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I personally stopped the public option…

The revolution will be supervised.

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

What fresh hell is this?

Peak wingnut was a lie.

Not all heroes wear capes.

You are either for trump or for democracy. Pick one.

I can’t take this shit today. I just can’t.

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

Consistently wrong since 2002

Trump is going to draw a dick on that dog with a sharpie, isn’t he?

The math demands it!

Yes we did.

How has Obama failed you today?

Is it irresponsible to speculate? It is irresponsible not to.

Saul Alinsky is my co-pilot.

I’d try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

No offense, but this thread hasn’t been about you for quite a while.

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Technically true, but collectively nonsense

This is a big f—–g deal.

You are here: Home / Past Elections / Election 2012 / Tuesday Evening Open Thread

Tuesday Evening Open Thread

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(Jeff Danziger’s website)
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Some people say there is a move by the Democrats to make Norquist the face of the Republicant Party. I’m not seeing a downside, truth in labelling, and all that…

Speaking of which, per the Boston Globe‘s Political Intelligence blog:

With just six weeks left before voters start to make their choices, the Republican presidential candidates gather tonight for what feels like a running weekly special on prime-time television: another debate, in another city, offering another chance for candidates to try and break through.
__
The debate, which is being held at the Daughters of the American Revolution Constitution Hall and will be shown live on CNN at 8 p.m., is the 11th of the primary season. It is the first held in the nation’s capital, a place that most candidates speak of with disdain when campaigning in early-voting states such as Iowa and New Hampshire…
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The debate, which is also sponsored by the Heritage Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute, comes a day after a congressional committee failed to come to an agreement on cutting the deficit’s growth by $1.2 trillion over the next decade. Unless Congress can somehow resolve the impasse, that panel’s failure will trigger $500 billion in cuts to defense – something Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has said would be “devastating.”

Globe‘s livestreaming link here. The Guardian‘s Richard Adams will once again liveblog the debacle here.

Speaking of huge dispiriting turkeys, what’s on the agenda for America’s Annual Bloatfest?

Reader Interactions

183Comments

  2. 2.

    Warren Terra

    You can wait all day for an Open Thread, and then two of them come along at once within 12 minutes.

  4. 4.

    schrodinger's cat

    Taking a break from politics, I discovered a hilarious fashion blog this afternoon. She is so funny!

  5. 5.

    John O

    Lost my job of 27.5 years last week. No hope, no prospects, no shit.

    I’ll probably watch the GOP debate tonight to give me more incentive to kill myself. If I do it before year’s end, I hit the Company up for another $200K.

    So there’s spite and hope.

  6. 6.

    KXB

    Oy gavalt! Heritage & AEI, plus the moderator is former AIPAC spokesman Wolf Blitzer. That should tell you what the focus of this foreign policy debate should be.

  8. 8.

    kindness

    @John O: Condolences. That’s awful. Maybe the debate won’t be such a good idea for someone who has been through what you just did.

    @KXB: Wanting to make snark about AIPAC/Israel but don’t want to come off as a bigot. Decide to say nothing. Hope head doesn’t explode later during debate when Repubs all line up and declare their unending fealty & love for Israel & then want to kill Americans who don’t share their goosestepping.

  9. 9.

    abo gato

    No turkey at my house. Have a nice venison backstrap that I am going to make a Wellington with. Even gonna try my hand at making my own puff pastry. Lots of wine. Will make some kind of pie as well. Football, maybe a movie later.

    John O, wish you were here, we’d have you over. Hope this will get better for you.

  10. 10.

    Dee Loralei

    John O. I’m so sorry.

    I was feeling sorry for myself because my son decided today that he didn’t want to join us on our annual 500 mile pilgrimage to PoDunk, OK for the holiday. Then my mother decided that she wasn’t going either because she doesn’t want him to be alone. So my father and I are driving alone to my mother’s family Thanksgiving. And he’s a horrible driver and a wee bit crazy. But at least he got his cataracts removed.And I’ve already gone on 3 roadtrips with him alone this year. She hasn’t informed him yet, I imagine she will over dinner. Which I am happily missing because my weekly Re-Elect Obama group is meeting at dinner time.

