gwangung - December 30, 2009 | 7:38 pm · Link

Mom and niece are alums. I know who I’m rooting for.

beltane - December 30, 2009 | 7:43 pm · Link

I never want to see President McCain happy. He forfeited all rights to happiness after foisting Sarah Palin on an unsuspecting public.

Joy - December 30, 2009 | 7:47 pm · Link

McCain’s from Phoenix. The UA is in Tucson—the democratic stronghold (at least from the Arizona perspective). I doubt he’s a Wildcat fan, unless of course they win. On the House side, the UA is in Grijalva’s district—I think he’s an alum too.

jeffreyw - December 30, 2009 | 7:47 pm · Link

Found another use for those ancho chilis.

Looks like this in the pot.

jeffreyw - December 30, 2009 | 7:49 pm · Link

Dammit, my comment disappeared.

jeffreyw - December 30, 2009 | 7:50 pm · Link

@arguingwithsignposts: Smudgie!

MattR - December 30, 2009 | 7:56 pm · Link

So, my fantasy baseball league is looking for a new treasurer. Do you think “I can has ur $$?” is a good campaign slogan?

smiley - December 30, 2009 | 8:04 pm · Link

My dilemma is whether or not I should go down the road to get a Whopper Jr w/cheese for a buck fifty after I just ate a bunch of General Tso’s chicken. I’m still hungry and I love me some cheeseburgers. Any advise is appreciated.

Julia Grey - December 30, 2009 | 8:05 pm · Link

>Any advise is appreciated.

Put the food down and back away slowly.

MattR - December 30, 2009 | 8:06 pm · Link

@smiley: If you go out, pick me up a couple please.

MattR - December 30, 2009 | 8:08 pm · Link

@arguingwithsignposts: Don’t count those chickens. Looks like they are going for 2.

EDIT: And they get it to take a 1 point lead with 4 seconds to go. Ballsy, ballsy decision.

Martin - December 30, 2009 | 8:09 pm · Link

I’m having difficulty resisting this.

smiley - December 30, 2009 | 8:09 pm · Link

@Julia Grey: OK. Thanks. Good advise. I’ll go with homemade beefy nachos instead.

demkat620 - December 30, 2009 | 8:11 pm · Link

Jeebus on a pogo stick that is an ugly field.

I hate Nebraska so I’ll take the ‘cats.

MattR - December 30, 2009 | 8:14 pm · Link

Gotta love the Idaho coach. Anyone catch his interview before the second half started? He promised the second half would be some exciting football, and boy was he right.

kommrade reproductive vigor - December 30, 2009 | 8:15 pm · Link

@Martin: Ah yes. 100+ years of exotic naughty bits.

Martin - December 30, 2009 | 8:17 pm · Link

@General Winfield Stuck:

I hadn’t read far enough that the DVDs have the same content. I’ll poke at that a bit – I’ve got an extra 120GB portable drive if you can just copy it all off.

Litlebritdifrnt - December 30, 2009 | 8:23 pm · Link

@arguingwithsignposts:

Looks like Smudge just got fixed, there is no ripping out of stitches issues? You should be grateful, within 1 hour of Ms. Peaches being fixed she had ripped out all of her stiches and her guts were hanging out. The Vet had to staple her into submission and wrap her up like a Mummy.

AhabTRuler - December 30, 2009 | 8:30 pm · Link

@Litlebritdifrnt: They glued Momo, which is good because she was up and about from the minute I picked her up. When she got home she kept stumbling around trashed, trying and failing to eat, and in general acting like a frat-boy on Saturday. She just wouldn’t sleep it off.

asiangrrlMN - December 30, 2009 | 8:31 pm · Link

@arguingwithsignposts: Aw, there’s the adorable little Smudge! I’ve missed her.

@General Winfield Stuck: Man, he just gets cuter and cuter every day. Such a happy-looking little guy.

@jeffreyw: Damn you for making me want to eat when I’ve just eaten! I’m so suggestible.

arguingwithsignposts - December 30, 2009 | 8:32 pm · Link

@Litlebritdifrnt:
No problems. She gets them out Saturday.

ETA: If I could just get her to quit jumping on my head when I’m sleeping.

BTW, for those who watch ESPN 360, be sure and listen to the end, because you can sometimes catch the announcers with their mics still on say something stupid. The last announcer said something about the “Humanitation Bowl” and asked to have a do-over.

Wilson Heath - December 30, 2009 | 8:37 pm · Link

I’m told the “N” on the helmets stands for knowledge.

Elisabeth - December 30, 2009 | 8:40 pm · Link

Via [ http://www.themudflats.net/ mudflats]:

Sarah Palin – She’s a rogue, wrapped in a renegade wrapped in a whack job.

mcd410x - December 30, 2009 | 8:42 pm · Link

Making wheat and lentil soup to have on New Year’s … no idea whether it’ll be edible or not. Only one way to find out!

Chat Noir - December 30, 2009 | 8:45 pm · Link

@General Winfield Stuck:

Daily Charlie—post bath

Those eyes are beautiful. I think Charlie and Smudge are honorary Balloon Juice mascots (after Tunch and Lily, natch).

Chat Noir - December 30, 2009 | 8:46 pm · Link

@arguingwithsignposts: Love teh Smudgeness.

SiubhanDuinne - December 30, 2009 | 8:55 pm · Link

Since this is an open thread, I’d be grateful for some advice (the compleat NG upthread reminded me):

I have pretty much decided to invest in a really good globe sometime in the next few months. I know I want a floor stand type (I do have a small desk model) and yes, size does count. I want minimum 18” diameter, and beyond that as large as I can afford.

Does any of you own a good globe? Any suggestions for the best brands to look for (the most familiar to me is Replogle, but I don’t know whether they’re the best). I would need to check this but I think someone makes an illuminated globe that you can toggle between physical features and political boundaries. Beyond accuracy and the physical/political thing, I want something where the stand is a decent-looking piece of furniture.

It would be inaccurate to say that money is no object, but I haven’t priced globes recently and right now I’m not thinking about cost. When I narrow the options (assuming there’s a bit of a choice) I’ll see what I can afford. But that’s not where I want to start.

