothing
"intelligent" in AI.

@23: He’s not, but you are! 😘

25 >🛴+👳‍♂️+☪=

🎭🎠🧨🎃😥

velkomen to
jr fucking high!

[do Better wormmy].

Wasn't there a Far Side cartoon where the docs were going around the hospital shooting horses? Just sayin'.

@21: "Genocide"

Still rejecting Bernie's wisdom on that point, I see. (Obviously, you simply must know just so much very more about the effective use of language than does a multi-term US senator -- and actual published author.)

"Plus you helped Elect
The Fraudster thru
your Support
thereof."

Now you're confusing me with Sawant? It appears your claim to have "moved on," concerning her loud support of what you loudly call "Fascism," has exactly the same validity as any of your other claims. Whereas, we who have long described her as, "Seattle's Very Own Trump of the Left," at least get the consolation prize of her own freely-chosen behavior exactly validating our description of her. You gave her your support, and you got nothing but punked for it. Great judgment, that.

Love,

Berntongue

@27 dvs99: I must have missed that Far Side one-framer. Gary Larson is so consistently spot on.
Best of all, he's local---born in Tacoma.
My all-time favorite Gary Larson one framer is of two spiders finishing up a web across the base of a slide in a playground. The bigger arachnid says to the smaller one, 'If we pull this off we'll eat like kings!'

Happy Belated Thanksgiving, Nathalie and fellow SLOG commenters.

@17,

"how many
More 2K Lb.
Bunker Busters
might we've rained
down on Palestinians"

Without them, the IDF would be raining down dumb bombs, which are readily available on international arms markets, or relatively easy for Israel to manufacture, over a wider area, in greater quantity to make sure they neutralize the military target.

So you are advocating for more non-combatant Gazans and non-combatant infastructure to be destroyed.

And I thought you were an advocated for Gazan non-combatants.

@30

yes mr
Magoo
we haven't
done Enough
in bibi's Ongoing
Genocide justified
by global gentrification
cum a Manifest fucking Destiny

salivating
over all them
Billions$ are we?

@28
sorry
wormmy
what Was
that again?

@32: Since I overloaded you with far too many words there, the only words you really need to recall are “Bernny,” as in “Berntongue,” ‘cause I’m Bernin’ you with the Bern of Truth from Bernie hisself!

Love,

Berntongue

say
you're
not local
to east chester
pa by any chance?

Ah
Thank
You for
Bringing
Up Bernie,
Wormtongue:

His Latest
missive
To ME:

Dear kristofarian,
(LOVE this Guy!)

You won’t hear it discussed in corporate media (for obvious reasons), or on the floor of Congress (for obvious reasons), but the most important issue facing facing the American people and the global community is the rapid rise of oligarchy.

Never before in modern history have so few had so much wealth and power. Never before has a ruling class been able to exercise that power not only in the United States but in every corner of the planet.

Today in America we have more income in wealth inequality than we have ever had. While 60% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, 3 individuals own more wealth than the bottom 50%.

Today in America we have more concentration of ownership than we have ever had. In sector after sector - financial services, health care, agriculture, transportation, energy, food, housing, etc. - fewer and fewer giant corporations control what is produced and the prices we pay.

Today in America we have more media consolidation than we have ever had. Some estimates claim as much as 90% of U.S. media is controlled by just six huge global conglomerates that have a defining impact on our culture and the information we receive.

Today in America we have a political system that is increasingly controlled by the billionaire class. In the recent elections, just 150 billionaire families spent nearly $2 billion to get their candidates elected.

And let’s be clear. This massive level of inequality is only going to get worse under the Trump administration - with Elon Musk, the wealthiest person on earth, playing an active role.

If Trump gets his way the very rich will get richer and have more power, while ordinary Americans will get poorer and have less power.

Under Trump there will be more tax breaks for the very wealthy and large corporations while, at the same time, reductions in desperately needed programs for the poor and working class.

Under Trump there will be efforts to privatize Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, the Veterans Administration and public education while, at the same time, making it easier for large corporations to destroy the environment, engage in bigotry and undermine workers’ rights.

We cannot allow this to happen. We have got to take on Trump and the oligarchs. And the best way to do that is to educate and organize, educate and organize.

We have got to expand our social media reach to counter the enormous influence of corporate and right-wing media We’ve got to increase our presence in working class communities.