    Again, JohnO. I’m so sorry. This is an especially shitty time of year to become suddenly unemployed.

  12. 12.

    Jenny

    “I remain unrepentant in my support for this president, a man who has accomplished more in the face of a more hostile environment in his first three years than any president since Lyndon Johnson. I wish more reasonable Dems and a few moderate Republicans will soon have the courage to say so.” ~ Andrew Sullivan

  13. 13.

    John O

    Thanks, everyone. One thing that’s good is that I have a terrific support network, friends and family who won’t let me get too lost. But it’s odd how much more…direct I can be here online.

    Smartest blog in the bus.

    I’ll be OK. Compared to most people, I’m very well equipped to handle a job loss. It’s just like death or divorce, though, when you’ve invested so much…

  14. 14.

    Zifnab

    Some people say there is a move by the Democrats to make Norquist the face of the Republicant Party. I’m not seeing a downside, truth in labelling, and all that…

    It’s so much easier to campaign against a caricature of a Republican Congressman that the nation can easily identify. I say go for it. Make Norquist your boogey man and its a win-win. Republicans will have to run away from him, and Democrats can recycle talking points on all the Sunday Morning shows, making their jobs a lot easier.

    > Speaking of huge dispiriting turkeys, what’s on the agenda for America’s Annual Bloatfest?

    The end of a great Texas rivalry. The Longhorns will be parting ways with their ancient rivals by completely squashing A&M on national television.

  16. 16.

    Brandon

    Does Sullivan have some sort of multiple pundit disorder? I mean seriously, what goes on in his head?

    After reading that last question, I’ve realized that I actually really don’t want to know.

  18. 18.

    TooManyJens

    Does anyone have any experience with hypothyroid? I won’t bore you with the full medical rundown, but suffice it to say I’m to the point where I am actively rooting for a hypothyroid diagnosis because it would explain a LOT, and is treatable. If that’s what it is, how long after starting treatment could I reasonably expect to start feeling better? I really need some hope that I won’t feel like this forever.

  19. 19.

    KXB

    @kindness:

    Wanting to make snark about AIPAC/Israel but don’t want to come off as a bigot

    That is what they count on. I’m not going to watch the debate either. PBS Frontline is doing a program tonight about David Headley, formerly known as Daood Gilani, and how this guy seemed to work for the DEA, the Pakistani ISI, and the terrorist group Lashkar e Tayba at the same time.

    A Perfect Terrorist

  21. 21.

    John O

    @TooManyJens:

    Hypothyroid is a piece of cake to treat, and you should be feeling better within weeks of treatment. Hyperthyroid is much worse, though also very treatable. You’ll feel better soon if you have health insurance.

  22. 22.

    feebog

    Gonna smoke a turkey, just took it out of the fridge to set for a few hours before brining. Also too, we get a double header Thanksgiving this year; Thursday at our house, Friday at my Brother-in-Law’s home. Not sure if I will be able to move by Saturday. That is all, carry on.

  25. 25.

    Linda Featheringill

    @TooManyJens: #18

    hypothyroid:

    Assuming that is the problem, you should start feeling the effect of the replacement hormone in a week to 10 days after starting it. You may have to spend a month or two trying to get the dose right. A bit of trouble at first but very little trouble after that. If that’s the problem, you’ll be on Synthroid or something like it for the rest of your days.

    [ If you miss a dose, DO NOT double up on the med. ]

  26. 26.

    General Stuck

    While it is still too early to put much stock in presidential polling as matchups with an unknown GOP POTUS nom, sometimes there are obscure polls that serve as an early warning about the intentions of the electorate. I think this recent poll for the open senate seat is one of those, and it is good news for democrats trying to hold onto the senate after 2012.

    A new Mellman Group (D) poll in North Dakota shows former Attorney General Heidi Heitkamp (D) leading Rep. Rick Berg (R-ND) in the U.S. Senate Race, 47% to 42%.

    This is important, as it denotes a kind of maintenance of status quo for some midwestern red states that historically have split their voting for republican presidents and democratic senators. I don’t know anything about this lady, but every senate seat counts on what party controls that all important, if albeit dysfunctional US Senate

  33. 33.

