Seems like there are a helluva lot more of them lately, and I don’t want to ruin this place for those who don’t want to deal with pointless back and forth. So heed the advice.
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Seems like there are a helluva lot more of them lately, and I don’t want to ruin this place for those who don’t want to deal with pointless back and forth. So heed the advice.
Comments are closed.
PaulW
I don’t know what trolls eat anywho.
Those styrofoam peanuts, maybe?
General Winfield Stuck
Looky at what Make wewe looks like.
What doesn” kill us makes us stronger. What trolls don:”t get is the fact they remind us of the common enemy which are wingnuts, and not each other. So they do provide a positive service in a way, Albeit one that is highly annoying.
slag
Thought experiment: Some friends and I have been debating what would happen if we just went ahead and gave conservatives Texas. The consensus is a Mad Max-type scenario would evolve in fairly short order. Other opinions?
Midnight Marauder
@slag:
Other opinions?
Nope. That sounds pretty spot on.
General Winfield Stuck
@slag:
More like the looting of Baghdad.
jharp
Frequent visitor. Occasional commenter.
And I happen to like the trolls visiting and commenting.
aimai
Cruel to the non white/non wingnut population of texas–or are we planning to do a massive land and job swap, kind of like a bloodless Indian/Pakistan partition in which non texan wingnuts would trade their suburban homes and jobs to poor hispanic, non white, or liberal texans for texas citizenship? Sounds like a win/win to me. We can probably do it by lottery or computer match up.
aimai
Bill E Pilgrim
“I don’t want to ruin this place [ for those ] who don’t want to deal with pointless back and forth. So heed the advice.”
I’m guessing.
slag
@General Winfield Stuck: They’ve already done that here.
General Winfield Stuck
@jharp:
Well yea, because you are one, on wingnut sites. I remember you from Captains Quarters days. I had the day shift trolling Mr. Ed and you usually came around at night.
DaBomb
@slag: No don’t give the Conservatives Texas. Not while I still live here. There are large blue areas, but the red outlying areas outnumber us.
WAH!
cmorenc
Who’s that trip-trapping over MY bridge?
slag
@aimai: Def a swap. But we’d have to move everyone out of Oklahoma as well to create a DMZ. I’m thinking that once we lose all the dead weight, we’d have enough relocation cash and then some.
We’d have to wall off New Mexico and Louisiana, though. Hate to have to deal with illegals after the swap.
Max
Obama is giving the eulogy for Sen Kennedy on Saturday. I hope he’s up at the Vineyard writing a stem-winder of a sermon and channels MLK in his delivery at the altar.
I would love to jump up from my seat and shout hallelujah in my living room.
I’d like one of those “Enough!” moments like we had in Denver.
Or is that inappropriate for the setting?
General Winfield Stuck
@DaBomb:
We”ll make Austin an embassy to the US and erect blast walls around it and you can drive the wingnuts crazy with folk music and Tofu parties.
JK
I’d like to give Nick Gillespie his own private iceberg for writing this nauseating piece of tripe.
Ask Not What Ted Kennedy Can Do For You, But What You Can Do For Ted Kennedy’s Sense of Paid Voluntarism –
Nick Gillespie, April 22, 2009, http://www.reason.com/blog/show/133020.html
Bill E Pilgrim
if we just went ahead and gave conservatives Texas. The consensus is a Mad Max-type scenario would evolve in fairly short order
And even when that happened they’d blame their resulting descent into medieval chaos on “too much big government”. You could absolutely count on it.
wasabi gasp
I Like Pie!
different church-lady
@slag: Wait, they don’t already have Texas?
DaBomb
@General Winfield Stuck: The only problem with that idea, is that Guvah Goodhair would walled in with me. And I don’t what would drive me more crazy: Perry’s bottom feeding ass or the tofu.
Warren Terra
But what if we enjoy feeding, or at least mocking, the trolls?
Although I’m still trying to figure out BOB’s response to me in the previous thread.
slag
@different church-lady: That’s what makes it work. There are so many of them already there. Just have the others join them. And move out folks DaBomb, etc. There would be some sweet digs up for grabs after Forbes, Coors, etc are gone.
jl
By trolls, I assume Cole means people who post trollish comments on this here high class blog, not media celebrities who spout lies to the nation over the teevee, radio and in the deadtree press.
Tonal Crow
@slag:
I recommend giving them Afghanistan instead. Then we could watch something like this unfold:
Tonal Crow
@Tonal Crow: Rats, I still can’t haz edit button. That’s from C.S. Lewis, “Screwtape Proposes a Toast”.
General Winfield Stuck
@DaBomb:
You’ll just have to shoot him out of a Cannon, just don;t aim north.
Sloth
@different church-lady:
I’m not thinking that they have texas for much longer, especially the way they handled Sotomayor.
How about Alaska? Maybe with Wyoming as the state to be named later?
General Winfield Stuck
@General Winfield Stuck:
Like they do in the Circus.
joeyess
Here’s the secret about Republicans that no one wants to discuss:
No one wants to live in a world they would construct. Not even them.
ninerdave
I do believe that the commentariat was built on trolling…
For the uninitiated:
Cleek’s Pie Filter
wasabi gasp
I just watched Appaloosa and, man oh man, I have no clue how that thing got three stars. And, that’s discounting the distraction in each scene damaged by Renée Zellweger’s face.
Comrade Darkness
The troll in the picture is wearing a santa hat. Rather than contemplate that, I think I’ll go to bed.
ninerdave
Oh and Hanna Rosin, has single handedly got me to turn off Sully’s blog, like deleted from my rss. I’ve always enjoyed Sully, even though at times (well ok a lot of times) he’s over the top, but hey I like Chris Matthews too.
She is hands down, one of the worst bloggers I’ve ever read, and I read Red State.
General Winfield Stuck
@wasabi gasp:
Yea, there was no need for Renee to be in this movie. Though it was worth it just to watch Ed Harris and Viggo, two of the best actors around.
Xenos
@joeyess: Exactly. The need the eternal struggle. If they should win, they will immediately turn against one another, like Bolsheviks. (Is there a Soviet version of the Godwin rule?)
Sasha
I just wish Balloon Juice would attract a better class of troll. The usual suspects are unsurprisingly unimaginative.
mai naem
Why should they get Texas? Hell no. Give them one of those islands off the Carolinas or Georgia. For all the money the feds have put into Texas, hell no. If they really have to have a state give them Mississippi. At least that way they get Haley Barbour, a far scuzzier governor than Lil Ricky.
Laura W
@Warren Terra: You just gotta brush up on your BOB is all:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovTHWI3vE7A
DaBomb
@General Winfield Stuck: I should aim his ass towards Alaska. He and Palin make the perfect barbie duo.
Caribou Barbie and Ken a.k.a Rick “the dick” Perry
They have so many things in common:
Both have good guvnah hair
Both of them are twits
Both like to pillage government handouts from the teat of the land by screaming that they are fiscally conservative. HA!
Both of them like to reward or help family and friends attain scrupulous goverment contract deals.
And both of them are twits
General Winfield Stuck
@Sasha:
That would require a better class of republican. I don’t know any, and suspect they are extinct in the natural world/
DaBomb
@wasabi gasp: That movie was a major disappointment. Zellwegger always looks like she smells something stank.
General Winfield Stuck
@DaBomb:
That would be acceptable.
