• Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Before Header

  • About Us
  • Lexicon
  • Contact Us
  • Our Store
  • ↑
  • ↓
  • ←
  • →

Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

When you’re a Republican, they let you do it.

We will not go back.

The revolution will be supervised.

Republicans: The threats are dire, but my tickets are non-refundable!

The republican speaker is a slippery little devil.

“Just close your eyes and kiss the girl and go where the tilt-a-whirl takes you.” ~OzarkHillbilly

That’s my take and I am available for criticism at this time.

“But what about the lurkers?”

Disappointing to see gov. newsom with his finger to the wind.

Narcissists are always shocked to discover other people have agency.

When I decide to be condescending, you won’t have to dream up a fantasy about it.

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

Not so fun when the rabbit gets the gun, is it?

It’s the corruption, stupid.

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

These days, even the boring Republicans are nuts.

People identifying as christian while ignoring christ and his teachings is a strange thing indeed.

He wakes up lying, and he lies all day.

No one could have predicted…

Balloon Juice, where there is always someone who will say you’re doing it wrong.

Stop using mental illness to avoid talking about armed white supremacy.

The republican ‘Pastor’ of the House is an odious authoritarian little creep.

Fight them, without becoming them!

Marge, god is saying you’re stupid.

Mobile Menu

  • Seattle Meet-up Post
  • 2025 Activism
  • Targeted Political Fundraising
  • Donate with Venmo, Zelle & PayPal
  • Site Feedback
  • War in Ukraine
  • Submit Photos to On the Road
  • Politics
  • On The Road
  • Open Threads
  • Topics
  • COVID-19
  • Authors
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Lexicon
  • Our Store
  • Politics
  • Open Threads
  • 2025 Activism
  • Garden Chats
  • On The Road
  • Targeted Fundraising!
You are here: Home / Politics / Open Thread

Open Thread

by Tim F|  December 15, 20062:33 pm| 74 Comments

This post is in: Politics

FacebookTweetEmail

Steve Benen has a must-read post on efforts by the right wing to find a negative frame for Barrack Obama. They still have nothing.

I’m warming up to the idea of Obama as president, even relative to my 2004 pick Wesley Clark. At the very least he seems to have a good sense for making useful things happen in the real world. Another promising quality is that he seems comfortable defusing adversarial situations in a way that both parties benefit, which is as accurate a description as any of what a good president does. A great president, of course, builds an unstoppable mandate and shapes the country in his image. But that is also what a catastrophically terrible president does. We have had enough of those lately, so for now I’ll settle for good.

Chat about whatever.

FacebookTweetEmail
Previous Post: « …And It Can Hit The High E In The Star-Spangled Banner
Next Post: Grades Are Done »

Reader Interactions

74Comments

  1. 1.

    Jackmormon

    December 15, 2006 at 2:41 pm

    B-A-R-A-C-K

  2. 2.

    cleek

    December 15, 2006 at 2:44 pm

    2 years

  3. 3.

    Zifnab

    December 15, 2006 at 2:49 pm

    But his middle name is Hussien. Shouldn’t someone ask him if he’s a terrorist?

  4. 4.

    TenguPhule

    December 15, 2006 at 2:55 pm

    Shouldn’t someone ask him if he’s a terrorist?

    Too late. The Freepers already are.

  5. 5.

    Krista

    December 15, 2006 at 3:02 pm

    Well, it’s an open thread, so I’ll ask something I’ve been wondering for awhile. Tim, John, do you have a way of sorting out the comments by commenter? I ask, because I’d love to someday see a compilation of BIRDZILLA’s comments — I’m convinced that put together, they spell out some sort of mystical prophecy. (Either that, or he’s just completely out there — either way, it would be very diverting to read…)

  6. 6.

    TenguPhule

    December 15, 2006 at 3:06 pm

    Oh joy, Reuters is reporting yet *another* food contamination outbreak in an Olive Garden.

  7. 7.

    Tim F.

