The plan seems to be to turn the whole government into 'a PR shop for whiny white guys with fascist haircuts'. Considering everything else they could do with their reign of terror if they were so inclined, that would probably be our best possible (i.e. least bad) outcome.
Vigilante justice happens when the normal kind is impossible to get. Batman exists not because he's Batman but because it's Gotham.
The response to the shooting from the nursing subreddit was absolutely amazing. A theoretical denial-of-claim written by one of them:
"3. Alternative Options Not Explored:
Based on our retrospective analysis, alternative, more cost-effective treatment options—such as a virtual telehealth consult or at-home first aid—were not attempted prior to your emergency room visit. We understand that you were actively “bleeding out,” but this does not exempt you from exploring lower-cost care pathways."
I don't even really like country music (I do, but it takes too long to explain), but I played that song on repeat for a while a few years ago. That and the Chicks' Gaslighter.
There are few problems that cannot be solved by the prompt application of a good sandwich. Unless your problem is that your son is a fucking monster. There's no sandwich good enough for that, sadly.
I read Hegseth's mum's email. It was a comprehensive takedown of him as a human.
There's no way she's changed her mind, or is doing this voluntarily. She sounds exactly like a woman who has been given an ultimatum: "say I'm a changed man, or I will get full custody of my eldest child, and you and my second wife will never see that child again. And I may just get the two of you committed, because only a crazy woman would say things like that about me".
He's going to have friends in very high places - you don't think that he could do that if he wanted to? Also, he already went with the 'unstable woman' defence in the initial custody battle; no reason to think he wouldn't try it again.
I think the fantasy of his mother (a grown woman) doing this under duress is a nice one, but ultimately a fiction. There is no shortage of mother's supporting their sexually assaulting sons.
I agree - I've been sickened by many women supporting their disgusting sons; however, there's no evidence Melania ever was a good person, whereas Hegseth's mum wrote a comprehensively damning summary of him as a person. There is no comparison.
We also know from her email that he was perfectly happy to threaten his ex wife in court by lying about her mental health. He has form.
I'm also going on personal experience. I stayed in a relationship with my ex until my daughter was of age because the thought of him either getting shared custody - or full custody, which he could have done - terrified me. He blackmailed me into not leaving, because if I had he would have taken his revenge. While I stayed, he had excellent reasons not to hurt her.
We do what we have to do, and if you think that I'm making it up, the nurses who had to look after him while he died of cancer would like a word.
It breaks my heart in an angry way that a woman (Pete's mom) is doing all the heavy lifting for the patriarchy. Again and again, women step in to destroy themselves in the service of a sloppy, mediocre man who doesn't deserve the support. Pete's mom could use her one precious life to make things better. Instead? This.
The weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas ARE brutal. Can’t believe my boss expects me to work? Isn’t it good enough that I worked the other 11 months of the year?
The Jimmy John's founder is an asshole who forced his min wage workers to sign non-compete clauses because ? slapping processed meat on crappy bread is proprietary? He's an asshole who goes to Africa trophy hunting, posing with the dead animals with a maniacal grin. He's an asshole who says "screw IL taxes!" and high-tails it off to Floriduh because he got rich and wants to get richer, not pay for the services his state and community provide. But damn! Once in a while that crappy sandwich does taste good.
Funny that a guy like Hegseth has a mom comparable to Marie Barone, and is FINE with mommy cleaning up his messes. My 27 year old son would be mortified.
Typically I LOVE the humorous digs you put into the weekly Dingus reports. But I have to admit that it was almost impossible to expect that with Hegseth,, and I salute you for providing a highly appropriate almost totally serious report this week. The man is SO vile it is astounding and hopefully he will soon crawl back into the hole he escaped from to get this obviously unwarranted nomination.
Then again, considering the source of the nomination, a convicted criminal con man grifter, we probably shouldn't be
too surprised.
Felony likes company.
It is a really sad situation when we breathe a sigh of relief to hear that his replacement might be Ron DeSantis.
I, too suffered a tragic break up this year- the guy I came to your Mpls reading with, actually. My top song was “I Still Do” by Maggie Rogers for the very same reason this is yours. I hadn’t heard this one though, it cuts deep. Thank you for… well… everything, Lyz. ❤️🩹
I saw a meme on social media that said "I'll Quit Drinking If You Let Me Run the Pentagon Is The Most Alcoholic Thing Anyone Has Ever Said." I can verify.