Ash
@slag: I thought the plan was to send them all to Somalia? It’s their ideal environment, no government control over anything.
wasabi gasp
I was gonna post a link to the trailer, but they smartly leave her face out of it.@General Winfield Stuck: I like Harris and Mortensen as well, add three stars from Ebert and I’m settin’ up for a good evening. Didn’t turn out so well, ‘cept now I’m thinking it’s been a while since I conditioned my motorcycle jacket.
mclaren
That’s funny. I haven’t noticed any trolls, aside from the occasional BoB post and a couple of crackpots gibbering about how the problem with health care is due to “too much government interference.” But there have always been a handful of kooks posting gibberish here. Never more than a couple at a time, though, like BoB and typically one or two others.
Is one or two “a lot”?
slag
@Ash: Yeah. But I don’t think they’d go (as evidenced by the fact that they’re still here). The goal here would be offer an incentive for them to move. A place that the majority of them have probably heard of, isn’t too far away, and speaks the language seems like a fair deal.
Tattoosydney
@ninerdave:
“She is hands down, one of the worst bloggers I’ve ever read, and I read Red State.”
The only thing that has kept me reading Sullivan’s monkeys for the last couple of weeks is the thought that they might get bored with typing tiny screeds about cats and paragraphs with too many commas and rhetorical questions, and instead start flinging poo at each other.
Ash Can
@Max: At a Catholic church, for a Kennedy funeral, a glory-be stemwinder labor-union revival would be just about perfect. And if Pope Benny objects, he can jolly well keep his trap shut or good Pope John the 23rd will kick his sorry German ass when he gets to heaven.
gbear
@General Winfield Stuck: Can we add Libertarians to your statement too? Libertarian trolls are by far the worst.
Ailuridae
How does a poster know if this troll warning is addressed at them?
Bach anon
@mclaren:
That’s funny. I haven’t noticed any trolls,
You know that this is an extreme right wingnut Republican site, right? So, actually there are quite a few trolls here.
PS: I’m KIDDING.
Dave C
Trolls are much more tolerable with cleek’s pie filter!
Fulcanelli
The BJ commentariat should discuss and devise our own disinformation campaign to amplify, distort and distribute bogus wingularity to the witless winger populace. Wind ’em up like a two dollar watch and watch ’em go. Maybe call it ColeIntelPro.
Like the way the afterbirthers were punked by the kenyan birth certificate dude. We know how gullible and willing they are to believe anything that defiles Liebruls and Nobama, I’d like to set them up with the most foul and outrageous bullshit and see how many take the bait. Hopefully it goes viral and then the pundits and bobbleheads eventually take notice, debunk it and brand them all loons on the evening cable shows.
I’m pretty good with Photoshop…
gbear
I think the days of a passionate eulogy resulting in Norm Coleman winning a senate seat are really most sincerely dead. I hope Obama goes for it too.
Mark S.
@ninerdave:
She doesn’t seem that bad to me, certainly not as bad as RedState.
DaBomb
@slag: @Ash: And remember the people that live in Somalia are blackity black.
So the place to relocate them would have to an area that we have no use for, largely white and uneducated population.
Any suggestions?
Anne Laurie
@jharp:
It’s not so bad, just putting up with the steady trickle of one-hand typists spewing their nasty phantasies and recycled Fuxt-News talking points. But once the well-intentioned normal people start arguing with the Differently Sane, or attempting to reason with the unreasonable, the little atomies become overexcited and spin longer and fouler strings of non sequiturs and personal attacks. Next thing you know, those of us with other interests get tired of slogging through the “no she dint”, “i’m-rubber-ur-gluu” moran-swamps, and the blog is reduced to half a dozen earnest reality-evangelists arguing with a buttload of bad-faith semipros, borderline personalities, and the odd spoof.
Midnight Marauder
@Ailuridae:
It ain’t you.
@Fulcanelli:
he BJ commentariat should discuss and devise our own disinformation campaign to amplify, distort and distribute bogus wingularity to the witless winger populace. Wind ‘em up like a two dollar watch and watch ‘em go. Maybe call it ColeIntelPro.
I’m in.
Midnight Marauder
@Ailuridae:
It ain’t you.
@Fulcanelli:
The BJ commentariat should discuss and devise our own disinformation campaign to amplify, distort and distribute bogus wingularity to the witless winger populace. Wind ‘em up like a two dollar watch and watch ‘em go. Maybe call it ColeIntelPro.
I’m in.
Common Sense
Texas has a decent sized blue streak. I’ve gone into it many times before so I won’t bother to rehash the details. Suffice to say that I can put up with a neutered wingnut guv when I get back what I do in return. The quality of music here surpasses any state. Then there’s the food.
Texas is going to be a very interesting place to watch in 2010. Kay Bailey is going to have a very delicate line to walk in the primaries against Perry, but they simply won’t be able to go full on wingnut in the general. The demographics are against them. Honestly I think KBH has it wrapped up if she can toe the line in the primaries, although Perry might have an interesting challenge depending whether Friedman can convince people he’s credible or the Dems can scare up someone . Bill White could definitely make a serious push if he runs for Kay’s seat. You could end up with a Democrat in one of Texas’ Senate seats for the first time in 20 years or so (since Lloyd Bentsen IIRC).
gopher2b
@gbear:
Come on. Its a eulogy. Why would you attack anyone during a eulogy? It’s absolutely inappropriate. You can make the point by being subtle and gracious far better than using it to attack the GOP, Washington politics, etc.
Mark S.
@Ailuridae:
Your buddy Makewi, on the other hand . . .
KDP
@slag:
My proposal has always been that we give them the interior status and we keep the borderlands. So, we get Washington, Idaho Montana, North Dakota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, everything in the New York and New England, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, DC, Virginia, the Carolinas, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Oregon, Hawaii, and Alaska. Did I miss any of ’em?
After all, the poor babies are either afraid of everything new and different, or they want to control what everyone else does, so give ’em the interior and we’ll take the borderlands.
DaBomb
@Common Sense: Hank Gilbert is the new Democrat that most likely is throwing his hat into the gubernatorial race. I loved Lloyd Bentsen.
My fiance wants to move out of the state, because he just doesn’t like it here. He’s originally from OK. He doesn’t like it there either. He wants to move to Seattle or Portland. I keep insisting, that we will miss the food and the hospitality.
And you are right, the music does rock. I am a born and bred Texan. So there are some good things here.
KDP
very much need edit. Give them interior states.
Skepticat
@Max: Of course you realize that, in the deja vu all over again category, we’re also supposed to be having a category one hurricane here on Saturday.
slag
@Common Sense: Don’t forget though, the music and good food would probably come over with the liberals. It’d just be a little more spread out in the new wingnutless bluetopia. I suspect that the majority of people who would take the bait are going to be hard wingnut. The midliners would be smart enough to stay here or come here if they already live in Texas.
OriGuy
Wasn’t there a move to get Dominionists to move to South Carolina and secede? That would be more appropriate than Texas.
slag
@KDP: That’s a lot of border patrolling we’d need to do.
@DaBomb: I dig your food too. And SXSW.
Anne Laurie
@Fulcanelli:
Problem is, I’m not sure even our creative minds can achieve the level of ism-crazed paranoia that’s the everyday playing field for some of the recent troll/spoofs. And if we could convince the Wingnut Welfare Wurlitzer Wanna-bes that, for instance, the Republican Caucus had successfully blackmailed Orrin Hatch into spiking Teddy Kennedy’s tea with polonium — do we want to be responsible for the gleeful outpouring of filthy comments and bodily fluids that will result?