    December 15, 2006 at 3:08 pm

    Krista,

    You mean like this? Site administrators have a way, and you could eventually get them all by doing the right Google search. But there isn’t an easy tool for everybody as far as I know.

  8. 8.

    ThymeZone

    December 15, 2006 at 3:09 pm

    So far so good for Obama. I’m rooting for him because I don’t want Hillary as the Dem nominee. One advantage of being relatively new to the fray (aka “inexperienced”) is that there is not a lot of negative material available on him. Since the GOP wins mainly by demonizing its opposition, I see that as a big plus for Obama. Not much there to demonize.

  9. 9.

    yet another jeff

    December 15, 2006 at 3:19 pm

    Unless that is how they’ll demonize him. “Barack Obama has nothing for us to demonize. Can you trust a man that hides his past so well?”

  10. 10.

    Krista

    December 15, 2006 at 3:19 pm

    You mean like this?

    Exactly. It’s the BIRDZILLA Code. And if I can only crack it, I’ll discover the secrets of the universe. (Or at the very least, the KFC secret recipe.)

  11. 11.

    Sherard

    December 15, 2006 at 3:21 pm

    THAT was a must read ? Oy.

    Rush called him Odumbo. Yeah, MUST.READ.

  12. 12.

    Z

    December 15, 2006 at 3:32 pm

    I think ‘Moron’, in one of the comments following that article is right, though. They are attacking his masculinity. They know there are plenty of people out there who truly believe that having a less ‘manly’ president makes us look weak, and that freaks them out.

  13. 13.

    TenguPhule

    December 15, 2006 at 3:34 pm

    They know there are plenty of people out there who truly believe that having a less ‘manly’ president makes us look weak, and that freaks them out.

    And strangely enough, those exact same people keep supporting pussies like Bush.

  14. 14.

    t. jasper parnell

    December 15, 2006 at 3:36 pm

    Listen to how Obama is always already demonized. go figure.

  15. 15.

    t. jasper parnell

    December 15, 2006 at 3:41 pm

    THAT was a must read ? Oy.

    Rush called him Odumbo. Yeah, MUST.READ.

    Yoiks, did you miss the point.

  16. 16.

    McNulty

    December 15, 2006 at 3:47 pm

    Yoiks, did you miss the point

    Then maybe you can explain it, because I’m not seeing the “must-read” aspect of it either.

    Basically, you have some conservatives calling him a liberal, a homophobe that nobody’s ever heard of complaining that he goes to a gay-friendly church, and a radio blowhard, along with a narcissistic NY Times columnist, making fun of his ears.

  17. 17.

    McNulty

    December 15, 2006 at 3:49 pm

    whoops, hit enter too soon.

    I meant to finish with the point that, this is pretty lame and insignificant stuff, unless the “point” that tjasper is making is that what makes it a must read is that they really wanna smear the hell out of him, but this is all they have, which I guess would be a point worth mentioning, but hardly “must-read” material.

  18. 18.

    t. jasper parnell

    December 15, 2006 at 3:59 pm

    McNulty (is that from Jakie Gleason?) yes, I think that that is Tim F’s point; perhaps one could even tease out of this point, the desire to smear without the goods, as it were, to spread, indicates a kind of intellectual poverty among the three individuals and, perhaps, by extension the whole intellectually corrupt cohort they represent, pundist lefty and righty, and lunatics, religio and otherwise. Perhaps, we might find in disapprobation of the the smearing and jeering the desire for an open debate based on facts of the matter, policy proscriptions, and the like as the time for leadership selection grows ever nearer.

    But then again, may Obama bin Dumbo is just so damn funny and insightful that we have to read it.

  19. 19.

    t. jasper parnell

    December 15, 2006 at 3:59 pm

    And of course you are right, pointing out that the idiots polluting national discourse are idiots is a point hardly worth making, right?

  20. 20.

    McNulty

    December 15, 2006 at 4:04 pm

    McNulty (is that from Jakie Gleason?)

