15
Oct
Thursday Night Open Thread
No animal pics tonight. You want pictures of cute critters, click on this link and vote for Bitsy.
Or else.
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Ned R.
I now envision your site logo as you shouting at Balloon Boy stealing your craft…
SiubhanDuinne
Hey! I voted for Bitsy early this morning. Why should I deprived of seeing a picture of Tunch and/or Lily?
arguingwithsignposts
Already voted. Open thread with no animals and no youtubes? Slacking on the job, JC.
Although I have to say that the NFL thread (320 comments) was a fascinating mid-day discussion, and one of the reasons I enjoy the commentariat here so much.
khead
Has anyone mentioned this dumbass in the other threads yet?
http://voices.washingtonpost.c.....for_l.html
If not, enjoy. If so, sorry in advance.
arguingwithsignposts
@SiubhanDuinne:
Truth to Power, SD! Maybe if enough of the natives protest, the senate will give us what we want. :)
General Winfield Stuck
Here we go again ; http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/200.....ge_simpson
This cannot stand. The American Family Association asks you to take action NOW.
*or whenever.
arguingwithsignposts
@khead:
Perhaps? Jeez. No mention of the fact that Vick and Stallworth served time for their transgressions and lost untold millions in the process, while Limbaugh goes about his merry way spewing his filth.
Limbaugh is not being banished for essentially exercising his right to speak. He’s being banished because he’s a dick who will cause harm to the brand. It’s business, goof ball.
khead
I posted – first post ever @ Wash Post – because I just could not believe the “and here I write as someone with a special interest in the First Amendment” line.
Someone with a “special interest” in the first amendment should fucking know this is not a first amendent issue. That person should be shot.
Edit: Khead +3
Just Some Fuckhead
This.
arguingwithsignposts
So I just noticed the comments are at 1403409. There have been 1.4 million comments here? Can that be right, JC? How many posts total?
Midnight Marauder
@Ned R.:
You know, thank goodness the kid turned out to be alive, but there is not a chance in hell he will ever escape the nickname/albatross “Balloon Boy.” Friend, foe, family—doesn’t matter.
Not.a.chance.in.hell.
RedKitten
Or click on my URL and ooh and ahh over my tiny tank of a kid. ;)
calipygian
What the fuck does Limbaugh not being able to participate in an owners group for a football team have to do with the First Amendment? I didn’t know the First Amendment protected the right to free speech, free religion, free assembly and association and right to own a football team.
The invisible hand of the free market has spoken, bitches, and it told Rush to fuck himself.
Jay in Oregon
@RedKitten:
Sooooo cute!
Here are pics of our dogs, taken by my wife as part of her digital photography class:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/4.....343982179/
New Yorker
Just to get away from Rush for a moment:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/200.....in_balloon
This is just one of the most absurd stories I’ve ever read. Every detail, from the delays at DIA to the fact that the parents are crank pseudoscientists, is nuts. EVERY. DETAIL.
Obviously, it’s good the boy is OK, although I don’t know how well he’ll do in a house where his parents think rotating thunderstorms create their own magnetic fields (I wonder what the meteorology department at Oklahoma U. thinks of this “theory”?).
Amanda in the South Bay
Everytime the tag Burkean Bells is used in a post, I have the mental image of the Balloon Juice gang singing a parody of Silver Bells called “Burkean Bells” as a Christmas carol.
And no, I am not high.
MikeJ
@General Winfield Stuck: It’s a pity nobody ever thought of sexy cartoon characters before.
RedKitten
@Jay in Oregon: What beautiful doggies! Your wife did a great job with the light and the perspective.
Anne Laurie
@Midnight Marauder:
I’m wondering whether he told his older brothers he was taking off in the balloon & then chickened out, or whether they were trying to get him skyborne and didn’t know he’d scarpered before they undid… I mean, before the tiedowns failed. Mmm, yes, I do have younger brothers, why do you ask?
Betsy
Redkitten, soooo cute
And those adorable sweaters – were those handmade?
I just got done eating a fabulous mushroom barley stew that I made. SO SO GOOD. Esp. since it’s going to be in the 30s (
!) already tonight.
For the pet-deprived:
In which my cat picks a fight with, and loses to, an empty tissue box.
arguingwithsignposts
@Jay in Oregon: Very nice dogs, Jay. Hope things are going well in your neck of the woods.
dmsilev
@khead:
Yeesh
Did Congress pass a law prohibiting Limbaugh from investing in a group bidding to buy the Rams when I wasn’t looking?
-dms
beltane
It’s only October 15 and I’m already sick of winter. Way too early for hats and gloves, but brrrr.
General Winfield Stuck
@MikeJ:
I’ve carried a torch for Betty Boop like foeever/
Marge Simpson however, just doesn’t do it for me.