We’ve got to find grassroots leaders who are prepared to take on the powerful special interests and run for office at the local, state and federal levels.

These are tough times, but despair is not an option. The stakes are too high, not just for us but for our kids and future generations.

We’re all in this together.

In Solidarity,

Bernie
[fucking
Sanders].

that’s You,
innit, wormmy?
protector of the Rich
sworn Enemy to the Po’?

‘While
60% of Americans
live paycheck to paycheck,
3 individuals own more wealth than the bottom 50%.’

Ain’t it
Fawking
Amazing?

but
Yeah
make
this about
now What is
it you've been
Dying to get me
to say for the last
three fucking WEEKS?

make it
About
that

and
DISTRACT
Us some More?

@35: “and
DISTRACT
Us some More?”

“DISTRACT”? No, I AGREE with Bernie that Trump will be a disaster. (Again.)

What you (as usual, wrongly) call my “trolling” is really me reminding the Stranger (and you commenters who support it) that not everyone who loudly claims to be our ally against Trump actually IS our ally against Trump. You all seem very resistant to recognizing that simple and obvious lesson, even (or, more likely, because) we whom you keep personally attacking had explicitly recognized that lesson a LONG time ago.

@29 Wowzeer
auntie Gee.

so Sorry to hear of
your Diagnosis. that Sucks

there's a Great interview of Alan Alada
who also has Parkinson's, on Science
Friday. Alda's got a podcast and he
discussed it there once or twice
but it seems like there's a bit
of Supporrt out there. I hear

there're ways to, hopefully
help slow its progress.

it'd Suck not to be
able to Create
it'd seem

are there musicians
with Parkinson's
groups out
there?

wishing you Joy,
auntie Gee! wherever
you can Find it. Hang In there!

good on
Smokin Joe:
pardoning his
Son Hunter. the
Witch Hunt to be Over

"republicans"'re gonna be
coming for bloody
Retribution
asap.

@38: Pure sleaze. Before the election, he promised the public he’d never do something like this. I wonder what changed? 😜

shed these
sockpuppet
chatterboXes
tS I beseech you

& an Edit But-
ton'd be Nice.

@40: Brother, you’ve got 14,000 posts of deliberately misformatted, conspiracy-addled, name-calling gibberish. If they haven’t banned you, they certainly aren’t going to ban me. 🤣🤣🤣

@40: "an Edit But-
ton'd be Nice."

Sir Toby used to ask for that, too.

@🛴's
unrelenting
and unabated
equating of anti-
Genocide/anti-Zionism
with anti-Semitism renders
any and All of its comments
total and Utter bullshit ∴ Useless.

@43: “anti-
Genocide”

Don’t make me Bern you again!

Love,

Berntongue

@37 kristofarian: Thank you for your kind words of encouragement. My Parkinson's diagnosis is indeed, a very challenging blow. But I am on medications that are helping slow the neuropathic decline that I wish both my parents could have had in their last years. I have a wonderful tech friend who has been a big help with my ability to type (improved by swapping my traditional click and drag mouse to the roller kind, in which my right hand rests at a tilt and my index finger clicks and drags--much better finger and thumb dexterity!). I'm NOT giving up my beloved Love Beetle, musical pursuits, or love of cats! At least my VW is safely tucked away in winter hibernation and I have five months to build up my body strength for spring and summer driving.
My vision has improved with amped Magnesium, B-12 and Vitamin D-3 supplements, but I don't drive at night anymore. My Love Beetle and I take the roads less traveled; the slow, scenic route works best for us. The interstate freeways are just too crazy anymore.
My tech friend is also helping me with keeping up with technological changes in my music writing software programs. And I am blessed with kind friends and family nearby, and services where my VW and I are.
I can still play my instruments and do what I do ordinarily---just a little more slowly.
If only I could get rid of the muscle and joint stiffness, spasms, and jerks!
At least my primary care doctor is giving me a thumbs up, though; I've got a handle on Type II Diabetes.
I've lost weight and my stats are in good shape. I can wear all of my swimsuits and clothes look good on me.
Now my VW and I need the return to top down weather and some of my music to sell.

@45
Bravissima!

you're a
fucking
Warrior,
auntie Gee.

excellent.

@44

see:
@15

oh
and
bugger
the fuck off

oh!
and
take
your
🛴 A-
long w/ ya.