    Actually, I’m a big fan of “The Wire”.

    Getting back to the subject, and not to harp too much on the “must-read” thing, but I don’t think it’s all that unusual that they wouldn’t be cracking out the big guns 23 months before the election, against a guy who isn’t even the nominee yet.

  21. 21.

    t. jasper parnell

    December 15, 2006 at 4:08 pm

    What might the big guns be? the cut of suit, oh wait been done. Persumably, the idear here is that we nip in the bud, Barney Fife (quoting unnamed parenting experts) always advocated bud nipping when it came to bad actions by Opie) the use of the smear and the personal aside in the next go round. Granted, this is somewhere between unlikely and impossible, but still bud nipping.

    What’s the Wire?

  22. 22.

    Z

    December 15, 2006 at 4:22 pm

    TenguPhule,

    Exactly. Bush is macho, but completely ineffective and incompetent. Yet, he got re-elected.

  23. 23.

    Zifnab

    December 15, 2006 at 4:28 pm

    Dude, Tim just wanted you to read the post. Lay off the flak cannons.

    Regardless, it’s nothing new. Obama is evil because he’s a Demoncrat. The ‘Pubs are merely compiling their “evidence”, which consists of his pointy tail, horned head, and tieless business apparel. How this is different from “Franken-Kerry” or “San Fransisco Values of the Damned Pelosi” or “Dirty Harry Reid” or any of the other gross mischaracterizations the right-wing noise machine has perpetuated is beyond me. I think the real “must read” aspect of the piece is exactly how desperate the right is getting to attack people. At least with “Third Most Liberal Senator Kerry” they were in the ball-park. But this stuff is more comic than insulting.

  24. 24.

    Otto Man

    December 15, 2006 at 4:40 pm

    What’s the Wire?

    Simply the greatest thing ever broadcast on television.

    Seriously, go rent season one. Now.

  25. 25.

    t. jasper parnell

    December 15, 2006 at 4:48 pm

    Simply the greatest thing ever broadcast on television.

    Few if any police procedurals can improve or have improved on Andy and Barney, maybe Homicide.

  26. 26.

    SeesThroughIt

    December 15, 2006 at 5:00 pm

    Simply the greatest thing ever broadcast on television.

    Few if any police procedurals can improve or have improved on Andy and Barney, maybe Homicide.

    Excuse me, but I think you both are overlooking a little slice of genius known as Sledge Hammer!

  27. 27.

    Bombadil

    December 15, 2006 at 5:03 pm

    Krista, try this.

  28. 28.

    t. jasper parnell

    December 15, 2006 at 5:10 pm

    Sure Sledgehammer is good, but it’s no Salisbury Hill nor yet Games without Frontiers.

  29. 29.

    SeesThroughIt

    December 15, 2006 at 5:27 pm

    Obama is evil because he’s a Demoncrat. The ‘Pubs are merely compiling their “evidence”, which consists of his pointy tail, horned head, and tieless business apparel.

    Thank goodness we have wingnuts like Mark Noonan to, first of all, tell everybody why they like Obama:

    Get a grip, lefties – the only reason you like the guy is because he’s a black liberal and you will never, ever have to courage to question the motives of [sic] qualifications of any black liberal.

    Also, Noonan can explain why Obama is evil:

    He’s a Chicago pol – and skeletons in the closet doesn’t even begin to cover it; he’s got whole graveyards in there, as do most Democrats from one-party-rule Chicago.

    Black liberal Chicago pol? I think you might know him better by his more common name–SATAN!!!!!!!! Obama is TEH EVIL!!!111

  30. 30.

    Otto Man

    December 15, 2006 at 5:35 pm

    Few if any police procedurals can improve or have improved on Andy and Barney, maybe Homicide.

    First, it’s not a police procedural. This isn’t a neat and tidy show where there’s a new bad guy each week and the cops catch and convict him. Much more complicated, nuanced and layered than that. As one reviewer noted recently, this is the closest thing to a novel ever seen on television.