Yes, I’ll do all the online research and due diligence before long, but I trust you guys just as much if not more (plus, you’re funnier). Anyone have advice? Thanks in advance.

Litlebritdifrnt - December 30, 2009 | 8:57 pm · Link

@arguingwithsignposts:

The jumping on the head while sleeping thing, aint going to happen, cats are like that, my long lived baby Lari, insists on sleeping on my head, every night. Despite the fact that she has a million other places to sleep every night, on my head it is, whatever,=.

General Winfield Stuck - December 30, 2009 | 8:59 pm · Link

@SiubhanDuinne:

I hear Sarah Palin has one for sale. But it’s flat as a flitter.

asiangrrlMN - December 30, 2009 | 9:03 pm · Link

OK, ya’ll. I got my bro’s permission to post links to his photo albums from the trip (he’s the family photog).

Day One, including Ju Ming Museum, a columbarium, and the ocean shore.

Day Two, including the National Palace Museum, Taipei 101, and, most importantly, the night market.

Take a look and be jealous, bitchez. Day Three will be posted sometime in the next fourteen hours or so.

kommrade reproductive vigor - December 30, 2009 | 9:05 pm · Link

@WereBear: Your cast of characters … um … ‘scuse me, something in my eye.

Harumph! Yes. Very touching.

Does Mr. Bond have fur between his pads? Like, so much he tends to skid or even wipe out when going full tilt on uncarpeted floors?

jurassicpork - December 30, 2009 | 9:05 pm · Link

Who’s to blame for Flight 253? Everyone but the President, as far as I’m concerned. He lost style points, is all.

So why’s the GOP trying to make hay out of this, why are the Dems letting them and where does the GOP get the nerve to point to Obama’s so-called inefficiency?

And, uh, since we’re talking about appropriate responses, how come more hay isn’t being made about Dick Cheney secretly releasing from Gitmo those two masterminds of the Flight 253 attack? At least, that’s what Rep. Massa of New York is saying.

WereBear - December 30, 2009 | 9:05 pm · Link

@asiangrrlMN and Chat Noir too!: Thank you… yes, she is :)

When people ask how she is doing, I say, “Ten months old, and has my guy almost completely trained.”

I didn’t pick her for looks; here’s her origin story. I picked her because she made eye contact right away, and when they took her out of the cage, saying, “She’s not that affectionate…” she proceeded to wrap herself around my neck and purr up a storm.

Just waiting for the right people to spoil her, I guess. Which is what she got.

Love that Smudgie! Gosh, they grow up so fast.

And while we are talking about love, thanks for that chat about Honeycrisp apples. Finally found some… and they are everything ya’ll said they would be.

General Winfield Stuck - December 30, 2009 | 9:08 pm · Link

@SiubhanDuinne:

Why I do believe you are correct:)

jeffreyw - December 30, 2009 | 9:13 pm · Link

@Corner Stone: Ah, yes, I used a different recipe, but it was very close to that. Different peppers, the anchos worked well for me.

Thanks, Martha!

freelancer - December 30, 2009 | 9:16 pm · Link

When the fuck did we get an offense?!

Brian J - December 30, 2009 | 9:18 pm · Link

Via Felix Salmon, a pretty cool business/financial aggregator that brought me to this guy’s site. I don’t really know who he is, even as his site describes his career, but I did read through parts of this post, where he starts to describe how he thinks we’re headed for some sort of political and economic meltdown. It’s a wee bit over the top, to say the least, even if he does touch on some points some might agree with. It’s really more of an articulate “You kids get off my lawn!”

Here are some key parts:

But backing up a moment, I’m writing between Christmas and New Year’s Eve. The frenzied distractions of the holidays ongoing for much of Q4-2009 are still in force. In a week or so, when the Christmas trees are hauled out to the curbs (and it turns out that municipal garbage pickup has been curtailed for lack of funds) a picture will start to emerge of exactly how retail sales went leading up to the big climax. My guess is that sales were dismal. Reports of such will start a train of events that sends many retail companies careening into bankruptcy, including some national chains, leading to lost leases in malls and strip malls, leading to a final push off the cliff for commercial real estate, leading to the failure of many local and regional banks, leading to the bankrupt FDIC having to go to congress directly to get more money to bail out the depositors, leading again to rising interest rates for US treasuries, leading to higher mortgage interest rates for whoever out there is crazy enough to venture to buy a house with borrowed money, leading to the probability that there are few of the foregoing, leading to another hard leg down in house values because so few are now crazy enough to buy a house in the face of falling prices – all of this leading to the recognition that we have entered a serious depression, which is only a facet of the greater period of hardship we have also entered, which I call The Long Emergency.

This depression will be a classic deleveraging, or resolution of debt. Debt will either be paid back or defaulted on. Since a lot can’t be paid back, a lot of it will have to be defaulted on, which will make a lot of money disappear, which will make many people a lot poorer. President Obama will be faced with a basic choice. He can either make the situation worse by offering more bailouts and similar moves aimed at stopping the deleveraging process – that is, continue what he has been doing, only perhaps twice as much, which may crash the system more rapidly – or he can recognize the larger trends in The Long Emergency and begin marshalling our remaining collective resources to restructure the economy along less complex and more local lines. Don’t count on that.

One wild card is how angry the American people might get. Unlike the 1930s, we are no longer a nation who call each other “Mister” and “Ma’am,” where even the down-and-out wear neckties and speak a discernible variant of regular English, where hoboes say “thank you,” and where, in short, there is something like a common culture of shared values. We’re a nation of thugs and louts with flames tattooed on our necks, who call each other “motherfucker” and are skilled only in playing video games based on mass murder. The masses of Roosevelt’s time were coming off decades of programmed, regimented work, where people showed up in well-run factories and schools and pretty much behaved themselves. In my view, that’s one of the reasons that the US didn’t explode in political violence during the Great Depression of the 1930s – the discipline and fortitude of the citizenry. The sheer weight of demoralization now is so titanic that it is very hard to imagine the people of the USA pulling together for anything beyond the most superficial ceremonies – placing teddy bears on a crash site. And forget about discipline and fortitude in a nation of ADD victims and self-esteem seekers.

http://kunstler.com/blog/2009/......html#more

dailycurator.com

martha - December 30, 2009 | 9:22 pm · Link

@jeffreyw: You rang? Glad you liked the pozole! It’s been one of our favs for years… Give my congrats to the Mrs. on her retirement. I’m so jealous I could cry.

arguingwithsignposts - December 30, 2009 | 9:26 pm · Link

Cute pets all!

