Here are a few things readers have sent over the last week that I didn’t get around to posting:
* The Guttmacher Institute has a new video on unsafe abortions around the world.
* The Fonzi of Freedom responds to wake the fuck up. I can’t even click on that link, someone stronger than me needs to do it.
Thanks to readers G and J for sending those in. What else did we miss this week?
Ben Franklin
This is even better than the hump-backed Bush.
Romney and NoteGate.
http://washington.cbslocal.com/2012/10/05/upon-further-review-mitt-romney-may-have-cheated-to-win-the-debate/
Corner Stone
Wonder who this could belong to?
Israeli air force shoots down drone aircraft
“The Israeli air force shot down a drone after it crossed into southern Israel on Saturday, the military said, but it remained unclear where the aircraft had come from.”
the Conster
Won’t click through to the leather coated assclown, but the shorter appears to be DROOOONNNNZZZZZZZ!
Cliff in NH
Saw a great Video, best one I’ve seen in a while.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9G8XREyG0Q
An animated short about the big choice in 2012’s presidential election
– by Simpsons / Family Guy animator Lucas Gray
– also available at http://whyobamanow.org/
PsiFighter37
The good guys raised another $181 million in September. I think we need to put the BJ ActBlue up again – I’m getting a bit worried from the preliminary post-debate polls numbers that have been coming out, and the campaign’s going to need every last bit to bring the hammer down over this last month.
I kicked in another $200 this morning. Planning on donating often this month.
wrb
@Corner Stone:
I would not be at all surprised if drones start making regular deliveries of nasty things to Israel.
There are a lot of people pissed off at Israel who could afford a drone.
It would be very hard to determine who was responsible.
lamh35
@PsiFighter37: majority from donors who gave less than $250. Which means that can still give more in this last month right! Question, with the new Citizens United world, can any other Dems compete with the Obama campaigns ability to get their supporters to contribute? I adj because thinking about 2016, other than maybe Hilary who else could raise the amount of funds needed to compete against the Superpacs?
ranchandsyrup
Friedersfap material.
lamh35
I suspect it did increase Mittens support among his base after the debate. I understand he’s already seen increased fundraising (which is kinda good, means less for down ticket races) and allegedly increased volunteering (i’ll believe that when I see evidence), but in an aggregate of local news headlines in swing states, the front page news as of Friday had huge headlines about the job rates & unemployment, which pushed Romney debate performance off the front page for the weekend and just in time for the fact checking headlines to begin.
Also I read somewhere that Obama was NOT happy with his debate performance. The advisor said don’t expect to see the same Obama from the first debate again. One thing we know about Obams is that he is very competitive (Kobe Bryant talked about playing basketball with the Prez & saying Obama can trash talk with the best of ’em & plays hard to win) &i suspect he will not let another debate like the last one happen again.
lamh35
New OfA ad: Dishonesty
http://ofa.bo/KT5fE1
Violet
Any ‘Parks and Rec’ fans out there? This is funny: Tom Haverfoods. (Refresh for more)
Yutsano
Fonzi is trying to wake the sheeple into recognizing that DROOOONEZZZ!! r bad mmmkay so vote out the Ni-CLANG! or no mas FREEDUMB!! Or something.
The fact that there is a Reason TV makes me weep for our fair republic.
Violet
@Yutsano: Did you get up early and make your drive?
burnspbesq
I’m burnspbesq, and I approve this message.
http://www.samefacts.com/2012/10/watching-conservatives/mitt-romney/striking-back-2/
Anoniminous
Some more evidence the Social Darwinists have their heads up their butts:
For Some Primates, Survival of the Nicest:
Hill Dweller
@PsiFighter37: I’m hoping the jobs numbers and Willard’s self-inflicted Big Bird problem will blunt some of the momentum he gained from the debate.
Obama and his campaign has to be really good from now till election day, and that includes both debates.
Or something like that.Suffern Ace
@the Conster: IThe link doesn’t work for me. If it is, I wonder if some actual libertarians wouldnt mind joining codepink this week as they march with Imran Khan in Pakistan against the drone strikes.
jwb
Morning paper was all about the job numbers and the crazy conservatives who won’t accept them. The paper made the crazy conservatives sound like the RWNJs they are.
Punchy
Im seeing a conspiracy where I prolly shouldnt….
Romney wins debate. Peeps expect poll bounce, so no eyebrows raised when that haps. Yet these R polling outfits now use this “in” to show Romney waaaaaaaay up versus before. Now the meme is Obama could be behind he’s struggling, he’s weak, etc. Everything Romney needs to get favorable press coverage, something the MSM is dying to do.
IOW, phony polls or not, the lede has shifted strongly in Romneys direction. This portends bad things.
ranchandsyrup
@Violet: That is awesome. Thx. Saw this a few days ago: http://www.buzzsugar.com/Nick-Offerman-Interview-About-Ron-Swanson-Parks-Recreation-18941109
PsiFighter37
@lamh35: I’ll be interested to see what R-Money’s donations look like for September. I have a feeling he got housed, especially on the breakdown of what his campaign took in vs. what went to the RNC.
As for 2016, it’s going to be very difficult to match what Obama has done. At least right off, I agree that Hillary (at least right now) is the only person who would inspire the kind of fundraising that Obama is doing. That said, I honestly don’t know if Hillary will run at this point, and I feel like her appetite that internecine warfare that the primary campaign could potentially instigate is not her cup of tea anymore.
The bad thing is, given the absolute lunacy on the GOP side – and the money they are backed by – the Democratic Party basically is going to have to keep nominating candidates who are inspiring. No more Kerrys – so if Hillary runs (and wins) the nomination, she would need a young, charismatic VP candidate as a running mate (maybe Joaquin Castro, who would be a 2-term House Rep by then?).
Anyways, first things first – crush Mittens now and worry about 2016 on November 7th.
PsiFighter37
@Hill Dweller: Jobs number definitely helps, but I think the whole Sesame Street thing is overblown. It’s a minor gaffe when put up against the other things Mittens has let slip over the past 2 years. That said, I work in financial services, and all anyone would talk about was how the number was rigged. Fucking idiots – no one ever bitched about the BLS rigging numbers (the ADP number is different, because they are basically a random number generator) until it appeared like it might be good for Obama. The toolbags on CNBC even had that fuckhead Allen West on claiming the same thing. It was incredibly infuriating.
And yes, Obama and team need to be on their game the rest of the way. And Biden needs to absolutely destroy the faux-intellectualism of Paul Ryan in the VP debate. Biden’s been in politics a long time and knows what he is doing.
Hill Dweller
@Punchy: The jobs numbers and the wingnut freak out was a big help to Obama, after his inexplicably listless debate performance. But as I said up-thread, Obama and his campaign need to be very good from now till the election.