RedKitten
@Betsy: Yes, my friend Stephanie knit those—she’s incredibly talented.
Those pics of your cat are priceless. It appears to be quite content in its loss to the tissue box, actually. :)
freelancer
@General Winfield Stuck:
Speaking of fainting couches, Cole, your “pal” Mr. John Amato is freaking out about the fact that Harry Reid has no spine.
Demo Woman
@RedKitten: Beautiful dog and baby pictures. oooh!
Just for laughs.. the borowitz report
Just for hisses
Just remember that you are not racist if you let someone use your bathroom.
TEL
@Betsy: Your cat is hilarious! Those were some great pictures.
Betsy
@Demo Woman:
When I saw that story, my jaw about hit the desk. I could not BELIEVE that man. I guess it’s refreshing that he’s not trying to claim that he didn’t really do it and they’re the racists, or something. I hope he loses his license posthaste.
MikeJ
@General Winfield Stuck: Didja check the second link? Related joke:
Mickey Mouse is at his attorney’s office where his lawyer says, “So you want a divorce because you say Minnie is insane?” “No, I said she was fuckin’ Goofy!”
lamh31
Justice
And it only took 96 Years
Sad to say, but the history of racial injustice in America means that this story is probably not the only one.
Betsy
@RedKitten: @TEL:
Thanks. :) It was truly one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen. We’d partially flattened the box for recycling, and out of nowhere the cat just dove at it like it had called her mama ugly. She’s never done anything like it before or since. I was lucky I had my camera at hand!
schrodinger's cat
@RedKitten:
Redkitten’s kitten has red hair too! So cute! Thanks for sharing.
kommrade reproductive vigor
People are so fucking stupid it would depress me. If I could stop laughing.
freelancer
quick update:
My grandfather is doing much, much better today but he’s not out of the woods yet and won’t be for a while. Thanks for all your messages last night. I know they’re only words on a screen, but they do mean a lot.
schrodinger's cat
oh noes, Tunch deprivation continues, day elbenty. We want Tunch and we want him now.
Demo Woman
@Betsy: The pictures were great. Actually she looks quite cozy in her nest.
The Grand Panjandrum
@arguingwithsignposts: If the number of posts (28292) is correct than that averages to about 50 comments per thread. That sound about right over the life of the blog, dunnit?
lamh31
A radio sportcaster here in DFW was complaining about how gleeful some other sportswriter was that Limbaugh was dropped from the group. He said it was because of jealouly, and what not.
Whatever!! I was damn gleeful, and it’s not because of jealousy. Let’s put aside the fact that I’m African American, cause it’s not about race although I consider Rush, Pat BuchKKKan, Hannity, Beck, Dobbs, and the like to be “racial arsonist”.
I’m gleeful, cause even if I didn’t already believe in karma, this would make me a believer, cause what did Rush do for the better part of last year? He tried to make Obama own the words of Rev Wright, not words Obama himself spoke, but the words that Rev Wright spoke. And here it is, not a year later, and Rush is being hoisted by his own pertard, for the racist and incendiary words he spoke from HIS OWN MOUTH
So hell yeah I’m gleeful. If my ankle was recovering from a sprain, I mighta danced a jig
Violet
I’ve voted for Bitsy every day this week! Go Bitsy!
@beltane:
It’s already October 15th and we haven’t had our first real cold front of the season. Temps in the 90’s today – setting records. It feels like the summer that won’t end. Add 70% humidity to those temps. Wanna trade weather?
schrodinger's cat
@Violet:
You can have my weather, it is only 36 degrees here.
khead
Another fucking retard. He has plenty of black friends though.
http://www.google.com/hostedne.....wD9BBR4080
Khead +4
Demo Woman
How stupid are our elected officials? This stupid?
I saw this at TPM.
arguingwithsignposts
@arguingwithsignposts:
So here’s the first ever BJ post. I was looking for the first ever comment. The closest I can find is from LeQ, at #3. It took all of two weeks for a first comment, although it was dated Oct., 2003.
(and yes, I’m bored and watching CSI-Miami on the intertubes)
Skepticat
@freelancer: He sounds like a fighter. We’re sending you good thoughts.
arguingwithsignposts
@The Grand Panjandrum:
Probably. I’d like to see the increase over time. it would be interesting to plot the ebbs and flows, or if it’s a straight 45 degree upward angle.
General Winfield Stuck
@MikeJ:
Yep, Better not show that on the cover of Playboy, Probly make the wingnut preachers go nukular.
1967 was a very good year BTW.
Chad N Freude
Let’s compile a list of First Amendment idiocies, so that people who need to feel wounded about being criticized for saying something won’t have to work so hard to whine. I’ll start.