WereBear - December 30, 2009 | 9:26 pm · Link

@SiubhanDuinne: I understand the impulse, but personally I would only get an electronic globe, which would not only be cool looking, but able to be upgraded.

I took geography in 7th grade, and half of what I learned is now totally useless, especially in Africa and central Europe.

Imagine, you get this lovely globe… and some dustup results in a new country… and bang! Just like that.

Your globe is wrong.

That would bug the heck out of me.

arguingwithsignposts - December 30, 2009 | 9:27 pm · Link

@Brian J:
See, this is why we can’t have good things, happy boy.

freelancer - December 30, 2009 | 9:30 pm · Link

I wonder which band that was playing “Hail Varsity”, I know NU’s couldn’t make it because we got a huge blizzard.

jwb - December 30, 2009 | 9:32 pm · Link

@General Winfield Stuck: I was at Rupp last week when the Cats won #2000. Wasn’t much of a game, but the celebration afterward was something.

beltane - December 30, 2009 | 9:34 pm · Link

@Brian J: The analysis of American society in the 1930’s seems way off the mark from everything I’ve ever heard or read outside of idealized Hollywood films. The union busting of that era and of the one that immediately preceded it was brutal to the extreme and often resulted in large numbers of deaths and injuries. Rural poverty was on a scale almost unimaginable today, and the major cities were more densely populated than today, with large, unassimilated immigrant populations that did not speak any recognizable form of English. Scores were often settled with fists. Furthermore, in the absence of TVs and other personal entertainment devices, people tended to be more connected to their communities, which made organizing a mob much easier than it is today. (Even if people wanted to riot today, land use patterns have made it an inconvenient option).

Americans might have tough looking tattoos nowadays, and maybe we don’t dress up to go to baseball games, but we’ve become a tame, placid, overweight society of couch potatoes.

RedKitten - December 30, 2009 | 9:38 pm · Link

Lovely to see an open thread—I’m totally HCR-ed out. (Probably because it’s just so damned frustrating watching your country make things as complicated as is humanly possible.)

Just an FYI: new Sam pics at my URL, and a Sam video here.

arguingwithsignposts - December 30, 2009 | 9:39 pm · Link

The worst part of Nebraska winning so handily in the first half is listening to the announcers fellate the cornhuskers.

freelancer - December 30, 2009 | 9:42 pm · Link

The worst best part of Nebraska winning so handily in the first half is listening to the announcers fellate the cornhuskers.

Fixed. ABC/ESPN and their analysts usually love to hate on Nebraska since Osborne left, so this is sweet sweet music.

madmommy - December 30, 2009 | 9:43 pm · Link

@RedKitten:

As cute as he is in pictures, the cuteness increases exponentially in video form! All of those sensory stimulators right in front of him, and he’d still rather chew on his chubby little fists. Those excer-saucers are awesome, next up is a jumper that hangs from the door jamb. An excited little one can really get some big air with those things!

John O - December 30, 2009 | 9:44 pm · Link

@WereBear:

Used to be a geography buff. Then, because of exactly what you describe, I quit.

So the electronic updatable globe idea is a beauty to me.

The Grand Panjandrum - December 30, 2009 | 9:45 pm · Link

@freelancer: How ‘bout them Huskers? Your question was appropriate. Where did this offense come from? Looks Pelini finally got his offense playing ball.

Corner Stone - December 30, 2009 | 9:49 pm · Link

@SGEW: Nah, I’m with you. I guess it’s just that a globe seems so 3rd grade to me.
We have a couple big poster sized (3 feet plus wide) Atlaii in the house we reference all the time.
The only globe I’ve seen recently was a blow up plastic one about basketball size.

jeffreyw - December 30, 2009 | 9:52 pm · Link

@martha: The pozole was just excellent, great flavor, it’ll be on my must do again and again list. Mrs J sez, poor Martha, tell her to hang in there.

Malron - December 30, 2009 | 9:55 pm · Link

Man, this is total bullshit on ESPN right now. Earlier today, Texas Tech fired football coach Mike Leach because of an incident with one of his players. I’m watching the halftime show of the Holiday Bowl between Arizona and Nebraska. Mark May and Lou Holtz are trashing Leach while the third anchor in the studio read some comments from a player ripping on Leach. The player is son of former SMU player Craig James. James is the one who alerted the TT chancellor that Leach was mistreating his son.

The problem? Craig James works for ESPN and is in the midst of calling the Holiday Bowl between Arizona and Nebraska.

Its gotta be the worst conflict of interest from ESPN since the hosts of NFL Live tried to gloss over Rush Limbaugh’s comments about Donovan McNabb.

SGEW - December 30, 2009 | 9:59 pm · Link

For full-on personal perspective, I actually prefer this sort of thing.

But a globe would be a nice middle ground.

Keith - December 30, 2009 | 10:02 pm · Link

Conservative radio talk host Rush Limbaugh was rushed to a Honolulu hospital

Irony

WereBear - December 30, 2009 | 10:02 pm · Link

@RedKitten: OMGosh. You shoulda warned me about the Santa Hat ones. Squeeeeee!

arguingwithsignposts - December 30, 2009 | 10:07 pm · Link

@Keith:
hahahahahaha

Why does Rush hate America. Think of the optics!

If Rushbo were to pass (not that I’m seriously wishing it … er), who would be next in line of succession for leadership of the GOP?

ajr22 - December 30, 2009 | 10:09 pm · Link

I heard the school had problems with Leach regarding his contract negotiation, but the second I saw that story I knew he was history. The other day during an NFL game they ran a commercial about kids having concussions reporting them and not being afraid to speak out. It is clear the NFL is under tons of scrutiny, because there is no way that commercial runs even 3 years ago. So when I read Leach locked a player in the closet cause he had a concussion it was pretty clear he was gone.

arguingwithsignposts - December 30, 2009 | 10:10 pm · Link

@Malron:
Thankfully, on ESPN360, they showed a touching story about a small boy who lost his eyesight and got to hang out with the USC Trojans, whom he adores. Nice story, even though I despise the Trojans.

r€nato - December 30, 2009 | 10:17 pm · Link

I knew I should have picked Rush for my 2010 celebrity death pool.

keestadoll - December 30, 2009 | 10:19 pm · Link

@gnomedad: Can you imagine the conspiracy firestorm that will develop if…oh dear God.

