Archive for May, 2011

Open Thread

Put on clean sheets today, so you know what that means: She loves clean sheets. Not sure what is up with that ear action, though. Meanwhile, resident EVIL is underneath the chair in my office alternating between gnawing on and guarding an everlasting treat ball. Tunch is in his bedroom. That’s right, we no longer [...]

Share

May 31, 2011 · John Cole · 268 Comments
Posted in: Dog Blogging

Base, How Low Can You Go?

Lower still, it seems: For real estate, some economists say, an end to the seemingly endless decline in housing values might be in sight. Not immediately. At the moment, prices are still dropping. In 20 large cities, prices fell 0.8 percent in March from the previous month, according to the Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller Home [...]

Share

May 31, 2011 · John Cole · 151 Comments
Posted in: Domestic Affairs

Strange What Desire Will Make Foolish People Do

At this point, can anyone actually claim that the point of cable news is to inform? Does anyone even pretend that is what it is all about? It’s nothing but a game, and a wicked one at that.

Share

May 31, 2011 · John Cole · 32 Comments
Posted in: Assholes, DC Press Corpse, Our Failed Media Experiment

Open Thread: Good News from Wisconsin

Greg Sargent, at his Washington Post blog Plum Line: Wisconsin Dems 6. Wisconsin Republicans 0. ... Today the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board announced that they have now approved the signatures required for recall elections against the following six GOP senators: Rob Cowles, Alberta Darling, Sheila Harsdorf, Randy Hopper, Dan Kapanke, and Luther Olsen. That means [...]

Share

May 31, 2011 · Anne Laurie · 20 Comments
Posted in: Election 2011, Election 2012, Open Thread, Republican Venality

They Come to Snuff the Rooster

Considering they haven’t created one job since taking office, and haven’t so much as advanced one plan to create jobs since they took office, and, mind you, presided over the worst economic collapse since the Depression, it’s pretty clear the Republicans are very serious about killing the economy: In a symbolic vote to send a [...]

Share

May 31, 2011 · John Cole · 79 Comments
Posted in: Assholes, Domestic Affairs, Free Markets Solve Everything, I Can't Believe We're Losing to These People

Who’s that woman on your arm, all dressed up to do you harm?

I can’t deny that I find myself fascinated by the pictures from Lady Starburst’s latest publicity stunt. All the jokes about the Palinese Liberation Army have never seemed more true to me. It’s a cross-country bus tour with Hell’s Angels types, how much more reverse ‘60s can the whole thing get? All we need is [...]

Share

May 31, 2011 · Angry DougJ · 109 Comments
Posted in: Going Galt, Hoot-Smalley, We Are All Mayans Now

I don’t know why sometimes I get frightened

This is a few days old, but this “Meet The Press” exchange was one for the ages: GREGORY: So, Ruth Marcus, what wins here: bold leadership on Medicare and the argument that the Democrats won’t do something courageous, or the Democrats who say, “Hey, those guys want to take away my Medicare”? MARCUS: I regret [...]

Share

May 31, 2011 · Angry DougJ · 72 Comments
Posted in: Our Failed Media Experiment

valuing worker quality of life at zero

In the name of equanimity, here’s some good Conor Friedersdorf. When he’s good, he’s very good. And when he’s bad… ouch. Here he is, asking “Can Progressives Fix the US Postal Service?” I couldn’t tell you, myself. I don’t identify as a progressive; I think it’s a meaningless weasel word. But I do know that [...]

Share

May 31, 2011 · Freddie deBoer · 208 Comments
Posted in: Uncategorized

How Do Republicans Say “Fuck You?”

Country First!: Since Palin and her team won’t share where the potential candidate is headed, reporters and producers have little choice but to simply stay close to Palin’s bus. This has resulted in scenes of the Palin bus tooling down the highway followed by a caravan of 10 or 15 vehicles – including a massive [...]

Share

May 31, 2011 · John Cole · 200 Comments
Posted in: Assholes, Our Failed Media Experiment, Sociopaths, Starbursts

Oh yeah, I guess it makes me smile

I can’t remember whether this video of young albino raccoons has already been posted and frankly I don’t care. Behold, the cute. Is it time to start drinking properly yet?

Share

May 31, 2011 · Sarah Proud and Tall · 33 Comments
Posted in: Open Thread

Boomers, Breaking

Didn’t get a chance to slot this in last week, but in light of the Warren/McHenry incident, it seems relevant. Mark Schmitt at The New Republic plots out the numbers behind what the subhead refers to as “The GOP’s brilliant generational weapon in the Medicare fight”: Today’s 55-year-old was born in 1956. That’s not generally [...]

Share

May 31, 2011 · Anne Laurie · 134 Comments
Posted in: C.R.E.A.M., Domestic Affairs, Election 2012, Ever Get The Feeling You've Been Cheated?

The Accidental Bombings Will Continue Until Morale Improves

I honestly have no idea what we are doing in Afghanistan any more other than pissing people off, losing troops to a lost cause, wasting billions, and creating more terrorists. We’re not bringing freedom to anyone, we’re not making ourselves any safer, and I have yet to see any long term plan articulated (mind you- [...]

Share

May 31, 2011 · John Cole · 89 Comments
Posted in: War, War on Terror aka GSAVE®

Open Thread

Got up at the crack of dawn to get the garden in, finally. Still have several rows left, but I’ll get it tomorrow. The onions, peppers, brussel sprouts, and most of the tomatoes are in. Another row of tomatoes and then a couple of beans and that will be it.

Share

May 31, 2011 · John Cole · 23 Comments
Posted in: Open Thread

More Reasons for Freedom Bombs

There are always reasons for force: The Pentagon has concluded that computer sabotage coming from another country can constitute an act of war, a finding that for the first time opens the door for the U.S. to respond using traditional military force. The Pentagon’s first formal cyber strategy, unclassified portions of which are expected to [...]

Share

May 31, 2011 · John Cole · 43 Comments
Posted in: War

Can You See This Happening Here?

I bet you would, although sometimes it is hard to imagine: A group of more than 200 Japanese pensioners is volunteering to tackle the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima power station. The “Skilled Veterans Corps”, as they call themselves, is made up of retired engineers and other professionals, all over the age of sixty. One [...]

Share

May 31, 2011 · John Cole · 55 Comments
Posted in: Foreign Affairs


Switch to our mobile site