Someone saying “Shut up” is a violation of the first amendment.
He told me to shut up, so I’m suing him for infringing on my First Amendment rights.
My employer prohibits offensive or obscene language in the workplace. This is a violation of my First Amendment right to free speech.
Parents who tell their kids “Not another word,” are violating the children’s First Amendment rights.
Laura W
@Betsy: My cat will see your cat’s foo foo empty tiss-you box and raise her one La Croix Cranberry/Rasperry box. (This was even before she mixed the Ketel One with it, so you can imagine what transpired after the shoot.)
My camera is never more than one room away from me. Trust me…this is a harbinger of very
ominousentertaining things to come.More stuff to look forward to.
CalD
No. George Will in fact will not give the increasingly tired and threadbare notion of a Republican “Wave” in 2010 a rest, despite the rather notable lack of any particular evidence to support or even suggest the possibility, and you can’t make him… because shut up, that’s why.
gogol's wife
My husband (who is not actually Gogol) writes me a poem every night for me to read in the morning. This morning I was thrilled to find that he had worked Tunch into the poem (rhyming with “lunch,” naturellement). My husband does not read blogs, so I guess I must talk about Tunch sometimes.
Notorious P.A.T.
Don’t know if anyone has brought this up, but First Amendment law says that just because a person can say anything they want doesn’t mean there can be no consequences.
CalD
@CalD:
Oh, yeah. The link.
MikeJ
@Chad N Freude: “Nah, I don’t want to go to that club, I don’t like that band.” There’s a violation. Not only do they have a right to say what they want, you have to listen and even pay for it or you hate the way jeebus wrote the first commandment.
Notorious P.A.T.
Hey RedKitten’s child, do you have a message for the Republican party?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/2.....516807888/
Bubblegum Tate
Oh, Red State. Your crazy is just too compelling! How Limbaugh’s embodiment of MLK’s dream changed my life. Oddly enough, he’s not describing an acid-fueled epiphany.
Laura W
@MikeJ: You made a quip in an earlier thread that was my best LOL of the day. I’ve just spent 10 min. trying to find it but I can not. Too many threads.
I thought it was early on in the thread. I thought it was about Rush. And I thought it was a very pithy reference to a song that was worked in beautifully.
Surely you remember your work? It was definitely today. Of this I am certain.
Can you link me back?
South of I-10
Thanks for all the good wishes last night. Unfortunately, my stepfather-in-law didn’t make it, he passed away shortly after arriving in New Orleans. My new definition of suck involves having to explain this to a 5 year old.
GReynoldsCT00
@beltane:
been SNOWING here in CT all afternoon; still is
arguingwithsignposts
@South of I-10:
So sorry to hear that South. I’m sending you positive thoughts tonight, and for the near future. What an awful thing.
Betsy
@South of I-10:
Oh, I am so, so sorry. My sincere condolences to you and your family.
Bad Horse's Filly
@SiubhanDuinne: Yup, my thoughts exactly.
Anyone else’s BJ page all messed up?
MNPundit
Because I oppose John Cole because well, it’s easy. Competition!
Cute Overload
Itteh Bitteh Kitteh Committeh
Really Cute Asians
bago
@Midnight Marauder: An albatross around the neck of Falcon?
me
@Bubblegum Tate: Where’s Sadly, No on this
MNPundit
Whoa it says really cute Asians but just goes to the IBKC. Huh.
I guess Hwang Mi Hee remains my secret. Oh well. It’s fine, slipped in anyway.
Midnight Marauder
@Anne Laurie:
I started watching during my lunch break (and the madness was already in progress), and stuck around to the see the landing and subsequent reveal (TA-DA!) that there is no
spoonboy. I happened to be watching on CNN and my co-workers and I kept noticing that Kira Phillips would continuously say something like “And again, we believe the boy is probably in the balloon.”Probably? PROBABLY?! You dedicate over an hour to tracking (what turned out to be) an empty homemade “experimental” balloon, and you can’t even confirm that the boy is actually in the balloon?! How do you not lock that information down before you fucking go on air? “Is there a boy in the balloon” is a pretty fucking fundamental question to answer before rushing to the airwaves with BREAKING NEWS.
And then the balloon lands, and all of a sudden, a bunch of people just start beating the thing with shovels! I mean, there has got to be a better way to deflate a balloon, even a homemade one. And Rick Sanchez (after being deflated—HA) over the news that the boy isn’t inside, starts speculating as to whether he fell out of the balloon, and if so, how high up he was when he fell. ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS, CNN?!
And the kid was at home. In the attic. In a fucking box.
Too bad CNN didn’t leave it there this time around.
EDIT: and glad to hear about your grandfather, freelancer.