Keith - December 30, 2009 | 10:21 pm · Link

@r€nato:
I had him on my 2009 list after his bloated CPAC appearance (he slimmed down fast though). Plus he loves his nicotine and red meat.

kth - December 30, 2009 | 10:26 pm · Link

So when I read Leach locked a player in the closet cause he had a concussion it was pretty clear he was gone.

It wasn’t a closet, and that was an egregious bit of exaggeration from the Craig James camp. More like a garage if your garage is air-conditioned. Call it a shop. Craig James’ son wanted to skip practice entirely because he had a concussion. Usual protocol is that you are still required to attend, but watch from the sidelines. James kid says daylight too bright, aggravates concussion. Insists on sunglasses, which pisses off Leach (definitely a borderline-Asperger’s affectless kind of guy), who says, in that case, go to the shop (my word, not Leach’s), but you have to stand up the whole time, just like if you were on the sideline. No one was even with James to hold him to the requirement to remain standing.

No doubt total dickishness from Leach, but no question of any real health hazard. This has nothing to do with concussions and everything to do with the friction between the Texas Tech A.D. and Leach, and a kid with a big shot dad. And as 104 points out, Craig James’ status as a college football analyst is simply untenable given how he leveraged that status to facilitate Leach’s firing.

The Republic of Stupidity - December 30, 2009 | 10:28 pm · Link

@keestadoll:

Can you imagine the conspiracy firestorm that will develop if…oh dear God.

Aw geez… you don’t know the half of it… from KITV.com, in Honolulu:

Coincidentally, his (Limbaugh’s) visit comes at a time when two of the nation’s most powerful Democrats, President Barack Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, are also staying in Hawaii.

It’s a perfect shit storm forming up…

I can see Glenn Beck blubbering hysterically about “Which of them held Rush down and which one plunged the knife into his heaving chest, over and over and over??”

***visual of Beck making frantic stabbing motions in the air, kinda like Anthony Perkins, from Psycho***

ajr22 - December 30, 2009 | 10:34 pm · Link

Me and my brother have been tossing around a theory. Is Rush heavy into coke/amphetamines? I mean the fat man lost that weight pretty quick and he seemed really fidgety during his leno appearance. Im not saying its true, but im just asking questions.

arguingwithsignposts - December 30, 2009 | 10:36 pm · Link

Wow, the Idaho-Boise State game was waaaayy better than this blowout.

@kth:
Leach had also apparently ticked off the chancellor and president as well. He didn’t have a lot of friends up the chain.

JGabriel - December 30, 2009 | 10:37 pm · Link

arguingwithsignposts:

If Rushbo were to pass … who would be next in line of succession for leadership of the GOP?

Glenn Beck. As if you had to ask.

.

freelancer - December 30, 2009 | 10:39 pm · Link

@arguingwithsignposts:

Yeah, I’m smiling. But they should punt it just to give Suh and the Blackshirts more facetime.

You Don't Say - December 30, 2009 | 10:41 pm · Link

I wonder if Obama will visit Rush in the hospital.

Martin - December 30, 2009 | 10:43 pm · Link

Hmm, so Obama decided to have Rush killed while on vacation?

Never let a good opportunity go to waste. Credit to Obama for being pragmatic.

ajr22 - December 30, 2009 | 10:46 pm · Link

@kth: True the story was more complicated, but I was just saying how damning that initial report was. As I said earlier he was already having problems with his higher ups, and that first story was so bad that no matter what the truth was Leach was screwed.

Bruce (formerly Steve S.) - December 30, 2009 | 10:50 pm · Link

Conservative radio talk host Rush Limbaugh was rushed to a Honolulu hospital

Drama Queen Limbaugh obviously doesn’t think we’re at war.

BTW heart attack is a potential side effect of Viagra.

JGabriel - December 30, 2009 | 10:52 pm · Link

The Republic of Stupidity:

Don’t be so set on that. It’d be just like Rush to make sure he dies in 2009, just to screw people like you over…

Given that the estate tax is repealed for 2010, I’m sure Limbaugh’s heirs are praying he recovers … at least until Friday.

.

KCinDC - December 30, 2009 | 10:55 pm · Link

Speaking of Limbaugh, while he was on vacation, his guest host unleashed the crazies on a small business near Richmond, Virginia, which he accused of taking stimulus money. Apparently that was erroneous, but it’s not clear to me what the scandal would be if it had. Somehow people who work at places that offer massage don’t count as part of the economy.

Anyway, the punchline is that the owner of the spa whose phone lines were deluged by ranting dittoheads is himself a teabagger.

Stroszek - December 30, 2009 | 10:57 pm · Link

After days like today, it’s important to remind oneself to remember that the New York Times is and will continue to be a neoconservative rag.

KCinDC - December 30, 2009 | 10:59 pm · Link

Maybe Rush’s near-death experience will lead to a conversion and he will renounce conservatism and dedicate himself to making the world a better place.

JGabriel - December 30, 2009 | 11:04 pm · Link

Stroszek:

After days like today, it’s important to remind oneself to remember that the New York Times is and will continue to be a neoconservative rag.

... that employs Paul Krugman. They’ll always get bonus points for that.

.

Tomlinson - December 30, 2009 | 11:06 pm · Link

@Steeplejack:

That book looks great. Worth it just for the Geoff Hunt artwork.

freelancer - December 30, 2009 | 11:07 pm · Link

@KCinDC:

Maybe Rush’s near-death experience will lead to a conversion and he will renounce conservatism and dedicate himself to making the world a better place…

by getting a tracheotomy.

There, fixed that for you.

KCinDC - December 30, 2009 | 11:08 pm · Link

@JGabriel, hey, I don’t think it’ll happen, but liberals are supposed to believe in redemption.

arguingwithsignposts - December 30, 2009 | 11:10 pm · Link

@SIA aka ScreaminginAtlanta: Which is funny, because IIRC, Rush barely mentions Christianity, and I doubt he’s ever been to church in his life.