Ailuridae
@gopher2b:
It seems Teddy likely chose Obama (rather than his own children) to deliver the eulogy with intent. If the purpose of the eulogy is to remember the person and his life’s works anything less than a feisty argument for universal health care would be nothing short of a betrayal to Teddy’s legacy.
slag
@Fulcanelli: Colbert already does a good portion of this. And they have taken the bait in the past. But it never really amounts to anything, sadly.
CaseyL
Having lived there for a few years and conceived a bone-deep hatred for the place, I’ve long been in favor of moving wingnuts to Florida, then breaking the state off at the border and letting it float away into the Atlantic.
wasabi gasp
We are all Troll now.
Fulcanelli
@Anne Laurie: Rule 1: None of this activity would take place here on BJ. Bogus e-mail accounts for all conspirators… Recruiting here only, then off site. Bodily fluids?
Common Sense
Dunno much about Gilbert except that he got stomped in ’06. Not that that makes him any different than numerous other candidates. I just get the impression that Perry has a serious problem with moderate suburbanites, or what passes for moderate in Texas. I have a feeling Hutchison would wipe the floor with any Dem precisely because she doesn’t have that problem. I’m not nuts about Kinky myself. As a Democrat, I’m hoping Perry goes full on secession mode and wins the primary.
General Winfield Stuck
@gopher2b:
It’s the new democrat dude, fight the wingnuts till the last breath, and then some. Teddy would want it no other way, specially on Health Care.
Max
@Skepticat: A little bluster and storm can definitely add to the emotion.
I am now about to admit something that is probably horrible, but I am a little happy that the Clinton’s are ancillary to the events. I think both Bill and Hillary are strong public servants, but IMO, Obama represents the future, and I’m thankful to the Kennedy Family for recognizing that in him.
Besides, it does have the added benefit of infuriating the Clinton supporters that won’t support Obama.
Common Sense
Previous comment (76) was directed @DaBomb. Sorry about that.
Fulcanelli
@slag: Pirate the FreedomWorks label.
“Make the bastard deny it.” – Lyndon Baines Johnson
DaBomb
@Common Sense: I am not crazy about Kinky either. I just don’t quite get him. I don’t know what his platform is. Or maybe I just have droned him out, and it’s obvious what it is. Dunno.
As for Gilbert, I am very familiar with him. We need another Ann Richards. The other Democrat running is Bob Scheiffer’s brother, who’s good friends with the Schrub. Kinda scary.
I wish Bill White would run for Governor but he would have more of an impact as Senator.
General Winfield Stuck
Speaking of the great state of Texacution.
I doubt he’s the only one.
Indylib
@KDP:
Hmmm, don’t think so.
We’d have to live with the results of the ecological damage they would do.
wasabi gasp
@Anne Laurie: The soft target is Medicare. Aim the bugger cannon at that.
DaBomb
@Common Sense: As for Perry and his blathering about secession didn’t really pick up as much steam as he thought it would, I believe.
I think I only saw like 3 stickers with “Secede” in the whole Houston area.
Skepticat
@Max: A little bluster and storm is one thing, but Danny Boy could create some serious logistical problems. I’m glad I’m not with the Secret Service at the moment, what a chore those people have.
wasabi gasp
Jeez, I really need that edit post function tonight.
Common Sense
@DaBomb:
I’d love to get an Ann Richards/Jim Hightower type in. Perry would be exactly the foe they would excel against.
John Cole
DaBomb
@General Winfield Stuck: They were plenty of executions under the watchful eye of the Schrub.
He was executing people faster than KFC running out of grill chicken.
He was rabid about it.
tc125231
You guys who think you’ve been ruined are living in a fools paradise. If you want to see ruined, look at Time.
DaBomb
@John Cole: My all time favorite Police song is Every Little Thing She Does is Magic.
Common Sense
@DaBomb:
I really hope Tony Scheiffer doesn’t win the primary. Being part owner of the Texas Rangers has note boded well for political aspirators thus far.
Also, White being able to do more in the Senate might be just the problem. He’s pretty bipartisan, with all the bad that that would entail. I like his chances of winning, and he’d be miles better than Cornyn, but he is no Progressive.
John Cole
Fulcanelli
I think Tunch and Lily are taking turns with their you tubes while John’s passed out drunk on the lawn.
John Cole
slag
@Fulcanelli: That Police song is totally Tunch.
latts
@KDP:
Giving them the interior states would be a decent solution to my problem, which is how to put the wingnuts and libertarians next door to each other to maximize the entertainment value as each desperately tries to exploit the other. Still, the Rockies are pretty damned impressive, so I hate to give them up.
Libertarians can’t have New Hampshire as per their wishes; it’s too close to civilization for them to truly prove their mettle, so they need a low-population, minimal-infrastructure state, although I don’t begrudge them a bit of the nice scenery that Oklahoma completely lacks IMO. Wingnuts shouldn’t be allowed even South Carolina (per theirwishes) because it’s after all one of the original thirteen states and as such should have to stick with the original Enlightenment bargain (a point that was clearly made nearly a century and a half ago).
John Cole
slag
@latts: Plus, I hear SC has some nice hiking trails that extend all the way to Argentina.
Tattoosydney
@Fulcanelli:
Just Tunch. Lily’s still busy trying to get bits of nose out from between her teeth.
John Cole
Acoustic Birdsong, bitches.
Don’t hate:
DaBomb
@Common Sense: Yeah, there is something to the whole owning the Rangers gets ya a government office trend happening. It’s funny, because the Rangers are such a shit team. But they are probably playing better than the Astros are. Go figure!
I still like White though. Honestly, are they any really true progressives in Texas. I can’t think of any off the top of my head. Maybe Garnett Coleman or Rodney Ellis?
@John Cole: Saw Wolfmother when they came down here. Great show. Favorite song is The Joker and The Thief.
Tattoosydney
@John Cole:
So we’ve got drunk song posting…
what do we have to do to get a good drunken rant out of you?
Calouste
@DaBomb:
Australia?
DaBomb
Great Ben Folds Five: Brick and the give me my money back, you bitch song. Can’t think of the name of that song.
Fulcanelli
@latts: They can’t have New Pensyljerseyorkland, that’s all I know. Fuck that noise.
slag
@John Cole: You should play some Clash in honor of DougJ.
John Cole
Shitty soundboard, but Lowell George was the greatest ever:
Thalia
@Calouste:
Just create a new country for them:
Appalachimormonbeltahoma. I think that covers the areas of strongest wingnut concentration that have very few pockets of scary coloreds.
Kelly
If you want to rag on Texas, at least state your state. We sent a lot of money and cast a lot of votes for Obama and W didn’t win with just our electoral votes.
Besides that, please explain your being so comfortable with the idea of trading things that aren’t yours to trade.
DaBomb
@Calouste: I don’t know. They have funny accents, don’t speak American and would hard to understand.
The wingnuts might implode or declare there are WMD’s to start a faux war again.
John Cole
My favorite Clash:
Although, to be honest, I like Big Audio Dynamite a helluva lot.
Thalia
@Fulcanelli:
Damn, talk about similar wavelengths….
DaBomb
@John Cole: How about some Parliament?
JK
John,
Many thanks for the videos by the Grateful Dead, the Clash, the Police, and Little Feat who all earn a place in my rock music pantheon.
Fulcanelli
@John Cole: No hate here. Bliss. Has it been really almost 30 years since Radio City? I went to a few of those shows. Fuck me, I’m all done with this aging shit.
John Cole
gbear
@gopher2b:
Obama doesn’t have to attack anyone and he won’t in this situation. He knows better.