Violet
@ranchandsyrup: I love Ron Swanson. Nick Offerman is so good. The whole cast is, really, but Ron Swanson adds some kind of balance to the whole mix.
amk
@Punchy: What lede ? Any cites ?
WereBear
We have a foster kitten!
Found a five week old kitten under a hosta plant.
But not for very much longer: he turned up under the landscaping at work and everyone Facebooked him to the area.
Waiting for his new Mom right now. But the real winner is the 12 year old boy who has been asking for a kitten… and volunteers at the local animal shelter.
Guess I won’t worry about this little one.
Anoniminous
@Hill Dweller:
Stropping Occam’s Razor, there’s no evidence, at the moment, Romney got “momentum” from the debate. The small blip in his approval numbers is consistent with formerly lukewarm supporters getting all stiffie from his aggressive debate performance.
MikeJ
@lamh35:
Republicans take pride in not volunteering even to support their own issues. It’s only dirty hippies who have time to worry about their communities without being paid for it.
Judas Escargot, Acerbic Prophet of the Mighty Potato God
@the Conster:
Drones: The greatest threat to Our Liberty since the Apple App Store.
PsiFighter37
@lamh35: It’s no secret Obama’s competitive, but he’s got to be careful not to overreact, a la Gore, in the other direction after what is perceived as a bad first debate. One of the things he’s got going for him is being a likable guy, so he’s got to do a good job of tempering his jabs on R-Money – particularly since the next debate format is a town hall.
That said, I think town hall will work better because if R-Money tries to always get in the last word again, it’s going to look hella bad.
MikeJ
@Judas Escargot, Acerbic Prophet of the Mighty Potato God: Drones are targeted. The Apple app store is bad for everyone.
Violet
@PsiFighter37:
It is a minor gaffe in comparison to his other ones, but in terms of relatability, it’s huge. People know the LOVE Sesame Street. Firing Big Bird just seems heartless and cruel. And fits right into the already existing image of Romney as The Guy Who Fires You.
The thing about debates is that in the long run people tend to remember only one or two things. Nixon was sweaty, Gore sighed, Bush I looked at his watch. And Romney wants to fire Big Bird.
ranchandsyrup
@Violet: Yeah I know what you mean. Ron is offbeat but in mostly relatable ways. A lot of the other characters are weird in less relatable ways.
amk
A great film for the kenyan muslin from the Simpsons / Family Guy animator Lucas Gray
hep kitty
To libertarians:
Liberty to do what to whom?
There is an inverse relationship between freedom and opportunity/equality. A person’s liberty is very often diminished by lack of opportunity or societal restraints. They didn’t create those circumstances that have limited their opportunities and abilities to be on par with those who are worthy, like Nick Gillespie and Paul Ryan.
How can you address liberty without addressing lack of opportunity or equality or lack of access to certain resources necessary to succeed in life?
Yutsano
@Violet: Trying to get out the door right now but certain felines aren’t being cooperative. I could just leave her as I’ll be back Monday night and she has plenty of food.
JWR
Watched the debate again, and I just don’t see how Romney “won” aside from not falling over, which was kinda what they used to say about Bush the Lesser. Then I had a dream where Obama explicitly threw the second debate and everybody went into real panic mode. I certainly hope it was just a dream.
SiubhanDuinne
@WereBear:
What a sweet kitten! What a wonderful story! Much happiness to the boy and his new feline overlord.
hep kitty
@Hill Dweller: His speeches beginning right after the debate are so great, and I usually find his speeches kinda boring. I hope that’s the guy we see next time. He is really on his game right now.
Btw, who the fuck is this ancient old fart Jack Welch and why am I being forced to care?
Schlemizel
@PsiFighter37:
Take a look at cash on hand. Rmoney is way behind. My only fear is that OfA ends the season with a ton of money left when some of it might have gotten a couple of Congressional seats to turn blue.
But that is not a bad fear to have
Violet
@amk: That’s really good. Thanks.
Nancy Cadet
Re.the mighty mitt.
Interesting anecdote at beginning of Draper’s piece in NYT magazine this Sunday.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/07/magazine/mitt-romney.html?src=dayp
WereBear
Precisely. Watched Bill Maher last night and Kerry Washington, sharp as can be, challenged the Glenn Beck apologist’s take on equality: “the best way to make people equal is to treat everyone equally.”
She pointed out this ignores history. And she is right; Melissa Perry’s show happened to have the statistic that among people of color, there’s a 31% dropout rate because of poverty, lack of support, poor schools, etc.
When all these stats are even, that’s when we’re even.
Violet
@Yutsano: Well, when the feline finally cooperates, drive safe and have a good trip.
Corner Stone
@Or something like that.Suffern Ace:
Speaking of:
Imran Khan: I would order US drone shoot-downs
“Mr Khan, a former international cricketer who now leads the Tehreek-e-Insaf party, told Today presenter John Humphrys that the drone strikes are “so counterproductive”, kill many innocent people and that the relatives of casualties often “go join the militants”
Micheline
These assholes need to be crushed
hep kitty
@Violet: I noticed Obama highlighted that moms would probably be pleased with the idea of killing Big Bird, so I think a lot of people, especially those who grew up with it, might have sort of an emotional reaction to it rather than thinking how silly it is b/c of the a sliver of subsidy to public teevee.
Maude
@Yutsano:
Better that you have kitties safe and sound. I’d be uneasy leaving them alone.
Anoniminous
@PsiFighter37:
What Violet said.
And …
Studies have shown people make Decisions using their Limbic lobe and pre-frontal cortex, especially the ventromedial prefrontal cortex — the brain’s “emotional” processing areas. Damage to these areas leads to dithering and inaction. Romney’s ‘Big Bird Moment’ seems to have invoked enough of an emotional response that may cause more young people to vote.
Note weasel words. :-)
Linnaeus
@PsiFighter37:
Not only that, but Romney can’t go on the attack the way he can in one-on-one debates. The CEO persona won’t work as well for him in the town hall format.
WereBear
@SiubhanDuinne: Thank you!
If you follow my cat advice blog, you will see his story, noon tomorrow!
arguingwithsignposts
The new kitten is here, and LS is currently not happy with the interloper.
And when did “a couple of” fall out of favor?
gogol's wife
@arguingwithsignposts:
She’ll come around. I’ve been through this so many times! They may not end up cuddling, but they’ll find their way of coexisting. Cats are so good at that.
Frankensteinbeck
Eh. The debate was a tie, at best. The politically connected world is in an uproar because Romney did not look like a nervous robot and Obama did not bestride the debate stage like a colossus. We have learned to expect those two things, because 99% of the time Obama beats Romney like a rented mule. Romney won the news cycle for about six hours before humiliating himself again as Big Bird became the topic of conversation. The only polls that show a bounce for Romney are three wildly unreliable outlets, including Rasmussin. They show an enormous, aggregate-twisting bounce.