Comrade Mary - December 30, 2009 | 11:11 pm · Link

Shit. Very bad day in Afghanistan. Four Canadian soldiers and a journalist were killed by a roadside bomb and eight Americans were killed in a suicide attack.

The reporter’s blog, last updated yesterday, is here. That was her report of her second last day on this earth. I wonder what stories everyone else there, Afghan and foreign, civilian and military, could share if we could have had the same access to their lives.

Belafon (formerly anonevent) - December 30, 2009 | 11:13 pm · Link

@SGEW: To be picky, you pronounce the “h” in historical, so it’s “a historical” not “an historical.” Just like you say “a unicorn” not “an unicorn.”

Steeplejack - December 30, 2009 | 11:13 pm · Link

@Tomlinson:

That’s where I am now. Haven’t read them in about five years, except for snatches here and there when I run across one of the books, but I have been feeling the urge to go back through the whole series.

Also feeling the need to (re)acquire the series, because I gave away a lot of copies in evangelist mode.

SIA aka ScreaminginAtlanta - December 30, 2009 | 11:14 pm · Link

@arguingwithsignposts: True. Just spewing vile venom five days a week. I noticed how many of the commenters said “we need you Rush”. Yes. Yes, Rush Limbaugh has done nothing but good for the country. God help us if something should happen to him.

DougJ’s quote keeps coming to mind on an hourly basis lately: “We’ve had a good run.”

SIA aka ScreaminginAtlanta - December 30, 2009 | 11:17 pm · Link

@Martin:

His world is not like your world.

Thank the FSM.

The Republic of Stupidity - December 30, 2009 | 11:19 pm · Link

@Martin:

He’s got a $400M contract. Clear Channel will pay any amount out of pocket to get him back on the air. Rush doesn’t need insurance.

Clear Channel is in financial trouble, in part due… to… this contract. If Rush dies, Clear Channel is off the hook for that $400MM…

The Republic of Stupidity - December 30, 2009 | 11:21 pm · Link

And every tongue that rises up against him shall be condemned.

Aw geez… I shoulda read those comments before gittin’ so snarky. I guess I’m just flat out screwed…

JGabriel - December 30, 2009 | 11:24 pm · Link

The Republic of Stupidity:

If Rush dies, Clear Channel is off the hook for that $400MM…

Just what I was thinking. Maybe Clear Channel is in on the conspiracy …

.

The Republic of Stupidity - December 30, 2009 | 11:25 pm · Link

but the real truth is that if Limbaugh kicks the bucket, it’s gonna feel like an extra day of Christmas.

Rushmas???

Hey… Cole!

Are you ready for the blow back yer gonna git from the righties if Rush does die? We’re being… how shall we say… none too delicate here about this…

I can see it now… ‘And in the wake of Limbaugh’s passing, posters at political blog Balloon Juice made the following mean, nasty comments…

jwb - December 30, 2009 | 11:26 pm · Link

@Martin: Didn’t someone say that Pelosi was in Hawaii? If so, you need to weave her into your story.

arguingwithsignposts - December 30, 2009 | 11:30 pm · Link

@The Republic of Stupidity:

I couldn’t resist the GOP.am version. I note they changed the page design.

JGabriel - December 30, 2009 | 11:34 pm · Link

@The Republic of Stupidity:

Hey… Cole! Are you ready for the blow back yer gonna git from the righties if Rush does die? We’re being… how shall we say… none too delicate here about this…

I expect Cole will be here soon, or maybe tomorrow, excoriating those of us who’ve said some pretty insensitive things here about Limbaugh. And you know what? He’ll be right.

But. I really can’t help how I feel about the guy. Limbaugh, whatever his personal convictions, has been a mouthpiece for, and rabble-rouser of, the evil, misogynistic, racist, proto-fascist right for over two-decades now, and the bastard has it coming.

.

Jamey - December 30, 2009 | 11:37 pm · Link

Guess God’s calling in that talent loan…

I don’t like speaking ill of the dead, so instead I’ll wish every possible harm to that whoreson Rush while satan’s phlegm still courses through his veins.

General Winfield Stuck - December 30, 2009 | 11:38 pm · Link

Can’t be his heart. Don’t got one.

Corner Stone - December 30, 2009 | 11:39 pm · Link

@JGabriel:

I expect Cole will be here soon, or maybe tomorrow, excoriating those of us who’ve said some pretty insensitive things here about Limbaugh. And you know what? He’ll be right.

What we should all be asking ourselves at this moment is – what kind of letter did Rush write his grandkids after Obama’s election?
For that is the true measure of a man.

The Republic of Stupidity - December 30, 2009 | 11:40 pm · Link

@General Winfield Stuck:

Can’t be his heart. Don’t got one.

Not to worry… I hear Cheney is having a spare mechanical one airlifted to Rush as we snark.

The Grand Panjandrum - December 30, 2009 | 11:42 pm · Link

Just saw this come across the wire:

It’s been a heck of a year for mega-pastor/bestselling author/power broker Rick Warren of the enormous Saddleback Church. It started out with Warren’s invocation at the historic inauguration of one President Barack Obama – and it concludes with Warren asking his flock to cough up nearly $1 million in just two days to keep the church out of the red.

I thought Oral Roberts died earlier this year.

The Republic of Stupidity - December 30, 2009 | 11:43 pm · Link

@kommrade reproductive vigor:

Seriously, if snarking on some fat stupid draft dodging former welfare shill drug addict is all it takes to get to Hell, I say we get wasted, strip down and have a massive Crisco party.

Welllll… YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHAAAAAAW!

Booma-chucka booma-chucka booma chucka booma chucka…
Booma-chucka booma-chucka booma chucka booma chucka…
Booma-chucka booma-chucka booma chucka booma chucka…
Booma-chucka booma-chucka booma chucka booma chucka…

JGabriel - December 30, 2009 | 11:44 pm · Link

General Winfield Stuck:

Can’t be his heart. Don’t got one.

But can a hollow void where his soul should be actually cause chest pains?

.