He is also completely able to make you want to stand up and say ‘hallelujah’ for the positive things he says. He can be subtle and gracious and inspiring all at once, and he most certainly will be in this setting.
However, there are many here among us who are pre-disposed to think of Obama as the enemy, and everything he says as political. Many of these people will appear on TV after Obama’s eulogy. These people can go bite a fart.
Common Sense
@Kelly:
Don’t stress it. I’ve gone on plenty of pro Texas rants. I’ve pointed out the Barbara Jordans and Mickey Lelands, the Ann Richards and Molly Ivins. It’s not worth it. It’s not fair, but it’s our burden. Think of it like you are an American abroad apologizing for Bush all the time. And work like hell to get a Dem in office instead so you can shut them up.
Tattoosydney
@Calouste:
“Australia?”
We have several states that fit that description.
(Oh, and fuck you).
John Cole
Yes was the first band I followed compulsively and owned every album.
arguingwithsignposts
Hey, could someone help a brother out and let him know when there’s new thread. I’m sitting in the last thread talking music and there’s already 122 comments here. WTF?
slag
@John Cole: Good one. I can’t pick a favorite Clash. Although I still think the funnies song line ever comes from Rock the Casbah: “He thinks it’s not kosher!”
Thalia
@Tattoosydney:
I knew that was coming!! :)
John Cole
One of the most under-appreciated bands of all time, and one of the greatest songs ever made, ever, by said under-appreciated band:
At one point in the early 90’s I had every vinyl ever released by Dire Straits, including several Canadian only releases. They really are that good.
gbear
@John Cole:
Sorry John.
I hate Rush.
I hate The Dead.
I just had to get that out.
Tattoosydney
@DaBomb:
“They have funny accents, don’t speak American and would hard to understand.”
Yes, and our socialised medicine, gays in the military, equal rights for gay couples and legal publicly subsidised abortion might piss the the wingnuts off too.
DaBomb
@Common Sense: Man, I was pretty young when Mickey Leland died. Barbara Jordan was definitely a trailblazer. Molly Ivins didn’t run for any office though.
But Ivins spoke the truth. All of them should be resting in peace.
@Kelly: Common Sense is right, don’t worry about. I have had to defend Tejas too. Alot of the stereotypes about Texas as of recent, is all Perry’s doing. He’s a complete twit.
General Winfield Stuck
Deep Purple
Child in Time
John Cole
Another under-appreciated genius. Not his best song, but I recognize:
RIP, Warren.
gbear
@arguingwithsignposts:
Meet the new thread.
Same as the old thread.
RealMurkin
I don’t know why we didn’t run with Newt’s “get rid of Medicare and the VA” slip up, sublimely followed by,” I’m sure they can make other arrangements.” It offered a great death panel counter meme: The Republicans are coming and they want your medicare! They don’t care about the vets, either!!!
Where to put them all so they can live in theocratic libertarian heaven? I’m still leaning toward Somalia, just because they’d have none of that evil infrastructure, and there’s the added bonus of surrounding them with the black peoples.
Just imagine them demanding to see everyone’s birth certificate…in a country where their own would be irrelevant.
cbear
I’ll take Cole+7 in the pool.
@John Cole: Nice selection tonight, but how about some Blind Faith or Traffic for the oldsters.
Fulcanelli
@John Cole: Cole, yer picking through some of the best of my old faves from my DFH take-mescaline-and-go-to-high-school and concert going days. Get out of my head and my music collection.
How the fuck did you wind up a republican, again?
slag
@Kelly: What? You mean Texas hasn’t already seceded? Congress could probably help out there.
General Winfield Stuck
Roy Buchanan
Down by the River
Tattoosydney
@Tattoosydney:
Damn. How many times do I need to be sent to moderation before I learn not to type “Socia15ed” in a comment?
Doves – There goes the fear
John Cole
Seems relevant:
wasabi gasp
Does every album in your wreckord collection have a Super Saver Series sticker on it?
Zuzu's Petals
In other news, Dominick Dunne died today, aged 86.
His column was always the first thing I read when my Vanity Fair arrived.
John Cole
Propose with this:
Zuzu's Petals
@Zuzu’s Petals:
Oops. Aged 83.
John Cole
Let’s bring this shit home:
cbear
@John Cole: If you’re going to give us Zevon, you should’nt leave out Harry Nilsson and/or Don Maclean.
Am I the only one who loves “Starry Starry Night”? Man, I still hear that song in my head at least once a year.
General Winfield Stuck
Thank you for the music Senor Cole. Nice way to end a day of sadness. I am off with Kate for some shuteye on Planet Libtard.
John Cole
Lowell George and Zevon are irreplaceable, but there will never, ever, ever be anything like Jerry and the Dead when he was not too high to sing.
I would murder someone to hear one more live Estimated Eyes.
So sad.
I’m off to bed. The rails to trails are going to suck in 5 hours.
arguingwithsignposts
@DaBomb:
Um, DaBomb, I hate to tell you this, but it aint little ricky. (native texan here, so I can hate) Texas also gave us Dick Armey, Karl Rove, Tom DeLay, Phil Gramm, and … oh, yeah, George W. Bush.
Texas’ education commission is about to rewrite history to emphasize conservative leaders, and they push creationism.
In most parts of Texas outside of Austin, there’s a Southern Baptist church on every other corner. The gulf coast (where I grew up) is flat, incredibly muggy, and home to mosquitoes the size of small airplanes – and there’s hurricanes. The Gulf of Mexico is a muddy brown near the coast, and much of Houston and the coast is littered with filthy, stinky oil refineries.
West Texas is a barren wasteland, mostly, and the panhandle is home to Texas Tech, who just hired Alberto Gonzales (another son done good!) to teach a class and recruit minorities.
Vidor used to be the national headquarters of the Ku Klux Klan, and the school district where I grew up didn’t integrate until the 1980s, after being ordered to do so by a federal judge.
So it’s not just Rick Perry.
Having said all that, Texas does have some things going for it, including the aforementioned Molly Ivins, Ann Richards, Lloyd Doggett, LBJ, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Janice Joplin, Buddy Holly, Willie Nelson, etc. some wonderful lakes, Palo Duro Canyon, and some mountains. I could go on, but you get the picture.
JK
@John Cole:
Can you confirm that you like prog rock as much as punk rock? Someone in an earlier thread made this claim. I was dubious because I’ve never met anyone who liked Yes, ELP, Jethro Tull, and early Genesis and also liked the Clash, the Ramones, the Sex Pistols, and the Damned.
JGabriel
@Kelly:
New York.
We haven’t voted for a GOPer Prez since 1984; we pay more in taxes than we get back from the feds; we’re sick to all fucking hell of the whiny red states that don’t collect enough state taxes to meet their budgets, complain about federal taxes being too high after they’ve scooped their share NY’s surplus, and then bitch about NY being too liberal on our dime, the ungrateful, ignorant jackasses; and NYC could probably function as an independent city-state just as easily as Lichtenstein, Andalusia, or Luxembourg, if need be.
So, do I get to rag on Texas? ‘Cause I think we’ve earned the fucking privilege.
.
slag
@DaBomb: Love and miss Molly. She could work it.
And nobody hates Texas….Well, I don’t anyway. I actually have a lot of family there (all Republicans). I just like the idea of keeping wingers that close to Mexico knowing that, if they attacked it, we’d have to come kick the crap out of them. Plus, a lot of it is flat and hot as hell.
John Cole
@JK: I like good music.
I don’t care about labels or genres. I have at least 25 operas in my collection.
Something is good or it isn’t.