    Nutella

    Since this is an open thread, here’s an interesting article about why Sandusky didn’t get caught earlier.

    I could write a book about covering Penn State. You start with its dual nature. For years, if you wanted salaries or other financial information, the response was, we’re a private institution. But when it comes to requesting state and federal financial assistance, then it’s, oh my, we’re a public college.

    Pennsylvanians, what’s the deal with Penn State? Is it a public land-grant university or a private university or what?

    I think it was geg6 who said that the local and student papers have good coverage of the Sandusky news. Anyone have links to those papers?

  36. 36.

    Linda Featheringill

    @J. Michael Neal:

    I have found that supportive psychotherapy has helped during extended bouts of unemployment. Community service centers can probably refer you to some place that charges on a sliding scale.

    Seriously. They can just help you feel better about yourself. And if you start soon, you can have a good holiday season.

  38. 38.

    Phylllis

    We’re off to Columbus GA tomorrow to spend T-day with the hubbie’s family. His ex-wife is cooking; we’re bringing the wine. It’s a five hour ride, with the always adventuresome 285 bypass around the ATL right at the midway point.

  39. 39.

    J. Michael Neal

    @John O: I’ve got plenty going for me, but until the rest of the world is ready to pay me for some of it, it really doesn’t matter. Absent that, or at least a support network that is local and that I can interact with in person, things aren’t going to get better for me. That’s the bottom line, and despite a lot of effort, I haven’t managed to make progress on either of them.

    It’s hard to read that as anything other than a sign that the world doesn’t want you.

  40. 40.

    karen marie

    @abo gato: Are you going to try making the puff pastry before the main event? If not, have some store-bought in the freezer just in case!

  42. 42.

    J. Michael Neal

    @Linda Featheringill:

    I have found that supportive psychotherapy has helped during extended bouts of unemployment.

    I have a very good therapist. We’ve just kind of hit the wall on what the two of us can accomplish by ourselves.

    Seriously. They can just help you feel better about yourself.

    To be honest, I don’t need to feel better about myself. That’s something that we have dealt with, and whatever my problems are now, self-esteem isn’t one of them. The problem isn’t me; it’s the rest of the world. However, I can only go so far to try to meet it halfway. The world needs to make some concessions, too. So far, it has steadfastly refused to do so.

    I can be right and the world can be wrong, but the world wins. And I’ve grown really fucking tired of trying to play its game.

  43. 43.

    John O

    @J. Michael Neal:

    I know.

    Wish I could help, except to say you’ll be dead soon enough, so you may as well hang in there and see what happens in the meantime?

    Life can throw some shit at you, but not all of it is bad, so just remember to hang on to what little hope there is. LOL.

  45. 45.

    Steeplejack

    I’m staying in NoVa for the holiday. T-Day dinner will be at the bro’ man’s palatial manse in Arlington. Mother and other brother are flying in tomorrow. That is a big deal. Both of them hate to fly, so this is a big effort on their part. My father died in March, and this will be the first family get-together since the funeral. I feel like in some obscure way it will set, or reveal, the family dynamic going forward. Pressure? Naw! It’s just family getting together with lots of liquor and free time. What could possibly go wrong?

    ETA: There will be extended family and friends present to cushion the blows, and the meal is being orchestrated by a CIA (Culinary Institute of America) graduate, so there’s that.

  47. 47.

    cckids

    I’m hosting my in-laws, who are driving in from Phoenix so my MIL can be critical of me in her inimitable backhanded-complimenting way. We were going to be diverted somewhat with my parents & sisters being here, but my dad is in the hospital with a pleural effusion (sp?), so they, obviously, aren’t traveling. Sigh. I will be shopping on Black Friday just to be out of the house for a while.

    On the bright side, my son is home from college for the first time since the semester started! Yay! Somehow, I never thought I’d miss him so much.

  48. 48.

    John O

    @Steeplejack:

    Downsized and purged. I was the sole owner of the title, “Business Integrator.” Stuck out like a sore thumb on a spreadsheet. I was one of maybe 40-50 in a small-scale bloodbath, but I don’t think it was personal.