    And second, it’s actually a creation of the same guys who made Homicide. They felt that network TV limited what they could do there, and The Wire is their second effort to get it right.

    Do yourself a favor. Take a week off your job and watch the past five seasons. Trust me.

  31. 31.

    t. jasper parnell

    December 15, 2006 at 5:48 pm

    Oddly enough, I found this video via Tom “Stop me before I hurt America again” Delay’s blog. It seems his readership is enlightened.

    The reviewer is wrong, when I had a TV there were serveral novels on it, much like a Penguin, and some underneath it, much like the Real Presence at Lutheran communion.

  32. 32.

    t. jasper parnell

    December 15, 2006 at 5:48 pm

    And what lying liar says I have a job?

  33. 33.

    t. jasper parnell

    December 15, 2006 at 5:49 pm

    I have a career opportunity, the one that never knocks.

  34. 34.

    Pooh

    December 15, 2006 at 6:03 pm

    What’s the Wire?

    I just died a little inside…

    The best show in the history of television

  35. 35.

    Salty Party Snax

    December 15, 2006 at 6:08 pm

    Rush Limbaugh seemed pleased with the comeuppance David Duke delivered to Wolf Blitzer today. Rush says he “loves the fact that Duke spoke back to Wolf in a manner he is not used to.”

    I wonder why the GOP refuses to acknowledge the great debt it owes to Duke?

    Maybe he’s “undercover” or something.

  36. 36.

    Pooh

    December 15, 2006 at 6:08 pm

    Also what Otto Man said. The “cases” last seasons and beyond. The denser and more leisurely pace allows them to spend a whole lot more time on ‘character,’ with the plot flowing from the characters in a more naturalistic process than most TV or even film.

    Incidentally, McNulty how doomed (DOOMED) is your namesake in season 5?

  37. 37.

    Krista

    December 15, 2006 at 6:10 pm

    Krista, try this.

    Excellent…

  38. 38.

    t. jasper parnell

    December 15, 2006 at 6:18 pm

    I just died a little inside

    This is truely an embarrasing admission.

  39. 39.

    Zifnab

    December 15, 2006 at 6:21 pm

    Kirsta, remember to give us a hint as to what it all means before you Ascend to the heavens in enlightened rapture.

  40. 40.

    Krista

    December 15, 2006 at 6:24 pm

    Will do. I’ll put it in a pdf and ask John to post a link to it. :)

  41. 41.

    Jake

    December 15, 2006 at 6:25 pm

    Sure Sledgehammer is good, but it’s no Salisbury Hill nor yet Games without Frontiers.

    Arrgh, that makes Steam come out of my ears.

  42. 42.

    Pooh

    December 15, 2006 at 6:29 pm

    I just died a little inside

    This is truely an embarrasing admission.

    Perhaps. But my obsession with the show (and my evangelism for it) borders on Trekkie-like.

  43. 43.

    t. jasper parnell

    December 15, 2006 at 6:35 pm

    Perhaps. But my obsession with the show (and my evangelism for it) borders on Trekkie-like.

    Even more so then.

  44. 44.

    t. jasper parnell

    December 15, 2006 at 6:42 pm

    Arrgh, that makes Steam come out of my ears.

    Why? Like you better the fat drummer?

  45. 45.

    Dan

    December 15, 2006 at 7:47 pm

    Agree on The Wire, best show ever. Aftet the first season i didn’t think they could improve, but i thought season 2 was better. Then they come out with season 4, which was just beyond anything i’ve seen on tv.

    There’s actually an easy attack out there on Obama: he admitted to doing coke when he was a teenager in his first book.

  46. 46.

    rachel

    December 15, 2006 at 8:10 pm

    Sure Sledgehammer is good, but it’s no Salisbury Hill nor yet Games without Frontiers.

    Or In Your Eyes. Wallflower, Fourteen Black Paintings and Mercy Street are my favorites, though.

  47. 47.