The debate was not a victory for us, and we’re so used to winning at this point that it felt like a slap in the face. In the scheme of the election, it’s actually a nothingburger.
Southern Beale
Not that we didn’t know this already but …
Welch Conspiracy Theory on Jobs Data Not Tied to Reality
Frankensteinbeck
Eh. The debate was a tie, at best. The politically connected world is in an uproar because Romney did not look like a nervous robot and Obama did not bestride the debate stage like a colossus. We have learned to expect those two things, because 99% of the time Obama beats Romney like a rented mule. Romney won the news cycle for about six hours before humiliating himself again as Big Bird became the topic of conversation. The only polls that show a bounce for Romney are three wildly unreliable outlets, including Rasmussin. They show an enormous, aggregate-twisting bounce.
The debate was not a victory for us, and we’re so used to winning at this point that it felt like a slap in the face. In the scheme of the election, it’s actually a nothingburger.
burnspbesq
@hep kitty:
If you score CEOs by their ability to create shareholder value, Welch is right up there with Eisner and Jobs. Sine he retired, he’s become a pissy wingnut curmudgeon.
Schlemizel
@Corner Stone:
Why wouldn’t Pakistan shoot down unauthorized military planes violating its air space? I would expect my government to do that. Imagine the outcry if China flew drones over the US & hellfire missiles down onto suspected ‘enemy’ locations. Then imagine a few of those took out the local KoC hall by accident blowing up a wedding reception.
Mr. Khan is not a good guy but we need to be aware of how we make his success possible
Amir Khalid
I’m making my way through The Casual Vacancy. I like it a lot so far. The only real flaw is JK Rowling’s rather uneven prose. Sometimes, she’s really sharp. Sometimes she doesn’t quite manage to work the structure of a long sentence, and then the sentence loses some impact. I reckon she could have used a copy editor’s light touch here and there. But that’s really the worst criticism one could make of it. The Casual Vacancy is a more political work than usual for popular fiction. A few of the characters remind me of some I encountered in Harry Potter. In particular, some of the kids made me think of Merope Gaunt from Half Blood Prince — the most troubled and isolated kid in the Harry Potter books. (Merope’s not in the movie.)
It’s not a book that sets out to be likeable, as the Harry Potter books did. You sense right off that Rowling has Something Serious to say, and you can only hope that the Something Serious doesn’t end up making the book unreadable. But it hasn’t so far. I don’t see movie potential, given the crowded cast and lack of happy-happy mood, but a well-done TV miniseries adaptation of The Casual Vacancy would probably be must-see material.
WereBear
@arguingwithsignposts: Most cats view kittens warily.
You have to sell LS on the advantages. She now has a Minion, just like a James Bond villain!
The Challenge of Introductions
Schlemizel
@Corner Stone:
Why wouldn’t Pakistan shoot down unauthorized military planes violating its air space? I would expect my government to do that. Imagine the outcry if China flew drones over the US & hellfire missiles down onto suspected ‘enemy’ locations. Then imagine a few of those took out the local KoC hall by accident blowing up a wedding reception.
Mr. Khan is not a good guy but we need to be aware of how we make his success possible
Amir Khalid
I’m making my way through The Casual Vacancy. I like it a lot so far. The only real flaw is JK Rowling’s rather uneven prose. Sometimes, she’s really sharp. Sometimes she doesn’t quite manage to work the structure of a long sentence, and then the sentence loses some impact. I reckon she could have used a copy editor’s light touch here and there. But that’s really the worst criticism one could make of it. The Casual Vacancy is a more political work than usual for popular fiction. A few of the characters remind me of some I encountered in Harry Potter. In particular, some of the kids made me think of Merope Gaunt from Half Blood Prince — the most troubled and isolated kid in the Harry Potter books. (Merope’s not in the movie.)
It’s not a book that sets out to be likeable, as the Harry Potter books did. You sense right off that Rowling has Something Serious to say, and you can only hope that the Something Serious doesn’t end up making the book unreadable. But it hasn’t so far. I don’t see movie potential, given the crowded cast and lack of happy-happy mood, but a well-done TV miniseries adaptation of The Casual Vacancy would probably be must-see material.
Violet
@hep kitty: And the emotional reaction is why it’s an important gaffe. People may theoretically get that an economic plan is bad or good or whatever. But firing Big Bird? He wants to fire Big Bird? That goofy yellow bird with the big eyes who has never hurt anyone and who is always a friend and helps children? BIG BIRD? WTF?
That’s the sort of reaction that gets people in their gut. Women don’t like it’s because they’re more likely to be the ones plopping the kids in front of the TV for a few minutes of quiet and Sesame Street is a show they can trust. Parents in general don’t like it for the same reason. Anyone who grew up with Sesame Street or had their kids or grandkids watch Sesame Street (which includes most of us) doesn’t like it because Big Bird is nice and friendly and helpful and who the hell wants to fire Big Bird? Does that mean Elmo and Cookie Monster and Bert and Ernie too? It does? WTF?
That’s the sort of thing that is remembered, looooong after the president’s halting performance and Mitt’s supposed win. What will anyone remember from the debate? What’s the largest search on the web related to it? What’s the biggest meme? Romney wants to fire Big Bird.
That is not good for Romney.
Amir Khalid
I’m making my way through The Casual Vacancy. I like it a lot so far. The only real flaw is JK Rowling’s rather uneven prose. Sometimes, she’s really sharp. Sometimes she doesn’t quite manage to work the structure of a long sentence, and then the sentence loses some impact. I reckon she could have used a copy editor’s light touch here and there. But that’s really the worst criticism one could make of it. The Casual Vacancy is a more political work than usual for popular fiction. A few of the characters remind me of some I encountered in Harry Potter. In particular, some of the kids made me think of Merope Gaunt from Half Blood Prince — the most troubled and isolated kid in the Harry Potter books. (Merope’s not in the movie.)
It’s not a book that sets out to be likeable, as the Harry Potter books did. You sense right off that Rowling has Something Serious to say, and you can only hope that the Something Serious doesn’t end up making the book unreadable. But it hasn’t so far. I don’t see movie potential, given the crowded cast and lack of happy-happy mood, but a well-done TV miniseries adaptation of The Casual Vacancy would probably be must-see material.
Violet
@hep kitty: And the emotional reaction is why it’s an important gaffe. People may theoretically get that an economic plan is bad or good or whatever. But firing Big Bird? He wants to fire Big Bird? That goofy yellow bird with the big eyes who has never hurt anyone and who is always a friend and helps children? BIG BIRD? WTF?