  49. 49.

    MikeJ

    @J. Michael Neal:

    I can be right and the world can be wrong, but the world wins.

    I used to play competitive chess, and most people don’t understand what’s hard about it. People think the hard part is figuring out the next move. The *really* tricky part is looking at a board and knowing who is ahead right then.

    If you think you’re right and lose over and over again, you might rethink your evaluation algorithm.

  50. 50.

    Steeplejack

    @John O:

    Sorry to hear it. This is a sucky time of year to get the ax. I remember one time I got fired (out of the blue) in early December, and I hated going to the holiday parties, talking to strangers and getting the inevitable question, “So what do you do?” I finally settled on “Whatever needs to be done,” which worked great. Dillweeds would mumble something and head for the food table, and occasionally an attractive woman would say, “Oh, tell me more.” Where you go from there is left as an exercise for the reader.

  51. 51.

    Litlebritdifrnt2

    @J. Michael Neal:

    I remember a time about 20 years ago, DH had been tossed from the USMC after 16 years thanks to Bill Clinton’s defense cuts. He was going to school and working full time. I was rolling pennies to afford gas to get him to ECU. He called me one night, the car had broken down in Greenville. I got into our rickety old truck, with the broken tail lights and set out to pick him up knowing that the next morning he would take the truck to school and I would have to try and figure out how to get to work while trying to figure out which bill not to pay in order to get the car fixed. As I drove in the dark that night, hoping that I wouldn’t get pulled over for the broken tail lights, I honestly thought how easy it would be to drive the truck into a bridge. Then I wouldn’t have to worry anymore. I wish that I could say it gets better but to be honest it doesn’t, it just gets a little easier. Lets face it, most people these days are hanging on by their fingernails.

  52. 52.

    JPL

    @John O: Hang in there. It’s a scary time with most of the Repubs wanting to relive Coolidge years.
    My Thanksgiving is going to be interesting. I have one son who normally drags his SO to my house at one so then they can go to her house at six. This year I changed the routine by insisting on a brunch at eleven. After much discussion and I can’t believe my mom would do this to me crap, it was decided.
    The so’s parents asked me over but I’d rather stay home and spend the rest of the day watching football and pulling out xmas decorations. The other son will be here and we will make a turkey breast later in the afternoon.

  54. 54.

    Litlebritdifrnt2

    @different-church-lady:

    Ditto, the list to me sounds well sound. I was picking up my bosses prescriptions yesterday, and the pharmacist was talking to me about a change in his blood pressure meds, his doctor, for some stupid reason had changed his, I said I have no idea why and the pharm guy said “cause some drug company rep talked to him” (ie bribed the shit out of him) the new med was not only unheard of by the pharm but was not even covered by his health insurance. This resulted in a good 25 minute rant by me about the sorry state of the US health care system. To be honest I would be happy if we could get a UK NHS system in the US and I would shut the fuck up.

  58. 58.

    JPL

    I’m thankful that because of free choice, I don’t have to hear a lot of repubs bloviate tonight. Life is too short.

  59. 59.

    KG

    So, I’ve been thinking… I’ve been saying for a while that Romney is going to win the nomination because he’s Next in Line. But with the Newtmentum building, I can’t help but wonder if Gingrich can still the mantle of NiL. Former Speaker, fought the DFH Clinton (in the eyes of most Republicans this is still good), and has been on the wingnut welfare circuit for a while coming up with “ideas.” I would like to believe that Republicans understand that Newt was mostly a disaster and that with him at the top of the ticket they are screwed. But I also think because of the cocoon they are absolutely convinced that Obama is toast next year, even though he’s got about 300 electoral votes in pocket against pretty much every candidate they have.

  61. 61.

    John O

    I’m going to watch the debate.

    It wouldn’t be so bad to stroke out during it, which is something I’m sure I’ll come close to. Are we streaming?

  63. 63.

    Evolving Deep Southerner (tense changed for accuracy)

    @Nutella:

    Is it a public land-grant university or a private university or what?