MikeJ
@Laura W:
Was it about Beck and Mao?:
arguingwithsignposts
@me:
There is so much that Sadly, No! has missed over the last two days, it’s almost a federal crime that their snark is not activated yet.
lamh31
Quote Of The Year
from Ta-Nehisi Coates
Keith Bardwell, Louisiana justice of the peace explaining why he refused to grant a marriage license to an interracial couple…
“I’m not a racist. I just don’t believe in mixing the races that way,”
Of course Bardwell isn’t a racist. There aren’t any racists in America.
burnspbesq
@RedKitten:
Ooh. Aah.
When I saw the last photo, the one captioned “I haz a sad,” the first thing that came to mind was “how can a kid that young be a Leafs fan already?”
James K. Polk, Esq.
Hope everyone else had a better day than me. Gonna go curl up with my cat and fuzz the day away…
beltane
@lamh31: Bardwell can’t be a racist. You see, he says he allows teh negro to use his bathroom. Isn’t that big of him.
Svensker
@Amanda in the South Bay:
There’s always the future!
linda
it’s depressing to see olbermann cover this balloon story.
re cnn—i happened to catch some of msnbc’s coverage and it was just as appalling. constant speculation; comments about the family. onething that cracked me up was all those deputies standing around that deflated balloon trying to figure out what to do.
hours of coverage of that nonsense.
Ned R.
Apropos of nothing, wasn’t it about a year ago that we were all first exposed to the embodiment of wit and wisdom that is Joe the Plumber?
kommrade reproductive vigor
@lamh31: Bardwell was thinking of the children. Because people who aren’t as enlightened as Bardwell might be mean to the children because they’re racist.
My God. We must get this man a Nobel Peace Prize!
Svensker
@South of I-10:
So sorry to hear that. Big cyber hugs to all y’all.
Chad N Freude
@MikeJ: I like this. Not going to a club or concert or play or movie violates the performer’s/writer’s rights. [Mr. Burns’s voice:] Excellent!
donovong
IIRC, the states that received stimulus funds are required to report their effectiveness by the end of this month.
In Georgia alone, over 23000 jobs have been created or saved already – utilizing only about 20% of the funds they will receive.
Of course, this is good news for the Bush Recovery.
Left Coast Tom
@kommrade reproductive vigor:
He could be nominated for an IgNobel…
Laura W
@MikeJ: BINGO!
I knew it was Beatles. That was so good. I got a huge laugh in the moment and meant to post a thanks but was just driving by fast.
Midnight Marauder
@bago:
You make a very good point here.
ominira
@lamh31: He can’t be a racist. He has piles and piles of black friends, you see. And as he says, he’s just looking out for the children: we all know what a disaster life has been for that racially mixed Obama – neither whites nor blacks would vote for him for prez.
Demo Woman
@South of I-10: I agree with Sven.. Big Cyber hugs.
gnomedad
@Demo Woman:
If you’ll forgive me in case someone doesn’t click through, Andy Borowitz reported that Balloon Boy’s parents “said that they were relieved that their son was all right and that they were pushing forward with their plans to build a giant child-operated flame-throwing robot.”
ellaesther
@South of I-10: Oh honey, I am so, so sorry. That is terrible news. Thank you for coming back to tell us, and good luck, both with the boy, and with your whole family. I hope that you are all surrounded and wrapped in love and support right now.
gnomedad
@lamh31:
More Borowitz: Criticism of Obama ‘Not About Race,’ Says New Poll of White People
SIA aka ScreamingInAtlanta
@Jay in Oregon: Beautiful dogs Jay. I like the soulful expression in the first photo. As for the 2nd, I love me some yella lab. We had one named Jones but nicknamed “the Colonel”. He always pooped in a bush or plant, and even when the other dogs came out of the woods wet and covered with mud, he was immaculate. Quite the gent.
SIA aka ScreamingInAtlanta
@Betsy: Oh thank you! I needed a good laugh!
South of I-10
Thanks for the love y’all. Of course, reading the article about the idiot JP in Tangipahoa Parish just sent me back for another glass of wine.
SIA aka ScreamingInAtlanta
@freelancer: Thanks for letting us know. And I believe they are much, much more than words on a screen. Glad he is doing better.
RedKitten
@South of I-10: Big hugs to you, South.
SIA aka ScreamingInAtlanta
@South of I-10: Oh, I am so sorry. Really sorry.
South of I-10
@RedKitten: I just saw the “I haz a sad” pic. So adorable. I just want to squeeze those little cheeks.
Demo Woman
@South of I-10: Sometimes there is just not enough wine. Tears help though. Being the naive sort, surely the JP will get fired and then he won’t have to worry about who uses his f**king toilet.