    VidaLoca

    December 15, 2006 at 9:50 pm

    I don’t see Darrell here at the moment which is kind of a shame, I’d like to hear his response to this:

    Border Fence Firm Snared for Hiring Illegal Workers

    A fence-building company in Southern California agrees to pay nearly $5 million in fines for hiring illegal immigrants. Two executives from the company may also serve jail time. The Golden State Fence Company’s work includes some of the border fence between San Diego and Mexico.

    After an immigration check in 1999 found undocumented workers on its payroll, Golden State promised to clean house. But when followup checks were made in 2004 and 2005, some of those same illegal workers were still on the job. In fact, U-S Attorney Carol Lam says as many as a third of the company’s 750 workers may have been in the country illegally.

    …

    Golden State Fence’s attorney, Richard Hirsch, admits his client broke the law. But he says the case proves that construction companies need a guest-worker program.

  48. 48.

    SeesThroughIt

    December 15, 2006 at 10:51 pm

    Border Fence Firm Snared for Hiring Illegal Workers

    These assholes are making satire damn near impossible.

    In other news, four-fifths of Gitmo detainees freed after transfer. And they’re overflowing with warm fuzzies for the United States, no doubt. (Cue right-winger making the “if they were in Gitmo, they were terrorists” argument.)

  49. 49.

    Steve

    December 15, 2006 at 11:15 pm

    In other news, four-fifths of Gitmo detainees freed after transfer. And they’re overflowing with warm fuzzies for the United States, no doubt. (Cue right-winger making the “if they were in Gitmo, they were terrorists” argument.)

    No, no. The proper winger argument at this point is “we’re obviously working hard to sort out the innocent ones, that proves everyone still there is a terrorist!”

    Plus, a couple of the ones we let go have been recaptured on the battlefield, so that goes to show you we shouldn’t be letting anyone go, blah blah blah. Come on, we’ve heard them all at this point.

  50. 50.

    scarshapedstar

    December 16, 2006 at 12:26 am

    Steve Benen has a must-read post on efforts by the right wing to find a negative frame for Barrack Obama. They still have nothing.

    Nothing? *snicker*

    Sorry, I just can’t help but wonder how long it will take for the whisper campaigns to focus on the Big Smear. The old warhorse. You know what I’m talking about.

  51. 51.

    The Other Steve

    December 16, 2006 at 1:09 am

    Rush Limbaugh seemed pleased with the comeuppance David Duke delivered to Wolf Blitzer today. Rush says he “loves the fact that Duke spoke back to Wolf in a manner he is not used to.”

    I wonder why the GOP refuses to acknowledge the great debt it owes to Duke?

    More important is the great debt they owe Wolf Blitzer for giving airtime to the GOP’s extremists.

  52. 52.

    lard lad

    December 16, 2006 at 5:20 am

    What all the devotees of The Wire said and then some. Television gets no better. Hell, visual entertainment gets no better. The crackling dialogue, the stellar acting, the bold direction, the unflinching realism, the obsessive care put into getting the details just right, the labyrinthine plot lines (at least a dozen per episode, every one compelling)… the sheer goddamn scope of the thing. I still love The Sopranos, but The Wire kicks the ass of Tony and Company.

    Rent Volume One. Watch at least the first three episodes. (The show takes time to build, getting you familiar with its many characters before shifting into overdrive.) Don’t be surprised, though, if you end up blazing through all three DVD-available seasons in a couple of weeks.

  53. 53.

    Redhand

    December 16, 2006 at 10:44 am

    Obama as next President? Why? He’s a super junior senator with no serious government experience. (Not that Kerry, for all his longevity, was a good choice). Seriously, I’d want to know a lot mere about the guy before saying “yes.”

    On an (unrelated?) note, Rummy left office yesterday amid reports that Cheney described him as “the finest secretary of defense this nation has ever had.” Even as partisan hyperbole, how f*cked up is that, I ask you? Just amazing.