The Republic of Stupidity - December 30, 2009 | 11:45 pm · Link

The Grand Panjandrum

I thought Oral Roberts died earlier this year.

Well… I guess that means someone’s prayers came true…

I know… I know…

I’m SOOOOOOOOOO going to Hell…

The Republic of Stupidity - December 30, 2009 | 11:46 pm · Link

@NickM:

Anyone suspect wetsuits were involved?

Rush in a wetsuit?

Thanks a lot, pal…

Now all I can picture is the Goodyear Blimp…

Mister Papercut - December 30, 2009 | 11:47 pm · Link

@KCinDC:

Anyway, the punchline is that the owner of the spa whose phone lines were deluged by ranting dittoheads is himself a teabagger.

I was going to see if John had seen that story yet and what he thought. Shorter Teabagger businessman: “Gubmint Programs Is Capital-B Bad Until It Personally Benefits Me In Some Way.” The irony is pretty delicious.

But then I leave the Intertubes for a couple of hours to come back and find it in a Rush Limbaugh prayer circle. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, y’all.

Punchy - December 30, 2009 | 11:47 pm · Link

excoriating those of us who’ve said some pretty insensitive things here about Limbaugh. And you know what? He’ll be right.

I wont be the one to apologize to wish this man the equivalent karma for all dirty, racist, hate-filled shit he’s spewed over the years. If that payback tallies out to an early end, I wont be grieving. And Cole can ban me for that statement if he wants.

freelancer (itouch) - December 30, 2009 | 11:47 pm · Link

Gotta say I am unabashedly in love with Maddow after that last segment. I was anyway before, but still.

The Republic of Stupidity - December 30, 2009 | 11:49 pm · Link

... and it concludes with Warren asking his flock to cough up nearly $1 million in just two days to keep the church out of the red expectant mother quiet.

Since I’m going to Hell… what the hay… might as well double down and try running the table.

The Republic of Stupidity - December 30, 2009 | 11:51 pm · Link

cleek

... however, i’d still like him to quit public life – by his own choosing, of course.

Trust me… after the life he’s led, if Rush should die of a heart attack, it will be of his own choosing…

Me, personally… I’d rather see him finally get caught in bed w/ a dead woman or a live boy.

The Republic of Stupidity - December 30, 2009 | 11:53 pm · Link

So we need to get in as many tasteless remarks as we can before tomorrow morning.

Here here!

And I’m definitely doing my part…

The Republic of Stupidity - December 30, 2009 | 11:54 pm · Link

@rob!:

Btw, it’s OBVIOUS that the guy the Obamas hired to put the whammy on Limabugh in Hawaii is the same guy who the Clintons hired to silence Vince Foster. And just who happens to be Obama’s SOS? Hillary CLINTON.
IT ALL FITS!

Connect the dots, people… connect the dots…

Beej - December 30, 2009 | 11:55 pm · Link

@freelancer: Amazing isn’t it? Do you suppose Watson finally got around to talking to the AD?

eemom - December 30, 2009 | 11:58 pm · Link

re Rush: only the good die young.

And…...WTF’s he doing in Hawaii? Doesn’t he know that REAL Americans vacation in Texas? Was he born in Kenya too?

mcd410x - December 30, 2009 | 11:58 pm · Link

Arsenal, Arsenal, Arsenal…

Dr. Psycho - December 31, 2009 | 12:00 am · Link

No, mcd410x, the proper chant is “Arse, Arse, Arsenal!”

kommrade reproductive vigor - December 31, 2009 | 12:02 am · Link

because he is a toxin on our politics, however, i’d still like him to quit public life – by his own choosing, of course ^{because there really was no way even he could spin those glossy 8×10 color photos of his midnight visits to the petting zoo}.

Fxd.

But I hope Rush recovers. Also. Because while he was sick God told him to quit radio and run for president.

and it concludes with Warren asking his flock to cough up nearly $1 million in just two days to keep the church out of the red

Ak! Snark … overload … [gurgle]

Tomlinson - December 31, 2009 | 12:06 am · Link

and it concludes with Warren asking his flock to cough up nearly $1 million in just two days to keep the church out of the red

Something REALLY fishy here. Warren says that donations fell off a cliff in the last weekend? I really doubt that. Something very not right.

Elie - December 31, 2009 | 12:10 am · Link

@SIA aka ScreaminginAtlanta:

I agree—those soft brown eyes…Darlin

kommrade reproductive vigor - December 31, 2009 | 12:13 am · Link

@Tomlinson: Oh come on. They looked at their end of year finances and found they’re 900K in the hole. Happens to everyone.

Heh.

And Wonkette has won the internons. Again. Also.

RUSH LIMBAUGH is in “serious condition” at a Hawaii hospital, and we shall save the Death Jokes until he earns them the old-fashioned way.

Elie - December 31, 2009 | 12:16 am · Link

@eemom:

Ha,ha,ha, LOL!

Life is queer aint it? Really. What IS he doing there?

I have been thinking about the plaque he has been laying down in those arteries with all that HATE and for such a long time….I bet the inflammation in them ole arteries of his is bad—real bad given his extreme ranting and probably long history of bad metabolics along with it.

He earned all of this…ALL of it…all by himself and he should reap the rewards of his efforts…

JGabriel - December 31, 2009 | 12:17 am · Link

Wonketter via kommrade reproductive vigor:

... we shall save the Death Jokes until he earns them the old-fashioned way.

Like Jamey, above, I don’t like speaking ill of the dead. So I’m getting my licks in now.

.

CaseyL - December 31, 2009 | 12:19 am · Link

@General Winfield Stuck: @soonergrunt:

I hope that he strokes out and spends the next ten years wearing adult diapers (if he doesn’t already) and drooling on the barcolounger.

This.

With just enough awareness to know exactly what is happening to him… and only able to communicate by pointing to letters on a board.

Now that, my friends, would be justice.

JGabriel - December 31, 2009 | 12:22 am · Link

soonergrunt:

Don’t take addictive drugs for which you have no prescription.
Don’t eat the equivalent of the food budget for five third-world-families each year.
Don’t smoke.
Don’t be a hateful shitbag with no redeeming values whatsoever.

Fuck. I’m doomed.

.