That’s the sort of reaction that gets people in their gut. Women don’t like it’s because they’re more likely to be the ones plopping the kids in front of the TV for a few minutes of quiet and Sesame Street is a show they can trust. Parents in general don’t like it for the same reason. Anyone who grew up with Sesame Street or had their kids or grandkids watch Sesame Street (which includes most of us) doesn’t like it because Big Bird is nice and friendly and helpful and who the hell wants to fire Big Bird? Does that mean Elmo and Cookie Monster and Bert and Ernie too? It does? WTF?
That’s the sort of thing that is remembered, looooong after the president’s halting performance and Mitt’s supposed win. What will anyone remember from the debate? What’s the largest search on the web related to it? What’s the biggest meme? Romney wants to fire Big Bird.
That is not good for Romney.
Amir Khalid
I’m making my way through The Casual Vacancy. I like it a lot so far. The only real flaw is JK Rowling’s rather uneven prose. Sometimes, she’s really sharp. Sometimes she doesn’t quite manage to work the structure of a long sentence, and then the sentence loses some impact. I reckon she could have used a copy editor’s light touch here and there. But that’s really the worst criticism one could make of it. The Casual Vacancy is a more political work than usual for popular fiction. A few of the characters remind me of some I encountered in Harry Potter. In particular, some of the kids made me think of Merope Gaunt from Half Blood Prince — the most troubled and isolated kid in the Harry Potter books. (Merope’s not in the movie.)
It’s not a book that sets out to be likeable, as the Harry Potter books did. You sense right off that Rowling has Something Serious to say, and you can only hope that the Something Serious doesn’t end up making the book unreadable. But it hasn’t so far. I don’t see movie potential, given the crowded cast and lack of happy-happy mood, but a well-done TV miniseries adaptation of The Casual Vacancy would probably be must-see material.
Davis X. Machina
@hep kitty: PBS/Big Bird is a synecdoche for Romney’s only real core belief, to wit: all that is, can be bought and sold; anything that cannot be bought or sold, is not; anything that can be bought or sold, must be bought and sold.
The big yeller feller is much easier to understand, and at 8′, hard to miss.
It’s 47%, with feathers.
Schlemizel
here is news that needs to get noted – Feds busted 91 people for Medicare fraud yesterday.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57526201/feds-charge-91-in-massive-medicare-fraud-scheme/
Thats great but better still, over the last 4 years arrests have been made in 4.8 Billion dollars of Medicare fraud. Thats a sign the DoJ is doing their job
Schlemizel
BTW – yesterdays bust was for $430 million – that more than enough to save Big Bird with a bunch left over
Violet
@Schlemizel: See how easy it is to bring Big Bird into a political discussion? “Medicare bust enough to cover Big Bird’s salary.” So, so, so. Easy. Big Bird is the lasting debate talking point and image. On that, Romney lost.
lamh35
Here’s what I’ve noticed. Obama supporters on blogs and the intertubes who I consider poli-addicts, myself included, are still talking about Obama’s debate performance, but the general man on the street discussion is about the fact that Romney wants to FIRE BIG BIRD. that’s what being discussed around the water cooler, add to that the job numbers and also the record haul that the Dems had in September ($181 million!!! $30 mill more than the $150mill record last time) and Obama debate performance will prob be a wash.
I’m as reclusive as the next Internet commenter, but it really behooves us to get out of our own bubble too.
yes, 67 mill watched the debate, but I contend with nothing but gut feeling that the majority of those who viewed were already solidified in who they were gonna vote for or were already leaning towards one over the other anyway and no one really changed their vote, even with Obamas performance. I’m a true believer that there is no such thing as a true undecided voter. They know who they are voting for, but the question for them is whether to vote at all. as for independents I tend to think of those people as either Dem or Rep, who primarily vote the majority of the time for one party, but once in a cycle votes outside party line. I just think u can’t please those people no matter what u do, so just keep to core principles and hope that this is the cycle where they vote with u.
WereBear
Big Bird costs .012% of the budget.
Wingnut math.
SiubhanDuinne
@WereBear:
I will make a point of reading it! Thanks!
Amir Khalid
@WereBear:
If I’m not mistaken, that teensy percentage (one 80th of 1%) is for all of Sesame Street, of which the big yellow avian is himself only a small fraction.
lamh35
@hep kitty: not everyone can afford cable and the Disney channel. nowadays without cable if u want quality family programming for your young kids to look at PBS is the way to go, and Big Bird, Sesame Street is a big part of that. Notice too Romney said Big Bird and not Elmo, cause I bet they researched that line and thought hey don’t hate on Elmo, so they went with Big Bird, but yes Elmo is the big thing, but by “attacking” Big Bird, Romney taped into 40 years worth of formative years of a big part of the voting population, even Repub. I,m 35, soon to be 36, and damn if I don’t STILL remember songs I learned from Sesame Street.my cousin is 25 and literally learned his alphabet from school yes, but a large part is from the Sesame Street ABC cassette tape his mother bought him long before Elmo.
people really shouldn’t underestimate the power of Sesame Street.
Corner Stone
@Schlemizel:
I may have recently linked to the article, but the US sends a list to a Pakistan General that has zones or “boxes” where the US intends to strike. Since the list is never acknowledged or argued about, the US takes this as tacit agreement that the strikes are allowed in-country.
Here’s a different article outlining the same concept:
“1) About once a month, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) sends a fax to a general at Pakistan’s intelligence service outlining broad areas where the United States intends to conduct strikes with drone aircraft and Pakistanis. There is no response from our side – positive or negative – only silence.
2) Pakistan continues to clear airspace in the targeted areas to avoid accidents to those who are not American targets. The spaces helpfully cleared for US Missile attacks are “three-dimensional rectangles in the sky referred to as flight “boxes”.
3) We also learn from the same sources that in the early days of the Afghan war, “lists of specific individuals to be targeted on Pakistani soil by US drones were approved by both the US and Pakistan, in what was called a “dual-key” system”.
4) But “starting about four years ago, the US began increasingly to go it alone”. Did the US feel that the corrupt PPP-led coalition government was not worth the trouble of “by your leave” bother?”
gogol's wife
@WereBear:
Great kitty! I can’t go to your blog because every time I do the next time I look up it’s 3 hours later, and I have to work today! It’s a fantastic blog.
Or something like that.Suffern Ace
@lamh35: He should have gone after Prairie Dawn. No one likes that self righteous emo prog hippie Prairie Dawn.
Judas Escargot, Acerbic Prophet of the Mighty Potato God
@lamh35:
I’ve been more irritated at the ‘independents’ in my circle who are all of a sudden really concerned with debate performance as a criterion. Not that a single one of them voted for Kerry in 2004 or Obama in 2008.
There seriously needs to be a new name for those right-leaning Independents who are basically just looking for an excuse to vote for the asshole. “The Excusers?” “The Yeah-Buts?” Coinage isn’t really my thing.