    Is there is one, over-arching bad actor responsible for the train wreck that is the Bush Administration, surely it is Dick Cheney. I never dreamed I could despise someone on the Right as much as I loathed Clinton in the 1990s, but at least Bubba didn’t get us into a disaster like Iraq. Of course Bush bears ultimate responsibility, but we would not have pursued this insane policy without Bush letting Cheney call the shots.

    God I hope the Dems investigate that prick to death come January. We have to extricate ourselves from Iraq in a way that doesn’t make the region’s problems worse that they are now. But Congress truly needs to investigate how we got there. There has to be an accounting for this man’s conduct and decisions, so that something like this never happens again.

  54. 54.

    jake

    December 16, 2006 at 10:59 am

    In other news, four-fifths of Gitmo detainees freed after transfer. And they’re overflowing with warm fuzzies for the United States, no doubt.

    Dear Former Detainee:
    Since it is no longer politically expedient to keep you locked up and tout you as the most dangerous men on the planet, we’re letting you go. Hope you’re not angry or anything. After all, what’s three years? And as Mom says, you didn’t have much to begin with, and you got a free trip to the Carribean. So no hard feelings, right?

    Your former captor,

    G. W. B.

    p.s. Remember, don’t talk about what we did to you or Dick will hunt you down and shoot you! Heh. Heh.

  55. 55.

    jake

    December 16, 2006 at 11:13 am

    U.S. to Mr. Arar: When you’re a threat, you’re a threat from your first torture day to your last cigarette.

    Although I imagine the “logic” runs: We were responsible for kidnapping him and handing him over to torturers so of course he might be a threat to us!

  56. 56.

    aaron

    December 16, 2006 at 12:03 pm

    You nailed it! Obama should have Clark be his VP! Clark will bring all of his military and leadership (something completely lacking in the current VP) while Obama can be the passion..the dreamer grounded reality.
    I like….

  57. 57.

    Punchy

    December 16, 2006 at 12:24 pm

    Oh joy, Reuters is reporting yet another food contamination outbreak in an Olive Garden.

    I will now call it “I’ll Live Garden”, since for some in Indiana, that’s questionable.

  58. 58.

    Punchy

    December 16, 2006 at 12:36 pm

    The best show in the history of television

    Uh…”The Wire”? For real, Pooh? Never seen it, never heard of it. The Sopranos? Now THATS a great show. That, and Mythbusters. Color me weird.

  59. 59.

    Pooh

    December 16, 2006 at 1:24 pm

    Uh…”The Wire”? For real, Pooh? Never seen it, never heard of it. The Sopranos?

    Yes, I’ve heard of the Sopranos and loved it. The Wire is better, and it’s not close.

  60. 60.

    TenguPhule

    December 16, 2006 at 1:39 pm

    Golden State Fence’s attorney, Richard Hirsch, admits his client broke the law. But he says the case proves that construction companies need a guest-worker program.

    Those fracking lawyers are bound and determined to put all snarkers out of a job.

  61. 61.

    TenguPhule

    December 16, 2006 at 1:45 pm

    U.S. hopes early Palestinian elections will quell violence

    At some point you’d think this administration would stop hoping for the fairy election pony to sprinkle magic purple finger dust. But you would be wrong.

  62. 62.

    TenguPhule

    December 16, 2006 at 1:55 pm

    NOw who was it that who claimed women were worse off in Iraq *before* the invasion and occupation?

    As Islamic fundamentalism seeps into society and sectarian warfare escalates, more and more women live in fear of being kidnapped or raped. They receive death threats because of their religious sects and careers. They are harassed for not abiding by the strict dress code of long skirts and head scarves or for driving cars.

    …

  63. 63.

    Punchy

    December 16, 2006 at 2:35 pm

    The Wire is better, and it’s not close.

    (the sound of gloves coming off…)

  64. 64.

    Jake

    December 16, 2006 at 3:19 pm

    That, and Mythbusters.

    One of the few shows that makes the cable bill worth it. And who would have guessed “I reject your reality and substitute my own!” would become the Bush Admin.’s unofficial motto?