    That debate isn’t just happening at Penn State. It’s happening a lot of places. Maybe most schools comparable to Penn State in terms of size, charter, mission, etc.

  66. 66.

    jl

    Decided to skip the thing, even if I do miss the thrilling rise of Newtmentum for make glorious benefit of his pocketbook, and Tiffany’s.

    I’m tired and feeling grouchy, and have stuff to do. Good luck to the brave and fearless.

    The good bits will be on the internet tomorrow anyway.

  70. 70.

    licensed to kill time

    why do i watch these things.

    Wulfie’s announcing it like it’s a beauty contest, or dancing with the clowns.

    oh gawd, the national anthem. will they genuflect? take a knee!

  71. 71.

    abo gato

    @karen marie, nope, I am just going to make the puff pastry. I really think it will work, and I am just crazy enough not to worry about it so I won’t have a box of the stuff on hand.

  73. 73.

    JGabriel

    Singing the Star-Spangled Banner.

    Now, if only the presidential contestants would bring bats and swing them at each other …

    .

  75. 75.

    patrick II

    The beginning of the debate sounds like the beginning of a WWE wrestling match with the announcer shouting out the names — “and in this corner, at 275 from Atlanta, Georgia, N-e-e-e-w-w-t GINGRICH!”, followed by the national anthem. They should put a cage around the contestant area, last man (or woman) standing is the WINNAH!.

  77. 77.

    Cacti

    @John O:

    Lost my job of 27.5 years last week. No hope, no prospects, no shit.

    You have my sympathies. My old man lost his job of 35 years back in 2009.

  78. 78.

    JGabriel

    Everyone’s writing at their podium, while Blitzer tells everyone he’s the ref moderator and what the ground rules are.

    It’s like a setup for most boring flash round of Jeopardy ever.

    .

  80. 80.

    Raven

    Surf fish tomorrow and Thursday morning, cook the din, out on the boat again Friday. Dawgs and Jackets and Hokies and Cav’s Sat. Back to surf fishing Sunday. . .

  81. 81.

    lamh35

    I spent the 2 hour right after work making groceries for Thanksgiving dinner so I won’t have to go out in the crazy tomorrow afternoon. Then the last 1 1/2 hours “straigtening up” the house because tomorrow after work, I’ve got to drive lhr20min outside DFW to Commerce, Texas to pick up my lil sister from college, she’s coming for the whole Thanksgiving weekend. It’s gonna be just me and 2 of my sisters, but they both want to have left-overs so we re gonna do it big.

    I forgot a there was even a debate tonight.

  82. 82.

    licensed to kill time

    hahahaha – Newtie’s DAD spent 27 years in the military. hence, Newt’s fully qualified for something….

  87. 87.

    Cacti

    @licensed to kill time:

    hahahaha – Newtie’s DAD spent 27 years in the military. hence, Newt’s fully qualified for something….

    That still gives him one up on Mittens.

    None of the last 3 generations of Romney men have served their country. All of them made time to serve the Mormon church as missionaries though.

  89. 89.

    licensed to kill time

    Newt’s pulling out the old ticking nuclear bomb canard as a justification for torture. Yawn.

    He spent YEARS studying this stuff!

  92. 92.

    Maude

    @Litlebritdifrnt2:
    #51
    Thank you. There are a lot of us having a very hard time.
    My sob story is I need a little job and need to move. My landlord is a F***wit and wants to raise the rent because she can and is a a bad landlord.
    I have a lot of company in this type of thing.
    What I do is not panic. It I start that, I will be in a fetal ball.
    I live in a town that is not friendly. I have no contacts and there aren’t a lot of people that are interesting.
    I am not unhappy and will figure out a way.
    I am more concerned about a man with a family whose unemployment is about to run out.
    These are indeed scary times.

  93. 93.

    Maude

    @Litlebritdifrnt2:
    #51
    Thank you. There are a lot of us having a very hard time.
    My sob story is I need a little job and need to move. My landlord is a F***wit and wants to raise the rent because she can and is a bad landlord.
    I have a lot of company in this type of thing.
    What I do is not panic. It I start that, I will be in a fetal ball.
    I live in a town that is not friendly. I have no contacts and there aren’t a lot of people that are interesting.
    I am not unhappy and will figure out a way.
    I am more concerned about a man with a family whose unemployment is about to run out.
    These are indeed scary times.