JGabriel
JK:
I don’t know if Cole is still around, but in case he isn’t, he’s got videos posted up there from both Yes and The Clash.
Doesn’t that kind of answer the question?
.
wasabi gasp
@JK: I’ll take the early Genesis and the Sex Pistols. The other stuff is for a tag sale.
JGabriel
Oops, John’s still around. Ignore my response.
.
Zuzu's Petals
From a prior DougJ thread:
Does this count? Okay, he doesn’t use “age 50.”
Zuzu's Petals
Crap. Blockquotes.
Again, from DougJ’s prior:
Crap. Blockquotes.
slag
@JGabriel:
I feel that. You guys probably also have an intra-state divide issue similar to ours. Where the major liberal city is the true economic engine of the state while the conservative rural communities are living on the state dole and complaining about taxes.
JK
” I like good music. I don’t care about labels or genres.”
@John Cole: @JGabriel:
This is very refreshing. I can’t count the number of encounters I’ve had with punk fans who thought I was a heretic for liking Traffic, Yes, and ELP and prog rock fans who thought I was a heretic for liking the Ramones, the Sex Pistols, and the Clash. I wish more people shared your open minded attitude about what constitutes good music.
Steeplejack
Here’s what I propose, as a compromise between not feeding the trolls but being unable to resist the urge to do something.
Post: “Plonk!”
That’s it. Think of it as the sound of a soaked-in-motor-oil, limbered-up 2×4 being applied to the noggin of the troll.
Common Sense
@JGabriel:
Hey, Texans pay more than we receive too. We may have depleted much of our natural resources, but there’s still a few left, and the companies are still here. Texas’ economy has actually weathered the storm rather well (mostly because they learned a lesson in the ’80’s and diversified their economy). And yes, they were more than happy to take money from the feds — Perry took something like 17 billion in federal stimulus money, but made a show about 500 mil. In fact, Texas has the second highest GDP in the US (ahead of NY).
There’s obviously regional differences between parts of the US. That’s what makes it so hard to hold together. Still, at the end of the day Texas is 55-45 Republican and NY is 55-45 Democratic. It’s the 10% that make all the difference.
DaBomb
@arguingwithsignposts: Well native here as well. Perry has consisting been in the spotlight. Most of the other liberal blogs I have read that talk about Texas, talk about Perry. Hence, why I said as of recent. I know about all of those other people you have mentioned. Armey was resurrected because of his ties to that lobbyist group.
Actually, Austin is a sizeable hell right now, because of the damn weather. And Austin gets all of the credit for being this liberal beacon of the state when it is not. Austin has beautiful hills. Houston has its faults, but it’s not a bad place. Neither is San Antonio.
The schools I attended, didn’t push creationism. And I went to schools in HISD. In fact most of my friends who lived in bigger cities were not taught creationism. You lived in Vidor I can see that happening. And there’s not a Baptist church on every corner. Churches are prevalent but that’s just the south in general.
West Texas is a desert and East Texas is a pit. I have relatives who live there and I have been to east Texas many times.
I know about Vidor and Sante Fe also has the KKK, but so do other small towns in the South. Texas has its faults granted but it has produced some great people.
Thalia
@John Cole:
Agreed! Some of my recent fun discoveries have been Fleet Foxes, Pink Martini, and the Decemberists. I don’t know how I missed out on Radiohead until last year, but holy shit are they in a class by themselves. Ridiculous they are.
JGabriel
JK:
Ha! I think you mistakenly included me. I’m one of the people who thinks liking ELP and the Pistols is heretical.
But there’s nothing wrong that. As long I don’t have to listen to prog rock, I’m happy.
.
DaBomb
@arguingwithsignposts: I apologize, you didn’t say anything about living in Vidor.
Nobody would want to claim that. That’s like claiming Jasper.
gbear
@JK:
Tell both groups you like Creedence Clearwater Revival too and watch their eyes glaze over.
Jethro Tull and Yes were probably my two favorite bands in the early 70’s, although the two bands I saw the most in concert were Deep Purple and The Faces (w/ Rod Stewart). Somewhere along the lines bands like Mott The Hoople and The New York Dolls started creeping in (along with Fairport Convention and offshoots) so when one of my roommates started listening to The Suburbs and Ramones and the Sex Pistols, I was ready to listen. I’m more partial to the Soft Boys kind of sound, but I agree it is possible to like all that stuff. I’ve even got The Judds in my collection.
But no opera. I’d rather die.
JK
@JGabriel:
As I said earlier, you and I share a lot of common musical tastes if you set aside prog rock. I wish you’d set up your own Internet radio station. I’d love to see what playlists you would come up with.
arguingwithsignposts
@DaBomb:
I didn’t live in Vidor (thank God), but near enough to know about it. FWIW, I didn’t learn creationism in school, either. It wasn’t an issue really back in the day.
And I stand by the church on every other corner comment – at least outside the big cities. May not be an SBC church, but definitely a church. :)
And Houston has its good parts, too – Montrose area, for instance, Westheimer (at least the last time I was there). But it was built on a swamp. And I was in Austin in July once. Hot as hell is right.
arguingwithsignposts
@DaBomb:
Or Silsbee, Mauriceville, Orange … I could go on. :D
JK
@gbear:
It’s good to hear a few people say they can enjoy some prog rock and some punk rock. Sometimes I’ve thought someone who likes both genres was as rare as an ambidextrous albino. For the record, I’m neither ambidextrous nor albino.
slag
@gbear:
Takes all kinds.
I’m trying to remember what instrumental music John tried to get us to listen to before. Kind of Enya-ish, if I recall.
DaBomb
@arguingwithsignposts: Yeah I corrected myself a little up the thread. And I agree, there are alot of churches. But I still say it a southern thing.
Southerners love their churches. I hated Texas History with a passion. That class put me to sleep so fast.
Oh yeah, Montrose, Galleria, Heights, Museum District, West University, and others areas are pretty cool. They are completely redoing Downtown, so there’s Midtown and the Warehouse District is getting a once over. I think people are pleasantly surprised when they came here, Austin or San Antonio and see that not everybody is a crazy wingnut screaming about death panels. And Pasadena is the refinery area. It smells like eggs and hell. But inner loop residents don’t like to claim Pasadena.(I use to call it Neckadena).
But the mosquitoes are big and I hate the hurricanes.
PanAmerican
The frightening thing about Texas is Democrats only need two seats for control of the state House and four for the state Senate.
DaBomb
@arguingwithsignposts: My ex’s family is from Orange, Silsby, and Beaumont(aka extension of Louisiana). East Texas is not a fun place. :)
arguingwithsignposts
@DaBomb:
I saw after I posted re: Vidor.
Pasadena isn’t the only place with the refineries. Maybe it starts in pasadena and goes all the way up to the La. border, because Baytown, Beaumont, Port Arthur, Orange … All ate up with refinery crap. But nothing – and I mean nothing – smells as bad as the wood processing stuff they do up in East Texas (woodville, esp.)
Don’t forget DFW in terms of places where everyone isn’t a wingnut, although the Metroplex does have its fair share.
And southerners do love themselves some churches. Texas has a high quota, but probably not as high as Alabama or Georgia. The blue in Texas is a lot higher than in Bama or Miss., for instance, and can help blunt the fundamentagelical influence.
In re: Houston, I saw a lot of great bands there at places like Numbers, Fitzgeralds (?) and others whose names escape me now. that was 20 years ago, though. I’m sure some of them are way gone by now.
arguingwithsignposts
@DaBomb:
Yikes, I might know your ex’s family (might) – the Golden Triangle (as they like to falsely call themselves) is a big place.
srv
This post would have been more meaningful if it had been by DougJ.