SIA aka ScreamingInAtlanta
@linda: The fucking Weather Channelwas covering it. AAARRRGGHH!
Anne Laurie
@Ned R.:
A huge shiny thing, said to be hiding something special and precious, that captivated our entire newsmedia before it was exposed as a lot of hot air towing an empty box? Is Regnery Press going to give Falcon Heene a book contract, too?
RedKitten
@South of I-10: Thanks! :) That picture never fails to crack me up. And the real-life version makes me laugh too, ‘cause it’s so over-the-top.
General Winfield Stuck
Too much estrogen in this thread. Think I’ll go chop some wood or something.
Demo Woman
@gnomedad: He’s hilarious. I actually think he could give Jon Stewart some competition, although I’m not sure that America is ready for two extremely bright witty personalities making sense of our insane world.
Trinity
@South of I-10: My condolences.
General Winfield Stuck
@South of I-10:
Yup. me just kidding. five year olds are just at the edge of understanding death and dying.
arguingwithsignposts
@General Winfield Stuck:
Well, since I can’t find “Enlightenment,” here’s some other Van Morrison – Jackie Wilson said.
randiego
damn, Rachel Maddow is ALL OVER this guy from AFP. Tenacious!
lamh31
gnomedad , it’s sad cause it could actually be true
South of I-10
@Demo Woman: JP’s are elected, but I can’t believe the La Supreme Court will let that pass.
@RedKitten: Oh trust me, I have a drama queen. She tells me she is going to be a scientist/first girl POTUS, but I see some serious acting skills! Those might come in handy as President, who knows?
Seanly
Why is Wolf Blitzen spending so much time with the oddball Heene family? So coulda-been-in-a-balloon boy is the new missing white girl?
Questions: why did this family have a filled balloon in their backyard? I understand wanting to do your own oddball science, but who has a ready-to-go balloon in their backyard?
MikeJ
Not me yet, but it would be pretty fucking cool. To make it really blend with the Pacific Northwest, I’d tether it to a bigfoot log carving.
Punchy
Come on Fillies! Need ‘em to win the first 5 innin’s
SiubhanDuinne
Rachel is en fuego tonight! She must be extra hopped on Nyquil or something.
General Winfield Stuck
@arguingwithsignposts:
Van Morrison - Caravan
With one of my favorite lyrical song lines of all time.
arguingwithsignposts
@Seanly:
this is a source of much fulminating. Just walk on by.
debit
@SiubhanDuinne: Wow, she really is on fire.
Flappy McScrotum
Holy smokes, Rachel was pissed at that guy.
arguingwithsignposts
@General Winfield Stuck:
Just for those who aren’t familiar, here was the “Enlightenment” lyrics I was referring to:
Every second, every minute
It keeps changing to something different
Enlightenment, don’t know what it is
Enlightenment, don’t know what it is
It says it’s non attachment
Non attachment. non attachment
Caravan, too. Awesome.
Personally, I’m partial to “Days Like This.”
But I’m partial to all the VM with the horn section.
General Winfield Stuck
Will have to catch the rerun. Ratigan thoroughly destroyed some health insurance industry weenie this morning over ending the anti-trust exemption they enjoy.
freelancer
@Flappy McScrotum:
@debit:
@randiego:
I hate you all. I can’t watch it til msnbc.com updates it, and that’ll be at like Midnight.
General Winfield Stuck
@arguingwithsignposts:
yes, me too. absolutely.
geg6
South of I-10: I am so sorry for your loss. My thoughts are with you and you family.
Svensker
@General Winfield Stuck:
I love the version on The Last Waltz album. Van the Man.
Flappy McScrotum
@General Winfield Stuck:
To paraphrase part of the interview:
Rachel: As a lobbiest you defended the practice of having Chinese sex slaves in the Mariana Islands. Do you regret that?
Guest: No. besides, the sex slaves got free Bibles!
Rachel: You are a human turd stain.
Demo Woman
Fortunately, I don’t have cable. I say fortunately because I did not waste hours on balloon boy. Now all these folks are talking about Rachel’s show and I’m jealous. I can catch it online in a few hours or you could share more.
arguingwithsignposts
@General Winfield Stuck:
And of course, there is … Domino!
What an awesome, underappreciated talent.
General Winfield Stuck
@Svensker:
Thank you. That was the best version ever. He had his soulful mojo on that night, as did many performers.
General Winfield Stuck
@Flappy McScrotum:
No shit? jeepers, can you even say that on teevee?
arguingwithsignposts
@General Winfield Stuck
@Svensker: :
yeah, van with the band was awesomeness incarnate.
Svensker
@General Winfield Stuck:
My son was 3 when his grandma died. He was a little sad, but didn’t seem affected by it much. Then one night, about 3 months later, he woke up in the night crying and crying. I asked him what was wrong and he said, “The universe seems like a big empty place, Mom. I’m scared to be alone.”