It’s horrible to think this, but part of me wishes I were wealthy enough to not be hurt by a Romney admin/GOP Congress. Then I could laugh at these morons once the implications of a $17,000 deduction cap, privatized SS, Medicare voucherization, ACA repeal and War with Iran finally hit them where they live.
Meh. Stupid fucks would probably still find a way to blame Democrats and the blahs, anyway.
Ok, naptime.
Violet
@lamh35: Big Bird is the iconic Sesame Street character. The biggest, brightest, tallest character that most represents the brand.
I don’t think Romney researched that line at all. He has a history of going off-script in a big way. The script line was probably something like “defund Public Broadcasting,” which is a snooze line to most people, but still red meat to the base. But he had to embellish it by saying “I love Big Bird!” because at some level he felt the need to humanize himself (that was the point of the debate, outside of winning, right?). So he mentions Big Bird, saying he loves Big Bird, while not recognizing that to most people what he’s just said is that he’ll fire Big Bird. It was a gaffe.
Paul
@PsiFighter37:
It is rather amusing. When the polls started to go against the GOP, then all we heard from FoxNews was that the polls were rigged (even though FoxNews own poll showed Obama with a big lead).
Now when the unemployment rate dropped significantly, all we hear from the gasbags at CNBC and FoxNews is that the numbers were rigged. This, without an ounce of evidence.
This from the same people who don’t believe in global warming or any kind of science. Yet, we are to believe their math when it comes to polls or unemployment data.
Seriously, you can’t make this ironic stuff up!
amk
Mellissa H Perry smacks down that life-long wingnut welfare klown george will.
Paul
@PsiFighter37:
It is rather amusing. When the polls started to go against the GOP, then all we heard from FoxNews was that the polls were rigged (even though FoxNews own poll showed Obama with a big lead).
Now when the unemployment rate dropped significantly, all we hear from the gasbags at CNBC and FoxNews is that the numbers were rigged. This, without an ounce of evidence.
This from the same people who don’t believe in global warming or any kind of science. Yet, we are to believe their math when it comes to polls or unemployment data.
Seriously, you can’t make this ironic stuff up!
amk
Mellissa H Perry smacks down that life-long wingnut welfare klown george will.
arguingwithsignposts
I have to say that declaring war on puppets was about the stupidest thing Romney could have done in that debate. NOBODY outside the 27 percent thinks PBS is an issue. Nobody.
Todd
@Violet:
I’m a big fan. My favorite line comes from Ron Swanson:
“Waitress? I believe I will have that third steak…”
Violet
@Judas Escargot, Acerbic Prophet of the Mighty Potato God:
The Chickenshits. They’re afraid of calling themselves Republicans for some reason, so they try to maintain a facade of independence. All it does is highlight their insecurity and fear.
The other name I’d go with is Special Snowflakes. They’re so Special they can’t be made to choose and want all their pet issues addressed by the candidates. SNL did a great parody ad of these Special Snowflakes on a recent show.
Paul
@PsiFighter37:
It is rather amusing. When the polls started to go against the GOP, then all we heard from FoxNews was that the polls were rigged (even though FoxNews own poll showed Obama with a big lead).
Now when the unemployment rate dropped significantly, all we hear from the gasbags at CNBC and FoxNews is that the numbers were rigged. This, without an ounce of evidence.
This from the same people who don’t believe in global warming or any kind of science. Yet, we are to believe their math when it comes to polls or unemployment data.
Seriously, you can’t make this ironic stuff up!
Violet
@Judas Escargot, Acerbic Prophet of the Mighty Potato God:
The Chickenshits. They’re afraid of calling themselves Republicans for some reason, so they try to maintain a facade of independence. All it does is highlight their insecurity and fear.
The other name I’d go with is Special Snowflakes. They’re so Special they can’t be made to choose and want all their pet issues addressed by the candidates. SNL did a great parody ad of these Special Snowflakes on a recent show.
Paul
@PsiFighter37:
It is rather amusing. When the polls started to go against the GOP, then all we heard from FoxNews was that the polls were rigged (even though FoxNews own poll showed Obama with a big lead).
Now when the unemployment rate dropped significantly, all we hear from the gasbags at CNBC and FoxNews is that the numbers were rigged. This, without an ounce of evidence.
This from the same people who don’t believe in global warming or any kind of science. Yet, we are to believe their math when it comes to polls or unemployment data.
Seriously, you can’t make this ironic stuff up!
Davis X. Machina
Don’t feel bad, it’s just human nature. If people could go down to town hall and register ‘Solipsist’, we’d long since have gotten a one-party state. As it is all you can do is get close — and register ‘Republican’.
amk
@Violet: closet rethugs is suffice.
burnspbesq
If anyone is interested in picking up a one-year-old 11-inch MacBook Air (4/128) in excellent condition for $700, I’m going to put it up on Craigslist at 10:30 a.m. Pacific time.
gbear
Thursday night I did the paperwork to adopt a cat that I’ve visited a couple of times at the MN Humane Society on the west side of Minneapolis, and I drove thru 45 minutes of rush hour to go pick him up yesterday. When I got there, they told me that a couple hours before he’d started throwing up and was now down in the sick ward until a vet can check him out today. I called this morning to get an update but no new info so I’m doing laundry and waiting for the call to find out what’s wrong and if he’s OK. I’m concerned about this now because I don’t want to bring a sick cat home and take a chance that my 12 year old tort Halley will get sick too. Today is sucking so far.
@burnspbesq: Give Romney the Big Bird would make a great bumper sticker.
amk
@Violet: closet rethugs is suffice.
eemom
@Violet:
I like to think of it as a zingerang.
cckids
@Frankensteinbeck:
This! We were expecting Obama to be as good as he is at his best, & anticipating Romney to act as he does in the worst of the clips we see of him. Didn’t happen that way, so it felt like a punch in the gut. But the reality is, events move fast, Obama didn’t have that you-tube worthy gaffe to be endlessly replayed (Big Bird, anyone), so the effect of Romney’s win is negated. Plus, among women especially, he came off as a condescending, arrogant ass. And we’ve all known too many of those to want one as President.
Violet
I’m getting such a kick out of the FireMeElmo Twitter feed. Elmo has been guzzling chocolate milk to drown his sorrow. Today:
Frankensteinbeck
@Corner Stone:
Politically, Pakistan is a mess. Its government is corrupt to an extent that’s hard to grasp. Different political and religious factions don’t just obstruct but actively sabotage or defy each other within the government itself. Different branches of its military and intelligence services do not follow the same orders. A number of Middle Eastern countries are teetering on the edge of civil war, and Pakistan may be the most troubled. Officially, Pakistan told us to go ahead, then went ‘LA LA LA MILITARY ALLIANCE WITH THE US WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT PAY NO ATTENTION TO THE DRONES BEHIND THE CURTAIN’. This is why we didn’t warn them about the Bin Laden raid, even though we generally tell them what we’re doing. The government as a whole wasn’t deliberately hiding Bin Laden, but somebody in the government sure as hell was. Most likely an entire network of somebodies well entrenched in their intelligence arm.