Speaking of health insurance, this story is 20 years old now, and it just goes to show that the health "care" system has been circling the drain for decades now.
My twins were born early and spent a few weeks in the NICU. When all was said and done, I got all the EOBs from the insurance company and then a bill for $40,000. I had "top-of-the-line coverage" that paid for the huge NICU bill. Except for this $40k bill, which, it turns out was for a specialist who saw my twins while they were in the NICU. I went round and round with the insurance company for months, filing an appeal and jumping through all the hoops they set up for me.
At some point, I called my ob/gyn in tears. He made a phone call and POOF! the $40k bill disappeared.
More recently, I took one of those twins to the ER, and it turns out he had a severe ear infection. He spent maybe 10 minutes with a nurse, who planned to run all kinds of tests but ultimately did not after I asked him to examine my kid's ears. Different insurance, shittier coverage -- before I even got a bill, I got a whole packet of information about payment plans. And then I got a bill for $2k. For one dose of antibiotics, vitals, and 10 minutes of their time.
I heard Wendell Potter mention the use of AI in denying claims to health insurance companies in an interview with Jim Acosta. My response was to scream, "WTF!" We are doomed.
When I google a question or request information, the first answer is always AI-generated and is frequently wrong. For example, I once requested a sample writeup about a particular movie to test AI, and it included an actor in the writeup that was not in the movie and had no connection to the movie. (BTW, I have never used AI to write a review or a blog post.)
"Which is an interesting position given that he has his mom out there fighting a proxy war on his behalf." Love your clever writing Lyz! I almost lost my drink laughing.
BTW my top song was Ode to Sleep by 21 pilots...I wonder if that was a subliminal message for me🤔.
The plan seems to be to turn the whole government into 'a PR shop for whiny white guys with fascist haircuts'. Considering everything else they could do with their reign of terror if they were so inclined, that would probably be our best possible (i.e. least bad) outcome.
Vigilante justice happens when the normal kind is impossible to get. Batman exists not because he's Batman but because it's Gotham.
The response to the shooting from the nursing subreddit was absolutely amazing. A theoretical denial-of-claim written by one of them:
"3. Alternative Options Not Explored:
Based on our retrospective analysis, alternative, more cost-effective treatment options—such as a virtual telehealth consult or at-home first aid—were not attempted prior to your emergency room visit. We understand that you were actively “bleeding out,” but this does not exempt you from exploring lower-cost care pathways."
https://www.reddit.com/r/nursing/comments/1h6i1nl/united_healthcare_ceo_killed_in_targeted_shooting/
I don't even really like country music (I do, but it takes too long to explain), but I played that song on repeat for a while a few years ago. That and the Chicks' Gaslighter.
There are few problems that cannot be solved by the prompt application of a good sandwich. Unless your problem is that your son is a fucking monster. There's no sandwich good enough for that, sadly.
Unless you eat his favorite sandwiches in front of him without giving him any.
Just spitballing.
I read Hegseth's mum's email. It was a comprehensive takedown of him as a human.
There's no way she's changed her mind, or is doing this voluntarily. She sounds exactly like a woman who has been given an ultimatum: "say I'm a changed man, or I will get full custody of my eldest child, and you and my second wife will never see that child again. And I may just get the two of you committed, because only a crazy woman would say things like that about me".
He's going to have friends in very high places - you don't think that he could do that if he wanted to? Also, he already went with the 'unstable woman' defence in the initial custody battle; no reason to think he wouldn't try it again.
She's afraid.
I think the fantasy of his mother (a grown woman) doing this under duress is a nice one, but ultimately a fiction. There is no shortage of mother's supporting their sexually assaulting sons.
Yes, see Melania Trump. Still looking for excuses for these women, time to stop.
I agree - I've been sickened by many women supporting their disgusting sons; however, there's no evidence Melania ever was a good person, whereas Hegseth's mum wrote a comprehensively damning summary of him as a person. There is no comparison.
We also know from her email that he was perfectly happy to threaten his ex wife in court by lying about her mental health. He has form.