Nothing like existential angst in your 3-year-old—never underestimate kids.
General Winfield Stuck
@arguingwithsignposts:
Nearly so, if not a musical savant.
Little Macayla's Friend
@donovong:
Further evidence for the Obama Recession / Bush Recovery here:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33.....e_economy/
Only four metrics apparently, categories are their system, but covers 14 years, and interesting to start at 2007 and click the play button.
Just happened to see the above link a couple posts back when someone linked to the benevolent overseer not-a-racist Mr. Bardwell story (and here @lamh31: )
Whenever there is a discussion of whether someone is a racist for saying something, I think whether or not it would be red meat to a racist I grew up with, not whether it’s projection / it’s an accident / it’s a figure of speech / he’s actually a nice guy / etc.
Demo Woman
In tomorrow’s Washington Post.. Obama barred from accepting Noble
General Winfield Stuck
@Svensker:
True this.
Flappy McScrotum
@General Winfield Stuck:
It was a little hyperbole. I believe she just called him evil or said his work was evil.
Demo Woman
@Demo Woman: Shit I mispelled Nobel Peace Prize…. sorry
arguingwithsignposts
Caravan from the Last Waltz. After much searching on YouTube. Awesome song.
Tx Expat
@lamh31:
My favorite quote from that judge was:
“I have black people in my house all the time. I let them use the bathroom.”
We had a saying growing up that’s apt here:
“That’s mighty white of you.”
Racist fuckwit.
South of I-10 – so sorry to hear of your loss. My thoughts are with you and your family.
Harry Kawasaki
Has anyone else noticed that:
Jack Donaghy is the Bizarro Don Draper and
Kenneth is Peggy Olson and
Tracy Morgan is Roger Sterling and
Steve Buscemi is Pete Campbell and
Judah Friedlander is Paul Kinsey…
geg6
Rachel Maddow is the single best political journalist on the teevee. Hands down. That was fucking awesome. You were Jack Abramoff’s buttboy. Who underwrites your organization? Is Fmr. Gov. Allen, your featured speaker, a paid whore…er, lobbyist…for the healthcare industry? And on and on and on in great detail about specific sleazy shit this dude and his buddies do. And dude would not answer with anything but the most transparently nonsensical bullshit. For two entire segments. I need a cigarette.
arguingwithsignposts
@Demo Woman:
Goddamn, whiskey tango foxtrot? Do these people have nothing to do with their time? Aren’t there papers to grade or something? Fuck these fuckers. AAARRGGHHH!
arguingwithsignposts
@Svensker:
I was 21 when my grandmother died. I still miss her, and I’m in my 40s. I remember people looking at me funny when I cried at her funeral (and my great-grandmother). Pure, unadulterated love was what they gave, and what we lose when we force our elderly to slave away because their retirement savings have been stolen by wall street (not bitter much, there).
I’ll never forget when I heard she had died. I’ve got one grandparent left, and she’s going to be gone before long. But that first grandparent leaving was really hard. Doesn’t matter the age, when you lose your granny.
Demo Woman
@arguingwithsignposts: These are my favorite lines..The award of the peace prize to a sitting president is not unprecedented. But Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson received the honor for their past actions: Roosevelt’s efforts to end the Russo-Japanese War, and Wilson’s work in establishing the League of Nations. Obama’s award is different.
Excuse my ignorance but who is this guy..Ronald D. Rotunda is distinguished professor of jurisprudence at Chapman University Law School.
SiubhanDuinne
@Flappy McScrotum 9:56 pm
Yeah, that’s pretty much what she said. Good paraphrase. She also ripped him a new one for his role in the infamous 2002 commercial equating Sen Max Cleland with Osama bin Laden.
She was purely pissed and very assertive about making her points but unfailingly polite. I like that in a cable host. Makes for a refreshing change.
And I have to admit, the guy from AFP also concluded on a civil note. He deserved everything she threw at him but he wasn’t hateful. I give Rachel full marks for bringing out the decency in people by treating them decently, yet never (well, rarely) compromising her own beliefs.
@South of I-10: Let me add my condolences to you and your family on your sad loss.
jeffreyw
Hmmm…this thread needs some cookin.
It gets better lookin after some simmerin.
Turned out pretty damn good.
arguingwithsignposts
@SiubhanDuinne:
that is rachel’s genius, IMHO. She can stand tall and ask really tough questions without being an asshole. I don’t think KO could do the same. I always hearken back to her interview with Blago as an example of how an interviewer can do a tough interview with grace and style. I wish there were more who were up to the challenge.