And these people have nukes. The country is a mess. I haven’t a clue what would actually be helpful. Leaving Islamic extremist terrorist groups operating unhindered in their highlands wouldn’t. Bear in mind, the US is a publicity target for AQ and groups like it. Their main purpose is overthrowing all secular Middle Eastern governments.
GregB
On the plus side of the ledger.
President Obama set a very low bar for the second debate and I am sure he’ll leap over that bar.
WereBear (itouch)
@gbear: Major bummer! But I guess better now than tomorrow, under the circumstances.
Hope it is a good shelter.
Chyron HR
@Paul:
Isn’t that the same thing, though? “Your objective facts and data are all lies, so we’re free to substitute our own reality instead?”
Paul
@gbear:
Not sure that is the case this time, but it can’t be easy for the cat in those surroundings. They are in a cage, they are away from their normal environment, nobody told them why they are there etc etc…
Hopefully that is all that is going and the car will be fine once it is out of there.
Mr Stagger Lee
Anybody talking about this latest piece of brilliance from Paul Broun, congressman from Georgia?
How the the hell can anyone with some reasoning skills let alone a progressive can live in Georgia, and not go insane?
jwb
@MikeJ: GOP supporters may not do the campaign volunteering very well, but they do an excellent job of bothering the Congresscritters. Actually a much, much better job than our side does.
beth
Wow, I hadn’t seen this before – is there anything Obama can do that John Sununu won’t object to? I guess we should be happy he didn’t say Obama shuffled.
MikeJ
@WereBear:
Show as a graphic.
cckids
@lamh35:
This. Flipped to CNN yesterday, & Blitzer was talking with (??name?) a young, Latina woman who was carefully explaining reality to him re: PBS/Sesame Street & the importance thereof. He trotted out the usual wingnut talking points; why do we need PBS, won’t the good programs get picked up by cable or broadcast, in these tough times, doesn’t every $ count?
She had a reasoned, real-world refutation of each point: PBS stations have local programming you cannont get elsewhere, SS & other children’s programming have educational benefits, in some cases & households, the only educational message those kids will get, NOT EVERYONE has cable, broadcast shows have commercials AND pressure to cover or not cover certain subjects. And the money argument is too ridiculous. We probably have bombs that, individually, cost more than PBS’ annual budget.
Polish the Guillotines
I hereby declare this the year of “The 47% Playoffs” in the American League.
The Oakland A’s — dead last in payroll — overtook the LA Angels (3rd in the AL) and Texas Rangers (5th in the AL) to win the AL West outright.
The Baltimore Orioles (18th in the AL) beat the Rangers in the Wild Card and now take on the Yankees.
As an A’s fan, I want to offer solidarity with fellow vowels, the O’s as they take on the 1%.
Up the O’s and Down the Wankees.
burnspbesq
@Polish the Guillotines:
Is America ready for a BW Parkway Series?
arguingwithsignposts
@MikeJ: I fixed your link.
Polish the Guillotines
@burnspbesq: I’m pulling for another Bay Bridge series. It’s been too long since the last 7+ Richter quake around here.
zzyzx
I don’t understand how there is such massive polling movement over a debate, but there is and we very well might have just seen Romney lie his way into a Presidential victory.
God I hope this is a blip that flips back soon. My heart can’t take 4 more weeks of this.
Enhanced Voting techniques
Even Rasmussen is in the tank with Obama about hiding the Romeny surge.
PPP says 2/3 of the Republicans BELIEVE in the BLS conspiracy are Unemployment Truthers. That’s in like 12 hours. Down into crazy land they go.
amk
@zzyzx: What massive polling ? Can you cite them ?
How ?
RossinDetroit, Rational Subjectivist
Fooling with new I-telephone device for practice. I hate this “keyboard”
Higgs Boson's Mate
@zzyzx:
Because there are any number of people who want to reassure themselves that the public hasn’t concluded that the Republicans have become so lunatic that they are incapable of governance.
Violet
@arguingwithsignposts: I don’t find that an effective graphic. All anyone sees when they glance at it is the giant red bar. You don’t even notice the small PBS line and you almost have to enlarge it to read it. It’s also too busy.
Neither do I find the .012% of the budget number to be effective. Low info people, or those who aren’t paying attention or who maybe need glasses, will see that as 12%, which sounds like a lot.
A key comparison like “less than the cost of ONE bomb” or “less than the cost of the Marine Corps Band” or “less than the cost of the Congressional Gymnasium” or something gives useful context.
Davis X. Machina
Ras went from 47-49 to 49-47
Massive. Rasmussen.
zzyzx
Gallup and Rasmussen have had pretty big swings. PPP is reporting that they’re seeing movement towards Romney. I freaked myself out enough that I just threw Obama some cash. I just need to remind myself that a quick movement can die out just as quickly.
Corner Stone
@RossinDetroit, Rational Subjectivist: How’s your lawn?
bemused
@Mr Stagger Lee:
This kind of Christianist is pitiful. He can’t be all that sure of his religion if he’s so fearful a little science will knock his faith right out from under him.
Paul
@amk:
I haven’t seen any polling reflecting a Romney surge since the debate.
And no, Rasmussen doesn’t count since it is not a neutral.
Enhanced Voting techniques
@zzyzx: Chill out, the Right wouldn’t freak out about the job reports if they were seeing a huge Romney surge.
RossinDetroit, Rational Subjectivist
@Corner Stone: Bah! Technology humbug. Real phones are screwed to the wall.
hep kitty
@Violet: That was my reaction to a snippet of the President’s recent speech: “Who’s next, Elmo?” etc
Even though I’m way too old to have gotten attached to Elmo, and also childless, still my immediate reaction was, Elmo?? Noooo!
amk
@Paul: When nate’s numbers start showing some big movement away from Obama, then we can start worrying. Until then, I am good and feel very confident, especially given the fantastic grassroots donation numbers today.
gbear
@Mr Stagger Lee: The couple times I spent time with the cat (Edward), he liked to lick your hand. The shelter makes you disinfect your hands as you move from cat to cat and I’m hoping that Edward just got sick from licking hand disinfectant. 12:30 now and I still haven’t heard from the shelter.
ETA: oops. linked to the comment below the one that I meant to reply to.
arguingwithsignposts
@Violet: For the record, I was just fixing the link. There are a lot of ways to present the information that public broadcasting is a tiny fraction of spending. Hopefully others will put it in the way that is effective for other people.
hep kitty
Martin Bashir’s ad is so annoying and patronizing. Some of those msnbc ads are kinda preachy.