DaBomb
@arguingwithsignposts: With the refineries, I just talking about Houston. But yeah, all of those place have refineries. Port Arthur is really bad.
DFW is pretty safe for the most part, but like with everything else in Texas, it’s the outlying areas, that are crazy. Caddo Mills, Carrollton, Mound Flower,Plano(rich people with not a lick of sense). So the Metroplex being wingnutty would be an accurate description.
As for the Blue, Houston ‘s mayors from Whitmire to White have been democrats. Houston went for Obama. So did Dallas. Dallas is a mixed bag. Austin can be a mixed bag too. For instance the largest concentration of Ron Paul supporters live in Austin.
San Antonio, I am drawing a blank.
Fitzgerald’s and Numbers are still open and occasionally have concerts. It’s mostly small local acts that perform at either of those. But the major acts typically perform at the Woodlands Pavilion, Warehouse Live, Toyota Center, Verizon Wireless Theater, or The House of Blues.
Common Sense
@arguingwithsignposts:
I live two blocks from Fitz’s. Saw Fugazi there last time I went, but that was a few years back. Numbers is still around too. Others (ever go to the International Ballroom? The Tower Theater?) are gone, but replaced by new places like the Meridian and (ugh) Verizon Wireless Theater.
I’m still of the opinion that Houston’s music scene sucks for the size. The good ones move to Austin in their teens.
Honestly the biggest churches I saw were in Tennessee. Texas has big churches — Joel Osteen’s church bought out the Houston Rockets’ old arena and turned into a stadium megachurch. Nothing compared to the massive structures I saw in Memphis.
arguingwithsignposts
@DaBomb:
Those places used to have a lot of the “mid-sized” acts (for instance, REM played Numbers, IIRC, in 1984/5, and I saw Jesus and Mary Chain drunk off their asses at Numbers once). I won’t usually bother with a big arena or pavillion acct, just because they usually cost too damned much.
I prefer regional acts or national acts who have smaller followings. Lighter on the pocketbook, and you can sometimes talk to the band/artist after the show. Shook James McMurtry’s hand and all after a show in Nashville once.
DaBomb
@Common Sense: I live in the Galleria Area, off Westheimer. I forgot about the Meridian. Int’l Ballroom was closed ages ago.
DaBomb
@arguingwithsignposts: I saw The Roots at Numbers. And Scarface at Numbers. It was cheaper. I saw Wolfmother at Warehouse Live or maybe it was the Meridian. I hate the Woodlands. It’s too far.
As for my ex’s family, you probably do know them. It’s such a small area. That Golden Triangle meme is a crock of shit.
wasabi gasp
Country Death Song
arguingwithsignposts
@Common Sense:
Tower theatre, yes. There was another place that was in an old bank building. can’t recall the name. I saw webb wilder there once. Help me out, is Fitzg’s the one with the main hall upstairs with a smaller stage downstairs? if so, I played there once (downstairs) with a band I was in (which came to nothing, obviously).
Re: churches, I wasn’t specifically talking huge churches, although there are many of those in TX, but mainly the smaller churches. say 0-400 in size. Those are everywhere. What always got me about the big ones – second baptist-Houston, Osteen’s place (which I’ve actually been in doing a story once when it was “The Oasis of Love” – what a name), and some of the ones in Dallas/FW is how much they try to be a one-stop shop, complete with high-end gymnasiums, bookstores, and all sorts of other stuff.
Millions of dollars for fancy buildings. Maybe that’s why the wingnuts think we should just ask our neighbors for healthcare, since they see so much money rolling through those high-end churches they go to. But conservative Christianity is a lot like most conservative things – the money is concentrated in a few hands, and those hands don’t do nearly as much per capita real ministry to the poor as some smaller churches /rant
Common Sense
@DaBomb:
I drive 610 every day. I hate Galleria traffic with a smoldering passion. Uptown is something different though. I always take out of towners there, Bellaire Chinatown, the Museum District (although the Menil is a fave of mine. I love surrealism, and Magritte is a particular fave of mine), and we eat about a hundred different meals from a hundred different countries.
arguingwithsignposts
@wasabi gasp:
Nice one. CDS is one of the Femmes’ creepier numbers, and least well-known. understandable, given the subject matter. I also like It’s Gonna Rain, just for the fun of Gordon Gano singing that old time religion. :D
Calouste
@Zuzu’s Petals:
Amazing is it? Apparently soshulized health care is so evil that you die of brain cancer years, even decades, before you are even diagnosed with it.
DaBomb
@Common Sense: Yeah, I hate the traffic too. But I am so close to everything and I have lived in the are for about 10 years, so I know how to get around quickly on the weekends. But the work week is a drag.
Are you active in the Democratic Organization here? I forgot the name.
arguingwithsignposts
@Common Sense: @DaBomb:
The joke when I was growing up was that Houston highways were always under construction because by the time they got through with the 610/I10 construction, they’d have to start all over at the beginning because it took so long.
Now that I’ve been around Atlanta and Chicago (at least), not to mention NYC, I don’t find Houston traffic all that much to get worked up about.
Common Sense
@arguingwithsignposts:
Not sure about the bank building. If you know the part of town it was/is in, that might help (although I’m only 32 and lived in Austin for six years). Fitz’s is the two story club. It a rickety shack, looks like it’s about to blow down, and has looked that way forever.
Televangelists are pretty good at marketing in Texas. Another group that gets ignored by everyone except Mike Judge fans is Texas trial lawyers. Remember the Texas Hammer? I can’t think of the name, but there’s one firm that are billing themselves “The Christian Trial Lawyers” and quote Bible verse about how it’s your duty to seek compensation.
Common Sense
@DaBomb:
I registered voters for the Obama and Noriega campaigns, but am not actively involved currently.
Thalia
@Common Sense:
Never been to Texas, but born and raised in Memphis and there are some massive mega churches. My ex was from Illinois and I warned him about them before I took him home the first time and he was still in complete awe. They look like fucking casinos. One near my house was snarkily known as “Six Flags over Jesus”.
And my family wonders why I packed my shit at 17 and never looked back.
DaBomb
@arguingwithsignposts: Whenever I complain about Houston Traffic, I think of Los Angeles and then I calm down. Chicago is pretty bad, and so is Miami. Actually Miamians(?) are just bad drivers.
@Common Sense: Going to get some shut-eye, nice talking to you two
Common Sense
@arguingwithsignposts:
You should see I-10 now. It’s like 14 lanes. The most annoying part was that the freeway used to run along a railroad track that runs out to Katy. Not exactly rocket science to create suburban mass transit and actually put our light rail to use, but they tore it all down to add a few more lanes. Oh well, at least they are expanding the system to more than just 1 track.
I just hate Houston’s traffic because there’s no alternative.
arguingwithsignposts
@Common Sense:
Yeah. Vinson and Elkins in Houston (?) is a famous one. There was a guy in Beaumont whose name escapes me who was well known for his part in asbestos and tobacco settlements, iirc.
Which always kills me, because some wingnuts like to talk about Texas’ tort reform as something that’s helped them with healthcare costs. But Texas is notorious as a place to shop for sympathetic juries for class-action lawsuits. Maybe that’s changed recently.
Common Sense
@DaBomb:
Sleep well. Use air conditioning.
Common Sense
@arguingwithsignposts:
Bracewell & Giuliani, anyone?
The study I remember seeing showed that Texas didn’t really see any more benefit from tort reform wrt health costs than states that didn’t do so.