I'm also going on personal experience. I stayed in a relationship with my ex until my daughter was of age because the thought of him either getting shared custody - or full custody, which he could have done - terrified me. He blackmailed me into not leaving, because if I had he would have taken his revenge. While I stayed, he had excellent reasons not to hurt her.
We do what we have to do, and if you think that I'm making it up, the nurses who had to look after him while he died of cancer would like a word.
I’ve been thinking about your comment, good human, I believe you may well be right. I’ve not been feeling very generous lately, need to work on that
It breaks my heart in an angry way that a woman (Pete's mom) is doing all the heavy lifting for the patriarchy. Again and again, women step in to destroy themselves in the service of a sloppy, mediocre man who doesn't deserve the support. Pete's mom could use her one precious life to make things better. Instead? This.
The weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas ARE brutal. Can’t believe my boss expects me to work? Isn’t it good enough that I worked the other 11 months of the year?
I know! Right?
The Jimmy John's founder is an asshole who forced his min wage workers to sign non-compete clauses because ? slapping processed meat on crappy bread is proprietary? He's an asshole who goes to Africa trophy hunting, posing with the dead animals with a maniacal grin. He's an asshole who says "screw IL taxes!" and high-tails it off to Floriduh because he got rich and wants to get richer, not pay for the services his state and community provide. But damn! Once in a while that crappy sandwich does taste good.
But good enough?
Funny that a guy like Hegseth has a mom comparable to Marie Barone, and is FINE with mommy cleaning up his messes. My 27 year old son would be mortified.
Typically I LOVE the humorous digs you put into the weekly Dingus reports. But I have to admit that it was almost impossible to expect that with Hegseth,, and I salute you for providing a highly appropriate almost totally serious report this week. The man is SO vile it is astounding and hopefully he will soon crawl back into the hole he escaped from to get this obviously unwarranted nomination.
Then again, considering the source of the nomination, a convicted criminal con man grifter, we probably shouldn't be
too surprised.
Felony likes company.
It is a really sad situation when we breathe a sigh of relief to hear that his replacement might be Ron DeSantis.
I, too suffered a tragic break up this year- the guy I came to your Mpls reading with, actually. My top song was “I Still Do” by Maggie Rogers for the very same reason this is yours. I hadn’t heard this one though, it cuts deep. Thank you for… well… everything, Lyz. ❤️🩹
I saw a meme on social media that said "I'll Quit Drinking If You Let Me Run the Pentagon Is The Most Alcoholic Thing Anyone Has Ever Said." I can verify.
Speaking of health insurance, this story is 20 years old now, and it just goes to show that the health "care" system has been circling the drain for decades now.
My twins were born early and spent a few weeks in the NICU. When all was said and done, I got all the EOBs from the insurance company and then a bill for $40,000. I had "top-of-the-line coverage" that paid for the huge NICU bill. Except for this $40k bill, which, it turns out was for a specialist who saw my twins while they were in the NICU. I went round and round with the insurance company for months, filing an appeal and jumping through all the hoops they set up for me.
At some point, I called my ob/gyn in tears. He made a phone call and POOF! the $40k bill disappeared.
More recently, I took one of those twins to the ER, and it turns out he had a severe ear infection. He spent maybe 10 minutes with a nurse, who planned to run all kinds of tests but ultimately did not after I asked him to examine my kid's ears. Different insurance, shittier coverage -- before I even got a bill, I got a whole packet of information about payment plans. And then I got a bill for $2k. For one dose of antibiotics, vitals, and 10 minutes of their time.
Wow! Great Song!
I heard Wendell Potter mention the use of AI in denying claims to health insurance companies in an interview with Jim Acosta. My response was to scream, "WTF!" We are doomed.
When I google a question or request information, the first answer is always AI-generated and is frequently wrong. For example, I once requested a sample writeup about a particular movie to test AI, and it included an actor in the writeup that was not in the movie and had no connection to the movie. (BTW, I have never used AI to write a review or a blog post.)
"Which is an interesting position given that he has his mom out there fighting a proxy war on his behalf." Love your clever writing Lyz! I almost lost my drink laughing.
BTW my top song was Ode to Sleep by 21 pilots...I wonder if that was a subliminal message for me🤔.
Chelsea Manning: "we didn't start this fight, but we're here together now."
Amen, Sister! You're a hero, Chelsea!