Would everybody quit telling me what America is all about? How about what I used to believe what America was all about which now seems to be lost?
Although I can’t helping loving “It’s not about Obama, it’s about your momma!”
arguingwithsignposts
@hep kitty: If you haven’t seen the Elmo documentary (that’s a trailer, the whole thing is on Netflix, IIRC), you should. I was never a big elmo fan (my kids went through an Elmo phase), but seeing the backstory of the elmo guy made me a huge elmo fan.
MikeJ
@arguingwithsignposts: Thanks. Didn’t even notice until too late.
catclub
@lamh35: not accessible to non-facebook users.
Paul
@amk:
Absolutely. Bounces from debates rarely last. Mondale had a bounce in ’84. He lost. Kerry had a bounce in ’04. He lost.
And as somebody else mentioned, expectations will be lowered on Obama (as they were on Reagan for his 2nd debate in ’84) to the extent that he is very likely to meet them.
If Romney ends up winning, all I can say is that the non-billionaires, the 47%, the 99% etc etc get what they deserve. Without them Romney can’t win.
hep kitty
I wish this were Sesame Street’s 40th anniversary, which was 3 years ago
Mr Stagger Lee
@gbear: That’s cool I hope you get the cat. Thinking of getting one myself.
Violet
@arguingwithsignposts: Oh, yeah, sorry if what I said came across as critical of you. I knew you were fixing the broken link above. I just don’t find the graphic effective and hope, like you, that someone better at imaging than me can come up with something that’s easy to understand very quickly and points out just how stupid cutting PBS funding is as a cost-savings venture.
MikeJ
@Violet: I think the fact that the line is so thin is the entire point.
What works for some people doesn’t work for others.
Violet
@MikeJ: True. That’s why there are many different ways of presenting info. For me, I didn’t even see the line. Only saw the large red block and wondered “What’s that?” Had to read sideways to see the Defense Spending and would have closed the link had I not known there was something on it related to PBS. I seriously just would not have seen it if I hadn’t been told beforehand. And if I don’t see it, then it isn’t an effective way to convey the information to me.
Maybe I’m the only one, who knows.
Jay in Oregon
@bemused:
Obligatory Bill Hicks clip:
http://youtu.be/KMB5L0VoszI
“It seemed so plausible! AAAAAH!”
gelfling545
@PsiFighter37: To you who by virtue of reading this blog at all mark yourself as pretty interested in politics, Big Bird might mean not that much but to people who don’t much follow politics all they’ve heard for the last few days is Big Bird and this is (in the case of a some of my really nonpolitical friends, anyway) all they know about the debate.
Enhanced Voting techniques
The only I thing I have seen is the Republicans find they like Romeny more. But that doesn’t get him the election.
Anyway, they’ve already blew any advantage from the debate yesterday over the Job Reports. Romney’s people might have been able to pretend it didn’t exist until Jack Welch “helped” Romney by starting the job truther movement, which has taken off like wild fire with The Base(r). Now the Republican talking heads have to go on about how the BLS is in the tank with Obama.
wrb
@Paul: There are some polls out showing strong Republican gains but so far most are from pollsters that lend to lean R- We Ask America, Ras, Clarus.
Southern Beale
Dems need to really make hay out of this jobs truther nonsense. It just shows Republicans to be in such deep denial about abs-fucking everything. You just can’t keep calling inconvenient truths “liberal conspiracies.” Not EVERY damn time. They look ridiculous.
Violet
Just saw this at GOS that according to the CBO the deficit is down $200 billion, beating projections.
hildebrand
I think the new polls may turn out to show wavering Republicans coming back into the fold – my religious conservative sister is now all of a sudden posting about Romney and Ryan on Facebook. She had been making noises about staying home on election day.
Chris
@hildebrand:
Yeah, the main reaction to the debate has been to shore up his Gooper support. Which I find interesting (not at all surprising, but interesting) given the fact that he walked back on a fuckton of the positions he held in order to please them. Thus confirming, just in case you needed confirmation, that the Republican base doesn’t give a fuck about policy: they just want to see a rich white Republican putting the uppity nig[CLANG!] back in his place.
One of Romney’s biggest problems throughout the primaries, I thought, was that he didn’t know how to appeal to that primal, visceral thing in the GOP’s base that doesn’t give a fuck about Obama’s policies or how he’s governed, but loathes the man simply because of who he is and who he represents. The 47% video and the debate helped him a great deal on that front.
Davis X. Machina
@hildebrand:
Watch the next round of fav/unfav’s.
Since 1980, at least, no one upside-down on fav/unfav in October has won in November — and Romney had been upside-down for months. The latest Reuters/IPSOS has him up 2, at 51/49 — but Obama 56-44, up 12.
(Sample both before and after debate. Internet. 4.8% MoE)
America decided in 2004 that John Kerry won the debates, but that they didn’t like him, and weren’t going to vote for him. Let’s see how the fav/unfav looks Monday or Tuesday….
Sly
Shorter Reason: Obama is the totally uncool in a non-leather-jacket-wearing way because he uses DRONEZ on brown people in South Asia.
And I for one implicitly trust the sincerity of this criticism, based on their longstanding support for the political and social emancipation of brown people in North America.
catclub
@Enhanced Voting techniques: I posted earlier about how the right wing would be all over the place every day without talking points to depend on. This is an example.
Villago Delenda Est
@hep kitty:
I know the answer to this one:
For me, and me alone. The liberty of others is not my concern, only my maximum liberty. Everyone else’s is secondary to mine.
That’s how they actually look at it. Pure narcissism.
Villago Delenda Est
@Sly:
They also seemed not terribly concerned with the indiscriminate slaughter of brown people in the middle east between 2001 and 2009 as well.
Can’t imagine why that might have been, myself.
Richard Fox
There is something odd to me about so much angst over this debate. I wonder if pundits didn’t get to pontificate would people have any impression at all? It seems all the loud shrieks have been more determinative to public opinion than the debate itself. I found Romney obnoxious, personally, and
the President somewhat subdued by contrast, but substantive and empathetic. By and large Romney
never ceases to amaze me in the level of mendacity he exhibits, and as the worst candidate in the world I expect something idiotic to come from him sooner than not. So I am not losing sleep over this, and will just let events unfold. I noticed no gaffes that are being tied to the President, no gotcha moment– so there is that too…
Jim, Foolish LIteralist
How is the Supreme Court not a major issue in this election? I am fucking bewildered.
lamh35
some newspaper headlines and the country
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a330/nellybell28/e1b236543706739de55656c6b9675585_zps7a531489.jpg
Villago Delenda Est
@Richard Fox:
He reminds me of Greg Marmalard. Total lack of sympathy for him when he gets tossed into the air by the Delta Tau Deathmobile.
arguingwithsignposts
I guess all the FPers are out today. If mistermix hadn’t thrown up a classic iPhone slave labor troll post, nobody would be here. Time to close up shop and go fishing.