    As Islamic fundamentalism seeps into society and sectarian warfare escalates, more and more women live in fear of being kidnapped or raped.

    Yep, that was one of the key arguments against the Hussein/bin Laden/Taliban love fest theory. Hussein was too much of a sinner, letting the females run around and go to school and all of that. I also recall that after Sept. 11th it was suddenly really, really important that we whack the Taliban not just because they were harbouring a stone killer but they were mean to the ladies and generally no fun to be around. (How is that working out? Not to good, huh?)

    I thought people were supposed to have more freedom after a dictator was over thrown by the forces of justice. Silly me.

  65. 65.

    Otto Man

    December 16, 2006 at 5:45 pm

    Yes, I’ve heard of the Sopranos and loved it. The Wire is better, and it’s not close.

    Agreed. Sorry, the Sopranos is one of my favorite shows, but The Wire beats it by a mile.

    Imagine if the Sopranos had “good guys” who were as richly drawn and complexly followed as the bad guys. Instead of the cartoonish FBI agents, you’d have people you knew as well (and liked as well) as Silvio and Paulie Walnuts. That’s what the Wire does, giving complex portraits of both sides, and those caught in between, too.

    Each episode is densely packed, and storylines play out not just over a season, but across seasons. Nothing ever feels wasted — like some of last season of the Sopranos did, frankly — and it all works so, so well.

    You folks really don’t understand what you’re missing. If you like the Sopranos, you’ll love the Wire.

  66. 66.

    Hyperion

    December 16, 2006 at 7:32 pm

    What’s the Wire?

    Simply the greatest thing ever broadcast on television.

    i want to thank the several commenters here who recommended The Wire months ago. i checked it out and it IS fabulous…on so many levels. i love Baltimore and so do the makers of this series. (and McNutty, i guessed the reason for your handle. my favorite character by far is Omar! but Bubbles isn’t far behind.)

    oh, and Krista, i also got into Battlestar Galactica after you spoke so favorably of it. Excellent sci-fi. And it reeks of canuckistani values IMO. i can’t wait until season 3 is available on dvd.

  67. 67.

    Krista

    December 16, 2006 at 7:58 pm

    oh, and Krista, i also got into Battlestar Galactica after you spoke so favorably of it. Excellent sci-fi. And it reeks of canuckistani values IMO. i can’t wait until season 3 is available on dvd.

    Glad to hear it! The cliffhanger for the first part of season 3 is on in exactly 3 minutes. I have a cold beer, some homemade nuts ‘n’ bolts, and my comfy red blankie.

    Life’s good.

  68. 68.

    Krista

    December 16, 2006 at 8:01 pm

    Damn. The bf told me it was on at 9pm, but it’s on at 10.

    He’s lucky he’s cute…

  69. 69.

    The Other Steve

    December 17, 2006 at 2:08 am

    He’s lucky he’s cute…

    I was driving down the highway today and saw Acute Injury Clinic.

    I was trying to understand how you can have a cute injury.

  70. 70.

    lard lad

    December 17, 2006 at 7:22 am

    What’s the Wire?

    Simply the greatest thing ever broadcast on television.

    Now we have to get John to watch it. I assume that he has yet to partake of The Wire’s delights, as he has yet to rave about the show on this site.

    Didn’t you used to work with drug addicts, John? This show gets the hardcore drug street scene down better than most Hollywood films, never mind television… and without a trace of sanctimonious bullshit.

    And the plots and subplots of the just-ended Season 4 that deal with the inner city Baltimore high school are almost too good to believe. I know several Oakland teachers who were flat-out blown away at how precisely detailed the frustrations and struggles of their profession were rendered. Anyone who thinks that Bush’s No Child Left Behind hogwash has an iota of worth should watch this season and get some illusions shattered.

  71. 71.

    Punchy

    December 17, 2006 at 11:44 am

    I assume that he has yet to partake of The Wire’s delights, as he has yet to rave about the show on this site.