Elie - December 31, 2009 | 12:29 am · Link

@Corner Stone:

Corner—that is a profound question and I agree.

We have had our differences but I appreciate this comment

The Republic of Stupidity - December 31, 2009 | 12:36 am · Link

@arguingwithsignposts:

Or this version, for that matter…

On the other hand… if reincarnation is real… who will Rush come back as?

Oooooooooooo… new contest

I say… the late, great, Divine, especially the Divine from Pink Flamingos

Brian J - December 31, 2009 | 12:38 am · Link

@Karen in GA:

I’d say they are pretty happy, because he’s not writing anything far out there. He may be wrong, or he may have opinions that someone disagrees with, but I don’t think anyone but the most insane partisans on the other side would say he’s an embarrassment to the page. I have no data to back this up, but I suspect that they are happy because his column attracts so much attention, much more of it positive than someone like Maureen Dowd.

I’d be more curious to know exactly how other economists view his columns. I’ve always found the complains that he’s somehow disgracing the profession bizarre. Aside from his single payer stance, I can’t think of a single issue where he’s outside the standard left-of-center mindset. (I don’t mean that as a criticism, by the way.) That doesn’t stop some on the right from pissing and moaning because he expresses an opinion that they disagree with, of course.

JGabriel - December 31, 2009 | 12:41 am · Link

The Republic of Stupidity:

if reincarnation is real… who will Rush come back as?

I don’t know about reincarnation, but if there’s a just hell, Limbaugh’s coming back as a Gitmo detainee.

.

arguingwithsignposts - December 31, 2009 | 12:42 am · Link

@YellowJournalism:
j

ust so we don’t have to hear people on news shows trying to say something good about the man just to avoid backlash from the wingnut set.

He was a giant of a man who always had a lot to say.

That’s all I got.

The Republic of Stupidity - December 31, 2009 | 12:45 am · Link

@YellowJournalism:

As long as you didn’t do the former while saying the latter.

Eeeeeeeeeeew… please pass the brain bleach & steel wool…

On the other hand… keep goin’... I’m being pushed farther and farther back in ‘This Way To Hell’ line w/ every comment.

Christmas… by the time you boys are thru, I’ll be up fer Sainthood… heh…

The Republic of Stupidity - December 31, 2009 | 12:47 am · Link

@JGabriel:

I don’t know about reincarnation, but if there’s a just hell, Limbaugh’s coming back as a Gitmo detainee.

Uh… fire hydrant on a planet of dogs?

freelancer (itouch) - December 31, 2009 | 12:49 am · Link

@==-+:

Why isn’t your handle .|.. ..|. ?

==-+ - December 31, 2009 | 12:54 am · Link

As others have said, I would prefer the glee of a PR nightmare rather than death just so we don’t have to hear people on news shows trying to say something good about the man just to avoid backlash from the wingnut set.

I can actually say something positive about Rush and mean it. He is a fantastic, talented, world class broadcaster.

He’s also a self-absorbed, fear mongering, racist, piece of shit, who I wouldn’t piss on if he lit his crotch on fire (as I heard someone did a few days ago on a plane) and he is largely responsible for the state of dysfunction in out national discourse.

My only regret is it’s a heart problem which will take him out quick…I was hoping for something slow and painful, like terminal cancer

SIA aka ScreaminginAtlanta - December 31, 2009 | 12:59 am · Link

@Elie: I loved the pics of him running. He’s very photogenic.

SIA aka ScreaminginAtlanta - December 31, 2009 | 1:00 am · Link

@Bruce (formerly Steve S.): I like it.

SIA aka ScreaminginAtlanta - December 31, 2009 | 1:04 am · Link

@YellowJournalism: You win the prize for the night.

VladCat - December 31, 2009 | 1:07 am · Link

I hope Rush does recover so he can continue his street outreach program with underage Dominican prostitutes.

==-+ - December 31, 2009 | 1:09 am · Link

@The Republic of Stupidity:

When someone Rush’s age, and w/ his medical history and general lack of conditioning, has a heart attack and hours later is still hospitalized… that’s not a good sign.

Which is my point. Rush, Bush, Cheney…the lot of ‘em. I’d like them to feel the fraction of the pain that they’ve caused millions of people around the world with their “ideology”.

And also why, I could never be a doctor, or nurse like my life partner, I think some people…child molesters for example or say Cheney don’t deserve a place on this earth. My partner has to take care of anyone…it’s a moral and legal obligation. Me? I’m a lesser person, I might Oops! Forget to give a med when one is needed.

Elie - December 31, 2009 | 1:12 am · Link

@The Republic of Stupidity:

Totally agree

Of course they could be covering his condition with more protectiveness.

That said, this guy looks like a bad case: obese, probably diabetic or close, high blood pressure probably, high pressure job which makes him be a bad guy. People pooh pooh that, but dentists do horribly with heart disease because they internalize how people “hate to go to the dentist”. Limbaugh knows he is hated and unless he is totally schizophrenic, that has a potent effect over time.

I dont know his family situation, but I wish them peace through this. It is horrible to lose a loved one (if that indeed is what happens)—just horrible. He could be the worst person in the world, but if he is yours, it hurts a lot…

General Winfield Stuck - December 31, 2009 | 1:13 am · Link

UPDATE: KITV now reports that Limbaugh was sitting in a chair in his 9th floor hotel room at Kahala Hotel and Resort when paramedics arrived. Kerr said sources said Limbaugh told emergency crews that he was having chest pains and had been taking medication for back trouble.

You can fill in the blanks

==-+ - December 31, 2009 | 1:17 am · Link

@Yutsano:

Wow…266 comments so far and I got nothin’.

Try this

==-+ - December 31, 2009 | 1:20 am · Link

@Elie:

Death is to good, too good. I want them awake and aware…

Totally agree Elie. Which is why if life was fair Rush would be stricken with Parkinsons.

MoeLarryAndJesus - December 31, 2009 | 1:30 am · Link

Bad news – there are reports that he’s now “resting comfortably.”

I hope he at least has a painful catheter.

Mike Kay - December 31, 2009 | 1:34 am · Link

I can’t believe fatso didn’t rush back to the mainland after the xmas plane incident and instead chose to stay in “foreign”/”exotic” Hawaii.