Higgs Boson's Mate
@Chris:
You nailed it. The Base only gives a crap about winning, and that means every public office down to dog catcher. “Our tribe win, your tribe lose. Huh!”
gogol's wife
Hardly anybody seems to have noticed that Charles Pierce showed up in the thread down below about the Avignon presidency, to explain that he coined the term. I’ve never seen him comment here, so I’m wondering why there hasn’t been more of a brouhaha.
Hill Dweller
@Richard Fox: It’s usually the post-debate narrative that has more influence on voters than the actual debate. The media wanted a horse race, and expectations going in were high for Obama and low for Willard. Obama under-performed, while Willard was great by his standards. Consequently, the media’s desired narrative was amplified after the debate, in no small measure by Dem/liberal blogs shitting themselves.
The Obama campaign has to work hard to make Willard’s mendacity the lasting impression. They’ll have to bypass the media to make it happen, but it is doable.
Willard’s sudden transformation in that debate demonstrated a contempt for the electorate, and a tacit admission he thinks they’re stupid.
Davis X. Machina
@Jim, Foolish LIteralist:
That’s because you’re not a real progressive.
When there’s no real difference between the candidates, there’s no real difference between their Court nominees, and therefore no real difference in the decisions the Court might hand down.
Chris
@Higgs Boson’s Mate:
Not to beat a dead horse, but that’s why I think Christie will do well with the base. If a person is clearly and unapologetically walking around shoving the weaker people they hate into lockers (which is all Christie’s been doing to unions), I think they’re willing to overlook the occasional sin like putting a Muslim on the court.
Chris
@Davis X. Machina:
I’m surprised it’s not a bigger issue in EVERY election, given that that’s who decides what the law means for the next few decades…
The Ancient Randonneur
Since Obama is required to denounce and categorically reject every stupid or awful thing any Democrat, person of color, or liberal says, maybe it’s time for Mitt Romney to be held accountable for the idiots in his own party. Behold Rep. Jon Hubbard (R) of the Arkansas state legislature:
That is a quote from a book he wrote.
Hill Dweller
@Chris: Republicans don’t give a shit about substance. It’s almost impossible to lose credibility with that lot as long as the candidate feigns toughness.
Christie has been a shitty governor. That rarely gets mentioned. Unemployment has actually increased since during his term, despite taking office after the worst of the recession. But he talks tough, which the wingnuts mistake for actual toughness.
arguingwithsignposts
Apparently, Gary Johnson has found some money to push his lame-ass libertarian bid out into the social mediashere again this week. I’ve seen more stupid “vote libertarian” FB posts than I can handle.
Another Halocene Human
Have we heard the last from RNC PR BS?
burnspbesq
@Davis X. Machina:
No real difference between Elena Kagan and Janice Rogers Brown? Tell it to all the Guantanamo detainees for whom habeas corpus has become a cruel joke.
raven
@arguingwithsignposts: Yea cuz, you know, there is NOTHING going on except a million fucking games.
arguingwithsignposts
@raven: I’m assuming the Cocks-Dawgs fight isn’t on yet, since CS hasn’t shown up.
Violet
@Chris: Republicans go for the biggest, strongest bully. Romney was that bully this time. McCain last time. If Christie’s weight doesn’t keep him from looking strong and capable, he’ll have a good shot next time. He’s definitely a bully.
Chris
@Hill Dweller:
Almost completely agree, but toughness in itself isn’t enough anymore. There has to be actual cruelty. Reagan guffawing about how if people in America went to bed hungry they must be on a diet, the Ovenmitt writing off half the country as worthless and beneath his notice, Ron Paul going “fuck off and die if you can’t afford health insurance,” that’s the sort of stuff that really fires them up. There’s a nasty, sadistic streak running through the conservative base that mere toughness can’t satisfy.
raven
@arguingwithsignposts: 7, the “commitment” ceremony we are going to is at 6 so I’m going to set the DVR and hope for a media blackout at this affair. Generally I would suppose at an event like this there would not be much interest in football but this is a huge game. If I can scoot by 7:30 I should be cool.
raven
@Violet: Yea, bully who went to fucking France while “some” where elsewhere.
quannlace
Oy, if only. They had a soundbite of him on the radio, and just from his voice he comes across as a smug, condescending weasel.
MikeJ
@Davis X. Machina:
To take it further, if you’re a true progressive then of course Obama’s nominees voted to uphold the ACA. It was the best way for them to thwart single payer, which would have flown through congress had the dread ACA been struck down.
Matt McIrvin
@Micheline:
Ronald Reagan’s legacy, ladies and gentlemen.
MrSnrub
@arguingwithsignposts: We loved the Elmo documentary. Great stuff. Watching him work with little kids was so sweet.
MrSnrub
@Hill Dweller: This. I am baffled by this as well.
Richard Fox
@Villago Delenda Est:
He reminds me of Greg Marmalard. Total lack of sympathy for him when he gets tossed into the air by the Delta Tau Deathmobile.
–I ams chuckling, this is perfect. I thank ye.
Davis X. Machina
@MikeJ:
I’m voting for Debs. I refuse to settle. Unbought. Unbossed. Unbreathing.
When was the last time a dead guy sold you out? Huh? Huh?
Richard Fox
@Hill Dweller:
” It’s usually the post-debate narrative that has more influence on voters than the actual debate.”
— good point. Hopefully the jobs numbers and Mitts surrogates behaving like morans might stomp on all this bull. I am so glad this is over in a month. I never want to hear about this clown after that, ever. Except maybe in the context of a satire / mockery ‘Game Change” HBO type thingy.
Odie Hugh Manatee
Someone needs to make a short clip of Rmoney and Big Bird reenacting the scene where Travis shoots Ol’ Yeller.
Stentor
Go take a look at the video on YouTube. I told Gillespie that I was going to flat out punch him in the mouth if I ever catch that pencilneck douchebag in a public place. I am so sick of his fucking sanctimoniousness I could puke. Libertarianism is a thinly veiled excuse to vote Republican, & yet not have to label yourself as one because you’re ashamed of all of the bugnuts shithouse rat crazies in your party. I say fucking own that shit, & go kick the crazies out, or at least tell them to shut the fuck up.
Bachmann – STFU
Perry – STFU
Santorum – STFU
Gingrich – STFU
Kyl – STFU
Rand Paul – STFU
Any & all other Republicans who want a knuckle sandwich – STFU
So sick & tired of their shit.