Ash Can
@South of I-10: Oh dear. So sorry to hear that. Here’s wishing you and yours the best under the circumstances.
@RedKitten: Those pictures of Samuel crack me right up. The “I Haz a Sad” reminds me of something Bottle Rocket would do when he was that age. He’d screw his face up something fierce, like he was going to blow sky high and take half the building with him, then he’d open his mouth and let out nothing more than a little squeak. It was hilarious.
As for the kid not in the balloon, fuck the coverage, I’m just happy he turned up safe. I remember a time when Bottle Rocket was about 2. (OK, I’ve had a couple of beers and I’m on Bottle Rocket stories. So sue me.) He loved to just bolt outside when the fancy struck him, whether or not anyone was with him. Well, this was a freezing cold morning. I went to the john or something, came back out to the front room, and noticed the front door was ajar. I glanced around the front room and Bottle Rocket was nowhere to be seen. Cue the frazzled mother running halfway around the block in her pajamas in 20-degree weather at 7AM, yelling for her kid. No sign of the kid. I came back into the house ready to call the police, and Bottle Rocket pops his head up from a pile of pillows and blankets on the floor. It dawned on me that M-80 had left the door slightly ajar when he’d left for work earlier, and I literally collapsed on the floor in relief.
That morning I learned that there are circumstances under which 7AM is not too early for a double shot of bourbon. I can only imagine how relieved Balloon Boy’s parents were.
arguingwithsignposts
@Demo Woman:
My question is where did they find these people? And why do they give them a megaphone? Did they seek them out? Did they pay them, because I wouldn’t give a nickel for that horse shite?
Already 600 comments, and I can’t even wade through the first 20. Sad. Really, really sad.
SiubhanDuinne
@Freelancer: I’m very glad your grandfather is doing better.
South of I-10
@Svensker: True. She understood when I told her. My parents’ dog, Duchess, died a few months back, and I really think that helped her understand. She knew Duchess was gone and wouldn’t be coming back. I well told her that Duchess was in doggie heaven with a yummy bone and a fun ball and if that makes me a bad person, I can live with that.
kay
@Demo Woman:
Senior fellow at the CATO Institute. Assistant to Ken Starr during the Clinton witch hunt.
That was so breathtakingly insane I had to look him up.
Ash Can
@South of I-10: I don’t care who says what. I think that makes you a very, very good person.
SiubhanDuinne
@Demo Woman
@arguingwithsignposts
I saw that piece of unadulterated crap earlier (I think someone posted a link on another thread). Never heard of Chapman University before—I had to Google it. Apparently it’s in Orange County, CA. Why am I not surprised? (No offense to Juicers who have some connection with O.C.)
kay
@arguingwithsignposts:
It’s an amazing piece. I’m completely baffled by the inexplicable switch to Israel’s relationship with a Saudi prince in the last paragraph.
Remember: this is the Washington Post.
A member of their editorial staff believes Rush Limbaugh not buying a football team is a violation of the First Amendment.
Tenth grade civics. They’d fail.
arguingwithsignposts
@SiubhanDuinne:
apparently only have 6,000 students total – grad and undergrad. That’s pretty small to have a law school. I’m thinking talibangelical, a la Regent, but smaller. And yet, with all the legal minds available, the WaPo chose him. face/palm.
freelancer
Again, thanks for the regards.
South of I-10, I am so sorry for your loss.
And you tell your kids whatever you damned well please. If some pushy atheist (like I used to be) decides, because they’re a busy body, that you’re a bad person because you didn’t exactly tell your child what’s in your heart because it’s more comfortable than explaining a nuanced thing like doubt or whatever’s different, they can go fuck themselves.
ellaesther
An Open Thread seems the perfect place to say the following:
Ahem. /clears throat/
Thank you, Balloon Juice and all you Balloon Juicers (-ees?), for being a place of relative calm and sanity (settle down, I said “relative”) in an internet gone mad.
I once called a place that is now riddled with Oh-My-God-Teh-Dramz! my internet home. Today, I split my home three or four ways, but each is so delightful! Thank you, John Cole, et al!
Also: Yay for Balloon Boy!!
SiubhanDuinne
@arguingwithsignposts 10:23 pm
I do enjoy Keith most of the time but I agree he would not have been able to pull off an interview like this. But then, he would never have invited that guest on in the first place. He’s entertaining, and I watch him most nights, but I don’t think he has much journalistic courage. His guests are either those he agrees with going in, or those who are anodyne or neutral.
Rachel, in contrast, is utterly confident in her command of facts and passionate about her beliefs, but she also has the enviable ability to maintain a certain detachment. It’s a fascinating combination.
Not sure how much of that comes naturally and how much is a learned skill, but it makes for one hell of an effective style.
asiangrrlMN
Oh good god too many things. First, thank you for all the cat/dog/baby pics. I really needed them tonight.