Zuzu's Petals
@Calouste:
Snortle.
freelancer
Jesus,
I go out for a night on the town to forget and forgive and you bitches pay the trolls 190+ comments?
going to bed. I hope you know what you’re doing.
freelancer +6
Oregon Guy
Grew up in Clear Lake (Houston suburb). Wouldn’t move back to Texas for all the tea in China. However, I did see Sonic Youth play at Fitzgerald’s back in the 80’s. They got wasted and started playing Ramones covers. The crowd loved it, and at one point Thurston leaned into the mike and yelled: “So, you want to keep having fun, or do you want us to play some Sonic Youth shit?”
Good times.
wasabi gasp
If Jesus Drove A Motor Home – Jim White
freelancer
Goddamn,
I go Galt for ONE NIGHT, and Cole unleashes the fury. I haven’t felt this crestfallen since the thread where just after Dr. Tiller was Murdered and Cole had to Cull the thread that evolved into the internet equivalent of Cthulu, and I ignored the whole damned thing out of good taste. FML.
As far as musical tastes, I don’t even want to start voicing mine for fear of crucifixion, though mentioning Nickelsuck in the previous to previous thread inspired DougJ. Suffice to say, I am a child of the 90s and Classic Rock, so inevitably I listen to Smashing Pumpkins, Weezer, Blur, Sublime, RHCP, yet appreciate Boston, Rush, REO, Styx, Led Zepplin, the Stones, the Beatles, which has led me, predicably to loving my favorite current rock/pop band: Coheed and Cambria.
Though I still have a strong art/post-rock streak, fueled by emo and Pitchfork which has led me to completely embrace the genre, and has led me to single out the music, maybe even the songs that move me the most. Composed by my favorite musicians in the entire world, Explosions in the Sky, here is Your Hand in Mine:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLlYQQrHmh8
Common Sense
@freelancer:
John asked for music to listen to while playing WoW one time. I suggested EITS. No idea if he listened.
wasabi gasp
First There Was – Johnny Dowd
freelancer
@Common Sense:
Cole sometimes talks about TV, and If I knew there was a way he could find it, I would have him find Friday Night Lights S1 as it was originally broadcast. NBC had a deal with EITS to use their music at the time so the show was elevated from great to magical, but upon the release of the DVD, they replaced the original music with a supplemented score by W. G. Snuffy Walden, who made an effort at imitating EITS. He didn’t do too bad, but the first season isn’t the same. I’m just glad I have the TV rip from the original.
That being said, it is still one of the better shows on TV, middle of S2 notwithstanding. S4 coming soon, and director Peter Berg is going to really surprise newcomers with his substantial talent. He’s gone from Very Bad Things to the feature of Friday Night Lights, to a movie with Stifler and The Rock, to moving forward as a protege of Michael Mann, demonstrably with his release of The Kingdom, then Hancock, showrunning the TV version of FNL, and next, a new (and what I consider promising) adaptation of Frank Herbert’s Dune.
But yeah I love Explosions, and the trick is, they need to be listened to at the highest volume tolerable to each audience member. For instance:
The Only Moment We Were Alone
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtW67TCAn0E
The Birth and Death of the Day (featuring footage from Koyaanisqatsi)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltQqPJ5A2BI
Makewi
I was at that Oakland show. The New Years gigs were the only times I ever made it out to the other coast. Now I live even farther west.
Good times.
Hey, is there any beer in this fridge?
Makewi
You guys don’t want to ignore me. I’m way too much fun. I mean what else are you going to do, sit around and moan about how much the wingnuts suck. Fun.
Although I do like the idea about giving certain areas to conservatives. It’s a great plan in that sort of, has no idea about the specific ideological makeup of this country sort of way.
someguy
Sure, it’d be okay if there were some resident sane, non-racist conservatives to offer intelligent comments.
I’m sure sane, non-racist intelligent conservatives are just waiting to comment on this blog.
Just like the tooth fairy is waiting outside some kid’s bedroom with a suitcase full of cash to exchange for his tooth.
Makewi
@someguy:
Let me guess, you think conservatives are racist.
Xenos
@JGabriel: Texas is now paying more in income taxes than it receives from the Federal Govt. It really pisses them off, I hear.
I am not a huge fan of Texas, but it is coming back… Once Texas is reformed and readmitted to the reality sector then there really is not hope for the GOP (in its current form) to regain power. If the state can have its congressional districts fundamentally reordered after the 2010 census then this nightmare really could be over.
Xenos
@Makewi: No, but the conservatrolls who have posted here usually are. The Brick-headed fan of Glen Beck is a very slightly occulted white supremacist, if you have not noticed.
If present company is excepted from that trend, all the better.
A Mom Anon
@Anne Laurie:
Differently Sane…hahahahaha. I am so stealing that.
A Mom Anon
@joeyess:
Honest to god,what is with them and the constant forever punishment thing? Doesn’t matter what you did or when you did it or what you did to try to make it better,you should be punished forever for it. No punishment is enough,ever. No joy is allowed,no sense of security and feeling content. Nope.
It’s true,they might think they’d like the world they envision,but none of them are tough enough to survive or endure it.
vacuumslayer
I agree. Ignoring is probably the best way to go. Especially since they seem to be so plentiful lately, busting into each and every thread. They are like children, so if we ignore them, they will eventually get bored and go away.
vacuumslayer
@slag: I always imagined shoving them all into fartland–Oklahoma and Kansas. And left to their own devices their little enclave would quickly devolve into a cesspool. Meanwhile, us DFH would finally have as close to a utopia as we could get. It would be so nice not having to deal with dumb hillbillies all the time. We could really get things accomplished. And the conservatards could just wallow in their own feces.
Ash Can
@vacuumslayer: I don’t mind having them show up in a thread and throw out a few idiotic RW talking points, then watching all the shrinking violets around here line up to beat said talking points like a concrete pinata. However, I do agree with Anne Laurie regarding the degradation in discussion that takes place after all the candy has been beaten out of the talking points. What remains is the “you’re just a big poopyhead” back-and-forth, and that gets really old really fast.
Ash Can
And BTW, @Anne Laurie: this post is going to have me laughing all day.
Hunter Gathers
@Ash Can:
“What remains is the “you’re just a big poopyhead” back-and-forth, and that gets really old really fast.”
They are using the online version of the town hall strategy : shout loudly, piss people off.
Most trolls just want the discussion to get shut down, like the town halls. At least BOB’s “Glenn Beck as interweb troll” act is occasionally funny. The rest are just true believers looking to pick a fight.
vacuumslayer
@Hunter Gathers:
I agree. The trolls are not interested in conversation. They’re not interested in any sort of civil back and forth. If they were they wouldn’t employ 1 or 2 tactics:
1.) Imperious condescension
or
2.) Barely-coherent red flag-waving.
That’s why I really think ignoring is the best way to go.
Besides, I’m of the opinion that when it comes to conservatives their brains are just wired differently. I do sincerely believe that most of them have pretty severe personality disorders and many of them are downright sociopathic. It’s really really hard to get anything through to a sociopath.
Hunter Gathers
@vacuumslayer: Most of them aren’t sociopaths. Most of them are just really, really, really, really, really scared. Of everything. So frightened that they will do whatever “Daddy’ tells them to do.
arguingwithsignposts
BoB is quite an odd troll, to say the least. He couches his standard-issue conservative talking points/beliefs in a cloud of personal anecdotes strewn with overt and subliminal racism and sexism and weird pseudo-scientific bullshit (remember, all the great chefs are men!), all the while impervious to the insults and refutations thrown his way.