  96. 96.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Anne Laurie, top:

    what’s on the agenda for America’s Annual Bloatfest?

    For the first time in nearly seven decades I am out of the country on Thanksgiving this year. I’ll be with the Canadian branch of the family, but they celebrated back on the second Monday of October, and November 24th is just another Thursday. Still, I’m looking forward to a few days of total relaxation with them before driving back to Atlanta.

    Happy T’giving to all.

  102. 102.

    debit

    @John O: I am so sorry. The company I’d been with for 20 years closed down a few years ago and I’ve only just recently realized how badly it affected me at the time. It was like losing my entire extended family all at one time, plus the whole “holy shit, I have no job, what now” panic thing.

    @J. Michael Neal: It sucks to try to find anything in the field of accounting right now. I work in a small tax office and we’ve had CPAs applying for part time temp tax return prep positions.

    As for me, I’ll be spending Thursday with my parents and least liked siblings plus other assorted family members. I plan to bring Chloe so I can exit fraught or unpleasant conversations with, “Oh dear. Looks like Chloe needs to go outside and go potty. Please, continue on without me.”

  104. 104.

    Nutella

    @Cacti:

    They also made time to change countries. Mitt’s Dad was born in Mexico and came over the Rio Grande as a refugee from the Mexican Revolution.

    They lived in Mexico because Mitt’s great-grandpa was a lawbreaker who fled the US with his family to avoid prosecution.

    Mitt should be very compassionate when it comes to immigration and prison issues, right?

  105. 105.

    RossInDetroit

    what’s on the agenda for America’s Annual Bloatfest?

    For the first time in 75 years my grandmother will not cook a Thanksgiving dinner. We’re still invading her house, but we’ll cook it and bring it to save her the effort. She’s perfectly capable but bad vision is slowing her down so we’re giving her a break.
    The meal we cook will have less fat, sugar, salt and Grandma Awesomeness.

  107. 107.

    JGabriel

    Fred Kagan asks a question.

    I’ve never seen him before. My first though when he introduced himself was, “Huh, so that’s what the banality of evil looks like.”

    .

  108. 108.

    licensed to kill time

    FSM help us if any of these whack-a-loons gets anywhere near the White House.

    Oooh, here comes Bachmann Baco-bits to sprinkle on yer word salad!

  109. 109.

    Maude

    @Steeplejack:
    Thank you so much, I appreciate it. It is so much fun and I find it so relaxing.
    I just quit a very bad retail job. I wasn’t there long at all. I made a little money, but now need to get out there and earn a bit.

  110. 110.

    JGabriel

    Whoever put Bachmann on the Intelligence Committee has an extremely dry and ironic sense of humor.

    .

  111. 111.

    Raven

    @JPL: My bride found these really cool shirts called “Lucky Dog” and we will be making xmas cards wearing them with the pups at sunset.

  115. 115.

    RossInDetroit

    @Raven:

    Does she know?

    Oh, yeah. Relinquishing holiday cooking was like handing over Hong Kong to China. It’s been a long negotiation. I’m betting she’ll show us who’s boss by baking thirtyleven pies in advance. Which is fine.

  116. 116.

    licensed to kill time

    Romney doesn’t do sarcasm very well. Comes off flat and wrong-footed, like conservative “humor”.

    Also, his eyes just look like cartoon eyes, the kind drawn with a dot and a couple of commas.

  118. 118.

    licensed to kill time

    Newt’s finding it hard to fit his brilliance within the 30-second time frame.

    eta: which he is happy to emphasize
    to us all.

  119. 119.

    JGabriel

    I think Romney just lost that exchange with Huntsman. Romney looked like he was trying to redefine Huntsman’s position as being the opposite of what Huntsman just stated.

    Looked blatant and kind of weak.

    .

  123. 123.