GregB - December 31, 2009 | 1:38 am · Link

Limbaugh is back on the pain meds.

The GOP is being lead off the cliff by a bloated junkie.

Good enough for them.

I think we should start profiling scrip junkies.

-G

The Republic of Stupidity - December 31, 2009 | 1:41 am · Link

@GregB:

Limbaugh is back on the pain meds.

Pssssshaw… what do you mean by ‘BACK on‘...?

AnotherBruce - December 31, 2009 | 1:46 am · Link

But can a hollow void where his soul should be actually cause chest pains?

There is always the possibility that he is having these pains in his sphincter, and because of where his soul is located, has mistaken them for chest pains.

freelancer (itouch) - December 31, 2009 | 2:01 am · Link

@YellowJournalism:

At least it wasn’t pot, which would further set back the momentum of legalization.

Comrade Kevin - December 31, 2009 | 2:12 am · Link

@Tomlinson:

Something REALLY fishy here. Warren says that donations fell off a cliff in the last weekend? I really doubt that. Something very not right.

I wouldn’t be surprised if something “fell” off a cliff, but it’s probably not donations.

freelancer (itouch) - December 31, 2009 | 2:45 am · Link

@YellowJournalism:

In Hawaii? You’re insane.

The Republic of Stupidity - December 31, 2009 | 2:47 am · Link

Gee, Corey…

***sniff… sniff***

I’m… I’m… soooooooo sorry.

Yer better than all of us.

No, really… you are.

Wannabe Speechwriter - December 31, 2009 | 3:15 am · Link

I’m surprised no one pointed out the obvious regarding Rush:

this is a plot by ACORN, the ACLU, Fannie Mae, the UN, and Obama’s army of time traveling Nazi Muslims to turn America into a commufascist state. Very disappointing people!

bago - December 31, 2009 | 3:30 am · Link

I bet Rick Warren knows a guy with a spare million or two to give to his church on short notice…. Some kind of author or something. It would be a shame to see all of the money that feller made off of his book to prevent him from getting into heavn, as per the Gospel. It’s a win/win!

Anne Laurie - December 31, 2009 | 3:46 am · Link

@==-+:

if reincarnation is real… who will Rush come back as?

Rush Limbaugh. Because he needs to internalize the “Fat, drunk addicted, and stupid is no way to go through life, Son!” message before he can move onto a higher life-form. Possibly a battery chicken, or one of those grossly inbred little dogs that spends its days humping pillows and barking weezily at imaginary intruders.

Little Macayla's Friend - December 31, 2009 | 4:32 am · Link

@SiubhanDuinne: @SGEW:

Do any of you own a good globe?

Because I pictured some sort of spherical monitor when someone else mentioned electronic globe, I eventually found this company:
http://en.souvr.com/product/200809/1450.html
When I went to the ARC Science Simulations homepage, it hung up my browser (IE 8) twice, even after restarting it. Because of my security settings, I think it may involve their active X controls.
I couldn’t find their prices; the larger ones appear to be institutional size and price, but maybe the 32” / 60 lb. version would be no worse than a saltwater fish tank experience.

Platonicspoof - December 31, 2009 | 6:33 am · Link

Commenters feelings about Rush may be colored by a perception that there is a conservative meme about suffering (for Others anyway) and character.
I was reminded of this by a catch (John Holbo) at Sadly No by Brad:

“Contemporary conservatives still value that old American character. William Bennett in his lectures reads admiringly from an account of the Donner party written by a survivor that tells the story in spare, stoic style. He puts the letter down and asks incredulously, “Where did those people go?”

If conservative demagogues believe that desperation (or at least living without gov.t safety nets) that leads to cannibalism (or at least daily fear) makes us better humans, then when one of those demagogues (especially if a hypocritical one) is suffering, those who have suffered the consequences of that conservative meme hope that the demagogue might learn empathy from his experience. They might also feel sorry for him, but they are the ones who were paying the most for his words. Payback’s a bitch all the way around.
A Ted Kennedy is considered to already know that it’s compassion that makes for a higher human character, so his passing is mourned by normal people.
Holbo says much more and much better.

RedKitten - December 31, 2009 | 7:52 am · Link

I don’t want Rush to die – I want him to take a long, hard look at his life, realize what he has wrought, be wracked with remorse, and spend the rest of his life (and money) doing good works. Starting with a public apology to Micheal J. Fox and a HUUUUGE donation towards the Parkinson’s Foundation.

Edit: I know….nah gah happen. But, a girl can dream.

soonergrunt - December 31, 2009 | 8:28 am · Link

@JGabriel:
You seem an OK sort based on the comments you post here. You’re probably safe.

@The Republic of Stupidity:

You… on the other hand… are going Straight To Hell™.
Express Ticket… One Way…

That train already left the station, sir.

BruceK - December 31, 2009 | 11:18 am · Link

Can I vote for the asteroid?

Mike G - December 31, 2009 | 1:27 pm · Link

I made a prediction that every. single. winger commenting on Rush’s illness would make a point to make some comment about “the left” wishing him ill. Of course, they all did.

Their highest achievement in their minds is pissing off “the left” because they have nothing else. They are like a kid in elementary school who gets attention by annoying everyone in the class because they have no other talents.

Unlike Ted Kennedy, Rush has no personal achievements or betterment to the lives of others of which to be proud, just a life spent enriching himself by sowing hate.

mandarama - December 31, 2009 | 5:36 pm · Link

@Steeplejack:

Another book I love is a big photo book by David Miller called The World of Jack Aubrey: Twelve-pounders, Frigates, Cutlasses, and Insignia of His Majesty’s Royal Navy. I got it for Christmas last year, along with Cochrane’s memoirs.

I came to the series via my love for Austen and her contemporaries too. I can’t really pay O’Brian a higher compliment than to say that I often forget I’m not reading late 18th / early 19th century texts.

mandarama - December 31, 2009 | 6:17 pm · Link

@Steeplejack:

Did you know that some crazy ladies decided to cook every single type of food mentioned in the series? They wrote a book about it. They even included “millers” (eeeewwww), and of course, all the different gelatinous puddings. And they tried to use the same kind of (lack of) technology to do the cooking! Link