Second, that JP can kiss my flat ass. “I’m worried about the children.” Well, I was worried about the children of Britney Spears and Kevin Federline, but that didn’t stop them from marrying and procreating, now did it? Talk about your fucking activist judge! I am fuming.
@South of I-10: That makes you a wonderful person. I am so sorry about your loss. I am sending a white light to help your stepfather-in-law on his journey. My deepest condolences to you and your family.
@freelancer: So glad to hear some good news today. I’m still sending strong vibes and a white light for your grandfather.
We are all Balloon Boys now.
SiubhanDuinne
@arguingwithsignposts 10:42 pm
Ha! Liberty University is exactly what I was thinking too. Also.
Mark S.
Here’s what I’m cookin’ right now.
asiangrrlMN
Cole, I fucking vote every day for Little Bitsy. I demand Tunch pictures!
Martin
When my son was 7 and figured out there was no Santa he was pissed. (paraphrasing) “So you’re engaged in a global conspiracy to deceive children – to what ends? To make yourself feel powerful? Are all adults in on this?”
I couldn’t stop laughing it was so funny (and true).
Martin
Well, John Yoo is a visiting professor there, if that affects the credibility of the opinions issued from the place.
ellaesther
@asiangrrlMN: Also. Too.
jeffreyw
@Mark S.: Yum!
burnspbesq
@Demo Woman:
Chapman is where Hugh Hewitt teaches Con Law.
Anything else you need to know?
Corner Stone
@SiubhanDuinne:
Whenever I see a pure scumbag, real dirty despicable POS, conduct him/herself in a civil graceful way I can never help myself but to think – it must be easy to take this kind of flack since they’re making millions of dollars being this level of evil.
If you had no compunction, no active sense of right or wrong, wouldn’t you just be laughing on the inside when someone like Rachel was trying to trip you up?
It’s kind of like me calling Jamie Dimon a fucking goatfucking scumbag if I passed him on the street. He’d just nod, smile a little bit and then go back to counting his bags O stash.
Seanly
@Demo Woman:
“Ronald D. Rotunda”? WTF kinda name is that?
I’m gonna change my name to Seanly D. Veranda just to mess with his world.
Corner Stone
@Svensker:
My son was a little over four yrs old when he asked me if God had ever lived, and then proceeded to tell me why he thought we (humans) had done it all on our own.
It was at some point around that time that he explained to me why you couldn’t breathe in space, and how the moon circled us and we circled the sun.
He may not know the literal difference between 15 minutes or 4 hours, but underestimating the things they really grasp is not a smart decision.
Corner Stone
For anyone remotely tempted to watch the rerun of Hardball on MSNBC, may I suggest Robot Chicken on Cartoon Network instead?
burnspbesq
Rotunda moved to Chapman from George Mason last year (Wingnut East to Wingnut West). He is also a Republican appointee to the California Fair Political Practices Commission.
DougL (frmrly: Conservatively Liberal)
Rachel kicked ass tonight, her takedown of Phillips/AFP was a thing of beauty. Polite, fact-loaded, to the point and devastating, with the “You sir, are a parasite…” delivered as the perfect wrap on the
interviewfilleting. Damn I wish we had more journalists who could conduct real interviews like this, the Republican party would be history if that ever happened.This. Is. How. You. Do. It. you media chowderheads. Don’t let bullshit talking points stand, challenge the fucking liars with their own words or actions that contradict them. Do some fucking reporting for once!
I hear that Rachel’s Press The Meat appearance produced some spectacular numbers, making President McCain’s show (Gregory is on as a sidekick or he fills in when McCain can’t be there, much like Ed McMahon with Johnny Carson) the top show that Sunday. I am sure that MSNBC is noticing little details like that.
Rachel rocks yet again.
arguingwithsignposts
Troll fight in the next thread for anyone who’s still here.
Jay in Oregon
@RedKitten:
I’ll let her know that. :)
@arguingwithsignposts:
I’m doing well. I’ve been working on myself, and things are peaceful right now. Keep us in your thoughts.
BethanyAnne
@DougL (frmrly: Conservatively Liberal): I saw it, and so agree. Damn near cheered at the teevee.
Anne Laurie
Terry Pratchett explained, via his recurring character Death, that small children are taught to believe in little benevolent lies like Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy as practice for believing in big important lies like Justice and Human Decency. HOGFATHER (as the jolly guy in red is known on Discworld) is an excellent introduction to Pratchett’s universe, and the BBC miniseries (which is available through Netflix) is a surprisingly close adaptation.
Tattoosydney
@Anne Laurie:
Who is this Terry Pratchett of whom you speak?
Hee.