Most of the others are standard issue RW/Glibertarians
JK
Someone Please Tell Me This Isn’t True
CNN reported yesterday that John McCain will probably speak at Ted Kennedy’s funeral. Nothing makes my blood boil more than the thought of this arrogant, obnoxious prick speaking at Kennedy’s funeral. I detest the idea of seeing this prick pretend to be Mr Piety and fool the dummies in the MSM into thinking that he’s Mr Bipartisan.
A story appeared within the last 2 weeks showing that McCain’s voting record since the election has been almost exclusively along party lines. It’s obvious McCain is a sore loser and is determined to screw Obama over as much as possible. Why do the assholes in the MSM continue to believe anything this warped, frustrated old man says?
Ash Can
@JK: It’s entirely possible that they were friends IRL. I wouldn’t read too much into it.
asiangrrlMN
Dang. I take one night off, and I miss this bit of fun?
First of all, you cannot give away Minnesota. It’s not perfect, but it’s better than some of the states named above. Plus, it’s very cold and has snow. These are two things integral to me.
Second, I like all kinds of music, up to and including some opera. I am with Cole in that as long as I like it, I don’t care what you call it.
Third, most of the trolls here (as it were) are pretty lame and tame.
Fourth, I think Senator Kennedy’s funeral is absolutely the right time for Obama to unleash his oratory skills and remind us (and the congress people who will be attending) that Senator Kennedy devoted his life to universal healthcare. It’s part of who he was. It is his legacy. Obama can do it in an eloquent, passionate, uplifting way, but with an underscore of sternness.
Lastly, gbear, what a travesty that whole thing was. It still hurts to remember how the Republicans twisted Senator Wellstone’s funeral to their advantage.
arguingwithsignposts
@Ash Can:
I thought everybody was McCain’s friend. That’s what he always says: “My friends,…”
DZ
@JK:
You are not wrong about McCain, but you are wrong about the funeral. McCain and Kennedy were friends for years. McCain has the right to speak for his friend. Let’s not be like the wingnuts.
JK
@Ash Can: @DZ:
McCain’s personal attacks against Obama during the campaign were vile and despicable.
I don’t give a damn how much McCain was a friend of Kennedy’s.
He used Joe McCarthy style rhetoric by claiming Obama would rather lose a war than lose an election.
John McCain is an unrepentant scumbag and can go fuck himself.
IndieTarheel
@ninerdave:
The thing I love about that is you can add your own phrases. This latest bunch of trolls have been an inspiration of sorts.
cleek
if you’re especially proud of any of your new pie messages, send em my way (leave em in my pie filter comments) and i’ll add them to the official list.
Morbo
Yeah… yeah, ignoring is hard to do sometimes. The stupid doesn’t burn so much as it itches, and scratching it is usually gratifying but unhelpful.
Gus
@KDP:
You skipped over the only state that hasn’t voted Republican for president since 1972.
DougL (frmrly: Conservatively Liberal)
Since the election I have pretty much cut back on posting (but not reading!) here since I have more productive things to do. That word, productive, says all you need to hear regarding trolls (or real wingnutz) regarding any attempt at conversation with one.
It’s not productive. Hell, if I am not enjoying myself in a ‘conversation’ while posting then it is a waste of time. That is why I prefer to flip them shit instead; it makes me laugh, maybe makes others laugh and it usually pisses the fuckwit off.
The weaker the troll-fu, the weaker the shit flipping. For example:
Hey MakeWee! Fuck off.
Now compare the above statement to the endless derision of
myiq2xuGoatBoy every time his head pops up.MakeWee needs to work harder, same with the other lamers here lately. BOB is long past his expiration date so there is no fun to be had there since it is like beating a masochist. Where is Darrell when you really need him…lol!
People really shouldn’t feed the trolls but if you do then make sure that it is from a bag of shit. Don’t waste the good stuff on them, it ain’t worth the effort.
Beej
@vacuumslayer: No, absolutely not! Far too close us here in Nebraska. In case you didn’t notice in the last election, we are quietly working on a small revolution here. One of our electoral college votes actually went to Obama. That was District 2, containing Omaha. Now we’re working on District 1, containing Lincoln, the capital city. Once that’s accomplished, we’ll start on the 3rd District, the rest of the state. That’s going to be a decades-long project.
IndieTarheel
I just wanted to throw this song into the mix:
IndieTarheel
My edit-fu is weak today:
IndieTarheel
Dammit! Here’s the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKNjKBszLA8
bhagamu
An African swallow or a European swallow?
Bender
@arguingwithsignposts:
Rockefeller’s.
Saw Billy Bragg, John Wesley Harding, and many others there in the 90s. Closed in 1997, it’s now Rockefeller Hall, a wedding reception venue.
freelancer
@Beej:
Where are you in Nebraska? I’m in that little island of blue in the Sea of Red.
demimondian
@Kelly: Washington State, by way of most of the United States. Married to an Arkansawyer I met while in college at Hendrix, one state to your north.
I’ve earned the right to despise y’all.
vacuumslayer
@Beej: I used to live in Omaha and found it quite pleasant, with the pretty corn fields, rolling hills and pretty little downtown. That’s why I didn’t say Nebraska. I think there’s hope for that state!
vacuumslayer
@demimondian: An Arkansan? It’s always neat to hear about another Arkansan. (Born in Charleston, SC, but grew up in Arkansas.) I adore the state, though large swaths of it are totally backwards.
vacuumslayer
Oh, and FTR, if you see in thread after thread my saying “I’ve lived there, I’ve lived there” I’m not full of shit. I really have. I moved around a bit as a kid and am married to a military man now, soooooooooooo I really have lived just about everywhere, to include Germany and Mexico.
demimondian
@vacuumslayer: I miss the weather and the place. The politics? Yeah, not so much.
arguingwithsignposts
@Bender:
Yes! Thanks for that.
vacuumslayer
@demimondian: Exactly. It’s how I feel about the most of the Southeast. Lovely region, lovely weather. The politics, notsomuch.
Gonzo Reiter
@Bender:
Rockefeller’s on Washington was once the old Heights National Bank, loved that place back in the day … BBKing, Delbert McClinton, Bonnie Raitt, Devo, you name it.
Same for the Texas Opry House on Richmond with diverse acts like John Hartford; Willie Nelson, Willis Alan Ramsey, and Jerry Jeff Walker;BB King; and rockers like the Police and Johnny Winter.
Fitzgeralds in the Heights was still going strong last time I was in Houston … SRV & Double Trouble was the first show there for me.
Anderson Fair for Shake Russell, Nanci Griffith, Lyle Lovett, Guy Clark, Ramblin’ Jack Elliot, Carolyn Hester, Robert Earl Keen, and the Flatliners, Vince Bell, Steve Fromholz and Eric Taylor performed there just to name a few.
The Agora Ballroom had an eclectic mix from Joe Cocker to Dave Mason to The Amazing Rythym Aces.
The Montrose Area, Westbury Square, Market Square, Allen’s Landing, Liberty Hall, Catacombs, Love Street. All very familiar names and locations in Houston back in the 60’s and 70’s … good times.
Blogreeder
What’s the fuss about? This is a snarky blog.
Blogreeder
@JK
Does it matter anymore? It didn’t work. You guys won anyway. Good thing too. I saw a great bumper sticker: “It takes a Carter to get a Reagan” or something like that.
jaquestraw
don’t lend your hand to raise no flag atop no flip o shoes