    I’m not sure I’ve witnessed such show-gasms before. Seems like y’all just don’t enjoy the show, you want to sleep with it. “The Wire” is apparently just like meth…I’m afraid to even try it…to be sucked into it’s unreleasing grip….losing my grip on show objectivity…

  72. 72.

    Pooh

    December 17, 2006 at 6:28 pm

    And the plots and subplots of the just-ended Season 4 that deal with the inner city Baltimore high school are almost too good to believe. I know several Oakland teachers who were flat-out blown away at how precisely detailed the frustrations and struggles of their profession were rendered. Anyone who thinks that Bush’s No Child Left Behind hogwash has an iota of worth should watch this season and get some illusions shattered.

    One of the co-creators is both a former BPD cop and a former Baltimore public school teacher, so it’s not surprising that they get the details right.

  73. 73.

    jh

    December 18, 2006 at 3:26 pm

    Echoing the comments of others here,

    The Wire is the best thing ever put on TV. It encaspulates what the collective efforts of Hollywood and the well meaning liberal establishment have been unable to do for the past 3 decades – tell the story of urban America in a realistic, non-pandering fashion.

    Seasons 1-3 are breathtaking in their scope, but Season 4 is another level altogether.

    Disclaimer: I grew up on the equally-as-mean streets of Washington, DC in the 1980s and I could barely bring myself to sit through an episode of Season 4, so closely did it resemble my youth. It moved me to tears on more than one occasion.

Comments are closed.

Trackbacks

  1. The Moderate Voice says:
    December 20, 2006 at 2:38 am

    Give Him A Shot

    I’m an admitted Obama-phile. But I’ll agree that there are questions as to whether he should run in 2008. It is not a foregone conclusion that he is the best candidate–or best Democrat–in the field. He has a lot to prove over the coming months to s…

Primary Sidebar

On The Road -  ?BillinGlendaleCA - Gold! 1
Image by BillinGlendaleCA (5/10/25)

Recent Comments

  • Jackie on The Gifts That Keep on Giving (May 14, 2025 @ 1:16pm)
  • Geminid on The Gifts That Keep on Giving (May 14, 2025 @ 1:15pm)
  • West of the Rockies on The Gifts That Keep on Giving (May 14, 2025 @ 1:10pm)
  • prostratedragon on The Gifts That Keep on Giving (May 14, 2025 @ 1:08pm)
  • Kayla Rudbek on MAHA Slap Fight! (Open Thread) (May 14, 2025 @ 1:08pm)

PA Supreme Court At Risk

Donate

Balloon Juice Posts

View by Topic
View by Author
View by Month & Year
View by Past Author

Featuring

Medium Cool
Artists in Our Midst
Authors in Our Midst
War in Ukraine
Donate to Razom for Ukraine

🎈Keep Balloon Juice Ad Free

Become a Balloon Juice Patreon
Donate with Venmo, Zelle or PayPal

Meetups

Upcoming Ohio Meetup May 17
5/11 Post about the May 17 Ohio Meetup

Calling All Jackals

Site Feedback
Nominate a Rotating Tag
Submit Photos to On the Road
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Links)
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Posts)
Fix Nyms with Apostrophes

Hands Off! – Denver, San Diego & Austin

Social Media

Balloon Juice
WaterGirl
TaMara
John Cole
DougJ (aka NYT Pitchbot)
Betty Cracker
Tom Levenson
David Anderson
Major Major Major Major
DougJ NYT Pitchbot
mistermix

Keeping Track

Legal Challenges (Lawfare)
Republicans Fleeing Town Halls (TPM)
21 Letters (to Borrow or Steal)
Search Donations from a Brand

PA Supreme Court At Risk

Donate

Site Footer

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Comment Policy
  • Our Authors
  • Blogroll
  • Our Artists
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2025 Dev Balloon Juice · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc

Share this ArticleLike this article? Email it to a friend!

Email sent!