    Ruckus

    @John O:
    Spite and hope – that sounds like family thanksgiving! (at least mine)
    Sorry about the job. Probably doesn’t help but many of us have been there. Few yrs ago lost my biz of 33 yrs to natural disaster, had to give up the replacement job due to internal politics at the company before I went nuts, now the economy is…. And I didn’t even cover the relationship side of it.
    I’ve given up trying to win, survival looks pretty good though. Let’s see if we can manage that.

  127. 127.

    SiubhanDuinne

    You know what? Even if I totally agreed with every word every one of these GOP clowns said, I would still vote against every one of them on the grounds that their voices are uniformly HORRIBLE.

  131. 131.

    JGabriel

    Michele Bachmann: “Every decision by Obama has been for unilateral disarmament.”

    Representative Bachmann, I’d like you to meet Osama bin Laden …

    .

  132. 132.

    Raven

    @khead: You using a mac? There is an easy way to grab the static url and just show the photo you want instead of putting everyone in your account.

  136. 136.

    RossInDetroit

    When we invaded Iraq I was outraged, and worried about American lives that would be lost.
    Same for the idea of war with Iran plus Iranian American people that I know will be personally devastated by a war in their country. The Middle East has gotten more personal for some of us in the last decade.

  138. 138.

    PurpleGirl

    @John O: This is snark…

    Yeah look at it this way, you can become an entrepreneur. Become a consultant in your field. Think of the opportunities…

    See the article earlier this week in the NYT about retirees continuing to work.

    Serious now: I hope you find a balance in your life to help you survive. I was let go three years tomorrow. I signed the letter accepting my severance package the day before Thanksgiving 2008 and my birthday was that Sunday. That was my last day. I didn’t return after Thanksgiving except to pack some things for shipping home.

  141. 141.

    licensed to kill time

    Every once in a while Ron Paul says something reasonable.

    eta: gah, it was something about talking about cutting spending on aid to other countries was ‘nibbling around the edges’

    trying to watch/listen/type with toddler banging on keyboard

  142. 142.

    khead

    @Raven:

    Unfortunately, no. A MacBook is gonna be the wife’s Xmas present, I think. Maybe.

    This is the first time I’ve done any kind of photo sharing. I was just wanting to show the kittehs. Will take any advice tho….

  149. 149.

    Anne Laurie

    @John O:

    If I do it before year’s end, I hit the Company up for another $200K.
    __
    So there’s spite and hope.

    Stay alive. They probably have a “dead peasants” insurance policy on you that will cover that $200k and still make them a tidy profit.

  150. 150.

    licensed to kill time

    Mee-shell says we are sending our interest and our power over to China “with whom we are highly in hock”.

    OMFG. It’s like Hee-Haw on steroids.

  152. 152.

    Anne Laurie

    @J. Michael Neal: One tiny suggestion, you might check with the local shelters/rescues and see if you can fill in for the holidays for another volunteer who wants/needs to spend time with the fambly.

    Even if it’s just cleaning out cages, or manning a phone that doesn’t ring, you at least have a reason to feel virtuous. And when they straggle in afterwards with horror stories about hostile in-laws and acting-out siblings, you enjoy the dim acrid glow of schadenfreude…

  153. 153.

    JGabriel

    Wolf Blitzer: “We’re being seen live around world.”

    Me: “I’m so embarrassed for my country.”

    So far, my favorite moment was when Newt told the world his secret plan to “covertly” cut Iran’s gasoline supply.

    I’m beginning to think the GOP’s smartest idea man ain’t too bright.

    .

  154. 154.

    Nutella

    @licensed to kill time:

    I thought she liked the way the Chinese don’t have social security and said we should be like them?

    Oh, yeah, that was the last debate. Every day is a new day with these people.

  156. 156.

    licensed to kill time

    OMG! Perry says Hamas and Hezbollah are infiltrating in Mexico and poised…POISED, I tells ya!…to flood across the border!

    Until Perry shuts it down, in a forthright manly fashion.

  157. 157.

    RossInDetroit

    @JGabriel:

    We’re being seen live around world

    But hopefully not believed. If I was outside the US I’d be even more scared of these people than I am. And that’s already a lot.

  159. 159.

    mamayaga

    Richard Adams at the Guard is a hoot:

    Michele Bachmann is very excited at the thought that since China owns US government debt, it earns the interest from the debt. And it (maybe) uses that money to pay for its military! So, according to Michele Bachmann logic, the US should just save time and bomb itself now.

  165. 165.

    geg6

    For who ever asked if PSU is a state university, the answer is not really. PA has community colleges, the state university system (Edinboro, Cal U of Pa, Slippery Rock, Indiana U of PA, Clarion, etc.) and it has state-related universities (PSU, Pitt, Temple, and Lincoln). State-related universities are not owned by the state but are partially funded by the state (PSU at less than 8%). The state unversities are the only pure public universities among four year schools here.

  166. 166.

    Evolving Deep Southerner (tense changed for accuracy)

    @Raven: Oh. Hell. Yes. Would it not be sweet – however remote the chance – to play spoiler to LSU?

    And, hey, bro, I’m moving to beautiful Raleigh, North Carolina a week from Thursday. Got a sweet gig at N.C. State. Can’t wait to get the hell out of Clemson. When it comes to higher education under South Carolina’s redneck leadership, it seems like someone flies over the place once a day with a crop duster to lay down a fine layer of shit mist.

    When I saw the Wolfpack beat Clemson like people used to beat their children on Saturday, I think I must have been the only person out of the many tens of thousands watching who saw it as a very personal omen.

    In the immortal words of Old Crow Medicine Show, “If I die in Raleigh, at least I will die free …”

  167. 167.

    Suffern ACE

    @JGabriel:

    So far, my favorite moment was when Newt told the world his secret plan to “covertly” cut Iran’s gasoline supply.

    Hah! And when they say “Who is cutting our gas supply?” We’ll say “Moldova” and they’ll be none the wiser.

  168. 168.

    Evolving Deep Southerner (tense changed for accuracy)

    @Raven: And, hey, RIP Larry Munson, eh?

    I can remember talking with a buddy of mine about Larry’s passing some several years back now – I mean, the guy was 89, you know? – and I told him that I thought that when Larry passed, whatever game that followed, they should just have no one announce it at all. Just put the mike up in the booth recording crowd noise, but nothing else. Not just a moment of silence, but an entire game of silence. Out of respect.

    He said that the money folks at the radio station would never go for that that, but I don’t know. I think you’d have people lined up to buy ads on that show. “Evolving Deep Southerner Heating and Air remembers Larry Munson …” If I had an HVAC business in Georgia, I’d buy time to be a part of that.

  172. 172.

    Evolving Deep Southerner (tense changed for accuracy)

    @Raven: Nope. Student Media. Student newspaper (the Technician), student radio station (mighty WKNC 88.1 FM), student TV station, yearbook, literary magazine … quite similar to what I do at Clemson (though I teach some at Clemson and won’t there, at least at first) except they actually have adequate staffing to do the shit right up there. Folks tell me that someone who came through Athens in the 1980s will love it there. It sure can’t be any worse than Clemson in terms of local culture and just the vibe in general. I can’t hardly wait.

  174. 174.

    Evolving Deep Southerner (tense changed for accuracy)

    @Raven: Probably not. But if they wanted to pay a proper tribute, that would be the way to do it. People would understand, or at least would in the fullness of time. And imagine the attention that would get nationally and bring to bear on Larry’s legacy not just to Georgia, but to sports broadcasting in general.

  175. 175.

    Raven

    @Evolving Deep Southerner (tense changed for accuracy): Ah cool. Mr Signpost is in that area if memory serves. Do you know the dude at the Red and Black? He’s a neighbor.

    eta I spent 5 years on the NC State School of Sports Management Board of Regents. They had a number of continuing ed schools in the Parks and Rec area and I taught classes about how train coaches to coach kids.

  176. 176.

    Evolving Deep Southerner (tense changed for accuracy)

    @Raven: You talking about Harry? Yes, I do know him reasonably well, actually. I imagine he’d be a good neighbor.

  178. 178.

    Evolving Deep Southerner (tense changed for accuracy)

    @Raven: Morales? I know him less well, but, yes. I’m sure he’d be a fine neighbor, too.

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